A Period Energy Method for Demagnetization Detection in Surface Permanent Magnet Motors with Search Coils

Irreversible demagnetization of permanent magnets (PMs) in PM synchronous motors (PMSMs) degrades the performance and efficiency of a machine and its drive system. There are numerous fault diagnosis methods for detecting demagnetization under steady-state conditions. However, only a few works could be found on fault diagnosis under dynamic conditions, whereas the dynamic operation of a motor is a very common scenario, e.g., electric vehicles. The voltage and current signal-based traditional fault detection method is not only affected by the structure of the motor, but it also becomes complicated to extract signals involving fault characteristics. Hence, this paper proposes a search coil-based online method for detecting demagnetization faults in PMSMs under dynamic conditions, which are not affected by the motor structure. To gather the flux of the stator tooth, flexible Printed circuit board (FPCB) search coils are positioned at the stator slot. The search coil is made up of two branches that are one pole apart and arranged in reverse sequence. In this installation option, the output signal in the fault state cannot be eliminated, and the output signal in the health state is zero. This paper defines only that characteristic value related to the position angle of the rotor. Further, the aim was to simultaneously eliminate the influence of elements like the search coil installation error and the inherent dispersion of the permanent magnet on the detection results. To characterize the fault degree, the measurement differential between the health state and the fault state is further integrated according to a predetermined angle range. Last but not least, speed-independent detection of individual permanent magnet demagnetization faults is possible using rotor position and stator tooth flux. A six-phase PMSM was used in experiments to show the efficiency of the suggested approach. The findings of the experiment demonstrate that the suggested strategy may precisely ascertain when a defect will occur.