Electromagnetic Signature Study of a Power Converter Connected to an Electric Motor Drive

This paper investigates the stray magnetic and electric fields of a multifunctional power converter operation while connected to a system involving an induction motor. The impacts of the switching techniques on the radiated fields of the converter were studied for the purpose of electromagnetic interference (EMI) evaluation and fault detection. This was achieved through the inspection of the magnetic and electric fields. Two of the most commonly used switching techniques were implemented through a hardware-in-the-loop system studied in terms of the stray. Various fault and failure conditions were applied to the converter to monitor the converter condition through the stray field observations. A coil and a rod antenna were connected to an EMI receiver to capture the fields. The fields were employed in further analyses. The harmonics and interharmonics of the stray fields were studied in detail for system monitoring purposes. The importance of this paper is to enable the evaluation of the optimum switching pattern for lower EMI field levels from the converter and for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis purposes.