Resistive Reach Setting of QUAD Relays

Resistive reach setting of QUAD relays
Author : Pradeep Kumar Gangadharan
Resistive reach setting of a Quadrilateral characteristics

Impedance Relay
This document discusses the issues concerning the resistive reach
setting of the quadrilateral characteristics of a distance relay. Though
quadrilateral characteristics allows the user to set the resistive reach
independent of the reactance setting, the application and
measurement errors does impose some limits on the highest value
that can be set. The document explains each of the influencing
conditions. Finally a general guideline for setting is proposed.
The main criterion that influence the resistive reach setting of a
quadrilateral characteristics are;
1. Maximum expected fault resistance The fault resistance is
primarily contributed by, fault arc resistance and tower footing
resistance. The resistive reach setting should ideally be more than
the maximum fault resistance expected.
2. Remote in-feed The fault current feed from the remote source
will cause the resistance measured by the local relay to be more
than the actual resistance. So it is desirable to set the resistive
reach such that the measured resistance is within the setting even
for the highest remote infeed.
3. Remote in feed with different local and remote source
impedance angles - If the remote source impedance angle is
different from the local source angle, then the remote current infeed to the fault resistance will cause error in the reactance
measurement as well. This apparent reactance can be higher or
lower than the line reactance (depends on the relative angle of the
remote source, leading or lagging). Thus the resistance reach
setting should be limited such that a high resistance fault beyond
100% of the protected line will not cause the apparent impedance
to fall within the zone 1 setting. This condition puts a limit on the
maximum R/X ratio of the quadrilateral characteristics.
4. Maximum load Resistive reach setting should be less than the
maximum load to avoid load encroachment into the operating
characteristics The resistive reach setting thus should be less than
the maximum load impedance with an overload factor and safety
margin.
2006 Protection Engineering And Research Laboratories
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5. Error introduced by Current/Voltage transformers and relay

measurement inaccuracies Current and voltage transformers
introduce ratio and phase errors. Depending on the relay design,
they also have measurement errors (usually 5 to 10%) This can
result in the relay measuring impedance (both R and X) different
from actual. To ensure that the worst error in measurement does
not cause the relay zone 1 to overreach beyond 100% of the line,
we have to put a limit on the maximum R/X ratio of the
quadrilateral characteristics.
Of the above four conditions, 1&2 argues to increase the resistive
setting whereas 3, 4 & 5 puts a limit on the maximum value we can
set for the resistive reach. So the final setting of the resistive reach
should be a value, which is an acceptable compromise meeting all the
four conditions. One thing to be borne in mind while deciding the
setting is the philosophy of the distance protection zones. That is
> Zone 1 of the distance protection is intended to protect the
maximum possible portion of the protected line. With a given setting
(80% or 90%), it should NEVER overreach beyond the 100% of the
protected line under any system conditions or errors.
> Zone 2 is primarily provided to detect all faults beyond zone 1
setting and upto the 100% of the line (also know as the end zone).
The Zone 2 should NEVER underreach below 100% of the protected
line under any case.
Now we will discuss each of the above cases bearing in mind the basic
philosophy of the protection zones.
1. Maximum expected fault resistance
It is very difficult to arrive at an exact value for the arc resistance
during a fault. A.R. Van C Warrington derived an empirical formula for
calculating the arc resistance. This can be used to calculate an
approximate value of maximum the arc resistance.
RA =
28710
L
I F1.4
(1)
RA Arc resistance in primary .

IF Fault current in primary Amps.
L Length of arc in meters.
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As it can be seen that the worst case (higher arc resistance) occurs for
lower fault currents.
The tower footing resistance is a value which can be measured or got
from the design information.
2. Remote in-feed
Consider a simple system shown in figure 1 with source on both sides.
The distance relay Ra at station A protects the line AB. For a single
phase to ground fault at location F, with an external fault resistance is
marked as Rf (which is introduced due to the fault arc and tower
footing resistance).
Fig. 1 : Simple system with remote in-feed
The relay Ra will measure fault current as Iaf and fault voltage as
Vaf. At present we will assume that the remote infeed is in phase
with the local feed. That is the phase angle of Iaf is same as Ibf {Note
the direction of the currents are marked in the diagram}
Let us start with,
ZLa = |ZLa|
Iaf = |Iaf| 0
Ibf = |Ibf| 0
Now we can calculate the other values as,
Voltage across the fault resistance;
Vrf = (Iaf+Ibf)*Rf = Rf*|Iaf| 0 + Rf*|Ibf| 0
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Voltage across the line impedance to fault location;

VLf = Iaf*ZLa = (|Iaf| 0)*(|ZLa| )
= |Iaf|*|ZLa|
Voltage at the relay location;
Vaf = VLf+Vrf = |Iaf|*|ZLa| + Rf*|Iaf| 0 + Rf*|Ibf| 0
The impedance measured by the relay will thus be;
Zaf =
Iaf ZLa + Rf Iaf 0 + Rf Ibf 0

Vaf
=
Iaf
Iaf 0
Zaf = ZLa + Rf +
Ibf
Iaf
Rf
(2)
From equation (2) we can see that instead of measuring an impedance

of ZLa+Rf (which is the sum of line impedance upto to fault location
plus the fault resistance), the relay Ra actually a value higher by
(Ibf/Iaf)*Rf. This effect is shown in figure 2 below.
Fig. 2 : Difference in measured resistance due to remote infeed
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From equation (2) and figure 2, it can be seen that the amount of
error in the resistance measured depends on the relative current feed
from the remote source as compared to the local source. If the remote
feed is absent then the error is zero, if the remote feed is 3 times the
local feed, then the relay would measure 4 times Rf, instead of Rf.
3. Remote in feed with different local and remote source
impedance angles
Continuing the same discussion, in practice the local and remote fault
currents need not be in phase. Let us see what happens to the
measured impedance in this case.
Now we will consider that the remote feed current is displaced by an
angle s. Then we have,
Iaf = |Iaf| 0
Ibf = |Ibf| s
If we repeat the steps we followed in calculating the measured
impedance in sl. no. 2, we will get,
Zaf =
Iaf ZLa + Rf Iaf 0 + Rf Ibf s

Vaf
=
Iaf
Iaf 0
Zaf = ZLa + Rf +
Ibf
Iaf
Rfs
(3)
From equation (3) we can see that the angle s, is in fact introducing
an additional reactance component to the measured impedance. Figure
3 below shows this in the impedance plane.
From equation (3) and figure 3 it can be seen that the measured
impedance has an additional resistance and reactance component. The
reactance component of the error can either add to the line reactance
(when the remote current leads the local current) or subtract from the
line reactance (when the remote current lags the local current).
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Fig. 3 : Difference in measured resistance and reactance due to remote infeed
This means that if the remote current leads the local current, then the
impedance relay will underreach. Whereas, if the remote current lags
the local current then the relay will overreach.
Fig. 4 :Influence of remote infeed on resistive reach selection

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We are aware that the zone 1 should never overreach beyond 100% of
the protected line. Thus for a given condition of local and remote
source (that is ratio of |Ibf|/|Iaf| and s remaining same), the chances
of a high resistive fault beyond 100% of the protected line to fall
within the zone 1 is more if the resistive setting of the zone is high.
Figure 4 shows a case of a high resistive fault beyond 100% of line,
with the relay overreaching. As we can see with resistive setting of R1,
the relay would have not operated, whereas if the setting was R2, then
the impedance relay would have operated in Zone 1 (which is not
desirable).
From the above discussion it is clear that the amount of overreaching
(or underreaching) depends on,
> the ratio of |Ibf|/|Iaf|,
> the difference in the phase angle of the two currents and
> the amount of fault resistance Rf.
In some relays the top reactance line of the quadrilateral
characteristics is given a tilt to overcome this problem. For some
relays the tilt is a fixed setting, whereas some other relays tilt the
characteristics dynamically based on the pre-fault load flow. In these
relays the resistive reach setting will not have to be verified for this
condition of remote current infeed with different phase angle.
In case of relays which have a fixed horizontal line for the
characteristics, necessary check has to be made to ensure that the
relay does not overreach beyond 100% of the protected line. This may
necessitate reducing the resistive reach setting. The actual limit can be
decided only based on the information of remote infeed levels,
maximum load and fault resistance values.
4. Maximum load
It is necessary to ensure that the resistive reach setting does not
exceed the maximum load resistance. As the load increases, the
impedance decreases. Thus the least impedance will be seen for the
maximum load condition.
If the maximum load impedance is ZL, the considering an overload
factor of 20%, we can fix the maximum limit of the outermost resistive
reach element as;
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sin
R max = 0.8Z L cos
tan
(4)
where,
- Maximum load impedance
ZL
- Maximum power factor angle (37 for 0.8 pf)
- Angle at which the resistive reach line is tilted. This will equal
the relay characteristic angle if the resistive line is parallel to
the RCA line
5. Error introduced by Current/Voltage transformers and relay
measurement inaccuracies
Depending on the type of CTs and PTs used, they introduce errors in
the voltage and current measured by the relay. These errors result in
both magnitude and phase inaccuracies in the measurement by the
relay. This translates into the impedance relay seeing a different fault
impedance than actual. The amount of error in the impedance
measured depends on the CT and PT errors.
Table 1 & 2 below shows the permissible errors for CTs and PTs
respectively as defined in IEC60044.
Accuracy Class
Current error
at rated
primary
current (%)
Phase
displacement at
rated primary
current (Minutes)
Composite error at
rated accuracy
limit primary
current (%)
5P
+1
+ 60
10P
+3
10
Table 1: Accuracy Limits as per IEC 60044-1

Accuracy Class
Voltage ratio error (%)
Phase error (Minutes)
3P
+3
+ 120
6P
+6
+ 240
Table 2: Accuracy Limits as per IEC 60044-2
Errors in measurement also creep in from the relay design. Every

product claims the maximum error for each zone.
Let us now understand how these errors impose limitation on the
resistive reach setting of a quadrilateral characteristic. Figure 5 shows
zone 1 of a quadrilateral characteristic (only the section in the first and
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4th quadrant is shown). This quadrilateral characteristic is defined in

the relay by;
ZL - Impedance of the protected line.
ZS -The zone reach setting, typically 80% of line Impedance for Zone 1
-The characteristic angle setting,
RS Resistive reach setting
Fig. 5 :Quadrilateral Characteristics of Impedance Relay
We will understand the effect of ratio and phase angle errors on the
measured impedance separately.
Ratio error:
The impedance is calculated by taking the ratio of the appropriate
voltage and current, Z=V/I. The effect of ratio error is easy to
visualize. Ratio error causes the measured impedance Zm to be less
than or greater than the actual impedance Z depending on the relative
error % introduced by the CT and PT.
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The figure 6 shows a case where the measured impedance Zm

(=Vm/Im), is less than the actual impedance Z. Here,
Vm= V+Ve
Im = I+ Ie
Where Ve and Ie are the ratio errors in the voltage and current signals.
The relay in this case is overreaching.
Fig. 6 :Error in measured impedance due to ratio error
From the figure we can gather that the amount of tolerance available
for the error in magnitude of the measured impedance depends
directly on the zone 1 setting. If we set the zone 1 to 80%, there is a
margin of 20%. This means that even if the relay measures 20% less
impedance, still the relay will not overreach beyond 100% of the
protected line.
This is one of the primary reasons for setting the zone 1 reach to 80%
(or 85%). This under reach setting of the instantaneous zone
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accommodates the magnitude error of the instrument transformer and

the relay.
Phase angle error :
As we had seen in table 1 & 2, the instrument transformers also
introduce phase angle error. This phase angle error can result in the
relay measuring a different fault angle from the actual.
Fig. 7 :Error in measured impedance due to phase error
In this case shown, the actual fault point on the impedance plane is
represented by h. Due to a phase error e in measurement, the relay
sees the fault at point b. This is again a case of relay overreaching.
What is shown in this case is a fault at 100% of the line and it being
seen as a fault at 80% (zone 1 boundary). From the figure we can
comprehend that if the resistive setting of the relay was less than Rs,
then this relay would not have seen this fault.
We can mathematically derive the limiting value for RS as a function of
the phase angle error e, Line impedance (ZL) and Zone 1 setting.(ZS)
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that will ensure that the relay will not overreach beyond 100% of the
line.
From figure 7 we can write down the following relationship;
XS = ZS Sin
XL = ZL Sin
e = f - m
Length ob = length oh = Z
Length ob can be written as
Z=
(Rs + ZsCos )2 + (ZsSin )2
(5)
The condition to ensure that the relay does not overreach can be
written as;
ZSin F ZSin m < X L X S
Or,
Sin F Sin m <
XL XS
Z
(6)
Substituting the value of Z and f in the above equation, we get;

Sin( m + e ) Sin m <
XL XS
(Rs + ZsCos )2 + (ZsSin )2
We can further simplify this equation by substituting the value of

ZSSin = XS, and we get;
Sin( m + e ) Sin m <
XL
1
Xs
2
(7)
Rs
+ Cot + 1
Xs
For a given phase angle error e, we can find the maximum value of
Rs/Xs, that will satisfy the condition (7), this will be the maximum
allowed ratio of the resistive reach setting for a given reactance
setting.
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It can be seen that the value of XL/XS, which is the inverse of the per
unit zone 1 setting and the characteristic angle also determines the
maximum Rs/Xs ratio. The figure 8 below plots shows the maximum
phase angle error a given Rs/Xs ratio can tolerate. This figure is shown
for a zone 1 setting of 80% and angle setting of 75. As we can see
that with a Rs/Xs ratio of 8, the relay will not overreach beyond the
protected line for a phase angle error upto 1.75. When the Rs/Xs ratio
is increased to 10 then the setting can accommodate only 1.4 phase
error.
Fig. 8 : Maximum Phase angle error accommodated for different Rs/Xs ratio Z1=80%
Figure 9 shows the same plot for a zone 1 setting of 85%. Comparing
this with figure 8, we see that the allowed phase angle errors are
lesser in this case.
In other words to accommodate a phase angle error of 1.75, we could
have a Rs/Xs ratio of 8 if the zone 1 setting is 80%, whereas the ratio
can only be about 5 if the zone 1 setting is 85%.
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Fig. 9 : Maximum Phase angle error accommodated for different Rs/Xs ratio Z1=85%
We can summarize the above discussion as follows
> It is desirable to set the resistive reach as high as possible to cover

the worst case of fault resistance and infeeds
> The limit on the resistive reach is imposed by the errors in
measurement due to remote infeed, CT/PT errors and relay errors.
> For long lines the resistance reach limiting factor would be the load
impedance
> For short lines the measurement errors would be the deciding factor
for the resistive reach setting.
Usually every manufacturer suggests a safe R/X ratio for the
quadrilateral characteristics. This value would have been proposed
taking the possible combination of instrument transformer and relay
errors.
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Resistive Reach Setting of QUAD Relays

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Resistive reach setting of QUAD relays

Author : Pradeep Kumar Gangadharan

Resistive reach setting of a Quadrilateral characteristics

2006 Protection Engineering And Research Laboratories