Detection of Stator Faults in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Stray Flux and Machine Learning

Three-phase induction motors are widely applied in industrial systems due to their durability and efficiency. However, electrical faults such as inter-turn short circuits can compromise performance, leading to unplanned downtime and maintenance costs. Traditional fault detection methods rely on stat...

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Main Authors: Ailton O. Louzada, Wesley A. Souza, Avyner L. O. Vitor, Marcelo F. Castoldi, Alessandro Goedtel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Energies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/6/1516
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author Ailton O. Louzada
Wesley A. Souza
Avyner L. O. Vitor
Marcelo F. Castoldi
Alessandro Goedtel
author_facet Ailton O. Louzada
Wesley A. Souza
Avyner L. O. Vitor
Marcelo F. Castoldi
Alessandro Goedtel
author_sort Ailton O. Louzada
collection DOAJ
description Three-phase induction motors are widely applied in industrial systems due to their durability and efficiency. However, electrical faults such as inter-turn short circuits can compromise performance, leading to unplanned downtime and maintenance costs. Traditional fault detection methods rely on stator current or vibration analysis, each with limitations regarding sensitivity to specific failure modes and dependence on motor power ratings. Despite advancements in non-invasive sensing, challenges remain in balancing fault detection accuracy, computational efficiency, and adaptability to real-world conditions. This study proposes a stray flux-based method for detecting inter-turn short circuits using an externally mounted search coil sensor, eliminating the need for intrusive modifications and enabling fault detection independent of motor power. To account for variations in fault manifestation, the method was evaluated with three different relative positions between the search coil and the faulty winding. Feature extraction and selection are performed using a hybrid strategy combining random forest-based ranking and collinearity filtering, optimizing classification accuracy while reducing computational complexity. Two classification tasks were conducted: binary classification to differentiate between healthy and faulty motors, and multiclass classification to assess fault severity. The method achieved 100% accuracy in binary classification and 99.3% in multiclass classification using the full feature set. Feature reduction to eight attributes resulted in 92.4% and 85.4% accuracy, respectively, demonstrating a trade-off between performance and computational efficiency. The results support the feasibility of deploying stray flux-based fault detection in industrial applications, ensuring a balance between classification reliability, real-time processing, and potential implementation in embedded systems with limited computational resources.
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spelling doaj-art-f3618cb3e2854ac1ae7592762bcea54c2025-08-20T03:43:11ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-03-01186151610.3390/en18061516Detection of Stator Faults in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Stray Flux and Machine LearningAilton O. Louzada0Wesley A. Souza1Avyner L. O. Vitor2Marcelo F. Castoldi3Alessandro Goedtel4Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Technology-Paraná, Alberto Carazzai Avenue, 1640, Cornélio Procópio 86300-000, PR, BrazilDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Technology-Paraná, Alberto Carazzai Avenue, 1640, Cornélio Procópio 86300-000, PR, BrazilDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Technology-Paraná, Alberto Carazzai Avenue, 1640, Cornélio Procópio 86300-000, PR, BrazilDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Technology-Paraná, Alberto Carazzai Avenue, 1640, Cornélio Procópio 86300-000, PR, BrazilDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Technology-Paraná, Alberto Carazzai Avenue, 1640, Cornélio Procópio 86300-000, PR, BrazilThree-phase induction motors are widely applied in industrial systems due to their durability and efficiency. However, electrical faults such as inter-turn short circuits can compromise performance, leading to unplanned downtime and maintenance costs. Traditional fault detection methods rely on stator current or vibration analysis, each with limitations regarding sensitivity to specific failure modes and dependence on motor power ratings. Despite advancements in non-invasive sensing, challenges remain in balancing fault detection accuracy, computational efficiency, and adaptability to real-world conditions. This study proposes a stray flux-based method for detecting inter-turn short circuits using an externally mounted search coil sensor, eliminating the need for intrusive modifications and enabling fault detection independent of motor power. To account for variations in fault manifestation, the method was evaluated with three different relative positions between the search coil and the faulty winding. Feature extraction and selection are performed using a hybrid strategy combining random forest-based ranking and collinearity filtering, optimizing classification accuracy while reducing computational complexity. Two classification tasks were conducted: binary classification to differentiate between healthy and faulty motors, and multiclass classification to assess fault severity. The method achieved 100% accuracy in binary classification and 99.3% in multiclass classification using the full feature set. Feature reduction to eight attributes resulted in 92.4% and 85.4% accuracy, respectively, demonstrating a trade-off between performance and computational efficiency. The results support the feasibility of deploying stray flux-based fault detection in industrial applications, ensuring a balance between classification reliability, real-time processing, and potential implementation in embedded systems with limited computational resources.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/6/1516three-phase induction motorstator faultsstray fluxinduction search coilfeature engineeringmachine learning
spellingShingle Ailton O. Louzada
Wesley A. Souza
Avyner L. O. Vitor
Marcelo F. Castoldi
Alessandro Goedtel
Detection of Stator Faults in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Stray Flux and Machine Learning
Energies
three-phase induction motor
stator faults
stray flux
induction search coil
feature engineering
machine learning
title Detection of Stator Faults in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Stray Flux and Machine Learning
title_full Detection of Stator Faults in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Stray Flux and Machine Learning
title_fullStr Detection of Stator Faults in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Stray Flux and Machine Learning
title_full_unstemmed Detection of Stator Faults in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Stray Flux and Machine Learning
title_short Detection of Stator Faults in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Stray Flux and Machine Learning
title_sort detection of stator faults in three phase induction motors using stray flux and machine learning
topic three-phase induction motor
stator faults
stray flux
induction search coil
feature engineering
machine learning
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/6/1516
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