Flux Signature Analysis: an Alternative Method for the Fault Diagnosis of Induction Machines

Intensive research efforts have been focused on the signature analysis (SA) to detect electrical and mechanical faults of induction machines. Different signals can be used: voltage, current, flux and power. In the case of current signals (CSA), the interpretation of one-phase current spectrum or the three-phase current space vector spectrum provides direct information on the presence of abnormal conditions. With proper operative condition, a similar interpretation can be obtained by using flux sensor (FSA). In this paper, it is proved that a simple external leakage flux sensor is more efficient than the classical motor current signature analysis (MCSA) to detect both stator and rotor faults in induction machines.