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Induction motors lifetime expectancy analysis subject to regular voltage

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Conference Paper · October 2017

DOI: 10.1109/EPEC.2017.8286230

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 2017 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

Induction Motors Lifetime Expectancy Analysis

Subject to Regular Voltage Fluctuations
Kun Zhao, Lin Cheng, Chaohai Zhang, Dexin Nie, and Wei Cai

Abstract—The behaviours of induction motor, even the lifetime, switching or recurrent pulses, thermal aging of the insulation
are strongly depending on the power supply quality, such as due to different motor structure and operating environment,
voltage sags, harmonics and voltage unbalance. The winding and insulation damage caused by extra mechanical vibration
temperature increase resulting to insulation breakdown has been
considered as one of major causes of the motor failure. This paper forces. However, the induction motor power loss is considered
investigates the lifetime impact of voltage fluctuations on induc- as the main contribution lead to hot spot temperature rise
tion motor, particularly the induction motor operating lifetime re- inside, subsequently cause the insulation ageing process. Any
duction which is contributed from stator current variation char- PQ problems which generate extra power loss for induction
acteristic. Additionally, the induction motor lifetime expectancy motor is always paid more attentions, such as voltage har-
analysis with different load level is also represented subject to
two voltage fluctuations conditions, which is (1) constant voltage monics and unbalance.
magnitude change with different modulation frequency. (2) flicker A large amount of literature reported the effect of voltage
level Pst = 3 with different modulation frequency. (3) different harmonics and unbalance on induction motors, covering the
voltage magnitude change with different modulation frequency. term of electrical analysis, unexpected performance and life-
The demonstration results show the decrease of induction motor time expectancy [2]–[6]. Paper [2] investigates lifetime loss in
lifetime caused by voltage fluctuations is considerably depended
on voltage change, modulation frequency and load level, and this induction motor operating with unbalanced supplies, involving
reduction tendency cannot be indicated by the flicker index Pst the electrical model, thermal model and thermal aging equa-
value. Thus, one advanced power quality (PQ) index need to be tions application in order to estimate the motor insulation life.
proposed to specify the impact on electrical equipment originated The analysis of lifetime reduction for induction motor duo to
from low frequency voltage distortion. harmonics is reported in [4], [6]. Furthermore, a series of study
Index Terms—Voltage fluctuation, flicker, induction motor, also concern the induction motor lifetime decrease in relation
stator current, rotor current, lifetime. with voltage harmonics and unbalance combination together.
Both [5] and [7] show that the voltage unbalance has a more
I. I NTRODUCTION pronounced effect on reduction of motor operating life than
harmonics since a small voltage unbalance level will cause
A MONG power quality (PQ) issues, the lighting flicker
problem caused by fluctuating voltage supply is one
of the most complains both for utility and customer. The
large negative sequence current resulting in more power loss.
This is why NEMA standards define the ratio of the maximum
annoying of lighting flicker is not only depending on lamp voltage deviation from average over the average voltage is less
types, but also the complicated human eye-brain system which than 1%. However, [3], [7], [8] mentioned one phenomenon
is perceived by lighting intensity. With the incandescent lamps which is the induction motor thermal insulation aging is sig-
is replaced by other new lamp types, one suggestion relaxing nificantly affected by subharmonics. Furthermore, experiments
the normative flicker limits is proposed with consideration of described in [9] confirmed that voltage subharmonics lead to
the new lamp types are less sensitive to voltage fluctuations. an induction machine considerable temperature rise inside.
However, the potential detrimental effects caused by flicker Unfortunately, this risk limitation is not yet specified by any
level improvement should be studied, such as induction motor, relative standards and guideline [10].
which widely applied in industry and almost consume two- As similar as subharmonics phenomenon, voltage fluctu-
thirds of the total electric power generated. Although ad- ations also contain extra low frequency components, which
justable speed drives (ASDs) is becoming more popular due to is super-synchronous frequency (fundamental frequency plus
the convenient control, the number of induction motor directly modulation frequency) and sub-synchronous frequency (funda-
connected to the public supply network is still great. mental frequency minus modulation frequency). Therefore, the
The two main reasons leading to squirrel cage induction induction motor lifetime expectancy analysis in theory subject
motor failure is mechanical aspect with bearing fatigue dam- to regular voltage fluctuations is of primary attention in this
age and stator insulation materials deteriorate [1]. Actually, paper.
the factors which affect the motor insulation life is too com- The paper structure is organised as: The induction mo-
plex, including electrical stress, like voltage surges caused by tor lifetime estimation is reviewed in Section II, including
electrical model, thermal model and lifetime calculation. Fur-
Kun Zhao, Lin Cheng, Chaohai Zhang, Dexin Nie, and Wei Cai are with the thermore, for case studies, the lifetime of induction motor
State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, Wuhan NARI, Wuhan, 430074, assessment is demonstrated and summarised in Section III
China (E-mails: [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected] and cai- with different load level and under various voltage fluctuations
[email protected]). conditions. Finally, the Section IV presents the conclusion and

978-1-5386-0817-3/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE

 2017 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

suggestion. variation, in practice voltage fluctuations are quite random

and are difficult to be used in systematic studies. For this
II. I NDUCTION MOTOR LIFETIME ESTIMATION reason it is common to use regular voltage fluctuations in many
The lifetime of a machine can be regarded as the period of flicker related studies. This paper uses sinusoidal amplitude
time from fabrication finish to the moment when the machine modulation to study the induction motor behaviour. Such a
cannot serve anymore. During this period, the facts affected waveform can be defined using:
the machine insulation life is involving the terms of thermal, v(t) = Vp sin(2πfc t)[1 + m sin(2πfm t)]
electrical and mechanical stresses, as well as environmental ΔV (1)
conditions. However, the thermal stress is considered to dom- m=
2Vp
inant than other stress, additionally, experience and analysis
have shown that the insulation aging process is completely where, Vp is the amplitude of the fundamental AC voltage. fc
depend on the operating temperature value and performance is the fundamental frequency and modulation frequency is ex-
time. Therefore, as an indicator, the hot-spot temperature pressed as fm . The voltage magnitude variation is represented
can be applied to estimate insulation condition and predict by ΔV and the modulation depth is represented by m.
the induction motor aging life. Although induction motor Alternatively, (1) can be expressed as:
operating temperature is affected by many factors, the primary mVp  π
contribution is from electrical power loss, including copper v(t) = Vp sin(2πfc t) + sin 2π(fc + fm )t −
2 2
losses, core losses, etc. Meanwhile, the copper losses conquers mVp  π
(2)
the most percentage of the total power loss. Therefore, a + sin 2π(fc − fm )t +
2 2
general life span of an induction motor can be estimated by According to (2), the fluctuating voltage source contains two
using the integration of electrical model, thermal model and frequency components; a super-synchronous frequency, also
lifetime model, as presented by the flow chart in Fig. 1. known as the upper-sideband (USB) and a sub-synchronous
frequency, also known as the lower-sideband (LSB). Addi-
tionally, the investigation also shows that the stator current
USB and LSB components is hardly to be consumed by the
load, meanwhile, this current distortion strongly depends on
the voltage fluctuations conditions (various voltage magnitude
change and modulation frequency) and load levels, similarly as
harmonics problems. With modulation frequency and voltage
change increases, the stator and rotor RMS current of the
motor increase dramatically. From heating perspective, this
trend certainly increases the copper loss, resulting in motor
winding temperature rise, subsequently accelerating the aging
process.

B. Thermal Model
Current machines design is aiming to compact size and high
efficiency. This tendency lead to machine materials is highly
Fig. 1. Motor lifetime estimation process temperature sensitive because of fierce market competition
resulting in the less design margin to reduce the expense.
Therefore, in order to precisely predict and calculate the
A. Electrical Model temperature inside induction motor, a comprehensive thermal
Power system voltage fluctuations and hence flicker are model needs to be established. However, the thermal models
evaluated using short term and long term flicker severity of low to medium rated machines need not be excessively
indices Pst and Plt . For rectangular voltage fluctuations the complex because of the basic nature of their construction.
threshold of flicker perception is defined using the Pst = 1.0 Thermal failure in these machines is most likely to occur in
curve [11] for incandescent lamps which covers a voltage either the stator or rotor windings. Both [5] and [7] establish
modulation frequency range between approximately 0.5 Hz the similar thermal model according to the motor geometrical
and 32 Hz. Related to this curve, for flicker perception, structure. Alternatively, the thermal also can be determined by
at the low modulation frequency the depth of modulation using experimental method. Regarding the matter what is rotor
correspond to approximately 10% and whereas the minimum heat does not flow through the stator to the ambient but via
depth of modulation is approximately 0.3% that correspond the shaft to the ambient, stator winding temperature affects
to a modulation frequency around 8.8 Hz. Flickermeter as stator insulation life, motor life finally, the temperature can
defined in IEC 61000-4-15 [12] is normally used to measure be considered to be proportional with stator power loss [2].
the severity of voltage fluctuations and hence the flicker. This kind of view is already applied in stator winding online
From a theoretical perspective, although voltage fluctuations thermal evaluation protection system, which is the average
can be considered to be regular with a constant level of stator winding temperature can be estimated through injecting
 2017 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

TABLE I
DC bias current and voltage [13]. Furthermore, this kind of I NSULATION C LASS R ATINGS
view is also applied in this paper to estimate induction motor
lifetime approximately without considering the comprehensive Class Maximum temperature (°C) Temperature rise (°C)
A 105 65
induction geometrical structure. B 130 90
F 155 115
H 180 140
C. Thermal Aging Estimation H’ 220 180
It has been taken many years to figure out the relationship
between machine operating time, temperature and material in-
sulation. Finally, the famous Arrhenius equation (temperature HIC
Halving interval (14, 11, 9.3, 8 and 10 for class A,
increase is proportional to the activation energy) is proposed B, F, H and H’, respectively).
and as basic law to determine the insulation aging rates, which The Table I shows the insulation class type thermal limit and
can be expressed as: allowable temperature rise at an ambient temperature of 40°C.
E Insulation material and systems can be classified according
L = Be KT (3) to the temperature referred to the lifetime limitation almost
is 20,000 hours based on the temperature-life characteristics
L The life in units of time.
[14]. Thus, 20,000 hours is generally considered as the ma-
B A constant value.
chine insulation lifetime at full-rated temperature condition for
E The activation energy of the aging reaction
industry application and design (L0 = 20, 000h). For example,
1.05 for Class F Insulation.
assume a motor with Class F insulation system operating at
K Boltzmann constant
124°C. The lifetime of the machine can be calculated through
K = 1.38 · 10−23 joule/°Kelvin
the formula (7):
= 0.8617 · 10−4 eV/K.
T The absolute temperature in K. Lx = 20, 000 · 2(
155−124
9.3 ) = 201, 587 h (8)
If taking the logarithm of both sides of equation (3):
As mentioned previously, if the incremental temperature at
E the critical point is considered as to be proportional with the
lnL = lnB + (4)
KT incremental stator copper loss of the induction motor, the
Equation (4) shows the logarithm of the insulation life will lifetime of induction motor can be estimated approximately
linearly decrease corresponding against absolute temperature as:
 
increase. Therefore, if the lifetime at certain temperature is Tb −Rth ·Ploss

known, the lifetime at another temperature can be estimated Lx = L 0 · 2 HIC

(9)
through converting to an equivalent time base on the reference Ploss = 3Is2 Rs
lifetime and temperature, which can be explained as:
   Rth Equivalent thermal resistance (°C/W).
E 1 1 Ploss Induction motor stator winding copper loss. (W)
lnt1 − lnt2 = − (5)
K T1 T2 Is Induction motor stator current. (A)
Rs Induction motor stator resistance. (Ω)
t1 Aging time at absolute temperature T1 (K).
t2 Aging time at absolute temperature T2 (K).
III. C ASE STUDY
For example, if one F insulation class induction motor lifetime
is 20 years (t1 = 20) operating at the hot-spot temperature is As an illustrative example, a Class F insulation Toshiba 5.5
100°C(T1 = 100+273 = 373K), the induction motor lifetime kW, 50 Hz induction motor was simulated to estimate the
(t2 ) which operating at 150°C(T2 = 150 + 273 = 423K) can induction motor lifetime subject to different voltage fluctuation
be calculated as: conditions and various load torque levels.
    
20 1.05 1 1
ln = − 12000

t2 0.8617 × 10−4 373 423 (6) Normal

10000 Pst = 17.941 and 5 Hz
t2 = 0.421 (Y ) Pst = 27.271 and 10 Hz
8000 Pst = 16.257 and 15 Hz
Lifetime (p.u.)

Additionally, for industry machine application, the experience Pst = 10.117 and 20 Hz
thermal aging model 10°C rule that the insulation life is halved 6000
Pst = 6.866 and 25 Hz
for every 10°C rise is widely applied, can be shown in (7). 4000 Pst = 4.684 and 30 Hz
  Pst = 2.707 and 35 Hz
Tb −Tx
L x = L0 · 2 HIC (7) 2000

Lx The estimated lifetime at temperature Tx . 0

0 5 10 15
Torque (N.m)
20 25 30 35

L0 The reference lifetime at rated load.

Tb The total allowable temperature for insulation Fig. 2. Motor lifetime estimation with load torque gradually increase subject
class. to 10% voltage magnitude change and different modulation frequency
Tx The hot-spot temperature for insulation class.
 2017 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

155−31.46
Lx = 20, 000 · 2( ) = 1.9946e8 hours
5
10
Normal Pst = 17.941 and 5 Hz
9.3 (11)
10
4 Pst = 27.271 and 10 Hz

3
Pst = 16.257 and 15 Hz Similarly, based on stator RMS current that obtained under
10
various voltage fluctuations and load torque conditions, the
Lifetime (p.u.)

10
2
Pst = 10.117 and 20 Hz induction motor lifetime can be calculated with considera-
10
1 Pst = 6.866 and 25 Hz tion of constant stator resistance (Rs ) and equivalent ther-
Pst = 4.684 and 30 Hz mal resistance (Rth ). If taking the induction motor lifetime
0
10 Pst = 2.707 and 35 Hz under normal condition with full load level (20,000 h) as
10
−1
reference base, the per-unit lifetime can be illustrated in
0 5 10 15 20
Torque (N.m)
25 30 35
Fig. 2 with corresponding Pst values. Obviously, with load
level increasing, the lifetime of induction motor decreases
Fig. 3. Motor lifetime estimation with load torque gradually increase subject enormously whatever under normally voltage supply condition
to 10% voltage magnitude change and different modulation frequency
or voltage fluctuations condition. On the other hand, following
the modulation frequency linearly rise up, the motor lifetime
1 Normal drop down significantly both for light load torque and full
Pst = 17.941 and 5 Hz
load torque level. This tendency is also clearly displayed in
0.8
Pst = 27.271 and 10 Hz
Fig 3, which change the lifetime axis from linear format to
Lifetime (p.u.)

0.6
Pst = 16.257 and 15 Hz logarithm. Fig. 3 also reveals that subject to constant voltage
Pst = 10.117 and 20 Hz magnitude change (10%), the decrease of lifetime is proportion
0.4 Pst = 6.866 and 25 Hz with the modulation frequency increase with taking account
Pst = 4.684 and 30 Hz of both light load and full load. Furthermore, if considering
0.2
Pst = 2.707 and 35 Hz
induction motor lifetime under normal condition as reference,
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
this characteristic can be displayed in Fig. 4, which is under
Torque (N.m)
light load level (for example, 5 N · m), 15 Hz modulation
frequency condition makes the lifetime reduce to 0.655 p.u.,
Fig. 4. The compasion of motor lifetime between voltage fluctuations
condition and normal condition this number is down to 0.609 p.u. with full load level (35
N · m). Additionally, with 35 Hz modulation frequency, the
per-unit value is 0.08 for 5 N · m load and 0.06 for 35 N · m.
A. Case 1
According to the parameters of induction motor, the full 12000
Normal
load torque can be calculated as almost 35N ·m. Moreover, the 10000
ΔV
V = 1.671% and 5 Hz
ΔV
stator current under normal power supply condition based on V = 1.099% and 10 Hz

the load torque from light level (0N ·m) to full level (35N ·m) 8000
ΔV
V = 1.843% and 15 Hz
Lifetime (H)

ΔV
= 2.962% and 20 Hz
can be obtained. If the voltage supply magnitude change keeps 6000
V

ΔV
10% constant, the induction motor stator RMS current can be V = 4.365% and 25 Hz

also estimated and summarised in response to various load 4000 ΔV

V = 6.400% and 30 Hz
ΔV
= 11.087% and 35 Hz
torque levels. As can be noted, with carrying the same load 2000
V

torque, the stator RMS current of induction motor increase

0
considerably following the modulation frequency grows, both 0 5 10 15
Torque (N.m)
20 25 30 35

for light load level (0N · m) and full load level (35N · m). For
example, the stator RMS current is 5.0435 A with 10N · m Fig. 5. Motor lifetime estimation with load torque gradually increase subject
load torque subject to 5 Hz modulation frequency, however, the to flicker level Pst = 3
current increase to 6.8683 A when subject to 35 Hz modulation
frequency condition. This number is changed from 10.060 A 5
10
to 11.1697 with full load torque. Normal ΔV
= 1.671% and 5 Hz
4 V
If supposing this motor has a life span of 20,000 hours when 10 ΔV
V = 1.099% and 10 Hz
ΔV
= 1.843% and 15 Hz
operating at a constant rated temperature of 155°C(ambient 3
10 V
ΔV
= 2.962% and 20 Hz
of 40°C) with full load level, and assuming the induction V
Lifetime (H)

2
10
ΔV
motor hot-spot temperature increase is proportion with stator 1
V = 4.365% and 25 Hz
10
copper loss, as mentioned previously. The lifetime of induction ΔV
V = 6.400% and 30 Hz
0
10
motor operating under different conditions, including normal ΔV
= 11.087% and 35 Hz
V
and voltage fluctuating conditions, can be obtained according −1
10

to the equation (8) and (9). Looking into normal condition, if −2

10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
the motor is working with 5 N · m load, the stator current is Torque (N.m)

4.5103 A and the lifetime can be calculated as:

Fig. 6. Motor lifetime estimation with load torque gradually increase subject
3 · 4.51032 · Rs · Rth to flicker level Pst = 3
Tx = × 155 ℃ = 31.46 ℃ (10)
3 · 10.01122 · Rs · Rth
 2017 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

1 ΔV
Normal simulated the human eye-brain system that perceived readily
V = 1.671% and 5 Hz
ΔV
V = 1.099% and 10 Hz
by the low modulation frequency (about 9 Hz). Additionally,
0.8 ΔV
V = 1.843% and 15 Hz
ΔV
under same Pst value, the large voltage ratios change can be
V = 2.962% and 20 Hz
Lifetime (p.u.)

0.6
distinctly displayed and exhibited in Fig 5–Fig 7.
ΔV
V = 4.365% and 25 Hz

0.4 ΔV
V = 6.400% and 30 Hz C. Case 3
ΔV
0.2 V = 11.087% and 35 Hz
7
x 10

0 12
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Torque (N.m)
10

Lifetime (H)
7
x 10
Fig. 7. The compasion of motor lifetime between flicker level Pst = 3 and 15
8
10 35
normal condition 31
5 27 6
23
0
19
Hz)
Vo cy (
15 4
2
lt ag 4 11
r e quen
B. Case 2 eC 6 8 7 F
io n 2
ha 10 3
ulat
ng
e( Mo d
As the indicator of voltage fluctuations, the unit of Pst is %) 0

applied to define the flicker limit in power system to avoid the

(a) Simulation result
extra lighting annoying. If flicker level is suggested to improve,
such as let Pst = 3 with considering the new lamp types is
7
x 10
14

less sensitive to voltage fluctuations, the corresponding con- 12

sequence of induction motor lifetime is analysed in this case.

Lifetime (H)
10
Similar as Case 1, the investigation of induction motor stator 15
x 10
7

8
current and lifetime assessment can be summarised through 10
31
35

5
applying (8) and (9) when the induction motor operates with 23
27 6
)
(Hz
0
supply voltage fluctuations level is Pst = 3. Vo 2 15
19

quency
4
lt ag 4 11 Fr e
In this case, still taking the induction motor lifetime under eC 8
6
7
ula t io n 2
ha 10
Mo d
3
normal condition with full load level (35 N · m and 20,000 ng
e(
%) 0

h) as reference base, the per-unit lifetime can be described

in Fig. 5 with various load level. As can be noted, with (b) Experimental result
flicker level Pst = 3, the lifetime of induction motor are
Fig. 8. Motor lifetime estimation with light load subject to various voltage
very close to normal condition and almost overlap together, in fluctuations
particularly modulation frequency under 20 Hz. Meanwhile,
with the modulation frequency beyond the 25 Hz, the lifetime With the voltage change ratio and modulation frequency
of motor decreases significantly both for light load and heavy increase, the induction motor stator current will increase
load. This decrease characteristic also can be illustrated in rapidly in particularly the higher voltage change and higher
Fig 6 to clearly show the lifetime in heavy load range. modulation frequency range. For both light load and heavy
When comparing induction motor lifetime under Pst = 3 load, the investigation details can be summarised, including
conditions with normal one, the percentage of lifetime de- the simulation results and experimental verification results.
crease can be obtained and shown in Fig 7. As illustrating in Moreover, the corresponding lifetime decrease tendency can be
Fig. 7, the 15 Hz modulation frequency makes the lifetime illustrated in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 according to the simple lifetime
reduce to 0.986 p.u. with light load (5 N · m) and 0.9835 p.u. estimation model which consider the hot-spot temperature
with full load (35 N ·m). On the other hand, 35 Hz modulation increase directly is contributed from stator copper loss without
frequency lead to the lifetime drop dramatically to 0.045 p.u. taking account of thermal dissipation, including aspects of
with light load (5 N · m) and 0.031 p.u. with full load (35 conduction, convection and radiation effect, etc.
N · m). It also can be summarised that when the modulation From both simulation and experiment results, the tendency
frequency less than 20 Hz with Pst = 3 condition, the lifetime can be clearly showed that with the voltage change and mod-
did not show the significant reduction. ulation frequency increase, the lifetime of motor decrease dra-
When comparing the phenomenon conclusion in Fig 2, matically, particularly under higher voltage change and higher
Fig 3 with Fig 5, Fig 6, it can be indicated that the induction modulation frequency conditions. For example, in heavy load
motor lifetime decrease is almost proportion with modulation case study, 2% voltage change and 3 Hz modulation frequency
frequency increase if the voltage magnitude change is constant, lead to the induction motor lifetime reduce to 0.9982 p.u., and
however, this linearly decrease characteristic cannot be shown this number is down to 0.0665 p.u. with 10% voltage change
precisely by the flicker index Pst . For example, even with and 35 Hz modulation frequency for simulation results. Even
the same Pst , the induction motor lifetime decrease under for experimental results, the number is 0.9667 p.u. for 2%
higher modulation frequency conditions are much more than voltage change with 3 Hz modulation frequency and 0.1528
that under lower modulation frequency conditions. The reason p.u. for 10% voltage change with 35 Hz modulation frequency
is that the flickermeter which measure the flicker level is condition.
 2017 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

x 10
6
impact originated from voltage fluctuations, even other low
2
frequency voltage distortion.
Lifetime (H)
6

3
x 10 1.5 R EFERENCES
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bring the induction motor lifetime steeply decline for different
load levels.

IV. C ONCLUSION
An investigation has been continued to estimate the lifetime
of induction motor when subjected to two regular voltage
fluctuations with different load level, including constant volt-
age magnitude change with different modulation frequency
and constant Pst level with different modulation frequency
conditions. In order to calculate the induction motor lifetime,
the ideal and simple machine lifetime model is applied which
assuming the hot-spot temperature only depends on the stator
core loss and without accounting on the thermal loss and cool-
ing system effect, etc. However, this ideal model can usefully
display the tendency of the lifetime decrease contributed from
the stator current increase. Furthermore, through investigating
the lifetime with various voltage fluctuations conditions, the
results reveals that current flicker index Pst cannot indicate
the induction motor lifetime change ratios, in particular the
higher modulation frequency. Therefore, one advanced voltage
fluctuations index need to be proposed to specify the lifetime

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