PROTECTION AND CONTROL OF LOW VOLTAGE MOTORS USED IN INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

By this project we can protect and control the motors in industrial applications. This project monitors the phase under voltage and over voltage conditions, Ground fault detection, Temperatures, current unbalance protection. Every low voltage motor is designed for a specific operating temperature depending upon its insulation. Once this limit is exceeded motor life decreases. The under voltage on a running motor with a constant load results in increased current, then motor gets heated. Relay picks up this condition and provides adequate protection. An overvoltage on a running motor with a constant load results in decreased current. However, iron losses increase, causing an increase in motor temperature. Relay pick up this condition and provides adequate protection.

A voltage imbalance in a motor implies that unequal line voltages are being applied to the motor. This can happen due to several reasons like unbalance supply, faulty operation of automatic power factor connection, uneven distribution of single phase load on the same feeder. However for small sized motors it is very often to have only current transformers (CT), it is better to directly measure current unbalance and protect the motor. As low voltage motors are critical assets in today's industrial applications this will review the applications of Programable logic controlled based protection and control on low voltage motors less than 600 V AC in industrial facilities. It will review principles of low voltage motor protection (thermal overload, ground fault, unbalance, etc.). Communications play a key role in the starting and stopping of low voltage motors. This paper will also discuss several different starting/stopping controls using communication protocols, such as Profibus, DeviceNet and Modbus.