Fault Diagnosis at Startup of Induction Motor Drive using Wavelets

Induction motor drives are the indispensable choice for the constant as well as variable speed applications due to evolution of the power electronics based sophisticated precise control systems. On the other hand, they offer consistent performance in any operating environment with less maintenance cost. However, faults are inevitable to occur and usually arbitrary in nature, so the detection of the faults well in advance is of paramount importance, especially the ones that can cause severe damage to the machine. This paper attempts to simulate the faults utilizing Fast Fourier Transform and Wavelet signal processing techniques for analysing the signals and diagnosing the fault condition. Further it will present that the Wavelets provide information on the localization of fault and stand out from the other techniques, especially for identifying the faults at the start-up of the drive. Another and most important advantage of Wavelets is that it diagnoses the fault at incipient level, which helps in reconfiguration of drive without shut down if load condition permits. Diagnosis of fault at incipient level is most sought in process control industries.