EEE 507: POWER SYSTEMS PROTECTION (2 Credit Units)

Power system protection, protective relays, over-current, distance, directional

distance, earth fault relaying, pilot wire differential relaying scheme, generator
and motor protection, zones of protection.
Principle of faults detection, discrimination and clearance, methods of grounding.
Construction of single and multi- core and overhead cables, electrical parameters,
thermal ratings and modelling, electrical clearances.
Switchgear types, arc model and low resistance interruption techniques, transient
recovery voltage.
Transformer structure and functions of basic components including oil/cellulose
insulation materials, magnetic circuit and volt per turn calculation, phasor
connections and parallel operation.
REFERENCES
Search for books on: pdfdrive.com
1) Power System Relaying By Stanley H. Horowitz and Arun G. Phadke Fourth
Edition
2) Power System Analysis and Design, Fifth Edition By J. Duncan Glover ,
Mulukutla S. Sarma and Thomas J. Overbye
3) Power System I by U.A, Bakshi & M. V. Bakshi, First Edition, Chapter 1-
Topics on Cable
4) Electric Power Distribution, Automation, Protection, And Control By James
Momoh
5) Introduction to Electric Power System by Mohamed E. El-Hawary, Willey
IEEE Press
6) Power System Engineering By D. P. Kothari and I.J. Nagrath
7) Principles of Power System By VK Mehta and R Mehta

Assessments Criteria
1. Continuous Assessments
i. Test I 15%
ii. Test II 15%
iii. Assignments 5%
iv. Attendance 5%
CA 40%
2. Examinations 60%
Total 100%
 Introduction to Power System Protection
Short circuits occur in power systems when equipment insulation fails, due to
system overvoltage caused by lightning or switching surges, to insulation
contamination, or to other mechanical and natural causes. Careful design,
operation, and maintenance can minimize the occurrence of short circuits but
cannot eliminate them. Faults currents can be several orders of magnitude larger
than normal operating currents and, if allowed to persist, may cause insulation
damage, conductor melting, fire, and explosion. Windings and busbars may also
suffer mechanical damage due to high magnetic forces during faults. It is
important to take the necessary action to prevent the faults, and if they do occur,
to minimize possible damage or possible power disruption. A protection system
continuously monitors the power system to ensure maximum continuity of
electrical supply with minimum damage to life, equipment, and property. The
consequences of faults are diverse and include the following:
i. Abnormally large currents are caused to flow in parts of the system with the
associated overheating of components.
ii. System voltages will be off their normal acceptable levels, resulting in
possible equipment damage.
iii. Parts of the system will be caused to operate as unbalanced three-phase
systems, which will mean improper operation of the equipment.
In view of the possible consequences, a number of important requirements
for protective systems provide the basis for design criteria. These include:
i. Reliability: A reliable system should provide both dependability (guaranteed
correct operation in response to faults) and security (avoiding unnecessary
operation). Reliability requires that relay systems perform correctly under
adverse system and environmental conditions. Failure to do so may result in
costly damages.
ii. Speed: Relays should respond to abnormal conditions in the least possible
time. Operate rapidly to minimize fault duration and equipment damage. Any
intentional time delays should be precise.
iii. Selectivity: A relay system should provide maximum possible service
continuity with minimum system disconnection. Avoid unnecessary, false
trips.
iv. Simplicity and economy: Provide maximum protection at minimum cost with
minimize protection equipment and circuitry.
Since it is impossible to satisfy all these criteria simultaneously,
compromises must be made in system protection.
Protection systems have three basic components:
i. Instrument transformers
ii. Relays and
iii. Circuit breakers.

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Figure 1: Overcurrent protection schematic diagram

Figure 1 shows a simple overcurrent protection scheme with:

i. one type of instrument transformer—the current transformer (CT),
ii. an overcurrent relay (OC), and
iii. a circuit breaker (CB) for a single-phase line.
The function of the CT is to reproduce in its secondary winding a current I’ that
is proportional to the primary current I. The CT converts primary currents in the
kA range to secondary currents in the 0–5 A for convenience of measurement,
with the following advantages.
 Safety: Instrument transformers provide electrical isolation from the power
system so that personnel working with relays will work in a safer environment.
 Economy: Lower-level relay inputs enable relays to be smaller, simpler, and
less expensive.
 Accuracy: Instrument transformers accurately reproduce power system
currents and voltages over wide operating ranges.
The function of the relay is to discriminate between normal operation and
fault conditions. The OC relay in Figure 1 has an operating coil, which is
connected to the CT secondary winding and a set of contacts. When |I’| exceeds
a specified ‘‘pickup’’ value, the operating coil causes the normally open contacts
to close. When the relay contacts close, the trip coil of the circuit breaker is
energized, which then causes the circuit breaker to open. Instrument transformers
feed the measured variables to the relay system, which in tum, upon detecting a
fault, commands a circuit interrupting device i.e. the circuit breaker (C.B.) to
disconnect the faulted section of the system.

Instrument transformer
There are two basic types of instrument transformers:
i. Voltage transformers (VTs), formerly called potential transformers (PTs),
ii. Current transformers (CTs).
Figure 2 shows a schematic representation for the VT and CT.

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 Figure 2: VT and CT schematic diagram.
The transformer primary is connected to or into the power system and is
insulated for the power system voltage. The VT reduces the primary voltage and
the CT reduces the primary current to much lower, standardized levels suitable
for operation of relays. For system-protection purposes, VTs are generally
considered to be sufficiently accurate. Therefore, the VT is usually modeled as
an ideal transformer, where

V’ is a scaled-down representation of V and is in phase with V. Ideally, the VT

secondary is connected to a voltage-sensing device with infinite impedance, such
that the entire VT secondary voltage is across the sensing device. In practice, the
secondary voltage divides across the high impedance sensing device and the VT
series leakage impedances. VT leakage impedances are kept low in order to
minimize voltage drops and phase-angle differences from primary to secondary.
The primary winding of a current transformer usually consists of a single
turn, obtained by running the power system’s primary conductor through the CT
core. The normal current rating of CT secondary is standardized at 5 A in the
United States, whereas 1 A is standard in Europe and some other regions.

Three 34.5-kV voltage transformers with Three 25 kV class current transformers–

34.5 kV : 115/67 volt

Currents of 10 to 20 times (or greater) normal rating often occur in CT windings

for a few cycles during short circuits.

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CT excitation impedance is kept high in order to minimize excitation current. An
approximate equivalent circuit of a CT is shown in Figure 3, where

Figure 3: CT Equivalent Circuit

The total impedance ZB of the terminating device is called the burden and
is typically expressed in values of less than an ohm. The burden on a CT may also
be expressed as volt-amperes at a specified current.
Associated with the CT equivalent circuit is an excitation curve that
determines the relationship between the CT secondary voltage E’ and excitation
current Ie. Excitation curves for a multi-ratio bushing CT with ANSI classification
C100 are shown in Figure 10.8.
Current transformer performance is based on the ability to deliver a
secondary output current I’ that accurately reproduces the primary current I.
Performance is determined by the highest current that can be reproduced without
saturation to cause large errors.
Using the CT equivalent circuit and excitation curves, the following
procedure can be used to determine CT performance:

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Example1

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Example 2

Protective Relays
A relay is a device whose function is to detect defective lines or apparatus or other
power system conditions of an abnormal or dangerous nature and to initiate
appropriate control action. In general, a relay is used to close a normally open
circuit or open a normally closed circuit upon detection of an abnormal. The
action of a relay is essentially to detect intolerable or undesirable conditions
within an assigned area. The relay acts to disconnect the area affected to prevent
damage to personnel and property, by operating the appropriate circuit breakers.
The class of measuring relays includes a number of types with the common
feature that they operate at a predetermined setting. Examples are as follows:
 Current relays: Operate at a predetermined value of current. These include
overcurrent and undercurrent relays.
 Voltage relays: Operate at a predetermined value of voltage. These include
overvoltage and undervoltage relays.
 Power relays: Operate at a predetermined value of power. These include
overpower and underpower relays.
 Directional relays:
o Alternating current: Operate according to the phase relationship
between alternating quantities.

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 o Direct current: Operate according to the direction of the current and are
usually of the permanent-magnetic, moving-coil pattern.
 Frequency relays: Operate at a predetermined frequency. These include
overfrequency and underfrequency relays.
 Temperature relays: Operate at a predetermined temperature in the protected
component.
 Differential relays: Operate according to the scalar or vectorial difference
between two quantities such as current, voltage, etc.
 Distance relays: Operate according to the "distance" between the relay's
current transformer and the fault. The "distance" is measured in terms of
resistance, reactance, or impedance.
 The pilot wire differential relay is a high-speed relay designed for the
protection of transmission and distribution lines. They are generally applied
on short lines, normally less than 50 km long.

Overcurrent Relay
Instantaneous overcurrent relays respond to the magnitude of their input current,
as shown by the trip and block regions in Figure 4. If the current magnitude I’=|I|
exceeds a specified adjustable current magnitude Ip, called the pickup current,
then the relay contacts close ‘‘instantaneously’’ to energize the circuit breaker
trip coil. If I’ is less than the pickup current Ip, then the relay contacts remain
open, blocking the trip coil.

Figure 4: Instantaneous overcurrent relay block and trip regions

Time-delay overcurrent relays also respond to the magnitude of their input

current, but with an intentional time delay. As shown in Figure 5, the time delay
depends on the magnitude of the relay input current. If I’ is a large multiple of the
pickup current Ip, then the relay operates (or trips) after a small time delay. For
smaller multiples of pickup, the relay trips after a longer time delay. And if I’ <
Ip, the relay remains in the blocking position.

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 Figure 6: Time-delay overcurrent relay block and trip regions

Characteristic curves of the Westinghouse CO-8 relay are shown in Figure 7.

These relays have two settings: Current tap setting: The pickup current in
amperes. Time-dial setting: The adjustable amount of time delay.

Figure 7: CO-8 time-delay overcurrent relay characteristics

The characteristic curves are usually shown with operating time in seconds
versus relay input current as a multiple of the pickup current. The curves are
asymptotic to the vertical axis and decrease with some inverse power of current
magnitude for values exceeding the pickup current. This inverse time
characteristic can be shifted up or down by adjustment of the time-dial setting.
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Example

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Relay Timing
An important characteristic of a relay is its time of operation. This is the length
of the time from the instant when the actuating element is energized to the instant
when the relay contacts are closed. Sometimes it is desirable and necessary to
control the operating time of a relay. For this purpose, mechanical accessories are
used with relays.
(i) Instantaneous relay. An instantaneous relay is one in which no intentional
time delay is provided. In this case, the relay contacts are closed immediately
after current in the relay coil exceeds the minimum calibrated value. Fig. below
shows an instantaneous solenoid type of relay. Although there will be a short time
interval between the instant of pickup and the closing of relay contacts, no
intentional time delay has been added. The instantaneous relays have operating
time less than 0·1 second. The operating time of instantaneous relay is sometimes
expressed in cycles based on the power-system frequency e.g. one-cycle would
be 1/50 second in a 50-cycle system.

(ii) Inverse-time relay. An inverse-time relay is one in which the operating time
is approximately inversely proportional to the magnitude of the actuating
quantity. Fig. below shows the time current characteristics of an inverse current
relay. At values of current less than pickup, the relay never operates. At higher

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values, the time of operation of the relay decreases steadily with the increase of
current. The inverse-time delay can be achieved by associating mechanical
accessories with relay using oil dashpot or can also be obtained by connecting a
time-limit fuse in parallel with the trip coil terminals as shown in Fig.

Important Terms
Some important terms much used in connection with relays are:
(i) Pick-up current. It is the minimum current in the relay coil at which the relay
starts to operate. So long as the current in the relay is less than the pick-up value,
the relay does not operate and the breaker controlled by it remains in the closed
position. However, when the relay coil current is equal to or greater than the
pickup value, the relay operates to energize the trip coil which opens the circuit
breaker.
(ii) Current setting. It is often desirable to adjust the pick-up current to any
required value. This is known as current setting and is usually achieved by the
use of tapings on the relay operating coil. The taps are brought out to a plug bridge
as shown in Fig. below. The plug bridge permits to alter the number of turns on
the relay coil. This changes the torque on the disc and hence the time of operation
of the relay. The values assigned to each tap are expressed in terms of percentage
full-load rating of C.T. with which the relay is associated and represents the value
above which the disc commences to rotate and finally closes the trip circuit.
Pick-up current = Rated secondary current of C.T. *Current setting

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iii) Plug-setting multiplier (P.S.M.). It is the ratio of fault current in relay coil
to the pick-up current i.e.

For example, suppose that a relay is connected to a 400/5 current transformer and
set at 150%. With a primary fault current of 2400 A, the plug-setting multiplier
can be calculated as:
Pick-up value = Rated secondary current of CT Current setting= 5 1·5 = 7·5
A
Fault current in relay coil = 2400 *5/40030 A
P.S.M. = 30/7·5 = 4
(iv) Time-setting multiplier: A relay is generally provided with control to adjust
the time of operation. This adjustment is known as time-setting multiplier. The
time-setting dial is calibrated from 0 to 1 in steps of 0.05 sec (see Fig. 21.15).
These figures are multipliers to be used to convert the time derived from
time/P.S.M. curve into the actual operating time. Thus if the time setting is 0·1
and the time obtained from the time/P.S.M. curve is 3 seconds, then actual relay
operating time = 3 0·1 = 0·3 second.

Time/P.S.M. Curve
Figure below shows the curve between time of operation and plug setting
multiplier of a typical relay. The horizontal scale is marked in terms of plug-
setting multiplier and represents the number of times the relay current is in excess
of the current setting. The vertical scale is marked in terms of the time required
for relay operation. If the P.S.M. is 10, then the time of operation (from the curve)

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is 3 seconds. The actual time of operation is obtained by multiplying this time by
the time-setting multiplier.
It is evident from Fig. 21.16 that for lower values of overcurrent, time of operation
varies inversely with the current but as the current approaches 20 times full-load
value, the operating time of relay tends to become constant. This feature is
necessary in order to ensure discrimination on very heavy fault currents flowing
through sound feeders.

Calculation of Relay Operating Time

To compute the actual relay operating time, the following must be known:
(a) Time/P.S.M. curve
(b) Current setting
(c) Time setting
(d) Fault current
(e) Current transformer ratio
The procedure for calculating the actual relay operating time is as follows:
(i) Convert the fault current into the relay coil current by using the current
transformer ratio.
(ii) Express the relay current as a multiple of current setting i.e. calculate the
P.S.M.
(iii) From the Time/P.S.M. curve of the relay, read off the time of operation for
the calculated P.S.M.
(iv) Determine the actual time of operation by multiplying the above time of the
relay by time setting multiplier in use.
Example Determine the time of operation of a 5-ampere, 3-second overcurrent
relay having a current setting of 125% and a time setting multiplier of 0·6
connected to supply circuit through a 400/5 current transformer when the circuit
carries a fault current of 4000 A. Use the curve shown in Fig. above.

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Induction Relays
Electromagnetic induction relays operate on the principle of induction motor and
are widely used for protective relaying purposes involving a.c. quantities. They
are not used with d.c. quantities owing to the principle of operation. An induction
relay essentially consists of a pivoted aluminum disc placed in two alternating
magnetic fields of the same frequency but displaced in time and space. The torque
is produced in the disc by the interaction of one of the magnetic fields with the
currents induced in the disc by the other.

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Using the trigonometric identity: sinAcosB = ½[sin(A+B) +sin(A-B)]

The following points may be noted from eqn. (i):

(a) The greater the phase angle between the fluxes, the greater is the net force
applied to the disc. Obviously, the maximum force will be produced when the
two fluxes are 90o out of phase.
(b) The net force is the same at every instant. This fact does not depend upon the
assumptions made in arriving at exp. (i).
(c) The direction of net force and hence the direction of motion of the disc
depends upon which flux is leading.
The following three types of structures are commonly used for obtaining the
phase difference in the fluxes and hence the operating torque in induction relays:
(i) Shaded-pole structure. It consists of a pivoted aluminum disc free to rotate
in the air-gap of an electromagnet. One half of each pole of the magnet is
surrounded by a copper band known as shading ring. The alternating flux s in
the shaded portions of the poles will, owing to the reaction of the current induced
in the ring, lag behind the flux u in the unshaded portion by an angle . These
two a.c. fluxes differing in phase will produce the necessary torque to rotate the
disc. As proved earlier, the driving torque T is

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(ii) Watthour-meter structure. This structure gets its name from the fact that it
is used in watt-hour meters. It consists of a pivoted aluminum disc arranged to
rotate freely between the poles of two electromagnets. The upper electromagnet
carries two windings; the primary and the secondary. The primary winding carries
the relay current I1 while the secondary winding is connected to the winding of
the lower magnet. The primary current induces e.m.f. in the secondary and so
circulates a current I2 in it. The flux 2 induced in the lower magnet by the current
in the secondary winding of the upper magnet will lag behind 1 by an angle .
The two fluxes will produce a driving torque on the disc.

(iii) Induction cup structure. It most closely resembles an induction motor,

except that the rotor iron is stationary, only the rotor conductor portion being free
to rotate. The moving element is a hollow cylindrical rotor which turns on its axis.
The rotating field is produced by two pairs of coils wound on four poles as shown.
The rotating field induces currents in the cup to provide the necessary driving
torque. A control spring and the back stop for closing of the contacts carried on
an arm are attached to the spindle of the cup to prevent the continuous rotation.
Induction cup structures are more efficient torque producers than either the
shaded-pole or the watthour meter structures. This type of relay has very high
speed and may have an operating time less than 0·1 second.

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Pilot relaying
Pilot relaying refers to a type of differential protection that compares the
quantities at the terminals via a communication channel rather than by a direct
wire interconnection of the relays. Differential protection of generators, buses,
and transformers considered in previous sections does not require pilot relaying
because each of these devices is at one geographical location where CTs and
relays can be directly interconnected. However, differential relaying of
transmission lines requires pilot relaying because the terminals are widely
separated (often by many kilometers). In actual practice, pilot relaying is typically
applied to short transmission lines (up to 80 km) with 69 to 115 kV ratings.
Four types of communication channels are used for pilot relaying:
1. Pilot wires: Separate electrical circuits operating at dc, 50 to 60 Hz, or audio
frequencies. These could be owned by the power company or leased from the
telephone company.
2. Power-line carrier: The transmission line itself is used as the communication
circuit, with frequencies between 30 and 300 kHz being transmitted. The
communication signals are applied to all three phases using an L–C voltage
divider and are confined to the line under protection by blocking filters called line
traps at each end.
3. Microwave: A 2 to 12 GHz signal transmitted by line-of-sight paths between
terminals using dish antennas.
4. Fiber optic cable: Signals transmitted by light modulation through electrically
non-conducting cable. This cable eliminates problems due to electrical insulation,
inductive coupling from other circuits, and atmospheric disturbances.

Two common fault detection methods are directional comparison, where the
power flows at the line terminals are compared, and phase comparison, where the
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relative phase angles of the currents at the terminals are compared. Also, the
communication channel can either be required for trip operations, which is known
as a transfer trip system, or not be required for trip operations, known as a
blocking system. A particular pilot-relaying method is usually identified by
specifying the fault-detection method and the channel use. The four basic
combinations are directional comparison blocking, directional comparison
transfer trip, phase comparison blocking, and phase comparison transfer trip.
Like differential relays, pilot relays provide primary zone protection without
backup. Thus, coordination with protection in adjacent zones is eliminated,
resulting in high-speed tripping. Precise relay settings are unnecessary.
Also, the need to calculate system fault currents and voltages is eliminated.

Digital Relays
Solid-state relays using analog circuits and logic gates, with block-trip regions
similar to those of electromechanical relays and with newer types of block/trip
regions, have been available since the late 1950s. Such relays, widely used in HV
and EHV systems, over the reliability and ruggedness of their electromechanical
counterparts at a competitive price.
Digital-computer relaying (1980s): This provides greater accuracy, improved
sensitivity to faults, better selectivity, and user friendliness, easier testing, and
advanced relay-event monitoring/recording capabilities. Digital relaying can be
updated in settings or shipping of signals from a remote software computer
terminal or a control computer in real time by a relay engineer. Digital relaying
also has the advantage that modifications to tripping characteristics, either
changes in conventional settings or shaping of entirely new block/trip regions,
could be made by updating software from a remote computer terminal.
Microprocessor-controlled relay: The so-called microcomputer relay system has
the ability to perform several relaying function with a single control relaying
package in a very efficient/seasonal manner. The microcomputer relay calculates
the information such as Z, I, and V from CT and PT and uses it compute VAr, Z,
PQ (Power Quality), flow direction, trends over time, and running averages of
quantities as needed.

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