Inter winding short circuit faults in permanent magnet synchronous motors used for high performance applications

This paper examines the effect of all possible stator winding short circuit conditions on the performances of permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) used in high performance applications like aerospace, automotive, medical and military. The study identified stator fault due to insulation failure and categorized them into turn-to-turn, phase-to-neutral, phase-to-phase and all phase´s short circuit conditions. Two types of winding configuration are considered to address the transient torque capabilities of a particular PMSM design. The transient behavior of the short-circuited motor drive is characterized analytically with a simple circuit model. The analytical model is then verified using 2D finite element analysis (FEA). Finally, few scenarios of the fault conditions are created in a real motor to validate the analysis. Also, the severity assessment of such faults is extended towards two different kind of winding arrangement commonly used for PMSMs.