Electrical Power Systems

Protection And principle

Introduction
System Protection: the equipment use
to detect and isolate the faulty section
from the system automatically.

Introduction
Short circuit occur when equipment insulation
fails due to system overvoltages caused by:
Lightning or switching surges
Flashover line-line (caused by wind)
Flashover to tree

Insulation contamination by dirt/salt

Mechanical failure
Cable insulation failure

Natural causes
Tower/pole or conductor falls
Objects fall on conductors

Introduction
Short circuit currents can be several orders
of magnitude larger than normal operating
currents
If it is allowed to persist, may cause:
Damage to the equipment due to heavy currents,
unbalanced current, or low voltage produces by
the short circuit
Fire and explosion effect equipment/people
Disruption of service in the entire power system
area

Introduction
Careful design, operation and
maintenance of system protection can
minimize the occurrence of short
circuit but cannot eliminate them.

Fault Currents and Voltages

Function of System Protection

Cause the prompt removal from service of any
elements of power system when it suffers a short
circuit, or when it start to operate in any abnormal
manner that might cause damage or otherwise
interfere with the effective operation of the rest of
the system.
Provide indication of the location and type of failure
so that the data can be used to assist in expediting
repair and analyzing the effectiveness of faultprevention and mitigation features.

Function of System Protection

Why do we need system protection:
Detect fault
Isolate faulted component
Restore faulted component

Aims:
Continued supply for rest of system
Protect faulted part from damage

Types of Protection
A Fuses
For LV Systems, Distribution Feeders and
Transformers, VTs, Auxiliary Supplies

B - Over current and earth fault

Widely used in All Power Systems

Non-Directional
Directional

Types of Protection
C - Differential
For Distribution Feeders, Busbars,
Transformers, Generators etc
High Impedance
Low Impedance
Restricted E/F
Biased
Pilot Wire

Types of Protection
D - Distance
For Transmission and Sub-transmission Lines
and Distribution Feeders,
Also used as back-up protection for
transformers and generators without
signaling with signaling to provide unit
protection e.g.:
Time-stepped distance protection
Phase comparison for transmission lines
Directional comparison for transmission lines

Types of Protection
E - Miscellaneous:
Under and over voltage
Under and over frequency
A special relay for generators, transformers,
motors etc.
Control relays: auto-reclose, tap change
control, etc.
Tripping and auxiliary relays

Design Criteria/Characteristics
Economy
Simplicity
Speed
Reliability
Sensitivity

Selectivity

Design Criteria/Characteristics
Reliability
Operate dependably and in healthy operating
condition when fault conditions occur, even after
remaining idle for months or years.

Selectivity
Clearly discriminate between normal and abnormal
system condition to avoid unnecessary, false trips.

Sensitivity
Ability to distinguish the fault condition, although
the different between fault and normal condition
is small.

Design Criteria/Characteristics
Speed
Fault at any point in the system must be
detected and isolated rapidly to minimize fault
duration and equipment damage. Any intentional
time delays should be precise.

Economy
Provide maximum protection at minimum cost

Simplicity
Minimize protection equipment and circuitry

Economic Factor
Total cost should take account of :
Relays, schemes and associated panels and panel wiring
Setting studies
Commissioning
CTs and VTs
Maintenance and repairs to relays
Damage repair if protection fails to operate
Lost revenue if protection operates unnecessarily

Economic Factor
The cost of protection is equivalent to an insurance

policy against damage to plant, and loss of supply and

customer goodwill.
Acceptable cost is based on a balance of economics and

technical factors. Cost of protection should be balanced

against the cost of potential hazards.
There is an economic limit on what can be spent.
MINIMUM COST :Must ensure that all faulty equipment is

isolated by protection.

Relationship between reliability of supply, its

value and cost to the consumer

System Protection Components

Transducer / Instrument Transformer
Relay
Circuit Breaker

System Protection Components

Function:
Transducers/Instrument Transformers
Provide low current and voltage, standardized levels
suitable for the relays operation.

Relays
Discriminate between normal operating and fault
conditions.
When current exceed a specified value relay will be
operated and cause the trip coil of CB to be
energized/open their contact.

Circuit Breakers
Open the line

System Protection Components

System Protection Components

System Protection Flow

voltage or current rise from normal condition
voltage/current is reduced to match with relay rating
activate circuit breaker
circuit isolation

Fault
Fault Transducer Relay
Transducer Relay
Occur
Occur

Circuit
Circuit
Breaker
Breaker

Fault
Fault
Clear
Clear

Classification of relays
Common methods used to classify relay
are:
Function
Input source
Operating principles
Performance characteristics

Protective relay
Protective relay function to detect
defective lines or equipment, or other
power system conditions of abnormal
or dangerous nature, and to initiate
appropriate control circuit action. It
can be used to initiate switching
operations or actuate an alarm.

Protective relay (contd)

Over current relays

Under voltage relay
Differential relays
Reverse sequence relays
etc

Auxiliary relays
Auxiliary relay: provides a specific, or
secondary, function to assist another
relay or control a device in performing
a general function. Typical function
performed by auxiliary relay include
circuit seal-in, time delay, control
signals or lights, and contact
multiplications.

Auxiliary examples

Control relays
Time delay relays
Lockout relays
Trip and close relays

Monitoring
A monitoring relay function to verify
that system or control circuit
conditions conform to prescribed limits

Monitoring relay example

Alarm relays
Fault detector relay
Network phasing relays
Verification relays
Synchronism relays

Regulating relay
A regulating relay responds to normal
changes in system operating conditions
and functions to control system
parameters within specified operating
limits. Example of regulating relays
are:
Transformer tap changers
Generator governors

Programming relays
Functions to detect or establishes
electrical sequences. Example are:
Accelerating relays
Phase selector relays
Reclosing relays
Synchronising relays
Initiaeting relays

Relay classification by inputs

Current relays
Voltage relays
Power relays
Temperature relays
Pressure relays

Operating principle

Electromagnet relays
Solid-state relays
Harmonic restraint relays
Electromechanical relays
Percent differential relays
Sudden pressure relays
Thermal relays
Microprocessor or numerical relays

Performance characteristics

High speed differential relays

Directional-over current relays
Reverse power relays
Mho relays
Impedance relays
Over current relays
Under voltage relays
Phase balanced relays
Reactance relays
Frequency relays
Overload relays

Zones of Protection
For fault anyway within the zone, the
protection system responsible to
isolate everything within the zone from
the rest of the system.
Isolation done by CB
Must isolate only the faulty equipment
or section

Zones of Protection
Zones are defined for:

Generators
Transformers
Buses
Transmission and distribution lines
Motors

Zones of Protection

Zones of Protection
Characteristics:
Zones are overlapped.
Circuit breakers are located in the overlap
regions.
For a fault anywhere in a zone, all circuit
breakers in that zone open to isolate the
fault.

Overlapped of Protection
No blind spot:
Neighboring zones are overlapped to avoid
the possibility of unprotected areas

Use overlapping CTs:

Isolation done by CB. Thus, it must be
inserted in each overlap region to identify
the boundary of protective zones.

Overlapped of Protection
Overlap accomplish by having 2 sets of
instrument transformers and relays for each
CB.
Achieved by the arrangement of CT and CB.

Primary & Back-up Protection

Primary protection is the protection
provided by each zone to its elements.
However, some component of a zone
protection scheme fail to operate.
Back-up protection is provided which
take over only in the event of primary
protection failure.

Example
a) Consider the power system shown below, with the
generating source beyond buses 1, 3 and 4. What
are the zones of protection in which the system
should be divided? Which circuit breakers will open
for faults at P1 and P2?

Fault at P1 = A, B, C
Fault at P2 = A, B, C,D, E

Example
a) If three circuits breakers are added at the tap
point 2, how would the zones of protection be
modified? Which circuit breakers will operate for
fault at P1 and P2 under these conditions?

Fault at P1 = A, F
Fault at P2 = C,D,E,G

Zone Discrimination

A system as shown with relays and breakers marked. A

single fault has resulted in the operation of breakers
B1, B2, B3 and B4.Identify the location of the fault
Answer:
Fault in the overlap zone at breaker B2 as shown

Back-up Protection
1.Duplicate Primary
Provide primary protection when the primaryrelaying equipment is out of service for
maintenance or repair
Disconnect when primary relaying operates correctly
Operate with sufficient time delay (coordination
time delay) if primary not operate
When short circuit occur, both primary and back-up
start to operate, but if primary is operate, then the
back-up will reset.

Back-up Protection
2.Remote Back-up
located outside boundary of Zone of Protection

Example

Fault
K

Primary

Back-up

C, D, E

A, B, F

Example

Fault
Line E, F

Primary
C, D, E, F, G, H

Back-up
A, B, I, J

Transducers
Also known as Instrument Transformer
Use to reduce abnormal current & voltage
levels and transmit input signals to the
relays of a protection system.
Why do we need transducer:
The lower level input to the relays ensures that
the physical hardware used to construct the
relays will be small & cheap
The personnel who work with the relays will be
working in a safe environment.

Transducers
Current and Voltage Transformers
Correct connection of CTs and VTs to the
protection is important directional,
distance, phase comparison and
differential protections.
Earth CT and VT circuits at one point only;

VT and CT Schematic

Voltage Transformers
VT is considered to be sufficiently
accurate.
It is generally modeled as an ideal
transformer.
VT secondary connected to voltagesensing device with infinite
impedance.

Voltage Transformers
Types of VTs
Electromagnetic VT
Capacitive VT

Busbar VTs
Special consideration needed when used for line
protection

LV application(12 kV or lower)
Industry standard transformer with a primary
winding at a system voltage and secondary winding at
67 V(line-to-neutral) and 116 V(line-to-line).

Voltage Transformers

Voltage Transformers

Voltage/Potential
Transformer
(VT/PT)

Voltage Transformers

Voltage Transformers

Voltage Transformers
HV and EHV
Capacitor-coupled VT (CVT)

C1 & C2 are adjusted, so that a few kVs of

voltage is obtains across C2

Then, stepped down by T

VTs must be fused or protected by MCB.

Voltage Transformers

Voltage Transformers
VT ratios:
ratio of the high
voltage
1:1
2:1
5:1
20:1
80:1
100:1
400:1
600:1
2000:1 3000:1

voltage/secondary
2.5:1
40:1
200:1
800:1
4500:1

4:1
60:1
300:1
1000:1

Current Transformers
CT is an instrument transformer that is used
to supply a reduced value of current to
meters, protective relays, and other
instruments.
The primary winding consist of a single turn
which is the power conductor itself.
CT secondary is connected to a currentsensing device with zero impedance.

Current Transformers
CTs ratio(secondary current rating is 5A)
50:5
100:5
150:5
200:5
250:5
300:5
400:5
450:5
500:5
600:5
800:5
900:5
1000:5 1200:5
CTs also available with the secondary rating
of 1A

Current Transformers

Current Transformers

Reclosers and Fuses

Automatic reclosers are commonly used for
distribution circuit protection.
Recloser: self-controlled device for automatically
interrupting and reclosing an AC circuit with preset
sequence of openings and reclosures
Have built-in control to clear temporary faults and
restores service with momentary outages.
Disadvantages:
increase hazard when circuit is physically contacted by
people.
Recloser should be locked out during live-line maintenance.

Reclosers and Fuses

1. An upstream fuse/relay
has detected a fault
2. Downstream system
isolated by fuse or
breaker
3. Automatic re-closing
after delay successful if
fault not permanent

Relays
Discriminate between normal operating
and fault conditions.
Type of Relays

Magnitude Relay
Directional Relay
Distance/Ratio Relay
Differential Relay
Pilot Relay

Magnitude Relays
Also called as Overcurrent Relay
Response to the magnitude of input quantities ie.
current.
Energize CB trip coil when the fault current
magnitude exceeds a predetermined value or trips
when a current rises above a set point (pick-up
current).
If it is less than the set point value, the relay
remains open, blocking the trip coil.
Time-delay Overcurrent Relay also have the same
operating method but with an intentional timedelay.

Directional Relays
Responds to fault only in one direction, either
to the left or to the right of its location
Operation depends upon the direction (lead or
lag) of the fault current with respect to a
reference voltage.
The directional element of these relays
checks the phase angle between the current
and voltage of one phase, and allows the
overcurrent unit to operate if this phase angle
indicates current in the reverse direction.

Ratio Relays
Operate for certain relations between the
magnitudes of voltage, current and the phase
angle between them.
Measures the distance between the relay
location and the point of fault, in term of
impedance, reactance and admittance.
Respond to the ratio of two phasor quantities
as example Voltage and Current (Z = V/I)
Also called impedance or distance relay

Differential Relays
Respond to the vector difference between two
currents within the zone protection determined by
the location of CTs.
Not suitable for transmission-line protection
because the terminals of a line are separated by too
great a distance to interconnect the CT secondaries.
For the protection of generators, transformers,
buses,
Most differential-relay applications are of the
current-differential type.

Differential Relays
Relay

Fault occur at X
Suppose that current flows through the primary circuit
either to a load or to a short circuit located at X.
If the two current transformers have the same ratio,
and are properly connected, their secondary currents
will merely circulate between the two CTs as shown by
the arrows, and no current will flow through the
differential relay.

Differential Relays
Relay

A flow on one side only, or even some current

flowing out of one side while a larger current
enters the other side, will cause a differential
current.
In other words, the differential-relay current
will be proportional to the vector difference
between the currents entering and leaving the
protected circuit; and, if the differential
current exceeds the relays pickup value, the
relay

Differential Relays
Relay

When a short circuit develop anywhere between

the two CTs.
If current flows to the short circuit from both
sides as shown, the sum of the CT secondary
currents will flow through the differential relay.
It is not necessary that short-circuit current
flow to the fault from both sides to cause
secondary current to flow through the
differential relay.

Pilot Relays
The term pilot means that between
the ends of the transmission line there
is an interconnecting channel of some
sort over which information can be
conveyed.
Use communicated information from
remote sites as input signals.

Pilot Relays
Transmitting fault signals from a remote
zone boundary to relays at the terminals
of a long TL
Pilot relaying provides primary
protection only; back-up protection must
be provided by supplementary relaying.
Type : wire pilot, carrier-current pilot
and microwave pilot.

Pilot Relays
ZA

ZB

Station 1 consist of meter for reading

voltage, current and power factor.
Distance relay, tell the different between
fault at A (middle) and B (end) by knowing
the impedance characteristic per unit length
of the line.

Pilot Relays

Could not possibly distinguish between fault

B and C because impedance would be so
small- Mistake in tripping CB for fault B or C
Solution- indication from station B, when the
phase angle of the current at S-B(with
respect to current A) is different by
approximately 180o from it value for fault in
the line section AB.

Pilot Relays
2

1
A

(with respect to current A) is

different by approximately 180o
from it value for fault in the line
section
(with respect to current A) is
not different in degree from it
value for fault in the line
section

Thank you.
Nagode.
Eseun.
Imeela.
Masabuke.