Eccentricity fault analysis in PMSM based marine propulsion motors

The overall efficiency of a marine electrical power system is reliant on its condition monitoring algorithm. A competitive system has quick fault detection functionalities and maintenance enabled. This paper examines existing method to develop an online approach for superior detection of eccentricity fault in surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motors, in a marine propulsion setting. Detection of eccentricity fault is best carried out by monitoring vibration, air-gap flux density and induced emf. With the introduction of search coils, the proposed methodology aims to obtain the induced emf voltage in the air-gap. Search coil were found to decisively segregate fault symptoms appearing from other asymmetric interruptions such as load imbalance and input unbalanced voltage. Vibration in the motor was monitored by placing sensors on the stator yoke to detect vibration during various levels of eccentricity fault. In this research, eccentricity fault was simulated in 2D finite element analysis (FEA) platform using Ansys Maxwell and Ansys Mechanical. The simulated results shows a robust online based fault diagnosis method applicable for marine propulsion motors.