TRANSFORMER

PROTECTION

Transformer Technology Design and Operation

University of Queensland July 2009
Transformer
windings damaged
by excessive
through fault
current
Fault Rate
„ In the order of 1 fault per 100 years per
transformer
TYPES OF TRANSFORMER
FAULT
„ Phase-ground faults - from winding to core or winding to
tank
„ Phase-phase faults - between windings
„ Interturn faults - between single turns or adjacent layers
of the same winding
„ Arcing contacts
„ Local hotspots caused by shorted laminations
„ External faults causing thermal or mechanical damage
„ overloads
TYPES OF TRANSFORMER
FAULT
„ Low level internal partial discharges
(moisture ingress or design problems)
„ Bushing faults (internal to the tank)
„ Tapchanger faults (often housed in a
separate tank)
„ Terminal faults (external to the tank, but
inside the transformer zone)
Protection Grouping
„ As far as possible, select one protection type in each
protection group (X/Y or Main/Backup) to cover each
type of fault.

This will achieve the best diversity of fault coverage.

BUCHHOLZ RELAY
„ provides very sensitive protection for oil-
filled transformers and reactors
„ only suitable for transformers fitted with an
oil conservator
„ arguably the best overall transformer
protection for internal faults
„ can be sensitive to accidental bumps or
pump starts
Buchholz Relay
(EMB Germany)
BUCHHOLZ – alarms for:

„ Local winding overheating - alarm

„ Local core overheating (short circuited
laminations)
„ Bad contacts or joints
„ Partial discharge
„ Broken down core bolt insulation
BUCHHOLZ – trips for:

„ Detection of loss of or low oil due to

… 1. Leaky pipe joints
… 2. Tank faults
… 3. Contraction of oil under low
temperatures and light load

„ major internal faults (inter-turn faults or

faults involving earth) which result in oil
surges to the conservator.
BUCHHOLZ PRINCIPLE

„ There are two floats in the relay:

… upper float - detects accumulation of gas –
generates alarm only
… lower float - detects surge in oil - trips in less
than 100ms
… optional “loss of oil” trip, associated with trip
float
Normal state
to ground
level gas
receiver
alarm float

contacts

mercury wetted relayfor alarm

to conservator

reverse flow
oil guard
adjustable trip float
tripping
vane contacts
mercury
to transformer wetted relay
for trip

screw removal for low oil trip

Gas build-up alarm

GAS
OIL
Oil surge trip

oil surge
Pressure Relief Device

„ “Qualitrol” brand - a spring assisted

pressure relief device
„ relieves pressure impulses due to
massive internal fault conditions.
„ helps prevent the tank bursting or
splitting
„ relay contacts are also connected to
trip the transformer.
Pressure Relief Device
„ Since pressure waves travel with a finite
velocity, they may rupture the tank locally
before the pressure wave has reached the
pressure relief device, if it is some
distance away. Several units are therefore
often used on larger transformers.
Pressure Relief Device
„ Spring resets after pressure is relieved -
this prevents excessive oil loss
„ uses hydraulic amplification to achieve fast
operation - several ms
Qualitrol™
Other pressure relief devices
„ On-load tap changer tanks may be fitted
with a simpler gas impulse relay to protect
against tapchanger failure
Overtemperature
„ generally regarded as overload protection
„ also deals with failure of or interference with
pumps and fans or shutting of valves to
pumps
„ Winding hot spot temperature is the main
issue, but both oil and winding temperatures
are usually measured and used to:
… initiate an alarm
… trip circuit breakers
… control fans and pumps
Overtemperature
„ Two temperatures must be monitored
… Winding temperature (‘WTI’) - (short
thermal τ) this can rise rapidly, without
much of an increase in oil temperature
… Oil temperature (‘OTI’) - (long thermal τ)
this can rise slowly to a critical point
without an unacceptable winding
temperature increase
Temperature Measurement
„ most common device uses a Bourdon Tube
(invented 1849) to measure temperatures

„ probe placed in oil-filled pocket at the top of

transformer - mercury expansion in the probe
causes the spiral Bourdon tube to try to
straighten, rotating a mechanical arm
 Conventional
Bourdon tube
based
temperature
indicator
(Kihlstrom)

Typically two of these

are used per
transformer - one for
winding (including load
compensation) and
one for oil
Winding temperature calculation
„ a calculated value of winding hot spot is
made from measurements of oil
temperature and load current
„ a heater, driven by a load current CT, and
together with a matching unit, is used as a
thermal model of the main winding.
„ heater can be located in the oil pocket
placed in the top oil, (the hottest place) or in
the WTI itself.
Typical bourdon tube scheme with
winding temperature compensation
Matching heater
CT unit
(transformer
dependent)
Alternatives
„ embedded fibre optic sensors for direct
measurement of winding hot spot temp are
also popular, especially during factory tests
„ an RTD (resistance temperature detector)
can also used to measure top oil temp
„ winding temperature can also be calculated,
(in e.g. a PLC or RTU) from measured top oil
temp and load current
„ these approaches have not displaced the
proven, economical and robust Kihlstrom
Typical alarm and trip levels
(dependent on asset management policy)

„ winding alarm - 90ºC to 110ºC

„ winding trip - 110ºC to 135ºC
„ oil alarm - 80ºC to 95ºC
„ oil trip - 95ºC to 115ºC

„ Oil trip may be disabled if transformer is readily accessible by

maintenance crews – on the grounds they can visit sub and may be
able to remedy problem. This is a controversial practice.
Temperature vs life
„ economic gains are possible from short time
overloads - “life used” calculations may permit
higher temperatures for short periods, but WTI
trip needs to be more complex or monitored
„ 110 ºC winding hot spot temperature gives
‘standard’ 20-25 year life of insulation
„ Roughly every 7 ºC increase in temperature
doubles the rate of loss of life for paper in oil
insulation
Fuses for Transformers
„ Used in transformers up to a rating of
typically 1MVA, but no higher than10MVA
„ fuses should be rated continuously for
emergency overload – this is a
fundamental limit to their sensitivity to
faults
Advantages of Fuses
„ Fuses provide reasonable protection at low cost
– good for low cost (small) transformers
„ Some (HRC) fuses are actually better than a
relay/circuit breaker combination in limiting the
amount of damage to plant (and personnel)
Disadvantages of Fuses
„ The cost of replacement, including time
„ They often do not offer protection at currents just
above fuse rating - often failing explosively. This
means – fuses are for protection against faults,
not protection against overloads
„ No better sensitivity to earth faults than to inter-
phase faults (c.f. O/C and E/F relays)
„ Time-current characteristics are influenced by
ambient temperature and pre-fault load current
Inrush Current Withstand
„ fuse must be able to withstand the
magnetizing inrush current that occurs
on energization
… 6xrated current for up to 1s
… 10x to 12x rated current for 100ms
… 25x rated current for 10ms
Lightning Performance
„ lightning-caused overvoltages may cause
transient line charging and transformer
inrush, leading to fuse deterioration or even
spurious operation
Fuses Types for Transformers

„ High rupturing capacity (HRC) fuses for

ground level (padmount) transformers –
these are always also current limiting
fuses
„ Expulsion drop-out fuses for pole mounted
transformers
High Rupturing Capacity (HRC)
Fuses
„ For these current limiting fuses, the prospective
peak fault current is not reached, except for low
level faults
„ Fully enclosed in a ceramic body with quartz
filling and metal end caps
„ Elements are quite expensive (up to hundreds of
dollars)
„ Only ‘Full Range’ fuses guaranteed to safely
break all currents which melt the element
Current limiting fuse
Current Limiting Characteristic
prospective current

cut-off current

peak voltage recovery voltage

Expulsion Drop-out (EDO) Fuses
„ For external use only, on distribution circuits
„ not of the current limiting variety – these
interrupt at a current zero
„ Used on distribution systems at 11 to 33kV
and up to 3MVA
Expulsion Drop-out (EDO) Fuses
„ elements are low cost – in order of $10
„ “drop-out” action prevents tracking across
burnt sections of the fuse and provides a
visual indication of operation
„ Have a limited upper breaking current
capability
Expulsion Drop-out (EDO) Fuses
„ Be aware there are two types
… type ‘K’ – fast
… type ‘T’ – slow

„ Type ‘K’ can sometimes blow spuriously,

hence the development of type ‘T’
„ Don’t mix the two types
Expulsion
drop-out
fuse
Expulsion drop-out
fuse after operation
Co-ordination of fuses
„ a margin between the maximum clearing
time of the downstream fuse and the
minimum melting time of the upstream
fuse is required
„ HRC fuses - charts used
„ EDO fuses
… ‘75% of min. melting time’ rule
… tables of max coordination current
Chart for grading
HRC Fuses maximum
total I2t

minimum
pre-arcing
I2t

100
125
160
200
250
32
35
40
50
63
80
Fuse Rating
 Fuse grading chart
Graphically
grading 10

EDO Fuses 9
(method 1)
8

7 Max clearing time fuse B

Fuse A’s
Min melting time fuse B
max 6
time (s)

clearing 5
time to be Max clearing time fuse A
4
less than Min melting time fuse A
3
75% fuse
B’s min 2
melting time 1
at max fault
0
current 10 100 1000
Current (A)
OVERCURRENT & EARTH FAULT
PROTECTION RELAYS
„ Used in transformers up to approximately
50MVA
„ For 10MVA tx – provides main protection
„ For 50MVA tx– provides backup protection
only
„ Common at voltages up to about 66kV
Overcurrent (O/C) Protection

„ An overcurrent relay sees phase currents

and hence all types of fault
„ Overcurrent relay settings must be above
transformer emergency overload – as with
fuses, this determines the fundamental
limit to their sensitivity
Overcurrent (O/C) Protection

„A suitable margin should also be

allowed in the current setting for:
…growth in load - always
…relay reset ratio - optional
…cold load pick-up - optional (often a relay
feature)
…transformer taps - optional
Overcurrent (O/C) Protection

„ An instantaneous O/C element can

usually be used to provide very fast
clearance for faults close to the HV
terminal
„ Must be set such that LV faults are not
seen - discrimination
Coping with load growth

„ allow for a number of years of forecast

growth and review after this time …….or
„ base setting on transformer emergency
rating
… safer option, but slower and less sensitive if
transformer capacity not fully utilised yet
… review needed only when transformer replaced
Cold load pickup – two aspects
1. Starting current of motors – lasts about
10s
2. Restarting of heating, air-conditioning, or
refrigeration plant after prolonged outage
– lasts many minutes
Cold load pickup – motor starting
current

Short term increase in load following

energisation (from Areva NPAG)
Earth Fault (E/F) Protection

„ An earth fault (E/F) relay sees either

transformer neutral or residual (sum of
three phases) current, depending on CT
location
„ hence sees earth faults only
„ E/F relays can be set well below load –
10% of load typical.
 NEF = Neutral Earth
Fault relay
circuit breaker
current transformer

Relay
Locations HV O/C & E/F
HV NEF

LV NEF

LOAD
Physical Arrangements
„ Older installations often economically
configured as
2 x O/C relays + 1 x E/F relay
„ where a 2:1:1 current distribution is
possible, 3 x O/C + 1 x E/F is better
„ This improves sensitivity and speed
2:1:1 Current distribution - example
LV PHASE-PHASE FAULT
a b a

c
c

33kV 11kV
2 x O/C + 1 x E/F arrangement
A

O/C

E/F

O/C
Winding earth fault
Winding fault current
is not easily seen at
primary terminals (i.e.
residual earth fault
connection).
A NEF relay, on the
other hand, sees
actual fault current,
and so is a better
option

From Network Protection

and Automation Guide -
Areva
Grading Relays
„ Each O/C or E/F relay must be time graded with
its neighbouring O/C or E/F relay
„ There must therefore be a time margin between
successive relay settings, typically around 0.4s
for the highest fault current
„ relays need to be graded only for highest fault
current – this ensures discrimination at all lower
fault currents
Grading Relays
„ The requirement for time grading means
that overcurrent and earth fault relays can
be quite slow
„ Next relays up in the hierarchy are
differential relays
 3.0
Relay grading chart

2.5
Time margin between relay
curves at max fault current
2.0 (100A here) must be ≥ 0.4s
time (s)

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
10 100 1000
Current (relay Amps)
 Contribution of delta winding to earth
fault current – example 1
fault
point

only positive and negative only zero sequence

sequence current from current from this side
this side

unearthed star-star transformer transmission line star-delta transformer

generator impedance Z1 = Z2 = Z0 = Z impedance = zero impedance Z1 = Z2 = Z0 = Z

HEALTHY PHASE CURRENT FLOW DURING AN EARTH FAULT

Contribution of delta winding to earth
fault current – example 2
fault
point

only positive and negative positive, negative and zero

sequence current flowing sequence current flowing on
on this side this side

unearthed star-star-delta transformer transmission line

generator impedance Z1 = Z2 = Z0 = Z impedance = zero

CONTRIBUTION OF TRANSFORMER DELTA TERTIARY TO FAULT

CURRENT DURING AN EARTH FAULT WITH UNEARTHED GENERATOR
DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION
„ two types, operating on very different
principles:
„ Biased differential relays
based on the balance of ampere-turns
„ High impedance differential relays
based on Kirchhoff’s Current Law
DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION
„ Sensitive – down to <10% of rating
„ fast operating (20 - 40 ms)
„ Depending on CT location, will also detect
terminal faults (a snake across a bushing,
for example)
High Impedance Differential
Protection
„ Especially sensitive, very fast
„ One scheme required for each galvanically
connected set of windings i.e. one for HV
windings and one for LV windings if
galvanically separate
High Impedance Differential
Protection
„ ideal for auto-transformers, as HV and LV
are galvanically connected – thus requires
only one three phase scheme for
transformer (note: delta winding must be
separately protected)
„ Not usually applied to delta windings –
many CTs required for overlap
Principle of ‘Hi-Z Diff’

relay is
stable for
RELAY
thru faults
and load
relay operates for faults to other
windings or earth

RELAY
FAULT
but relay does not operate for inter-
turn faults!

INTER-TURN
FAULT
RELAY
Why high impedance?
„ The relay must have a high impedance to
prevent CT magnetising current from spilling into
the relay for heavy through faults
„ This approach was empirically derived in the
1950s
„ The spill current arises because the CTs are not
ideal current sources, but draw magnetizing
current
CT Equivalent Circuit

RCT

leads + relay
Zmag
Setting the relay
„ The relay is a simple, low impedance,
attracted armature O/C relay, to which we
must add a high resistance
„ Assume each CT in turn goes short circuit
(saturates) for external fault and calculate
voltage across relay when this happens
„ Set relay/resistor combination such that
this voltage just operates relay
 Setting the relay - example
TO OTHER CT's IN SCHEME
10 A 7A 3A

Rct R leads R leads Rct

8 ohm 2 ohm
SETTING
RESISTOR 3600A
12000A (ca. 1000 ohm)
V = 100V
CT1 10A x (8ohm + 2 ohm) CT2
RELAY <10 ohm

This CT saturates due to the

fault current flowing through it. ALL CT's 1200:1
It now looks like a short circuit!

Vrelay setting = ICT1 . ( R CT1 + R LEADS1 ) = 10A x (8Ω + 2Ω) = 100V

HIGH IMPEDANCE
DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION

„ two possible schemes

… fullscheme for interphase and earth faults
… Restricted Earth Fault (REF) scheme
„ Detects faults where current flows from
inside to outside the CT defined zone
„ Does not detect intra-winding faults,
(shorted turns)
Full Hi Z Diff scheme
A
detects winding to earth faults
and interphase faults, but
not interturn faults
Hi Z Diff

Hi
Z Dif
f

f
Z Dif
Hi
C B
Restricted Earth Fault (REF)
A

detects winding earth faults only

not interphase or interturn faults

C B
REF
BIASED DIFFERENTIAL
PROTECTION
„ based on the balance of ampere-turns
between windings
„ detects faults down to about 10% of rating
„ Not quite as sensitive as Hi Z diff, but
provides more comprehensive protection
„ Some, especially older relays, prone to
tripping spuriously on inrush current when
energised
BIASED DIFFERENTIAL PRINCIPLE -
but without bias
1A 1:1
10:1
10:1 10A

1A
1A

RELAY

PRINCIPLE OF DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION

(LOAD CONDITION ILLUSTRATED - STABLE)
BIAS WINDINGS

BIAS WINDINGS

OPERATING WINDING
BIAS WINDINGS
„ introduced to compensate for undesired
unbalance current flowing in the operate
winding
Electro-mechanical biased differential relay
Metropolitan-Vickers Type DT circa 1950
Moving coil design - 3.5VA and 2 x 0.2VA at In
operating time: <1 cycle to 3.5 cycles
1 operate and
2 bias coils
Electro-mechanical biased
differential relay
UNBALANCE CURRENTS
CAUSED BY - 1
„ Mismatch between actual transformer
turns ratio (tap changer range) and turns
ratios of the CT’s.
… The CT ratios are selected to balance on the
middle tap
… user must calculate this and allow for it in
setting the relay
UNBALANCE CURRENTS
CAUSED BY - 2
„ Transformer inrush current on
energization.
… Inrush current produces a current from the
energizing side only, appearing as an internal
fault.
… This current is characterized by the
appearance of second harmonics, so
additional restraint is required
… no setting calculations required
0.5

-0.5

-1

-1.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

1.5

0.5

-0.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

0.4

0.2

-0.2

-0.4

-0.6
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

Inrush current
UNBALANCE CURRENTS
CAUSED BY - 3
„ Magnetizing current in the CT’s, especially
as some saturation due to DC fault current
sets in.
… The amount of bias is increased under heavy
through fault conditions to compensate for
possible CT saturation
… no setting calculations required, but an
adequate CT class must be selected
UNBALANCE CURRENTS
CAUSED BY - 4
„ Overfluxing, caused by too high a voltage,
or too low a frequency.
… Thisis characterized by fifth harmonics. Fifth
harmonic restraint is therefore added
… no user calculations or settings are required
Multiple CT inputs
„ relays with up to five bias windings, (to
accommodate transformers connected to
five other circuits) are available
Biased Differential
Fault coverage
„ protects every winding on the transformer
… (remember: each high impedance differential
protects only one galvanically connected
entity)
„ detects shorted turns
… (remember: high impedance differential
doesn’t - the ampere turns balance principle is
required for this)
CT connections and ratios for
older type relays (pre early 90’s)
„ CT’s for a delta connected primary must
be star connected
CT’s for a star connected primary must be
delta connected
„ The vector group of the protected
transformer must be taken into account or
the scheme won’t balance
example:
Vector group
for Yd11
CT connections and ratios
„ compensates for the phase shift across
a star-delta transformer.
… The vector group of the transformer must
be taken into account in connecting the
CT’s to ensure that through currents
balance.
„ prevents any zero sequence currents
flowing in the star winding from entering
the relay
… since they are not present in the line on the
delta side.
CT ratio selection
„ The CT ratios must be opposite to the
transformer ratio
„ CT ratios must allow for the fact that
current flowing into the relay from the delta
connected CT's is root 3 times the CT
secondary current
… CT's with ratios such as 1000/0.577 are, for
this reason, quite common.
CT connections

B B
O
B B
O
B - BIAS WINDING
B B
O - OPERATING WINDING O

BIASED DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION ARRANGEMENT

FOR A STAR-DELTA TRANSFORMER
 N
A a
A2
A1 A2 a2 a2
B a1 b
c2
C2 B2 B1 B2 b2
C b1 c b2

C1 C2 c2 c1

Yd1
A B C n a b c

N
A a
A2
A1 A2 a2 a1 a2
B b
b2
C2 B2 B1 B2 b2 b1
C c c2

C1 c2 c1
C2

A B C
Yd11 n a b c
 OPERATING
CHARACTERISTICS
„ if currents into the two sides of a relay are I1
& I2, then relay is constructed so that there
are two counteracting forces:-
1. A RESTRAINT or BIAS QUANTITY = (|I1| + |I2|)÷2
essentially, restraint is defined as ∝ |I1| + |I2|

2. An OPERATE QUANTITY = |I1 - I2|

 DIFFERENTIAL CURRENT
Typical internal fault curve
)
0%
lly8
pica
(ty
pe
OPERATE slo
nt
I1 - I2

ta
operating point REGION ns
co
ally 2 0%)
ic
nt slope (typ CT saturation causes
consta line to tip up
Bias increases here to
0.5In setting allow for CT saturation
range maximum slope of 'through
current' curve depends on
margin RESTRAIN tapping range and CT mismatch
0.1In REGION
Typical setting range In
0.1In to 0.5In BIAS CURRENT (I1+I2)/2
GE T60 relay
TAP CHANGER POSITION
„ For any setting of tap changer and through
current, and given the CT ratios, the
values of bias current and differential
current can easily be calculated.
SETTINGS
„ typical setting allows:
„ 15% margin above the line representing
… the worst mismatch of transformer ratio & CT
ratios (remember root 3 for delta CT’s!)
„ to decide worst case - consider the overall
scheme
… at the top tap position .......... & then
… at the bottom tap position.
Tapping Factor & Tapping Range
•There is a tapping factor for each tapping
•the tapping factor is the ratio Ud/UN where
•UN is the rated voltage of the tapped winding on
the principal tapping (nominal tap)
•Ud is the open circuit voltage of the tapped
winding on the tap under consideration

Tapping Range = extreme values of tapping

factor
Example:

„ 132/66kV 80MVA auto Transformer with a delta tertiary

winding is protected by a biased differential relay
„ Transformer tapping is on 132kV winding (just above the
LV tap)
„ Tapping range is -15 to +5%
(ie 85% to 105% of 132kV = 112.2 to 138.6 kV)

„ CT's HV 600/1 delta connected

LV 1200/1 delta connected

„ What is the mismatch at the extremes of the tapping

range?
Example:
132kV 66kV

600/1 1200/1

B B

R
 Mismatch Calculation formula

⎡ CTuntappedwdg × k1 ⎤
⎢ CTtappedwdg × k 2 − (1 + T ) × Nnom ⎥
Mismatch = 2 × ⎣ ⎦
⎡ CTuntappedwdg × k1 ⎤
⎢ CTtappedwdg × k 2 + (1 + T ) × Nnom ⎥
⎣ ⎦
Where k1 = √3 for delta connected CTs
k1 = 1 for star connected CTs
T = tapping range (consider both extremes)
Nnom is transformer ratio on nominal/principal tap
Bottom tap
For T = -0.15

⎡1200 × 3 ⎤
⎢ − (1 + −0.15) × 2⎥
⎣ 600 × 3 ⎦
Mismatch = 2 ×
⎡1200 × 3 ⎤
⎢ + (1 + −0.15) × 2⎥
⎣ 600 × 3 ⎦

=16.2%
Top tap
For T = +0.05

⎡1200 × 3 ⎤
⎢ − (1 + 0.05) × 2⎥
⎣ 600 × 3 ⎦
Mismatch = 2 ×
⎡1200 × 3 ⎤
⎢ + (1 + 0.05) × 2⎥
⎣ 600 × 3 ⎦

=4.9%
OR – we can easily calculate the mismatch manually

132kV 66kV

600/1 1200/1

B B

1. calculate voltages at extremes of tapping range

132kV x 0.85 = 112.2kV bottom tap

132kV x 1.05 = 138.6kV top tap
 132kV 66kV

600/1 1200/1

B B

2. Select a convenient current to work with –

same answer for any current, (load or fault), as
we are working out a ratio (i.e. the slope Idiff ÷ Ibias)

So assume 600A at 132kV

3. Calculate currents in windings of relay on the bottom tap

On 132kV On 66kV

Ibias132 = 600 A ÷ CT 112 .2 kV

Ibias66 = 600 A × ÷ CT
= 600 A ÷ 1200 66 kV
= 1 .00 A = 600 A ×
112 .2 kV
÷ 1200
66 kV
= 0 .85 A

Irestraint = {|Ibias132|+|Ibias66|}/2 = 1.85/2 = 0.925A

Idiff = Ibias132 - Ibias66 = 1.00 - 0.85 = 0.15

Slope of mismatch = Idiff ÷ Irestraint =0.15 ÷ 0.925 = 16.2%

 Allow a 20% margin above mismatch line,
whose slope is 16.2%. This is simply a line
with slope 16.2% x 1.2 = 19.4%

Idiff
Slope = 50%

Slope = 20%
Slope = 1.2x16.2%=19.4%
Plenty of margin

Slope = 16.2%

(|Ibias_132 |+ |Ibias_66| ) ÷2
„ Repeat the process for the top tap, which
is clearly not as onerous in this case
UNRESTRAINED ELEMENT
„ separate, less sensitive function,
providing faster operation for HV terminal
faults only
„ differential element only - no bias of any
type, fundamental or harmonic
„ must be set to remain stable on the
heaviest through fault and on energization
– see manufacturer’s manual
CT REQUIREMENTS
„ some CT saturation is permissible for
through faults, mainly due to the DC
component of the fault current

„ Most manufacturers provide simple

equations to determine CT class - no
nasty calculations required
More than two circuits

„ Fundamental principle is…...

„ No pair of CT’s should be paralleled if
either’s circuit is capable of supplying fault
current into the circuit to which the other
CT is connected
… separate restraint windings are required here
for each set of CT’s feeding the relay
More than two circuits
„ If neither can supply fault current to the
other ...... they may be paralleled, as there
is no possibility of spurious circulating
current in the paralleled CT’s
„ Recommended practice, nevertheless, is
to use a separate input winding for each
CT
Overfluxing protection
„ Caused generally by too high a voltage or
too low frequency
„ May cause magnetizing current to
increase to unacceptable levels/duration
„ Generally provided in modern biased
differential relays
Putting it all together - example
„ 1MVA transformer – fuses only
„ 10MVA transformer – O/C and E/F relays
„ 20MVA transformer – biased diff with
back-up O/C and E/F
„ 50MVA transformer - duplicate biased diff
or biased diff plus high Z diff
„ All with Buchholz, Pressure Relief Device
and Overtemperature where possible
EARTHING
TRANSFORMERS
operation
protection
Earthing transformers
„ provides a good earth reference for a delta
winding during earth faults
„ restricts the voltage rise on the healthy phase
during earth faults inoperative during balanced
voltage conditions
„ carry significant current only during earth faults
(unless tertiary supply) - I0 only
„ earthing transformer and associated power
transformer always tripped together
earth fault currents

LOAD

Earthing Transformer
Technical Ratings
„ per phase impedance is equal to zero
sequence impedance
„ short time rating (typically 3 sec)
„ continuous rating (typically 30A)
Calculation of fault current

3 × Vφ
I fault = 3 × I φ _ et =
Z φ _ et
Z φ _ et = ohms / phase
Vφ = phase − to − ground _ volts
 V Z1=0 F
N
Z2=0
F
N

Z0=0

N
Z0et=9ohms F
Construction
„ not supplied with conservators, but instead
use diaphragms to accommodate oil
expansion
„ no conservator means no Buchholz
protection
„ no overtemperature protection either!
Protection of Earthing
Transformers
„ two types of faults we need to consider:
… internalfaults - faults inside the earthing
transformer, the result of insulation
breakdown.
… external faults - faults on the system outside
the earthing transformer. These can cause
overheating of the earthing transformer
Internal Faults -
Overcurrent Protection
„ interturn, interwinding or winding-to-core
faults
„ fed from delta-connected current
transformers, so that earth faults on the
system, which generate a lot of zero-
sequence current, are not seen
„ since inter-phase faults also not seen,
setting can be very low
 LOAD

O/C relay does not operate for external O/C relay

earth faults
Def Time and IDMT E/F relays operate for Def Time E/F relay
external earth faults IDMT E/F relay

Earthing Transformer
overcurrent setting must be

„ greater than the magnetising current

„ greater than the maximum inrush current.
This depends on
… earthing transformer’s B-H characteristics
… the point-on-wave of the energisation
… the remanence of the core.
… one common estimate of upper bound is 50x
the magnetising current
Earth Fault Protection
„ detects long term residual voltage,
which may cause thermal damage
… remember - no overtemperature sensor
is provided
„ need to consider continuous and
short-time ratings, and set earth fault
below these curves
„ combination of IDMT and definite time
relays used to do this
 thermal protection
5 actual thermal limit
1 10

2300
adiabatic
4
thermal limit 30
1 10

3
1 10
TIME - SECONDS

earthing transformer E/F relay - Definite Time

100

10

earthing transformer
1
E/F relay - IDMT
downstream E/F relay

0.1 3 4
10 cont 100 1 10 max E/F 1 10
rating EARTH FAULT CURRENT - AMPS current
30A 2300A
EARTHING TRANSF THERMAL PROTECTION
biased differential protection
„ Earthing transformers are always included
in the biased differential zone of their
power transformer
„ current transformer connections important
… stability for external earth faults.
 400/0.577
A
1600/1
a

B
b

C c
N
all 1600/0.333
external
N earth
fault

0
N
0
N

OVERALL BIASED DIFFERENTIAL ARRANGEMENT FOR 132kV/33kV STAR-DELTA

TRANSFORMER WITH EARTHING TRANSFORMER