Smart Sensor-Based Synergistic Analysis for Rotor Bar Fault Detection of Induction Motors

Reliable induction motor (IM) fault detection techniques are very useful in industries to diagnose IM defects and improve operational performance. A smart sensor-based technology is proposed in this article to synergistically use vibration and current harmonics for rotor bar fault detection in IMs. The vibration signal is used for analysis of shaft speed variations and the current harmonics information is applied for rotor bar fault detection. A wireless smart sensor network is developed and used for data collection, allowing for low-cost, low space footprint, and noninvasive installation. The effectiveness of the proposed synergistic technique is examined experimentally, with results demonstrating advantages over conventional methods in terms of accurately differentiating between a healthy and faulty motor, as well as estimating the fault severity, even under zero-load IM conditions. A means to quantify the fault states as diagnostic indices is also proposed for online IM health condition monitoring.