Survivability-Based Protection for Electric Motor Drive Systems-Part I: $3\phi$ Induction Motor Drives

This article develops a survivability-based protection for three-phase induction motor drive ($3\phi$ IMDs) systems against severe dynamic events. The developed protection is based on defining a survivability index $\Gamma _{\text{IMD}}$, which is formulated in terms of the change in power created by a dynamic event experienced by a $3\phi$ IMD. The determination of $\Gamma _{\text{IMD}}$ provides an accurate tool to detect, identify, and respond to unsurvivable dynamic events. The efficacy and validity of the survivability-based protection for $3\phi$ IMDs are verified through simulation and experimental tests. These tests are conducted for 10 hp $3\phi$ IMD under various types of dynamic events. Test results demonstrate the effectiveness of the survivability-based protection in responding to unsurvivable dynamic events to prevent damage to different components in a $3\phi$ IMD.