• 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. (IEEE)
 Functions of Protective Relaying
 To sound an alarm or to close the trip circuit of circuit breaker
so as to disconnect a component during an abnormal condition
in the component, which include over-load, under-voltage,
temperature rise, unbalanced load, reverse power, under
frequency, short circuits, etc.

 To disconnect the abnormally operating part so as to prevent

the subsequent faults, e.g. over-load protection of a machine
protects the machine and prevents insulation failure.

 To disconnect the faulty part quickly so as to minimize the

damage to the faulty part, e.g. if a machine is disconnected
immediately after a winding fault, only a few coils may need
replacement. If the fault is sustained, entire winding may get
damaged & the machine may be beyond repair.
 To localize the effect of fault by disconnecting the faulty part,
from the healthy part, causing least disturbance to the healthy
system.
 To disconnect the faulty part quickly so as to improve the
service continuity & system performance.

Faults cannot be avoided completely. They can be

minimized. Protective relaying plays an important role in
minimizing the faults & also in minimizing the damage in
the event of faults.
 Faults can be minimized by taking the
following measures:
 Improvement in the quality of machines, equipment, installation,
etc. by improvement in design, manufacturing techniques,
materials, quality control, adequate testing, research &
development.

 Improvement in system design, correct layout, choice of

equipment.

 Adequate & reliable protection systems; control.

 Regular & detailed maintenance by trained personnel.

 Trained personnel for operation & management of electrical

plant.
 Protection Zones
• The power system is divided into protection zones defined
by the equipment and available circuit breakers. Six
possible protection zones are listed below:
– Generators and generator-transformer units
– Transformers
– Buses
– Lines (Transmission, sub transmission, and distribution)
– Utilization equipment
– Capacitor or reactor banks
 Each zone covers one or two power system components.

 Neighboring zones overlap so that no ‘dead spot’ are left in the protected
system.

 The boundary of a protective zone is determined by the location of current

transformers. Hence, CTs are located such that the CBs are covered in the
protective zone.

 The zones can be precisely identified in unit systems.

 Unit system is one in which the protection responds to faults in the

protected zone alone, & it does not respond to faults beyond the protected
zone.

 Non-unit systems, such as over-current protection, do not have exact zone

boundary.

 Each zone has certain protective scheme & each protective scheme has
several protective systems.
 Protection Zones &
Overlapping of Zones
TYPES OF PROTECTION
When fault occurs in any part of system, it must be cleared
quickly to avoid damage or interference with rest of the system.
Protection scheme is divided into two classes:
 Primary protection: It is first to act.
 Back up protection: It is next in line of defense.
 Relay back-up: Same breaker is used by both main &
back-up protection, but the protective systems are
different. Separate trip coils may be provided for the same
breaker.
 Breaker Back-up: Different breakers are provided for
main & back-up protection, both the breakers being in the
same station.
 Remote Back-up: The main & back-up protections
provided at different stations & are completely
independent.
The causes of failure of a protective scheme may be due to
the failure of various elements as mentioned below:
 Back up protection by Time Grading Principle:
The tripping time at locations are graded in such a way that
the CB nearest the faulty part operate first, giving primary
protection. The CB at previous station operates only as back-
up.
0.1 Sec
0.6 Sec
1.0 Sec
 Back up protection by Duplication Principle:
 In this form of protection, the important protective devices (relays, CBs,
auxiliaries, etc.) are duplicated.
 Both primary & back-up protections are provided at the same station & are
arranged to operate at the same speed, i.e. as fast as possible.
 Such protection is costly & cost is justified for protection of EHV
transmission lines, bus bars, large generators, large transformers, etc.
 If the cost of separate CB is not justified, same CB with two independent
trip coils can be employed, one for each protection.

Merits of Duplication Back-up Principle:

 Fast & almost simultaneous fault clearing.
 Complete reliability can be assured.

However, the duplication should be economically justified.

 Monitoring:
 Monitoring means checking the performance & is used as
an alternative to duplicate protection.
 It is a continuous process of monitoring instrument
transformers, relays, CBs, trip circuits, and other
components of primary protection.
 The monitoring devices continuously switch ’in’ and ‘out’
& determine whether the component is in working order
& operational readiness.
 CBs are actually not tripped but are provided a test
circuit to facilitate the monitoring. The monitoring is
achieved by means of high frequency signals.
 Basic Objectives of System Protection
or
Fundamental requirements of Protective Relaying

• Selectivity
• Speed
• Sensitivity
• Reliability
• Simplicity
• Economy
Selectivity:
It is the ability of the protective system to select correctly that part of
the system in trouble and disconnect the faulty part without
disturbing the rest of the system.
A well-designed and efficient relay system should be selective i.e. it
should be able to detect the point at which fault occurs and cause
the opening of the circuit breakers closest to the fault with minimum
or no damage to the system.
In order to provide selectivity to the system, it is a usual practice to
divide entire system into several protection zones.

If fault occurs at bus-

bars on the last zone,
then only breakers
nearest to the fault
should open.
Speed:
The relay system should disconnect the faulty section as fast
as possible for the following reasons:

 Electrical apparatus may be damaged if they are made to

carry the fault currents for a long time.

 A failure on the system leads to a great reduction in the system

voltage. If the faulty section is not disconnected
quickly, then the low voltage created by the fault may shut
down consumers’ motors and the generators on the system may
become unstable.

 The high speed relay system decreases the possibility of

development of one type of fault into the other more severe
type.
Sensitivity:
It is the ability of the relay system to operate
with low value of actuating quantity. Sensitivity of a
relay is a function of the volt-
ampere input to the coil of the relay necessary to cause
its operation.
The smaller the volt-
ampere input required to cause relay operation, the more
sensitive is the relay. Thus, a I VA relay is more sensitive than
a 3 VA relay. It is desirable that relay system should
be sensitive so that it operates with low values of volt
ampere input.
Reliability:
It is the ability of the relay system to operate under the
pre- determined conditions.
Without reliability, the protection would be rendered largely
ineffective and could even become a liability.

Simplicity:
The relaying system should be simple so that it can be
easily maintained. Reliability is closely related to simplicity.
The simpler the protection scheme, the greater will be its
reliability.
Economy:
The most important factor in the choice of a particular
protection scheme is the economic aspect. Sometimes it is
economically unjustified to use an ideal scheme of
protection and a compromise scheme has to be
adopted. The protective gear should not cost more than
5% of the total cost. However, when the apparatus to
be protected is of utmost importance (eg. generator,
main transmission line etc.), economic considerations are
often subordinated to reliability
Questions
Q.1: Summarize the function of protective relays and how to minimize the faults in electric
power system?
Q.2: Interpret the zone of power system protection zones and its attribute. Also describe the
types of protection schemes used and its corresponding benefits.
Q.3: Interpret the backup protection by duplicate principle with monitoring protection scheme
in term of economic.
Q.4: Summarize the basic objective of power system protection requirement in power system.
References:

1. Power System Protection & Switchgear, Badri Ram, D N Vishvakarma,

Tata MicGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd, 2006,ISBN 0-07-462350-8.
2. Switchgear & Protection, Sunail S. Rao, Khana Publishers, 1997.
3. Power System Protection & Switchgear, B Ravindarnath & M Chandar,
New Age Int. Publishers, 2008, ISBN-81-085226-758-4.
4. Principles of Power System, V K Mehata & Rohit Mehta, S. Chand &
Company Ltd, 2006, ISBN-81-219-0594-X.
5. A Text Book of Power System Engineering, R K Rajput, Laxmi Publication,
2006.
6. Switchgear & Power System Protection, Ravidra P. Singh, PHI Learning
Private Ltd, 2009, ISBN-978-81-203-3660-5.