Affect of Voltage Sags on Electro-magnetic Contactor

—A New Parameter for Sag Characteristics—

Abstract

Sensitivity of electro-magnetic contactors for voltage sags is studied by experiments and simulations. An experimental circuit with a semiconductor fault switch that controls the phase angle of system voltage at the initial point of voltage sags is developed. The phase angle is a new parameter for voltage sags. The operating characteristics of the contactor are evaluated in various conditions. It is found that shallow sags may cause faster trips of contactors compared to deep sags in some cases. The reason of this phenomenon is analyzed with simulations.