Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Cahier Technique No. 211: The Protection of LV Motors
Cahier Technique No. 211: The Protection of LV Motors
s =
'
ht +
h
)
where
Y
0
is the continuous component
h is the order of the harmonic
w is the pulsation (2pf)
Y
h
is the amplitude of the harmonic of order h
Y
1
is the fundamental component
v
v
b
b
v
v
v
v
-1
1
0.5
V
-0.5
0
t
Fig. 11 : Example of a brownout and a brief power cut.
These voltage variations may be due either to a
random phenomenon outside the application
(a fault in the mains network or an accidental
short circuit) or a phenomenon caused by the
installation itself (connection of high loads such
as motors, transformers, etc.). These variations
can have drastic effects on the motor.
The consequences for an asynchronous motor
When a brownout occurs, the torque of an
asynchronous motor (proportional to the square
of voltage) decreases abruptly and causes
deceleration. This deceleration is a function of
the amplitude and duration of the brownout, the
inertia of the rotating frames and the torque-
speed characteristic of the driven load. If the
torque developed by the motor becomes less
than the resistive torque, the motor stops (stalls).
After a power cut, the return of the power generates
a demand for reacceleration current which is
similar to the starting current and with a duration
dependent on the duration of the power cut.
When the installation has numerous motors, their
simultaneous reacceleration can cause a voltage
drop in the upstream impedances in the network.
The duration of the brownout is then prolonged
and can make reacceleration difcult (requiring
long restarts with overheading) or even
impossible (where the motor torque is less than
the resistive torque).
b
Cahier Technique Schneider Electric no. 211 / p.11
The harmonic distortion rate (or THD, Total
Harmonic Distortion) provides a measure of the
deformation of the signal:
THD(%) = 100x
Y
h
Y
1
2
h=2
2
0
0
7
S
c
h
n
e
i
d
e
r
E
l
e
c
t
r
i
c
01-07