UNIT-3

STATIC (Solid State)

AND

NUMERICAL(Digital) RELAYS

Introduction
 A static (solid state) relay refers to a relay in which there is no armature
or other moving element and response is developed by electronic,
magnetic or other components without mechanical motion.

 The solid state components used are transistors, diodes, resistors,

capacitors and so on. The function of comparison and measurement
are accomplished by static circuits.

 Introduction of static relays began in the early 1960’s. Their design is

based on the use of analogue electronic devices instead of coils and
magnets to create the relay characteristic.
 Static…
 Early versions used discrete devices such as transistors and diodes in
conjunction with resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc., but advances in
electronics enabled the use of linear and digital integrated circuits in
later versions for signal processing and implementation of logic
functions.
Fig . Block Diagram of a Static Relay
 Static…
 The component of the static relay is shown in the figure. The input of
the current transformer is connected to the transmission line, and their
output is given to the rectifier.

 The rectifier was rectifying the input signal and pass it to the relaying
measuring unit.

 The rectifying measuring unit has the comparators, level detector and
the logic circuit.

 The output signal from relaying unit obtains only when the signal
reaches the threshold value. The output of the relaying measuring unit
acts as an input to the amplifier.
 Static…
 The amplifier amplifies the signal and gives the output to the output
devices. The output device activates the trip coil only when the relay
operates.

 The output is obtained from the output devices only when the measured
has the well-defined value. The output device is activated and gives the
tripping command to the trip circuit.

 The static relay only gives the response to the electrical signal. The
other physical quantities like heat temperature etc. is first converted into
the analogue and digital electrical signal and then act as an input for
the relay.
 Static…

Merits and Demerits of Static Relays

The advantages of static relays over electromechanical relays are as

follows.

1) Low burden on CTs and VTs. The static relays consume less power
and in most of the cases they draw power from the auxiliary dc supply.

2) Fast response.

3) Long life.

4) High resistance to shock and vibration.

5) Less maintenance due to the absence of moving parts and bearings.

6) Frequent operations cause no deterioration.

 Static…
7) Quick resetting and absence of over shoot.

8) Compact size.

9) Greater sensitivity as amplification can be provided easily.

10) Complex relaying characteristics can easily be obtained.

11) Logic circuits can be used for complex protective schemes.

 Static…

Demerits of Static Relays

1) Static relays are temperature sensitive . Their characteristics may vary

with the variation of temperature. Temperature compensation can be
made by using thermistors and by using digital techniques for
measurements, etc.

2) Static relays are sensitive to voltage transients. The semiconductor

components may get damaged due to voltage spikes. Filters and
shielding can be used for their protection against voltage spikes.

3) Static relays need an auxiliary power supply. This can however be

easily supplied by a battery or a stabilized power supply.
 Comparators
 The job of a relay is to sense any abnormal condition in the system and
send a signal to the breaker which in turn disconnects the faulty
section of the feeder from the healthy one.

 The relay does all this by comparing two quantities either in amplitude
or in phase. The phase relation and the amplitudes are a function of
the system conditions. The device which makes these comparison is
known as a comparator and forms the heart of the relay. The
comparator decides operating characteristics of a relay.

Types of Comparators

1. Amplitude Comparator

i. Integrating comparators (a) circulating current (b) voltage opposed

ii. Instantaneous comparators (a) averaging (b) phase splitting

iii. Sampling comparators

2. Phase Comparator

a. Vector product phase comparators

b. Coincidence type phase comparators

i. Integrating comparators

(a) circulating current type

The basic circuit for the circulating current is shown in figure. the
currents are the input signals. The relay will operate whenever S1>S2,
where S1 =Ki1 and S2= Ki2.

Figure. circulating current comparator

 Comparators…
 The voltage across the relay does not exceed twice the forward voltage
drop of one of the rectifiers and this will normally be of the order of 1
volt. The voltage across the relay is given in figure.

Figure. comparison of outputs

 Comparators…
 Ideally the comparator is independent of the phase angle between i1
and i2, but in practice the wave shape is dependent on the phase angle.

 When i1 and i2 are out of phase, the difference (i1-i2) has both the
positive and negative loops. If i1>i2, the positive loop is bigger than the
negative and if i1<i2, the negative loop is bigger than the positive.
When i1 = i2 the positive and negative loops are equal, each loop
occupying ¼ of the time duration of one cycle of the input currents. The
out put waveform is therefore, a double frequency pulsation.

 It is therefore, desired that the output device should be an integrating

device responding to the average area over one cycle of the out put
wave form.
 Comparators…
ii. Instantaneous comparator

(a) Phase Splitting type

 It is faster in operation. Here phase splitting is done before rectification
I, e., the input is split into six components 60o apart so that it is
smoothened within 5%.
 In this both operating and restraining inputs signals are smoothened out
before being compared so that continuous output signal is obtained.
 The operating time is determined by he time constant of the slowest
arm of the phase-splitting circuit and by the speed to the output device.
 Comparators…

Figure. Block diagram of Phase-splitting of Inputs (six)

 Comparators…
iii. Sampling comparator

 In this comparator one or both the signals are sampled at the same
instant or at different instants and are compared. When one signal is
sampled, it is compared with the signal proportional to its rectified
(average) value.
 In case of reactance relay the sampled value of voltage is compared
with the average value of current when it is passing through zero value.
let Φ be the power factor angle of the circuit.
When current passes through zero the instantaneous value of voltage
will be V sin Φ.
the reactance relay operates when X < K, where X is the reactance
seen by the relay and K is design reactance of the system.
 since X = Z sinΦ,
therefore Z sin Φ < K
V/I sin Φ < K
Vm/√2 sin Φ < KIav x 1.11
Vm sin Φ < √2 KIav x1.11
Vm sin Φ < K’Iav
 The block diagram for the comparator is shown in figure. reactance
relay operation can also be explained when both voltage and current
signals are sampled.
 Voltage is sampled again when the current is passing through zero
value and current is sampled after a delay of say α.
 Again if power factor of the circuit is cosΦ, the voltage signal at the
current zero instant will be Vm sin Φm and the current signal after delay
of α will be Im sin α
 Comparators…

Figure. sampling comparator for reactance relay

For the same reactance relay, for operation,
V/I sin Φ < K
Vmax sin Φ < K’Imax sin α

 The amplitude of these two signals are converted into proportional

pulse widths and these pulses are compared in an AND gate.

 If the two samples are taken at different instants, the pulse width
representing the one taken first in time sequence is delayed by the
time difference between the two sampling instants, before feeding to
the AND gate.

 By using sampling techniques, the phase shifting and mixing circuits

are eliminated resulting in saving in space and cost but the it requires
high degree of sophistication in the relay circuitry.
Figure. Block Diagram when both signals are sampled

Phase Comparators

 Phase comparison technique is the most widely used technique for all
practical directional, distance, differential and carrier relays.

 In this type of comparator, the operation of the relay takes place when
the phase relation between two inputs S1 and S2 varies within certain
specified limits. Mathematically the condition of operation is given by

−α1 ≤ θ ≤ α2
where θ is the angle by which S1 lags S2.

if α1 = α2 = 90o, the comparator is known as cosine comparator and

if α1 = 0o and α2 = 180o it is known as sine comparator.

 There are two types of phase comparators

(i) coincidence type and (ii) vector product type

 Comparators…
i. Coincidence type phase comparator

 Consider two signals S1 and S2; their period of coincidence depends

upon their phase difference. If the two signals have a phase difference
of α, the period of coincidence of such signals is ψ = (180 – α) which
means if the operation is desired for a phase angle α less than say
+90o, then coincidence period should be greater than 90o.

 Thus, the criterion for operation becomes − 90o ≤ α ≤ 90o which

illustrate in figure.
 Comparators…

Figure. phase comparator output

 Comparators…
 Some of the techniques employed to measure the period of
coincidence are

(a) block –spike phase comparison

(b) phase splitting technique

(c) integrating phase comparator

(a) block –spike phase comparison

 In this method one input is converted into a square wave and the other
into a pulse of short duration (known as spike) at the instant when this
input is either passing through zero value or when it is passing through
peak value.

 The squared wave and the spike then are fed into an AND gate and
there is an out put when the two signals coincide at any time as shown
in figure.

 Depending upon the instant of spiking the output is available for

different phase difference.

 With spike derived at peak value, output for − 90 o ≤ α ≤ 90 o and

with spike derived at zero value output for − 0 o ≤ α ≤ 180 o
 The main disadvantage of this method is that in case of spurious spike
due to any switching or external interference, operation of the relay may
take place which is not desirable.
 Comparators…
(b) Phase Splitting Technique

 The method requires splitting of phase of the two input signals, each
into two components shifted ±45o with respect to the original signal.

 The four components are then fed into an AND gate which gives an
output when the four signals are positive simultaneously at any time in
the cycle as shown in figure. it can be seen that output will be obtained
for − 90 o ≤ α ≤ 90 o. The block schematic is shown figure.
 Comparators…

Figure. phase splitting (block diagram)

 Comparators…

Figure. phase splitting technique

 Comparators…
(c) integrating phase comparator

 The two signals S1 and S2 are fed into an AND gate the output of which
is integrated to measure the period of coincidence of the two signals.

 If period of coincidence exceeds 90o the output is obtained so that the

condition is − 90 o ≤ α ≤ 90 o for operation. The most common type of
AND gate uses diode or transistor coincidence circuit.
ii. Vector Product phase comparator

 In these devices an output proportional to the vector product of two

input quantities is obtained. These devices operate on the principle of
Hall effect and magneto resistivity.

Hall effect comparator

 The semiconductors normally used as Hall element are indium

antimonite and indium arsenide. Of these the later is considered as a
better Hall element. The basic principle of operation of Hall element is
shown in figure.

 When a current I is passed along X-direction of the Hall element which

is placed in a magnetic field in the Y-direction, a voltage known as Hall
voltage is induced in the Z-direction across the edges of the element.
 Comparators…
if the two inputs are Φ and I and are sinusoidal quantities, given by

Φ = Φm sin wt

I = Im sin (wt –α)

The vector product of the two vectors is given by

V H = KφI sin 90 o = Kφ m I m sin( wt − α )

Kφ m I m
= [cos α − cos( 2 wt − α )]
2

It is clear from the expression that Hall voltage consist of a d.c.

component and a time varying component of double the original
frequency.
 The double frequency component can be eliminated by cross
connecting two Hall elements as shown figure. the two input signals are
the two sinusoidal currents I1 and I2.

Let I1 = Im sin wt

I2 = Im sin (wt +α)

The two fluxes ФA and ФB through the elements A and B are φ A ∞ I 1 and
dI 2 dI 1
φ A∞I 2 the currents through the elements are I A ∞ and I B ∞
dt dt
Since the two elements are so connected that the output voltages
oppose each other , therefore resultant voltage is given by
VH = V A − VB
∞I m1. sin wt.I m2 w cos(wt + α ) − I m2 sin(wt + α ) wI m1 cos wt
V H ∞ I m1 I m 2 sin α
 Comparators…

Figure. Hall effect phase comparator

 Comparators…

Figure. cross connection of two Hall elements


Magneto-resistivity (Gauss effect) comparator

 When a semiconductor is subjected to a magnetic field its resistivity

varies. This effect is known as Gauss effect or magneto resistivity.

 If a voltage V1 produces a magnetic field through a semiconductor disc

and another voltage V2 passes current through the disc at right angles
to the magnetic field, the current will be proportional to V1V2 cosθ,
where θ is the right angle between the two voltages i.e., the current is
maximum when the two voltages are in phase and zero when they are
in quadrature.

 This type of relay is mostly used in USSR and is considered better than
Hall element relay because of simpler construction and circuitry.
 Comparators…

Figure. phase comparator magneto resistivity

Static Over Current Relays
 Static over current…
 The current derived from the main CT is fed to the input transformer
which gives a proportional output voltage.

 The input transformer has an air gap in the iron core to give linearity in
the current/voltage relationship up to the highest value of current
expected, and is provided with tapings ion its secondary winding to
obtain different settings.

 The output voltage of the transformer is rectified through a rectifier and

then filtered at a single stage to avoid undesirable time delay in filtering
so as to ensure high speed of operation.

 A limiter made of a zener diode is also incorporated in the circuit to

limit the rectified voltage to safe values even when the input current is
very high under faulty conditions.
 A fixed portion of the rectified and filtered voltage ( through potential
divider) is compared against a preset pick-up value by a level detector
and if it exceeds the pick-up value, a signal through an amplifier is
given to the output device which issues the trip signal.

 The output device may either be a static thyristor circuit or an

electromagnetic slave relay.
 Static Distance Relays
 The versatile family of distance relays includes impedance relays,
reactance relays and mho relays. The measurement of impedance,
reactance or admittance is done by comparing input current and
voltage. Hence distance relays have voltage and current as input
quantities.

 In a static distance relay it is necessary that the two input quantities are
similar i.e., voltage/voltage or current/current because they are not
electrically separate as they are in case of electromagnetic relays (in an
impedance relay magnets are energized by voltage and currents).
 So the comparators employed in static distance relays can be of either
voltage comparator or current comparator.

 In a voltage comparator line current is converted into equivalent

voltage VA by passing it through an impedance ZR ∠θ and the voltage
drop I ZR is then compared with the line voltage V.

 ZR ∠
∠θ is the design impedance or a replica of the impedance of the line
to be protected on a secondary basis. Distance relay based on voltage
comparison.

 Similarly in case of a current comparator, a current is derived from CT

and the voltage from PT is converted into equivalent current V/ZR by
connecting replica impedance in series with secondary of PT. The
current in secondary of PT corresponds to V/ZR which is compared with
I.
 The arrangements of inputs for two input comparators-
(i) with voltage inputs and (ii) with current inputs are shown in Fig.
 It is to be noted that the transient dc component of current passing
through line impedance produces a faithful voltage waveform which is
derived from line PT and the secondary current of line PT(V/ZR) has
faithful transient.

 The comparator compares V/ZR and I, both having identical transient

(assuming faithful reproduction). Hence the effect of transients is
cancelled out from impedance measurement. So use of replica
impedance is not only convenient but permits fast tripping also as it
eliminates error due to transients in the fault current.
 A rectifier bridge current comparator, shown in Fig. receives two current
inputs (operating current I0 and restraining current Ir). The output of
comparator is applied to a permanent magnet coil relay or a static level
detector.
 In distance relays I0 and Ir may be supplied either by the CT or by a PT
through series impedance or by both sources in a particular
combination to have particular relay characteristic.

 If the restraining current Ir is supplied by PT and operating current I0 is

supplied by CT, as shown in Fig. the relay operates when the ratio V/I
is less than a certain value and is, therefore, a minimum impedance
relay.

 A practical static distance protection scheme includes a starting,

measuring and timing elements made up of solid state devices.

 The output unit is usually a moving coil relay. The starting element is
usually an over current relay. The output is given to the measuring
element. Phase comparators are employed in the measuring devices.
 The measuring device determines whether the fault is within the
protected zone or not. Correspondingly a tripping signal is initiated in
case the fault is within the protected zone.

 In case the fault is outside the protected zone, the timer unit starts. This
initiates zone-wise protection.

 A block diagram of a distance relay based on current comparison

principle is given in Fig. The line PT secondary is connected to auxiliary
PT and the output of auxiliary PT is converted into current and this
current is compared with the output of the auxiliary CT.
 Static Differential Protection
 The differential relay measures the phasor difference between two
similar electrical quantities (voltage-voltage or current-current). The
rectifier bridge amplitude comparator is the most com-mon static form
for applications as a differential relay element. The block diagram for
such a relay is shown in Fig.
 Inputs I and II are supplied to the comparator. The output of the
comparator (phasor difference of inputs I and II) is amplified and used to
operate the relay.

 The static differential relays are most commonly used for the protection
of generators and transformers for any type of internal faults (two- and
three-phase faults, earth faults with solidly grounded neutral or low
resistance grounded neutral-inter-turn faults).
 These relays are advantageous over electromagnetic differential relays
as they are
i. very compact,
ii. highly sensitive for internal faults and have absolute stability for heavy
through faults,
i. extremely short tripping times (20-50 ms) regardless magnitude of
auxiliary voltage,
ii. accurate and absolutely stable tripping characteristic even for
asymmetrical faults as each phase can have its own relay,
iii. low VA burden,
iv. inrush current proof characteristic even during high starting currents,
inrush currents.

 The selection of auxiliary voltage is also easy. A permanent magnet

moving coil relay is usually employed as tripping device.
 The basic differential scheme is given in Figure. the relay operates
when
K1no I o > K2nr I r + K '
where

no ,nr = the number of turns in the operating and restraining coils

respectively .

K1 , K2 = the design constants

K’ = the spring control torque.

At the threshold of operation K’ = K1no I o min

Now equation under threshold condition becomes

K1no I o = K2nr I r + K1no Iomin
 K2nr
Io = I r + Io min
or K1no
= K3Ir + Iomin
 This is an equation to a straight line of the form y = mx + c, the
intercept c = I o min and the slope m = K3. The characteristic drawn in
figure .
 Numerical Relays
 Numerical relays are latest development in this area. These relays
acquire the sequential sample of the ac quantities in numeric (digital)
data form through the data acquisition system (DAS), and process the
data numerically using an algorithm to calculate the fault discriminate
and make trip decision.

Types of Numerical Relays

I. Microprocessor based

II. Microcontroller based

III. Digital Signal Processors (DSP)

IV. Artificial Intelligence based (AI)

a. Artificial Neural Network (ANN)

b. Fuzzy Logic System

Fig. Block Diagram of a Typical Numerical Relay
 This relay samples voltages and currents, which, at the power system
level, are in the range of hundreds of kilo volts and kilo amperes
respectively.

 The levels of these signals are reduced by voltage and current

transformers (transducers).

 The output of the transducers are applied to the signal conditioner (also
called analog input sub system).

 Signal conditioner is one of the important components of the data

acquisition system (DAS).

 It brings real-world signals into digitizer. It isolates relay from the power
system, reduces the level of the input voltages, converts currents to
equivalent voltages and removes high frequency components from the
signals using analog filters.
 Since A/D converters accept voltage signals only, the current signals
are converted into proportional voltage signals by using I/V converters
or by passing through precision shunt resistors.

 Anti-aliasing filters (which are low-pass filters) are used to prevent

aliasing from affecting relaying function.

 The outputs of the signal conditioner (the analog input sub system) are
applied to the analog interface, which includes sample and hold (S/H)
circuits, analog multiplexers and A/D converters.

 These components sample the reduced level signals and convert their
analog levels to equivalent numbers that are stored in memory.

 The status of isolators and CB in power system is provided to the relay

via the digital input subsystem and are read into the micro computer/
microcontroller memory.
 The signals in the form of discrete numbers processed by a relaying
algorithm using numerical methods.

 The algorithm uses signal processing technique to estimate the real

and imaginary components of fundamental frequency voltage and
current phasors.

 The computed quantities are compared with pre-specified thresholds

(settings) to decide whether the power system is experiencing a fault or
not.

Advantages

i. Compactness and Reliability

ii. Flexibility

iii. Adaptive capability

iv. Multiple functions

v. Detailed Logical and Mathematical Capabilities

vi. Economic Benefits

vii. Less Panel Space

viii. Low Burden on Transducers

ix. Self-monitoring and Self-testing

x. Sequence of Events and Oscillograph

xi. Communication Facility

xii. Metering Facility

xiii. Memory Action

xiv. Standardization

Disadvantages

i. Short Life Cycle

ii. Susceptibility to Transients

iii. Setting and Testing Complexities