Effect of motor vibration problem on the power quality of water pumping stations

In this paper the effect of motor vibration problems on the dynamic performance and electrical power quality of water pumping stations is studied. A pump unit was tested for a full load and no load operating conditions. The dynamic results indicated that there is a problem of looseness in the motor base plate. The measurements were repeated again after achieving good support to the motor on its base plate. The results indicated that the vibration level decreased about 48% due to good support. The electrical power quality analysis showed that; the total harmonic distortion (THD) increases by about 1–2% due to the effect of bad motor vibration, and the 5th and 7th harmonic contents also increased by about 0.5–1.0%. Also the bad motor vibration caused large values of instantaneous flicker. These results indicated that the bad motor support causes many dynamics troubles and causes some power quality problems for the electrical feeder.