EEE-477(Protective Relays)

Mrs. Helena Bulbul

Deptt. Of EEE, UIU
Agenda
Introduction to Protective Relays
Classification of Relays
Classification of Relays
Electrical System Protection with Protective Relays
Conclusion
 What are Protective Relays?
Relays are electrical switches that
open or close another circuit under
certain conditions.
Functions of Protective Relays
 Isolate controlling circuit from controlled circuit.
 Control high voltage system with low voltage.
 Control high current system with low current.
 Logic Functions
 Relay Types
Electromagnetic Relays (EMRs)
EMRs consist of an input coil that's wound to accept a
particular voltage signal, plus a set of one or more
contacts that rely on an armature (or lever) activated by
the energized coil to open or close an electrical circuit.
Solid-state Relays (SSRs)
SSRs use semiconductor output instead of mechanical
contacts to switch the circuit. The output device is
optically-coupled to an LED light source inside the relay.
The relay is turned on by energizing this LED, usually
with low-voltage DC power.
Microprocessor Based Relays
Use microprocessor for switching mechanism.
Commonly used in power system monitoring and
protection.
How a Relay Works
Solid-State Relay
Advantages/Disadvantages
 Electromagnetic Relays (EMRs)
 Simplicity
 Not expensive
 Mechanical Wear
 Solid-state Relays (SSRs)
 No Mechanical movements
 Faster than EMR
 No sparking between contacts
 Microprocessor-based Relay
 Much higher precision and more reliable and durable.
 Improve the reliability and power quality of electrical power systems
before, during and after faults occur.
 Capable of both digital and analog I/O.
 Higher cost
Basic Working Principle of Electromagnetic Relay
 Has one or more electromagnets, moving structure, contact system etc.
 Two forces act on the system, namely, operating force, ‘F0’ and restraining
force, ‘Fr’.
 Operating force is provided by the actuating quantity e.g. fault current or
voltage.
 The restraining force is produced by spring, weight etc.
 When net/resultant force ‘F=F0-Fr’ is positive, relay operates, moving
structure moves and contact system get closed.
Electromagnetic Relay Classification
Electromagnetic Attraction Relay
Attracted Armature type
Solenoid and plunger type
Balanced Beam type
Induction Disc type
Induction cup type
Moving coil Moving iron
Gas operated Relay(Buchholz Relay)
Rectifier Relay(Rectifier + Moving coil)
 Attracted Armature Relay
Has electromagnet, coil of which is energized by actuating quantity
producing operating force, F0 proportional to I2
When net force F=F0-Fr
=K1I2 -K2=0, the relay is on the verge of operation, i.e. K1I2 = K2

K 2

I= K 1
=constant

Moving structure may be an iron plunger or, soft iron hinged at an

assembly
Operation is instantaneous and can operate on both AC and DC.
VA burden is in the range of 0.2-0.6VA for a current range of 0.1 to
0.4A.
Ratio of ‘Reset’ to ‘Pickup’ value is 60-90%
 Attracted Armature Relay
 Consists of a laminated electromagnet M carrying a coil C and a pivoted
laminated armature
 The armature is balanced by a counter
weight and carries a pair of springs at
its free end.

 Under normal operating conditions,

the current in the relay coil is such that counterweight holds the armature in the
position shown
 When short-circuit occurs, current through the relay coil increases significantly,
and the relay armature is attracted upwards.
 The contacts on the armature bridge a pair of stationary contacts attached to the
relay frame.
 It completes the circuit breaker and disconnection of faulty circuit results.
Relay Terms

Pick up quantity: ‘Pickup’ value is the minimum value of the

actuating quantity at which relay starts operating i.e. closes its
contact

Reset quantity: ‘Reset’ value is the value of the actuating

quantity at which relay starts release its contact when the
quantity is gradually decreasing as the fault is being cleared.
Solenoid and Plunger Type Relay
It consists of a solenoid and a movable iron plunger .
Under normal operating condition,
current through the relay coil C is
such that it holds the plunger by
gravity or spring .
On the occurrence of fault, current
through the relay coil increases abruptly
causing the plunger to be attracted to the
solenoid.
Upward movement of the plunger closes trip circuit.
The faulty circuit is disconnected by circuit breaker.
 Balanced Beam relay
Double actuating quantity
Relay of this kind consists of a horizontal beam
pivoted centrally with one armature attached to
each side.
There are coils on each side; one coil act as the
operating coil and the other as the restraining coil.
A slight mechanical bias may be introduced by
spring weight mechanism.
The beam is in horizontal position upto F0 = Fr.
 When F0 > Fr , the beam tilts and the contact get
closed.
 Balanced Beam Relay (Contd.)
For current balance,
both the coils are
energized by currents.

For impedance relay, one coil is energized by current and the other is
energized by voltage.
Relay is on the verge of operation when, F0 = Fr
K1I12 = K2I22
K 2

I1/I2 = K = constant
1

For impedance relay, I2 is replaced by voltage and hence

V/I= constant and the relay operates when impedance become less.
Electromagnetic Induction Relay
Induction Disc relay(Two types of
structure)
Shaded Pole construction
Watt-hour Meter structure
Induction Cup Relay
 Shaded Pole Construction
 There are two or more electromagnets or, only one magnet arranged in a way
such that different fluxes are produced that are dispersed in phase and space.
 In shaded pole construction, the pole tip of an electromagnet is covered by
copper band or, ring. The flux produced in the shaded part differs in phase and
space from the flux in the unshaded part.
 An aluminium disc is free to rotate between the electromagnets. The driving
torque is produced by the interaction of eddy current produced by one flux
with the other flux.
 Net force is the difference between the two forces.
If the two fluxes are as

Also,
Induction Relay
Watt-Hour Meter Structure
Upper electromagnet’s primary winding is energized by CT.
The secondary winding of it is carried over to the lower
electromagnet.
The current I1 produces flux ‘φ1’ which induces a current I2 in the
secondary that flows through the lower electromagnet producing
another flux ‘φ2’.
‘φ1’ and ‘φ2’ are dispersed in phase and produces net force/torque
on the disc.
The disc rotates, the moving contact touches a pair of fixed
contacts and the trip circuit gets energized.
Watt-hour Meter Structure Induction Disc Relay
 Induction-Cup Structure
Hollow cylindrical cup instead of aluminium disc is used as
the rotor.
Structure is similar to single phase induction motor, the
rotor iron of which is separated.
The cup acts like rotor conductors.
Two, four, or more electromagnets are energized by relay
coils and are stationary.
Eddy current is introduced in the cup and force develops due
to its interaction with the flux.
The cup rotates between the electromagnets and the
stationary iron.
 Induction-Cup Relay(Contd.)
A spindle attached to the cup closes its contact and signals the trip
circuit.
Advantages:
1. Produces better torque than `
shaded pole and Watt-hour meter
structure.
2. Has very high speed of operation and
may have an operating time less
than 0.1 sec.
Disadvantages:
It is vibration-prone and torque varies
with rotor position.
Non-directional Overcurrent Relay
Directional Power Relay
Ditectional IDMT Overcurrent Relay
Working principle of directional overcurrent
Relay
Power flows in proper direction during normal operation and the
relay is inoperative, i.e the secondary winding of the directional
element is open and non-directional is inoperative too.
When current w.r.t voltage or, power flows in reverse direction,
torque prduced because of the interaction between eddy-current
and flux of voltage and current coil.
As the disc rotates, it closes (1-1’) contacts and the secondary
winding of the lower electromagnet has a closed path.
As current already was there in the primary winding of the upper
magnet of directional element and secondary became closed
because of the action of directional element producing flux, the two
fluxes now interact to produce a driving torque to rotate the disc.
Thus contacts of trip circuit get closed and it opens the circuit
breaker to isolate the faulty section.