24th FEB 2017

‘South Australia’s electricity transmission specialist’

Verifying Series Compensated

Line Protection Scheme
- via Real Time Digital Simulators
(RTDS)

Yang Liu and Anthony Fretwell

ElectraNet Pty Ltd
South Australia

Copyright © ElectraNet Pty Ltd 2017

RTDS
>  Processors and
peripherals

>  Compute mathematic

models of the power
system components and
networks in real time
>  Peripherals send or
receive analog/digital
signals to or from relays

>  Software RSCAD provides

graphical user interface for
configuration and
interaction

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Australian National Electricity Market
>  All states and territories of
eastern and southern Australia

>  Above 110 kV

>  5000+ Kilometers (3.1k+ miles)

>  Longest AC system worldwide

>  Approximately 80% of

Australia’s electricity
consumption
>  The Interconnector upgrade

Source: T&O Energy Consulting

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Simplified Regional Network
>  308 Kilometers (192 miles)
>  Fixed 50% compensation
TAIL 500kV
275kV
132kV >  Installed at 50% line length
>  Significant wind energy
penetration in the region
Vic
>  Compensated lines have
SEAS
become critical infrastructure

SA

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Protection Arrangement and Challenges
>  Protection Arrangement
–  Main X: Current Differential
Protection
–  Main Y: Directional Comparison
Blocking (DCB) Scheme
–  Single pole tripping (SPT) and
reclosing (SPR) for Ph-G faults
–  Three pole tripping (3PT) and
lockout (3PL) for multiphase
faults
–  Diversified protection and
inherent back-up features
–  Rich operational and
maintenance experience
>  Challenges
–  Transient Recovery Voltage
(TRV)
–  Zone 1 overreach
–  Mutual coupling
–  High resistance fault (150Ω)
detection
–  Ground fault direction
determination
–  Sub-synchronous Control
Interaction (SSCI) protection
–  Sub-synchronous Resonance
(SSR) protection
–  Series capacitor controllers
verification
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RTDS Testing Preparation
>  Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) on all protection relays
>  Model preparation
–  Min and max fault level cases

–  Network equivalent model

q  Generic generator models

q  Doubly-fed induction generator model

q  Bergeron models for transmission lines

–  Fault level alignment verification

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RTDS Testing Preparation (cont’d)
Southern Station
Northern Station Series (SEAS) 275kV
(TAIL) 275kV Cap
F1 F2a F2b F3 F4 F5a F5b F6

F13 F14

F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12

F15 F16

>  Fault locations

>  Fault types, including evolving faults and cross
country faults
>  Fault resistance
>  Fault inception angles
>  Various system conditions
>  Manual simulations -> auto-script testing
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Protection Findings – Z1 Overreach
>  Setting as 40% of the
un-compensated line
impedance
>  Fault location – F12

>  3 phase fault

>  Record from TAIL

terminal

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Protection Findings – Z1 Overreach cont’d
>  Likely due to sub-harmonic frequency oscillation
>  Spiralling through Zone 1 characteristic

Source: A. Guzman, MEPS’10

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Protection Findings – Directional Element
>  Negative sequence impedance
–  Sign and magnitude

–  Effective with small V2

–  Immune to zero sequence mutual coupling

>  ‘Auto’ setting

–  Half of line impedance

>  Close-to-zero setting

–  Providing more balanced sensitivity for forward and reverse ground fault
detection

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Protection Findings – ‘Auto’ vs ‘Close-to-
Zero’ Setting
C.t.Z Settings: ​𝑍↓2𝐹 =0.1 ​ 𝑍↓2𝑅 =0.6
Event Phasor: ​𝑉↓2 =49.42∠79° ​𝐼↓2 =0.18∠59.63°
Negative Sequence Z:
​𝑍↓2 =​𝑅𝑒{​𝑉↓2 ∙[​​𝐼↓2 ∙(1∠​𝑍↓1𝐴𝑁𝐺 ) ]}/​(|​𝐼↓2 |)↑2  =117.64

Threshold ‘Auto’ (Ω) ‘Close-to-Zero’ (Ω)

Z2FTH 7.89 -68.51
Z2RTH 114.93 69.09

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Protection Findings – SPO
>  Fault location – F1

>  Single phase to ground fault

>  Record from SEAS terminal

>  Operand ‘32SPOF’

>  Solution to include ‘NOT

SPO’ logic in forward torque
control

>  Evolving fault:

>  AG fault then BG fault
with 10 cycle interval
>  Operand ‘SPOF’
>  What if BG fault was an
high resistive fault?

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SSCI and SSR Simulations
>  SSCI Simulation
–  With deliberately included generation model in RSCAD
–  Radial connection
–  Not observed -> due to the size of modelled power system, power electronics
and control system are limited by the hardware to perform real time simulation
–  More effective and realistic with offline simulation and waveform playback

>  SSR
–  Radial connection

–  Small electrical
oscillation at 12Hz

–  Significant?

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Series Capacitor Controller Verification
>  Emulated in RSCAD
for most simulations

>  Control panel also

included in closed-loop
testing

>  MOV accumulated

energy limitation if
–  Max load current

–  Spark gap failed

–  Solid 3-ph fault at

capacitor site

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In-service Experience
>  Placed in service since July 2016
>  Several storm activities in the state but line protection has remained
stable as it was required
>  An unbalance fault occurred during commissioning

>  Series capacitor was correctly removed from network

>  Line and SSCI protection devices were correctly restrained

>  The faulted can of series capacitor has been replaced

>  Series capacitor has been re-inserted into service

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Conclusion
>  RTDS testing has been valued as effective and crucial process
>  Challenges of setting directional elements

>  Close-to-Zero setting has been proved to be more secure than ‘Auto’
setting

>  Mindful consideration shall be taken for SPO conditions

>  Valuable to verify any special operational requirements

>  More effective to evaluate SSCI & SSR protection offline via simulated
waveforms than real time simulations
>  Valuable experience by connecting capacitor panels in closed-loop
testing

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