2015 Conference on Power, Control, Communication and Computational Technologies for Sustainable Growth (PCCCTSG)
December11-12, 2015, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India
Analysis of Transmission Line Current Differential
Protection Scheme Based on Synchronized Phasor
Measurement
Sunita V. Muddebihalkar
Department of Electrical Engineering
Institute of Engineering, MET’s BKC, Nashik
Maharashtra, India 422003
e-mail: sunita.muddebihalkar@gmail.com
Abstract—Distance relaying principle is a widely used protec-
tive scheme for the protection of all types of transmission lines.
GPS and fiber optic communication channels has made accurate
current differential protection scheme possible for transmission
line protection. Time signal accuracy can be provided with
GPS. Current differential relays are used for the protection of
electrical equipment such as transformers and generators against
internal faults because of their simplicity and sensitivity. Current
differential relays are now being used for protection of
transmission lines with the development in communication
technology. A new technique for protection of transmission lines
using current differential scheme which uses GPS for time tagged
measurement of the line current and bus voltage and fibre optic
for communication has been developed. This paper analyzes
the sensitivity of the current differential protection scheme for
different values of fault resistance, fault locations, fault inception
angles, series compensation and delay in synchronization.
Keywords—Current Differential Protection Schemes, Distance
Relaying Principle, GPS (Global Positioning System), Fiber Optic
Communication Channels.
I. INTRODUCTION
The differential protection principle supersedes other
methods of protection with respect to selectivity, sensitivity
and speed of operation. It is one of the quickest methods for
protection of transmission lines. The differential function
responds to the sum of all the currents in its zone of protection.
Except for internal faults this sum equals zero under all events.
The presence of distributed shunt capacitance of the line, series
capacitor, current transformer inaccuracies, communication
latency and asymmetries in communication affect the
sensitivity of the scheme. A new technique for pro- tection of
transmission lines using current differential scheme which uses
GPS for time tagged measurement of the line current and bus
voltage and fibre optic for communication has been
developed in [1]. A new current differential relay developed
for a 1000-kV Ultra High Voltage (UHV) trans- mission line is
being constructed in China. This relay takes into account the
effect of the distributed capacitive current along the relatively
long overhead line [2]. Protection of transmission line using
“Numerical line current differential relay” has become
978-1-4673-6890-2/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
Ganesh N. Jadhav
Department of Electrical Engineering
Institute of Engineering, MET’s BKC, Nashik
Maharashtra, India
e-mail: ganyogesh81@gmail.com
extremely popular and highly developed communication
technology has widened its application [3]. Technical solutions
to the line current differential design and application are
provided in [4]. Common design constraints are addressed. It
is seen that the distributed nature of the puts a limit on the
amount of data that can be exchanged between the system
terminals. Data alignment schemes are required to enable the
differential protection principle. The concept of the complex
current-ratio plane for the analysis of current-only pilot unit-
type relay characteristics is presented in a new digital line
differential relaying system. This relay has enhanced
characteristic. Its advantages and disadvantages have also been
discussed. The operating time of this new differential relaying
system is less than one cycle and it is applicable for the
protection of all types of transmission lines, including series-
compensated lines [5]. Current transformer saturation, resulting
from an external fault, may cause the mal-operation of a
differential protection relay if measures are not taken to
automatically change the operating sensitivity. Adequate
stability is achieved by raising the operating threshold as
the through or bias current increases. This has a damaging
effect on the sensitivity and hence the detection of an in-zone
resistive fault is prevented. Symmetrical component based
current quantities enhance the relay sensitivity and ensures
it can detect in-zone resistive faults [6]. Energy Management
Systems (EMS) of power systems use wide area measurements
for monitoring, operation, and control. Synchronized phasor
measurement has added an important aspect to the field of
wide-area measurements. Computer based relays have strongly
influenced the field of protection systems due to which com-
munication with relays has become easy and thus they have
been included in many advanced protection systems [7].
II. PHASE COORDIANTE APPROACH FOR CURRENT
DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION SCHEME
A. Selecting a Template (Heading 2)
It is well known fact that LG and LLG faults involve all
sequence components (positive, negative and zero), whereas
LLL fault involves only positive sequence components and LL
fault involve both positive and negative sequence. As positive
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sequence components are present in all types of faults, it can ⎡ I line ⎤ ⎡ I ser ⎤
be used for current differential protection. Sensitivity for ji ( a ) ji ( a ) ⎡ BS Bm Bm ⎤ ⎡V j ( a ) ⎤
⎢ line ⎥ ⎢ ser ⎥ j ⎢ ⎢ ⎥
LLLG fault using positive sequence component will be maxi-
⎢ I ji (b) ⎥ = ⎢ I ji (b) ⎥ + 2 ⎢ Bm BS Bm ⎥⎥ ⎢V j (b) ⎥ (6)
mum when compared to LG fault. The sensitivity for ground
⎢ I line ⎥ ⎢ ser ⎥ ⎢⎣ Bm BS ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣V j (c) ⎥⎦
fault detection will be reduced by a factor of 3 approximately ⎣ ji (c) ⎦ ⎣ I ji (c) ⎦ Bm
a
as I = 3I a1 . Computations in phase co-ordinates are used
f
as this method is simple and accurate [1]. Consider an There is no fault on the line if and only if,
equivalent- π model of a three phase transmission line as
shown in Fig 1. I ijser ( p) + I ser
ji ( p ) = 0 (7)
where p is phase a, b or c.

I ijser ( p )
mag min ≤ ≤ mag max (8)
I ser
ji ( p )

anglemin ≤ ∠( I ijser ( p)) − ∠( I ser

ji ( p )) ≤ anglemax (9)
If the above criteria holds good then there is no fault on the
phase-p of the transmission line. If it does not hold good, then
a fault is seen on phase-p of the transmission line [1].

III. SYSSYEM DESCRIPTION MATLAB BASED EVALUATION

Fig. 1. Equivalent π- model of three phase transmission line Fig. 2 shows the Single Line Diagram of the Two Bus
Let Zs be self series impedance and Zm be the mutual System. The parameters of the transmission line and the system
series impedances of the line. The values of Zs and Zm are are given below,
given below Generator G = 13.8 kV, 2100 MVA,
1 Transformer T = 13.8/735 kV, 2100MVA,
Z S = ( Z 0 + 2 Z1 ) (1)
3 Transmission line length = 200 km,
1 Transmission Line Parameters per km,
Z m = ( Z 0 − Z1 ) (2)
3 R0 = 0.4175Ω , R1= 0.0385Ω ,
L0 = 1.644e−3H L1 = 0.5676 e−3H,

where Z1 , Z2 and Z0 are the positive, negative and zero C0 = 22e−9F , C1 = 38e−9F .
sequence impedances of the transmission line.
Let Bs be the self shunt susceptance and Bm be the mutual
shunt susceptance of the transmission line. The values of Bs
and Bm are given below
1
BS = ( B0 + 2 B1 ) (3) Fig. 2: Single Line Diagram of Two Bus System
3
A. Current Differential Protection Scheme Define
1
Bm = ( B0 − B1 ) (4) The above mentioned scheme is evaluated on 13.8 kV,
3 two bus system using MATLAB. The transmission lines are
Bm must be negative as C0 < C1 .Equation for line current at represented by distributed parameters which are fed by the
bus i is given by Generator. The generator is modeled as model 1.1. The load
is modeled as constant power type. The scheme is applied for
⎡ I ijline (a ) ⎤ ⎡ I ijser (a ) ⎤ ⎡ BS Bm Bm ⎤ ⎡Vi (a ) ⎤ protection of the transmission lines between the buses B1 and
⎢ line ⎥ ⎢ ser ⎥ j ⎢ B2 . Data related to Currents and Voltages at the ends of the
⎢ I ij (b) ⎥ = ⎢ I ij (b) ⎥ + 2 ⎢ Bm BS Bm ⎥⎥ ⎢⎢Vi (b) ⎥⎥ (5) two buses is generated. Phasors are calculated by processing
⎢ I ijline (c) ⎥ ⎢ I ijser (c) ⎥ ⎢⎣ Bm Bm BS ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣Vi (c) ⎥⎦ this data in MATLAB. The Trip and Restrain region are seen
⎣ ⎦ ⎣ ⎦ after simulating various kinds of faults. A tolerance margin of
where a, b and c are the three phases. Equation for line 100o to 200o is considered for phase error and 200% for
current at bus j is given by magnitude error.

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 B. External Fault
Any protection scheme should operate for the faults within
defined zone and not for external faults. Hence the given
system in Fig.2 is simulated for external faults of all types to
show fault discrimination. The above mentioned scheme
should not operate for any external faults. Different types of
faults are simulated on the test system on the bus. The fault
resistance is varied from 0Ω to 1000Ω and fault inception angle
is varied from 0o to 270o. The trip and restraint regions are seen
on the current differential plane as shown in Fig 3. ‘+’ sign is
used to represent the relay operation for every fault in current
differential plane. If ‘+’ appears inside the restraint region,
which is outside to the trip region and hence the relay does not
operate. This is applicable to different overloading conditions
and external faults. The simulation results show that the relay
is in restrain region for external faults. Hence it will
discriminate between external and internal fault.
C. Internal Fault
The scheme is applied for primary protection of
transmission line. Different types of faults are simulated at
various locations. For each fault, fault location is varied from 0
pu to 1 pu in steps of 0.1pu. Fault resistance is varied from 0Ω
to 1000Ω in three steps of 0Ω, 100Ω, 1000Ω and fault
inception angle is varied from 0o to 270o in steps of 90o. Again,
‘+’ sign is used to represent the relay operation for every fault
in current differential plane. For different fault locations it is
observed that +’ sign appears outside the restrain region i.e. in
the tripping region. This scheme is simulated for different fault
locations resistance inception angle etc. in next section.
Fig. 3: Performance on external faults
Fig. 4: Performance on internal faults
IV. RESULTS
A. Internal Fault
The scheme is tested for all types of faults outside the
protected region. This test is carried to check fault
discrimination. Fig 5. shows that the scheme does not operate
for any external faults.
Fig. 5: Performance on external faults
B. Internal Fault
a) Fault at 100km or 0.5pu from the receiving end:
All types of fault are simulated on the line at a distance
of 100km or 0.5pu from the receiving end. Fault resistance
being held at 0Ω. Fig 6. shows the performance of the scheme
on internal faults for LL, LLG, LL and LLL faults. It is seen
that the current differential scheme trips on internal fault. For
every fault ‘+’ appears outside the shaded region. The current
differential scheme operates correctly with different types of
faults.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Fig. 6: Internal fault at La = 0.5pu and Rf = 0Ω (a)LG (b)LL (c)LLG
(d)LLL
b) Effect of Fault Location (La) and Fault Resistance (Rf)
All types of faults are simulated on the line at a distance
of 0.1pu and at 0.9pu from the receiving end. Fault resistance
is increased in steps of 0Ω, 100Ω and 1000Ω. Fig 7. to Fig 9.
show the effect of Fault Location and Fault resistance. It is
seen that the current differential scheme trips on internal fault.
For every fault ‘+’ appears outside the shaded region. The
current differential scheme operates correctly for each fault
23
location which is varied from 0.1pu to 0.9 pu and for each c) Effect of Fault Inception Angle:
variation in fault resistance which is varied from 0Ω to Different types of faults are simulated on the line at a
1000Ω. distance of 0.1pu from the receiving end. Fault resistance
being 0Ω. Fault inception angle (FIA) is varied from 0o to
270o in steps of 90o. Fig 10. to Fig 13. show the effect of
Fault Inception Angle . It is seen that the current differential
scheme trips on internal fault. For every fault ‘+’ appears
outside the shaded region. The current differential scheme
(a) (b) operates correctly for each fault with variation in fault
inception angle from 0o to 270o.

(c) (d)
Fig. 7: Internal fault at La = 0.1pu and Rf = 0Ω (a) LG (b)LL (c)LLG (a) (b)
(d)LLL

(c)
Fig. 10: Internal fault at La = 0.1pu and Rf = 0Ω for LG fault with (a) FIA =
900, (b) FIA = 1800, (c)F IA = 2700
(a) (b)

(c) (d) (a) (b)

Fig. 8: Internal fault at La = 0.1pu and Rf = 100Ω (a) LG (b)LL (c)LLG
(d)LLL

(c)
Fig. 11: Internal fault at La = 0.1pu and Rf = 0Ω for LL fault with (a)F IA =
900, (b) FIA = 1800, (c)FIA = 2700

(a) (b)
d) Effect of Series Compensation:
Capacitive series com- pensation helps enhance the power
transfer capability of a transmission line. The series capacitors
used for series com- pensation have to be protected against
over voltage due to passage of fault current through them.
Metal–oxide varistor (MOV) are used to protect against over
voltage. These are connected in parallel to the capacitor.
(c) (d) The effect of series compensation is studied by
Fig. 9: Internal fault at La = 0.1pu and Rf = 1000Ω (a)LG (b)LL (c)LLG introducing a three phase series compensation module near the
(d)LLL receiving end bus. 40% series compensation is provided by
capacitors. Fig.14 shows the impact of series compensation on

24
current differential protection scheme. It is seen that the
current differential scheme trips on internal fault. For every
fault ‘+’ appears outside the shaded region. The current
differential scheme operates correctly for each type of fault.

(c) (d)
Fig. 14: Internal fault with Series Compensation at La = 0.1pu and Rf =
0Ω (a)LG (b)LL (c)LLG (d)LLL

(a) (b)
V. CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of current differential protection scheme for
transmission line protection is done. From the results it can be
seen that the scheme is sensitive and can distinguish between
internal and external faults. The scheme takes less than one
cycle to operate and does not lose its sensitivity for different
(c) values of fault resistance, fault locations and fault inception
angles. It operates correctly for a series compensated line and
Fig. 12: Internal fault at La = 0.1pu and Rf = 0Ω for LLG fault with (a)F IA
even with a time delay of 1ms.
= 900, (b) FIA = 1800, (c)FIA = 2700

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