TECHNICAL

DC Motor Protection
The purpose of DC motor protection is Potential Motor Hazards and ing or cabling faults are related to power
to extend a motor’s lifespan by protect- Fault Conditions source-induced faults, they are catego-
ing it from conditions that can damage A review of motor hazards and com- rized as motor-induced faults.)
that the motor’s windings—both elec- mon fault conditions is useful in un- Load-induced faults (Ref. 2) are “the
trically and mechanically. Motor wind- derstanding the different approaches prolonged overloading as a result of the
ing damage can result from any of the taken to protect motors. These fault application of excessive mechanical
following conditions (Ref. 1): conditions are divided into the follow- load” (Ref. 3). Jamming (locked rotor)
• Mechanical damage ing categories (Ref. 2): is a common load-induced fault that
• Excessive moisture • Motor-induced faults causes an apparent overload or high in-
• High dielectric stress • Load-induced faults ertia (Wk2d). In pump applications, for
• High temperature • Environment-induced faults instance, oil that is cold or highly viscous
• Power source-induced faults may cause a fault; oil heaters are a pos-
While each of the above conditions • Application-induced faults sible solution to correct this fault condi-
can lead to winding damage, the appar- tion.
ent failure is “thermal degradation of Motor-induced faults (Ref. 2) are di- Environment-induced faults (Ref.
the insulation or burnouts. Insulation rectly related to the motor and its asso- 2) include high ambient tempera-
life is reduced by about half for each ciated wiring. Common motor-induced ture, cold/damp environment, high
10o C increase in winding temperature” faults include burnt out insulation, contaminant level and blocked ven-
(Ref. 1). To avoid thermal degradation bad bearings, loss-of-field and other tilation, among others. These condi-
of the insulation, there are a number of mechanical failures. Wiring problems, tions can increase the temperature of
methods, devices and circuits used to chafed or exposed wiring, cabling faults the windings by collecting moisture,
monitor potential motor hazards and or abraded insulation can cause “short degrading by corrosion or insulat-
fault conditions and to de-energize the circuits between power phases or be- ing the windings from contaminants.
motor when these conditions are met. tween a power phase and earth ground Loss of ventilation—especially at low
in the motor winding or its connec- speeds—also increases winding tem-
tions” (Ref. 3). (Note: Even though wir- perature.
Power source-induced faults (Ref. 2)
typically will cause high motor currents
that can thermally degrade the motor
windings from I2R heating. These fault
conditions are numerous and include
over-voltage; under-voltage; phase re-
versal; open phase failures (Ref. 3);
unbalances; ground-faults; power tran-
sients; harmonics; and loss-of-field.
Application induced-faults (Ref. 2)
are caused by operating conditions that
typically cause overcurrent or overload
conditions. These conditions include
high duty cycle; jogging; rapid plugging
(or plug reversing); over-speeding (Ref.
4); and synchronization problems.

Motor Protection Methods

Motor protection methods include
devices and circuits that are used with-
in the motor or used with the motor’s
control circuitry to monitor fault condi-
tions. They include:
• Thermal overload relays

Reprinted with permission from the Resources Section of Ohio Electric’s Internet Website: www.ohioelectricmotors.com.

48 Power Transmission Engineering JUNE 2013 WWW.POWERTRANSMISSION.COM ]————

• Transient voltage protectors
• Ground fault relays off the power line. Bi-metal-strip (Ref. discharging and motorizing the genera-
• Distance relays 5) thermal overloads operate similar tor (Ref. 11).
• Fuses, contactors and circuit to inherent overload protection. While For DC motors, the loss-of-field can
breakers thermal overload protection is most potentially cause a dangerous, over-
• Under-voltage protection commonly used, electronic and mag- speed condition (Ref. 12). Hence, loss-
• Locked rotor protection netic overload protections are also used of-field relays are used to monitor the
• Loss-of-field relays to combat overload (Ref. 8). Electronic motor’s field. They are connected in
• Reversed-current protection overloads are current sensors. They parallel with the field and monitor the
• Isolation transformers sense actual motor current; when the DC motor’s field current. In the event
• Harmonic filters motor current reaches a predetermined that the field current decreases below a
• Power conditioners level, a relay will trip and open the mo- certain limit (Ref. 13), the loss-of-field
tor control circuit. Magnetic overloads relay will drop out and de-energize the
Thermal overload relays (Ref. 5) pro- use electromagnetism to sense an over- motor’s armature.
tect motors from overload conditions. load. When an overload condition is When a motor fails to start or acceler-
There are two main types: inherent and sensed, a relay coil will pull in (close) ate after it’s been energized, it is exhib-
external. Inherent thermal overloads and trip the motor off the power line. iting a locked-rotor condition. In this
(Ref. 6) are bi-metal devices embedded Fuses and circuit protectors are not condition the “motor is subject to ex-
in the motor’s windings. They are essen- overload protectors; rather, they are treme heating, much more so than in an
tially thermostats with two dissimilar overcurrent protectors designed to overload condition since the heat has
metals bound together that will bend to “protect the motor from a direct ground very little time to be dissipated in the
open (in some cases, close) a trip switch or short-circuit condition” in the mo- conductors and other parts of the mo-
(Ref. 7) at a temperature set-point, tor or its associated wiring and cabling tor” (Ref. 14). Locked-rotor conditions
which is proportional to motor current (Ref. 5). Short-circuit protection is in- can be protected by an overcurrent re-
in an overloaded condition. The switch corporated into a motor contactor with lay set for permissible I2t times and cur-
is connected to the motor’s control cir- “high-breaking-capacity fuses” or a rents. But for large DC motors, another
cuitry to alarm and/or de-energize the circuit breaker with “instantaneous at- solution is to build a zero-speed switch
motor. External thermal overload pro- tracted armature-type relays.” Ground into the motor (Ref. 15). If the motor
tection (Ref. 5) involves heaters that are fault relays or interrupters are another does not accelerate to open the zero-
connected in series with the motor’s type of overcurrent protection. They speed switch, the motor’s power sup-
windings and mounted on the motor monitor “unintentional current paths ply is de-energized. However, there’s a
contactor or circuit breaker. There are between a current-carrying conduc- disadvantage to the zero-speed switch;
two types of overloads: solder pot and tor and a grounded surface” (Ref. 9). in situations where the motor starts but
bimetal strip. Solder pot overloads will For motors, ground fault current paths locks up at less than full speed, the zero-
melt when the heat generated by the are typically found through dust, wa- speed switch can close and de-energize
motor current in an overload condi- ter, or worn insulation. Ground faults the motor’s power supply. Locked-rotor
tion occurs; this action opens the mo- pose worker safety hazards (Ref. 10). protection can also be accomplished by
tor control circuit and trips the motor Reverse current relays are a protective a distance relay (Ref. 16).
feature used in motor-generator appli- Power source-induced faults include
For Related Articles Search cations where a standby battery is being under-voltage, overvoltage, open phas-
charged by the generator. The reverse ing, phase rotation and phase imbal-
DC motors current relay prevents the battery from ances. (Note: Generally speaking, phase
at www.powertransmission.com imbalances, phase rotation faults and

JUNE 2013 Power Transmission Engineering 49

 TECHNICAL

open phasing are associated with AC type of motor protection and generally tact coil while the reverse coil will en-
motors, and are not addressed in this ar- is used with motor starters for revers- ergize through its NC auxiliary contact.
ticle. But it should be noted that if a DC ing and/or auxiliary control. There are
motor is powered by a DC converter, this three types of interlocks: Environmental Protection
controller protects the motor from these • Mechanical Environmental contamination can
conditions.) (Ref. 17) Under-voltage • Electrical adversely affect normal motor opera-
faults can cause either high motor cur- • Auxiliary contact tion. Dust, air particulates, explosive
rents or a failure to start. Hence, most vapors, water, humidity and high am-
under-voltage protection is part of the Mechanical interlocks will physically bient temperatures can all shorten the
motor starter. However, for prolonged prevent two motor contactors (forward lifespan of a motor. To protect a motor
under-voltage conditions, an inverse- and reverse) from closing simultane- from these environmental conditions,
time-under-voltage-relay can be used ously. “This interlock locks out one the National Electrical Manufacturers
to protect from this condition (Ref. 18). contactor at the beginning of the stroke Association (NEMA) and the Interna-
Rather than using discrete compo- of either contactor.” On the other hand, tional Electro-Technical Commission
nents to protect a DC motor from over- electrical interlocks use a push-button (IEC) have classified motor enclosures
voltages or surges, DC drives, isolation control or auxiliary contact to electri- based upon the level of protection they
transformers (Ref. 19) and power-con- cally isolate one contactor while en- provide (Ref. 26). The two major classi-
ditioning equipment (Ref. 20) are typi- ergizing the other contactor (Ref. 25). fications of motor enclosures are open
cally used to provide this type of protec- Auxiliary contact interlocking is a wir- and totally enclosed. Open motors are
tion. However, MOVs (Ref. 21), arrestors ing modification of push-button inter- further classified as drip-proof, splash-
(Ref. 22), harmonic filters (Ref. 23) and locking. There are two types of auxiliary proof, weather-protected, semi-guard-
power factor correction capacitors can contacts: normally closed (NC) and ed and guarded. Totally enclosed mo-
also provide overvoltage protection normally open (NO). For interlocking tors are classified as totally enclosed
(Ref. 23). protection in a reversing circuit, an NC non-ventilated, fan-cooled, explosion-
auxiliary contact is wired in series with proof, dust ignition-proof, air-to-water
Interlocks: Indirect Motor the opposing motor contactor coil. cooled and air-to-air cooled.
Protection Thus, when a motor is running in the
Interlocking is used to “prevent (mo- forward direction, the forward contact References
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simultaneously, or closing together iliary contact. When the reverse direc- Electricity and Motor Controls, McGraw-Hill,
2008, p. 384.
and causing a short-circuit (Ref. 24).” In tion is selected, the NC contact will
2. Blackburn, J. Lewis. Protective Relaying:
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p. 358.
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8. Tomal, Daniel R. and Neal S. Widmer.
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Hungry for More

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Everything you
Principles and Applications, CRC Press, 1998,
p. 378.

need if you buy

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motors, couplings
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and clutches.
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Motor Handbook, McGraw-Hill Professional,
1998, p. 96. • Product and Industry News • Back Issues and Article
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