Discrete Wavelet Transform for Stator Fault
Detection in induction Motors
R. Kechida, A. Menacer, H. Talhaoui, H. Cherif
Φ
Abstract -- This paper present the stator inter-turn short
circuit fault detection in induction machine from stator current
analysis using two techniques, such as the fast Fourier
transform (FFT), which utilize the steady-state spectral
components of the stator quantities. The accuracy of these
techniques depends on the load and speed of the machine and
the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) witch considered an
ideal tool for this purpose, due to its suitability for the analysis
of signal whose frequency spectrum is variable in time. So, it
will study the problem of stator inter-turn short circuit.
Simulation and experimentally results are presented in order
to compare the performances of these techniques for inter-turn
short circuit fault diagnosis.
Index Terms-- Induction motor, fault diagnosis, inter-turn
short circuit, spectrum analysis, FFT, discrete wavelet
transform (DWT).
I. INTRODUCTION
T
HE most important objectives in the maintenance of
wide industrial systems is the detection of incipient
faults in induction motor drive as soon as possible to
perform the repairs during the maintenance period,
without stopping the working process. Induction motors are
widely used in industrial applications [1]. Therefore several
diagnostic procedures are proposed in the literature [l]–[9].
Many different techniques used for the detection of faults
in the induction machines due to noninvasive properties.
The mathematical equations used to separate a given
continuous-time signal into several scale components is
called wavelet. The wavelet techniques are new in the field
of fault diagnosis due to its ability to extract information in
both time and frequency domain as well as it provides a
sensitive means to the diagnosis of faults if compared to
other signal processing methods like Fourier. A wide part of
these studies published and were based on the current
signature analysis [1], [10]. A good review was presented
for the diagnosis of machines using a wavelet technique by
[1], [3], [11]–[14]. By this way, a much better signal
characterization and a more reliable discrimination
can be obtained. So, it is ideal technique for studying
This work is realized at the LGEB Laboratory of Electrical Engineering
of Biskra, Algeria by Ridha Kechida and Hakima Cherif at Faculty of
Science and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, University
of El Oued, Algeria, Dr Arezki Menacer at the Department of Electrical
Engineering, University of Biskra, BP 145, 07000, Biskra, Algeria and
Hicham Talhaoui at the Department of Electromechanics, Institute of
Sciences and Technology, University of Bordj Bou Arreridj, Algeria.
Ridha Kechida (ridha.k84@gmail.com),
Arezki Menacer (a.menacer@univ-biskra.dz),
Hicham Talhaoui (th-34@hotmail.fr),
Hakima Cherif (hakima.hakima5@gmail.com).
978-1-4799-7743-7/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
transient signals.
Motor Current Signature Analysis (MCSA) is one of the
most widely used techniques in fault detection analysis of
induction machines [3], [15]. The advantage of this
technique is that it is well recognized nowadays as a
standard due to its simplicity: It needs only one current
sensor per machine and is based on straight for ward signal-
processing techniques such as fast Fourier transforms (FFT)
[16]. However, it has mainly been designed for fixed
frequency supply, such as for machines connected to the
electrical grid [17].
Wavelet transform is a powerful tool for multi-scale
representation of signals. Wavelet analysis allows the
adaptive usage of long windows for retrieving low
frequency information and short windows for high
frequency information. This is particularly critical for
detecting faults that manifest at multiple frequencies. The
ability to perform flexible localized analysis is one of the
striking features of the wavelet transform. Hence they have
been extensively used to detect faults [18]. The advantages
of using wavelet techniques for fault monitoring and
diagnosis of induction motors are increasing because these
techniques allow us to perform stator current signal analysis
during transients. The wavelet technique can be used for a
localized analysis in the time-frequency or time-scale
domain [19].
In this paper, the DWT method is used for the diagnosis
of stator inter-turn short circuit fault in induction machine.
The simulation and experimental results show the
effectiveness of the proposed method for stator inter-turn
short circuit in induction motors.
II. SPECTRUM ANALYSIS OF STATOR CURRENTS
The most popular condition monitoring techniques use
the steady-state spectral components of various diagnostic
variables of the machine. Although, there are many
diagnostic variables which may be used, i.e. voltage, power,
vibration, etc. Generally, the current spectrum analysis is the
most popular used, known as Motor Current Signature
Analysis [20].
A. Shorted turns associated frequencies
The objective of MCSA is to attain a frequency spectrum
of the stator currents and to identify the current components
which are characteristic of faults. The equation below [20]:
ªn º
f st = f « (1- s) ± k » (1)
¬p ¼
104
 Where are f is the supply frequency and the fst stator k =n

¦D
2
frequency components they are a function of shorted turns, Ej = j ,k (n ) (3)
n=1, 2, 3,…, k=1,3,5,… k =1

where j=1, 2, 2n-1; n is the wavelet packet decomposition

III. WAVELET TRANSFORM times; Dj is the magnitude in each discrete point of the
Wavelet transform is an analysis method for time varying wavelet packet coefficient of the signal in the corresponding
or non-stationary signals, and uses a description of spectral frequency band [4], [21].
decomposition via the scaling concept. Wavelet theory Based on the energy eigenvalue, the eigenvector is setup:
provides a unified framework for a number of techniques
which have been developed for various signal processing ªE E E n º
T = « 0 , 1 ," 2 −1 , » (4)
applications [2]. ¬« E E E ¼»
A. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT)
1/ 2
The discrete version of the wavelet transform consists of § 2n −1 ·
¦
2
sampling the scaling and shifted parameters but not the where: E = ¨ E ¸
signal or the transform. This leads to high-frequency ¨ j =0 j ¸
© ¹
resolution at low frequencies and high-time resolution at
higher frequencies (Fig. 1) [4]. The eigenvector T contains the information of the stator
current signal for a motor behavior. Moreover, the deviation
extents of some certain eigen value indicate the severity of
the fault. This allows T to be used to diagnose the stator
inter-turn short circuit fault available.

IV. MODEL OF INDUCTION MOTOR TAKING ACCOUNT THE

INTER TURN FAULTS
The faulty model for the stator of the induction motors is
illustrated in figure 2.

Fig. 1. The DWT decomposition of a signal

The forward wavelet transform determines the wavelet

coefficient ai,j of j wavelet at each level i. For the signal f(n),
the DWT is:

ai, j = a = ¦ f (n ).ȥ i, j (n ) (2)

2i + j
n

Considering a signal consisting of 2m data points, where

m is an integer. DWT requires 2m wavelet coefficients to Fig. 2. Stator faulty model of induction motors
fully describe the signal. DWT decomposes the signal into
m+1 levels, where the level is denoted as j and the levels are The model of a three phase induction motor in the
numbered i= -1, 0, 1, 2, 3…m-1. Each level i consists of reference frame (d-q) related to the stator is [22]:
j=2i wavelet translated and equally spaced 2m/j intervals
apart. ­ x (t ) = A (ω ). x (t ) + B .u (t )
The j=2i wavelets at level i are dilated such that an ® (5)
¯ y (t ) = C .x (t ) + D .u (t )
individual wavelet spans n-1 of that level interval, where N
is the order of wavelet being applied. Each of the j=2i with
wavelets at level i is scaled by a coefficient ai,j determined
by the convolution of the signal with the wavelet. Notation T ªU ds º ªi ds º
x = ¬ªi ds i qs φdr φqr ¼º , u = « », y =« »
is such that i corresponds to wavelet dilation and j is the U
¬ qs ¼ ¬i qs ¼
wavelet translation in level i [2].

The energy Eigenvalue of each frequency band is defined

as:

105
 ª−(Rs + Rr )L−f 1 ωr Rr L−m1L−f 1 ωr Lf−1 º circuit appears. In this paper, the short circuit turns are
« » almost 58 of the total turns in the b-phase.
« −ωr − (Rs + Rr )L−f 1 ωr Lf−1 Rr L−m1Lf−1 »
A (x )= « »
« Rr 0 Rr L−m1 0 »
« 0 Rr 0 −1 »
− Rr Lm ¼
¬

ª L f -1 0 º
« »
0 L f -1 » ª1 0 0 0 º
B=« , C =« »
«0 0 »
« » ¬0 1 0 0 ¼
«¬ 0 0 »¼

ª 3 2ncck º
« ¦
D = « k =1 3R s
P (-ș )Q (ș cck )P (ș ) 0» ncck
» and ηcck = n
« 0 0 »¼
s
¬ Fig. 3. Three phase stator winding with turn fault in phase b

ªcos(ș ) 2 cos (ș )sin (ș ) º A. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Analysis

Q (ș ) = « 2 »
¬cos (ș )sin (ș ) sin (ș ) ¼ Fig. 4 and 5 show the stator current spectrum of the
simulation and experimental results for the machine
Q(ș): is a matrix depending on short-circuit angle șcck operating at 1437 rpm under steady state. During stator
and the faulty winding according to the first rotor phase ș0. inter-turn short circuit faults; it is clear that a number of
ncck and ns are, respectively, the number of inter-turns frequencies are influenced due to the turn-fault. (k=3) 174
short windings at kth phase and the total number of turns in Hz and (k=5) 274 Hz frequency. This corresponds to the
one healthy phase. theoretical predictions given by Eq (1).
The expression of the torque is given by:
T e = p (i qs φdr − i ds φqr ) (6) 0

-50

V. SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

-100
ib (dB )

The motor under test experimental is 1.1 kW, 220/380V,

50 Hz, four pole, Squirrel-cage induction motor with 28 -150
rotor bars, a DC generator acts as a load. Two types of
signals are collected in the experiments: stator current and -200
stator voltage. The signals were interfaced to a PC by a data
acquisition board. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Frequency (Hz)
This study investigated the accuracy of common signal
processing namely, window Fourier analysis and wavelet
for stator winding diagnosis in induction machine. The 0

current signal from health condition and with fault analyzed.

-50
The primary current was measured during the steady-state
working of a motor. Fluctuations in current waveforms were
ib (db)

-100
then analyzed by FFT and DWT using the MATLAB 26.8 Hz 73.5 Hz
173 Hz
Toolbox. In experimental analysis, it is extremely important 127 Hz
-150
if we expect good results to adjust the acquisition 273 Hz
parameters correctly in order not to miss important 227 Hz
-200
information. The motor current data was sampled at 10 kHz,
i.e., 100,000 samples was obtained at measured time of 10s. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Frequency (Hz)
The proposed inter-turn short circuit fault diagnosis
method is tested on a Y-connected. Tests are achieved by Fig. 4. Simulation result, frequency spectrum of phase-b stator current for
connecting an external shorting variable resistor Rf between induction motors under full-load (s=4%) for: (a) healthy motor (b) with
inter turn short-circuit.
terminals pairs to introduce the short circuit fault. The
resistor allows the fault current to be controlled to avoid
damaging of the stator windings when the inter turn short

106
 0 C. Healthy motor and Stator inter-turn short circuit fault
-10
Analysis
-20
-30
5
-40 26 Hz 74 Hz
122 Hz 322 Hz ib 0
ib (dB)

-50
222 Hz
-60 -5
278 Hz 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
-70 0.5

-80 a9 0

-90 -0.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
-100 2
-110
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 d9 0
Frequency (Hz)
-2
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
5
0
d8 0
-10 (a)
-5
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s)
-30
-40
174 Hz
5
26 Hz 74 Hz 274 Hz 323 Hz
ib (dB)

-50 ib 0
122 Hz 222 Hz
-5
-60
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
-70
278 Hz
0.5

-80 a9 0
-90
-0.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
-100
2
-110
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 d9 0
Frequency (Hz)
-2
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Fig. 5. Experimental result, frequency spectrum of phase-b stator current 5

for induction motors under full-load (s=4.2%) for: (a) healthy motor (b) d8 0
with inter turn short-circuit (b)
-5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Also, some frequencies components for both spectra are Time (s)

clearly depending on the power supply harmonics (150Hz, Fig. 6. Simulation results of wavelet analysis for induction motor:
250Hz, 350Hz …). It is difficult to quantify the fault (a) healthy cases and (b) stator inter-turn short circuit (12.5%)
through a comparison of the harmonics, even if the
magnitude is larger when the occurrence of a fault. For the 5

simulation results and the current spectrum analysis, it ib 0

should be noted that although the harmonics appear due to -5

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
stator fault to the same frequencies, but the magnitude are 0.5

not identical. a9 0

-0.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
2
B. Discrete Wavelet Transforms Analysis (DWT) d9 0

In further study the current signal was analyzed by more -2

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
advanced signal processing technique, wavelet analysis was 5

used for decomposing of the signal to extract suitable d8 0

(c)
features related to fault. For extraction of fault components, -5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
after development of multiple tests, it is shown that a wide Time (s)

variety of wavelet families can give the satisfactory results. 5

In the field of fault diagnosis in induction motor, our choice ib 0

was made on the family of Daubechies (db44), which seems

-5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

best suited for such analysis. 0.5

a9 0

TABLE I -0.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
FREQUENCY LEVELS OF WAVELET COEFFICIENTS 2

d9 0

Level Frequency band -2

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
d8 39.06 - 78.12 Hz 5
d9 19.53 – 39.06 Hz d8 0
a9 0 – 19.53 Hz (d)
-5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s)

Fig. 7. Experimental results of wavelet analysis for induction motor: (c)

healthy cases and (d) stator inter-turn short circuit (12.5%)

107
 Figures 6 and 7 presents the simulation and experimental
results of wavelet decomposition for healthy motor and
stator fault.
Figures (6-a, 7-c) shows the result for the healthy state of
the machine, where the approximation and decomposition
levels (a9, d9, d8). From the signal levels, it is noticed there
is nothing to worry about. This is due to the fact that the
machine is healthy. In Figures (6-b, 7-d) shows the result of
machine in inter-turn short circuit fault. From the levels
signals, it notes that a clear disturbance. This is due to that
the machine is under inter-turn faulty condition. This is due
to that the machine is under inter-turn faulty condition.
100
90
80
70
98
Energy eigenvalue
severity, nevertheless it provides a means of indicating the
degree of asymmetry within the induction motor, which
serves as a good indicator for motor health.
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In this paper, two techniques for stator currents analysis
are presented in order to diagnosis and to detect the stator
inter turn short circuit fault, such as FFT and DWT analysis.
The experimental and simulation results show then the
Fourier analysis of stator current in the case of stator inter-
turn short circuit is insufficient to determine the fault. Hence
the complementary cooperation of DWT is required. These
results give the advantageous information to decide the
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transient for inter-turn short circuit in induction motor.
Although it doesn’t give a clear indication about the fault
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Ridha Kechida was born in El Oued, Algeria, in

1984. He receives the B.Sc. degree in electrical
engineering from the University of Biskra, Algeria,
in 2007, and the M.Sc. degree in Electrical
Networks from the Science and Technology
Institute of El Oued University Center, Algeria, in
2010. He is an Assistant Professor with the
Electrical Engineering Institute at the University of
El Oued, Algeria. His research interests of include fault diagnostics of
electric machines, nonlinear observers, and control system.
(ridha.k84@gmail.com).

Menacer Arezki was born in Batna, Algeria, in

1968. He receives the B.Sc. degree in electrical
engineering from the University of Batna, Algeria,
in 1992, and the M.Sc. degree in electrical control
from the Electrical Engineering Institute of Biskra
University, Algeria, in 1996. He receives the Ph.D.
degree in electrical control from the University of
Batna and LIAS Laboratory for Computer Science
and Automation Systems, University of Poitiers, France, in 2007 and the
“habilitation degree” in 2009 from University of Biskra Algeria. Currently,
he is a professor in the Electrical Engineering department at the University
of Biskra and responsible of energy systems diagnosis Electrical
Engineering Laboratory of Biskra LGEB, Algeria. His major fields of
interest in research are diagnosis, identification and control of electrical
machines. (menacer_arezki@hotmail.com, a.menacer@univ-biskra.dz)

Hicham Talhaoui was born in Bordj Bou Arreridj,

Algeria, in 1986, He receives the M.Sc. degree in
electrical engineering from the University of
Biskra, Algeria, in 2011, research interests of
include fault diagnostics of electric machines, and
control system (th-34@hotmail.fr).

Cherif Hakima was born in Eloued, Algeria, in 1986, she receives the
M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Biskra,
Algeria, in 2014, she prepared the Ph.D. degree in Diagnosis of electrical
machine at Biskra university. His major fields of interest in research are
diagnosis field (hakima.hakima5@gmail.com).

109