Incipient Fault Motion Signal Generation for Electric Motor Drives Considering Structure-Electric Interactions

The demand for fully electric-powered ships is increasing, necessitating high-powered electric motor drives for these vessels. However, this high-powered operation of the motor also raises the risk of motor faults. Detecting these faults in their incipient stage is crucial for effective maintenance scheduling. Past research concentrated on the analysis of developed stage fault signals, with an emphasis on fault mechanisms and frequencies. Yet, when incipient faults are present, the changes in fault frequency signals are often marginal and challenging to distinguish from signal noise. These subtle signal interruptions during the incipient stage are caused by small changes in the forces. In this study, all interaction forces between the structural and electrical systems of the motor were considered when generating the fault motion signal. The stator and rotor incipient fault motion signals were generated and compared with those from the healthy state. The results demonstrated that discernible changes in motion signals in the presence of incipient faults are only possible when all interaction forces are taken into account.