Automatic AC motor starter

Introduction: When AC induction motors are started, there is a large current that flows as soon as the power is applied to the motor. It is typically 6 to 10 times the running current. This means that the device that turns power on to the motor has to be able to handle a lot of current. Just to give some idea of the magnitude of this current. Soft start: So methods were designed to bring the starting current in limits. This can easily be accomplished by reducing the starting torque, which can be done by reducing the nominal voltage. And different methods have been derived to reduce the nominal voltage like wound rotor, auto-transformer, wye-delta, solid-state and PWM. PWM being one of them is a very refined method for the soft starting purpose. On the other hand for small motors a crude technique was used being less costly and simpler called star delta starter. Star Delta starter: A wye-delta starter is a reduced-voltage starter that is suitable for an application that requires a long acceleration time, a low starting current, or frequent starts. It is used with a six-lead squirrel-cage induction motor that is rated for full-voltage in the delta connection. When a motor is started in the wye connection, approximately 58% of full voltage is applied to each winding, the motor will draw 33% of its full-voltage starting current, and the motor will develop 33% of its full-voltage starting torque. Consider a normalized delta-rated load, reconnected in a wye, to illustrate these values:

The starter for a Wye Delta start is different form a standard motor starter. Figure shows a schematic of a Wye Delta starter.

The sequence of operations is as follows: 1. The Start Pushbutton is pushed. 2. M1 and S1 contactors close and TD coil is energized and TD starts timing. 3. This causes the motor to be connected in a Wye configuration and current flows through the motor windings. Figure 4.1 shows the schematic of this connection, and the connection can also be traced out in Figure 4.3. The starting torque is about 33% of full load torque and the starting current is approximately 200% full load current. 4. After a time delay determined by TD, the S1 contactor drops out and the M2 contactor pulls in. If the time delay is set properly, the motor is up to speed, and the current is held to a reasonable value. Time Delay TD is a time delay to operate. This starting technique is primarily used for motors of 50 horsepower and more. Because it uses three power contactors with three contacts each, it is much more expensive than an across the line starter. The main advantage is that it limits the starting current to 200% of running current instead of a more typical 600% starting current. In many plants with marginally adequate power supplies this technique can mean the difference between being able to start large motors and not being able to start them. The torque limiting (to 33%) also helps prevent damage to mechanical components.