GENERATION

Upgrading the protection of generators

to meet current IEEE standards
by Charles J. Mozina MIEEE, USA
Contrary to popular belief, generators do experience short circuits and abnormal electrical conditions. In many cases, equipment damage
due to these events can be reduced or prevented by proper generator protection. As generators become older, the likelihood for failure
increases as insulation begins to deteriorate.

Generators, unlike some other power system

components, need to be protected not only
from short circuits, but also from abnormal
operating conditions. Examples of such
abnormal conditions are over-excitation,
loss-of-field, unbalanced currents, and
abnormal frequency. When subjected to
these conditions, damage or complete
failure can occur within seconds, thus

Areas of protection upgrade

on older generators
The areas of upgrade on
generator protection that are
twenty years old or more fall into
two broad categories:

requiring automatic detection and tripping.

In the late 1980s, the IEEE Power System Relay
Committee first issued its ANSI/IEEE C37.102
guide [1] for the protection of synchronous
generators. This guide outlines current
recommended practices for the protection
of generators and describes the substantial
changes that have occurred in generator
protection over the last twenty years. These
changes fall into two broad categories:
improved sensitivity and security as well as
new protection areas. These are the key
functional areas that need to be addressed
when developing an upgrade program to
bring the generator protection up to current
industry standards.

Improved sensitivity and

security in protection areas
where older relaying does
not provide the level of
detection required.
Examples of protection in
this area are the following:

- 100% Stator Ground Fault

Protection
- Field Ground Fault Protection
- Enhancing Generator System
Backup Security

New or additional protection

in areas that twenty years
ago were not perceived
Fig. 2: Third harmonic undervoltage ground fault scheme.
t o b e a p r o b l e m, b u t
operating experiences have
grounding resistor to sense zero-sequence
since proved otherwise. One key area is
voltage as shown in Fig. 1. The relay used
inadvertent generator energizing.
for this function is designed to be sensitive

100% stator ground fault protection

Three basic methods of 100% stator ground
fault protection are widely used to
provide ground fault protection over
the entire stator winding. Two methods
use the 3rd harmonic detection while
a third method uses an injection of a
subharmonic signal at the stator neutral.
This is an important upgrade area
because older generators do not have
stator ground fault protection for fault
over the entire stator winding.
100% stator ground
fault protection using
3rd harmonic neutral
undervoltage methods

Fig. 1: Conventional stator ground fault detection.

The most widely used

conventional stator ground
fault protection scheme in
high impedance-grounded
systems is a time-delayed
over voltage relay (59N)
connected across the
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to fundamental frequency voltage and

insensitive to third harmonic and other
zero sequence harmonic voltages that are
present at the generator neutral. Typically,
this overvoltage relay has a minimum pickup
setting of approximately 5 V. With this setting
and typical grounding transformer ratios, this
relay is not capable of detecting faults over
the entire stator winding as shown in Fig. 1 with
typical 90-95% winding coverage.
It is important to protect major generators with
an additional ground fault protection system

Unit load

180 Hz rms voltage

Voltage ratio

MW

Mvar

Neutral

Terminal

Terminal/neutral

2,8

2,7

1,08

2,5

3,7

1,48

35

2,7

3,8

1,41

105

4,2

5,0

1,19

175

25

5,5

6,2

1,13

340

25

8,0

8,0

1,00

Table 1: Typical generator third harmonic values.

GENERATION
so that fault coverage for 100% of the winding
is obtained. Generators that are twenty years
old or older typically have only 90-95% of the
stator winding protected for ground faults.
One of the 3rd harmonic methods uses a 3rd
harmonic undervoltage relay connected as
illustrated in Fig. 2. Third-harmonic voltages are
present at the neutral of most generators to
varying degrees - it varies due to differences in
stator winding pitch, machine load and power
factor. If present in a sufficient amount, this
voltage can be used to detect stator ground
faults near the generator neutral. For faults near
the neutral, the level of 3rd harmonic voltage
measured at the neutral decreases.

Fig. 3: Third harmonic ratio method.

Thus, an undervoltage relay operating on 3rd

harmonic voltage measured at the neutral
as illustrated in Fig. 2 can be used to detect
faults near the neutral. The ground faults in the
remaining portion of the winding are detected
by conventional 59N protection, which operates on fundamental frequency.
The overlap of these two protection zones provides 100% stator ground
fault protection.
100% stator ground fault protection using 3rd harmonic ratio method
The 3rd harmonic voltage is present at both the generator terminal as well as
at the neutral. For faults near the neutral, the 3rd harmonic decreases when
measured at the generator neutral as discussed above. The terminal 3rd
harmonic at the terminal, however, increases. The ratio of terminal/neutral
3rd harmonic voltage can be used to detect faults near the neutral.
The ratio varies with generator winding pitch, loading and power factor as
illustrated in Table 1 [2]. The ratio method is more secure than using just the
neutral undervoltage method, but does require a broken delta voltage
measurement at the generator terminal. This measurement requires that
terminal VTs be connected line-to-ground as illustrated in Fig. 3. The blind
spot occurs at the mid-winding and is protected by the conventional
59N relay.
100% stator ground fault using low frequency injection

Fig. 4: 100% stator ground fault using low frequency injection.

The two 3rd harmonic schemes described above for 100% stator ground
fault protection have limitations in their applications. The most common
limitation being that there may not be enough 3rd harmonic present to allow
fault detection. Since the 3rd harmonic varies with power factor and load,
a secure setting may not be possible. For these cases, 100% stator ground
fault protection is still possible using a subharmonic injection scheme that
is widely used in Europe but not used much in North America. The scheme
shown in Fig. 4 provides full coverage of the entire stator winding. It also
provides off-line detection of stator ground faults. The recent price reductions
in the cost of the injection equipment have made this an attractive choice
for many users.
Field ground fault detection (64F)
The field circuit of a generator is an ungrounded (typically) 600 - 800 V DC
system, as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5: A basic generator field circuit.

A single field ground fault generally will not affect the operation of a
generator, nor will it produce any immediate damaging effects. However,
the probability of a second ground fault occurring is greater after the
first ground fault has established a ground reference. When a second
ground fault occurs, a portion of the field winding will be short-circuited,
thereby producing unbalanced air gap fluxes in the machine. These
unbalanced fluxes produce unbalanced magnetic forces, which result
in machine vibration. A field ground fault also produces rotor iron heating
from the unbalanced short circuit currents. The tripping practices within the
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GENERATION
industry for field ground relaying are not well
established. Some users trip while others prefer
to alarm, thereby risking a second ground
fault and major damage before the first
ground is cleared.
The existing practice within the industry has
been to use voltage detection systems.
These voltage schemes have been prone
to false operation - especially during startup. Unit operators routinely reset the alarm
and continue with start-up procedures.
If a persistent alarm occurred, operators
attempted to locate the problem. If
the ground could not be found within a
reasonable time, the unit was supposed to
be tripped manually. However, the many
nuisance alarms and the very few legitimate
ones caused some unit operators to lose
confidence in the field ground voltage
scheme. Therefore, the alarm lost credibility.
Operators continued to keep the units online, hoping that a second ground would
not occur. Catastrophic rotor failures have
occurred due to a second ground in the field
developing very quickly after the first ground.
In these instances, the operators were not
able to isolate the cause of the first alarm,
nor were they able to bring the units off-line
in an orderly fashion before the second
ground occurred.
Clearly, a more secure field ground relay
is desirable if automatic tripping is being
considered. Such a relay is shown in Fig. 6
and uses an injection principle. This principle
has been widely used in Europe with great
success, but until recently, it was not available
in a multifunction relay. As illustrated in
Fig. 6, a 15 V square wave signal is injected
into the field through a coupling network.
The return signal waveform is modified due
to field winding capacitance. The injection
frequency setting is adjusted (0,1 to 1,0 Hz) to
compensate for field winding capacitance.
From the input and return voltage signals, the
relay calculates the field insulation resistance.
The relay setpoints are in ohms, typically with a
20 k and a 5 k critical alarm or trip.
The injection scheme provides a major
improvement over traditional voltage
schemes in terms of both sensitivity as well
as security. In addition, digital relays can
provide real-time monitoring of field insulation
resistance so deterioration with time can be
monitored. The scheme can also detect
grounds on an off-line generator, allowing the
operator to determine if the field circuitry is
free of a ground before start-up. An added
benefit of the injection scheme described
above is that it operates at a low voltage
(15 V) compared to the scheme it typically
replaces (120 V), thus improving operator
safety when changing brushes with the
unit on-line.

Enhancing generator
system backup
security (21-2)
A mho distance
relay characteristic is
commonly used to etect
system phase faults and
to trip the generator after
a set time delay. These
relays, however, have
frequently operated
improperly during major
system disturbances
- unnecessarily tripping
generators and thereby
exacerbating the
disturbance.
This was the case during
the 1996 West Coast
blackout. Investigation
revealed that these relays
were improperly set for
the system conditions
they encountered
and were expected
Fig. 6: Field ground protection using an injection voltage signal.
to ride through. They
operated due to stable
Transmission system protection: If the
power swings or load encroachment during
transmission lines exiting the power
low system voltage conditions.
plant have proper primary and backup
The IEEE Power System Relay Committee,
through the latest revision of C-37.102 [1],
provides guidance on setting this relay. The
relays impedance reach and delay settings
must be coordinated with transmission
backup protection and breaker failure to allow
selectivity. Typically, the phase distance relays
reach begins at the generator terminals and
ideally extends to the length of the longest
line out of the power plant transmission
substation. Some factors impacting the
settings are as follows:

protection, as well as local breaker failure,

the need to set the 21-2 generator relay
to respond to faults at the end of the
longest lines is mitigated since local
backup has been provided on the
transmission system.

Load impedance: Settings should be

checked to ensure the maximum load
impedance (Zload = kV/ MVAG) at the
generators rated power factor angle
(RPFA) does not encroach into the
21-2 relay setting. A typical margin of
150- 200% is recommended [1] to avoid
tripping during power swing conditions.
Due to recent blackouts caused by
voltage collapse, the 21-2 distance
setting should be checked for proper

In-feeds: Apparent impedance due to

multiple infeeds will require larger reaches
to cover long lines and will overreach
adjacent shorter lines. The apparent
impedance
effect occurs
because the
generator is
only one of
several sources
of fault current
for a line fault.
This causes the
ohmic value
of the faulted
line to appear
further away
and require a
larger ohmic
setting to cover
faults at the
remote end of
the line.
Fig. 7: Generator phase distance backup [rotection settings.
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GENERATION
The capability
cur ve for the
generator and
settings are
plotted on the
R-X diagram as
shown in Fig. 7.
The time delay
for the 21-2
relay should be
set longer than
the transmission
lines backup and
breaker failure
protection with
an appropriate
margin for proper
coordination.
Fig. 8: Security enhancements for generator phase backup distance protection.

operating margins when the generator

is subjected to low system voltage. Note
that the impedance is reduced by the
square of the voltage. System voltage
under emergency conditions can reduce
to planned levels of 90 to 94% of nominal
ratings. Utility transmission planners should
be consulted for worst-case emergency
voltage levels. In almost all cases, the
loadability considerations limit the reach
of the generator 21-2 backup relay
setting.
Setting generator backup distance protection
with adequate margin over load and stable
power swings is an art as well as a science.
The 21-2 relay element is typically set at the
smallest of the following three criteria:

120% of the longest line with in-feeds.

50 to 67% of the generator load

impedance (Zload) at the rated power
factor angle (RPFA) of the generator. This
provides a 150 to 200% margin over
generator full load. This is typically the
prevailing criteria.

80 to 90% of generator load impedance

at the maximum torque angle of the 21-2
impedance relay setting (typically 85).

To enhance
security and safe
load margins
while still providing the necessar y 21-2
relay reach, it is possible to use both load
encroachment and out-of-step blocking
techniques. Out-of-step blocking uses a
21-3 impedance element that completely
surrounds the 21-2 trip element to provide
blocking logic.
The zone 3-distance element must be set
less than the capability of the generator
as illustrated in Fig. 8. For power system
swing conditions, the impedance locus
will first enter into zone 3 before entering
zone 2. For fault conditions, the impedance
will instantaneously enter the zone 2-trip
characteristic. Out-of-step logic is provided
such that if zone 3 operates prior to
zone 2, a power swing condition exists and
zone 2 is blocked from operating. To enhance
steady-state loadability, a notch blinder is
used as illustrated in Fig. 8. The part of the
zone 2-trip circle is blocked from operating
to increase loadability at the generators
rated power factor angle (RPFA). Both these
techniques are available in multifunction
digital generator relay packages.
New or additional protection areas
Inadvertent generator
energizing (27/50)

50
Overcurrent
I>P.U.

27
Undervoltage*
V<P.U.

Pickup
Delay

Output
Contact
Dropout
Delay

* On all three phases simultaneously

Fig. 9: Inadvertent energizing schemes.

Inadvertent or
accidental energizing of
synchronous generators
(27/50) has been an
industr y problem in
recent years. A number
of machines have been
damaged, or in some
c a s e s, c o m p l e t e l y
destroyed when they
were accidentally

energize - May 2006 - Page 50

energized while off-line. The frequency of

these occurrences has prompted generator
manufacturers to recommend that the
problem be addressed through dedicated
protective relay schemes. Operating
errors, breaker contact flashovers, control
circuit malfunctions, or a combination of
these causes, have resulted in generators
becoming accidentally energized while offline. In industrial applications, the major cause
of inadvertent energization of generators
has been closing the generator breaker
through the mechanical close/trip control
at the breaker itself - thereby defeating the
electrical interlocks.
Due to the severe limitation of conventional
generator relaying to detect inadvertent
energizing, dedicated protection schemes
have been developed and installed. Unlike
conventional protection schemes, which
provide protection when equipment is in
service, these schemes provide protection
when equipment is out of service. one method
widely used to detect inadvertent energizing
is the voltagesupervised overcurrent scheme
shown in Fig. 9. An undervoltage element with
adjustable pickup and dropout time delays
supervises an instantaneous overcurrent relay.
The undervoltage detectors automatically
arm the overcurrent tripping when the
generator is taken off-line. The undervoltage
detector will disable or disarm the overcurrent
relay when the machine is returned to
service. Great care should be taken when
implementing this protection, so that the
DC tripping power and relay input quantities
to the scheme are not removed when the
generator is off-line.
Conclusions
There are several functional protection
areas on generators twenty years or older
which have significant shortcomings when
compared to current IEEE-recommended
generator protection practices. This paper
identifies a number of these protection
areas and the risks of not addressing
these shortcomings. It also points out the
advantages of using multifunction digital
relaying to upgrade generator protection as
a technology that offers many advantages
over older electromechanical relays.
References
[1]

IEEE Guide for AC Generator Protection,

ANSI/IEEE C37.102-2005.

[2]

Pope, J.W., A Comparison of 100%

Stator Ground Fault Protection Schemes
for Generator Stator Windings, IEEE
Transactions, Power Applications, April
1984.

Contact Ivica Debeljkovic, Dipro,

Tel 082 574-1327,
ivica.dipro@netactive.co.za