Mis-operation Cases on Transformer Differential Protection

Yiyan Xue, Zachary Campbell, Sudhakar Chidurala, Charles Jones

American Electric Power Company
Abstract- Modern digital relays not only help to increase the
speed, sensitivity and dependability for transformer protection,
but also help to simplify the differential (87T) protection in
circuit design and setting calculations. However, mis-operations
of digital 87T relays still happen from time to time. This paper
presents a few relay mis-operation cases that occurred in real life.
One of the common lessons learned is: even though digital relays
are superior and appears simpler for the user, the thinking
process on protection can never be waived. In order to ensure the
quality of relay settings, the relay engineer needs to know not
only the protection fundamentals, but also needs to gain some
insight of how digital relay works.

I. INTRODUCTION
The theory and practice of transformer protection has been
mature and comprehensive for many years. But in reality,
transformer protection mis-operations still happen from time
to time. The common reasons of mis-operations are:
Incorrect settings of 87T function
Incorrect settings of transformer overcurrent protection the
setting is either too sensitive or lack of coordination with
adjacent lines or feeders
Inrush current during energization or voltage recovery
CT polarity error in design or construction
False operation of non-electric protection, such as sudden
pressure relays, Buchholz relay, etc.
Relay failure
This paper will focus on the first type of mis-operations. As
the primary protection for large or mid-size transformers, the
87T function is considered to be reliable, sensitive, fast and
selective. Before modern microprocessor relays, the 87T
schemes built upon electromechanical (EM) relays were prone
to human error mainly because of the auxiliary CTs used for
current compensation. Modern digital relays have greatly
simplified the 87T scheme with regards to secondary circuit
design and settings, but setting-related mis-operations still
happen from time to time. This paper presents a few cases that
were caused by incorrect settings of digital 87T relays.
In the first case, the mis-operation was caused by a setting
mistake on differential current compensation. The second case
is about a refurbish project in which the old 87T relay was
replaced but the old circuit was maintained. In that project, the
87T settings of the digital relay were following the relay
manual, but the mis-matching between the old circuit and the
digital relay have created a mistake that was not easy to
identify. The third mis-operation case may or may not be
labeled as user error, since it was the automatic setting of

the digital relay that caused the mis-operation under heavy

through fault condition. The fourth case has power electronics
involved and it reminds us of another possible source of error
in differential current. The fifth mis-operation case appears to
be caused by inrush current during energization. But it turns
out to be the issue of CT ratio and 87T pickup setting.
II. 87T FUNCTION OF A DIGITAL RELAY
Like other digital relays, the 87T relay will perform filtering
and phasor estimation as the first step of signal processing.
After the current phasors are derived, they will be
compensated before computing the two key quantities of the
87T function the differential current (Id) and the restraint
current (Ir). Most 87T relays would use the percentage
characteristic to compare Id and Ir to determine if the fault is
within the protection zone.
Winding 1
Ph-A Current

Winding 2
Ph-A Current

Winding n
Ph-A Current

Filtering and
Phasor Calc.

Filtering and
Phasor Calc.

Filtering and
Phasor Calc.

Magnitude, Phase
angle and zero
sequence
compensation

Magnitude, Phase
angle and zero
sequence
compensation

Magnitude, Phase
angle and zero
sequence
compensation

Maximum magnitude, or
Sum of magnitude, etc.

Vector Sum of Phasors

Differential
Current Iad

Restraint
Current Iar

Id
Ir

Figure II.1. The 87T Implementation in a Digital Relay

Fig.II.1 uses phase-A currents as an example to show the main
signal flow of the 87T relay. The key step is the current
compensation that includes magnitude compensation, phase
angle compensation and the optional zero sequence removal.
Different type of relays may have different implementations,
but the purpose is the same - to achieve zero differential
current during normal operation. In the EM relay era, the
auxiliary CTs were used for the compensation, which may
incur human error during design or construction. A digital 87T
relay would use settings to simplify the compensation and is
more secure by using the advanced 87T characteristic to
override the spurious differential current caused by CT error,

Page 1 of 9

relay error, magnetizing current, tap changer, etc. Some digital

relay also incorporates an external fault detector that is based
on the detection of current change pattern. However, all the
advantages of digital relays are subject to a premise: the relay
settings have to be correct. In reality, setting errors related to
mis-operations happen from time to time. How to reduce
human error on settings is a challenge that both relay users and
manufacturers need to think about.
For an 87T relay, the setting error is usually associated with
current compensation. The following simple example explains
how current compensation works. In Fig. II.2, the transformer
138kV windings are connected in delta, 12kV windings are
wye-grounded. The CTs at both sides are wye-grounded.

caused by D/Y conversion. The relay manuals [2], [3] have

detailed descriptions on how to set the relay for phase angle
compensation. In this example, the 12kV side currents need to
be converted as follows,
IL ILB
IL ILC
ILconvert _ ph _ A = A
, ILconvert _ ph _ B = B
,
3
3
IL ILA
ILconvert _ ph _ C = C
3
Such conversion is equivalent to connecting the CT in delta,
like that in EM relay scheme. Combining the two
compensations (assuming TAP is used for magnitude
compensation), the following currents can be used to calculate
differential and restraint currents,
138kV Side
IH A
IH convert _ A =
TAPH

IH convert _ B =
IH convert _ C

IH B
TAPH

IH C
=
TAPH

12kV Side
IL ILB
1

ILconvert _ A = A
TAPL
3

ILconvert _ B =
ILconvert _ C =

ILB ILC

1
TAPL

1
TAPL

3
ILC IL A
3

Figure II.2. The 87T Implementation in a Digital Relay

Most relays 87T function is on a per-phase basis. Using
phase-A as example, the relay will see the following currents
under nominal load condition,
50MVA
5
IH no min al =

= 2.615 A
400
3 138kV

ILno min al =

50MVA

5
= 4.01A
3 12kV 3000

In some cases, the zero-sequence current (I0) removal is

needed because the zero sequence current for an external
ground fault may flow at only one side of transformer and be
treated as differential current by 87T relay. In the above
example, the 12kV side phase compensation would remove
zero sequence current, so there is no extra step for zero
sequence current removal. The following mis-operation case 1
will give an example on zero sequence current removal.
III. MIS-OPERATION CASE 1

Where H and L represents high and low voltage side

respectively. In order to get zero differential current under
normal condition, one method of magnitude compensation is
to use the nominal current as the conversion base, which is
also called TAP. In this case, TAPH = 2.615, TAPL = 4.01. So,
for any normal operation currents, the converted currents are
IHconvert_magnitude = IH/TAPH, ILconvert_magnitude=IL/TAPL.

In this case, the substation has a 138/69/46kV

autotransformer, as shown in Fig. III.1. On 2012 March 15th,
an external B-G fault occurred on the 46kV line due to
lightning. The transformer 87T relay mis-operated for this
fault.

138kV Bus
Station
Service

Another method for magnitude compensation is to use

multiplication. In this example, if the multiplier for low side
current IL is defined as 1.0, the multiplier for high side current
IH should be 4.01 /2.615=1.533. I.e., MH=1.533, ML=1.0.
So, for any normal operation currents, the converted currents
are IHconvert_magnitude=IH*MH, ILconvert_magnitude=IL*ML.

138/69/46kV

87T

Regardless which method of magnitude compensation is used,

under load condition or external fault condition, there should
be |IHconvert_magnitude| = |ILconvert_magnitude|, such that differential
current can be zero.

46kV Bus

69kV Bus

Because the transformer winding is DY1 in this case, the relay

also needs to account for the phase shift and the

3 factor

Figure III.1. The Simplified Oneline Diagram For Case 1

Page 2 of 9

The reason was found to be related to the 87T relay

transformer settings that are listed in the following table,
Winding/CT inputs
CT ratio
Rated MVA
Nominal voltage(kV)
Transformer Winding Connection
Grounding
Angle with regards to Wnd1

W1
100
62.5
138
Wye
Within
zone
0

W2
100
62.5
69
Wye
Within
zone
0

W3
100
35.7
46
Delta
Not Within
zone
-30

Figure III.2. The 87T relay settings in Case 1

The Grounding setting of the transformer delta side was

Not Within Zone, which sounds fine for transformer delta
side. However, in this case there is a grounding transformer at
the 46kV side and it is within the 87T zone. Used also as
grounding and station service transformer, it has a zigzag/delta configuration. For an external ground fault at the
46kV side, the zig-zag winding will facilitate a zero sequence
current path such that the 87T scheme 46kV side will see zero
sequence current that the other two sides of transformer cannot
see. This explains the erroneous differential current in the
record and the mis-operation. The correct setting of
Grounding for the 46kV winding should be Within zone,
even per literal meaning of this setting. However, what does
this setting do inside the relay? The relay manual has the
answer. The MathCAD sheet appended to this paper also
includes the calculations. Explicitly, the zero sequence
removal for the winding 3 current inputs in this case is
performed as follows,
2 I A I B IC
I convert _ ph _ A =
3
2 I B I A IC
I convert _ ph _ B =
3
2 IC I A I B
I convert _ ph _ C =
3
Such conversion is just like connection of the CTs in delta, but
without producing a phase shift.
This case is not hard to figure out. The human error reminds
the relay engineers that each setting needs to be checked
carefully.
IV. MIS-OPERATION CASE 2
The mis-operation in Case 2 happened in a power plant. The
87T relay provides generator-transformer unit protection. Per
the simplified Oneline Diagram in Fig. II.1, four groups of CT
inputs connected to the 87T relay make a protection zone that
covers the generator and the 765kV/26kV step-up transformer.
Before the refurbish project in 2012, the 87T scheme was built
upon an EM relay that had been in service for over 30 years.
In 2012, the old EM relay was replaced by a digital relay.

Figure IV.1. The Simplified Oneline Diagram for Case 2

A special thing in this refurbish project was that CTs used by
the 87T scheme for the generator branch are installed on each
winding and the generator windings are in Delta configuration.
In the old circuit, 8.66:5 auxiliary CTs were added for this
87T branch. When the new relay was installed, the auxiliary
CTs were not removed. All the other CTs were connected to
the 87T relay directly with Wye connection.

Figure IV.2. CT Circuitry for 87T Scheme in Case 2

On 04/30/2012, not long after the power plant was put back in
service after the overhaul, the 87T relay tripped. From the
event record shown in Fig. II.3, there was no fault. It was the
restraint 87T function that tripped under load condition.

Figure IV.3. Case 2 Event Record

Page 3 of 9

From the event record, differential current did exist and was
above the 87T pickup setting. Since all the currents look
normal, the suspicion was on 87T settings that are listed as
follows,

In this case, the primary currents for the relay are IAB, IBC, ICA.
Since an 87T relay will typically compare each phase
individually, the first step is to get the phase currents IA, IB, IC.
To make the calculation intuitive, a number can be assumed
for the primary currents. E.g.,

Current Transformer Data

CTRS = 600
CTRY = 600
CTRU = 6980
CTRW = 7000
CTCONU = D
CTCONW = Y
CTCONS = Y
CTCONT = Y
Transformer Data
TSCTC = 12
TTCTC = 12
TUCTC = 1
TWCTC = 1
VTERMS = 765.0 VTERMT = 765.0 VTERMU = 26.0 VTERM = 26.0
MVA = 1500
87T Settings
O87P = 0.30 pu
SLP1 = 25.00
SLP2 = 60.00
U87P = 16.00 pu

I AB = 100000o , I BC = 10000 120o , I CA = 10000120o

Other settings and calculations for this case can be found in

the Appendix II. For this relay, 4 groups of CT inputs are
connected to the 87T relay separately. And they are identified
by letters S,T,U,W in setting names of this relay. These 87T
related settings (MVA, CT ratio CRTx, CT connection
CTCONx, transformer winding connection TxCTC, nominal
voltage VTERMx, x=S, T, U, W) provide information on the
transformer and CTs, which are critical for the 87T scheme
because correct compensation on currents are relying on these
settings.
In 87T scheme, the generator branch is labeled as U winding
by the relay. The auxiliary CTs were included for this branch
and the auxiliary CTs were connected in Delta before
connecting to the 87T relay. Does this mean that the CT
connection setting CTCONU should be set as D (Delta)?
No matter how many steps of current conversion are involved,
the digital 87T relay just needs to know the relationship
between the primary current and the secondary current that
goes directly into the relay for each phase. The easiest way for
the digital 87T relay is to connect all the CTs in Wye, such
that at least one step of Wye-Delta conversion can be waived.
If the relationship between primary and secondary is not
straightforward, like the generator branch in this case, it is
recommended to go through some calculations to know the
correct relationship (ratio and phase shift). Two steps are
given below to clarify such relationship in this case:

Per Fig. IV.4 and Kirchhoff Law

I A = I CA I AB = 10000 3150o
I B = I AB I BC = 10000 330o

(1)

I C = I BC I CA = 10000 3 90o
Step2. Calculate the secondary currents that flow into the relay

Figure IV.5. Simplified Secondary Circuit for 87T Scheme Generator Branch Current inputs
Per Fig. IV.4, the CT ratio is 20000/5, so the secondary
currents out of the CT are

I ab = 2.50o , I bc = 2.5 120o , I ca = 2.5120o

The auxiliary CTs are connected in Delta, and the ratio is
8.66/5. Per Fig. IV.5 and Kirchhoff Current Law, the currents
flowing into the 87T relay are,
I aR = I cax I abx = (5 / 8.66) 2.5 3150o
I bR = I abx I bcx = (5 / 8.66) 2.5 330o

(2)

I cR = I bcx I cax = (5 / 8.66) 2.5 3 90o

From (1) and (2), the relationship between the primary phase
currents and the secondary phase currents that are flowing into
the relays are

I A / I aR = 69280o , I B / I bR = 69280o , I C / I cR = 69280o

After this exercise, it turns out that primary and secondary
currents are actually in phase, equivalent to that from Wye
connection of CTs, and the ratio is 6928. Therefore, for the
relay, the correct setting for CT inputs should be
CTCONU=Y.

Figure IV.4. Generator Windings and CTs for 87T

Step1. Convert the primary currents from phase-to-phase
currents to phase currents.

Inside the digital relay, the settings of CT ratio, CT connection

and nominal voltage are all used to calculate the compensation

Page 4 of 9

factor. The root cause of this mis-operation is that the

generator branch currents for 87T scheme are amplified by

3 times after compensation, due to the incorrect setting

CTCONU=D. The alternative solution could be using a
different CT ratio setting or a different nominal voltage setting
for generator branch, if the CTCONU is retained as D.
138kV

The lesson of this mis-operation case is that one cannot

assume the digital relays are smart enough to make the 87T
calculation by itself, and it is not rigorous just to apply relay
settings per literal meaning. In this example, the auxiliary CT
was in Delta connection and this was why the setting
CTCONU=D was made. But some questions should be asked:
why did the ancestor engineer used 8.66/5 auxiliary CTs
connected in Delta for the EM relay scheme? What was the
difference between the EM 87T relay and the digital 87T
relay? What would be the difference if the generator windings
were in Wye connection or the CTs were installed outside of
the generator terminal? If these questions were thought about
and calculations were performed, a correct setting could have
been made.

W5 W2 W6 W3
87T Relay
W4

W1

WEST AUTO
345/138/13.8kV
(SPARE)

MIDDLE AUTO
345/138/34.5kV

345kV

Figure V.1. Simplified Oneline Diagram for Case 3

Assuming the auxiliary CTs were removed in this case
(which is recommended because auxiliary CTs are not needed
for the digital relay scheme), should CTCONU be set as Y or
D? Through similar exercise above, the correct answer is that
CTCONU should still be Y. However, there will be a 30
degree phase shift between the primary and secondary
currents, so the TUCTC should be set as 12 instead of 1.

The event record of the 87T relay is shown in Fig. V.2. From
the record, it was the unrestraint 87T function that operated
and the recorded phasor of differential current Ibd magnitude
was 9.66pu or 48.3 secondary amps. Since the setting of the
unrestraint 87T function was 8.0 pu, the relay operated per
setting. The question is: why did the relay see such high
differential current for an external fault?

As a side note, most digital relays have a differential current

metering function. So in this case, if the differential current
was monitored when the load current started to increase, the
mis-operation might be avoided. To automate the monitoring,
the relay may be programmed to give alarm when differential
current is over a threshold but less than the 87T pickup
settings.
In the appendix II, the MathCAD sheet is used to describe the
87T calculations of the digital relay in this project. It can also
be used as a tool for fault analysis.
V. MIS-OPERATION CASE 3
On August 24th, 2011, an 87T relay mis-operated during an
external fault condition. The simplified oneline diagram is
shown in Fig. V.1. The fault was caused by a thunderstorm,
during which a tree had fallen on the 138kV line outside of the
station. The 138kV line protection tripped correctly. When the
line breaker reclosed after 5 seconds, not only did the 138kV
line tripped again due to the persistent fault, the transformer
87T protection also operated.

Figure V.2. Case 3 Event Record

In Fig. V.1, the 87T relay has 6 groups of CT inputs. And the
relay had the following settings that were related to 87T
function,

Page 5 of 9

CT ratio
Rated MVA
Nominal
voltage(kV)
Transformer
Winding
Conn.
Grounding

W2
400
675
138

W3
800
62
34.5

W4
800
675
345

W5
600
675
138

W6
800
143.7
13.8

Wye

Wye

Delta

Wye

Wye

Delta

Idiff C = I Cconv [1] + I Cconv [2] + ... + I Cconv [6]

Within
zone

Within
zone

Within
zone

Within
zone

Withi
n zone

Not Within
zone

-30

From the above equations, the magnitude compensation factor

M would amplify 138kV side current input 10 times before it
was used for differential current calculation. In this case, the
through fault current (phase A, B) at 138kV side was about
20kA RMS in primary or 50A in secondary. So after
compensation, it would become 200kA in primary or 500A in
secondary, which looks suspicious.

Angle with
regards to
Wnd1

Reference Winding Selection

Automatic Selection
8.0 pu ( 40A secondary)

Unrestraint Differential Protection

The CTs and connections were verified after the event. From
the event record, there was no sign of CT saturation even
though some current were relatively high. There was not
apparent mistake with the relay settings either.
To analyze the event, the relay internal 87T calculations were
reproduced on the MathCAD sheet. Then an issue emerged
during this exercise. This type of relay has a setting called
Reference Winding Selection. Any CT inputs can be
selected as the setting. But by default, the setting is
Automatic Selection. Since Automatic is such a magic
word, no one would ever want to change this default setting
prior to this event. According to the relay manual, the
reference winding is used to determine the compensation
factor. When Automatic Selection is used, the relay will
select the reference winding that gives the minimum Imargin,
which is defined by
CT _ Pr imary[ w]
I m arg in [ w] =
, where w=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
I rated [ w]
In this case, the rated current and the margin current for each
current input are listed in the following table,
Winding
1
2
3
4
5
6
1129.6
2824.0
1037.6
1129.6
2824.0
6012
Irated
1.771
1.416
1.157
1.771
1.416
0.665
Imargin
Since the Imargin[6] is the smallest, the winding 6 input for the
relay is used as reference per Automatic Selection setting.
Once the reference winding is defined, the magnitude
compensation factor M for each winding is calculated per
following equation,
I primary [ w] Vno min al [ w]
, where w=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
M [ w] =
I primary [ wref ] Vno min al [ wref ]
Winding
M

The differential currents are calculated by

W1
400
675
345

1
12.5

2
10.0

3
0.75

4
12.5

5
10.0

6
1.0

After magnitude and phase compensation, the converted

currents for 87T scheme are

I Aconv [ w] = I A [ w] M [ w] AngCompA [ w]
I Bconv [ w] = I B [ w] M [ w] AngCompB [ w]
I Cconv [ w] = I C [ w] M [ w] AngCompC [ w]
where the AngComp X [ w] represents the phase compensation.

Idiff A = I Aconv [1] + I Aconv [2] + ... + I Aconv [6]

Idiff B = I Bconv [1] + I Bconv [2] + ... + I Bconv [6]

The above M factor calculation is similar to that mentioned in

Section II. The initial suspicion by the AEP engineer was that
when compensated current was so high, the error could be
magnified and consequently more differential current could be
produced. However, it was still hard to imagine such a
differential current as high as 9.66 pu or 48.3A for an external
fault. In the end, the relay vendor indicated that the relay has
an internal threshold for secondary current and the threshold is
64pu or 320A in peak value, regardless the current is the direct
measurement or the converted value. If the secondary current
is over the threshold, numerical error would occur inside the
relay, which explains the false differential current and the misoperation.
To correct the setting error, the reference setting can be
changed to either Winding 1 or 2. By using Winding 2 as
reference, the M factors become,
Winding
1
2
3
4
5
6
M
1.25
1.0
0.075
1.25
1.0
0.1
As can be seen, the new M factors would not change the
original currents too much for the main windings. But they did
change the tertiary winding currents significantly. And this
change means reduced sensitivity. However, since the tertiary
winding is not as critical as the main winding, and there are
other transformer protection elements, these M factors are
acceptable. Another possibility is to add auxiliary CTs to the
tertiary winding currents, but it is not desirable for a digital
relaying scheme.
In this case, the Automatic setting selected the 13.8kV
tertiary winding as the reference winding. This is questionable
if one is curious - the 13.8kV winding is auxiliary for a large
autotransformer and its actually the winding of the spare
transformer, why would it be used as the reference winding?
By using the minimum Imargin as the criteria to select the
reference winding, it can end up with a higher compensation
factor M for a relatively smaller secondary current. In general,
this may improve the numerical accuracy of differential
calculation during normal operation. For example, a high CT
ratio is used for a 2-winding transformer high side so that the
secondary current of high side under normal operation is low.

Page 6 of 9

The Automatic Selection will then select the transformer

low side as the reference and end up with a higher M factor for
the high side. Reasonable though it sounds, a condition should
be added: the M factor shall not be too high! In this case,
because of the large difference in voltage level, using the
tertiary winding as reference resulted in overly high M factors
for other windings.
This case tells us, even if the relay setting has the magic word
such as Automatic, the relay engineer needs to be cautious
and try to understand what is behind this setting. Otherwise,
the automatic setting may bring trouble. Another lesson
learned is: for a transmission autotransformer, the tertiary
winding should not be used as reference for this type of relay.

W1
400
100
138.0 kV
Wye
Within zone
0
Slope 1
Break 1
30%
1.25 pu

CT ratio
Rated MVA
Nominal voltage
Transformer Winding Connection
Grounding
Angle with regards to Wnd1
Percent
Differential

Pickup
0.099 pu

W2
1200
100
19.5 kV
Delta
Not Within zone
-330
Slope 2
Break 2
80%
3.0 pu

From the event record, it was a percent differential Phase B

operation. At the moment of tripping, the Idiff_B = 0.11 pu,
Irestraint_B = 0.36 pu. Since the point (0.36pu, 0.11pu) was just
above the 87T characteristic shown in Fig. VI.3, the 87T
operation was per setting.

VI. MIS-OPERATION CASE 4

On May 7th 2015, an 87T relay for a SVC transformer misoperated for an external ground fault. The simplified oneline
diagram and event record are shown in Fig. VI.1 & 2. The
SVC-2 transformer high side breaker tripped for a ground fault
on a radial 138kV line. Since there was no high-speed scheme
on the 138kV radial line, the fault lasted about 27 cycles. The
SVC-2 transformer was tripped by the 87T relay in about 5
cycles after fault inception.

138kV Bus#2

138kV Bus#1

138kV Bus#3

Figure VI.3. Operating Point on 87T Characteristic

The CTs were checked and no problems were found. The
settings about the transformer and CTs were also correct. The
87T settings look normal except the pickup setting 0.099pu
was relatively low, but still acceptable in a general sense.
Neither the relay vendor nor the SVC vendor could provide a
solid explanation to the spurious differential current and the
mis-operation. The following analysis gives the possible
reason, but it is still supposition.

138kV Bus#4

400/5
YnD11,
100MVA

YnD11,
100MVA
(Spare)

YnD11,
100MVA

87T

1200/5

19.5kV

19.5kV

SVC#1

SVC#2

Figure VI.1. Simplified Oneline Diagram in Case 4

Figure VI.4. The Event Records from SVC Controller
The SVC controller recorded the external fault event as well.
From Figure VI.4., the waveforms of the SVCs TCR
(Thyristor Controlled Reactor) branch and the TSC (Thyristor
Switched Capacitor) branch can be seen with designations as
I_TCR and I_TSC, respectively. As the fault occurs, the TCR
branch halts conduction. As this occurs, the TSC branch
begins conduction. One cycle after this shift in output from
the SVC changes, the 87T relay operates.

Figure VI.2. Case 4 Event Record

The relevant 87T settings are:

There is significant distortion on current of each phase in all of

the current waveforms. In another word, there was significant
harmonic content in the current. Using Fourier analysis, each

Page 7 of 9

phase current of the transformer contains high percentage of

2nd harmonics. This alludes to CT saturation or transformer
saturation. Since the magnitude of the primary current was not
high and CTs are of C800 class, it was very unlikely to be CT
saturation issue. The transformer saturation was the most
possible reason because if the transformer core saturates, the
magnetizing current would increase such that the spurious
differential current would increase. Checking the record of
adjacent line relays, the voltage prior to the fault was about
1.03~1.04pu. Additionally, the event record from the SVC
controller illustrates that low side bus voltage during the fault
was approximately 1.5pu while high side voltage was about
1.15pu. Since the flux level is proportional to the voltage
level, the transformer core may be saturated already before the
fault or close to be saturated, and was exacerbated during the
fault. This can drive the transformer into the saturation mode
and cause more magnetizing current.

many literatures discussing this topic. The security and

sensitivity of the traditional 2nd harmonic block method seems
a dilemma forever unless another blocking method is used to
prevent 87T operation under energization. However, it turns
out the inrush current was not the key problem in this case.
After two attempts of energization, the event record and relay
settings (shown below) were reviewed.

Another possible source of error might be the SVC switching

operation. During the fault, because of the voltage sag on the
faulty phase, the TSC switched in the capacitor bank. Such
switching could produce significant harmonics in the currents.
Even though the digital relays have filters and the 87T is
supposed to cancel the harmonics. The harmonics can still
have certain impact to the phasor estimation, especially the
phase angle error.
In this case, the 87T pickup was set at 0.099pu, which is
biased towards sensitivity. Such setting is generally acceptable
to account for CT error, relay error and magnetizing current.
However, this setting may not be able to override the
increased magnetizing current plus other errors. If the pickup
is set at 0.2pu, the mis-operation would not happen. So the
decision for the mis-operation mitigation was to increase the
87T pickup setting to 0.2pu and increase the 87T Slope 1 from
30% to 35%. Since the transformer is also protected by other
elements such as restricted earth fault protection, negative
sequence differential protection, Buchholz relay, etc. the slight
setting changes would not compromise the protection for the
transformer.
The lesson learned in this case is: The pickup setting of the
87T function should not be set too sensitive. If the transformer
is part of a FACTS device (Flexible AC Transmission System,
such as SVC, HVDC, etc.), extra margin may be added to the
87T pickup setting.

VII. MIS-OPERATION CASE 5

On Aug. 15th 2015, a transformer (70MVA, 345KV/13.8KV,
Delta/Wye) was tripped by 87T relay during the energization.
The energization was attempted twice, and the 87T relay
tripped twice.

CT ratio
Rated MVA
Nominal voltage
87T Pickup
Slope 1
Break 1
Break 2
Slope 2
Inrush Inhibit Function
Inrush Inhibit Mode
Inrush Inhibit Level

W1
W2
400
600
70
70
345.0
19.5 kV
kV
0.05 pu
30%
1.53 pu
7.66 pu
75%
Adaptive 2nd
2-out-of-3
15%

Figure VII.1. Case 5 Event Record and 87T settings

The 2nd harmonics is used by the 87T relay to prevent false
operation due to magnetizing inrush current. Different from
the traditional method, this type of 87T relay not only checks
the percentage of 2nd harmonics within the differential current,
but also the phase angles of the 2nd harmonics with regards to
the fundamental frequency phasors [4]. The setting also selects
the 2-out-of-3 inhibit mode, which means that 2nd harmonics
need to be significant in more than one phase before blocking
the 87T operation.
The three phase current waveforms in the event record shows
typical inrush currents during energization. Using Fourier
analysis, each phase current actually contains significant 2nd
harmonics, about 40-50%. So why did the relay still operate?

The mis-operation due to inrush current was not uncommon.

Similar events had occurred from time to time and there are
Page 8 of 9

Another two issues were noticed when checking the setting

file. First, the 87T pickup setting of 0.05pu (0.25A secondary)
is very low. Second, the 345kV side CT ratio was 2000/5,
which might be the reason of the low 87T pickup setting. For
the 70MVA transformer in this case, the nominal current of
345kV side is only 117A.
According to the relay vendor, there is a cut-off level of
0.04pu for differential current calculation. This is
understandable: if the current input is too small, there could be
more error in the phasor and differential current calculation. In
this case, Phase C differential current (Icd) was below 0.04pu
all the time. So in the event record the phasor Icd was shown
0.0. The phasors of Iad and Ibd were above 0.05pu. At the
beginning, the 87T operation was blocked due to significant
2nd harmonics in both A and B phases. After a few cycles,
when the current on Phase B (Ibd) dropped to be less than
0.04pu, both the differential current and 2nd harmonics on B
phase became zero inside the relay. So the 2-out-of-3 logic on
harmonics blocking would not block 87T operation anymore.
The relay tripped because Iad was still above 0.05pu.
Therefore, the root cause of this case is actually not due to the
inrush blocking settings. The high CT ratio and low 87T
pickup setting are the culprits. The lessons learned are:
Do not use an overly high CT ratio for 87T protection. An
87T relay with 5A nominal inputs should be able to see
1~5A current under normal operation.
The rule of thumb of 87T pickup setting is: never set the
pickup lower than 0.1pu. If certain calculation indicates the
need of lower-than-0.1pu setting, change the CT ratio.
VIII. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this computer era, intelligent electronic devices (IED) have
helped a lot to simplify relaying schemes. However, it is risky
to put blind faith on the intelligence of the digital relays. The
knowledge and the judgement of a protection engineer are still
the most important tools to ensure the quality of setting work.
Ideally, a relay engineer not only needs to have knowledge of
the protection principle but also needs to know how the digital
relay works internally to a certain degree. And calculation is
always necessary. Using the 87T relay as example, a set of
standard settings may be just fine to provide good protection
for most transformers. However, when there are slight
variations with the transformer, the CT or the system, if the
settings are not adjusted accordingly, mis-operation may
occur.
This paper presented five mis-operation cases. These misoperations could have been avoided, if each of the 87T relay
setting was contemplated carefully. For example, in the first
case, the Not Within Zone was set for Grounding of Delta
winding because the setter did not think of the grounding
transformer at Delta side. In the second case, the CT
connection setting of the relay was set as Delta because the
setter only looked at the auxiliary CTs connection, without
thinking of the main CTs and the generator configuration.
This type of over-simplified thinking process should be

avoided. In addition, a relay engineer should always carefully

balance the sensitivity and security. In the Case 4 and Case 5,
the 87T pickups were set too sensitive and caused misoperation. The only mis-operation case that seemed hard to
avoid is the Case 3, but if one has a questioning attitude with
the default or automatic settings, the issue could emerge
before the setting was issued.
A methodology to help with the understanding of the digital
relays is to mimic the relay internal calculations for a specific
application. Most relay vendors have 87T calculations and the
compensation equations included in the manuals, so it is not
too hard to go through the calculations step by step. Modern
CAD tool can also be utilized to automate the calculation and
to gain insight of the relay internal process at the same time.
At the end of this paper, the MathCAD calculation sheets for
two types of 87T relays are provided as reference.

REFERENCE
[1]

J.L. Blackburn and T.J. Domin, Protective Relaying Principles and

Applications, Third Edition, CRC Press, 2006

[2]

GE-T35 Instruction Manual, Available: http://www.gedigitalenergy.com

[3]

SEL- 487E Instruction Manual, Available : http:// www.selinc.com

[4]

What is an operating principle for magnetizing inrush inhibit on the

T60 and SR745 relays? Available:
http://www.gedigitalenergy.com/products/support/t60/get8429.pdf

Yiyan Xue received his B.Eng. from Zhejiang University in 1993 and M.Sc.
from the University of Guelph in 2007. He is currently an Engineer Principal
in American Electric Power (AEP), working on protection and control
standards, relay settings, fault analysis, simulation studies, etc. Before joining
AEP in 2008, he had worked in GE for 3 years, in ABB for 10 years and in
GEC-ALSTHOM for 1 year. Yiyan Xue is a senior member of IEEE and a
Professional Engineer registered in the state of Ohio.
Zachary P. Campbell received his B.S.E.E. degree from the University of
Akron, in Akron, Ohio, in 2008, and his M.Sc. degree from The Ohio State
University, in Columbus, Ohio, in 2012. He has been an engineer at
American Electric Power (AEP) since 2008, working in various capacities
within protective relaying departments including field services and
engineering. Zak is a member of IEEE, CIGRE and is a registered
professional engineer in the state of Ohio.
Sudhakar Chidurala received his B.Eng. from Osmania University in 1989
and Master of Technology from REC, Kakatiya University in 1999. He is
currently a Protection and Control Engineer in AEP. Before joining AEP in
2007, he had worked 3 years in Hydro One Inc., Canada and 13 years in AP
Transmission Corp., India at various capacities in Protection and Control
Engineering. Sudhakar is active Senior Member of IEEE, MIE of India and is
registered professional engineer in the state of Oklahoma and Texas.
Charles Jones received his BSEE from West Virginia University in 1982 and
MEEE from the University of Idaho in 2011. He is currently a Staff Engineer
at American Electric Power, working on protection and control standards,
relay setting templates, fault analysis, etc. He has been with American Electric
Power for 30 years. Charles Jones is a member of IEEE and a Professional
Engineer registered in the state of West Virginia and Ohio.

Page 9 of 9

Appendix I: Relay Type-I 87T Function Calculator

Notes
This example is only for 3-winding transformer and 3 groups of CT inputs to 87T relay
Color Codes:

Equation to be updated by user

MVA 1000000 V A

pu 1

( mag , ang) mag ( cos ( ang deg) + i sin ( ang deg) )

1. Relay Settings
nWnd := 3

Number of windings:

Enter the MVA, nominal kV and CT primary for each winding

62.5MVA
Snom := 62.5MVA
35.7MVA

138kV
Vnorm := 69kV
46kV

ReferenceWinding := 0

500A
CT prim := 500A
500A

(0="Auto", otherwise, enter the winding# as reference)

"Y"
Connection := "Y"
"D"

"Within Zone"
Grounding := "Within Zone"
"Not Within Zone"

Phase angle with regards

to Winding #1:

0
AngWrtW1 := 0
30

CTsec := 5A

87T Curve settings

Pickup := 0.2

Slope1 := 40%

Break1 := 2.0

Slope2 := 100%

2. CT Ratio Check

CT ratio

Nominal primary and secondary current for each winding

100
CTR :=
= 100
CTsec
100

CT prim

Snom
Inorm_prim :=
Vnorm

261

= 523 A
3
448

Break2 := 15.0

2.615
Inorm_prim
Inorm_sec :=
= 5.23 A
CTR

4.481
Tthe selection of CT ratio should make the secondary nominal current 1~5A for each winding.
3. Magnitude Compensation Factors

1.912
CTprim
Imargin :=
= 0.956
Inorm_prim 1.116

The automatic reference winding is

( (

RefW_Auto := match min Imargin , Imargin + 1 = ( 2 )

The reference winding is

RefW := RefW_Auto0 if ReferenceWinding = 0 = 2

ReferenceWinding otherwise

The magnitude compensation factors (M) are used to convert each winding current before the differential
and restraint current are calculated

2
CT prim Vnorm

= 1
M :=
Vnorm
CTprim

RefW 1
RefW 1 0.667

If the setting of Reference Winding is "Automatic Selection", the winding cooresponding to the smallest Margin
Factor will be selected by the relay as the reference winding. If you see a overly high M factor, please set the
reference winding manually instead of using "Automatic Selection".
3. Phase Compensation Reference
i :=

n 0
while Connectionn = "Y"
n n + 1
n

i=2
RefAngle := AngWrtW1i = 30

30
AngWrtRef := RefAngle AngWrtW1 = 30
0

4. Fault Analysis

Enter fault current phasors in primary value. The angle is in Degree.

175.85 283.2
IAFprim := 83.6 103.37 A
80.52 84.01

IAFprim
IAF :=

CTR

112.84 64.45
IBFprim := 102.95 204.83 A
592.83 286.92

112.9 145.43
ICFprim := 119.15 341.61 A
236.57 318.7

IBFprim
IBF :=

CTR

ICFprim
ICF :=

CTR

Phase and zero sequence compensation

IAp0gnd :=

2 IAF IBF ICF

3

IAp30lag :=

IAF ICF

IBp0gnd :=

IBp30lag :=

2 IBF IAF ICF

3
IBF IAF

ICp30lag :=

2 ICF IAF IBF

3
ICF IBF

3
IAp30lead :=

ICp0gnd :=

IAF IBF

IBp30lead :=

IBF ICF

ICp30lead :=

ICF IAF

IAW ( n) := s

IAFn if AngWrtRef n = 0 Groundingn = "Not Within Zone"

IBW ( n) := s

IBFn if AngWrtRef n = 0 Groundingn = "Not Within Zone"

ICW ( n) := s

ICFn if AngWrtRef n = 0 Groundingn = "Not Within Zone"

IAp0gndn if AngWrtRef n = 0 Groundingn = "Within Zone"

IAp30lead n if AngWrtRef n = 30

IAp30lagn if AngWrtRef n = 30

s Mn CTsec 1

IBp0gndn if AngWrtRef n = 0 Groundingn = "Within Zone"

IBp30leadn if AngWrtRef n = 30

IBp30lagn if AngWrtRef n = 30

s Mn CTsec 1

ICp0gndn if AngWrtRef n = 0 Groundingn = "Within Zone"

ICp30leadn if AngWrtRef n = 30

ICp30lagn if AngWrtRef n = 30

s Mn CTsec 1

Calculate Differential and Restraint Currents

ii := 0 .. nWnd 1
IAXii := IAW ( ii)

IBXii := IBW ( ii)

ICXii := ICW ( ii)

3

nWnd 1

IdA :=

IAXk

IdB :=

k=0

IrA := max IAX

IBXk

IdC :=

IrB := max IBX

ICXk

k=0

k=0

IrC := max ICX

Differential current, magnitude in pu

IdA = 0.342

nWnd 1

nWnd 1

IdB = 0.316

IdC = 0.325

Restraint current, magnitude in pu

IrA = 0.62

IrB = 0.79

Pickup
vx1 := Slope1
Break1

Break2
vx :=

IrC = 0.34

Pickup

Pickup

vy1 :=
Break1 Slope1

Break2 Slope2

vx1 if xlimit Break2

vy :=

stack ( vx1 , xlimit) otherwise

vy1 if xlimit Break2

stack ( vy1 , xlimit Slope2) otherwise

Differential Current (Unit in pu)

87T Characteristic

vy

IdA
IdB

Change the limit of

X-axis and Y-axis:

IdC

xlimit 3

ylimit 3

vx , IrA , IrB , IrC

Restraint Current (Unit in pu)

Appendix II: Relay-2 87T Function Calculator

Notes
Color Codes:
Y 1

Equation to be updated by user

pu 1

( mag , ang) mag ( cos ( ang deg) + i sin( ang deg) )

The TxCTC setting represents one of the following matrixes. The CTC(12) produces no phase shift, but it
removes the zero-sequence components.

2 1 1
1
CTC12 := 1 2 1
3
1 1 2

1 1 0
1
CTC1 :=
0 1 1
3

1 0 1
D lags Y by 30

1 0 1
1
CTC11 :=
1 1 0
3

0 1 1
D leads Y by 30

1. Relay Settings
MVA_ := 1500

ICOM := "Y"

Windings:S,T,U,W

CTRS := 600

CTCONS := Y

TSCTC := CTC12

VTERMS := 765

CTRT := 600

CTCONT := Y

TTCTC := CTC12

VTERMT := 765

CTRU := 6928

CTCONU := D

TUCTC := CTC1

VTERMU := 26

CTRW := 7000

CTCONW := Y

TWCTC := CTC1

VTERMW := 26

CTRX := 1

CTCONX := Y

TXCTC := CTC1

VTERMX := 1

O87P := 0.3

U87P := 16

SLP1 := 25%

SLP2 := 60%

DIOPR := 1.2

DIRTR := 1.2

E87HB := "N"

E87HR := "Y"

PCT2 := 20%

PCT4 := 20%

PCT5 := 35%

S87QP := 1.0

SLPQ1 := 100

S87QD := 100

2. Check the TAP

In order to compensate for the differential current due to CT ratios and transformer ratio, the relay will calculate the
scaling factor, namely TAPn, for each winding current. The calculation method is,

TAPS :=

TAPT :=

TAPU :=

TAPW :=

TAPX :=

MVA_ 1000
3 VTERMS CTRS

CTCONS = 1.89

MVA_ 1000
3 VTERMT CTRT

CTCONT = 1.89

MVA_ 1000
3 VTERMU CTRU

CTCONU = 8.33

MVA_ 1000
3 VTERMW CTRW
MVA_ 1000
3 VTERMX CTRX

CTCONW = 4.76

CTCONX = 866025.4

2. 87T Calculation and Plots

Fault Current Phasors

For each winding, enter the A, B, C phase current from top to bottom.

237 44
IFS := 274.8 280.7
311.3 163.2

527.8 36.9
IFT := 504.8 278.7
480.9 155

13641.4 186.6
IFU := 13590.2 68
13915.6 307.5

951.5 328.9
IFW := 997.3 207
963 87.4

0 0
IFX := 0 0
0 0

87T Calculation

ISC := TSCTC

IFS CTCONS
CTRS TAPS

IWC := TWCTC

IFW CTCONW
CTRW TAPW

ITC := TTCTC

IFT CTCONT
CTRT TAPT

IXC := TXCTC

IFX CTCONX
CTRX TAPX

0.234 + 0.177i
DiffSEL := ISC + ITC + IUC + IWC + IXC = 0.042 0.296i
0.276 + 0.118i

IUC := TUCTC

IFU CTCONU
CTRU TAPU

ResA := ISC0 + ITC0 + IUC0 + IWC0 + IXC0 = 1.11 pu

DiffA := DiffSEL0 = 0.29 pu

ResB := ISC1 + ITC1 + IUC1 + IWC1 + IXC1 = 1.14 pu

DiffB := DiffSEL1 = 0.3 pu

ResC := ISC2 + ITC2 + IUC2 + IWC2 + IXC2 = 1.14 pu

DiffC := DiffSEL2 = 0.3 pu

The following variables are just for plotting.

O87P

vx1 :=
SLP1
xlimit

O87P
vy1 := O87P

xlimit SLP1

O87P
vx2 := SLP2

xlimit

O87P

xlimit SLP2

vy2 :=

87T Characteristic
87T Settings:
O87P = 0.3 pu
SLP1 = 25 %

Differential Current (pu)

SLP2 = 60 %
Fault Quantity Calc:

DiffA

DiffA = 0.29 pu

DiffB 3

DiffB = 0.3 pu

DiffC

DiffC = 0.3 pu

vy1
vy2 2

ResA = 1.11 pu
ResB = 1.14 pu
ResC = 1.14 pu

Change the scale:

0

xlimit 5
0

ResA , ResB , ResC , vx1 , vx2

Restraint Current (pu)

ylimit 5