Investigation of rotor thermal stress in squirrel cage induction motor with broken bar faults

Purpose Thermal stress of the rotor in a squirrel cage induction motor is generated due to the temperature rise, and the structure of the rotor will be destroyed if the stress acted on the rotor exceeds its limits, so the thermal stress is also one of the main causes led to broken bar fault. The purpose of this paper is to report the thermal stress coupled analysis for the induction motor with healthy and faulty rotor, and to find the variation tendency of the temperature and thermal stress due to broken bars, and the part most likely to break in the rotor as a result of the thermal stress load are identified. Design/methodology/approach The steady temperature and thermal stress of the rotor in the case of the healthy and faulty conditions are calculated by finite element method, and the 3D model of the motor used in the experiments is established and the experimental results are presented for both healthy and faulty machines. Findings The influence of the broken bars fault on the motor thermal profile and thermal stress can be found, and it explains why the breaking point always appears in the joint of the bars and end rings. Originality/value The paper presents the 3D thermal stress coupled model and performance characteristics of induction motor with broken bars. The reasonable constraint is established according to the contact of components each other, and more reasonable fracture location is selected. The results obtained by the simulation model are in a good agreement with practical situation, because the effect of skewed rotor were taken into consideration in the process of simulation.