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Motor bearing life has historically been from six to ten years with sinusoidal 60 Hz power to the motor. However, with modern adjustable speed drives (ASDs), some users are seeing bearing damage in as little as one week, damage caused by electric currents flowing through the bearings from shaft to motor frame, as the result of a voltage potential induced between the rotor and stator. This electric potential is associated with the use of solid-state switches, called transistors, which turn on and off thousands of times per second to control the voltage applied to the motor windings. These new switching devices, turning on and off very fast with extremely short rise and fall times of the applied voltages, have dramatically increased stress on the motor windings and on the bearings. And this damage is not limited only to AC motors, but also can stress DC motors, when driven by ASDs. Bearing damage caused by electric currents flowing through them is called electrical discharge machining or EDM. What causes bearing damage? Causes of bearing damage, for the most part, can be broadly classified within three categories: a. Lubrication b. Mechanical c. Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) or Bearing Currents It is important to seek to identify the specific cause of failure in order to not repeat the failure, often within a short period of time. Bearing current failures, for example can occur in as short a time as one week after installation. Others, such as insufficient grease, can take several years to develop into a problem. Table 15 lists the most common causes of bearing failure and evidence to look for, during operation in some cases, and others may require an autopsy to look for evidence. Bearing or shaft current damage is difficult to prove, short of cutting the bearing apart and examining it under a microscope.
Figure 15
Bearing Failure Causes Failure Category Inadequate Lubrication Wear Improper Mounting Corrosion Fatigue Other Causes Estimated % of Failures 35-40 15-20 10-15 5-10 5-10 20
Further breaking down the leading causes of failure helps to identify the root cause and provide a guide for corrective action. Figure 16 lists the primary causes of failure and evidence supporting the assumptions. Shaft currents are the fastest growing cause of bearing failure today, because of the rapid deployment of adjustable speed drives in industry, air conditioning and ventilating systems, plastic extruders, etc. Its root causes will be presented and analyzed to provide guidance for prevention of recurrence. Service centers play an important role in helping their customers identify and fix causes of premature motor failure. It helps to know the history of failures or repairs, but which are sometimes just not available or the piece of equipment transferred from one site to another.
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Table 16
Bearing Failures/Malfunctions Cause Overload Foreign Matter Excessive Preload Excess Grease Insufficient Grease Cocked Bearing Shaft Currents Evidence Spalled Races/Balls, Rollers Noise, Embedment Excessive Heating Immediate High Temperature Delayed High Temperature Noise, Skewed Ball Path Spherical Craters or Fluting
Shaft Voltages and Bearing Currents There are three primary causes of shaft voltages and bearing currents in drives today. Electrostatic rotor voltage caused by power supply asymmetry resulting from: a. Unbalanced line voltages b. Common mode voltage caused by odd number of semiconductor switches on at one time (AC inverter driven) This is electrostatic asymmetry. Fast switching (high frequency ) PWM power supplies a. Fast voltage transients (high dv/dt) b. High frequency of PWM Carrier Axial rotor voltage generation caused by motor magnetic asymmetry or flux imbalance (Figure 1) due to: a. Rotor static or dynamic eccentricity b. Rotor slotting c. Axial cooling holes in rotor d. Stator eccentricity For AC drives the most common cause of shaft voltages and bearing currents is the generation of electrostatic potential induced on the rotor, as a result of common mode voltage. PWM Adjustable Speed Drive and Topology Figure 17 shows a block diagram of a typical PWM adjustable speed drive, and Figure 18 the simplified drive schematic, with the input diode rectifier bridge, a DC bus filter capacitor, and an output or inverter stage.
Figure 17 Block Diagram PWM AC Motor Control
AC MAINS
AC Motor
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AC MAINS
To Motor
0 Volts
VCM
0 Volts
+
VB/2 Effective System Neutral VB/2
SW-1
SW-3
SW-5
Motor Neutral
+
SW-2 SW-4 SW-6
CW
Ground
Windings
0-Ref
Motor Frame
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Motor Neutral
SW-1
SW-3
SW-5
Ground
0-Ref
+ VB/2
RW
RW
System Neutral
+ + Voltmeter VCM
RW
Motor Neutral
VB/2
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closed. And when the triangle signal is greater, the lower switch SW-2 is closed. The resulting phase-tophase voltage waveform VA VB = VAB at the output of the inverter or drive is a sinusoidally-weighted PWM voltage of peak amplitude VBUS with an effective switching frequency twice that of the triangle carrier frequency fC and a fundamental frequency fO which is that of the sine reference signal. This PWM algorithm has been one of the more popular PWM strategies, but is rapidly giving way to higher performance algorithms such as Space Vector modulation, with the ready availability of higher performance microprocessors and DSPs.
Figure 23
Circuit at Time T2 when SW 2, 4, 5 Closed
+VB
MOTOR
Motor Neutral
SW-1
SW-3
SW-5
Ground
+ VB/2
RW
Motor Neutral
System Neutral
+ VB/2
+ Voltmeter VCM
RW RW
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Motor Neutral
Groun d
Figure 26 Common Mode Voltage with Six-Step Inverter Operation (Switching sequence 1-6-3-2-5-4)
Phase A Switching
+VB/2 -VB/2
1 - ON
3 - ON 4 - ON Phase C Switching 5 - ON 6 - ON 5 - ON 6 - ON 4 - ON
3 - ON
-VB
+2VB/3
T1
T2
T3
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Phase A
Phase B
Phase C
+VB/2 0 -VB/2
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By summing the three voltages at the ASDs output terminals with respect to a reference or ground, a voltage waveform is generated that is a function of the PWM frequency, with rapid transitions corresponding to the switching speed of the IGBT switches. It is this common-mode voltage that is induced in the motor circuit, creating problems as described earlier. For the sine-triangle PWM strategy of Figure 28, a common-mode voltage is generated as repeated in Figure 29. It very much resembles the six-step waveform of Figure 27. Note the mostly uniform transitions or steps with amplitude VB/3, except for an occasional seemingly double transition of two times VB/3 or 2VB/3. It is these larger transitions that create the most trouble for the drive system; high dv/dt, bearing currents, EMI, etc. Referring to the waveforms of Figure 28, it is seen that these double transitions correspond to almost simultaneous switching of transistors in different phase legs of the inverter. Avoiding these almost simultaneous transitions by delaying the turn-on or turn-off of the second or following transistor by no more than 5-10 microseconds, a clear step or plateau results and has the effect of minimizing common-mode dv/dt. Figure 28 Sine-Triangle Common Mode Voltage (from Figure 28)
+VB/2 +VB/6 0 -VB/2 -VB/6
Bearing Currents
Inverter-induced bearing currents appear to have two characteristic modes: a. Displacement current through the bearing This is proportional to the derivative of common mode voltage applied to the stator winding. This current is capacitive and occurs to some degree at every switching transition of the inverter. Its magnitude can be affected by anything that affects the rise time (dv/dt) of the applied voltage (current loading of the switching device, dc bus voltage, reflected wave reinforcement/cancellation, etc.) or the instantaneous capacitance of stator to rotor (rotor tooth to stator tooth alignment, air gap eccentricity, etc.). These variations make the capacitive current a somewhat random phenomenon. b. Discharge of electrostatic energy that is stored in the capacitance between rotor and stator. This event also appears to be highly stochastic (non-repetitive or random) and causes peak currents that are one to two orders of magnitude greater than displacement currents. Factors that may play a role in the occurrence of discharge currents are rise time of the applied voltage, asperity of the rolling elements or journals, grease thickness, grease contaminants and bearing loading (mechanical, thermal). This is the current that causes pitting and fluting of the bearing races, and will be the main focus of this discussion.
Bearing Currents
Often the only path available for rotor current is through the bearing races and balls to the grounded motor end bell/frame. As static voltage builds up and discharges through the bearings, pitting and scoring of the balls and raceways occur over time and can lead to premature failure of the bearing. If the capacitively stored energy is great enough, this energy concentrated in a very small area raises the temperature of the point of contact, melting the metal and creating a pit. Various solutions have been proposed and some are in production; such as slip ring/brushes (on the shaft to ground it), conductive lubricants, ceramic ball bearings, etc.
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Figure 29
Bearing Equivalent Circuit Outer Race
SB COR SOR LB
CIR
SIR
RB
Inner Race
(a)
(b) Figure 30
Simplified Bearing Current Model
(c)
Motor Coils
CWR
VCM
VCM CWR VB
CWS
Rotor
LWS
SB
SB
CB CW
LB CB
Stator
CB
LB
RB
RB
(c)
Shaft Voltage
Shaft voltage relates to bearing current but the relationship is not direct. One cannot assume that twice the shaft voltage will result in half the bearing life for example. However, if the shaft voltage is sufficiently low, little or no bearing current will flow. NEMA MG 1-1993, Section IV, Part 31 states that bearing failure due to electrical arcing on motors with frame sizes less than 500 frame series, can occur if shaft voltages higher than 300 millivolts (peak) are present. Other sources (EPRI, etc.) suggest that voltages greater than 5 volts will result in EDM bearing damage. However, it is assumed that the ohmic discharge of electrostatic energy as described above, is the primary cause of bearing damage. Shaft voltages up to 30volts and bearing currents exceeding 700 milliamp have been measured in the laboratory.
Effect of dv/dt
The higher frequency and dv/dt cause voltages to build up on the rotor through charging of parasitic capacitance from the motor windings to the rotor. Since the stator is grounded via the motor frame, voltages appear on the rotor and shaft with respect to the frame. The higher the frequency and dv/dt, and the smaller the air gap, the higher the voltage difference, and it can easily approach 10-15 volts or more. This can cause problems for sensitive loads or measuring equipment connected to the motor shaft, as in high speed cutting tools.
Shaft Voltage
30 Volts
Ohmic Discharge
Bearing Current
Time t in sec.
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Figure 32 Illustration of Relationship of CMV, Shaft Voltage and Bearing Current 480 VAC Drive with 660 VDC Bus
+330-Volts
0
-110-Volts
-330-Volts
5 s
Measurement of Bearing Currents In order to obtain a measurement of the current through the bearing under actual operating conditions, the bearing must be electrically isolated from the frame and an alternate conducting path must be provided from bearing to the frame. The alternate conducting path, usually a lead wire jumper from stationary bearing outer race to motor end bracket, serves as an access point for a shunt or high bandwidth current probe. Not only does this modification require extensive rework of the motor under test; it also alters the high frequency impedance of the bearing current circuit. Additionally, because of the stochastic nature of bearing currents, it is not possible to accurately define such current with one number, such as peak current. Instead, statistical measures such as average, median, standard deviation (assuming a normal distribution) and frequency of occurrence may be more meaningful. Such measures require the phenomenon to be observed over relatively long periods of time with high sample rates in order to capture the true waveshape of each individual current pulse. Statistical post-processing is required, above and beyond what would normally be found on a digital storage oscilloscope.
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Having said all of the above, it is possible to estimate relative peak magnitudes of bearing current based on knowledge of the shaft voltage and the stator-to-rotor capacitance. A discussion of shaft voltage and techniques for observing and/or measuring it and stator-to-rotor capacitance follows. Bearing Facts An Oil film between bearing and raceway is typically 0.1 to 1 m thick, as depicted in Figure 32. Assume average is 0.5 m. A typical sheet of paper is around 0.1 mm thick. It would take 200 oil films stacked on top of each other to equal the thickness of one sheet of paper.
Raceway
Low Speed
Motors operating at low speeds, where the balls tend to maintain direct contact with the races, usually sustain little severe damage from bearing currents. Because of this almost constant contact, the shaft voltage cannot rise high enough to cause melting and pitting of the races. Frosting (burnishing) of the raceways may be the best indicator of sustained low speed, low voltage operation. Consequently the only warning may be a slight increase in bearing noise over a period of time. There is an exception to low bearing damage at low speed, and that is if the drive is operating at high torque, requiring high voltage to the motor. In this case severe damage can occur in the form of a random pitting pattern, shown in Figure 33 c
Varying Speed
By varying the motor speed over even a small range, the oil film tends to be less uniform and the discharges more random. The peak bearing currents have been observed to initially drop by more than 50% when motor speed is stepped from a fixed speed to a new RPM. If speed is again held constant the bearing current spikes begin to rise as the oil film once again becomes uniform. After several minutes at that new speed the current spikes are back to their initial amplitudes. This would imply that introducing a small dither in the speed of the motor would reduce bearing damage, and reports from industrial installations support this hypothesis.
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Higher Speed
It has been observed in the laboratory that speed does influence bearing currents and resulting failure. At motor frequencies below 25 Hz, shaft voltages are low and Bearing currents are small. As motor frequencies are increased above 25 Hz, discharge amplitudes grow rapidly up to 40-45 Hz, rising slightly until around 50-55 Hz, but the incidence of discharges decreases as the bearings float on the more uniform oil film. Above base speed, the discharge amplitudes again decrease as the PWM waveform of applied voltage is overmodulated, and the incidence of discharges continue to decrease. Sustained operation near base speed can result in severe pitting because of the relatively uniform oil films created. This uniform film allows shaft voltage to build up to fairly high levels before arcing, yielding fewer but more severe discharges. Techniques that Protect the Bearings Here are some of the ways one can protect the motor bearings with a relatively high degree of success, listed in order of preference (for a variety of reasons). Some, such as the shaft grounding brush, require periodic inspection or maintenance. Use Shaft Grounding Brush Insulate Both Bearings Isolated Bearings/Both (Ceramic) Use Bearing with Conductive Greases Dv/dt Filter (also called Sine Wave Filter) Use a Motor with Faraday Shielded Stator Winding Common Mode Transformer (Passive) Common Mode Filter (Active) Dual PWM Inverter (12 Switch) Motor with Specially Wound Stator for CMV Cancellation Techniques that Reduce Bearing Currents, but not eliminate the potential for them. Reduce PWM Frequency to lowest acceptable value Install 3-5% Inductor between Drive and Motor Securely ground motor frame with low inductance/impedance cable plus conduit back to drive Reduce Drive Input Voltage to Lowest Acceptable Value Always use motor under load (minimize no-load operating time)
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15-26
Stator
ODE
Bearing
Rotor
DE Bearing
Shaft
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Rotor
Shaft
Voltage induced in shaft by magnetic asymmetry causes bearing currents as shown by arrows
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Figure39 Shaft Voltage and Bearing Current Caused by Capacitive Coupling between Stator and Rotor
Stator
ODE
Bearing
Rotor
DE Bearing
Shaft
Voltage induced in shaft by capacitive coupling to stator windings causes bearing currents as shown by arrows
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Stator
ODE Bearing
Insulating Material for Isolating Shaft from Bearing Inner Race Voltage induced in shaft by magnetic asymmetry but no current can flow through bearings Figure 41 AC Motor with Shaft Isolated at Both Ends
Stator
Rotor Insulation
Shaft DE Bearing
ODE Bearing
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Figure 42
Outer Race Isolated Bearings From SKF
Figure 43
AC Motor with Hybrid (Ceramic) Ball Bearings
M o
Rotor Shaft
20-26
Stator
Shaft Grounding Brush Assy
Rotor Shaft
ODE Bearing
DE Bearing
Figure 45
AC Motor with Radial Shaft-Grounding Brush Assembly on Both Ends
Stator
Shaft Grounding Brush Assy
Rotor Shaft
ODE Bearing
DE Bearing
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22-26
MOTOR CABLE
AC Motor
Common-Mode Current Flowing through Earth-Ground/Building Conduit and Loads (Red = Not Good)
23-26
24-26
Sheath
Phase T1
Phase T2
Ground
Phase T3
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Phase T3
Phase T2
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