A thermal overload relay protects motors from overheating caused by overload, locked rotor, long starting time, or phase-loss related overcurrent. It normally works with a contactor. The overload relay trips the contactor coil circuit through a normally closed overload . A thermal overload relay is a motor protection device that trips when motor current stays too high for too long. It is designed to protect the motor from overload heating, not from short-circuit faults. Working Principle: The thermal relay operates by heating a bimetallic strip, causing it to bend and close normally open contacts. The majority of winding failures in motor are either indirectly or directly caused by overloading (either prolonged or cyclic), operation on unbalanced supply voltage, or single phasing, which all lead through excessive heating to the deterioration of the winding insulation until an electrical. Selecting the right thermal overload relay requires understanding two critical factors: the heating element technology and the reset mechanism.
[PDF Version]