RELAY TERMINOLOGY

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Protective Relay: It is an automatic device
which detects and abnormal condition in an
electrical circuit. Its causes a CB to isolate the
faulty element of the system.
Operating force or torque: A force of torque
which tends to close the contacts of relay.
Restraining force or torque: A force of torque
which opposes operating force or torque.
Actuating quantity: An electrical quantity to
which relay responds.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Pick up: The threshold value of the actuating
quantity above which the relay operates.
Reset on drop out: The threshold value of the
actuating quantity above which the relay de-
energizes.
Operating time: It is the time which elapses
from the instant at which the actuating
quantity exceeds the relays pick-up value to
the instant at which the relay closes its
contacts.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Auxiliary relay: They assist protective relays.
They relieve them from duties like tripping,
sounding an alarm, etc. These relays maybe
instantaneous or may act with a delay.
Reset time: It is the time that elapses from
the moment the actuating quantity falls below
its reset value to the instant when the relay
comes back to its normal position.
Setting: The value of the operating quantity at
which the relay is set to operate.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Seal-in relay: It is an auxiliary relay. It is
energized from the contacts of the main relay.
They are connected in parallel with the main
relay. They helps in relieving the main relay
from their current carrying duty. They are
heavier than the main relay. They remain in
the circuit till CB operates.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Reinforcing relay: It is an auxiliary relay. It is
energized from the contacts of the main relay.
They are connected in parallel with the main
relay. They helps in relieving the main relay
from their current carrying duty. They remain
in the circuit for a longer period.
Back-up relay: It operates with a time delay, if
the main relay fails to operate.
Back-up protection: It is designed to clear a
fault if the primary protection fails to operate.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Measuring relay: It performs measurements
to detect abnormal condition in the system to
be protected.
Electromagnetic relay: A relay which operates
on the principle of electromagnetic. It
operates by action of an electromagnetic
element which is energized by the input
quantity.
Electrodynamics relay: A relay which has two
or more coils and operates due to interaction
of fluxes produced by the individual coils.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Ferrodynamic relay: A relay in which
electrodynamic action is reinforced by pieces
of ferromagnetic material placed in the path
of magnetic lines of force.
Static relay: They are solid state relays and
employ semiconductor diodes, transistors,
thyristors, logic gates, IC, etc. The measuring
circuit is a static circuit and involves no moving
part.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Analog relay: Here the measured quantities
are converted into lower voltage, which are
then compared directly with reference values
in level detectors.
Digital relay: Here the measured ac quantities
are converted to either square wave voltage
or digital form. Logic circuits or
microprocessor, compare either the phase
relationships of the square waves (or) the
magnitudes of quantities in digital form to
make the trip decision.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Numerical relay: Here the measured ac quantity
are sequentially sampled and converted into
numeric (digital) data form. A microprocessor or
a microcontroller processes the data using an
algorithm to calculate the fault discriminants and
make trip decisions.
Microprocessor/Microcontroller based relay:
Here the Microprocessor/Microcontroller
performs all the functions of the relay. It
measures the electrical quantities by acquiring
them in digital form, makes comparisons,
performs computations and sends trip signals. It
can realize all kinds of relaying characteristics.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 DSP/FPGA/ANN based relay: Here the
DSP/FPGA performs all functions of the relay-
acquires signals, fault discrimination and
makes trip decisions.
Overcurrent relay: A relay which operates
when actuating current exceeds pick up value.
Undervoltage relay: A relay which operates
when system voltage drops below preset
value.
Directional relay: It can detect whether point
of fault lies in forward or reverse direction.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Polarised relay: A relay which operates based
on the direction of current or voltage.
Flag or target: It is a device which gives visual
indication whether a relay has operated or
not.
Time-lag relay: It operates after a certain
preset time lag.
Instantaneous relay: It has no intentional time
delay in its operation.
Inverse time relay: A relay in which the
operating time is inversely proportional to
magnitude of operating current.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Definite time relay: A relay in which the
operating time is independent of the
magnitude of the operating current.
Inverse definite minimum time (IDMT) relay:
A relay which gives inverse time characteristic
at lower values of the operating current and
definite time characteristics at higher values
of the operating current.
Induction relay: A relay which operates on the
principle of induction.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Moving coil relay (or) permanent magnet dc
moving coil: This type of relay has a
permanent magnet and a moving coil. The
actuating current flows through the moving
coil.
Moving iron relay: This is a dc polarized,
moving iron type relay.
Printed disc relay: This relay operates on the
principle of dynamometer.
Thermal relay: This relay uses its
electrothermal effect of the actuating current.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Distance relay: A relay which measures
impedance or a component of impedance at
relay location. It is used for Tx line protection.
As the impedance of a line is proportional to
the length of the line, a relay which measures
impedance of component of impedance is
called distance relay.
Impedance relay: It is a kind of distance relay,
which measures the impedance at the relay
location.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 MHO relay: It is a kind of distance relay, which
measures the component of impedance at the
relay location
Reactance relay: A relay which measures
reactance at the relay location is called a
reactance relay.
Conduction relay: This is a MHO relay whose
diameter lies on the R-axis.
Ohm relay or angle impedance relay: The
characteristic of this relay on the R-X diagram
is a straight line passing at an angle and
cutting both the axes.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Earth fault relay: A relay used for the
protection of an element of power system
against earth faults is called so.
Phase fault relay: A relay used for the
protection of an element of power system
against phase faults is called so.
Negative sequence relay: A relay for which
the actuating quantity is the negative
sequence current .
Zero sequence relay: A relay for which the
actuating quantity is the zero sequence
current .
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Starting relay or fault detector: This is a relay
which detects abnormal conditions and
initiates operation of other elements of the
protective scheme.
Notching relay: A relay which switches in
response to a specific number of applied
impulses is called so.
Regulating relay: It is activated when an
operating parameter deviates from
predetermined results.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Monitoring relay: It verifies conditions on the
power system or in the protection system.
Synchronizing relay: This relay assures that
proper coordination exist for interconnecting
two sections of power system.
Biased relay: A relay in which the
characteristics are modified by the
introduction of some quantity other than the
actuating quantity.
Primary relay: It is directly connected to the
protected circuit.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Secondary relay: It is connected to the
protected circuit through current and voltage
transformers.
Sequential relay: A relay which transfers its
position from a particular combination of
OFF and ON position to another
combination, every time it picks up or drops
off.
Indicating relay: An auxiliary relay which
displays a signal on energization.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Reclosing relay: This relay establishes a
closing sequence for a circuit breaker
following tripping by protective relays.
Supervisory relay: A measuring relay or a
combination of measuring and auxiliary relays
in a unit with a definite purpose of
supervision.
Two-step relay: A relay with two sets of
contacts, one of them operates at a certain
value of the characteristic quantity and the
other after a further change of the quantity.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Current unbalance relay: This relay operates
when the currents in a polyphase system are
unbalanced by a predetermined amount.
Voltage unbalance relay: This relay operates
when the voltages in a polyphase system are
unbalanced by a predetermined amount.
Ferraris relay: This relay moves by the
interaction of magnetic field of a coil and the
currents induced in a metal body (disc or cup).
Reach: It is the maximum length of line up to
which the relay can protect. It is mostly used
in distance protection.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Overreach: Sometimes a relay may operate
even when a fault point is beyond its present
reach.
Underreach: Sometimes a relay may fail to
operate even when the fault point is within its
reach, but it is at the far end of the protected
line.
Burden: The power consumed by the relay
circuitry at the rated current is called so.
Blocking: The prevention of tripping of the
relay is called so.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Energising quantity: It is the electrical
quantity that must be applied to the relay for
its functioning.
Characteristic quantity: A quantity which
characterizes the operation of the relay is
called so. Example: current for an overcurrent
relay.
Characteristic angle: The angle between the
phasors representing two of the energizing
quantities applied to a relay and used for
declaration of the performance of the relay.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 System Impedance Ratio: The ratio of the
power system source impedance to the
impedance of the protected zone.
Characteristic impedance ratio: The maximum
value of the system impedance ratio up to
which the relay performance remains within
the prescribed limits of accuracy.
Power Swing: Oscillation between groups of
synchronous machines caused by an abrupt
change in load conditions.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Through fault current: The current flowing
through a protected zone to a fault beyond
that zone.
Unit system of protection: It is one which is
able to detect and respond to faults occurring
only within its zone of protection.
Non unit system of protection: It does not
have selectivity. The discrimination is obtained
by time grading, current grading or a
combination of both of relays of various
zones.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Restricted earth fault protection: It refers to
the differential protection of transformers or
alternators against ground faults. It is called
restricted because its zone of protection is
restricted only to the winding of the alternator
or transformer.
Unrestricted protection: A protection system
which has no clearly defined zone of operation
and which achieves selective operation only
by time grading.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Protective gear or equipment: It includes CT,
VT, protective relays, circuit breakers and
ancillary equipment to be used in a protective
system.
Protective system: It is a combination of
protective gear equipment to secure isolation
of the faulty element under predetermined
conditions.
Protective scheme: It is designed to protect
one or more elements of a power system. It
may consist of several protective systems.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Residual current:
Ires = Ia + Ib + Ic
Transducers or instrument transformers: It
includes CTs and VTs.
Switchgear: It is a general term covering
switching and interrupting devices.
Control, metering, protective and regulating
devices associated with generation, Tx and
distribution.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Adaptive relaying: It is defined as the
protection system whose settings can be
changed automatically so that it is attuned to
the prevailing power system conditions.
Pilot wire: Auxiliary conductor used with
remote measuring devices for operating
apparatus at a distant point.
Pilot protection: A form of line protection that
uses a communication channel as a means to
compare electrical conditions at the terminals
of a line.
Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika
 Pilot wire protection: Pilot protection in
which a metallic circuit is used for the
communicating means between relays at the
circuit terminals.

Prof.O.V.Gnana Swathika