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The Electrical Power Systems Division The Motor Controllers & motor Control
Centers section Number: 1
The major components of low voltage motor control centers:
They come in various configurations. Their main purpose is to control & provide protection to motors
& connecting cables. The basic construction (fig. 2.15) consists of an enclosure 90" heigh with widths
& depths varying to accomodate the different components & devices packed into the enclosure. Such
enclosures have: the 3phase horizontal main bus, the risers, the barriers, the main incoming
compartment (that would accomodate the lugs, the main switch or the main breaker), the different
compartments, backplates & front compartment doors. The number of compartments per cubicle varies
with the size if starters installed, the maximum is 6 or 7 (function of th design) & the minimum is 1.
Motor control centers (MCCs) can be built back to back. The starters include in the MCCs may be
wired according to any of the following standard designations: EEMAC class I type A (no terminal
blocks), class I type B (control wiring are brought to terminals in the starters unit), class I type C (no
starter interwiring with control & load wiring are brought out to terminals at top or bottom of each
section cubicle or to a master control section), class II type B (the control wires from each starter are
brought to terminals in each unit with interlocking & interwiring between lineup units connected) and
class II type C (all wiring is brought to a master terminals section as class I type C with interlocking &
starters interwiring connected)
Contactors major elements:
A contactor is a 2state device for repeatedly establishing & interrupting an electric power circuit (refer
to fig. 2.9 below) .
The basic components of a contactor are: contact system, arc extinction devices, mechanical linkages
between the contacts & the drive unit, the drive unit, the conductor connections & the frame. The
electromagnet (for electomagnetic contactors) consists of, basically, a coil of wire placed on an iron
core. The armature is mechanically connected to the contacts. When a contactor's armature is sealedin,
it means that it is held closely against the magnet yoke. When the coil is deenergized, thanks to the
small air gap in the iron circuit, the armature drops out (opening the contacts).
Manual and electromagnetic starters:
A manual starter consists primarily of a set of manually operated contacts & a motor overload sensing
device (melting alloy, bimetallic or electronic type). Electromagnetically operated ones are basically
manual ones plus a solenoid for closing the power contacts. The magnet frame & armature assembly of
the low voltage contactors are 1 of the following: clapper, vertical action (plunger) or bell crank, fig.
2.10 shows a couple of these 3 different designs.
The different methods of starting a squirrel cage induction motor (SCIM):
They are: across the line (full voltage starting that provides the highest starting torque as well as the
highest starting current & accelerates the load to full speed in the shortest possible time), auto
transformer, primary resistor, wyedelta starting & part winding. The second to the fifth methods,
inclusive are termed reduced voltage motor starting methods (fig. 2.11). The selection of the reduced
voltage method involves a coordination between the required starting torque & allowable starting
current (this current overloads the circuit & may reduce the voltage causing a sag to other loads in the
power distribution system). Certain starting methods necessitate that the motors would be built in
certain ways. The starting torque varies with the square of the starting current (when reduced voltage
methods applying less than full line voltage to the motor during starting are used, the starting current
& torque will be lower).
Combination motor controller:
The combination motor controller consists of an externally operable circuit disconnecting means (a
switch in series with Form II fuse for short circuit protection only or a circuit breaker with magnetic
element protection only) in series with a magnetic motor controller (contactor plus overload or a relay
that matches the motor heating curve), refer to fig. 2.12 below.
Control circuit power source:
The power source of the control circuit can be classified into: common control, separate control or
control circuit transformer. It can come directly from the power feeding the terminals of the motor, from
an external source (d.c. battery or a.c. station service transformer) or from a stepdown control
potential transformer connected to the supply line of the motor, refer to fig. 2.13.
Major tests conducted on contactors:
Contactors have to undergo certain tests to be qualified or applroved by the bodies having jurisdiction
like UL, CSA, IEC. The principle tests are: spacings between live parts & ground, temperature rise of
coils, contacts & terminals, operating voltage range, overload capability, mechanical/electrical
endurance & dielectric strength tests.
Different types of medium voltage contactors:
For decades, high voltage motors were switched exclusively by airbreak contactors. The design for air
break contactors has to allow for the large contact gap required (approximately 1.5 ") & for the arc
chutes (as the arc has to be drawn & forced into thechutes to get elongated, cooled, having its resistance
increased & extinguished). The arc is generaaly maitained for several 1/2 cycles, it restrikes after a
current zero because the dielectric strength of the break (gap) recovers relatively slowly. As the arc is
driven into the chute, its voltage rises sharply & the current amplitude decreases. At the instant of arc
extinction, the phase angle between the current & voltage becomes zero and the voltage stressing the
break becomes less severe. The second type of interrupting media is the vacuum. With vacuum
contactors (shown in fig. 2.14), the arc is confined to the contact gap (which is only a few millimeters)
as the vacuum has a dielectric strength of 30 KV/mm. Arcs in vacuum can be classified into diffused
(for currents less than 10 KA ) & constricted (for higher currents). Overheating (one of the side effects
of constricted arcs) can lead to restrikes.
They are: operating coils, control transformers, auxilliary switches, metering & protective low voltage
devices, activating levers & springs.
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