PROTECTION OF AC GENERATORS AND MOTORS

Introduction
Common elements like generators, transformers, station bus bars, transmission lines etc.
Relays are used and can be advantageous, they are to used to detect improper behaviour of any
element and initiate corrective measures.

Reasons Why Protection is Needed:

1. Generator is a costly element in power system
2. Generator is not a single element but associated with the unit transformers, auxillary
transformers, excitation systems, prime movers, voltage regulating systems.
3. Generator capacity has risen in recent years from 30 MW to 500 MW, with the result that even
loss of even single machine may cause overloading

The basic function of protection is to reduced the outage period. The type of protection used for a
particular motor depends depend on the switchgear employed for its control ( 1. Starting 2. Stopping 3.
Speed variation etc. ) In general. Two basic protection are provided for every motor which are ( 1 )
thermal overload protection and (2 ) short circuit protection.

GENERATOR FAULTS

1. Stator winding faults – occur frequently due to insulation failure of the stator coils
The main types of faults:
1. Phase to earth faults
2. Phase to phase faults and
3. Inter-turn faults involving turns of the same phase winding

The stator winding faults are the most dangerous.

Phase to phase faults and phase inter-turn faults are less common, and these usually develop
into an earth fault. Inter turn faults are more difficult to detect.

The effect of earth fault in the stator is two fold:

1. Arcing to core – which welds laminations together
2. Severe heating – in the conductors damaging them and the insulators

2.Field winding or Rotor Circuit Faults – may be either be earth faults or inter turn faults, which are
caused by severe mechanical and thermal stresses. Rotor earth fault protection is provided in case of
large generators. Rotor temperature indicators are used with large generators for detecting rotor
overheating due to unbalanced loading of generators.
Rotor open circuit faults – though rare, can cause arcing
Reduce excitation may occur due to open circuit or short circuit in the field or exciter circuits in
automatic voltage generators.

3. Abnormal Operating Conditions – abnormal operating conditions are: (1) failure of prime mover (
turbine for example) resulting in operation of the generator as a synchronous motor (2) failure of the
field ( 3) unbalanced loading and subsequent heating of generator (4) overloading ( 5 ) overvoltage at
generator terminals (6) overspeed ( 7) ventilation failure and ( 8) current leakage in the body of the
generator.

STATOR PROTECTION

If fault current is less than 20 A, burning of the iron core will occur if the machine is tripped
within some seconds. If the earthing resistor is selected to pass a much larger earth fault current greater
than 200 A. It is a normal practice to install a circuit breaker in the neutral of the generator in order to
reduce the fault clearance time.
Circulating current biased differential protection provides adequate and speedy protection and
speedy protection against protection against phase – to – phase faults in the generator zone.
 A separate and sensitive fault protection is generally necessary for generators with resistance
earthing. The occurrence of short circuiting between the stator windings is quite rare because the
insulation in a slot between coils of different phases is at least twice as thick as the insulation between
one coil and the iron core.
Circulating current biased differential protection provides adequate and speedy protection
against phase to phase faults in the generator zone.

DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION FOR GENERATORS

The most common system employed for the protection of stator windings against earth faults
and phase to phase faults makes use of circulating current principle. Such a protection is called a Merz-
Price circulating current system. The relays employed in this protection scheme are generally of
electromagnetic type and are arranged for instantaneous operation as faults are expected to be cleared
as quickly as possible.

In these protection schemes, currents at the two ends of the protected section are compared. Under
normal conditions, these currents are equal became different on the occurrence of a fault in the
protected section. Due to this difference of the currents in the faulty condition, the operating voltage
appearsxacrossxthexrelayxoperatingxcoil.

Then the relay closes its contacts, trips the circuit breaker and thus isolates the protected section. Such
protective schemes are very effective for earth faults and faults between phases

Modified Differential Protection for Generators

To overcome the limitations of differential protection scheme, ‘”modified differential protection of

generators” scheme has been developed. The schematic diagram of this system is shown in Figure.
 In this scheme, two relays are used for phase fault protection and the third relay is used for only earth
faultxprotection.
On the occurrence of a phase-to-phase fault, the operating current only flows through phase
fault relay and earth fault relay remains intact in this situation. The operating current flows through
earth fault relay at the time of earth fault only. Therefore, we can set the earth fault relay to a very low
value and can protect a greater percentage of the stator winding.

Biased Circulating Current Protection

The term biased-differential or percentage differential is based on the fact that the operating
threshold increases with the through current. Because of that, comparison of upstream and
downstream currents in the same phases is not convenient for transformer differential protection.

The biased-differential relay consists of two windings, an operate winding with turns
No and a restraint, or bias, winding with turns N B. The relay compares the operating force due to
the out-of-balance current I 1 – I2, arising from an in-zone fault with the restraint force due to the
circulating current through the bias winding, arising from an external fault or load current.

For operation:

Where:

 The term I1 – I2 is known as the operating or differential current I 0,

 The term (I1+I2) / 2 is known as the bias current IB
 and the term NB/No is the bias quantity B

Self Balance Protection Systems

It necessarily consists of two cables connected to the two ends of each phase and the cables are
passed through the circular aperture of the ring type CTs, as shown in Fig. 8.6. Under normal operating
conditions the current flowing through two cables in the central aperture of the CT will be in opposite
directions and so there will be no magnetization of the CT. In case there is an earth fault on any phase,
the fault current passes only once through the circular ring of the CT of that particular phase.

Balanced Earth Fault Protection

The balanced earth fault protection scheme is mainly used for protection of small generator
where differential and self-balanced protection systems are not applicable. In a small generator, the
neutral end of the three phase windings is connected internally to a single terminal. So the neutral end
is not available, and protection against earth fault is provided by using the balanced earth protection
scheme. Such scheme does not provide protection against phase-to-phase fault until and unless they
develop into earth faults.

In this scheme, the current transformers are mounted on each phase. Their secondary is
connected in parallel with that of CT mounted on a conductor joining the star point of the generator to
earth. A relay is connected across the secondaries of the CTs.
When the generator is in a normal operating condition the sum of the currents flow in the
secondary of the current transformers is zero and the current flow into secondary to neutral is also zero.
Thus the relay remains de-energized. When the fault occurs in the protected zone (left of the line) the
fault current flow through the primary of current transformers and the corresponding secondary current
flow through the relay which trips the circuit breaker.
When the fault develops external of the protective zone (right of the current transformer) the
sum of the currents at the terminal of the generator is exactly equal to the current in the neutral
connection. Hence, no current flows through the relay operating coil.
If the fault occurs near the neutral terminal or when grounding of the neutral is connected
through a resistance or a distributing transformer then the magnitude of the fault current flow through
the secondary of current transformer becomes small. This current is less than the pick-up current of the
relay. Thus, the relay remains inoperative, and the fault current continues to persist in the generator
winding which is highly undesirable.
Stator Inter-Turn Protection
Inter turn stator winding fault can easily be detected by stator differential protection or stator
earth fault protection. Hence, it is not very essential to provide special protection scheme for inter turn
faults occurred in stator winding. This type of faults is generated if the insulation between conductors
(with different potential) in the same slot is punctured. This type of fault rapidly changes to earth fault.
Several methods can be adopted for providing inter turn protection to the stator winding of
generator. Cross differential methods is most common among them. In this scheme the winding for
each phase is divided into two parallel paths.
Each of the paths is fitted with identical current transformer. The secondary of these current
transformers are connected in cross. The current transformer secondary’s are cross connected because
currents at the primary of both CTs are entering unlike the case of differential protection of transformer
where current entering from one side and leaving to other side of the transformer.
The differential relay along with series stabilizing resistor are connected across the CT secondary loop as
shown in the figure. If any inter turn fault occurs in any path of the stator winding, there will be an
unbalanced in the CT secondary circuits thereby actuates 87 differential relay. Cross differential
protection scheme should be applied in each of the phases individually as shown.

Stator Overheating Protections

Overloading can causes overheating in the stator winding of the generator. Not only overloading, failure
of cooling systems and insulation failure of stator laminations also cause overheating of the stator
winding. The overheating is detected by embedded temperature detectors at various points in the
stator winding. The temperature detector coils are normally resistance elements which form one arm of
the Wheatstone bridge circuit. In the case of smaller generator normally below 30 MW, the generators
are not equipped with embedded temperature coil but are usually fitted with thermal relay and they are
arranged to measure the current flowing in the stator winding. This arrangement only detects
overheating caused by overloading and does not provide any protection against overheating due to
failure of cooling systems or short circuited stator laminations. Although over current relays, negative
phase sequence relays, and devises for monitoring constant flow are also used to provide a certain
degree of thermal overload protection.

Overload or Over current Protection

In an electric power system overcurrent or excess current is a situation where a larger than
intended electric current exists through a conductor, leading to excessive generation of heat, and the
risk of fire or damage to equipment.An overcurrent exists when the normal load current for a circuit is
exceeded. It can be in the form of an overload or short circuit.
 When applied to motor circuits anoverload is any current, flowing within the normal circuit
path, that is higher than the motor's normal Full Load AmpsThe overload means more than the desires
load imposed on the power system network.The voltage at the overloads become diminished to a very
low value, but it cannot be zero.The current in the overloaded condition is high but considerably lower
than the short circuit current.The overloaded increase the temperature regarding joules, which causes
burns and hence damage the electrical equipment.
Overcurrent is any current load in excess of the safety rating of equipment or the ampacity of a
conductor. Overcurrent may result from an overload, a short circuit, or a ground fault. Overcurrent does
not always cause a fire. The magnitude and direction of the overcurrent must be sufficient to heat the
wire to a temperature that ignites surrounding combustibles. Sustained overcurrents that can cause
damage or fire (called overload) should trip the fuse or breaker, opening the circuit and stopping the
flow and heating. However, items such as an extension cord can reduce the conductor size between the
load and the circuit protection and can overheat the wire without tripping the protection.

Overvoltage Protection

Over voltage protection is a power supply feature which shuts down the supply, or clamps the
output, when the voltage exceeds a preset level. Most power supplies use an over-voltage
protection circuit to prevent damage to the electronic components.

A crowbar circuit provides one of the simplest, cheap and effective over-voltage protection methods.
This is usually connected between the regulated output and the protected circuit or load. The series
regulating transistor controls the output current and voltage while the crowbar consists protects the
load when the voltage exceeds a preset value. A basic circuit consists of:

 Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR)

 Zener diode
 Resistor
 Capacitor

Overspeed Protection

Overspeed is a condition in which an engine is allowed or forced to turn beyond its design limit.
The consequences of running an engine too fast vary by engine type and model and depend upon
several factors, chief amongst them the duration of the overspeed and by the speed attained. With
some engines even a momentary overspeed can result in greatly reduced engine life or even
catastrophic failure. The speed of an engine is ordinarily measured in revolutions per minute (RPM).

Protection Against Motoring

Generator motoring is exactly what it sounds like: the generator acts like a motor. In a typical
generator, a prime mover (such as a steam turbine) supplies mechanical power to the generator, which
is converted to electrical power and delivered to the electrical system.
Generator motoring is a condition that happens when the prime mover can not supply enough
power to the AC generator to account for the load demand on the generator. The electrical system
needs to make up for this loss in prime mover input power. When this happens, the generator begins to
act like a motor, by absorbing real power from the electrical system. This is to make up for the supplied
power deficiency by speeding up the prime mover.
Generator motoring protection can be provided by limit switches or exhaust hood temperature
detectors. If you need a large number of these devices, add a reverse power relay. Reverse power relays
are common in diesel generators, where unburned fuel is both an explosion hazard and a fire hazard.

Rotor Fault Protection

The different protection schemes for rotor protection are described below:

Rotor Earth Fault Protection

The rotor of the generator is normally unearthed i.e. remain isolated from the earth and
therefore the single fault due to insulation breakdown will not rise the fault current. A single fault will
not affect the rotor, but if the fault occurs, continues then it will damage the field winding of the
generator. For a large generator, the rotor earth fault protection system is used for the protection of the
field winding
When the one earth fault occurs in the rotor then it is not necessary that the system is
completely trip, only the relay indicates that the fault has occurred.

Rotor Earth Fault Protection By Using High Resistance

In this method, a high resistance is connected across the field winding of the rotor.The midpoint
of the resistor is grounded through a sensitive relay. When the fault occurs the relay detect the fault and
send the tripping command to the breaker.

Rotor Earth Fault Protection By Using High Resistance

In this method, a high resistance is connected across the field winding of the rotor.The midpoint of the
resistor is grounded through a sensitive relay. When the fault occurs the relay detect the fault and send
the tripping command to the breaker.

Loss of Excitation ( or field failure )

Loss of field or excitation can be caused in the generator due to excitation failure. In larger sized
generator, energy for excitation is often taken from a separate auxiliary source or from a separately
driven DC generator. The failure of auxiliary supply or failure of driving motor can also cause the loss of
excitation in a generator. Failure of excitation that is failure of field system in the generator makes the
generator run at a speed above the synchronous speed.

Protection Against Rotor Overheating Because of Overexcitation

In case of overcurrent due to over-excitation in the rotor circuit, a dc relay is usually provided.
This relay senses and initiates alarm. However, application of such relay is very much limited as relaying
of dc quantities is relatively uncommon and the rotor windings are designed to tolerate over-currents
due to over-excitation.

Rotor Temperature Alarm

In induction motors and generators, winding insulation is greatly damaged if temperatures are
higher than rated values. In permanent magnets however, high temperatures will demagnetize the
magnets to never recover this characteristic any more even after temperatures get back to lower values.

How it works
Wireless and battery-free temperature sensors are located in hot spots in the rotor. Reader
antennas are set up in the stator in a configuration that allows the RFID system to continuously monitor
the temperature of all tags embedded into the rotor.
By transmitting temperature data over the RFID system and processing this data, engineers and
maintenance staff members can have a real time thermal image of the rotor. Moreover, by storing all
data in a database, specific trends can be spotted using historical data and design preventive and
 automated actions based on that data. This will prevent rotor temperatures to go above recommended
values.

Direct Connected Generator Protection

Direct connected generators are normally of smaller ratings and a typical scheme of Direct Connected
Generator Protection.
It consists of the following protections:
 Unbiased differential protection.
 Backup overcurrent protection.
 Negative phase sequence protection.
 Standby earth fault.
In addition to these protections the following may also be provided:
 Field failure protection.
 Rotor earth-fault protection.
 Reverse power protection (to be provided on back pressure turbine sets and engine driven sets).

Types of Protection for Generators and their Settings

See Table 11.2

Protection of AC Motors
To ensure our induction motor,wiring and control panel in proper condition when fault or
problem happen,we should install a motor protection device including :-
1) Overload protection
2) Short circuit protection
3) Over temperature protection
4) Under Voltage protection
5) Phase failure and reversal protection

Types of Faults

Three Phase Induction motor Faults and their Causes

Generally, two types of induction motors are used in our industry such as wound rotor
and squirrel cage rotor, but their faults are almost same. Here we have classified these faults in
three types, but these are further sub divided.
Types of faults in three phase induction motor
1. Electrical Faults
2. Mechanical Faults
3. Environmental Faults

Electrical faults in three phase induction motor

Electrical Faults : These faults are further sub dived into seven types such as,

Single Phasing Fault: Single phasing fault is occurred when any one phase of supply voltage is getting
lost because three phases voltage supply is must require for normal working of three phase induction
motor. Due to this fault the motor could be burned or heat up.

Reverse Phase Sequencing Fault: Reverse phase sequencing fault is occurred when any one phase of
three phase voltage supply is reversed means the phase order of supply voltages are swapped. Due to
this fault the direction of rotation of motor has changed.

Under or Over Supply Voltages Fault: This fault is occurred when supply voltages are under or over the
specific limit. The limit of three phase ac supply voltages is 380 to 440 so when supply voltages are
crossed this limit then motor could be burned or heart up.
Over Load Fault: This fault is occurred when motor is over loaded means the higher load is connected at
output side of motor and due to this load motor could be heat up or excessive vibration .

Earth Fault: Earth fault is occurred when any one phase of supply voltages is connected to the housing
of the motor then motor is totally shorted. In this condition when any one will touch this motor then he
will feel the heavy shock beside this, the motor would take over current that could be dangerous for
induction motor.

Inter Turn Short Circuit Fault: Inter turn short circuit fault is the such type of fault when two turns of
same phase or different phases are short circuited. During this fault the motor could be totally damaged,
or coils of that specific phase could be damaged.

Crawling Fault: Crawling fault is basically an electromechanical fault in three phase induction motor.
This fault is occurred when motor is fully loaded with full supply voltages then it does accelerate but it
runs nearly one seventh of its synchronous speed. This specific phenomenon of induction motor is called
crawling.

Abnormal Operating Conditions

Abnormal operation of an induction motor drive may be caused by internal or external
problems. The most common electrical and mechanical faults in the motor are:
1. Prolonged overloading
2. Stalling
3. Unbalanced supply voltages
4. Undervoltage
5. Reverse Phase
6. Loss of synchronism

Protection Chart for 3-Phase Induction Motors

Abnormal Operating Possible Forms of Protection Remarks

Condition

Overloads 1. Thermal overload relays 1. Overload protection is provided for

2. Inverse overcurrent relays almost all types of motors.
3. Miniature circuit breaker with 2. Should not operate during starting
built in trip coils periods.
4. Overload release

Phase to phase Faults 1.HRC fuses Differential protection is feasible for large
2. High set instantaneous size motors ( motors of rating exceeding
overcurrent relays 1000kw)
3. differential protection Below this high set instantaneous
protection preferred

Undervoltage 1. 1.Undervoltage relays 1. Undervoltage relay is mployed in

certain applications
2. Undervoltage release is
incorporated with every starter.

Unbalance supply Negative phase sequence relays Only in certain applications

voltage
1. Usually thermal overload 1. Recently developed static single
Single phasing thermal relays phasing devices
2. Special single phase 2. Unbalance protection
preventer
Reverse phase Phase reversal protection Generally at supply point
sequence
1.Thermal overload relays Instantaneous trip
Stalling
2. Instanteneous overcurrent relays

Protection of Large Size Motors

1. Stator Winding Protection
a. Overcurrent Protection
The devices for such protection range from fuses for overcurrent tripping elements
on circuit breakers, relays and circuit breakers for voltages of 2,200 v and higher
b. Stator Overheating of Motors
Overheating is due to prolonged overloading, stalled rotors or unbalanced stator
currents
c. Rotor Overcurrent Protection
More likely to occur in wound rotor motors.
d. Undervoltage Protection
e. Unbalance and Single Phasing Protection
f. Reverse Phase Protection

Protection For Exclusively Synchronous Motors

1. Amortisseur Overheating Protection
2. Field Winding Overheating Protection
3. Loss of Synchronism Protection
4. Loss of Excitation Protection