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Chapter
C2 1. Introduction
2. Convention of direction C2
The circulating current and balanced voltage systems of To define a current requires that both magnitude and phase
Figures C2.1 and C2.2 perform full vectorial comparison of be stated. Comparison in terms of both of these quantities
the zone boundary currents. Such systems can be treated as is performed in the Merz-Price systems, but it is not always
analogues of the protected zone of the power system, in easy to transmit all this information over some pilot channels.
which CT secondary quantities represent primary currents Chapter [D2: Signalling and Intertripping in Protection
and the relay operating current corresponds to an in-zone Schemes] provides a detailed description of modern methods
fault current. that may be used.
These systems are simple in concept; they are nevertheless
applicable to zones having any number of boundary
connections and for any pattern of terminal currents.
The principle of this system is shown in outline in Figure C2.1. FF' will be very small, but the CT exciting currents will be
If the current transformers are ideal, the functioning of the unequal due to the unequal burdens and relay current IR will
system is straightforward. The transformers will, however, have still be non-zero.
errors arising from both Wattmetric and magnetising current
4.1 Transient instability
losses that cause deviation from the ideal, and the
interconnections between them may have unequal impedances. It is shown in Chapter [B2: Current and Voltage Transformers,
This can give rise to a ‘spill’ current through the relay even Section 4.10], that an asymmetrical current applied to a current
without a fault being present, thus limiting the sensitivity that transformer will induce a flux that is greater than the peak flux
can be obtained. Figure C2.4 illustrates the equivalent circuit corresponding to the steady state alternating component of
of the circulating current scheme. If a high impedance relay the current. It may take the CT into saturation, with the result
is used, then unless the relay is located at point J in the circuit, that the dynamic exciting impedance is reduced and the
a current will flow through the relay even with currents IPg and exciting current greatly increased.
IPh being identical. If a low impedance relay is used, voltage
below which the relay element does not have the sensitivity
End G End H to pick up. Relay calibration can in fact be in terms of voltage.
4.2 Bias
The ‘spill’ current in the relay arising from these various sources
of error is dependent on the magnitude of the through current,
iSh being negligible at low values of through-fault current but
Relay sometimes reaching a disproportionately large value for more
severe faults. Setting the operating threshold of the protection
above the maximum level of spill current produces poor
sensitivity. By making the differential setting approximately
proportional to the fault current, the low-level fault sensitivity
(a) Subscripts: is greatly improved. Figure C2.5 illustrates a typical bias
- CT Primary characteristic for a modern relay that overcomes the problem.
- CT Secondary At low currents, the bias is small, thus enabling the relay to
- exciting
- Lead be made sensitive. At higher currents, such as would be
G'
- end G obtained from inrush or through fault conditions, the bias used
F' - end H is higher, and thus the spill current required to cause operation
G''
is higher. The relay is therefore more tolerant of spill current
J H
at higher fault currents and therefore less likely to maloperate,
G F
while still being sensitive at lower current levels.
H'
H''
Figure C2.4:
Equivalent circuit of circulating current scheme Percentage
bias
Operate
This section is included for historical reasons, mainly because 5.1 Stability Limit of the Voltage Balance System
of the number of such schemes still to be found in service
Unlike normal current transformers, transactors are not subject
– for new installations it has been almost completely
to errors caused by the progressive build-up of exciting
superseded by circulating current schemes. It is the dual of
current, because the whole of the primary current is expended
the circulating current protection, and is summarised in Figure
as exciting current. In consequence, the secondary e.m.f. is
C2.2 as used in the ‘Translay H04’ scheme.
an accurate measure of the primary current within the linear
With primary through current, the secondary e.m.f.s of the range of the transformer. Provided the transformers are
current transformers are opposed, and provide no current in designed to be linear up to the maximum value of fault current,
the interconnecting pilot leads or the series connected relays. balance is limited only by the inherent limit of accuracy of
An in-zone fault leads to a circulating current condition in the the transformers, and as a result of capacitance between the
CT secondaries and hence to relay operation. pilot cores. A broken line in the equivalent circuit shown in
Figure C2.6 indicates such capacitance. Under through-fault
An immediate consequence of the arrangement is that the
conditions the pilots are energised to a proportionate voltage,
current transformers are in effect open-circuited, as no
the charging current flowing through the relays. The stability
secondary current flows for any primary through-current
ratio that can be achieved with this system is only moderate
conditions. To avoid excessive saturation of the core and
and a bias technique is used to overcome the problem.
secondary waveform distortion, the core is provided with
non-magnetic gaps sufficient to absorb the whole primary
m.m.f. at the maximum current level, the flux density remaining
within the linear range. The secondary winding therefore End G End H
feeder protection.
Figure C2.6:
Equivalent circuit for balanced voltage system
6. Summation arrangements
Schemes have so far been discussed as though they were industrial and urban power distribution systems. Clearly, each
applied to single-phase systems. A polyphase system could phase would require a separate set of pilot wires if the
be provided with independent protection for each phase. protection was applied on a per phase basis. The cost of
Modern digital or numerical relays communicating via fibre- providing separate pilot-pairs and also separate relay elements
optic links operate on this basis, since the amount of data to per phase is generally prohibitive. Summation techniques can
be communicated is not a major constraint. For older relays, be used to combine the separate phase currents into a single
use of this technique over pilot wires may be possible for relaying quantity for comparison over a single pair of pilot
relatively short distances, such as would be found with wires.
As mentioned above, the basic balanced voltage principle of Bias is produced by a copper shading loop fitted to the pole of
protection evolved to biased protection systems. Several of the upper magnet, thereby establishing a Ferraris motor action
these have been designed, some of which appear to be quite that gives a reverse or restraining torque proportional to the
different from others. These dissimilarities are, however, square of the upper magnet flux value.
superficial.
Typical settings achievable with such a relay are:
A number of these systems that are still in common use are
a. Least sensitive earth fault - 40% of rating
described below.
b. Least sensitive phase-phase fault - 90% of rating
7.1 Balanced voltage electromechanical system
c. Three-phase fault - 52% of rating
A typical biased, electromechanical balanced voltage system,
still giving useful service on distribution systems is shown in 7.2 Static circulating current unit protection system
Figure C2.7.
A typical static modular pilot wire unit protection system operating
The electromechanical design derives its balancing voltages on the circulating current principle is shown in Figure C2.8. This
from the transactor incorporated in the measuring relay at each uses summation transformers with a neutral section that is tapped,
line end. The latter are based on the induction-type meter to provide alternative earth fault sensitivities. Phase comparators
electromagnet as shown in Figure C2.7. tuned to the power frequency are used for measurement and a
restraint circuit gives a high level of stability for through-faults
and transient charging currents. High-speed operation is
obtained with moderately sized current transformers and where
space for current transformers is limited and where the lowest
End G End H possible operating time is not essential, smaller current
A
B
transformers may be used. This is made possible by a special
C adjustment ( Kt ) by which the operating time of the differential
protection can be selectively increased if necessary, thereby
enabling the use of current transformers having a correspondingly
Summation decreased knee-point voltage, whilst ensuring that through-fault
winding
stability is maintained to greater than 50 times the rated current.
Secondary
winding Pilot Internal faults give simultaneous tripping of relays at both ends
Bias loop
of the line, providing rapid fault clearance irrespective of whether
the fault current is fed from both line ends or from only one line
end.
Figure C2.7:
Typical biased electromechanical differential protection
system.
A
- Summation transformer
B
- Auxiliary transformer
C
- Non linear resistor
- Restraining winding
Tr
- Linear resistor
c c
c - Phase comparator
Figure C2.8:
Typical static circulating current feeder unit protection circuit diagram
A digital or numerical unit protection relay may typically provide A facility for vector/ratio compensation of the measured
phase-segregated current differential protection. This means currents, so that transformer feeders can be included in the
that the comparison of the currents at each relay is done on unit protection scheme without the use of interposing CTs or
a per phase basis. For digital data communication between defining the transformer as a separate zone, increases
relays, it is usual that a direct optical connection is used (for versatility. Any interposing CTs required are implemented in
short distances) or a multiplexed link. Link speeds of up to software. Maloperation on transformer inrush is prevented by
64kbit/s (56kbit/s in North America) are normal. Through second harmonic detection. Care must be taken if the
current bias is typically applied to provide through fault stability transformer has a wide-ratio on-load tap changer, as this
in the event of CT saturation. A dual slope bias technique results in the current ratio departing from nominal and may
(Figure C2.5) is used to enhance stability for through faults. cause maloperation, depending on the sensitivity of the relays.
A typical trip criterion is as follows: The initial bias slope should be set taking this into consideration.
For |Ibias|< Is2 Tuned measurement of power frequency currents provides
a high level of stability with capacitance inrush currents during
|Idiff|< k1|Ibias|+ Is1
line energisation. The normal steady-state capacitive charging
For |Ibias|< Is2 current can be allowed for if a voltage signal can be made
available and the susceptance of the protected zone is known.
|Idiff|< k2|Ibias|-(k2-k1)Is2+ Is1
Where an earthed transformer winding or earthing transformer
Once the relay at one end of the protected section has
is included within the zone of protection, some form of zero
determined that a trip condition exists, an intertrip signal is
sequence current filtering is required. This is because there
transmitted to the relay at the other end. Relays that are
will be an in-zone source of zero sequence current for an
supplied with information on line currents at all ends of the
external earth fault. The differential protection will see zero
line may not need to implement intertripping facilities. However,
sequence differential current for an external fault and it could
it is usual to provide intertripping in any case to ensure the
incorrectly operate as a result.
protection operates in the event of any of the relays detecting
a fault.
Figure C2.9:
Signal propagation delay measurement
frequencies. At time TA1 relay A transmits its data to relay B, 8.2 Application to mesh corner and 1 1/2 breaker
containing a time tag and other data. Relay B receives it at switched substations
time TA1 + Tp1 where Tp1 is the propagation time from relay
These substation arrangements are quite common, and the
A to relay B. Relay B records this time as time TB*. Relay B arrangement for the latter is shown in Figure C2.10. Problems
also sends messages of identical format to relay A. It transmits
exist in protecting the feeders due to the location of the line
such a message at time TB3, received by relay A at time TB3+
CT’s, as either Bus 1 or Bus 2 or both can supply the feeder.
Tp2 ( say time TA* ), where Tp2 is the propagation time from Two alternatives are used to overcome the problem, and they
relay B to relay A. The message from relay B to relay A
are illustrated in the figure. The first is to common the line CT
includes the time TB3, the last received time tag from relay A
inputs (as shown for Feeder A) and the alternative is to use
( TA1 ) and the delay time between the arrival time of the
a second set of CT inputs to the relay (as shown for Feeder
message from A ( TB* ) and TB3 – call this the delay time Td.
B).
The total elapsed time is therefore:
In the case of a through fault as shown, the relay connected
( T A* - TA1 ) = ( Td + Tp1 + Tp2 ) to Feeder A theoretically sees no unbalance current, and
If it is assumed that Tp1 = Tp2, then the value of Tp1 and Tp2 hence will be stable. However, with the line disconnect switch
can be calculated, and hence also TB3 . The relay B measured open, no bias is produced in the relay, so CT’s need to be
data as received at relay A can then be adjusted to enable well matched and equally loaded if maloperation is to be
data comparison to be performed. Relay B performs similar avoided.
computations in respect of the data received from relay A
For Feeder B, the relay also theoretically sees no differential
(which also contains similar time information). Therefore,
current, but it will see a large bias current even with the line
continuous measurement of the propagation delay is made,
disconnect switch open. This provides a high degree of
thus reducing the possibility of maloperation due to this cause
stability, in the event of transient asymmetric CT saturation.
to a minimum. Comparison is carried out on a per-phase
Therefore, this technique is preferred.
basis, so signal transmission and the calculations are required
for each phase. Sensing of the state of the line isolator through auxiliary
contacts enables the current values transmitted to and
A variation of this technique is available that can cope with
received from remote relays to be set to zero when the isolator
unequal propagation delays in the two communication
is open. Hence, stub-bus protection for the energised part
channels under well-defined conditions.
of the bus is then possible, with any fault resulting in tripping
The technique can also be used with all types of pilots, subject of the relevant CB.
to provision of appropriate interfacing devices.
Method (d)
Bus 1 Bus 2
is also a robust technique. It involves both relays being capable B2 B1
of receiving a time signal from a GPS satellite. The propagation
delay on each communication channel is no longer required
to be known or calculated as both relays are synchronised
to a common time signal. For the protection scheme to meet
the required performance in respect of availability and Stub
maloperation, the GPS signal must be capable of reliable bus
inputs
receipt under all atmospheric conditions. There is extra satellite
signal receiving equipment required at both ends of the line, A B
which implies extra cost.
The minimum setting that can be achieved with such techniques Figure C2.10:
while ensuring good stability is 20% of CT primary current. Breaker and a half switched substation
In earlier sections, the pilot links between relays have been for use in conjunction with the relaying quantities derived
treated as an auxiliary wire circuit that interconnects relays locally, and forms the basis for all carrier systems of unit
at the boundaries of the protected zone. In many circumstances, protection.
such as the protection of longer line sections or where the
Carrier systems are generally insensitive to induced power
route involves installation difficulties, it is too expensive to
system currents since the systems are designed to operate
provide an auxiliary cable circuit for this purpose, and other
at much higher frequencies, but each medium may be
means are sought.
subjected to noise at the carrier frequencies that may interfere
In all cases (apart from private pilots and some short rented with its correct operation.
pilots) power system frequencies cannot be transmitted
Variations of signal level, restrictions of the bandwidth available
directly on the communication medium. Instead a relaying
for relaying and other characteristics unique to each medium
quantity may be used to vary the higher frequency associated
influence the choice of the most appropriate type of scheme.
with each medium (or the light intensity for fibre-optic systems),
Methods and media for communication are discussed in
and this process is normally referred to as modulation of a
Chapter [D2: Signalling and Intertripping in Protection
carrier wave. Demodulation or detection of the variation at a
Schemes].
remote receiver permits the relaying quantity to be reconstituted
The carrier channel is used in this type of scheme to convey The principles of phase comparison are illustrated in Figure
both the phase and magnitude of the current at one relaying C2.11. The carrier channel transfers a logic or ‘on/off’ signal
point to another for comparison with the phase and magnitude that switches at the zero crossing points of the power frequency
of the current at that point. Transmission techniques may use waveform. Comparison of a local logic signal with the
either voice frequency channels using FM modulation or A/D corresponding signal from the remote end provides the basis
converters and digital transmission. Signal propagation delays for the measurement of phase shift between power system
still need to be taken into consideration by introducing a currents at the two ends and hence discrimination between
deliberate delay in the locally derived signal before a internal and through-faults.
comparison with the remote signal is made.
Current flowing above the set threshold results in turn-off of
A further problem that may occur concerns the dynamic range the carrier signal. The protection operates if gaps in the carrier
of the scheme. As the fault current may be up to 30 times the signal are greater than a set duration – the phase angle setting
rated current, a scheme with linear characteristics requires of the protection.
a wide dynamic range, which implies a wide signal transmission
Load or through-fault currents at the two ends of a protected
bandwidth. In practice, bandwidth is limited, so either a non-
feeder are in antiphase (using the normal relay convention
linear modulation characteristic must be used or detection of
for direction), whilst during an internal fault the (conventional)
fault currents close to the setpoint will be difficult.
currents tend towards the in-phase condition. Hence, if the
10.1 Phase comparison scheme phase relationship of through-fault currents is taken as a
reference condition, internal faults cause a phase shift of
The carrier channel is used to convey the phase angle of
approximately 180° with respect to the reference condition.
the current at one relaying point to another for comparison
with the phase angle of the current at that point.
End G End H
Phase
E comparator
Pulse length
discrimination
Load or through fault Internal fault
F G H G H
1 1
B. Squarer output at end G
0 0
1 1
D. Squarer output at end H 0 0
(Received at end G via
ideal carrier system as D')
1 1
E. Comparator output at end G
0 0
E=B+D'
1 1
F. Discriminator output at end G
0 0
Stability setting
Figure C2.11
Principles of phase comparison protection
End G End H
Line trap
Line trap
Coupling
Summation filter
network
A
Squarer Transmitter B
Identical
relay
C to end G
Receiver
Pulse length
discriminator
D Trip
Trip Load or through fault Internal fault
1 1
A. Squarer output at end G 0 0
1 1
D. Discriminator output 0 0
Stability setting
Figure C2.13
Principles of power line carrier phase comparison
The system differential phase shift may encroach into the Encroachment into tripping region
for discriminator with stability angle setting s
tripping region of the simple discriminator characteristic,
regardless of how large the stability angle setting may be. `Keyhole' characteristic capacitive current
Figure C2.14 illustrates the effect and indicates techniques Minimum starter threshold =
sin s
that are commonly used to ensure stability. where s = tan-1
Operation of the discriminator can be permitted only when Characteristic of system with amplitude dependent
compensation s = angular compensation
current is above some threshold, so that measurement of the for current of magnitude OA
large differential phase shifts which occur near the origin of
the polar diagram is avoided. By choice of a suitable threshold 2sin-1 for squarer threshold
and stability angle, a ‘keyhole’ characteristic can be provided OA
such that the capacitive current characteristic falls within the = load current
resultant stability region. Fast resetting of the fault detector
is required to ensure stability following the clearance of a
through-fault when the currents tend to fall towards the origin Figure C2.14:
of the polar diagram. Capacitive current in phase comparison schemes and
techniques used to avoid instability
The mark-space ratio of the squarer (or modulating) waveform
can be made dependent on the current amplitude. Any
decrease in the mark-space ratio will permit a corresponding stability angle of the scheme. Hence:
differential phase shift to occur between the currents before
Ѳo = ϕs + Ѳc ...Equation C2.1
any output is given from the comparator for measurement in
the discriminator. A squarer circuit with an offset or bias can where
provide a decreasing mark-space ratio at low currents, and ϕs = stability angle setting
with a suitable threshold level the extra phase shift Ѳc which
is permitted can be arranged to equal or exceed the phase Ѳc = capacitive current compensation (when applicable)
shift due to capacitive current. At high current levels the The currents at the ends of a transmission line IG and IH may
capacitive current compensation falls towards zero and the be expressed in terms of magnitude and phase shift Ѳ with
resultant stability region on the polar diagram is usually smaller respect a common system voltage.
than on the keyhole characteristic, giving improvements in
sensitivity and/or dependability of the scheme. Since the IG = | IG | < ѲG
stability region encompasses all through-fault currents, the IH = | IH | < ѲH
resetting speed of any fault detectors or starter (which may
still be required for other purposes, such as the control of a Using the relay convention described in Section 2, the
normally quiescent scheme) is much less critical than with reference through-fault condition is
the keyhole characteristic. IG = IH
11.2 System tripping angles ∴IG < ѲG = -IH < ѲH = IH < ѲH ± 180°
For the protection scheme to trip correctly on internal faults ∴| ѲG - ѲH | = 180°
the change in differential phase shift, Ѳo, from the through-
fault condition taken as reference, must exceed the effective
During internal faults, the system tripping angle ѲO is the for IF > IL' | ѲG - ѲH | ≈ 180° ...Equation C2.4
differential phase shift relative to the reference condition.
where
∴ ѲG = 180° - | ѲG - ѲH |
IF = fault current contribution from weak source
Substituting ѲO in Equation C2.1, the conditions for tripping
IL = load current flowing towards weak source
are:
To avoid any risk of failure to operate, fault detectors with a
180° - | ѲG - ѲH | ≥ ϕS + Ѳc
setting greater than the maximum load current may be applied,
∴ | ѲG - ѲH | ≤ 180°- ( ϕS + Ѳc ) ...Equation C2.2 but they may limit the sensitivity of scheme. When the fault
detector is not operated at one end, fault clearance invariably
The term ( ϕS + Ѳc ) is the effective stability angle setting of
involves sequential tripping of the circuit breakers.
the scheme. Substituting a typical value of 60° in Equation
C2.2. gives the tripping condition as Most phase comparison schemes use summation techniques
to produce a single modulating quantity, responsive to faults
| ѲG - ѲH | ≤ 120° ...Equation C2.3
on any of the three phases. Phase sequence components
In the absence of pre-fault load current, the voltages at the are often used and a typical modulating quantity is:
two ends of a line are in phase. Internal faults are fed from
IM = MI2 + NI1 ...Equation C2.5
both ends with fault contributions whose magnitudes and
angles are determined by the position of the fault and the where
system source impedances. Although the magnitudes may
I1 = Positive phase sequence component
be markedly different, the angles (line plus source) are similar
and seldom differ by more than about 20°. I2 = Negative phase sequence component
Hence | ѲG - ѲH | ≤ 20° and the requirements of Equation M,I = constants
C2.3 are very easily satisfied. The addition of arc or fault
With the exception of three phase faults all internal faults give
resistance makes no difference to the reasoning above, so
rise to negative phase sequence (NPS) currents, I2, which
the scheme is inherently capable of clearing such faults.
are approximately in phase at the ends of the line and therefore
11.3 Effect of load current could form an ideal modulating quantity. In order to provide
a modulating signal during three phase faults, which give rise
When a line is heavily loaded prior to a fault the e.m.f.s of the
to positive phase sequence (PPS) currents, I1, only, a practical
sources which cause the fault current to flow may be displaced
modulating quantity must include some response to I1 in
by up to about 50°, that is, the power system stability limit.
addition to I2.
To this the differential line and source angles of up to 20°
mentioned above need to be added. Typical values of the ratio M/N exceed 5:1, so that the
modulating quantity is weighted heavily in favour of NPS, and
So | ѲG - ѲH | ≤ 70° and the requirements of Equation C2.3
any PPS associated with load current tends to be swamped
are still easily satisfied.
out on all but the highest resistance faults.
For three phase faults, or solid earth faults on phase-by-phase
For a high resistance phase-earth fault, the system remains
comparison schemes, through load current falls to zero during
well balanced so that load current IL is entirely positive
the fault and so need not be considered. For all other faults,
sequence. The fault contribution IF provides equal parts of
load current continues to flow in the healthy phases and may
positive, negative and zero sequence components IF/3.
therefore tend to increase towards the through-fault reference
Assuming the fault is on ‘A’ phase and the load is resistive,
value. For low resistance faults the fault current usually far
all sequence components are in phase at the infeed end G:
exceeds the load current and so has little effect. High
resistance faults or the presence of a weak source at one MI FG NI FG
end can prove more difficult, but high performance is still ∴ I mG = NI L + +
possible if the modulating quantity is chosen with care and/
3 3
or fault detectors are added. and
and for
ImH < 0, ѲH = 180°, and | ѲG - ѲH | = 180° System voltage reference
M = 6 and N = -1
3
M/N = -6 3
3
3
Comparing this with Equation C2.4, a scheme using summation
is potentially 1.667 times more sensitive than one using phase
current for modulation.
120° 120°
Even though the use of a negative value of M gives a lower
3 3
value of IE than if it were positive, it is usually preferred since
the limiting condition of IM = 0 then applies at the load infeed 3 3
end. Load and fault components are additive at the outfeed (c) B phase to earth fault (d) C phase to earth fault
| - | = 70°
end so that a correct modulating quantity occurs there, even
with the lowest fault levels. For operation of the scheme it is Assumptions for examples:
sufficient therefore that the fault current contribution from the Infeed of load at end
load infeed end exceeds the effective setting. Outfeed of load at end
For faults on phase B or C, the NPS components are displaced therefore and from Equation C2.6
by 120° or 240° with respect to the PPS components. No effective earth fault sensitivity
simple cancellation can occur, but instead a phase also
displacement is introduced. For tripping to occur, Equation
C2.2 must be satisfied, and to achieve high dependability
under these marginal conditions, a small effective stability
angle is essential. Figure C2.15 illustrates operation near to Figure C2.15:
Effect of load current on differential phase shift |Ѳg - ѲH| for
the limits of earth fault sensitivity.
resistive earth faults at the effective earth fault sensitivity IE
Very sensitive schemes may be implemented by using high
values of M/N but the scheme then becomes more sensitive
must operate to provide a trip output, and the fault detector
to differential errors in NPS currents, such as the unbalanced
may limit the sensitivity of the scheme. Requirements for the
components of capacitive current or spill from partially
fault detectors vary according to the type of carrier channel
saturated CT’s.
used, mode of operation used in the phase angle measurement,
Techniques such as capacitive current compensation and that is, blocking or permissive, and the features used to provide
reduction of M/N at high fault levels may be required to tolerance to capacitive current.
ensure stability of the scheme.
11.6 Normally quiescent power line carrier
11.5 Fault detection and starting (blocking mode)
For a scheme using a carrier system that continuously transmits To ensure stability of through-faults, it is essential that carrier
the modulating quantity, protecting an ideal line (capacitive transmission starts before any measurement of the width of
current is zero) in an interconnected transmission system, the gap is permitted. To allow for equipment tolerances and
measurement of current magnitude might be unnecessary. the difference in magnitude of the two currents due to
In practice, fault detector or starting elements are invariably capacitive current, two starting elements are used, usually
provided and the scheme then becomes a permissive tripping referred to as ‘Low Set’ and ‘High Set’ respectively. Low Set
scheme in which both the fault detector and the discriminator controls the start-up of transmission whilst High Set, having
a setting typically 1.5 to 2 times that of the Low Set element, purpose. If the fault current is insufficient to operate the fault
permits the phase angle measurement to proceed. detector, circuit breaker tripping will normally occur
sequentially.
The use of impulse starters that respond to the change in
current level enables sensitivities of less than rated current 11.9 Fault detector operating quantities
to be achieved. Resetting of the starters occurs naturally after
Most faults cause an increase in the corresponding phase
a swell time or at the clearance of the fault. Dwell times and
current(s) so measurement of current increase could form
resetting characteristics must ensure that during through
the basis for fault detection. However, when a line is heavily
faults, a High Set is never operated when a Low Set has reset
loaded and has a low fault level at the outfeed end, some
and potential race conditions are often avoided by the
faults can be accompanied by a fall in current, which would
transmitting of an unmodulated (and therefore blocking)
lead to failure of such fault detection, resulting in sequential
carrier for a short time following the reset of low set; this
tripping (for blocking mode schemes) or no tripping (for
feature is often referred to as ‘Marginal Guard.’
permissive schemes). Although fault detectors can be
11.7 Scheme without capacitive current compensation designed to respond to any disturbance (increase or decrease
of current), it is more usual to use phase sequence components.
The ‘keyhole’ discrimination characteristic depends on the
All unbalanced faults produce a rise in the NPS components
inclusion of a fault detector to ensure that no measurements
from the zero level associated with balanced load current,
of phase angle can occur at low current levels, when the
whilst balanced faults produce an increase in the PPS
capacitive current might cause large phase shifts. Resetting
components from the load level (except at ends with very low
must be very fast to ensure stability following the shedding
fault level) so that the use of NPS and PPS fault detectors
of through load.
make the scheme sensitive to all faults. For schemes using
11.8 Scheme with capacitive current compensation summation of NPS and PPS components for the modulating
(blocking mode) quantity, the use of NPS and PPS fault detectors is particularly
appropriate since, in addition to any reductions in hardware,
When the magnitude of the modulating quantity is less than
the scheme may be characterized entirely in terms of sequence
the threshold of the squarer, transmission if it occurred, would
components. Fault sensitivities IF for PPS and NPS impulse
be a continuous blocking signal. This might occur at an end
starter settings I1S and I2S respectively are as follows:
with a weak source, remote from a fault close to a strong
source. A fault detector is required to permit transmission a. Three phase fault I F = I 1S
only when the current exceeds the modulator threshold by
b. Phase-phase fault I F = 3I 2S
some multiple (typically about 2 times) so that the effective
stability angle is not excessive. For PLCC schemes, the low c. Phase-earth fault I F = 3I 2S
set element referred to in Section 11.6 is usually used for this
12. Examples
This section gives examples of setting calculations for simple long. The relevant properties of the line are:
unit protection schemes. It cannot and is not intended to
a. Line voltage V = 33kV
replace a proper setting calculation for a particular application.
It is intended to illustrate the principles of the calculations b. Line impedance Z = 0.157 + j0.337Ω/km
required. The examples use the Schneider Electric Industries
c. Shunt charging current Ic = 0.065A/km
MiCOM P541 Current Differential relay, which has the setting
ranges given in Table C2.1 for differential protection. The relay
also has backup distance, high-set instantaneous, and earth-
fault protection included in the basic model to provide a
complete ‘one-box’ solution of main and backup protection.
12.1 Unit protection of a plain feeder
The circuit to be protected is shown in Figure C2.16. It consists
of a plain feeder circuit formed of an overhead line 25km
C2 12. Examples
Figure C2.16:
Typical plain feeder circuit and
Idmin = ( k2 IL - ( k2 - k1 ) Is2 + Is1 )/(1 - 0.5 k2 )
To arrive at the correct settings, the characteristics of the for Ibias > Is2
relays to be applied must be considered.
where
The recommended settings for three of the adjustable values
(taken from the relay manual) are: IL = load current, and hence the minimum operating current
at no load is 0.235 p.u. or 94A.
In cases where the capacitive charging current is very large
and hence the minimum tripping current needs to be set to
Parameter Setting Range
an unacceptably high value, some relays offer the facility of
Differential Current Setting, 0.2 -2.0 subtracting the charging current from the measured value.
Use of this facility depends on having a suitable VT input and
Bias Current Threshold Setting, 1-30 knowledge of the shunt capacitance of the circuit.
Table C2.1:
5
Relay setting ranges
12. Examples C2
12.2 Unit protection of a transformer feeder Only the second combination is satisfactory, since only this
one provides the necessary zero-sequence current trap to
Figure C2.18 shows unit protection applied to a transformer
avoid maloperation of the protection scheme for earth faults
feeder. The feeder is assumed to be a 100m length of cable,
on the LV side of the transformer outside of the protected
such as might be found in some industrial plants or where a
zone.
short distance separates the 33kV and 11kV substations.
While 11kV cable capacitance will exist, it can be regarded Ratio correction must also be applied, in order to ensure that
as negligible for the purposes of this example. the relays see currents from the primary and secondary sides
of the transformer feeder that are well balanced under full
The delta/star transformer connection requires phase shift
load conditions. This is not always inherently the case, due
correction of CT secondary currents across the transformer,
to selection of the main CT ratios.
and in this case software equivalents of interposing CT’s are
used. For the example of Figure C2.18, transformer turns ratio at
nominal tap:
Since the LV side quantities lag the HV side quantities by 30°,
it is necessary to correct this phase shift by using software Vp / Vs = 11 kV/33 kV = 0.3333
CT settings that produce a 30° phase shift. There are two
Required turns ratio, according to the CT ratios used
obvious possibilities:
400
a. HV side: Yd1 1 = 0. 32
=
LV side: Yy0 1250
1
b. HV side: Yy0
LV side: Yd11
20 MVA
33kV 33/11kV
11kV
400/1 Dyn1 Cable 1250/1
100m
350A 1050A
0° -30°
0.875A 0.84A
Digital communication
channel
Figure C2.18:
Unit protection of a transformer feeder
C2 12. Examples
Spill current that will arise due to the incompatibility of the transformer rated primary current = 350A
CT ratios used with the power transformer turns ratio may
transformer rated secondary current = 1050A
cause relay maloperation. This has to be eliminated by
using the facility in the relay for CT ratio correction factors. With the line charging current being negligible, the
For this particular relay, the correction factors are chosen following relay settings are then suitable, and allow for
such that the full load current seen by the relay software is transformer efficiency and mismatch due to tap-changing:
equal to 1A.
IS1 = 20% (minimum possible)
The appropriate correction factors are:
IS1 = 20%
• HV: 400 / 350 = 1.14
k1 = 30%
• LV: 1250/1050 = 1.19 where:
k2 = 150%
13. References
C2