10/15/2018 Pick-up Current, Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) and Time Setting Multiplier (TSM) | Electrical Concepts

Search Go

Electrical Concepts
Tricky but Easy Electrical Engineering!

HOME ABOUT US DONATE CONTACT US PRIVACY POLICY

Pick-up Current, Plug Setting Topics

Multiplier (PSM) and Time Setting Power System

Multiplier (TSM)
Power System Protection
Electrical Machines
DC Machine
Measurement and
Instrumentation

Plug Setting Multiplier and Time Setting Multiplier are used only AC Circuit
for Electromechanical Relays. These terms or parameters are Digital Electronics
not so used in Numerical Relays but they are conceptually used Electrical Drives
and incorporated in Numerical Relays too but the way of their Power Electronics
implementation is quite different than that of Electromechanical EM Theory
Relays. In this post we will focus on the concept and
implementation of Plug Setting Multiplier and Time Setting
Multiplier for Electromechanical Relays.
Recent Posts

Difference between Latching and

As we know that an Electromechanical Relay has a coil which
Holding Current
when energized, operates the Relay to have contact changeover.
SCR Turn On Methods Explained
But there shall be some minimum current which when flows
in Detail
through the Relay coil, produces enough magnetic force to pull
V-I Characteristics of SCR
the lever to make contact change over. Isn’t it? Yes, if you ever
Explained with Circuit Diagram
get a chance to see electromechanical relay, you will observe
What is Avalanche Breakdown?
that there is a flapper kind of thing which is attached with the
pn Junction Diode and Its
lever. The lever in turn is attached with contacts. Thus when a
Working Principle
specified current flows through the relay coil, then only it will
produce enough magnetic pull to attract the flapper and lever to
operate the Relay. A simple picture of relay demonstrating its
construction and operation is shown in figure below.
Subscribe to our mailing list
and get interesting stuff and
updates to your email inbox.

Your Email Please

I consent to my submitted
data being collected via
this form*

https://electricalbaba.com/pick-up-current-plug-setting-multiplier-psm-and-time-setting-multiplier-tsm/ 1/7
10/15/2018 Pick-up Current, Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) and Time Setting Multiplier (TSM) | Electrical Concepts

SUBSCRIBE NOW

we respect your privacy and take

protecting it seriously

This minimum current in the Relay coil at which Relay starts to

operate is called Pick-up Current. If the current through the Relay
coil is less than the pick-up value then Relay won’t operate. On
contrary, if the current through the Relay coil is more than the
Pick-up current, Relay will operate. In industries, we normally
perform Relay Pick-up and Drop-off Test to check the healthiness
of relays.

Hope your concept of Pick-up current of Relay is clear now. Now

we will move on to Current Setting of electromechanical relays.

Current Setting of Electromechanical Relays: Current Setting

of relay is nothing but adjusting its pick-up value. Suppose we
are using a CT of ratio 1000/1 A and the pick-up current needs to
be set at 1.2 A. Then we will simply put the plug provided on
relay coil to 120% or 1.2. Thus we can say that

Pick-up current = Plug Position x Rated CT Secondary Current.

The plug or tapping is provided on the Relay Coil so that

changing the position of Plug changes the number of turns of the
relay coil as shown in figure below.

 As shown in figure above, the plug is kept at 5. This means that
pick-up current of relay will be 5 times of rated CT Secondary

https://electricalbaba.com/pick-up-current-plug-setting-multiplier-psm-and-time-setting-multiplier-tsm/ 2/7
10/15/2018 Pick-up Current, Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) and Time Setting Multiplier (TSM) | Electrical Concepts

current. Likewise, if we put the plug at 8.75 then pick-up current

of relay will be 8.75 times of the rated CT Secondary current.

Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM): Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) is

defined as the ratio of fault current to the pick-up current of the
relay. Thus,

PSM = Fault Current / Pick-up Current

= Fault Current / (Plug Position x Rated CT Secondary

Current)

Suppose we are using CT of 100/5 A, a fault current of, say 250

A is flowing through the network protected by the relay. Assume
that Current Setting or the position of plug is at 5 then

PSM = 250 / (5×5) =10

It shall be noted here that we shall not bother about PSM for
instantaneous relay rather we shall consider PSM for relays
having characteristics of Inverse Time, Very Inverse Time etc.

For Detail on Relay Characteristics read Over Current Relay and

Its Characteristics

Time Setting Multiplier (TSM): Again it is worthwhile to mention

that we shall not bother about TSM for instantaneous relay rather
we shall consider TSM for relays having characteristics of
Inverse Time, Very InverseTime etc.

A Relay is generally provided with control to adjust the time of

operation of the Relay. This adjustment is known as Time Setting
Multiplier or TSM. Normally a Time Setting Dial is provided which
is calibrated from 0 to 1 s in step of 0.05 s. For practical
exposure, let us consider a relay as shown in figure below.
Please Zoom the image to clearly view every part of the Relay
for better understanding.

https://electricalbaba.com/pick-up-current-plug-setting-multiplier-psm-and-time-setting-multiplier-tsm/ 3/7
10/15/2018 Pick-up Current, Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) and Time Setting Multiplier (TSM) | Electrical Concepts

As can be seen from the figure, there is a Time Setting Dial

which is rotated to set the time of operation of the relay. Lets say
we want to set the time on Time Setting Dial to 0.5 s, then we
need to rotate the dial till 0.5 s on the dial matches with the fixed
mark provided. So our TSM is 0.5 here in the case.

How to find the time of operation of Relay?

Well, assume that plug is set at 5 and TSM at 0.5 s. For finding
the actual time of operation of relay we need to refer the Graph
between the Operating Time and PSM which is generally
provided on the Relay cover itself but in our figure it is not given.
So we consider a graph between Operating Time and PSM as
shown below.

https://electricalbaba.com/pick-up-current-plug-setting-multiplier-psm-and-time-setting-multiplier-tsm/ 4/7
10/15/2018 Pick-up Current, Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) and Time Setting Multiplier (TSM) | Electrical Concepts

For our case, PSM = 10 (Please see the calculation and case
considered above in our discussion of PSM) and TSM = 0.5 s.

From the Graph, the time of operation of Relay for PSM = 10 is 3

s.

Therefore,

Actual Time of Operation of Relay = 3s x TSM

= 3 x0.5 s =1.5 s

Thus we can say that actual time of operation of Relay is equal

to the time obtained from the PSM & Operating Time Graph
multiplied by TSM.

Hope your concept of Pick-up current, PSM and TSM is clear. I

tried to show you by my practical experience. If still you have any
doubt feel free to write in comment box. Thank you!

 November 20, 2016  admin  Power System Protection  5 Comments

«Why Number of Stator and Rotor

Poles must be Equal for Production
of Electromagnetic Torque?

Why DC Series Motor has High Starting Torque?»

5 Thoughts On “Pick-Up Current, Plug

Setting Multiplier (PSM) And Time Setting
Multiplier (TSM)”

— christian erick

says:
December 14, 2016 at 8:37 pm

in manual computation, how to find the pick up current?

 Reply

— Suryakant

says:

https://electricalbaba.com/pick-up-current-plug-setting-multiplier-psm-and-time-setting-multiplier-tsm/ 5/7
10/15/2018 Pick-up Current, Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) and Time Setting Multiplier (TSM) | Electrical Concepts

September 8, 2018 at 12:52 am

Suppose ct ratio is 2000/5 and current setting is 1,and current injected in

relay is 6 amps then what is psm if range of current setting given is 0.75
to 2 amp

 Reply

1. — admin

says:
September 8, 2018 at 9:21 am

Since Plug Setting Multiplier is ratio of Fault Current to

relay setting, therefore the PSM will be equal to (6/1) i.e.
6. Here I am assuming fault current in terms of CT
secondary to be 6 A i.e. 2400 A in terms of primary and
relay setting equal to 1 A in terms of secondary i.e. 2000
A in terms of primary.

— Peter

says:
September 11, 2018 at 3:07 pm

for a CT: 400/5A, CDG relay or IDMT relay with plug setting of 5A. what
can be my time setting multiplier? please show calculations.

 Reply

1. — admin

says:
September 11, 2018 at 7:46 pm

The TMS setting basically depends on the relay

coordination. In case of CDG relay, you can keep TMS
setting anywhere in between 0 to 1 sec depending upon
how fast you want relay to operate. In case, you keep
TMS equal to 0.5 sec, then relay operating time will be as
per the PSM Versus Operating time Graph. Hope it help. If
you still need any help, please revert. Thank you!

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

https://electricalbaba.com/pick-up-current-plug-setting-multiplier-psm-and-time-setting-multiplier-tsm/ 6/7
10/15/2018 Pick-up Current, Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) and Time Setting Multiplier (TSM) | Electrical Concepts

 Comment

 Name *

 Email *

 Website

 Notify me when new comments are added.

Post Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is
processed.

Electrical Concepts © 2018 | Theme: Optimize ↑

About Us | Contact Us | Donate | Privacy Policy |

https://electricalbaba.com/pick-up-current-plug-setting-multiplier-psm-and-time-setting-multiplier-tsm/ 7/7