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StarDeltaMotorStarter

Stardelta motor starter panel

IntroductiontoStarDeltamotorstarter

Stardelta starter panel

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Mostinductionmotorsarestarteddirectlyonline,butwhenverylargemotorsare
startedthatway,theycauseadisturbanceofvoltageonthesupplylinesduetolarge
startingcurrentsurges.Tolimitthestartingcurrentsurge,largeinductionmotorsare
startedatreducedvoltageandthenhavefullsupplyvoltagereconnectedwhenthey
runuptonearrotatedspeed.

Twomethodsusedforreductionofstartingvoltageare:Stardeltastarting
andAutotransformerstarting.

WorkingPrincipleofStarDeltaStarter
Thisisthereducedvoltagestartingmethod.Voltagereductionduringstardelta
startingisachievedbyphysicallyreconfiguringthemotorwindingsasillustratedinthe
figurebelow.Duringstartingthemotorwindingsareconnectedinstarconfiguration
andthisreducesthevoltageacrosseachwinding3.Thisalsoreducesthetorquebya
factorofthree.

Scheme Working Principle of StarDelta Starter

Afteraperiodoftimethewindingarereconfiguredasdeltaandthe motor runs

normally.Star/Deltastartersareprobablythemostcommonreducedvoltagestarters.
Theyareusedinanattempttoreducethestartcurrentappliedtothemotorduring
startasameansofreducingthedisturbancesandinterferenceontheelectrical
supply.

Traditionallyinmanysupplyregions,therehasbeenarequirementtofita
reducedvoltagestarteronallmotorsgreaterthan5HP(4KW).The
Star/Delta(orWye/Delta)starterisoneofthelowestcostelectromechanical
reducedvoltagestartersthatcanbeapplied.
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TheStar/Deltastarterismanufacturedfromthreecontactors,atimerandathermal
overload.ThecontactorsaresmallerthanthesinglecontactorusedinaDirectonLine
starterastheyarecontrollingwindingcurrentsonly.Thecurrentsthroughthewinding
are1/root3(58%)ofthecurrentintheline.
Therearetwocontactorsthatarecloseduringrun,oftenreferredtoasthemain
contractorandthedeltacontactor.TheseareAC3ratedat58%ofthecurrentrating
ofthemotor.Thethirdcontactoristhestarcontactorandthatonlycarriesstarcurrent
whilethemotorisconnectedinstar.
Thecurrentinstarisonethirdofthecurrentindelta,sothiscontactorcanbeAC3
ratedatonethird(33%)ofthemotorrating.

StardeltaStarterConsistsfollowingunits
1. Contactors(Main,staranddeltacontactors)3Nos(ForOpenStateStarter)or
4Nos(CloseTransientStarter).
2. Timerelay(pullindelayed)1No.
3. Threepolethermalovercurrentrelease1No.
4. Fuseelementsorautomaticcutoutsforthemaincircuit3Nos.
5. Fuseelementorautomaticcutoutforthecontrolcircuit1No.

PowerCircuitofStarDeltaStarter
Themaincircuitbreakerservesasthemainpowersupplyswitchthatsupplies
electricitytothepowercircuit.
ThemaincontactorconnectsthereferencesourcevoltageR,Y,Btotheprimary
terminalofthemotorU1,V1,W1.
Inoperation,theMainContactor(KM3)andtheStarContactor(KM1)areclosed
initially,andthenafteraperiodoftime,thestarcontactorisopened,andthenthe
deltacontactor(KM2)isclosed.Thecontrolofthecontactorsisbythetimer(K1T)
builtintothestarter.TheStarandDeltaareelectricallyinterlockedandpreferably
mechanicallyinterlockedaswell.
Power circuit of StarDelta starter

Ineffect,therearefourstates:

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Thestar
contactor
servesto
initiallyshort
thesecondary
terminalofthe
motorU2,V2,
W2forthe
startsequence
duringthe
initialrunof
themotorfrom
standstill.This
providesone
thirdofDOL
currenttothe
motor,thus
reducingthe
highinrush
current
inherentwith
largecapacity
motorsat
startup.
Controllingthe
interchanging
starconnection
anddelta
connectionof
an

ACinductionmotor isachievedbymeansofastardeltaorwyedeltacontrolcircuit.
Thecontrolcircuitconsistsofpushbuttonswitches,auxiliarycontactsandatimer.

ControlCircuitofStarDeltaStarter(OpenTransition)
Scheme Control Circuit of StarDelta Starter (Open Transition)
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TheONpush
buttonstarts
thecircuitby
initially
energizingStar
ContactorCoil
(KM1)ofstar
circuitand
TimerCoil(KT)
circuit.When
StarContactor
Coil(KM1)
energized,Star
Mainand
Auxiliary
contactor
changeits
positionfrom
NOtoNC.
WhenStar
Auxiliary
Contactor(1)
(whichis
placedonMain
Contactorcoil
circuit)becomeNOtoNCitscompleteTheCircuitofMaincontactorCoil(KM3)so
MainContactorCoilenergizedandMainContactorsMainandAuxiliaryContactor
ChangeitsPositionfromNOtoNC.Thissequencehappensinafrictionoftime.
AfterpushingtheONpushbuttonswitch,theauxiliarycontactofthemaincontactor
coil(2)whichisconnectedinparallelacrosstheONpushbuttonwillbecomeNOto
NC,therebyprovidingalatchtoholdthemaincontactorcoilactivatedwhich
eventuallymaintainsthecontrolcircuitactiveevenafterreleasingtheONpushbutton
switch.
WhenStarMainContactor(KM1)closeitsconnectMotorconnectsonSTARandits
connectedinSTARuntilTimeDelayAuxiliarycontactKT(3)becomeNCtoNO.
OncethetimedelayisreacheditsspecifiedTime,thetimersauxiliarycontacts(KT)
(3)inStarCoilcircuitwillchangeitspositionfromNCtoNOandattheSameTime
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Auxiliarycontactor(KT)inDeltaCoilCircuit(4)changeitsPositionfromNOToNCso
DeltacoilenergizedandDeltaMainContactorbecomesNOToNC.NowMotor
terminalconnectionchangefromstartodeltaconnection.
Anormallycloseauxiliarycontactfrombothstaranddeltacontactors(5&6)arealso
placedoppositeofbothstaranddeltacontactorcoils,theseinterlockcontactsserves
assafetyswitchestopreventsimultaneousactivationofbothstaranddeltacontactor
coils,sothatonecannotbeactivatedwithouttheotherdeactivatedfirst.Thus,the
deltacontactorcoilcannotbeactivewhenthestarcontactorcoilisactive,and
similarly,thestarcontactorcoilcannotalsobeactivewhilethedeltacontactorcoilis
active.
Thecontrolcircuitabovealsoprovidestwointerruptingcontactstoshutdownthe
motor.TheOFFpushbuttonswitchbreakthecontrolcircuitandthemotorwhen
necessary.Thethermaloverloadcontactisaprotectivedevicewhichautomatically
openstheSTOPControlcircuitincasewhenmotoroverloadcurrentisdetectedby
thethermaloverloadrelay,thisistopreventburningofthemotorincaseofexcessive
loadbeyondtheratedcapacityofthemotorisdetectedbythethermaloverloadrelay.
Atsomepointduringstartingitisnecessarytochangefromastarconnectedwinding
toadeltaconnectedwinding.Powerandcontrolcircuitscanbearrangedtothisin
oneoftwowaysopentransitionorclosedtransition.

WhatisOpenorClosedTransitionStarting
1.OpenTransitionStarters
Discussmentionaboveiscalledopentransitionswitchingbecausethereisanopen
statebetweenthestarstateandthedeltastate.
Inopentransitionthepowerisdisconnectedfromthemotorwhilethewindingare
reconfiguredviaexternalswitching.
Whenamotorisdrivenbythesupply,eitheratfullspeedoratpartspeed,thereisa
rotatingmagneticfieldinthestator.Thisfieldisrotatingatlinefrequency.Theflux
fromthestatorfieldinducesacurrentintherotorandthisinturnresultsinarotor
magneticfield.
Whenthemotorisdisconnectedfromthesupply(opentransition)thereisaspinning
rotorwithinthestatorandtherotorhasamagneticfield.Duetothelowimpedanceof
therotorcircuit,thetimeconstantisquitelongandtheactionofthespinningrotor
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fieldwithinthestatoristhatofageneratorwhichgeneratesvoltageatafrequency
determinedbythespeedoftherotor.

Whenthemotorisreconnectedtothesupply,itisreclosingontoan
unsynchronizedgeneratorandthisresultinaveryhighcurrentand
torquetransient.Themagnitudeofthetransientisdependentonthe
phaserelationshipbetweenthegeneratedvoltageandthelinevoltage
atthepointofclosurecanbemuchhigherthanDOLcurrentandtorque
andcanresultinelectricalandmechanicaldamage.

Opentransitionstartingistheeasiesttoimplementintermsorcostandcircuitryandif
thetimingofthechangeoverisgood,thismethodcanworkwell.Inpracticethoughit
isdifficulttosetthenecessarytimingtooperatecorrectlyand
disconnection/reconnectionofthesupplycancausesignificantvoltage/current
transients.
Inopentransitiontherearefourstates:
1. OFFState:AllContactorsareopen.
2. StarState:TheMain[KM3]andtheStar[KM1]contactorsareclosedandthe
delta[KM2]contactorisopen.Themotorisconnectedinstarandwillproduce
onethirdofDOLtorqueatonethirdofDOLcurrent.
3. OpenState:Thistypeofoperationiscalledopentransitionswitchingbecause
thereisanopenstatebetweenthestarstateandthedeltastate.TheMain
contractorisclosedandtheDeltaandStarcontactorsareopen.Thereis
voltageononeendofthemotorwindings,buttheotherendisopensono
currentcanflow.Themotorhasaspinningrotorandbehaveslikeagenerator.
4. DeltaState:TheMainandtheDeltacontactorsareclosed.TheStarcontactor
isopen.Themotorisconnectedtofulllinevoltageandfullpowerandtorqueare
available

2.ClosedTransitionStar/DeltaStarter
Thereisatechniquetoreducethemagnitudeoftheswitchingtransients.Thisrequires
theuseofafourthcontactorandasetofthreeresistors.Theresistorsmustbesized
suchthatconsiderablecurrentisabletoflowinthemotorwindingswhiletheyarein
circuit.
Theauxiliarycontactorandresistorsareconnectedacrossthedeltacontactor.In
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operation,justbeforethestarcontactoropens,theauxiliarycontactorclosesresulting
incurrentflowviatheresistorsintothestarconnection.Oncethestarcontactor
opens,currentisabletoflowroundthroughthemotorwindingstothesupplyviathe
resistors.Theseresistorsarethenshortedbythedeltacontactor.
Iftheresistanceoftheresistorsistoohigh,theywillnotswampthevoltagegenerated
bythemotorandwillservenopurpose.

Inclosedtransitionthepowerismaintainedtothemotoratalltime.

Thisisachievedbyintroducingresistorstotakeupthecurrentflowduringthewinding
changeover.Afourthcontractorisrequiredtoplacetheresistorincircuitbefore
openingthestarcontactorandthenremovingtheresistorsoncethedeltacontactoris
closed.
Theseresistorsneedtobesizedtocarrythemotorcurrent.Inadditiontorequiring
moreswitchingdevices,thecontrolcircuitismorecomplicatedduetotheneedto
carryoutresistorswitching
Inclosetransitiontherearefourstates:
1. OFFState.AllContactorsareopen
2. StarState.TheMain[KM3]andtheStar[KM1]contactorsareclosedandthe
delta[KM2]contactorisopen.Themotorisconnectedinstarandwillproduce
onethirdofDOLtorqueatonethirdofDOLcurrent.
3. StarTransitionState.Themotorisconnectedinstarandtheresistorsare
connectedacrossthedeltacontactorviatheaux[KM4]contactor.
4. ClosedTransitionState.TheMain[KM3]contactorisclosedandtheDelta
[KM2]andStar[KM1]contactorsareopen.Currentflowsthroughthemotor
windingsandthetransitionresistorsviaKM4.
5. DeltaState.TheMainandtheDeltacontactorsareclosed.Thetransition
resistorsareshortedout.TheStarcontactorisopen.Themotorisconnectedto
fulllinevoltageandfullpowerandtorqueareavailable.

EffectofTransientinStarter(OpenTransientstarter)
ItisImportantthepausebetweenstarcontactorswitchoffandDeltacontactorswitch
isoncorrect.ThisisbecauseStarcontactormustbereliablydisconnectedbefore
Deltacontactorisactivated.Itisalsoimportantthattheswitchoverpauseisnottoo
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long.
For415vStarConnectionvoltageiseffectivelyreducedto58%or240v.The
equivalentof33%thatisobtainedwithDirectOnline(DOL)starting.
IfStarconnectionhassufficienttorquetorunupto75%or%80offullloadspeed,
thenthemotorcanbeconnectedinDeltamode.
WhenconnectedtoDeltaconfigurationthephasevoltageincreasesbyaratioofV3or
173%.Thephasecurrentsincreasebythesameratio.Thelinecurrentincreases
threetimesitsvalueinstarconnection.
Duringtransitionperiodofswitchoverthemotormustbefreerunningwithlittle
deceleration.WhilethisishappeningCoastingitmaygenerateavoltageofitsown,
andonconnectiontothesupplythisvoltagecanrandomlyaddtoorsubtractfromthe
appliedlinevoltage.Thisisknownastransientcurrent.Onlylastingafewmilliseconds
itcausesvoltagesurgesandspikes.Knownasachangeovertransient.

SizeofeachpartofStarDeltastarter
1.SizeofOverLoadRelay
Forastardeltastarterthereisapossibilitytoplacetheoverloadprotectionintwo
positions,inthelineorinthewindings.
OverloadRelayinLine:
InthelineisthesameasjustputtingtheoverloadbeforethemotoraswithaDOL
starter.
TheratingofOverload(InLine)=FLCofMotor.
Disadvantage:IftheoverloadissettoFLC,thenitisnotprotectingthemotorwhileit
isindelta(settingisx1.732toohigh).
OverloadRelayinWinding:
Inthewindingsmeansthattheoverloadisplacedafterthepointwherethewiringto
thecontactorsaresplitintomainanddelta.Theoverloadthenalwaysmeasuresthe
currentinsidethewindings.
ThesettingofOverloadRelay(InWinding)=0.58XFLC(linecurrent).
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Disadvantage:Wemustuseseparateshortcircuitandoverloadprotections.
2.SizeofMainandDeltaContractor
Therearetwocontactorsthatarecloseduringrun,oftenreferredtoasthemain
contractorandthedeltacontactor.TheseareAC3ratedat58%ofthecurrentrating
ofthemotor.
SizeofMainContactor=IFLx0.58
3.SizeofStarContractor
Thethirdcontactoristhestarcontactorandthatonlycarriesstarcurrentwhilethe
motorisconnectedinstar.Thecurrentinstaris1/3=(58%)ofthecurrentindelta,
sothiscontactorcanbeAC3ratedatonethird(33%)ofthemotorrating.
SizeofStarContactor=IFLx0.33
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MotorStartingCharacteristicsofStarDeltaStarter
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Availablestartingcurrent:33%FullLoadCurrent.
Peakstartingcurrent:1.3to2.6FullLoadCurrent.
Peakstartingtorque:33%FullLoadTorque.

AdvantagesofStarDeltastarter

Theoperationofthestardeltamethodissimpleandrugged
Itisrelativelycheapcomparedtootherreducedvoltagemethods.
GoodTorque/CurrentPerformance.
Itdraws2timesstartingcurrentofthefullloadampereofthemotorconnected

DisadvantagesofStarDeltastarter
1.
2.
3.
4.

LowStartingTorque(Torque=(SquareofVoltage)isalsoreduce).
BreakInSupplyPossibleTransients
SixTerminalMotorRequired(DeltaConnected).
Itrequires2setofcablesfromstartertomotor.
.
5. Itprovidesonly33%startingtorqueandiftheloadconnectedtothesubject
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6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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motorrequireshigherstartingtorqueatthetimeofstartingthanveryheavy
transientsandstressesareproducedwhilechangingfromstartodelta
connections,andbecauseofthesetransientsandstressesmanyelectricaland
mechanicalbreakdownoccurs.
.
Inthismethodofstartinginitiallymotorisconnectedinstarandthenafter
changeoverthemotorisconnectedindelta.Thedeltaofmotorisformedin
starterandnotonmotorterminals.
.
Hightransmissionandcurrentpeaks:Whenstartinguppumpsandfansfor
example,theloadtorqueislowatthebeginningofthestartandincreaseswith
thesquareofthespeed.Whenreachingapprox.8085%ofthemotorrated
speedtheloadtorqueisequaltothemotortorqueandtheaccelerationceases.
Toreachtheratedspeed,aswitchovertodeltapositionisnecessary,andthis
willveryoftenresultinhightransmissionandcurrentpeaks.Insomecasesthe
currentpeakcanreachavaluethatisevenbiggerthanforaD.O.Lstart.
.
Applicationswithaloadtorquehigherthan50%ofthemotorratedtorquewill
notbeabletostartusingthestartdeltastarter.
.
LowStartingTorque:Thestardelta(wyedelta)startingmethodcontrols
whethertheleadconnectionsfromthemotorareconfiguredinastarordelta
electricalconnection.Theinitialconnectionshouldbeinthestarpatternthat
resultsinareductionofthelinevoltagebyafactorof1/3(57.7%)tothemotor
andthecurrentisreducedto1/3ofthecurrentatfullvoltage,butthestarting
torqueisalsoreduced1/3to1/5oftheDOLstartingtorque.
.
Thetransitionfromstartodeltatransitionusuallyoccursoncenominalspeedis
reached,butissometimesperformedaslowas50%ofnominalspeedwhich
maketransientSparks.

Featuresofstardeltastarting
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Forlowtohighpowerthreephasemotors.
Reducedstartingcurrent
Sixconnectioncables
Reducedstartingtorque
Currentpeakonchangeoverfromstartodelta
Mechanicalloadonchangeoverfromstartodelta

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ApplicationofStarDeltaStarter
Thestardeltamethodisusuallyonlyappliedtolowtomediumvoltageandlight
startingTorquemotors.
Thereceivedstartingcurrentisabout30%ofthestartingcurrentduringdirectonline
startandthestartingtorqueisreducedtoabout25%ofthetorqueavailableata
D.O.Lstart.Thisstartingmethodonlyworkswhentheapplicationislightloaded
duringthestart.
Ifthemotoristooheavilyloaded,therewillnotbeenoughtorquetoacceleratethe
motoruptospeedbeforeswitchingovertothedeltaposition.

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AboutAuthor//

Jignesh Parmar
jiguparmarJigneshParmarhascompletedM.Tech(Power
SystemControl),B.E(Electrical).HeismemberofInstitutionof
Engineers(MIE),India.MembershipNo:M1473586.Hehas
morethan13yearsexperienceinTransmissionDistribution
ElectricalEnergytheftdetectionElectricalMaintenance
ElectricalProjects(PlanningDesigningTechnicalReview
coordinationExecution).HeisPresentlyassociatewithoneof
theleadingbusinessgroupasaDeputyManageratAhmedabad,India.Hehas
publishednumbersofTechnicalArticlesin"ElectricalMirror","ElectricalIndia",
"LightingIndia","IndustrialElectrix"(AustralianPowerPublications)Magazines.Heis
FreelancerProgrammerofAdvanceExcelanddesignusefulExcelbaseElectrical
ProgramsasperIS,NEC,IEC,IEEEcodes.HeisTechnicalBloggerandFamiliarwith
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English,Hindi,Gujarati,Frenchlanguages.HewantstoSharehisexperience&
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