Power System Protection

Manual
Note:
This manual is in the formative stage. Not all the experiments have been covered
here though they are operational in the laboratory. When the full manual is ready,
we will make it available here.

Electrical Engineering Department,

Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya (BVM) Engineering College,
Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India
Pin:388120.
 Experiment No-1

Radial Feeder Protection

Theoretical Background:
Whole of the power system can be subdivided in to number of radial feeders fed from one
end. Generally such radial feeders are protected by over current and earth fault relays
used as primary relays for 11 kV and 66 kV lines. For lines of voltage rating beyond 66
kV, distance protection is applied as a primary protection whereas over current and earth
fault relays are used as back up relays.

A simplified radial feeder network without transformers (in actual practice transformers
do exist at substations) is shown in single line diagram of fig. 1.1 below.

Section I Section II Section III

S
Source Transmission C D
A Line B
R1 R2 R3 Fuse

To
Load

Fig. 1.1. A Typical Radial Transmission Line

If the fault occurs in distribution network, fuse should isolate the faulty section. Should
the fuse fail, relay R3 shall give back-up protection. Relays R1, R2, and R3 act as primary
relays for faults in section I, section I, and section III respectively. If fault in section III is
not cleared by relaying scheme at relaying point R3, relay R2 will act as a back-up.
Similarly back-up protection is provided by relay R1 for faults in section II. A,B, C and D
are substations in fig. 1.1.

Generally Inverse time overcurrent relays with Definite Minimum Time feature (IDMT
relays) are used in practice. There are many types of such relays available in relay-
market, viz. normal inverse relays, very inverse relays and extremely inverse relays. The
characteristics of these relays are shown in fig. 1.2. The other types of o/c relays are 3
second relay and 1.3 second relay. This means the time of operation of the relay is either
3 or 1.3 second at Plug Setting Multiplier (PSM) equal to 10. Long time inverse relays
are used for o/c cum overload application. Voltage restrains o/c relays have their own
application.

Very inverse relays are less prone to the ratio ZS/ZL. Extremely inverse relays are yet
better. Very inverse relays are faster in operation for close-in faults yet maintaining the
discrimination with fuse and other relays. Extremely inverse relays are more meritorious

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in this aspect too. Instantaneous o/c relays are not immune to ZS/ZL ratio. Definite time
o/c relays are 100 % immune to this ratio. Very inverse relays can be used with an
additional advantage while protecting a machine or a transformer as they match with the
heating characteristic of equipment better than their normal inverse equivalent. Extremely
inverse relays can best co-ordinate with the fuse characteristic. The aim of this
experiment is to reveal these facts experimentally.

Fig. 1.2 Normal, Very and Extremely Inverse Characteristics

Laboratory Simulations:
Referring to a.c. circuit of fig. 1.3. a live model of a radial feeder fed from one end can be
self-understood.

Section - I Section - II Section - III

C1-1 C2-1 C3-1
10/5 9Ω 10/5 9Ω 10/5
A

MCB
R1 R2 R3
230 V, 50 Hz
S1 S2 S3
1-phase,
V
ac supply
550Ω
(Load)

18Ω
(Fault resistance)

Fig. 1.3 Main AC Circuit in the Experiment.

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This is only a single phase version of a radial feeder. Transmission lines are simulated by
9 ohms resistors as we are studying only the steady state behavior of the relays and the
network. Circuit breakers are simulated by contactors. Distributor is protected by a 0.5
Amp M.C.B. Semaphore indicators on the panel show the status of the contactor(whether
ON or OFF). Visual neon lamp indictors are also used. Faults in different sections can be
created by switches S1, S2 and S3. Fault limiting resistance of 18 ohms is used for
practical purposes only, as otherwise the source would get shorted for a fault at start of
the first section. For fault in distributor, Ohmic value of load rheostats can be decreased.
MCB simulates fuses or MCCB. In actual practice C.T. secondary rated current (1 Amp
or 5 Amp) and relay rating should be same. Here C.T. secondary rating is 5 Amp and
relay rating is 1 Amp. This is contradicting the practice for for practical purpose.

A1-1 A2-1 A3-1 PB-3 PB-3 PB-3

T2 T3

L1 L2 L3 R1-1 R2-1 R3-1

C1 C2 C3 A1-2 A2-2 A3-2
110 V
DC C1-2 C2-2 C3-2 PB-1
PB-1 PB-1
Supply
A1 A2 A3
PB-2 PB-2 PB-2

(a)

C1-3 C2-3 C3-3

Buzzer
110 V
DC Supply bulb
S-1 S-2 S-3

A2-3

A1-3 A3-3

S-1, S-2, S-3 are semaphore indicators

(b)

Fig. 1.4 Control Circuit in the Experiment.

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Referring to control circuit of figure 1.4(a) and (b), any section can be manually charged
or made off using “start” (PB1) and “stop” (PB2) push buttons, which are spring loaded.
On occurrence of fault, the corresponding section relay will operate and the concerned
auxiliary relay A1, A2 or A3 will energize giving signal to the concerned contactor and
making it off. This will also activate the buzzer and bulb which can be reset using
“Accept” pushbutton PB3. Back up can be shown by using switches T1 and T2 on the
panel. Time of operation of relays can be measured by a time –interval counter connected
as shown in fig. 1.4 (c).

S1 A1-4

S2 A2-4

S3 A3-4

To timer To timer
“Start” “Stop”
terminals terminals
(c)
Fig. 1.4 Control Circuit in the Experiment.

Observations and calculations:

1. Measure the fault currents for extreme faults in sections I, II and III by adjusting the
corresponding rheostat in minimum (zero resistance) and maximum (full resistance)
positions and using the corresponding fault-switch S1, S2, or S3 (refer fig. 1.3).
Maximum fault currents in sections I, II and III are denoted by F1, F2, F3 respectively
and the minimum fault currents by F1’, F2’, F3’ respectively. Deactivate the relays for
this purpose. Record the readings in table 1:

Fault Location Fault Current (A)

F1
F1’
F2
F2’
F3
F3’

Table:1.1 Measured fault currents for extreme faults in each section

2. Calculate the plug –settings (or Tap Value) of relays R1, R2 and R3. (Plug settings will
be same irrespective of type of relays ). For this purpose, assume the number of
distributors each of 0.5 Amp rating from the following possibilities (The experiment

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 is a simulation and hence the distributor current is 0.5 Amp. In actual practice it may
be 500 Amp or more or less):
Number of distributors: 1, 2, 3 or 4.
(Calculations of the plug setting shall be done w.r.t. following considerations.)
(I) The plug setting shall be more than or equal to the maximum full-load current
passing through the relay.
(II) The pick up of the relay varies from 1.05 to 1.3 times the plug setting of the relay.
(III) For back up, relay R1 shall reach for the fault F’2 and R2 for the fault F’3.
3. Time Settings. (Normal Inverse Relays)
For deciding time-settings, co-ordinate the characteristic of relay R3 with that of an
MCB.( Refer figures 1.5 and 1.6.)
Use discriminating time-interval of 1.0 second between two characteristics. This will
decide TMS of R3. Why discrimination time of 1.0 second? (Try answer to this
question.)
For coordinating R2 with R3, use the worst possible current to decide TMS of R2 (F3
in table:1.1). Similarly decide TMS of R1 by using F2 and setting of R2. Use
discriminating time interval between two successive relays as 0.4 seconds (why 0.4
seconds?) for these calculations. Tabulate the results as follows:

Normal inverse Relays.

Relay P.S. TMS
R1
R2
R3

Table:1.2 Calculated relay settings.

4. Time-settings (Very Inverse Relays)

Similar exercise as at Sr. No. 3 above can be carried out for very inverse relays also.
The results are to be tabulated as in the case of normal inverse relays as per calculated
settings.
Use figure 1.5 and 1.7 for deciding TMS of very inverse relays.
5. Set the normal inverse relays as per the settings in table 1.2.
6. Calculate the time of operation of the main and back-up relays for extreme faults in
each section using the relay settings in table:1.2 and the fault current readings
recorded in table:1.1. Enter these in table:1.3 as “Calculated Time of Operation”.
7. Vary the 550 ohms load resistance such that the current in the radial feeder varies
from 0.5 Amp to about 4 Amp. See that MCB trips and relay R3 does not trip.
8. Now create extreme faults (one by one) in each section starting from section III. For
each fault, measure the time of operation of the main and the back-up relay (to
measure time of operation of back-up relay, the main relay has to be deactivated
using switches T2 or T3 (as the case may be) in fig. 1.4). Record these in table 1.3 as
“Measured Time of Operation”. Calculate the error between the calculated and the
measured time of operation for each fault and record it in table: 1.3.
9. Derive the table 1.4 from table 1.3 as follows:

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 Table 1.4
Relays Difference in time of operation of relays for extreme
faults.

Section Observed Calculated

R1 I
R2 II
R3 III

10. Replace the normal inverse relays by very inverse relays.

11. Repeat steps at Sr. No. 5 to 9 for very inverse relays.
12. Draw your own conclusion.

Questions:
1. Explain the circuit of the experiment.
2. What is the function of semaphore indicator?
3. Why are the settings of the earth-fault relays lower than the settings of the overcurrent
relays?
4. Draw an a.c. circuit and d.c. control circuit for two overcurrent and one earth-fault
scheme of protection of a feeder used in practice. How does our experimental scheme
differ from that? Why?
5. What do you understand by time discrimination?
6. What do you understand by overshoot of a relay?
7. What is the significance of resetting time of a relays?
8. What do you understand by back-up protection? Explain remote back-up protection.
9. How does the source impedance affect the choice of relay to be used in radial feeder
protection?
10. Why are the IDMT relays popular in practice?
11. What are the factors to be considered for deciding settings of phase relays and ground
relays?

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1.3

F1 F1' F2 F2' F3 F3'