INTRODUCTION TO POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION

P. Kaliappan and R.S. Shivakumara Aradhya Relay Testing Laboratory Power Systems Division Central Power Research Institute Bangalore kaliappan@cpri.in & aradya@cpri.in 1.0 INTRODUCTION: The Protective relay is to protect the system and its equipment from unnecessary damage due to faults, such as short circuits; it is obvious that speed is important. The damage caused by a short circuit is certainly minimized by clearing the fault quickly and it is essential to maintaining system stability. It is to detect and locate a fault and issue a command to the circuit breaker to disconnect the faulty element. They are in effect, a form of insurance designed to maintain a high degree of service continuity and limit equipment damage. They are also called as Silent Sentinels. 2.0 CLASSIFICATION OF RELAYS: Relays can be divided into five functional categories: a. Protective relays, which detect defective lines, defective apparatus, or other dangerous or intolerable conditions. These relays can either initiate or permit switching or provide an alarm. b. Monitoring Relays, which verify conditions on the power system or in the protection. These relays include fault detectors, alarm units, channel- monitoring relays, synchronism verification, and network phasing. Power system conditions that do not involve opening circuit breakers during faults can be monitored by these relays. c. Programming Relays, which establish or detect electrical sequences. Programming relays are used for reclosing and synchronizing. d. Regulating Relays, which are activated when an operating parameter deviates from predetermined limits. Regulating relays function through supplementary equipment to restore the quantity to the prescribed limits. e. Auxiliary Relays, which operate in response to the opening or closing of the operating, circuit to supplement another relay or device. These include timers, contact-multiplier relays, sealing units, receiver relays, lock-out relays, closing relays and trip relays. In addition to these functional categories, relays may be classified by input, operating principles or structure and performance characteristic:

i) Input Current Voltage Power Pressure Frequency Temperature Flow Vibration ii) Operating principle of structure Percentage Multi-restraint Product Solid state Electromechanical Thermal The above classification and definitions are based on the ANSI Standard 37.90 (IEEE 313) 3.0 PROTECTIVE RELAYING SYSTEMS AND THEIR DESIGN: Any protection scheme is required to safeguard the power system components. The protection scheme basically consists of current transformers, voltage transformers, Protective relay and circuit breaker. The Protective relay functions as a sensing device. It senses the fault through Current/Voltage transformers determine its location and finally it sends the command to the circuit breaker by closing its trip coil. The circuit breaker after getting the trip command from protective relay disconnects the faulty sections from the rest of the power system. Thus it is seen that the protective relay, which is primarily the brain behind the whole scheme, plays a very important role. Therefore proper care should be taken in selecting an appropriate protective relay, which is reliable, efficient and fast in operation. 4.0 DESIGN CRITERIA: 4.1 Reliability: A protective system must operate reliably when a fault occurs in its zone of protection. The reliability of the protective relay system has two aspects: dependability of operation and security from false operation. Dependability means that each relay sends a trip signal when a fault is present in its zone. Security means that no relay sends a trip signal if no fault is present in its zone. Since no human invention is perfect, and the protective relay system is no exception, compromise between dependability and security are inevitable. To achieve a high degree of reliability, greater attention should be given to the design, installation, maintenance and testing of the various elements of the protective system.

4.2 Selectivity: Selectivity is the quality of a protective relay by which it is able to discriminate between a fault in the protected section and the normal condition. Also, it should be able to distinguish whether a fault lies within its zone of protection or outside the zone. Sometimes, this quality of the relay is also called discrimination. 4.3 Sensitivity: Sensitivity refers to the minimum level of fault current at which operation occurs. In other words, it is fault setting. There is a difference between the sensitivity of a relay and the sensitivity of a protection system. The sensitivity of a relay is expressed as the apparent power in VA required to cause operation; thus 1 VA relay is more sensitive than 3 VA relay. 4.4 Stability: The term stability is often used to describe the quality of protective system by virtue of which it remains inoperative under specified conditions usually associated with high values of fault currents. Strictly speaking, it is a quality that only unit systems can possess because they are required to remain inoperative under all conditions associated with faults outside their own zone. 4.5 Speed: A protective system should be fast enough to isolate the faulty element of the system as quickly as possible to minimize damage to the equipment and to maintain system stability. For modern power system, the stability criterion is very important and hence, the operating time of the protective system should not exceed the critical clearing time to avoid the loss of synchronism. 4.6 Cost: Maximum protection at the lowest cost possible. 5.0 FACTORS INFLUENCING RELAY PERFORMANCE: Relay performance is generally classified as: Correct Incorrect No conclusion Incorrect operation may be either failure to trip or false tripping. The cause of incorrect operation may be, a) Wrong application, b) Incorrect settings, c) A personnel error, or d) Equipment ma-function. Equipment that can cause an incorrect operation includes CTs, VTs, circuit breakers, cable and wiring, relays, channels or station batteries.

Incorrect tripping of circuit breakers not associated with the trouble area is often as disastrous as a failure to trip. Hence, special care must be taken in both application and installation to ensure against the possibility of incorrect tripping. No conclusion is the last resort when no evidence is available for a correct or incorrect operation. Quite often this is a personnel involvement. 6.0 ZONES OF PROTECTION: A power system contains generators, transformers, bus bars, transmission and distribution lines, etc. There is a separate protective scheme for each piece of equipment or element of the power system, such as generator protection, transformer protection, transmission line protection, bus bar protection, etc. Thus, a power system is divided into a number of zones for protection. A protective zone covers one or at the most two elements of a power system. The protective zones are planned in such a way that they collectively cover the entire power system, and thus, no part of the system is left unprotected. The different zone of protection is as given figure 1.

BUS ZONE LINE ZONE

BUS ZONE

TRANSF ZONES BUS ZONES

BUS ZONE LINE ZONE

BUS ZONE

TRANSF ZONE

BUS ZONE

Figure 1. 7.0 PRIMARY AND BACK UP PROTECTION: If a fault occurs in a particular, it is the duty of primary relays of that zone to isolate the faulty element. The primary relay is the first line of defence. If due to any reason, the primary relay fails to operate, there is a back-up protective scheme to clear the

fault as a second line of defence. With proper design, installation and maintenance of the relays, circuit breakers, trip mechanisms, ac and dc wiring, etc. a very high degree of reliability can be achieved. The back-up relays are made independent of those factors, which might cause primary relays to fail. A back-up relay operates after a time delay to give the primary relay sufficient time to operate. When back-up relay operates, a larger part of the power system is disconnected from the power source, but this is unavoidable. There are three types of back-up relays: Relay back-up Breaker back-up Remote back-up

Relay Backup: In this relaying scheme, the main relays, their CTs, PTs etc. are duplicated Breaker Backup: When a feeder breaker fails to trip on a fault, the feeder fault becomes virtually a bus bar fault. In breaker back-up scheme, a time-delay relay is operated by the main relay and it is connected to trip all other breakers on bus if the proper breaker has not tripped within pre-set time. Remote Backup: Remote back-up is provided by a relay on the next station towards the source. This remote relay will trip in a delayed time if the breaker in the faulty section has not tripped due to some reason. This is the most widely used form of back-up protection. 8.0 ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEM DEVICE NUMBERS AND FUNCTIONS: Numbers, with appropriate suffix letters when necessary, refers to the device switching equipment, according to the functions they perform. These numbers are based on a system adopted as standard for automatic switchgear by IEEE and incorporated in American standard C37.2-1970. This system is used in connection diagrams, in instruction books and in specifications.

Device Number 1

Definition Master Element

Function It is an initiating device, such as a Control switch, voltage relay, float Switch etc which serves either Directly or through such permissive Devices as protective and time delay relays .to place an equipment in or out of operation It is a device which functions to give a desired amount of time delay before of after any point of operation in a switching sequence or protective relaying system, except as specially provided by device function 48, 62 and 79 described later.
5

Time Delay Starting Or Closing Relay

Checking or Interlocking Relay

Master Contactor

Stopping Device

6 7 8

Starting Circuit Breaker Anode Circuit Breaker Control Power Disconnecting Device

9 10 11 12 13

Reversing Device Unit Sequence switch Reserved for future Application Over Speed Device Synchronized Speed Device Under Speed Device Speed or Frequency Matching device Reserved for future Application

It is device which operates in response to the position of a number of other devices ( or to a number of predetermined conditions), in an equipment, to allow an operating sequence to proceed , to stop , or to provide a check of the position of these devices or of these conditions for any purpose. It is a device, generally controlled by The device No.1 or equivalent, and the required permissive and protective devices that serve to make and break the necessary control circuits to place equipment into operation under the desired conditions and to take it out of operation under other or abnormal conditions. It is a control device used primarily To shut down an equipment and hold it out of operation. This device may be manually or electrically actuated, but excludes the function of electrical lockout (see device function 86) on abnormal conditions. It is a device whose principal Function is to connect a machine to Its source of starting voltage It is one used in the anode circuits of a power rectifier for the primary purpose of interrupting the rectifier circuit if an arc back should occur. It is a disconnecting device such As a knife switch, circuit breaker or pullout fuse block, used for the purpose of connecting and disconnecting the source of control power to and from the control bus or equipment. Note: control power is considered to include auxiliary power, which supplies such apparatus as small motors and heaters. It is a used for the purpose of reversing A machine field or for performing any other reversing function It is used to change the sequence in Which units may be placed in and Out of service in multiples unit Equipment. It is usually direct connected Speed switch which functions on Machine over-speed A Centrifugal speed switch, a slip Frequency relay, a voltage relay, an Undercurrent relay or any type of device that operates at approximately synchronous speed of a machine It is device which functions when The speed of a machine falls below a predetermined value It is a device that functions to match and hold the speed or the Frequency of a machine or of a system equal to, or approximately equal to, that of another machine, source or system.

14 15

16

17

Shunting or Discharge switch

It serves to open or to close a shunting circuit around any piece of apparatus (except a resistor), such as a machine field, a machine armature, a capacitor or a reactor. Note: this excludes devices which perform such shunting operations as may be necessary in the process of starting a machine by devices 6 or 42 or theyre equivalent, and also exclude device 73 function which serves for switching of resistors It is used to close or to cause the closing of circuits ,which are used to increase or to decrease the speed of a machine It is a device which operates to initiate or cause the automatic transfer of machine from the starting the running power connection. It is a electrically operated, Controlled or monitored valve in a fluid line. Note: The function of the valve may be indicated by the use of the suffixes. It is a device, which functions when the circuit admittance impedance or reactance increases or decreases beyond predetermined limits. It is a device to serves to control or to make and break the equalizer or the current balancing connections for a machine field, or for regulating equipment, in a multiple-unit of the installation It is a device to raise or lower the temperature of machine or other apparatus or any medium, when its temperature falls below, or rises above, a predetermined value. Note: An example is a thermostat which switched on a space heater in a switchgear assembly when the temperature falls to a desired value as distinguished from a device which is used to provide automatic temperature regulation between close limits and would be designated as 90T It is a device that operates when two as circuits are within the desired limits of frequency, phase angle and Voltage to permit or to cause the paralleling of these two circuits. It is a device which functions when the temperature of the shunt field or the armature winding of a machine, or that of a load limiting or load shifting resistor or of a liquid or other medium exceeds a predetermined value; or if the temperature of the protected apparatus, such as a power rectifier, or of any medium decreases below a predetermined value.

18 19 20

Accelerating or Decelerating Device Starting toRunning transition contactor Distance Relay

21 22

Distance Relay Equalizer circuit breaker Temperature Control device

23

24 25

Reserved for future Application Synchronizing or Synchronism-device Apparatus Thermal device

26

27 28 29 30

31

32

33 34

35

36 37 38

39

It is device which functions on a given value of under voltage. Flame detector It is a device that monitors the presence of the pilot or main flame in such apparatus as a gas turbine or a system boiler. Isolating contactor It is a device used for disconnecting one circuit from another for the purpose of emergency operation, maintenance, or test. Annunciator relay It is a non-automatically reset device that gives a number of separate visual indications upon the functioning of protective devices and which may also be arranged to perform a lockout function. Directional Power relay It is a device which functions on a desired value of power flow in a given direction, or upon reverse power, like resulting from arc back in the anode or cathode circuits of a power rectifier. Separate It connects a circuit such as the shunt field of a Excitation device synchronous converter during the starting sequence ,or one which energises the excitation and ignition circuits of a power rectifier Position switch It makes or breaks a contact when the main device or the piece of apparatus, which has no device function Number, reaches a given position Master Sequence It is a device such as a motor-Operated multi-contact device switch, or the equivalent, or a programming device, such as a computer, that establishes or determines the operating sequence of the major devices in an equipment during starting and stopping or during other sequential operations. Brush-operating It is used for raising, lowering, or shifting, the brushes Or slip-ring-short of a machine, or for short circuiting its slip ring, or for Circuiting device engaging or disengaging the contacts of a mechanical rectifier. It operates or permits the operation of another device Polarity or on a predetermined polarity only or verifies the Polarizing voltage presence of a polarising voltage in an equipment device Undercurrent or It functions when the current or power flow decreases Under power relay below a predetermined value. Bearing protective It functions on excessive bearing temperature, or on device other abnormal mechanical conditions, such as Undue wear, which may eventually result in excessive bearing temperature Mechanical Condition It is device that functions upon the occurrence of monitor abnormal mechanical conditions,(except that associated with bearing as covered under device function 38), such as excessive vibration , eccentricity, expansion, shock, tilting or seal failure

Under voltage relay

40

41 42

43 44 45 46

47 48

49

50

51 52

It functions on a given or abnormally low value or failure of mechanical field current, or an excessive value of the reactive component of armature current in an ac machine indicating abnormally low field excitation. Field circuit breaker It is a device which functions to apply or to remove the field excitation of a machine Running circuit breaker It is a device whose principal function is to connect a machine to its source of running or operating voltage. This function may also be used for a device, such as a contactor, that is used in series with a circuit breaker or other fault protecting means, primarily for frequent opening and closing of the circuit. Manual transfer It transfer the control circuits so as to modify the plan Or selector of operation of the switching equipment or of some of Device transfer the devices Unit sequence It is a device, which functions to start the next available Starting relay unit in multiple-unit equipment on the failure or on the non-availability of the normally preceding unit. Atmospheric It is a device that functions upon the occurrence of an Condition monitor abnormal atmospheric condition, such as damaging fumes, explosive mixture smoke or fire. Reverse phase It is a relay which functions when the poly-phase Phase-balance currents are of reverse phase sequence, or when the Current relay poly-phase currents are unbalanced or Contain negative phase-sequence component above a given amount Phase sequence It functions upon a predetermined value of poly phase Voltage relay voltage in the desired phase sequence Incomplete It is a relay that generally returns the equipment to the Sequence relay normal of off position and locks it out of the normal starting , operating or stopping sequence is not properly completed within a predetermined time, if the device is used for alarm purpose only, it should preferably be designated as 48A(alarm) It is a relay that functions when the temperature of a Machine or machine armature or other load carrying winding or Transformer, element of a machine or the temperature of a power Thermal relay rectifier or power transformer (including a power rectifier transformer) exceeds a predetermined value. It is a relay that functions instantaneously on an Instantaneous excessive value of current, or on an excessive current Over current or rise, thus indicating a fault in The apparatus of circuit Rate of rise relay being protected. AC time It is a relay with either a definite or an inverse time Over current relay characteristic that functions when the current in an ac circuit exceeds a predetermined value. AC circuit breaker It is device that is used to close and interrupt an ac power circuit under normal conditions or to interrupt this circuit under fault or emergency conditions.

Field relay

53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

Exciter or Generator relay Reserved for Future application Power factor relay Field application relay Short circuiting relay Rectification Failure relay Over voltage relay Voltage or Current balance relay Reserved for future application Time delay Stopping or opening relay Pressure switch Ground Protective relay

It is relay that forces the dc machine field excitation to build up during starting or which functions When the machine voltage has build up to a given value. It is relay that operates when the power factor in an ac circuit rises above or below a predetermined value. It is a relay that automatically controls the application of the field excitation to an ac motor at some predetermined point in the slip cycle. It is primary circuit switching device that functions to short circuit or to ground a circuit in response to automatic or manual means. It is a device that functions if one or more anodes of a power rectifier fail to fire, or to detect an arc-break or failure of a diode to conduct or Block properly. It is relay that functions on a given value of over voltage It is relay that operates on a given difference in voltage, or current input or output of two circuits. It is a time delay relay that serves in conjunction with the device that initiates the shutdown, stopping, or opening operation in an automatic It is switch , which operates on given values or on a given rate of change of pressure It is a relay that functions on failure of the insulation of a machine, transformer or of other apparatus to ground m or on flashover of a dc machine to ground. Note: this functions is assigned only to a relay which detects the flow of current from the frame of am machine or enclosing case or structure of a piece of apparatus to ground, or detects a ground on a normally ungrounded winding or circuit. it is not applied to device connected in the secondary circuit or secondary neutral of a current transformer, connected in the power circuit of an normally grounded system It is the assembly of fluid, electrical, or mechanical control, equipment used for regulation the flow of water, stream, or other medium to the prime mover for such purpose as starting, holding or stopping speed load. It functions to allow only a specified device, or equipment, or a specified number of successive operations within a given time of each other. It also functions to energise a circuit periodically or for fractions of specified time intervals , or that is used to permit intermittent acceleration or jogging of a machine at low speeds for mechanical positioning
10

65

Governor

66

Notching or Jogging device

67 68

AC directional Overcurrent relay Blocking relay

69

Permissive Control device rheostat

70

71 72 73

Level switch DC circuit breaker Load resistor contactor

74 75

Alarm relay Position Changing mechanism

76 77 78 79 80 81

DC over current relay Pulse transformer Phase angle Measuring or Out-of-step Protective relay AC re-closing relay Flow switch Frequency relay

It is a relay that functions on a desired value of ac over current flowing in a predetermined direction. It is relay that initiates a pilot signal for blocking of tripping on external faults in a transmission line or in other apparatus under predetermined conditions, or coordinates with other devices to block tripping or to block re-closing on an out-step condition or on power swings. It is generally a two position, manually operated switch that in one position permits. The closing of an circuit breaker, of an equipment into position prevents the circuit breaker or the equipment from being operated It is a variable resistance device used in an electrical circuit which is electrically operated or has other electrical accessories such as auxiliary position of limit switches It is a switch which operates on given values, or on a given rate of change of level It is used to close and interrupt a dc power circuit under normal conditions or to interrupt this circuit under fault or emergency conditions It is used to shunt or insert a step of load limiting, shifting , or indicating resistance in a power circuit , or to switch a space heater in circuit , or to switch a light ,or regenerative load resistor of a power rectifier other machine in and out of circuit It consists a device other than the annuciator, as covered under Device no.30 which is used to operate in connection with a visual or audible alarm It is a mechanism that us used for moving a main device from one position to another in an equipment as for example , shifting a removable circuit breaker unit to and from the connected ,disconnected and test positions It is a relay that functions when the current in a dc circuit exceeds a given value It sis used to generate and transmit pulse over a telemetering or pilot-wire circuit to the remote indicating or receiving device. It is a relay that functions at a predetermined phase angle between two voltages of between two currents or between voltage and current It is a relay that controls the automatic reclosing and locking out of an ac circuit interrupter It is a switch , which operates on given values , or on a given rate of change, of flow It is a relay that functions on a predetermined value of frequency, either under/over on normal system frequency or rate of change of frequency

11

82 83 84

DC re-closing Automatic Selective Control or Transfer relay Operating mechanism

85 86

Carrier or pilot Wire receiver relay Locking out relay

87 88 89

Differential Protective relay Auxiliary motor Or motor generator Line switch

90

Regulating device

91 92

Voltage Directional relay Voltage and Power directional relay

93 94

Field changing contactor Tripping or trip Free relay

It is a relay that controls the automatic closing and reclosing of a DC circuit interrupter, generally in response to load circuit conditions It is relay that operates to select automatically between certain sources or conditions in an equipment, or performs a transfer operation automatically It is the complete electrical mechanism or servomechanism, Including the operating motor, solenoids, position switches, etc, for a tap change , induction regulator or any similar piece of apparatus which has no device function number It is a rely that is operated or restrained by a signal used in connection with carrier-current or dc pilot-wire fault directional relaying It is an electrically operated, hand or electrically reset, relay that functions to shut down and hold an equipment out of service on the occurrence of abnormal conditions. It is protective relay that functions on a percentage or phase angle or other quantitative difference of two currents or of some other electrical quantities It is one used for operating auxiliary equipment such as pumps, blowers, exciters , rotating magnetic amplifiers , etc. It is used as a disconnecting load interrupter , or isolator switch in an as or dc power circuit in an ac or dc power circuit when this device is electrically operated or has accessories , such as an auxiliary switch, magnetic lock, etc It functions to regulate a quantity , or quantities , such as voltage, current, power , speed , frequency, temperature and load , at a certain value or between certain (generally close) limits for machines, toe lines or other apparatus. It is relay that operates when the voltage across an open circuit breaker or contractor Exceeds a given value in an given direction It is a relay that permits or causes the connection of two circuits when the voltage difference between them exceeds a given value in an predetermined direction and causes these two circuits to be disconnected from each other when the power flowing between them exceeds a given value in the opposite direction It functions to increase or decrease in one step the value of field excitation on a machine It functions to trip a circuit breaker contactor, or equipment or to permit immediate tripping by other devices, or to prevent immediate re-closure of a circuit interrupter in case it should open automatically even though its closing circuit is maintained closed
12

95

Used only for specific applications on individual installations where none of the assigned numbered functions from 1 to 94 is suitable

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