MOTOR PROTECTION

Conventional Motor Protections:

i. Thermal
ii. Short Circuit [ I1(inst)]
iii. Stalling [I1(t)]
iv. Negative Sequence [I2]
v. Earth fault [I0]
 Thermal Protection

 Most of the winding failures can be directly or indirectly

attributed to - Overloading (prolonged/cyclic)
- Unbalanced supply voltage
- Single Phasing

 In general, insulation life is halved for 10o C rise in

temperature above the rated value.

 Motor thermal protection is provided by “Thermal replica”

modeling which considers motor as a homogenous body,
creating and dissipating heat at a rate proportional to
temperature rise.
 Short Circuit (S/C)Protection

 This instantaneous protection is used to protect upstream

equipments in case of a dead S/C in motor windings or
terminal flashovers.

 In some cases, where fault level is more than the contactor

current breaking capacity, S/C protection by the relay is
disabled (CTMM401) and fuse is allowed to provide S/C
protection(e.g. US13 & US09).

 S/C protection is invariably provided in motors fed through

CBs.
 Stalling

 If a motor stalls during running due to jamming or

excessive loading it draws high current which may reach
upto starting current. This high current is detrimental to
the health of the motor.

 So a definite time delay O/C stall protection is provided

with a time delay of value greater than starting time but
less than locked rotor withstand time.
 Negative Sequence (NPS)Current Protection

 NPS is generated from unbalanced voltage condition i.e.

unbalanced loading, loss of phase, single phase faults.

 For same voltage, NPS current drawn by motor is 6 times

the PPS current drawn. So a voltage unbalance of 17% will
result in an NPS current more than the rated current of the
motor.

 Moreover, in rotor the frequency of NPS current is 2fs. Due

to skin effect rotor heats up rapidly due to NPS current.

 Most motor protection relays measure NPS component of

current and provide IDMT/DT NPS protection
 Earth Fault (E/F)Protection

 E/F is one of the most common faults in motor due to

surrounding metallic frame and casing.

 E/F current is measured by i) residual connection of phase

CTs or a more sensitive ii) core balanced CT.

 During motor starting mal-operation of E/F protection may

occur due to CT saturation because of high current. A
stabilizing resistance or dynamic E/F setting is used to
avoid this.

 E/F protection is a DT O/C protection.

 Comprehensive Motor Protection
In addition to the above 5 basic protections, the following
protections are also required for total & comprehensive motor
protection.

vi. Prolonged start / excessive start time protection

vii.No. of starts (Cold/Hot) per hour limitation
viii.Trip on the basis of winding temperature measurement
ix. Under voltage protection
x. Loss of load/ Undercurrent protection etc.

Along with all the above protections, a numerical motor

protection relay provides various other auxiliary functionalities
which makes motor protection comprehensive.
Protection functions in Numerical Relays:
 Algorithm to recognize start
Relay identify the starting of motor by 52a or 52a +I.
 Thermal (49)
-- Matching thermal curve
-- Iteration cycle of 20 msec
-- Negative sequence recognition factor
-- Theta (thermal) inhibits
-- RTD influence
-- Thermal base block
 Short circuit: (50/51)
Two sets of set point (I> or I>>) with definite time.
Auto doubling or dynamic setting with SOV algorithm or
external biasing.
 Earth fault: (50N/51N):
-- Two sets of set point (I0> or I0>>) with definite time.
-- Dynamic setting or group setting with SOV algorithm or
external biasing so no stabilizing resistance.
 Unbalance (46):
Two sets of set point I2> with definite time or I2>> with
IDMT/ DT characteristics
 Under voltage (27)
-- Detect a voltage drop while running or during starting &
inhibit starting with tV<.
-- Undervoltage with MCB ON logic has been incorporated in
the relay itself.
 Over voltage (59):
Detect a voltage rise while running or during starting &
inhibit starting with tV>.
 Excess long start (48)
After detection of start, tIstart timer has started. If on expiry of
tIstart, the current has not fallen below Istart, then excess long
start trip is generated. While motor is running, this protection
can be reactivated during flying restart.
 Blocked Rotor (51LR/50S)
Stalling when motor is running: Activated after (tIstart) is
over. This operates when current exceeds threshold Istall for
a time greater than tIstall.
Locked rotor at start: (With Speed switch): This is only
activated only during starting i.e within tIstart.
 Loss of load/ U/ C (37)
U/C protection with DT delay to detect loss of load.
 RTD: Alarm for RTD open circuit or open circuit. RTD 1 is
used to measure ambient temp.
Auxiliary Protection Functions:
 Number of start per hour:
Limits the no of hot/cold starts per hour according to the motor
manufacturers’ specification.
 Successive start:
Controls the time between two successive starts of motor.
 Anti back spin (ABS):
Controls time between a stop and restart of a motor to
prevent motor starting during back spinning.
 Forbid start:
 Reacceleration authorization:
 Emergency Start: