An evaluation of TEFC vs WPII motors in harsh petrochemical applications

The petrochemical industry contains a variety of harsh, contaminated environments that can dramatically affect the life and performance of induction motors. When employed in these types of environments, weather protected type II and totally enclosed fan cooled motor performance vary due to differences in their construction and operation. Historically, the industry has used a mixture of these enclosures in motors from 250 to 2000 hp. This paper examines the differences in operation, maintenance, and the effects of contaminated environments as they relate to life cycle cost for each of these enclosure types.