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Chap17 280 315 PDF
Chap17 280 315 PDF
Introduction 17.1
Generator earthing 17.2
Stator winding faults 17.3
Stator winding protection 17.4
Differential protection of
direct-connected generators 17.5
Differential protection of generator
transformer units 17.6
Overcurrent protection 17.7
Stator earth fault protection 17.8
Overvoltage protection 17.9
Undervoltage protection 17.10
Low forward power/reverse
power protection 17.11
Unbalanced loading 17.12
Protection against inadvertent energisation 17.13
Under/Overfrequency/Overfluxing protection 17.14
Rotor faults 17.15
Loss of excitation protection 17.16
Pole slipping protection 17.17
Overheating 17.18
Mechanical faults 17.19
Complete generator protection schemes 17.20
Embedded generation 17.21
Examples of generator protection settings 17.22
17 Generator and
Generator-Transformer P rotection
17.1 INTRODUCTION
The core of an electric power system is the generation.
With the exception of emerging fuel cell and solar-cell
technology for power systems, the conversion of the
fundamental energy into its electrical equivalent
normally requires a 'prime mover' to develop mechanical
power as an intermediate stage.
The nature of this machine depends upon the source of
energy and in turn this has some bearing on the design
of the generator. Generators based on steam, gas, water
or wind turbines, and reciprocating combustion engines
are all in use. Electrical ratings extend from a few
hundred kVA (or even less) for reciprocating engine and
renewable energy sets, up to steam turbine sets
exceeding 1200MVA.
Small and medium sized sets may be directly connected
to a power distribution system. A larger set may be
associated with an individual transformer, through
which it is coupled to the EHV primary transmission
system.
Switchgear may or may not be provided between the
generator and transformer. In some cases, operational
and economic advantages can be attained by providing
a generator circuit breaker in addition to a high voltage
circuit breaker, but special demands will be placed on
the generator circuit breaker for interruption of
generator fault current waveforms that do not have an
early zero crossing.
A unit transformer may be tapped off the
interconnection between generator and transformer for
the supply of power to auxiliary plant, as shown in
Figure 17.1. The unit transformer could be of the order
of 10% of the unit rating for a large fossil-fuelled steam
set with additional flue-gas desulphurisation plant, but
it may only be of the order of 1% of unit rating for a
hydro set.
Industrial plant
The neutral point of a generator is usually earthed to
main busbar facilitate protection of the stator winding and associated
system. Earthing also prevents damaging transient
overvoltages in the event of an arcing earth fault or
ferroresonance.
17 For HV generators, impedance is usually inserted in the
Plant feeders - total stator earthing connection to limit the magnitude of
demand: xMW earth fault current. There is a wide variation in the earth
PCC: Point of Common Coupling fault current chosen, common values being:
When plant generator is running:
If y>x, Plant may export to Utility across PCC 1. rated current
If x>y, Plant max demand from Utility is reduced
2. 200A-400A (low impedance earthing)
Figure 17.2: Embedded generation 3. 10A-20A (high impedance earthing)
The main methods of impedance-earthing a generator
A modern generating unit is a complex system are shown in Figure 17.3. Low values of earth fault
comprising the generator stator winding, associated current may limit the damage caused from a fault, but
transformer and unit transformer (if present), the rotor they simultaneously make detection of a fault towards
with its field winding and excitation system, and the the stator winding star point more difficult. Except for
prime mover with its associated auxiliaries. Faults of special applications, such as marine, LV generators are
many kinds can occur within this system for which normally solidly earthed to comply with safety
diverse forms of electrical and mechanical protection are requirements. Where a step-up transformer is applied,
normally applied to generators rated in excess of 1MVA. threshold setting Is1 can be set as low as 5% of rated
For large generating units, fast fault clearance will also generator current, to provide protection for as much of
maintain stability of the main power system. The zone the winding as possible. The bias slope break-point
of differential protection can be extended to include an threshold setting Is2 would typically be set to a value
associated step-up transformer. For smaller generators, above generator rated current, say 120%, to achieve
IDMT/instantaneous overcurrent protection is usually the external fault stability in the event of transient
only phase fault protection applied. Sections 17.5-17.8 asymmetric CT saturation. Bias slope K2 setting would
detail the various methods that are available for stator typically be set at 150%.
winding protection.
I1 I2
Stator
A (a): Relay connections for biased differential protection
B
C Idiff
= I1+II2 Operate
K2
IS1 K1 Restrain
17 Id> Id> Id>
IS2 I1+
IBIAS = 2
Open
Re Re
I>
If
Is
R
aV Loading U>
If = resistor
R
IsR
amin =
V
%covered 1-a ) x 1100% (b) Protection using a voltage element
in
generator stator winding using a current element Figure 17.14: Generator winding earth-fault
protection - distribution transformer earthing
Figure 17.13: Earth fault protection of high-resistance
earthed generator stator winding using a current element
machines. Such machines may be employed for variable accordance with the open-circuit time constant of the
speed motoring in pumped-storage generation schemes field winding. This decay can last several seconds. The
or for starting a large gas turbine prime mover. relay element is arranged to trip both the main circuit
breaker (if not already open) and the excitation; tripping
the main circuit breaker alone is not sufficient.
17.9 OVERVOLTAGE PROTECTION
Overvoltages on a generator may occur due to transient
surges on the network, or prolonged power frequency 17.10 UNDERVOLTAGE PROTECTION
overvoltages may arise from a variety of conditions. Undervoltage protection is rarely fitted to generators. It
Surge arrestors may be required to protect against is sometimes used as an interlock element for another
transient overvoltages, but relay protection may be used
protection function or scheme, such as field failure
to protect against power frequency overvoltages.
protection or inadvertent energisation protection, where
A sustained overvoltage condition should not occur for a the abnormality to be detected leads directly or
machine with a healthy voltage regulator, but it may be indirectly to an undervoltage condition.
caused by the following contingencies:
A transmission system undervoltage condition may arise
a. defective operation of the automatic voltage when there is insufficient reactive power generation to
regulator when the machine is in isolated operation maintain the system voltage profile and the condition
b. operation under manual control with the voltage must be addressed to avoid the possible phenomenon of
regulator out of service. A sudden variation of the system voltage collapse.
load, in particular the reactive power component, However, it should be addressed by the deployment of
will give rise to a substantial change in voltage system protection schemes. The generation should not
because of the large voltage regulation inherent in be tripped. The greatest case for undervoltage protection
a typical alternator
17 being required would be for a generator supplying an
c. sudden loss of load (due to tripping of outgoing isolated power system or to meet Utility demands for
feeders, leaving the set isolated or feeding a very small connection of embedded generation (see Section 17.21).
load) may cause a sudden rise in terminal voltage due
In the case of generators feeding an isolated system,
to the trapped field flux and/or overspeed
undervoltage may occur for several reasons, typically
Sudden loss of load should only cause a transient overloading or failure of the AVR. In some cases, the
overvoltage while the voltage regulator and governor act performance of generator auxiliary plant fed via a unit
to correct the situation. A maladjusted voltage regulator transformer from the generator terminals could be
may trip to manual, maintaining excitation at the value adversely affected by prolonged undervoltage.
prior to load loss while the generator supplies little or no
load. The terminal voltage will increase substantially, Where undervoltage protection is required, it should
and in severe cases it would be limited only by the comprise an undervoltage element and an associated
saturation characteristic of the generator. A rise in speed time delay. Settings must be chosen to avoid
simply compounds the problem. If load that is sensitive maloperation during the inevitable voltage dips during
to overvoltages remains connected, the consequences in power system fault clearance or associated with motor
terms of equipment damage and lost revenue can be starting. Transient reductions in voltage down to 80% or
severe. Prolonged overvoltages may also occur on less may be encountered during motor starting.
capability
The advantage of this approach is that cooling effects are
where: modelled more accurately, but the disadvantage is that
I2R = negative phase sequence continuous rating in the tripping characteristic may not follow the withstand
per unit of MCR characteristic specified by the manufacturer accurately.
The heating characteristics of various designs of The typical relay element characteristic takes the form of
generator are shown in Figure 17.16.
I 2
K 2 set
t = 2 log e 1
10000
I 2 set I 2
Equation 17.1
where:
1000 t = time to trip
2
I flc
K = K g
Ip
100
Indirectly cooled (air)
I flc
Indirectly cooled (H2) I 2 set = I 2 cmr I n
Ip
Time (sec)
p = CT primary current
IN = relay Irated current
Figure 17.16 alsoI n =shows the current
relay rated thermal replica time
0.01
characteristic described by Equation 17.1, from which it
0.01 0.1 1 10
Negative sequence current (p.u.) will be seen that a significant gain in capability is
achieved at low levels of negative sequence current.
Figure 17.16: Typical negative phase sequence Such a protection element will also respond to phase-
current withstand of cylindrical earth and phase-phase faults where sufficient negative
rotor generators
sequence current arises. Grading with downstream
17.12.2 Negative Phase Sequence Protection power system protection relays is therefore required. A
definite minimum time setting must be applied to the
This protection is applied to prevent overheating due to
negative sequence relay element to ensure correct
negative sequence currents. Small salient-pole
grading. A maximum trip time setting may also be used
generators have a proportionately larger negative
to ensure correct tripping when the negative sequence
turns. Serious damage to the conductors and possibly b. a.c. injection method
the rotor can occur very rapidly under these conditions.
17.15.1.1 Potentiometer method
More damage may be caused mechanically. If a large
portion of the winding is short-circuited, the flux may This is a scheme that was fitted to older generators, and
adopt a pattern such as that shown in Figure 17.17. The it is illustrated in Figure 17.18. An earth fault on the
attracting force at the surface of the rotor is given by: field winding would produce a voltage across the relay,
the maximum voltage occurring for faults at the ends of
B2A the winding.
F=
8 A blind spot' would exist at the centre of the field
winding. To avoid a fault at this location remaining
where: undetected, the tapping point on the potentiometer
A = area could be varied by a pushbutton or switch. The relay
setting is typically about 5% of the exciter voltage.
B = flux density
Field
winding I > Exciter
17
Figure 17.18: Earth fault protection of field
circuit by potentiometer method
17.15.1.2 Injection methods
Two methods are in common use. The first is based on
low frequency signal injection, with series filtering, as
shown in Figure 17.19(a). It comprises an injection
source that is connected between earth and one side of
the field circuit, through capacitive coupling and the
measurement circuit. The field circuit is subjected to an
Figure 17.17: Flux distribution on rotor alternating potential at substantially the same level
with partial winding short circuit
throughout. An earth fault anywhere in the field system
It will be seen from Figure 17.17 that the flux is will give rise to a current that is detected as an
concentrated on one pole but widely dispersed over the equivalent voltage across the adjustable resistor by the
other and intervening surfaces. The attracting force is in relay. The capacitive coupling blocks the normal d.c. field
consequence large on one pole but very weak on the voltage, preventing the discharge of a large direct
opposite one, while flux on the quadrature axis will current through the protection scheme. The combination
2.0
A
Load point
2.5
+jX
D
5.0 Loss of field
ZS locus
XG+ T+ZS D
XG
0.5
0.6
C 0.7
-jX
ZS
Xb2 Xb1
-R XT +R
'd
2X'd
Xd
Figure 17.23: Loss of excitation protection
Limiting characteristics
generation
point
Pick-up and drop-off time delays td1 and tdo1 are
associated with this impedance element. Timer td1 is
used to prevent operation during stable power swings
Relay
that may cause the impedance locus of the generator to
Locus of constant load angle Diameter = d/ 2
17 transiently enter the locus of operation set by Xb1.
However, the value must short enough to prevent
-jX
damage as a result of loss of excitation occurring. If
Figure 17.22: Locus of limiting operating pole-slipping protection is not required (see Section
conditions of synchronous machine 17.17.2), timer tdo1 can be set to give instantaneous
reset. The second field failure element, comprising
settings Xa2, Xb2, and associated timers td2 and tdo2 can
On the same diagram the full load impedance locus for be used to give instantaneous tripping following loss of
one per unit power can be drawn. Part of this circle excitation under full load conditions.
represents a condition that is not feasible, but the point
of intersection with the maximum rotor angle curve can
be taken as a limiting operating condition for setting 17.16.3 Protection Settings
impedance-based loss of excitation protection. The typical setting values for the two elements vary
according to the excitation system and operating regime
of the generator concerned, since these affect the
17.16.2 Impedance-Based Protection Characteristics
generator impedance seen by the relay under normal and
Figure 17.21 alludes to the possibility that a protection abnormal conditions. For a generator that is never
+jX
R
ZS
Relaying
ing point
Lens
T
ZB
XG Slip locus
EG=ES
The width of the lens is set by the angle and the line
-jX PP, perpendicular to the axis of the lens, is used to
17 Ohm relay 2 determine if the centre of the impedance swing during a
Ohm relay 1 transient is located in the generator or power system.
Operation in the case of a generator is as follows. The
Figure 17.24: Pole slipping detection
by ohm relays characteristic is divided into 4 zones and 2 regions, as
shown in Figure 17.26.
Tripping only occurs if all zones are traversed Normal operation is with the measured impedance in
sequentially. Power system faults should result in the zone R1. If a pole slip develops, the impedance locus will
zones not being fully traversed so that tripping will not traverse though zones R2, R3, and R4. When entering
be initiated. The security of this type of protection zone R4, a trip signal is issued, provided the impedance
scheme is normally enhanced by the addition of a plain lies below reactance line PP and hence the locus of
under impedance control element (circle about the origin swing lies within or close to the generator i.e. the
of the impedance diagram) that is set to prevent tripping generator is pole slipping with respect to the rest of the
for impedance trajectories for remote power system system.
faults. Setting of the ohm elements is such that they lie
parallel to the total system impedance vector, and
enclose it, as shown in Figure 17.24.
power is close to zero or when the power flow include all of the commonly required protection
starts to reverse, to drive the idle turbine functions in a single package, thus simplifying the
decisions to be made. The following sections provide
illustrations of typical protection schemes for generators
17.19.3 Loss of Vacuum connected to a grid network, but not all possibilities are
A failure of the condenser vacuum in a steam turbine illustrated, due to the wide variation in generator sizes
driven generator results in heating of the tubes. This and types.
then produces strain in the tubes, and a rise in
temperature of the low-pressure end of the turbine.
17.20.1 Direct-Connected Generator
Vacuum pressure devices initiate progressive unloading
of the set and, if eventually necessary, tripping of the A typical protection scheme for a direct-connected
turbine valves followed by the high voltage circuit generator is shown in Figure 17.27. It comprises the
breaker. The set must not be allowed to motor in the following protection functions:
Loss of excitation
Stator winding temperature Excitation
Unbalanced loading circuit
breaker
Under/overvoltage Low power
interlock Generator
Mechanical faults (non-urgent) circuit
breaker
N.B. Alarms and time delays omitted for simplicity
system, as opposed to being centrally dispatched response to earth faults. If the Utility power infeed fails,
generation connected to a transmission system, the term it is also important to disconnect the embedded
Embedded Generation is often applied. Figure 17.2 generation before there is any risk of the Utility power
illustrates such an arrangement. Depending on size, the supply returning on to unsynchronised machines. In
embedded generator(s) may be synchronous or practice this generally requires the following protection
asynchronous types, and they may be connected at any functions to be applied at the Point of Common
voltage appropriate to the size of plant being considered. Coupling (PCC) to trip the coupling circuit breaker:
The impact of connecting generation to a Utility a. overvoltage
distribution system that was originally engineered only
b. undervoltage
for downward power distribution must be considered,
particularly in the area of protection requirements. In c. overfrequency
this respect, it is not important whether the embedded
d. underfrequency
generator is normally capable of export to the Utility
distribution system or not, since there may exist fault e. loss of Utility supply
conditions when this occurs irrespective of the design In addition, particular circumstances may require
intent. additional protection functions:
If plant operation when disconnected from the Utility f. neutral voltage displacement
supply is required, underfrequency protection (Section
17.4.2) will become an important feature of the in-plant g. reverse power
power system. During isolated operation, it may be h. directional overcurrent
relatively easy to overload the available generation, such
that some form of load management system may be In practice, it can be difficult to meet the protection
required. Similarly, when running in parallel with the settings or performance demanded by the Utility without
Utility, consideration needs to be given to the mode of a high risk of nuisance tripping caused by lack of co-
17 ordination with normal power system faults and
generator operation if reactive power import is to be
controlled. The impact on the control scheme of a disturbances that do not necessitate tripping of the
sudden break in the Utility connection to the plant main embedded generation. This is especially true when
busbar also requires analysis. Where the in-plant applying protection specifically to detect loss of the
generation is run using constant power factor or Utility supply (also called loss of mains) to cater for
constant reactive power control, automatic reversion to operating conditions where there would be no
voltage control when the Utility connection is lost is immediate excursion in voltage or frequency to cause
essential to prevent plant loads being subjected to a operation of conventional protection functions.
voltage outside acceptable limits.
Limits may be placed by the Utility on the amount of 17.21.1 Protection Against Loss of Utility Supply
power/reactive power import/export. These may demand
If the normal power infeed to a distribution system, or to
the use of an in-plant Power Management System to
the part of it containing embedded generation is lost, the
control the embedded generation and plant loads
effects may be as follows:
accordingly. Some Utilities may insist on automatic
tripping of the interconnecting circuit breakers if there is a. embedded generation may be overloaded, leading
a significant departure outside permissible levels of to generator undervoltage/underfrequency
14.5 Xb = 227. The time delay td1 should be set to Instantaneous operation is required. Generator
avoid relay element operation on power swings and a manufacturers are normally able to provide
typical setting of 3s is used. This value may need to be recommendations for the relay settings. For embedded
modified in the light of operating experience. To prevent generators, the requirements of the local Utility may also
cyclical pick-up of the relay element without tripping, have to be taken into account. For both elements, a
such as might occur during pole-slipping conditions, a variety of voltage measurement modes are available to
drop-off time delay tdo1 is provided and set to 0.5s. take account of possible VT connections (single or three-
phase, etc.), and conditions to be protected against. In
17.22.1.6 Negative phase sequence current protection this example, a three-phase VT connection is used, and
This protection is required to guard against excessive overvoltages on any phase are to be detected, so a
heating from negative phase sequence currents, whatever selection of Any is used for this setting.
the cause. The generator is of salient pole design, so from 17.22.1.8 Underfrequency protection
IEC 60034-1, the continuous withstand is 8% of rating
and the I 22t value is 20s. Using Equation 17.1, the This is required to protect the generator from sustained
required relay settings can found as I2>> = 0.05 and K = overload conditions during periods of operation isolated
8.6s. The nearest available values are I2>> = 0.05 and from the Utility supply. The generating set manufacturer
K = 8.6s. The relay also has a cooling time constant will normally provide the details of machine short-time
Kreset that is normally set equal to the value of K. To co- capabilities. The example relay provides four stages of
ordinate with clearance of heavy asymmetric system underfrequency protection. In this case, the first stage is
faults, that might otherwise cause unnecessary operation used for alarm purposes and a second stage would be
of this protection, a minimum operation time tmin should applied to trip the set.
be applied. It is recommended to set this to a value of 1. The alarm stage might typically be set to 49Hz, with a
Similarly, a maximum time can be applied to ensure that time delay of 20s, to avoid an alarm being raised under
the thermal rating of the generator is not exceeded (as transient conditions, e.g. during plant motor starting.
this is uncertain, data not available) and to take account The trip stage might be set to 48Hz, with a time delay of
17
of the fact that the P343 characteristic is not identical 0.5s, to avoid tripping for transient, but recoverable, dips
with that specified in IEC 60034. The recommended in frequency below this value.
setting for tmax is 600s.
17.22.1.9 Reverse power protection
17.22.1.7 Overvoltage protection
The relay setting is 5% of rated power.
This is required to guard against various failure modes,
e.g. AVR failure, resulting in excessive stator voltage. A 0.05 5 10 6
setting =
two-stage protection is available, the first being a low- CT ratio VT ratio
set time-delayed stage that should be set to grade with
0.05 5 10 6
transient overvoltages that can be tolerated following =
load rejection. The second is a high-set stage used for 500 100
instantaneous tripping in the event of an intolerable =5 W
overvoltage condition arising.
This value can be set in the relay. A time delay is
Generators can normally withstand 105% of rated required to guard against power swings while generating
voltage continuously, so the low-set stage should be set at low power levels, so use a time delay of 5s. No reset
higher than this value. A setting of 117.7V in secondary time delay is required.
of 1565V. The nearest settable value is 3000V, minimum Use a value of 935.3V, nearest settable value that
allowable relay setting. The value of V1set is required to ensures 90% of the winding is covered. A 0.5s definite
be above the minimum voltage seen by the generator for time delay is used to prevent spurious trips. The third
a close-up phase-earth fault. A value of 80% of rated harmonic voltage under normal conditions is 2% of rated
voltage is used for V1set, 14400V. voltage, giving a value of:
17.22.2.3 Inadvertent energisation protection
18 kV 0.02
This protection is a combination of overcurrent with
undervoltage, the voltage signal being obtained from a 3
VT on the generator side of the system. The current = 207.8 V
setting used is that of rated generator current of 6019A,
in accordance with IEEE C37.102 as the generator is for The setting of the third harmonic undervoltage
installation in the USA. Use 6000A nearest settable protection must be below this value, a factor of 80%
value. The voltage setting cannot be more than 85% of being acceptable. Use a value of 166.3V. A time delay
the generator rated voltage to ensure operation does not of 0.5s is used. Inhibition of the element at low
occur under normal operation. For this application, a generator output requires determination during
value of 50% of rated voltage is chosen. commissioning.
17.22.2.4 Negative phase sequence protection 17.22.2.7 Loss of excitation protection
The generator has a maximum steady-state capability of The client requires a two-stage loss of excitation
8% of rating, and a value of Kg of 10. Settings of I2cmr protection function. The first is alarm only, while the
= 0.06 (=480A) and Kg = 10 are therefore used. second provides tripping under high load conditions. To
Minimum and maximum time delays of 1s and 1300s are achieve this, the first impedance element of the P343
used to co-ordinate with external protection and ensure loss of excitation protection can be set in accordance
17 tripping at low levels of negative sequence current are with the guidelines of Section 17.16.3 for a generator
used. operating at rotor angles up to 120o, as follows:
17.22.2.5 Overfluxing protection Xb1 = 0.5Xd = 1.666
The generator-transformer manufacturer supplied the Xa1 = 0.75Xd = 0.245
following characteristics:
Use nearest settable values of 1.669 and 0.253. A
Alarm: V f >1.1 time delay of 5s is used to prevent alarms under
transient conditions. For the trip stage, settings for high
Trip: V >1.2 , inverse time characteristic load as given in Section 17.16.3 are used:
f
time characteristic kV 2 18 2
Hence the alarm setting is 18000 1.05 60 = 315 V Hz . X b2 = = =1.727
MVA 187.65
A time delay of 5s is used to avoid alarms due to X a 2 = 0.75 X d = 0.1406
transient conditions.
The nearest settable value for Xb2 is 1.725. A time
The trip setting is 18000 1.2 60 = 360 V Hz .
delay of 0.5s is used.
1.54 R l min
min =180 o 2 tan 1
(Z A + Z B )
and, substituting values,
min = 62.5
Use the minimum settable value of 90. The blinder angle,
, is estimated to be 80, and requires checking during
commissioning. Timers T1 and T2 are set to 15ms as
experience has shown that these settings are satisfactory
Generator and Generator-Transfor mer P rotection
17.23 REFERENCES
17