Protective Relay Protection Element Tests

The following is a summary of protective relay functions and their appropriate protection
element tests.

  

Note: This summary is provided for reference only. Consult your

specific relay manufacturer's instructions for complete testing
guidelines. Further information on testing and maintenance
procedures can be found in the Relay Testing and Maintenance
Guide

2/62 Timing Relay

Functions to give a desired amount of time delay before or after any
point of operation in a switching sequence or protective relay system.
Serves in conjunction with the device that initiates the shutdown,
stopping, or opening operation in an automatic sequence or protective
relay system.

1. Determine time delay.

2. Verify operation of instantaneous contacts.

21 Distance Relay
Functions when the circuit admittance, impedance or reactance
increases or decreases beyond predetermined limits. Distance relays
respond to the voltage and current (impedance) at the relay location.

1. Determine maximum reach.

2. Determine maximum torque angle and directional
characteristic.
3. Determine offset.
4. Plot impedance circle.
24 Volts per Hertz Relay
A relay with an instantaneous or a time characteristic that functions
when the ratio of voltage to frequency (V/Hz) exceeds a preset value.
Used to protect generator and step-up transformer from damage due to
excessive magnetic flux resulting from low frequency and/or overvoltage.

1. Determine pickup frequency at rated voltage.

2. Determine pickup frequency at a second voltage level.
3. Determine time delay.

25 Sync Check Relay

Synchronizing or Synchronism-Check Device operates when two a-c
circuits are within the desired limits of frequency, phase angle, or
voltage, to permit or to cause the paralleling of these two circuits.

The primary application of this relay is in situations that require

verification that synchronism exists prior to closing a circuit breaker.
These include the paralleling of a generator to a system, reestablishing
an interconnection between two parts of a power system, and
supervision of fast transfer schemes where fast pickup and dropout of
the phase measuring circuit and required.

1. Determine closing zone at rated voltage.

2. Determine maximum voltage differential that permits closing at
zero degrees.
3. Determine live line, live bus, dead line, and dead bus set
points.
4. Determine time delay.
5. Determine advanced closing angle.
 6. Verify dead bus/live line, dead line/live bus and dead
bus/dead line control functions.

27 Undervoltage Relay
Functions when a given voltage value falls below a predetermined value.
The typical uses for this relay function include bus undervoltage
protection, source transfer schemes, permissive functions, backup
functions and timing applications.

1. Determine dropout voltage.

2. Determine time delay.
3. Determine time delay at a second point on the timing curve for
inverse time relays.

32 Directional Power Relay

Functions on a desired value of power flow in a given direction, or upon
reverse power resulting from arcback in the anode or cathode circuits of
a power rectifier. Used in installations where a generator runs in parallel
with the utility or another generator so as to prevent power from the bus
bar or another generator from flowing back to the active generator when
its output fails.

1. Determine minimum pickup at maximum torque angle.

2. Determine tripping/closing zone.
3. Determine maximum torque angle.
4. Determine time delay.
5. Verify time delay at a second point on the timing curve for
inverse time relays.
6. Plot the operating characteristic.
40 Loss of Field (Impedance) Relay
Functions on a given or abnormally low value or failure of a machine
field current, or on excessive value of the reactive component of
armature current in an a-c machine indicating abnormally low field
excitation. Used for loss of excitation protection of a generator operating
in parallel with other system generators.

1. Determine maximum reach.

2. Determine maximum torque angle.
3. Determine offset.
4. Plot impedance circle.

46 Current Balance Relay

Functions when polyphase currents are of reverse-phase sequence, or
when polyphase currents are unbalanced or contain negative phase-
sequence components above a given amount. Used for the protection of
lines and of three- phase machines, especially motors and synchronous
converters against damage that is caused by phase- unbalancing and
single-phase operation.

1. Determine pickup of each unit.

2. Determine percent slope.
3. Determine time delay.
46N Negative Sequence Current Relay

1. Determine negative sequence alarm level.

2. Determine negative sequence minimum trip level.
3. Determine maximum time delay.
 4. Verify two points on the (I2)2t curve.

47 Phase Sequence or Phase Balance Voltage Relay

Functions on a predetermined value of polyphase voltage in the desired
phase sequence. Provides protection for rotating equipment from the
damaging effects of excessive negative sequence voltage resulting from
phase failure, phase unbalance and reversed phase sequence.

1. Determine positive sequence voltage to close the normally

open contact.
2. Determine positive sequence voltage to open the normally
closed contact (undervoltage trip).
3. Verify negative sequence trip.
4. Determine time delay to close the normally open contact with
sudden application of 120 percent of pickup.
5. Determine time delay to close the normally closed contact
upon removal of voltage when previously set to rated system
voltage.

49R Thermal Replica Relay

Functions when the temperature of a machine armature or other load-
carrying winding or element of a machine or the temperature of a power
rectifier or power transformer (including a power rectifier transformer)
exceeds a predetermined value.

1. Determine time delay at 300 percent of setting.

2. Determine a second point on the operating curve.
3. Determine pickup.
49T Temperature (RTD) Relay
Used to protect motors and generators which are equipped with a
resistance-temperature-detector (RTD) against overtemperature. The
relay may be used as a protective device to trip the machine on
overtemperature or as an alarm to reduce loading of the machine.

1. Determine trip resistance.

2. Determine reset resistance.

50 Instantaneous Overcurrent Relay

Functions instantaneously on an excessive value of current or on an
excessive rate of current rise, thus indicating a fault in the apparatus or
circuit being protected. Instantaneous overcurrent relays have no
inherent time delay and are used for fast short-circuit protection.

1. Determine pickup.
2. Determine dropout.
3. Determine time delay.

50BF Breaker Failure

Breaker failure relaying is the use of a current monitoring relay to
determine whether or not current continues to flow into a faulted circuit
some time after a circuit breaker has been instructed to interrupt the
circuit. In the event that current continues to flow into the faulted circuit,
then the circuit breaker is considered to have failed.

1. Determine current supervision pickup.

2. Determine time delays.
3. Test all inputs and outputs. Test all used initiate inputs and all
used outputs.
51 Time Overcurrent
A relay with either a definite or inverse time characteristic that functions
when the current in an a-c circuit exceed a predetermined value.

1. Determine minimum pickup.

2. Determine time delay at two points on the time current curve.

55 Power Factor Relay

Operates when the power factor in an a-c circuit rises above or falls
below a predetermined value.

1. Determine tripping angle.

2. Determine time delay.

59 Overvoltage Relay
Functions on a given value of over-voltage. Provides reliable protection
for generators, motors, and transformers against adverse system voltage
conditions.

1. Determine overvoltage pickup.

2. Determine time delay to close the contact with sudden
application of 120 percent of pickup.

60 Voltage Balance Relay

Operates on a given difference in voltage, or current input or output, or
two circuits. Provides high speed protection for power systems
equipment and protective systems from misoperation or false tripping in
the event of a sudden loss of sensing potential resulting from a blown
fuse.

1. Determine voltage difference to close the contacts with one

source at rated voltage.
2. Plot the operating curve for the relay.

63 Transformer Sudden Pressure Relay

Operates on given values of liquid or gas pressure or on given rates of
change of these values. Transformer Sudden Pressure relays respond to
the sudden increase in gas pressure in a power transformer which would
be caused by an internal arc.

1. Determine rate-of-rise or the pickup level of suddenly applied

pressure in accordance with manufacturer's published data.
2. Verify operation of the 63 FPX seal-in circuit.
3. Verify trip circuit to remote operating device.

64 Ground Detector Relay

Operates upon failure of machine or other apparatus insulation to
ground. This function is assigned only to a relay that detects the flow of
current from the frame of a machine or enclosing case or structure of
piece of apparatus to ground, or detects a ground on a normally
ungrounded winding or circuit. It is not applied to a device connected in
the secondary circuit of current transformer, in the secondary neutral of
current transformers, connected in the power circuit of a normally
grounded system.

1. Determine maximum impedance to ground causing relay

pickup.
67 Directional Overcurrent Relay
Functions on a desired value of a-c over-current flowing in a
predetermined direction. Polarization is the method used by the relay to
determine the direction of current flow.

1. Determine directional unit minimum pickup at maximum

torque angle.
2. Determine tripping zone.
3. Determine maximum torque angle.
4. Plot operating characteristics.
5. Determine overcurrent unit pickup.
6. Determine overcurrent unit time delay at two points on the
time current curve.

79 Reclosing Relay
Controls the automatic reclosing and locking out of an a-c circuit
interrupter after they have been opened by overcurrent or other
protective relay action. The relay may be adjusted to provide several
reclosures at predetermined time intervals, so that in case the breaker
does not remain closed after the first reclosure additional reclosures will
be made.

1. Determine time delay for each programmed reclosing interval.

2. Verify lockout for unsuccessful reclosing.
3. Determine reset time.
4. Determine close pulse duration.
5. Verify instantaneous overcurrent lockout.
81 Frequency Relay
Functions on a predetermined value of frequency (either under or over or
on normal system frequency) or rate of change of frequency.

1. Verify frequency set points.

2. Determine time delay.
3. Determine undervoltage cutoff.

85 Pilot Wire Monitor

A relay that is operated or restrained by a signal used in connection with
carrier-current or d-c pilot-wire fault directional relaying. Pilot relaying is
an adaptation of the principles of differential relaying for the protection of
transmission-line sections. The term "pilot" means that between the ends
of the transmission line there is an interconnecting channel of some sort
over which information can be conveyed.

1. Determine overcurrent pickup.

2. Determine undercurrent pickup.
3. Determine pilot wire ground pickup level.

87 Differential
Functions on a percentage or phase angle or other quantitative
difference of two currents or of some other electrical quantities.
Transformer differential relays protect against short-circuits between
turns of a winding and between windings that correspond to phase-to-
phase or three-phase type short-circuits.

1. Determine operating unit pickup.

2. Determine the operation of each restraint unit.
 3. Determine slope.
4. Determine harmonic restraint.
5. Determine instantaneous pickup.
6. Plot operating characteristics for each restraint.

References

 NETA ATS-2017 Standard for Acceptance Testing

Specifications for Electrical Power Equipment and Systems,
2017 Edition
 NETA MTS-2015 Standard for Maintenance Testing
Specifications for Electrical Power Equipment and Systems,
2015 Edition
 ANSI/IEEE Standard C37.2