Application Guide Volume III AG2015-09

Applying Directional and Torque Control to

Overcurrent Elements in SEL-351 Series Relays
George Alexander

INTRODUCTION
This application guide describes the procedure to set directional overcurrent elements in SEL-351
series relays. Other SEL relays use similar settings for directional and torque control.
The SEL-351 Protection System includes multiple directional elements. Different types of faults
require different directional elements. A positive-sequence directional element is used for three-
phase faults, a negative-sequence directional element is used for phase-to-phase faults, and the
Best Choice Ground Directional Element® logic is used for ground faults. The Best Choice
Ground Directional Element uses one of three independent directional elements: negative-
sequence impedance, zero-sequence impedance, or zero-sequence current polarized. The
SEL-351 may be ordered with other ground directional elements, including the following, for
certain applications.
• Zero-sequence voltage-polarized directional element (low-impedance grounded system).
• Wattmetric and incremental conductance directional elements (Petersen coil-grounded
system).
• Zero-sequence voltage-polarized directional element (ungrounded and high-impedance
grounded system).
However, these optional elements are not discussed in this application guide. All directional
elements are enabled by the E32 setting in the relay. Refer to the device instruction manual for
information on these directional elements.

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DIRECTIONAL CONTROL

Overview
There are two methods that may be used to add directional control to an overcurrent element.
A typical control logic diagram for the instantaneous overcurrent elements (50Pn, 50Gn, 50Nn,
and 50Qn) is shown in Figure 1.
Relay
Word Relay
Bit Word
50P1 Bits
67P1

67P1D
DIR1 Directional Control
67P1T
(Level 1) (asserted to logical 1 0
continuously if E32 = N)
SELOGIC®
Setting SELOGIC
Torque Control
67P1TC

Figure 1 67P1 Logic

In Figure 1, it is important to note that the 67P1 element is the 50P1 element with the directional
and torque control supervision (67P1TC) added. There is not a separate pickup level setting for
the 67P1 because it uses 50P1. The 50 elements remain active when directional or torque control
is used, and they are always nondirectional. Note that both the directional control (DIR1) and the
torque control (67P1TC) can be used simultaneously. If a definite-time delay is required, the
67P1D setting can be used. The Relay Word bit (RWB) for the time-delayed output is 67P1T.
The definite-time delay can be used with or without directional control, as determined by the E32,
DIR1, and 67P1TC settings.

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Figure 2 shows the logic diagram for a typical inverse-time overcurrent element (51Pn, 51Gn,
51Nn, and 51Qn).
Relay
Word
Bits
51P1 Pickup

Setting 51P1T Phase

51P1P – Time-Overcurrent Element
Torque Control Switch Curve Timing and Reset Timing Curve
Ip + 51P1T Timeout
Maximum Phase Settings
Current
51P1P Pickup
51P1C Curve Type
51P1TD Time Dial
Directional Control 51P1RS Electromechanical 51P1R Reset
(Level 1) (asserted to logical 1 Reset (Y/N)
continuously if E32 = N) TCP1 51P1CT Const. Time Add. SEL-351S Only
51P1MR Min. Response
SELOGIC
Settings SELOGIC
51P1TC Torque Control
Logic Point TCP1 Controls the Torque Control Switch

Torque Control Setting

Reset Timing
TCP1 State Switch Position 51P1RS =
Logical 1 Closed Y Electromechanical
Logical 0 Open N 1 Cycle

Figure 2 51P1 Logic

For the inverse-time overcurrent elements, the directional and torque control must be asserted
before the 51 element begins to time (TCP1 = logical 1). RWB 51P1 indicates that the current is
above the set pickup and the element is timing. RWB 51P1T indicates that the element has timed
out. RWB 51P1R asserts when the inverse-time overcurrent element has reset.

DIR1 Through DIR4 Settings

The directional element settings in the SEL-351 include directional control settings DIR1 Level 1
Direction, DIR2 Level 2 Direction, DIR3 Level 3 Direction, and DIR4 Level 4 Direction, as
shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 ACSELERATOR QuickSet® SEL-5030 Software Directional Settings Example

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A single DIR setting provides directional control to a group of overcurrent elements. To

determine which of the overcurrent elements are directionally controlled by the DIR1 through
DIR4 settings, refer to the instruction manual for the relay. For the SEL-351S Protection System,
for example, the DIRn settings control the overcurrent elements, as shown in Table 1. The DIRn
settings for other relays in the SEL-351 family are similar to those of the SEL-351S.

Table 1 Elements Controlled by DIR1 Through DIR4 in the SEL-351S

Setting Phase Negative Sequence Residual Ground Neutral Ground
67P1, 67P1T, 67Q1, 67Q1T, 67G1, 67G1T, 67N1, 67N1T,
DIR1
51P1T, 51P2T 51QT 51G1T, 51G2T 51N1T, 51N2T
67P2, 67P2T, 67Q2, 67Q2T, 67G2, 67G2T, 67N2, 67N2T,
DIR2
67P2S 67Q2S 67G2S 67N2S
DIR3 67P3, 67P3T 67Q3, 67Q3T 67G3, 67G3T 67N3, 67N3T
DIR4 67P4, 67P4T 67Q4, 67Q4T 67G4, 67G4T 67N4, 67N4T

DIRn controls the n level of instantaneous and definite-time overcurrent elements (67). In
addition, the DIR1 setting also adds directional control to the inverse-time overcurrent elements
(51).
Each of the DIR settings can be set to:
• N (elements are nondirectional).
• F (elements are directionally controlled in the forward direction).
• R (elements are directionally controlled in the reverse direction).
When one of the communications-assisted tripping schemes is used, the Level 2 elements must be
set to be directionally controlled in the forward direction and the Level 3 elements must be set to
be directionally controlled in the reverse direction.

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Torque Control Equations

If it is necessary to apply directional control to some, but not all, overcurrent elements of the
same level, the DIRn settings cannot be used. For example, if the 67P1 should be nondirectional
and the 67G1 should be directionally controlled in the forward direction, the DIR1 setting cannot
be used. In this case, each overcurrent element can be individually controlled by the SELOGIC
control equations for torque control. The torque control equations can use the directional elements
to control the overcurrent elements. This provides greater flexibility than the DIRn setting. Refer
to the SEL-351 Instruction Manual section “Directional Control Provided by Torque Control
Settings” for additional information. Typical torque control equations are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 QuickSet Torque Control Equations

When a torque control equation evaluates to a logical 1, the element is allowed to operate.

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RWBs are available for the individual forward and reverse directional elements included in the
SEL-351. The directional element RWBs shown in Table 2 and Table 3 can be used in the torque
control equations to customize the application of directional control.
Table 2 and Table 3 provide a list of the RWBs for the most commonly used directional elements.
The ORDER setting determines the Best Choice Ground Directional Element selection. The
ORDER setting is a combination of the Q, V, I, S, P, and U directional elements. This application
guide is limited to Q, V, and I. For most applications, the RWBs of Table 2 are used. RWBs
32GF and 32GR are used to control ground and neutral overcurrent (OC) elements. RWBs 32PF
and 32PR are used to control phase and negative-sequence overcurrent elements.

Table 2 Combined Directional Element RWBs

RWB Description
32GF Forward directional control for ground OC—Best Choice Ground Directional Element
32GR Reverse directional control for ground OC—Best Choice Ground Directional Element
32PF Forward directional control for phase and negative-sequence OC
32PR Reverse directional control for phase and negative-sequence OC

Table 3 Individual Directional Element RWBs

RWB Description
F32QG Forward negative-sequence directional element for ground
R32QG Reverse negative-sequence directional element for ground
F32V Forward zero-sequence voltage-polarized directional element
R32V Reverse zero-sequence voltage-polarized directional element
F32I Forward channel IN current-polarized directional element
R32I Reverse channel IN current-polarized directional element
F32Q Forward negative-sequence directional element for phase and negative-sequence OC
R32Q Reverse negative-sequence directional element for phase and negative-sequence OC
F32P Forward positive-sequence directional element
R32P Reverse positive-sequence directional element

APPLICATION EXAMPLES

Example 1
The following overcurrent elements are used in this example:
• Three levels of phase instantaneous.
• Three levels of residual ground instantaneous.
• One level of neutral ground instantaneous.
• One level of -phase time-overcurrent.
Note that SEL-351 series relays include two types of ground overcurrent elements. Residual
ground overcurrent elements (50G, 51G) operate from the residual (3I0) current calculated from

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the three phase currents. Neutral ground overcurrent elements (50N, 51N) operate on the single-
phase current connected to the neutral current transformer (CT) inputs of the relay.
The following directional control is desired:
• All Level 1 elements forward.
• All Level 2 elements forward.
• All Level 3 elements reverse.
As shown in Figure 1, the 50 elements are not directionally controlled in the SEL-351. The
50 elements are used to create the directionally controlled 67 elements. Therefore, the actual
overcurrent RWBs used in this example are:
• Level 1: 67P1, 67G1, 67N1, 51P1T.
• Level 2: 67P2, 67G2.
• Level 3: 67P3, 67G3.
In this example, the simplest method to directionally control the overcurrent elements is to use the
DIRn settings. To accomplish the desired control, apply the following settings:
DIR1 = F
DIR2 = F
DIR3 = R
The SELOGIC control equation for tripping is:
TR = 67P1 + 67G1 + 67N1 + 67P2 + 67G2 + 67P3 + 67G3 + 51P1T
No time delay is specified for the 67 elements. If time delay is required, the appropriate definite-
time overcurrent RWB should be used (67P1T, 67G1T, and so on).
The default torque control equations for these overcurrent elements are:
67P1TC = SH0
67P2TC = 1
67P3TC = 1
67N1TC = 1
67G1TC = 1
67G2TC = 1
67G3TC = 1
51P1TC = 1
All torque control equations are set equal to logical 1 except 67P1TC. RWB SH0 indicates that
the built-in recloser logic has not issued an automatic reclose signal. When an automatic reclose
signal is initiated, the shot counter advances. At the first reclose, RWB SH0 deasserts, causing
67P1TC to deassert. The 67P1 overcurrent element will be blocked. Thus, the 67P1TC setting
disables the 67P1 element during an automatic reclose cycle. If the 67P1 element should always
be in service and in the forward direction, set 67P1TC = 1.

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Example 2
The following overcurrent elements are used in this example:
• Three levels of phase instantaneous elements.
• Three levels of residual instantaneous elements.
• One level of neutral instantaneous elements.
• One level of inverse-phase time overcurrent elements.
The following directional control is desired:
• Phase and residual ground Level 1 elements should be nondirectional.
• Neutral ground and phase time-overcurrent elements should be forward.
• Phase and residual ground Level 2 elements should be forward.
• Phase Level 3 instantaneous elements should be forward.
• Residual ground Level 3 instantaneous elements should be reverse.
As shown in Figure 1, the 50 elements are not directionally controlled in the SEL-351. The
50 elements are used to create the directionally controlled 67 elements. Therefore, the overcurrent
RWBs for the directionally controlled overcurrent elements used in this application are:
• Level 1: 67N1, 51P1T.
• Level 2: 67P2, 67G2.
• Level 3: 67P3, 67G3.
For the nondirectional overcurrent elements, the following RWBs can be used:
• 50P1.
• 50G1.
No time delay is specified for the 67 elements. If time delay is required, the appropriate definite-
time overcurrent element RWB should be used (67N1T, 67P2T, and so on).
Several approaches can be used to obtain the desired directional control. One such approach is as
follows. Set:
DIR1 = F
DIR2 = F
DIR3 = N
67P3TC = 32PF
67G3TC = 32GR
Setting DIR1 = F directionally controls all Level 1 overcurrent elements in the forward direction.
However, as shown in Figure 1, while the 67P1 and 67G1 elements are directionally controlled,
the 50P1 and 50G1 elements are nondirectional. Thus, the 50P1 and 50G1 elements can still be
used to provide nondirectional tripping when DIR1 = F or DIR1 = R.
Because one of the Level 3 overcurrent elements is required to be forward and the other reverse,
the DIR3 setting must be set to N (nondirectional) and the torque control equations must be used
to provide the desired directional control.

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The SELOGIC control equation for tripping is:

TR = 50P1 + 50G1 + 67N1 + 67P2 + 67G2 + 67P3 + 67G3 + 51P1T
The same directional control results may be obtained by setting DIR1 = N and using the 67P1TC
and 67G1TC torque control equations:
DIR1 = N
DIR2 = F
DIR3 = N
67P1TC = 1
67G1TC = 1
67N1TC = 32NF
51P1TC = 32PF
67P3TC = 32PF
67G3TC = 32GR
With these settings, either 67P1 or 50P1 (67G1 or 50G1) can be used in the logic because they
respond the same.
If a definite-time delay is required for either the phase or ground Level 1 overcurrent elements,
use the time-delay settings 67P1D and 67G1D. The SELOGIC control equation for tripping is
then:
TR = 67P1T + 67G1T + 67N1 + 67P2 + 67G2 + 67P3 + 67G3 + 51P1T

Example 3
The torque control equations are not limited to directional control. Many different types of logic
can be used to provide control of the overcurrent elements. Consider the default settings in the
SEL-351S. Pushbutton 1 (PB1) is used to enable and disable ground protection. This is
accomplished with several SELOGIC control equations, as follows:
SET4 = !LT4*PB5
RST4 = LT4*PB5
SET1 = !LT1*PB1*LT4
RST1 = LT1*PB1*LT4
51G1TC = LT1
PB5 is used to lock PB1 to prevent an accidental change in the ground enable status. The SET4
and RST4 logic equations control Latch Bit 4 (LT4). LT4 toggles the lock on and off each time
PB5 is pressed. When Latch Bit LT4 is asserted (lock off), PB1 toggles Latch Bit LT1 on and off.
When LT1 is asserted, 51G1TC is a logical 1 and the 51G1 element can time out. When LT1 is
deasserted, 51G1TC is a logical 0 and the 51G1 element is prevented from asserting and timing
out.

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CONCLUSION
Directional control of the SEL-351 overcurrent elements may be accomplished using two
methods:
• DIR1 through DIR4 settings provide a simple means to directionally control groups of
overcurrent elements with a single setting.
• Torque control equations provide a means to customize the directional control for each
overcurrent element.
Choose the method best suited for the particular application. See the SEL-351 Instruction Manual
section “Directional Control Provided by Torque Control Settings” for additional information.
Detailed information on the design, operation, and setting of the various directional elements in
SEL-351 series relays is available in the device instruction manuals and in a number of SEL
technical papers, which can be downloaded at https://www.selinc.com.

FACTORY ASSISTANCE
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2350 NE Hopkins Court
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Telephone: +1.509.332.1890
Fax: +1.509.332.7990
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U.S. and Foreign patents. *AG2015-09*
SEL Application Guide 2015-09 Date Code 20150310