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Analysis of overexcitation relaying set up in synchronous generators for hydro power plants
Erick Fernando Alves, Member, IEEE, and Marco Aur lio de Souza e
AbstractThis paper seeks to revise the concepts related to the overexcitation relaying in synchronous generators for hydro power plants and its coordination with the V/Hz limiter of the automatic voltage regulator (AVR). The methodology for the ANSI 24 protection function set up in hydro power plants is revisited. Finally, problems faced during the commissioning of a power plant in Brazil is discussed. Index TermsHydroelectric power generation, overexcitation protection, protective relaying, AC generator excitation.

and V/Hz limiter together with problems faced during the commissioning of two hydro power plants in Brazil are presented. II. C ONCEPTS The overexcitation condition is associated with the basic principle of operation from generators and transformers, both based on Faradays law of induction. The voltage induced in the output of generators and transformers is a function of the ux rate of change. Basically, current induces magnetic ux, and magnetic ux variation induces voltage in the output terminals. The varying ux is created by either alternating current owing through the primary winding of a transformer or the direct current in the eld winding of a generator rotor. d dt E = 4.44 f n BM AX A E = N (1) (2)

I. I NTRODUCTION HE probability of defects occurrence in synchronous generators is reduced. Nevertheless, when they happen, serious damage and long out of service periods are the usual consequences. Therefore, and by their relevance to the power system, generators should be convenient protected, aiming to guarantee the integrity of their various electrical and mechanical parts. Excessive deviations on frequency and voltage cause thermal and dielectric stresses that would result in damage within seconds on power plant equipments. The potential consequences of prolonged overexcitation tend to make protection engineers to adopt conservative adjustments to ANSI 24 function on protection systems. On the other hand, events in the power system that leads to reactive load rejection, islanding, connection of big consumers, reconnection to the interconnected system, among others require the extrapolation of these limits by a short period. In these transient cases, the correct behavior of voltage regulators and protection systems of generating units are essential to keep the power system stable. In this context, the set up of overexcitation relaying in a synchronous generator and its coordination with the V/Hz limiter of the AVR is a relevant subject. At the same time, the operational limits of the related equipments should be respected and the contribution to mitigate transients in the power system maximized. Usually, these are conicting targets, specially in hydro power plants, where the high inertia of the unit and the low bandwidth of the speed governor imply additional limitations. Section II presents a brief review of the overexcitation issues on generators and transformers and the standards requirements for power plant equipments. Section III describes the typical implementations of V/Hz limiters on AVRs and section IV, the usual requirements when setting overexcitation protection for hydro power plants. Finally, on section V some practical aspects of the coordination between overexcitation protection

E. F. Alves and M. A. Souza are with Voith Hydro, S o Paulo, Brazil a (e-mail: erick.alves@voith.com, marco.aurelio@voith.com)

Transformers and generators cores are constructed of iron and have the function to couple the magnetic ux of the windings. They are designed to lead the ux for full load operation without saturation and within the heating limits. Heating in magnetic material is caused by hysteresis losses and Eddy current, and its properties as well as the core area dene the maximum ux density limits for the equipment. That is, generators and transformers designers have the task of developing equipments to operate in the nominal conditions within the employed material limits, considering the applicable economic and technical restraints. And with the advance of the designing tools, more and more equipments are closer to their real rated limit. During normal operation conditions, all magnetic ux is restricted to the core, as its permeability is much higher than of the adjacent structures. When the core saturates, the excess of ux spills into the surrounding air space and into non laminated metallic structures around the core. Conversely, these structures are not designed to lead the magnetic ux, and this condition quickly increases the losses and heating which may cause equipment damage. In generators, induced currents can occur in the end of stator core, leading to induced voltage gradient between the laminations that can break down the core insulation. If this occurs, the stator core will be permanently damaged. In transformers, the over-ux spills into the insulating space around the core, which causes induced currents and heating in leads, structural members and windings. An extensive review of this concepts are done in [8] and [7]. Overexcitation limits for generators are not specied by standards. The ANSI/IEEE standards C50.12 [1] and C37.106

Fig. 1. Generator limits according ANSI/IEEE C37.106 (apud IEC 6000343:1996)

[3] determine that generators shall be thermally capable of continuous operation within their capability curves for a variation of +/- 5% in the voltage and +/- 2% in frequency, as shown in Fig. 1. For transformers, the ANSI/IEEE standards C57.12.00 [2] and C37.106 [3] specify the operational limits in no-load condition within 110% of voltage or volts per hertz. At full load conditions and power factor of 0.8, the transformer shall be capable of continuous operation with 105% voltage or volts per hertz at secondary terminal and frequency of at least 95%. III. E XCITATION S YSTEM V/H Z L IMITER The V/Hz limiter of an AVR is used to avoid the operation of the electrical equipments in a power plant (generator, step-up transformer, auxiliary transformers and systems) in an excessive ux condition [5] [10] [7]. This is achieved by changing the maximum allowed generator voltage setpoint according to the actual frequency. Usually, at rated frequency the V/Hz limiter has no inuence. But when frequency decreases, hence the voltage setpoint. As an example, for a system with rated frequency of 60Hz and maximum tolerated V/Hz ratio of 1.1, a linear type limiter acts as follows: At 60 Hz, the maximum allowed generator voltage is 110%; At 57 Hz, the maximum allowed generator voltage is 104.5%; At 54 Hz, the maximum allowed generator voltage is 99%. Different structures of control are possible for V/Hz limiters. The most usual are presented at Fig. 2, although some variations exists. The use of proportional or proportionalintegral controllers are possible in both structures. Typically, just proportional is used in the structure of Fig. 2a, while

proportional-integral are the usual choice for Fig. 2b. The way the limiter inuences the main AVR loop also varies from the following types: Take-over control: a minimum selector is used between voltage setpoint and the limiter output; Summing point: the limiter output is connected to an adder, subtracting its value from the voltage setpoint; The choice of the structure and the controller type usually is related to the AVR manufacturer standards and the utility philosophies. An extensive review of limiters characteristics is done in [6]. Despite the kind of implementation, the main idea is to reduce the generator output voltage until the voltage to frequency ratio goes below the threshold, allowing overexcitation in transients for a specic time and avoiding tripping of the overexcitation protection from the generator, step-up transformer or auxiliary services. Some excitation systems also present an optional protection: to turn the system off if the frequency drops below a specied value by a certain amount of time and if the generator is not synchronized. This peculiarity brings in an additional protection to the unit, as it does not allow the generator to remain excited ofine with a major failure in the speed governor or in the protection system of the power plant. Even though being widely available in the commercial excitation systems, the V/Hz limiter is just a limit function of the AVR setpoint and could not be considered an overexcitation protection. Furthermore the V/Hz limiter will have no effect on the generator frequency. Consequently, proper protection is desirable and recommended [10] [11]. Moreover, even considering that most overexcitation events occur ofine, the limiter should be kept in service permanently, so far as instances of overexcitation are possible when the generator is synchronized to the power system [7] [9]. As an example described by Benmouyal [11], in an islanding situation or during light load with high level of charging current, the generator could be driven into an under-excited state. In this situation, the AVR underexcitation limiter (UEL) will increase the generator output voltage until the generator moves out of the forbidden under-excited zone. In doing so, the voltage could go to a level high enough that the Volts/Hertz threshold will be exceeded. Another example is the situation where an important intertie line was switched off and the islanded system has now an imbalance between generation and load. As result, frequency and voltage could drop to the extent that the AVR would immediately boost the generator terminal voltage. However, the frequency deviation would take some minutes to settle down [3], specially in hydro power plants where the high inertia of the unit and the low bandwidth of the speed governor imply additional limitations. In doing so, not just the voltage could go to a level high enough but also the frequency to a level low enough that the Volts/Hertz threshold will be exceeded. IV. OVEREXCITATION P ROTECTION First of all, it must be stated that a protection relay is the last resource level, as it ensures equipment safety even when other

(a) Fig. 2. V/Hz limiter structures

(b)

elements fail. In the specic case of overexcitation, in the rst level there are speed governor and AVR ensuring operation inside the nominal limits for voltage and frequency. In the second level there is the AVR V/Hz limiter, which seeks to keep the electrical equipments operating within its excitation limits even in abnormal conditions. And in the last level, the V/Hz relaying, ensuring that equipments will be turned off in a safe condition whether all the other levels fail. Seeing that, as tripping philosophy, the eld and the main unit circuit-breakers should be opened if the unit is synchronized [9] [4]. Secondly, it must be remembered that the application of a protection element is associated to a specic phenomenon and a measured magnitude related to this. By contrast, the ux magnitude in a stator or a transformer core is difcult to measure and, therefore, overexcitation relaying needs another operation principle. By inspecting the equation 2 is possible to realize that the magnetic ux is inverse proportional to the frequency and direct proportional to the voltage. Thereby the amount of ux could be measured indirectly by the ratio between voltage and frequency, considering per unit values. Last but not least, it is important that protection relay operates for any condition that exceeds equipment limits. On the contrary, this is not possible for overexcitation. The overexcitation protection cannot actuate when the equipments are operating at the maximum limits. Instead, the setting must be below the applicable limit with a security margin to allow relay and voltage transformer errors [7]. Consequently, to set the relay near the ideal operation condition is necessary to know the equipment limits. Usually there are other equipments associated with the generator, as the step up transformer, auxiliary and excitation transformers, so the settings must be based on the most restrictive equipment. And the right choice for the rated voltage of these equipments and the relay model represent an important step to avoid operative restriction. Another important issue related to overexcitation is its effect on the transformer differential relaying [14]: the differential relay must be able to identify an overexcitation condition through the harmonic content of the excitation current and to avoid improper tripping. Finally, distinct protection relays are available in the market and to know previously their settings characteristics and curve types helps a lot in choosing the best equipment for application. Some relays offer the combination of denite-time and inverse-time (IEEE curves) characteristic, other relays

Fig. 3.

Santa Catarina HPP unit single line diagram

offer user-dened curve (Tailor-made). Table I presents a synthesis of the philosophies from three distinct IEDs. For more information about them, see [15], [16] and [17]. V. P RACTICAL A SPECTS :
THE

S ANTA C ATARINA HPP

The Santa Catarina Hydro Power Plant1 (HPP) is equipped with 2 x 101.3 MVA 13.8kV +/- 5% generators, each one connected directly to a step-up transformer of 101.3MVA 13.8/138kV +/- 5% in -Y connection and impedance of 0.12 pu. The single line diagram of this unit is shown in Fig. 3. The connection to the Brazilian Interconnected System is done by four transmission lines around 50 km. Even with a relatively short transmission line, the bus voltage at the HPP substation is high, as its is placed in a power exporter region. Synchronism is generally done at a voltage of 1.035 pu. During the design and the commissioning phases, no coordination between AVR and Protection settings where done related to overexcitation issues. As result, an improper trip due overexcitation of the Unit 1 happened during the assisted operation period of this HPP, causing load rejection at full load. When analyzing the registers available, rstly the commissioning team checked that an alarm from the protection system was signalized in the SCADA system. However, as no message was generated from the AVR and the system was apparently operating in normal conditions, the operator in charge took no action, considering it could be a malfunction from the recently commissioned protection system. After 14.5 hours in this situation, the unit was nally tripped.
1 Fictional name for a power plant in the Santa Catarina State, Brazil. All the characteristics and data provided is from real operating equipments.

Relay

Curve characteristic type

Frequency operation range

Voltage reference for V/Hz relaying

Curve example

Thermal Constant

Dual-level dene-time composite with thermal characteristic (userdened)

10 - 70 Hz

Maximum voltage of three phase-phase voltage

Dropout time to emulate the cooling time

Four options: Dual-level dene-time Composite inverse-time and denite-time Simple inverse-time User-dened inverse-time

15 - 70 Hz

Highest value of the three phase voltage

Emulation heating effect through percenttravel operating characteristic

Two options: Inverse time Customer dened

42 - 75 Hz

Phase-phase or positive sequence (Depends on the relay connection)

Exponential cooling process

TABLE I C OMPARISON OF ANSI 24 RELAYING PHILOSOPHIES FROM THREE IED S

Secondly, when comparing the registers from the AVR and the protection relay, these discrepancies were conrmed: while in the AVR the threshold for the V/Hz limiter was not reached, in the protection system the pick up for the ANSI 24 protection was. The main reason was the difference in the read voltages from AVR and the protection relays, which occurred due: Measurements took from odd voltage transformers each one with a different accuracy class; Different measurements principles. While the AVR uses the mean value between the phases in the voltage measurement circuit, the protection relays uses the max value of the phases. Last but not least, AVR and Protection teams formed a task force to avoid this situation to happen again, coordinating properly the equipments. In the Santa Catarina HPP the V/Hz limiter structure is the one shown in Fig. 2a using the take-over control approach with K equals 1.05, the maximum continuous generator voltage in pu. The original settings for ANSI 24 function could be seen in Table II in the column Before and were based on the relay manufacturer recommendations and on the protection system study. In these, the denite time pickup 24-1 was being used for alarming and the inverse time curve as well as the denite time pickup 24-2, for tripping. To avoid a new trip possibility, the temporary remedial

Parameter 24-1 V/f Pickup 24-1 V/f Time Delay 24-2 V/f Pickup 24-2 V/f Time Delay 24 V/f = 1.05 Time Delay 24 V/f = 1.10 Time Delay 24 V/f = 1.15 Time Delay 24 V/f = 1.20 Time Delay 24 V/f = 1.25 Time Delay 24 V/f = 1.30 Time Delay 24 V/f = 1.35 Time Delay

Before 1.05 60.00 s 1.40 1.00 s 20000 s 450 s 60 s 50 s 3s 3s 3s

After 1.07 240 s 1.25 1.00 s 450 s 240 s 60 s 50 s 3s 3s 3s

BASED

TABLE II S ETTINGS FROM ANSI 24 FUNCTION IN S ANTA C ATARINA HPP ON RELAY A FROM TABLE I

action was to decrease AVR maximum setpoint to 1.04 pu, what brought dispatch restrictions to the unit. In this meantime, for proper coordination, the equipments capability with the settings of the limiter and the protection function were plotted in a V/Hz x time curve, which is presented in Fig. 4a. The auxiliary services equipments and the excitation transformer were designed to operate continuously with frequency deviations of +/-5% and voltages of +/-10%, in this way they were not considered in the study. Additionally, it was a customer request

(a) Fig. 4. Santa Catarina HPP overexcitation coordination curves

(b)

that the protection system must generate an alarm when the V/Hz threshold of 1.05 be trespassed. Finally, new settings for the ANSI 24 relaying were proposed, considering the related equipments capability, possible relay settings and the customer requirements. They are presented in the column After of Table II, where now the inverse time curve is used for alarming and the denite time pickups 24-1 and 24-2 for tripping. The new coordination curve could be seen in Fig. 4b. To avoid the problems presented before and considering the experience from CEMIG described in [13], a minimum distance of 2% was adopted from V/Hz limiter adjustment to ANSI 24 relaying settings and from this to the most restricting equipment limit. VI. C ONCLUSIONS The proper application of protective relaying requires knowledge of the operating range of each component and an understanding of the interactions of the generating unit and the power system [7]. When a perturbation occurs in the power system, it is expected that generators help the system to return to a stable condition. To this be possible, they must remain synchronized whenever their operating limits are being respected. However, when the integrity of any electrical equipment is violated, it is time for fast and selective action from protection systems. The validity of these underlying assumptions represents availability and reliability of the power system. The proper setting of overexcitation protective devices and AVR V/Hz limiter is a relevant subject in this context. Considering this and the concepts emphasized in the previous sections, some conclusion would be summarized: 1) Coordination between AVR V/Hz limiter and the overexcitation protection function is necessary to avoid both damage to electrical equipments and improper tripping [7] [10] [3] [11]. In order to do this, equipments capability curves should be available and must be putted on a common base together with the proposed limits of the AVR V/Hz limiter and the relay characteristic curve.

2) The AVR V/Hz limiter settings should allow the generator voltage to reach its rated maximum value. Nevertheless, a security margin from the overexcitation protection limit should be adopted to avoid improper tripping of the unit. A recommended value is to keep at least 2% less than the rst ANSI 24 relay pick up; 3) While setting up an overexcitation protection, the limit of the most restrictive equipment must be adopted. A security factor it is also desired to allow measurements errors and practical value is to keep at least 2% from the most restrictive limit; 4) The exibility in the unit operation and the customer or system operator requests would also inuence the adjustments. In this case, the relay choice could determine more or less options in the setting possibilities. R EFERENCES
[1] IEEE Std C50.12-2005. IEEE Standard for Salient-Pole 50 Hz and 60 Hz Synchronous Generators and Generator/Motors for Hydraulic Turbine Applications rated 5 MVA and Above. New York: IEEE, 2006. [2] IEEE Std C57.12.00-2000. IEEE Standard General Requirements For Liquid-Immersed Distribution, Power, and Regulating Transformers. New York: IEEE, 2000. [3] IEEE Std C37.106-2003. IEEE Guide for Abnormal Frequency Protection of Power Generating Plants. New York: IEEE, 2004. [4] IEEE Std C37.102-2006. IEEE Guide for AC Generator Protection. New York: IEEE, 2007. [5] IEEE Std 421.4-2004. IEEE Guide for the Preparation of Excitation System Specications. New York: IEEE, 2004. [6] IEEE Task Force on Excitation Limiters. Recommended models for Overexcitation Limiting Devices. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, v. 10, n. 4, p. 706-713, Dec 1995. [7] REIMERT, D. Protective Relaying for Power Generation Systems. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2006. [8] HARLOW, J. H. Electric Power Transformer Engineering. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2007. [9] MOZINA, C. (ed.) et al. IEEE Tutorial on the Protection of Synchronous Generators. Piscataway: IEEE Service Center, 1995. Catalog Number: 95 TP 102. [10] MOZINA, C. (ed.) et al. Coordination of Generator Protection with Generator Excitation Control and Generator Capability. In: IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting, 2007, Tampa. [11] BENMOUYAL, G. The Impact of Synchronous Generators Excitation Supply on Protection and Relays. In: Western Protective Relay Conference, 34, 2007, Spokane.

[12] SCHARLACH, R. C.; YOUNG, J.Lessons Learned From Generator Event Reports. In: Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers, 63, 2010, College Station. a e [13] ALVES, C. E. et al. Coordenacao din mica Entre a Protecao El trica e o Controle de Geradores Hidr ulicos - Experi ncia CEMIG. In: CIGRE a e Technical Seminar on Protection and Control, 9, 2008, Belo Horizonte. [14] GUZMAN, A.; DAQING HOU; ZOCHOLL, S.E. Transformer Modeling As Applied to Differential Protection. In: Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, 1996, Calgary. [15] Siemens. Siprotec Multifunction Machine Protection 7UM62 Manual. Version 4.6, 2009. [16] SEL Inc. Generator and Intertie Protection Relays SEL-700G Instruction Manual. Date code 20100521, 2010. [17] ABB. Generator protection IED REG 670 Technical reference manual. Version 1.1, 2007. Erick Fernando Alves (S05, M07) was born in S o Paulo, Brazil in 1981. He received the E.E. a bachelor with emphasis in Energy and Automation in 2007 from University of S o Paulo. He joined a the Systems Engineering Department of Voith Hydro S o Paulo in 2005 as trainee. Since then, he worked a in the control design of hydro power plants, specially with Excitation Systems and Speed Governors. Nowadays he is Lead Engineer of Excitation and Protection Systems at Voith Hydro S o Paulo. a

Marco Aur lio de Souza graduated in E.E. with eme phasis in Power Systems in 2000 and post-graduated in Protection Systems in 2004 both from Federal University of Itajub . Since his graduation he has a been working in generation and transmission areas, mainly with control and protection design of hydro power plants and high voltage substations. Presently he is Proposal Engineer at Voith Hydro S o Paulo. a