Settings Guide

Type MOPN

Introduction

Typical motor parameters

The MOPN 01, 02 is a

comprehensive microprocessor based
motor protection relay. It is designed
for use as main protection for
asynchronous medium voltage motors
or large synchronous low voltage
motors.

The following motor parameters will

be used to help illustrate how to
determine the most common MOPN
settings.

In order to perform this task the

MOPN has a number of protective
features for which careful
consideration to the setting of each
must be given. This setting guide and
application example are intended to
be used in conjunction with
publications R6121 and R8121 to
assist in the selection of the most
common settings on the MOPN.
However, it must be remembered that
motor protection relay settings are
application specific and therefore can
vary considerably from one motor to
the next depending on the system
conditions and application in
question. With this in mind, we must
stress that the following settings are
only intended to be used as a guide.
If further assistance is required, please
contact GEC ALSTHOM T&D
Protection & Control Limited.

Voltage

11kV

Full load current

239A

Starting current

470%

Starting time

10s

Heating time constant

20m

Cooling time constant

100m

Hot locked rotor

withstand time

20s

Cold locked rotor

withstand time

30s

CT Ratio

300/1

Useful information
HS refers to disable in the menu
system.
I Thermal setting
The I setting chosen will depend on
the type of motor being protected;
nowadays most machines are termed
CMR (continuous maximum rating)
motors. These motors are designed to
carry the name plate value or full load
current continuously. A CMR motor is
usually run at some value less than its
CMR and set to trip at its CMR. If the
machine is not a CMR motor then the
I setting will need to take into
account the amount of overload which
can be tolerated without thermal
damage resulting.

Heating and cooling time constants

(Te1,Te2 & Tr)
The relay heating and cooling time
constants are set in accordance with
the motor thermal heating and cooling
time constants. The relay heating time
constant (Te1) should be set equal to
the motor heating thermal time
constant. However, it is good practice
to set Te1 slightly less than the motor
heating thermal time constant to allow
for relay tolerances. Te2 is
automatically applied above 2 I and
is used to modify the relay thermal
curve under certain applications, for
example when a more sensitive setting
is required under starting conditions.
For most applications (DOL starting)
Te2 should be set equal to Te1,
resulting in one continuous thermal
curve. For the motor parameters
given:

cyclically operated. If this is the case,

having a cooling time constant setting
less than the motor cooling time
constant would result in a premature
successive start and possible damage
to the motor.
IL Threshold limit
In certain applications the relay
thermal curve may cut the starting
characteristic thus resulting in a
thermal trip during starting. Instead of
altering the thermal time constant, IL
can be used to increase the operating
time of the thermal characteristic
during starting. After the start time has
elapsed, the characteristic will resume
its original path.

I = ICMR x (1/CT ratio)

Set Te1 = 20m or 19m to allow for

tolerances

To determine if this setting is required

plot the thermal and starting
characteristics to see if a conflict
exists. For this particular application
example this feature is not required
and has therefore been disabled:

where I CMR = Continuous Motor

Rating

Set Te2 = Te1

Set IL = HS

For this application we have assumed

that the machine is a CMR motor and
therefore I setting is calculated as:

Therefore:
I

1
= 293 x 130
= 0.976In

Therefore:
set I = 0.98In

In certain applications the thermal

time constants are unknown but a
thermal withstand curve is given.
For this application a heating time
constant must be chosen which will
give a thermal curve that fits just
below the cold thermal withstand
curve of the motor. For applications
where neither the thermal time
constants or the thermal withstand
curve are available, settings Te1 and
Te2 should be chosen such that the
resulting thermal curve when plotted,
on time current graph, lies above the
start time but less than the stall
withstand time.
Tr is the cooling time constant. This is
set as a multiple of Te1 and should be
set to the nearest value above the
motor cooling time constant.
With Te1 = 20m:
Set Tr to 5 x Te1 = 100m.
It is not uncommon for motors to have
a considerably long cooling time
constant. If this is the case then it may
not be possible to achieve the desired
setting on the MOPN and therefore Tr
must be set to maximum. However, it
must now be remembered that during
cooling the thermal replica in the
relay does not follow the cooling
curve of the motor. This is not usually
a problem unless the motor is being

Starting inhibit threshold E1

E1 is expressed as a percentage of
the thermal state of the motor.
A contact associated with this setting
is designed to open when the thermal
state of the machine reaches the E1
setting and close again when the
thermal state drops below the E1
setting. If this contact is wired into the
starting circuitry it can be used to
inhibit a hot restart until the motor has
cooled to the E1 setting. There is no
definite setting for E1 since it is based
on the motors capability to withstand
a hot restart. It is usually set to the
minimum, which is 40%, and
increased if desired.
Set E1 = 40%
Overheat alarm threshold E2
E2 is expressed as a percentage of
the thermal state of the machine and
is used to give an alarm when the
thermal state reaches a predetermined
value, say 90%.
Set E2 = 90%

Isc Short circuit setting

Earthfault time delay T

The short circuit protection is designed

to provide very fast operation for
heavy faults at the motor terminals.
It is usually set to 1.2 X Maximum
starting current.

A time delay of 0.3s shall be set, this

has two function:

Set to 1.2 x 4.7 x 239A = 1348A

1
Isc = 1348 x 130 = 4.5In

To allow the protection to be used

where the motor is controlled by fused
contactors.

Earth fault current setting I

Set to zero if stabilising resistor is

used.

Set to give an earth fault sensitivity

within 10% to 25% of the minimum
earth fault level, or within 10% to
60% of the motor continuous rated
current, whichever is the lowest.
For earth fault settings <20% of the
motor continuous rated current, a core
balance CT should be utilised.
Where residually connected CTs are
used, spill current may flow in the
residual circuit under motor starting
conditions. To ensure relay stability
for these conditions, a stabilising
resistor is required to be connected in
series with the earth fault element.
The value of the stabilising resistor
can be calculated using the following
formula:
Rstab =
Relay Burden at In
Ist
---- (a)
R + N.R1 +
Io ct
In2
where I o = earth fault setting in amps
Ist = motor starting current referred to
CT secondary
Rct = dc resistance of CT secondary
N = 1 for 4 wire CT connection (star
point at CTs) 2 for 6 wire CT
connection (both star points
formed at relay panel).
R1 = resistance of single lead from
relay to CT
For further information refer to the
MOPN Service Manual R8121.

To provide stability under motor

starting conditions where asymmetric
CT saturation may occur.

I2 Phase unbalance protection

Small values of negative phase
sequence current due to an unbalance
on the system will be accounted for in
the thermal curve calculation, resulting
in an accelerated thermal trip.
However, for large values of negative
sequence current resulting for example
from loss of one phase during starting
the I2 setting is used.
Recommended setting I2 < Ist/6
where Ist = starting current.
This setting is adopted since loss of
a phase during starting will cause
I2 = 0.5 x Ist. Setting the element to
a third of this value ensures correct
operation.
I2 < (4.7 x 239)/6 = 187A
I2 < 187/300 = 0.62In
Set I2 = 0.6In
Excessive start time and rotor stalling
If the thermal curve is greater than the
start time and less than the stall
withstand time then stall protection
can be provided by the thermal curve.
If this is not the case then additional
stall protection will be required.
The MOPN utilises internal
overcurrent detectors and timers to
provide excessive start time protection
(stalling under starting) and rotor stall
protection. When the machine is run
up, the relay will detect a start
condition and trip if the current is still
above the Is setting after a time Td.
With the machine running, the relay
will detect a stall condition if the
current increases above the Is setting
and is not accompanied by a
re-acceleration input (positive
auxiliary supply on terminal 44), the
relay will then trip after a time Tb1.

In order for these protective functions

to be used, a start condition must be
detected by the relay. This condition is
obtained by the current reaching
0.9Is and a dc input applied to
terminal 42 on the relay within a
200ms time window. For further
information refer to publication
R6121.
In this application start/stall protection
should be used since the thermal
withstand curve of the machine is
greater than the stall withstand time.
The following settings are
recommended:
Set Is < motor start up current
Set Td 1s to 2s above the motor
start up time
Set Tb If the motor stall withstand
time > motor start time, set
Tb1 < motor stall withstand
time. If the stall withstand
time < motor start time, in
order to provide adequate
stall and start protection a
scheme consisting of a timer
relay plus a speed sensing
switch connected in series
will be required. For the
latter application, if the
motor fails to start, the speed
switch will not operate,
thereby allowing the timer
relay to time out and operate
the circuit breaker (scheme
diagram is available upon
request). Typically the time
delay relay will be set to 1s
for a starting time of 5s.
For this application:
Set Is = 3 x I = 717A
Set Td = 12s
Set Tb = 6s

Minimum current IMIN and timer

TMIN
This function allows a trip when the
current being drawn by the motor falls
below a selected threshold. It can be
used, for example, to protect electric
pumps against becoming unprimed or
to stop a motor in the event of a
failure in the mechanical transmission.
The trip occurs:
1. At the end of the normal start-up
time Td, if the current remains
below the selected setting.
2. After an adjustable delay, TMIN,
if the current drops below the
preset value once Td has elapsed.
Number of starts limitation
It is possible to limit the frequency of
motor restarts. This is done by
selecting the maximum number of
starts using the ST.Nb.(Tref) setting
over a specified period given by the
Tref TIME Setting. Exceeding this
number during Tref will cause the
relay to operate the same output that
is used to inhibit the motor when the
overload percentage E1 is exceeded.
This contact will then remain open for
a time given by FORBID TIME.
It is important to note that there is no
restriction on the time between starts
during the time period Tref TIME.

Plotting the relay characteristic

When the various settings have been
calculated it is good practice to plot
out the thermal curves and start/stall
information in order to see if there is
any conflict.
It is possible to plot the cold thermal
curve in one of two ways; firstly using
the following equation and secondly
using the thermal curves at the back of
the service manual:
Cold curve operating time
= Te1 Ln

(K2)
(K2 1)

Where K = Ie/I
Ie = Equivalent current flowing into
the relay =

I1 = Positive sequence current

I2 = Negative sequence current
K is therefore a multiple of setting
and if a CMR machine is used
I = 100% full load current and
therefore K is a multiple of full load
current. For example in this
application the starting current
= 4.7 x full load current, hence at
start K=4.7.
This would result in the following
operating time at start:
Cold curve operating time
= 20 x 60 x Ln

External trip timer TBV

It is possible to trip the relay by
applying a signal from an external
under voltage or under frequency
relay. An adjustable time delay, TBV,
is provided within the relay. During
this time the relay allows the motor to
draw starting current ie. re-accelerate
without tripping. For a detailed
explanation on this feature refer to
publication R6121.

I1 + 3I2

(4.72)
(4.72 1)

= 56s

Using the thermal curves, proceed

along the x axis to K = 4.7 then
project up to the 0% thermal state
curve and read off the corresponding
t/Te1 value, which in this case is:
t/Te1 = 0.045, therefore the
operating time in seconds
= 0.047 x 60 x 20 = 56.4s
It is recommended that at least three
points are calculated in order to get a
true representation of the curve.
This curve along with the stall
withstand times and starting
characteristic should be plotted to
verify that no conflict exists (ie. the
thermal curve does not intersect the
starting characteristic).

Example setting

1000

Thermal overload Te1

100

Excessive start time

Cold stall

Operating time in seconds

10
Hot stall

1
Starting chr.

Locked rotor

Short circuit

0.1

Is
0.01
1

K = Ie/I

10