TEEE: Power System Protection

Relay Operation Principles

Relay Operation Principles 1

 Learning Outcome
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
• Describe the relaying system and its
requirements
• Describe the power system structure
• Describe different factors that affect the
protection system

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 Introduction
Power systems allow continuous generation,
transmission, and consumption of energy.

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 Introduction
Although power systems are capable of sustaining a variety of adverse
environmental impacts, they may encounter occasional faults due to lightning
strike, excessive load, short circuit among other adverse conditions.

Lightning strike Excessive load Short circuit

As a result of the fault, the safety limits are breached that not only affect
normal operation but also poses danger to human and animal life around it. It
is therefore, important to detect the faults.
How can we detect faults?
Well, the answer lies in power relays! In this lesson, you’ll learn all about
power relays, their configuration and operation in detail.
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 Relay Requirements
Relaying is the branch of Power Engineering that’s concerned with
the principles of design and operation of relays. It detects
abnormal conditions and initiates corrective action as quickly as
possible to return the power system to its normal state.
There are certain requirements for the relaying system to work
effectively. They are:

Trouble. Correct diagnosis of trouble.

Response Quickness of response. As in, how fast? Can
you guess the typical operating time of the
protection systems?
Disturbance Minimum disturbance of power system.

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 Relay Methodology
Methodologies to achieve the relay requirements:

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 Relay Methodology
Multi-Layered Structure: three-layered structure of power
system.

Power Power apparatus generates, transforms, and distributes the

apparatus electric power. Some examples include generators,
transformers, capacitors, and inductors.
Protection Protection equipment acts to open and close circuit breakers,
equipment thus changing the system structure. Some examples include
relays, fuses, and circuit breakers.
Control Control equipment maintains power system at its normal
equipment voltage, frequency, optimal economy and security. Some
examples include automatic voltage regulator or AVR,
governor, and power system stabilizers
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 Issues Affecting Power Systems
The issues that significantly affect the protection
system include:

Neutral Grounding of Power Systems

Ungrounded systems:
• Have no zero-sequence current

• Have greatly reduced service interruptions due to faults

• Are subjected to high overvoltages on the unfaulted phases when a

ground fault occurs (the unfaulted phases are subjected to line voltage)

Relay Operation Principles 8

 Issues Affecting Power Systems
For system voltages higher than 100 kV, the fault induced
overvoltages play a great role in insulation design. This can be
clarified in the following figure as the voltage of phases b and c
becomes the line voltage during a single phase (phase a) to
ground fault since the neutral is shifted to phase a. Also, it’s
common to used solidly grounded neutrals in high voltage power
systems.

Phasor diagram showing the neutral shift on ground fault

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 Power System Configuration
Power system configuration has a profound influence on protective
relaying. There are two main configurations of the power systems:
Radial
• A single source arrangement with multiple loads (generally
distribution systems)
• Operating voltages below 100 kV
• Most economic to build
• Unreliable system
• Less complex protection problem (fault current flow in one
direction only)
• Since radial systems are electrically remote from generators, the
fault current does not vary much with changes in generation
capacity

Relay Operation Principles 10

 Power System Configuration
Power system configuration has a profound influence on protective
relaying. There are two main configurations of the power systems:
Network
• Multiple sources and multiple
loops (generally transmission systems)
• Operating voltages above 100 kV
• Expensive to build
• Reliable system
• Complex protection problem (fault current has multiple
directions and all should be considered)
• Fault current varies greatly with changes in system configuration
and generation capacity
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 Power System Bus Configuration
General requirements of the power system bus
configuration are:
• Reliability of service
• Flexibility in operation
• Minimum interruption of service during
equipment maintenance

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 Common Bus Arrangements
The most common bus arrangements in substations:
Single bus, single breaker is the
simplest, costs the least, and is the least
flexible.

Single bus, single breaker

Two bus, single breaker is more flexible
than single bus, single breaker.

Two bus, single breaker

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 Common Bus Arrangements
The most common bus arrangements in substations:
Ring bus has similar flexibility as two
bus, two breakers; but if one breaker is
maintained, the ring gets broken

Ring bus
Breaker-and-a-half has similar
flexibility as two bus, two breakers, but
costs low. It’s most commonly used in
EHV transmission substations.

Qn: Why it called Breaker-and-a-half?

Breaker-and-a-half

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 Summary
In this lesson, you have learnt that:
• Relaying is the branch of power engineering concerned
with the principles of design and operation of relays
which detect abnormal conditions and initiate
corrective action as quickly as possible to return the
power system to its normal state
• Three-layered structure of power systems includes
control equipment, protective equipment, and power
apparatus
• Issues that significantly affect the protection system
include system grounding, system configuration, and
bus configuration

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