I. I NTRODUCTION
HE probability of defects occurrence in synchronous
generators is reduced. Nevertheless, when they happen,
serious damage and long out of service periods are the usual
consequences. Therefore, and by their relevance to the power
system, generators should be convenient protected, aiming to
guarantee the integrity of their various electrical and mechanical parts.
Excessive deviations on frequency and voltage cause thermal and dielectric stresses that would result in damage within
seconds on power plant equipments. The potential consequences of prolonged overexcitation tend to make protection
engineers to adopt conservative adjustments to ANSI 24 function on protection systems.
On the other hand, events in the power system that leads to
reactive load rejection, islanding, connection of big consumers,
reconnection to the interconnected system, among others require the extrapolation of these limits by a short period. In
these transient cases, the correct behavior of voltage regulators
and protection systems of generating units are essential to keep
the power system stable.
In this context, the set up of overexcitation relaying in a
synchronous generator and its coordination with the V/Hz
limiter of the AVR is a relevant subject. At the same time,
the operational limits of the related equipments should be
respected and the contribution to mitigate transients in the
power system maximized. Usually, these are conflicting targets, specially in hydro power plants, where the high inertia
of the unit and the low bandwidth of the speed governor imply
additional limitations.
Section II presents a brief review of the overexcitation issues
on generators and transformers and the standards requirements
for power plant equipments. Section III describes the typical
implementations of V/Hz limiters on AVRs and section IV,
the usual requirements when setting overexcitation protection
for hydro power plants. Finally, on section V some practical
aspects of the coordination between overexcitation protection
E. F. Alves and M. A. Souza are with Voith Hydro, Sao Paulo, Brazil
(e-mail: erick.alves@voith.com, marco.aurelio@voith.com)
and V/Hz limiter together with problems faced during the commissioning of two hydro power plants in Brazil are presented.
II. C ONCEPTS
The overexcitation condition is associated with the basic
principle of operation from generators and transformers, both
based on Faradays law of induction. The voltage induced in
the output of generators and transformers is a function of
the flux rate of change. Basically, current induces magnetic
flux, and magnetic flux variation induces voltage in the output
terminals. The varying flux is created by either alternating
current flowing through the primary winding of a transformer
or the direct current in the field winding of a generator rotor.
d
dt
E = 4.44 f n BM AX A
E = N
(1)
(2)
proportional-integral are the usual choice for Fig. 2b. The way
the limiter influences the main AVR loop also varies from the
following types:
Take-over control: a minimum selector is used between
voltage setpoint and the limiter output;
Summing point: the limiter output is connected to an
adder, subtracting its value from the voltage setpoint;
The choice of the structure and the controller type usually
is related to the AVR manufacturer standards and the utility
philosophies. An extensive review of limiters characteristics
is done in [6]. Despite the kind of implementation, the
main idea is to reduce the generator output voltage until the
voltage to frequency ratio goes below the threshold, allowing
overexcitation in transients for a specific time and avoiding
tripping of the overexcitation protection from the generator,
step-up transformer or auxiliary services.
Some excitation systems also present an optional protection:
to turn the system off if the frequency drops below a specified
value by a certain amount of time and if the generator is
not synchronized. This peculiarity brings in an additional
protection to the unit, as it does not allow the generator
to remain excited offline with a major failure in the speed
governor or in the protection system of the power plant.
Even though being widely available in the commercial excitation systems, the V/Hz limiter is just a limit function of the
AVR setpoint and could not be considered an overexcitation
protection. Furthermore the V/Hz limiter will have no effect
on the generator frequency. Consequently, proper protection is
desirable and recommended [10] [11].
Moreover, even considering that most overexcitation events
occur offline, the limiter should be kept in service permanently,
so far as instances of overexcitation are possible when the
generator is synchronized to the power system [7] [9]. As
an example described by Benmouyal [11], in an islanding
situation or during light load with high level of charging
current, the generator could be driven into an under-excited
state. In this situation, the AVR underexcitation limiter (UEL)
will increase the generator output voltage until the generator
moves out of the forbidden under-excited zone. In doing so,
the voltage could go to a level high enough that the Volts/Hertz
threshold will be exceeded.
Another example is the situation where an important intertie line was switched off and the islanded system has now an
imbalance between generation and load. As result, frequency
and voltage could drop to the extent that the AVR would
immediately boost the generator terminal voltage. However,
the frequency deviation would take some minutes to settle
down [3], specially in hydro power plants where the high
inertia of the unit and the low bandwidth of the speed governor
imply additional limitations. In doing so, not just the voltage
could go to a level high enough but also the frequency to
a level low enough that the Volts/Hertz threshold will be
exceeded.
IV. OVEREXCITATION P ROTECTION
First of all, it must be stated that a protection relay is the last
resource level, as it ensures equipment safety even when other
(a)
Fig. 2.
(b)
Fig. 3.
THE
Relay
Frequency
operation
range
Voltage reference
for V/Hz relaying
Curve example
Thermal Constant
10 - 70 Hz
Maximum
voltage
of
three phase-phase
voltage
Dropout time to
emulate the cooling time
Four options:
Dual-level define-time
Composite
inverse-time
and definite-time
Simple inverse-time
User-defined inverse-time
15 - 70 Hz
Highest value of
the three phase
voltage
Emulation
heating
effect
through percenttravel operating
characteristic
Two options:
Inverse time
Customer defined
42 - 75 Hz
Phase-phase or
positive sequence
(Depends on the
relay connection)
TABLE I
C OMPARISON OF ANSI 24 RELAYING PHILOSOPHIES FROM THREE IED S
Parameter
24-1 V/f Pickup
24-1 V/f Time Delay
24-2 V/f Pickup
24-2 V/f Time Delay
24 V/f = 1.05 Time Delay
24 V/f = 1.10 Time Delay
24 V/f = 1.15 Time Delay
24 V/f = 1.20 Time Delay
24 V/f = 1.25 Time Delay
24 V/f = 1.30 Time Delay
24 V/f = 1.35 Time Delay
Before
1.05
60.00 s
1.40
1.00 s
20000 s
450 s
60 s
50 s
3s
3s
3s
After
1.07
240 s
1.25
1.00 s
450 s
240 s
60 s
50 s
3s
3s
3s
TABLE II
S ETTINGS FROM ANSI 24 FUNCTION IN S ANTA C ATARINA HPP
ON RELAY A FROM TABLE I
BASED
(a)
Fig. 4.
(b)
2) The AVR V/Hz limiter settings should allow the generator voltage to reach its rated maximum value. Nevertheless, a security margin from the overexcitation protection
limit should be adopted to avoid improper tripping of the
unit. A recommended value is to keep at least 2% less
than the first ANSI 24 relay pick up;
3) While setting up an overexcitation protection, the limit
of the most restrictive equipment must be adopted. A
security factor it is also desired to allow measurements
errors and practical value is to keep at least 2% from
the most restrictive limit;
4) The flexibility in the unit operation and the customer or
system operator requests would also influence the adjustments. In this case, the relay choice could determine
more or less options in the setting possibilities.
R EFERENCES
[1] IEEE Std C50.12-2005. IEEE Standard for Salient-Pole 50 Hz and 60 Hz
Synchronous Generators and Generator/Motors for Hydraulic Turbine
Applications rated 5 MVA and Above. New York: IEEE, 2006.
[2] IEEE Std C57.12.00-2000. IEEE Standard General Requirements For
Liquid-Immersed Distribution, Power, and Regulating Transformers.
New York: IEEE, 2000.
[3] IEEE Std C37.106-2003. IEEE Guide for Abnormal Frequency Protection of Power Generating Plants. New York: IEEE, 2004.
[4] IEEE Std C37.102-2006. IEEE Guide for AC Generator Protection. New
York: IEEE, 2007.
[5] IEEE Std 421.4-2004. IEEE Guide for the Preparation of Excitation
System Specifications. New York: IEEE, 2004.
[6] IEEE Task Force on Excitation Limiters. Recommended models for
Overexcitation Limiting Devices. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, v. 10, n. 4, p. 706-713, Dec 1995.
[7] REIMERT, D. Protective Relaying for Power Generation Systems. Boca
Raton: CRC Press, 2006.
[8] HARLOW, J. H. Electric Power Transformer Engineering. Boca Raton:
CRC Press, 2007.
[9] MOZINA, C. (ed.) et al. IEEE Tutorial on the Protection of Synchronous
Generators. Piscataway: IEEE Service Center, 1995. Catalog Number:
95 TP 102.
[10] MOZINA, C. (ed.) et al. Coordination of Generator Protection with
Generator Excitation Control and Generator Capability. In: IEEE Power
Engineering Society General Meeting, 2007, Tampa.
[11] BENMOUYAL, G. The Impact of Synchronous Generators Excitation
Supply on Protection and Relays. In: Western Protective Relay Conference, 34, 2007, Spokane.
Marco Aurelio de Souza graduated in E.E. with emphasis in Power Systems in 2000 and post-graduated
in Protection Systems in 2004 both from Federal
University of Itajuba. Since his graduation he has
been working in generation and transmission areas,
mainly with control and protection design of hydro
power plants and high voltage substations. Presently
he is Proposal Engineer at Voith Hydro Sao Paulo.