Stator-Current Spectrum Signature of Healthy Cage Rotor Induction Machines

Before applying current-signature-analysis-based monitoring methods, it is necessary to thoroughly analyze the existence of the various harmonics on healthy machines. As such an analysis is only done in very few papers, the objective of this paper is to make a clear and rigorous characterization and classification of the harmonics present in a healthy cage rotor induction motor spectrum as a starting point for diagnosis. Magnetomotive force space harmonics, slot permeance harmonics, and saturation of main magnetic flux path through the virtual air-gap permeance variation are taken into analytical consideration. General rules are introduced giving a connection between the number of stator slots, rotor bars, and pole pairs and the existence of rotor slot harmonics as well as saturation-related harmonics in the current spectrum. For certain combinations of stator and rotor slots, saturation-related harmonics are shown to be most prominent in motors with a pole pair number of two or more. A comparison of predicted and measured current harmonics is given for several motors with different numbers of pole pairs, stator slots, and rotor bars.