Open Fault Detection in Variable Phase-Pole Machines Based on Harmonic Plane Decomposition

Multiphase electrical machine are inherently fault tolerant due to the higher number of phases. An important step in achieving a fault tolerant control is the ability to detect and identify the fault. In variable phase-pole drives, which are a class of multiphase machines that change the number of pole pairs during real-time operation, there are further unexplored possibilities. Based on the harmonic plane decomposition theory for variable phase-pole machine, a fault detection and identification algorithm is proposed, which analyzes the spatial harmonics of the current distribution. The fault detection is fast, operation independent, noninvasive, parameter-insensitive, and computationally simple. Experimental tests validate the proposed method.