Drive Protection
Motor Protection
• Motor protections vary widely depending on the size of the motor and the
voltage level involved.
➢Motor Instantaneous Over-current Protection
• Instantaneous over-current is usually the result of fault conditions (phase to
phase, phase to ground), in which current flow will greatly exceed normal values.
• Damage due to winding overheating and burning damage associated with large
fault currents can occur without this type of protection.
• These types of faults can be rapidly detected by a differential protection scheme
using Core Balance CTs as will be discussed later and cleared before major
damage results.
Cont…
• In these situations, fast-acting electromagnetic relays will be used to trip the
affected motor.
➢ Motor Timed Over-Current Protection
• Continuous operation of an electric motor at currents marginally above its rated
value can result in thermal damage to the motor.
• The insulation can be degraded, resulting in reduced motor life through eventual
internal motor faults.
• Typically, an electric motor has a service factor rating listed on its nameplate.
Cont…
• This number represents the continuous allowable load limit that can be
maintained without sustaining damage to the motor.
• For example, a typical electric motor is designed to withstand a continuous
overload of about 15 % without sustaining damage and has a service factor of
115 %.
• Continuous operation at or above this value will result in thermal damage.
• To protect against motor damage, we must ensure that this condition is not
reached, hence we must trip the motor before the overload limit (service factor)
is reached.
Cont…
• The relay most commonly used for this purpose is the induction disc relay.
• In this relay (Figure 1), the current in two coils produces opposing magnetic
fluxes, which create a torque on a disc. As the motor current increases, so does
the torque on the disc will increase.
• When the torque overcomes the spring torque, the disc begins to rotate.
• When the moving contact meets the stationary contact on the disc, the trip will
operate.
Figure 1
Induction Disc Relay
Cont…
• Tap settings and time characteristic adjustments can be made to alter the time
delay of the relay.
• The major benefit of the induction disk timed over current relay is that the speed
of rotation is proportional to the motor current.
• Hence major over-current conditions will trip the supply breaker almost
instantaneously, while currents just above the rated load will cause operation
after several seconds (or minutes).
Thermal Overload Protection
• Another common type of relay used for timed overload protection is a thermal
overload relay.
• In this type of relay, the motor current or a fraction of the motor current through
a current transformer is connected to an in-line heater.
• Figure 2 shows a simplified thermal overload relay. The heater (heated by I2R
action) is used to heat a bimetallic strip, which causes the displacement of a relay
contact.
• A bimetallic strip consists of two materials bounded together, each with different
thermal expansion properties.
Cont…
• As the materials are heated, one side will lengthen more than the other, causing
bending.
• Normal operating currents or short-duration overload conditions, will not cause
the bimetallic element to bend enough to change the relay contact positions.
• Excessive currents will cause increased heating of the bimetallic strip, which will
cause relay contacts to open and/or close, tripping the motor.
Thermal Overload Relay
Figure 2
Cont…
• The thermal overload relay has an inherent reaction time since the heater and
bimetallic element take time to heat.
• Care must be taken to match the current heating characteristics of the motor or
else the motor could be damaged during the locked rotor starting conditions.
• This type of relay can be used for direct protection against excessive motor
current caused by electrical faults and motor overloads. Also, it is often used in
combination with timed over-current protection.
• Thermal overload relays using in-line heaters and bimetallic strips, provide an
alarm in the case of continuous overload.
Cont…
• Thermal over-load trips can occur during repetitive starts on a motor or during
motor over-loading.
• Thermal overload trips will seal in to prevent the motor contactor from closing.
• This lock-out will require a manual reset before the motor can be re-started. The
operator or attendant will have to physically confirm that the motor has had
sufficient time to cool down and that the cause for the overload has been
removed.
• If the operator is confident that there is not a permanent fault on the motor the
relay can be reset.
Cont…
• Note, however, that if an instantaneous over-current trip has occurred, no
attempt at closing the motor contactor should be made.
• An instantaneous trip will only occur if there is a fault in the motor or supply
cable and this must be corrected before any attempt to reset the relay.
➢Motor Ground Fault Protection
• In the detection of ground faults, as with the detection of instantaneous over-
currents, it is extremely important that the fault be detected and cleared quickly
to prevent equipment damage.
Cont…
• Insulation damaged by heat (from extended overload operation), brittleness of
insulation (due to aging), wet insulation, or mechanically damaged insulation can
cause ground faults.
• Ground fault protection schemes use differential protection to detect and clear
the faulted equipment.
• For motors, the common method is to use a Core-Balance CT as illustrated
in Figure 3.
• The output of the core-balance CT will be the difference or imbalance of current
between the three phases.
• If no ground fault is present, no current imbalance is present; hence no current
will flow in the protection circuit.
Three Phase Ground Fault Protection
Figure 3
Three Phase Ground Fault Protection Cont…
• If a ground fault develops, a current imbalance will be present and a current will
flow in the protection circuit, causing it to operate to trip the supply breaker.
• Figure 4 shows a similar protection scheme, with each of the windings of the
motor protected individually (this scheme is not normally installed in small
motors, but may appear in the protection of very large motors).
Single Phase Ground Fault Protection
Figure 4
Single Phase Ground Fault Protection Cont…
• If the rating of the motor is higher than 1000 kW then a single relay operating
with a resistance detector is used instead of an inverse time overcurrent relay.
Motor Stall Protection
• Stalling or locking the rotor, is a situation in which the circuits of a motor are
energized but the rotor is not rotating.
• Motors are particularly susceptible to overheating during starts, due to high
currents combined with low cooling air flows (due to the low speed of the motor,
cooling fans are delivering only small amounts of air).
• This is also why some larger motors have a limit on the number of attempted
motor starts before a cooling-off period is required.
Motor Stall Protection Cont…
• However, stall conditions can occur during normal operation. For example,
mechanical faults such as a seized bearing, heavy loading, or some type of foreign
object caught in a pump could be possible causes of motor stalling.
• The loss of a single phase while the motor is not rotating or under high load, is
another situation in which a motor may stall.
• The typical starting time of a motor is less than ten seconds.
• As long as this start time is not exceeded, no damage to a motor will occur due to
overheating from the high currents.
Motor Stall Protection Cont…
• During operation, a motor could typically stall for twenty seconds or more
without resulting in excessive insulation deterioration.
• We use a stalling relay to protect motors during starts since a standard thermal
relay has too much time delay.
• A stalling relay will allow the motor to draw normal starting currents (which are
several times the normal load current) for a short time but will trip the motor for
an excessive time at high currents.
• A stalling relay uses the operating principle of a thermal overload relay but
operates faster than a standard thermal relay.
Motor Stall Protection Cont…
• A schematic representation of a stalling relay is shown in Figure 5.
• By passing a portion of the motor current directly through the bimetallic
elements in this relay, the heating is immediate, just as would be experienced
within the windings of the motor.
Stalling Relay
Figure 5
Stalling Relay Cont…
• This type of relay is usually operational only when the motor current is above 3
times the normal operating current and is switched out when the current is
below 2 times the normal operating current.
• This switching in/out is achieved by the use of an additional relay contact.
• When the motor is operating normally, the current in this protection scheme
passes through the resistor and bypasses the bimetallic elements.
Cont…
• Rotor overheating protection
• The rotor overheating protection is more likely to occur in wound rotor motors.
• The increase in rotor current is reflected in stator current and the stator over
current protection thereby acts.
• The settings of the stator overcurrent relay are generally of the order of 1.6 times
full load current. This is enough to detect the rotor faults.
Cont…
• Under Voltage Protection
• The motor draws excessive current when operated under voltage and so under
voltage protection can be provided by overload devices or temperature-sensitive
devices.
Over & under voltage protection circuit for Induction Motor
Over & under voltage protection of Induction Motor Cont…
• From the circuit when the voltage is 220 volts AC through a transformer T1, It
serves to reduce the pressure remaining 12 volts, through a D1-D4 connected to
a Direct rectifier bridge circuit. To convert the voltage, alternating current to
direct current.
• Then, through the C1 and C2 to the power filter smoothing.
• And entering a pin or input pin of IC1, aloan IC Rex bit computing to 12-volt
power supply is fixed to the IC2.
Over & under voltage protection of Induction Motor Cont…
• That it is IC Op Amp. Pressure acts edge IC2/1 High Voltage Detector, High Voltage
ICs, if this current works to the Q1 and relay function, it works with, thus cutting
off power from the load instantly.
• The IC2/2 serves to detect the lower voltage.
• The two components can be specified by VR1, VR2. LED1 displays when power or
low power over a specified.
Over & under voltage protection of Induction Motor Cont…
• IC1: LM324_ Quad/ 1MHz/ Operational Amplifiers
• IC2: LM7812_______12V 1A DC voltage regulator
• Q1: 2N3904__45V 0.1A NPN Transistor
• D1-D4: 1N4007___1A 1000V Diode
• ZD1: 6V 0.5W Zener diode
• ZD2: 6.8V 0.5W Zener Diode C1: 470µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitors C2,C3: 0.1µF
63V Polyester Capacitor LED: as you like
Cont…
• Unbalance and Single Phasing Protection
• The unbalanced three-phase supply causes the negative sequence current to flow
in the motor which may cause overheating of the stator and rotor winding of the
motor.
• The unbalanced condition provided to a motor should be such to avoid the
continuous unbalanced condition.
Negative Phase Sequence Relay
Cont…
• Reverse Phase Protection
• The phase reversal is dangerous in some cases, such as in elevators, cranes,
hoists, trams, etc. In such cases, reverse-phase protection must be provided.
• The phase reversal relay is based on the electromagnetic principle and consists of
a disc motor driven by the magnetic system.
• For correct phase sequence, the disc experiences a torque in a positive direction
and therefore keeps the auxiliary contact closed.
Cont…
• In the occurrence of phase reversal, the torque acting on the disc reverses and
the disc start rotating in the opposite direction and hence opens the auxiliary
contact.
• Thus the magnetic coil of a starter can be de-energized, or the circuit breaker can
be tripped.
