Procedure for Determining Induction Motor Efficiency Working Under Distorted Grid Voltages

In electric power systems, it is very common to find problems of power quality. The flow of harmonics significantly affect the operation of three-phase induction motors, and its energy characterization becomes difficult. There are different methods in situ to estimate motor efficiency. However, it is necessary to deepen the in situ efficiency analysis under nonsinusoidal voltage conditions. In this paper, a procedure is presented based on the equivalent circuits with losses segregation and using a bacterial foraging algorithm (BFA). It allows induction motors´ energy efficiency determination in field conditions with low invasiveness and working under harmonic distortion. The method was successfully tested on a 1.5 kW motor fed with significant levels of voltage harmonic.