Switchgear and Industrial Protection

6th Semester, Electrical Engg

Module:4
Protective Relays
Unit:3

By Dr. L. C. Saikia
Associate Professor
Electrical Engineering Department
NIT Silchar
 Unit:3: Electromagnetic attraction type relays, Induction type relays

At the end of this Lecture the students will be

able to explain
The operating principle and structure of
attraction type electromagnetic relays
The Principle of Induction relays and its
structure
 V] Attraction type Electromagnetic relays

v] Construction and operating principle of

Ordinary attraction type Electromagnetic
Relays
These are simplest type of relays. These include
(i) plunger (or solenoid type),
(ii) hinged armature type,
(iii)balanced beam type (or rotating armature
type),
(iv)moving iron polarized type.
(Fig.1 (a)-(d))
All these relays are operating on the same principle.
The operation is obtained by virtue of an armature being attracted
to the poles of an electromagnet or a plunger being drawn into a
solenoid.
 The electromagnetic for exerted on the moving
element is proportional to the square of the flux in
the air gap or the square of the current flowing
through the coil.
 These relays are basically single actuating quantity
relay.
 Such relays respond to both AC and DC because
operating torque is proportional to the square of
the current flowing through the coil.
 With DC torque developed is constant and if it
exceeds the restraining torque or force relay
operate.
 Restraining torque is provided by the control
spring.
 In case of AC, the electromagnetic force
developed is given by
Fe  K I 2  K  I m ax S in t 
2

1
 K  I m2 ax  I m2 ax cos 2  t 
2

Thus electromagnetic force consist of two terms

(i) A constant term independent of time,
(ii) a pulsating term dependent upon time and
pulsating frequency double that of supply.
Thus, the total electromagnetic force pulsates at
double the supply frequency.
 Since restraining force is constant and
electromagnetic force pulsating, the relay
armature produces vibration at double the supply
frequency.
 These causes relay to hum and produce noise and
source damage to the relay contacts. This leads to
sparking and unreliable operation of the relay
circuit due to make and break the circuit.
 The sensitivity of the hinged type armature relays
can be increased for DC operation by adding a
permanent magnet as shown in Fig.1(d). This is
known as polarised moving iron relay.
To overcome the difficulty faced
by the ac electromagnetic
attraction type relays, the flux
developed by the electro-
magnetic force is splitted into Fig.2
two fluxes acting
simultaneously but differing in
time phase, so that the
resultant deflecting force is
always positive and constant.

This is achieved by proving two

winding on the electromagnet
Fig.3
having a phase shifting network
as shown in Fig2. or by putting
shading rings on the poles of the
electromagnet as shown in Fig.3
 Application: Hinged type relays are mainly used as
auxiliary relays e.g tripping relays, ac and dc voltage
and current relays. Attracted armature type relays
have many applications in ac and dc equipments.
 Modern attraction type relays are compact,
robust, reliable and fast. VA burden depends upon
the construction, setting etc.
 Such relays are usually instantaneous but can be
made a definite time lag or inverse time lag by
using a coil dash pot, an air escapement chamber,
a clock work mechanism or placing a fuse parallel
with the relay.
VI] Electro-magnetic Induction relays or Induction relays

 This is used for ac only.

 This relay operates on the principle of split
phase induction motor.
 The actuating force is developed on a moving
element that may be a disc or other form of
rotor of non magnetic current conducting
materials such as aluminium by interaction of
electromagnetic fluxes with eddy currents that
are induced in the rotor by these fluxes.
 The fig shows how force is
developed by two adjacent
fluxes. When both flux Ф1 and
Ф2 directed downwards and
increasing in magnitudes, the
various quantities like
currents (i1 and i2), forces (F1
and F2).
 The currents i1 and i2 are due
to voltage induced around the
rotor. The current produced
by one flux reacts with the
other flux and vice versa, to
produce forces that act on the
rotor.
 The fluxes Ф1 and Ф2 are given by
1  1max sin t
2  2max sin  t   

 Where ϴ is the angle by which Ф2 leads Ф1.

If we assume that rotor has negligible self
inductance, the current and voltage are in
phase. Fig shows the phasor diagram. The
expression for currents can be written as
d1
i1  e1   1max cos t
dt
d 2
i2  e2   2 max cos  t   
dt
 Since the developed two forces F1 and F2 are in opposition, hence net
forces acting on the movable element is given by
F  ( F1  F2 )  2i1  1i2

 1max2 max [cos t sin( t   )

-sin t cos(t   )]

 F  1max2 max sin 

 Thus (i) Net force is same at every instant as ωt term is not in the
expression, (ii) Greater the angle ϴ, between the two fluxes, greater is
the force, and it is maximum when ϴ=900. (iii) Force will be more when
resistance of annular ring (R) is low since i=v/R.

 Thus moving element must be of low resistance materials such as Cu

or Al (iv) the direction of net force and hence direction of rotation of
the disc is depends upon which flux is leading.
VII] Types of Electromagnetic Induction relays

There are mainly three types structures

 shaded pole structure
 Watt-hr meter or double winding Structure
 Induction cup structure.
Here we will discuss only one type, others will
be kept for self study
Shaded pole structure

 The structure is shown in the Fig.

 It is usually actuated by current flowing in a single winding
wound on a magnetic structure containing an air gap.
 The gap flux produced by the current is split into two
fluxes displaced in time and space by a so called shading
ring, generally a cu ring that encircles part of the pole face
of each pole.
 The disc is normally made of Aluminium.
 The two rings have currents induced in them by the
alternating flux of the electromagnet and
 the magnetic field developed by these induced
currents cause the flux, in the portions of the iron
surrounded by the ring to lag in phase by 400 to 500
behind the flux in the shaded portions of the pole.
T  su sin 
 The torque produced is given by
 Assuming the flux in the shaded portion, Фs and the
flux in the un-shaded portion, Фu are proportional to
actuating current I, then the torque is given by
T  I Sin
2

 The control torque is provided by control spring

attached to the disc spindle.
 The relay disc is so shaped that as it turns towards the
pickup position (Closing contacts), there is increase in
area of the disc between the poles of the actuating
structure which causes increase in eddy currents and
 hence, increase in electrical torque that just balances
the increase in the control spring torque.
 The inverse time characteristic of the relay is also
shown in the Fig.
• Home work ( Page No.207, 208 of SIP BOOK
JB Gupta)
 The structure of Watt-hour meter or double
winding structure
 The Induction cup type relays

Note: Please collect the soft copy of the book if

possible