Autotransformer Starter,

Description for Service Dept.

Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Summary
The purpose of this report is to clarify limitations and factors that are involved when starting up an
asynchronous motor with an autotransformer starter. Reading this report one should understand briefly
how an autotransformer is working, get insight in different fault conditions that may occur and get
introduced to actions that may improve the motor start-up.

Summary.............................................................................................................................................. 1
Starting Sequence................................................................................................................................. 2
Brief Description.................................................................................................................................. 6
Time Relays and Contactor Switching............................................................................................... 6
Current Transients............................................................................................................................. 6
Voltage Drop .................................................................................................................................... 7
Thermal Properties............................................................................................................................ 8
Dealing with Transients in the Switchboard ...................................................................................... 9
Fault Experiences............................................................................................................................... 10
Switchboard trips at Normal Run-up ............................................................................................... 10
Switchboard trips at Abnormal Run-up ........................................................................................... 10
Reasons to Abnormal Run-up.......................................................................................................... 11

Date Rev Resp. Descr

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Page 1 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Starting Sequence
A schematic drawing that shows the physical structure of an autotransformer is displayed in Figure 1.
The start-up of a thruster motor with an autotransformer can be split into 3 steps:

1. Start-up at reduced voltage when the autotransformer is star connected (contactors K71 and K72
in Figure 1 are closed). The motor is then run at reduced voltage according to the tapping of the
transformer.

2. The star connection is opened before the full voltage connection is made (K71 breaks). The
fraction of the coil in the autotransformer then acts as an inductance in series with the motor
windings. For a thruster this step takes place when the speed has balanced out at the end of step
1.

3. The full voltage connection is done approximately a fraction of a second after step 2 is
initialized (making of K73 (Q73)). The inductance in series with the motor windings is then
short circuited, and the autotransformer is switched off (K72 breaks shortly (i.e. approx. 2 sec)
after contactor K73 has been made).

Page 2 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

The stages mentioned above can be seen by studying Figure 1, Figure 2 where the switching in time
relays are indicated and Figure 3 where typical voltage and current time series are shown.

Figure 1. Autotransformer set-up and start-up sequence. The star point of the autotransformer is
controlled by K71. K72 is the contactor which controls the autotransformer and K73 is the main
contactor. The figure also indicates the different states (contactor switching) during start-up. The
duration of time for the states shown above is only meant as a guideline and not as a solution.

Page 3 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Figure 2. Start-up sequence where both switching in contactors and time relays are indicated.
The curves for the contactors have high value when the contactors are made. In this case it can be
seen that the duration of the time relay K77 is a bit long. If this time period is shortened, better
current time series would be achieved.

Page 4 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Figure 3. Typical start-up of a motor using an autotransformer starter. The figure shows voltage
into and out of the autotransformer in addition to the current through the phase L1 into the
starter.

Page 5 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Brief Description
This chapter is supposed to give a short notice on properties that have to be taken into account for when
using an autotransformer starter.

Time Relays and Contactor Switching

In this section some important adjustments that will influence the motor start will be presented. These
adjustments are all in connection with the time relays K77, K78, K79 and K81 that are shown in Figure
2. To get the start-up to be as smooth as possible it has to be ensured that:

o The time between breaking contactor K71 and making contactor K73 (Q73) is not too long. I. e.
the duration of time relay K77 has to be approx. 0.2 sec. By doing this, the current transient
that occurs when making K73 will decay faster.
o The motor reaches its working rotational speed before the contactor K71 breaks. If it does not;
Adjust the time relay K78 until it is proper. Remember that the operational conditions for the
vessel may change from time to time and result in longer run-up time for the motor which
means that a certain margin has to be added to K78. The run-up time for the motor will also be
influenced by the motor size etc.
o The duration of K78 after the motor has reached its working rotational speed is not too long. If
this time period is too long the voltage will be tapped unnecessary and may further lead to
damaged autotransformer.
o The sum of the elapsed time for K77, K78 and K79 not exceeds the safety relay K81.

Current Transients
A current transient that appears during switching is not the same as a start current. The autotransformer
is designed to reduce the starting current to avoid overload of the generator, and is typically somewhere
around one and two times the nominal current. Starting currents last for several seconds, typically 2-15
sec. A current transient lasts typically 4-15 electrical periods before it reaches nominal current. The
maximum rms value of the transient can be 3-10 times the nominal current on the first period. This
value will decay very quickly following an inverse natural exponential function.

It is important to note that the protective switches are designed to tolerate current transients coming
from the thruster motor starter.
Figure 4 shows the phase current into the motor starter during start-up. It can be seen that the current is
approximately 1.3 times the nominal current when starting. The transient current which occurs when
making the main contactor is approximately 3 times the nominal current and decays rapidly.

Page 6 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Figure 4. Example of current into the motor during start-up of a thruster motor. IN is the
nominal current.

Voltage Drop
It is difficult to give an exact value on how large the voltage drop that can be tolerated for the motor. A
voltage drop seen from the starter point of view is initiated by two factors. First, the generator voltage
regulator needs time to balance causing a drop lasting approx 1 sec. Second, during acceleration and
starting current the starter often experiences a voltage drop across the cables. A voltage drop will
contribute to increasing acceleration time, and hence an increased period of time where the starting
current is loading the system. In some cases there may be a risk that the acceleration time exceeds the
run-up period causing a trip.

Figure 5 shows the typical voltage into and out of an autotransformer starter. The voltage regulator of
the generators forces the voltage to settle at the nominal value, but can not see the additional voltage
drop caused by the cables.

Page 7 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Figure 5. Example of voltage into the autotransformer (L1-L2) and into the motor (U1-V1).

Thermal Properties
When the voltage is tapped it means that the voltage is reduced by using an autotransformer to reduce
the current into the motor. Tapping of voltage for a long period of time may cause overheating in the
autotransformer. Further this will lead to failed start-up because of the thermal protection relays. Also
several start-ups after each other increase the possibility of the start-up to fail due to overheated
transformer. Normally it is not recommended to start the motor more than three times an hour.

Page 8 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Dealing with Transients in the Switchboard

Although Brunvoll AS seldom deals with switchboard design, it is important to know how the
protective switches work in connection with the thruster motor starter and the motor. A typical
protective switch must protect the generator and the grid against overload and short circuit currents
caused by the thruster motor. One of the challenges in this respect is to distinguish between current
transients caused by the switching and actual short circuits. An advanced protective switch handles this
by allowing certain current values to flow for a certain amount of time.

In some cases this has not been done by the switchboard supplier causing the switchboard to trip during
the motor start. The reason is that the switchboard supplier only takes the starting current into account,
and not the current transients.

Typical a current transient in an autotransformer can be 3 to 10 times the nominal current. The transient
will decay and decrease down to nominal current within 100-200 ms. If the protective switch has
instantaneous trip time just above the maximum starting current, the transient will cause the switch to
trip.

Page 9 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Fault Experiences
Switchboard trips at Normal Run-up
Trip in the switchboard is the most frequent fault experience. Unfortunately there can be several
reasons for this. Most probably most of the trips happen due to transient currents when the full voltage
contactor is made.

Another reason can be that the voltage drops below a certain value. In some cases the voltage drops too
much because of poor dimensioned generator capacity. Also a generator/diesel regulator that is not set
correctly can cause the voltage to drop to a critical level. In the situations where a under voltage coil is
used, huger voltage dips will cause the main switchboard to trip in order to protect the system.

A third reason can be that the system accumulates too much energy during run up so that when the
large transient peak sets in it is registered as a fault. This fault condition will be discussed in the next
chapter.

One of the problems that is related to the above mentioned trip conditions is that the reason is difficult
to document. Brunvoll AS has seldom access to the switch, and often the yard or switch supplier
onboard do not know the exact reason why it has tripped. It is important to note that most new
electronic switches have a built in fault logger which makes it possible to read out the fault condition
afterwards.

Switchboard trips at Abnormal Run-up

In some cases abnormal run-up occurs. This means that the thruster do not reach nominal speed within
its given start-up time, and causes the main contactor to switch when the starting current still is present.
The starting current will in this case rise to a level that corresponds to a direct online start (DOL) which
can be as much as 10 times the nominal current.

Sometimes one also can experience that the acceleration and starting currents last longer than the
thermal trip factors in the switchboard allows. Also thermal protection transducers can cause their trips.
Especially if starting attempts have been executed repeatedly within a short period of time thermal trips
will happen.

Page 10 of 11
 Autotransformer Starter,
Description for Service Dept.
Date Prep. by Appr. by Rev
15.02.2010 OMH JD 0

Reasons to Abnormal Run-up

It is difficult to point out a specific reason causing slow acceleration time during an autotransformer
start. There can be several reasons, and some of them are mutually connected. Below, a selection of
these reasons is listed.

1. Too much mechanical/hydraulic friction

Cold hydraulic oil and sealings can cause friction having the load torque to rise above
critical levels.
2. Overgrown propeller blades
Cleaning propeller blades has shown to have the acceleration time below critical values
reducing load torque at idle load.
3. Damaged propeller blades
Causes higher torque load.
4. Pitch angle out of zero
Causes higher torque load.
5. Too high voltage drop
Causes lower driving torque.

Page 11 of 11