Analysis of Offset-Mho Relay for Out of Step and

Loss of Excitation Protection for PLTU Suralaya

Unit 1-2
Muhammad R. Fabio
Department of Electrical Power Engineering
School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics
Institut Teknologi Bandung
Bandung, Indonesia
muhammadrizal.fabio@outlook.com

To protect synchronous generator from damage that could
occur due to out-of-step and loss of field, offset mho relay is used.
Out-of-Step Relay is used for both relay but because the nature
of their setting they are differentiated. This paper will discuss
how out-step-relay and loss of field relay works in general and
calculate the recommended setting value based on manufacture
handbook. After calculation, the recommended calculated value
for out-of-step relay setting is the following Diameter with the
value of 11.3Ohm, Offset with the value of -8.4Ohm, Blinder
Impedance with the value of 2Ohm and Impedance Angle with
the value of 90o. The recommended calculated value for loss of
synchronism relay setting is the following: Diameter with the
value of 31Ohm, Offset with the value of -2.1Ohm, Trip Delay for
30 cycles dan directional element angle with the value of 18Ohm.
Keywords— Synchronous Generator, Out-of-Step, Loss of
Field, Offset Mho Relay
I. INTRODUCTION
Synchronous generator is one of the most important part of
any power generating unit. Thus this component must be
properly protected from any problem that could occurred
during its operation, so that it could still operate at any time
and if it has to be stopped from running it could be restarted in
no time. One of the problem that any big generator could faced
is running out of step and the loss of its excitation field.
In order to differentiate the setting between the protection
for 2 different yet similar situation an impedance relay is used
to monitor the voltage and current in generator’s terminal.
Voltage and current will be used to read the mechanical terms
from the prime mover, such as torque and angle speed of the
prime mover. This 2 value will then be used to determine
whether the generator is better suited for loss of excitation
protection or out-of-step protection. The value of which the
offset mho impedance relay must set is calculated from the
property of generator to best suit its operation.
II. THEORY
A. Synchronous Generator
Many important features of synchronous-machine behavior
can be understood from the analysis of a single machine
connected to an infinite bus. The steady-state behavior of a
synchronous machine can be visualized by the following terms
torque equation.
(1)
Where
ϕR = resultan flux celah udara per kutub

Any generator could run out of step if its prime mover
torque exceeds its electromechanical torque induced in its air
gaps. This situation could occur when there is massive power
swing in the system that caused change in frequency of the
system, or because the electromechanics torque is suddenly
reduced to nothing because there is no current running in the
stator winding. This problem is also known as loss of
excitation.
Loss of excitation mostly caused by failure in the generator
excitation system. Be it from short circuit, rectifier failure, or
any other reasons unknown. When loss of excitation happened,
the stator winding will suddenly loss its magnetic field, hence
removing any electromechanical coupling between its rotating
magnetic field and rotating prime mover shaft.
Ff = mmf dari belitan medan DC
δRF = beda fasa elektrik antara sudut ϕR dan Fff
As the prime-mover torque is increased, the magnitude of
δRF must increase until the electromechanical torque balances
the shaft torque. The oscillation that is caused by this process
of readjustment is called hunting transient.
The characteristic of torque-angle relationship from torque
equation could be observed from Fig.1. An increase in prime-
mover torque will result in a corresponding increase in the
torque angle. When ~RF becomes 90 °, the electromechanical
torque reaches its maximum value, known as the pull-out
torque. Any further increase in prime-mover torque cannot be
balanced by a corresponding increase in synchronous
electromechanical torque, with the result that synchronism will
no longer be maintained and the rotor will speed up. This
phenomenon is known as loss of synchronism or pulling out of
step [1].
Fig. 1 Torque-angle characteristic
When a generator is operating at a leading power factor, the
excitation and hence the flux produced by the rotor is weak.
Consequently the magnetic coupling between rotor and stator
rotating magnetic fields is also weak. If the generator is loaded
under this condition, a large torque is produced. When this load
angle reaches 90°, the generator is producing the maximum
amount of power for the excitation being used and is said to be
operating at its steady state stability limit.
When the generator is operating at a leading power factor,
the flux produced by the rotor is weaker and more flux is able
to leak out from the ends of the stator core. When this flux
leaks out from the ends of the stator core, it passes through the
face of each lamination and causes large eddy currents to flow
in these laminations. These eddy currents can cause excessive
heating. [2]
B. Generator Loss of Excitation (LoE)
The essential function of excitation system is to supply
direct current for the power of synchronous machine excitation
winding. Basic components of static excitation systems are
thyristor rectifiers, controlled with excitation regulator by
means of thyristor ignition impulse circuits. This can be
performed in two ways via the transformer, namely either from
an independent source (so called independent excitation) or
directly from the generator (so called dependent excitation).
The main benefit of static excitation systems is the speed with
which the excitation voltage responds to the change of
regulator voltage.
Loss of excitation of synchronous generator can be caused
by several factors, such as power supply outage, exciter
damage or short circuit in the excitation winding. Regardless of
the reason the loss of excitation represents a high risk with
regard to synchronous generator damage. In addition, outage of
synchronous generator with high unit power represents a
significant risk for the stability of electricity grid. During loss
of excitation the current in excitation winding decreases
(exponentially). Proportionally also the internal electromotive
force and the electromagnetic relation between the stator and
rotor decrease. This is reflected in gradual decrease of reactive
power on generator terminals. When the under-excitation limit
is achieved, the loss of synchronism occurs (the relation
between the stator and rotor is already very week at this time).
This whole process is similar to loss of static stability of
synchronous machine. The loss of excitation is a transient
phenomenon of medium speed with the time interface of
several seconds [2][3].
The loss of excitation can have adverse effect not only on
the generator itself, but also on the whole grid and adjacent
generators — mainly if they are connected to common point
with the generator that lost excitation (i.e.generators in one
power plant). if generator lost excitation it changes into
significant consumer of reactive power. If this generator is not
shut down, the adjacent generators start increasing the
production of reactive power up to the limit when their limiters
of rotor and stator currents act.
If the grid cannot cope with increased supply of reactive
power, it can cause overloading and subsequent the
transmission lines outages in cascades. Significant decrease of
voltage in individual nodes of the grid and the resultant threat
of voltage collapse could have another adverse effect.[2]
Loss of excitation protection is the so called impedance
type of protection. Their first installations reach back to 50-ties
of the last century. The impedance principle is with good
results used also nowadays, since it has high ability to detect
loss of excitation and at the same time is very reliable.
However, there is an area of generator operation when this type
of protection can function improperly. These are the cases
when generator operated in under excited condition, during
stable transient power swings in the grid and during significant
system outages with frequency drop.
Example of measured impedance on generator terminals is
shown on Fig. 2. It can be seen that the impedance trajectory
seen by the protection on machine terminals crosses the
characteristic of loss of excitation protection and enters into it.
Typical operation characteristics of loss of excitation protection
are presented in Fig. 3. The characteristics shown on Fig. 2a
and b are defined by the IEEE standard [9]. The characteristic
(b) has an extra directional element built in in order to prevent
undesirable operation of protection during some swing effects
in the grid or close faults [2].
Fig. 2 Measured trajectory in the impedance plane during loss of excitation
 time, then an OOS is declared and an outof-step blocking
signal is issued to block the distance relay element operation.
Impedance measurement elements with different shapes have
been used over the time[4]. These shapes include double
blinders, concentric polygons, and concentric circles as shown
in Fig. 4

Fig. 4 Different Double Blinder Selection

Fig. 3 Impedance patterns of loss of excitation protection

III. CALCULATION AND ANALYSIS

The calculation formula used in the following is based on
recommended formula from the manufacture. And the
C. Generator Out-of-Step (OOS) parameter is taken from the Generator Manual.
The response of the power system to a disturbance depends The data used for the calculation of the Out-of-step is
on both the initial operating state of the system and the severity shown below:
of the disturbance. A fault on a critical element of the power
system followed by its isolation by protective relays will cause • System Reactance : 0.106 % on
variations in power flows, network bus voltages, and machine 10MVA Base
rotor speeds. Voltage variations will actuate generator voltage
• Generator Transf. Reactance : 12 %
regulators, and generator speed variations will actuate prime
mover governors. Depending on the severity of the disturbance • Generator Transf. Capacity : 470 MVA
and the actions of protective relays and other power system
controls, the system may remain stable and return to a new • Gen. transient impedance Xd’ : 26% (Unit 1-2)
equilibrium state experiencing what is referred to as a stable • Generator Output : 471.0 MVA
power swing. On the other hand, if the system is transiently
unstable it will cause large separation of generator rotor angles, • Generator Voltage : 23.0 kV
large swings of power flows, large fluctuations of voltages and
currents, and eventually lead to a loss of synchronism between • CT turns ratio :15KA/5A
groups of generators or between neighboring utility systems. • VT turns ratio :23KV/110V
When two areas of an interconnected power system loose
synchronism, there is a large variation of voltages and currents
throughout the power system. The primary impedance %Z (%) is converted to relay side
Out-of-step protection functions detect stable power swings impedance Z ( Q) by the following formula:
and out-of-step conditions by using the fact that the
voltage/current variation during a power swing is gradual while
it is virtually a step change during a fault. Both faults and
power swings may cause the measured apparent positive- Thus, the reactance parameter could be calculated with the
sequence impedance to enter into the operating characteristic of following:
a distance relay element. Typically, the location of relay
1. System reactance
systems determines the location where system islanding takes
place during loss of synchronism.
The difference in the rate of change of the impedance has
been traditionally used to detect an Out-of-step (OOS) 2. Main step-up transformer reactance
condition and then block the operation of distance protection
elements before the impedance enters the protective relay
operating characteristics. Actual implementation of measuring
the impedance rate of change is normally performed though the
use of two impedance measurement elements together with a 3. Generator reactance
timing device. If the measured impedance stays between the
two impedance measurement elements for a predetermined
 Then from the reactance parameter above we could The data used for the calculation of the Loss of
calculate the relay setting of generator Synchronism is shown below:
1. Setting of Diameter
Generator capacity : 471,000 kVA
2. Setting of Offset Generator voltage : 23.0 kV
CT turns ratio : 15KA/5 A = 3,000
3. Setting of Blinder Impedance VT turns ratio : 23KV/110V = 209.1
Gen. transient impedance Xd’ : 26% (Unit 1-2)

4. Setting of Impeance angle Gen. Synch. impedance Xd : 189% (Unit 1-2)

Typical Setting is 90o Then from the reactance parameter above we could
calculate the relay setting of generator. The primary impedance
5. Setting of Delay %Z (%) is converted to relay side impedance Z ( Q) by the
Typical setting is 3 to 6 cycles, setting = 6 cycles following formula:

The impedance loci of this setting could be observed in fig.

5
Thus the value of the relay setting could calculated with the
following:
1. Circle Diameter
The large circle diameter is set to the synchronous
reactance of the generator.

2. Circle Offset
The large circle offset is set to the generator
transient reactance Xd'/2.

3. Circle Trip Delay

Trip Delay > Stable Swing
Setting = 30 Cycles (0.6sec)
4. Directional Element Angle

Same issue is also observed in this calculation where the

parameter used in the original calculation recommendation is
not from unit 1-2 but unit 3-4. Thus may create false-positive
tripping in the unit.
The operating characteristic of this relay could be observed
in Fig.6
Fig.5 Out-of-Step Relay Characteristic

However after further investigation, the value originally

used in the recommended calculation handbook is different
with the one described in the generator manual. Thus creating
difference in diameter and offset value in the setting. Further
investigation is required to ensure safe and optimized operation
for this relay. Instead of using the value from unit 1-2, the
recommended calculation used value from unit 3-4
 REFERENCES

[1] A.E Fitzgerald, Charles Kingsley, Jr. Stephen D. Umans, Electric

Machinery 6th Edition. New York. Mc Graw Hill. 2002
[2] Vladimir Kristof, Marian Mester, Loss of excitation of synchronous
generator. Journal of ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, Vol 68. De
Gruyter. 2017
[3] H. G. Darron, J. K. Koepfinger, J. R. Mather and P. A. Pusche, The
Influence of Generator Loss of Excitation on Bulk Power System
Reliability, IEEE Trans Power Apparatus and Systems,vol. 94, no. 5,
1473–1481, 1975
[4] PT PLN (PERSERO), STUDY OF PROTECTION RELAY SETTING
2008. Indonesia: PT PLN Persero, 2008
[5] PT PLN (PERSERO), DESIGN MANUAL UNIT 1-2 TD-5 1984.
Indonesia: PT PLN Persero, 1984
[6] PT PLN (PERSERO), DESIGN MANUAL UNIT 3-4 TD-5 1987.
Indonesia: PT PLN Persero, 1987
[7] Stephen J. Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals. New York. Mc
Graw Hill. 2005
[8] Samsurizal, Dedi Kurniawan, Penyetinggan Loss Of Field Relay
Proteksi Generator Pada Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Air. Jakarta Barat,
Indonesia : Program Studi Teknik Elektro, Sekolah Tinggi Teknik –
PLN
[9] J. Berdy, OUT-OF-STEP PROTECTION FOR GENERATORS. New
York United States of America: Electric Utility Systems Engineering
Department, General Electric Company
[10] Beckwith Electic Co.Inc. M-3425 Generator Protection Instruction
Book. United States of America 1998

Fig.5 Loss of Excitation Relay Characteristic

Another issue observed during the calculation is the term

offset is used differently between the two setting and may
caused confusion during setting. Worst still is if the
misunderstanding is not resolved the relay may be configured
in wrong operating region.

IV. CONCLUSION
Thus after calculation has been performed for both relay
setting, the recommended calculated value for out-of-step relay
setting is the following Diameter with the value of 11.3Ohm,
Offset with the value of -8.4Ohm, Blinder Impedance with the
value of 2Ohm and Impedance Angle with the value of 90o.
The recommended calculated value for loss of synchronism
relay setting is the following: Diameter with the value of
31Ohm, Offset with the value of -2.1Ohm, Trip Delay for 30
cycles dan directional element angle with the value of 18Ohm.
It is advised to ensure the usage of terms offset for both relay to
prevent dangerous misunderstanding that may caused relay
operating in wrong region.