1
Effects of Types of Faults on Generator
Vibration Signatures
R. Oliquino, Jr., S. Islam, SMIEEE and H. Eren,
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Curtin University of Technology
Western Australia
Abstract – Generators are frequently subjected to high
currents and voltages caused by electrical disturbances in the
power system. Faults in particular subject the generator to
stresses beyond its design limits and cause high temperature
increase, amplify and distort air gap torques, and create
unbalanced flux densities. Even more stressful as a
consequence of faults are sudden loss of load, fault clearance
and reclosing.
Mechanically, the abnormal forces that are generated
excite the rotor and as a result, amplify the shaft’s normal
mode of oscillation. The objective of this paper is to present
the results on the experiment conducted regarding the effects
of selected types of electrical faults on generators vibration
signatures. It aims to examine the generated vibration
frequencies, changes in rotor shaft orbits and increase in
vibration magnitudes as a result of faults.
I. INTRODUCTION
Generators are frequently subjected to high currents and
voltages caused by electrical disturbances in the power
system and these significantly contribute to the reduction of
the machine operating life.
The most affected group by these disturbances are small-
scale grid-connected power plants (<20MWe) such as mini-
hydro, micro-turbines fueled by natural gas or landfill gas,
and wind turbines because of their low-inertias. In general,
they have lower plant availabilities as compared with the
larger plants connected to high voltage transmission lines.
Faults in particular, although transient in nature, subject
the generator to stresses beyond its design limits and cause
high temperature increase that weakens the machine’s
mechanical strength and insulation, amplify and distort air
gap torques and create unbalance flux densities in the air
gap [1-5]. Even more stressful as a consequence of faults
are sudden loss of load, fault clearance and reclosing. The
cumulative effect of these abnormalities leads to material
fatigue, insulation and structural failure and eventually to
equipment breakdown. Mechanically, the abnormal forces
generated excite and amplify the rotor oscillatory motion
and result in severe machine vibration.
Generator vibration is normally monitored by the plant’s
condition monitoring system that serves as back up to its
electrical protection system. Vibration is defined as
continuous, repetitive or periodic oscillations relative to a
certain fixed reference. The physical motion of rotating
machines generates vibration, which gives a physical
indication of the health of equipment (“what is happening
to the machine”) and the generated vibration frequencies
and magnitudes represent the machine vibration signature
[6, 7].
In this paper, the results on the experiment conducted
regarding the effects of selected types of electrical faults on
generator vibration signatures are presented. It aims to
examine the generated vibration frequencies, changes in
rotor shaft orbits and increase in vibration magnitudes due
to three-phase fault (3PF), line-to-line fault (LLF), line-to-
ground fault (LGF) and double-line-to-ground fault
(LLGF). In the experiment, the above conditions were
applied to the terminals of a loaded 5KVA three phase
synchronous generator. The vibration responses for each
condition were examined, analyzed and compared.
II. TYPES OF FAULTS
Electrical faults are the most damaging among the
disturbances that could possibly happen in the power
system. Although faults are transient in nature that occur in
just a few cycles, they subject the generator to mechanical
and temperature stresses beyond its operating limits. The
more frequent the occurrences of these events in the power
network, the faster will be the rate of deterioration or wear
of the machine.
The system parameters that can influence the effect of
electrical faults to the generator are generator inertia,
generator and line damping, line and fault impedance,
transient reactance and fault critical clearing time or CCT
[8]. Smaller machines are more susceptible to damage or
fatigue and more unstable during faults therefore will have
lower CCTs. This means that the lighter the machine, the
less will be its tolerance against electrical disturbances thus
making it more unstable compared with heavier machines.
Heavier machines have higher tolerance against faults
primarily because of the flywheel effect of inertia. The
higher damping ability provided by the generator damper
windings and the line resistance, provides higher generator
stability as unbalanced currents or voltages are, to some

extent absorbed by the damper windings and the system.
Large fault impedances provide more stability while for
large line reactances, the effect is the opposite as the
magnitude of the fault is higher.
There are three interrelated factors considered that excite
the rotor’s normal mode of oscillation during electrical
faults: (i) sudden loss of load, (ii) distorted and amplified
air gap torques or magnetic fields, and (iii) unsymmetrical
flux densities in the air gap.
The effect of sudden loss of load is the abrupt change in
the electrical torque Te due to the change in the
fundamental frequency of the armature current that induces
impact torques on the shaft or torsional oscillations as in
[1]. The magnitude of which is proportional to the change
in Te in relation to mechanical torque Tm (or ∆T). The
higher the change, the higher will be the machine vibration
response. This happens in a few cycles prior to clearance
and again after clearance.
At the instant of a fault, the power developed by the
generator abruptly decreases to zero and its terminal
voltage will drop to almost zero in magnitude. Since the
prime mover is incapable of responding instantly, Tm will
be greater than Te resulting in the increase of engine speed
[9, 10]. The generator over speed protection will normally
operate once the frequency exceeds a certain level. The
impact is analogous to a car towing another car when
suddenly the chain connecting them breaks.
The large transient currents, at system or other
frequencies particularly the positive, negative, zero
sequence and unidirectional components in the armature
windings alter or interact with the steady-state magnetic
fields in the air gap [1, 11, 12]. A dc component on the
armature for instance will induce an ac component on the
rotor windings.
The currents including the dc component are attributed
to the machine synchronous transient and subtransient
reactances, which are in turn associated with the flux
linkages between the rotor and stator windings [13]. The
larger the fault currents in the stator windings, the greater
the air gap torque distortion and amplification.
Under normal conditions, the electric and magnetic
fields are circumferentially distributed periodically and
evenly across the air gap. However during electrical
disturbances, these fields change abruptly and become
distorted. The unsymmetrical magnetic flux densities in the
air gap create an unbalanced pull on the rotor [14, 15].
Healthy or loaded phase windings will have higher flux
densities than the open-circuited phase or phases. This
condition is most likely to exist as a result of unbalanced
loading and single phasing conditions as well as prolonged
or sustained unbalanced faults. The worst-case effect is
when the rotor rubs on the stator coils.
2
The effect of the first two factors discussed above is
sudden, excessive and pulsating electromagnetic torques in
the air gap, which is impressed on the generator shaft.
Mechanically, these are detected as severe vibration
magnitudes that originate from the rotor shaft, transferred
to the machine casing through the bearings and travel along
the shaft train and to the prime mover.
As a consequence of faults, fault clearance and reclosing
can be more severe than faults as they can produce even
higher generator torques resulting in abrupt changes in the
shaft mechanical torques [1-3, 11, 12, 16]. Automatic
reclosing for instance produces abnormal torques similar to
faulty synchronization as in [3, 17, 18]. Fault clearing time
also has significant effect on air gap torques. According to
[1], longer clearing times results in higher air gap torques
and therefore could result in higher and longer abnormal
machine vibration.
III. VIBRATION MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS
Vibration can be measured using displacement, velocity
and acceleration transducers that convert machine motion
to electrical signals. From these, the machine’s signature
can be generated and analyzed
Machines generate an array of vibration signals at
different frequencies which can be seen and analyzed in the
frequency spectrum of the signals. These are basically plots
of amplitudes versus the various frequency components and
represent machine motion as a function of frequency. On
the other hand, a time plot of the signals is used to
determine the resultant vibrations magnitudes of the
various frequencies in the frequency spectrum and
represent machine motion as a function of time.
In the experiment, a dual-axis accelerometer was used to
measure the generator vibration response. The sensor
output was fed to a data logger and finally to a personal
computer. The transducer was mounted on the end-side of
the stator casing adjacent to a bearing and in-line with the
rotor shaft. The set-up allows two simultaneous vibration
readings: horizontal (x-axis) and vertical (y-axis). From the
two perpendicular signals, three plots were generated,
which provides information on what is happening to the
machine and can represent the machine vibration signature.
The plots, which were generated by using Matlab and MS
Excel are the: (1) Time plot, (2) Frequency Spectrum, and
(3) XY plot, which is an approximate magnified picture of
the shaft centerline of motion or generator (or shaft)
deflection.
Generator vibration signals are principally caused by the
inter-relationships of the (i) response of the stator core to
the attractive forces in the air gap, (ii) electromagnetic
forces in the air gap between the fixed stator and the
rotating rotor as discussed above, (iii) response of the shaft
 3

bearings to the forces transmitted to it by the rotor or its Fig. 2 below is the time plot of sample numbered lgf-010
shaft, and (iv) dynamic behavior of the rotor [6]. with the vibration gain of about 68% as seen in the middle
or around the 10th second when the fault was applied.
Generator vibration is influenced by the machine’s
stiffness, inertia, configuration (drive train), natural TIME PLOT (lgf-010)
0.4
frequency and rotational speed among others. Any machine 0.3

has a vibration response unique to its own hence the term

acceleration (g's)
0.2

0.1
“machine signature”. The machine health is normally 0

4.8

8.2
0

0.69
1.38

2.07
2.74

3.42

4.12

5.47
6.15

6.85
7.52

8.89

9.57
10.3

11
11.6

12.3

13

13.7
14.4

15.1
15.7

16.4
17.1

17.8
18.5

19.2
19.9
diagnosed by comparing its signature with any deviation or -0.1

-0.2
change brought about by normal wear or by abnormal -0.3
-0.336g's
conditions. In the experiment, emphasis is on the change in -0.4
X (g)
time (seconds)
Y (g)
machine vibration signature when the faults where applied.
Fig. 2. Time Plot for logged sample lgf-010. X(g) and Y(g) are the x- and
y-axis machine vibration respectively in terms of acceleration.

IV. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

Fig. 1 below shows the equipment setup. The generator
is a Mawdsley 3-phase synchronous generator (5KVA, 2-
pole, 3000RPM) mainly used for short-circuit testing. A PC
data acquisition software exclusive for the accelerometer
was used for data logging. Two computers were used, one
to log the vibration and the other to record the transient
fault voltages. The load is a resistor bank, set at 1600W per
phase and the system configuration is three-phase four-
wire, the neutral being grounded.
Computer1 Generator Computer2
Controller Oscilloscope
C DS s
Switch
Accelerometer
Generator
Referring to Table 1, LGF caused the highest increase in
vibration magnitude by about 68% followed by LLF. The
reason could be that a LGF is unsymmetrical and causes
the highest amplified and unbalanced air gap torques. On
the other hand, LLGF caused the weakest response. This
could mean that the addition of another faulted line,
compared to LGF, must have lessened the torque
imbalance.
However, taking the average of the five highest
responses for each condition, 3PF had the highest
amplitude gain. This reveals that although LGF or LLF
could produce the strongest vibration magnitudes, a 3PF
will most likely generate strong vibration responses.
Resistor Bank

3phase, 4-wire B. Frequency Spectra

Fig. 1. Equipment Setup
Twenty samples were taken per each condition, 80
samples total and each is 20 seconds in length. Logging
commenced 10 seconds prior to the application of fault and
terminated 10 seconds after the fault is cleared. The fault
was therefore applied on the 10th second or in the middle of
the logged data.
The time plot of sample lgf-010 in Fig. 2 above was
divided into three parts, the 1st one-third is the “prefault”,
the middle is the “during fault” and the last one-third is the
“post fault”.
Fig. 3, 4 and 5 below are the “prefault”, “during fault”
and “post fault” frequency spectrum respectively of Fig. 2
in the y-axis direction.

F F T P L O T , P R E F A U L T , Y - A X IS (L G F -0 1 0 )
0 .1

V. RESULTS 0 .0 9
y - a x is

0 .0 8

A. Time Plots 0 .0 7

0 .0 6

The effect on the generator vibration amplitude at the

magnitude

0 .0 5

instant of fault are summarized on Table 1. 0 .0 4

0 .0 3

0 .0 2

TABLE I 0 .0 1

MAXIMUM VIBRATION MAGNITUDES

0 5 1 0 1 5 2 0 2 5 3 0 3 5 4 0 4 5 5 0 5 5

Fault % 6 6 4 p ts H z

Type g’s Increase Axis Fig. 3. Frequency Spectrum ("Prefault"), which is the FFT of 1st one-
third of the time plot
3PF 0.330 65 -x
LLF 0.334 67 +y The fundamental mechanical frequency of the machine is
50hz (3000RPM) and therefore this should be the dominant
LLGF 0.314 57 +y
frequency. However, the dominant ones are below the 30hz
LGF 0.336 68 -y range. These frequencies are associated to the horizontal
The above values considered are the highest for all movement of the generator frame and the vertical motion of
samples for each fault type. the flooring where the generator lays as the machine has no
 4

foundation. Had there been a foundation, these should be of fault and Fig. 8 is again the displacement for normal
negligible. condition.

0 .1
F F T P L O T , D U R IN G F A U L T , Y - A X IS (L G F -0 1 0 )

y -a x is
The actual plot is the inner red lines and the blue
0 .0 9
peripheral lines represent the maximum generator motion
0 .0 8

0 .0 7
for a set of shaft revolutions. Fig. 7 for instance is for 334
0 .0 6 shaft revolutions equivalent to 761 data points which is the
m agnitude

0 .0 5
middle one-third of the time plot.
0 .0 4

0 .0 3
-3 XY P LOT, DURING FA ULT (LGF-010)
0 .0 2 x 10
4
90°
0 .0 1

3
0 5 1 0 1 5 2 0 2 5 3 0 3 5 4 0 4 5 5 0 5 5
H z
7 2 8 p ts
2

Fig. 4. Frequency Spectrum (“During Fault”), which is the FFT of the

y-axis (dis placem ent)

1
middle data of the time plot when the fault was applied.
0 180° 0°

-1

F F T P L O T , P O S T F A U L T , Y - A X IS (L G F -0 1 0 ) -2
0 .1
y -a x is
0 .0 9 -3

0 .0 8 270°
-4
0 .0 7 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
x-axis (displac em ent) -3
0 .0 6 761pts (334rev) x 10
m agnitude

0 .0 5 Fig. 7. XY Plot (“During Fault”) of the middle one-third of the time plot
0 .0 4
when the fault was applied.
0 .0 3

0 .0 2

-3 XY P LOT, P O S T FA ULT (LG F-010)

0 .0 1 x 10
4
90°
0 5 1 0 1 5 2 0 2 5 3 0 3 5 4 0 4 5 5 0 5 5
7 5 6 p ts H z 3

Fig. 5. Frequency Spectrum (Post Fault"), which is the FFT of the last 2

one-third of the time plot

y-axis (dis placem ent)

0 180° 0°
No pattern or significant change in terms of frequency
-1
contents and phase observed between the “prefault”,
-2
“during fault” and “post fault” spectra for both the x and y-
-3
axis directions. Overall however, the “during fault” 270°
-4
amplitudes are higher than the “prefault”. -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1
x-axis (displac em ent)
2 3 4
-3
760pts (334rev) x 10

Fig. 8. XY Plot ("Post Fault") of the last one-third of the time plot.
C. XY Plots
To obtain the plots, the acceleration data were converted Fig. 7 above demonstrates the typical response of the
to displacement to give a unit of measurement in mils. Two generator when fault is applied. The “during fault” plots are
coordinate systems were used: the Cartesian to measure the larger in diameter (and distorted) than the “prefault” and
displacement while the Polar to determine the direction of “post fault”. From the same plot, at the time of fault, the
the displacement in terms of angle at the time of fault. generator was displaced by 1.5 x 10-3 mils towards 286°
and by about 0.5 x 10-3 mils at 185°. The “post fault” plot is
Below are the “prefault”, “during fault” and “post fault” still distorted since the machine has not yet recovered from
XY plots of Figure 2 for the same sample. the effect of the fault since it has no foundation.

-3
x 10 XY PLOT, PREFAULT (LGF-010)
4
90°

3
VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
2 It is evident from the plots that the vibration frequencies
are random, which means that the generator motion is not
y -axis (dis plac em ent)

0 180° 0°
periodic. Random motion is associated with severe
-1
mechanical or structural looseness [7]. This is due to the
-2
fact that the generator has no foundation, situated on a
-3
second floor and lay only on concrete floor slab. Without
270°
foundation, there is a tendency that the generator motion
-4

760pts (334rev)
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1
x -ax is (displacem ent)
2 3

x 10
4
-3
could interact with the floor’s, nothing restricts the
Fig. 6. XY Plot ("Prefault") of the 1st one-third of the time plot. generator movement, there is no damping and the floor
could act as a cushion when the machine abnormally
Fig. 6 represents the normal shaft or generator vibrates such as during a fault.
displacement, Fig. 7 captures the displacement at the time

In the experiment, it was observed that the actual
sampling rate is much lower that the acquisition software’s
275hertz (hz) speed and fluctuates from 107 to 118hz.
Therefore the frequency spectra plots have to be verified
and this is probably the reason why the plots did not
provide sufficient information. Additionally, some critical
points could have been missed.
Lastly, the amplitude gains during fault are much lower
than what were anticipated and only a few displayed
increases in vibration magnitudes when faults were applied.
This is because that generators that are used for short
circuit testing as in the case of the model generator are
extremely robust in construction, over-designed [19].
Another possible reason could be that the generator is
loaded only with real power with zero power factor.
Therefore the magnitude of the fault current is lower since
the X/R value is lower.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
The effect of 3-phase fault (3PF), line-to-line fault
(LLF), line-to-ground fault (LLGF) and line-to-ground
fault (LGF) on the 5KVA model generator vibration
signature is evidently seen particularly on the time and XY
plots. LGF appears to have caused the strongest magnitude
gain followed by LLF. However, 3PF has the highest
average gain. This reveals that although LGF and LLF
could produce the strongest vibration magnitudes, a 3PF
will most likely generate strong vibration responses.
LGF also exhibited the greatest effect on the generator
shaft deflection by a wide margin against 3PF, which came
in second. Additionally, LGF fault has the highest average
shaft deflection, again by a wide margin. This means that a
LGF has the greatest effect on the generator shaft
deviation.
It is recommended however that the results should be
validated since the model generator did not have a
foundation, its motion is random; the results does not
represent the response of commercially designed generator
as the model generator is extremely robust in construction;
the acquisition software sampling should be consistent and
at least five times the generator’s mechanical frequency.
Moreover, because of the above analyses, the frequency
spectra were not a reliable source of information.
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[1] J. M. Undrill and L. N. Hannet, "Turbine-Generator Impact
Torques in Routine and Fault Operations," IEEE Transactions
on Power Apparatus and Systems, vol. PAS-98, 1979.
[2] S. M. Subcommittee and R. M. Committee, "Effects of
Switching Network Disturbances On Generator Shaft
Systems," IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and
Systems, vol. Vol. PAS-101, No. 9, 1982.
[3] T. J. Hammons and C. K. Lim, "Probability Assessment of
Turbine-Generator Shaft Torque Following Severe
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Energy Conversion, vol. Vol. 14, pp. 1115 to 1123, 1999.
[4] D. N. Walker, S. L. Adams, and R. J. Placek, "Torsional
Vibration and Fatigue of Turbine-Generator Shafts," IEEE
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100, pp. 4373 to 4380, 1981.
[5] T. Jainski, "Stresses of Turbo-generator Shafts and
Foundations Caused by Electrical System Faults(Paper
C253/80),," presented at 2nd International Conference:
Vibrations in Rotating Machinery, 1980.
[6] P. J. Tavern and J. Penman, Condition Monitoring of
Machines. Brisbane: John Wiley and Sons Inc, 1987.
[7] J. I. Taylor, The Vibration Analysis Handbook, A Practical
Guide for Solving Rotating Machinery Problems. Tampa:
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[8] A. Z. Khan, "Effects of Power System Parameters on Critical
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[9] B. M. Weedy, Electric Power System. Chichester, England:
Wiley, 1987.
[10] P. Kundor, Power System Stability and Control. New York:
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Systems Course on the "Effects of Faults on Synchronous
Machines," GEC Measurements 1989.
[12] A. Abolins, D. Lambrecht, and J. S. Joyce, "Effect of Clearing
Short Circuit and Automatic Reclosing on Torsional Stress
and Life Expenditure of Turbine-Generator Shafts," IEEE
Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, vol. PAS-95,
No. 1, pp. 14 to 25, 1976.
[13] V. d. Toro, Electrical Machines and the Power System. New
Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1985.
[14] S. Morii, N. Nagai, and K. Katayama, "Stability Analysis of
Rotors Operating in Magnetic Field, Paper C500/047/96,"
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Rotating Machines, 9-12 September 1996, 1996.
[15] T. J. E. Miller, "Faults and Unbalance Forces in the Switched
Reluctance Machine," IEEE Transactions on Industry
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[16] I. P. S. R. C. W. Group, "Single Phase Tripping and Auto
Reclosing of Transmission Lines," IEEE Transactions on
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[18] IEEE Power Systems Relaying Committee Working Group,
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[19] R. L. Ames, AC Generators, Design and Application.
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Rolando V. Oliquino, Jr. received his B.Sc in Electrical Engineering at
Southern Illinois University (1987) in the United States and M.Sc in
Electrical Utility Engineering (2002) at Curtin University of Technology
in Western Australia. He is currently an Electrical Engineer of the
Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) in the power generation
division..
Syed Islam received his B.Sc (1979), M.Sc (1983) and Ph.D (1988) in
electrical power engineering. He is currently an Associate Professor of
Electrical Engineering at Curtin University of Technology. He is also the
Deputy Director of the Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable
Technologies Australia. He is the Managing Editor of the International
Journal of Renewable Energy Engineering. He has published over 60
research papers in the area of electric power engineering including many
in the IEEE transactions. He is a member of the IEE, member of CIGRE
AP12 on transformers, Senior Member of the IEEE and a chartered
engineer in the United Kingdom. He received the Dean’s medallion for
research in 2000 from the Faculty of Engineering of Curtin University for
his outstanding contribution to research. He is the recipient of the 1999
IEEE/PES prestigious T. Burke Haye's outstanding Faculty Recognition
 6

Award. Dr. Islam’s current research interests are in power quality, energy
efficiency, condition monitoring of electrical machines and hybrid
renewable energy systems.

Halit Eren, BEng, MEng, PhD(Sheff), MBA(Curtin), MIEE, SMIEEE,

CEng. Dr. Eren’s current research interests include: Instruments,
instrumentation systems, industrial networks, industrial communications,
field buses, sensors and transducers, intelligent instrumentation and signal
processing.