ECE 765 - Module 1 - Final

Module 1: Protection
System Requirements
Presented by: S. Azad

ECE Department
Agenda
 Overview of power system structure
 Causes and types of faults
 Need for protection
 Elements of protection systems
 Protection system cost
 Protection system main requirements
Module 1: Protection System Requirements 2

Overview of Power System Structure
 Components of power system:
 Generation ⇒ Module 11
 Transmission ⇒ Modules 7 and 8
 Distribution ⇒ Modules 4, 5 and 6
 Load ⇒ Module 12
 Transformer ⇒ Module 9
 Busbar ⇒ Module 10
Source: ABB
Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 3

Major Causes of Power System Faults
 Lightning (50% of faults)
 Wind
 Falling trees
 Ice and snow storm
 Flying objects such as kites
 Moisture and salt (insulation contamination)
 Birds and other animals
 Broken conductors
 Diggers
 Oil leakage from cables
 Cable aging
 Mechanical damages to machines

Major Causes of Power System Faults
 Insulation aging and damage
 External insulation
 Line insulators
 Equipment bushing
 Internal insulation
 Oil, paper, and polymers
 …

Major Types of Power System Faults
 Balanced versus unbalanced
 Short-circuit (shunt) versus open-

circuit (series)

Short-Circuit Faults
Fault Type HV EHV
 Balanced (three-phase faults) [%] [%]
 Unbalanced Single-phase-to-ground 70 93
 Single-phase-to-ground Phase-to-phase 15 4
 Phase-to-phase phase-phase-to-ground 10 2
 Phase-to-phase-to-ground Three-phase-to-ground 5 1
Source: Cigre
 Majority of faults are unbalanced

Cross-Country Faults
 Two subsequent single-

phase-to-ground faults at
different locations
 These faults can involve
same or different phases
 Fault between adjacent
parallel lines

Open-Circuit Faults
 Types
 Single-phase open-circuit fault (unbalanced)
 Two-phase open-circuit fault (unbalanced)
 Three-phase open-circuit fault (balanced)

𝐼
 Open phase with one end falling to earth (unbalanced)
 Causes
 Broken conductor and joint failure of cables and overhead lines
 Malfunctioning of circuit breakers in one or more phases
 Melting of a fuse or conductor in one or more phases
 Impact
 Danger to the personnel
 Abnormal system operation and overvoltages in certain parts of the network
 Insulation failure and consequently short circuit faults

Need for Protection
 Faults on power system result in
 Large currents that result in burning of conductors or equipment windings
 Explosion of oil-filled switchgear
 Arcing and dissipation of large amounts of energy
 Danger (shock or burn) to the public from direct contact with the faulted equipment
 Fumes released from burning insulation
 Damages to adjacent plants (loss of generators) and loads (motors stall) due to voltage dips
 Loss of synchronism in the power system
 Dislodging of windings and bus-bars due to high magnetic forces caused by short-circuit currents
 Faults must be cleared quickly
 2-3 cycles for HV systems
 5-20 cycles for MV and LV systems

Protection System Objective
 To provide a reliable supply of energy to the end consumer
 Protection of power system components
 Protection of people
 Protection of equipment in close proximity to the power system
 Minimization of supply disruption to adjacent healthy parts
 Identification and separation of the faulted part of the system
 Restoration of the power system

Protection System Components
Communication
 For overcurrent protection System
 Instrument transformers
CTs &
 Protective relays VTs
 Fault current interrupters
 Battery and DC supply

Protective
 Communication system Power Relays
System
Circuit
Breakers
Battery

Instrument Transformers and Circuit Breakers

Instrument Transformers and Circuit Breakers
VT CT CB
CCVT

Disconnectors or Isolators

Protective Relay
“A relay whose function is to detect defective lines or apparatus or other
power system conditions of an abnormal or dangerous nature and to initiate
appropriate control circuit action”.

Protection System Components
 For overvoltage protection
 Shielding wires
 Protective gaps
 Termination with cables
 Surge arresters (e.g., lightning arresters )

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Power System Overvoltages
 Lightning surges
 Switching surges
 Power frequency (50 or 60 Hz) overvoltages
 Sustained overvoltages at the fundamental power frequency component (60Hz) or at

harmonic frequencies (120 Hz and 180 Hz), which occur due to Ferroresonance or permanent
faults.

Lightning
 Cloud-to-ground lightning is the greatest single cause of overhead transmission
and distribution line outages.
 Electrical phenomenon:
 Falling raindrops attract negative charges and leave behind masses of positive charged air
 Falling raindrops bring the negative charge to the bottom of the cloud and upward air
drafts carry the positively charged air to the top of the cloud.
 Negative charges at the bottom of the cloud induce a positively charged region or
shadow on the earth directly below the cloud.
 The electric field lines originate from the positive

charges and terminate at the negative charges.
 When voltage gradients reach the breakdown

strength of the humid air within the cloud, an
ionized path is formed and a lightning discharge
occurs.

Lightning Surges
 Lightning current typically rises to a peak value within 1 to 10𝜇𝑠, and then
diminishes to ½ the peak within 20 to 100 𝜇𝑠.

Switching Surges
 Causes
 Energization
 Capacitor bank switching
 Opening and closing of circuit breakers for fault clearing and restoration
 Magnitude of overvoltages due to lightning is not affected by the system

voltage.
 Overvoltages due to switching surges are directly proportional to the system
voltage.
 Switching surges become the limiting factor in insulation coordination for
system voltages above 345 kV.

Shield Wires Shield wires
 Shield wires installed above phase conductors

can shield the phase conductor from direct
lightning strikes.
Phase conductors
 Chance of a direct hit to phase conductors
located within ±30° arcs beneath the shield wire
is reduced by a factor of 1000.

A
Protective (Horn) Gaps B
 Consist of two electrodes, spaced in the

air at a specific distance, with one
electrode connected to ground and the
second electrode to the line potential.
 “Arcing horns form a spark gap across
the insulator with a lower breakdown
voltage than the air path along the
insulator surface, so an overvoltage will
cause the air to break down and the arc
to form between the arcing horns,
diverting it away from the surface of the
insulator”.
Source: Wikipedia
Termination with Cables
 Surge impedance of lines versus cables
 To protect an equipment at the end of an

overhead line, a cable section is used to connect
the line and the equipment.
 The surge voltage to the equipment can be
reduced through refraction.
 Refraction coefficient is , where 𝑍 and 𝑍

are respectively the characteristic impedances
of the overhead line and cable with 𝑍 𝑍 .
Source: Wikipedia
3-conductor
Potheads

Surge Arresters
 Protect high cost equipment from transient overvoltages.
 Connected in parallel with the equipment from each phase to ground.
 Characteristics
 High or infinite impedance during normal system voltages
 Low impedance during surges to limit voltage
 Dissipate or store the energy in the surge without damage to itself
 Return to open circuit condition after the passage of a surge
 Examples
 SiC arrester
 Metal oxide varistor (MOV) such as zinc oxide arrester

Surge Arresters
Insulators
Arresters
Lightning
arresters

Insulation Coordination
 Insulation strength depends on
 The magnitude of the stress
 The rate at which it is applied
 The duration of the stress
 Statistical nature of breakdown
 If a number of supposedly identical tests are made on a number of supposedly identical insulation
samples, the breakdown voltage will vary from test to test.
 Insulation coordination
 Definition: Process of correlating electric equipment insulation strength with the protective
device characteristics so that the equipment is protected against overvoltages.
 Objective: Design the insulation of a power system with all its components to minimize
damage and interruption of service in an economic fashion.

Insulation Coordination
 Volt-time curve: Joining the time of the breakdown and the peak of the voltage
supported during the test.
 Critical flashover voltage (CFO): The voltage at which flashover occur 50% of
the time.
 Volt-time curve of the protective device must be well below the volt-time curve
of the equipment to be protected.

TIME TO FOCUS

Protection System Cost
 There is a trade-off between the cost of protection and cost of potential

hazards
 Total protection cost is associated with
 Protective relays
 Circuit breakers
 Instrument transformers
 Short circuit studies
 Commissioning
 Maintenance and repair
 Damage repair due to protection system failure
 Service discontinuity due to unnecessary operation of the protection system

Protection Cost in Transmission Networks
 The reliability of the protection system has priority over the protection cost.
 The high capital cost of power system components in the transmission networks
justify the higher protection costs.
 Duplicate protection is used to improve reliability.
 Unit protection is used to provide fast protection.
 Single phase tripping and reclosing may be required to restore system operation
in a timely manner.

Protection Cost in Distribution Networks
 Economics play an important role in determining the reliability level of the

protection system.
 Large number of distribution points, feeders and transformers exist in the
distribution network.
 The consequences of protection system failure are less severe compared to that
of transmission networks.
 Compared to transmission networks, distribution systems are equipped with
slower protection systems.
 Back up protection (mostly inherent) is used to improve reliability.

Protection System Main Requirements
 Reliability
 Selectivity
 High Speed
 Sensitivity
 Availability
 Simplicity
 Flexibility
 Redundancy

Reliability
 Dependability:
 Defined as “the degree of certainty that a relay will operate correctly”.
 Dependability can be improved by using backup protection.
 Security:
 Defined as “ the degree of certainty that a relay will not operate incorrectly.
 If security is not high enough, unnecessary trips may occur.
 Critical cases include
 Faults on adjacent sections
 Load switching Dependability
 Power swings
Security

Reliability
 Example
 Fault F on the transmission line
 Resulted in operation of R1
 R2 did not operate for this fault
 Loss of dependability or security?
 R5 operated through breaker B5 before operation of B2
 Loss of dependability or security?

Selectivity
 Defined as “the process of applying and setting the protective relays that
overreach other relays such that they operate as fast as possible within their
primary zone but have delayed operation in their backup zone”.
 Selectivity can be achieved by
 Time grading
 Impedance grading
 Unit protection

Protection Zones
 Categories
 Generators and generator–transformer units
 Transformers
 Buses
 Lines (transmission, sub-transmission, and distribution)
 Utilization equipment (motors, static loads, or other)
 Capacitor or reactor banks (when separately protected).
 Protection zones are bounded by CTs and CBs.

 CTs provide the ability to detect the fault inside the zone of protection.
 CBs provide the ability to isolate the fault by disconnecting the power equipment
inside the protection zone.
 All power system elements must be encompassed by at least one zone.
 Zones of protection must overlap to prevent any system element from being
unprotected.

Protection Zones

Protection Zones
 Open protection zone: Zone of protection is not clearly defined by the CTs and
limit of the zone varies with the fault current.
 Closed protection zone: Zone of protection is clearly defined.
 Example:
 Fault F1 lies in a closed zone ⇒ B1 and B2 trip
 Fault F2 lies in the closed protection zones of the transmission line and the bus ⇒ B1, B2, B3
and B4 trip.
 Fault F3 lies in two open protection zones ⇒ B6 trips and B5 acts as the back up.

Speed
 Minimizes damage and danger
 Faster operation can be accomplished 205 MW air cooled generator core fault
by more complex and a higher-cost
protection
 High speed protection may result in an
increased number of undesired
operations.
 Relay classification based on operation
speed
 Instantaneous: No intentional time delay is
introduced
 Time delay: An intentional time delay is
introduced between the decision time and
trip initiation instant.
 Modern high-speed circuit breakers
operate in the range of 17–50 ms (one
to three cycles at 60 Hz). Source: EMC Elite Engineering services

Sensitivity, Availability, Simplicity and Flexibility
 Sensitivity
 Protection system capability to operate correctly even in a case of small fault currents and
high fault impedances
 Availability
 Minimum down time for repair and maintenance
 Simplicity
 Minimum equipment and control circuits
 Flexibility
 Adaptation with respect to the changes in the power system

Redundancy
 Primary protection system: Main protection system for a given protection zone
 Alternative protection systems required to clear the fault if the primary

protections system fails:
 Duplicate
 Backup
 Breaker failure protection

Duplicate Protection
 For EHV and HV systems, large transformers and generators
 High cost of transducers and CBs in HV and EHV systems ⇒ Relays are duplicated
 Cover the failure of a relay
 Relay from a different manufacturer
 Different relay operating principles
 Operation time of the primary and duplicate relays is the same
 May use the same or different protection elements as the primary protection

CT
CT
Primary
Relay VT
VT
Circuit DC system,
Trip Coil e.g., battery
Breaker
Duplicate
relay

CT
Primary
Trip Coil
Relay VT
VT
Circuit
Breaker DC system,
e.g., battery
Trip coil Duplicate

relay
CT

Backup Protection
 On lower voltage systems, relays are not duplicated.
 Backup relays are slower than primary relays.
 Types
 Local
 Remote

Local and Remote Backup Protection
 Local backup  Remote backup
 Same substation as the primary  Different substation from the primary
 Uses same elements (transducers, and  Uses different elements

batteries) as the primary system
 No common failures can affect both sets
 Can fail for the same reason as the of relays
primary
 May result in loss of large sections of the
 Breaker failure backup protection system

Breaker Failure Backup Protection
 Example:
 A separate timer that is energized whenever the breaker trip coil is energized.
 If the fault current persists for longer than the timer setting, a trip signal is given to all local
and remote breakers that are required to clear the fault.
 The timer is de-energized when the fault current through the breaker disappears.
 Separate relays with independent transducers and batteries can be used to

detect breaker failures.
Trip local and Breaker Current

Timer sensor
remote CBs failure flag
CTs
CB Protective
(Failed) Relay
VTs

Redundancy
 Example:
 R1: Primary protection
 R2 :Duplicate relay (may use the same or different protection elements as R1)
 R3: Local backup relay and slower than R1 and R2, provides breaker failure protection for B1.
It will first attempt to trip breaker B1 and then its breaker failure relay will trip breakers B5,
B6, B7, and B8.
 Relays R9, R10, and R4 constitute the remote backup protection for R1.

This lecture is developed based on the following two books:
“Power system relaying” by Howritz and Phadke
“Protective Relaying” by Lewis Blackburn.
PAGE 51

ECE 765 - Module 1 - Final

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Module 1: Protection

Presented by: S. Azad

 Overview of power system structure

 Causes and types of faults

 Need for protection

 Elements of protection systems

 Protection system cost

 Protection system main requirements

Module 1: Protection System Requirements 2

 Components of power system:

 Transmission ⇒ Modules 7 and 8

 Distribution ⇒ Modules 4, 5 and 6

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 3

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 4

 Insulation aging and damage

 Oil, paper, and polymers

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 5

 Balanced versus unbalanced

 Short-circuit (shunt) versus open-

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 6

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 7

 Two subsequent single-

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 8

 Two-phase open-circuit fault (unbalanced)

 Three-phase open-circuit fault (balanced)

 Malfunctioning of circuit breakers in one or more phases

 Melting of a fuse or conductor in one or more phases

 Abnormal system operation and overvoltages in certain parts of the network

 Insulation failure and consequently short circuit faults

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 9

 Faults on power system result in

 Large currents that result in burning of conductors or equipment windings

 Explosion of oil-filled switchgear

 Arcing and dissipation of large amounts of energy

 Fumes released from burning insulation

 Loss of synchronism in the power system

 Faults must be cleared quickly

 2-3 cycles for HV systems

 5-20 cycles for MV and LV systems

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 10

 To provide a reliable supply of energy to the end consumer

 Protection of power system components

 Protection of equipment in close proximity to the power system

 Minimization of supply disruption to adjacent healthy parts

 Identification and separation of the faulted part of the system

 Restoration of the power system

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 11

 Battery and DC supply

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 12

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 13

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 14

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 15

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 16

 For overvoltage protection

 Termination with cables

 Surge arresters (e.g., lightning arresters )

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 17

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 18

 Power frequency (50 or 60 Hz) overvoltages

 Sustained overvoltages at the fundamental power frequency component (60Hz) or at

Module 1: Protection System Requirements PAGE 19

 The electric field lines originate from the positive

 When voltage gradients reach the breakdown