PRINCIPLES

OF POWER SYSTEM
PROTECTION
Part 1

Bob Coulter
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PowerofSystem
Principles Protection
Power System Protection
Purpose of Protection Engineering
„ Protection engineering is the branch of electrical power
engineering concerned with the design and operation of
“protection schemes”
„ The purpose of protection is to minimise the effects of faults
on electrical power systems - note faults can never be
entirely avoided
„ Protection schemes are specialised control systems that
monitor the power system - detect faults or abnormal
conditions and then initiate corrective action
„ In this context the power system is considered all the plant
and equipment necessary to generate, transmit, distribute
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and utilise electrical power
Principles of Power System Protection
The Electrical Power System

GENERATION TRANSMISSION SUBTRANSMISSION

500kV, 330kV Embedded

275kV, 200kV,
132kV
132kV, 110kV,
66kV, 33kV, 22kV
G Generation

G
Terminal Station or
Power Station Transmission Substation Zone
Substation

Standby Generation

G Embedded

G G
Generation Embedded
Distribution Generation

Substation

CUSTOMER
LOAD
415/240V, 480/240V 33kV, 22kV, 11kV, 6.6kV, SWER

CUSTOMER SECONDARY
INSTALLATION or LV DISTRIBUTION PRIMARY or HV DISTRIBUTION
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Principles of Power System Protection
Power System ““Secondary
Secondary Systems
Systems”” include
„ Protection

„ Auto control for voltage, frequency, reactive power compensation,

power flow, network configuration and stability

„ Metering for billing, operational control and statistical data

„ Local manual control (plant status, voltage level reactive power

support, network configuration)

„ Remote manual control via communications links (SCADA)

„ Plant condition monitoring and alarming (temperature,

malfunction, maintenance need, operating duty)

„ Communications infrastructure

„ Instrument transformers – current and voltage transformers

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Principles of Power System Protection
Types of Fault and Abnormality
„ Short-circuit faults (3Φ, 2Φ, Φg, 2Φg)
„ Open-circuit faults (open conductor)
„ Complex faults (inter-circuit, broken conductor, cross-country etc)
„ Inter-turn faults in windings
„ Abnormalities:
ƒ Overload and excessive operating temperature
ƒ Real power deficit - underfrequency
ƒ Power swings
ƒ Power frequency overvoltage or undervoltage
ƒ Underexcitation of synchronous machines
ƒ Overfluxing of power transformers
ƒ Asynchronous operation of synchronous machines
ƒ Overfrequency
ƒ Mechanical defects ie. leaking oil, tapchanger mechanism faults etc

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Principles of Power System Protection
Causes of Short -Circuit Faults
Short-Circuit
„ Insulation breakdown due to inherent weakness
„ Lightning
„ Birds and animals bridging insulators
„ Dig-ups for underground cables
„ Poles collapsing
„ Conductors breaking
„ Willful damage
„ Vehicle impact
„ Wind borne debris
„ Incorrect operation by personnel
„ etc
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Principles of Power System Protection
Effects of Short -Circuit Type Faults
Short-Circuit
„ Large or very large currents can flow through parts of the network
– thousands or tens of thousands of Amps can be involved

„ These large currents can only be allowed to flow for a very short
time otherwise equipment and generators would be damaged,
most likely terminally – allowable short-circuit current flow
duration could range from as short as 10 milliseconds up to say 3
seconds.

„ Arcs, sparking and the heating effect of short-circuit currents can

start fires involving non-electrical assets/property

„ Very large mechanical forces can be caused by short-circuit

currents which have potential to break or damage equipment

„ Electric current can “escape” from the network conductors and

flow through paths where they could create a hazard to people or
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livestock and cause damage to non-electrical assets/property
Principles of Power System Protection
Large Transformer Fire

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Principles of Power System Protection
Short -circuit Type Faults
Short-circuit

R R R R
W W W W
B B B B

3Φ Fault 2Φ Fault

R R R R
W W W W
B B B B

Φ-e Fault 2Φ-e Fault

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Principles of Power System Protection
Short -circuit Type Faults with Fault Impedance
Short-circuit
R R R R
W W W W
B B B B

Zf1 Zf2 Zf3

Zf

3Φ Fault 2Φ Fault

R R
W W
B B
Zf
R R
W W
B B
Zf1 Zf2

Zf3

Φ-e Fault 2Φ-e Fault

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Principles of Power System Protection
Some Causes of Fault Impedance

„ Arc resistance
„ Pole, tower or structure footing resistance to earth
„ Resistance things that may come in contact with a
line i.e. tree, crane etc
„ Contact resistance where a conductor falls to the
ground

For protection design it is important to recognise that

fault impedance can significantly reduce the
magnitude of fault currents and take this into account
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Principles of Power System Protection
Series Type Faults

R R R R
W W W W
B B B B

1Φ Open 2Φ Open

R Zf R R Zf1 R
W W W Zf2 W
B B B B

Series impedance in 1Φ Series impedance in 2Φ’s

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Principles of Power System Protection
Some Complex Fault Types
R R
R R
W W
W W B B
Circuit 1
B B Zf
Circuit 2
R R
Zf
W W
B B

Broken conductor fault Inter-circuit fault

R
W
B
Φ-e Fault at
Location 1

R
W
B
Φ-e Fault at
Location 2

13 Cross country fault

Principles of Power System Protection
Faults in Windings

Short-circuited
turns

Fault

If
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Principles of Power System Protection
Protection Function - Components
PR Protection Relay
Bus
CB Circuit Breaker
CB CT Equip
Equip Protected Item
Tr

PR P CT Current Transformer
C
L
VT
VT Voltage Transformer
DC Aux HMI Control

DC Aux DC Auxiliary supply

HMI Man-machine interface

Basic Arrangement of a
Protection Scheme PCL Communications Link

Tr CB trip coil
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Principles of Power System Protection
Protection Schemes – Key Factors

„ Automatic and correct diagnosis of faults and abnormalities

„ Quick response – measured in milliseconds to a few

seconds at the most

„ Must operate reliably

„ Can be viewed as a form of active insurance intended to

maintain high degree of service continuity and limit losses
through equipment and plant damage

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Principles of Power System Protection
Basic Objectives of a Network Protection System
„ Detect faults and unacceptable abnormalities and
isolate faulty section of network as quickly as
possible

„ Minimise extent of damage at fault point

„ Minimise effect fault has on rest of power system

„ Minimise danger to life and property

„ Minimise extent and duration of outage

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Principles of Power System Protection
Protection Application Concepts
Substation A PR PR Substation B

PR
PR
Source
Network
Short-circuit fault
on Line B-C
PR PR

Substation C Substation D

Fault current flow Circuit Breaker Circuit breaker to be opened

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Principles of Power System Protection
Protection Co-ordination Concept
Co-ordination
Without Coordination With Coordination

Device Opens Device Opens

Unnecessary circuit interruption Unnecessary circuit interruption

Device stays closed, supply SC Device stays closed, supply SC

not interrupted Fault not interrupted Fault

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Principles of Power System Protection
Protection Application Concepts - continued
„ Protection relays are associated with each network plant
equipment item or circuit (ie line, cable, transformer, generator,
busbar etc)

„ Protection relays closest to the fault location should operate first

„ Circuit breakers closest to fault should be opened first

„ Fault current components will flow in other (unfaulted) circuits –

protection relays associated with these should not operate in the
first instance

„ As protection relays or circuit breakers may fail to operate during

a fault on occasions, back-up is necessary

„ Concepts of protection function Availability, Reliability and

Security
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Principles of Power System Protection
Protection Application Concepts - continued
Protection Unprotected Protection Protection Protection
Relay for PR Zone PR Relay for Relay for PR PR Relay for
Busbar Circuit Busbar Circuit

Circuit Circuit

Busbar Busbar
Fault Fault
Overlapped current transformers –
No overlap of current transformers
correct practice

Protection Protection Protection Protection

Relay for PR PR Relay for Relay for PR PR Relay for
Busbar Circuit Busbar Circuit

Fault
Circuit

Fault between current transformers Current transformers on both

21 and circuit breaker sides of circuit breaker
Principles of Power System Protection
Impacts of Protection Scheme Performance on
Power System Performance
„ Reliability of supply
„ Quality of supply – voltage dip severity
„ Danger to public and livestock – step and touch potentials
„ Hazards to other utilities assets – gas, water and
telecommunications
„ Fire ignition – bushfires, equipment fires and customer
installation fires
„ Operator safety
„ Network damage and repair cost
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Principles of Power System Protection
Performance Requirements of Protection
Systems - 1
„ Discriminate between load (normal) and fault (abnormal)
conditions
„ Not be confused by non-damaging transient conditions
„ Be selective – coordinate with other protection systems
„ Fast enough to prevent damage and hazards – but not too
fast
„ Have no “blind spots” i.e. unprotected zones
„ Be able to handle maximum fault current duty

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Principles of Power System Protection
Performance Requirements of Protection
Systems - 2
„ High degree of reliability and availability

„ Secure against incorrect operation (security)

„ An acceptable compromise between reliability and security

is required – reliability should take precedence

„ Should not restrict rating of primary plant and equipment

„ Should be affordable

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Principles of Power System Protection
Methods of Detecting Faults
„ Magnitude of current – Overcurrent protection
„ Magnitude of current in earth or neutral – Earth Fault protection
„ Magnitude and Phase Angle of current – Directional Overcurrent protection
„ Magnitude and Phase Angle of current in earth or neutral – Directional Earth Fault
protection
„ Magnitude and Angle of Impedance (Ratio V/I) – Impedance protection
„ Difference between two or more currents – Differential protection
„ Difference between Phase Angles of two currents – Phase Comparison protection
„ Magnitude of negative sequence current
„ Magnitude of Voltage – Overvoltage or Undervoltage protection
„ Magnitude of Frequency – Over or Underfrequency protection
„ Temperature – Thermal protection
„ Specials i.e. transformer gas protection,
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Principles of Power System Protection
Types of Protection ““Relay”
Relay”

„ Electromechanical

„ Electronic analogue using discrete components

„ Electronic analogue using ICs

„ Microprocessor

„ Microprocessor + DSP (Digital Signal Processor)

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Principles of Power System Protection
Digital Protection Relays

„ Input measured quantities conditioned, filtered and digitised

„ All protection functions done via software in
microprocessor(s) or DSP(s)
„ Communications processors for HMI, control interfacing
and data transfer
„ Digital I/O for protection communications aspects
„ Software driven HMI
„ Relays for circuit breaker tripping

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Principles of Power System Protection
Enhanced Performance Provided by Digital
Relays
„ Better accuracy of protection function measurements i.e.
less margin required for measuring errors (time, current,
voltage, impedance, phase angle)
„ True RMS sensing and unaffected by transient components
of fault voltage and current signals
„ Tuning or rejection of non-power frequency currents in
sensitive earth fault protection
„ Complete catalogue of timing functions
„ Result better protection coverage, shorter operating times,
better load carrying capability and enhanced security
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Principles of Power System Protection
New Functions
„ Protection functions done in software
„ Once input voltages and currents are digitised, new and
additional functionality can be added at low cost
„ For example:
ƒ Negative sequence protection for distribution feeders
ƒ Impedance measurement instead of current
ƒ Circuit breaker fail logic
ƒ Thermal modelling
ƒ Circuit breaker duty
ƒ Directional features

„ Other input signals can be added

„ Can use improved fault detection techniques
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for much lower cost
Principles of Power System Protection
Logic Capability

„ Can use relay as a ‘PLC’

„ Removes need for complex wiring for control and

interlocking functions as in industrial situations where PLC
use is ‘standard’

„ High degree of application flexibility and ability to support

user specific logic schemes

„ Logic changes readily done after commissioning

„ Optical fibre links can be supported to reduce susceptibility

to EMI
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Principles of Power System Protection
Metering and Logging Functions
„ Because of digital nature of input quantities wide range of
logging and measuring capability can be provided at low
cost
„ Current, voltage, phase angle, kW, kVAr, neutral current etc
all routinely available
„ Quantities specific to protection application can be captured
and logged, for example:
„ Inrush current magnitude and harmonic content recording for transformer
differential protection
„ Motor starting current magnitude and duration for motor protection
„ Load pick-up currents for distribution feeder protection
„ Background negative sequence and zero sequence current for distribution
feeder protection

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Principles of Power System Protection
Fault Records

„ Operation indication recording standard

„ Event logging and oscillographic (waveform)
recording almost standard
„ Distance-to-fault type fault location
„ Requires real-time information and synchronisation
for best value
„ Requires on-line access for use to support
operational activity

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Principles of Power System Protection
Supervision and Reliability
„ Processor watchdog and self-monitoring
„ Alarm raised for wide range of protection scheme internal
abnormalities
„ Do not have wait until a fault occurs or maintenance to find
protection is inoperable
„ Input quantity supervision i.e. checking of measured
currents and voltages to detect CT and VT circuit anomalies
„ Supervision of circuit breaker trip circuit
„ Logs of input quantities, internal quantities and response
can be logged for assessment of operation case by case

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Principles of Power System Protection
Communication Links
„ Needed to exploit power of digital protection
„ For relay to relay protection functionality such as blocking,
acceleration schemes – digital I/O
„ For protection operation principle such as line differential
„ For interfacing into substation digital control schemes
„ For operation command use such as resetting,
suppression/restoration, setting group selection
„ For data retrieval – event logs, metered quantity logs,
oscillographic records
„ For maintenance, i.e. downloading new
software or settings remotely
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Principles of Power System Protection
Communications Links Used for Protection

„ Utility owned metallic communications cables (called

supervisory or “pilot” cables”

„ Optical fibre cables

„ Power Line Carrier (PLC)

„ UHF or Microwave radio

„ Leased links from a Telco

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Principles of Power System Protection
Digital Relays...
„ Features of digital relays reduce routine tests to:
ƒ input/output tests
ƒ “measured quantity” tests
ƒ Setting/configuration

„ Monitor (via SCADA) the self-test alarm output contact

„ Monitor AC signal functions that detect loss of relaying
input voltage or current
„ Verify input output information from operational event
records
„ Use digital relay relay reporting functions

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Principles of Power System Protection
Testing and Maintenance...

„ Design standards - to ensure consistency of

approach and circuit “access” for safe, effective and
secure testing

„ Complete and documented test procedures

„ Previous test reports, setting/configuration info and

circuit diagrams

„ Appropriate test equipment

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Principles of Power System Protection
Summary

Protection systems are critical elements of the power

system and their and their operating performance
impacts directly on the power system’s safety and
reliability

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Principles of Power System Protection