Dick Roche FPS, Inc.

Portland, OR, USA

During these time periods, deficiencies can arise that go

undetected and can cause damage to motor windings.
In an article published in the February, 1998 issue of
P/PM Technology [1], an electrical maintenance engineer
with thirty years experience and the responsibility of 14,000
electric motors at an Alcoa Aluminum plant in Iowa stated
the following: "History has shown that 80% of our motor
failures are caused by something outside the motor, such as
high resistance caused by worn contacts in the motor starter,
or loose connections on the motor starter or fuse holders."
FPS, Inc. has recently introduced a new on-line electrical A common problem with most electric motor mainte-
diagnostic motor data acquisition system called MotorLink. nance procedures is that deficiencies that have been
The system is always at work monitoring and displaying identified, such as through the use of infrared thermography
electrical bus and load conditions to give engineers the may have been "fixed" by tightening an apparently loose
earliest possible warning of motor related electrical connection. Studies have shown that in a typical plant as
deficiencies the instant they occur. It is a unique diagnostic many as 60% of these deficiencies are still present after the
system, in that all monitoring is done from one central connection has been tightened or otherwise "fixed".
location connected to the main bus. Motor start signature Tightening a connection does not necessarily fix the problem.
data is recorded using the company's patent pending wireless The connection may be corroded, oxidised or may have been
bus deductive technology that eliminates costly hardwiring tightened many times over the years. Bolts may have become
to individual motor sensors, or the time consuming need to stretched or associated hardware may have become distorted
move diagnostic equipment from motor controller to motor or weakened such that they are not able to apply the proper
controller to conduct off-line measurements. clamping force on a conductor. For this reason, it is essential
The system is comprised of an electrical bus data that the test be repeated after the maintenance has been
acquisition computer connected to the main bus for three- performed to assure that the problem has indeed been
phase voltage measurement and to each phase of each corrected. Often this "post measurement" is not performed Figure 1

generator for current measurement. An FM transmitter is and the action taken is assumed to have rectified the problem. View of FM transmitter (white) mounted
inside a motor controller
installed in each motor controller of the motors being
monitored (Figure 1 ). These transmitters serve two purposes
in that they signal the computer that a "motor start" event has
occurred, so that it will record the changes that occur in bus
voltage and current levels, plus the transmitters send out a
programmed tag number identifying which motor is
responsible for the measured changes in bus parameters. A
circular buffer with pre and post trigger ability assures that
bus data is captured for each monitored motor before, during
and after the motor start thus providing a complete starting
signature for each motor.
In particular, MotorLink samples, analyses and archives
(for PM records) every motor's starting signature each time a
monitored motor starts or changes speeds. The motor
signatures are "trended" in waterfall display graphs for simple
indication of degradation of bus, feeder, motor controller or
motor junction box connections as well as starting contact
condition. Since electrical conditions are measured each time
a motor is started or changes speed (as with forced draft fans)
indication of electrical problems are displayed immediately
without waiting for a calendar periodic megger or
thermographic survey report which may be six to twelve
months apart.
 Figure 2 (top} Voltage
attenuators connected to main
bus

Figure 3 (middle) CT’s

connected to main bus

Figure 4 (bottom}
View of the MotorLink computer and crt display

With the MotorLink system a "post measurement" is

taken the next time the motor is started, and will indicate
whether or not the deficiency has been rectified without
the need to have maintenance personnel re-perform their
test procedures.
MotorLink provides the earliest possible identification
of bus, feeder, controller, or motor winding problems at the
instant they occur because the system is constantly "on
watch" twenty-four hours a day sampling generator, bus
and motor data 1000 times per second, looking for the
slightest degradation from normal condition.
The instant an induction motor starts, it can draw
between 600% to 800% of its full load nameplate current
rating. Any circuit resistance in the form of a loosened
connection or badly pitted starting contactor can be easily
identified under this condition if the measurement
equipment is on line and fast enough to capture the
transients that occur. MotorLink takes advantage of this
fact to measure each motor's starting current signature as
well as the relative three-phase current balance. Resistance
caused unbalanced conditions that would appear minor
under normal running load are amplified at the motor start
and serve to provide a much earlier warning of a degrading
condition. MotorLink detects and identifies electrical
motor problems while the condition is minor and before
the condition can worsen, causing damage over time and
eventual failure of the motor. Table 1 illustrates
MotorLink features.
Motorlink identifies and captures motor starting
signatures which are displayed on a monitor located in the
control room. The information is displayed in the form of a
"Signature” which under normal conditions is indicated as
a predictable waveform. (much like an EKG wave form).
Should the motor circuit deteriorate, due to a bad contact,
loose motor lead, ground, shorted lead etc., the signature
will become distorted when compared to the "normal"
waveform. MotorLink is programmed to compare the
waveform and trigger an alarm on a real time basis to alert
the Engineer of a developing problem long before it does
cumulative damage to motor windings. The system can
also automatically print out a date and time stamped
"Maintenance Action Recommendation Form" indicating
the motor identification, degree of severity of the fault and
a diagnostic guideline for the required maintenance.
In a typical installation all motor data is archived to a
2GB removable disk which is typically removed on
monthly basis for analysis by FPS, Inc. The data used to
generate condition reports and comprehensive trending for
PM records and regulatory body machine surveys. A new
disk is inserted at this time so there is no gap in data
acquired or in any motor signature history.
When an induction motor is started it draws several
times its full load rated current. MotorLink measures the
high motor starting current and identifies resistances
within motor circuits that would not be easily measured
under normal running conditions. All electrical connections
loosen over time due to mechanical vibration and the natural
heating and cooling of the conductors and connectors. As
contacts become pitted and burned over time, poor
connections or excessively pitted contacts cause resistance's
that create unbalanced conditions, producing excessive heat
Table 1. MotorLink Features
in motor windings which degrades insulation, eventually
causing short circuits and ultimate motor failure. MotorLink
measures the quality of all electrical connections from the Multi-station three phase voltage and current
main switchboard, through circuit breakers, feeders, measurement from a single location
disconnect switches, main contactors, all the way to motor
pot heads and the windings.
Non-intrusive, stand alone system
MotorLink is a revolutionary concept unparalleled in the No costly field wiring required
Industry. It is fully automatic, requires no operator
intervention or training and is equally effective whether the
No operator training required – fully automatic
vessel is on its own power or shore power for out of service Motor starting current each phase
vessels. This early warning system can drastically reduce the Motor starting signatures voltage, current, KW each
risk of unscheduled downtime due to motor failures from
electrical faults. The cost of motor repair or replacement is phase
minor compared to the cost of down time. MotorLink is Complete diagnostic display
always on line and can also identify intermittent electrical
deficiencies that conventional portable equipment cannot
Over-voltage indication
unless it happens to be connected to the right circuit at the Ground indication*
right time. With a MotorLink installation, data is Voltage measurement peak to peak or RMS
automatically acquired, displayed and archived for all
designated motors. When a motor starts or changes speed, the Current measurement peak to peak or RMS
system captures signature data at 1000 samples per second Individual motor over-current alarm set points*
per phase per channel resulting in an extremely accurate
database.
% Voltage unbalance
The system has been installed in several plants and has % Current unbalance
produced data indicating many minor and several major % Kilowatt unbalance
deficiencies On one plant, two major deficiencies were
indicated in critical motor controllers that had gone Bus frequency measurement*
undetected. Once identified, these deficiencies were Loss of phase indication*
immediately corrected, thus prolonging the motors' service
life and avoiding unscheduled downtime. MotorLink is
Degradation of electrical connections
designed to be an effective tool that will enhance the Degradation of starter contacts
reliability and maximize plant uptime. Alarms and identifies momentary “single phase”
conditions*
Motor start-up time (stopped to running speed)*
REFERENCES Motor running hours*
1. Shaw, D. Jr., AC Motor Monitoring -Panel Discussion, in P/PM Archiveable and trendable motor start signatures
Technology, February 1998, SC Publishing Div., ISSN 0899-
1804.
(waterfall diagrams)
Records and archives voltage spikes or dips*
Phase harmonic analysis, voltage and current*
Motor performance quality*
Automatic print out of fault condition*
More thorough than conventional methods

Generator Performance Monitoring

IF YOU HAVE ANY INQUIRIES REGARDING THE CONTENT OF THIS Governor/load response analysis*
ARTICLE, PLEASE CONTACT: Speed droop measurements*
Dick Roche Load sharing stability*
FPS, Inc. Power factor measurements*
6211 North Ensign Street Reactive current measurements*
Portland

OR 97127 * indicates optional feature

USA

Tel: (503) 285-8083

Fax: (503) 285-7173