Detectability of cage rotor induction machine stator fault using current analysis

This paper investigates the possibility of achieving unambiguous stator fault detection in cage rotor induction machines (CRIMs) by means of current signature analysis. Using numerical simulation and experimental results it is shown that the content of stator current frequency spectrum of a CRIM, when subject to a stator fault, is highly dependent on the machine´s pole pairs/rotor bars number combination. This characteristic results in the appearance of fault specific frequencies in the machine stator current spectrum for a well defined subset of CRIMs. The identified fault specific frequencies may be used for the unambiguous detection of stator failures.