Lesson Index

Lesson No Lesson Topic

1) Introduction to PCP

2) Basics of Motors

3) Protection System in Motors

i) Types and Nature of faults

ii) Protection method
iii) Construction and working principle of OLR & MPCB

4) Motor Starting Methods

5) Coordination Motor Starters

6) Selection of Contactors

7) Schneider PWCTR/PCP Offer

8) PCP Innovations

9) Starter Offer

10) Introduction to i MCC

11) TeSys U

12) TeSys T
What are the leading causes of motor failure?

Recently the Electrical Research Association studied

more than 9,000 damaged motors. From this sample, the
group was able to identify the leading causes of motor
failure. These causes are shown in pro-portion on the
adjacent pie chart:

It was observed that only 10% of the motors studied died

as a result of old age. An astounding 44 percent of the
failures can be directly attributed to thermal overload or
single-phase conditions.

Overload and Short Circuit

Prior to understanding the necessary protection components it is imperative to have

sound knowledge of what overload is and how different it is from Short circuit, another
type of over current condition.

Every domestic circuit is designed to carry a certain value of

current known as the design current / normal current. This is
worked out using ohms law: current = power/voltage.

An overload is a current over and above the normal load

current (over the load). In other words greater than the original
design current. This can be a momentary overload such as the
starting current for a motor which is usually ignored or it can be
a sustained overload such as plugging in too many appliances
at once or a motor that has faulty bearings or gets jammed. The
increase in current consumption causes heating which shortens
the lifetime of the motor and can be fatal to it in the short or
long run.

A short circuit is an abnormal low-resistance connection

between two nodes of an electrical circuit that are meant to
be at different voltages. This results in an excessive electric
current (overcurrent) and potentially causes circuit damage,
overheating, fire or explosion.
Overload Protection:
In an extended overload, the circuit exceeds its rated capacity for an extended time. In
such a situation, an overcurrent protection device should shut down the circuit.
In case of momentary overload it is not required to shut down the circuit.

Eg : During starting most motors draw current more than

their full-load current rating. A squirrel cage induction
motor draws six times its full-load current. Motors are
designed to tolerate a high starting current for a short time
and the same drops of as the motor reaches the rated speed.
In the adjacent graph, the motor’s starting current is 600%
of full load current, but after pre-defined time, current has
dropped to the rated value.

Under short circuit or overload conditions, the fuses / circuit breaker open the circuit
before damage to conductors occurs. In a motor circuit, the protective device is required
to allow high starting current of the motor. Hence overload protection for the motor
must be provided by a separate device known as an overload relay.

Overload Relays:
The overload relays are desired to:
• protect motors against overload
• But must also sustain the temporary overload of starting and only trip when
starting lasts too long.
The motor starting may vary from a range of few seconds (no-load starting, low
resistant torque, etc.) to a few dozen seconds (high resistant torque, high inertia of the
driven load, etc.). Hence it is imperative for the relays to adapt to the starting time. To
meet this need, the IEC 60947-4-1 standard has defined various categories of overload
relay characterized by its tripping time.
 The final relay size is based on the motor’s rated current and
the estimated starting time. Limits of use are characterized by
curves (refer adjacent figure) based on the time and value of
the current setting (in multiples of Ir). These relays have a
thermal memory (apart from some electronic ones, indicated
by their manufacturers) and can be connected:
- in series with the load,
- or, for high powers, to current transformers fitted in series
with the load.

Against low prolonged overload the overload relay along with

the contactor protects:
- The motor,
- The power supply and
- The equipment

They are thus designed to enable the motor to start normally

without tripping. However, they must be protected from strong over currents by a
circuit breaker or fuses (see protection against short circuits).

Bimetal thermal overload relays

Operating principle of a thermal overload relay is based on

the distortion of its bimetal strips heated by the current that
crosses them. As the current crosses them, the strips distort
and, depending on the setting, cause the relay contact to
open suddenly.

The relay can only be reset when the bimetal strips have
adequately cooled down.
The heating elements in the main circuit heat the bimetal
tripping elements corresponding to the motor load current
Thermal overload relays work with alternating and
direct current and are usually:
- 3-pole,
- compensated, i.e. insensitive to ambient temperature
variations (same tripping curve from 0°C to 40°C on a
standard gauge
- graduated in “motor amperes”: current indicated on the
motor plate displayed on the relay.
 The relay shall also respond to a loss of a
phase: differential in compliance with IEC
60947-4-1 and 60947-6-2

The thermal overload relay is very cost effective, reliable and most preferred but is
imprecise with regards to the thermal status of the motor and sensitivity to the thermal
conditions where it is installed (housing ventilation, etc.).

Electronic overload relays

Electronic overload relays offers more detailed thermal image of
the motor as against a thermal overload relay. It continuously
calculates the motor temperature based on the current crossing it
and operating time. Protection is hence closer to the reality and
can prevent inadvertent tripping. Electronic overload relays are
less sensitive to the thermal conditions where they are installed.
Apart from the usual functions of overload relays (protection
against motor overload, unbalance and lack of phase) electronic overload relays can
include options such as:
- PTC probe temperature control,
- Protection against locking and over-torques,
- Protection against phase inversion,
- Protection against insulation faults,
- Protection against no-load operation,

PTC thermistor probe relays

PTC thermistor probe relays map the actual temperature of the
motor to be protected. Probes are imbedded into the motor and
because they are small, their thermal inertia is very low, ensuring
a very short response time and hence a very accurate temperature
reading. They directly control the temperature of the stator
windings so can be used to protect motors against: overload,
increase in ambient temperature, ventilation circuit faults, too
frequent starting processes, inching, etc.

These are static components with resistance that increases suddenly when the
temperature reaches a threshold called the Nominal Operating Temperature (NOT) as
shown by the curve.
Motor Protection Circuit Breakers (MPCB)

Overview
MPCB is a combination of thermal overload relay and a magnetic circuit
breaker. It protects the motor from short circuits and overload by
rapidly opening the faulty circuit & complies with the IEC 60947-2 and
60947-4-1 standards

In these circuit breakers, the magnetic devices (protection against short circuits) have a
non-adjustable threshold, usually about 10 times the maximum current setting of
thermal release units.

MPCB – Working principle (Short Circuit Protection)

Achieved with Electro Magnetic effect of current

The thermal elements (protection against overload) are compensated for fluctuations of
the ambient temperature. The thermal protection threshold can be adjusted on the front
of the unit. Its value must correspond to the rated current of the motor to be protected.

MPCB – Overload Protection Achieved with Electro Thermal effect of Current

Type II Coordination between the thermal elements and short-circuit protection is built
into the MPCB. Also MPCB ensure isolation in the open position. They also have a
padlocking device.

Tripping curves

A motor trip switch is characterised by its tripping curve,

which represents the time it takes to trip based on the
current (multiple of Ir). This curve is divided into four zones:
- lc normal operating zone u. (region 4) As long as I < Ir,
there is no tripping,
- thermal overload zone. (region 3) Tripping is ensured by
the “thermal” feature; the greater the overload, the less
time it takes to trip. The standards refer to this as “inverse
time”,
- strong high current zone, (region 2) monitored by the “instant magnetic” or “short-
circuit” feature which works instantaneously (less than 5ms),
- and on some circuit breakers (electronic), an intermediate zone (region 1) monitored
by a “timed-delay magnetic” feature with a delay function (0 to 300ms). The standards
refer to this as “definite time-lag”. This prevents accidental tripping at switch-on with
magnetising peak currents.

Their limits are:

Ir : Setting current for protection against overload; should correspond to the rated
current value (In) of the motor to be protected,
Im : tripping current of timed magnetic protection,
Iinst : tripping current of instant magnetic protection. This can range from 3 to 17 times
Ir :but is usually close to 10 Ir,
Ics : service rated breaking capacity in short circuit,
Icu: ultimate (maximum) breaking capacity in short circuit.