Grundfos Motor Book Grundfos Motor Book

110  Grundfos Motor Book

6.  Motor protection

Why is motor protection necessary? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

What fault conditions are we talking about? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Fusible safety switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
“Quick-acting” fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
“Time-lag” fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Fuse clearing time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
What is a circuit breaker and how does it work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Thermal circuit breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Magnetic circuit breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Circuit breaker rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
What overload relays do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Trip class designation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
How to combine fuses with overload relays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Advanced external motor protection relays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Setting of external overload relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Calculation example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Internal protection – built into the motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
TP designation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Thermal protectors – built into the thermal box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Thermal switch – built into the windings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Internal fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
How does a thermal switch function? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
TP designation for the diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Thermistors – also built into the windings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
How does a thermistor function? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
TP-designation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
TP 111 protected motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
TP 211 protected motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
PT100 – temperature sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
What have you learned about motor protection? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
External protection devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Internal protection devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
PTC thermistors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Thermal switch and thermostats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
What Grundfos offers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

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6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book

Why is motor protection necessary?

Why is motor protection

necessary?
In order to avoid unexpected breakdowns, costly
repairs and subsequent losses due to motor
downtime, it is important that the motor is fitted
with some sort of protective device. Generally
speaking, motor protection can be divided into
the following 3 levels:

• E xternal protection against short circuit in

the whole installation. External protection
device is normally different types of fuses or
short circuit relays. This kind of protection
device is compulsory and legal and placed
under safety regulations.

• External protection against overload of spe-

cific equipment; i.e. to avoid overload of
pump motor and thereby prevent damage
and breakdown of the motor. This type of
protection reacts on current.
Overload accounts for some 30% of all motor failure
• Built-in motor protection with thermal Source: Electrical Research Association USA
overload protection to avoid damage and
breakdown of motor. The built-in protector
always require an external circuit breaker
while some built-in motor protection types
even require an overload relay.

Fuse

Circuit breaker

Overload
relay

Built-in thermal
protection

112  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection
What fault conditions are we
talking about?

What fault conditions are we

talking about?
A wide range of faults can occur different places
in the application. Therefore, it is important to
anticipate the cause of events, and protect the
motor against obstacles in the best possible
way. What follows is a list of the most common
fault conditions where motor damage can be
avoided by some sort of motor protection.
•  Problems with the power supply quality:
– Overvoltage
– Undervoltage
– Imbalanced voltages/currents
– Frequency variation
•  Installation, supply & motor failures Lack of ventilation due to dirt on the motor
•  Slowly developing temperature rise:
– Insufficient cooling
– High ambient temperature
– High altitude operation
– High liquid temperature Fuses
– Too high viscosity of the pumping liquid
– Frequent starts
– Too big load inertia
– (not common for pumps)
•  Quickly developing temperature rises:
– Locked rotor
– Phase breakage

Switch
To protect a circuit against overloads and short
circuits, a circuit protective device must deter-
mine when one of these fault conditions occurs.
It must then automatically disconnect the circuit
from the power source. A fuse is the simplest
device for accomplishing these two functions.
Normally fuses are built together by means of
a safety switch, which can switch off the circuit.
On the following pages, we will present three
Fuses
types of fuses as to their function and to where
they are used: Fusible safety switch, “quick-act-
ing” fuse and “time-lag” fuse.

Fusible safety switch

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6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book
What fault conditions are we
talking about? L1 L2 L3 N
Fusible safety switch
A fusible safety switch is a safety switch, which is
combined with a fuse in a single enclosure. The
switch manually opens and closes the circuit, while
the fuse protect against overcurrent protection.

Switches are generally used in connection with

service when it is necessary to cut off the current,
or in connection with fault situations.

The safety switch is a switch, which is placed

M
in a separate enclosure. The enclosure protects Fuses are typically represented by these symbols
personnel against accidental exposure to electri- in electrical circuit diagrams
cal connections and against exposure to weather
conditions. Some safety switches come with
a built-in function for fuses, and some safety
switches come without built-in fuses, containing
only a switch. S1
The overcurrent protection device (fuse) has to
recognise the difference between overcurrent
and short circuit. Slight overcurrents for example,
can be allowed to continue for a short period of
time. But as the current magnitude increases, the
protection device has to react quickly. It is impor-
tant to interrupt short circuits immediately.

The fusible disconnect switch is an example of a

device which is used for overcurrent protection.
Properly sized fuses in the switch open the circuit
Switch
K1
when an overcurrent condition occurs.

“Quick-acting” fuses
Nontime-delay fuses provide excellent short cir- Fuses
cuit protection. However, brief overloads, such

MV
as motor starting currents, may cause problems
for this kind of fuse. Therefore, nontime-delay
fuses are best used in circuits, which are not Fusible safety switch
subject to large transient currents. Normally,
nontime-delay fuses hold some 500% of their
rated current for one-fourth of a second. After
this time, the current-carrying element melts,
and opens the fuse. Thus, in motor circuits,
where the starting current often exceeds 500%
of the fuse’s rated current, nontime-delay fuses

K1
are not recommended.

114  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection
What fault conditions are we
talking about?

“Time-lag” fuses
This kind of fuse provides both overload and
short-circuit protection. Typically, they allow Clearing time
of fuse
up to 5 times the rated current for up to 10
seconds and for shorter periods even higher
currents. Usually, this is sufficient to allow a
Less current - more time
motor to start without opening the fuse. On

Time
the other hand, if an overload condition occurs
and persists for a longer period of time, the
More current
fuse will eventually open. - less time

Fuse clearing time

The fuse clearing time is the response time it
takes the fuse to open. Fuses have an inverse
time characteristic, meaning that the greater 10 100 I/In
the overcurrent, the shorter the clearing time. Current

Generally speaking, pump motors have a very Principle of a tripping curve for a fuse.
The graph shows the relation between the
short run-up time; below 1 second. So, blown
actual current and the full-load current
fuses during start-up are normally not an issue
for pumps if the fuses match the motor’s full-
load currentand is a time-lag fuse.
t (s)

The illustration on your right-hand side shows 10000

the principle of a tripping curve for a fuse. The 1000
x-axis shows the relation between the actual
current and the full-load current: If the motor 100
consumes the full-load current or less, the fuse Time-lag fuse
does not trip. But at 10 times the full-load cur- Quick-time fuse
10
rent, the fuse will trip in a very short time (0.01
s). The Y-axis shows the clearing time.
1
During start-up, an induction motor consumes
0.1
a large amount of current. In some rare cases,
this may lead to a cut-out via relays or fuses.
0.01
Different methods of starting the motor exist in
order to reduce the locked rotor current.
0.001
0.1 1 10 100 1000

I/In
Tripping curve for a “quick-acting” and a
“time-lag” fuse.
The “time-lag” fuse is the best choice for
motors because of the high starting current

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6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book
What is a circuit breaker and how
does it work?

What is a circuit breaker and how

does it work?
A circuit breaker is an overcurrent protection
device. It opens and closes a circuit automati-
cally at a predetermined overcurrent. When
the circuit breaker is applied correctly within its
rating, opening and closing the circuit breaker
does not damage it.

It is easy to reactivate the circuit breaker imme-

diately after a overload has occurred. The circuit
breaker is simply reset after the fault is corrected.

We distinguish between two kinds of circuit

breakers: Thermal and magnetic circuit breakers.

Thermal circuit breakers

Thermal circuit breakers are the most reliable
and cost-effective type of protection device that A circuit breaker is an overcurrent protection device.
exists and are well-suited for motors. They can It opens and closes a circuit automatically on a
withstand high-level current waves, which arise predetermined overcurrent. Subsequently, the circuit
from motor starts and they protect the motor closes automatically or manually
against failure e.g. locked rotor.

Magnetic circuit breakers Characteristics of thermal and magnetic circuit breakers

Magnetic circuit breakers are precise, reliable
and cost-effective. The magnetic circuit breaker Thermal Magnetic
Temperature sensitive Not temperature sensitive
is stable temperature-wise, meaning that it Not voltage sensitive Voltage sensitive
Fixed time delay Various time delays
is rarely affected by changes in the ambient
Push-to-reset and switch function Switch function
temperature. Limited circuit functions Variety of circuit functions
Small package size Larger package size
Compared to thermal circuit breakers, magnetic
Lower cost Higher cost
circuit breakers offer a more precise trip time.
The illustration on your right-hand side shows
the characteristics of the two types of circuit
breakers.

Circuit breaker rating

Circuit breakers are rated according to the level of
fault current they interrupt. So, when you select
a circuit breaker, always choose one that can
sustain the largest potential short-circuit current,
which is likely to occur in the application.

116  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection

What overload relays do

What overload relays do

Overload relays:
• Make it possible for the motor to handle harm-
less temporary overloads without interrupting
the circuit, i.e. motor starting.
• Trip and open a motor circuit, if the current
exceeds its limits and might damage the motor.
• Are reset either automatically or manually
once the overload situation has passed.

2 Hr
IEC and NEMA are responsible for setting the stand-
1 Hr
ards as to trip classes and thus for overload relays.
20 Min
Trip class designation 10 Min
Generally, overload relays react to overload relay
4 Min
conditions according to the trip curve. Regardless
of the product style (NEMA or IEC), trip classes 2 Min
specify the periode of time it takes the relay to
Trip 1 Min
open when overload occurs. The most common time
30 Sec
classes are 10, 20 and 30. The figure refers to the 20 Sec Class 30
periode of time it takes the relay to trip. A class Class 20
10 Sec
10 overload relay trips within 10 seconds or less Class 10
4 Sec
at 600% of full-load current, a class 20 overload
relay trips within 20 seconds or less and a class 30 2 Sec
overload relay trips within 30 seconds or less.
1 Sec
100 200 400 800 1000
The degree of inclination of the trip curve depends % of Full-load current
on the motor’s protection class. IEC motors are
typically adapted to the application in which they The trip time is the time it takes
are designed to operate. This implies that the for a relay to trip during over-
overload relay is able to handle excess amounts of load. The trip time is divided into
current, very close to its maximum capacity. The different classes
trip time is the time it takes for a relay to trip dur-
ing overload. The trip time is divided into different
classes. The most common trip classes are 10, 20
and 30. Trip class 10 is the most common one for
IEC motors because they are often adapted to the
application. NEMA motors are applied with more
built-in excess capacity, and therefore, the trip
class 20 is most common.

Trip class 10 relays shut off the motor within 10

seconds at 600% of full-load current. Trip class 10 is
normally used for pump motors because the run-up
time of the motor is around 0.1 – 1 second. Many
high inertia industrial loads require more time to
start. Many of these loads require trip class 20.

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6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book

What overload relays do

How to combine fuses with overload

relays
Fuses prevent short circuits from damaging the
Overload relay time curent characteristic
installation and in worst case causing a fire,
and must therefore have adequate capacities. Fuse time current characteristic
The lower currents are cleared by the overload
relay. Here, the rated current of the fuse does
not correspond to the motor rating but to the
current, which is likely to damage the weakest
components in the installation. As mentioned

Time
previously, the fuse provides short circuit pro- Cross over current
tection and does not provide low overcurrent
protection. Full load Limit of thermal damage to the
current overload relay time/current
characteristic
The illustration on your right-hand side shows Motor current
the most important parameters that form the
basis for a successful co-ordination of fuses and Starting
overload relays. current

Current
It is essential that the fuse trips out before ther-
mal damage of other parts of the installation The most important parameters that form the basis for a
occur because of short-circuit. successful co-ordination of fuses and overload relays. The
fuse time current curve always has to be situated lower
than the limit curve (red curve) for thermal damage

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 6. Motor protection
Advanced external motor
protection relays

Advanced external motor

protection relays
More advanced external motor protection
systems can also protect against overvolt-
age, phase imbalance, too many starts/stops,
vibrations, PT100 temperature monitor-
ing of stator and bearings, insulation resist-
ance and monitor ambient temperature.
Further, advanced external motor protection
systems are able to handle the signal from
built-in thermal protection. Thermal protection
device will be covered later on in this chapter.

These external motor protection relays are  Overload

designed to protect three-phase motors against  Short circuit

conditions, which can damage them in the short  Locked rotor

or the long run. In addition to motor protection,  Stall / mechanical jam

 Repeated starts
the external protection relay has features that
 Open phase / imbalance
can protect the motor in different situations:
 Ground fault
• Give an alarm before damage results from a
 Overtemperature
process malfunction  Undercurrent
• Diagnose problems after a fault  Overload warning
• Allow verification of correct relay operation
during routine maintenance
• Monitor bearings for temperature and vibration

Advanced motor protection relay

It is possible to connect overload relays through-
out an entire plant to a central control system
and constantly monitor and make a fast fault
diagnose. When an external protection relay
in an overload relay is installed, the downtime
decreases due to process problems. The expla-
nation is that it is possible to detect the fault
quickly and avoid that it causes any damages to
the motor.
For instance, the motor can be protected against:
• Overload
•  Locked rotor
•  Stall / mechanical jam
•  Repeated starts
•  Open phase
•  Ground fault
• Overtemperature (using PT100 or thermis-
tors signal from the motor)
•  Undercurrent
•  Overload warning

Grundfos Motor Book  119

6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book
Advanced external motor
protection relays

Setting of external overload relay

The full-load current at a given voltage indicated
on the nameplate is normative for setting the
overload relay. Because of the variable voltages
around the world, motors for pumps are made to
be used at both 50 Hz and 60 Hz in a wide volt- Current
age range. Therefore, a current range is indicated 4 setting
3
on the motor’s nameplate. The exact current Stop
2
capacity can be calculated when we know the
voltage. Auto/manual L1 L2 L3
N
reset selector
Calculation example
When we know the precise voltage for the
installation, the full-load current can be
calculated at 254 ∆/440 Y V, 60 Hz.
Full-load current
The data is indicated on the nameplate as shown
on the illustration on your right-hand side.
f = 60 Hz
U = 220-277 ∆/380 - 480 Y V
I n = 5.70 - 5.00/3.30 - 2.90 A

60 Hz data calculation
Ua = 254 ∆/440 Y V (actual voltage)
Umin = 220 ∆/380 Y V
(Minimum values in the voltage range)
Umax = 277 ∆/480 Y V
(Maximum values in the voltage range)

The voltage ratio is determined by the following

equations:

The full-load current at a given voltage indicated

on the nameplate is normative for setting the
overload relay

120  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection
Advanced external motor
protection relays

Calculation of the actual full-load current (I):

I min = 5.70/3.30 A
(Current values for Delta and Star at minimum
voltages)

I max = 5.00/2.90 A
(Current values for Delta and Star at maximum
voltages)

Now, it is possible to calculate the full-load

current by means of the first formula:

I for Delta values:

5.70 + (5.00 - 5.70) • 0.6 = 5.28 = 5.30 A

I for Star values:

3.30 + (2.90 - 3.30) • 0.6 = 3.06 = 3.10 A

The values for the full-load current correspond

to the permissible full-load current of the motor
at 254 ∆/440 Y V, 60 Hz.

4
3

Rule-of-thumb: The external motor over-

L1 L2 L3
load relay is always set to the nominal N
current shown on the nameplate.

If the motor is connected in star = 440 V 60 Hz

However if motors are designed with a service the overload relay then has to be set to 3.1 A
factor, which is then shown on the nameplate
eg. 1.15, the set current for the overload relay
can be raised by 15% compared to full-load cur-
rent or to the service factor amps, (SFA) which is
normally indicated on the nameplate.

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6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book
Internal protection
- built into the motor

Internal protection
- built into the motor
Why have built-in motor protection, when the
motor is already fitted with overload relays and
fuses? Sometimes the overload relay does not
register a motor overload. Here are a couple
exampels of this:
Built-in thermal
• If the motor is covered and is slowly warmed
protection
up to a high damaging temperature.
• In general, high ambient temperature.
• If the external motor protection is set at a too
high trip current or is installed in a wrong way.
• If a motor, within a short period of time, Internal protection built into windings
is restarted several times, the locked rotor
current warms up the motor and eventually
damages it.

The degree of protection that an internal pro-

tection device provides is classified in the IEC
60034-11 standard.

TP designation
TP is the abbreviation for thermal protection.
Different types of thermal protection exist and are
identified by a TP-code (TPxxx) which indicates:
• The type of thermal overload for which the
thermal protection is designed (1 digit)
• The numbers of levels and type of action
(2 digit)
• The category of the built-in thermal protec-
Indication of the permissible temperature level
tion (3 digit) when the motor is exposed to thermal overload. Category
2 allows higher temperatures than category 1 does
When it comes to pump motors, the most com-
mon TP designations are:

TP 111: Protection against slow overload

TP 211: protection against both rapid and slow
overload.

122  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection
Internal protection
- built into the motor

All Grundfos single-phase motors have current

3~MOT MG 100LB2-28FT130-C2

85815810
and temperature-dependent motor protection P2 3,00 kW No 85815810
in accordance with IEC 60034-11. The motor
50 Hz U 380-415D V
Eff. % I 1/1 6,25 A
protection is of the TP 211 type, which reacts to 82 Imax 6,85 A
both slow and quick-rising temperatures. The n 288-2910 min cos 0.88-0.82
CL F IP 55 TP 211
device is automatically reset. DE 6306.2Z.C4 NDE 6205.2Z.C3

3-phase MG Grundfos motors as from 3.0 kW

have PTC as standard. These motors have been
tested and are approved as TP 211 motors, which
react to both slow and quick-rising tempera-
tures. TP 211 in a MG 3.0 kW motor
equipped with PTC
Other motors used for Grundfos pumps (MMG
model D and model E, Siemens, Baldor etc.) can
be TP 211 but are normally TP 111. Nameplate
designation should always be followed.

Information about which type of protection

has been applied to a motor can be found on
the nameplate using a TP (thermal protection)
designation according to IEC 60034-11.

In general, internal protection can be imple-

mented using two types of protectors: Thermal
protectors or thermistors. TP 111 in a Grundfos MMG 18.5 kW motor equipped
with PTC.
Thermal protectors - built into the ter-
minal box
Thermal protectors or thermostats use a snap-
action, bi-metallic, disc type switch to open Thermal switch without heater
or to close the circuit when it reaches a cer-
tain temperature. Thermal protectors are also
referred to as Klixons, (trade name from Texas Thermal switch with heater
Instruments).

Thermal switch without heater for

When the bi-metal disc reaches a predetermined
three-phase motors
temperature, it opens or closes a set of contacts (star-point protector)
in an energized control circuit. Thermostats are
available with contacts for normally open or
normally closed operation, but the same device
cannot be used for both. Thermostats are pre-
calibrated by the manufacturer and cannot be
adjusted. The discs are hermetically sealed and
are placed on the terminal board.

Grundfos Motor Book  123

6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book
Internal protection
- built into the motor

A thermostat can either energize an alarm cir- Thermal protection to be connected

cuit, if normally open, or de-energize the motor in series with the winding or to a control
contactor, if normally closed and in series with circuit in the motor
the contactor. Since thermostats are located on
the outer surface of the coil ends, they sense the
temperature at that location. In connection with
three-phase motors, thermostats are considered
unstable protection against stall or other rap-
idly changing temperature conditions. In single
Two thermal switches
phase motors thermostats do protect against connected in series
locked-rotor conditions. with thermal surface
contact on all three
Thermal switch - built into the phases
windings
Thermal protectors can also be built into the
windings, see the illustration on your right-hand
side.
Thermal protection built into the windings
They operate as a sensitive power cut-out for both
single and three-phase motors. In single-phase
motors, up to a given motor size around 1.1 kW it
can be mounted directly in the main circuit to serve
as an on-winding protector. Klixons

Klixon and Thermik are examples of thermal switch

These devices are also called PTO (Protection
Thermique à Ouverture).

Internal fitting
In single-phase motors one single thermal
switch is used. In three-phase motors 2 thermal
Thermik - PTO
switches connected in series are placed between
the phases of the motor. In that way all three
phases are in contact with a thermal switch.
Thermal switches can be retrofitted on the coil
end, but the result is an increased reaction time.
The switches have to be connected to an exter-
nal monitoring system. In that way the motor is
protected against a slow overload. The thermal
Current and temperature sensitive thermal switches
switches do not require an amplifier relay.

Thermal switches CANNOT protect against

locked- rotor conditions.

124  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection
How does a thermal switch
function?

How does a thermal switch

function?
The curve on your right-hand side shows the R[ ]
resistance as a function of the temperature
for a typical thermal switch. Depending on the

8
thermal switch manufacturer, the curve changes.
TN is typically around 150 - 160°C.

Connection
[˚C ]
-5 +5
Connection of a three-phase motor with built-in TN
thermal switch and overload relay.
Resistance as a function of the tem-
perature for a typical thermal switch
TP designation for the diagram
Protection according to the IEC 60034-11 stand-
L1 L2 L3 N N
ard: TP 111 (slow overload). In order to handle a
locked-rotor, the motor has to be fitted with an
overload relay. MV
S2
S1
S1

K1
MV
MV K1

K1 K1

M
3

Automatic reclosing Manual reclosing

S1 On/off switch
S2 Off switch
K1 Contactor
t Thermal switch in motor
M Motor
MV Overload relay
Thermal switches can be loaded as followed:

Umax= 250 V AC

IN = 1.5 A

  Imax = 5.0 A (cut-in and cut-out current)

Grundfos Motor Book  125

6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book
How does a thermal switch
function?

Thermistors
- also built into the windings
The second type of internal protection is the Thermistor / PTC. Only temperature
thermistors or Positive Temperature Coefficient sensitive. The thermistor has to be
sensors (PTC). The thermistors are built into the connected to a control circuit, which
motor windings and protect the motor against +T can convert the resistance signal, which
again has to disconnect the motor.
locked-rotor conditions, continuous overload and Used in three-phase motors.
high ambient temperature. Thermal protection
is then achieved by monitoring the temperature
of the motor windings with PTC sensors. If the
windings exceed the rated trip temperature, the
sensor undergoes a rapid change in resistance
relative to the change in temperature.

As a result of this change, the internal relays

de-energize the control coil of the external line
break contactor. As the motor cools and an
acceptable motor winding temperature has
been restored, the sensor resistance decreases
to the reset level. At this point, the module 3 PTC sensors;
resets itself automatically, unless it was set up one in each phase
for manual reset.
PTC sensors
When the thermistors are retrofitted on the coil PTC protection built
ends, the thermistors can only be classified as into windings
TP 111. The reason is that the thermistors do not
have complete contact with the coil ends, and
therefore, it cannot react as quickly as it would if
they were fitted into the winding originally.

The thermistor temperature sensing system Nominal response

consists of positive temperature coefficient sen- temperature TNF 145 150 155 160 165 170
sors (PTC) embedded in series of three - one [C°]
between each phase - and a matched solid-state white black blue blue blue white
electronic switch in an enclosed control mod- Colouring leads black black black red green
ule. A set of sensors consists of three sensors,
one per phase. The resistance in the sensor The colours on the PTC leads help determine what trip
remains relatively low and constant over a wide temperature the PTC sensor is made to handle. This
temperature band and increases abruptly at specific PTC sensor has a TNF at 160°C. PTC sensors
a pre-determined temperature or trip point. come with trip temperatures ranging form 90°C to
When this occurs, the sensor acts as a solid-state 180°C with an interval of 5 degrees
thermal switch and de-energizes a pilot relay.
The relay opens the machine’s control circuit to
shut down the protected equipment. When the
winding temperature returns to a safe value, the
module permits manual reset.

126  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection

How does a thermistor function?

Thermistors are standard in all Grundfos motors IgR

from 3 kW and up.
R
The positive temperature coefficient (PTC) ther- PTC

mistor system is considered fail-safe since a bro-

ken sensor or sensor lead results in an infinite
resistance and develop a response identical to
that of elevated temperature, de-energizing the R
Ref
pilot relay. Rmin

T T T T
N Rmin Ret PTC

How does a thermistor function? T

The critical values of the resistance / tempera- Typical resistance versus temperature charac-
ture char-acteristic for motor-protection sen- teristic of a PTC thermistor (DIN 44081/44082)
sors are defined by the DIN 44081/DIN 44082
standards.
R

The DIN curve on your right shows the resist-

ance in the thermistor sensor as a function of 4000
temperature.
1330
The thermistor has the following advantages
550
compared to the PTO:
• Reacts faster because of lower volume and 250
mass
• Better contact with the winding o
-20 C T
• Sensors on each phase
TNAT - 5 K

TNAT - 5 K
TNAT - 20 K

TNAT - 20 K

• Provide protection against locked-rotor con-

ditions
TNAT

Critical limits in the resistance temperature charac-

teristic for motor protection sensors.

TNAT = tripping temperature for the thermistor

The curves covers one thermistor unit.

Values must be trippled to cover the motor PTC
thermistors

Grundfos Motor Book  127

6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book

TP designation

TP designation
The TP 211 motor protection can only be achieved TP 111 protected motors
when PTC thermistors are entirely incorporated in L1 L2 L3 N

the coil end. TP 111 protection is only achieved in 3UN2 100-0 C

A1 95
connection with retrofitting. The motor must be H1
H2
tested and approved by the manufacturer in order N K
T1 T2 A2 96 98 S2
to obtain the TP 211 designation. If a motor with PTC S1
MV

thermistors is TP 111 protected, it has to be fitted MV

S1 MV

with an overload relay in order to handle blocking. K1

K1

K1 K1

Connection
M
The figures on your right hand side show a 3
connection of a three-phase motor with PTC
thermistors and Siemens tripping unit. In order Automatic reclosing Manual reclosing
to obtain protection against both slow and rapid
overload, we recommend the following type of
connection for motors with PTC sensor and TP TP211 protected motors
L1 L2 L3 N
211 and TP 111 protection.
3UN2 100-0 C
A1 95

TP 111 protected motors

H1
H2
N K
If the motor with the thermistor is marked with T1 T2 A2 96 98

TP 111, it means that the motor is only protected S2

S1 S1

against slow overload. In order to protect the

K1 K1
motor against rapid overload, the motor has to
K1 K1
have a motor overload realy. The overload relay
has to be connected to the PTC relay in series. M
3

TP 211 protected motors

The TP 211 motor protection can only be Automatic reclosing Manual reclosing
achieved when the PTC thermistors is entirely
incorporated in the coil end. TP 111 protection is
achieved in connection with retrofitting. S1 On/off switch
The thermistors are designed in accordance with K1 Contactor
the DIN 44082 standard, and can handle a load t Thermistor in motor
Umax of 2.5 VDC. All tripping units are designed to M Motor
receive signals from DIN 44082 thermistors, i.e. MV Motor overload relay
thermistors from Siemens.
Please note: It is important that the built-in 3UN2 100-0C tripping unit with automatic reclosing:
PTC device is connected to the overload relay A Amplifying relay
in series. Reclosing of an overload relay over C Output relay
and over again, can lead to winding burnout, if H1 LED “Ready”
the motor is blocked or starts with high inertia. H2 LED “Tripped”
Therefore, it is important to ensure that both A1, A2 Connection for control voltage
the PTC device and the overload relay indicate
T1, T2 Connection for thermistor circuit
that the temperature and the consumption of
current is normal. This is done by connecting the
two devices in series.

128  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection
What have you learned about
motor protection?

PT100 – temperature sensor

The PT100 is a protection device. The PT100 var- R
ies its resistance continuously and increasingly (Ohm)
as the temperature changes. A signal from a 176
PT100 temperature sensor can be used for feed-
back control by a microprocessor to determine
the exact winding temperature. This can also be
138
used to monitor bearing temperatures.

What have you learned about 100

motor protection?
There are several methods to protect an electric 80
motor from overheating. What follows is a sum-
mary of the most important devices and their
characteristics. T (°C)
-50 0 100 200
External protection devices PT100 – temperature sensor
External protection devices such as fuses, cir-
cuit breakers and thermal and current overload
relays, react on the current drawn by the motor.
External protection device is set to shut the
motor down if the current exceeds the nominal
full load. Therefore, the motor may overheat
without registering a problem, e.g. if the fan
cover inlet gets blocked by a plastic bag or by
an excessively high ambient temperature, the
current will not increase, but the temperature
will. External protection devices protect against
a locked-rotor situation.

Internal protection devices

Internal protection devices such as thermistors,
are much more effective than external
protection devices. The reason is that internal 4
3
protection device actually measures the winding 2

temperature. The two most common internal L1 L2 L3 N

protection devices are PTC - thermistors and PTO
- thermal switches.
External motor protection

Grundfos Motor Book  129

6. Motor protection Grundfos Motor Book
What have you learned about
motor protection?

PTC thermistors
PTC thermistors, (Positive Temperature Coeffi-
cient thermistors) can be fitted into the wind-
ings of a motor during production or retrofitted
afterwards. Usually three PTC thermistors are
fitted in series; one in each phase of the wind-
ing. They can be purchased with trip tempera-
tures ranging from 90°C to 180°C in 5° steps. PTC
thermistors have to be connected to a thermis-
tor relay, which detects the rapid increase in
Three PTC sensors;
resistance of the thermistor when it reaches its one in each phase
trip temperature. These devices are non-linear.
At ambient temperatures the resistance of a
set of three will be about 200 ohms, and this PTC sensors PTC protection built
will increase rapidly to 3000 ohms, (1000 ohms into windings
each). If the temperature increases any further,
the PTC thermistor can reach several thousand
ohms. The thermistor relays are usually set to
trip at 3000 ohms or are preset to trip according
Klixons
to what the DIN 44082 standard prescribes.

Thermal switch and thermostats

Thermal switches are small bimetallic switches
that switch due to the temperature. They are
available with a wide range of trip temperatures;
normally open and closed types. The most
common type is the closed one, one or two, in
series, are usually fitted in the windings like
thermistors and can be connected directly to Thermik - PTO
the circuit of the main contactor coil. In that
way no relay is necessary. This type of protection
is cheaper than thermistors, but on the other
hand, it is less sensitive and is not able to detect
a locked rotor failure.

Current and temperature sensitive thermal switches

130  Grundfos Motor Book

 6. Motor protection

What Grundfos offers?

What Grundfos offers?

All Grundfos’ single-phase motors and all three- Thermistor / PTC. Only temperature
phase motors above 3 kW come with built-in sensitive. The thermistor has to be
thermal protection. Motors with PTC sensors connected to a control circuit, which
come with three PTC sensors, one in each phase. +T can convert the resistance signal,
which again has to disconnect the
This is mainly for protection against slowly ris- motor. Used in three-phase motors.
ing temperatures in the motor, but also for
protection against rapidly rising temperatures.
Depending on the motor construction and its
application, the thermal protection may also
serve other purposes or prevent harmful tem-
peratures in the controllers, which are placed on
the motors.

Therefore, if the pump motor has to be protected

against any conceivable situation, the motor has
to be fitted with both an overload relay and a
PTC device if the motor is not TP 211 protected.
An overload relay and the PTC have to be con- Three PTC sensors;
nected in series, so that the motor does not one in each phase
restart before the both devices are ready. In this
way the motor is not overloaded or too warm.
PTC sensors PTC protection built into windings

Grundfos recommends using the standard

equipped thermistors for motors. The client and
the electrician have to install a PTC-relay that
complies with the DIN 44082 standard. In that
way, the built-in thermistors are used as a stand-
ard protection device in 3 kW motors.

Grundfos Motor Book  131