CASE STORIES OF INDUCTION MOTORS FAULT DIAGNOSIS BASED
ON CURRENT ANALYSIS
Copyright Material PCIC Europe
Paper No. PCIC-BER-56
Jose A. Antonino-Daviu A. Quijano-Lopez
Senior Member IEEE Universitat Politècnica
València
Universitat Politècnica València Instituto Tecnológico de la
Energía (ITE)
Instituto Tecnológico de la Valencia
Energía (ITE) SPAIN
Valencia
SPAIN
Abstract - This work presents several case studies
related to condition monitoring of induction motors
operating in a chemical plant. Analysis of the stator current
is applied to diagnose several types of faults, especially
rotor damages and mixed eccentricities. The considered
current-based techniques include both the conventional
method that relies on the analysis of the steady-state
current (Motor Current Signature Analysis, MCSA, that will
be employed as main tool), as well as recently developed
methodologies based on the analysis of transient currents
(Advanced Transient Current Signature Analysis, ATCSA,
that will be used as complementary tool). The combination
of both methods enables to reach a high reliability in the
diagnostics, avoiding eventual false indications of a single
method. The motors considered in the paper range from
small-sized machines till large motors (rated up to several
MW). Also, a diversity of operation conditions is
considered, including diverse loading conditions as well as
different operating options. The results show the
powerfulness of current analysis for diagnosing a wide
range of failures in asynchronous motors operating in
petrochemical plants.
Index Terms — Fault diagnosis, induction motors,
maintenance, current analysis.
I. INTRODUCTION
Induction motors are involved in a huge number of
applications in the petrochemical industry [1, 2]. These
motors usually drive compressors, pumps, fans, mixers
and many other machines that are fundamental for the
development of different industrial processes that are
carried out in those plants. In some cases, these induction
motors are line-fed but in many other cases they are fed
by inverters, especially in applications where their speed
regulation is a major requirement.
Though in the Petrochemical industry the typical duty
cycle of the many motors is continuous, the operation of
most of these machines is usually subjected to eventual
transients that are usually provoked by sudden variations
of the load or supply parameters. Hence, it is not rare to
find operation regimes that differ from a pure stationary
condition. In spite of this fact, in comparative terms, the
operation regimes of a large percentage of motors in
Petrochemical industry are usually more stable than those
of the motors operating in other industries (as pulp and
paper or cement industry) that are often subjected, for
instance, to frequent start-stop cycles (intermittent duty
cycles) as well as recurrent load variations.
Induction motors are usually robust machines in
comparison with other options as D.C. motors or
V. Fuster-Roig C. Nevot
Universitat Politècnica UBE CHEMICAL
València EUROPE
Instituto Tecnológico de la Maintenance
Energía (ITE) Department
Valencia Castellon
SPAIN SPAIN
synchronous motors. However, they are not immune to
the appearance of eventual failures in their different
constituent elements. Indeed, the repercussions of
unexpected failures in these motors can be especially
harmful for the corresponding companies since, leaving
aside the economic losses due to eventual forced outages
and repair costs, they can damage the company image
(due to delivery delays, etc…) and even compromise the
safety of the users [3].
Over recent decades, there have been several surveys
that have provided approximate occurrence rates for
different failures in AC motors. The discrepant conclusions
of these studies reveal that it is difficult to establish global
failure rates since these can vary depending on many
factors as the machine size or even the specific industry
where the motor operates. For instance, in [4] it is shown
that the behavior of small motors (rated below 4kV)
regarding fault occurrence rates in very different from that
of large machines (rated above 4kV). On the other hand,
[2] presents an interesting survey of the motor failure rate
in the Petrochemical industry; it is shown there that these
percentages can significantly differ from the general rates
provided by other works [1, 4] due to the specific operation
and environment of the motors in that industry, among
other factors. Fig. 1 illustrates these discrepancies
between different surveys, with regards to the occurrence
failure rate in MV-HV AC motors [5]. In any case, most of
the studies are coincident on the fact that stator insulation
failures and bearing damages are the most common in AC
motors, while rotor faults also amount for a significant
percentage (∼10-15%), which is higher for larger motors.
Fig. 1 AC motor failure rates according to the surveys in
[2] (left) and [4] (right)
 In industry, vibration analysis is probably the most
widespread diagnosis technique. It is typically employed to
diagnose failures with mechanical origin (as bearing faults,
rotor unbalance, structural clearance or misalignments). It
has been even applied to diagnose other types of faults
(damage rotor bars or end rings). However, this technique
has some drawbacks as the necessity of accessing the
motor to install proper sensors (which may be a crucial
constraint in applications where the machine is not easily
accessible as submersible motors or motors in special
enclosures). Moreover, this technique lacks reliability
when diagnosing faults with electrical origin, as the
aforementioned rotor damages.
Due to all these drawbacks, over recent years there has
been an important industrial effort dedicated to the search
of techniques based on alternative quantities that enable
to determine the condition of other parts of the machine or
complement the diagnostics provided by the analysis of
vibration data. In this context, electrical monitoring has
drawn an important attention and, more specifically, the
analysis of currents demanded by the machine. Among
the important benefits of current analysis, we can find [5]:
possibility of remote monitoring of the machine (from the
Motor Control Center (M.C.C), transformer substation or
Inverter (see Fig. 2)), reduced implementation costs (the
required measurement equipment is simple and
sometimes already installed sensors may be employed),
continuous, on-line monitoring capability and broad
coverage of diagnosed faults. With regards to this latter
advantage, although current monitoring has revealed itself
as a useful informational source for the diagnosis of
several types of failures, it has proven to be particularly
reliable for the detection of rotor damages as well as
eccentricities (which are often strongly related to other
motor faults as misalignments or bearing faults).
Fig. 2 Remote monitoring of motor currents
Within the motor current analysis area, the classical
approach relies on capturing the current signal demanded
by the motor during its steady-state operation and the
subsequent application of the Fast Fourier Transform
(FFT) [1, 6]. The idea of this approach is to evaluate the
amplitude of characteristic frequency components that are
linked with the corresponding fault; the intuitive idea is that
if these components have a high amplitude in the FFT
spectrum, the level of failure is high, whereas if these
components have little amplitude the fault is not present or
present in a very incipient stage. In this regard, there are
well-known thresholds that have been defined after
intensive experimentation over years that enable to
determine the level of failure depending on the amplitude
of the corresponding components in the FFT spectrum. As
an example, the most relevant components to assess the
rotor condition are the sideband components. These are
two components that appear at both sides of the supply
frequency and whose frequencies are given by (1) (lower
sideband (LSC) with negative sign and upper sideband
component (USC) with positive sign in (1)), where s is the
slip and f is the supply frequency. The evaluation of the
amplitude of the LSC relative to that of the fundamental
enables to determine the severity of the rotor failure.
Typically, the alarm to consider possible rotor damage is
set for sideband amplitudes between ∼55dB and ∼45dB
[3].
f SC = [1 ± 2 s ]· f (1)
This approach, known as Motor Current Signature
Analysis (MCSA) has proven to provide excellent results in
a wide number of applications. However, it has also some
drawbacks that can be summarized in two main points [7,
8]: 1) Its application is not suitable under variable speed
conditions and 2) It may provide erroneous diagnostics in
some specific situations that have been deeply studied in
previous works [7-9]. Due to these constraints, a recent
methodology has been proposed recently; it relies on
analyzing the startup current by using advanced signal
processing tools (time-frequency transforms) [7-10]. The
idea is to identify characteristic patterns created by
transient evolutions of the fault components; these
patterns are often much more reliable indicators than as
single ’peak’ in the FFT spectrum. This approach, known
as ATCSA, may be an excellent complementary
informational source in cases in which the classical MCSA
does not reach a clear diagnostic [9-10].
The main goal of this work is to present several case
stories that illustrate the application of current-based
approaches to induction motors operating in a chemical
plant. The classical MCSA is applied first, focusing on the
identification of several harmonics amplified by the failure.
In those cases where MCSA diagnostic is not conclusive,
ATCSA is applied. The results obtained with different
motors under a variety of operation conditions prove the
robustness of current analysis (MCSA + ATCSA) for the
reliable diagnosis of different failures in induction motors.
II. FAULT DETECTION VIA MOTOR CURRENT
ANALYSIS
A. Motor Current Signature Analysis: foundations
It has been proven that different machine faults cause
distortions in the air-gap magnetic field that induce
different harmonics in the stator current. The classical
method for induction motor fault diagnosis based on
current analysis is the well-known Motor Current Signature
Analysis (MCSA). It is based on analyzing the waveform of
the current demanded by the motor during steady-state
operation and on the subsequent evaluation of the
amplitudes of the harmonics linked with the different
failures.
For instance, the expressions of the stator current
harmonics that are amplified by rotor damages (e.g.
broken rotor bars or cracked end rings) are known since
decades ago [1, 6, 11]: when rotor failures are present,
two families of harmonics, given by (2) and (3) (where k=
natural number in (1) and k/p=1,3,5… in (2))., are
amplified. The most relevant are the aforementioned
sideband components, given by (1), which are obtained for
k=1 in (2). As commented above, the evaluation of the
amplitude of the LSC is typically employed for the
detection of this fault. In addition, to ratify the presence of
the rotor fault other high-order harmonics linked with the
fault are employed in some commercial devices, as the
pair of harmonics given by expression (3) for k/p=5, that
appear near the fifth winding harmonic (this is, near 5·f,
i.e. 250 Hz if f=50 Hz)
f bb1 = [1 ± 2ks ]· f (2)
k  mixed eccentricity). The consequences of an excessive
f bb 2 =  (1 − s ) ± s · f (3)
p  to an eventual stator-rotor contact, which can provoke the
Typically, rotor failures are provoked by gradual rotor
deterioration due to operating stresses (thermal, electric
and electromagnetic) and/or by manufacturing defects (as
porosity in die-casting rotors) [5]. The occurrence of these
faults is much more likely in large motors which operate
under heavy duty cycles. Frequent start/stop cycles under
high inertia loads contribute to the occurrence of the fault.
Fig. 3 illustrates the application of MCSA analysis in the
case of a motor with 2 broken bars (out of 28). Note the
prominent amplitudes of the sidebands around the supply
frequency (50’07 Hz) in Fig. 3 (top), as well as the pair of
harmonics near the fifth harmonic (250’35 Hz), given by
expression (3) for k/p=5 (Fig. 3 (bottom)). The clear
conclusion is that the fault is present in the machine.
Fig. 3 MCSA of a motor with two broken rotor bars:
sideband components (top) and fault components near the
fifth winding harmonic (bottom).
Another typical fault that is diagnosed via current
analysis is the presence of mixed eccentricities in the
machine. An eccentricity occurs when the air gap length is
not uniform. There are two main types of eccentricity:
static (that occurs when the position of minimum radial air
gap remains fixed) and dynamic (when position of
minimum radial airgap rotates with the rotor). The static
eccentricity can be caused, among other, by: stator core
ovality, manufacturing tolerances in stator core/ bearing or
incorrect installation of stator core/bearing at
commissioning. On the other hand, dynamic eccentricity is
caused by: bearing wear, bent shaft, flexible rotor,
asymmetric thermal expansion or unbalanced magnetic
pull [5]. In practice, there is rarely a pure static or dynamic
eccentricity but a combination of them (this is known as
level of eccentricity can be very severe and can even lead
instantaneous outage of the machine due to stator
insulation damage (Fig. 4 shows a picture of a rotor
damage caused by stator-rotor rub in a small motor due to
the eccentricity provoked by a bearing failure).
Mixed eccentricities also lead to the amplification of
some harmonics in the stator current spectrum.
Expression (4) (where m=1,2,3…and p is the pole pair
number) is universally accepted to identify the
components linked with this fault [12]. There are also other
well-known expressions that enable to identify the
components amplified by static and/or dynamic
eccentricities although their application requires the
knowledge of constructive machine parameters, as (5)
(where k = 1,2,3…, R = number of rotor slots, nd = 0 for
static eccentricity and 1 for dynamic eccentricity and
nw= order of MMF of stator slot harmonic).
Fig. 4 Damaged rotor due to rotor-stator rub caused by
eccentricity.
  1 − s 
f ecc1 = 1 ± m ⋅  · f (4)
  p 
 1− s  
f ecc 2 = (k·R ± n d ) ⋅   ± n w  ⋅ f (5)
  p  
It must be said that unlike rotor damages, there is not a
universally accepted threshold to consider that the level of
eccentricity is dangerous in the machine. As a
consequence, it is also difficult to determine threshold
amplitudes for the fault harmonics that could be set as
alarms for the user. However, periodic monitoring of the
amplitudes of these harmonics is useful to control how the
eccentricity degrades in the machine.
B. Fault detection scheme
One of the most important constraints when applying
MCSA to detect rotor faults or eccentricities is the
necessity that the motor operates under constant speed
during the capture of the current. If the speed changes,
the slip will do and the frequencies of the fault components (1) to (5) will also change. The result is that a certain
given by (1) to (5) will move through the spectrum, so it component will not appear as single ‘peak’ in a specific
may be difficult to evaluate the real amplitude of any fault frequency of the spectrum, but it will spread over a certain
component since it will spread through different frequency range (that will depend on the speed variation).
frequencies. Provided that the speed remains In consequence, it will be very difficult to evaluate the real
approximately constant during the registration of the amplitude of a certain fault component since it will be
current signal, another critical issue is the determination of distributed over different frequencies. This constraint is
the motor speed. This is crucial to calculate the especially critical in some applications where the speed
frequencies of the fault components to properly identify continuously changes, as the case of giant bucket wheel
them in the spectrum. The most appropriate way to excavator motors in open mines [14].
determine the speed is to measure it during the capture of If the supply conditions change during the capture,
the current. The problem is that this is not often possible, the effect is rather similar. For instance, if the supply
since the measurement of the current is usually carried out frequency varies, the frequencies of fault components will
remotely either in the M.C.C. or at the substation. Due to also change (see (1) to (5)), facing the same problem as
this fact, usually the motor speed during the capture is in the previous case. This situation is common in inverter-
usually estimated by using several alternatives that have fed motors, where the converter control loop changes the
been previously proposed in the technical literature. For supply frequency depending on the motor loading
instance, the speed can be estimated from the conditions.
frequencies of some high-frequency harmonics present in
the current spectrum known as Principal Slot Harmonics
(PSH) [13] which appear at characteristic locations.
Another alternative for the speed estimation is to use the
measured vibration signals (in the case that they are
available).
The alternative employed in the cases presented in this
work (and also already proposed by several authors) is to
estimate the speed from the mixed eccentricity
components. Usually, these components are quite isolated
in the spectrum (especially for machines with p=1,2,3…)
so that their identification is relatively easy. Once these
frequencies are identified, the slip can be determined by
applying (4). This estimated slip should have a reasonable
value (this can be verified by taking into consideration the
load level at which the motor operates, that can be
determined by comparing the current demanded by the
machine with its rated current). Once the estimated slip is
obtained, the frequencies of the main rotor fault harmonics
(sideband components) can be determined by using (1).
The problem may rise if the eccentricity components
cannot be detected due to the low level of eccentricity in
the motor. In that case, a possible alternative (apart of
using the aforementioned methods) is the approximate
speed estimation taking into account the rated speed and
the load level at which the motor operates. The resulting
overall scheme for speed estimation and identification of
fault components by using MCSA employed in this work is
illustrated in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 Schematic representation of the rotor fault
components detection process based on MCSA.
III. COMPLEMENTARY TRANSIENT-BASED 2) Eventual wrong diagnostics of MCSA: It has been
CURRENT ANALYSIS METHODS extensively reported over recent years that there are some
MCSA has provided satisfactory results when situations where the use of MCSA can lead to erroneous
diagnosing rotor fault and eccentricities in a broad range diagnostics. These wrong diagnostics can be classified in
of motors operating under diverse conditions. The relative two groups: false positive indications (i.e. diagnosing the
easy use of this methodology (the Fourier transform is motor as faulty when its actual condition is healthy) and
widely available), the simplicity of the equipment required false negative indications (i.e. diagnosing the motor as
for the current capture as well as its non-invasive nature healthy when its actual condition is faulty). There are a
are some important advantages of this approach. number of situations that can lead either to false positives
However, MCSA also has some important constraints or false negative indications, which have been reported in
that have been extensively reported in recent works. detail in recent works [10]. Luckily, these situations are
These can be summarized in two main points: much less frequent than the cases where MCSA provides
1) Not suitable application under variable speed or correct results. However, the negative consequences that
supply conditions: As commented above, if the motor eventual false negative or positive indications may have,
speed changes during the capture of the current, the slip especially in terms for economic losses for the company
will also do. The immediate consequence is that the slip- [5, 10], make the use of complementary tools to ratify the
dependent frequencies of the fault components, given by presence of the aforementioned faults advisable.
 In this context, a new, complementary methodology
was proposed few years ago [7-10]. Summarizing, this
new diagnosis trend (known as Advanced Transient The problem of this new methodology, especially
Current Analysis, ATCSA) is based on analyzing the when based on the analysis of the startup, is that it
current demanded by the machine during any operation requires the machine restarting in order to capture the
(steady-state and/or transient regime) by applying startup current. This may be an important constraint,
advanced signal processing tools [7-10]. A specific case of especially in applications where the motor is not often
this methodology that has given very good results is the started, as it happens in many motors operating in
analysis of the startup current (current demanded by the petrochemical plants. However, in spite of this fact, this
motor during the start). Since during this transient the method can be very useful especially in cases where the
motor speed changes, the slip will do, and so will do the diagnostic with MCSA is not conclusive. In those
frequencies of fault related harmonics. For instance, controversial cases, it is always preferable to perform a
during a direct startup, the machine slip changes between startup during a planned motor stop in order to capture the
1 (when the motor is switched on) and near zero (when current, than having a false positive/negative diagnostic. In
the motor reaches its steady state) as depicted in Fig. 6 this work, this method has been applied only in a specific
(middle). Hence, the frequency of the Lower Sideband case where the diagnostic with MCSA was not clear.
Component given by f·(1-2·s) (see (1)), will also change;
more specifically, it will drop from f (supply frequency, e.g.,
50Hz) to zero and it will increase again to near f, yielding a
very characteristic V-pattern that is depicted in Fig. 6
(bottom). If we are able to detect this pattern, we will be
able to confirm the presence of the fault.
Hence, the idea of this new method is not identifying
a single component but tracking its evolution over time. In
other words, rather than detecting and evaluating certain
frequency peaks in the FFT spectrum linked with the
corresponding fault (as MCSA does), this new method
intends to detect the time-frequency evolutions of these
fault components. To this end, it is necessary to apply
sophisticated tools that are suitable for the analysis this
type of signals (as the startup current) obtaining their time-
frequency content. These are known as time-frequency
decomposition (TFD) tools. Fig. 7 illustrates the transition
from the classical MCSA to the new method, focusing on
the detection of a specific fault component: the LSC. Fig. 7 Illustrative comparison between MCSA and ATCSA
Whereas in MCSA we try to evaluate the amplitude of the
LSC frequency which is located at f·(1-2·s), in ATCSA we
try to detect the evolution of this harmonic during the IV. CASE STORIES: MOTORS IN CHEMICAL
transient (that has a very characteristic V-Shape during PLANT
the startup, as explained above [7, 9]. The detection of this
pattern has been proven to be much more reliable to avoid A. Diagnosed motors
false indications than detecting a single peak in the A total number of 30 motors were diagnosed in a
spectrum. chemical plant by applying current-based analysis. These
2000 motors were driving several types of machines in the plant
(pumps, compressors, mixers, blowers, fans…). They had
speed, n

1000 different sizes and characteristics and operated under a

variety of load levels and supply conditions (L.V. vs. M.V.,
0 line-fed vs. inverted-fed). Due to paper space restrictions,
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
the analyses of only five representative motors will be
1
shown in this work. Table I shows the main characteristics
s lip , s

of these motors as well as the process in which they were

0.5
involved.
Each motor current was captured during normal
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 operation at the corresponding motor cabin located in the
fL S C = f· ( 1 - 2 · s )

50 substation supplying that part of the process. The

measurement of only one phase current was enough for
the analyses. In order to prevent the effect of eventual
speed variations, several consecutive records were taken.
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Each measurement comprised 100 sec. which implies a
Time (s) frequency resolution of 0’01 Hz in FFT spectrum.
The startup current was also captured for a specific
Fig. 6 Evolution of the speed (top), slip (middle) and motor where the diagnostic was not conclusive (Motor M5
frequency of the LSC (bottom) for a 1’1 kW, 4-pole motor in Table I). It was later analyzed by using a time-frequency
during a direct startup. decomposition tool (the Short Time Fourier Transform).
 TABLE II machine. Periodic monitoring of these components as well
CHARACTERISTICS FOR THE DIAGNOSED MOTORS as accurate study of high frequency eccentricity
Motor Power Voltage Poles Application components would be advisable for this motor.
(kW) (V)
M1 750 6.600 4 Water pump

M2 5,5 500 6 Mixer

M3 5,5 500 6 Mixer

M4 200 500 4 Start pump

M5 1.200 6.600 2 Compressor

A. Results and discussion

1) Motor M1: 750 kW, 6’6 kV, water pump motor.

For this motor, the speed was estimated from the
eccentricity components’ frequencies (see Fig. 9),
following the process described in Section II.B. The
frequencies of the sidebands were calculated with the
value of the estimated slip ; observing the FFT spectrum,
two significant peaks were detected at the calculated
sidebands’ frequencies (see Fig. 8 (top)). The amplitudes
of these components were falling within the alarm interval,
which may be a potential indication of incipient rotor fault
in the machine. To confirm this, the amplitudes of the
components for k/p=5 in (3) where evaluated. Fig. 8
(bottom) confirms that these components were present
and had significant amplitudes, a fact that seemed to
confirm the presence of an incipient level of rotor failure.
Fig. 9. MCSA: Identification of eccentricity components in
M1.
2) Motor M2: 5’5 kW, 500V, mixer motor. The
speed of this motor during the capture of the current
waveform was estimated following the same process as in
the previous machine. The resulting calculated
frequencies for the sidebands are marked with red arrows
in Fig. 10 (top). Note the low amplitude of both sidebands
for this motor, a fact that suggests a healthy condition of
its rotor (the amplitudes are far below the alarm threshold).
To ratify this diagnostic, the components near the fifth
winding harmonic are studied. Their reduced amplitudes
seem to be in agreement with the information provided by
the sidebands, disproving the presence of the fault.

Fig. 8 Application of MCSA for the detection of rotor

damages in M1: sideband components (top) and fault
components near the fifth winding harmonic (bottom).
The FFT spectrum depicted Fig. 9 shows the
eccentricity components appearing for motor M1 at 25’17
Hz and 75 Hz. The amplitudes of these components are
near 30 dB above the noise level. This may suggest the
presence of a certain level of mixed eccentricity in the
Fig. 10 Application of MCSA for the detection of rotor
damages in M2: sideband components (top) and fault
components near the fifth winding harmonic (bottom).
It is important to note that, due to the unavoidable
possibility of false indications provided by MCSA (in this
case, it would be possible to have a false negative), it is
always advisable that, whenever that possible, to perform
an analysis of the startup current to ratify or discard the
conclusions of MCSA. The analysis of the startup current
provides a high reliability in the diagnostic conclusion
regarding the rotor condition.
On the other hand, Fig. 11 depicts the FFT spectrum
where the eccentricity components are marked with red
arrows. For this motor (p=3, f=50’05 Hz), they appear at
33’7 Hz and 66’4 Hz. The amplitudes of these
components are near 25 dB above the noise level, which
suggests, as for the previous machine, the presence of a
certain level of mixed eccentricity in the machine. Again,
periodic monitoring of these components as well as
accurate study of high frequency eccentricity components
would be recommended for this machine.

Fig. 12 Application of MCSA for the detection of rotor

damages in M3: sideband components (top) and fault
components near the fifth winding harmonic (bottom).
Fig.11. MCSA: Identification of eccentricity components
in M2.

3) Motor M3: 5’5 kW, 500V, mixer motor. The

identification of the sidebands associated to the rotor fault
in this motor, was carried out following the same process
as in the previous motors. Fig. 12 (top) depicts the FFT
analysis where the sideband components are pointed with
red arrows. Note the prominent amplitudes of both
sidebands, a fact that suggests the existence of certain
damage in the rotor cage. Although a false positive is
unlikely, since it would be really rare to have components
caused by another not fault related phenomena exactly at
the same frequencies, the fault components near the fifth
winding harmonic were checked (see Fig. 12 (bottom)).
Note that these components, despite noticeable, had a
reduced amplitude. This may introduce doubts about the Fig. 13. MCSA: Identification of eccentricity components in
origin of the components around the fundamental. Though M3.
a certain level of rotor damage is finally diagnosed for this
motor, it would be strongly advisable to perform the
analysis of the startup current in order to reach a fully 4) Motor M4: 200 kW, 500V, start pump motor.
reliable diagnostic of the condition of the rotor cage before Once again, the sideband components’ frequencies were
disassembling the motor, discarding the existence of an identified in the FFT spectrum, taking as basis the
eventual false positive. estimated slip value. Observe the reduced amplitudes of
On the other hand, Fig. 13 shows the FFT analysis and both sidebands in Fig. 14 (top) which are far below the
the location of the eccentricity-related components for this alarm threshold. The analysis of the harmonics near the
motor (p=3, f=50’04 Hz) that appear at 33’89 Hz and 66’19 fifth winding harmonic (Fig. 14 (bottom)) reveals the
Hz, for k=1, and 17’74 Hz and 82’34 Hz, for k=2. The presence of these harmonics, although their amplitudes
components are clearly visible (even those of the second are not high. All these facts seem to confirm the healthy
family (k=2) that are usually less noticeable). The main condition of the rotor for motor M4, although periodic
components have amplitudes above 30 dB over the noise monitoring would be advisable.
level that could indicate the presence of a significant On the other hand, the eccentricity components for this
eccentricity in the motor. Periodic monitoring of these machine (p=2, f=50’04 Hz) are located at 25’23 Hz and
components as well as accurate study of high frequency 74’85 Hz (see Fig. 14). Their amplitudes are low (around
eccentricity components is advisable for this machine. 10-15 dB over the noise level). This seems to indicate a
reduced level of mixed eccentricity in the motor.

Fig. 14 Application of MCSA for the detection of rotor
damages in M4: sideband components (top) and fault
components near the fifth winding harmonic (bottom).
Fig.15. MCSA: Identification of eccentricity components
in M4.
5) Motor M5: 1200 kW, 6’6kV, compressor motor.
The application of MCSA to this motor was difficult due to
the reduced value of the slip for this machine. Note that
the slip in rated condition was already very low
13/3000=0’004333. Taking into consideration that the
motor was operating at partial load, the value of the slip
was even lower than that rated value. A reduced value of
the slip leads to sideband components very close to the
fundamental. If the slip is too low, it is hard to discriminate
between the sidebands and the fundamental component.
This is what happened in this motor where the FFT
spectrum is clean around the fundamental; this may lead
to the conclusion that the machine is healthy but it is also
possible that the fault components are present but overlap
the fundamental due to the low value of the slip leading to
a false negative indication, as pointed out in previous
works [7].
A possible solution to this problem is the application
of ATCSA: the analysis of the startup current is
independent of the slip value at steady-state. In other
words, the characteristic pattern caused by the LSC (if
present) does not depend on if the machine has a low slip
or not in steady-state. Fig. 17 shows the time-frequency
analysis of the startup current for M5. Note that the region
below 50Hz is ‘clean’, i.e., the V-shaped pattern caused by
the LSC (shown in Fig. 7) is not present. Hence, we can
reliably confirm the absence of the fault and healthy
condition of the rotor. This was logical since this motor
had been recently installed in the plant.
Fig. 16 Application of MCSA for the detection of rotor
damages in M5: sideband components (top) and fault
components near the fifth winding harmonic (bottom).
NO V-PATTERN
APPEARS
Fig.17. ATCSA: Time-frequency analysis of the startup
current for M4.
V. CONCLUSIONS
This paper shows the important advantages of current
analysis for condition monitoring of induction motors.
Several case studies related to motors operating in a
chemical plant prove the usefulness of the conventional
MCSA for diagnosing several types of failures, as rotor
damages or eccentricities. In the cases where MCSA fails
or its application is not suitable, the analysis of the startup
current (ATCSA) is proposed as a complementary way to
reliably diagnose the aforementioned failures. All in all,
current analysis is revealed as an interesting informational
source for the diagnostic that should be incorporated in
predictive maintenance protocols of induction machines.
VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the Spanish ‘Ministerio de
Economía y Competitividad’ (MINECO) and FEDER
program in the framework of the ‘Proyectos I+D del
Subprograma de Generación de Conocimiento, Programa
Estatal de Fomento de la Investigación Científica y
Técnica de Excelencia’ (ref: DPI2014-52842-P).”
VII. REFERENCES
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[2] O.V. Thorsen and M. Dalva, "Failure Identification
and Analysis for High-Voltage Induction Motors in
the Petrochemical Industry," IEEE Transactions on
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July/Aug. 1999.
[3] C. Yang, T-J. Kang, D. Hyun, S. Lee, J. Antonino-
Daviu, J. Pons-Llinares, "Reliable Detection of
Induction Motor Rotor Faults Under the Rotor Axial
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[4] Allianz Insurance, “Monitoring und Diagnose
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[5] S.B. Lee, E. Wiedenbrug., K. Younsi, “ECCE 2013
Tutorial: Testing and Diagnostics of Induction
Machines in an Industrial Environment”, Denver,
CO, USA, Sep 2013.
[6] W.T. Thomson, “On-line current monitoring – the
influence of mechanical loads or a unique rotor
design on the diagnosis of broken rotor bars in
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[7] J. A. Antonino-Daviu, M. Riera-Guasp, J. R. Folch,
and M. Pilar Molina Palomares, "Validation of a new
method for the diagnosis of rotor bar failures via
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pp. 990-996, 2006.
[8] M. Riera-Guasp, J. A. Antonino-Daviu, M. Pineda-
Sanchez, R. Puche-Panadero, and J. Perez-Cruz,
"A General Approach for the Transient Detection of
Slip-Dependent Fault Components Based on the
Discrete Wavelet Transform," IEEE Trans. Ind.
Electron., vol. 55, pp. 4167-4180, 2008.
[9] J. Antonino-Daviu, S.B. Lee and E. Wiedenbrug,
"Reliable Detection of Rotor Bar Failures in Induction
Motors Operating in Petrochemical Plants", PCIC
Europe Conference Record", 2014.
[10] J. Antonino-Daviu, J. Pons_llinares and S.B. Lee,
"Advanced Rotor Fault Diagnosis for High Voltage
Induction Motors via Continuous Transforms", PCIC
Europe Conference Record", 2015.
[11] W. Deleroi, “Squirrel cage motor with broken bar in
the rotor – Physical phenomena an their
experimental assessment”, Proc. ICEM’82.
Budapest, Hungary, 1982, pp. 767-770.
[12] J.R. Cameron, W.T. Thomson and A.B. Dow,
“Vibration and current monitoring for detecting
airgap eccentricity in large induction motors”, IEE
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[13] V. Climente-Alarcon, J.A. Antonino-Daviu, A.
Haavisto, A. Arkkio, "Diagnosis of Induction Motors
Under Varying Speed Operation by Principal Slot
Harmonic Tracking," IEEE Transactions on Industry
Appl., vol.51, no.5, pp.3591-3599, Sep.-Oct. 2015.
[14] J. Antonino-Daviu, V. Climente-Alarcon, J. Pons-
Llinares, E. Wiedenbrug, “Advanced Rotor
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Load Conditions in Mining Facilities,” IEEE ECCE
Conference Record, 2014.
VIII. VITA
Jose A. Antonino-Daviu received his M.S. and Ph. D.
degrees in Electrical Engineering, both from the
Universitat Politècnica de València, in 2000 and 2006,
respectively. He was working for IBM during 2 years,
being involved in several international projects. Currently,
he is Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical
Engineering of the mentioned University. He has been
invited professor in Helsinki University of Technology
(Finland) in 2005 and 2007, Michigan State University
(USA) in 2010, Korea University (Korea) in 2014 and
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (France) in 2015. He is
IEEE Senior Member since 2012 and he has published
over 100 contributions, including international journals,
conferences and books.
joanda@die.upv.es
Alfredo Quijano-Lopez Alfredo Quijano was born in 1960
in Valencia, Spain. He received the Electrical Engineer
degree and the Ph.D. degree from Universitat Politècnica
de València, in 1986 and 1992, respectively. He is the
Head of the Instituto Tecnológico de la Energía. He is also
a teacher and researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de
València in the Electrical Engineering Department. His
current research activity is focused on applied research for
the Energy area and the electrical technology including
renewable energies, high voltage, metrology, new
materials and applications and research results transfer to
companies.
alfredo.quijano@ite.es
Vicente Fuster-Roig was born in 1965 in Valencia, Spain.
He is a permanent researcher and teacher of the
Universitat Politècnica de València where he obtained the
Engineer degree in 1991 and the Ph.D. degree in 1996 on
the topic of power quality. He has participated as the main
researcher on many applied projects with industry, mainly
on electromagnetic compatibility, electric measurements,
electromagnetic modelling, insulator ageing, high currents
and high voltage. He is currently the scientific director of
the Instituto Tecnológico de la Energía and he is carrying
research on electromagnetic compatibility and electric
energy quality supply.
vfuster@ite.upv.es
Carlos Nevot double graduated in 2009 from the
Technical University INSA Lyon (Mechanical Engineer)
and from University of Castellon, UJI (Industrial Engineer).
He was working 1 year for a local company in Castellon
(Spain) in a heat recovery I+D project. He also received
his Master in Energy Efficiency from University of
Castellon, UJI in 2010. In 2010 he started working for UBE
Chemical Europe in Castellon where he entered Reliability
and Inspection Department. In 2013 he entered Electrical
Maintenance Department where he develops currently his
daily work.
c.nevot@ube.es