8 Essential Relay Operating Principles of Catching Faults - EEP

7/23/2017 8 essential relay operating principles of catching faults | EEP
8 essential relay operating principles of

catching faults
Detection of Faults
In general, as faults (short circuits) occur, currents increase in magnitude, and
voltages go down. Besides these magnitude changes of the AC quantities,
other changes may occur in one or more of the following parameters: phase
angles of current and voltage phasors, harmonic components, active and
reactive power, frequency of the power system, and so on.
Relay operating principles may be based upon detecting these changes, and
identifying the changes with the possibility that a fault may exist inside its
assigned zone of protection.
http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/relay-operating-principles-catching-faults 1/10
8 most essential relay operating principles in catching faults (on photo: Yandi Temporary Power Station
Protection Relay Test; credit: aptuspower.com.au)
We will divide relay operating principles into categories based upon

which of these input quantities a particular relay responds.
1. Level Detection
2. Magnitude Comparison
3. Differential Comparison
4. Phase Angle Comparison
5. Distance Measurement
6. Pilot Relaying
7. Harmonic Content
8. Frequency Sensing
1. Level Detection
This is the simplest of all relay operating principles. As indicated above, fault
current magnitudes are almost always greater than the normal load currents
that exist in a power system. Consider the motor connected to a 4 kV power
system as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Overcurrent
protection of a motor
The full-load current for the motor is 245 A. Allowing for an emergency
overload capability of 25%, a current of 1.25 245 = 306 A or lower should
correspond to normal operation. Any current above a set level (chosen to be
above 306 A by a safety margin in the present example) may be taken to mean
that a fault, or some other abnormal condition, exists inside the zone of
protection of the motor.
The relay should be designed to operate and trip the circuit breaker
for all currents above the setting, or, if desired, the relay may be
connected to sound an alarm, so that an operator can intervene and
trip the circuit breaker manually or take other appropriate action.
The level above which the relay operates is known as the pickup setting of the
relay. For all currents above the pickup, the relay operates, and for currents
smaller than the pickup value, the relay takes no action. It is of course possible
to arrange the relay to operate for values smaller than the pickup value, and
take no action for values above the pickup.
An undervoltage relay is an example of such a relay.
Figure 2 Characteristic of a level detector relay
The operating characteristics of an overcurrent relay can be presented as a

plot of the operating time of the relay versus the current in the relay. It is
best to normalize the current as a ratio of the actual current to the pickup
setting.
The operating time for (normalized) currents less than 1.0 is infinite, while for
values greater than 1.0 the relay operates. The actual time for operation will
depend upon the design of the relay. The ideal level detector relay would have
a characteristic as shown by the solid line in Figure 2.
In practice, the relay characteristic has a less abrupt transition, as shown

by the dotted line.
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2. Magnitude Comparison
This operating principle is based upon the comparison of one or more

operating quantities with each other. For example, a current balance relay
may compare the current in one circuit with the current in another circuit, which
should have equal or proportional magnitudes under normal operating
conditions.
Figure 3 Magnitude comparison relaying for two

parallel transmission lines
The relay will operate when the current division in the two circuits varies by a
given tolerance. Figure 3 shows two identical parallel lines that are connected
to the same bus at either end.
One could use a magnitude comparison relay that compares the

magnitudes of the two line currents IA and IB. If |IA| is greater than
|IB|+ (where is a suitable tolerance), and line B is not open, the
relay would declare a fault on line A and trip it.
Similar logic would be used to trip line B if its current exceeds that in line A,
when the latter is not open. Another instance in which this relay can be used is
when the windings of a machine have two identical parallel sub-windings per
phase.
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3. Differential Comparison
Differential comparison is one of the most sensitive and effective methods

of providing protection against faults. The concept of differential comparison
is quite simple, and can be best understood by referring to the generator
winding shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 Differential comparison principle applied to a

generator winding
As the winding is electrically continuous, current entering one end I1, must
equal the current leaving the other end I2. One could use a magnitude
comparison relay described above to test for a fault on the protected winding.
When a fault occurs between the two ends, the two currents are no
longer equal. Alternatively, one could form an algebraic sum of the
two currents entering the protected winding, that is, (I1 I2), and use
a level detector relay to detect the presence of a fault.
In either case, the protection is termed a differential protection. In general, the

differential protection principle is capable of detecting very small magnitudes of
fault currents. Its only drawback is that it requires currents from the extremities
of a zone of protection, which restricts its application to power apparatus, such
as transformers, generators, motors, buses, capacitors, and reactors.
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4. Phase Angle Comparison
This type of relay compares the relative phase angle between two AC
quantities. Phase angle comparison is commonly used to determine the
direction of a current with respect to a reference quantity.
For instance, the normal power flow in a given direction will result in the phase
angle between the voltage and the current varying around its power factor
angle, say approximately 30. When the power flows in the opposite direction,
this angle will become (180 30).
Similarly, for a fault in the forward or reverse

direction, the phase angle of the current with
respect to the voltage will be and (180 ),
respectively, where , the impedance angle of the
fault circuit, is close to 90 for power transmission
networks.
These relationships are explained for two transmission lines in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Phase angle comparison for a fault on a transmission line
This difference in phase relationships created by a fault is exploited by making

relays that respond to phase angle differences between two input quantities
such as the fault voltage and the fault current in the present example.
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5. Distance Measurement
As discussed above, the most positive and reliable type of protection compares
the current entering the circuit with the current leaving it. On transmission lines
and feeders, the length, voltage, and configuration of the line may make this
principle uneconomical.
Instead of comparing the local line current with the far-end line current, the
relay compares the local current with the local voltage. This, in effect, is a
measurement of the impedance of the line as seen from the relay terminal.
An impedance relay relies on the fact that the

length of the line (i.e., its distance) for a given
conductor diameter and spacing determines its
impedance.
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6. Pilot Relaying
Certain relaying principles are based upon the information obtained by the relay
from a remote location. The information is usually although not always in
the form of contact status (open or closed). The information is sent over a
communication channel using power line carrier, microwave, or telephone
circuits.
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7. Harmonic Content
Currents and voltages in a power system usually have a sinusoidal waveform of

the fundamental power system frequency. There are, however, deviations from
a pure sinusoid, such as the third harmonic voltages and currents produced by
the generators that are present during normal system operation.
Other harmonics occur during abnormal system conditions, such as the odd
harmonics associated with transformer saturation, or transient components
caused by the energization of transformers.
These abnormal conditions can be detected by sensing the

harmonic content through filters in electromechanical or solid-
state relays, or by calculation in digital relays. Once it is
determined that an abnormal condition exists, a decision can be made
whether some control action is required.
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8. Frequency Sensing
Normal power system operation is at 50 or 60 Hz, depending upon the

country. Any deviation from these values indicates that a problem exists or is
imminent. Frequency can be measured by filter circuits, by counting zero
crossings of waveforms in a unit of time, or by special sampling and digital
computer techniques.
Frequency-sensing relays may be used to take corrective actions that will bring
the system frequency back to normal.
The various input quantities described above, upon which fault

detection is based, may be used either singly or in any combination, to
calculate power, power factor, directionality, impedance, and so on
and can in turn be used as relay-actuating quantities. Some relays are
also designed to respond to mechanical devices such as fluid level
detectors, pressure, or temperature sensors, and so on.
Relays may be constructed from electromechanical

elements such as solenoids, hinged armatures,
induction discs, solid-state elements such as
diodes, silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs),
transistors or magnetic or operational amplifiers, or
digital computers using analog-to-digital converters
and microprocessors.
It will be seen that, because the electromechanical relays were developed early
on in the development of protection systems, the description of all relay
characteristics is often in terms of electromechanical relays. The construction of
a relay does not inherently change the protection concept, although there are
advantages and disadvantages associated with each type.
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Reference // Power System Relaying by Stanley H. Horowitz Retired

Consulting Engineer American Electric Power) and Arun G. Phadke University
Distinguished Research Professor (Purchase hardcopy from Amazon)
About Author //
Edvard Csanyi
Edvard - Electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP. Highly

specialized for design of LV/MV switchgears and LV high power busbar trunking
(<6300A) in power substations, commercial buildings and industry fascilities.
Professional in AutoCAD programming. Present on Google+

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7/23/2017 8 essential relay operating principles of catching faults | EEP

8 essential relay operating principles of

We will divide relay operating principles into categories based upon

An undervoltage relay is an example of such a relay.

Figure 2 Characteristic of a level detector relay

The operating characteristics of an overcurrent relay can be presented as a

In practice, the relay characteristic has a less abrupt transition, as shown

This operating principle is based upon the comparison of one or more

Figure 3 Magnitude comparison relaying for two

One could use a magnitude comparison relay that compares the

Differential comparison is one of the most sensitive and effective methods

Figure 4 Differential comparison principle applied to a

In either case, the protection is termed a differential protection. In general, the

4. Phase Angle Comparison

Similarly, for a fault in the forward or reverse

These relationships are explained for two transmission lines in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Phase angle comparison for a fault on a transmission line

This difference in phase relationships created by a fault is exploited by making

An impedance relay relies on the fact that the

Currents and voltages in a power system usually have a sinusoidal waveform of

These abnormal conditions can be detected by sensing the

Normal power system operation is at 50 or 60 Hz, depending upon the

The various input quantities described above, upon which fault

Relays may be constructed from electromechanical

Reference // Power System Relaying by Stanley H. Horowitz Retired

Edvard - Electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP. Highly

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