The Harmonic Order Tracking Analysis (HOTA) for the Diagnosis of Induction Generators Working Under Steady State Regime

Improved fault diagnostic techniques in induction generators is a field of growing interest given the negative impact *that unexpected breakdowns have on energy production and on the electrical system. New diagnostic techniques based on induction generator currents monitoring have recently been developed, but their use is still irrelevant despite the advantages that presents to detect electrical faults in the generator. This situation is due to the needs of high computing power and memory resources which are not available in embedded devices for on-line monitoring, also, to the use of signal processing techniques that generate volumes of data difficult to transfer to control centres, where they could be processed. This paper proposes the use of a recent methodology known as the harmonic order tracking analysis (HOTA) that solve these problems to for the diagnosis of induction generators. This approach can be implemented in low cost digital devices; the resultant patterns are very simple and easily interpretable, even by nonqualified personnel. Moreover, these patterns are characterized by a very low number of parameters, which make easy their transmission to remote control centres. In this paper the practical application of this approach is proposed using a laboratory test bed.