This paper introduces a novel index for static eccentricity (SE) fault diagnosis in synchronous reluctance motors (SynRMs). Although SynRMs with rotor barriers under SE have been modeled in a few papers, any indices for the fault detection have not yet been reported. The proposed index is a specific frequency pattern in the motor current, which can also determine the fault severity. A novel analytical magnetic field investigation is applied to ascertain the proposed index. An accurate nonlinear numerical method is proposed for the motor inductances calculation. The model considers the rotor flux barriers, magnetic saturation, and the stator slots effect. The air gap flux density and the motor current are then achieved. The fast Fourier transform is exploited as a signal-processing tool to calculate motor current spectra. Then, a two-dimension time-stepping finite element method is used to attest of the proposed numerical model. Effectiveness of the proposed index is verified by simulation and experimental tests.

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