Fault diagnosis of a variable pole-phase motor

Abstract: Wound Independently Controlled Stator Coil (WICSC) machines are a novel type of multiphase machine with the ability to change its pole-phase configuration during operation. This enables improved post-fault control and thus prolonged continuous operation. For a smooth transition to post-fault control, a quick and robust strategy for Fault detection and isolation (FDI) is essential. This master thesis concerns the design of a procedure to localise Open Phase Fault (OPF) and Open Switch Fault (OSF) in WICSC machines. The strategy is based on Harmonic Plane Decomposition (HPD), which generalises Vector Space Decomposition (VSD) to variable pole-phase machines. A previous iteration of the FDI strategy is analysed and developed further on MatLab. Experimental verification is performed on a WICSC motor with and without imitated OPF. A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is designed to imitate OSF during operation. The outcome displays a fault detection within less than 30% of a fundamental current period. After no more than one period the full diagnosis is completed. Although only OPFs are tested, the results suggest the Fault detection and isolation (FDI)’s ability to identify OSFs as well. The parameter tuning is shown to be important for both correct fault localisation and avoiding false positives. Imbalances in the machine require special care when choosing the parameter values. Future work includes using the PCB for OSF tests and making the parameter tuning more robust.