Basics of Substation Protection

Said Salim Palayi

Assistant Executive Engineer,
220 kV Substation, Areekode
Protection - Why Is It Needed?
All Power Systems may experience faults
at some time.

FAULT
 Short circuit produced by failure of insulation.

PROTECTION IS INSTALLED TO :
 Detect fault occurrence and isolate the faulted equipment.

SO THAT :
 Damage to the faulted equipment is limited;
 Disruption of supplies to adjacent equipment is minimized.
 Danger to staff or the public is avoided
 
Faults Are Mainly Caused By Insulation Failure

Underground Cables

Diggers
Overloading
Oil Leakage
Ageing
Faults Are Mainly Caused By Insulation
Failure
Overhead Lines

Lightning
Kites
Trees
Moisture
Salt
Birds
Failure of discs
Broken Conductors
Faults Are Mainly Caused By Insulation
Failure

Machines

Mechanical Damage
Unbalanced Load
Types of Fault
a
b
Phase to Earth Fault
c

a
b
Phase/Phase/Earth
c
e

a
Phase/Phase b
c

a a
b b
c 3 Phase/Earth c
3 Pase Fault
e
 Breaker
Equipment /
Feeder

Instrument
Relay Transformers

Battery
Types Of Protection - Principles

Most of the protective relays in substation works in

the following principle.
1. Over current Protection
2. Differential Protection
3. Pilot wire protection
4. Distance Protection
1. Over current Protection
IF
IF'

Over current Relay

51

Dc Shunt
Battery Trip coil

Requires secure DC auxiliary.

No trip if DC fails
1. Overcurrent Protection
Earth Fault Relay Connection - 3 Wire System

E/F OC OC OC E/F OC OC

 Combined with OC relays  Economise using 2x OC

relays
Over current protection Parallel Feeders

Consider fault on one feeder :-

I1 + I2
I1

51 A I2 C 51 LOAD

51 B D 51

Relays ‘C’ and ‘D’ see the same fault current (I2). As ‘C’
and ‘D’ have similar settings both feeders will be tripped.
Parallel Feeders
Solution:- Directional Control at ‘C’ and ‘D’

I1 + I2
I1

C
51 A I2 67 LOAD

51 B D 67

Relay ‘D’ does not operate due to current flow in the reverse
direction.
Establishing Direction:- Polarising Voltage
The DIRECTION of Alternating Current may only be
determined with respect to a COMMON REFERENCE.

The most convenient reference quantity is POLARISING

VOLTAGE taken from the Power System Voltages.
Polarizing Voltage for Directional Over
current Relay
MAX SENSITIVITY
OPERATE LINE
IA
VA VA IA FOR MAX
RESTRAIN
45 SENSITIVITY
90 45
VBC VBC
135

VC VB

RELAY CURRENT VOLTAGE

A IA VBC
B IB VCA
C IC VAB
Residual Voltage for E/F Relay
May be obtained from ‘broken’ delta V.T. secondary.

V RES = V A-G + VB-G + V C-G = 3V0

A
B
C

VA-G VB-G VC-G

VRES
 Application of Overcurrent Protection
Overcurrent & Earth fault Protection is used.
HT lines
Transformers
Generators
Reactors
Capacitor Banks
Motors
Neutral displacement relays in capacitor banks
EHT lines (Directional overcurrent &E/F)
Breaker failure Protection
2. Differential Principle

It works on the principle of comparing the current

entering and leaving a protected object.
If there is a difference, It is assumed that there is some
internal fault and relay operates according to the setting

Protected object

Relay
 Differential Protection Principale (1)
P1 C.T P2 P2 C.T
Protected P1
Circuit
S1 S2
S2 S1

R Differential Relay

External fault Condition - Current circulates between the HV & LV CTs; no

current flows thro’ the relay. So relay will Not Trip
 Differential Protection Principle (2)
C.T P2 C.T P1
P1 P2 Protected
Circuit
S2 S1
S1 S2

R Differential Relay

For an internal fault, the unbalanced current flows thro’ the

relay. So Relay operates
Application of Differential Relay

Differential Relays are used for

Transformers
Generators
Busbars.
Lines (with pilot wires)
Restricted Earthfault Protection
 Uses differential principle
 Increased sensitivity for earth faults
 REF elements for each transformer winding
 CTs may be shared with differential element

64

64
64
Restricted Earthfault Protection

REF Case I : Normal Condition

Stability level : usually maximum through fault level of transformer
P1 P2
S1 S2
P1 P2
S1 S2
P1 P2
S1 S2

P1 S1

P2 S2

Under normal conditions no current flows thro’ Relay

No Operation
Restricted Earthfault Protection
REF Case II : External Earth Fault

External earth fault - Current circulates between the phase & neutral CTs;
no current thro’ the relay
So, No Operation
 Restricted Earthfault Protection

REF Case III : Internal Earth Fault

For an internal earth fault the unbalanced current flows thro’ the relay

So, Relay Operates

Bus bar protection Relay
Bus bar protection works on the differential principle.
Working is explained in another presentation.
Single bus - Busbar Protection
BUSBAR
ZONE

F1

 Fast clearance by breakers at the busbars

 3. Pilot wire Protection
using OFC communication
PGCIL Areakode S/S
A B
Communication
Channel

Relaying Relaying
Point Point
R R

Trip A Trip B

Relay at End ‘B’ measures current and transmits the value to Relay at end
‘A’ thru optical fibre cable. Relay ‘A’ compares measured value and the
value recived from ‘B’.
If both values are same, relay keeps restraint state.
If there is difference in values. Relays operates.
Pilot wire protection

Used for
EHT cables
Short distance EHT transmission lines
4.Distance Protection
 . Distance
For : Transmission Lines. and Sub-Transmission
Circuits
Also used as Back-up Protection for Transformers
and Generators
Impedance Relay
jIX
IF zF
IZ
V2 V1
VF V3

IR

Trip TRIP STABLE

Spring

Restrain Voltage to Relay = V

Operate
Current to Relay = I
coil Replica Impedance = Z
Trip Condition : S2 < S1
Ampere Turns : VF IZ
where : S1 = IZ  Z
Trip Conditions : VF < IFZ
S2 = V  ZF

Increasing VR has a Restraining Effect VR called Restraining Voltage

Increasing IR has an Operating Effect
Basic Principle of Distance Protection

Relay
ZS PT. IR ZL

ZLOAD Normal Load

VS VR

VR
Impedance measured ZR   Z L  Z LOAD
R
The relay is set based on the line impedance.
The measured ZR is more than the relay setting Z , hence relay restrains
Basic Principle of Distance Protection
ZL

ZS IR ZF

VS VR ZLOAD Fault

 Impedance Measured ZR = VR/IR = ZF

 Relay Operates if ZF < Z where Z = setting
 Increasing VR has a Restraining Effect VR called Restraining Voltage
 Increasing IR has an Operating Effect
Distance Protection - Zones
It is assumed that there will be an error up to 20% in
distance relay measurements due to errors in calculations
and instrument transformers.
Hence distance relay setting is divided into Zones
Normally 3 zones are for dist. Relay
Zone-1 is instantaneous and covers 80% of protected line.
Zone- 2 covers 120% of line & is normally with 0.4 s time
delay
Zone -3 covers next line from the substation also & 0.75
seconds time delay.
Zone -4 may be used for cover busbars where busbar
protection not provided. And it is set in reverse direction.
 Zones of Protection

jX

D Z3A

C Z2A
B
Z1A

A
R
Zones of Protection

Time

Z3A
T3

Z2A
T2

Z1A

A Z1B B C D
T2
Z2B

Z1A = 80% of ZAB

Z2A = 120% of ZAB
Z3A(FORWARD) = 120% of {ZAB + ZCD}
Zones of Protection Coordinating adjacent station.

Time

Z3A Z3C
T3

Z2A Z2C
T2

Z1A Z1C

A Z1B B C D
T2
Z2B

Z1A = Z1B= 80% of ZAB

Z2A = 120% of ZAB
Z3A(FORWARD) = 120% of {ZAB + ZCD}
Distance Relay – Commonly used features
POWER SWING BLOCKING
Provides Stability during Power swing.

VT SUPERVISION
Blocks tripping of Distance Relay when VT supply fails.

SOTF (Switch- On-To-Fault.)

Function enables high speed tripping when line is energized to a persisting
fault.
Distance Protection- features

 AUTORECLOSING
Maintains stability of the system by fast reclosing
after trip on fault.
 CARRIER INTERTRIPS
Are provided for fast clearance of faults for entire line.
Distance Relay Applications
Transmission lines
Under ground Cables as backup
Sub transmission line
Backup protection for generators
Other type of relays used in substation
1.Under / Over Voltage Relays

 Used for protection of capacitor banks.

 Under voltage relays are also used for
interlocking of line Earth switches.
2.Under Frequency Relays

 Monitors the frequency of Power system

 Initiates commands for load shedding if system
goes below specified value.
3.DC supervision
DC supervision relay
Indicates the failure of DC supply to the panel.
DC source holds the flag in reset condition
When DC fails, the flag drops.
N/C contact is wired to the annunciator for alarm.
N/O contact is wired to the SCADA
4. AC supervision relay
Indicates the failure of AC to the panel.
AC is necessary for the operation of space heaters.
 5.Overfluxing Relay

Over fuxing = V/F

Causes of Overfluxing
 Low frequency
 High voltage
 Geomagnetic disturbances
 Over fluxing Relay (V/Hz)
Effects of Over fluxing

 Transient Over fluxing - Tripping of differential element

 Prolonged Over fluxing - Damage to transformers

 Over flux relay measures V/f ratio and in it gives alarm in stage-1
(usually set at 110%)
 It gives trip signal in stage-2 (set at 120%)
 6.Master Trip Relay
It will transfer the actuation of trip signal from relays to
the circuit breaker
A circuit breaker normally open (52a) contact is used to
interrupt trip coil current. This saves trip coil from
burning out due to continuous current flow.
 Burning of trip coil may happen if this contact is faulty.
 7.Trip circuit supervision

It gives supervision of trip circuit healthiness

Pre close supervision checks the healthiness of

CB when the CB is open condition. (It is wired through
the Normally Closed ( 52b) auxiliary contact of the CB).
Post close supervision checks the healthiness of CB when
the CB is in Closed condition. (it is wired though
Normally Open ( 52b) auxiliary contact of the CB)
8.Pole discordance relay
Used in CBs with single pole tripping
This relay confirm whether all poles are Opened or
Closed, if not it will generate a trip signal.
Pole discordance relay scheme
9.Breaker Failure Protection (LBB)

A protection which is designed to clear a system faulty by

initiating tripping other circuit breaker(s) in the case of
failure to trip of the appropriate circuit breaker.

IN MODERN NETWORKS THE CRITICAL

FAULT CLEARING TIME MAY BE LESS THAN
200ms. Hence, if the fault is not cleared due to failure of
the primary protective relays or their associated circuit
breaker, a fast acting back-up protective relay must clear
the fault.
 LBB/BFR FLOW CHART
TRIP RESET
YES FAULT YES
MAIN BREAKER
MAIN CLEARED
PROTECTION FAILURE
BREAKER
OPERATED SCHEME

NO

YES WAIT FOR

INITIATE FAULT AND
BFR
CLEARENCE

TRIP
BACK-UP
BREAKERS
10.Low SF6 Alarm/Lockout
It is dangerous to operate Circuit
Breaker without adequate SF6
Pressure. So a relay is provided in side
CB to monitor SF6 gas pressure . 2
stages are provided.
Stage-1 : Alarm
Alarm stage indicates the
inadequate gas pressure inside CB.
Which alerts the operator.
Stage-2 :Lockout.
Lock out stage blocks the
operation of CB. No tripping or
closing will happen then.
11.Control Relays

Auto-Reclose Relay
Used to auto reclosing of EHT feeders

Tap change control Relay

Used for regulating the output voltage of transformer
by raising/lowering the tap
12. Transformer Accessories

Mechanical Protection relays are mounted in a

transformer to prevent over temperature, pressure and
gases formed due to deterioration of insulation,
internal arcing etc.

1) Buchholz Relay.

2) Oil Temperature Indicator.
3) Winding Temperature Indicator.
4) Magnetic Oil Level Gauge ( MOLG).
5) Pressure relief device ( PDR).
Oil Temperature Indicator.
Indicates the temperature of the oil inside transformer.
Gives alarm signal.
 Capilary
tube

Temperature indica

Sensing device

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Oil Temperature Indicator
Fitted on the Thermometer
pocket.
Winding Temperature relay
Give indications about the temperature of winding
temperature of oil.
WTI with
HOT spot
simulation
CT
arrangeme
nt.
 FAN CONTROL CUBICLE
Winding temperature indicator

S1=alarm S2=trip

S4=cooler control 2
S3=cooler control 1
Pressure Relief Device (PRD)

When pressure inside transformer exceeds the

PRV will operate to release excessive pressure
inside the transformer.
It issues a trip command and visual indication by
operation of a liver (from horizontal position to
vertical position)
Spring Operated Pressure relief device
Buchholtz relay

Mechanical relay which has two mercury switches.

When gas enters the chamber the position of switches
deflects and it will make alarm in stage-1 and trip in
stage-2 in Main tank Buchholz relay.
Only trip signal is provided in OLTC buchholz relay.
Buchholz Relay Installation
3 x internal pipe
Conservator
diameter (minimum)
5 x internal pipe
diameter (minimum)

Oil conservator
3 minimum

Transformer
Buchholtz Relay arrangement.
 MAGNETIC OIL LEVEL GAUGE
(MOLG)

Mounting 15 0 Inclination.
The movement of the float is
transmitted to the pointer by
using a magnetic coupling.
The follower magnet follows the
driving magnet.
The driving magnet remains
inside the conservator and the
other magnet out side the
conservator.
 1/2
1/4 3/
4

FU
BEARING

PTY

LL
EM
FLOATING MEMBER

MOLG
PERMANENT MAGNET

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Thank you