51T – Phase Overcurrent Protection Introduction

The most common protection against electrical faults is intuitively the detection of excessive
current causes by short circuiting of the live phases. This principle forms the basis of the
overcurrent protection and has been working well in the past in many of the protection schemes,
in particular distribution networks with radial connected feeders.

The overcurrent protection was started in the first generation with either time or fault current
level grading. However, when being realised with limitations and deficiencies, this form of
overcurrent protection has evolved from into graded overcurrent protection with discrimination
in both time and fault current levels. Using the time and current grades, phase time overcurrent
protection relays can have characteristics with operating times inversely proportional to the fault
current level that gives the best form of discrimination.

From then, the characteristics in the overcurrent protection relays are always designed as
functions of time and current settings. The protection characteristics use the protection standard
curves that can be set to have a different level in steepness. These flexibilities helps to create the
grades for the discriminate of faults on a feeder.

In general, there are five types of different

overcurrent protection characteristics. Their
functions and applications in a typical
overcurrent protection design can be
explained in the following.

· Standard Inverse Time Overcurrent

If a series of time against fault current log

graph are plotted with standard inverse time
overcurrent protection characteristics, the
discrimination can be improved by closing the
gaps (difference in operating times) of
adjacent circuit breakers in a sectioned feeder. The improvement can be made by reducing the
margin between the current and time plots on the graph.

· Very Inverse Time Overcurrent

The very inverse time overcurrent protection provides also the discriminations as in the standard
inverse curves. This type of curve however is more appropriately used as operating curves when
there is a substantial drop in fault current level on a radial feeder as the fault location is further
from the source. This scenario could arise when there is significant increment in the impedances
of the interconnecting cable/s or transformer/s moving from the relay point into the radial feeder.

· Extremely Inverse Time Overcurrent

The extremely inverse time overcurrent protection can has its operating time inversely
proportional to the fault current squared. This overcurrent characteristic is very suitable for
protection of feeder circuits subjected to frequent peak currents that could be resulted from
switching in of circuit breakers. Using these extreme inverse curves, the overcurrent protection
prevents any mal operation during transient on a “low” overcurrent condition without
compromising quick isolation on high fault current.

· Definite Time Overcurrent

Definite time overcurrent protection has no inverse characteristic i.e. the operation of overcurrent
protection has no reciprocal relation with the fault current measured.

This type of protection is particularly useful when the fault current varies very little on a feeder
from the relay point due to the changes in the source impedance. Given this, there is little
advantage to discriminate protection relays in series by fault current level. With definite time
grade under this circumstance, it will be more appropriate to grade the protection relays in
downstream. Definite time overcurrent also has an advantage of providing good coordination of
the relays operating at lower fault current.

· High Set (HS) Instantaneous Overcurrent

The high set instantaneous overcurrent protection is always designed to assist the time
overcurrent to improve tripping time at very high fault levels. With HS, the overall time grading
of protections can become more discriminative at very high fault currents.

Overcurrent protection relays can be set to the standard IEC or US curves for the protection
operating times. The standard curves have the operating and reset times in the following
equations.

tp Protection operating time in seconds

tr Electromechanical induction disk emulation reset in seconds
TMS Time multiplier setting
M Multiple of current above setting

US Moderately Inverse Curve: U1

US Inverse Curve: U2

US Very Inverse Curve: U3

US Extremely Inverse Curve: U4

US Short Time Inverse Curve: U5

IEC Class A Curve (Standard Inverse): C1

IEC Class B Curve (Very Inverse): C2

IEC Class C Curve (Extremely Inverse): C3

IEC Long Time Inverse Curve: C4

IEC Short Time Inverse Curve: C5

The complete study of the overcurrent protection to coordinate tripping times of the circuit
breakers in a connected system requires a detailed study of the connected network. This kind of
fault study requires the system parameters such as the voltage levels, equipment MVA ratings,
impedances of the interconnecting cables/ conductors, current transformer ratios etc as inputs.
Only with the fault current levels computed from these parameters, the overcurrent protection
settings can be graded correctly. APRICT_51T only uses the calculated settings for grading from
the studies to determine the protection operating time.