SDEMPED 2005 – International Symposium on

Diagnostics for Electric Machines, Power Electronics and Drives

Vienna, Austria, 7-9 September 2005

Modeling of Induction Machines with Skewed Rotor Slots

Dedicated to Rotor Faults

S. E. Zouzou, A. Ghoggal, A. Aboubou, M. Sahraoui. H. Razik

Laboratoire de Génie Electrique Groupe de Recherches en Electrotechnique
Département d'Electrotechnique et Electronique de Nancy GREEN - UHP - UMR - 7037
Université Mohamed Khider Université Henri Poincaré - Nancy 1 - BP 239
B P.145, Biskra - Algérie. F - 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, Cedex, France
E-mail: zouzou_s@[Link]
HTU UTH E-mail: [Link]@[Link]
HTU UTH

Abstract - A model permitting the simulation of induction machine

U U its derivative must be calculated at each integration step, it
with skewed rotor slot is presented. The model is based on the well known that the other method consume a high time, the
Extension of the Modified Winding Function Approach, which proposed method is based in a simple and clever analytical
allows for all harmonics of MMF to be taken into account. The calculation of a double integration witch will be the base of
effects of rotor skew which have not been able to be analyzed inductances calculation. This method can reduce the
accurately by 2-D finite element technique were investigated. The
simulation time. The simulation tools are implemented using
model is used to predict the characteristics frequency components
which are indicative of rotor bar faults. The results obtained MTLAB language. Simulation and experimental results
showed the importance of the MWFA for the analysis of the confirm the validity of this model.
induction motors.
II. INDUCTION MACHINE MODEL

I. INTRODUCTION Knowing that the cage can be viewed as identical and

equally spaced rotor loops, it is possible to establish voltage
The induction motor is a key component of the majority of equations of stator and rotor loops as [7]:
the industrial plants, because of its great robustness and its
low cost. It is indeed, omnipresent in the industrial sectors
like aeronautics, the nuclear power, chemistry. In spite of >U s @ >Rs @>I s @  d >\ s @ , (1)
dt
these qualities, stresses of various natures (thermal, electrical,
mechanical or environment) can affect the life span of this d >\ r @
> 0 @ >R @>I @ 
r r
, (2)
one by involving the occurrence of stator and/or rotor faults dt
[1]. These faults cause considerable economic losses. Thus, it >\ s @ >Lss @>I s @  >Lsr @>I r @, (3)
is imperative to implement monitoring systems in order to
avoid the unforeseen stops. The usual method for stator and >\ r @ >Lrs @>I s @  >Lrr @>I r @ . (4)
rotor faults detection is based on the motor current signature
analysis (MCSA) [2]. For that, a model closer to reality must
be established. Several studies was published in this axis, The vector >U s @ corresponds to the stator voltages,
and made possible the detection of the various defects, while >I s @ and >I r @ to the stator and rotor currents. m is the number
analyzing the frequencies higher or lower than the
fundamental stator frequency. A model taking into account of stator phases and N the number of rotor bars. >Rs @ is an m
b

the real distribution of FMM is presented, it is based on an dimensional diagonal matrix, >Lss @ is an m u m symmetric
extension in 2D of the modified winding function approach, matrix, >L sr @ is an m u ( N b  1) matrix, and >R r @ and >Lrr @
with the effects of the rotor skew and the eccentricity [3],
[4], [5]. are ( Nb  1) u ( Nb  1) matrix. Adding to these equations the
The expressions of the magnetizing inductances and mechanical expression and the equations electromagnetic
mutual inductances are derived from an extension of the torque yields to:
modified winding function approach. In the case of multiple
coupled circuit model, an accurate calculation of the dZ r § dWco ·
electromagnetic torque depends on the accuracy of Ce  C r Jr , Ce ¨¨ ¸¸ , (5)
dt © dT r ¹ ( I ,I
inductances derivatives. The inductances matrixes as well as s r constant )

07803-9124-1/05/$20.00 ©2005 IEEE

 1 By supposing that the machine is symmetrical, the air-gap
Wco = ([I ]T [Lss ][I s ] + [I s ]T [Lsr ][I r ] + [I r ]T [Lrr ][I r ] length g is reduced to g 0 which is the radial air-gap length
2 s
in the case of no eccentricity. If F is the MMF distribution in
+ [I r ]T [Lrs ][I s ]), (6) the air-gap due to the current i Ai flowing in an arbitrary coil
Ai , and knowing that the elementary flux corresponding in
where Wco is the coenergy, C e the electromagnetic torque,
the air-gap is measured in comparison to an elementary
C r the load torque, J r the rotor load inertia, and Z r the
volume of section ds and length g 0 such as
mechanical speed of the rotor.
dI P 0 Fg 01 ds . (8)
III. MODELING OF INDUCTION MOTOR WITH
SKEWED ROTOR SLOTS USING AN EXTENSION OF The calculation of total flux is made through a calculation of
MODIFIED WINDING FUNCTION APPROACH (MWFA) a double integral, by carrying out the change of variable
A. Formulation x rM and x r rT r the study is transformed to a reference
To formulate the problem, we refer to Fig. 1 which gathers with axes X and Z where we can imagine a plane
two cylindrical masses separated by an air-gap, one of it representation of the machine. It is clear that, in this case, x
hollow and represent the stator, and the other represents the translate correctly the linear displacement along the arc
rotor. Given abcda an arbitrary contour definite in corresponding to the angular opening M . It is the same thing
comparison to a reference of phase fixed on the stator, to an concerning xr and T r .
axial reference and to the mechanical position of the rotor
measured by respecting a fixed stator reference. For a Knowing that N is the MMF per unit of current, the
position T r of the rotor, and at M 0 0 and z 0 0 are the expression giving the flux seen by all the turns of coil B j of
points a and b, and at M and z are c and d. On another side, a winding B due to i Ai flowing in coil Ai will be reduced as
and d are located on the stator inner surface, and b and c on
x2 j z 2 j ( x )
the external rotor surface. According to the Gauss’s law and P0
Amper’s law applied to the circuits of the machine, it will be I BjAi
g0 ³ ³N Ai ( x, z, x r )n Bj ( x, z, x r )i Ai dzdx. (9)
possible to lead to the expression of winding function [3]: x1 j z1 j ( x )

N (M , z, T r ) n(M , z, T r )  This is due to the fact that by taking into account the axial
2S l
(7) asymmetry nBj ( x, z , xr ) will be defined so as to be able to
1
1 ³ ³ n(M , z,T r ) g 1 (M , z, T r )dzdM . translate the skew of the slots. In 2-D, it will be written in the
2S l ¢ g (M , z, T r )² 0 0 following way:
where, g is the air gap and l is the effective length. It is to be nBj ( x, z , xr )
noticed that this new expression does not hold any restriction
as for the axial uniformity, in particular in term of skewing ­ wBj x1 j ¢ x ¢ x2 j , z1 j ( x )¢ z ( x ) ¢ z 2 j ( x ) , (10)
®
slots and axial air-gap non uniformity. In this study, we take ¯0 in the remaining interval
into account only the rotor skew and the opening of the slots,
in the case of a constant air-gap. where wBj is the number of turns of coil B j . It is equal to 1 in
the case of a rotor loop. Generally, the total flux \ BA related
to all coils composing winding A and B, holds its general
expression by integrating over the whole surface. Then
knowing that the mutual inductance LBA is the flux \ BA per
unit of current, yields
2S r l
P0
LBA ( x r ) ³ ³N A ( x, z, x r )n B ( x, z, x r )dzdx . (11)
g0 0 0

Note that a rearrangement of (12) makes possible to define an

inductance per unit of length as described in [6]:
l
L BA ( x r ) ³ Lc BA ( z , x r )dz . (12)
Fig. 1. Elementary induction machine 0
According to the manner of connecting the coils translated by considered, without and with taking into account the slots
the sign in (13), this inductance can be obtained by summing opening and the skewing of rotor bares. A rotor loop is
all mutual inductances between the q and p coils of windings regarded as being a coil with one turn. Note that the mutual
A and B respectively, such as: inductance between phase and the second rotor loop is the
q p same as it was given in Fig. 5, but shifted to the left
L BA ( x r ) ¦¦r L
i 1 j 1
B j Ai (xr ) (13) by 2S / Nb . As for the other inductances, L r1B and Lr1C are
identically reproduced, but shifted to the right by 2S / 3 . The
B. Bars skewing mechanical angle of skewing of the rotor bars is J S / 14
Fig. 2 depicts the crossing of a rotor loop r j under the field rad, which is selected equal to one stator slot pitch, and the
of a stator coil Ai . The skew is written thanks to the width of slot opening E S / 36 .
definition of z(x) in (10) which will be a function describing
the uniform skew, or particularly, the case of spiral skew.

Fig. 2. Representation of the skew

We can notice that the pitch D Ai of the coil Ai is defined in

comparison to its sides placed at x1i r.M1i and x 2i r.M 2i ,
and that the effect of linear rise of MMF across the slot is not
represented in the figure.
C. Slot opening.
Let us examine the case of coil Ai with w Ai turns placed in
slots which, according to cases, can present an opening of
width E according to the considered configuration. Fig. 3
shows the turns function of coil Ai if the slot opening is
taken into account in the calculation of the resultant linear
rise of MMF across the slot.

Fig. 3. Turns function of coil Ai

Fig. 4. Mutual inductance between stator phase A and rotor loop r1 .
IV. SIMULATION RESULTS a - without skew and slot opening.
b - with skew and without slot opening.
The described method was applied to a three phases c- with skew and slot opening.
induction machine 3 kW, tow poles, 230/400v, 2800tr/mn, By solving the system of differential equations
50Hz, Nb=28, skewed rotor. Machines parameters are given representing the induction machine, it is possible to simulate
in the Appendix. Fig. 4 illustrates the functions which the dynamic operation of the machine. Fig. 5 shows the
describe the mutual inductances L r1 A between the first stator transient dynamic start up behaviors of the induction motor
phase A, and the first rotor loop, in the different cases under no load condition. At t=0.6s load is applied. The use of
skewing reduces the average value and the oscillations of the ª Nb º
speed at steady state. f slot « p (1  s ) r 1) » f s (14)
¬ ¼

Fig.5. Speed without rotor skew and with rotor skew.

Fig. 6 shows the transient dynamic start up behaviors of the

induction motor under no load condition. At t=0.5s load is
applied. It is clear that the use of skewing reduce the parasitic
torque but it does not eliminate completely [8], [9], [10]. It is
of course, to eliminate such effects that skew is employed in
the real machines. The average torque has conserved the
same value; it may be due to additional forces that the model
can’t take into account.
Fig.7. Stator current without rotor skew (top) and with rotor skew (bottom) at
steady state.

Fig.6. Torque without rotor skew (top) and with rotor skew (bottom).

Fig.8. Spectra content of stator current without rotor skew (top) and with
Fig. 7 shows the stator current at steady state for a loaded rotor skew (bottom) for a healthy motor.
machine as a result of simulation analysis. Once again, if
skew is neglected a slot ripples rise in the computed results.
The spectra of the stator current of a loaded machine are where f s represents the supply frequency, s the slip, Nb the B B

shown in Fig. 8. It is obvious that besides the supply number of rotor slots, and p is the pole-pair number. The
frequency component, only two higher frequency magnitude of frequency associated to 1288.4Hz (1287.7Hz)
components exist around the PSH1,2 as was predicted by: and 1388.4Hz (1387.7Hz) are modified with the skewing.
The use of skew reduces clearly the amplitude of slot In fig. 10, we can notice the presence of the principal slots
harmonics [11]. harmonics (PSH) and harmonics due to the power supply.
In fig. 9, the spectra content of stator current with one
broken bars are presented, for the skewed and unskewed
rotor. In case of broken rotor bars, the rotor is electrically
asymmetric and the backward rotating field is created. The
current spectrum reveals sidebands expected around the
supply frequency given by:
f bb1 >(1 r 2 s )@ f s (15)

In order to have a better understanding of rotor broken bar, it

may be necessary to examine the higher frequency
components of the frequency spectra. When we took into
account the space harmonics, additional sidebands appear as
was predicted by [12]:

ªk º
f bb 2 « p (1  s ) r s ) » f s (16)
¬ ¼
where, k/p = 1,3,5,7, ….
It is noticed that the amplitude of the harmonics was reduced
by the rotor skew, especially at high frequencies. Moreover,
the slot harmonics were not affected clearly by the broken
bars. Fig.10. Spectra content of stator current with one broken bars (top),
frequencies 0 to500Hz (bottom).

V- EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The experimental tests were carried out on an experimental

bench. Fig.11 shows the simulation results of the operation of
the same induction motor used in simulation.

Fig.9. Spectra content of stator current without rotor skew (top) and with
rotor skew (bottom) for one broken rotor bars.

For including the harmonics of the power supply, we have

injected the real signal resulting from the acquisition. In fig.
10, the spectrum of stator current with one broken bar is
presented, for the skewed rotor. Fig.11. a-Spectra content of stator current for a healthy motor (top),
frequencies 0to500Hz (bottom).
 The spectrum of fig. 11 shows that even for a motor in a torque ripples are reduced by the skewing, but not eliminate
healthy state, there are always frequency components but of completely. The presence of skew in an induction motor
low amplitudes , this is due to the natural asymmetry of the produce an axial variation in the magnetic field witch is not
motor, and on the other hand from the power supply. We taken into account by the model. Permeance variation due to
notice the presence of the slot harmonics in addition to the saturation, rotor and stator slotting, loading have strong
harmonics due to saturation. As envisaged during simulation, influence on the magnitude of the detected harmonics
we show the presence of the harmonics components of high components.
frequencies. The spectra of figure. Fig. 12 shows that for a
motor with one broken bar, The stator current frequency
APPENDIX
described by (15) and (16) can be detected over the
observation bandwidth between 0 Hz and 500 Hz.
x Machine parameters: g 0.000172 m , Nb=28 , Ne=36,
r 0.0516 m , w 80 , l 0.125m , Lb = 0.000172H,
Le =0.009594H, Rs 2.86: , Rb 2.856e - 5: ,
R e 1.8560e - 005: , J 0.023976 kgm ,
2
J S / 14rad .
E S / 36 .

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