Received: 21 November 2022 Revised: 5 June 2023 Accepted: 4 July 2023 IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution

DOI: 10.1049/gtd2.12937

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Efficient practical method for differential protection of power

transformer in the presence of the fault current limiters

Ali Sahebi1 Hossein Askarian-Abyaneh1 Seyed Hossein Hesamedin Sadeghi1

Haidar Samet2 Om Parkash Malik3

1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir
University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic),
Tehran, Iran
2
Department of Power and Control Engineering,
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
3
Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Correspondence
Hossein Askarian-Abyaneh, Department of
Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir University of
Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran.
Email: askarian@aut.ac.ir
Abstract
The algorithms of the present generation of practical differential relays are based on two
methods. The first method is based on the ratio of the harmonic content of the differ-
ential current, and the second one is based on the length of the time interval between the
zero-crossing points of the differential current, called the gap-detection method. However,
these methods suffer from the installation of the fault current limiters (FCLs) in the power
system and current transformer (CT) saturation phenomenon. This paper deals with a sim-
ple practical method for differential relays to secure their performance. In the suggested
method, a classifying algorithm is used to categorize the input signal of the relay and then
the best method of the present generation of differential relays is employed. By this simple
decision, the method takes the advantage of harmonic-based and gap-detection methods,
while avoiding their drawbacks. To prove the robustness of the suggested method, a test
bench with a resistive solid-state fault current limiter (SSFCL) is implemented and exam-
ined in different situations. The results validate the consistency and the accuracy of the
modified technique not only in the absence and the presence of the FCL but in the case of
CT saturation.

1 INTRODUCTION Differential protection of the power transformer is designed

Fault current limiters (FCLs) are expected to play an important
role in future power systems to tackle the problems imposed by
increasing the fault current level. FCL is capable to reduce the
fault current in the range of (20:50)% with impedance values in
the range of (0.2:0.4) pu within the first cycle. However, it has
no effect on the network in normal conditions [1]. Neverthe-
less, employing FCL in the power systems may have detrimental
effects on the signals used for differential protection of the
power transformers, which can threaten the dependability and
safety of the relays. Interestingly, this undesirable effect is not
widely discussed. In [2], the negative effects of the superconduc-
tive FCL on conventional and recently presented discrimination
of the magnetizing inrush current methods are evaluated for the
first time. It is shown that installing FCL in the neutral line of the
power transformers is a serious challenge for differential pro-
tection and is seriously required to encounter the effect of the
FCLs when they are installed in the networks. So, it is an exciting
and valuable issue that should be addressed.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
© 2023 The Authors. IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
to detect magnetizing inrush current and block the relay to
issue a trip. Most of the conventional approaches are based on
the ratio of the harmonic content of the differential currents
[3]. Furthermore, a traditional method based on time intervals
between zero crossing points of the current signal, recognized
as a gap detection approach, is discussed in [4].
Recently, several approaches have been proposed to over-
come the weaknesses of the harmonic-based and gap-detection
methods. Some methods depend on the transformer param-
eters, such as the flux restrained method [5], the equivalent
circuit equation method [6], the modal transform of voltage and
current waveforms [7] and the instantaneous inductance-based
algorithm [8]. These algorithms define distinctive criteria based
on the configuration of the circuit model, which is not accessible
accurately. Moreover, these algorithms require the measurement
of voltage in addition to differential current. These features
increase the computational complexity and reduce the accuracy
of differential protection. Some algorithms identify the switch-
ing conditions based on the feature of the differential power

IET Gener. Transm. Distrib. 2023;17:3861–3871. wileyonlinelibrary.com/iet-gtd 3861

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3862 SAHEBI ET AL.

signal [9]. Therefore, in these techniques, both voltage signals CB1 CT1 HV LV CT2 CB2
and current signals play an important role in causing additional FCL
cost and time requirements. A method based on correlation Line 1
Internal fault
Line 2
analysis of the current wave shape is presented in [10]. Weakness Source 1 R Source 2
Impedance Impedance
in the case of CT saturation is the problem of these methods.
Moreover, some other algorithms are based on the features V1 V2
extracted by wavelet transform (WT) [11, 12], empirical mode
decomposition (EMD) method [13], and waveform sinusoidal (a)
similarity [14]. In [11–13], the high-order harmonics obtained
by WT are utilized to identify inrush current, which causes these SSFCL

algorithms to be noise sensitive. ZnO

In [15], mathematical morphology is used to discriminate Snubber
internal fault from switching conditions. The performance of
Line current CT
this method is influenced by different operating conditions, and
the threshold value is not constant. A statistical-based method is
presented in [16]. This algorithm utilizes statistical momentum ZFCL

to detect internal faults. However, the sensitivity of this method

IGBT
to decaying DC components may cause a long delay in operation Driver (1) Control
Circuit
IGBT
[17]. Driver (2)

Some other methods use deep neural networks [18] and

fuzzy mathematics theory [19]. In addition, a decision tree- (b)
based method is presented in [20]. These algorithms required
an enormous number of tests for the training process, which is Diode-bridge FCL
difficult to acquire in a real power system.
I0 D3
Besides the discussed problems in the above paragraphs for D1

L1
the presented algorithms, the main drawback of most of the dis- Line current

crimination algorithms is the high computational burden and D4

difficulty of implementation [21–23]. This reason causes them
to not be persuaded for applying these methods in practical
application. Therefore, due to these limitations, harmonic-
based and gap-detection methods are still widely utilized in real
applications, despite their shortcomings [24].
In this paper, it is shown that installing FCL has a con-
siderable impact on the performance of the harmonic-based
algorithm as a widely used approach in practice. However, the
presence of FCLs in the grid will not affect the gap-detection
method. Furthermore, in the case of CT saturation during
switching conditions, the gap-detection method is inefficient;
however, the harmonic-based method is secure.
Therefore, this idea is used to suggest an efficient practi-
cal method which has the advantage of both methods and
avoids their weaknesses. In the proposed method, a classifying
technique is used to categorize the input signals based on the
distortion of the differential current waveforms. Then, based
on this classification, the more efficient algorithm from the
harmonic and gap detection methods is selected to analyse
the signal. The suggested method is accurate for the differ-
ential protection performance in the absence and presence of
FCL and all probable conditions of CT saturation. Moreover,
the method is reliable for relay manufacturers since it can be
implemented by simple modifications of the existing method.
DC D2
(c)
FIGURE 1 (a) Simulated power system. (b) Switch-type SSFCL. (c)
Bridge-type FCL (ZFCL is the limiting impedance).
tection. To evaluate this issue, a power system network with a
single line diagram shown in Figure 1a, is employed. Influences
of the two types of FCL are considered in the evaluations.
2.1 Switch-type SSFCL
As shown in Figure 1b), a switch-type SSFCL entails controlled
switches, limiting impedance, a snubber for protecting switches,
and a varistor (ZnO) to diminish transient overvoltage [25].
During normal conditions, the switches turn on and the FCL
shows negligible impedance. At fault inception, the control sys-
tem identifies the high amplitude current and turns off the
switches. Therefore, the current path is directed to FCL and the
current amplitude is reduced.

2.2 Diode-bridge FCL with DC biased coil

2 IMPACT OF THE FCL
This type of FCL, as demonstrated in Figure 1c, is com-
As discussed, FCLs are expected to affect the input signals of posed of four diodes, a dc voltage source and an inductor
the digital signal processor (DSP) relevant to differential pro- with a large impedance [2]. In the normal operation mode, the
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SAHEBI ET AL. 3863

constant dc current (I0 ) caused by the voltage source (Vdc ) and

the inductor (L) is higher than the line current value. There-
fore, all four diodes are in the forward biases and current flows
through the path with minimum impedance formed by D1–D3
and D2–D4. During fault instant, any current exceeding I0 flows
through inductor L and respectively D1–D2 conducting during
the negative half cycle and D3–D4 during the positive half cycle.

2.3 Factors affecting distortion degree of

current waveform in presence of FCLs

The impact of FCLs on the differential relays as a new and

unknown challenge requires a detailed analysis. The evaluations
of more than one thousand case studies revealed that factors
which can affect the distortion degree of differential current
can be classified into four categories. These factors can affect
the possibility of maloperation of the differential relays. In the
following, these factors are analysed in more detail, separately.

a. Limiting impedance of the FCL: Whenever the limiting

impedance of the FCL is higher, the distortion of the cur-
rent waveform is higher. Figure 2a illustrates the impacts
of resistive SSFCL limiting impedance on a similar fault
current.
b. Triggering current of the FCL: Whenever the triggering
current is close to the peak of the current waveform, the
distortion of the waveform is more significant. When the
triggering current is near the waveform peak instant, the
sudden reduction of the current waveform is more signif-
icant when the FCL adds the limiting impedance into the
circuit. This fact is demonstrated in Figure 2b by employing
the SSFCL.
c. Amplitude of the current waveform: The amplitude of the
current waveform depends on many factors such as system
configurations, fault path impedance and fault location from
a neutral point. Figure 2c shows the impact of the SSFCL
with the same limiting impedance and triggering current on
fault currents with different locations from the neutral point.
d. Type of FCL: Different types of FCL, such as the fault cur-
rent limiting element (resistive or inductive impedance), time
delay operation and topology of the FCL, are effective on
current waveform distortion and have different impacts on
fault current amplitude and phase angle [2].

Figure 2d presents a comparison between the R-type and

the L-type SSFCL. It is shown that the fault currents are
more affected by the L-type SSFCL, because of the non-linear
behaviour of the inductor which causes a fracture in the cur-
rent waveform. Figure 2e illustrates the influence of bridge type
FCL on the current waveform. The figure reveals that the cur-
rent waveform is distorted considerably and its peak rises with FIGURE 2 Impact of (a) limiting impedance of the FCL, (b) different
time. This happens because the dc bias coil is charging in each triggering current, (c) amplitude of the current waveform, (d) R-type and
half cycle. L-type SSFCL and (e) bridge type SSFCL.

3864
FIGURE 3 Impact of FCL on an internal fault. (a) Fault current
waveform. (b) Second harmonic-based method. (c) Gap detection technique.
3 ALGORITHM DESCRIPTION
As discussed, many algorithms are proposed for discrimination
between switching conditions and internal faults. However, lim-
itations of the implementation of these methods caused to use
harmonic-based and gap-detection methods in practical appli-
cations, regardless of their weaknesses. These two methods are
precisely discussed and their weaknesses are evaluated in the
following sections.
3.1 Second harmonic-based method
Most differential relays are supplemented by the ratio of the
absolute value of the second harmonic to the fundamental com-
ponent of the differential current to recognize inrush current
conditions. The ratio has been usually set in the range of 12–
20%. In the following, five disturbances which may affect the
discrimination methods are evaluated, separately.
a. Presence of FCL during the internal fault: The presence of
FCL imposes significant harmonic content on the differen-
tial current. Figure 3b shows the percent of the absolute
value of the second harmonic to the fundamental differen-
tial current, calculated by one-cycle Fourier transform (FT).
It is obvious that the criterion index, which is defined for
harmonic-based technique, is not proper in the presence of
FCL.
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SAHEBI ET AL.
FIGURE 4 Impact of FCL on (a) inrush current waveform and (b)
second harmonic-based method.
b. Presence of FCL during the inrush current: Also, the inrush
current waveforms can be limited by the FCLs. This causes
the increase of the harmonic component of the inrush cur-
rent waveform. The harmonic-based method can identify
this saturation, correctly. As demonstrated in Figure 4b, the
ratio of the second harmonic to the fundamental current
increases after FCLs start limiting the current waveform and
the switching condition is detected.
c. CT saturation during internal fault: This method is insuf-
ficient in case of internal faults during CT saturation. As
shown in Figure 5b, the ratio of the second harmonic to the
fundamental current is higher than the defined threshold and
the relay incorrectly identifies the disturbances as a switching
condition.
d. CT saturation during inrush current: Due to the large DC
component of inrush currents, CTs may also saturate during
transformer switching. In these conditions, the output cur-
rent of the saturated CT tends to shift down with respect to
the primary current, as depicted in Figure 6b. This method is
proper for these conditions and its criterion (I2/I1 > 15%)
satisfies the switching conditions.
e. CT saturation during external fault: During an external fault,
the differential current is almost equal to zero and the dis-
crimination methods will not trigger. However, when the
CTs saturate due to the nearby short circuits, the differ-
ential current waveform increases high enough to satisfy
the threshold of disturbance. So, the discrimination method
starts to analyse the disturbance. As shown in Figure 7b,
these conditions would not make the harmonic-based
method operate incorrectly.
3.2 Gap detection technique
The gap detection technique is another practical method. As
illustrated in Figure 6a, this method is based on the fact that
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SAHEBI ET AL. 3865

FIGURE 7 CT saturation during an external fault. (a) Fault current

FIGURE 5 CT saturation during an internal fault. (a) Fault current waveform. (b) Second harmonic-based method. (c) Gap detection technique.
waveform. (b) Second harmonic-based method. (c) Gap detection technique.

a typical transformer inrush current waveform consists of two

parts in each cycle: a dead angle period, where the current is
less than 5% of the rated current and a peaked wave part. An
inrush condition can be identified when the dead angle period
is more than a quarter of the fundamental power system cycle.
Likewise, the performance of the gap detection method for the
five disturbances is analysed in the following:

a. Presence of the FCL during the internal fault: This scheme

uses the dead angle zone of the current waveform. Thus, dis-
torted waveforms can be distinguished correctly. Figure 3c
represents the correct operation of this method in the
presence of the FCL during an internal fault.
b. Presence of the FCL during the inrush current: As depicted
in Figure 4a the current waveform may be distorted in this
condition. However, the dead angle zone is almost equal
to a condition in which FCL is not added to the grid. So,
the defined criterion of this method is reliable for these
disturbances.
c. CT saturation during internal fault: The same reasons dis-
cussed for the presence of the FCLs can be presented for this
condition to prove its performance for these disturbances.
The proper operation of the gap detection method in this
condition is shown in Figure 5c.
d. CT saturation during inrush current: In this condition,
the length of the dead angle zone decreases, significantly;
FIGURE 6 CT saturation during an internal fault. (a) Fault current which endangers the correct operation of the gap detection
waveform. (b) Second harmonic-based method. (c) Gap detection technique.
approach, as illustrated in Figure 6c.

3866
e. CT saturation during external fault: As depicted in Figure 7c,
the differential current waveform consists of a long period in
each cycle whose magnitude is almost equal to zero. Con-
sequently, the gap detection method blocks the relay and
prevents it from commanding a false trip. The peak and the
dead angle zone of the current waveform relate to the fluctu-
ation of the CT core between the saturated and not saturated
periods.
3.3 Classification method
The above evaluations disclose that there is a need for a
technique which has the ability to distinguish disturbances
and choose the best discrimination method so that it takes
advantage of the second harmonic and the gap detection
methods while avoiding their drawbacks. In the following, a
simple and efficient practical method is introduced to reach
this purpose. In the suggested method first, the input sig-
nal of the differential relay is categorized into three groups.
Based on the strengths and the weaknesses of the second
harmonic and gap detection methods, the best algorithm is
selected for each group. This method can be applied in real
application by a simple change in the present generation of
relays.
In order to find the best method, the input current signals
are categorized into different groups based on their distortion
level. In [26], a reliable and well-known algorithm relying on
the derivative of the current signal is introduced to detect the
distortion of the current signal.
This algorithm is based on the assumption that the derivatives
of the two consecutive samples of a sinusoidal signal are almost
identical. The value of the estimated signal in sample n (ie (n))
is calculated by equalizing the derivative of the two consecutive
samples (n, n−1) as follows:
ie (n) − i(n − 1) i(n − 1) − i(n − 2)
≈ (1)
T T
ie (n) ≈ 2i(n − 1) − i(n − 2) (2)
The instant distortion in the current waveform is determined
by comparing the estimated signal and the original signal. If the
absolute difference between the estimated sample value and the
real sample value is higher than the maximum error (Δ) of the
estimated current, the distortion instant is detected.
|ie (n) − i(n)| > Δ × |ie (n)| (3)
However, the distortion of the differential current (sudden
reduction) owing to the presence of FCL may occur during
internal faults and inrush currents, as shown in Figures 4a
and 6a, respectively. Furthermore, the current waveform of the
internal and the external faults during CT saturation can change
considerably as shown in Figures 5a and 7a. Moreover, as
depicted in Figure 6a, the sharp changes (sudden increase) from
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SAHEBI ET AL.
the dead angle zone to the peak wave region of the transformer
inrush current may satisfy Equation (3).
These disturbances are in contrast with the algorithm
assumption and Equation (3) may satisfy all these cases. Hence,
these disturbances have to be categorized in which the pur-
pose of the algorithm can be achieved. However, the conditional
statement defined in Equation (3) is not proper for this goal.
To solve this problem, Equation (3) should be modified and
instead of using the absolute difference between the estimated
current and the original current, the direction of sudden changes
(sudden increase or reduction) is considered. By considering the
first abrupt decrease or increase, the current waveform can be
divided into three groups as follows:
In the first group, the absolute value of the current wave-
form decreases substantially such as the presence of the FCL
and CT saturation during an internal fault. These disturbances
should be analysed by the gap detection method to preserve the
differential relay performance.
In the second group, the absolute value of the current wave-
form increases considerably. External fault during CT saturation
and inrush current during saturated and non-saturated CT can
be categorized in this group. These situations should be exam-
ined by the harmonic based method as discussed in previous
sections.
The last group refers to the waveforms which are virtually
sinusoidal. There is no difference between the accuracy of gap
detection and harmonic-based method and both methods are
acceptable.
As discussed in the above paragraphs the proposed method
has to classify the disturbances as shown in Figure 8a. To reach
this goal, Equation (3) can be modified by a sign function as fol-
lows. The sign function helps to detect the direction of increase
or decrease of the waveforms.
( )
(ie (n) − i(n))
|ie (n) − i(n)| × sign > Δ × |ie (n)| (4)
×(ie (n) + i(n))
Another problem is that the selected thresholds for the gap
detection method as well as Equation (4) depend on the ampli-
tude value of current waveforms. By normalizing the current
waveform based on its first maximum value, this problem can
be excluded and Equation (4) is revised as follows:
( )
(ie (n) − i(n))
sign
|ie (n) − i(n)| ×(ie (n) + i(n)) Δ × |ie (n)|
MI = × >
max |i| max |i| max |i|
(5)
This criterion is named modified index (MI) and max| i |
is the maximum absolute value of the differential current. By
considering the maximum error of the estimated current when
(ie = max| i |), Equation (5) can be rewritten as follows:
( )
(ieNo (n) − iNo (n))
MI = |ieNo (n) − iNo (n)| × sign > Δ (6)
×(ieNo (n) + iNo (n))

SAHEBI ET AL.
FIGURE 8 The proposed method: (a) Classification procedure and (b)
flowchart.
iNo (n) is the normalized differential current in sample n. The
normalized differential current is employed to have the same
threshold for different system configuration. The maximum
error of the estimated current (Δ) for a normalized current is
considered 0.05 for all simulation and experimental cases. To
classify the three disturbance groups, Equation (3) should also
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3867
B D
FIGURE 9 Four-winding transformer for modelling internal faults in
PSCAD software.
be revised based on the normalized current as follows:
|ieNo (n) − iNo (n)| > Δ (7)
For the first group disturbances, Equations (6) and (7) will
be satisfied. For the second group, Equation (7) will be satisfied
and Equation (6) is not satisfied and for the last group, both
conditional equations are not satisfied. The procedure of the
suggested method is shown in Figure 8b.
4 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
In this section, the performance of the proposed practical
method is assessed through various simulations and practical
tests. Also, a comparison between the proposed algorithm and
the present generation of relays algorithms will be made.
4.1 The simulated power system
The single-line diagram of the simulated model is illustrated in
Figure 1a, which is developed in PSCAD/EMTDC software.
The power substation, CTs, transmission lines, FCLs and power
transformer are modelled, accurately. As the model of the inter
windings faults and the residual flux of the power transformer
core are not accessible in the PSCAD library, a developed
power transformer model is employed [24]. To model inter-
nal and turn-to-turn faults, a four-winding transformer is used
as demonstrated in Figure 9. To simulate primary side internal
faults windings A, B and C can be connected in series. Also, a
similar procedure can be applied for modelling the secondary
internal faults. The residual flux of the power transformer core
is simulated by DC current sources [24].
To appraise the performance of the proposed method more
than 1500 simulation cases are studied in detail. Different
factors such as power system topographies, different mag-
netization curves, switching angle and remnant flux in the
transformer core, which may affect the inrush current wave
shape are considered in the evaluations as given in Table 1.
Also, various internal faults are considered with different fault
resistances, lengths of transmission lines, fault distances from
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3868 SAHEBI ET AL.

TABLE 1 Different scenarios related to the simulated power system.

Fault inception Fault

and switching Line length impedance Fault turns Transformer Knee point of
Fault type angle (◦ ) (Km) (ohm) ratio (%) connection Ø–I curve (pu)

Turn-to-ground, turn-to-turn, 0, 18, 36, 54, …, 5, 10, 40, 60, 0, 5, 10,15 2, 5, 10, 50, 80, Yg-Δ,Yg-Yg, 1.15, 1.2, 1.25,
phase-to-phase, three phase 360 80,110 100 Δ-Yg, Δ-Δ 1.3

FIGURE 10 Calculated MI for the internal fault during the presence of

FCL, evaluated in Figure 3.

FIGURE 12 An internal fault in presence of bridge-type FCL, (a)

differential current, (b) MI criterion, (c) gap detection method and (d)
harmonic-based method.

FIGURE 11 An internal fault in presence of L-type SSFCL, (a)

differential current, (b) MI criterion and (c) gap detection method.

neutral points and fault inception angles. Different limiting fea-

tures of the SSFCL and bridge-type FCL such as the triggering
current, response time and limiting impedance are evaluated as FIGURE 13 Calculated MI for the internal fault during CT saturation,
demonstrated in Table 2. evaluated in Figure 5.
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SAHEBI ET AL. 3869

TABLE 2 Different limiting characteristics of the utilized FCL.

FCL time FCL limiting Triggering Normal condition

delay (ms) Type Location impedance (pu) current (pu) impedance (Ω)

0, 2, 5, 10 Resistive and inductive high and low 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 2, 5, 10, 0.01
Bridge type and SSFCL vol 15, 20,30

DC
supply
Data Oscilloscope
voltage
logger

Transformer

SSFCL

CT CT
FCL limiting
impedance
FIGURE 14 Calculated MI an external fault during CT saturation,
evaluated in Figure 7. (a)

SSFCL

4.2 Simulation assessment ZnO

Snubber
Hall effect
In this section, the consistency and robustness of the proposed IGBT 1 Sensor CT1 HV LV CT2

method for different scenarios are scrutinized in detail. IGBT 2

Internal fault
Impedance ZFCL
R Load
a. Presence of FCL during the internal fault: As discussed in
IGBT
Section 3.3, for these disturbances the absolute value of the V Driver (2) Control
Circuit
IGBT
current waveform decreases, considerably. For these cases Driver (1)

Equation (7) is satisfied (the amplitude of the calculated

MI is higher than the threshold) and the direction of the (b)
first abrupt changes is positive. Therefore, the MI criterion
(Equation (6)) is satisfied and the proposed method uses the
gap detection method to evaluate the condition.
∙ R-type SSFCL: In Figure 3a, the effect of R-type SSFCL
on an internal fault is shown. The calculated MI crite-
rion for this case is shown in Figure 10. As confirmed
in this figure, Equation (7) and the MI criterion (Equa- (c)
tion (6)) are satisfied. So, the gap detection method is
selected as the best algorithm to analyse this distur-
bance. It is confirmed in Figure 3c that the gap detection
method discriminates this disturbance as an internal fault
and commands a trip to the relay. However as shown
in Figure 3b, the harmonic-based method commands
wrongly and blocks the relay for the first cycle.
(d)
∙ L-type SSFCL: The performance of the proposed method
for an internal fault case in the presence of L-type
FCL is depicted in Figure 11. As same as the R-type
FCL the MI criterion is satisfied and the gap detection
method is selected as the best algorithm. As represented
in Figure 11c, the gap detection method detects the
circumstance as an internal fault, properly.
∙ Diode-bridge FCL with DC biased coil: In Figure 12a the (e)
calculated MI of an internal fault limited by the diode-
bridge FCL is depicted. It is approved in Figure 12b that FIGURE 15 (a) Laboratory test bench. (b) Single line diagram. (c) A
the MI criterion is satisfied and the gap detection algo- typical case in presence of R-type SSFCL. (d) MI criterion. (e) Gap detection
method.
rithm distinguishes the situation as an internal fault, as

3870
TABLE 3 Algorithm performance comparisons for all case studies.
Presence of FCL
Errors (%)
Internal Fault Inrush Current
Algorithm Sim Exp Sim
Harmonic based 45.5 53.1 <0.5
Gap detection <0.5 <0.5 <0.5
Proposed method <0.5 <0.5 <0.5
Simulation (Sim), Experiment (Exp).
confirmed in Figure 12c. In Figure 12d the maloperation
of the harmonic-based algorithm is demonstrated for this
case. The algorithm makes a wrong decision and blocks
the relay incorrectly.
b. CT saturation during internal fault: In Figure 13, the MI
criterion of the case, which is discussed in Figure 5a, is
depicted. The figure confirms that the MI criterion is sat-
isfied and the gap detection method is chosen as the best
algorithm. The appropriate operation of the gap detection
algorithm is evaluated in Figure 5c. Also, the maloperation
of the harmonic-based method for this case is evident in
Figure 5b.
c. CT saturation during external fault: As discussed in Sec-
tion 3.3, the MI criterion for the external faults during the CT
saturation is not satisfied and the harmonic-based method is
selected as the decision-maker algorithm. The MI criterion
is depicted in Figure 14 for the case which is evaluated in
Figure 7a. It is validated that the MI criterion is not satisfied
and the harmonic-based algorithm blocks the relay correctly
as shown in Figure 7b.
4.3 Experimental assessment
The robustness and accuracy of the suggested algorithm for
real application are assessed by a test bench system shown in
Figure 15a. The employed test bench system comprises a 3
KVA, 50 Hz, 330 V/330 V transformer with several accessi-
ble terminals and an SSFCL as shown in Figure 15b. Several
switching conditions and internal faults are generated, con-
sidering different switching angles and remnant fluxes of the
transformer core. The generated data is measured by a data
logger with 128 µs sampling time. In addition, different limit-
ing features of the FCL such as triggering current and limiting
impedance are considered in the experiments. A Hall effect sen-
sor is used to measure the line current. This measured current
is compared with the triggering current to activate the limiting
path.
A typical recorded internal fault current in the presence of R-
type SSFCL measured by the data logger is shown in Figure 15c.
When the current exceeds a predefined triggering current, the
switch is turned off and the fault current is limited by the lim-
iting impedance. For this case, an abrupt reduction is happened
17518695, 2023, 17, Downloaded from https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1049/gtd2.12937 by Iraq Hinari NPL, Wiley Online Library on [27/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
SAHEBI ET AL.
CT saturation
Errors (%)
Exp Internal fault Inrush current External fault
<0.5 33.8 <0.5 <0.5
<0.5 <0.5 23.2 <0.5
<0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5
by the FCL in the differential current waveform. Thus, as shown
in Figure 15d the MI criterion is satisfied and the algorithm
chooses the gap detection method as the decision-maker algo-
rithm. The suitable performance of the gap detection algorithm
for this disturbance is evident in Figure 15e.
4.4 Comparison
In this section, to validate the destructive influence of the FCL
and CT saturation on harmonic and gap detection methods
and approve the performance of the proposed method, all case
studies (1500 simulation cases and 180 experimental cases) are
assessed and the relevant results are presented in Table 3.
In accordance with the previous discussion, the results con-
firm that the gap detection method suffers from the detection
of inrush currents during CT saturation. The percentage of
mal-operation, for the gap detection method in case of inrush
currents during CT saturation, is equal to 23.2 % as presented
in Table 3. In the presence of FCL which distorts the internal
fault current waveform, the accuracy of the second harmonic-
based method decreases dramatically. The results show 45.5%
and 53.1% maloperation in the presence of FCL for simulation
and experimental cases, respectively. The results confirm the
efficiency of the proposed method for application in practical
relays.
5 CONCLUSION
In this paper, the impact of the presence of FCL on differential
relays is evaluated. The factors that interfere with the impact of
the FCLs on the current waveform are introduced. To deal with
this concern, a practical algorithm is presented for employing
in digital protection to enhance the immunity of the differen-
tial relays. The proposed method is based on the algorithms
which are currently employed in the present generation of relays.
Therefore, it will be a promising and alternative approach for
practical implementation. The performance of the proposed
method was assessed with representative simulations and exper-
imental results. The results demonstrated that the method is
capable to identify the internal faults in the absence and the
presence of FCL and during all possible conditions of the CT
saturation.

SAHEBI ET AL.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Ali Sahebi: Conceptualization; data curation; formal analy-
sis; investigation; methodology; software; validation; visual-
ization; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing.
Hossein Askarian-Abyaneh: Conceptualization; data cura-
tion; funding acquisition; investigation; methodology; project
administration; resources; supervision; writing—review and
editing. Seyed Hossein Hesamedin Sadeghi: Conceptual-
ization; data curation; formal analysis; project administration;
supervision. Haidar Samet: Conceptualization; data curation;
formal analysis; writing—review and editing; resources; valida-
tion; visualization. Om Parkash Malik: Supervision; formal
analysis; writing—review and editing.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
FUNDING INFORMATION
The authors received no specific funding for this work.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The actual recorded data are confidential.
ORCID
Hossein Askarian-Abyaneh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-
7628-9670
Haidar Samet https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1367-3872
Om Parkash Malik https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4925-1276
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How to cite this article: Sahebi, A.,
Askarian-Abyaneh, H., Sadeghi, S.H.H., Samet, H.,
Malik, O.P.: Efficient practical method for differential
protection of power transformer in the presence of the
fault current limiters. IET Gener. Transm. Distrib. 17,
3861–3871 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1049/gtd2.12937