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PACWorldmagazine:TestingofTransformerDifferentialProtection

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TestingofTransformerDifferentialProtection
Author:BorisBastigkeit,OMICRONelectronics,Austria
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Superfastandselectiveprotectionisrequiredtoprotectpowertransformersincaseoffaultslikeinternal
orexternalshortcircuits.Faultswithhighfaultcurrentsthatarenotclearedinstantaneouslymayleadto
longtermlossofacriticalassetandveryhighrepaircostsifarepairisstillpossible.Thereforeitis
stateofthearttoprotectpowertransformerswithdifferentialprotectionsystems.
Differentialprotectionsystemsareveryselectiveandcanactveryfast.However,sinceapower
transformertransformstheelectricitytoadifferentvoltagelevelsomecomplicationisintroducedwhenit
comestoapplyingdifferentialprotection.Whiledifferentialprotectionofgeneratorsormotorsisaquite
straightforwardtechnique,protectionofpowertransformerswithdifferentialprotectionneedsto
overcomesomechallenges.Thosechallengesarethetransformationratioofthecurrents,phaseshift
dependingonthevectorgroupofthetransformer,eliminationofthezerosequencecomponentif
networkswithdifferentgroundingsystemsarelinkedtogetherbythetransformer,inrushcurrent,etc.
(Fig.1,Fig.2)

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Electromechanicalrelayshavemanagedthesechallengesbyapplyinginterposingtransformersand
solutionslikedeltaconnectedCTs.(Fig.3)
Numericalrelaysapplyasoftware
transformermodeltothecurrentsreceived
fromtheCTsmakingtheuseofinterposing
transformersobsolete.Thedifferential
characteristicsoftransformerdifferential
relaysareinprincipleinlinewithother
differentialprotections.Abiased
characteristicisinplacetodesensitizethe
protectionfor:
MeasurementerrorsoftheCTs
Measurementerrorsoftherelay
Influenceofthetransformertap
changer
CTsaturationeffects
Magnetizationcurrentofthe
transformer(Fig.4)
TestingofTransformerDifferentialProtectionSystems
Inprotectionengineeringtestingplaysanimportantroleinmanyaspects.Typetesting,acceptance
testing,routinetesting,testinginthecourseoftroubleshootingetc.serveveryimportanttargets.
However,withnumericalrelaysandIEDsthecommissioningtesthasbecomeevenmoreimportantthan
italwayswas.Thereforethisarticleconcentratesontestsonewouldtypicallydowhencommissioninga
newtransformerprotectionsystem.
Theprotectionsystemconsistsoftheprotectiondeviceitself,theCTs(andVTs),thewiring,the
connectiontotheSCADAsystem,thetripcircuitincludingthecircuitbreaker,thepowersupply/battery
etc.Allthismustbetestedwhencommissioningtheprotectionsystem.However,thekeyandmost
challengingtaskistotesttheprotectionanditscorrectsettingandconfiguration.Thisshallbethefocus
ofthefollowingsections.
Recommendedtests:
Wiringcheck
Trippingcharacteristictest
Triptimeperformancetest
Inrushstabilizationtest
Stabilizationforthroughfaults
CheckSCADAmeasurementsandannunciations
Checkofthesystem:CT/protection
Checkactualtripcircuitincludingbreaker
TrippingCharacteristicTest
SinglePhaseCurrentInjection
Themethodofsinglephasecurrentinjectiontestingoriginatesfromtheeraofelectromechanicalrelays
wherenomeanswereavailabletodoaproper3or6phasetestandwhentherelayswerestillsingle
phaserelays.Thismethodhasseveralshortcomingsandshouldnotbeusedonmodernnumerical
protectiondevices.Thismethodallowstestingonly1pointonthetrippingcharacteristic.
TrippingCharacteristicTest
SixPhaseCurrentInjection
StateofthearttestequipmentallowsconvenientgenerationofsixcurrentsthatarecontrolledbyPC
basedtestsoftware.Thetestsoftwarecalculatesthesixcurrentsfromthetrippingcharacteristicplane
(Idiff/Ibiasplane)incorporatingthedataoftheprotectedtransformerandCTs.Thesetestsarenot
completelystraightforwardbecausethetestpersonhastoknowthealgorithmsofrelayundertest.Once
theprotectiondevicealgorithmsareunderstoodandtransferredtothetestsoftwarethetripping
characteristiccanbetested.
Mainpurposeoftestingthetrippingcharacteristicofmodernnumericalprotectiondevicesistocheckthe
correctparameterizationofthedevice.Suchatestverifiesthatthe
PickupvaluesI>,I>>
Characteristicslopes
CTdata
Tripconfiguration
Transformerdata
havebeencorrectlyparameterizedintheprotectiondevice.Duetothefactthatitisnotsoeasytofeed
allrequiredinformationaboutthealgorithmsoftheprotectiondevicetothetestsoftware,recentlyrelay
typespecifictesttemplateshavebeendevelopedthatalreadyincorporatealltherelaytypespecific
algorithmsandjustrequiretheinputofthesetparameterstoallowatestofthetrippingcharacteristic.
(Fig.5)
TripTimePerformanceTest
Selectiveandfastoperationisthereasonforapplyingcomplicatedprotectionfunctionsliketransformer
differential.Thereforeoneshouldverifyiftheperformanceisreallyasexpected.Unwantedchangesin
thesettingsoftherelaylogic,unwantedsettingsinthetriptimedelaysectionorjustdefectiveoutput
relaysmaybereasonsforunderperformanceoftheoperatingtime.Thereforethetriptimetestis

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PACWorldmagazine:TestingofTransformerDifferentialProtection
recommendedinallcases.
InrushStabilizationTest
Whenapowertransformerisenergized,instantloadingoftheinductivitycausesasocalledinrush
current.Thismagnetizationcurrentwouldcausethedifferentialprotectiondevicetotrip.Thereforethe
differentialprotectionelementisblockedbyafunctionthatmonitorsthespecificcharacteristicsofan
inrushcurrentuntilthetransformerismagnetized.Typicalmethodstodetectinrushcurrentsarethe
monitoringofthe2ndharmonicorasocalledgapdetectionfunction.Itisimportanttotestifthe
stabilizationforinrushcurrentsisworkingproperly.Thetypicaltestmethodistheverificationofthe
blockingmechanismbyinjectingfaultcurrentswithdifferentamountsofsuperimposed2ndharmonic.If
onehasthechancetomeasuretheinrushcurrentofthepowertransformerwithatransientrecorderitis
alsobeneficialtousesuchatransientrecordfortestinghowtheprotectionreacts.(Fig.6)

StabilizationForThroughFaults
Ifthedifferentialprotectionsystemisnotconfiguredandparameterizedcorrectly,anexternalfaultthat
shouldnotcausetherelaytooperatemaycauseanunwantedoperation.Thismustbepreventedby
simulatingexternalfaultsandassuringthattheprotectionremainsstableforsuchfaults.Especially
criticalarefaultswithzerosequencecomponentlikephasetogroundfaults.Inmostcasespower
transformersdonottransferzerosequencecomponentstotheothervoltagelevel.Thereforethe
protectionsystemisrequiredtoeliminatesuchazerosequencecomponentaswell.Otherwiseoperation
forexternalfaultswouldbetheresult.Testingthestabilizationforexternalfaultsisdonebysimulating
externalfaultsandmodellinghowthefaultcurrentsaretransformedbyatransformermodel.Stateofthe
arttestequipmentprovidestestsoftwaresupportingsuchsimulationsandallowsinjectionof
correspondingtestcurrents.(Fig.7)
CheckoftheSystem:CTandProtection
Thebestsecondaryinjectiontestcannotpreventthetransformerdifferentialsystemfromfailingifthereis
somethingwrongintheCTdimensioning,wiring,burdenandinstallation.Justasanexampleif
accidentallythemeasuringcoreoftheCTwouldbeconnectedatoneoftheCTsinsteadofthe
protectioncore,anexternalfaultwouldtripthetransformerevenatlowfaultcurrents.Or,onecould
imaginewhatwouldhappenifoneoftheCTswouldbe1Ainsteadof5A.Also,topreventCTsfrom
differentlysaturatingitisimportantthatthecorrectCTburdeningischecked.Recentdevelopmentsin
protectiontestequipmentmadeitpossibletouse6phaseprimaryinjectiontechniquestoverifythe
completesystemCTprotectionCT.However,usingmodernprotectiontestequipmentforprimary
injectioncanonlyproducesome510%oftheprimarynominalcurrentoftheCTs.With5%to10%of
theprimarynominalcurrentitwilloftennotbepossibletostimulatetheprotectionsysteminorderto
operateortoverifythedifferentialoperationcharacteristic.Still,themeasurementfunctionsprovidedby
modernrelaysallowverifyingifthephasecurrentsandcalculateddifferentialandstabilizationcurrentsfor
thedifferenttestcasesareseenandcalculatedcorrectlybytheprotectionsystemallowingtoverifythat
thesystemworkscorrectly.(Fig.8)
Oncethepowertransformerhasbeenenergizedthecorrectconfigurationcanalsobeverifiedtoacertain
extentbycomparingandcheckingthemeasurementsandcalculationsprovidedbymodernprotection
equipment.However,itisadvisabletocheckeverythingpriortoenergizingthetransformerforthefirst
time.
NewTestingPossibilities
Duetotheavailabilityoftransientnetworksimulationtoolsthatcanbeusedinthesubstation,plausibility
testsoftransformerdifferentialdevicesanditsparameterizationcouldbedonedifferentlyeasier,and
morerealistic.Thistestcanbeconsideredeasierbecauseitisablackboxtest.Onedoesnotneedto
knowhowtheprotectionalgorithmsworkindetail.Pickupvalues,characteristicslopesandothersettings
arenotconsideredanddon'thavetobemodelledforsuchatest.Especiallywithmodernprotection
equipmentthatprovidestheflexibilitytosetahugeamountofparameters,thiscanbeaclear
advantage.Theonlydatathatarerequiredareavailableonthenameplatesofthepowertransformer
andtheCTs:
PowerTransformer:
NominalVoltageHV/LVside
NominalPower
VectorGroup
TypeofGroundingforHV/LVside
CTsHVside:
NominalCurrentprimaryside
NominalCurrentsecondaryside
CTconnection
CTsLVside:

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NominalCurrentprimaryside
NominalCurrentsecondaryside
CTconnection(Fig.9)
Recentdevelopmentsallowtheapplicationoftransientsimulationtoolsinthesubstationandwithstate
ofthearttestequipment.Thestabilityforexternalfaultsandoperationforinternalfaultscanbetested
withsuchatool.Simulationofdifferentfaulttypeslike3phase,2phase,phaseground,etc.are
possible.Oncesuchatestispassed,onecanbesurethattheprotectiondevicehasbeenbasically
configuredcorrectlytoprotectthecorrespondingpowertransformer.Majormistakeslikeawrongvector
grouporgroundingsystemcanberuledout.
Anadditionalaspectofusingtransientsimulationsoftwaretotesttransformerdifferentialprotection
devicesisthatthesimulationofCTsaturationphenomenabecomespossibleaswell.Ifoneisunsureif
CTsaturationmightbeaprobleminaspecificcase,newpossibilitiesexisttodirectlymeasuretheCT
characteristicandburdenandthentransferthemeasureddatatotransientsimulationsoftware.Theextra
effortformeasuringtheCTdatawouldbeacceptable.OncetheCTdataareavailable,usingthesedata
forextratestsforCTsaturationsimulationisaquestionofsomeextraminutesiftransientsimulationis
usedforplausibilitytestingofthetransformerdifferentialdeviceanyway.Thiswaypossibleproblems
withCTsaturationcanbedetectedalreadyattheinstantofcommissioning.However,fortroubleshooting
ofunwantedoperationsthataresuspectedtooriginatefromCTsaturationsuchsimulationpossibilities
findtheirtargetapplication.

TestingofIEC61850basedSystems
IEC61850ischangingtheworldofprotectionengineeringcurrently,especiallyinregardstohowtheIED
isconnectedtotheSCADAsystemandbyusingGOOSEmessagesforexchangingbinaryinformationin
thesubstation.IEC61850,theinternationalstandardforcommunicationnetworksandsystemsin
substations,defines(amongmanyotheritems)mechanismsforrealtimemessagingoverEthernet
networks,socalledGOOSEmessages.Asitisthecasewithotherprotectionfunctions,alsotransformer
differentialfunctionsthatuseIEC61850GOOSEmessagescanbetestedwithtestequipmentthatcan
receiveandsimulateGOOSEmessagesinconformancewiththecorrespondingstandard.Testingwith
GOOSEmessagesisnotreallydifferentfromtestingwithconventionaldryorwetcontacts.However,the
aspectof"GOOSEperformance"mustbeconsideredforperformancetestsbecausefirst
implementationsshowedthatGOOSEmessagesmightbedelayedbyseveralmillisecondscomparedto
conventionaldry/wetcontacts.InordertotesttheGOOSEperformanceoftheprotectionIEDoneshould
investigatetheGOOSEperformanceofthetestequipmentpriortotestingtomakesurewhichtiming
delayisintroducedbytheIEDandwhichdelaymightbeintroducedbythetestequipment.Test
equipmentwithhighperformanceintroducingamaximumtimedelayoflessthan1millisecondin
connectionwithGOOSEmessagesisavailable.(Fig.10)
AnotheraspectinregardstotestinginconnectionwithGOOSEmessagesisthepossibilitytoenhance
the"testability"ofprotectionequipmentbydesigningextraGOOSEmessagestomaketestingeasier.
TheproblemthatcanbesolvedisthefactthatmultifunctionalprotectionIEDshaveseveraloverlapping
protectionfunctionsactiveinparallel.Designingatestplanthattestseachfunctionindetailwithout
interferingwithotherfunctionsisoftenimpossible.Oftenthenfunctionsaredisabledforthepurposeof
testingatthecostofpossibleintroductionofnewerrorse.g.whenareactivationofthedisabledfunction
isforgotten.GOOSEmessagescanbeusedtosolvethisproblembysimplydesigningspecificGOOSE
messagesforeveryfunctionoftheIEDtoallowsimpletestingwithouttheneedofdisablingfunctionsfor
testingpurposes.However,tobenefitfromthispossibility,atestfriendlydesignoftheIEDhastobe
consideredalreadyintheplanningphaseoftheprotectionsystem.Forsuchapplicationsthetest
equipmentshouldallowthesimultaneousmappingandmonitoringofhighnumberofGOOSEmessages,
atleast20to30.
LookingintothenearfutureIEC61850"SampledValues"processbusapplicationswillhavetobe
consideredwhentesting.SampledValues(SV)(sometimesalsocalledSampledMeasuredValues
(SMV)orSampledAnalogValues(SAV))servicesaredefinedinIEC6185072.TheUCAInternational
UsersGrouppublishedthedocument"ImplementationGuidelineforDigitalInterfacetoInstrument
TransformersusingIEC6185092".AsthisimplementationguidelinedefinesasubsetofIEC6185092,

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itiscommonlyreferredtoas"92LightEdition"orshort"92LE".FirstIEDsthatsupportsampledvalues
arecommerciallyavailableandpilotinstallationsapplyingsampledvaluesinthesubstationhavebeen
realized.EspeciallyforapplicationsthataresensitivetoCTsaturationproblemslikedifferential
protectionnonconventionalCTswithoutsaturationeffectsareaninterestingtopic.Combiningsuch
nonconventionalCTswithIEC61850sampledvaluesiswhatneedstobeconsideredtodayifwethinkof
testingrequirementsfortransformerdifferentialprotectionoftomorrow.Suchsolutionshavesevere
effectsontesting.Conventionaltestequipmentthatcannotgeneratemultiplesynchronizedsampled
valuesstreamscannotbeappliedinsuchscenarios.Testequipmentfortransformerdifferential
protectionscenariosmustprovideatleast2synchronizedsampledvaluesstreams.AccordingtoIEC
6185092LEonesampledvaluesstreamprovidesthedataofonemeasuringpointwith4voltages(3
Phases+NeuralVoltage)and4currents(3Phases+NeutralCurrent).Thusitbecomesobviousthat
testingdifferentialprotectionapplicationsrequirestestequipmentthatcansimulateatleast2
synchronizedsampledvaluesstreamsandreceiveandsimulateGOOSEmessageswithhigh
performanceatthesametime.
Biography
BorisBastigkeit(Dipl.Ing.IEEE,OVE)wasbornin1969inKemptonPark/SouthAfrica.He
receivedhismasterdegreeinElectricalEngineeringattheTechnicalUniversityofGraz(Austria)in1998.
HejoinedOMICRONelectronicsinAustria1997whereheheldvariouspositionsindevelopmentand
salesbeforehewasappointedtohiscurrentpositionasheadofproductmanagementinthefieldof
testingsolutionsforprotectionandmeasurementsystems.Heistheconvenerandnationalexpertofthe
MR95/Austria.HeismemberoftheworkinggroupIECTC95MT4.
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