Expert systems for fault diagnosis of VSI fed AC drives

The use of a rule-based expert system for fault diagnosis of a voltage source inverter (VSI) feeding an induction motor are presented. Interactive session between the user and the expert system is employed to determine the faulty device(s) of the VSI fed drive. Based on the response of the operator, the functional and connectivity information coded in the knowledge base of the expert system diagnoses a fault and corrective measures and advice are given. This could result in an increase in the system availability, reliability, safety, and a reduction in maintenance cost and down time.<>