Generation Protection

2016 Operator Training Seminar

Billy Lee
System Operations Administrator

Spring 2016
Objectives
• In terms of excitation, identify two abnormal operating
conditions for generators, unlike other power system
components.
• Identify the difference between a generator sequential and
simultaneous trip.
• Identify the relay protection scheme that senses power flowing
into a generator from the power system.
• Identify the type of protection relay used in detecting a phase-
phase stator winding fault.
• Given a one – line drawing identify the reverse power relay,
frequency relay and differential relay used in generator
protection. (Schematic to accompany test question in LMS).

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 NERC STANDARD PRC-001-1.1 (ii)

• R1. Each Transmission Operator, Balancing

Authority and Generator Operator shall be
familiar with the purpose and limitations of
Protection System schemes applied in its area.

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 August 14, 2003
Northeast Blackout

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 Pre-existing conditions

• Critical voltage day

• Wide area transfers
• Planned Transmission and Generation
outages

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PUBLIC 6
 East Lake 5 Exciter Failure Causes
Trip

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 How does this relate to Emergency
operations?

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9
Objective 1

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 Abnormal conditions

Examples of abnormal conditions are:

• over-excitation
• over-voltage
• loss-of-excitation (Lack of Reactive Support)
• unbalanced currents
• reverse power
• abnormal frequency (Over-Speed)

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 Bulk Electric System Emergency

• Any abnormal system condition that requires

automatic or immediate manual action to prevent or
limit the failure of transmission facilities or generation
supply that could adversely affect the reliability of the

Bulk Electric System.

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 Power System Overview

 Reliably operate the system you have!

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 Relay Device Numbers
Listed below are relay device numbers
typically found on a generator one-line
diagram:
• 21- Distance (Device) Relay- backup for
system and generator zone phase faults.
• 24- Volts/Hertz protection
• 32- Directional (Reverse Power) relay or
anti-motoring protection
• 40- Loss of Excitation(Field relay)
• 46- Negative Phase Sequence Current
• 49- Stator Thermal Protection
• 50- Instantaneous Overcurrent
• 51G- Time over-current ground relay
• 51TN- Backup for ground faults
• 51V- Voltage controlled or voltage –
restrained time over current relay
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• 59- Over- voltage protection
• 59GN- Stator ground fault protection
• 60- Voltage Balance relay
• 62B- Breaker Failure timer
• 64F- Field Ground Detector
• 78- Loss of Synchronism
• 81- Frequency Relay (under and over
frequency)
• 86- Hand reset lockout auxiliary relay
• 87G- Differential Relay – primary phase
fault protection
• 87N- Stator ground fault differential
protection
• 87U- Differential relay for overall generator
and transformer protection
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 SEL-700G
SEL-300G

Numerous current, voltage,

frequency, distance, power,
and out-of-step elements
provide comprehensive
protection for large, medium,
and small generators.
Protection includes: Stator
Ground fault, current
differential, out-of-step, over-
excitation, directional power,
and event reporting.

https://www.selinc.com/SEL-300G/

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 Functional
Overview
One-Line showing types of
Relay devices used for
generator protection.

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16
Objective 2

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 Protective actions for generator shutdowns

• Generator Trip
• Simultaneous Trip
• Sequential Trip
• Manual Turbine Trip
• Manual Runback and Trip
• Automatic Runback
• Manual Runback

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 Generator Trip
• This type of trip opens the generator line breakers
and removes the excitation simultaneously but leaves
the turbine running at near rated speed.
• While maintaining rated speed is sometimes not
possible for the boiler to operate with full load
rejection thus tripping the boiler.
• An advantage of this type of tripping is if the
generator trip can be identified and rectified quickly
then resynchronization can happen in a shorter
period of time.

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 Simultaneous Trip

 A simultaneous trip is acceptable for all generator faults,

and generally provides the highest degree of protection for
the generator although it does permit a small over-speed
and a slight possibility of high over-speed.
 This type of trip the turbine valves close, opens the
generator line breakers and removes the excitation
simultaneously.

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 Sequential Trip
• Sequential tripping, trips the turbine valves
closed, then the reverse power relay operates in
about 3 seconds and the generator line breakers
are opened.
• When the generator breakers open the excitation
is tripped (field breaker trip).
• This is the preferred tripping for most faults in
the turbine or steam generator (boiler).
• Some schemes have a backup reverse power
timing circuit for tripping on reverse power.

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 What is the difference between a generator
Simultaneous Trip and a Sequential Trip?

• Simultaneous trip trips turbine valves closed, opens the generator

breakers and removes excitation simultaneously where sequential
trips turbine first then reverse power relay trips generator breakers
and excitation.

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 Manual Turbine Trip

• The Operator may manually trip the turbine, this should cause
Reverse Power relaying to trip the generator breakers and the
excitation.
• Note: There are no cases for which manually tripping the
generator breakers is recommended!
• This is because the generator breakers should not normally be
tripped until the turbine has tripped and reverse power
automatically trips the generator breakers with reverse power
relaying.

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 Additional Protective actions

• Manual Runback and Trip

• Manual Runback
• Automatic Runback

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 Reverse Current Protection

• Motoring of a generator will occur when the mass steam flow of

the prime mover (turbine) is reduced such that it develops less
than no load losses while the generator is still on line.
• It is important to note that motoring at synchronous speed will
not harm the generator but may damage the turbine though over
heating.
• Although motoring the generator at less than synchronous
speed will cause immediate damage due to induced rotor
currents resulting in excessive heating.
• Also stator inrush currents may break the stator armature end—
winding ties.

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 Broken
turbine blade

Here you see broken

turbine blades – the
root cause of the fire.

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 Motoring
Damage
causing a
hydrogen fire

Hydrogen Leak –
Broken seals that
allowed hydrogen to
get to atmosphere. The
shell to the right is the
generator shell. The
motor is the turning
gear.

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 Motoring
Damage
causing a
hydrogen fire

Here you see Ground

Floor Cable Trays –
Next to the 4160
switch gear and
hydrogen seal oil
system. Fortunately
the seal oil system
didn’t explode.

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 Motoring
Damage
causing a
hydrogen fire

Here you see

Mezzanine to Cable
Spreader Room – On
the mezzanine near
the vital AC and
emergency DC.

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 Motoring
Damage
causing a
hydrogen fire

Here you see

Emergency DC – On
the mezzanine deck.
The breaker handles
melted.

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 Motoring
Damage
Motoring without
excitation.
Here you see rotor
tooth damage as a
result of localized
heating and arcing.

Photograph compliments of National Electric Coil, Columbus OH

Rotor Tooth Tip Damage Due to Motoring

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31 Objectives 3, 4 & 5

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 Reverse Power Relay
• A Reverse Power (32 Directional) relay is used for generator
protection. It senses power flowing into the generator rather than
power flowing out to the system.
• A typical arrangement of a reverse power protection circuit
employs both a Current Transformer (CT) and Voltage
Transformer (VT) to power the relay and protect the generator.
• Reverse Power relay should be connected to produce a
simultaneous trip.
• A Breaker Failure protection should be initiated because
generator breaker failure may be what caused the reverse
power flow condition.

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 Reverse
Power Relay

A 32 device number
represents a
Directional Power
Relay typically used
as a reverse power
relay protection.

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 Source of
G Motoring
Power

Reverse
32-1
Power Relay
32-1
A 32 device number
represents a
Directional Power
NON- OTHER Relay typically used
ELEC 64 49 ELEC 32-2 86NE as a reverse power
TRIPS TRIPS
relay protection.
86NE 86E 32-1

86NE 86 86E 86E

86
E
NE
Turbine Trip BKRTrip Field Trip

Figure 3-18 Reverse Power Relays

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 Generator Phase Faults
• A stator phase – to – phase fault is any electrical fault between
two phases of the armature winding.
• This type of fault is very serious because it produces large
amounts of current damaging to the winding if allowed to persist.
• Also if allowed to grow it will include a ground fault thus causing
significant damage to the stator core.
• Damage of this kind will result in costly and long repair times.
• Phase – to- phase fault in the winding is detected by a (87G)
differential relay.

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 Phase to
Protected Phase Fault
Equipment
Detection
A Differential relay
Relay (87) operates by
Operating comparing the
Winding
current going into a
phase with the
Restraining
current going out.
Windings

Figure 4-01 Phase-to-Phase Fault Detection

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 Backup Protection
• The need for backup protection is to protect the generator
by detecting system faults that have not been isolated as
they should have been.
• System backup protection as applied to the generator
consist of time delay protection for line-to-ground and
multiphase fault conditions.
• Backup generator protection schemes are used to protect
against failure of the primary system protective relaying
and subsequent long clearing faults.
• Backup protection is usually provided by two types of
relays, over-current and distance relays.

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 87T
Backup Overall
Auxiliary
Transformer Differential
Protection
87T
The generator auxiliary
transformer may be
Alternate
Connection included in the
differential zone.

Figure 4-10 Generator

Phase Fault Backup
Overall Differential Scheme
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 Over/Under Frequency Protection

• Over frequency can be caused by loss of load on a

generator.
• Under frequency can be caused by significant
addition of load to a generator or sudden reduction of
mechanical input power to the generator.
• Typically a (81) Frequency relay is used to detect
these conditions.

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 Under Frequency Protection

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 Over Frequency Protection

Frequency Range Delay to Trip

Below 60.6 Hz down to and including No automatic tripping (Continuous

60 Hz operation)

Below 61.6 Hz down to and including

60.6 Hz Not less than 9 minutes

Below 61.8 Hz down to and including

61.6 Hz Not less than 30 seconds

61.8 Hz or above No time delay required

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 Review Objectives

• In terms of excitation, identify two abnormal operating

conditions for generators, unlike other power system
components.
• Identify the difference between a generator sequential and
simultaneous trip.
• Identify the relay protection scheme that senses power
flowing into a generator from the power system.
• Identify the type of protection relay used in detecting a
phase-phase stator winding fault.
• Given a one – line drawing identify the reverse power
relay, frequency relay and differential relay used in
generator protection. (Schematic to accompany test
question in LMS).

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 References

• HPC Technical Services Generator Protection G404

• HPC Technical Services Utility Generators: Theory, Controls,
Operation, Maintenance & Testing G401
• NERC Glossary of Terms used in NERC Reliability Standards
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville –Generator Control
and Protection
• Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
https://www.selinc.com/SEL-700G/

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 Questions?

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