Current Measurements and Analysis for Induction Motor Diagnostics

Additional motor vibrations are the result of a faulty bearing. They are reflected in the harmonic content of stator currents. The object of the investigation presented in the paper are measurements related to diagnostics of induction motors, especially damages caused to bearings. Due to the fact that the amplitude of the network voltage basic harmonic in the current spectrum is high in comparison with components responsible for damages of bearings, preliminary elimination of this component from the analog current signal has been proposed. The problem with interpretation of diagnostic measurements in present systems is the difference between measurement results of characteristic frequencies and theoretical calculations. In the proposed measurement system this problem was solved in such a way that the value of the angular speed and of the supply frequency is calculated on the basis of appropriate components in the very same current spectrum that is further used in the search for diagnostic components. The paper presents also the measuring system and provides results of the investigations carried out on a motor encumbered with a specially prepared defect.