Generator Protection

Manoj Barsaiyan

GCB/NON GCB SCHEMES

A) Unit scheme: (NON GCB SCHEME)

In this scheme no switchgear is provided between the generator and generator transformer, which are treated as a unit; a unit transformer is tapped off the interconnection for supplying of power to auxiliary plant.

GCB SCHEME
Generator circuit breaker scheme: In this scheme a generator circuit breaker is provided between the generator and generator transformer. unit transformer is tapped off before the GCB for supplying of power to auxiliary plant. B)

Generator grounding practices

Generator grounding practices

Generator grounding practices

Generator earthing practices

TRIP LOGIC OF GENERATOR PROTECTION

Two independent channels with independent CT/VT inputs/DC supply/trip relay

CLASS A TRIPS
All electrical trip Trip turbine , field, generator,GT,UT

CLASS-B TRIP
Mechanical trips Avoid over speeding of turbine due to steam entrapped in turbine. Turbine trip signal is given first and the active power, sensed by the low forward relay (32g) gives the trip signal to the unit breaker & field breaker after a time delay. In GCB scheme, only GCB and field is tripped, keeping UAT charged through GT In non GCB scheme, HV CB,Field,UT LCV CB are tripped.

Class C
Trips only Gen CB

CLASS OF TRIP

Class A

BREAKERS TO BE TRIPPED UNDER VARIOUS CLASSES OF TRIPPING GCB SCHEME NON GCB SCHEME (additional LV CB between Gen and GT) A1: GCB,HVCB,UT HVCB,UT LV CB, FIELD, TURBINE LV CB, (All the system tripped) FIELD, TURBINE (All the system tripped) A2 : GCB, FIELD, TURBINE (Generator circuit tripped & Auxiliaries charged from the grid through GT&UT) GCB,FIELD BREAKER Initiated by Turbine trip & Low Forward /reverse power, to release the trapped steam. Generator circuit breaker tripped & Auxiliaries charged from the grid through GT&UT) HVCB (Generator under House load )

Class B

HVCB,UT LV CB, FIELD BREAKER.

Class C

HVCB (Generator under House load )

Different generator protections

Differential protection Stator E/F protection Stator Inter turn fault protection Negative Phase sequence protection Loss of Excitation Rotor E/F protection Generator O/V protection Pole slip protection Low Forward Power Reverse Power Generator Back Up Impedance Protection

Differential Relay
GEN WDG

Current flow in relay secondary circuit in case a fault occurs in side the equipment.

Differential Protection

Generator Differential UAT Differential Overhead line Differential G.T. Restricted Earth Fault Overall Differential includes Generator, GT, and both UAT

Differential Protection

The relay operates on the principle of circulating current system The current entering and leaving the protected zone is determined by CT During a fault, there is distinct difference between the current at neutral and terminal ends of winding. This difference is detected by Differential relay

GENERATOR DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION

GEN WDG
I1 I2

87

UNDER HEALTHY CONDITION

R 10000/1 A Y B

CT 7000 A

0.7 A
0A R

0.7 A

0.7 A Y

B 7000 A 0.7 A

UNDER FAULTY CONDITION

R 10000/1 A Y B

CT 2000 A

0.2 A
0.5 A R

0.2 A

0.7 A Y

B 7000 A 0.7 A

GT OVERALL DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTIION

50Z

GT

Ig

GENERATOR
87 GT

STATOR EARTH FAULT PROTECTION

Restricted Earth Fault Protection (REF) covers normally 85-90 % of the stator winding. A voltage relay connected to the open delta in generator voltage transformer as the earth fault across in the stator winding the voltage balance disturbs and operate the relay.
Earth Fault Protection through grounding. A voltage relay connected across the grounding resistors, The voltage will appear across the resistance and relay shall operate. A current relay connected to the CT provided in grounding transformer secondary circuit. As there is an earth fault there would be voltage across the resistance, which will drive a current, and relay would operate.

EARTH FAULT PROTECTION

64

100% Stator E/F protection

For large machines there is a requirement for detection of earth fault occurring anywhere in the stator winding

Low frequency injection scheme. Third harmonic voltage scheme

Low frequency injection scheme.

In this scheme a sub harmonic voltage is applied via an injection transformer connected in series with the neutral earthing resistance. A relay which monitors the sub harmonic current is arranged to operate when current increases due to an earth fault on the stator winding. cost of the implementation tends to be high due to the cost of the injection equipment.

THIRD HARMONIC VOLTAGE SCHEME

This scheme utilizes the third harmonic voltage produced

by non linearities within the generator.

Under healthy conditions, this voltage causes the circulation of third harmonic capacitive charging currents resulting in third harmonic voltage appearing between the neutral of the

generator and ground.

When fault occurs close to the neutral of the generator, the third harmonic voltage between the neutral and ground will reduce to near zero-value.

Operate zone

Blind zone

Operate zone

UPPER THRESHOLD SETTING OF RELAY PRE-FAULT REFERENCE LEVEL

LOWER THRESHOLD SETTING OF RELAY

O
0

Y
50 100

EARTH FAULT POSITION (% stator winding measured from neutral)

Thus the location of fault anywhere from

x to y represents a blind zone. The relay operates if the magnitude of the third harmonic voltage is
a) Less than OA/or b) more than OB

The problem of blind-zone is overcome by providing two protection system operating simultaneously 1) The one system monitors the fundamental component of the neutral voltage.

2) Monitors the third harmonic voltage of neutral

THIRD HARMONIC ELEMENT

FUNDAMENT FREQUENCY ELEMENT

50

100

EARTH FAULT POSITION (% stator winding measured from neutral)

With the combined protection system, each relay element covers the blind zone
of the other and the combined protection system will detect earth faults anywhere on stator winding

Stator Inter-turn protection

Interturn faults in a generator with a single winding can be detected by observing the zero-sequence voltage across the machine terminals In case of large generators stator windings are sometimes duplicated owing' to the very high currents which they have to carry. The CTs, are connected on the circulating current principle. As long as there is no turn to turn fault both the currents will be equal and no resultant current will flow through relay. If a turn-to-turn fault develops, then the stator currents will no longer be equal and a current proportional to the difference in two currents will flow through the relay R.

INTER TURN FAULT PROTECTION

UNBALANCED LOAD /NPS

A three phase balanced load ( i.e, generator stator ) produces a reaction field which rotates synchronously with rotor field system. Any unbalanced condition can be resolved into positive, negative & zero phase sequence condition The positive sequence components are similar to balanced load. Zero phase sequence reaction produces no armature reaction no reaction field.

UNBALANCED LOAD /NPS

The negative sequence components are similar to positive sequence system except that the resulting reaction field (armature reaction) rotates counter clockwise to D.C field(rotor). Voltage inducing in the rotor at double frequency. Eddy currents are very large and cause severe heating in the rotor, alternate electromagnetic torque unsatisfactory vibration in stator core.

NEGATIVE PHASE SEQUENCE PROTECTION

A machine can be assigned a continuous negative sequence current rating. for turbogenerators this rating is low( 10 to 15 % of the continuous mean rating.i.e. positive sequence).

For short- time heating is of interest during system fault conditions, the heat dissipation during such periods is negligible and the heat generated can be considered to be retained entirely within the thermal capacity of the rotor.

NEGATIVE PHASE SEQUENCE PROTECTION

Using this approximation it is possible to express the heating by the law:

I2 2 t = K
Where I2 = Negative sequence component

( per unit of MCR)

t = Time (seconds) t

K = Constant proportional to the

thermal capacity of the generator rotor.

NEGATIVE PHASE SEQUENCE PROTECTION

The protection should have a time delay characteristics which is as near as is practicable

to the heating characteristics of the machine. The protection should contain an alarm feature which operates at a setting slightly lower than
that of the tripping element.

NEGATIVE PHASE SEQUENCE PROTECTION

Negative Sequence Network

Shaping Circuit

Integrator

Comparator

Starter

Definite Time 0.3 Sec

AND Trip

C. T. INPUT

Starter

Definite Time 5.0 Sec Alarm

OVER CURRENT PROTECTION

It is usual to provide overcurrent relays of the IDMT pattern to generators, as a general backup feature. These relays are in no way related to the thermal characteristics of the generator and are intended to operate only under fault conditions.

OVER VOLTAGE PROTECTION

Over voltage may be caused by the following contingencies:

Defective operation of the AVR Operation under manual control with the AVR out of service Sudden loss of load (due to line tripping) may cause the over-speed of TG set.

LOSS OF EXCITATION
Loss of excitation results in a generator losing synchronism and running above synchronous speed. It will operate as an induction generator. The main flux is produced by the wattless stator current drawn from the system

 The machine will continue to generate power, the value being determined by the load setting of the turbine governor. Slip frequency currents flow in the rotor, the currents flow in the damper windings and also in the slot wedges and the surface of the solid rotor body.

 The generator is not designed as an induction generator-

(a) Abnormal heating of the rotor (b) Overloading of the stator winding Operation as an induction generator brings no immediate danger to a set.

The active power delivered as induction generator will be slightly less than the prefault load because of the speed regulation characteristic of the governor The rotor currents are proportional to this power output and heating is proportional to the square of the rotor current.

 It is clearly desirable to examine the

characteristics of each machine. 1. A 60 MW unit with conventional cooling will not be heated excessively
by asynchronous operation at full load for 5 minutes.

2. Higher machine ratings are obtained by more intensive cooling techniques, such as hydrogen and water cooling, rather

than by an increase in physical size. The effect is to reduce the thermal time
constants and in particular the ability to withstand abnormal conditions.

3. A 500 Mw set should not be expected to

operate asynchronously for more than a maximum of 20 seconds.

CAUSES OF LOSS OF EXCITATION

1.Open circuit in the field. 2.A short circuit in the field. 3.Accidental tripping of FB. 4.AVR control fails. 5.Loss of field to the main exciter 6.Loss of A.C supply to the excitation system. Under voltage is experienced by unit auxiliaries due to heavy MVAR flow from the system.This is sensed by voltage monitoring relay. When field failure accompanied by U/V,it is treated class A tripping,field fails without a serious voltage drop is treated as class B tripping.

FIELD FAILURE PROTECTION Generator runs as induction generator heavy reactive loading of stator slip freq induced currents in rotor

Methods of detecting Field failure :

Under current relay in field circuit Reactive power monitoring Impedance relay

The relay operates when the field current drops

below a preset value. The relay must have a setting below the minimum exciting current, which may be 8% of that corresponding to the MCR of
the machine.

OFF-SET MHO RELAY

The quantity which changes most when generator

loses synchronous is the impedance measured at the stator terminals

LOW FORWARD POWER PROTECTION

VT Healthy T 2 sec

&
&
To T GG o G G

Low forwarded Power detected < 0.5% of rated power

TTR-A
TTR-B ESV/IV closed Trip relay

>
A relay reset

Delayed tripping of generator after 2 seconds of power <0.5% of rated power to evaluate the mechanical of steam entrapped in the turbine and eliminate the chance of over speeding of turbine.

GENERATOR REVERSE POWER PROTECTION

VT Healthy
T1 2 sec
Reverse Power detected

&

To 286G

Turbine trip Channel 1 Channel 2

ESV/IV closed

>

T1 = 2A/37G T2 = 2B/37B

T2 50 sec

&

 This protection acts under the following conditions of operation. 1.Turbine tripped and reverse power detected for 2 seconds. 2.Turbine stop valves closed and reverse power detected 2 seconds. 3.Reverse power detected for 50 seconds. In steam turbine under normal operation there is a continuous flow of steam through the machine. Any losses due to turbulence will be converted into heat, which will be continuously carried away by the steam.

 If the flow of steam ceases(control valve close due to any protection, generator fails to trip on low forward power) while set continues to run at full speed, the turbulence losses in the trapped steam may then build up a high temperature condition in low pressure stages, leading to softening and distortion of blades.

GENERATOR BACK UP IMPEDANCE PROTECTION

For all line faults generators are the main feeding elements which are to be protected against persistent fault. (left uncleared by outgoing feeder protection scheme.) Hence generator backup protection is designed. It is having two stage operation STAGE-1 time delay of 1.7 seconds. Trip main and middle breaker leaving unit to house load protection.(this is not the house load operation which is being implemented from SWYD on frequency low. STAGE 2(2 sec) It gives generator trip command . Normally when the first stage timer operates and opens the generator breakers, the trip cause should cease to exists. Second stage comes in to service if trip cause persists. This is only possible if fault lies b/w generator and breaker.

Generator backup impedance stage-1

86 G 286 G

>1
386 G

To trip Generator main breaker To trip Generator middle breaker Generator back up protection trip relay

Trip main and middle breaker

Generator backup

impedance stage-2

>1
286 G

386 G 486 G

To trip generator field breaker

Turbine trip

ROTOR FAULTS
The field circuit of a generator , comprising the winding and the armature of the exciter with any associated field circuit breaker, is an isolated d.c. circuit which in itself need not be earthed. If an earth fault occurs, no fault current will flow and the need for action will not be required.

Danger arises if a second earth fault occurs at a

separate point in the winding, causing the current to be diverted, and therefore produces an unbalanced field forces on the rotor and results shaft distortion if fault is not cleared quickly .
Unbalanced magnetic forces on the rotor results in violent vibration of the rotor, which may damage rotor.

ROTOR EARTH FAULT PROTECTION

Three methods are available to detect

this type of fault: a) Potentiometer method b) A.C. Injection method

c) D.C. Injection method

Exciter

Field winding

Sensitive voltage Relay

POTENTIOMETER METHOD

The potentiometer method comprises a center tapped resistor connected in parallel with the field
winding. The center point of the resistor is connected to earth through a voltage relay.

An earth fault on the field winding will produce a voltage across the relay, the maximum voltage occurring for faults at the ends of the winding.

A blind spot exists at the center of the field winding,

this point being at a potential equal to that of the tapping point on the potentiometer.

To avoid a fault at this location remaining

undetected,

the

tapping

point

on

the

potentiometer is varied by a push button or switch. It is essential that station instructions be

issued to make certain that the blind spot is checked at least once per shift.

A.C. INJECTION METHOD

Exciter

Field winding

Auxiliary Supply

Sensitive Relay

64

It comprises an auxiliary supply transformer, the secondary of which is connected between earth and
one side of the field circuit, through an interposed capacitor and a relay coil.

An earth fault anywhere in the field winding will give rise to a current which is detected by the relay.

 The capacitor limits the magnitude of the

current and blocks the nominal field voltage, preventing discharge of a large direct current through the transformer.

ADVANTAGE
This scheme has the advantage over the potentiometer method in that there is no BLIND SPOT in the supervision of the field system.

DISADVANTAGE
The A.C. injection method has disadvantage that some current will flow continuously through the capacitance of the field winding to earth.

The current may flow through the machine bearings, causing erosion of the machine bearing surface.

 Nevertheless, it is common practice to insulate the

bearings and to provide an earth brush for the shaft, and if this is done the capacitance current should be harmless.

 The capacitance currents associated with the a.c. injection method are avoided by rectifying the injection voltage.

The d.c. output of the transformer-rectifier power unit is arranged to bias the positive side of the field circuit to a negative voltage w.r.t. the earth.

The negative side of the field system is at greater negative voltage to earth, so an earth fault at any point on the field winding will cause current to flow through the power unit.

The current is limited by including a high resistance in the circuit and a sensitive relay is used to detect the current.

The fault current varies with the fault

position, but this is not detrimental provided the relay can detect the minimum fault current and withstand the

maximum.

GENERATOR ROTOR E/F

Slip ring

Field winding

Diode wheel

Main exciter
Rotor E/F relay

500MW GENERATOR

D.C. INJECTION METHOD

-

Exciter

Field winding

Auxiliary Supply

Sensitive Relay

64

 The capacitance currents associated with the a.c. injection method are avoided by rectifying the injection voltage.

The d.c. output of the transformer-rectifier power unit is arranged to bias the positive side of the field circuit to a negative voltage w.r.t. the earth.

The negative side of the field system is at greater negative voltage to earth, so an earth fault at any point on the field winding will cause current to flow through the power unit. The current is limited by including a high resistance in the circuit and a sensitive relay is used to detect the current.

The fault current varies with the fault

position, but this is not detrimental provided the relay can detect the minimum fault current and withstand the

maximum.

MECHANICAL PROTECTIONS
Protections that initiate turbine trip:: Liquid in terminal box High cold gas temp. High exciter hot air temp. High seal oil temperature from cooler Stator Water conductivity high Stator Water Flow Low GCB and FB open on low forward power.

THANK YOU