ETAP

PowerStation 4.0

User Guide
Copyright 2001
Operation Technology, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
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Operation Technology, Inc. believes that the information contained herein is accurate as of its
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Chapter 14
PowerPlot Interface
In this chapter, the capabilities that allow you to perform protective device coordination studies using the
PowerPlot program directly from the PowerStation one-line diagram are discussed. Using this program,
you can edit the protective device settings and simply rubber band an area of your one-line diagram and
display the time-current curves.

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PowerPlot Interface

Introduction

The steps required to generate time-current curves directly from a one-line diagram are as follows:

Add protective devices to the one-line diagram (Edit mode)

Run short-circuit calculations (Short-Circuit mode)
Click on the icon to save short-circuit results for PowerPlot
Switch to Relay Coordination mode
Edit protective device settings
Display time-current curves by selecting devices from the one-line diagram

The PowerStation and PowerPlot programs are installed with separate installation programs. The two
programs can be linked together from PowerStation by specifying the PowerPlot project name and path.
You can access the PowerPlot Name and Path Editor from the Project menu on the menu bar.
In this chapter, the process of creating the data link between the PowerStation and PowerPlot programs,
saving short-circuit calculation results for PowerPlot, and the capabilities of PowerStation-PowerPlot
interface are discussed. Adding protective devices to a one-line diagram and conducting short-circuit
calculations are discussed in other chapters.

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PowerPlot Interface

PowerStation Data Link

14.1 PowerStation-PowerPlot Data Link

You can create a data link between the PowerStation and PowerPlot programs by specifying the
PowerPlot project name and path in the PowerPlot Name and Path Editor. To access this editor, select
PowerPlot Path from the Project menu located on the menu bar.

Once you establish the PowerPlot project name and path, device IDs are the only link between the two
programs, i.e., in order for a protective device to share properties between PowerStation and PowerPlot, it
must have the same ID in both programs.
From the PowerPlot Project Name and Path Editor specify the following:

PowerPlot Path
Enter the path for the PowerPlot program, for example, C:\PowerPlot v.2.5. You can use Browse to find
your PowerPlot directory.

PowerPlot Project Name

Enter up to thirty alphanumeric characters for the PowerPlot Project Name. The program will create a
PowerPlot project file by this name and will add the time-current curves that you wish to save to the
indicated project file. This project file, that has the extension of .plt, will be located in the path specified
in this editor.

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PowerStation Data Link

PowerPlot Project Path

Enter the path for PowerPlot project file. You can also browse to find your PowerPlot project directory.
Program by default assigns your PowerStation project path for PowerPlot project path. However, the
PowerPlot path can be selected to be on any location on your system.

Update Short-Circuit Values

Select this option to automatically transfer the following data to the PowerPlot program:

Momentary symmetrical fault currents for balanced faults (ANSI)

Phase a symmetrical fault currents for unbalanced (L-G) faults (ANSI)
Peak currents (Ip) for balanced faults (IEC)
Phase a symmetrical fault currents for unbalanced (L-G) faults (IEC)
System voltage levels

Note that if a device is not connected to a faulted bus there will be no transfer of short-circuit current
value to that device.
When this option is selected and you edit any of the protective devices in Relay Coordination (RC) mode,
nominal bus voltages and fault currents of the last saved short-circuit results will be transferred to the
PowerPlot database and will be displayed in the device editors.
Note that the selection of this option does not automatically update short-circuit currents and bus voltages
for protective devices which already exist in PowerPlot. To update all devices, click on the Update
PowerPlot with SC kA Bus kV button on the Relay Coordination Toolbar.
The following data, if applicable, also transfers to PowerPlot every time you open an existing curve or
create a new curve:

Current transformer ratings

Trip device types
Relay types
Transformer data
Cable data
Motor data

The following device curves are available for PowerStation-PowerPlot interface program:
Fuse
Electro-Mechanical, MCP, Solid-State, MCP, Thermal Magnetic
Motor Relay
Over Current Relay
Solid-State Relay
Transformer Damage Curve
Cable Damage Curve
Motor starting Curve
Motor starting Curve

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PowerPlot Interface

Project Files

14.2 Project Files

When you link a PowerStation project and a PowerPlot project (by specifying the project name and path),
any devices and Time-Current Curve (TCC) files that you generate from PowerStation will be added to
the PowerPlot project file. It is possible to have more than one PowerPlot project file per PowerStation
project. However, this structure may cause confusion and is not recommended.
Assigning only one PowerPlot project per PowerStation project is recommended.
PowerStation
Project

PowerPlot
Project

PowerPlot Project File

A PowerPlot project consists of one file with a .plt extension. Each PowerPlot project file may consist of
a number of Time-Current Curve (TCC) files. A TCC file can contain protective device characteristic
curves created and added to one TCC file, which are available to be retrieved and added to any of the
TCC files in the same project file.
For example, the PowerPlot project file Example may contain a number of TCC files named: TCC1,
TCC2, TCC3, etc. Protective devices PD1, PD2, and PD13 are included and displayed in TCC1. At the
same time PD2 is also included and displayed in the TCC4 file. Note that any changes made in the PD2
settings will be reflected in both the TCC1 and TCC4 files.
Project
Example

TCC File
TCC1
TCC2
XYZ

TCC4
.
TCCX

Devices
PD1
PD2
PD13
PD2
PD4
PD5

Open, Modify, and Save PowerPlot TCC Files

There are two methods to open an existing TCC file:

From the PowerPlot program, first select Open from the File menu and select a TCC file from the
displayed list of files.
From the PowerStation one-line diagram in Relay Coordination mode, without selecting any devices,
first click on the Display Time-Current Curve button and then select a TCC file from the displayed
list of PowerPlot TCC files.

To modify the settings of a device included in a TCC file, double-click on the curve or its label to open its
editor, and then modify the settings.
To save a TCC file double-click on the TCC and type in the name you want.

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Project Files

14.3 Data Transfer to PowerPlot

After you establish a data link between a PowerStation and a PowerPlot project, data such as voltage,
short-circuit current, trip device type, relay type, and current transformer (CT) turn ratio of all protective
devices can be transferred from the PowerStation project to the PowerPlot project. If you select the
Update Short-Circuit Values option from the PowerPlot Name and Path Editor, the short-circuit results
transfer is done automatically when you edit a protective device in Relay Coordination mode.
To transfer data for all protective devices that have the same ID in both programs, click on the Update
PowerPlot with SC kA Bus kV button located on the Relay Coordination Toolbar.
Note that this action transfers the last saved short-circuit analysis results for all protective devices.

In addition, the following data, if applicable, will also transfer to PowerPlot every time you open an
existing curve or create a new curve:

Current transformer ratings

Trip device types
Relay types
Transformer data
Cable data
Motor data

The following steps describe actions needed for preparing a short-circuit current for coordination studies:
1. Configure your system for a maximum short-circuit current condition
2. Perform the short-circuit analysis of your choice (ANSI or IEC method) with all buses faulted
3. Click on the Save kA button located on the Short-Circuit Toolbar to save the following:

Momentary symmetrical fault currents for balanced faults (ANSI)

Phase a symmetrical fault currents for unbalanced (L-G) faults (ANSI)
Peak currents (Ip) for balanced faults (IEC)
Phase a symmetrical fault currents for unbalanced (L-G) faults (IEC)
System voltage levels

Note that the short-circuit fault currents are transferred for the devices connected to the faulted buses.

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Data Transfer to PowerPlot

Motor Starting Devices

Mapping of the motor starting devices from PowerStation to PowerPlot is as follows:
Device
Auto-transformer
Resistor
Reactor

PowerStation (% Tap)
59% <
59% >= or 74% <
74% >=
74% <
74% >=
74% <
74% >=

PowerPlot
Xfrmr-50%
Xfrmr-65%
Xfrmr-80%
Resist-65%
Resist-80%
React-65%
React-80%

Cable Insulation Class

Mapping of the cable insulation class from PowerStation to PowerPlot is as follows:
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33

Operation Technology, Inc.

PowerStation
None
Paper
PE
ALPE
EPR
SBR
Rubber
Rubber1
Rubber2
Neoprene
PVC
FEP
FEPB
MI
MTW
PFA
PFAH
RH
RHH
RHW
SA
SIS
TA
TBS
TFE
THHN
THHW
THW
THWN
TW
UF
USE
V
XHHW

PowerPlot
Bare-Copper
PAPER
XLPE
XLPE
EPR
RUBBER
RUBBER
RUBBER
RUBBER
THER
THER
EPR
EPR
THER
THER
THER
THER
RUBBER
RUBBER
RUBBER
THER
THER
THER
THER
THER
THER
THER
THER
THER
THER
THER
THER
VARN CLOTH
THER

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PowerPlot Interface

Data Transfer to PowerPlot

Note that after you click on the Save kA button, the associated data are saved for transferring to the
PowerPlot database. Calculated data is not actively transferred to the PowerPlot database unless the
Update Short-Circuit Values option is checked in the PowerPlot Project name and Path Editor or until you
click on the Transfer Data to PowerPlot button located on the Relay Coordination Toolbar.

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PowerPlot Interface

Relay Coordination Mode

14.4 Relay Coordination Mode

You can access the Relay Coordination mode by clicking on the Relay Coordination button located on the
Configuration & Mode Toolbar. If you have not specified the PowerPlot path, PowerStation will notify
you that the PowerPlot path is not found. To edit the path, select PowerPlot Path from the Project menu
on the menu bar. For more information, see PowerStation-PowerPlot Data Link.

14.4.1 Relay Coordination Toolbar

Upon the selection of Relay Coordination Mode, the Relay Coordination Toolbar will appear to the right
side of your screen. When using this toolbar, you can either access the PowerPlot program directly or
interface with PowerStation.

Run PowerPlot (Stand-Alone)

Edit PowerPlot Device Settings
Display Time Current Curve (TCC)
Not Active in This Release
Not Active in This Release
Update PowerPlot with SC kA Bus kV
Copy the Selected One-Line Diagram Elements to PowerPlot
Display Options

Run PowerPlot (Stand-Alone)

Click on the PowerPlot button to run PowerPlot as a stand-alone program from the PowerStation one-line
diagram. This is useful when you want to add protective devices to the PowerPlot project file without
having them in the PowerStation project file. In this mode, short-circuit fault currents and bus voltages
cannot be transferred from PowerStation to PowerPlot. To learn more about this stand-alone operation,
refer to the PowerPlot Quick-Start Manual or PowerPlot online Help, located in the top right corner of the
PowerPlot menu bar.

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Relay Coordination Mode

When you are running PowerPlot as a stand-alone program and you decide to add protective devices to
the PowerPlot project file, you should enter an ID identical to the PowerStation device ID so that you can
maintain a future link between the two programs.
This feature is useful when you choose to create a PowerPlot project in stand-alone mode first and then
decide to use the interface capabilities.
The following steps show how to add a trip device in the PowerPlot stand-alone program with the link to
PowerStation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

From Relay Coordination mode, run PowerPlot (stand-alone)

Open your PowerPlot project file and select a TCC file
Click on the Electro-Mechanical Trips button
Add a device with CB10 as its device ID
Enter the device settings and save
From Relay Coordination mode return to the one-line diagram (PowerStation), select CB10, and click
on the Edit button. You can see that the electro-mechanical device created in PowerPlot is now
linked to the PowerStation protective device CB10.

Edit PowerPlot Device Settings

To edit the settings of protective devices from ETAP PowerStation, take the following steps:

Select a protective device by clicking on the device symbol on the one-line diagram. The selected
device will be displayed in blue.
Click on the Edit button and edit the selected device settings in the PowerPlot Editor. Note that if the
Update Short-Circuit Values option in the PowerPlot Name and Path Editor is selected, PowerPlot
editors will contain the last saved short-circuit results.
Click on the OK button to save data or click on the Cancel button to close the editor without saving
any changes.

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Relay Coordination Mode

Protective device IDs are the link between PowerStation and PowerPlot databases. When you select
a device in the Relay Coordination mode to edit, the associated PowerPlot editor automatically contains
the ID of the device that you have selected.

Display Time-Current Curve (TCC)

After editing all device settings, you can display time-current curves of any number of devices simply by:

Rubber-banding or selecting the devices on the one-line diagram

Clicking on the Display Time-Current Curve (TCC) button

Transfer Data to PowerPlot (Update)

Click on this button to update calculated short-circuit fault currents of all protective devices that have the
same ID in both the PowerStation and PowerPlot programs.
Note that short-circuit data that is being updated (transferred) to the PowerPlot database is the last shortcircuit data saved by using the Save kA button located on the Short-Circuit Toolbar. Also, the shortcircuit fault currents are transferred for the devices connected to the faulted buses.

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Relay Coordination Mode

Copy the Selected One-Line Diagram Elements to PowerPlot

To copy a PowerStation one-line diagram into a PowerPlot TCC do the following:

In PowerStation select the area you want. Selection can be done by rubber banding the desired
elements or by holding the Ctrl button down and left-clicking on the elements to be included.
Click on the Copy the selected OLD Elements to PowerPlot button, which is located on the Relay
Coordination toolbar.
Select the appropriate PowerPlot TCC from the listing

The one-line diagram will be copied to the selected TCC.

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Relay Coordination Mode

Note that the size of the copied one-line diagram depends on the zoom level in the PowerStation one-line
diagram.

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