Reluctance mesh modelling of induction motors with healthy and faulty rotors

A description of the reluctance mesh (RM) technique for providing a coarsely detailed picture of the saturation conditions in an induction machine is presented. The automation of the formulation of the necessary equations is described. The advantage of the technique is that it is much less computationally intensive than more finely detailed numerical magnetic field solution techniques. Therefore, it can easily be incorporated into a time stepping, numerical solution of the electrical equations describing machine performance. The method accommodates the modelling of unbalanced cage windings automatically when the complete machine cross section is analysed. A comparison is made between predicted and experimental results for an experimental machine operating with a balanced and an unbalanced cage winding. Good agreement is shown