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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.
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2/14/2018 8 essential relay operating principles of catching faults | EEP
8 most essential relay operating principles in catching faults (on photo: Yandi Temporary Power Station
Protection Relay Test; credit: aptuspower.com.au)
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.
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
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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.
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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.
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.
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2. Magnitude Comparison
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.
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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. Di erential Comparison
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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.
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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°).
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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.
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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
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.
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8. Frequency Sensing
Frequency-sensing relays may be used to take corrective actions that will bring
the system frequency back to normal.
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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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About Author
Edvard Csanyi
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