Fundamentals of Power System Protection

Power System Protection
Introduction
Introduction
 Power systems may experience faults at some time
 Protection systems ensure safe, reliable and efficient

operation of the power system
 Objective of protection system is to
 Limit damage to the faulted equipment
 Minimize disruption of supplies to adjacent un-faulted

equipment
Introduction
Risks of power system faults :
Severe damage to the faulted equipment :
 Excessive current may flow
 Causes burning of conductors or equipment windings
 Arcing - energy dissipation
 Risk of explosions for oil-filled equipments, or when in
hazardous environments
 As the fault evolves, if not cleared quickly

 Due to the voltage depression / loss of supply
Introduction
Risks of power system faults
Danger to staff or the public :
 Risk of shock from direct contact with the faulted equipment
 Danger of potential (voltage) rises in exposed metal work that
is accessible to touch
 Fumes released by burning insulation
 Burns etc
Disruption to adjacent plant :

 Prolonged voltage dips cause motors to stall
 Loss of synchronism for synchronous generators / motors
Faults in Power System
1st June 2007
5
Faults in power system
Underground Cables
 Diggers
 Overloading
 Oil Leakage
 Ageing
Overhead Lines
 Lightning
 Kites
 Trees
 Moisture
 Salt
 Birds
 Broken Conductors
Machines
 Mechanical
Damage
 Unbalanced Load
Types of Fault a
b
Ø/E
c
e
a
b
Ø/Ø/E
c
e
a
b
Ø/Ø
c
a
a
b
3Ø b 3Ø/E c
c
e
Open circuit + ø/e Fault between adjacent

parallel Lines
a
b
c
e
Evolving fault in cable

a
b c
Fault signals
Fault Currents
5000
4000
3000
2000
Ia
1000
Amps
Ib
0
Ic
-1000
-2000 In
-3000
-4000
-5000
Time
Fault signals
Fault Voltages
600
400
200
Va
Volts
0 Vb
Vc
-200
-400
-600
Time
A typical fault occurrence & its effect
Factors influencing protection system design

 Types of fault and abnormal conditions to be protected
against
 Quantities available for measurement
 Types of protection available
 Speed
 Fault position discrimination
 Dependability / Reliability
 Security / Stability
Factors influencing protection system design

 Overlap of protections
 Phase discrimination / Selectivity
 Instrument transformers (CTs & VTs)
 Auxiliary supplies
 Back-up protection
 Cost
 Duplication of protection
Attributes of
Protection System
1st June 2007
18
Attributes of protection system
 Reliability / Dependability
 Stability / Security
 Speed
 Discrimination (Zones, Phases)
 Cost
 Dependability
 Protection must operate when required to
 Failure to operate can be extremely damaging and

disruptive
 Faults are rare : Protection must operate even after years

of inactivity
 Improved by use of : Back-up protection and duplicate

protection
 Security
 Protection must not operate when not required to, e.g. due
to:
 Load switching
 Faults on other parts of the system
 Recoverable power swings

Speed
Fast operation :
 Minimizes damage to equipment and personnel
Very fast operation :

 Minimizes system instability
Discrimination
 Fault Position Discrimination
 Power system divided into PROTECTION ZONES
 Must isolate only the faulty equipment or section
Discrimination and security can be costly to achieve as it

generally involves additional signaling / communications
equipment.
Zones Of Protection
Zones Of Protection
 Overlap of Protections
 No blind spots
 Where possible use overlapping CTs

Overlap of protection zones
BBP BBP
‘1’ ‘2’
H J
‘Z’
G LP LP K L
‘H’ ‘J’
LP LP
‘K’ ‘L’
 Phase Discrimination
 Correct indication of phases involved in the fault
 Important for single phase tripping and auto re-closing

applications
Example 1 – Dependability / Security
R6
R3 R5
B6 R2
R1
B3 B5
R7 F
B1 B2 R4
B7
B4
 Directional relays provided as shown
 Breakers marked as shown
 Fault at F
Example 1 – Dependability / Security R5 lost its
Security
R6
R3 R5
B6 R2
R1
B3 B5
R7 F
B1 B2 R4
B7
B4
 Resulted in operation of R1, R2, and R5, which in turn tripped

their respective breakers
 Was there loss of dependability or security?

Example 2 – Zone discrimination
R6
R3 R5
B6 R2
R1
B3 B5
R7
B1 B2 R4
B7
B4
 System as shown with relays and breakers marked

R6
R3 R5
B6 R2
R1
B3 B5
R7
B1 B2 R4
B7
B4
 System as shown with relays and breakers marked
 A single fault has resulted in the operation of breakers B1, B2, B3
and B4.
 There was no loss of security or dependability
 Identify the location of the fault
R6
R3 R5
B6 R2
R1
B3 B5
R7
B1 B2 R4
B7
B4
 Fault in the overlap zone at breaker B2 as shown

Cost
 The cost of protection is equivalent to an insurance policy against
damage to plant, and loss of supply and customer goodwill.
 Acceptable cost is based on a balance of economics and technical
factors. Cost of protection should be balanced against the cost
of potential hazards.
 There is an economic limit on what can be spent.
 MINIMUM COST : Must ensure that all faulty equipment is
isolated by protection.
 TOTAL COST should take account of :
 Relays, schemes and associated panels and panel wiring
 Setting studies
 Commissioning
 CTs and VTs
 Maintenance and repairs to relays
 Damage repair if protection fails to operate
 Lost revenue if protection operates unnecessarily

Types of Protection
Equipments
1st June 2007
37
Classification of Protection Equipments
 Fuses
LV Systems, distribution feeders and transformers, VTs, auxiliary supplies
 Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)

Lighting and Small power distribution & Auxiliary supplies
 Moulded Case Circuit breaker (MCCB)

LV Systems, distribution feeders and transformers, VTs, auxiliary supplies
 LV ACBs with release (Direct acting AC Trip)

LV Systems, distribution feeders of large rating
 Protection Relays
All other protections
Switch Fuse Units

DP MCB TPN MCB
Earth
MCBs RCBO RCCB Leakage
Relay
SP : Single Pole
SPN : Single Pole with Neutral
DP : Double Pole
TP : Triple Pole
TPN : Triple Pole with Neutral
FP : Four Pole
MCCBs
LV Air Circuit Breakers

Fuses works on I2t principle (Energy = I2Rt, with R as constant for
given fuse). The fuse blows during the fault and can not be reused.
Bus
Power
Syste
m
Fuse
MCCB generally acts on Current limiting principle and can replace the
Fuses in Power System.
No need for replacement. Simply reset.
Bus
Power
Syste
m
MCCB
Releases are the devices which sense the abnormal conditions from
the power system, take trip decisions and trip the breaker by pulling
the lever (Manufacturer specific, can not be used with other makes
of ACBs)
Bus
Power CT
Syste
m CB
VT
Release
By Pulling the lever Other devices
Relays are the devices which sense the abnormal conditions from the
power system and take trip decisions. (Relay is independent, can be
used with any make of Breakers)
Bus
Power CT
Syste
m CB
VT
Relay
Other devices
Station
Battery
Classification of
Protection Relays
1st June 2007
48
Classification of Protection Relays
 Over Current and Earth fault

 Widely used in all power systems
 Non-directional
 Directional (Voltage dependant
 Differential
 Feeders, busbars, transformers, generators, etc.
 High impedance or Biased (Low-impedance)
 Pilot wire
 Digital
 Distance (Impedance)
 Distribution feeders and transmission and sub-
transmission circuits
 Also used as back-up protection for transformers and
generators
 Phase comparison
 Transmission lines
 Directional comparison
 Transmission lines
 Miscellaneous
 Under and Over Voltage
 Under and Over Frequency
 Special relays for generators, transformers, motors, etc.
 Control relays
 Auto-Reclose, tap change control, etc.
 Tripping and auxiliary relays

Non-Unit, or Unrestricted Protection
 No specific point downstream up to which protection will protect
 Will operate for faults on the protected equipment
 May also operate for faults on downstream equipment, which has
its own protection
 Need for discrimination with downstream protection, usually by
means of time grading.
Unit, or Restricted Protection

 Has an accurately defined zone of protection
 An item of power system plant is protected as a unit
 Will not operate for out of zone faults, thus no back-up
protection for downstream faults.
Types
 Electro-mechanical
 Static
 Digital
 Numerical
Electro-mechanical
Advantages
 Robust & Sturdy
 Easy to repair
 Aux supply not mandatory
 Immune to electrical interference
Disadvantages
 Requires frequent maintenance
 High burden for CTs/VTs
 Requires lot of space
 Continuous monitoring is not possible
Static
 No moving parts
 Uses Comparators
 Discrete devices / ICs
Advantages
 Compact design
 No frequent maintenance
 Low Burden
 Continuous monitoring
Disadvantages
 Requires reliable aux supply
 Susceptible to electrical interference
 Requires clean environment
Digital
 Uses A/D converters
 Use of Processors & Algorithms
 Communication ports provided
Advantages
 Compact design
 More functions in one relay
 Low Burden
 Remote Communication
 Continuous monitoring
Disadvantages
Numerical
 Uses Special DSPs
 Software tools for one box solution
 Communication ports provided
Advantages
 Compact design
 Functions as IED / BCU
 Low Burden
 Multiple tasking
 Remote Communication
Continuous monitoring
Disadvantages
Device Numbers (ANSI)
ANSI Standard identifies various components of Protection

System using Numbers.
Exp : Timer - 2
Impedance (Distance) - 21
Under voltage - 27
Reverse Power - 32
Low Forward Power - 37
Instantaneous O/C - 50
IDMT Over Current - 51
Circuit Breaker - 52
Differential - 87
Isolator - 89
etc.,
Protection System Application
1st June 2007
60
Radial Feeders
Non directional IDMT Over current & Earth fault
Under voltage
Over voltage
Interconnected Feeders
Directional IDMT Over current & Earth fault
Under voltage
Over voltage
Transformers / Reactors
Restricted Earth Fault (REF)
Differential
Backup IDMT O/C with Instantaneous feature
Mechanical protections (Buchholz, OT, WT, PRD)
Over fluxing
Backup impedance protection
Standby Earth fault
Busbar
Differential
Backup IDMT O/C
CT supervision
Motors
Differential
Backup IDMT O/C with Instantaneous feature
Mechanical protections
Loss of Field / Excitation (Synchronous motors only)
Earth fault
Locked Rotor
Unbalance or Negative sequence
Thermal or overheating
Overhead lines / Cables
Differential or Distance or Both
Backup IDMT O/C
Overvoltage
Auto re-close / synchro check
Power swing blocking
Distance to Fault recording
Broken conductor/wire detection
Capacitor Bank
Overvoltage
Under voltage
Neutral Displacement for earth faults
Back up Over current
Common
Breaker fail protection
Trip circuit supervision
Stub protection
Auto re-close / synchro check
Disturbance recording
Event Loggers
Frequency relay with df/dt feature
Generators
Differential
Backup IDMT O/C (Voltage restraint/Voltage controlled)
Reverse power & Low forward power
Mechanical protections
Loss of Field / Excitation
Stator & Rotor Earth fault
Over-fluxing
Over voltage/Under voltage
Under frequency / over frequency
Unbalance or Negative sequence
Accidental Energisation
Pole slipping
Thermal or overheating
Protection System Building Blocks
1st June 2007
67
Relays are the devices which sense the abnormal conditions from the
power system and take trip decisions.
Bus
Power CT
Syste
m CB
VT
Relay
Trip Coil of
Station Breaker
Battery
Circuit breakers
A CB is defined in ANSI standards as a mechanical switching

device, capable of making, carrying and breaking currents
under normal circuit conditions. Also capable of making and
carrying for a specified time and breaking currents under
specified abnormal circuit conditions such as those of a short
circuit
Circuit Breakers
 Requirements - General
 Perfect conductor – when closed
 Perfect insulator – when open
 Fast - when closing
 Fast – when opening
 Requirements – From protection aspect

 Interruption of high short circuit current
Current Transformer
Current Transformer
 Current transformers (CT) are critical for proper functioning of
the protection system.
 CTs have to faithfully reproduce the primary current at
secondary.
 Custom designed CTs are specified for different protection
applications
Current Transformer
 Ratio : Primary load current / 1A or 5A
 Burden : Secondary load (in VA or Ohms)
 Types : Protection & Metering
 CT sec. winding resistance : In Ohms
 Vk : 4.44 *f * N * A* Bmax
Current Transformer
Metering CT
Accuracy Limit Factor Current up to
Burden which Error limit
is guaranteed
Protection CT
Amplitude & Phase angle Error
Maximum Current limit for the above
5P10
Burden
Combined Error
in Percentage
Special Class (PS)

Vk > volts
Imag < mA at Vk or Vk/2 or Vk/4
Rct < ohms
Current Transformer
IP NP
+10% Vk
Exciting Voltage (VS)

N= NP/Ns
Vk
NS
Ip*N +50% Iek
Vk
Ie
Ze
IS
RCT ZB
Iek
Vs = ISZB = Vk - ISRCT
Exciting Current (Ie)
 For faithful reproduction of the primary current in the secondary, the

CT has to operate in the linear region of its magnetizing characteristics
 Thus the Vk of the CT has to be specified depending on the application.
 From the above diagram we can write that
 Vk = Is * (ZB+RCT)
Example 1
 Specification of CT:
 Turns ratio : 1200:5
 CT Class: 10 P 20
 This means,
 Currents up to 100A (5*20) are reproduced faithfully at the
secondary within 10% error
Voltage Transformers
 Electromagnetic voltage transformers
 Capacitive voltage transformers

Equivalent circuit of a transformer
Rp Lp Rs Ls
Burden
Ze
Primary Secondary
 System voltage (Vp) is applied across the input terminals.
 Secondary voltage Vs need to be an accurate replica of the

primary voltage over a specified range of output.
 Voltage drop in windings are small.
 Flux density in the core designed to be well below the

saturation level.
 Ratio Error
(K n Vs − Vp )
x100%
Vp
 Kn is the nominal ratio
 Vp – Actual primary voltage
 Vs – Actual secondary voltage
 Phase Error
 Phase difference between the reversed secondary and the
primary voltage vectors
 Normally neglected for protective relaying purposes.

Capacitive Voltage Transformers
Structure of a CVT
Line voltage
C1 Ferro resonance
L Suppression circuit
Compensating
reactor Relay voltage
C2
Step down
transformer
 Ferro resonance suppression circuits

 The active ferro resonance suppression circuit acts like a
band pass filter and introduces extra time delay in the CVT
secondary output.
 The energy storage element contribute to the severity of
the transient characteristics.

 Connected burden
 CVT transient characteristics Influenced by the magnitude
and angle of the connected burden.
 Static and numerical relays have nearly resistive burdens
 Estimate total burden of all devices connected to the CVT

Protection System
Design Considerations
1st June 2007
90
Protection System Design
Considerations
Instrument Transformer Circuits

 Never open circuit a CT secondary circuit, so never fuse CT
circuits
 VTs must be fused or protected by MCB
 Do wire test blocks in circuit (both VT and CT) to allow

commissioning and periodic injection testing of relays
 Earth CT and VT circuits at one point only
 Wire gauge > 2.5mm2 recommended for mechanical strength.

Considerations
Auxiliary Supplies
 Required for : TRIPPING CIRCUIT BREAKERS
CLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKERS
PROTECTION and TRIP RELAYS
 AC AUXILIARY SUPPLIES are only used on LV and MV systems.
 DC AUXILIARY SUPPLIES are more secure than AC supplies.
 SEPARATELY FUSED SUPPLIES used for each protection.
 DUPLICATE BATTERIES are occasionally provided for extra security.
 MODERN PROTECTION RELAYS need a continuous auxiliary supply.
 During un-operated (healthy) conditions, they draw a small ‘QUIESCENT’
load to keep relay circuits energized.
 During operation, they draw a larger current which increases due to
operation of output elements.
Considerations
Trip output contacts
 Check that these are rated sufficiently to make and carry the
circuit breaker trip coil current. If not, a heavier duty tripping
relay will be needed.
 Use a circuit breaker normally open (52a) contact to interrupt

trip coil current. This extends the life of the protection relay
trip contacts.
Considerations
Type of relay outputs
Close when energised, typically

Make (M) / Normally Open (NO)
used for tripping.
Break (B) / Normally Closed (NC) Close when de-energised.
Can be break before make (BBM)

Changeover (C/O)
or make before break (MBB).
Trip Relay Circuits
Trip Circuit Supervision

Fundamentals of Power System Protection

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fundamentals of Power System Protection

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Power System Protection

 Protection systems ensure safe, reliable and efficient

 Objective of protection system is to

 Limit damage to the faulted equipment

 Minimize disruption of supplies to adjacent un-faulted

 As the fault evolves, if not cleared quickly

Disruption to adjacent plant :

Open circuit + ø/e Fault between adjacent

Evolving fault in cable

Factors influencing protection system design

 Quantities available for measurement

 Types of protection available

 Fault position discrimination

Factors influencing protection system design

 Phase discrimination / Selectivity

 Instrument transformers (CTs & VTs)

 Discrimination (Zones, Phases)

 Failure to operate can be extremely damaging and

 Faults are rare : Protection must operate even after years

 Improved by use of : Back-up protection and duplicate

 Faults on other parts of the system

 Recoverable power swings

Very fast operation :

 Must isolate only the faulty equipment or section

Discrimination and security can be costly to achieve as it

 Where possible use overlapping CTs

 Important for single phase tripping and auto re-closing

 Directional relays provided as shown

 Breakers marked as shown

 Resulted in operation of R1, R2, and R5, which in turn tripped

 Was there loss of dependability or security?

 System as shown with relays and breakers marked

 Fault in the overlap zone at breaker B2 as shown

damage to plant, and loss of supply and customer goodwill.

 Acceptable cost is based on a balance of economics and technical

factors. Cost of protection should be balanced against the cost

 There is an economic limit on what can be spent.

 MINIMUM COST : Must ensure that all faulty equipment is

 Relays, schemes and associated panels and panel wiring

 CTs and VTs

 Maintenance and repairs to relays

 Damage repair if protection fails to operate

 Lost revenue if protection operates unnecessarily

 Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)

 Moulded Case Circuit breaker (MCCB)

 LV ACBs with release (Direct acting AC Trip)

Switch Fuse Units

DP MCB TPN MCB

SPN : Single Pole with Neutral

TPN : Triple Pole with Neutral

LV Air Circuit Breakers

 Over Current and Earth fault

 High impedance or Biased (Low-impedance)

 Tripping and auxiliary relays

Unit, or Restricted Protection

ANSI Standard identifies various components of Protection

A CB is defined in ANSI standards as a mechanical switching

 Requirements – From protection aspect

 Current transformers (CT) are critical for proper functioning of

the protection system.

 CTs have to faithfully reproduce the primary current at

 Custom designed CTs are specified for different protection

Special Class (PS)