6/2/2017 GEMultilin:MotorProtectionPrinciples

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Systems OverloadProtection
Markets Threephase motors are designed in such a way
Support that overloads must be kept below the machine
thermal damage limit. The motor thermal limits
ContactUs curvesconsistofthreedistinctsegments,whichare

basedonthethreerunningconditionsofthemotor:
MotorProtection thelockedrotororstallcondition,motoracceleration
Overview and motor running overload. Ideally, curves should
ProtectionPrinciples beprovidedforbothhotandcoldmotorconditions.
For most motors, the motor thermal limits are
ApplicationGuide formedintoonesmoothhomogeneouscurve.
Resources
The acceleration curves are an indication of the
amountofcurrentandassociatedtimeforthemotor
to accelerate from a stop condition to a normal
running condition. Usually, for large motors, there
are two acceleration curves: the first is the
acceleration curve at rated stator voltage while the
second is the acceleration at 80% of rated stator
voltage(softstartersarecommonlyusedtoreduce
the amount of inrush current during starting).
Starting the motor on a weak system can result in
voltage depression, providing the same effect as a
softstart). A.ColdrunningO/L D.Hotlockedrotorcurve
B.HotrunningO/L E.Accelerationcurve@80%
The primary protective element of the motor C.Coldlockedrotor F.Accelerationcurve@100%
protectionrelayisthethermaloverloadelementand MotorThermalLimits&AccelerationCurves
this is accomplished through motor thermal image
modeling. This model must account for all thermal
processes in the motor while motor is starting,
runningat normal load, running overloaded and if
motor is stopped. The algorithm of the thermal
modelintegratesbothstatorandrotorheatingintoa
singlemodel.Ifthemotorstartingcurrentbeginsto
infringe on the thermal damage curves or if the
motoriscalledupontodriveahighinertialoadsuch
that the acceleration time exceeds the safe stall
time,customorvoltagedependentoverloadcurves
mayberequired.
KFactorUsedforNegative
Negative sequence currents (or unbalanced phase SequenceProtection
currents)willcauseadditionalrotorheatingthatwill
not be accounted for by electromechanical relays
and may not be accounted for in some electronic
protective relays. The main causes of current
unbalance are: blown fuses, loose connections,
stator turntoturn faults, system voltage distortion
andunbalance,aswellasexternalfaults.

Thermal models can have following enhancements

andadditions: motor start inhibit standard, custom
and voltage dependant overload curves thermal
modelbiasingbymeasuredcurrent unbalance and
RTDsseparatethermaltimeconstantsforrunning
andstoppedmotorconditionsindependentcurrent
unbalance detector acceleration limit timer RTDConnectionfor
mechanical jam detector start and restart ThermalProtection&
supervision. Biasing

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