This paper proposes a novel, two-stage and hybrid approach based on variational mode decomposition (VMD) and the deep stochastic configuration network (DSCN) for power quality (PQ) disturbances detection and classification in power systems. Firstly, a VMD technique is applied to discriminate between stationary and non-stationary PQ events. Secondly, the key parameters of VMD are determined as per different types of disturbance. Three statistical features (mean, variance, and kurtosis) are extracted from the instantaneous amplitude (IA) of the decomposed modes. The DSCN model is then developed to classify PQ disturbances based on these features. The proposed approach is validated by analytical results and actual measurements. Moreover, it is also compared with existing methods including wavelet network, fuzzy and S-transform (ST), adaptive linear neuron (ADALINE) and feedforward neural network (FFNN). Test results have proved that the proposed method is capable of providing necessary and accurate information for PQ disturbances in order to plan PQ remedy actions accordingly.

Multiple techniques continue to be simultaneously utilized in the condition monitoring and fault detection of electric machines, as there is still no single technique that provides an all-round solution to fault finding in these machines. Having various machine fault-detection techniques is useful in allowing the ability to combine two or more in a manner that will provide a more comprehensive application-dependent condition-monitoring solution; especially, given the increasing role these machines are expected to play in man’s transition to a more sustainable environment, where many more electric machines will be required. This paper presents a novel non-invasive optical fiber using a stray flux technique for the condition monitoring and fault detection of induction machines. A giant magnetostrictive transducer, made of terfenol-D, was bonded onto a fiber Bragg grating, to form a composite FBG-T sensor, which utilizes the machines’ stray flux to determine the internal condition of the machine. Three machine conditions were investigated: healthy, broken rotor, and short circuit inter-turn fault. A tri-axial auto-data-logging flux meter was used to obtain stray magnetic flux measurements, and the numerical results obtained with LabView were analyzed in MATLAB. The optimal positioning and sensitivity of the FBG-T sensor were found to be transverse and 19.3810 pm/μT, respectively. The experimental results showed that the FBG-T sensor accurately distinguished each of the three machine conditions using a different order of magnitude of Bragg wavelength shifts, with the most severe fault reaching wavelength shifts of hundreds of picometres (pm) compared to the healthy and broken rotor conditions, which were in the low-to-mid-hundred and high-hundred picometre (pm) range, respectively. A fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis, performed on the measured stray flux, revealed that the spectral content of the stray flux affected the magnetostrictive behavior of the magnetic dipoles of the terfenol-D transducer, which translated into strain on the fiber gratings.

A novel bi‐signature optical spectroscopy for fault detection in electrical machines is presented. The combined use of long period grating (LPG) and two fibre Bragg gratings (FBG1 and FBG2) is implemented to discriminate between vibration and temperature sensitivity in the detection of machine faults. With LPG having higher sensitivity to temperature compared to both FBGs, machine faults are detected through spectral analysis of both signatures; and the optimal detection signature for each fault is consequently analysed. This novel technique utilises the principle of a shift in the wavelengths of the gratings to determine the kind of fault present in an electrical machine as the signature spectroscopy reveals varying amount of Bragg wavelength shifts for various fault types. The use of FBG sensing for fault detection in electrical machines has the potential of revolutionising non‐intrusive real‐time condition monitoring of future industrial machines with high reliability due to zero electromagnetic interference (EMI) as well as significant low cost of fibre‐optic sensors.