Fault detection in induction machines

1. A method of detecting a fault in an induction machine having one or more windings, the method comprising:

detecting a phase component of a driving current flowing in a stator of one or more windings of the induction machine at a supply frequency;

generating a predetermined fault frequency based on a slip of the induction machine, the slip of the induction machine being based on a rotational speed of a rotor of the induction engine relative to a rotational speed of the stator in the induction machine and the supply frequency of the current flowing in the induction machine;

determining whether a respective sideband of one or more selected harmonics of the supply frequency exists at the generated predetermined fault frequency in a signal in the one or more windings, each of the one or more selected harmonics of the supply frequency being a harmonic frequency higher than the supply frequency;

determining that a fault has occurred in the one or more windings of the induction machine in response to determining that the existence of the respective sideband of one or more selected harmonics of the supply frequency is at the generated predetermined fault frequency;

determining whether a power distribution of at least one of the one or more selected harmonics to the respective sidebands is below a predetermined threshold; and

responsive to the power distribution being below the predetermined threshold, determining and identifying a fault type in the induction machine based on identifying fault frequency components of the selected harmonics of the supply frequency, other than the supply frequency itself; and

in response to identifying the fault type in the induction machine, instructing a repair the induction machine based on the identified fault type determined using the fault frequency components of the selected harmonics of the supply frequency, such that the repair eliminates the determined fault, whereby the fault in the induction machine is determined and identified at a lower frequency resolution, a lower slip, and a lower fault severity allowing for earlier and more reliable detection of the fault to prevent permanent failure/damage of the induction machine.

2. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 1 , further comprising assessing whether a magnitude of the respective sideband of the one or more selected harmonics exceeds the predetermined threshold, and determining that the fault has occurred if the assessment is positive.

3. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 1 , further comprising modifying the signal to include the one or more selected harmonics as one or more probe harmonics.

4. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 3 , further comprising determining whether a respective sideband of at least one of the one or more probe harmonics exists at the predetermined fault frequency in the signal in the one or more windings of the induction machine.

5. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 1 , further comprising generating the predetermined fault frequency (f brb ) based on the following equation:

f brb =( f h ±2 ksf s ), Where k= 1, 2, 3, . . .

where, f s is the supply frequency, f h is a frequency corresponding to an h th order harmonic of the supply frequency, and s is the slip of the induction machine.

6. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 1 , further including a step of acquiring a frequency spectrum of the signal.

7. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 6 , further including a step of calculating the slip of the induction machine based on the acquired frequency spectrum.

8. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 1 , wherein the induction machine includes a stator, the one or more windings being located on the stator.

9. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 1 , wherein the induction machine is an induction motor, and the fault is in a rotor bar of the induction motor.

10. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 1 , wherein the fault type is a broken rotor bar fault when the power distribution is below the predetermined threshold, and is an air gap eccentricity when the power distribution is above the predetermined threshold.

11. A fault detector for detecting a fault in an induction machine having one or more windings arranged to draw a current at a supply frequency, the fault detector comprising:

a sensor acquiring a measurement of the signal in the one or more windings, and transmitting an output indicative of a frequency spectrum of the measured signal; and

a processor arranged to receive the transmitted output, and arranged to perform the method according to claim 1 .

12. The fault detector according to claim 11 , further including a signal modifier arranged to modify the signal to include the one or more selected harmonics as one or more probe harmonics.

13. The fault detector according to claim 11 , wherein the induction machine is an induction motor, and the fault is in a rotor bar of the induction motor.

14. The fault detector according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more windings are arranged to draw the current at the supply frequency to drive rotation of a rotor.

15. The fault detector according to claim 11 , wherein the signal is at least a component of the drawn current.

16. The method of detecting a fault in an induction machine according to claim 1 , wherein the induction machine is a generator, and the fault is in a damper bar of the generator.

17. The fault detector according to claim 11 , wherein the induction machine is a generator and the fault is a damper bar of the generator.