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Distance Relays

Distance relays respond to the impedance at the relay location and can determine the distance to a fault on a power line. They are preferable to directional overcurrent relays which can be difficult to set for different system configurations. There are three main types of distance relays: impedance, admittance, and reactance. Admittance relays are most commonly used and have a characteristic that passes through the origin, making them directional. A three-zone step distance relaying scheme can provide near instantaneous protection over 80-90% of a line and time-delayed backup protection for the remainder and adjacent lines. Distance relays need to respond to delta voltages and currents to have consistent settings for the different types

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364 views2 pages

Distance Relays

Distance relays respond to the impedance at the relay location and can determine the distance to a fault on a power line. They are preferable to directional overcurrent relays which can be difficult to set for different system configurations. There are three main types of distance relays: impedance, admittance, and reactance. Admittance relays are most commonly used and have a characteristic that passes through the origin, making them directional. A three-zone step distance relaying scheme can provide near instantaneous protection over 80-90% of a line and time-delayed backup protection for the remainder and adjacent lines. Distance relays need to respond to delta voltages and currents to have consistent settings for the different types

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uadikema01
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http://electrical-engineering-po rtal.co m/distance-relays

Distance Relays
by Edvard

Distance relays respond to the voltage and current, i.e.,


the impedance, at the relay location. T he impedance per
mile is f airly constant so these relays respond to the
distance between the relay location and the f ault location.
As the power systems become more complex and the
f ault current varies with changes in generation and
system conf iguration, directional overcurrent relays
become dif f icult to apply and to set f or all contingencies,
whereas the distance relay setting is constant f or a wide
variety of changes external to the protected line.
T here are three general distance relay types as shown in
Fig. 1. Each is distinguished by its application and its operating characteristic.

Impedance Relay
T he impedance relay has a circular characteristic centered at the origin of the R-X diagram. It is
nondirectional and is used primarily as a f ault detector.

Admit t ance Relay


T he admittance relay is the most commonly used distance relay. It is the tripping relay in pilot schemes and
as the backup relay in step distance schemes. Its characteristic passes through the origin of the R-X
diagram and is theref ore directional. In the electromechanical design it is circular, and in the solid state
design, it can be shaped to correspond to the transmission line impedance.

React ance Relay


T he reactance relay is a straight-line characteristic that responds only to the reactance of the protected
line. It is nondirectional and is used to supplement the admittance relay as a tripping relay to make the
overall protection independent of resistance. It is particularly usef ul on short lines where the f ault arc
resistance is the same order of magnitude as the line length.
Figure 1 shows a three-zone step distance relaying scheme that provides instantaneous protection over
8090% of the protected line section (Z one 1) and time-delayed protection over the remainder of the line
(Z one 2) plus backup protection over the adjacent line section. Z one 3 also provides backup protection f or
adjacent lines sections. In a three-phase power system, 10 types of f aults are possible: three single phaseto-ground, three phase-to-phase, three double phase-to-ground, and one three-phase f ault.
It is essential that the relays provided have the same setting regardless of the type of f ault. T his is
possible if the relays are connected to respond to delta voltages and currents. T he delta quantities are
def ined as the dif f erence between any two phase quantities, f or example, Ea Eb is the delta quantity
between phases a and b. In general, f or a multiphase f ault between phases x and y,
FIGURE 1
T hree-zone step distance relaying to protect
100% of a line and backup the neighboring

line. (Source: Horowitz, S. H. and Phadke, A.


G., Power System Relaying, 2nd ed., 1995.
Research Studies Press, U.K. With
permission.)
where x and y can be a, b, or c and Z 1 is the
positive sequence impedance between the
relay location and the f ault. For ground
distance relays, the f aulted phase voltage,
and a compensated f aulted phase current
must be used.
where m is a constant depending on the line
impedances, and I0 is the zero sequence
current in the transmission line. A f ull
complement of relays consists of three phase distance relays and three ground distance
relays. T his is the pref erred protective scheme f or high voltage and extra high voltage
systems.

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