Recent research has demonstrated the use of electrical signature analysis (ESA), that is, the use of induction motor currents and voltages, for early detection of motor faults in the form of embedded algorithms. In the event of multiple motors energized by a common voltage bus, the cost of installing and maintaining fault monitoring and detection devices on each motor may be avoided, by using bus level aggregate electrical measurements to assess the health of the entire population of motors. In this research an approach for detecting commonly encountered induction motor mechanical faults from bus level aggregate electrical measurements is investigated. A mechanical fault indicator is computed processing the raw electrical measurements through a series of signal processing algorithms. Inference of an incipient fault is made by the percentage relative change of the fault indicator from the “healthy” baseline, thus defining a Fault Indicator Change (FIC). To investigate the posed research problem, healthy and faulty motors with broken rotor bar faults are simulated using a detailed transient motor model. The FIC based on aggregate electrical measurements is studied through simulations of different motor banks containing the same faulty motor. The degradation in the FIC when using aggregate measurements, as compared to using individual motor measurements, is investigated. For a given motor bank configuration, the variation in FIC with increasing number of faulty motors is also studied. In addition to simulation studies experimental results from a two-motor setup are analyzed. The FIC and degradation in the FIC in the case of load eccentricity fault, and a combination of shaft looseness and bearing damage is studied through staged fault experiments in the laboratory setup. In this research, the viability of using bus level aggregate electrical measurements for detecting incipient faults in motors energized by a common voltage bus is demonstrated. The proposed approach is limited in that as the power rating fraction of faulty motors to healthy motors in a given configuration decreases, it becomes far more difficult to detect the presence of incipient faults at very early stages.

Conventional PM machines have fixed PM excitation and can only perform flux-weakening by controlling the d-axis current. This current incurs the power dissipation and reduces the efficiency during flux-weakening operations. Memory machines change this situation by introducing the memory function, namely magnetizing or reversely magnetizing Al-Ni-Co PMs to change the air-gap flux density. This provides another new way to realizing flux-weakening. And the elimination of the flux-weakening d-axis current improves the overall efficiency. But the single-memory machines have lower power density due to the low-energy Al-Ni-Co PMs. By incorporating the memory concept and with the intention of improving the power density, the DC-excited PMBL dual-memory machines have been proposed and implemented, based on two kinds of PMs which are high-coercivity Nd-Fe-B PMs and low-coercivity Al-Ni-Co PMs. The Nd-Fe-B PMs provide a strong magnetic field to excite high air-gap flux density; while the Al-Ni-Co PMs can be forward magnetized to strengthen the magnetic field produced by Nd-Fe-B PMs or can be reversely magnetized to cancel that field. Consequently the air-gap flux density can be controlled within a wide range. A series of design principles on such kind of dual-memory machine are devised for guidance. The key design principles involve how to determine the number of salient poles on the stator and rotor, how to choose the surface areas and thicknesses of the two kind of PM pieces and how to size the rotor dimension. Generally, increase on the proportion of Nd-Fe-B PMs will raise the base field and the load capacity. On the other hand, increment on the proportion of Al-Ni-Co PMs will extend the controllable flux range. Analysis is also carried out on the equivalent magnetic circuit to formulate the magnetizing force exerted on Al-Ni-Co PMs. The machine model is analyzed by using time-stepping FEM (TS-FEM) and co-simulation of FEM software and Matlab Simulink. The dynamic reverse magnetizing processes are simulated and presented in details under different magnetizing current. In addition the effect of adding iron bridges between the two kinds PMs is also evaluated by simulations. Furthermore, the control methods are evaluate by simulations and experiments. The direct torque control (DTC) scheme is adapted to this doubly-salient dual-memory machine and a torque estimator is proposed to facilitate the DTC method. Both of the simulation results and the experimental results confirm the validity of the proposed design principles and the effectiveness of the control methods. Eventually, this dual-memory machine is proposed as a pole-changing wind power generator and a pole-changing EV machine. Simulation and experimental results have verified the validity of the pole-changing scheme and the pole-protection scheme. / published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

No description available.

Improved actuator point-to-point positioning performance, as measured by settling time, has been demonstrated in the context of manufacturing automation applications such as circuit board assembly and other product-transfer operations. The control objective is to move a single mass in a single axis from a starting position to a target position following the fastest possible motion trajectory while meeting final-position accuracy requirements. The actuator's achievable force that is available for acceleration is the fundamental variable that determines optimal settling time. The actuator technology employed is the linear variable reluctance motor. Mathematical motor models and simulation programs have been developed to perform several tasks necessary for demonstrating improved actuator performance: (i) optimal commutation under force ripple constraints has been computed to determine ripple-specified force limits and to provide excitation waveforms necessary for force production, (ii) motion profiles for several positioning task scenarios have been generated based on computed ripple-specified force limits, (iii) state space integral position control simulations have been performed to evaluate the degree of success of the proposed relaxation of force ripple constraints in improving settling time and (iv) the computed settling times for positioning tasks have been examined in relation to the copper losses associated with them in order to assess the trade-off. It has been shown that higher force capability is achieved when force-ripple constraints, which have been customarily emphasized in positioning applications, are relaxed. The higher capability is exploited by adopting faster motion trajectories, which are then imposed under feedback control to achieve faster settling time. Improved force capability with relaxed ripple constraints is demonstrated by generating average force versus speed capability curves under ripple constraints ranging from minimal ripple to unconstrained ripple. Improved positioning performance, with relaxed ripple constraints and without violating the final-position accuracy specification, is demonstrated by computing and comparing settling time for multiple positioning tasks with trajectories based on both extremes of force capability, lowest (no-ripple) and highest (unconstrained-ripple) force limits. The results have been demonstrated for two LVR motor configurations: one motor configuration represents typical (switched) linear and rotary variable reluctance motors while the other exhibits features of both switched and synchronous varieties of variable reluctance motors.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 1999

Many high performance drive applications require wide Constant Power Speed Range (CPSR) for efficient use of energy. The examples of such applications are the starter alternator system of automobiles proposed for the 42V PowerNet, traction in the hybrid/electric vehicle, wind power generator etc. The Permanent Magnet (PM) machine is the natural choice of such niche applications because of their higher efficiency and compact size. However, the Surface Permanent Magnet (SPM) machine with sine distributed winding and radially-laminated Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) machine with conventional structure has very limited or zero flux-weakening capability. The flux-weakening capability of the SPM machine can be improved by using concentrated, fractional-slot stator but here well-known advantages of the sine distributed winding are needed to be compromised. In the IPM machine, fluxweakening was improved using axial lamination and more than two magnet layers per pole. However, the construction of such IPM machine is complicated and expensive. This thesis presents design and analysis of a new type of the Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) machine that have a very wide Constant Power Speed Range (CPSR) without compromising simplicity of construction and advantages of the distribution winding. In the new IPM machine, the magnet poles were segmented in the radially direction and the iron bridges between magnet segments provide for additional paths of flux-canalization to give the rotor an inherent capability of fluxweakening. Consequently, a very wide constant power speed range can be achieved in such machines. The proposed IPM machine of this work was referred as the Segmented IPM machine. The thesis focuses on the optimization of the Segmented IPM machine in a 42V environment of the automobile. First, for the conceptual evaluation a 4 pole, 550W Segmented Magnet IPM machine was optimized using finite element analysis. The parameters were calculated for prediction of the steady-state and transient performances. The torque- and power-speed capability were estimated using time-step, circuit-coupled finite element analysis. The cogging torque and variation of iron loss with frequency were also investigated during the design process. A prototype machine was constructed on the basis of the optimized design. The steady-state and transient performances of the prototype machine were measured and compared with the predicted results for experimental verification. The measured performance analysis was found to match very well with the predicted results. The measured torque- and power-speed capability of the Segmented IPM machine was also compared to those of a conventional, non-segmented IPM machine of similar rating and size. The thesis also presents the optimized design of a 6kW, 12 pole Segmented Magnet IPM machine for application in the Integrated Starter Alternator (ISA) of the electric/hybrid vehicle. It can be concluded from the predicted steady-state analysis of the 6 kW, 12 pole Segmented Magnet IPM machine that it should be able to satisfy most of the required criteria of an ISA with appropriate design optimization.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 1999

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 147 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-121).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991.