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Modern Online Testing of Induction Motors for Predictive Maintenance and Monitoring
Ernesto J. Wiedenbrug, Senior Member, IEEE, Andr Ramme, Student Member, IEEE, E. Matheson, Member, IEEE, Annette von Jouanne, Senior Member, IEEE, and Alan K. Wallace, Fellow, IEEE

AbstractOnline testing of motors, diagnostics, and motor monitoring have shown large scientific development in the past few years, outgrowing the stage of rms current and voltage measurements. This stems from current and voltage signature analysis which has progressed from the laboratory and the work of dedicated specialist experts to become the base for modern instrumentation available to plant operatives. In addition to line-fed motors, a clear view of variable-frequency drive applications is now possible without requiring connection directly to the motor terminals. The use of the motor itself as a transparent sensor, making shaft torque signatures available at the motor control cabinet, allows for advanced diagnostics of the voltage supply, motor, and load system. Index TermsInduction machine, maintenance, testing.

I. INTRODUCTION HE days when maintenance of electrical motors was diagnosed with only a MegOhm meter in one hand and a digital multi meter (DMM) in the other, are long over. Insulation testing performed at voltages lower than two times rated voltage is not compliant to professional standards (IEEE 43, IEEE 95, IEEE 522, and IEC34-15). Advances in the field of online testing and diagnostics have made the DMM similarly obsolete for predictive maintenance (PM) purposes. NEMA guidelines on voltage quality can now be complemented by automated load estimation techniques and become a useful and intuitive tool for thermal stress assessment of a motor. Laboratory measurements investigating nonoptimal power conditions on a 5-hp motor have been performed in a laboratory setup (Fig. 1). Modern motor theory allows for accurate load monitoring directly from the electrical terminals of the motor, with as little as current and voltage sensing and proper analysis of the obtained signals. This load monitoring not only displays very accurate steady state speed measurements and operating torque calculations, but also unveils the instantaneous torque actually present on the shaft. This information is invaluable when attempting to discriminate between problems caused by either mechanical or electrical sources.
Paper PID 0212, presented at the 2001 IEEE Pulp and Paper Industry Conference, Portland, OR, June 1927, and approved for publication in the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS by the Pulp and Paper Industry Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society. Manuscript submitted for review June 30, 2001 and released for publication February 21, 2002. E. J. Wiedenbrug is with Baker Instrument Company, Ft. Collins, CO 80525-6222 USA (e-mail: engr@bakerinst.com). A. Ramme, E. Matheson, A. von Jouanne, and A. K. Wallace are with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-3211 USA (e-mail: ramme@engr.orst.edu; evelyn.m.mattheson@boeing.com; avj@ece.orst.edu; wallace@ece.orst.edu). Publisher Item Identifier 10.1109/TIA.2002.802992.

Fig. 1. Connection of predictive instrumentation for medium- and high-voltage motors.

During the last 20 years, an additional dimension has entered the electrical motor arena. Variable-frequency drives (VFDs) have gained wide support as being the most appropriate solution to replacing dc drives. Among the advantages of VFDs are lower costs, lower maintenance requirements, ease of control, and a potential increase of system efficiency. To date the difficulty has been, however, finding appropriate instrumentation for monitoring the motors in VFD applications from a PM standpoint. The variable frequencies and applied voltage levels present with the use of VFDs has created a challenge to both standard field instrumentation and the discerning assessment of field personnel. However, modern instrumentation, developed for PM, aims at returning transparency of the application to the field professional. This paper presents an overview of what can be expected from modern online instrumentation. Frequently encountered PM problems are discussed, and their influence on the motor and their severity assessed. Expectations for modern instrumentation are presented. Furthermore, this paper shows how the wealth of information available from signature analysis can be used for understanding, monitoring, debugging, and diagnosing of both the motor and its mechanical applications. It is shown how VFDs can be monitored: regardless of their implementation as frequency, speed, or torque control or in open-loop or closed-loop vector control applications. This paper attempts to demonstrate how steady-state, varying state, and highly dynamic VFD functions can now be properly monitored with capable, portable instrumentation. Motoring, generating or dynamic power flow reversals are no challenge any longer to

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Fig. 2. Schematic of MSRF testing facility.

modern instrumentation. Virtually all modern electrical PM instruments are connected like a three-phase power analyzer to the electrical terminals at the motor control center (MCC). For medium- and high-voltage applications, the instruments are connected to the secondaries of the current transformers (CTs) and voltage transformers (PTs) which display rms voltages and currents at the MCCs. A schematic of the connection for medium- and high-voltage applications is shown in Fig. 1. II. LABORATORY FACILITIES In order to develop and further investigate the capabilities of modern online motor performance monitors, it was necessary to test the prototypes in an appropriate laboratory facility. This facility must enable the operation of industrially sized motors and drives in a highly controlled environment. Generating literally any desired voltage and load conditions was necessary for this investigation. The demonstration work was undertaken in the Motor System Resource Facility (MSRF) at Oregon State University, Corvallis. The unique capabilities of the MSRF testing laboratory including programmable source and both test beds, depicted in Fig. 2, were utilized to complete this study. Segregation of different power condition modes was achieved using the 120-kVA programmable power source in which voltage levels, voltage distortions, and voltage unbalances were created independent from each other. Steady-state load testing was performed on a 5-hp 460-V 1740- r/min motor coupled to a 15-hp dc generator in field regulation. This provided constant load of 80% which was maintained within 0.5% throughout the power condition tests. This load was chosen to simulate well-matched motorload applications which are in no danger of overloading.

For nonsteady-state diagnostic operation a sufficient dynamic control of VFD operation was required to evaluate the VFD capabilities of the investigated online motor monitor. A fourquadrant vector drive dynamometer rated at 300 hp was utilized in several operating conditions for this purpose. The online instrument was connected to the vector drives output leads with current clamp-ons and voltage clip-ons. The load on this test bed was regulated up to 300 N m in both positive and negative rotation direction, with varying controlled frequencies from 15 up to 75 Hz. The instrument was set to monitor this VFD for speed ramps and sinusoidal speed variations with varying frequencies and amplitudes, including changes of the torque offset. III. EVALUATION OF NON RATED POWER CONDITIONS Prior to the widespread use of VFDs, induction motors (IMs) were designed to operate at rated, balanced, and undistorted voltage conditions of rated frequency. However, excellent power conditions like these are rarely found in real-world applications. In industrial practice, steady-state three-phase voltages can differ in voltage level, voltage balance, or voltage distortion from rated conditions. These three aspects of power condition and their influence on a 5-hp motor are discussed next. A. Voltage Level Voltage levels above 100% rated introduce larger magnetizing current components, while reducing the overall current level to a loaded motor. Operating efficiency of the IM is commonly mildly increased as shown in [1]. This very small

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Fig. 4. load. Fig. 3. Effect of voltage level on current level, p.f., and operating speed.

Effect of voltage unbalance on NEMA derating and eff. s.f. at 80%

increase of efficiency is obtained at the expense of a severe decrease of operating power factor (p.f.). Also, mild overvoltage condition will create a steeper torque-slip profile of the motor, effectively increasing the operating speed, as shown in Fig. 3. Conversely, a lower than ideal (or rated) operating voltage causes a rather severe increase of stator current, which introduces losses generating a very rapid increase of the resistive a temperature increase and efficiency drop. Prolonged higher than normal operating temperatures are the most significant cause for insulation failure for low voltage motors. Obviously, the nameplate displays the voltage level at which the motor should be run, since it is the motor designers specification. Overvoltages represent negligible additional insulation stresses yet severely decrease p.f., while undervoltage conditions are the source of a steep temperature increase and a noticeable efficiency drop of the motor. B. Voltage Unbalance The application of unbalanced voltage conditions can be mathematically expressed as adding a negative-sequence component that attempts to turn the rotor in opposing rotational direction. In practice, it is shown that relatively small voltage unbalances are the source of significant current unbalances and generate very substantial additional heat in the motor. NEMA specifies in [2, pt. 14] to which extent a motor should be derated if operated under any particular voltage unbalance condition. Fig. 4 displays the NEMA per unit derating number as a function of voltage unbalance. Also shown in Fig. 4 is the effective service factor, (eff. s.f.) which is defined as

Fig. 5. Effect of voltage unbalance on the magnitude of the highest phases current and maximal THDi.

e s f

load derating

(1)

This is a very effective measure of the thermal loading of the motor subjected to unbalanced supply. If the eff. s.f. equals 1, then the motor is running at its thermal design, as defined by NEMA. An eff. s.f. larger than one identifies a motor that is running beyond its thermal limit, granted that normal ambient temperature and cooling conditions are rated conditions. By combining the % load with the NEMA derating, the thermal assessment of any real life operating condition as a

function of power condition and load level becomes intuitively simple. Fig. 4 displays, however, how easily even a healthily loaded motor, like the laboratory controlled and tested 80%, can inflict thermal stress to a motor under rather poor voltage conditions. The test series run on the 5 hp motor extended to a 10% unbalance, which is a condition of extreme severity rarely found in the field. The 4% voltage unbalance which suffices to trespass the eff. s.f. beyond the threshold of 1 for only 80% load, however, is a condition encountered with a fair frequency in the field, in particular at low-voltage buses. Reference [3] finds that in practical field applications a voltage unbalance in excess of 3% is found in only 2% of distribution systems. The amount of voltage unbalance within an industrial plant, however, is typically higher due to single-phase loads and larger source impedances introduced by the additional low-voltage transformers within the plant. As shown in Fig. 5, the effect of unbalance goes beyond extremely influencing the eff. s.f. Typically, there is one phase which shows a strong increase of current level beyond the average. This increased current level causes localized additional

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Fig. 6.

Effect of voltage % THD on NEMA derating and eff. s.f.

Fig. 7.

Effect of THDv on THDi.

losses and heating in one phase, which ages the insulations life. C. Voltage Distortion

the natural components of THDi which are produced by the nonlinearities of the motor iron. This has the effect of partial cancellation with the onset of source-generated THDi components. D. Power Condition Monitoring Results

Distortion can be defined as the existence of any components of the voltage or current which have a frequency other than the fundamental (60 Hz). By definition, total harmonic distortion (THD) of either voltage (subscript ) or current (subscript ) is defined as

Notorious harmonic pollution is generated by nonlinear loads, such as diode rectifiers. The kVA rating of the nonlinear loads on a voltage bus with respect to that voltage bus stiffness are the key factors determining the voltage distortion level. NEMA defines a derating graph [2, Sec. IV, Pt. 30] to account for the additional heat generated by the harmonic currents in the motor, following a parallel concept to the one presented under voltage balance. As in the previous power condition tests, the 5-hp motor was run at 80% load: for this part of the investigation the influence of increasing % total harmonic distortion of the voltage (THDv) was investigated as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The programmable power source was used to introduce only fifth and seventh harmonics, which reflect the largest components typically found in the field. As before, it can be observed that a safe load of only 80% can still suffice to stress a motor subjected to extremely poor power conditions. Obviously much lesser levels of distortion will be needed to trespass the eff. s.f. threshold of 1 for higher load levels. In Fig. 7, a linear increase of total harmonic distortion of the current (THDi) can be observed for higher than 2% levels of THDv as can be expected. For lower levels of THDv, however, an initial drop in THDi has been repeatedly observed. The authors believe that the phase shift of the THDi components introduced by the source-generated THDv is greater than 90 from

Steady-state supply conditions can differ in voltage level, voltage balance, or voltage distortion from the optimal nameplate specifications. Each one of these three conditions has been ramped and tested with contemporary performance monitoring equipment for a 5-hp motor with a constant 80% load. It is shown that: 1) increased voltage levels result in lower currents, mildly higher efficiency, and significantly lower power factor; 2) lower voltage levels generate higher currents, more heat (linking to insulation deterioration), and lower operating efficiencies; 3) unbalance severely influences the eff. s.f., possibly creating a thermal stress to the motor, even under load conditions clearly below 90%; relatively mild voltage unbalances cause much larger current unbalances, possibly creating overrated current conditions at one singular phase; instantaneous torque monitoring displayed that the torque ripple band has a component proportional to voltage unbalance; very significant torque ripples have been found in severely unbalanced conditions; and 4) voltage distortion is also linked to the eff. s.f., yet to a less sensitive degree than unbalance; the combination, however, of unbalance and distortion levels define the total NEMA derating number; these effects, either alone or in combination, can now be successfully monitored. IV. A SUCCESSFUL INDUSTRIAL LOAD APPLICATION The techniques outlined in [5] have found industrial application. The same theoretical background which made the first torque-controlled VFDs possible can be utilized to monitor the shaft torque by measuring only the stator currents and voltages [4]. The achievable accuracy of such load estimates when operated at line frequencies has been published previously in [5] and [6] in laboratory-controlled studies. In an industrial application, the outlined techniques [5], [6] of monitoring instantaneous torque at the motor control

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Fig. 9. Vector-controlled torque and speed versus time. Fig. 8. Defective 1500-hp pump.

cabinets, through current and voltage signature analysis, made identification of a deteriorated submerged pump possible. The accurate load torque estimate of steady-state operation has been the key tool with which a defective submerged 1500-hp 4160-V pump motor was detected and diagnosed in a Carolina Power & Light (CP&L) power generation plant in North Carolina. The slow-turning pump in question (273 r/min, 7-ft inner diameter) showed operation at a torque level of 27% below its two twin systems (23 600 N m versus 30 400 N m) yet significantly higher levels of calculated torque ripple. The defective pump, pulled for repairs, is shown in Fig. 8. The bolts which attach the endbell to the pump rusted over time and broke, which caused the endbell to fall 20 ft down into the water pit. The endbells function is to assure laminar water flow, and its loss resulted in increased cavitation with decreased water flow. Both of these were properly diagnosed by the field professionals when looking at the steady-state torque and its signature. V. MONITORING TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO VFDS VFDs are installed for a variety of reasons. The most common application is to regulate the operation on a steady-state scenario, e.g., to change the operating speed from 1785 r/min to a different desired value. To achieve this, the VFD is most commonly run in frequency control, which is the simplest method of open-loop speed control. A particular frequency is commonly maintained over longer periods of time, generating steady-state conditions. A typical application of steady state VFD is a fan which is speed regulated as a function of ambient temperature. Adequate PM instrumentation needs to be capable of measuring the steady-state frequency fed to the motor. A more dynamic control, where the motor varies the operating speed at a significant rate is also frequently encountered in the field. An industrial implementation requiring this type of dynamic control is, for example, a saw-feeding conveyor belt which gradually accelerates or decelerates depending on proximity of logs to the saw blade. Successful instrumentation for this type of application obviously needs to be able to monitor the variation of frequency fed to the motor as a function of time, since this is the sole purpose of the VFD in this application. The most dynamic applications of VFDs are commonly implemented as vector drives or servos. In these, faster rates of acceleration are employed. Also, rapid deceleration requires

Fig. 10.

Vector-controlled speed ramps versus time.

active braking of the load, which displays a sign reversal for the power flow on the shaft. At certain instants the vector drive operates as a motor (typically, during steady-state or accelerating periods), and at other instants it covers the function of a generator, feeding the kinetic energy of the load back into the supply to increase the rate of deceleration. A. Dynamic Operation Example Fig. 9 shows the output of a vector-drive-connected IM, giving speed and torque as calculated directly from current and voltage signature analysis, for an example of a very dynamic application. The MSRF laboratory 300-hp vector drive was programmed to run a sinusoidal speedtime profile, oscillating from 1350 to 1650 r/min with a frequency of 4.2 Hz. To achieve this, the torque of the motor has to increase and decrease with a sinusoidal rate as well. It is shown how during the instants of maximal positive torque, the maximal positive rate of change of shaft speed is achieved. During the instants where zero torque is applied, the speed remains basically unchanged, i.e., torque and speed are inherently 90 out of phase. In the time periods when the speed and torque do not have the same sign, the vector drive is operating as a generator, while when they coincide it is in motoring mode. Another example of predictive/preventive maintenance (P/PM) monitoring equipment analysis of the voltages and currents only of a vector drive operation with motoring and generating torque changing dynamically is shown in Fig. 10. The vector drive was programmed to run at a negative speed (negative sense of rotation) of 1200 r/min, then accelerate at a constant rate of 300 r/min/s to 1400 r/min and then drop

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back to the previous steady-state level of 1200 r/min. The drive was loaded with a constant torque of 90 N m. For the drive to accelerate to a higher speed, it had to increase the torque during acceleration. Once the 1400-r/min speed was achieved, the torque fell back to avoid further accelerating past the programmed speed. During the deceleration period, the motor had to drop the torque level into the opposite direction, since the retarding torque introduced by the load did not suffice for slowing down the shaft at the programmed rate. This means that during deceleration, the motor had to feed part of its own kinetic energy back into the VFD and power supply, effectively functioning as a variable speed generator. As soon as the steady state speed was achieved, the VFD had to deliver energy into the load again, working once more as a motor. Seamless changes from motoring to generating domains like the one here described need to be properly identified by the PM instrumentation, if it is meant to be a good analysis and debugging tool displaying to the field professional what is really happening with the application.

[5] E. Wiedenbrug, Measurement analysis and efficiency estimation of three phase induction machines using instantaneous electrical quantities, Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. Comput. Eng., Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, Sept. 24, 1998. [6] E. Wiedenbrug and A. Wallace, In-service testing of three phase induction machines, presented at the IEEE SDEMPED Conf., Gijon, Spain, 1999.

Ernesto J. Wiedenbrug (S94M00SM01) received the Dipl.Ing. degree from the University of Nord-Rheinisch Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen (NRWTH-Aachen), Aachen, Germany, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State University (OSU), Corvallis. He is the Project Manager for the online technology of Baker Instrument Company, Ft. Collins, CO. He ws an Intern with Siemens SA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a Power Engineer with ISCOR, VanderBjilpark, South Africa. During his doctoral work, he spent a one-year fellowship with Volkswagen AG, Germany, and was subsequently the Senior Graduate Research Assistant in the Motor Systems Resource Facility, an EPRI/OSU center. His main area of interest is predictive and preventive maintenance of electrical motors.

VI. CONCLUSIONS This paper has presented an overview of the most common P/PM issues found in the field. Power condition problems were investigated in a controlled laboratory environment. The most important effects of overvoltage and undervoltage conditions, unbalanced voltage conditions, and distortion were investigated. These conditions were created using a programmable power supply, offering unprecedented control over the voltage conditions an integral horse power motor was subjected under load. The accuracies with which the output of IMs can be monitored have been presented in dissertation and presented in a previous paper [5], [6]. A brief introduction into the different scenarios in which VFDs are encountered was presented next. The most demanding case of a VFD application is a highly dynamic controlled case. The modern instrumentation was tested in cases where fast-paced speed control was achieved with varying fundamental frequency, varying speed, and dynamically reversing power flow on the shaft (motoring and generating alternating during data acquisition). It was shown that current technology is at a stage where clear representation of the dynamic phenomena on the shaft can be calculated from current and voltage signatures. It was shown that this type of instrumentation enables the field professional to fully diagnose even dynamic time-varying processes with a minimal level of intrusion and with extreme simplicity of use.
Andr Ramme (S01) was born in Wernigerode, Germany, in 1975. He received the diploma in automation and drive systems from the Hochschule Harz, Wernigerade, Germany, in 1999. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree at Oregon State University, Corvallis. From November 1999 until September 2000, he served an internship with Baker Instrument Company, Ft. Collins, CO, working in the development group of the online motor tester. Currently, he is working in the EPRI-funded MSRF Laboratory, Oregon State University.

E. Matheson (S96M02), photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.

REFERENCES
[1] A. Bonnett, Ongoing issues with electric motors, presented at the National Motors and Drives Steering Committee Meeting, Montreal, QC, Canada, June 2000. [2] Motors and Alternators, NEMA MG1, 1998. [3] A. von Jouanne, Voltage unbalance: Power quality issues, related standards and mitigation techniques, Elect. Power Res. Inst., Palo Alto, CA, EPRI Tech. Rep.. [4] P. C. Krause et al., Analysis of Electric Machinery. New York: IEEE Press, 1995.

Annette von Jouanne (S94M95SM00) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering with an emphasis in power systems from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 1990 and 1992, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering/power electronics from Texas A&M University, College Station, in 1995. While at Texas A&M University, she also worked with the Toshiba International Industrial Division and International Power Machines on joint university/industry research. In 1995, she joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oregon State University (OSU), Corvallis, where she is currently an Associate Professor, working primarily on power electronic converters, power quality, adjustable-speed drive (ASD) ride-through, and investigating and mitigating the adverse effects of applying ASDs to ac motors. She is also the Co-Director of the Motor Systems Resource Facility (MSRF), an Electric Power Research Institute/OSU Center for power electronics, motors and drives research, and testing. Dr. von Jouanne was the recipient of the 2000 IEEE Industry Applications Society Outstanding Young Member Award, the IEEE Industry Applications Magazine Prize Paper Award, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. She also served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS during 19972001. She is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Washington.

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Alan K. Wallace (M78SM84F00) received the B.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical power engineering from the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, U.K., in 1963 and 1966, respectively. From 1966 to 1967, he was with Imperial Chemical Industries, working on the application of digital computers to process control. In 1967, he joined the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K., and taught electrical machine design and power system analysis until 1974. From 1974 to 1984, he was engaged in design and development of propulsion systems in the mass transit industry in Canada. He worked with Spar Aerospace of Toronto and Canadair Services and was manager of Power Distribution for the Urban Transportation Development Corporation, Kingston, ON, Canada. In 1984, he joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, where he currently teaches and conducts research, and is also the Director of the Motor Systems Resource Facility (MSRF). From 1991 to 1992, he was an NSF Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. In 2002, he was an EPSRC Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), Manchester, U.K. His interests are primarily in adjustable-speed drives, variable speed generation, linear motor applications to transportation, and power electronic applications. Dr. Wallace is a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, U.K. From 1988 to 1991, he was an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS.