BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

FACILITIES INSTRUCTIONS, STANDARDS, & TECHNIQUES

Volume 3-24

OVERLOAD PROTECTION OF

THREE-PHASE MOTORS

Overload Protection of Three-phase Motors

Since the early 1960's, most Reclamation power
installations have been designed and constructed
utilizing 3-phase overload protection for all 3-phase
motors powering auxiliary equipment. Prior to 1960,
most 3-phase auxiliary equipment was provided with
2-phase overload protection only.

provides a reliable method of determining whether

current unbalance in a 3-phase motor is due to
unbalanced line voltage or is caused by problems in
the motor itself.
While the older 2-phase overload protection is prob
ably adequate for most existing installations, 3-phase
protection should be provided for important existing
auxiliary equipment (particularly where there has been
a history of motor burnout) and whenever existing
equipment is being modernized.

The accompanying article, reprinted for this volume

by permission from plant Engineering Magazine.
explains why 3-phase protection is now required by
the National Electrical Code. In addition, the article

(FIST 3-24 6/91)

The case for three protectors-

Reprinted by U. S. Bureau of Reclamation with

permission from Plant Engineering

Overload
Protection of
Three-Phase
Motors
By HARRY A. WRIGHT, P.E., Consulting Engineer
Elm Grove, Wis.
THE 1971 EDITION of the National Electrical Code requires
that an overload protective device be installed in each phase of
a 3-phase motor feeder. In the superseded 1968 edition,
protection was mandatory in only two legs of a 3-phase motor
feeder---provided that the motor was not installed in an isolated,
inaccessible, or unattended location.
The new Code does away with the exception which permitted
protection in only two phases for accessible motors, and 3-phase
overload protection is now required in all cases for 3-phase
motors, an overwhelming majority of industrial electrical
motors are in- stalled in areas where the old "minimum of two
overload elements" provision applied, and most 3-phase motors
in service today have protection in only two legs. However an
understanding of why the Code change was necessary bears out
the wisdom of providing protection in each phase, and the
advisability of retrofitting older motor branch circuits to
incorporate 3-phase overload protection.
Requirement of protection in each phase of a 3-phase
motor is, essentially, a means of minimizing motor burnouts
that are caused by unbalanced line voltages or single-phasing.
Here's what NEMA Standard MG 1-1433 has to say about the
effect of voltage unbalance on polyphase motors:
"The effect of unbalanced voltages on polyphase induction
motors is equivalent to the introduction of 'negative
sequence voltage' having a rotation opposite to that
occurring with balanced voltages. This negative sequence
voltage produces in the air gap a flux rotating against the
rotation of the rotor, tending to produce high current. A
small negative sequence voltage may produce in the
windings currents considerably in excess of those present
under balanced voltage conditions.
"The voltage unbalance (or negative sequence voltage)
in percent may be defined as follows: Per cent voltage
unbalance =
Max. voltage deviation from Avg. voltage x 100
Average voltage
Example: With voltages of 220, 215, and 210,
the average is 215, the maximum deviation from the average is
5, and the percent unbalance is
5
215

x 100, or 2.3 per cent.

98 PLANT ENGINEERING OCTOBER 14, 1971

(FIST 3-24 6/91)

"A relatively small unbalance in voltage will cause

considerable increase in temperature rise in the phase
with the highest current, the percentage increase in
temperature rise will be approximately two times the
square of the percentage voltage unbalance. The increase
in losses and, consequently, the increase in average
heating of the whole winding will be slightly lower than
the winding with the highest current.
"To illustrate the severity of this condition, an
approximate 3.5 percent voltage unbalance will cause an
approximate 25 per cent increase in temperature rise.
"The locked rotor current will be unbalanced to the
same degree that the voltages are unbalanced but the
locked rotor kva will increase only slightly.
"The currents at normal operating speed with the
unbalanced voltages will be greatly unbalanced in the
order of approximately 6 to 10 times the voltage
unbalance. This introduces a complex problem in
selecting the proper overload protective devices,
particularly since devices selected for one set of
unbalanced conditions may be inadequate for a different
set of unbalanced voltages, increasing the size of the
overload device is not the solution inasmuch as
protection against heating from overload and single
phase operation is lost."
Voltage unbalance is difficult to detect with a common,
industrial-type voltmeter of about two percent accuracy.
However, since it is the current (I2R} that causes heating, the
phase currents of the motor can be readily measured with a
clamp-on ammeter. A current reading of all three phases
should be taken, if currents are balanced, it is practical to
presume that the voltages are balanced. If currents are
unbalanced, it can be assumed that voltages are unbalanced,
or that there is an improper connection inside the motor.
A simple test will determine whether current unbalance
is the result of voltage unbalance, or caused by problems in
the motor itself, Fig. 1. Line leads and motor terminal leads
are identified, and a current check is taken of each line lead.
Motor terminals are then rotated in such a manner that
direction of motor rotation is preserved. Another, current
reading is taken of each line. if the high-reading line
remains the same as on the first check, then the problem is
one of voltage unbalance. If the high-reading is observed on
another line, then the problem is internal to the motor or is
in its connections.
If it is determined that the problem is one of voltage
unbalance, the next step is to find out what caused the
unbalanced condition. These are some of the causes:
1. Unequal loading per phase on the transformer
serving the motor;
2. Single phasing, such as would be cansed by a
blown fuse on the primary of the transformer serving
the motor;
3. Unequal transformer tap settings;

4. Unequal transformer impedances

(impedances can range from 1.6 to 6 per cent};
5. Capacitor banks with fuse blown or with
unequal capacity per phase;
6. Voltage regulators out of step or
calibration:
7. Transformer bank connected in configuration
that inherently provides poor regulation, such as
open delta or T-T connection.
Of these, the most common items are 1 and 2. Item
2 (open phase) can be quite difficult to detect if a high
percentage of the load connected to the transformer
secondary is rotating equipment, in such cases, the open
phase may remain at approximately full potential.
Motor insulation tests (documented in AlEE Spec
ification 510 and IEEE 117) show that 10 per cent
increase in insulation temperature over design tem
perature cuts motor insulation life in half. And, as
pointed out in NEMA Standard MG 1-14.33, voltage
unbalance of only 3.5 per cent will cause an increase in
temperature rise of about 25 per cent.
Examination of the winding of a motor that has failed
because of voltage unbalance will reveal a failure
pattern typical of single-phasing--a condition diagnosed
as the cause of many motor winding failures. If
investigation reveals that single-phasing did not occur,
the failure is often attributed to a faulty motor.
One electric utility reports that among its customers
there were 300 confirmed cases of motor burnouts
caused by single phasing or voltage unbalance within a
one-year period. Because large industrial plants seldom
report motor failures to the utility company, it follows
that the reports of failure came from operators of
commercial buildings and small plants which do not
have their own electric department. Such users usually
have a large proportion of single-phase load--such as

lighting--in proportion to the balanced 3-phase load

drawn by 3-phase motors. Uneven loading is quite likely
in such operations. It is probable that the majority of the
motors failing in a single-phasing type pattern actually
failed because of voltage unbalance.
Even when voltage unbalance is suspected as tile
cause of a high motor mortality rate, it is difficult to
detect because of its erraticism, in such cases, a 3-phase
recording ammeter can be a valuable tool in
determining if unbalance is, in fact, the problem.
In the past, two overload protectors were usually
considered adequate for most motor applications. Threephase protection was usually provided only in the
following types of situations:
1. Motor is in isolated, inaccessible, or
unattended location.
2. Motor drives critical equipment.
3. Wye-delta or delta-wye transformer supplies
the motor.
4. Transformer connections are unknown.
5. Motors are operated in parallel with other
motors, which might cause circulating currents
or permit sustained operation under singlephasing conditions.
6. Local electrical codes require three overload
protective elements.
'"With the new National Electrical Code, 3-phase
protection will be provided on all new motor installa
tions, and eventually, motor starters with only two
protectors will become rare. it is, therefore, advisable to
review existing motor circuits in terms of retrofitting
them with an additional protector. Its cost is only a
fraction of total cost of the motor and control.
End

Simple test determine whether current

unbalance or motor problem is cause of
voltage unbalance. In (a), line currentreadings are taken of each phase. In
(b) and (c) motor terminal connections
have been rotated in a manner that
motor direction of rotation remains un
changed. In (b), the same readings pre
vail as were read for the test connection
in (a), indicating that the problem is
caused by unbalanced line voltages. In
(c), the highest-reading phase has
shifted, indicating that the problem is
in the motor connections or the motor.

OCTOBER 14, 1971 PLANT ENGINEERING 99

(FIST 3-24 6/91)