Impact of inverter faults in the overall performance of permanent magnet synchronous motor drives

The aim of this paper is to present an overall analysis of a typical permanent magnet synchronous motor drive under different operating conditions. Single power switch open-circuit faults as well as single phase open-circuit faults are introduced in the inverter and their effects are investigated trough a drive global performance evaluation. This includes the study of phase currents and voltages harmonic distortion and power factor on the mains supply side, the DC bus current, power losses and efficiency of the rectifier as well as of the system comprising the inverter and the motor. In addition, total drive efficiency values are also reported. Experimental and simulation results under these faulty operating conditions are presented, as well as results under healthy operating conditions, with the objective to establish a reference for comparison.