Application of Modern Monitoring Technologies For Predictive Maintenance of On-Line Motors

Ernesto Wiedenbrug, Ph.D. SKF Condition Monitoring Center Fort Collins, Colorado

Abstract
Technologies that enable monitoring, tests and diagnostics of in-service electric motors have evolved significantly over the past decade, and have outpaced innovation with RMS current and voltage measurements. Current and voltage signature analysis is now the base for modern instrumentation. Clear visibility into variable-frequency drive (VFD) applications is now possible without the need for adjacent proximity to a motor. The ability to use a working, online motor as a transparent sensor that produces shaft torque signatures at the motor control cabinet (MCC) enables advanced diagnoses of voltage supply, motor and load system conditions.

I. Introduction
Industrial electric motor maintenance was, for a number of decades, most often performed by professionals with the mere use of a meg-ohm meter in one hand and a digital multimeter in the other. Those days are long gone. Insulation testing performed at voltages lower than two times rated voltage is not compliant to professional standards (IEEE 43, IEEE 95, IEEE 522, IEC34-15). Advances in the relatively new realm of online motor monitoring, testing and diagnostics have made the DMM all but obsolete for successful predictive maintenance programs. NEMA guidelines on voltage quality can now be complemented by automated load estimation techniques, and have become a useful and intuitive tool for thermal stress assessments of motors. A motors load can be accurately monitored from the electrical terminals of a motor, and with little more than the application of current, voltage sensors, and proper analysis of the obtained signals. This approach to monitoring load not only displays accurate steady-state speed and operating torque, but provides visibility into the instantaneous torque on the shaft. This information is invaluable when one needs to determine what issues may be caused by mechanical versus electrical reasons. Over the past couple of decades, another aspect has emerged to challenge motor maintenance professionals. Variable-frequency drives (VFDs) are largely regarded as a viable alternative to DC drives across the full spectrum of industry sectors. VFDs are so attractive compared to DC drives because they cost less, they reduce maintenance requirements, improve control, and have potential to increase system efficiency. The challenge they present involves monitoring VFDs, because there has been a dearth of available technology or products for maintenance professionals to take advantage of. Variable frequencies and voltage levels present with the use of VFDs created a challenge to both standard field instrumentation and the discerning assessments of field personnel.

The latest instrumentation developed for VFD monitoring works to improve transparency of the application to predictive maintenance professionals. This paper conveys what can be expected from modern online motor test and monitoring instruments. This paper covers frequently-encountered PM problems, their influence on motors, and the impacts they can have. It presents expectations for modern instrumentation, and shows how a wealth of information can be obtained and used to improve the understanding, monitoring, troubleshooting and diagnoses of motorized applications. It shows how VFDs can be accurately monitored, regardless of their implementation as frequency, speed, or torque control devices (whether in open- or closed- loop vector control applications. Steady-state, variable-state and dynamic VFD functions can be properly monitored with capable portable instrumentation. Motoring, generating or dynamic power-flow reversals are no longer a challenge to modern motor test and monitoring instrumentation.

Figure 1: Schematic of MSRF testing facility.

II. Laboratory environment and controls

In order to investigate the capabilities of a modern online motor performance monitor, it was necessary to operate industrial-sized motors in a controlled environment. The ability to generate any desired voltage and load condition was necessary for this investigation. The capabilities of the MSRF testing laboratory and both test beds depicted in Fig. 1 were used to complete this study. Segregation of different power condition modes was achieved with a 120 kV A programmable power supply. Voltage level, voltage distortion and voltage unbalance ramps were created independent from each other. A five-horsepower, 460 V, 1,740-rpm motor was loaded by a 15 hp DC generator in field regulation. The generated voltage was dropped on a power resistor bank. Constant load of 80% was maintained within 0.5 percent throughout the power condition tests. This load was chosen emulating well matched motor-load applications which are in no vicinity of overloading. A sufficient dynamic control of VFD operation was required to evaluate the VFD capabilities of the investigated on-line motor monitor. A four-quadrant vector drive dynamometer 300 hp was utilized in several operating conditions for this purpose. The on-line monitoring instrument was connected to the vector drives leads with current clamp-ons and voltage clip-ons. The load on this test bed was regulated up to 300 Nm and positive and negative rotation direction, with varying frequencies from 15 Hz up to 75 Hz were tested. The instrument was set to monitor this VFD for speed ramps and sinusoidal speed variations with varying frequencies and amplitudes, including changes of the torque offset.

III. Power condition monitoring

Induction motors (IMs) are designed to operate at rated, balanced and undistorted voltage conditions of rated frequency. Excellent power conditions like these are rarely found in real-world applications. Steady-state three phase voltages can only differ in voltage level, voltage balance or voltage distortion from optimal conditions. These three aspects of power condition and their influence on a 5 hp motor are investigated next. Voltage level Voltage levels above 100 percent rated introduce larger magnetization current components, and reduce the overall current level to the motor. Operational efficiency of the IM is commonly mildly increased1. This very small increase of efficiency is obtained at the expense of a severe decrease of operational power factor. A mild over-voltage condition creates a steeper torque-slip profile of the motor, which effectively increases the operational speed as shown in Fig. 2.

Figure 2: Effect of voltage level on current level, power factor, and operating speed.

Conversely, a smaller operational voltage results in a severe increase of stator current, which in turn introduces a rapid increase of the resistive I2R losses. This generates a temperature increase and an efficiency drop. Higher operational temperatures of motors are the most common cause of insulation degradation and failure for low-voltage motors. The nameplate, of course, displays the voltage level at which a given motor should run under, since it is the motor manufacturers specification. Over-voltages represent negligible additional insulation stresses yet severely decrease power factor. Under-voltage conditions are a source of steep temperature increases and a noticeable efficiency drops of the motor. Voltage unbalances Variable unbalanced voltage conditions can be mathematically translated with the use of a component that attempts to turn the rotor in opposing rotational direction. Relatively small voltage unbalances are the source of significant current unbalances and generate substantial heat increases in the motor. NEMA specifies the extent a motor should be derated if operated under any particular voltage unbalance condition2. Fig. 3 displays the NEMA derating number as a function of voltage unbalance.
1 .5 1 .4 1 .3 1 .2 1 .1 1 .0 0 .9 0 .8 0 .7 0 .6 0 .5 0.0 1 .0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

derating eff. s.f.

% Voltage unbalance

Figure 3: Effect of voltage unbalance on NEMA derating and eff. s.f. at 80 percentload.

Effective service factor (eff. s.f. ) is equal to the percentage of load divided by the NEMA derating figure, as represented in the equation: eff. s.f. = % load / derating. This is a highly useful measure of thermal loading. If the effective service factor equals one (1.0), then the motor is running at its optimal thermal level, according to NEMA. An effective service factor greater than one signifies when a motor is operating at a level above its thermal limit (with consideration of the fact that normal ambient temperature and cooling conditions are rated conditions). This combination of load percentage with the NEMA derating figure renders thermal assessments fairly intuitive. Fig. 3 reveals, however, how easily a healthy load such as the tested 80 percent can impose thermal stress upon a motor operating under poor voltage conditions. The test series that was run on the 5 hp extended into a 10 percent unbalance, an extreme severity that is rarely found in the field.

Figure 4: Effect of voltage unbalance on the magnitude of the highest phases current and maximal THDi.

The 4 percent voltage unbalance that raises the effective service factor beyond the threshold of one (1.0) for only 80 percent load, however, is a condition encountered with a fair frequency in the field, in particular at low voltage busses. A voltage unbalance in excess of 3 percent is found in 2 percent of the distribution systems.3 Voltage unbalances within an industrial plant, however, are typically higher due to single-phase loads typical of such plants. As shown in Fig. 4, the effect of unbalance goes beyond extremely influencing the effective service factor. Typically there is one phase which shows a strong increase of current level beyond the average. This increased current level causes localized additional I2R losses and heating in one phase, which age the insulations life. Voltage distortions Voltage distortion occurs when any component to the voltage has a frequency other than the fundamental frequency (60 Hz). Harmonic pollution is often generated by non-linear loads, such as rectifiers. The kV A rating of non-linear loads on a voltage bus with respect to stiffness of the voltage bus are key factors that determine voltage distortion levels. NEMA defined a derating graph4 that accommodates additional heat generated by harmonic currents in the motor, one similar to voltage balance.

Figure 5: Effect of voltage %THD on NEMA derating and effective service factor.

As in the previous power condition tests, the five-horsepower motor was run at 80 percent load and the influence of increasing %THD V was investigated as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The programmable power supply was set to introduce only fifth and seventh harmonics, which reflect the components typically found in the field. Again, it can be observed that a safe load of only 80 percent is enough to stress the motor under extremely poor power conditions. Lower levels of distortion are necessary to exceed the effective service factor threshold of 1.0 under higher load levels.

Figure 6: Effect of THDv on THDi.

The linear increase of THDi can be observed for higher levels of THDv in Fig. 6, as can be expected. For low levels of THDv, however, an initial drop in THDi has been repeatedly observed. This means the phase shift of the THDi components introduced by the source-generated THDv is greater than 90 degrees from the natural components of THDi, which is caused by the non-linear nature of the motor iron. This has the effect of partial cancellation with the onset of sourcegenerated THDi components. Power condition conclusions Steady-state power conditions can differ in voltage level, voltage balance or voltage distortion from nameplate specifications. Each of these three conditions were ramped and tested on a 5 hp motor with a constant 80 percent load. Increased voltage levels will reduce currents, raise efficiency (slightly), and substantially reduce power factor. Lower voltage levels generate higher currents, greater heat (which in turn accelerates insulation deterioration) and reduces operating efficiency. Unbalance severely influences the effective service factor, and possibly imposes thermal stress upon the motor, even under load conditions clearly below 90 percent. Mild voltage unbalances can cause much larger current unbalances, and cause over-rated current conditions at a singular phase. Instantaneous torque monitoring revealed that the torque ripple band has a component proportional to voltage unbalance. Substantial torque ripples are often found in severely unbalanced conditions. Voltage distortion is also linked to effective service factor, yet with less sensitivity than unbalance. The combination of unbalance and distortion levels, however, defines the total NEMA derating figure.

IV. Load Monitoring

Steady-state loads The same theoretical background that made the first torque-controlled VFDs possible can be used to monitor shaft torque. This is done by measuring only stator currents and voltages.5 The accuracy of such load estimates when operated at line frequencies has been validated in published papers.6 Instantaneous torque is monitored at motor control cabinets, and calculated with current and voltage signature analysis. The value of instantaneous torque makes it possible to identify remote problems with a mechanized system, such as a deteriorated submerged pump. The accurate load estimate of steady-state operation is the key tool that helped identify a defective submerged 1,500 hp/4,160 volt pump. This pump was detected and diagnosed in a power generation plant in North Carolina. The slow-turning pump in question (273 rpm, 7 ft inner diameter) was operating at a torque level of 27

percent below two twin systems (23,600 Nm vs. 304,00 Nm), and generated significantly higher levels of torque ripple. The defect pump, pulled for repairs, is shown in Fig. 7. The bolts that attached the end-bell to the pump had rusted over time and broke, which caused the end-bell to fall 20 feet into the water pit. The end-bells function is to assure laminar water flow. The broken end-bell increased cavitation with the decreased water flow, both conditions were accurately diagnosed by site maintenance professionals when they evaluated the steady-state torque and its signature.

Figure 7: Defective submersible 1,500 horsepower pump.

V. Variable-Frequency Drives
Variable-frequency drives, or VFDs, are useful for a variety of reasons. They are commonly applied to regulate changes in the operational speeds of production machines, such as a conveyor or pump. This means changing from a given rpm to a different speed, then to another speed, and/or back again. To achieve this, a VFD is often run under frequency control, which is the simplest method of open-loop speed control. With steady-state VFDs, a single frequency is often maintained over longer periods of time than other frequencies, which generates a steady-state condition. One example of a steady-state condition is a fan with its speed regulated as a function of ambient temperature, which may stay stable within a temperature range for several minutes or hours. Any motor monitoring or test instrument must be effectively able to monitor steady-state frequencies fed to motors attached to a VFD. Another common VFD application involves a more dynamic control. In these cases, a motor varies its operating speed at a higher, more frequent rate. An industrial implementation requiring this type of dynamic control is, for example, a saw feeding conveyor belt which gradually accelerates or decelerates depending on proximity of logs to the saw blade. Successful instrumentation for this type of application obviously needs to be able to monitor the varying frequency fed to the motor as a function of time, since this is the sole purpose of the VFD in this application. The most dynamic applications are commonly implemented as vector drives or servos. Faster rates of acceleration or deceleration require active braking of the load, which displays a sign reversal for the power flow on the shaft. At instants the vector drive operates as a motor (typically during steady state or accelerating periods), and at other instants it covers the function of a generator, feeding the kinetic energy of the load back into the supply to increase the pace of deceleration. Dynamic operation Figure 8 shows an example of a very dynamic application. The 300 hp vector drive was programmed to run a sinusoidal speed profile, and oscillates from 1,350 rpm to 1,650 rpm with a frequency of 4.2 Hz. To achieve this, the torque to the motor must accelerate and decelerate with a sinusoidal rate as well. During instances of maximal positive torque, the

maximal positive rate of change of shaft speed is achieved. During the instances of zero torque, the speed remains basically unchanged.

Figure 8: Vector-controlled torque and speed versus time.

Each instant in time when speed and torque do not coincide in their sign, the vector drive is operating as a generator, while when they coincide it is in motoring mode. Fig. 9 represents another example of vector drive operation wherein motor and generating torque change dynamically. The vector drive in this case was programmed to run at a negative speed (or negative sense of rotation) of -1,200rpm, then accelerate to a constant rate of 300 rpm/s, then back to 1,400 rpm, then drop back again to the previous steady state of 1,200 rpm. The drive was loaded with a constant torque of 90 Nm. In order for the drive to accelerate to a higher speed, it has to increase torque during acceleration. Once 1,400 rpm was achieved, torque dropped to avoid further acceleration past the programmed speed. During deceleration, the motor had to drop torque into the opposite direction, since the retardant torque introduced by the load was not sufficient enough to slow down the shaft at the programmed rate. This means that during deceleration, the motor fed part of its own kinetic energy back into the VFD and power supply, and effectively function as a variable-speed generator. As soon as the steady-state speed was achieved, the VFD delivered energy into the load again, working once more as a motor. Seamless changes from motor to generation domains like the one here described must be properly identified by motor test and monitoring equipment if it is intended to be used as a good analysis and debugging tool for visibility into what is really happening with the application.

Figure 9: Vector-controlled speed ramps versus time.

VI. Conclusion
This paper presents an overview of some of the most common preventive maintenance issues found in the field, and relatively new technologies now being applied to address those issues. Power condition problems were investigated in a controlled environment. The most important effects of over- and under voltage conditions, unbalanced voltage conditions and distortion were investigated. These conditions were created with the aid of a programmable power supply, which afforded a high amount of control over the voltage conditions that an integral horsepower motor was subjected to under load. The accuracies with which the output of IMs can be monitored have been presented in a previous paper [6]. A brief introduction into the different scenarios in which VFDs are encountered was presented next. The most demanding case of a VFD application is a highly-dynamic controlled case. Modern instrumentation with online monitoring technologies was employed in cases where fast-paced speed control was achieved. This was performed with varying fundamental frequency, varying speed and dynamically reversing power flow on the shaft (motoring and generating alternating during data acquisition). It was shown that current technology is at a stage where clear representation of the dynamic phenomena on the shaft can be calculated from current and voltage signatures. It was shown that this type of instrumentation enables the field professional to fully diagnose even dynamic, time-varying processes with a minimal level of intrusion and with extreme simplicity of use.

1. Ongoing issues with electric motors, Austin Bonnett, National Motors and Drives Steering Committee, Montreal, June 2000. 2. NEMA MG1, Part 14 Page 8, 1993. 3. Voltage Unbalance: Power Quality Issues, Related Standards and Mitigation Techniques, EPRI Technical Report, A. von Jouanne. 4. NEMA MG1, Section IV Part 30 Page1. 5. Analysis of Electric Machinery, Paul C. Krause, Oleg Wasynczuk, Scott D. Sudhoff, IEEE Press, New York, 1995. 6. In-service testing of Three Phase Induction Machines, E. Wiedenbrug, A. Wallace, SDEMPED IEEE Gijon, Spain 1999.

Credits: E. Wiedenbrug, Ph.D., M IEEE; A. Ramme; E. Matheson, M IEEE; A. von Jouanne, Ph.D., PE, SM IEEE; A. Wallace, Ph.D., FM IEEE