Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Author
Oliver Janke | oliver.janke@omicron.at
Date
Apr 19, 2011
Application Area
Line Protection with Distance Protection
Keywords
Power Swing, NetSim, PTL
Version
v1.0
Document ID
ANS_11007_ENU
Abstract
This document shows how to extend existing PTL items. The OMICRON Test Module NetSim will be used
for testing the power swing blocking function during stable power swings and the tripping function during
unstable swings.
OMICRON Page 1 of 17
Content
1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2 The Emergence of Power Swings and their Detection .................................................................. 3
3 The OMICRON Protection Testing Library (PTL) ........................................................................... 5
3.1 The Structure of the XRIO Converter ........................................................................................ 5
3.2 Using the Import Filter............................................................................................................... 6
4 Adding a NetSim Module for Power Swing Blocking..................................................................... 6
5 Adding a NetSim Module for Power Swing Tripping ....................................................................11
6 Tips for Defining a Good Test Case ..............................................................................................13
7 Testing Power Swing Detection of ABB REL670 and Siemens 7SA631 ......................................14
7.1 Testing Power Swing Blocking of ABB REL670 ........................................................................14
7.2 Testing Power Swing Blocking and Tripping of Siemens 7SA631 .............................................15
Please use this note only in combination with the related product manual which contains several important safety
instructions. The user is responsible for every application that makes use of an OMICRON product.
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OMICRON 2011. All rights reserved. This application note is a publication of OMICRON.
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English version, the English version of this note shall govern.
NetSim will be used to simulate the transient processes in a power network during a power swing to analyze
the protection devices reaction. The whole protection system and not setting parameters is tested thereby.
This kind of testing is called system testing. It proofs whether the IED (Intelligent Electronic Device) will
protect the electrical equipment in the specific case, or not.
Also other test modules like the OMICRON State Sequencer Module or the OMICRON Ramping module can
be used for this purpose, however this is not content of this document. You can find other application notes
about this topic on the OMICRON website.
1. The control devices are able to dampen the oscillations and the power system is equilibrated again. We
call that a stable power swing.
2. One or more generators fall out of step and loose synchronism to the remaining network. This is called an
unstable power swing.
During this process the installed distance protection relays measure impedances that can be similar to those
during three phase faults (see Figure 1). If the impedance is within a tripping zone for a long enough time,
the protection device will trip the circuit breaker to disconnect the electrical equipment. During the first case
tripping is not needed as no fault exists on the network and the disturbance will disappear by itself. To solve
the disturbance in the second case a few predefined connections within the network should break before the
whole network splits in separate subnetworks. To define these locations several considerations have to be
made. An activated power swing detection can prevent these non selective trips and thus possible blackouts
like the Northeast Blackout of 2003 in North America.
tripping zone
line
impedance
unstable R
power swing
But how does the IED distinguish between a stable power swing, an unstable one and a fault? While the
impedance change during a power swing is rather slow the impedance vector jumps directly into the tripping
zone at a fault occurrence. At a stable power swing the measured impedance enters the zones from one
side, then turns around and leaves at the same side (see Figure 1). During an unstable power swing the
impedance crosses the X axis completely and leaves the zones on the other side.
The relay manufacturers developed different algorithms to decide which case is present. They all use one or
more of the following criteria:
> Power swing detection zone: As Figure 1 shows, a frame is drawn around the tripping zones or the
starting zones. If the impedance is calculated within this area for a given number of measurement
cycles, it is recognized as slowly changing and thus a power swing. Another possibility is to determine
the time the trajectory needs to move through this area. Position and size of this frame are important
parameters and can be set for some protection devices.
> Monotony: The movement direction in R and X is determined. During a power swing only one direction is
changing.
> Continuity: The measured impedance must be changing with at least a minimum value to ensure, the
trajectory is moving. Otherwise it cannot be a power swing.
> Regularity: The ratio of two successive changes of the measured impedances is below a limit value. This
ensures that the trajectory moves with constant or slowly changing speed, but not performing rapid
changes.
> Out of step detection: It is proved from which side the trajectory enters and leaves the out of step
detection zone (which can be the power swing detection zone or a similar one). Another criterion is the
direction of the impedance movement when crossing the line angle. Depending on the setting of the IED
it trips immediately or after a given number of turns.
Furthermore other criteria and exceptions to the listed ones are possible.
> Power swing blocking: The whole distance protection or only assigned zones are blocked when a power
swing occurs.
> Power swing tripping: The relay trips after detecting an unstable power swing.
> An *.xrio-file: This is the XRIO converter. It can be used as test object for every test module. After
entering the actual relay settings, the converter calculates the characteristics for the main protection
functions automatically.
> An *.occ-file: This is the PTT (Protection Test Template) and consists of several test modules to test the
main functions of the corresponding protection device. A test for power swing blocking or tripping is
always missing. The XRIO converter is already included as test object. Using the PTT is the fastest way
of using the PTL as only the relay settings and little other information have to be entered in the test
object.
> One or two *.pdf-files: These are the manuals for the PTL item. They contain important information on
how to use these files.
> Relay Parameter Section: This is a copy of the relay settings software. The actual settings of the
device have to be entered her either manually or with the help of an import filter (see chapter 0). Also the
settings for the power swing detection are included, even if this function is not supported by the PTT.
They can be used to build a customized test for this function.
> Additional Information: This block contains few parameters which are needed to test the device but
are not part of the relay settings.
> RIOplus: This part is used for calculations to convert the relay specific parameters to values valid for the
RIO block and OMICRON Test Universe test modules. It is only visible if the advanced view of the XRIO
editor is active.
> Template Controller: This block is needed for the PTT. Only visible in advanced view.
> RIO: This block contains the resulting characteristics for most of the protection functions. Nothing must
be changed here, as the formulas for the automatic calculation would be destroyed. In case of a
distance protection the RIO function Distance contains the zones. They will be used for testing the
power swing detection.
For testing the power swing blocking function a NetSim module is inserted after the last distance protection
test, which is the SOTF (switch on to fault) test. At first the correct Test Case at the menu Parameters must
be selected (see Figure 2). There are three different power swing cases:
> Synchronous: A stable power swing is simulated. This one is selected here.
> Asynchronous, Multiple Turns: An unstable power swing is simulated with multiple pole slips.
> Asynchronous, With Fault: An unstable power swing is simulated with multiple pole slips. Additionally a
fault occurs at a predefined time.
The impedance view (Figure 3) shows, that the module is automatically using the impedance characteristic
data of the converter. Also the three trajectories of the phase to phase impedances are drawn. With the
default test settings entered in the test view (Figure 4) tabs the impedances will never reach the trip zones
and thus no power swing blocking can be tested. Therefore the according settings have to be adapted first.
Some further understanding of the data of the actual network and the physics behind the power swing is
needed.
Most of the parameters which have to be entered in the Test View do not correspond to the settings of the
protection function. Instead these are data about the network the IED is used on. By means of these data
the module will simulate the transient signals which occur during a power swing on this network. Not the
settings of the relay are tested, but its behavior under realistic conditions. Unfortunately some of the needed
network data are often not available in practice. Furthermore most of the networks have a variety of
switching states. This leads to many different combinations of test settings that have to be tested. But with
some considerations a good test case can be found. If there is no claim laid to test with real network data,
there is still the possibility to test the protection function with the standard values.
So let's go through the test views tabs and see, which effect on the test the individual settings have.
Fault
In this tab a Prefault and a Postfault time can be set. 100 ms are enough for both. The next two settings are
much more important for the test:
The Slip angle specifies the maximum asynchronicity. 180 are the theoretical limits for a stable power
swing. If the angle became even more, the machine would fall out of step, as its maximum torque was
exceeded. Less slip angle means less power swing and results in higher impedances. By entering the
maximum of -180 it is achieved that the relay measures impedances within the tripping zones. The negative
limit is chosen as this will create a power swing coming from the right what looks like a big load to the IED.
The protection device will thus be tested whether it is still working fine in such a difficult situation.
Line
Here the LinkToXRIO function is used to define the lines parameters (see Figure 5). For the selected mode
Z and k the corresponding values are stored in the RIO block of the converter (see Figure 6). As they are
secondary values, this option must be selected in the View menu before linking otherwise they are
interpreted as primary values. The value for the grounding factor must be checked, as some PTL converters
use a grounding factor of zero and recalculate all zones to loop impedances. In that case the link must be
done to the corresponding parameter in the Relay Parameter Section. Changing the Mode might be needed.
Sources
These data are characterizing the network. A user defined block called "System Data" is added to the XRIO
converter for some calculations (see Figure 8).
The Voltage and Frequency in this tab (Figure 7) can be linked to the nominal values in the RIO Device
block.
Delta V and Delta phi are both zero for the moment. Chapter 6 explains how these values can be used to
move the trajectory of the impedances.
., ,
, = (1)
, ,
In this equation , is the primary nominal line to line voltage. The four variables above and below the
right fraction line are the primary and secondary values of the installed current transformers or voltage
transformers. They are needed to convert the impedance value to a secondary value.
The results can be linked to the NetSim settings Zmag for source 1 and source 2. The angles can be
entered either directly in NetSim or as seen in Figure 7 and Figure 8 also linked to XRIO. In the converter
the angle is calculated from an R/X ratio of 10%, which is an approximation that can be made if the exact
values are not known. For this example 5000 MVA are used for both sources.
The grounding factor magnitudes and angles can normally be chosen as one and zero, if the exact values
are unknown.
After all settings have been entered the impedance view shows the resulting power swing (see Figure 10).
As a next step, the trajectories are proved to remain in a tripping zone long enough to evoke a trip. As the
trajectories move into Z1 (TZ1 = 0 s) this zone will probably cause the trip. Depending on the movement
speed theoretically every other zone could trip first. To test the power swing blocking function at least one
zone must be found that would surely trip, if the function did not work probably. Therefore the cursors are
moved on the time axis to find the points where the trajectories enter and leave the zone. It is even more
exact not to take the borders of the zone but to use the tolerance lines. Now the time deviation can be read,
which is 110 ms what is enough for the relay to trip. The proper operation of the power swing blocking
function can be tested with this power swing. If the time was too short the Slip Time (Fault settings) can be
increased.
cursor 2
cursor 1
Figure 10: Measuring the time the trajectory of the resulting power swing is within zone 1
Power Swing
A Slip frequency (see Figure 12) of 1 Hz causes a slow enough movement through the impedance plane, to
possible cause a trip. The duration of each turn will be is 1 s and the trajectory will again move from right to
left through the impedance plane.
As the example relay is configured to block during the first turn and trip if a second one occurs, the
Number of turns should at least be two.
The resulting impedance trajectory is shown in Figure 13. The time within zone 1 can be determined as
about 110 ms, what is long enough.
Again measurements for the trip times are defined. Unlike during the power swing blocking test trips are now
expected in all three phases. Defining a nominal time is not possible, as it depends on the moment the relay
recognizes, that the power swing is an unstable one, which in turn depends on the algorithm of the IED. This
task is something completely different to measuring the trip time of a zone. The assessment again has to be
done manually. Figure 14 shows the result of this measurement: A trip time above 1 s signifies that the relay
tripped as supposed during the second turn. This can be verified with help of the signal view. Figure 15
clearly shows that all three trip signals occur during the second power swing. This is exactly how the IED
was meant to react. Thus the power swing tripping function could successfully be tested that way.
If the real network data (i.e. the source impedances) are unknown, default values have to be used or
assumptions must be done.
If the resulting turning point is outside of all tripping zones there is a possibility to move it within the
impedance plane: By changing the value for Delta V (see Figure 7) the transfer of reactive power on the line
can be modeled. With Delta phi the active power transfer can be changed. This results in a movement of the
turning point like shown in Figure 16. A change of reactive power results in a movement in direction of the
line angle, a change of active power in a movement in 90 turned to it.
These two parameters can now be used to move the turning point from outside of the tripping characteristic
to the inside. Of course only realistic values should be used, that correspond to a power transfer that can
happen in reality. Nevertheless this function can still be tested by using unrealistic test values that do not
represent the connected network.
line impedance
-Delta V
-Delta phi
+Delta phi
+Delta V
line angle
Figure 16: Movement of the turning point depending on the power transport
The first step is to prepare the XRIO converter. As some settings of the NetSim module are linked to the
System Data block, this block must be copied to the REL670 converter. Therefore the Organize function
(XRIO editor advanced view) is used: The P442 converter is imported in the right window. Then the
System Data block is marked and moved to the appropriate place in the REL670 converter.
Now the NetSim module for power swing blocking is copied to the REL670 PTT. It will automatically use the
already imported System Data block of the converter. Depending on the wiring the local hardware
configuration might have to be adapted. Also the measurements are changed as only one general trip signal
exists in this example. As the parameters for the line are different to those in the P442 converter they have
to be adapted as seen in Figure 17. In the REL670 settings no grounding factor k is defined. That's why a
different Mode is chosen and the values are now linked to the R and X values of the positive and negative
sequence parameters of the line. These values are found in the settings for the fault locator. Please note,
that they are primary values and therefore the module must be configured to view primary values while
linking.
The resulting impedance trajectory is shown in Figure 18. After checking its residence time in zone 1 the
module is ready for testing.
For testing power swing tripping the number of turns is changed, as the IED is meant to trip during the first
pole slip. Figure 20 shows the resulting trajectory. After checking its residence time within zone 1 the test
can be started.
List of Literature
[1] Michael Albert, Eugenio Carvalheira, Oliver Janke: PTL: A solid basis for building customized line
protection test standards, OMICRON IPTS 2009 (www.omicron.at)
[2] Dr. Peter Meinhardt, OMICRON electronics GmbH: Testing approaches for power swing blocking
function, OMICRON IPTS 2009 (www.omicron.at)
[3] Dr. Fred Steinhauser, OMICRON electronics GmbH: Testing of the Power Swing Blocking in
Distance Relays
[4] Dr. Yuchen Lu, Dr. Juergen Holbach, Laurie Martuscello, P.E., Edward Krizauskas, P.E.: Tests of
Distance Relay Performance on Stable and Unstable Power Swings Using Simulated Data of the
August 14th 2003 System Disturbance
[5] Jrg Blumschein, Matthias Kereit, Yilmaz Yelgin, SIEMENS: Erhhung der Netzstabilitt durch
zuverlssige Pendelerkennung, Tagungsbeitrag 4.1 OMICRON Anwendertagung 2009
(www.omicron.at)
[7] Technical reference manual Line distance protection IED REL 670