Proceedings of the IEEE 2017 International Conference on Computing Methodologies and Communication

(ICCMC)

Relay Coordination in Microgrid

Pallavi P.Bagul#1,Prof.Sonali M.Akolkar*2
K.K.Wagh Institute of Engineering

Education & Research Nasik 422003,India

1
pallavi.bagul93@gmail.com
2
smakolkar@kkwagh.edu.in

Abstract
Microgrids has many environmental and and an optimal DG placement to maximize the
economic benefits but their implementation has great penetration level of DG in distribution networks
technical challenges in protection, energy management without changing the original relay protection schemes.
and control. MG consist of a number of distributed Based on the impact analysis of the number of DGs,
generators (DGs).Distribution system protection is the their locations and capacities upon short circuit
most important technical aspects in the microgrid. currents, different levels of faults conditions are seen in
Distributed Generation (DG) is used to supply the local this paper. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used for
loads. The insertion of distributed generation in the optimization of the objective function in the distribution
microgrid leads to violating the relay coordination in systems. Simulation is done in ETAP software on a
the distribution system. The continuous connection and standardized IEEE 9 bus system to obtain load flow and
disconnection of DG affects coordination of distribution short circuit analysis.
system protection, as the generator has the ability to
contribute large fault currents to the fault point which Keywords: Microgrid, Distributed Generation,
causes changes in magnitudes and directions of short Genetic Algorithm, Interconnected System, Directional
circuit currents that leads to false trip or fail to trip Overcurrent Relays.
over-current protection relays in the system and thus
inaccurate operation of the existing protection system. Acronyms:
Thus, coordination between the primary and the MG MICROGRID
backup relays fails and has an adverse impact on DG DISTRIBUTED GENERATION
protection coordination. The adaptive protection OCR OVERCURRENT RELAY
algorithm is used for optimum operating time and GA GENETIC ALGORITHM
coordination between the primary and the backup relay CTI COORDINATION TIME INTERVAL

1. INTRODUCTION severely affected and the coordination between

As the need for the power is increasing there is
tremendous introduction of distributed generation at
distribution level with various benefits [1], [2].
Protection of the system againsts fault current is main
motive as operating mode of the system changes
when the distribution generation is grid connected,
islanding mode, changes in the number of DGs, its
capacity, its location, nature of DG and fault types
[1],[3].
The level of short circuit current caused by the
fault changes with various conditions, thus current
sense by relay changes, if relay setting is not updated
with changing operating mode system may be
primary and backup relay may fail [1], [3].
Overcurrent relays (OCRs) is commonly used as they
are slow to trip at low current and faster to trip at
high fault current for protection of sub-transmission
and distribution system or as a secondary protection
of transmission system as it is the only economical
alternative [4].
Based on the impact of the number of DGs, their
locations and capacities upon short circuit currents,
different levels of faults conditions are considered in
this paper. This paper proposes the new adaptive
protection algorithm for inverse-time to ensure

978-1-5090-4890-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE 784

 Proceedings of the IEEE 2017 International Conference on Computing Methodologies and Communication
minimum operating time and protective coordination
of relays.
ETAP software is used for simulation studies in
which a widely used IEEE-9-bus is designed to
obtain load flow and short circuit results so that the
proposed adaptive protection algorithm is designed
that can keep the proper operating time and provide
the protective coordination time interval with fast
response. It also decrease the computation time the
relay required to calculate the operating parameters
of OCRs such as time dial setting and pick up
current. The proposed algorithm is evaluated by
performing various case studies in a radial
distribution system by using the simulation software
ETAP (Electrical Transient and Analysis Program).
2. METHODOLOGY
The inverse-time OCR has protection function
that it operates by observing the magnitude of fault
current and the direction of fault current. Whenever
fault occurs in the system and it exceeds a pick-up
current the OCR sends a trip signal. It has inverse-
time current characteristic is expressed as (1) and (2),
which represents the dynamics of induction disk
OCR [7].
∫ =1
( )
( )= [ + ]
Where, I is the fault current seen by the OCR, T0 is
the operating time, M is the ratio of I/I pick-up, TDS
is the time dial setting. Also, A, B, and p are
coefficients which represent inverse, very inverse,
and extremely inverse types of OCR.
Characteristic A B
Moderately inverse(MI) 0.15 0.1141
Very inverse(VI) 13.6 0.490
Extremely inverse(EI) 79 0.1216
Table No.1. IEEE characteristics of OCR
It is observed from eq. (1) and (2) that t(I) the trip
time. Therefore, the value of t(I) also changes
according to the time. Thus t(I) is integrated from
zero to the fault current is reduced below the pick-up
current[5-6]. The OCR issues a trip command to the
OCR, when the integrated value becomes 1.
In most cases, the OCRs are applied to a radial
distribution system. As the current flows only in one
direction from the substation to downward, the OCR
is connected to the radial line right behind the related
bus. In the system only one OCR is used as a
978-1-5090-4890-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
(ICCMC)
protection zone while other two OCRs are necessary
used if the bi-directional flows of fault current
occurred. When the fault occurs the fault current is
passed through a current transformer (CT) between
distribution line and OCR. It is then measured by the
CT and then given as an input to OCR to calculate its
operating time.
Fig.1. OCRs to a Radial Distribution System
As several protective devices have been installed
must have the specified operation sequence as shown
in fig. 1. The protective devices is said to be
(1) coordinated among each other. Whenever the
minimum fault occur in the system the primary relay
must operate first depending on the location of the
(2)
fault, and then the backup relays must trip only when
the primary relays are not operated correctly. As
shown in fig.1, if a fault occurs at the location
between the bus 2 and the bus 3, the OCR-2 must
operate as the primary relay than the OCR-1.
Even, the OCR-1 must serve as the backup
protection when the fault occur if the OCR-2 cannot
operate properly. The proper time interval between
the primary and backup protection is the important
p factor. This is called the coordination time interval
0.03
1.0 (CTI) [9-10], which is usually considered as 0.2 s to
1.0 0.5 s. This CTI can be applied to all protection
devices such as fuses and reclosers as well as relays
in a distribution system. Its standard equation is given
as in (3).
− ≥ (3)
where t backup and t primary are the operation times
of backup and primary protections. In any system the
operating time of the backup protection is always
larger than that of the primary protection. Thus, the
difference between them should exceed the CTI as
(3), which has 0.2 - 0.5 sec value. When the
introduction of DG is there in a system, it increases
785
 Proceedings of the IEEE 2017 International Conference on Computing Methodologies and Communication
the fault current and reverses the direction of power
flow. As shown in fig.2 the introduction of DG at bus
2 causes fault current to flow in reverse direction.
Therefore there is increase in the fault current as
compared to without DG in case 1. As again, when
the fault occurs at the fault location, F2, it is also
increased due to the DG even though there is no
reverse flow of the fault current. Therefore, the
operating parameters are arranged properly so that
OCR-n function correctly [2, 4, 10].
Fig 2.Increase in fault current level and reverse power flow
due to DG
Fig3.Coordination relation between Primary and Backup relay
Thus, the effect of fault current on the operating
time of OCRs is shown in fig.3.It is seen that when
the fault current is increased the OCR operating time
is decreased. The OCRs have the inverse time-current
characteristics. Thus larger the magnitude of fault
current becomes, the fast the OCR will operate.
However, the relay should not operate very fast also
that may cause to unnecessary removal of a larger
portion of the system. As shown in Fig. 3, when the
fault current is increased the primary relay might
have difficulty in coordinating with the backup
978-1-5090-4890-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
(ICCMC)
relays. Hence, the coordination time is reduced as the
available fault current increases. This results in
miscoordination. Thus if the fault current is increased
again the pre-determined value of primary relay, it is
unable to coordinate with the backup relay, thus
resulting in possible disoperation [8]. Therefore, the
operating parameters of OCRs must be correctly
adjusted and that is carried out by the adaptive
algorithm implementation [4].
3. MODEL DESCRIPTION
System used is a standardized IEEE 9 bus system,
the effect of DG in the system fault current is
observed. Proper location of DG and its capacity
require a careful analysis and development that
depends on many factors. The set up in study case
are- Wind Generator 25 MW at 230kV, Fault on
transformer winding, Change in DG capacity and its
location. When DG exist in the system there is a lot
of configuration on the power grids, in this work
following topologies: 1) Power Grid without DG. 2)
Power Grid with all DG. 3) Power Grid with different
capacity of DG. 4) Power Grid with different fault
location.
Using ETAP software the protection coordination
is checked, viewing TCC curves, sequence and time
of units operation for faults in different buses.
Therefore, verify the protection coordination, the DG
were introduced to identify the impact it produces on
fault current and necessary action to implement.
Various case studies have been carried out to study
the impact of DG on the system. The IEEE 9 Bus
system is shown below
Fig 4. Study case system IEEE 9 Bus system without DG
786
 Proceedings of the IEEE 2017 International Conference on Computing Methodologies and Communication
(ICCMC)

To carry out simulation the Relays are selected

according to the parameters, application, and
requirements. The parameters and relays are selected
based on the primary and backup relays coordination
time interval. Different values are given to each
component present in the system. Thus considering
various cases simulations were carried out [11-13].

4. DESIGN METHODOLOGY,
SIMULATIONS AND EFFECTS OF DG
The load flow simulation on the system and its
result is noted before carrying out the proposed
adaptive algorithm for the system OCR. It becomes
mandatory to know the maximum and minimum
current that flows through the system. By performing
the load flow the values of currents are calculated and
from that TMS and PS of OCR are calculated as
shown in eq. (4).Thus the operating time of relay is
Fig 6 .Fault at Bus 6 with no DG connected
calculated.

. ∗
When the fault is created at Bus 6, Relay 6 is
= . (4) operated first i.e. it acts as a primary relay and sends
a trip signal to the CB6. Then the Relay8 is operated
as secondary and sends a trip signal to CB8.The TCC
Top- Operating time of relay curve shows the operation of relays. Again different
IF - Relay current condition is shown in fig.8 the impact of DG when
PS - Plug settings connected to the system.
TMS - Relay time multiplier setting
Thus the load flow data performed on the system
besides its results are shown in Fig.5. Using ETAP
software the sequence of operation of relays,
protection coordination is checked, TCC curves is
obtained, for faults in different buses at various
locations.

Fig 7.Protection coordination when fault at bus6

Fig 5. Load Flow of the system without DG

Therefore, to verify the protection coordination

and operating parameters, DG’s were included to
identify the impact it will produce. The following
fig.8 shows the impact of introduction of DG in the
system on the fault currents.

978-1-5090-4890-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE 787

 Proceedings of the IEEE 2017 International Conference on Computing Methodologies and Communication
Fig 8. Fault at Bus6 when DG is present in the system
As DGs are introduced in the system the fault
current level is increased in the system and current
reverse flow is started. The simulation result shows
that the current contributed by DG affect the system
operation and false trip starts, it is important to note
the parameters or circumstances of the introduction
of DG before providing any protection hence study
have been carried out and it is found that the
parameters are hampered and it is shown in the Short
Circuit Report fig.10 provided by ETAP.
Fig.9.Sequence of Operation of relays when fault present
Fig.10. Short Circuit Report with DG
5. CONCLUSION
In this paper, results are carried out in ETAP
software and the effectiveness of the proposed
algorithm is seen and various effects of DG, their
location and fault location are observed. Result that
we have obtained from load flow analysis, the value
of pickup current is calculated and from the short
978-1-5090-4890-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
(ICCMC)
circuit analysis study, the maximum fault current is
calculated. The introduction of DG and continuous
switching of DG causes the system protection to
hamper the relay coordination and hence
maloperation of relay occurs. Hence the need for
adaptive protection emerge. It helps to give proper
time of operation of relay operating parameters and
coordination of relay. Hence the relay setting in the
system and operating time of relay is evaluated and
maloperation is avoided.
6. FUTURE SCOPE
In future, the adaptive protection algorithm can be
applied to ring main and interconnected distribution
systems for bi-directional flows of fault currents.
Thus the new adaptive protection algorithm for
inverse-time overcurrent relays (OCRs) is required
for their proper operating parameters, operating time
and protective coordination with minimum time. The
remaining future work can be extended to use various
algorithm technique like Genetic Algorithm,
Nonlinear Programming to optimize the operating
time and protection coordination with minimum time.
The balance work is to use the Genetic Algorithm
and to synchronize the programming in Matlab with
ETAP for optimum coordination of OCRs.
788
 Proceedings of the IEEE 2017 International Conference on Computing Methodologies and Communication
REFERENCES
[1] S. Santoso, and T. A. Short, “Identification of Fuse and
Recloser Operations in Radial Distribution System,” IEEE Trans.
Power Delivery, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 2370-2377, Oct. 2007.
[2] W. J. Park, B. C. Sung, K. B. Song, and J. W. Park, “Parameter
Optimization of SFCL With Wind- Turbine Generation System
Based on Its Protective Coordination,” IEEE Trans. Applied
Superconductivity, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 2153-2156, Jun. 2011.
[3] S. Chaitusaney, and A. Yokoyama, “Prevention of Reliability
Degradation from Recloser-Fuse Miscoordination Due to
Distributed Generation,” IEEE Trans. Power systems, vol. 23, no.
4, pp. 2545-2554, Oct. 2008.
[4] H. J. Lee, G. T. Son, and J. W. Park, “Study on Wind- Turbine
Generator System Sizing Considering Voltage Regulation and
Overcurrent Relay Coordination,” IEEE Trans. Power Systems,
vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 1283-1293, Aug. 2011.
[5] A. C. Enrizquez, E. V. Martinez, and H. J. Altuve, “Time
Overcurrent Adaptive Relay,” Elsevier, Electrical Power and
Energy system, vol.25, pp.841-847, Apr. 2003.
978-1-5090-4890-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
(ICCMC)
[6] V. Calderaro, V. Galdi, A. Piccolo, and P. Siano, “Adaptive
Relays for Overhead Line Protection,”
Elsevier, Electric Power Systems Research, vol. 77, pp. 1552-
1559, Dec. 2006.
[7] IEEE Standard Inverse-Time Characteristic Equations for
Overcurrent Relays, IEEE standard C37.112-1996.
[8] A. Conde, and E. Vazquez, “Operation Logic Proposed for
Time Overcurrent Relays,” IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, vol. 22,
no. 4, pp. 2034-2039, Oct. 2007.
[9] J. L. Blackburn, “Protective Relaying: Principles and
Applications, 2nd ed.,” Marcel Dekker, Inc., 2004.
[10] IEEE Guide for Protective Relay Applications to Distribution
Lines, IEEE standard C37. 230-2007.
[11] A. Berizzi, S. Massucco, A. Silvestri, and D. Zaninelli,
“Short-circuit current calculation: A comparison between methods
of IEC and ANSI standards using dynamic simulation as
reference,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 30, no. 4, pp.
1099-1106, Aug. 1994.
[12] Schneider Electric, “Calculation of Short-circuit Current,”
2005, pp. 7-22.
[13] D. N. Gaonkar, “Distributed Generation,” InTech, 2010.
789