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A New Inrush Current Detection Method for Transformer Differential

Protection Using Instantaneous Frequency

Conference Paper · June 2019

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 A New Inrush Current Detection Method for
Transformer Differential Protection Using
Instantaneous Frequency

Behrooz Taheri1,*, Amir Bazhdar2, Sirus Salehimehr1, Milad Faghihlou1, Farzad

Razavi2

1. Young Researcher and Elite Club, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.
2. Faculty of Electrical, Biomedical and Mechatronics Engineering, Qazvin Branch, Islamic
Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.

Abstract
Differential relays have acceptable performance against transformers internal faults.
However, the magnetization of transformers may cause the inrush current. This inrush
current may cause the differential relay to operate incorrectly, and lead to separation
of the power transformer from the network. To prevent such a problem, it is necessary
to detect the inrush current in power transformers and consequently prevent the
unnecessary operation of the differential relay. In this paper, a new method is
proposed using the Hilbert transform and the instantaneous frequency to detect the
inrush current. The applicability of the proposed method in the inrush current
simultaneous with the fault condition described using the PSCAD and MATLAB
software.

Key words: Inrush current, Power transformer, Differential relay, Instantaneous

frequency.

1. Introduction
Generally, differential relays are used as the best choice for protecting power transformers.
Differential relays have acceptable performance in terms of internal transformer Faults.
However, the magnetization of the transformer may cause a large differential current,
which can result in differential relay operation [1]. Therefore, the discrimination between
inrush current and fault condition and appropriate relay restraining is essential. Various
methods are used to detect the inrush current in recent years, which some of them are
described below.
The restraining of relay operation using the second harmonic method is the most common
method for detecting the inrush current in practical applications. Another common method
is the distance detection technique that uses a settling time to detect the inrush current.
Some of the used differential relays combine these two methods to improve the reliability
 of the inrush current detection [2]. However, in some cases, like as high magnetization,
mal-operation occurs. Therefore, a high-reliability inrush current detection method is
required. Many techniques have been developed to detect inrush current. Harmonic-based
improved methods have been presented in [3, 4]. The phase change between the primary
and secondary currents of the transformer was introduced to distinguish the inrush current
from the fault [5]. In [6], the differential active power value is used to discriminate
between fault and inrush current. An improved method based on time domain analysis of
differential power signal is presented in [7]. Compared to conventional methods, these
methods require the voltage transformer. The transformer-based method is described in [8],
which is based on accurate parameter estimation. In studies [9, 10], the inrush current and
internal faults are directly categorized by geometric characteristics of the current
waveform, and in [11, 12] the same technique by using communication coefficient is
applied. Wavelet transform (WT) has been considered as an effective scheme for transient
analysis, so it has been widely used to extract differential current characteristics in power
transformers [13-15]. In [16, 17], the inrush current is detected based on the coefficient of
relationship between energy vectors obtained from WT. The mathematical morphology
(MM) is also used to measure the difference between the waveform of the inrush current
and the fault condition [18-20]. However, these methods rely on the choice of an
appropriate base function or structural element. Improved methods such as Artificial
Neural Network [21, 22], decision logic [23, 24], and the hidden Markov model [25] are
also presented to distinguish the inrush current. These Improved methods require a lot of
previous information for training to get better performance, with higher computing power.
In this paper, a new method is proposed based on the rate of variations in the mean value
of instantaneous frequency in the current signal. The applicability of the proposed method
is illustrated using various simulations in PSCAD and MATLAB software.

2. Hilbert Transform
Frequency is a very important data in the monitoring, protection, and control of the power
system. Obtaining the exact frequency value for applications that require fast response, such
as fast-load decrease, generator protection, Renewable energy control and etc. has special
significance [26-29].
In this paper, the Hilbert transform has been used to obtain the instantaneous frequency.
Hilbert transforms is an integral transform (such as Laplace and Fourier). It has been named
by David Hilbert, who used it for the first time to solve a particular case of integral equations
in the field of physics and mathematics [30]. The Hilbert transform for a function is defined as
[31, 32]:
 x ( )
H [ X (t )]  x(t )   1  d (1)
 t  

Hilbert transform is a mathematical transformation function, which shifts the signal phase 90
degrees without changing the signal amplitude. In fact, in Hilbert transform, the phase of the
  
positive frequency 2 is added and the phase of the negative frequencies 2 is reduced.
Hilbert transform of an even function is an odd function, and in contrast, the Hilbert
transformation of an odd function is even. For computing Hilbert transform, the Fourier
transform of the function is obtained and then multiplied by the in Fourier environment.
Afterward, the Fourier transform is reversed, and then the result of the Hilbert transform will
be the obtained function. j.sgn( f ) is the transform function in Hilbert transform.
H ( jw)   j.sgn( w) (2)

 1 w>0

sgn( w) =  0 w=0 (3)
1 w<0


Hilbert's transform is a linear equations system that includes an input signal f ( r ) and an
f (r )
output signal 1 . If the frequency spectrum of an input and output signal is f ( w) and
f1 ( w)
, respectively, the relationship between the frequency of the input and output signals is
as follows:
 F1 ( w)  H ( jw).F ( w)

 F1 ( w)   jF ( w) for w  0, (4)
 F ( w)   jF ( w) for w<0
 1

In the spatial domain, the relationship between the input and output signal is expressed as a
combined function, g (r ) . g (r ) is an analytic function. An analytic function is a function
whose imaginary part is equal to the Hilbert transform of its real part.
g (r )  f (r )  jf1 (r ), r  x  jz , (5)

Based on the previous equation, the Hilbert transform between the input and output signal in
the spatial domain is defined as a combination of function h(t ) (the response of impulse
function h(t ) to the function j.sgn( w) ) and the input signal [33].
h( x)  F 1 ( j.sgn( w)), (6)

1
h( x )  , (7)
x

f1 (r )  h( x) * f (r ), (8)

1  f ( )

f1 (r )  dv (9)
 x 
In the following, the proper features for a discrete-time analytical signal such as Z [n] are
used, which corresponds to the real discrete-time signal x [n] of limited duration.
We assume that x [n] for ( 0  n  N  1 ) is obtained by sampling the continuous time signal
x  nT   x  n 
of the band limited at periodic intervals of T s, in which T is chosen to prevent
aliasing. = x (n) at periodic time intervals T second, in which T is chosen to prevent aliasing.
The spectrum of the band limited continuous time signal is shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 1 : The spectrum of the band limited continuous time signal.

Note that the values of the spectrum at the exceeded frequencies are magnitude in Fig. 1 to
show the properties presented here. Real-valued continuous-time signals typically pass
X  1/ 2T   0
through smoothness filters that reduce the response of the spectrum so that .
The discrete-time signal spectrum x [n] is obtained from the discrete-time Fourier transform
(DTFT). Which has a periodic structure according to Fig. 2.
N 1
X  f   T  X  n  exp   j 2 fnT  (10)
n 0

Figure 2 : The periodic spectrum of a real discrete-time signal after sampling (period T) band
limited signal of Fig. 1

f  1/ 2T Hz
Note that DTFT is equal to CTFT X (f) within the base-band gap coverage of .
In a fast Fourier transform, it is shown that DTFT is computed in a discrete set of
X  f m   X  m f  m / NT Hz
frequencies ( m and 0  m  N-1 ).
In order to have a discrete time signal analytic from  
Z n  Z r  n   jZ i  n 
we will have two
properties. First, the real part must produce the main discrete-time sequence.
Z r  n   x n  for 0  n  N -1 (11)

Second, the real and imaginary parts should be orthogonal over the limited interval.
N 1
T  zr n  zi n   0 (12)
n 0

Now consider three modes of analytical discrete time signal which they vary in sample rates.

3. Instantaneous frequency
The concept of instantaneous frequency is one of the controversial concepts which, even with
the definition of Hilbert transform, there are differences in the concept. But the common
definition for instantaneous frequency is the rate of change of phase angle, which this angle of
the phase obtained by the Hilbert transform and the following equation [34].
z  t   x  t   jy  t  (13)

z t 
Where the signal is a function of time with the instantaneous amplitude
 y t  
  t   arctan  
a t   x t   y t 
2 2
 x t  
and the instantaneous phase.
Although this definition is the most common and most fundamental definition for
instantaneous frequency, there is no single definition for it. This instantaneous frequency,
obtained by Hilbert transform and analytical signal, provides a meaningful physical concept
for the signal, which is the same as the rate of change of phase angle.
d
 t   (14)
dt

In this paper, to apply the Hilbert transform to discrete data, the following four-step algorithm
is used:
The FFT is calculated for input data according to the following equation and the result is
saved on vector x:
N 1
X K   xn ei 2 kn / N (15)
n 0

Create a vector h whose elements h(i) have the values:

1 for i  1, (n / 2)  1
2 for i  2,3,..., ( n / 2) (16)
0 for i  (n / 2)  2,..., n

Calculate the element-wise product of x and h

 Calculate the inverse FFT of the sequence obtained in step 3 and returns the
first n elements of the result.
x(t )  Re al  j Im age (17)

This algorithm is described in [35].

After applying the Hilbert transform to the output signal, the following equation is obtained:
The equation obtained from Hilbert transformation is used to calculate the instantaneous
frequency according to the following formula:
F
F  S  diff (angle( x(t )) (18)
2

4. New method
I
In the classical differential protection shown in Fig. 3, the diff is obtained from the sum of
the primary and secondary currents using the equation below.
I diff  I P  I S (19)

Figure 3: Classical differential protection [36].

I
After calculating diff in each of the three phases, Hilbert transform is applied to each phase
and then in the next step, using the equation (18), the instantaneous frequency value is
calculated in each phase. Also, the average value of the instantaneous frequency is calculated
using the equation below in each phase.
t
1
T (t T )
Ave( S (t ))  S (t ).dt (20)

1
T (21)
Ff
 F
Where S (t ) and f are the input power signal and fundamental frequency respectively.
To use the mean value of the instantaneous frequency obtained in each phase, we sum up all
the values obtained in accordance with the equation below.
Signal  mean( f (a ))  mean( f (b))  mean( f (c )) (22)

Figure 4 shows variations in the mean value of the signal obtained during the inrush current
and fault condition. As shown in Fig. 4, the obtained signal during the inrush current, has very
low variation, while this variation is sharply changed during the fault condition.

Figure 4: variation of the mean value of the instantaneous frequency during the inrush current
and fault condition.

According to Fig. 4, the condition of inrush current detection can be expressed in terms of the
following equation.
If signal > K Inrush detection
(23)
else signal < K Fault detection

Fig. 5 shows the algorithm of the presented method.

 Start

Idiff Calculation

Hilbert transform

Instantaneous frequency calculation

average value

No
Is the condition
Fault Detection
possible?

Yes

Inrush Detection

End
Figure 5: The algorithm of the proposed method.
5. Practical testing of the proposed method

1-5- Case study 1: Inrush current

To test the proposed method, a 230 kV, 50 Hz network, which includes a 100 MVA and
230/63 kV transformer is used. Fig. 6 shows this network in the PSCAD software.

Figure 6: Test system.

To generate the inrush current, the circuit breaker is closed at 0.02s. Fig. 7 shows the
operation of the relay during the inrush current condition.

Figure 7: (a) The Created inrush current. (b) Mean value of the frequency. (c) Differential relay
operation.
2-5- Case study 2: inrush current simultaneous with the fault condition
To generate the inrush current, the circuit breaker is closed at 0.02s. Also, to simulate the
simultaneous fault, a single-phase fault is applied at 0.5s.
Fig. 8 shows the performance of the proposed method in inrush current simultaneous with the
fault condition.

Figure 8: (a) Inrush current simultaneous with the fault condition. (b) Mean value of the
frequency. (c) Differential relay operation.
6. Conclusion
Power transformers are one of the main components of transmission networks in such a way
that the lack of this equipment in the network makes the transfer energy virtually impossible.
Differential relays are used to protect power transformers. Differential relays have acceptable
performance against transformers internal faults. However, the magnetization of transformers
may cause the inrush current. This inrush current may cause the differential relay to operate
incorrectly, and lead to separation of the power transformer from the network. To prevent
such a problem, it is necessary to detect the inrush current in power transformers and
consequently prevent the unnecessary operation of the differential relay. In this paper, a new
method is proposed using the Hilbert transform and the instantaneous frequency to detect the
inrush current. The applicability of the proposed method in the inrush current simultaneous
with the fault condition described using the PSCAD and MATLAB software.

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