Bearing faults and broken bars simulation in an induction motor using an engineering tool

Abstract

Industrial processes require reliable, safe, and continuous operation of electric motors. However, unexpected failures result in production losses, high emergency maintenance costs, damage to other related machines and prolonged shutdowns. Therefore, the development of failure analysis, detection and prevention systems is of high importance for the industrial sector. The following paper proposes the generation of a model of a squirrel cage induction motor in the software tool Simulink capable of simulating: i) broken bars and broken rotor rings, and ii) failures in the bearings of the motor, based on the Motor Current Signature Analysis (MCSA) technique which is a non-invasive method. Moreover, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis is used to perform spectral investigation on the current to detect specific components that characterize faults in these conditions.