Topic: Protection Relays

Abstract

Discussing the definition of relaying and the importance of protection relays in a Power System. Here in the
topic two essential types were discussed relating their different schemes and the conditions they require to
achieve
The optimal performance . the devices they work in conjunction with. In addition to the working principle
and the appropriate connections.

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 I. Distance Relay

1. Definition:

A type of relay that measures the impedance of the line by the direct division of both current and voltage up
to the point of fault while comparing the measured impedance with a pre-set value. Combination of fast fault
clearance, with selective operation of protection elements. The short circuit current coverage is almost
autonomous of source impedance changes

-Inputs:
-CT readings (Protection core characteristics)
-VT readings (Protection core characteristics)
The impedance of a line is a constant multiplied with the length of the line and hence it’s proportional to its
length.
Z=(R+ jX ) xKm
Most of the times distance protection is concerned with the line itself. Which in turn divides the line in to 3
zones of protection:
Zone 1: Instantaneous protection for a section close to the relay (typically 80-90% of the line length
Zone 2: Covers the remaining part of the line and
a portion of the next line. Includes a time delay.(probably 120% of distance)
Zone 3: Provides backup protection for adjacent lines, with a longer time delay.
Or it should protect 20% of the line in reverse .
Impedance varies depending on fault type,location and arc imp.
Therefore, one might deduce that distance relays perform discrimination between faults and their location
with respect to both (the relaying point and the reach point of each zone).
We could also prioritize the zones according to an example that shall help us understand the role of each relay
in the zone .
And with few examples of faults around the hypothetical power system a distance relay could be clarified by
its concerns in prioritizing each zone with its corresponding changes in the system.
Later on , discussing calculations related to impedance settings and the impact of changes in the measured
impedance on the actions submitted by the relay as well.

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 2. Zones of protection:

Primary zones:
-Zone 1: with 80% of the line covered if any faults were occurring before the
Reach point the relay will cause the trip with 0-3 cycles.
-Zone 2: with 120% of the line covering the remainder and a small portion of
The next line . the time delay is at 20 cycles leaving an opportunity for the
Other relays which are responsible for tripping instantaneously to maintain
Control of their original jobs.
Back-up:
-Zone 3: it’s either covering 180% of the forward line or 20% of the reverse direction. Works as the third line of
defense . Considered as the backup protection offering the longest time delay 800ms -40 cyc.
The goal of a distance relay (ANSI/IEEE code 21) is to trip its circuit breaker if a fault occurs within its
programmed “reach” and to ignore both normal operating loads and faults lying outside its reach.

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-To have an adequate vision of the zones and their interference (overlapping):

Interference of zone 1 between relays helps in covering the whole line under the primary instantaneous tripping
type of protection. Hence, no portion of the line is left unprotected
Following is various location of faults and relays’ reaction time + the possibility of going out of sevice :
But first let us assume that both rly-1 and rly-4 are out of service. So we could elaborate how 3 zones work as
part of the primary and the back-up protection maintining the system continuity without needs for false
tripping .

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 3. Fault analysis:
Case (1):

4. Differential Relay:

For the previous case we noticed a fault in the main zone under the supervision of relay 3 . the relay wil pick
up a fault occurring before its reach point concerning the first zone pre-set impedance as:
Z< Zset
The tripping shall be practically within 3 cycles as it was set ideally to trip instantaneously.
If we were to say that relay 3 stopped performing for some anonymous reason. The relay 2 will pickup a fault
but not within its preset reach for zone 1 but the second zone . However, a time delay was set intentionally to
help give the primary protection of that portion of the line supervised by relay 3 a chance to trip and clear the
fault within 3 cycles . the time delay was intentionally set to 20 cycles.
For the possibility of both relays not working will be discussed further.

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 Case (2):

The following case is discussing a fault just outside the instantaneous tripping of both relays which leaves
relay2 no choice but to trip after the time delay estimated to be 20 cycles has surpassed .

If were to discuss an ideal reality where four of these relays worked properly . firstly the faulted section is
within relay4 to trip after an amount of 3 cycles and if it failed relay 2 shall pickup and clear after a time delay
of 20 cycles . if it fails relay 3 was supposed to pick up after 40 cycles which is the third zone covering the
reverse direction for an amount of 20% portion of the line . rly4-rly2-rly3: that is the intended sequence for
fault clearance and we’ve clarified that is very much dependent on location .

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Case(3):

 The fault will be cleared instantaneously by either of RLY2 or RLY3 whichever fast enough to trip
the fault .

 In addition to that, the line fault is pickedup up by RLY2-RLY3 under the first condition and is
picked up by RLY4 Z3 AND RLY 1-Z3.
 The point of overlapping zones is to leave no portion of the line unprotected as the time delay itself
is harmful for the equipment to withstand and the line cannot count on the back-up protection alone
to clear the faults without any primary protection as the main line of defense.

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 4. Line impedance c/cs:
capacitance due to electric fields existing within the separation of the lines from one another and from
earth ground by the dielectric of porcelain insulators and air; inductance due to the magnetic fields
surrounding the lines as they carry current; and resistance from the metal conductors’ length.
The capacitive nature of a power line is evident when that line is open-circuited (i.e. no load connected).
For the next few schematic diagrams, only a single phase (one “hot” conductor and one “neutral”
conductor) will be represented for the sake of simplicity:

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When the line is connected and under normal conditions:

Under typical load conditions, the resistance of the load draws a much greater amount of current than an open-
circuited line draws due to its own capacitance. More importantly, this current is nearly in-phase with the
voltage because the load resistance dominates circuit impedance, being substantially greater than the series
reactance caused by line inductance while being substantially less than the parallel capacitive reactance:

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 In the IEEE C37.113 few impedance diagrams were used to present the faulted impedance of a line relative to
the normal loaded line and the unloaded line the following diagram is a representation of the previous statement
drawn and pointed:

If the system voltage were to sag due to a generator problem, for example, the impedance phasor representing
the combined effects of line and load impedance would not be altered. Any protective relay operating on
impedance would therefore ignore such changes, and trip only if the line’s characteristics were to change. This
is precisely the behavior we need from a “distance” relay, enabling it to discriminate line faults better than a
simple overcurrent relay ever could.

5. Impedance of a faulted line:

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 A significant fault behaves like a very low resistance connected in parallel. This not only decreases total
circuit impedance but also shifts the phase angle closer toward
because now the line inductive reactance is substantial compared to the resistance of the fault. Real
transmission lines tend to exhibit shorted impedance phase angles nearer 70 degrees rather than 90 degrees,
owing to the effects of line resistance. The exact line impedance phase angle depends on conductor size and
separation:

Since line inductance is a fairly linear function of line distance (a longer power line means more inductance,
given a fixed inductance-per-mile value), and this inductive reactance is the dominant factor limiting fault
current,
the magnitude of the fault current becomes an approximate indication of distance between the instrument
transformers and the fault.

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 6. Reverse Power detection:
If additional sources of electrical power are connected to the far end of the transmission line, it is possible
for the distance relay to sense reverse power flow.
The faulted impedance seen by the distance would then lie in the third quadrant on the R-X diagram. Let us
assume an SLD of a power system consisting of a set of generators on the left ,gen. on the right and a
transmission line linking between them . the fault’s located at the generators’ bus (reverse direction of the
relay.

The relay will simply detect a change in line’s impedance but there’s a problem here. For the relay to operate
instantaneously would be an overreach for its zone as the intended zone of protection was the transmission line
(FWD direction). Practically, one solution to the problem of reverse-power sensitivity is to use a directional
relay in conjunction with the distance relay to block the distance relay’s action during reverse-power conditions.
The trip contact of a directional relay could be wired in series with the trip contact of the impedance relay, such
that the only way to trip the breaker is if both the impedance relay and the directional relay agree. We may
represent this blocking behavior by drawing a line called a blinder on the R-X diagram. Blocking relay of
detecting third quadrant impedance change

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 II. Differential Protection:
Definition:
The relay whose operation depends on the phase difference of two or more electrical quantities is
known as the differential protection relay. It works on the principle of comparison between the phase
angle and the magnitude

If the magnitude of the input current of the transmission line is more than that of output current that means
the additional current flows through it because of the fault. The difference in the current can operate the
differential protection relay.
Conditions:
 The network in which the relay use should have two or more similar electrical quantities.
 The quantities have the phase displacement of approximately 180º.
The differential protection relay is used for the protection of the generator, transformer, feeder, large
motor, bus-bars .meaning the fault has to be between them for the relay to operate .
However, for an external fault one of the Cts might saturate causing the induced current to be fully
utilized through the magnetizing branch leaving the secondary winding to be resistive while the other ct
that has not reached saturation is inducing the faulted current through the relay which is far higher than
the predetermined value causing the differential relay to trip.
Classifications:
 Current Differential Relay
 Biased or Percentage Differential Relay
 Voltage Balance Differential Relay

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 1. Working Principle:
It’s based on the difference between two similar quantities but one might ask of the method that enabled
obtaining a connection between two terminals with a series relationship. Two Cts were placed at the
beginning and the end of the equipment to be protected . However, if the equipment to be protected was a
transformer or a busbar; well, this could be problematic . The current entering and leaving equipment at
normal conditions doesn’t always have to be equal to the current leaving as if we revised the basic job of the
transformer . The current entering can’t possibly be equal to the current leaving . The same applies for
busbars if somehow only one incoming feeder and two outgoing were linked to the busbar .

The solution to this problem lies with the choice of the appropriate ct as the two cts have to maintain the
same full load sec. current which is limited to 1 A. CT ratio might vary according to the primary line but the
ratio must guarantee the evenness of both secondary winding to ensure continuity of the system.

System connections:

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 Under normal conditions:
Under normal conditions the value isn’t going to be equal to 0 . practically the relay has to be set at a
predetermined value to prevent unwanted tripping . the restraining coil prevents unwanted tripping as well.

I diff =I ct 1+ I ct 2=0
For an external fault:
I diff =I ct 1+ I ct 2=0

the relay will not trip unless one of the cores reaches saturation allowing the differenetial current to be equal
to a high value which is much higher than the predetermined value.

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For an internal fault:

The polarity of the CTs are of subtractive polarity . The event of an internal fault causes one of the currents to
change direction at the primary winding . since they used to be subtracted of each other directionally . the
currents are entering the operating coil right from the same point causing a high differential current and a
voltage drop which in turn causes the relay to trip and clear the fault .

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 2. Biased or Percentage Differential Coil

Practical use of the restraining coil:

 Stability During Normal Conditions:
- The restraining coil helps maintain the relay's stability during normal operating conditions. It
prevents the relay from accidentally tripping due to minor differences in current that can occur
during normal operation, such as those caused by load variations.
 Biasing Effect:
- The coil creates a biasing effect that is proportional to the current flowing through the system.
This means that the relay will only operate (or trip) if the differential current (the difference
between the currents in the two sides of the relay) exceeds a certain threshold, which is
adjusted according to the restraining current.
 Improved Sensitivity:
- By providing a restraining force that opposes the differential current, the relay can be more
sensitive to actual fault conditions. It allows the relay to differentiate between normal
operational variations and actual fault conditions, thus improving the selectivity of the
protection scheme.
 Fault Detection:
- During fault conditions, the differential current increases significantly. The restraining coil
allows the relay to detect these high levels of differential current while ignoring smaller, non-
fault-related variations.

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Differential Protection of a Transformer:

Principle of Differential Protection scheme is one simple conceptual technique. The differential relay actually
compares between primary current and secondary current of power transformer, if any unbalance found in
between primary and secondary currents the relay will actuate and inter trip both the primary and secondary
circuit breaker of the transformer.

Differential protection is typically employed for electrical power transformers rated above 5MVA. The speed of
fault detection is much higher than any other method related to the transformer such as buckholz relays.
Buchholz relays fail to detect faults that doesn’t involve oil.
Suppose you have one transformer which has primary rated current Ip and secondary current Is. If you install
CT of ratio Ip/1A at the primary side and similarly, CT of ratio Is/1A at the secondary side of the transformer.
The secondaries of these both CTs are connected together in such a manner that secondary currents of both CTs
will oppose each other. Which has been stated at the beginning.

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 Line differential Protection:
Model:

Communications is an integral piece of a line differential relay, as the CT Secondary currents from one line
terminal must be sent to relays at other line terminals to perform the differential calculation. This requires the
use of a digital communications channel, which is commonly a multiplexed channel where channel switching
may occur.
The most common methods currently in use are twisted pair cable, coaxial cable, fibre optic cable, power line
carrier and wireless communication (Microwave).
A fibre optic pair available for exclusive use by the relays provides optimal performance for digital
communications. Dedicated Protection data interface port gives a fast and error-free point-to-point connection.
The above figure shows this for a line with two ends. Each device measures the local current and sends the
information of measured currents and phase relation to the opposite end.

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 Overlapping:

To ensure the absence of a dead zone within the transmission line . Here’s an example concerning our project:
Core 5 must be connected to a distance relay in order to protect the line downwards . whereas the Core 2 is
connected to a differential relay with a main job of protecting the busbar upwards.
If we were to consider an alternative we’d be then leaving a portion of the line unwatched.

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