PROTECTION

OF
MOTORS
AC Motors – Classification:
• Synchronous Motors
• Induction motors
– Squirrel cage
• Single cage
• Double cage
– Slip ring induction motors.
• Induction motors are also available which work in single-phase.
– Split phase induction motor
– Capacitor induction motors,
– Universal induction motors,
– shaded pole induction motors,
– Repulsion motors.
Induction Motor:
Operating principle:
• Works on the induction principle, so is called an
induction motor.
• It has a rotor and a stator.
• AC supply is given to the stator.
• Stationary coils in the stator produces magnetic flux
rotating in nature when supplied with polyphase
supply.
• Rotating flux induces currents when linked with
shorted rotor conductors and produce a current.
• This current interacts with the rotating magnetic field
of the stator, which produces a mechanical force.
Protection of induction motor:
• Over load Protection:
– Thermal or magnetic overload relays are incorporated in the
motor starter to provide protection against overloads.
– Taking notice of transient over loads lasting ten to fifteen
seconds that occur during starting period.
– Whenever the overload relay trips due to overload, it has to
be reset.
– Both manual and automatic resetting is possible by suitably
adjusting the tripping mechanism.
– But due care should be taken while choosing the one so as
to avoid any damage to the motor.
• The common causes for overloads
– Excessive belt tension,
– Rubbing of rotor and stator,
– Single phasing, machine jam,
– Low voltage,
– Hard bearings.
• Short circuit protection:
– Provided by Fuses
– Grounding of coils
• Single phasing in induction motor:
– This causes the motor windings to be heated up and burnt.
– Causes:
• Blown out fuse in transformer primary,
• Blown out fuse in the motor branch circuit,
• Loose or poor connection in the switch/starter/contactor.
• Badly soldered winding connections in the motor.
• Open circuit within the winding.
– Standstill motor will not start in single phasing condition and gives
humming sound.
– If the fault occurs when the motor is running, it will continue to run
with squeezing sound till it gets isolated by the protective device.
– Protection against single phasing is provided in the cases of large
motors and critical duty motors.
• Protection against reversal of direction:
– Required when reversal of direction causes danger, like in lifts.
• Any electrical equipment during its operation bound to develop
some faults in it. A fault is a defect in an electrical circuit due to
which the flow of current is diverted from the intended path.
Certain distinctive feature of a fault is
• Fault impedance is very low.
• Fault currents are generally high.
• During the faults, the voltages of three phases become
unbalanced and the supply to the neighboring circuits is affected.
• Fault currents being excessive, they can damage not only the
faulty equipment, but also the installation through which the
fault current is fed.
• Therefore it is necessary to disconnect the faulty part as early as
possible.
• Faults cannot be totally avoided but can be
minimized by
• Improved system design,
• Improved quality of components,
• Better and adequate protective system
• Better operation and maintenance
• Adequateness of protection is judged by
considering the following aspects:
• Rating of the protected machine.
• Location of the protected machine
• Probability of abnormal condition due to
internal and external causes
• Cost of machine, its importance in the
process
• The type of protection used for a particular
motor depends on the switchgear used for
its control (starting, stopping, speed
variation etc)
• In general the basic protections provided for
every motor are
• Thermal overload protect
• Short circuit protection
• The switchgear used for motor control falls
into two distinct classes
• Contactor starters with HRC fuse and
thermal over current relays
• Circuit breakers and associated protective
relays.
•  
• Contractors and fuses are used for motors upto
approximately 150kW For larger motors circuit breakers
are used.
• Direct acting overload trips devices such as thermal
overload relay can be incorporated with the contactor
starter. The protection against short circuits is proved by
HRC fuse. The fuse selection depends on starting current.
The fuse should blow at currents more than those which
can be interrupted by the contactor.
• In case of voltage loss the coil is de-
energized and the contactor opens. The
motor has to be started again. Hence the
contactor starter provides no volt release.
Generally start, stop, reverse buttons are
provided along with the starter..Large
motors are provided with various relaying
schemes and a circuit breaker. The circuit
breaker is air break type or vacuum or SF 6.
• Air break type circuit breakers are more
popular. The closing mechanisms are
manually operated or solenoid operated or
spring closing type Solenoid closing is
suitable for remote controlled motors and
larger motors. Generally overload trip
devices operating direct on the tripping
mechanisms form an integral part of the
circuit breaker.
• Abnormal Operating Conditions and causes
of failures in Induction Motors:
• Mechanical overloads
– Sustained overloads,-prolonged starting or
locked rotor
– Stalling
• Abnormal supply conditions
– Loss of supply voltage –unbalanced supply
voltage
– Phase sequence reversal of supply voltage
– Overvoltage – under-voltage – under frequency
• Faults in starting supply/circuit
– Interruptions in phases –blowing of fuse/ single
phasing
– Short circuit in supply cable
• Internal faults in motor itself
– Caused by any of the above
– Phase to phase faults-phase to earth faults
• Failure o phase (open circuit) mechanical
failure
• The abnormal conditions are summarized
below:
• Prolonged overloading:
– It is ceased by mechanical loading, short time
cyclic overloading,. Overloading results in
temperature rise of winding and deteriorating of
insulation resulting in winding fault. Hence motor
should be provided with overload protection.
• Single phasing:
– One of the supply Ines gets disconnected due to
blowing of fuse or open circuit in one of the
three supply connections. In such cases the
motor continues to run on a single phase
supply. If the motor is loaded to its rated full
load, it will draw excessive currents on single
phasing, the winding get overheated and
damage is caused. The single phasing causes
unbalanced load resulting in excessive heating
of rotor due to negative sequence component of
unbalanced current. Static single phasing relays
are becoming very popular.
• Stalling:
– If the motor does not start due to excessive
load, it draws heavy current. It should be
immediately disconnected from supply
• Stator earth faults:
– Faults in motor winding are mainly caused y
failure of insulation due to temperature rise.
• Phase to Phase faults:
– There are relatively rare due to enough
insulation between phases. Earth faults are
relatively more likely.
• Inter turn faults:
– These grow into earth faults. No separate
protection is generally provided against inter
turn faults
• Rotor faults:
– These are likely to occur in wound rotor motors
due to insulation failure
• Failure of bearing:
– This causes locking up of rotor. The motor
should be disconnected. Bearing should be
replaced.
• Unbalanced supply voltage:
– This causes heating up of rotor due to negative
sequence currents in staor winding
• Supply under voltage:
– The under voltage supply cause increase in
motor current for the same load.
• Fault in starter or associated circuit:
– The choice of protection for motor is depends
upon the size of the motor, its importance in the
plant and nature of load.
•  
• Protection Requirements:
• Motor protection should be simple and
economical. Cost of protective system
should be within about 5% of motor cost.
The motor protection should not operate
during starting and permissible overloads.
The choice of motor protection scheme
depends upon the following:
• Size of motor, rated voltage, kw
• Type: squirrel cage or wound rotor
• Type of starter, switchgear and control gear
• Cost of motor and driven equipment
• Importance of process, whether essential service
motor or not
• Type of load, starting current, possible abnormal
condition etc.
Abnormal Alternate forms of protection from Remarks
condition which choice is made.
Overloads  Over load release  Overload protection given for
 Thermal overload relays almost all motors
 Inverse over current relays  Should not trip during
 Miniature circuit breaker with starting currents.
built in trip coils
Phase faults and  HRC fuses  Differential protection
earth faults  High set instantaneous over becomes economical for
current relays motors above abut 1000 kw.
 Differential protection  Below this high set
instantaneous protection is
preferred.
Under voltage  Under voltage release  Under voltage release
 Under voltage relays incorporated with every
starter
 Under voltage relay used in
certain applications
Unbalanced  Negative phase sequence Only in special applications
voltage relays
Reverse phase  Phase reversal protection  Generally at supply point
sequence  Prevents reversal of running.
Single phasing  Usual thermal overload relays  Recently developed static
 Special single phase single phasing devices
preventer becoming popular.
 Unbalance protection
Stalling  Thermal relays Instantaneous
 Instantaneous OC relays Trip
Rotor faults  Instantaneous Over current  Only for wound rotor motors
relays
Switching surges  RC surge suppressor  100 ohm, 0.1 micro Farad
connected between phase
and ground.
• Some of indications and inferences that can be drawn by observing the
faulty motor:
• If al the coils are burnt equally, the motor has failed due to
overloading only.
• Bursting of a coil may be due to rubbing of rotor or locked rotor., This
occasionally occurs due to malfunctioning of brakes.
• Burning of only one or two sets of coils indicate the single phasing
and loose contacts
• Rubbing of rotor occurs due to damaged bearing or unbalanced loads
• Bunt mark at terminal block or at one or two places, indicates over
voltages or starting the motor without heating basically insulation
failure.
• Partially burnt insulation all over the wining or crumbled insulation
indicates distorted wave forms. E g. PWM drives, Induction furnaces
etc.
Protections generally used in field:
Current Driven
Earth leakage Below 5% Core balance CT and Relay
Earth fault 2-10% 4 CT or earth Return CT
Unbalance 10-80% 3Phase CT and Relay
Overload 70-110% Thermal overload relay
Over current 120-200% IDMT Relay
Stalling 200-1000% Motor protection relay
Short circuit 200-4000% Instantaneous relays Fuses
Differential 2-20% Basically for earth fault within a
particular zone. CT on both sides
Voltage Driven
Under Voltage Below 85% UV Relay
Over Voltage Above 110% Over Voltage Relay
Unbalance Below10% Single Phase Preventers
Single Phasing Cumulative 10%
Distorted wave form
• Bimetal Overload Devices:
• Triple pole bimetal relays are generally employed.
• Bending of one or more bimetal strips causes movement of common
lever which in turn operates the trip contacts in case of overloads.
• The bimetal strips are either heated directly by current flown through
them or by special heater coil through which motor current flows.
• In case of bigger motors, they are connected in the secondary circuit of
CTs.
• Bimetal relays can be usually be set in a certain range.
• Most of them are provided with additional bimetal strips to enable
ambient temperature compensation.
• Bimetal strips can be self setting type or hand resetting type.
• Selection of Bimetallic Relay:
• Characteristics of motor and characteristics
of relay
• Nature of loading
• Type of starting
• Staring current
• Protection against overloads,
• Protection against single phasing.
• Short circuit Protection by HRC Fuses:
• Short circuit protection of motor, connecting feeder and
starter requires careful study. The overload protective
device and short circuit protective devices employed for
motor protection shall be well coordinated.
• The range of currents between 1.5 to 10 times rated current
is generally termed as overload range.
• Fault currents exceeding 10 times the rated current can be
considered as short circuit currents and those should be
covered by short circuit protecting devices
• The short circuit protection is provided by
one of the following:
• HRC fuse – short circuit release opening the
circuit breaker
• Instantaneous high set cover current relay
which trips the circuit breaker.
• Protection of large motors:
– Large motors need protection against various
abnormal conditions as follows:
– Faults in windings and associated circuits
– Reduction loss of supply voltage
– Excessive overloads
– Phase unbalance, and signel phased
– Phase reversal
– Switching over voltages, surges
• Types of relays available for motor
protection:
– Thermal protection only
– Thermal protection, Instantaneous over current
protection
– Thermal Instantaneous three phase over
current, instantaneous unbalance, single
phasing.
– Thermal, Instantaneous three phase over
current, Instantaneous unbalance, single
phasing and Instantaneous earth fault
• Overload protection of Induction motors:
• It can be grouped as
– Those which respond to motor current, e.g. bimetal relays, eutectic
alloy relays, electromagnetic relays, static relays.
– These relays open the control circuit of the main contactor or close
the strip of circuit breaker.
– Those which respond to winding temperature, e.g. resistor devices
embedded in slots, thermostats, Thermistors, etc
– Such devices are embedded in slots and serve to supervise the
winding temperature and trip the switching device.
• The current sensing overload protecting
devices can sense the following abnormal
conditions;
– Overloads, under voltage
– Single phasing
– Locked rotor, stalling
– Heavy starting
– Continuous overload.
– Heavy braking.
• Following conditions can be sensed only by
embedded thermal devices;
– Temperature rise due to higher ambient
temperature
– Temperature rise duet o failure of cooling
– Temperature rise due to other causes
• Protection against unbalance:
• Causes of unbalance:
– Single phase loads on distribution service line
– Blown out fuse in power factor correcting plant
– Short circuit within or outside the motor
– Phase failure by blown fuse single phasing.
• Protection:
– Bimetallic relays arranged to trip faster for unbalance currents
– Single phase relays sensing over current in heavily loaded phases
– Phase unbalance relays.
– Protection against single phasing
– Single phasing preventer.
• Phase reversal protection
– Electromagnetic relays with discs making contacts at certain
direction of rotation and opening in the opposite direction of
rotation.
• Faults in rotor winding:
– The faults in rotor results in variation in rotor
current and in turn it reflects in stator currents.
The stator over current protection can be set
accordingly.