Open-circuit fault diagnosis in 3-phase uncontrolled rectifiers

Abstract

This paper proposes a detection method for open-circuit faults in a 3-phase uncontrolled rectifier that forms the input stage of a single-phase current controlled power converter. The rectifier is driven by a 3-phase wind generator with variable amplitude and frequency. The algorithm is based on fault signatures embedded within the output voltage ripple of the rectifier. It is demonstrated that seven different classes of open circuit faults can be detected and isolated.