DISTANCE RELAY

Distance Protection Scheme

NOORNABI SHAIKH
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
MUET
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 2
ANSI/IEEE STANDARD DEVICE NUMBERS

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 INTRODUCTION
 Over current protection is very attractive due to its inherent simplicity. It is used
as a primary protection for LV distribution lines.
 However , it has some major drawbacks which causes it to malfunction. In LV
systems, this can be tolerated. The only consideration in LV system is the
continuity of supply to consumers.
 However in EHV systems malfunctions cannot be tolerated. As EHV lines are
part of an interconnected grid. Any malfunction may jeopardize the grid stability.

 The reach of OCR depends on the

type of fault as well as source
impedance as shown.
 If OCR pick – up setting equal to I pu
gives a reach up to bus B for LLG
faults, then the reach for LG faults
up to B1, where as the reach for 3 –
phase faults up to point B2.
 That means, the relay may under
reach or over reach depending
upon the type of fault.
This is clearly not a desirable
characteristic for the protection.
4
 If the OCR pick – up setting
equal to Ipu gives a reach up to
bus B, assuming a source
impedance of Zs2 then it under
reaches to point B1.
 If the source impedance
increases to Zs1, and over
reaches to point B2.
 If the source impedance
decreases to Zs2. again not
desirable.
Fault current is a function of
fault type as well as the
source impedance, both are
variable.
That means, required relay should not dependent on the actual
magnitude of the fault current but on the ratio of voltage at
relay location and fault current.
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IMPEDANCE RELAY
Impedance relays / distance relays are double actuating quantity relays
with one coil energized by voltage and the other coil energized by
current.

V  I Z
V
Z 
I
When V / I reduces below a set value the relay operates. During a fault
on a transmission line the fault current increases and the voltage at the
fault point reduces.
The ratio V/I is measured at the location of CTs and VTs. Assuming a
constant fault resistance each value of V/I measured from the relay
location corresponds to distance between the relying point and the fault
along the line. Therefore such protection is called Impedance Protection
or Distance Protection.

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 Why impedance relay is called as distance relay?

 Because the distance is proportional to the impedance of the line ,so

the operation of the impedance.

 Relay comes into picture when the impedance seen by the relay is
less than the pre-setting value.

 When a fault occurs ,the current increases to a high value and so the
impedance decreases and the relay actuates.

V  I Z
V
Z 
I
IMPEDANCE RELAY

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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
A relay in which the threshold value of operation depends only the
magnitude of the ratio of voltage to current applied to the relay, and is
considerably independent of the phase angle of the impedance.
 Simple impedance relay can be easily implemented using a balanced
beam structure as shown
Current coil exerts a
torque on the left iron
structure in such a way
that it tends to close the
trip contacts.
The voltage coil keep the
trip contacts open, thus
providing the restraining
torque.
The control spring keeps
the contacts open when
the relay is not energized.
 TRIP LAW FOR SIMPLE IMPEDANCE RELAY
Consider the common torque equation:
2 2
T  K1 I R  K 2 VR  K 3 V R I R cos (   )  K 4
Where
T  net torque on actuating structure of the relay
2
K1 I R  torque due to current fed to the relay current coil
2
K 2 V R  torque due to voltage applied to the relay pressure coil
K 3 V R I R cos (   )  torque due to directiona l unit
  max imum torque angle for the directiona l unit
K 4  torque due to spring , can neglected compared to two coils
By assigning +ve or –ve signs to some of the terms and letting others be
zero and sometimes adding some terms having a combination of voltage
and current, the operating characteristics of all types of relays can be
obtained.
For example: for OC relay; K2 = 0. K3 = 0 & the spring torque will be – k.
Similarly for directional relay; K1 = 0. K2 = 0
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 10
Current produces a +ve torque (operating torque) and voltage produces
–ve torque (restraining). The equation for the operating torque of an
electromagnetic impedance relay can be written as:

T  K1 I 2  K 2 V 2  K 3
Where
T  The net torque on actuating structure of the relay
K1 , K 2 , and K 3  are constants
Neglecting the effect of spring , which is very small , the equation
T  K1 I 2  K 2 V 2
The relay will trip if
2 2
K1 I R  K 2 VR
2 2
Which can be K 2 VR  K1 I R

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Further
2
VR K1
2

IR K2
VR K1

IR K2
VR
As  Z seen
IR
Where | Z seen | is the magnitude of the impedance seen by the realy
Let K1 / K 2  Z set be the impedance setting
Thus we can write
If Z seen  Z set then trip; else restrain

This is the trip law for the so – called simple impedance relay

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 R – X Diagram
R – X diagrams are useful in plotting characteristics of distance relay.
They are used to analyze and visualize the relay response. An additional
advantage in R – X diagram is that, it allows to both the relay and the
system on the same diagram.

The three variables, V, I, & ф are converted into two variables R & X.
Impedance Z is defined as ratio of r.m.s. values of V and I ;

V  I Z
V
Z 
I

Impedance Z can be plotted on R – X diagram

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 R– X Diagram
jX

Locus of
constant Z
R1  Z1 cos  P
Z1
X 1  Z1 sin  jX1
ф
R
R1
 is  ve if I1 lags V1
 is  ve if I1 leads V1

Thus V1 , I1 &  can be converted on R  X diagram

Relays which measure plain impedance Z are called impedance relays. Their
impedance characteristics on R – X plane is a circle with center as origin and
radius as Z, as shown in the figure above.
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  Stepped Distance Protection
UNDERREACH:
‘Underreaching’ protection is a form of protection in which the relays at a
given terminal do not operate for faults at remote locations on the
protected equipment.
That means, the relay is set so that it will not see a fault beyond a given
distance (e.g. an instantaneous relay should not see the remote bus). The
distance relay is set to Underreach the remote terminal. The outcome to
this definition, is that the relay will see faults less than the setting.
OVERREACH:
‘Overreaching’ protection is a form of protection in which the relays at one
terminal operate for faults beyond the next terminal.
They may be constrained from tripping until an incoming signal from a
remote terminal has indicated whether the fault is beyond the protected
line section.
Note the added restriction placed on overreaching protection to avoid loss
of coordination.
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The zone of distance relays is open at the far end. The remote point of reach
cannot be precisely determined, and some uncertainty about its exact reach
must be accepted.
This uncertainty of reach is typically about 5% of the setting. Referring to figure ,
the desired zone of protection is shown with a dotted line.

 The ideal situation would be to have all faults within the dotted area trip
instantaneously.
 Due to the uncertainty at the far end, however, to be sure that we do not
overreach the end of the line section, we must accept an underreaching zone
(zone 1).
 It is customary to set zone 1 between 85 and 90% of the line length AB, and to
be operated instantaneously.
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16
 Zone 1 alone does not protect the entire transmission line: the area between
the end of zone 1 and bus B is not protected.
 Therefore, the distance relay is equipped with another zone2, which
deliberately overreaches beyond the remote terminal of the transmission line.
 Zone 2 must be slowed down so that, for faults in the next line section (F2),
zone 1 of the next line is allowed to operate before zone 2 of the distance relay
at A.
 This coordination delay for zone 2 is usually of the order of 0.3 s.

 The reach of zone2 is generally set at 120–150% of the line length AB. It must
be borne in mind that zone 2 of relay Rab must not reach beyond zone 1 of relay
Rbc, otherwise some faults may exist simultaneously in the second zones of R ab
and Rbc, and may lead to unnecessary tripping of both lines.
17
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 Zone2 of a distance relay also backs up the distance relay of the neighboring
line. However, this is true for only part of the neighboring line, depending upon
how far the zone2 reaches.
 To provide a backup function for the entire line, it is customary to provide yet
another zone of protection for the relay at a. This is known as the 3rd zone of
protection, and usually extends to 120–180% of the next line section.
 Zone3 must coordinate in time and distance with the second zone of the
neighboring circuit, and usually the operating time of the zone3 is of the order of
1 s. The three zones of protection of the two line sections AB and BC are shown in
figure(b).

18
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP
Zone 3 was originally
applied as a remote
backup to zones 1 and 2
of an adjacent line in the
event that a relay or
breaker failure
prevented clearing the
fault locally.

The reach setting, is a

complex problem and is
the subject of many
ongoing studies and
suggestions

The zone 3 characteristic must provide protection against faults but should not operate for
normal, though unusual, system conditions such as heavy loads or stability swings.
Computer relaying makes provision for identifying heavy loads or stability swings through
its load encroachment feature.

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 19
 Example # 1

Consider the transmission system shown in Figure

Devise setting of relay Rab to protect the Line AB, and back up the two lines
BC & BD.
SOLUTION
The impedances of the three lines are as shown in given Figure.
Note: These impedances are in primary ohms – i.e. actual ohms of the
transmission lines.
Normally, the settings are expressed in secondary ohms. (through CT or VT
ratios) NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 20
 Zone 1 setting for Rab
NOTE: It is customary to set zone 1 between 85 and 90% of the line length

0.85 × (4 + j30)
= (3.4 + j25.5) ῼ

Zone 2 setting for Rab

NOTE: zone2 is generally set at 120–150% of the line length
Therefore 1.2 × (4 + j30)
= (4.8 + j36) ῼ
 Since the relay Rab must back up relays Rbc and Rbd, it must reach beyond the
longer of the two lines.
Zone 3 setting for Rab
[(4 + j30) + 1.5 × (7 + j60)]
= (14.5 + j120) ῼ
 The time delays associated with the 2nd and 3rd zones should be set at about
0.3 and 1.0 s, respectively. 21
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP
Important to Note:

If one of the neighboring lines, such as line BD, is too short, then the zone 2
setting of the relay Rab may reach beyond its far end. For the present case, this
would happen if the impedance of line BD is smaller than

[(4.8 + j36) − (4.0 + j30)] = (0.8 + j6)

In such a case, one must set zone 2 to be a bit shorter, to make sure that it
does not overreach zone 1 of Rbd
 if this is not possible, zone 2 of the relay Rab may be set longer than zone 2
of relay Rbd
 If not, then, it may be dispensed with entirely and only zone 3 may be
employed as a backup function for the two neighboring lines.

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 22
 Consider an ideal (zero resistance) short circuit at location F in the
single-phase system shown in Figure

o Distance relay is
located at line
terminal A.

o The primary voltage

and current at the relay
location are related by:
Voltage, current and impedance as seen by
the relay

The subscript ‘p’ represents primary quantities. In terms of the secondary

quantities of voltage and current transformers, the relay sees the primary
impedance Zf,p as Zf,s, where

Where ni and ne are the current transformer (CT) and voltage transformer (VT) turns ratios.
It is customary to suppress the subscript ‘s’, with the understanding that the secondary
quantities are always implied. Thus, we will mean Zf,s when we use Zf. 23
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP
 EXAMPLE # 2
Determine the impedance conversion factor of a distance relaying system
utilizing a CT with a turn ration of 500:5 and VT with a turn ratio of
20000:69.3.
SOLUTION

The CT ratio ni  500 / 5  100

While VT ratio ne  20000 / 69.3  288.6
The impedance conversion factor ni / ne  100 / 288.6  0.3456

All primary impedances must be multiplied by this factor to obtain their

secondary values.

Because:
Normally the settings in impedance relay are expressed in secondary
ohms

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 24
The ratio of E and I at the relay location is an impedance under all
circumstances, and when a fault occurs, this impedance assumes the
value Zf.

In general, the ratio E/I is known as the apparent impedance ‘seen’ by the
relay. This impedance may be plotted as a point on the complex R–X
plane. This is the plane of (apparent) secondary ohms.

Consider the apparent impedance seen by the relay when there is normal
power flow in the transmission line. If the load current is of constant
magnitude, and the sending end voltage at the relay location is constant,
the corresponding voltage phasor, and hence the impedance, will describe
a circle in the R–X plane.

 Lighter loads – meaning a smaller magnitude of the current – produce

circles of larger diameters.
 Similarly, when the load power factor is constant, the corresponding
locus of the impedance is a straight line through the origin.

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 25
 R–X diagram as a special case of the phasor diagram (pf, power factor)
The real power flows into
the line, the
corresponding apparent
impedances lie in the
right half of the plane.

Reversed power flow ?

maps into the left half-
plane.
?
Similarly lagging power
factor load plots in the
upper half-plane, while a
leading power factor load
plots in the lower half-
plane.

Zero power transfer

corresponds to points at
infinity.

A line open at the

remote end will have
leading reactive current,
and hence the apparent
impedance will map at a
large distance along the
negative X axis.
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 26
 Consider the fault at location F as shown in figure

 The corresponding apparent

impedance is shown at F in Figure.
As the location of the fault is
moved along the transmission
line, the point F moves along the
straight line AB in Figure
The transmission line as seen by
the relay maps into the line AB in
the R–X plane. The line AB makes
an angle θ with the R axis, where θ
is the impedance angle of the
transmission line.
27
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 For an overhead T/L , θ lies between 70◦ and 88◦, depending upon the
system voltage, the larger angles being associated with higher
transmission voltages.
 When the fault is on the transmission line, the apparent impedance
plots on the line AB; for all other faults or loading conditions, the
impedance plots away from the line AB. Often it is convenient to plot the
source impedance ZS also on the R–X diagram, as shown in Figure

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 28
 EXAMPLE # 3

The rated load for the transmission line shown in figure is 8 MVA. This
corresponds to 400 A at the rated voltage of 20kV. The CT with turn ratio of 500:
5 & VT with 20000: 69.3. line impedance between bus A to B is (4 + j30) ῼ.

Draw R – X diagram to show load at 0.8 PF, flowing from bus A to B and B to A
with lagging as well as leading power factor. Also show line impedance with
relay settings Rab for zone 1. if similar relay located at bus B then show its zone
settings as well.
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP
29
SOLUTION
The apparent impedance corresponding to this load is

(20 000/400) = 50 ῼ primary. Z = V/I

In terms of secondary ohms, this impedance must be multiplied with impedance
conversion factor (ni / ne)

CT ratio, ni = 500 : 5 = 100

VT ratio, ne = 20000 : 69.3 = 288.6

Now impedance conversion factor = n i / ne = 100 / 288.6 = 0.3465

50 × 0.3465 = 17.32 ῼ
 Thus, a load of 8MVA at 0.8 pf lagging is

17.32 x (0.8 + j0.6)

= (13.86 + j10.4) ῼ secondary NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP
30
 L1 showing 8MVA
load at 0.8 PF.

31
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP
 A load of 8 MVA with a leading power factor of 0.8 is (13.86 − j10.4)
secondary, which maps as point L2.
 Similarly, 8 MVA flowing from B to A maps into L3 and L4 for leading and lagging
power factors, respectively.

 The line impedance is (4 + j30) ῼ

 Impedance conversion factor
= ni / ne = 100 / 288.6 = 0.3465
 Multiplying conversion factor to line impedance will give

0.3465 x (4 + j30) = (1.39 + j10.4) ῼ

Point B shows the line impedance secondary on R – X diagram.

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 Zone 1 setting of Relay Rab
As Secondary impedance of line A to B is

= (1.39 + j 10.4) ῼ
As It is customary to set zone 1 between 85 and 90% of the line length

Therefore 0.85 x (1.39 + j 10.4) = (1.17 + j 8.84) ῼ

 This point is map at Z1a on the X – R

diagram shown in figure.

 A similar relay when located at bus B

would have its zone 1 map at Z1b

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 33
If we assume the equivalent source impedances as seen at buses A
and B to be j10 and j8 primary respectively, they will be

j10 x 0.3465 = j 3.46 (Secondary source Z seen at bus A)

&
j8 x 0.3465 = j 2.77 (Secondary source Z seen at bus A)

These impedances are shown by points S1 and S2 in figure

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 34
If the line-charging current is 15 A, the apparent impedance seen by the relay at
A when the breaker at terminal B is open is

−j(20 000/15) = −j1333 primary

0.3465 x –j1333
= −j461.9 secondary

35
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP
 PROBLEM
Given line impedance:
ZL = 2.5 + j 5
CT ratio = 400 / 1
VT ratio = 33k / 110
(a) Plot line characteristic on R – X plane referred to secondary side
(b) Plot characteristic of minimum impedance relay to protect 80% of the line
length on same R – X plane neglecting arc resistance.
(c) Plot characteristic or mho relay having 45o maximum torque angle, to
protect 80% of the line length, indicate the regions of operation and non –
operation on the R – X diagram
SOLUTION
Line impedance given;
= 2.5 + j 5 (primary)
ZL Primary = 5.59 < 634.35o

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 36
Line impedance seen by the relay through CT & VT is given by the
equation
ZL secondary = ZL primary x ni / ne
= 5.6 x 400 / 300
= 5.6 x 1.33
= 7.47 ῼ
Line AB drawn on X – R plane equal to 7.47 ohms at an angle 63.5o

It is required to set distance relay to protect 80% of the line length.

Hence setting of the plain impedance relay Zs is
Z setting = ZL X 80 / 100
= 7.47 X 0.8
= 5.98 ῼ
Characteristics of impedance relay is a circle with origin O at A,
radius AR = 5.98 ohms. The relay operates for faults on
transmission line between A – R which lies within the circle.
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 37
 jX
B
ZL = 7.47 ohms (second)
ZS = 5.98 Ohms ZL R
Non
Operating
region
Operating
region 80%ZL

Θ = 63.5O
R
A O1 2 3 4 5 6 7

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 38
 Distance Relay Types
Distance relays may be classified according to the shape of their zones of
operation. Traditionally, all zone shapes have been circular, because an
electromechanical relay, with the torque equation, produces a circular boundary
for the zones of operation.
However, far more complex zone shapes can be achieved with modern solid-state
and computer relays, although some of the older terminology continues to be
used.
Four general relay types are recognized according to the shapes of their operating
zones:

1. Impedance Relays
2. Admittance or Mho Relays
3. Reactance Relays
4. Quadrilateral Relays.

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 39
1. The impedance
relay has a circular
shape centered at
the origin of the R–
X diagram.

2. The admittance (or

mho) relay has a circular
shape which passes
through the origin.

NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 40
3. The reactance relay has a zone
boundary defined by a line
parallel to the R axis. The zone
extends to infinity in the
directions as shown in Figure

4. The quadrilateral characteristic is

defined by four straight lines. This type
of characteristic is only available in
solid-state or computer relays. More
complex shapes can be obtained by
using one or more of the above relay
types, in a logical combination to
provide a composite tripping zone
boundary
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 41
 H.W QUESTIONS
1. What is the ANSI/IEEE code of distance relays?
2. What is the basic principle of distance protection? How it works?
3. What is the purpose of reach point? How will relays operate regarding to this
setting?
4. What are the basic distance protection zones? Why different zones should be
defined?
5. What are the main tripping characteristics for distance protection?
6. What is the difference between impedance and mho characteristic?
7. Why modern distance relays offer quadrilateral characteristics?
8. Why R-X diagram is commonly used?
9. What do the four quadrants of the R-X diagram show?
10. The rated load for the transmission line shown in figure is 10 MVA. This
corresponds to 500 A at the rated voltage of 22kV. The CT with turn ratio of 500: 5
& VT with 22000: 110. line impedance between bus A to B is (3 + j30) ῼ.

Draw R – X diagram to show load at 0.87 PF,

flowing from bus A to B and B to A with lagging
as well as leading power factor. Also show line
impedance with relay settings R ab for zone 1. if
similar relay located at bus B then show its zone
settings as well.
NNS/IMPRELAY/PSP 42