Effects of System Harmonics and Unbalanced

Voltages on Electromagnetic Performance of

Induction Motors
Amir Khoobroo, Mahesh krishnamurthy, Babak Fahimi, Wei Jen Lee

University of Texas at Arlington

Tel: 817-272-2667,
EML: fahimi@uta.edu

Abstract- Various phenomena can deteriorate the performance
of induction motors and cause potential safety hazards. This can
be harmful for the respective applications. Deficiencies like
unbalanced voltages due to an unbalance in the power grid or
harmonics in the voltage source could result in problems like
excessive losses, over-voltages, mechanical oscillations, and
interference with control electronics. Detecting these abnormal
conditions in the machine is of great importance in the
interaction of the electrical machine and the power grid. In this
paper the effect of the unbalanced voltages and harmonics on
the motor performance, have been investigated. Then,
monitoring these unhealthy condition using electrical machine
parameters is carried out. In this case motor itself can act as the
sensor that detects unpopular condition.
could be accurately carried out even if a combination of both
would exist.
II. NORMAL CONDITION ANALYSIS
In this section normal operating condition has been
investigated. A 5hP, 208V three phase induction motor, is
simulated for the following operating conditions. It is
necessary to accomplish this to develop a reference for
comparison purposes. This model has been simulated using
the commercial finite element package MAGNET from
Infolytica©. The generated mesh for this machine has been
shown in Fig. 1.

I. INTRODUCTION
The squirrel cage induction motors are widely used in
industrial applications as the energy conversion devices.
Various phenomena can deteriorate the performance of these
machines and potentially cause safety hazards. Exposure to
unbalanced-voltages can create a profound change in the
performance of induction motors. Harmonics, on the other
hand, can raise a range of problems for this family of electric
machines. Deficiencies like excessive losses and over- Fig 1: Mesh description of the model generated for FEM analysis
voltages are major problems from the power grid point of
view. Mechanical oscillations and interference with control Select set of machine parameters for the prototype used in
boards are problems from the customer point of view. this study can be found in Appendix-A. The dynamic
Therefore it is extremely important to detect these abnormal equations of induction machine can be written as [5]:
working conditions by some means and provide proper dλ i
modifications in hardware/ firmware to overcome them. A Vi = RI i + i = a, b, c (1)
wide variety of research have been done on the harmonics dt
detection and modeling of the unbalanced conditions In this equation V and I are voltage and currents of the 3
[1,2,3,4]. In these papers, the subject has been considered phase stator windings respectively. R and λi are the matrices
from the theoretical point of view and numerical methods to
of the stator winding resistance and phase flux linkages. In
calculate unbalanced parameters and harmonics components
normal condition motor was supplied by its rated voltage
have been derived for induction generators.
which is 170 volts peak for each phase. The voltages applied
In this paper the unbalanced voltages and the harmonics
are as follows:
combined together has been considered. The electrical
machine itself has been considered as a device to detect Va1(t ) = 170 cos(2π 60t )
harmonics and unbalanced working condition. This study Vb1(t ) = 170 cos(2π 60t + 240) (2)
investigates the relationship between harmonics existence and Vc1(t ) = 170 cos(2π 60t + 120)
unbalanced working condition to the measurable parameters
like voltage, current and torque. The aim of this investigation
The rotor slip is 3%. Fig. 2 depicts the simulation results in
is to find suitable parameters so that by monitoring them,
this case.
harmonics existence and unbalanced condition monitoring

k,((( 
 1 component can be used.
0

Ia
-1 A. Unbalance in the voltage magnitude
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 In this case an unbalance of 20% and 15% of the rated
1 voltage is assumed for phase B and C voltages respectively.
0 So, the value of the voltages for phases A, B and C would be
Ib

-1 as follows:
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Va = 170 Vb = 136 Vc = 144.5
1 The torque components from simulated model have been
0 shown in figure 3. In order to have a better view of the torque
Ic

-1 components frequency analysis has been made using DFT.

100 200 300 400
time(ms)
500 600 700 Torque components have been shown in figure 4. According
(a) to this figure there is a DC component and a 120 Hz
1.05 component as expected. The magnitude of this component is
big enough to be measured.
Torque

1
1.5

Torque
0.95
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
0.5
2
0
1 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Tavg

0 2

-1 1

Tavg
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
0
0.02

0 -1
Ripple

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

-0.02 0.5

-0.04

Ripple
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0
time(ms)

(b) -0.5
Fig 2: Normal condition. (a) Currents (b) torque, average torque and 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
time(ms)
ripple.
As shown in this figure the torque ripple is almost Fig 3: Unbalance in the voltage magnitude. Time domain
negligible. The average torque is almost 1 N.m. 0.8

0.7
III. UNBALANCED CONDITION ANALYSIS
0.6

In this part the unbalance in the phase and the magnitude of 0.5
the voltage has been considered. In order to model the
Torque

0.4
electrical motor symmetrical components can be used. A wide
variety of research has been done on modeling of unbalanced 0.3

condition [6,7]. In the unbalanced voltage operating condition 0.2

the torque can be written as follows [6]:
T = P ω = ( P0 + P2 ) / ω = T0 + T2 (3)
0.1

0
In which, T0 is the DC torque. T2 , is the torque 0 60 120 180 240
Frequency(Hz)
300 360 420 480

component whose frequency is twice the supply frequency. In Fig 4: Unbalance in the voltage magnitude. Frequency domain
a simpler way assuming induction motor as a RL load the Comparing to the case of the normal operation the average
torque can be written as: torque is decreased while the ripple has increased
T = (1 ω ) × η × V × I (4) significantly.
In which V and I are input voltage and current of each
phase respectively. Assuming sinusoidal waveforms for B. Unbalance in the voltage phase
voltage and current this equation can be rewritten as: In this part an unbalance of 10% is assumed for the phase
of applied voltages of phase B and C. The applied 3 phase
T = K cos( 2π 60t + α ) × cos( 2π 60t + β ) (5) voltages are as follows:
So, Va = 170 ∠ 0 ,Vb = 170 ∠ 216 ,Vc = 170 ∠132
T = K ' {cos(α − β ) + cos(2π 120t + α + β ) } (6) Fig. 5 depicts the torque components in this case. Based
Based on equation (6) the resulting torque would include a on the figure there is a significant increase in the torque ripple
DC term and a term whose frequency is twice the while the average torque has decreased a little bit comparing
fundamental frequency of the applied voltage. In order to to case (a).
detect the unbalanced supply voltage this extra torque

k,((( 
 4
The torque components have been shown in Fig. 6 depicts
2
the torque components in this case.

Torque
0
As expected in this case the ripple is increased more and
-2
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 the average torque is decreased. From the performance point
2
of view pulsating torque is unaccepted so it is important to
1
detect and avoid any kind of unbalance in the voltage.
Tavg

-1
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 IV. HARMONIC ANALYSIS
2
Because of the destructive effects of the harmonics like
torque pulsation, acoustic noise and increased losses a wide
Ripple

0
variety of the research have been done to minimize the
-2
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 harmonics in the voltage supply [3,4,8]. In this part three
major harmonics namely, 3rd, 5th, and 7th harmonics are
time(ms)

(a)
0.9 introduced to the model. Moreover, a combination of these
0.8
harmonics is considered as well. The machine has been
0.7
supplied with the rated voltage and the harmonics are injected
0.6
in the voltage source. The applied voltage can be written as:
V (t ) = V1 sin( 2πft ) + ∑ Vk sin( 2πkft + θ k )
0.5
14243 k =3,5,7
Torque

0.4 fundamental 144424443 (7)

0.3 Harmonics

0.2
It is shown in [9] that the current in the stator windings are
0.1
as follows:
0 Vk (t )
0 60 120 180 240
Frequency(Hz)
300 360 420 480
I k (t ) = k = 1,3,5,7 (8)
(b) ( Req2 + X eq2 )
Fig 5: Unbalance in the voltage phase. (a) Time domain (b) frequency
domain. In which Req and X eq are stator equivalent resistance and
C. Unbalance in the voltage magnitude and phase reactance respectively. Based on equation (8) it is expected
In this case an unbalance of 10% is applied for voltage that the harmonics with the same frequency but different
phase and magnitude. The applied voltages are as follows: amplitude would be present in the stator currents.
Va = 170 ∠ 0, Vb = 153 ∠ 216, Vc = 153 ∠132 A. 3rd harmonic
4 In this case the 3rd harmonic is injected into the voltage
2
sources. As the main frequency of the voltage source is 60Hz
Torque

0
the harmonic frequency is 180Hz. According to the standards
-2
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 the magnitude of the harmonics should be less than 5% of the
2
main frequency magnitude. The magnitude of the main
1
frequency voltage is 170 (V) so the magnitude of the voltage
Tavg

-1
harmonic is 8.5(v). Two cases are assumed here. In the 1st
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
2
case the stator windings are not grounded but in the second
case the stator winding is star connected and grounded. The
Ripple

0
voltages that are applied to the stator 3 phases are as follows:
-2
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 3rd Harmonic:
time(ms)

(a) Va3(t ) = 8.5 cos(3 × 2π 60t )

0.8
Vb3(t ) = 8.5 cos(3 × 2π 60t ) (9)
0.7

0.6
Vc3(t ) = 8.5 cos(3 × 2π 60t )
0.5

The analysis results are shown in Fig. 7. In case of an

Torque

0.4
ungrounded stator winding the currents due to the harmonics
0.3
are not able to flow according to Kirchhoff’s law.
0.2
B. 5th harmonic
0.1 In this case the 5th harmonic is injected into the voltage
0
sources. As the main frequency of the voltage source is 60Hz
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480
Frequency(Hz) the harmonic frequency is 300Hz. According to the standards
(b) the magnitude of the harmonics should be less than 5% of the
Fig 6: Unbalance in the voltage phase and magnitude. (a) Time domain main frequency magnitude.
(b) frequency domain.

k,((( 
 1
0.5
0

Ia
1
-0.5
0

Ia
-1
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 -1
1
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
0.5
Ib 0 1
-0.5
0

Ib
-1
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 -1
1 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
0.5
0 1
Ic

-0.5 0

Ic
-1
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 -1
time(ms)
1 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
time(ms)
1
0.9

0.9
0.8

0.8
0.7

0.7
0.6

0.6
0.5
Ib

0.5

Ib
0.4

0.4
0.3

0.2 0.3

0.1 0.2

0.1
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Frequency(Hz) 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
(a) Frequency(Hz)

1
Fig 8: 5th harmonic.
0 C. 7th harmonic
Ia

-1 In this case the 7th harmonic is injected into the voltage

100 200 300 400 500 600 700
sources. As the main frequency of the voltage source is 60Hz
1 the harmonic frequency is 420Hz. The magnitude of the main
0
frequency voltage is 170(v) so the magnitude of the voltage
Ib

-1

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

harmonic is 8.5(v).
1
7th Harmonic :
0
Va7(t ) = 8.5 cos(7 × 2π 60t )
Ic

-1 (11)
100 200 300 400
time(ms)
500 600 700 Vb7(t ) = 8.5 cos(7 × 2π 60t + 240)
1

0.9
Vc7(t ) = 8.5 cos(7 × 2π 60t + 120)
0.8 1

0
Ia

0.7
-1
0.6
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
0.5
Ib

1
0.4
0
Ib

0.3
-1
0.2 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

0.1
1
0 0
Ic

0 60 120 180 240 300

Frequency(Hz)
-1
(b) 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Fig 7: 3rd harmonic (a) Ungrounded (b) Grounded. time(ms)

The magnitude of the main frequency voltage is 170(v) so 0.9

the magnitude of the voltage harmonic is 8.5(v). The Applied 0.8

0.7
voltages are as follows:
0.6
5th harmonic : 0.5
Ib

Va5(t ) = 8.5 cos(5 × 2π 60t ) 0.4

(10) 0.3

Vb5(t ) = 8.5 cos(5 × 2π 60t + 120) 0.2

Vc5(t ) = 8.5 cos(5 × 2π 60t + 240) 0.1

0
The frequency analysis of the current waveforms has been 0 60 120 180 240
Frequency(Hz)
300 360 420 480

depicted in Fig. 8. th
Fig 9: 7 harmonic

k,((( 
 The frequency analysis of the current waveforms has been abnormal operating conditions. In the next section detection
depicted in Fig. 9. method is explained.
350

D. All harmonics
In this section all the above mentioned harmonics are 300

injected simultaneously into the stator windings. The stator 250

winding currents has been depicted in Fig. 10.

200
1
Active Power
0
Ia

Reactive Power

150
-1

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

100

0
Ib

50

-1

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0

healthy unb. Phase unb.Magnitude unb. Combined

1
Fig 12: active and reactive power
0
Ic

-1

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

VI. DETECTION
0.9
time(ms)
In case of an unbalanced voltage supplied to the induction
0.8
motor according to equations (3) and (6) there would be a
torque component with twice the fundamental frequency. It is
0.7
shown in figures 4, 5 and 6. So, in order to monitor
0.6
unbalanced conditions the frequency analysis of the torque
0.5
would be handy.
Ib

0.4
In case of the harmonics the frequency analysis of the stator
0.3
currents according to equation (8) would show the existing
0.2
harmonics. The frequency analysis of the stator currents as
0.1 shown in figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 verifies this fact.
0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480
It should be verified that in case of unbalanced voltages and
Frequency(Hz)
rd th th
harmonics current and torque could be used to detect the
Fig 10: 3 , 5 and 7 harmonics. faulty conditions. For this purpose the following voltages
have been applied to the model:
V. MACHINE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS FOR
UNBALANCED VOLTAGES Fundamentals :
The performance of the motor under unbalanced voltages Va1(t ) = 170 cos(2π 60t )
and harmonics has been summarized in Figs. 11 and 12. (12)
1.4
Vb1(t ) = 161.5 cos(2π 60t + 252)
1.2
Vc1(t ) = 161.5 cos(2π 60t + 114)
So for the fundamentals there would be a 5% of unbalance
1
in the magnitude of the voltage of phases B and C. Also there
0.8
assumed a 5% unbalance in the phase of voltages B and C.
Torque ripple
Torque Average (phase of voltage B should be 240 instead, it is 252 and for
Efficiency
0.6 phase C it should be 120 instead, it is 114).
0.4
3rd Harmonic :
Va3(t ) = 8.5 cos( 2π 180t + 10)
0.2
(13)
Vb3(t ) = 7 cos(2π 180t )
0
healthy unb. Phase unb.Magnitude unb. Combined
Vc3(t ) = 8.5 cos(2π 180t + 355)
Fig 11: torque components and efficiency
The amplitude of 3rd harmonic components should be 5%
According to these figures an increase in the unbalance of
of the fundamental but in this case for phase B there exists a
the voltage would increase the torque ripple significantly.
17.6% unbalance in the magnitude. For the phases A and C
This increase is more significant in case of an unbalance in
there exists, 5% and 3% of unbalance in the angle
the voltage phase. Also, the torque average and efficiency
respectively.
would decrease due to the unbalance. For the case of
unbalance in phase and magnitude the input power has been 5th harmonic :
increased but the efficiency is almost 20% less than normal Va5(t ) = 8.5 cos(2π 300t )
condition. Considering mentioned deficiencies in the (14)
performance and the extra losses, noise and torque pulsations Vb5(t ) = 8.5 cos(2π 300t + 120)
due to the harmonics it is of great importance to detect this Vc5(t ) = 8.5 cos(2π 300t + 240)

k,((( 
 No unbalance. VII. CONCLUSIONS
7th Harmonic: As the harmonics in the voltage source can cause excessive
losses, extra noise and pulsating torque detecting harmonics
Va7(t ) = 8.5 cos(2π 420t )
(15) in the voltage applied is important. The frequency analysis of
Vb7(t ) = 8.5 cos(2π 420t + 228) the stator currents can be used for detection. In the case of
Vc7(t ) = 8.5 cos(2π 420t + 120) unbalanced voltages the efficiency and average output torque
of the motor would decrease and the ripple would increase
There is 5% of unbalance in the angle of phase B. The
significantly destructing the motor application. In order to
simulation results are shown in Fig. 13. According to these
detect unbalance condition torque frequency analysis can be
figures the harmonic components can be detected by
used. In case of an unbalanced voltage with harmonics these
monitoring the currents. Also, the unbalance condition is
quantities still work properly towards detection purpose.
uniquely detectable
2
via torque frequency analysis.
1.5
REFERENCES
1
[1] E. Muljadi, D. Yildirim, T. Batan, C. P. Butterfield, “Understanding the
0.5 unbalanced-voltage problem in wind turbine generation”, IEEE Conf. on
0
industrial applications, vol.2, pp. 1359 – 1365, 1999.
Ib

[2] S. Dominguez Rubira, M. D. McCulloch, “Control method comparison of

-0.5 doubly fed wind generators connected to the grid by asymmetric transmission
-1
lines”, IEEE trans. on Industry Applications, vol. 36, pp. 986 – 991, 2000.
[3] M.G.A. Ioannides, “New approach for the prediction and identification of
-1.5 generated harmonics by induction generators in transient state”, IEEE trans.
-2
on Energy Conversion, vol.10, pp. 118 – 125, 1995.
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
time(ms)
[4] R. B. Stincescu, P. Viarouge, J. Cros, I. Kamwa, “A general approach of
1.8 space and time harmonics interactions in induction motors”, Int. Conf. on
1.6
Electric Machines and Drives, pp. 366 – 368, 1999.
[5] P. C. Krause, Analysis of Electric Machinery, McGraw- Hill, 1986, New
1.4
York.
1.2 [6] Lie Xu, Yi Wang, “Dynamic modeling and control of DFIG-Based wind
1
turbines under unbalanced network conditions”, IEEE trans. on Power
Systems, vol.22, pp. 314 – 323, 2007.
Ib

0.8
[7] T.K.A. Brekken, N. Mohan, “Control of a doubly fed Induction wind
0.6 generator under unbalanced grid voltage conditions”, IEEE trans. on Energy
0.4
Conversion, vol.22, pp. 129 – 135, 2007.
[8] X. Liang, Y. Luy, “Harmonic Analysis for Induction Motors”, Canadian
0.2
Conf. on Electrical and Computer Engineering, pp.172 – 177, 2006.
0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480
[9] P. K. Sen, H. A. Landa, “Derating of induction motors due to waveform
Frequency(Hz) distortion”, IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications, vol.26, pp.1102 – 1107,
(a) 1990.
1.5 Appendix-A: Induction machine parameters
1 Table1: induction machine parameters
Torque

0.5 Parameter Value

0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Rated Power 5 HP
2 Rated Voltage 208 V
1 Synchronous Speed 1800 RPM
Tavg

0 No. stator slots 36

-1 No. turns in stator coil 11
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
0.5
Stator coil material Copper
Stator back iron material M19
Ripple

0 No. rotor slots 45

Rotor bar material Copper
-0.5
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Rotor body material M19
time(ms)
0.9 Core length 3.5 Inches
0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5
Torque

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480
Frequency(Hz)

(b)
Fig 13: Unbalanced voltage and harmonics. (a) current (b) torque

k,(((