Fast Single-Turn Sensitive Stator Interturn Fault Detection of Induction Machines Based on Positive- and Negative-Sequence Third Harmonic Components of Line Currents

Unambiguous detection of stator interturn faults for induction machines at their incipient stage, i.e., few turns´ fault, has recently received great attention. Traditionally, interturn faults are detected using negative-sequence current and impedance. However, their effectiveness under supply imbalance conditions is questionable. Recently, line-current third harmonic (± 3f) has also been used in an attempt to achieve this goal. Nevertheless, issues such as inherent structural asymmetry and voltage imbalance also influence the + 3f. In this paper, the positiveand negative-sequence third harmonics (± 3f) of line current under different operating conditions have been explored by combining space and time harmonics. The suggested fault signature was obtained by removing residual components from tested quantities. Simulation and experimental results using 1 s of data indicate that the proposed ± 3f signatures are capable of very effectively detecting even a single-turn fault, and distinguish it from voltage imbalance and structural asymmetry.