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pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 1
Electrical System
Protection and Control
Handbook
Volume 2
Electrical System
Protection and Control
Handbook
Randolph W. Hurst
Publisher & Executive Editor
Phill Feltham
Editor
Art Design
Alla Krutous
Handbook Sales
Colleen Flaherty
Elena Hurst
Advertising Sales
Anita Faiella
Carol Gardner
Barbara John
Database Administration
Hendra Sianto
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Modern Cost-Efficient Digital Busbar Protection Solutions
By Bogdan Kasztenny and Gustavo Brunello, GE Multilin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Vector Jump Relaying: An Economical Solution for Distributed Generation Islanding Protection
By Arvind Chaudhary, Cooper Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Integrated Protection, Metering and Control used with Monitoring using web enabled communication technologies
By Ajit Bapat, M.Tech, MBA, P Eng, Schneider Electric Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
A Look at Fuseology
By Tim Crnko, Cooper Bussman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
MODERN COST-EFFICIENT
DIGITAL BUSBAR PROTECTION SOLUTIONS
By Bogdan Kasztenny and Gustavo Brunello, GE Multilin
INTRODUCTION (d) Several differential zones are required to cover individual
Simple busbars with dedicated Current Transformers sections of a large bus. This calls for significant processing
(CTs) could be efficiently protected by the high-impedance power of the hardware platform.
principle – a fast and reliable scheme with tens of years of Traditionally, the aforementioned problems of large num-
excellent field record. However, new power generation added ber of inputs and outputs, resulting power supply requirements,
recently, or to be added in the near future, complicates histori- and the processing power requirements have been addressed by
cally simple busbar arrangements and exposes existing CTs to two distinctively different architectures: distributed or central-
saturation due to increased fault current level. New substations ized. Both solutions require large Modern Cost-Efficient Digital
are often designed to satisfy cost requirements rather than keep Busbar Protection Solutions quantities of specialized hardware.
the protection task straightforward and easy. This results in As a result, they are difficult to engineer, face certain depend-
complex busbar arrangements. ability and reliability problems, do not have a chance to mature
High-impedance busbar protection principle faces major due to comparatively low volume of installations, and are very
problems when applied to complex busbar arrangements. Quite expensive.
often, the zones of protection are required to adjust their bound- The new solutions that emerged recently address the
aries based on changing busbar configuration. This calls for above problems by targeting medium-sized busbars only and
switching secondary currents – an operation that is never con- using generic hardware platforms (such as multi-winding or
sidered safe and should be avoided whenever possible. small bus relays) to build phase-segregated, cost-efficient, easy-
Digital low-impedance busbar protection schemes are to-engineer busbar relays.
ideal for complex busbars. Optimal zoning (dynamic bus repli- This paper focuses on the new phase-segregated solution
ca) is achieved naturally by switching currents in software, i.e. and is organized as follows.
by making logical assignments to multiple zones of protection First, a general overview of busbar protection principles
while keeping physical currents uninterrupted. Other benefits is given starting from simple interlocking schemes for single-
include integrated breaker fail protection, communications, incomer distribution busbars, to high-end microprocessor-based
oscillography, sequence of events recording, multiple setting protection schemes.
groups, and other natural benefits of the digital generation of Second, a novel, phase-segregated approach based on
protective relays. existing hardware platforms capable of processing plurality of
Until very recently, digital busbar and breaker failure single-phase AC input signals is presented. The new solution is
protection schemes for medium-size and large busbars were not discussed in detail including architecture, reliability, depend-
attractive to users traditionally biased toward the high-imped- ability, speed of operation, security on external faults, ease of
ance approach. There used to be several reasons for that. configuration, and cost.
Schemes available on the market were very expensive, difficult Third, basic application principles for protection of com-
to apply, considerably slower as compared with the high-imped- plex busbars are presented. They include a tie-breaker with a
ance protection, and perceived less secure. All these factors single CT, treatment of blind zones and over-tripping zones,
have changed recently. Modern digital relays are much faster, dynamic bus replica, end fault protection and breaker failure
use better algorithms for security, and became affordable after protection. Both principles and examples are presented.
introduction – in late 2001 and early 2002 – of a phase-segre-
gated microprocessor-based busbar relay. BUSBAR PROTECTION TECHNIQUES
Major hardware, architectural and processing power Power system busbars vary significantly as to their size
challenges facing a digital protection system for medium-size (number of circuits connected), complexity (number of sections,
and large busbars are: tie-breakers, isolator switches/disconnectors, etc.) and voltage
(a) Large number of analog signals needs to be processed (tens level (transmission, distribution).
of currents, few voltages). The problem is how to bring all The above technical aspects, combined with economic
the required signals into a “box”. factors, yield a number of protection solutions.
(b) Large number of digital inputs may be required to monitor
isolator and breaker positions in order to provide for the INTERLOCKING SCHEMES
dynamic bus replica mechanism (dynamic adjustment of A simple protection for distribution busbars can be engi-
zone boundaries based on changing busbar configuration). neered as an interlocking scheme. OverCurrent (OC) relays are
(c) Large number of trip-rated output contacts may be required placed on an incoming circuit and at all outgoing feeders. The
particularly in the case of reconfigurable busbars when feeder OCs are set to detect feeder faults. The OC on the incom-
each breaker must be tripped separately depending on bus ing circuit is set to trip the busbar unless blocked by any of the
configuration at the moment of tripping. feeder OC relays (Figure 1). A short coordination timer is
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 6
PERCENT DIFFERENTIAL
Percent differential relays create a restraining signal in
addition to the differential signal and apply a percent
(restrained) characteristic. The choices of the restraining signal
include “sum”, “average” and “maximum” of the bus currents.
The choices of the characteristic typically include single-slope
and double-slope characteristics.
This low-impedance approach does not require dedicated
Fig.1. Illustration of the interlocking scheme. CTs, can tolerate substantial CT saturation and provides for
comparatively high-speed tripping.
required to avoid race conditions. Many integrated relays perform CT ratio compensation
When using microprocessor-based multi-function relays eliminating the need for matching CTs.
it becomes possible to integrate all the required OC functions in This principle became attractive with the advent of
one or few relays. This allows not only to reduce the wiring but microprocessor-based relays because of the following:
also to shorten the coordination time and speed up operation of • Advanced algorithms supplement the percent differential
the scheme. protection function, making the relay very secure.
Modern relays provide for fast peer-to-peer communica- • Protection of re-configurable busbars becomes easier as the
tions using protocols such as the UCA with the GOOSE mech- dynamic bus replica (bus image) can be accomplished with-
anism. This allows eliminating wiring and sending the blocking out switching secondary currents.
signals over digital communications. • Integrated Breaker Fail (BF) function can provide for opti-
The scheme, although easy to apply and economical, is mum tripping strategy depending on the actual configura-
limited to simple distribution busbars. tion of a busbar.
• Distributed architectures could be used that place Data
OVERCURRENT DIFFERENTIAL Acquisition Units (DAU) in bays and replace current wires
by fiber optic communications.
Typically, a differential current is created externally by
summation of all the circuit currents and supplied to an overcur-
rent relay (Figure 2). Preferably the CTs should be of the same
HIGH-IMPEDANCE PROTECTION
ratio. If not, matching CTs are required. This in turn may High-impedance protection responds to a voltage across
increase the burden for the main CTs and make the saturation the differential junction points. The CTs are required to be of a
problem even more significant. low leakage (completely distributed windings or toroidal coils).
Historically, means to deal with the issue of CT satura- During external faults, even with severe saturation of some of
tion include definite time or inversetime overcurrent character- the CTs, the voltage does not rise above a certain level, because
istics. the other CTs will provide a lower-impedance path as compared
with the relay input impedance. This principle has been used for
more than half a century because it is robust, secure and fast.
The technique, however, is not free from disadvantages.
The most important ones are:
• The high-impedance approach requires dedicated CTs (sig-
nificant cost associated).
• It cannot be easily applied to re-configurable busbars
(switching currents with bi-stable auxiliary relays endan-
gers the CTs, jeopardizes security and adds an extra cost).
• The scheme requires only a simple voltage level sensor. If
BF, event recording, oscillography, communications, and
other benefits of microprocessor-based relaying are of
interest, then extra equipment is needed (such as a Digital
Fault Recorder or dedicated BF relays).
urate.
During internal faults, the sum of the busbar currents, and
thus their derivatives, is zero. Based on that, a simple busbar
protection is achieved by connecting the secondary windings of
the linear couplers in series (in order to respond to the sum of
the primary currents) and putting a voltage sensor to close the
loop (Figure 3).
Disadvantages of this approach are similar to those of the
high-impedance scheme.
MICROPROCESSOR-BASED RELAYS
The low-impedance approach used to be perceived as
less secure when compared with the high-impedance protection.
This is no longer true as microprocessor-based relays apply
sophisticated algorithms to match the performance of the high-
impedance schemes [1-6]. This is particularly relevant for large,
extra high voltage busbars (cost of extra CTs) and complex bus-
bars (dynamic bus replica) that cannot be handled well by high-
impedance schemes.
Digital low-impedance relays could be developed in one
of the two distinctive architectures:
• Distributed busbar protection uses DAUs installed in each Fig. 4. Distributed busbar protection.
bay to sample and pre-process the signals and provide trip
rated output contacts (Figure 4). It uses a separate Central
Unit (CU) for gathering and processing all the information
and fiber-optic communications between the CU and DAUs
to deliver the data. Sampling synchronization and/or time-
stamping mechanisms are required. This solution brings
advantages of reduced wiring at the price of more complex,
thus less reliable, architecture.
• Centralized busbar protection requires wiring all the sig-
nals to a central location, where a single “relay” performs
all the functions (Figure 5). The wiring cannot be reduced
and the calculations cannot be distributed between plurali-
ty of DAUs imposing more computational demand for the
central unit. On the other hand, this architecture is per-
ceived more reliable and suits better retrofit applications.
PHASE-SEGREGATED BUSBAR RELAYS lower as compared with traditional, “specialized” digital busbar
The problem of a large number of inputs and outputs relays. Other features, benefits and peculiarities of the phase-
required for protection of medium-size and large busbars, as segregated approach are discussed in subsection 3.6.
well as computational power required to perform all the neces- Busbar protection is more than a plain differential func-
sary operations on the inputs, could be solved by using a phase tion. The following subsections address several issues related to
segregated approach to busbar protection. features such as breaker failure protection, under-voltage super-
From the perspective of the main differential protection, vision, dynamic bus replica, etc.
the algorithm is naturally phase-segregated. This means that no
information is required regarding currents in phases B and C in DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION
order to fully protect phase A. This bears several important con- The main differential protection function is implemented
sequences and advantages. on a per-phase basis. A given solution could be more flexible,
First, completely independent microprocessor-based cost-efficient, and allow more demanding applications, if multi-
devices could process the AC signals that belong to phases A, B ple zones of protection are available.
and C. No data transfer is required between the devices. A full-featured digital busbar protection system incorpo-
Second, sampling synchronization is not required rates dynamic bus replica function. This includes both ability to
between the separate devices processing signals that belong to dynamically assign currents to the relay differential zones, and
individual phases. provide for reliable monitoring of the status signals for isolator
The above observations facilitate phase-segregated bus- switches and breakers. The latter is typically implemented by
bar protection. With reference to Figure 6, three separate relays utilizing both normally open and normally closed auxiliary
(Intelligent Electronic Devices, IEDs) could be used to set up switches as explained in subsection 3.4.
protection for a three-phase busbar. Each device is fed with AC Under-voltage supervision (release) of the main differen-
signals belonging to the same phase, processes these signals, tial function is an often-used feature. This feature guards the
and arrives at the trip/no-trip decision. On solidly grounded sys- system against CT trouble conditions and problems with the
tems, at least one device would operate for any type of fault. For dynamic bus replica (false position of a switch/breaker).
phase-to-phase faults, two relays would operate. Typically, phase under-voltage, or neutral and/or negative-
In order to protect a medium-sized busbar, it is enough sequence over-voltage functions are used. The phase-segregated
that each IED supports some 18-24 AC inputs. Present protec- approach treats single-phase voltage inputs in a generic way.
tion platforms support this amount of AC inputs. A modern The user could wire phase voltages or neutral (broken delta VT)
multi-winding transformer, or small busbar relay, could thus be voltages for the purpose of voltage supervision to all, or select-
converted from a three-phase device into a single-phase differ- ed IEDs only. As a rule, a voltage abnormality in any phase
ential device. Instead of supporting four or more three-phase releases all three phases of differential protection. This calls for
inputs, and some ground inputs, the relay supports 18-24 gener- simple inter-IED communications. This could be done via input
ic AC inputs and allows for configuring them as inputs to the contacts, or digital inter-IED communications means.
same zone of differential protection. In the phase-segregated approach each phase IED could
This approach yields a number of significant benefits. drive an output contact for the trip command. This could be
The three most important ones are: First, by building on exist- done on a per-breaker basis, if required. External lockout relays
ing platforms, the vendors could develop such a solution in a may be used to gather the per-phase trip commands in order to
short time with a very low investment. Second, utilizing stan- generate a single three-pole trip signal, if required.
dard platforms brings extra maturity and features into the bus-
bar applications. Third, by building on standard hardware plat- INTER-RELAY DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS
forms, the manufacturing cost is also reduced. Consequently, Eliminating the AC data traffic between the devices facil-
the overall cost of the phase-segregated solution is substantially itates the digital phase-segregated busbar protection scheme. It
is very beneficial, however, to provide for fast, reliable, fully
replica function of the main differential protection. cally) or a failure to trip (rarely). Therefore, an isolator monitor-
ing element should respond to both normally open and normal-
DYNAMIC BUS REPLICA ly closed auxiliary contacts of an isolator or a tie-breaker in
Dynamic bus replica feature is critical for re-config- order to assert the actual position of the isolator for the dynam-
urable and complex busbars. An actual bus image must be mon- ic bus image. Ideally, the element should assert two extra out-
itored by the protection system for the following purposes. puts for isolator alarm (contact discrepancy), and for blocking
First, for circuits with a single CT point that could be switching operations in the substation.
routed between different sections of the busbar, position of the Traditionally, the following logic is applied.
isolator switch must be known in order to dynamically decide if TABLE 1. STANDARD ISOLATOR MONITORING LOGIC..
the CT current belongs to a given zone of protection.
Isolator Open Isolator Closed Block Switching
Second, for circuits with a single CB point that could be Isolator Position Alarm
Auxiliary Contact Auxiliary Contact Operations
routed between different sections of the busbar, position of the Off On CLOSED No No
isolator switch must be known in order to dynamically decide if
Off Off LAST VALID After time delay Until Isolator
the CB should be tripped upon operation of a given zone of pro- until acknowledged Position is valid
On On CLOSED
tection.
On Off OPEN No No
Third, the BF protection should monitor all the breakers
connected to a given breaker, in order to decide a tripping strat-
egy should the said breaker fail. Typically, an alarm is set when contact discrepancy is
Fourth, positions of breakers and tie-breakers should be detected. Depending on the type of discrepancy, either the last
monitored in order to avoid blind spots or over-tripping zones. valid isolator position is assumed, or a “close” position is
Fifth, certain complex switching strategies call for signif- declared.
icant re-adjustments of zone boundaries. The re-adjustment It may be beneficial to block switching operations in the
should be programmed as a response to the changing configura- substation should a problem with the bus image occur. An oper-
tion of the busbar. ator could remove such blocking signal once the nature of the
Section 4 addresses the aforementioned application con- problem is discovered and rationalized.
siderations. Here, the aspect of dynamic zone boundaries and
the isolator monitoring feature are discussed. MODULARITY
Dynamic zone boundary could be programmed using a Some phase-segregated solutions offer extra modularity
very straightforward mechanism of configuring a zone of pro- at the IED level [9]. This may include variable number of DSPs,
tection as a list of pairs: current input – on/off status signal. A and I/O cards as well as communications and redundant power
given current becomes a part of the zone only if the correspon- supply. This brings an advantage of shaping each IED of the
ding status signal is asserted. Such a mechanism allows for busbar protection system to fit the needs of a particular applica-
maximum flexibility as the connection status signals could be tion.
freely programmed in user-programmable logic of the relay With reference to Figure 9b, an IED may be configured
based on a number of conditions, and different protection with 2 DSPs only, allowing measuring 2 x 8 currents, thus pro-
philosophies. tecting busbars of up to 16 breakers. Figure 9c presents a sam-
Auxiliary switches could fail to respond correctly. This is ple configuration with 3 DSPs (24 AC inputs), 3 I/O modules
particularly true for motorized switches. Wrong assignment of a (up to 3 x 16 inputs, or 3 x 8 outputs) and digital communica-
given current to a given zone – caused by incorrect information tions card. Figure 9d shows a configuration aimed at interfacing
regarding bus configuration – could result in a false trip (typi- exclusively I/O points, with no DSPs, but 5 I/O modules, com-
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 11
Fig. 9. Sample configurations of a modular system: (a) power supply and CPU are manda- Fig. 10. Three-phase protection for small busbars.
tory, (b) 2 DSP, 2 I/O configuration for up to 16 current inputs, (c) 3 DSP, 3 I/O configura-
tion with communications for up to 24 current inputs, (d) 5 I/O configuration with communi-
ware and majority of firmware already work as a transformer or
cations and dual power supply.
small busbar relay in numerous installations.
The new relays have been developed from a simple solu-
munications, and a redundant power supply. tion up towards a sophisticated one. In this way the design was
not biased towards the ability to protect 50+ circuit busbars. As
SAMPLE PROTECTION SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS a result, the configuration mechanisms, associated software and
Phase-segregated protection schemes, particularly the settings are simple and already known to the user from trans-
ones providing for extra I/O capabilities, equipped with digital former and small busbar applications. The new solutions are
communications means, and supporting multiple zones of pro- easier to engineer as compared with dedicated large-busbar pro-
tection could be configured to protect a variety of busbar con- tection systems.
figurations. Being built on existing hardware and firmware platforms,
Modular hardware platforms such as [7-9] are particular- the new busbar relays are members of existing relay lines. They
ly attractive as they provide for two levels of scalability. First,
each IED could be configured to suit the needs of a given appli-
cation (number of current and voltage inputs, number of digital
inputs, number and type of contact outputs, etc.). Second, the
scheme could be configured from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or even more
IEDs depending on complexity of a given application.
Figures 10 through 13 present sample applications.
Figure 10 shows a single-IED protection for a simple
eight-input busbar. The 24 current channels available could be
wired to 8 three-phase inputs; while 3 single-phase zones of
protection could be configured to provide differential protection
for phases A, B and C.
A similar solution for busbars of up to 12 inputs could be
built on 2 IEDs. The first IED uses 2 zones to protect 12-input
busbars in phases A and B. The second IED uses one of its zones
and 12 input signals to protect the remaining phase C.
Using multiple protection systems one could cover large
busbars as long as each section is of a medium size and a check
zone is not required or done externally (Figure 13).
APPLICATION CONSIDERATIONS
This section presents application considerations with
respect to protecting complex busbar arrangements where the
objective is to provide for optimum protection by avoiding blind
spots or unnecessary bus outages. As a rule, this task calls for
dynamic adjustments of boundaries of differential zones of pro-
tection, and can be safely accomplished when using numerical
relays.
In the following examples, it is assumed that the dynam-
ic bus replica feature is implemented by configuring a differen-
tial zone using pairs of (current signal, associated connection
status signal). A given current is included in the zone, only if the
Fig. 12. Sample system configurations: single, double and triple busbars. associated status signal is a logic one. In this way, each current
input of the relay could be logically added or removed from the
zone, depending on changing busbar configuration.
share common tools. They could be integrated with other mem-
It is also assumed that the auxiliary logic variables
bers of the relay line. The overall user learning curve could be
required for bus configuration are programmed in user-pro-
significantly reduced.
grammable logic of the relay.
Certain configurations of phase-segregated solutions
exhibit enhanced immunity to relay failures. Consider, for
example, a simple system built on three devices protecting phas-
SWITCHABLE BUS CIRCUITS
es A, B and C without any communications. If one of the Figure 14 presents a sample double busbar arrangement
with bus sections 1 and 2, tie-breaker CB-1, three outgoing cir-
cuits C-1, C-2 and C-3, and a number of CTs and isolator
Fig. 13. Sample system configurations: a large busbar protected by two protection sys- Fig. 14. Sample double-bus arrangement.
tems.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 13
breaker is opened, the current is removed from the zone. As a CB-4 in Figure 14.
result, the zone boundary moves from the CT point to the bus-
side pole of the opened CB. The zone contracts and the unnec- BUS-SIDE CTS
essary trip of the busbar is prevented. As similar situation occurs for bus-side CTs. Consider an
The drop out delay applied to the breaker position signal arrangement shown in Figure 16. A fault between the CB and
is necessary to allow measuring algorithms of the relay to ramp CT is in a blind spot of the bus protection. To clear the fault, the
down after the current is interrupted by the breaker. Otherwise, busbar must be tripped, but the differential zone would not see
a false trip would take place when the breaker opens. this fault.
Refining the example in Figure 1, one should take care of Similarly to the case of the line-side CT, this situation
the spots between CT-5 and CB-1 (for zone 2) and CT-6 and also requires using breaker position as a connection status for
CB-1 (for zone 1). Consequently, the status signals for CT-5 and the associated current. The fault is cleared sequentially. First,
CT-6 would be as follows [9]: protection of the circuit – fed from the CT – responds to the
fault and opens the breaker. When the breaker opens, the CT
Z1 Input 1 Current = CT-6 (7) current is removed from the differential zone. As a result, the
Z1 Input 1 Status = CB-1 + drop out delay (8) zone expands to the bus-side pole of the opened breaker, the
Z2 Input 1 Current = CT-5 (9) fault becomes internal, and the bus protection clears the busbar.
Z2 Input 1 Status = CB-1 + drop out delay (10)
TIE-BREAKER WITH A SINGLE CT
In other words, shortly after CB-1 gets opened, Z1 con- Ideally, two CTs should be used for tie-breakers (see
tracts to the section-1 pole of the opened CB-1, while Z2 con- Figure 14). In some situations, however, a single CT is installed
tracts to the section-2 pole of the CB-1. In this way, Z1 would as shown in Figure 17.
not respond to faults between CT-6 and CB-1, and Z2 would not Two differential zones should be arranged in order to
respond to faults between CT-5 and CB-1. This is desired for provide for selective protection of sections 1 and 2, respective-
optimum selectivity of protection. ly. As a result of having a single measuring point, a fault
The same approach applies to breakers CB-2, CB-3 and
A1 = (S-5 AND S-6) OR (S-7 AND S-8) OR (S-9 AND S-10) (11)
Z1 SUPVERVISION = Z3 OR A2 (20)
Z2 SUPVERVISION = Z3 OR A3 (21)
APPENDIX
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS OF PHASE-SEGREGATED BUSBAR RELAY [9]
Up to 24 No 1 No No Yes or No Three IED could be applied. Basic protection is provided for each phase separately.
Up to 24 No Up to 4 No No No Three IED could be applied. Basic protection is provided for each phase separately.
Three IED could be applied for basic protection. Typically 2 or more extra IEDs are
Up to 24 Yes or No Up to 4 Yes or No No No required to accommodate I/Os and BF protection.
Three IED could be applied for basic protection. Typically 2 or more extra IEDs are
Up to 20 Yes or No Up to 4 Yes or No Yes No required to accommodate I/Os and BF protection. Capabilities decrease by 1 circuit
with each bus section for which the voltage must be monitored.
Three IED could be applied for basic protection. Typically 2 or more extra IEDs are
Up to 24 Yes or No Up to 3 Yes or No No Yes required to accommodate I/Os and BF protection. One zone configured as a check
zone. Three zones left for protection of up to three bus sections.
Three IED could be applied for basic protection. Typically 2 or more extra IEDs are
required to accommodate I/Os and BF protection. One zone configured as a check
Up to 20 Yes or No Up to 3 Yes or No Yes Yes zone. Three zones left for protection of up to three bus sections. Capabilities
decrease by 1 circuit with each bus section for which the voltage must be monitored.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 18
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
where:
Vnom - is the nominal voltage
IA - is the injected current
Z0 / Z1 - is a zero-sequence compensation setting of the
relay.
All the other points of the characteristic appear correctly
because - given the injected current - the operating voltage was
below the nominal yielding correct zero-sequence direction
(Fig. 4).
Unlike zone 2, zone 1 of the relay from Example 1 does
not use zero-sequence directional supervision - and therefore -
is not affected by this test scenario.
The actual relay design is slightly more complex [1]:
a. The zero-sequence supervision is defaulted to permission
if the zero-sequence voltage is low. Consequently, the
Fig.3. Increased faulty phase voltage causes reversal of the zero-sequence voltage and element would operate even if the zero-sequence voltage
inhibits the tested distance element (Example 1). is reversed, as long as its magnitude is low.
b. The zero-sequence directional supervision is dynamical-
ly removed if a single pole open condition is declared
In particular, for the top right portion of the characteris- during single pole tripping.
tic, the voltage had to be above the nominal in order to reach the c. The zero-sequence supervision circuit has a current-
blinder. During the test, the voltages of the healthy phases were reversal logic built in.
kept at nominal. With the voltage of the faulty phase above The above factors must be considered when testing the
nominal, the zero-sequence voltage got reversed as compared relay. In this particular example, several solutions could be con-
with its natural position (Fig. 3). sidered:
As a result, the built-in zero-sequence directional ele- 1. Apply more current so that the operating voltage is safe-
ment responded to the reverse fault direction and inhibited the ly below the nominal and the zero-sequence voltage is
distance function. In the process of searching for the operating not reversed.
point, the voltage was being reduced. When the voltage dropped 2. Increase the voltages in the healthy phases in order to
below the nominal, the zero-sequence voltage shifted 180 ensure that the zero-sequence voltage is not reversed
degrees to its normal position, releasing the distance function when increasing the faulty phase voltage.
for operation. 3. Remove the zero-sequence directional supervision by
Consequently, the test returned an arc of a circle as cal- forcing open pole conditions.
culated below. One way of increasing the effective current while keep-
Per art of distance protection, the effective input signals ing the individual currents below the continuous rating of the
for the phase-A ground distance unit are: relay is to apply three-phase zero-sequence injection. This must
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 21
REACTANCE CHARACTERISTIC
Fig.4. Explanation of the incorrect test results (Example 1). The reactance line constitutes the reach-discriminating
boundary of the quadrilateral characteristic. Also, it may be
be approached with caution as the relay may be expecting the used as an extra supervising line for the mho distance function.
negative- and/or positive-sequence currents and may not The latter is beneficial when using an adaptive reactance char-
respond correctly (phase selection [2], overcurrent supervision, acteristic.
etc.). It is a well-known phenomenon that a significant fault
resistance combined with a heavy pre-fault load may appear not
MEMORY AND CROSS-PHASE POLARIZATION as a pure resistance, but may be tilted clockwise making dis-
tance functions overreach, or counterclockwise – making dis-
Distance functions need robust polarization in order to
tance functions underreach. This undesirable effect may be
ensure directional discrimination between close-in forward and
reduced considerably by using the reactance comparator polar-
reverse faults. The actual voltage drops to zero or a very small
ized not from the compensated current (equation 1), but from
value potentially affected by natural errors such as fundamental
either the zero-, or negative-sequence current, or a combination
frequency voltages induced in secondary circuitry, transients or
of the two.
limited relay accuracy. Memory and/or cross-phase polarization
is used to solve the problem.
Example 3
Memory polarization if kept in effect for too long, may
A quadrilateral ground distance function is tested using a
cause a relay to misoperate. A classical example is a power
single-phase injection. The Z0/Z1 ratio is set in the relay to
swing when the signals rotate slowly due to the swing, while the
3.35, 9 degrees. The reactance line seems to be tilted clock-
memorized polarizing quantity remains static. At some point in
wise by approximately 6 degrees from the expected angle
time even under no-fault conditions, the comparators will pick
(Fig. 5).
up, causing a false trip. Therefore, the memory must be in effect
long enough to ride through the breaker fail time for a close-in
reverse fault, and should be dropped after such time in order to
avoid its own problems.
Distance memory logic is not a trivial circuit. It must
address several issues such as how the memory voltage is vali-
dated and invalidated, and when valid, when and for how long
the memory voltage is used. The distance memory circuit must
be understood before testing the relay for memory action.
Example 2
A ground distance function is tested using a single-phase
test set for directional integrity on close-in faults. A pre-
fault voltage is applied in phase A for 20 cycles.
Afterwards, the voltage is changed abruptly to zero, and
simultaneously phase A current is applied in the reverse
direction. The ground distance element in phase A misoper-
ates for such reverse “fault”. When the current is applied in
the forward direction, the element does not operate solidly.
OVERREACH AND UNDERREACH DUE TO FAULT RESISTANCE Equation (12) shows that the apparent impedance is
shifted to the right by the fault resistance. If the two currents,
Consider a single-line-to-ground fault under single-
I0 and IAG, are in phase, the added impedance is a pure resist-
infeed conditions. Fig. 6 presents an equivalent sequence net-
ance and means a horizontal shift to the right. If the compen-
work for this case.
sated relay current, IAG, lags the zero-sequence current, I0, the
In this network:
added value is tilted counterclockwise resulting in possible
underreach. If the compensated relay current leads the zero-
(5)
sequence current, the added value is tilted clockwise, resulting
in possible overreach of the relay (Fig. 7).
and
From equations (12) and (10), the impedance that is
added to the actual fault position defined by Z1 equals:
(6)
(13)
where:
RF - is the actual fault resistance
I0, I1, I2 - are symmetrical currents at the relay location
V0,V1,V2 - are symmetrical voltages at the relay location
The above could be simplified to:
The phase-A voltage and current are in the following
relations to their symmetrical components:
(14)
(7)
(8)
Equation (14) means that even under no-load condi-
tions, a difference between angles of the zero- and positive-
Using equations (5), (7) and (8), equation (6) could be
sequence impedances would tilt the added resistance causing
re-written as follows:
either over- or under-reach of the relay.
(9)
CLASSICAL AND ADAPTIVE REACTANCE CHARACTERISTICS
Classical reactance characteristic is a static line perpendi-
cular to the maximum torque angle line. Using an angle com-
The compensated current is used by any classical parator, the traditional reactance characteristic is implemented
ground distance element: by the following operating equation:
(10) (15)
Fig.8b. Zero-sequence polarized reactance characteristic. When memory expires, the V1MEM is substituted by V1.
Attention must be paid to all the comparators when test-
ing the function.
Characteristic (16) provides for an adaptive tilt needed to
overcome the under/overreach effect outlined by equation (14). Example 4
This is illustrated in Fig. 8. A mho ground distance function is tested using single-
The adaptive characteristic (16) preserves constant reach phase injection. The current is kept constant while the volt-
rather than constant reactance. When tested under the expecta- age is being slowly reduced searching for the pick-up/drop-
tion of a constant reactance, the comparator causes some confu- out point. The characteristic seems to be distorted at the top
sion. as shown in Fig. 9.
TESTING THE ADAPTIVE REACTANCE CHARACTERISTIC
The reactance line polarized from the zero-sequence cur-
rent will appear as a skewed line with the amount of tilt depend-
ing on the angle between the zero-sequence current and the
relay compensated current. Even with no pre-fault current, and
single-phase current injection, the line will be titled, depending
on the Z0/Z1 ratio as entered in the relay.
For the data in Example 3, the adaptive reactance charac-
teristic polarized from the zero-sequence current will be titled
by the angle of:
(17)
GROUND DIRECTIONAL OVERCURRENT been tested for directionality. Single-phase injection has
FUNCTIONS been used. The voltage angle has been kept at -180 degrees.
The current angle has been changed in order to scan the 360
Ground directional overcurrent functions are typically degrees of the characteristic. With a 90-degree limit angle
used in conjunction with pilot-aided schemes. The negative- and the maximum torque angle of 86 degrees, the element
sequence or neutral directional functions are fast and sensitive. should operate in the forward direction for current angles
They do not respond to load currents, and enhance resistive cov- between -176 degrees and 4 degrees. The element operates
erage of unit protection [4]. for angles between -185 and 13 degrees when injecting 64V
For better performance ground directional functions are and 5A. If different current is used, the result will change.
often not implemented as straight angle comparators, but use For example, when injecting 10A, the element operates
more sophisticated techniques. Concepts of a positive-sequence between -194 and 22 degrees.
restraint and an offset impedance cause most issues associated
with testing. The tested element uses the concept of an offset imped-
ance [3]. The polarizing voltage is augmented by a small value
POSITIVE-SEQUENCE RESTRAINT proportional to the operating signal:
Example 5
A neutral directional overcurrent function has been tested (26)
for accuracy of pickup. Single-phase injection has been
used. The pick-up value seems to be 6% off compared with
the entered setting. The offset impedance ensures faster and more reliable
operation under low polarizing voltages, i.e. when the local sys-
Ground directional overcurrent functions (neutral and tem is very strong. It also facilitates reliable directional discrim-
negative-sequence) - when used in conjunction with pilot aided ination in series compensated lines. The offset impedance must
schemes - are meant to increase resistive coverage of the protec- not exceed the line impedance and is typically set to a small
tion and, therefore, are typically set very low. If set very sensi- fraction of the latter [1, 3, 4].
tive, these elements may respond to spurious zero- or negative- The offset impedance makes the element more likely to
sequence currents due to natural system unbalances or CT satu- operate, extending the limit angle in both directions. With the
ration. limit angle set to 90 degrees, the extra limit angle added is:
The concept of positive-sequence restraint allows using
sensitive settings while maintaining security [4]. Spurious
ground currents (neutral or negative-sequence) are approxi- (27)
mately proportional to the positive-sequence current. Therefore,
subtracting a small portion of the positive-sequence current
allows fighting the spurious signals. The relay tested in
Example 5 uses the following operating signal for its neutral The higher the current and the offset impedance, the big-
directional overcurrent function [1]: ger the impact on the actual limit angle. The higher the voltage,
the lower the impact.
(23) It was discovered that an offset impedance of 2 ohms was
used in Example 6. Applying the available data to equation (27)
one calculates:
where K is pre-set at 1/16th.
Under single-phase injection:
(24)
(25)
OFFSET IMPEDANCE
Example 6
A negative-sequence directional overcurrent function has
Fig.10. Impact of the offset impedance on the actual limit angle (Example 6).
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 25
8. TRANSIENT TESTING
Modern test equipment is capable of waveform playback.
Under 10A injection, the actual limit of operation are Microprocessor-based relays are capable of recording faults and
–176-18 = -194 degrees, and 4+18=22 degrees. other disturbances. More and more often actual fault records are
This explains test results of Example 6. played back in order to verify relay design and/or settings.
The available fault records, the playback equipment, and
OFF-NOMINAL FREQUENCIES the relay under test must be used appropriately in order to yield
Example 7 meaningful test results.
Distance, voltage and current protection elements have For example, typical playback equipment accepts wave-
been tested for accuracy under off-nominal frequencies. forms that are evenly spaced in time (constant sampling fre-
The relay seems to be affected by off-nominal frequencies. quency). A typical microprocessor-based relay uses frequency
Figure 11 presents test results. An error of 1-2% is meas- tracking to compensate for off-nominal frequencies. As such,
ured per each Hertz of difference between the actual and the relay would produce a record of variable sampling frequen-
nominal frequencies. cy. When played back, such a record will not represent the event
correctly. Prior to the playback, the record should be re-sampled
to a constant sampling rate to suit the playback equipment.
Generally, care must be taken to make sure the playback
equipment does not alter the record in a way that invalidates the
test. One example of such alternation follows.
Example 8
A fault record has been played back to the relay (Figures 12
and 13). It is an internal C-to-ground fault, followed by an
external A-to-ground fault. A single-pole-tripping relay that
produced the record correctly tripped pole C and later it
overreached for the external fault and tripped poles A and B
of the 500kV, 250-mile line. The test is to verify both the
reach setting and accuracy of a different relay model. The
relay under test was consistently overreaching for the sec-
ond external fault.
Fig.11. Accuracy of pickup and reach under off-nominal frequencies (Example 7). It turns out that the playback equipment in Example 8
accepts a limited number of samples. For large records, the soft-
ware cuts the tail part of the record (the original record is shown
A frequency tracking algorithm (or alternatively frequen- in Figures 14 and 15). In addition, the software analyzes each
cy compensation) adjusts the sampling frequency of a micro- waveform scanning it from the end of the truncated record, and
processor-based relay to the actual power system frequency in artificially zeros the waveform from the end of the record to the
order to keep the number of samples per power cycle constant, nearest zero crossing. This is done in order to avoid overvolt-
and by doing so, ensure accurate digital estimation of currents ages due to currents being chopped. The operation is performed
and voltages. for currents and voltages independently in each channel.
Distance relays may use sophisticated frequency tracking As a result, in the case of Example 8, the voltage is
algorithms. This is particularly true for single-pole tripping removed well before the current. For approximately half a
relays where no single voltage is a good choice of a frequency- cycle, the voltage is zero while the current remains high (Fig.
tracking signal. During single-pole tripping particular phases 16). This is causing an operation of the distance function regard-
may get de-energized and their voltages may get severely dis- less of the set reach. Proper test should include actual switch-off
torted by transients related to shunt reactors. transient as shown in Fig. 14 and 15, or disregard the switch-off
The relay tested in Example 7 uses the Clarke transform transient. An artificial switch-off created by the test equipment
to derive an effective input signal for frequency tracking [1]: is a root cause of the problem.
(28) SUMMARY
Modern distance relays are designed to ensure best pos-
The frequency signal will zero-out under pure zero- sible performance under actual power system conditions and not
sequence injection preventing the relay from measuring and necessarily to follow any standard operating characteristics.
tracking the frequency. It was discovered that the relay in New concepts are being introduced in order to improve
Example 7 was fed with three voltages being of equal magni- response to system faults and other abnormal conditions. Even
tudes and in phase. As a result, the effective signal zeroed-out simple and well-known protection functions may follow more
and the relay did not track frequency. Test of Example 7 was not sophisticated design philosophies than indicated by their verbal
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 26
Fig.12. Voltages used in the playback (Example 8). Fig.15. Original currents recorded in the system (Example 8).
Fig.13. Currents used in the playback (Example 8). Fig.16. Voltages used in the playback (Example 8).
test.
Ultimately, advanced relays will have to be tested either
using detailed power system models (steady-state or transient)
or for their own design equations.
REFERENCES
[1] D60 Line Distance Relay – Instruction Manual. GE
Publication No. GEK-106341, 2003.
[2] Kasztenny B., Campbell B., Mazereeuw J., “Phase
Selection For Single-Pole Tripping – Weak Infeed Conditions
And Cross Country Faults”, ”, Proceedings of the 27th Annual
Western Protective Relay Conference, Spokane, WA, October
24-26, 2000.
[3] Kasztenny B., “Distance Protection Of Series
Compensated Lines – Problems And Solutions”, Proceedings of
Fig.14. Original voltages recorded in the system (Example 8). the 27th Annual Western Protective Relay Conference,
Spokane, WA, October 22-25, 2001. Also Presented At VI
Simposio "Iberoamericano Sobre Proteccion De Sistemas
designations. Electricos De Potencia", Monterey, Mexico, November 17-20,
Too often functions of advanced relays are tested for 2002.
operating characteristics extrapolated from their names or ANSI [4] Kasztenny B., Sharples D., Campbell B., Pozzuoli
numbers disregarding their actual design equations. M., “Fast Ground Directional Overcurrent Protection–
Advances in protective relaying techniques and relays Limitations And Solutions”, Proceedings of the 27th Annual
call for testing procedures that are either closer to actual power Western Protective Relay Conference, Spokane, WA, October
system conditions, or follow design philosophies of relays under 24-26, 2000.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 27
Fig. 2. Normal a between generator and measured voltages Fig. 3.Resulting ∆a between generator and measured voltages
son is done between the average of the last five cycles’ periods SETTING OF THE VECTOR JUMP FUNCTION
to the average of the last five cycles’ periods measured at the The definitions for relay dependability and security are:
end of the previous cycle. The detection of the disturbance can • Dependability is defined as the measure of certainty that the
be made in either single-phase or three-phase modes. relays will operate correctly for all faults for which they are
• In the single-phase mode, tripping takes place as soon as a designed to operate.
measured ∆a exceeding the set level is detected on one of • Security is defined as the measure of the certainty that the
the three-phase voltages. relays will not operate incorrectly for any fault (e.g., a fault
• In the three-phase mode, tripping takes place only if the outside the intended zone of protection).
value of ∆a above the set level is detected on all three phas- The vector jump relay must be set to pickup when the
es at the same time. utility main feed is disconnected. It is essential that there is an
Single-phase mode is more sensitive than three-phase interchange of power occurring at this time. If there is no inter-
mode in detecting vector jump conditions; however, it is also change of power, it is impossible to detect the loss of the utility
more sensitive to spurious disturbances. An undervoltage ele- main feed. This is dependability. In order to be certain that the
ment is used to block the vector jump function if the voltage relay will detect the system’s vector jump, the setting for the
drops below a user adjustable level threshold. A contact input vector jump should be set lower than the expected vector jump
operated by a normally open auxiliary contact 52a of a circuit that occurs during the minimum power interchange.
breaker blocks the vector jump functions when the circuit The vector jump relay has to be set such that it does not
breaker is open, as well as for a period of time after closing the operate for an external fault on the system and also does not
breaker. operate when the largest load is being picked up by the local
The value of ∆a as a function of the power variation of generator. Ideally, the vector jump relay should not pickup for a
the generator (∆P) in percentage units of its rating as it passes fault on the internal system. This is security. These settings for
from the normal situation to an islanded situation may be the vector jump should be higher than the vector jumps these
approximated as: conditions create to avoid unwanted operation with certainty.
Security of the relay can be enhanced by using the three-phase
∆a= (0.3 – 0.4) ∆P mode in preference to the single-phase mode. The vector jump
function can be ANDed with underfrequency AND undervolt-
Where the 0.3 multiple is generally more applicable to age AND (.not. negative-sequence voltage) AND (.not. zero-
large generators and the 0.4 multiple to small generators. The sequence voltage) elements for even greater security.
use of a computer-based transients analysis program can be used It is recommended that the vector jump relay voltage
to more accurately determine the ∆a setting in order to avoid input be fed from voltage transformers located at the local gen-
spurious trips. erator terminals. This location will provide larger vector jump
magnitudes and the ability to trip the local tie breaker (Breaker
2 in Fig. 1) when the main utility feed is lost. The 52a contact
of local tie breaker is required as an input to the relay. This 52a
contact input is used to block the vector jump functions when
the circuit breaker is open as well as for a period of time after
closing the tie breaker with an appropriate synch-check func-
tion.
Information needed to provide the settings:
1. The rating of the local generator.
2. The minimum interchange power condition, either to the
utility or from the utility.
3. The change in the generator’s terminal voltage angle (∆a)
when the utility main is lost at minimum interchange
power. Also, the change in frequency and in voltage under
Fig. 4. Effect on system voltage as seen by relay due to vector surge this condition.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 29
ASSET MANAGEMENT:
Purchasing Data Integration for Relay
Protection
By Joseph Stevenson, ENOSERV LLC
We've moved skillfully into the 21st century, when at the tainly been beneficial. Gone are many of the manual processes
close of the 20th we thought we could see the end-all of catas- of the past; in the wake however, is a whole new set of redun-
trophes because of Y2K. Moving ahead in this post-9/11 world, dant, time-consuming steps necessary to maintain the data
many of us were preoccupied until an incredible coincidence exchange between automated systems, particularly so, wherev-
last August reminded us once again how tenuous our relation- er software meets hardware in terms of computerized equipment
ship with technology can be. Going forward, realistic circum- and the data exchange between assets. Typically, there is no
stances must include examination of even the fantastical if the communication between products from different manufacturers
stewards of the nation's electric grid are to ensure its reliability, and so O&M personnel are shackled to projects of creating use-
especially now with control spread widely among so many dif- ful information exchanges between assets which, in turn, takes
ferent stakeholders. Gone are the "good 'ol days" in many ways, their attention and time away from their focus of maintaining
indeed. system reliability.
None of this is news; but the story here is how the power Take relay testing as an example. Relay technicians and
industry - affecting virtually all aspects of our lives today, with engineers represent a core human asset for ensuring system reli-
an infrastructure on life support and a narrowing, downsized ability. At their disposal are the relays themselves which, today,
and aging workforce - can adapt. Automation technology might are still by proportion largely electromechanical but are increas-
help, but companies now are somewhat wary; they've bought ingly being replaced with microprocessor-based relays.
software and computerized equipment in the past and upgrading Microprocessor relays perform several protection functions pre-
from what they've already implemented and established as sys- viously impossible from just one device, bringing with them a
tem-wide practice creates political and logistical problems. whole new level of functionality and complexity. Testing to
Besides, new technology costs money
and the payoff takes time - neither of "Linking the overall computerized asset management system down to the
which is in great supply these days. relay in the field…is the major breakthrough in system reliability since the intro-
So what is the solution? For many duction of the microprocessor relay and automated relay testing."
companies, it's integration.
Since the dawn of the first
chipped wheel, manufacturers have
done things differently. Products com-
peting in the market ever since give
the consumer perceived benefits in
terms of design, function, price, etc.,
of one make over another. By now in
our ever-widening economy, particu-
larly as applied in the electric power
industry, choice is present but con-
spicuously absent in the view of many
power companies is a universal solu-
tion when it comes to automation. For
those companies the belief is that,
given the complexity of the processes
involved in delivering the product,
there simply isn't one "off-the-shelf"
software solution. The power compa-
nies then take on the task themselves
of trying to integrate their disparate
systems into what they want with,
again, fewer human and financial
resources.
In this new era of microproces-
sor technology, automation has cer-
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 32
MAINTENANCE BENEFITS
Maintenance benefits include integration and informa-
tion
INTEGRATION
By integrating protection, metering, communication,
control and monitoring capabilities, digital relays significantly
reduce wiring and thereby increase reliability. Spare parts
inventory is also minimized.
INFORMATION
Information allows multiple users to access critical data
when and where they need it. This helps improve productivity
and reduce administrative costs. Plant personnel can easily gen-
erate custom data reports.
With a history of supplying electric protection and con-
trol products, Schneider Canada Services has the expertise to
upgrade existing systems with the most modern components to Fig.1. MV Protection Upgrade with SEPAM
optimize the performance of medium-voltage and low-voltage
protection relays. A medium voltage protection upgrade is The intelligence of the switchgear is in its protection and
shown in Fig. 1. control equipment. Upgrading both medium- and low-voltage
From the system upgrade, industrials and utilities gain: protection units with new protection and control devices can
• no investment in infrastructure, significantly extend the life of the switchgear at a significantly
• short implementation times, lower cost than purchasing and installing new switchgear. The
• minimal downtimes to operation, and, user also gets increased electrical system performance data and
• execution time by cost-effective authorization proce- reliability with minimal impact on the physical installation.
dures.
Recent studies show relay data is used in more opera- For more information, contact Pratap Revuru, P. Eng., Manager,
tional and engineering applications today than ever before. Market Research and Innovation, Schneider Canada Services,
Remote engineering workstations now use oscillographic event at pratap.revuru@ca.schneider-electric.com or (905) 678-7000.
reports to assist in locating faults and understanding the type of
faults.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 37
new electromechanical installation at the time. A microproces- At sub-transmission levels (34.5 kV) there is a large
sor relay would have shown reversed CTs with a glance at the amount of data provided by the utility. This can be analyzed sta-
meter report. tistically to examine the performance of these relays and the
system impact this speed has.
INDUCED SIGNAL/NOISE Figure 2 shows the sub-transmission TOC clearing times
One instance is a data point, not a trend. Arcing noise versus fault duty. While this has a “shotgun” look, and clearing
blocked a power line carrier signal in a POTT scheme at 230 kV. times that do not change a lot with increased fault duty, there are
This resulted in tripping by a backup system in 24 cycles. If it other ways to look at the data that is even worse. By removing
were a trend, switching to a blocking scheme or changing a reclose tries (which have faster clearing times due to preloading
Directional Comparison Unblocking (DCUB) scheme using relay current) the clearing times can be seen to be even slower
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) would be reasonable. as illustrated in Figure 3. For comparison, a moderately inverse
TOC curve is included to show the relationship that current and
RELAY COMPONENT FAILURE time could reasonably be expected to have for a protected sys-
With only one component-failure caused failure to trip tem.
out of over 1400 events, the lack of instances is of more interest Of course a single TOC curve is only applicable to a sin-
than the one event. gle line. By stacking curves for coordination, it is expected that
clearing times actually increase as a fault is closer to the source.
SECURITY/RELIABILITY TRADE-OFFS This tradeoff of higher speed for higher currents, and lower
speed as a fault moves closer to the source is what results in the
The one event of component failure in a 55-year-old scatter plots shown. The negative results of this are clearly seen
relay shows the exemplary reliability of relay systems in the in the minimum clearing speeds as a function of fault duty. At
past decades. This should make us think about the traditional 7000 Amps of fault duty there is a minimum clearing time of
use of two different relay systems for increased reliability. The five cycles. At 10,000 Amps that has gone up to 7–8 cycles, and
data provided by this utility indicates that almost all failure to at 20,000 Amps it has increased further to 10 cycles.
trips are caused by connected wires or circuit breaker problems,
not relay construction or design. This indicates that adding a
second, dissimilar, relay system produces virtually no increase
in protection system reliability. On the other hand, because a
second, dissimilar, relay system increases the probability of set-
ting errors, the probability of a false trip roughly doubles with
the added relay. Where two relays are desired for maintenance
or testing purposes, this data shows that having similar wiring
and settings will provide the least security degradation.
PROTECTION SPEED
After security and reliability, the next measure of a pro-
tection system’s performance is speed. The data source for this
paper indicates EHV protection times of 2–4 cycles for most
faults. There are numerous papers discussing protection speeds
at EHV levels so this paper will not go into further detail [3],
[4], [5].
Fig.2. Time Current Points Chart
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 41
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the data from this utility we can make some
general conclusions. It is recognized that, because the data is
from only one utility, care should be taken in its unquestioned
application, however the large number of events sampled
increases confidence.
1. False trips outnumber failure to trips by a factor of
about five to one. Protection quality improvements should be
focused with this ratio in mind.
2. Failures to trip are only rarely caused by relay failures
or design flaws. Doubling overall protection scheme complexi-
ty can decrease security without improving reliability unless
steps are taken to minimize the possibility of setting or accesso-
ry problems.
Fig.4. Time Current Differential Chart 3. Pilot communications are the number one cause of
both security and reliability problems. Improving the quality of
communications will have a direct benefit to protection system
One of the advantages of microprocessor relays is that quality.
high-speed protection does not require expensive relays. The 4. Measured protection speed at all voltage levels should
same relay that is used for directional time-overcurrent protec- be examined for suitability and reasonability to limit equipment
tion can be used in a high-speed protection scheme with the sim- and system damage.
ple addition of low-cost communications [3].
IEEE standard C57.12 for Liquid-Immersed Distribution, REFERENCES
Power, and Regulating Transformers [4] states that “…the dura- [1] IEEE Power System Relay Committee Working
tion of the short-circuit current as defined in 7.1.4 is limited to Group I17 Report, Transmission Relay System Performance
2 s, unless otherwise specified by the user.” It goes on to say that Comparison.
this time includes all reclosing operations. It is well understood [2] Armando Guzman, Stan Zocholl, Gabriel Benmouyal,
that fault current and time will damage transformers, with each Hector J. Altuve, “Performance Analysis of Traditional and
event taking a piece of life out of the unit. One of the elements Improved Transformer Differential Protective Relays,”
of a high-quality protection system is that equipment damage be Technical Paper, 2000.
limited, as much as reasonable, given the overall economics of [3] James R. Fairman, Karl Zimmerman, Jeff W.
the protection. Gregory, James K. Niemira, “International Drive Distribution
In addition to reduced equipment damage, the data Automation and Protection,” Proceedings of the 27th Annual
reveals that reclosing was somewhat more successful with high- Western Protective Relay Conference, Spokane, WA, October,
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 42
Rated for 50 amps, this compact solid state relay assembly can handle a variety of applica- This typical solid state relay assembly is rated for 90-amp loads. The appropriately sized
tions. Standard features in this product line include finger-safe covers, zero voltage switch- anodized aluminum heat sink ensures reliability. A load-suppression diode is standard on
ing, and DIN rail mounts. many models. Relays like this one have been proven in food processing, semiconductor
manufacturing, plastic molding, and many other applications for the control of heaters,
pumps, motors, solenoids, power contactors, lighting, and other equipment.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 48
A great variety of solid state relay (SSR) assemblies are available, with a choice of mounting options. There are many others in addition Another variation on the solid state relay assem-
to the basic models shown here. It is no wonder that plant engineers often seek the advice of SSR experts before deciding on the best bly is a Solid State Relay Monitor, which fits
assembly for the job at hand. snugly on a relay and signals the loss of AC or
DC line current, an open load, or a short circuit.
The unit shows a green LED to indicate normal
operation.
Once knowledgeable engineers know the details, they quately cooled at 40°C or less ambient temperature.
can specify an appropriate, cost-effective relay assembly tai- Relay manufacturers provide maximum temperature
lored to the job at hand. The primary components of these information for their relays. The 25A relay option will perform
assemblies should consist of properly sized and matched relays properly while switching a 20A load with a maximum baseplate
and heat sinks. Since heat is a solid state relay’s primary enemy, temperature of 105°C. The 50A relay will perform properly
the choice of the right heat sink and relay combination is criti- while switching a 20A load with a maximum baseplate temper-
cal to a successful relay assembly. Solid state relay monitors, ature of 112°C.
current transducers, and fault-sensing devices are also available The manufacturer also indicates that both the 25A and the
for consideration. 50A relays generate 20 watts of heat. Knowing the maximum
A cursory look at an example application illustrates typi- allowable temperature, the ambient operating environment, and
cal calculations that must be applied when choosing the proper the watts generated by the relays, the engineer should now be
solid state relay assembly. In this example, the relay is being able to calculate their ability to conduct heat. However, the
used to control a single heater that has a current load of 16 kilo- relay manufacturer states that when operating at maximum rat-
watts, in a three-phase delta configuration on a 480V line with ing, there is a voltage drop across the relay. This requires an
all three legs being switched. The controller in the application adjustment in the value of the relay’s ability to conduct heat.
provides a 24VAC output with a 20MADC minimum current It is important to remember that the smaller this value,
required. The relay will be housed in an enclosure along with the larger the heat sink required. Also, three-phase lines tend to
other electronic equipment. be electronically noisy, and because heaters and their wiring are
Since most electronic equipment begins to experience inductive the energy stored in them could show up across the
degradation at temperatures above 40°C, we have assigned an relay output as a high-voltage transient, in some cases exceed-
ambient operating environment of 40°C MAX. ing 1200V. Therefore, the relay must have a PIV (peak inverse
In order to select the available relay choices for this voltage) rating of at least 1200V, and it also must be protected
application, the first step is to determine the current flow in each by the use of metal oxide varistors (MOVs) or other transient-
line to be switched. Once the load current and line voltage are suppression devices.
known, with the additional knowledge that the line is a three- Given the above information, there are two options for
phase delta configuration, one is able to calculate the amperage satisfying the switching needs of this application.
to be switched at 19.25A per leg. Option 1 uses a three-phase relay mounted on a single
Given this information, there appear to be two available heat sink. The relay chosen draws 53MA at 24VDC and is com-
options for the relay: a 25A or a 50A model could be considered. patible with the controller being used in this application. MOVs
Both will be able to switch the load, provided they are ade- or other transient-suppression devices are recommended in the
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 49
Lyle W. Strode, President of HBControls, Inc., has 40 The HBControls website (www.hbcontrols.com) includes an interactive solid state relay selec-
years of experience in the electronics controls industry, special- tion guide.
izing in the applications of electromechanical and solid state
switching devices.
a leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of DIN Rail
An interactive solid state relay selection guide is avail-
Mounted Solid State Relays and Custom Assemblies. Additional
able on the HBControls website: www.hbcontrols.com.
products from HBControls include Dual Relays, Solid State
HBControls, Inc., based in Fall River, Massachusetts, is
Relay Monitors, and Current Transducers.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:24 AM Page 50
CONCLUSION
1. An analytic equation for induction-type inverse time-
current characteristics has been derived. The integral equation
also defines reset characteristic and the dynamics which guaran-
tee close coordination with induction relays under all conditions
of varying current.
2. The equations of a motor thermal element have been
derived. The element exists as two-state thermal which accounts
for the slip-dependent heating of positive- and negative-
sequence current. The model is defined by motor nameplate and
thermal-limit data and provides protection during the abnormal
conditions of overload, locked rotor, and unbalanced current.
3. The overcurrent elements applied for feeder, motor,
and breaker protection consist of sets of thermal, inverse-time,
definite-time, and instantaneous elements. These elements,
grouped by application, are collectively accommodated as
attributes of a universal overcurrent relay.
4. The issues of backup and redundancy have been
addressed by a dual-relay implementation.
5. Negative-sequence elements, as well as traditional
phase and ground elements, are obtained from three-phase cur-
Fig.5. States of the Thermal Model rent measurands. Negative-sequence elements with induction-
type characteristics coordinate directly with phase and ground
FLA Rated fu1l-load motor current in secondary amps elements and can be set independent of balanced load to provide
LRA Rated locked rotor current in secondary amps sensitive phase-to-phase fault coverage.
LRT Thermal-limit time at rated locked rotor current
TO Time dial to trip temperature in per unit of LRT APPENDIX I
SF Motor rated service factor THE TIME-CURRENT EQUATION
An equation for the inverse time-current characteristic
DUAL APPLICATIONS can be derived from the following basic differential equation for
Out of the many possible applications, two shown in input dependent time delay as it applies to an induction relay:
Figures 6a and 6b illustrate the versatility of the dual universal dθ
overcurrent relay. In Figure 6a, both the relays X and Y are set τs(Μ2 − 1) = Kd ⎯ (9)
for feeder application to protect a delta-wye transformer bank. dt
Relay X provides phase and negative-sequence overcurrent pro- Where:
tection on the high side (delta) that also see through the bank to M is the ratio I/Ip
the low side. The ground overcurrent elements provide sensitive I is the input current in amperes
protection for the high side but cannot see through the delta. Ip is the pickup current in amperes
However, relay Y provides the ground protection for the low τs is the spring torque
side. In Figure 6b, relay X is set as a feeder where the phase and Kd is the damping factor due to the drag magnet
negative-sequence overcurrent elements provide protection for θ is the angular displacement and dθ/dt is the
high phase-to-phase faults using a higher ratio ct. Relay Y is set angular velocity
for motor application using a low ratio ct to protect the small
motor . The small moment of inertia of the disc is neglected and
the spring torque is represented by a constant because the effect
of its gradient is compensated by an increase in torque caused
by the shape of the disc. Integrating Eq. 9 gives:
T τs
θ = ⌠ ⎯0
(M2 - 1)dt (10)
⌡0 Kd
By Ferraz Shawmut
INTRODUCTION Thermally Protected MOV. The philosophy to circuit protection
MOVs used in SPDs can fail explosively when subject- is no damage protection, and the TPMOV offers this.
ed to sustained steady-state power frequency over-voltages.
Traditional MOVs are highly susceptible to damage from sus- FERRAZ SHAWMUT THERMALLY PROTECTED
tained/temporary over-voltage conditions (Fig. 1). MOV(TPMOV)
One example of an over-voltage condition may occur The Ferraz Shawmut Thermally Protected MOV has
when the neutral conductor has been removed, either deliberate- been developed to assist in minimizing the failure characteris-
ly or accidentally, from a split phase or three-phase wye config- tics of Metal-Oxide-Varistors. It is composed of a voltage
uration. Another may be a misapplication of the product in a clamping device, two forms of isolated indication and a discon-
higher than rated voltage system. In both cases the available necting apparatus that monitors the status of the metal-oxide
voltage is greater than the maximum continuous operating volt- disk (Fig. 2).
age (MCOV) specified by the manufacturer of the MOV. During In the event that the disk has been or is approaching
these over-voltage conditions MOV(s) enter a conductive state,
absorb the associated energy, generate a great deal of heat and
eventually rupture, initiating a short circuit condition.
Protection against the destructive consequences of MOV
failure is provided by :
1. Current limiting fuse to reduce the damage in the event
of MOV failure (the fuse by itself only minimizes the
damage, it does not eliminate the condition).
2. Thermal fuse to detect and disconnect MOV from serv-
ice in the event the disk temperature exceeds specified
levels.
3. Filter networks.
4. Some designs use packed sand, epoxy and other materi- Fig. 2.
al around MOV to assist in limiting the MOV failure
from propagating surrounding equipment.
The prominent failure mode for MOVs is the sustained breakdown, it is disconnected from system power. The TPMOV
over-voltage condition. Under this condition the MOV begins to is rated to withstand 40ka of 8/20µs surge current (Fig. 4). The
conduct power frequency (50-60hz) current. Ultimately, the MCOV ratings available are from 150VAC to 550VAC. The
MOV will reach its maximum energy capacity and go into a TPMOV has been designed with two built in isolated indicating
thermal runaway condition. Under normal operating conditions, features. The first is a visual indicator composed of two pins
the MOV absorbs random transient currents (short in duration), that proceed through the top of the TPMOV in the event that the
transforming the energy into heat. The MOV has a finite energy device has disconnected from system power. This indicator
capacity. When this capacity is exceeded, the MOV can no allows the operator to see which device has broken down with-
longer effectively dissipate the heat and ultimately shorts (in the out the shutting off all system power, to determine which device
milli-ohms). For these reasons Ferraz Shawmut developed the in array has been degraded. The second feature is a remote indi-
cator composed of a N/O 12VDC micro-switch. In the event
that the TPMOV has disconnected system power the switch will
change status to closed. This feature lowers costly engineering
time that would be required for traditional MOV products.
Front Time 6 us
Tail Time 17 us
Total I^2t 17.5kA^2s
Circuit Parameters
L = 1.7uH
R = .25ohms
V = 19kV
F = 25uF
CONCLUSIONS
SPDs need to be protected
Before Activation against the 60Hz fault currents which
After Activation
follows an MOV failure. The Ferraz
Shawmut TPMOV offers a safety level
Fig. 5. to engineers utilizing an MOV based
suppressor that has not been available in
the past.
Fig. 6.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 60
INCREASED RELIABILITY
Through increased efficiency,
reduced response time, and improved
awareness, Wade confirms that the
new energy management system has
already helped to identify and correct
potential threats to reliability at sever-
al remote substations. “Recently, we
received an inrush of alarms from our
Cienega substation, indicating multi-
ple transients on one phase.
Inspection of the substation revealed a
damaged bypass arrestor and dam-
aged bushing on the regulator,”
explained Wade. “In another case,
alarms from our Altuda substation
warned of low voltage readings, so
our area office manager dispatched a
RGEC New Substation Panel (with insets): A new substation panel combines an ION 7600(tm) master meter, and two ION lineman to the substation, who then
7350(tm) feeder monitors with satellite radio equipment. identified and corrected a problem
with a regulator control. By automati-
MeterM@il® e-mail messaging feature, personnel can now cally monitoring all of our substations
receive alarm notification for all over/under voltage situations, 24 hours a day, we can ensure that our technicians spend less
sags or swells, transients, or unusually high temperatures with- time on the road, and more time where they’re needed most.”
in a meter enclosure. Also, the system sends an e-mail alarm if With a new substation scheduled for completion in mid
the kVA exceeds 80% of the rated kVA of the power trans- 2004, RGEC has already arranged to bring it online with anoth-
former. er master meter and four feeder monitors, and like the other
Each “master” meter also hosts its own onboard web locations, the new station will be equipped with a VSAT satel-
page, making detailed power system information accessible to lite Internet connection for 24-hour power monitoring and con-
authorized personnel anywhere, through a standard web brows- trol. “Although this satellite-based application represents a fair-
er. At RGEC, Technical Services, as well as Engineering and ly new communications strategy for a rural utility, it’s proven to
Operations staff regularly use this WebMeter® web–enabled be a very useful one,” confirmed Wade. “As we continue to
feature to check on conditions at a specific substation (and save increase efficiency, improve reliability, and reduce operating
themselves a long drive out to the site). costs across our entire distribution network, we can extend these
To monitor consumption across the entire distribution benefits to our members, and for a cooperative like Rio Grande
network, the system automatically records total kWh as interval Electric, that’s the bottom line.”
data logs, and distributes this information as monthly reports to Power Measurement is a leading provider of enterprise energy
TXU — the cooperative’s power supplier, and ERCOT — the
management systems for energy suppliers and consumers
independent system operator. To help RGEC control power
quality and reliability across its distribution network, the system worldwide. For more information, contact Power Measurement
automatically logs line-neutral voltage per phase, amps per at 866-466-7627, or visit the Power Measurement web site at
phase, kW, kVAR, kVA, kWh, power factor, line frequency, www.pwrm.com.
sags, swells, transients, and harmonics. This detailed power data
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 63
Fig. 3. System grounded externally with multiple generators. Fig. 4. Unit-connected Case with high-resistance grounding.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 65
PHASE-FAULT PROTECTION
Fig. 9 shows a simple means of detecting phase faults,
but clearing is delayed, since the 51 relay must be delayed to
coordinate with external devices. Since the 51 relay operates for
external faults, it is not generator zone selective. It will operate
for abnormal external operating conditions such as remote faults Fig. 10. Generator fault current decay example for 3 phase and phase-phase faults at
that are not properly cleared by remote breakers. The 51 pickup generator terminals with no regulator boosting or dropout during fault and no pre-fault load.
should be set at about 175% of rated current to override swings
due to a slow-clearing external fault, the starting of a large decay as fast for a phase-phase or a phaseground fault and,
motor, or the re-acceleration current of a group of motors. thereby, allows the 51 relay more time to trip before current
Energization of a transformer may also subject the generator to drops below pickup. Fig. 10 assumes no voltage regulator
higher than rated current flow. boosting, although the excitation system response time is
Fig. 10 shows an example of generator current decay for unlikely to provide significant fault current boosting in the first
a 3 phase fault and a phase-phase fault. For a 3 phase fault, the second of the fault. It also assumes no voltage regulator dropout
fault current decays below the pickup level of the 51 relay in due to loss of excitation power during the fault. If the generator
approximately one second. If the time delay of the 51 can be is loaded prior to the fault, prefault load current and the associ-
selectively set to operate before the current drops to pickup, the ated higher excitation levels will provide the fault with a higher
relay will provide 3 phase fault protection. The current does not level of current than indicated by the Fig. 10 curves. An estimate
of the net fault current of a pre-loaded generator is a superposi-
tion of load current and fault current without pre-loading. For
example, assuming a pre-fault 1pu rated load at 30 degree lag,
at one second the 3 phase fault value would be 2.4 times rated,
rather than 1.75 times rated (1@30°+1.75@90°=2.4@69°).
Under these circumstances, the 51 relay has more time to oper-
ate before current decays below pickup.
Figure 9 shows the CTs on the neutral side of the gener-
ator. This location allows the relay to sense internal generator
faults but does not sense fault current coming into the generator
from the external system. Placing the CT on the system side of
the generator introduces a problem of the relay not seeing a gen-
erator internal fault when the main breaker is open and when
running the generator isolated from other generation or the util-
ity. If an external source contributes more current than does the
generator, using CTs on the generator terminals, rather than neu-
tral-side CTs, will increase 51 relay sensitivity to internal faults
due to higher current contribution from the external source;
however, the generator is unprotected should a fault occur with
the breaker open or prior to synchronizing.
Voltage-restrained or voltage-controlled timeovercurrent
relays (51VR, 51VC) may be used as shown in Fig. 11 to
remove any concerns about ability to operate before the gener-
ator current drops too low. The voltage feature allows the relays
to be set below rated current. The Basler BE1-951, BE1-1051,
Fig. 9. Phase overcurrent protection (51) must be delayed to coordinate with external BE1-GPS100, and BE1-51/27R voltage restrained approach
relays.
causes the pickup to decrease with decreasing voltage. For
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 68
Fig. 12. Flux summation relay (50) provides sensitive, high-speed, selective differential
protection (87).
Fig. 14. Impedance relay, looking for generator and remote line faults.
LOSS-OF-FIELD PROTECTION
Loss of excitation can, to some extent, be sensed within
the excitation system itself by monitoring for loss of field volt-
age or current. For generators that are paralleled to a power sys-
tem, the preferred method is to monitor for loss of field at the
generator terminals. When a generator loses excitation power, it
appears to the system as an inductive load, and the machine
begins to absorb a large amount of VARs. Loss of field may be
detected by monitoring for VAR flow or apparent impedance at
Fig. 16. Anti-motoring (32), loss-of-field (40), protection.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 70
THERMAL PROTECTION
Fig. 20 shows the Basler MPS200, BE3-49R, or BE1-49
relay connected to a resistance-temperature detector, embedded
in a stator slot. Relay models are available for either copper or
platinum RTDs. The relay provides a constant-current source to
produce a voltage across the RTD and includes the means to
measure that voltage (proportional to temperature) using sepa-
rate leads. The relays have trip and alarm set points, and the
MPS200 can provide readout of present temperature.
Fig.18. For loss of field the power trajectory moves from point A into the fourth quadrant.
Fig. 19. Loss of excitation using impedance relay Fig. 21. Various voltage protection elements. Voltage-balance relay (60) detects poten-
tial supply failure.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 71
Fig. 26. Negative-sequence current relay (46) protects against rotor overheating due to a
series unbalance or protected external fault. Negative-sequence voltage relay (47) (less com-
monly applied) also responds.
Fig. 28. Synchronizing parameters: slip, advance and breaker closing time. Fig. 29. Example of bare-minimum protection (low-impedance grounding).
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 74
Fig. 30. Suggested minimum protection example (low-impedance grounding). Fig. 32. Suggested minimum protection example (high-resistance grounding).
than the generator contribution. Fast disconnection from the unbalance the differential circuit and cause the 87G to trip.
external source allows prompt restoration of normal voltage to Independent CTs could be used to provide improved back-up
loads and may reduce damage and cost of repairs. protection, although this seems to be a minimal advantage here.
The differential relay (87G) may protect for ground However, a separate CT is used for the 51N relay that provides
faults, depending upon the grounding impedance. The 51N protection for the most likely type of fault.
relay in Fig. 30 provides back-up protection for the 87G or will The reverse power relay (32) in Fig. 30 protects the
be the primary protection if the differential relay (87G) is not prime mover against forces from a motored generator and could
sufficiently sensitive to the ground current level. provide important protection for the external system if the
The 51V voltage-controlled or voltage-restrained time motoring power significantly reduces voltage or overloads
overcurrent relay in Fig. 30 is shown on the CT on the high volt- equipment. Likewise, the loss-of-field relay (40) has dual pro-
age/system side of the generator. This allows the relay to see tection benefits—against rotor overheating and against
system contributions to a generator fault. It provides back-up for depressed system voltage due to excessive generator reactive
the differential relay (87G) and for external relays and breakers. absorption. Thermal relay (49) protects against stator overheat-
Since it is monitoring CTs on the system side of the generator, ing due to protracted heavy reactive power demands and loss of
it will not provide any back-up coverage prior to having the unit
on line. If there is no external source, no 87G, or if it is desired
that the 51V provide generator protection while the breaker is
open, connect the 51V to the neutral-side CTs.
Fig. 30 shows three relays sharing the same CTs with a
differential relay. This is practical with solid state and numeric
relays, because their low burden will not significantly degrade
the quality of differential relay protection. The common CT is
not a likely point of failure of all connected relaying. A CT
wiring error or CT short is unlikely to disable both the 87G and
51V relays. Rather, a shorted CT or defective connection will
Fig. 31. Suggested minimum protection example (medium-impedance grounding). Fig. 33. Extended protection example (high-resistance grounding).
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 75
Fig. 34. BE1-GPS100 applied to low-impedance grounded generator (Low-Z-W25 programmed logic).
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 76
Fig. 35. BE1-GPS100 applied to high-impedance grounded generator (HI_Z_GND pre-programmed logic).
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 77
Fig. 36. BE1-CDS220 applied to generator for 87 phase, 87 neutral, and 51 phase, Fig. 37. Interconnection of BE1-GPS100 and BE1-CDS220, and showing some alterna-
neutral, ground, and negative sequence. tive uses of BE1-GPS100 IG input.
or faults in the generator connections or faults in the delta trans- TYPICAL SETTINGS AND RELAY
former windings. Differential relay 87T and sudden-pressure Table 1 lists the applicable relays discussed herein. The
relay 63 protect the unit step-up transformer. Relay 51N pro- right column provides typical settings for use as a starting point
vides backup for external ground faults and for faults in the in the setting determination procedure. The proper settings are
highvoltage transformer windings and leads. This relay may heavily influenced by the specifics of each application. Typical
also respond to an open phase condition or a breaker-interrupter settings are also used as an aid in selecting the relay range where
flashover that energizes the generator. The 51N relay will be a choice is available.
very slow for the flashover case, since it must be set to coordi- Table 2 lists typical Basler relays applicable to generator
nate with external relays and is a lastresort backup for external protection. There are 3 classes of relays presented in Table 2.
faults. The classical single function "utility grade" (i.e., tested to IEEE
Figure 33 shows wye-connected VTs, appropriate with C37.90 standards) BE1-XXX relays are listed, followed by the
an isolated-phase bus. single function "industrial grade" BE3-XXX relays. (Except the
multifunction BE3-GPR is tested to full IEEE C37.90 stan-
APPLICATION OF NUMERICAL PROGRAMMABLE dards.) Finally, the multifunction utility grade numerical relays
RELAYS are listed.
Numerical programmable relays contain many of the
functions discussed in this guideline in a single package. © 1994, 2001 Basler Electric
Figures 34 through 37 show the BE1-GPS100 and BE1-
CDS220 applied to generator protection. Due to logic complex- Additional information on each relay is available on the
ity, full details are not shown. Details of these applications may Basler Electric web site, www.basler.com.
be found in the respective instruction manual. Updates and additions performed by various Basler
Electric Company employees.
BIBLIOGRAPHY George Rockefeller is a private consultant. He has a BS
1. IEEE C37.101, IEEE Guide for Generator Ground in EE from Lehigh University; MS from New Jersey Institute of
Protection Technology and a MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
2. IEEE C37.102, IEEE Guide for AC Generator
Mr. Rockefeller is a Fellow of IEEE and Past Chairman of IEEE
Protection
3. IEEE C37.106, IEEE Guide for Abnormal Frequency Power Systems Relaying Committee. He holds nine U.S. Patents
Protection for Generating Plants and is co-author of Applied Protective Relaying (1st Edition).
4. J. Lewis Blackburn, “Protective Relaying: Principles Mr. Rockefeller worked for Westinghouse Electric Corporation
and Applications”, 2nd Edition, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1998. for twenty-one years in application and system design of protec-
5. S. Horowitz and A. Phadke, “Power System tive relaying systems. He worked for Consolidated Edison
Relaying”, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992. Company for ten years as a System Engineer. He has served as
a private consultant since 1982.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 78
Multifunction (3)
IEEE No Single Function BE1- Single Function BE3-
X=Included •=Optional
BE3-GPR 51 Ph
BE3-GPR 50TN
BE1-1051
BE1-GPS
BE1-CDS
BE1-851
BE1-951
MPS200
24 24 X X X
25 25 25 • • • • •
25A 25A 25A
27 27 27 X X X X X X
27/50IE 50/51B, 50, 27 27. 51 X X X
27/59 27/59 27/59 X X X X X
32 32R 32O/U 32 X X X • • X
40 40Q X • •
46 46N X X X X X X
47 47N 47N X X X • • X
49 49 49R, 49TH X
49/51
50/51G(1) 50/51B, 51 51 X • • • • 50T X
50/51N(2) X X X X
50/87 50/51B, 50 51 X X X X X
51/P 50/51B, 51 51 X X X X X
51VC 51/27C X X X
51VR 51?27R X X X
59P 59 59 X X X
59N 27-3N, 59P 59N •(4) •(4) •(4) X
60FL 60 X X X X X X
67IE 67 X X
81 81O/U 81O/U X X X X X
87G 87G X
87N 87N • •
87UD 87T X
∫-∞r(t) ϕ ⎛t
∞
- p⎞
⎝⎯⎯
C p, s = (5)
s ⎠ dt
where, the wavelet is ϕ(t) , p is the position and s is the
scale.
REFERENCES
[1] IEEE Power System Relaying
Committee Working Group D15 Report,
“High-Impedance Fault Detection
Fig. 9. Validation of HIF Detect™ on concrete and grass. Fig. 10. Validation of HIF Detect™ on asphalt and trees. Technology”, http://www.pes-psrc.org/,
(Go to Published Reports, then to Reports
of staging faults that is both safe for utility personnel perform- Relating to Line Protection - File name is D15MSW60.htm).
ing the tests and results in no interruption or break in service to [2] B. Russell, K. Mehta, R. Chinchali, “An arcing fault
the utility consumers connected to the distribution feeder. detection technique using low frequency current components
Field trial of the HIF Unit was done in the process of col- performance evaluation using recorded data”, IEEE
lecting data from staged HIF testing – these trials took place Transactions on Power Delivery, 1988, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 1493-
four times between January and September 2004 at various 1500, October.
locations. At the time of writing, one more field trial is planned [3] B. Don Russell and B. Michael Aucoin, “Energy
at the end of October 2004. Analysis Fault Detection System”, 1996, U.S. Patent No.
Photographs of staged-fault testing on various surfaces 5,512,832.
are shown in Figures 8 through Figure 10. [4] V. Bucholz, M. Nagpal, J. Nielson, B. Parsi, and W.
Results of filed trials were very encouraging and ABB Zarecki, “High impedance fault detection device tester”, IEEE
decided to implement the HIF Detect™ as a standard feature in transactions on Power Delivery, 1996, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 184-
their state-of-the-art protective relay REF 550. The user can 190, January.
select the level of security in the HIF notification with a very [5] C. Benner and B. Russell, “Practical high-impedance
intuitive setting called HIF level – set anywhere between 1 and fault detection on distribution feeders”, IEEE Transactions on
10 in steps of 1, 10 being more secure than 1. This is the only Power Delivery, 1997, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 635-640, May/June.
setting available for the HIF Detect™ feature, with the factory [6] R. Patterson, W. Tyska, B. Don Russell and B.
default setting being 5. Michael Aucoin, “A Microprocessor-Based Digital Feeder
Monitor With High-Impedance Fault Detection”, presented to
CONCLUSIONS the Forty-Seventh Annual Conference for Protective Relay
- Requirements of High Impedance Fault (HIF) Detection is Engineers, Texas A&M University, 1994, College Station, TX,
different from that of conventional protection or relaying. March 21-23.
- Reliable detection of HIF provides safety to human and ani- [7] R. Das and S. A. Kunsman, “A Novel Approach for
mal life, prevent fire and minimize property damage. Ground Fault Detection”, presented to the Fifty-Seventh Annual
- Innovative technology for High Impedance Detection is Conference for Protective Relay Engineers, Texas A&M
available and discussed. University, College Station, TX, 2004, March 30-April 1.
- Results of many successful field trials indicate that the [8] M. Carpenter, R. Hoad, T. Bruton, R. Das, S. A.
developed technology works as expected. Kunsman and J. Peterson, “Staged-Fault Testing for High
- The developed technology is safe, secure, dependable and Impedance Fault Data Collection”, presented to the Thirty-First
freely available with the IED or Relay for feeder protection. Annual Protective Relay Conference, Spokane, WA, 2004,
- The notification from the HIF Detect™ can be used for tak- October 19-21.
ing appropriate action as desired by the user. [9] J. Tugnait, "Detection of Random Signals by
Integrated Polyspectral Analysis", IEEE Transactions on Signal
Ratan Das is the Principal Engineer at ABB in Allentown, PA. processing, 1996, Vol. 44, No. 8, pp. 2102-2108,
He joined the company in 1998. He received his BEE degree
with honors from Jadavpur University, India in 1982 and his
M.Sc.(1995) and Ph.D. (1998) degrees in Electrical
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 89
A LOOK AT FUSEOLOGY
Written by Tim Crnko, Cooper Bussman
NEED FOR OVERCURRENT PROTECTION the system. A choice is made as to the type of protection,
The purpose of overcurrent protective devices, such as whether fuses or circuit breakers, when a system is
fuses and circuit breakers, is to protect electrical circuit compo- designed/installed or partially upgraded. There are considerable
nents and equipment from the effects of overcurrents. An over- performance and life cycle differences between fuses and circuit
current can be either an overload current or a fault current. An breakers. The building owner must live with the selection of the
overload current is an excessive current relative to normal oper- overcurrent protective device for the life of the electrical system
ating current, and the current stays in the normal conductive or until major (costly) alterations are made. Whether it is the
path. For example, when a motor is mechanically overloaded first day of the electrical system or many years later, it is impor-
beyond its HP rating, it draws current above its rating. Overload tant that overcurrent protective devices perform as intended
currents increase the temperature of conductors and other com- under overload or fault conditions. Modern current-limiting
ponents. If overloads are not interrupted in a prescribed time, fuses operate by very simple, reliable principles and do not
the thermal effects can result in insulation deterioration. require periodic maintenance. Circuit breakers, on the other
Improper overload protection may eventually result in ignition hand, are mechanical devices and there-
of the insulation or adjacent materials or may result in a short- fore, if used, must be periodically main-
circuit. tained and/or tested as per the manufac-
In contrast, a fault causes current to flow outside the nor- turer’s recommendations.
mal conducting path such as might occur when a wrench is
dropped across the bare buses of an energized switchboard. A VOLTAGE RATING
short-circuit or fault current can be many hundred times larger The voltage rating is extremely
than the normal operating current. A high level fault may be important for overcurrent protective
50,000 amperes or larger. If not cut off within a matter of a few devices. The proper application of an
thousandths of a second, extensive damage and violent destruc- overcurrent protective device requires
tion can result – short-circuit currents can cause severe insula- that the voltage rating of the device be
tion damage, vaporization of conductors, arcing, fires, and rup- equal to or greater than the system volt-
turing of equipment. age. When an overcurrent protective
For safety of property and people, overcurrent protection device is applied beyond its voltage rat- Fig. 1. This photograph
ing, there may not be any initial indica- vividly illustrates the effects
is one of the top two most important electrical system aspects;
tors. Adverse consequences typically of overcurrents on electrical
the other is proper grounding. In any given system the frequen-
result when an improperly voltage rated components when protective
cy of overloads and faults can vary widely. Electrical distribu-
device attempts to interrupt an overcur- devices are not sized to the
tion systems are often quite complicated, and they cannot be
rent, at which point it may self-destruct ampere rating of the compo-
absolutely fail-safe. Harsh environments, general deterioration,
in an unsafe manner. nent.
accidental damage or damage from natural causes, human error,
excessive expansion, lack of maintenance, improper mainte- There are two types of AC volt-
nance or overloading of the electrical distribution system are age ratings for overcurrent protective
factors which contribute to the occurrence of such overcurrents. device: straight voltage rated and slash
Whether the occurrences of overcurrents are rare or frequent, voltage rated. The proper application is
the fact is overcurrents do happen and overcurrent protection is straightforward for overcurrent protec-
a necessity. Also, some people debate that bolted fault currents tive devices with a straight voltage rat-
seldom occur; implying why protect against the worst-case fault ing (i.e. 600V, 480V, 240V, etc.) which
situation. Overcurrent protection is similar to insurance. You have been evaluated for proper perform-
hope you never need it, but if and when you do need it, you are ance with full phase-to-phase voltage
glad you have full coverage. Knowing overcurrent protection is used during the testing, listing and
a critical aspect to electrical systems, select the most reliable marking. For instance, all fuses are
overcurrent protective devices and consider the many critical straight voltage rated and there is no
aspects mentioned in this article. need to be concerned about slash rat-
ings. However, some mechanical over- Fig. 2. Considerable dam-
RELIABILITY current protective devices are slash volt- age to electrical equipment
age rated (i.e. 480/277V, 240/120V, can result if the interrupting
Overcurrent protection must be reliable. Selecting the
600/347V, etc.). Slash voltage rated rating of a protective device
type of overcurrent protective device to be used should take into
devices are limited in their applications is inadequate and is exceeded
account reliability of the overcurrent protection for the life of
and extra evaluation is required when by a short-circuit current.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 90
INTERRUPTING RATING
Most people in the industry have some knowledge of
voltage rating and ampere rating, but many do not understand
nor take the steps to properly apply overcurrent protective Fig. 4. This diagram shows the minimum ratios of the ampere ratings of LOW-PEAK* YEL-
devices in regards to interrupting rating. This can be a serious LOW fuses that are required to provide "selective coordination" (discrimination) of upstream
property and human safety issue. Interrupting rating is the max- and downstream fuses.
imum short-circuit current that a fuse or circuit breaker has been
tested to interrupt under specified test conditions. It is critical
that a fuse or circuit breaker be able to withstand the destructive
energy of any short-circuit current it may be called upon to CURRENT-LIMITATION
interrupt. If a fault current exceeds the interrupting rating of an If a protective device cuts off a short-circuit current in
overcurrent protective device, the device may actually rupture less than one-half cycle, before the current reaches its total
causing additional damage. Therefore, it is important when available (and highly destructive) value, the device limits the
applying a fuse or circuit breaker to use one which can sustain current. Many modern fuses are current-limiting. They restrict
the largest potential short-circuit current available at the point of fault currents to such low values that a high degree of protection
installation. The interrupting rating of most branch-circuit, is given to circuit components against even very high short-cir-
molded case, circuit breakers typically used in residential serv- cuit currents. If not limited, short-circuit currents can reach lev-
ice entrance panels is 10,000 amperes. Larger, more expensive els of 30,000 or 40,000 amperes or higher (even above 200,000
circuit breakers may have interrupting ratings of 14,000 amperes) in the first half cycle (0.008 seconds at 60 Hz) after
amperes or higher. In contrast, most modern, current-limiting the start of a short circuit. The heat that can be produced in cir-
fuses have an interrupting rating of 200,000 or 300,000 amperes cuit components by the immense energy of short-circuit cur-
and are commonly used to protect the lower rated circuit break- rents can cause severe insulation damage or even explosion. At
ers. The Code requires equipment intended to break current at the same time, huge magnetic forces developed between con-
fault levels to have an interrupting rating sufficient for the cur- ductors can crack insulators and distort or destroy bracing struc-
rent that must be interrupted. tures. Thus, it is important that a protective device limit fault
currents before they reach their full potential. Modern fuses are
SELECTIVE COORDINATION current-limiting due to their inherent design.
Selective coordination can be a critical aspect for electri-
cal systems. Quite often in the design phase or equipment selec- COMPONENT PROTECTION
tion phase, it is ignored or overlooked. And when it is evaluat- Choosing overcurrent protective devices strictly on the
ed many people misinterpret the information thinking that selec- basis of voltage, current, and interrupting rating alone will not
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 91
Fig. 5. A non-current protective device, by permitting a short-circuit current to build up to Fig. 6. In its current-limiting range, a current-limiting fuse has such a high speed of
its full value, can let an immense amount of destructive short-circuit heat energy through response that it cuts off a short-circuit long before it can build up to its full peak value.
before opening the circuit.
assure protection of circuit component from short-circuit cur- able short-circuit current and the overcurrent protective device
rents. Much of the code is merely a cookbook for matching the let-through characteristics. When the available short-circuit cur-
ampere rating of conductors, equipment and overcurrent protec- rent exceeds a components withstand, it is imperative that the
tive devices. Merely matching the ampere rating of a component current-limiting overcurrent protective let-through current be
with the ampere rating of a protective device will not assure less than the component withstand. Proper protection of circuits
component protection under short-circuit conditions. Also, the will improve reliability and reduce the possibility of injury.
interrupting rating of a protective device pertains only to that Electrical systems can be destroyed if the overcurrent devices
device and has absolutely no bearing on its ability to protect do not limit the short-circuit current to within the withstand rat-
connected downstream components. Quite often, an improperly ing of the system’s components.
protected component is completely destroyed under short circuit
conditions while the protective device is opening the faulted cir- This article gave a brief overview of some critical aspects for
cuit. proper overcurrent protection selection. For more information
There is not sufficient space in this article to show the visit www.bussmann.com. The Bussmann® SPD Selecting
steps to achieve proper component protection, so just an Protection Devices handbook can be viewed or downloaded in
overview is given. Proper component protection requires analy- whole or in sections. Plus there is an assortment of application
sis of the circuit components’ short-circuit withstand, the avail- materials and tools at his site.
pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 92
BUYERS GUIDE
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pc_v2 10/19/04 10:25 AM Page 95
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