Matlab sensitivity analysis toolbox: an application on faults identification in induction motors

PurposeThis paper aims to introduce the usage of sensitivity analysis (SA) for the problem of faults identification in three-phase induction motors (IMs). These motors are susceptible to different kinds of faults that should be detected in a proper time to keep the systems working in a safety environment. Design/methodology/approachOne of the effective approaches for faults identifications, which is presented in the literature, is a model-based strategy. This strategy mainly depends on using a software model to make an identification decision. Therefore, this work intends to examine the model sensitivity towards variables' variation. The SA toolbox of Matlab R2017b package is used for this purpose since the Matlab software is a well-known environment, and it is easy for a nonstatistical person to deal with it. As a study case, open-circuit and stator inter-turn faults in the stator windings of a three-phase IM have been chosen. FindingsThe results show that the model-based strategy is considerably speed up by up to 30% when neglecting the trivial model's parameters with the same accurate identification decision as compared with the results of this strategy without using the SA. Originality/valueThe novelty of this work is summarized in devoting the usage of SA in the field of faults identification to enhance the speed of final decision.