
11
USE AND MAINTENANCE MANUAL FOR ELECTRIC MOTORS
9. ELECTRIC MOTOR PROTECTION
All electrical equipment must be protected against damage deriving from trouble or abnormal operation. The following phenomena
must be taken into consideration:
- overcurrents deriving from short-circuiting;
- overload currents;
- break or dip in supply voltage;
- motor overspeed.
In addition, for the purposes of safety, there needs to be protection against direct contact with live parts and indirect contact with parts
normally not live but which could become live in the event of insulation failure.
• Overcurrents deriving from short-circuiting.
Protection can take the form of: fuses, overcurrent relays or thermal cutouts.
Fuses interrupt the electric current, while the over-current relays and thermal cutouts open the circuit via automatic switches or
contactors. These protective devices must be installed upline from the conductors to be protected.
Overload and short circuit protection can take the form of: an automatic magnetothermic switch which must have sucient interrupting
capacity to interrupt the short circuit current, capable of protecting an electrical circuit from both overloads and short circuits; or switches
which, although capable of protecting electrical circuits from overloads, require additional fuses to be installed further upline to prevent
damage from short circuits. These must be time-delay fuses since motors draw larger than normal currents for up to several seconds
while coming up to speed.
• Overload currents.
Overload protection must feature in all motors with a power rating over 0.5kW which are normally in constant
operation; however, it is recommended for all other motors as well. Protection normally takes the form of thermal cutouts installed on all
live conductors except for neutral; in single-phase motors only one ungrounded live conductor is permitted.
The time constant of the protective device must be as close as possible to that of the motor; if this stringent requirement is not met, then
the safety device may become inecient or circuit interruption ill-timed. This is especially the case for intermittent motors or motors
which are subjected to a high number of operational processes (start-up, stop, reversing); here it is advisable to use temperature sensors
incorporated into the motor (PTC thermistors or bimetal thermal fuses) that can interrupt the current if the internal motor temperature
exceeds a certain level. These devices are also recommended in reduced cooling circumstances and all other situations where the motor
may overheat, but not necessarily because of an overload current.
Please bear in mind that such devices may not be sucient to protect the motor if the rotor is locked; in this case it may be worthwhile
to connect them to the thermal ones on the phases.
In general, equipment must be designed so that the motor does not automatically restart after the thermal protective device has been
triggered. In certain production cycles, the sudden halting of a motor (especially if not coordinated with other motors in the cycle) may
damage it; in this instance, the thermal protective devices can initially send a visual or audio warning signal to the operator, and then
eventually shut down the motor if no action has been taken. The level of action to be taken and the relevant time delays must be set so
as to avoid any kind of potential hazard. If the motor is powered via a converter (i.e. inverter), then it can also be protected by limiting
the absorbed current; this limit is generally set at a value superior to the nominal current so that the motor can withstand predicted peak
loads and have a sucient starting torque. As a result, the motor must be connected to another device capable of intervening if overload
conditions persist over a certain period of time.
• Break or dip in supply voltage.
In situations where a dip or interruption in the supply voltage may result from faulty wiring, an
undervoltage device must be in place that guarantees suitable protection (i.e. machine shut o) at a set voltage level. If machine
operation can withstand a voltage interruption or dip for a short period, an undervoltage time delay device can be tted. The operation
of the undervoltage protective device must not interfere with any machine shutdown commands.
• Motor overspeed.
Motor overspeed can occur if the converter used to power the motor is faulty, or if the brake action is insucient or
absent, causing the load to drag the shaft. Protection against this is vital in that overspeed can be hazardous. Preventive measures can
be taken, such as motor speed sensors (centrifugal circuit breakers or voltage relays connected to tachymetric dynamos) which cut o
the power supply to the motor, and braking devices, which are necessary where the interruption of the electric current is not enough to
stop the driven load (e.g. lifting).
• Protection against direct contact with live parts.
In order to minimise risk of direct contact with the live parts of the motor, these
have been housed in the motor casing; furthermore, the terminal block box can only be opened using a special tool. The removal of
the terminal block box cover for maintenance purposes must only be carried out by qualied personnel and the power supply must be
visibly shut o, including auxiliary circuits (i.e. for condensation heaters), so that no accessible parts stay live.
In the case of live parts that remain energised after power has been shut o, e.g. capacitors in single-phase motors, then discharge these
capacitors (with the power supply visibly shut o) before proceeding.
• Protection against indirect contact with live parts.
Protection against indirect contact, i.e. contact due to insulation faults that bring
external metal parts into contact with live parts, is mainly accomplished by connecting all the accessible parts to a protective ground
conductor and by using protective devices that act by cutting o the power when, due to a fault in the winding, current ows towards
earth.