6/2/2017 GEMultilin:MotorProtectionPrinciples

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Systems UnbalanceProtection
Markets UnbalancedloadinthecaseofACmotorsismainlytheresultofanunbalanceofthepowersupplyvoltages.
Support The negativesequence reactance of the threephase motor is 5 to 7 times smaller than positivesequence
reactance, and even a small unbalance in the power supply will cause high negative sequence currents. For
ContactUs example for an induction motor with a staring current six times the full load current, a negative sequence

voltage component of 1% corresponds to a negative sequence current component of 6%. The negative
MotorProtection sequencecurrentinducesafieldintherotor,whichrotatesintheoppositedirectiontothemechanicaldirection
Overview and causes additional temperature rise. Main causes of current unbalance are: system voltage distortion and
ProtectionPrinciples unbalance,statorturntoturnfaults,blownfuses,looseconnections,aswellasfaults.
ShortCircuit
ApplicationGuide
Resources Theshortcircuitelementprovidesprotectionfor
excessivelyhighovercurrentfaults.Whenamotor
starts,thestartingcurrent(whichistypically6times
theFullLoadCurrent)hasasymmetrical
components.Theseasymmetricalcurrentsmay
causeonephasetoseeasmuchas1.7timesthe
RMSstartingcurrent.Asaresultthepickupofthe
shortcircuitelementmustbesethigherthanthe
maximumasymmetricalstartingcurrentsseenby
thephaseCTstoavoidnuisancetripping.The
breakerorcontactorthattherelayistocontrol
undersuchconditionsmusthaveaninterrupting
capacityequaltoorgreaterthenthemaximum PhasetoGroundFault
availablefaultcurrent.
Undervoltage

If an induction motor operating at full load is subjected to an under voltage condition, full load speed and
efficiencywilldecreaseandthepowerfactor,fullloadcurrentandtemperaturewillincrease.Theundervoltage
elementcanbeconsideredasbackupprotectionforthethermaloverloadelement.Ifthevoltagedecreases,the
current will increase, causing an overload trip. In some cases, if an undervoltage condition exists it may be
desirabletotripthemotorfasterthantheoverloadelement.
Theoverallresultofanundervoltageconditionisanincreaseincurrentandmotorheatingandareductionin
overallmotorperformance.

Overvoltage
When the motor is running in an overvoltage condition, slip will decrease as it is inversely proportional to the
squareofthevoltageandefficiencywillincreaseslightly.Thepowerfactorwilldecreasebecausethecurrent
beingdrawnbythemotorwilldecreaseandtemperaturerisewilldecreasebecausethecurrenthasdecreased
(basedonI2t).Asmostnewmotorsaredesignedclosetothesaturationpoint,increasingtheV/HZratiocould
causesaturationofairgapfluxcausingheating.
The overall result of an overvoltage condition is an increase in current and motor heating and a reduction in
overallmotorperformance.

MechanicalJam
The mechanical jam element is designed to operate for running load jams due to worn motor bearings, load
mechanical breakage and driven load process failure. This element is used to disconnect the motor on
abnormal overload conditions before motor stalls. In terms of relay operation, the Mechanical Jam element
preventsthemotorfromreaching100%ofitsthermalcapacitywhileaMechanicalJamisdetected.Ithelpsto
avoidmechanicalbreakageofthedrivenloadandreducestartinhibitwaitingtime.

LoadLossDetection
Undercurrentprotectionisusefulforindicatingthelossofsuctioninapumpapplication,orabrokenbeltina
conveyorapplication.Thesecondmethodofloadlossdetectionistouseoftheunderpowerprotectionelement.

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