Introduction 7.1Electromechanical relays 7.2Static relays 7.3Digital relays 7.4Numerical relays 7.5Additional features of numerical relays 7.6Numerical relay issues 7.7References 7.8
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7.1 INTRODUCTION
The last thirty years have seen enormous changes in relaytechnology. The electromechanical relay in all of itsdifferent forms has been replaced successively by static,digital and numerical relays, each change bringing withit reductions and size and improvements in functionality.At the same time, reliability levels have been maintainedor even improved and availability significantly increaseddue to techniques not available with older relay types.This represents a tremendous achievement for all thoseinvolved in relay design and manufacture.This chapter charts the course of relay technologythrough the years. As the purpose of the book is todescribe modern protection relay practice, it is naturaltherefore to concentrate on digital and numerical relaytechnology. The vast number of electromechanical andstatic relays are still giving dependable service, butdescriptions on the technology used must necessarily besomewhat brief. For those interested in the technologyof electromechanical and static technology, moredetailed descriptions can be found in reference [7.1].
7.2 ELECTROMECHANICAL RELAYS
These relays were the earliest forms of relay used for theprotection of power systems, and they date back nearly100 years. They work on the principle of a mechanicalforce causing operation of a relay contact in response toa stimulus. The mechanical force is generated throughcurrent flow in one or more windings on a magnetic coreor cores, hence the term electromechanical relay. Theprinciple advantage of such relays is that they providegalvanic isolation between the inputs and outputs in asimple, cheap and reliable form – therefore for simpleon/off switching functions where the output contactshave to carry substantial currents, they are still used.Electromechanical relays can be classified into severaldifferent types as follows:
a.
attracted armature
b.
moving coil
c.
induction
d.
thermal
e.
motor operated
f.
mechanicalHowever, only attracted armature types have significant
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application at this time, all other types having beensuperseded by more modern equivalents.7.2.1 Attracted Armature RelaysThese generally consist of an iron-cored electromagnetthat attracts a hinged armature when energised. Arestoring force is provided by means of a spring orgravity so that the armature will return to its originalposition when the electromagnet is de-energised.Typical forms of an attracted armature relay are shownin Figure 7.1. Movement of the armature causes contactclosure or opening, the armature either carrying amoving contact that engages with a fixed one, or causesa rod to move that brings two contacts together. It isvery easy to mount multiple contacts in rows or stacks,and hence cause a single input to actuate a number of outputs. The contacts can be made quite robust andhence able to make, carry and break relatively largecurrents under quite onerous conditions (highly inductivecircuits). This is still a significant advantage of this typeof relay that ensures its continued use.The energising quantity can be either an a.c. or a d.c.current. If an a.c. current is used, means must beprovided to prevent the chatter that would occur fromthe flux passing through zero every half cycle. Acommon solution to the problem is to split the magneticpole and provide a copper loop round one half. The fluxchange is now phase-shifted in this pole, so that at notime is the total flux equal to zero. Conversely, for relaysenergised using a d.c. current, remanent flux mayprevent the relay from releasing when the actuatingcurrent is removed. This can be avoided by preventingthe armature from contacting the electromagnet by anon-magnetic stop, or constructing the electromagnetusing a material with very low remanent flux properties.Operating speed, power consumption and the numberand type of contacts required are a function of thedesign. The typical attracted armature relay has anoperating speed of between 100ms and 400ms, but reedrelays (whose use spanned a relatively short period in thehistory of protection relays) with light current contactscan be designed to have an operating time of as little as1msec. Operating power is typically 0.05-0.2 watts, butcould be as large as 80 watts for a relay with severalheavy-duty contacts and a high degree of resistance tomechanical shock.Some applications require the use of a polarised relay. This
S N
PermanentmagnetCoreArmatureCoil
Figure 7.2: Typical polarised relay Figure 7.3: Typical attracted armature relay mounted in case
(a) D.C. relay(c) Solenoid relay(b) Shading loop modification to pole of relay (a) for a.c. operation(d) Reed relay
Figure 7.1: Typical attracted armature relays
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