An unsupervised learning approach to condition assessment on a wound-rotor induction generator

Accurate online diagnosis of incipient faults and condition assessment on generators is especially challenging to automate through supervised learning techniques, because of data imbalance. Fault-condition training and test data are either not available or are experimentally emulated, and therefore do not precisely account for all the eventualities and nuances of practical operating conditions. Thus, it would be more convenient to harness the ability of unsupervised learning in these applications. An investigation into the use of unsupervised learning as a means of recognizing incipient fault patterns and assessing the condition of a wound-rotor induction generator is presented. High-dimension clustering is performed using stator and rotor current and voltage signatures measured under healthy and varying fault conditions on an experimental wound-rotor induction generator. An analysis and validation of the clustering results are carried out to determine the performance and suitability of the technique. Results indicate that the presented technique can accurately distinguish the different incipient faults investigated in an unsupervised manner. This research will contribute to the ongoing development of unsupervised learning frameworks in data-driven diagnostic systems for WRIGs and similar electrical machines.