TOPIC 3: AC MACHINES

Introduction
The operators of electrical drive systems are under continual pressure to reduce maintenance
costs and prevent unscheduled down times, which result in lost production and financial income.
Many operators now use on-condition based maintenance strategies in parallel with conventional
planned maintenance schemes.
This has reduced unexpected failures, increased the time between planned shutdowns for
standard maintenance and reduced operational costs.

The operation of electrical machines in an unsafe condition can also be avoided. Since the
incidence of unexpected failures is reduced the operator is able to exercise greater control in the
prevention of incidents which may have environmentally damaging consequences. In hazardous
installations, this requires continuous on-line monitoring to prevent a catastrophic failure.

SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR
Introduction
An induction motor comprises a magnetic circuit interlinking two electric circuits
which are placed on the two main parts of the machine: (i) the stationary part called
the stator and (ii) the rotating part called the rotor. Power is transferred from one part to the other
by electromagnetic induction. For this induction machine is
referred as an electromechanical energy conversion device which converts electrical
energy into mechanical energy [1]. Rotor is supported on bearings at each end.
Generally, both the stator and rotor consist of two circuits: (a) an electric circuit to
carry current and normally made of insulated copper or insulated aluminum and
(b) a magnetic circuit, shown in Fig. 2.2, to carry the magnetic flux made of
laminated magnetic material normally steel (Fig. 2.1).

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2.2 Construction
(a) Stator
The stator, shown in Fig. 2.3, is the outer stationary part of the motor. It consists of
(i) the outer cylindrical frame, (ii) the magnetic path, and (iii) a set of insulated electrical
windings.
(i) The outer cylindrical frame: It is made either of cast iron or cast aluminum alloy or welded
fabricated sheet steel. This includes normally feet for foot mounting of the motor or a flange for
any other types of mounting of the motor.
(ii) The magnetic path: It comprises a set of slotted high-grade alloy steel laminations supported
into the outer cylindrical stator frame. The magnetic path is laminated to reduce eddy current
losses and heating.
(iii) A set of insulated electrical windings: For a 3-phase motor, the stator circuit has three sets of
coils, one for each phase, which is separated by 120° and is excited by a three-phase supply.
These coils are placed inside the slots of the laminated magnetic path.
(b) Rotor
It is the rotating part of the motor. It is placed inside the stator bore and rotates coaxially with the
stator. Like the stator, rotor is also made of a set of slotted thin sheets, called laminations, of
electromagnetic substance (special core steel) pressed together in the form of a cylinder. Thin
sheets are insulated from each other by means of paper, varnish [2]. Slots consist of the electrical
circuit and the cylindrical electromagnetic substance acts as magnetic path. Rotor winding of an
induction motor may be of two types: (a) squirrel-cage type and (b) wound type. Depending
on the rotor winding induction motors are classified into two groups [1–3]:
(i) squirrel-cage type induction motor and (ii) wound-rotor type induction motor.
(i) Squirrel-cage type induction motor: Here rotor comprises a set of bars made
of either copper or aluminum or alloy as rotor conductors which are embedded

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in rotor slots. This gives a very rugged construction of the rotor. Rotor bars are connected on
both ends to an end ring to make a close path. Figure 2.4 shows a squirrel-cage type rotor.
(ii) Wound-rotor type induction motor: In this case rotor conductors are insulated windings
which are not shorted by end rings but the terminals of windings are brought out to connect them
to three numbers of insulated slip
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rings which are mounted on the shaft, as shown in Fig. 2.5. External electrical connections to the
rotor are made through brushes placed on the slip rings. For the presence of these slip rings this
type of motor is also called slip ring
induction motor.

Besides the above two main parts, an induction motor consists some other parts
which are named as follows:

Other Parts of Induction Motor

(i) End flanges: There are two end flanges which are used to support the two bearings on both the
ends of the motor.
(ii) Bearings: There are two set of bearings which are placed at both the ends of the rotor and are
used to support the rotating shaft.
(iii) Shaft: It is made of steel and is used to transmit generated torque to the load.
(iv) Cooling fan: It is normally located at the opposite end of the load side, called non-driving
end of the motor, for forced cooling of the both stator and rotor.
(v) Terminal box: It is on top or either side of the outer cylindrical frame of stator to receive the
external electrical connections.

2.3 Operation
When the stator winding of an induction motor is connected to a three-phase supply, a uniform
rotating magnetic field is produced therein, which induces e.m.f. in the rotor which is free to
rotate coaxially with the stator core with the help of ball bearings. Rotor being short circuited,
either through the end rings or an external resistance, currents are produced due to this induced
e.m.f. This current interacts with the rotating magnetic field to develop a torque on the rotor in
the direction of the rotating magnetic field. As the rotor is free to rotate, the torque will
cause it to move round in the direction of the stator field. This makes a three-phase induction
motor as self-starting.

In transforming this electrical energy into mechanical energy, in an induction motor some losses
occur which are as follows:
• Friction and windage losses, 5–15 %
• Iron or core losses, 15–25 %
• Stator losses, 25–40 %
• Rotor losses, 15–25 %
• Stray load losses, 10–20 %.
Full-load motor efficiency varies from about 85 to 97 %.
Induction motors are simpler, cheaper, and efficient. Among them squirrel-cage induction motor
is more rugged and work more efficiently compared to wound-rotor induction motor. If supply
voltage and frequency are constant, then a squirrel-cage induction motor runs at a constant speed
which makes it suitable for use in constant speed drive [1, 2]. Several standard designs of
squirrel-cage induction motors are available in the market to fulfill the requirements of different
starting and running conditions of various industrial applications. These are classified [4] as class
A,class B, class C, and class D. In Table 2.1, a comparison of different classes of squirrel-cage
induction motors is presented.

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2.4 Faults: Causes and Effects
Induction motors are rugged, low cost, low maintenance, reasonably small sized, reasonably high
efficient, and operating with an easily available power supply. They are reliable in operations but
are subject to different types of undesirable faults. From the study of construction and operation
of an induction motor, it reveals that the most vulnerable parts for fault in the induction motor
are bearing, stator winding, rotor bar, and shaft. Besides due to non-uniformity of the air gap
between stator-inner surface and rotor-outer surface motor, faults also occur. Different
studies have been performed so far to study reliability of motors, their performance, and faults
occurred .

Faults in induction motors can be categorized as follows:

(a) Electrical-related faults: Faults under this classification are unbalance supply voltage or
current, single phasing, under or over voltage of current, reverse phase sequence, earth
fault, overload, inter-turn short-circuit fault, and crawling.

(b) Mechanical-related faults: Faults under this classification are broken rotor bar, mass.
unbalance, air gap eccentricity, bearing damage, rotor winding failure, and stator winding
failure.

(c) Environmental-related faults: Ambient temperature as well as external moisture will

affect the performance of induction motor. Vibrations of machine, due to any reason such as
installation defect, foundation defect, etc.,
also will affect the performance.

Faults shown in Table 2.3 are in broad sense; stator fault may be of different kinds, and different
types of faults may occur in rotor itself.
For identification, faults in induction motors may be listed as follows—

(i) broken bar fault,

(ii) rotor mass unbalance fault,
(iii) bowed rotor fault,
(iv) bearing fault,
(v) stator winding fault,
(vi) single phasing fault, etc.
(vii) Crawling
Besides, the phenomenon called crawling when motor does not accelerate up to its rated speed
but runs at nearly one-seventh of its synchronous speed is also considered as a fault of an
induction motor. Faults listed

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2.5 Broken Rotor Bar Fault

2.5.1 General Description of Broken Rotor Bar

The squirrel cage of an induction motor consists of rotor bars and end rings. If one or more of the
bars is partially cracked or completely broken, then the motor is said to have broken bar fault.
The main causes of rotor broken bar of an induction motor can be mentioned, pointwise, as
follows:
• manufacturing defects
• thermal stresses
• mechanical stress caused by bearing faults
• frequent starts of the motor at rated voltage
• due to fatigue of metal of the rotor bar.

2.5.3 Effect of Broken Rotor Bar

Cracked or broken bar fault produces a series of sideband frequencies, in the stator current
signature given by

where f is the supply frequency, s is the slip, and k is an integer.

This has been demonstrated as ripple effect in [16], which explains that the lower
side band at f(1–2s) is the strongest which will cause ripples of torque and speed at a frequency
of 2sf and this in turn will induce an upper side band at f(1 + 2s) and this effect will continue to
create the above series of sidebands, i.e., f(1 ± 2ks).Magnitude of this lower sideband f(1 − 2s)
over the fundamental can be used as an indicator of rotor broken bar fault [17].

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2.6 Rotor Mass Unbalance

2.6.1 General Description of Rotor Mass Unbalance

This rotor mass unbalance occur mainly due to manufacturing defect, if not may occur even after
an extended period of operation, for nonsymmetrical addition or subtraction of mass around the
center of rotation of rotor or due to internal misalignment or shaft bending due to which the
center of gravity of the rotor does not coincide with the center of rotation.

In severe case of rotor eccentricity, due to unbalanced electromagnetic pull if rotor rubs the stator
then a small part of material of rotor body may wear out which is being described here as
subtraction of mass, resulting in rotor mass unbalance fault. Figure 2.7 shows rotor mass
unbalance fault.

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2.6.2 Classification of Mass Unbalance
There are three types of mass unbalanced rotor:
(a) Static mass unbalanced rotor
(b) Couple unbalance rotor
(c) Dynamic unbalance rotor.

2.6.2.1 Static Mass Unbalanced Rotor

For this fault shaft rotational axis and weight distribution axis of rotor are parallel but offset, as
shown in Fig. 2.8. Without special equipment this type of eccentricity is difficult to detect.

2.6.2.2 Couple Unbalance Rotor

It is shown in Fig. 2.9. If this fault occurs then the shaft rotational axis and weight distribution
axis of rotor intersect at the center of the rotor. Fig. 2.8

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2.6.2.3 Dynamic Unbalance Rotor
It is shown in Fig. 2.10. If this fault occurs then shaft rotational axis and weight distribution axis
of rotor do not coincide. It is the combination of coupling unbalance and static unbalance.

The main causes of rotor mass unbalance in an induction motor can be mentioned, pointwise,
as follows:

• manufacturing defect
• internal misalignment or shaft bending
• it may occur after an extended period of operation, for nonsymmetrical addition or subtraction
of mass around the center of rotation of rotor.

2.6.3 Effect of Rotor Mass Unbalance

If in an induction motor rotor mass unbalance occurs, its effect will be as follows:
• Mass unbalance produces dynamic eccentricity which results in oscillation inthe air gap length.
• Oscillation in the air gap length causes variation in air gap flux density, and hence variation in
induced voltage in the winding.
• Induced voltage causes current whose frequencies are determined by the frequency of the air
gap flux density harmonics. The stator current harmonics [21, 22]is given by

2.7 Bearing Fault

Two sets of bearings are placed at both the ends of the rotor of an induction motor to support the
rotating shaft. They hold the rotor in place and help it to rotate freely by decreasing the frictions.
Each bearing consists of an inner and an outer ring called races and a set of rolling elements
called balls in between these two races.

Normally, in case of motor, inner race is attached to the shaft and load is transmitted through the
rotating balls—this decreases the friction. Using lubricant (oil or grease) in between the races
friction is further decreased.

Any physical damage of the inner race or in the outer race or on the surface of the balls is termed
as bearing fault. In terms of induction motor failure, bearing is the weakest component of an
induction motor. It is the single largest cause of fault in induction motor.

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Causes and effects of bearing failure:

1. Excessive loads, tight fits, and excessive temperature rise: all of these can anneal the two
races and ball materials. They can also degrade, even destroy, the lubricant. If the load
exceeds the elastic limit of the bearing material, brinelling occurs.

2. Fatigue failure: this is due to long run of the bearings. It causes fracture and subsequently
removal of small discrete particles of materials from the surfaces of races or balls. This
type of bearing failure is progressive, that is, if once initiated will spread when further
operation of bearings takes place. For this bearing failure, vibration and noise level of
motor will increase.

3. Corrosion: this results if bearings are exposed to corrosive fluids (acids, etc.) or corrosive
atmosphere. If lubricants deteriorate or the bearings are handled carelessly during
installation, then also corrosion of bearings may take place. Early fatigue failure may
creep in due to corrosion.

4. Contamination: it is one of the leading factors of bearing failure. Lubricants get

contaminated by dirt and other foreign particles which are most often present in industrial
environment. High vibration and wear are the effects of contamination.

5. Lubricant failure: for restricted flow of lubricant or excessive temperature this takes
place. It degrades the property of the lubricant for which excessive wear of balls and
races takes place which results in overheating. If bearing temperature gets too high,
grease (the lubricant) melts and runs out of bearing. Discolored balls and ball tracks are
the symptoms of lubricant failure.

6. Misalignment of bearings: for this, wear in the surfaces of balls and races takes place
which results in rise in temperature of the bearings. It is observed that for any of the
bearing failures, normally friction increases which causes rise in temperature of the
bearings and increase in vibration of the concerned machine.

For this, bearing temperature and vibration can provide useful information regarding
bearing condition and hence machine health.

2.8 Stator Fault

Stator of an induction motor is subjected to various stresses such as mechanical, electrical,
thermal, and environmental.

Depending upon the severity of these stresses stator faults may occur. If well-designed motor
operations and maintenance are done properly, then these stresses remain under control. The
stator faults can be classified as

(i) faults in laminations and frame of stator and

(ii) faults in stator winding.
Out of these the second one is the most common stator fault.

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2.8.1 Stator Winding Fault
This fault is due to failure of insulation of the stator winding. It is mainly termed as inter-turn
short-circuit fault. Different types of stator winding faults are:

(i) short circuit between two turns of same phase—called turn-to-turn fault,
(ii) short circuit between two coils of same phase—called coil to coil fault,
(iii) short circuit between turns of two phases—called phase to phase fault,
(iv) short circuit between turns of all three phases,
(v) short circuit between winding conductors and the stator core—called coil to ground
fault, and
(vi) open-circuit fault when winding gets break.

Different types of stator winding faults are shown in Fig. 2.13. Short-circuit winding fault shows
up when total or a partial of the stator windings get shorted.
Open-circuit fault shows up when total or a partial of the stator windings get disconnected and no
current flows in that phase/line (Figs. 2.14 and 2.15).

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2.8.2 Causes and Effects of Stator Winding Faults
(i) Mechanical Stresses—these are due to movement of stator coil and rotor striking the stator.
Coil movement which is due to the stator current ( as force is proportional to the square of the
current) may loosen the top sticks and also may cause damage to the copper conductor and its
insulation.
Rotor may strike the stator due to rotor-to-stator misalignment or due to shaft deflection or due to
bearing failure and if strikes then the striking force will cause the stator laminations to puncture
the coil insulation resulting coil to
ground fault. High mechanical vibration may disconnect the stator winding producing the open-
circuit fault.

(ii) Electrical Stresses—these are mainly due to the supply voltage transient. This transient arises
due to different faults (like line-to-line, line-to-ground, or three-phase fault), due to lightning,
opening, or closing of circuit breakers
or due to variable frequency drives [25]. This transient voltage reduces life of stator winding and
in severe case may cause turn-to-turn or turn-to-ground fault.

(iii) Thermal stresses—these are mainly due to thermal overloading and are the main reason,
among the other possible causes, for deterioration of the insulation of the stator winding.
Thermal stress happens due to over current flowing due to sustained overload or fault, higher
ambient temperature, obstructed ventilation, unbalanced supply voltage, etc.

(iv) Environmental stresses—these stresses may arise if the motor operates in a hostile
environment with too hot or too cold or too humid. The presence of foreign material can
contaminate insulation of stator winding and also may reduce the rate of heat dissipation from
the motor, resulting reduction in insulation life. Air flow should be free where the motor is
situated, otherwise the heat generated in the rotor and stator will increase the winding
temperature which will reduce the life of insulation.

2.9 Single Phasing Fault

This is a power supply-related electrical fault in case of an induction motor. For a three-phase
motor when one of the phases gets lost then the condition is known as single phasing.

2.9.1 Causes of Single Phasing Fault

Single phasing fault in an induction motor may be due to
• A downed line or a blown fuse of the utility system.
• Due to an equipment failure of the supply system.
• Due to short circuit in one phase of the star-connected or delta-connected motor.

2.9.2 Effects of Single Phasing Fault

Effects of single phasing fault are as follows:
• For single phasing fault motor windings get over heated, primarily due to flow of negative
sequence current.
• If during running condition of the motor single phasing fault occurs motor continues to run due
to the torque produced by the remaining two phases and this torque is produced as per the

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demand by the load—as a result healthy phases may be over loaded and hence over heated
resulting in critical damage to the motor itself.
• A three-phase motor will not start if a single phasing fault already persists in the supply line.

2.10 Crawling
It is an electromechanical fault of an induction motor. When an induction motor, though the full-
load supply is provided, does not accelerate but runs at a speed nearly one-seventh of its
synchronous speed, the phenomenon is known as crawling.

2.10.2 Causes of Crawling

Crawling is caused by the 7th harmonic. The 7th harmonic is introduced due to abnormal
magneto motive force. Another reason is high harmonic content in the power supply to the
motor.

2.10.3 Effects of Crawling

Following are the effects of crawling:
• Motor under loaded condition will not accelerate up to its normal speed.
• Loaded motor will remain running at a speed nearly one-seventh of the synchronous speed.
• There will be much higher stator current.
• Motor vibration and noise will be high.

2.11 Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Overload, and Blocked Rotor

Over and under voltages occur due to change of voltage level at supply end. Over voltage causes
stress on insulation, whereas under voltage causes excessive line current increasing temperature
of the winding. These faults are normally detected by over/under voltage relays. Overload occurs
due to increase of mechanical load above the rating of the motor. At excessive mechanical load,
rotor fails to rotate and gets blocked. This situation is equivalent to short circuit. Normally,
overload and blocked rotor are protected by over current relay or simply fuse.

2.12 Condition Monitoring and Its Necessity

Induction motors are the main workhorse of industrial prime movers due to their ruggedness, low
cost, low maintenance, reasonably small size, reasonably high efficiency, and operating with an
easily available power supply. About 50 % of the total generated power of a nation is consumed
by these induction motors .

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AC GENERATOR/ALTERNATOR

Classification of the major faults of electrical machines and their symptoms

Most of the surveys of failures in electrical rotating machines indicate that in general,
failures are dominated by bearing and stator winding failures with rotor winding problems being
less frequent. The reported percentage failures by components for the sample was as follows
-bearing related 41 %
-stator related 37 %
-rotor related 10 %
-others 12%

The major faults of electrical machines can broadly be classified as the following:
a) Stator faults resulting in the opening or shorting of one or more of a stator phase winding,
b) abnormal connection of the stator windings,
c) broken rotor bar or cracked rotor end-rings,
d) static and/or dynamic air-gap irregularities,
e) bent shaft (dynamic eccentricity) which can result in a rub between the rotor and stator,
causing serious damage to stator core and windings
f) shorted rotor field winding, and
g) bearing and gearbox failures.

These faults produce one or more of the symptoms as given below:

a) Unbalanced air-gap, voltages and line currents,
b) Increased torque pulsations,
c) decreased average torque,
d) increased losses and reduction in efficiency, and
e) excessive heating.

The diagnostic methods to identify the above faults may involve several different types
of fields of science and technology. They can be described as:
a)electromagnetic field monitoring, search coils, coils wound around motor shafts (axial flux
related detection),
b)temperature measurements,
c)infrared recognition,
d)radio frequency (RF) emissions monitoring,
e)noise and vibration monitoring,
f)chemical analysis,
g)acoustic noise measurements,
h)motor current signature analysis (MCSA),
i)model, artificial intelligence and neural network based techniques.

Of the above types of faults 1) the stator or armature faults, ii) the broken bar and end
ring faults of induction machines, iii) bearing, iv) the eccentricity related faults are the
most prevalent ones and thus demand special attention in our research.
Various types of faults and their detection techniques.

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 A. Bearing faults
The majority of electrical machines use ball or rolling element bearings. Each of these
bearings consists of two rings, one inner and the other outer. A set of balls or rolling
elements placed in raceways rotate inside these rings. Even under normal operating conditions
with balanced load and good alignment, fatigue failures may take place. These faults may lead to
increased vibration and noise levels. Flaking or spalling of bearings might occur when fatigue
causes small pieces to break loose from the bearing.
Other than the normal internal operating stresses, caused by vibration, inherent eccentricity, and
bearing currents due to solid state drives, bearings can be spoiled by many other external causes
such as:
a)contamination and corrosion caused by pitting and sanding action of hard and abrasive minute
particles or corrosive action of water, acid etc.
b)improper lubrication; which includes both over and under lubrication causing
heating and abrasion.
c)Improper installation of bearing. By improperly forcing the bearing onto the shaft or
in the housing (due to misalignment) indentations are formed in the raceways (brinelling).

Though almost 40-45% of all motor failures is bearing related, very little has been reported in
literature regarding bearing related fault detection.

Bearing faults might manifest themselves as rotor asymmetry faults, which are usually covered
under the category of eccentricity related faults.

B. Stator or armature faults

These faults are usually related to insulation failure.

In common parlance they are generally known as phase-to-ground or phase-to –phase faults.

It is believed that these faults start as undetected turn-to-turn faults, which finally grow and
culminate into major ones.

Almost 30-40% of all reported induction motor failures falls in this category.

Armature or stator insulation Failure Causes:

Primaries among these are:

a) high stator core or winding temperatures,
b) slack core lamination, slot wedges and joints.
c) Loose bracing for end winding.
d) Contamination due to oil, moisture and dirt.
e) Short circuit or starting stresses
f) Electrical discharges
g) Leakage in cooling systems

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C. Broken rotor bar and end ring faults
Unlike stator design, cage rotor design and manufacturing has undergone little change over the
years.
As a result rotor failures have reduced.

Cage rotors are of two types:

cast and fabricated.

Previously cast rotors were only used in small machines.

However, with the advent of cast ducted rotors; casting technology can be used even for the
rotors of machines in the range of 3000 kW.

Fabricated rotors are generally found in larger or special application machines.

Cast rotors though more rugged than the fabricated type, can almost never be repaired once faults
like cracked or broken rotor bars develop in them.

Causes for rotor bar and end ring breakage:

They can be caused by:

a) thermal stresses due to thermal overload and unbalance, hot spots or excessive losses,
sparking (mainly fabricated rotors).
b) Magnetic stresses caused by electromagnetic forces unbalanced magnetic pull,
electromagnetic noise and vibration.
c) Residual stresses due to manufacturing problems.
d) Dynamic stresses arising from shaft torques, centrifugal forces and cyclic stresses.
e) Environmental stresses caused by for example contamination and abrasion of rotor
material due to chemicals or moisture.
f) Mechanical stresses due to loose laminations, fatigued parts, bearing failure etc.

D. Eccentricity related faults

Machine eccentricity is the condition of unequal air-gap that exists between the stator
and rotor

All kinds of faults in an alternator

and their protection.

We can divide alternator faults in two type -Internal fault, External fault.

There is internal Fault like

1. Stator Winding Fault (most severe),

2. Excitation circuit fault or failure of rotor field,

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3. Unbalanced loading.

On the other hand, there is external fault like

3.Failure of prime Mover,

4.Over current,

5.Over / under Voltage,

6.Over Speed;

7.over / under frequency.

8. Loss of synchronism or pulling out of step .

9.Over or under frequency fault of alternator(newly added).

01. Stator winding fault.

It is the most severe fault and considered most important for alternator protection.

This vital protection of alternator stator is Differential circulating current scheme or Mertz price
differential current protection scheme of alternator is discussed in a separate post.

02. Alternator Prime Mover failure fault or reverse power fault-

What is prime mover in an alternator-We know about prime mover.

Its the mechanical system that rotates the rotor in alternator or just in simple word runs the
alternator.

Typical prime movers are diesel or gas engines, steam turbine, wind – tidal force, water flow
static force in hydro electric plant with dam etc.

Any time a prime mover might fail to keep the alternator running.

The root causes are so simple like fuel flow shut up in gas /diesel engine, inadequate water flow
in hydro electric plants etc.

The effect of prime mover failure in an alternator– we can imagine the situation, an alternator
is coupled with prime mover running, and it is directly connected to the grid or some parallel
electrical bus supplying power. When the prime mover fails, it is still connected to the live
electric bus. Then the alternator fails to supply power but starts receiving power from live
electric bus. This time the synchronous alternator takes power acts as an synchronous motor and
run the engines or turbine in uncontrolled high speed. This is called reverse power.

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Severity of reverse power: For gas turbine and any hydroelectric system the turbine installed is
capable of running in very high speeds, so when high speed occurs due to reverse power, any
technician can decouple the circuit breaker. But for diesel / engine system, the reverse power is
so dangerous, as the over speed limit of engines re nominal like 120% of rated speed.

Remedy -A reverse power relay is recommended. But this relay should have time delay to avoid
false trip in case of short time system disturbance, phase swinging and fluctuation in
synchronization. Thus when a reverse power problem occurs, the first thing is to decouple the
corresponding circuit breaker to disconnect the alternator from live line. If it is stuck, then shut
down the whole bus, if that too is not possible then shut the whole power plant for engine based
power plant only.

03. Over current fault on an alternator.

Causes of over current fault on an alternator is the Partial breakdown of internal winding
insulation, Overload on the supply system.

Over current protection for alternator is unnecessary because of high internal impedance of
alternator, Modern design concept of alternator is to set high internal impedance of alternator.

Thus if over current fault occurs, due to high internal impedance alternator can withstand short
circuit for a while. It can manually disconnect from the bus.

False tripping on an alternator by over current protection relay is need to be considered as

this might disconnect alternator from bus for some fault out side of plant.

This will cause interruption of continuous operation, so over current relay used must have time
delay.

04. Over voltage protection of an alternator:

If we talk about over voltage of an alternator, its internal over voltage. Over volatge fault of an
alternator is very rare, as the excitation current that controls the voltage has closed supervision
with AVR, automatic voltage regulator system.

However, if somehow alternator suddenly disconnected from the load, its speed exceeds rated
speed, over voltage might occur. So an over voltage relay is recommenced to install where
alternator rpm is not closely supervised.

05. Unbalanced loading of an Alternator

This is not a direct fault, just a symptom of some severe faults. But we can summarize those
faults in one fault category to apply a common protection scheme for it. First of all, unbalanced
loading means there are different current in three phases of alternator. In normal condition, the
difference in phase current varies +/- 5% , but when this difference exceeds- then it is
unbalanced condition. As it is stated earlier that this unbalanced is not itself a fault, does not

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apply any ham but the cause of unbalanced is harmful like grounding of one phase, or short
circuit of phase to phase.

To sense and protect the unbalanced loading a simple conception is used that the three phase
current is equal in magnitude but 120 degree separate by phase angle. So when we vectorically
sum up three phase current- the result is zero. Thus we can apply some simple instrument
transformer to watch out the summation of three phase to zero, if by some means there is some
value other than zero that is not in the range of tolerable, then this circuit can send a trip signal.

The below circuit follows the above conception. See the secondaries of three CT’s are shorted,
so the sum of normal phase currents is zero, no current in the trip coil. By some instance if there
is some unbalanced, then there will be some current in the secondary, that will eventually sen trip
signal.

Unbalanced loading fault

protection of an alternator with a protection relay.
06. Stator inter turn protection of alternator

This specific protection is for alternators with multiple coils turns like in double phase winding
used in large steam turbine alternators. The concept is that this protection scheme covers the
stator coil inter turn to turn short circuit, not coil to coil(phase to phase) or coil to ground(phase
to ground). Its like a local fault in one of the coil.

The protection scheme to cover stator inter turn fault is simply basissing the theory of differential
theory. In normal condition, the two coil or multi coils individually carry same magnitude of
current but with a phase displacement. If this current is summed up in a common circuit then the
result will be zero. So we can just place some CT’s with their secondaries shorted and primaries
with individual coils. If some fault persists, then there will be current in the secondaries which
will energize the trip circuit.

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07. Loss of Synchronism or pulling out of step fault of alternator

This type of fault we used to see in power plant. Suddenly one of alternator shut down and in
protection relay fault log display shows “Loss of sysnchronism”.

To understand this fault we can have some brief theory. As in all electrical rotating machine, the
common working principle is that there is some disalignment generated between two flux- rotor
flux & stator flux. Thus a force is exerted to straighten this dis alignment-which is harnessed as
working force.

Fp=resultant air-gap flux per pole

Fw = mmf of the dc field winding
Drf = electrical phase angle between magnetic axes of Fp & Fw

The adjustment of the rotor to its new angular position following a load change

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As the prime-mover torque is increased, the magnitude of Drf must increase until the
electromechanical torque balances the shaft torque. The readjustment process is actually a
dynamic one, requiting a change in the mechanical speed of the rotor.

As can be seen from Fig, an increase in prime-mover torque will result in a corresponding
increase in the torque angle. When Drf becomes 90 °, the electromechanical torque reaches its
maximum value, known as the pull-out torque. Any further increase in prime-mover torque
cannot be balanced by a corresponding increase
in synchronous electromechanical torque, with the result that synchronism will no longer be
maintained and the rotor will speed up. This phenomenon is known as loss of synchronism or
pulling out of step.

As remedy– Under these conditions, the generator is usually disconnected from the external
electrical system by the automatic operation of circuit breakers, and the prime mover is quickly
shut down to prevent dangerous over speed. The value of the pull-out torque can be increased by
increasing either the field current or the resultant air-gap flux. However, this cannot be done
without limit; the field current is limited by the ability to cool the field winding, and the air-gap
flux is limited by saturation of the machine iron.

08. Over frequency & Under frequency fault and protection for alternator

The frequency has a constant stable value, defined by the equation (Ns=120f/p). But frequency
varies causing over and under frequency fault. Over or under frequency has its own severe effect
on both the load side and generating equipment side, We are talking here about the generating set
– alternator. The first thing we like to know why the over or under frequency occurs.

The frequency variation created by the load demand(excess or less then generation). Say
when a generating station producing power that equals the net consumption plus the loss, then
the system will be stable. But when the load demand is higher then production, that is production
is low then use/demand then frequency will be low, on the other hand when the load demand is
less then production or production is excess then frequency will be higher.

We can summarize over & under frequency in a mathematical concept to understand and
memorize as below-
Production > Load demand = frequency high
Production < Load demand = frequency low
Production = Load demand = frequency stable.

The remedy or protection of over and under protection is simple. When under frequency occurs
that is more power consumer then the covering capacity, then the only solution is to effect load
shedding or increase the power generation. For over frequency the only solution is to lower the
power generation. A relay can be used to automatically control the loading, unloading of
generator or effect the load shedding.

What are the various faults in 3

phase induction motor?

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Induction motor faults may be classified into faults on stator and rotor. The most common type
of failures are:

• Stator faults resulting in the opening or shorting of one or more of stator phase windings
starting from inter-turn short circuits.
• Abnormal connection of the stator windings resulting in unbalanced air-gap voltages and
lines currents and increase in torque pulsations resulting in high vibrations
• Broken rotor bar or cracked rotor end-rings
• Static and or dynamic air-gap irregularities
• Bent shaft (akin to dynamic eccentricity) which can result in a rub between the rotor and
stator
• Bearing and gearbox failures

Common Faults in both AC and DC Motors

If an electrical motor is thought to have a problem, there are five common areas where the fault
may lie. The initial problem (and most common issue with malfunctioning motors) may be with
the power circuit or quality of the power supply. Breakages can also happen when there are
faults with insulation or an air gap, along with possible defects with the motor’s stator or rotor.

Here, we review some common problems with AC and DC motors and their possible
causes:

The Motor Is Not Mounted Correctly

Inadequate mounting of the motor can lead to defects when it is not correctly levelled as part of
the installation process. If the housing is not properly bolted to the rest of the assembly or the
surroundings, uneven stresses may arise. This is sometimes called ‘soft foot’ and leads to
irregular operation, distortion of the bearings and physical failure over time. To correct this,
stainless steel shims may be used under high feet or parts of the base to level them.

The Motor is Clogged With Dust

In physically dirty environments, the accumulation of dust inside a motor can lead to short-
circuiting. In dusty conditions, it is important to keep the surrounding area clean and to employ
DIP (dust ingress protection) measures. For preference, motors with IP dust ratings of 5 (limited
ingress – no harmful deposit) or 6 (totally protected against dust) are the most reliable in these
type of operating conditions.

Water is Inside the Motor

Water ingress is a similar hazard – if liquids get into the terminal box or stator coils, short-
circuiting will occur and the motor will burn out. In damp, humid or wet areas, sufficient
protection measures need to be deployed.

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The Motor is Overheating

Overheating can occur if the motor is too small for the task, not fit for purpose or if changes to
the load occur. High ambient temperatures are also a cause of overheating. Protection circuitry
against over-temperature operation is recommended, so that if the motor overheats it shuts down.
Booster fans can help, along with variable speed drives.

The Motor Has Been Stored Incorrectly

Storage for extended periods in one position means that internal bearings can etch into the metal
of the shaft. Therefore, it is advisable to rotate the shaft a quarter of a turn (ninety degrees) every
month. Similar problems can occur with bearings etching marks into the motor shaft when there
is vibration, so storage on cushioned mats is recommended.

Finally, to minimise failures, regular preventative maintenance inspections and tasks should be
carried out. Power supply circuitry should include overload protection to remove transient
voltage spikes.

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