EEE-477(Protective Relays-Static

Relays)
Mrs. Helena Bulbul
Deptt. Of EEE, UIU

Agenda
What is a Static Relay?
History of Static Relays
Static Relay vs. Electromagnetic Relay
General block diagram of static relay
Elements used in static relay
Block diagram, electronic design and operation of Static

instantaneous overcurrent relay

Block diagram, electronic design and operation of Static
overcurrent definite time lag relay
Block diagram, electronic design and operation of Static
inverse time overcurrent relay

What is a Static Relay?

A static relay is an electrical relay in which the response or

measuring is performed by electrical/ magnetic/ optical or other

components without the involvement of any mechanical motion
of components.
May use some electromechanical unit in the output stages as
auxiliary relay.

History of Static Relay

During the invent of vaccum tube or fuses, the relay for protection purpose

were not effective.

After the invent of transistor, diode or, other semiconductor devices , the
static analog relay was designed.
Digital static Relay- After that different combinational logic such as TTL, DTL
etc. make the design of static relay more sophisticated. However, design using
discrete components make it bulky.
After the invent of ICs, the static relay uses ICs to incorporate several
functions.
Microprocessor based or, Numerical Relay- Design of static relay using
microprocessor make it more sophisticated performing several functions at a
time. Involving reasoning, making decision etc. processing and monitoring
several units at a time, this type of relay can decide when to operate and when
not.
After the invent of optical fibre communication with thereby also became
possible and leads to the development of CPMC(Combined Protection ,
Monitoring and Control system), EMS(Energy Management System), SCADA
etc.

Static Relay vs. Electromagnetic Relay

Low power consumption- Electromechanical ~2W, static-some mW

imposing less burden on CT/PT and less VA requirement of CT/PT

Resetting time and Overshoot- As there is no mechanical motion,
overtravel is absent and reset time is less.
No moving contacts- The problem of wear and tear, contact bounce
etc. are absent.
No effect of gravity-As it is not responsive to gravity, can be used in
vessels etc.
Performs several functions- The relay used for motor protection can
protect the motor from overcurrent, over/undervoltage etc. i.e. a
single relay can perform the functions of several relays.
Compactness- Occupies less space though performing several
functions
Superior characteristics and faster operation
Availability of Transducer- Transducers are available to produce
electrical signal.

Static Relay vs. Electromagnetic Relay

Relay can think- With the use of logical circuits, it can make decisions

monitoring several inputs at a time.

On line computation and monitoring.
Repeated operation is possible
Interface to SCADA and EMS
Remote backup using carrier current communication
Effect of vibration and shock
Self-supervision- Using watchdog software
Extension is easier

Disadvantages of Static Relay

Auxiliary supply system required

Electrostatic Discharge-As comprising semiconductors, they are prone to

ESD and the components may be damaged

Costly for complex design
Temperature dependance- As the set point of different semiconductor
components are temperature sensitive, precise working temperature must
be maintained.(-100 C to +600 C)
Sensitive to transient voltage spikes.

Block Diagrm of Static Relay

-> Input from
CT/PT is rectified
and fed to the static
relay.
-> The values are
then compared
against a threshold
value and an output
is produced
accordingly.
-> As the output is
small, it is amplified
by amplifier unit.
-> The amplified
unit is then fed to
the output devices,
the trip circuit
energizes and CB
responds.

Block and circuit diagram of Static Instantaneous

Over-current Relay

Improved Version of Instantaneous

Overcurrent Relay

Working Principle
The filter circuit R1, C1 protects the bridge circuit from

transient overvoltage
C2 acts as a partial filter circuit to smooth out the output
from the bridge circuit- so as to provide high speed of
operation
Partially filtered voltage is limited by a limiter (zener
diode)and is then compared against a pre-set pick up
value(Again a zener diode)
If the voltage exceeds pre-set value, a signal is given to the
output transistor through an amplifier.
The output transistor conducts and the breaker trip coil is
energized.

Definite Time-Lag Overcurrent Relay

Working Principle
Under normal operating conditions, the transistor T1 is

conducting due to the bias applied from the supply voltage Vcc
through the resistor R4.
Capacitor C is short-circuited by the action of T1 and is not
charged.
Whenever fault current exceeds the pick-up value set by the
potentiometer P1, the rectified voltage is applied to the BaseEmitter junction of T1 through resistor R2 which is thereby
reverse-biased and is cut-off.
Capacitor C starts charging from the supply voltage Vcc through
resistor R3 and as the voltage is constant (independent of fault
current), the capacitor C is charged to a certain voltage in a
definite time which exceeds the emitter setting of T2 fixed by P2.
T2 starts conducting forcing T3 to conduct also, thereby trip coil
is energized and the breaker operates.

Inverse-Time Overcurrent Relay

Working Principle
When the AC current is low, transistor Q1 is conducting, short-

circuiting the capacitor C

When the input current exceeds the required setting determined
by the potentiometer P2 and the transformer secondary tapsetting, the transistor Q1 is cutoff allowing capacitor C to charge
from the input current.(by the voltage developed across the
resistor R1) through resistor R3 and potentiometer P1.
When the voltage across the capacitor exceeds the setting
determined by the potentiometer setting P3, Transistor Q2
conducts.
Conduction of Q2 drives transistor Q3 and the T.C is energized.
P.S.M is given by the transformer secondary tap and potentiometer
P2.
T.S.M setting is determined by the potentiometer P1 and P3.

Directional Static Relay

Working Principle of Static Directional(Rectifier Bridge

Phase Comparator Relay
A phase-shifter circuit is used to lag/lead the respective current by

desired angle for a particular fault. For example, for phase-fault,

current is shifted forward by 300 and for groundfault, it is shifted
backward by 450 using an R-L circuit.
Maximum output phase-angle is adjusted by a variable resistor.

Micro-processor based overcurrent Relay