IEEE Power & Energy Society

Jul 1997

TECHNICAL REPORT

PES-TR8
Formerly TP130

Terms Used by Power

System Protection
Engineers
PREPARED BY THE
Power System Relaying Committee
Relay Standards Subcommittee
Power System Engineers Working Group

IEEE 2013 The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, in an electronic retrieval system or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY

Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

A Special Publication of the

IEEE
Power System Relaying Oommittee

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Prepared by the
Terms Used by Power System Engineers Working Group
of the
Relay Standards Subcommittee

1997 -July-31

Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

This special report was prepared for and approved by the "Power System Relaying Committee" of the "IEEE Power Engineering Society". It was prepared by the "Terms Used by Power System Engineers Working Group" of the "Relaying Standards Subcommittee".
At the time of its approval, January 1997, the Working Group Membership was

M.S. Sachdev, Chair

Department of Electrical Engineering
University of Saskatchewan
57 Campus Drive
SASKA TOON SK
Canada S7N 5A9

B.D. Nelson, Vice Chair

Wisconsin Power and Light
222 W. Washington Avenue
MADISON
WI 53703

Bajpai, M., Phoenix, AZ

Beckwith, B.L., Lavina, MT
Clough, G.K., Vancouver, WA
Dalke, G.R., Edmond, OK
Darlington, A.N., Tampa, FL

Elmore, W.A., Coral Springs, FL

lIar, F., Baden, Switzerland
Plumptre, F.P., Vancouver, BC
Wiedman, T.E., Chicago, IL
Whittaker, J., London, UK
Zugris, D., Washington, DC

Abstracting is permitted with credit to the source. For other copying, reprint, or republication permission, write to the
IEEE Copyright Manager, IEEE Operations Center, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331. All rights reserved.
Copyright 1998 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
IEEE Catalog Number:

TP130-0-031998-1-0

Additional copies of this publication are available from

IEEE Operations Center
P. O. Box 1331
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331 USA
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email: [email protected]

Foreword
entrants in the area of power system protection in understanding them properly.

Members of the "Power System Relaying Committee"

have expressed concern from time to time that recently
graduated engineers, technologists and engineers from
other disciplines usually experience difficulty with properly interpreting the terminology used in the area of Power
System Protection. The consequence is that they experience difficulty in communicating effectively with their
colleagues.

To keep the explanations from conflicting with the defmitions of terms provided in the standards, the Working
Group maintained liaison with the "Terminology Usage
Review Working Group" (of the "Relay Standards Subcommittee" of the "Power System Relaying Committee"
of the IEEE "Power Engineering Society") that recommends adoption of new definitions for inclusion in the
IEEE dictionary and IEEE/ANSI standards.

To overcome this difficulty, the "Power System Relaying

Committee" of the IEEE formed, in January 1991, the
"Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers
Working Group". This working group was assigned the
task of preparing a special publication which should describe in a straight forward manner the terms commonly
used by power system protection engineers.

The explanations of the terms were written and then revised several times to avoid conflict with the official definitions and to make the explanations suitable for achieving
the intended objectives of this report. The Working Group
hopes that this document will be found useful by recent
engineering graduates, technologists, and engineers who
do not have formal training in Power System Protection
but have to interact with protection engineers.

Almost all the terms, discussed in this report, are defined

in the IEEE Std 100-1992 "The New IEEE Dictionary of
Electrical and Electronics Terms", the "International Electrotechnical Commission's" publication, "IEC Multilingual Dictionary of Electricity" and standards published by
various organizations. The objective of the report was not
to redefine the terms but provide brief explanations to assist the recent graduate engineers, technologists and new

M.S. Sachdev
Working Group Chair

iii

Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

CopyrightCO The Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Table of Contents
Working Group Membership............
Foreword....................................
Table of Contents...........................
List of Figures...................................

ii
iii
iv
v

1.

Introduction..............................

2.

General Terms...........................
2.1 Accuracy ...........................
2.2 Accuracy Class ....................
2.3 Reliability.............................
2.3.1 Dependability..............
2.3.2 Security.....................
2.4 Sensitivity..........................
2.5 Relay Stability.....................
2.6 Primary Protection................
2.7 Backup Protection................
2.8 Dual Protection.....................
2.9 Device Number...................

2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

Relay Types...............................
3.1 Relay ................................
3.2 Electromagnetic Relay ............
3.3 Electromechanical Relay ..........
3.4 Solid-state and Static Relay ......
3.5 Microprocessor-based Relay ....
3.5.1 Multi-function Relay ........

3.

4.

5.

Overcurrent Relay.......................
4.1 Instantaneous Overcurrent Relay
4.2 Overcurrent Relay Time-Current
Characteristic......................
4.2.1 Time dial, (Time lever, Time
multiplier)..................
4.3 Directional Overcurrent. ..............
4.3.1 Connection angle ...........
4.3.2 Polarizing quantity ..........
Ohmic Relay Applications............

Distance Relay .....................

Impedance Relay ......................
Mho Relay .........................
Blinder..............................

13
13
14
15

Other Relays.............................
Differential Relays ................
6.1.1 Transformer differential
protection....................
6.1.2 Magnetizing inrush currents
6.2 Other Relays for Transformer
Protection..........................
6.2.1 Combustible gas relay ......
6.2.2 Gas accumulation relay ....
6.2.3 Static pressure relay ........
6.2.4 Sudden pressure relay ......
6.3 Thermal Relay .....................
6.4 Temperature Relay ...............
6.4.1 Replica Relay or replica
temperature relay ..........
6.4.2 RTD Relay ...................
6.5 Loss of field (excitation) Relay.
6.6 Out-of-step Relay .................

16
16

19
20
20
20

7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4

Circuit Breaker Applications.........

Breaker Failure .....................
Poie Disagreement................
Pole Flashover.....................
Single-Pole Tripping.............

21
22
22
22

8.

System Disturbances...................
8.1 Underfrequency Relay ............

23
23

9.

Disturbance Analysis.....................
9.1 Sequential Events Recorder.......
9.2 Transient Fault Recorder..........
9.2 Pre-fault, Fault and Post-fault
Periods ..............................

24
24
24

5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
6.

5
5
5
6
6
7

7.

9
9

9
9
10
11
11

13

6.1

Bibliography.....................................

iv -

Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

17
17
18
18
18
18
18
18
18

21

24
25

List of Figures
Fig.
No.
1.

2.

3.
4.

Title of Figure
A line protected by a current relay.........................................

An Electromagnetic (current operated)

plunger relay. .. ... ... ... .. . ... .....

Block diagram of a microprocessorbased relay. .. ... ... ... .. . .. . ... . .. .. . ... .

Signal and data flow of a microprocessor based relay

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

9.

10.

11.
12.

Fig.
No.

Page

Time current characteristics commonly used in inverse time overcurrent relays

,
"
Electrical and mechanical arrangement of a typical inverse time overcurrent relay....................... .....

A typical current differential relay..........................................

16

A typical percentage differential relay.........................................

16

16. Zero sequence currents in a delta-wye

transformer..........................

17

14.

15.

Typical magnetizing inrush currents in

a delta-wye transformer..............

18

Mounting and schematic arrangement

of a sudden pressure relay...

19

Thermal relay monitors 12R losses in

the protected equipment... . .. .. . ... ...

19

The mounting of a typical temperature

relay......

19

The circuit diagram of a replica relay........................................

20

22.

Circuit ofa typical RTD relay.......

20

23.

Single bus switching arrangement;

circuit breaker A fails to interrupt current....................................

21

A breaker-and-a-half switching arrangement; circuit breaker A fails to

interrupt current to fault on the line to
circuit breaker J.. . ...... ....... .. .. ...

21

Circuit breaker failure in a ring bus

switching station.......................

22

Contact arrangement of the a three

phase circuit breaker which has two
poles per phase..

22

9
18.

10

Voltage phasors used in 60 and 90

connection angles.....................

12

(a) Phase and polarizing voltages, and

phase currents during normal operation
,.,

15

17.

Impact of time dial adjustment on the

operating time of an overcurrent relay.........................................

19.
20.

21.

12

(b) Phase currents and polarizing voltages for identifying the direction of a
phase-b to phase-c fault.

12

"Zones of protection" of relays protecting a transmission line... ... .. . .. .

13

Generally used characteristics of generic distance relays... ... .. . .. . ... ... .. .

14

Operating characteristics of impedance and offset impedance relays.. ... ,.

15

24.

25.
26.

Page

Typical operating characteristic of a

mho relay.........

13.

10

Title of Figure

Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright o The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

1. INTRODUCTION
There is considerable concern among power system engineers in general, and power system protection engineers in
particular, that recent graduates and engineers from other
disciplines usually experience difficulty with properly
interpreting the terminology used in applying relays, analyzing their performance and designing protection systems.

The Working Group appreciated at the outset that definitions of almost all the terms used by power system protection engineers are included in the IEEE Std 100-1992
"The New IEEE Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics
Terms" [2], the "International Electrotechnical Commission's" publication, "IEC Multilingual Dictionary of Electricity" [9] and standards published by various organizations.

This makes it difficult for relay engineers to communicate

effectively with their colleagues and convey their interpretations of relaying issues and questions effectively. To
overcome this difficulty, the "Power System Relaying
Committee" of the IEEE "Power Engineering Society"
decided to prepare a special publication that would provide, in simple and straightforward language, interpretations of the terms used in the area of power system protection. The "Terms Used by Power System Protection
Engineers Working Group" was formed in January 1991
and was assigned the task of preparing a special publication describing the terms commonly used by power system
protection engineers.

The Working Group discussed and decided

neither to redefme the terms already included in the

dictionaries and standards,
nor to reproduce the established definitions from
standards, and also
not to provide historical development of terms.

The Working Group decided to provide, in its special report, explanations of the terms in a straight forward manner so that recent graduate engineers, technologists and
new entrants in the area of power system protection can
understand them properly and become useful participants
in their work without unnecessary frustration.

- 1Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

2. GENERAL TERMS
The terms concerning the quality of measurements and
philosophy of protection are described in this section. The
specific terms included in this section are

accuracy,
accuracy class,
reliability,
security,
dependability,
sensitivity,
relay stability,
primary protection,
backup protection,
dual protection, and
device number.

Ct Ratio 600/5

---+

---+
Ct secondary
current> IOOA

Fault
12,000 A

Figure 1. A line protected by a current relay.

2.2 Accuracy Class

2.1 Accuracy
This term is used for at least two different purposes, one to
describe the accuracy of a device and the other to specify
the accuracy of a measurement.
In the first context, accuracy is the degree to which a device (relay, instrument or meter) conforms to an accepted
standard. The statement of an accuracy is only as good as
the methods used to express it for individual components
and the manner in which they affect the overall accuracy
of the device.
In the second case, the accuracy of a measurement specifies the difference between the measured and true values
of a quantity. The deviation from the true value is the
indication of how accurately a reading has been taken or a
setting has been made.

Example: If a relay is specified to have 5% accuracy, it means that the relay should operate when its
exciting quantity (current or voltage) is between -5%
and +5% of its setting.
Let us consider the case of Figure 1 and assume that
the ct provides secondary current which is an accurate
representation of the primary current. When the fault
current is12,000 A, the current in the relay will be
100 A. If the relay accuracy is 5%, it could interpret
the current to be of any level from 95 A to 105 A. In
case the relay is set to operate at 100 A, it mayor may
not operate depending on its interpretation of the level
of current in the circuit.

This term is used to define the quality of the steady state

performance of a current transformer. The accuracy class
of a current transformer (ct) used for protection functions
is described by a letter which indicates whether the accuracy can be calculated (class C) or it must be obtained
from physical tests (class T). This letter is followed by a
number which is equal to the maximum secondary tenninal voltage that the ct will produce at 20 times the rated
secondary current with no more than 10% error.
Examples of accuracy classes for 10% error class C cts are
CIOO, C200, C400 and C800. At this time, there is no
accuracy class higher than C800. Examples of accuracy
classes for 10% error class T cts are TI05, 1250, T375
and T750.

2.3 Reliability
Reliability is an index that expresses the attribute of a
protective relay or a system to operate correctly for situations in which it is designed to operate. This also includes
the attribute of not operating (incorrectly) for all other
situations. Reliability is expressed in terms of two competing fundamental attributes, dependability and security.

2.3.1 Dependability
Dependability is the aspect of reliability that expresses the
degree of certainty that a relay will operate correctly. For
relay systems, dependability is assured by using redundant
protection systems and backup relays.
Example:
The primary protection for a transmission line may be provided by using a phase comparison
protection scheme. The degree of certainty that this
scheme will operate for all faults on the transmission
line is the dependability index of the scheme. To increase this index for the transmission line protection

-2Terms Usedby PowerSystem Protection Engineers

Copyright (Q The Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

system, distance relays can be included to act as

backup relays.

2.3.2 Security
Security is the aspect of reliability that expresses the degree of certainty that a relay will not operate incorrectly
irrespective of the nature of the operating state of the
power system.
Example: If a differential relay is designed to operate
for faults in a transformer it is protecting, the degree of
certainty that the relay will not operate for faults outside the transformer zone is the security index of the
relay.

2.4 Sensitivity
This term is used to express different attributes of devices.
One definition expresses it as a ratio of the response of the
device to the change of the input. In the power system
protection field, sensitivity is the minimum value of an
input (or change of an input) that would cause a relay to
operate.
Example: An instantaneous ground fault directional
relay designed to operate at a minimum current of O.5A
would be classified as having a sensitivity of 0.5 A.

2.5 Relay Stability

A relay is considered to be stable if, starting from a steady
state, it returns to the same steady state following the introduction and removal of inputs representing a disturbance in the system to which it is connected.
Example: A solid-state timing relay, whose timing accuracy is not affected by the changes in the dc voltage
supply used to operate it, is considered to be stable.
Example: Consider that a relay system experiences a
momentary loss of de supply used for performing logic
and/or tripping functions. If the relay system returns to
a normal steady state mode on restoration of the de
supply, the relay is considered to be stable.
Stability differs from security. A stable but insecure pilot
relay system may trip incorrectly due to a weakness in the
tripping logic or design. A secure but unstable pilot relay
system may experience wide variations in the input and
output levels but will not trip incorrectly.

2.6 Primary Protection

The protection system that is designed to operate before
other devices respond to a disturbance due to its sensitivity
and speed, is said to provide primary protection.

Example: A differential relay protecting a transformer

is expected to operate when a fault is experienced in its
protection zone. Other devices used to protect the
transformer, such as overcurrent relays, are expected to
operate if the differential relay fails to detect the fault.
In this case, the differential relay provides primary
protection for faults in its zone of protection.

2.7 Backup Protection

Relays used to provide second line of defense are said to
provide backup protection. The operating time of these
relays is longer than the operating time of primary relays,
and, therefore, they operate but trip appropriate circuit
breakers only if the primary relays fail to detect the presence of the disturbance or fail to open the circuit breakers.
These relays could be physically in the substation in which
the primary relays are located or may be located in a remote substation.
Example: A phase comparison system can be used to
provide primary protection of a transmission line.
Distance relays may be used, without permissive overreach or transfer trip, to provide backup protection of
the line.

2.8 Dual Protection

Power system equipment of bulk transmission systems is
often protected with dual primary relays. Both primary
protection systems are kept independent of each other as
far as possible. Depending on the protection philosophy
adopted, each protection system may be connected to its
own cts, vts, relays, trip coils of circuit breakers and batteries. These systems are sometimes referred to as "Protection system A" and "Protection system B".
Example: A transmission line may be protected by a
differential protection system, which is expected to operate in 10 to 15 ms, and a distance protection system
with transfer trip, which is also expected to operate in
comparable time. The differential protection in this
case could be classified as "Protection system A" or
"Protection system 1" and the distance protection system could be classified as "Protection system B" or
"Protection system 2."

2.9 Device Number

The circuit diagrams used in power systems use nomenclatures and device numbers as specified in the
ANSI/IEEE Standard C37.2. A device number is assigned
for each type of relay and instrument. The phases are
identified as A, B, C or a, b, c. The numerals 1, 2 and 3
are not used because I is used to identify positive se-

- 3Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright ~ The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

quence quantities and 2 is used to identify negative sequence quantities.

Examples: Some of the device numbers specified in
the Standard are listedin the following table.
Device

Assigned
Number

Distance relay
Undervoltage relay
Instantaneous overcurrent relay
Ac time overcurrent relay
Overvoltage relay
Ac directional overcurrent relay
Frequency relay
Differential relay

21
27
50
51
59
67
81
87

- 4Terms Used by Power SystemProtectionEngineers

CopyrightCO The Instituteof Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers, Inc.

3. RELAY TYPES
This section briefly describes the following terms used for
describing different types of relays.

Most electromagnetic relays use one of the following phenomena.

Relay
Electromagnetic relay
Electromechanical relay
Solid-state and static relays
Microprocessor-based relay

The phenomena of electromagnetic attraction (or repulsion) and electromagnetic induction are used to cause
physical movement of parts of a relay causing the relay
contacts to open or close.

3.1 Relay
A relay is a device which operates when the input provided
to it exceeds (or decreases below) a specified level and
other specified conditions are met. The relay may open or
close an electrical contact directly, or indirectly by operating another relay. Electromagnetic, electromechanical,
analog electronic, digital electronic, or a combination of
these technologies, are used in manufacturing them.

A magnetic amplifier relay usually has an ac and a de coil

(or two ac coils) on a magnetic core. Interaction between
the fields generated by the two coils can be used to compare either the levels of two inputs or the relative phase
angle between the inputs. These devices can also be designed to amplify input signals of small levels.

The operation of any protection relay is based on comparisons of perceived values, calculated from the inputs, with
pre-specified limits for operation. The following table
illustrates the characteristic values compared in different
technologies.
Technology

Comparison of

Electromechanical
Solid-state
Digital

Electromagnetic forces
Electrical signals
Numerically processed quantized samples

Electromagnetic attraction (or repulsion)

Electromagnetic induction
Magnetic amplification

3.3 Electromechanical Relay

An electromechanical relay is a device which has one or
more mechanical parts that move when current flow in its
electrical circuit exceeds a specified level. Typical electromechanical relays used for power system protection are
based on the principle of electromagnetic attraction (or
repulsion) or electromagnetic induction.
A typical electromagnetic attraction relay is shown in Figure 2. When the electromagnetic force generated by the
flow of current (ac or de) in its electrical circuit exceeds
the force of the restraining spring and the gravitational
force on the plunger, the plunger moves. The shorting bar
mounted on the plunger bridges the output contacts causing current to flow in that circuit. Several variations of
such relays are used in power system protection applications.

Example: Overcurrent relay, directional relay, differential relay, distance relay, frequency relay and undervoltage relay are a few examples of relays used in electric power systems.
Example: An overcurrent relay may be designed to
operate when the current applied to it exceeds a specified level and remains above that level for a prespecified time.

In an electromagnetic induction relay, ac current flowing in

the relay produces a flux which generates eddy currents in
its rotor which can either be a disc or a cup. The interaction between the magnetic flux and the eddy currents generates a force which tries to rotate the disk. The disk is
free to rotate but is restrained by a spring. When the force
generated by induction exceeds the restraining force of the
spring, electrical contacts attached to the rotor move to
bridge stationary contacts. For more details, see overcurrent relays, and time-dial / time-lever / time-multiplier sections.

3.2 Electromagnetic Relay

An electromagnetic relay is a device which uses electromagnetic energy, directly or indirectly, to operate. The
operation of the relay may close some of its contacts while
opening the remaining contacts. These contacts are used in
external circuits energizing or de-energizing those circuits.

-5Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright (g The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

1-----.

galvanic isolation for the relay from the power system,

reduces the level of the input voltages, converts currents to
equivalent voltages and removes high frequency components from the signals using analog filters. Other relays
could be monitoring temperature, pressure, flow and other
parameters. The outputs of the analog input subsystem are
applied to the analog interface, which includes amplifiers,
multiplexers and analog-to-digital (AID) converters. These
components sample the reduced level signals and convert
their analog levels to equivalent digital numbers which are
stored in memory. The status of switches and circuit
breakers in the power system is provided to the relay via
the digital input subsystem and are read into the microcomputer memory.

Contact
Output

up

Figure 2.

An Electromagnetic
plunger relay.

(current

The acquired information is processed by a relaying algorithm, which is a part of the software. The algorithm uses
signal processing techniques to measure magnitudes and
phase angles of voltages and currents. In some cases, the
frequency of the system is also measured. These measurements are used to calculate other quantities, such as
impedances. The computed quantities are compared with
pre-specified thresholds (settings) to decide whether the
power system is experiencing a fault or not. If it is, the
relay sends a command to open one or more circuit breakers for isolating the faulted zone of the power system. The
trip output is transmitted to the power system through the
digital output subsystem.

operated)

3.4 Solid-state and Static Relay

A solid-state or static relay uses semi-conductor technology to perform its intended functions. It may also use
magnetic or optical elements.
Sometimes a distinction is made between solid-state relays
and static relays. Relays with solid-state output circuits are
classified as solid-state relays. A static relay may have an
electromechanical relay to energize the trip circuit.

The software, relay settings and other vital information are

stored in non-volatile memory of the relay. Randomaccess memory (RAM) is used for storing data temporarily. The power supply to a relaying microcomputer must
be available even when the system supply is interrupted.
Arrangements are, therefore, made to provide energy to the
relay during normal and abnormal operating conditions of
the power system.

Microprocessor relays, which utilize semi-conductor components, have a special defmition reserved for them; they
are not referred to as solid-state relays. For more details
of those relays refer to the sections on microprocessor relays, digital relays and numerical relays.

3.5 Microprocessor-based Relay

Sometimes, these relays are called numerical relays specifically if they calculate the algorithm numerically. The
signal and data flows in these relays are shown in Figure 4.
The relay is isolated from the power system by using auxiliary transformers which receive analog signals and reduce
their levels to make them suitable for use in the microprocessor- based relay. Since the analog to digital converters
can handle voltages only, the currents are passed through
shunts to convert them to voltages proportional to the currents.

Early relays for power system protection used electromechanical technology which was later supplemented by
solid-state electronics. A large number of electromechanical and solid-state relays are in operation at this time. With
the advent of digital processing technology, designers
started to use microprocessors in relay designs. These relays are now marketed by several manufacturers.
Figure 3 shows an example of the block diagram of a microprocessor-based relay. This relay monitors voltages and
currents, which, at the power system level, are in the range
of hundreds of kilo volts and kilo amperes respectively.
The levels of these signals are reduced by vts and cts typically to 67 V and 5 A nominal values.

During digital processing, high frequency components can

appear to belong to the fundamental frequency class. This
phenomenon is referred to as aliasing. To prevent aliasing
from affecting the relaying functions, anti-aliasing filters
are used along with the analog input isolation block.

The outputs of the vts and cts are applied to the analog
input subsystem of the relay. This subsystem provides
-6-

Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright <0 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

3.5.1 Multi-function relay

After being quantized by the AID converter, analog electrical signals are described by discrete values of the samples
taken at specified instants of time. These discrete numbers
are processed by using numerical methods. For example,
quantized values of current and voltage samples may be
used to estimate the magnitudes and phase angles of their
pha-sors. Voltage and current phasors may be further used
to calculate impedances as seen from a relay location.

Microprocessor relays were initially developed to replace

the existing single-function relays. For example, separate
relays were used to perform differential, loss of field, overcurrent and unbalanced loading protections of generators.
During the past few years, relays that perform more than
two protective functions have been developed. These are
classified as multi-function relays.

The digital signals are applied to the relay via optic isolators which insure physical disconnection of the relay from
the power system.

POWER. SYSTEM

cts & vts

,r
Analog Input
Subsystem

"

Digital Input
Subsystem

,r
Analog
Interface

Digital Output
Subsystem

Microprocessor

Control

RAM

ROM

Communication
MICRO-COMPUTER

Power
Supply
RELAY

Figure 3. Block diagram of a microprocessor-based relay.

-7Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright o The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Analog Input
Isolation

AI

1'1

Shunt

Low pass
Filter

Amplifier

-{>-

Sample
and Hold

Multiplexer

AID
Conversion

S/H

MUX

AID

Analog to
Digital
Converson

Digital
Filters

Binary Input
Isolation

BI

V~k

COM
Z<

I>
etc.

Algorithm
Processing

Trip
PLC
AR
etc.

MMI

Serial
Com m unication

Fault/Event
Recording Binary Output
Isolation

Logic Function
Processing

Numerical
Signal
Processing

Figure 4. Signal and data flow of a microprocessor-based relay.

- 8TermsUsed by Power SystemProtection Engineers

Copyright ~ The Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Binary
Signal
Processing
DO

4. OVERCURRENT RELAY
air gap of an electro-magnet which is excited by current
flowing in its coil. The current in the coil produces flux in
the air gap. Because the current in the coil is alternating in
nature, the flux in the air gap is also time varying. The
flux induces eddy currents in the disk. The air gap flux
and the eddy currents interact with each other producing a
torque that tries to rotate the disk. Since the disk is held
back with a spring, it does not start to rotate until the
torque exceeds a specified level.

The terms used in the area of overcurrent relay are described in this section. These include

instantaneous overcurrent relay,

inverse time overcurrent relay,
directional overcurrent relay,
time dial (time lever, time multiplier),
connection angle, and
polarizing quantity.

4.1 Instantaneous Overcurrent Relay

A moving contact, which is attached to the shaft, as well as

a stationary contact are provided in the relay. The coil of
the electromagnet is provided with taps which allows the
relay engineers to change the effective turns on the electromagnet. These settings are used to select the pickup
current of the relay.

This type of relay has been assigned by ANSI the device

number 50. The term instantaneous has at least two
meanings and functions. The first concerns the operation
of a relay or the tripping of a circuit breaker. It means that
no intentional time delay is added to the trip function. The
relay operates when it detects that the current level has
exceeded the threshold setting. These relays operate typically in 4 to 16 ms on a 60 Hz system. The second function concerns the reclosing of circuit breakers. In this
context, it means that reclosing of a circuit breaker is not
intentionally delayed after it has been tripped. There is,
however, an inherent albeit small time delay in performing
these functions.

4.2.1 Time dial (Time lever, Time multiplier)

The time dial (also referred to as time lever or time multiplier) is the means for controlling the operating time of the
relay. This is achieved by changing the angle through
which the disk must rotate before its contacts are closed.
Since the moving contact travels in an arc, it can be lengthened or shortened by selecting an appropriate time dial
setting. The adjustment of the arc is calibrated in the form
of an index which is known as the time dial.

4.2 Overcurrent Relay Time-Current

Characteristic

Figure 7 shows how the operating time of a relay changes

when the time dial setting is changed from 0.5 to 7.

Inverse time overcurrent relays (device number 51), operate when the current in the relay exceeds a threshold. Inverse time delay means that the higher the relay current,
the lower is the operating time. Some of the commonly
used time delay characteristics are

Extremely inverse

CI)

inverse time,
very inverse time,
extremely inverse time, and
definite minimum time.

Sample current-time characteristics are shown in Figure 5.

These curves represent the operating time of the relay
within specified tolerance. Notice that the definite minimum time characteristic has approximately constant time
delay for relay currents larger than three times the set
value. Relay engineers use these curves, that are published
by the manufacturers, to predict the time the relay would
take to operate for different levels of relay current.
An induction disk inverse time overcurrent relay is shown
in Figure 6. It has a non-magnetic disk, usually made of
aluminum, mounted on a shaft. The disk is placed in the

E
Very inverse

current

Figure 5.

Time current characteristics commonly

used in inverse time overcurrent relays.

-9Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright o The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

~-1IllIIo...

Time Dial - only dial

6
numbers 6-9 shown

C.T.

Stationary

cont~

~~ing

Contact
Disk rotor,

Figure 6. Electrical and mechanical arrangement of a typical inverse time overcurrent relay.
relay location. This is sometimes not desirable. For example, in a line of a network, fault currents at a relay location could be flowing for faults on the line side of the relay
as well as for faults on the bus side of the relay. A line
protection relay must be restrained from operating for
faults on the bus side of the relay.
Directional overcurrent relays are used in such situations.
These relays (classified as device number 67), when designed with electromechanical or analog electronic technologies, consist of an overcurrent element supervised by a
directional element. The overcurrent element responds
only if the fault is in the specified direction.

Time dial
7

0.5

10

100

CURRENT-A

Figure 7.

1000

---+

Impact of time dial adjustment on the operating time of an overcurrent relay.

4.3 Directional Overcurrent

Overcurrent relays respond to currents during faults experienced on the power system in either direction from the

Some directional relay applications use single-phase directional relays; one relay is applied in each phase of the
three-phase power system. Another application is for
ground directional protection, which use ground (or residual current) and the sum of the three phase voltages (or
current in the neutral connection of the source).
In the phase directional relays, the phase angle of the current with respect to the voltage is checked. In the ground
directional relays, the phase angle of the ground or residual
current is checked with respect to the phase angle of the
sum of the three-phase voltages. Alternatively, the phase

- 10 Terms Used by Power SystemProtection Engineers

Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Example: Consider that directional relays using Option 2 for connecting the voltage elements have been
applied at a relay location. Figure 9 (a) shows the
phase voltages, Va' Vb and Vc' and the currents I, , I,
and I, when the system is operating normally. The
polarizing voltages (Vb-Vc ' v.v, and Va-Vb) and the
currents during normal operation are also shown in this
figure. Now consider that a phase A to phase B fault
has occurred on the line side of the relay and the fault is
very close to the relay location. The voltages and currents for this situation are shown in Figure 9 (b). Notice that the current I, leads the polarizing voltage (VeV J by a small angle, from 10 to 30. Also, the current
I, leads the polarizing voltage (Va-Vc) by a small angle.
This ensures that the relays sense that the fault is in the
forward direction.

angle of the residual current is checked with respect to a

neutral current of a source that provides a constant reference no matter where the fault is located.

4.3.1 Connection angle

In the phase directional relays, the phase angle between the
current and voltage is used to decide if the fault is in the
forward direction. Different combinations of currents and
voltages can be used for this comparison. Consider that
the three directional relays are applied currents from
phases A, B and C. Two of the several options for selecting the voltages for use in these relays are listed in Table 1.
In Option 1, the voltage element of the relay, which receives phase A current, is applied voltage from phase C.
As shown in Figure 8, unity power factor load current
leads the applied voltage by 60. This is also true for the
relays which receive phase B and phase C currents using
connections of Option 1. The relays which use this combination of currents and voltages are identified as having a
connection angle of 60.
Similarly, when connections of Option 2 are used, the relay, which receives phase A current, is applied the voltage
from phase B minus the voltage from phase C. In this
case, the unity power factor current leads the applied voltage by 90. This is also true for the relays that receive
phase B and phase C currents. The relays using this combination of currents and voltages are identified as having a
connection angle of 90. The phasor diagram for this
situation is also shown in Figure 8. The polarizing voltage,
Vb-Vc, and fault current for phase A to ground fault. la' are
also shown in this figure. Notice that the phase displacement between the fault current and the polarizing voltage is
less than 30.

4.3.2

Polarizing quantity

Many relays use a voltage or current as a reference for

comparing their operating signal. This quantity has a predictable phasor relationship to the current flowing to a
fault, irrespective of the location of the fault. The reference voltage or current is referred to as the polarizing signal.
Example: A healthy phase voltage, in addition to the
faulted phase voltage, is sometimes used in a relay as a
polarizing voltage to assist in accurately determining
the direction of the fault. This helps in correctly identifying the direction of the fault especially when the
magnitude of the faulted phase voltage is small. If a
fault, between phase b and phase c is experienced very
close to the relay location, the phase b to phase c voltage collapses. The phase voltages for this situation and
the currents are shown in Figure 9 (b). The polarizing
voltages and fault currents are also shown in this figure. It is obvious from this figure that even if the phase
b and phase c voltages have collapsed to low values, the
polarizing voltages are substantial to ensure relay operation.

The voltages, which are referred to as polarizing voltages,

are selected in such a manner that they remain relatively
unchanged during a fault. This ensures that during system
faults, when the currents have substantial magnitudes, the
polarizing voltages are as close to the nominal value as
possible.

Table 1. Voltage and current combinations for 60 and 90 connections for directional relays.
Relay 1
Current applied
Voltage applied Option 1
Voltage applied Option 2

Relay 2

I~:Vc

~:v.

Relay 3

I~~Vb

- 11 Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright <0 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Vc

Vc

I~

Va
\

Vb

Ia

Va

Ib

Vpo1= -Vc

Vb

6cP Connection

Vpo1= 'b-Vc

9cP Connection

9cP Connection

Phase A Fault

Figure 8. Voltage phasors used in 60 and 90 connection angles.

v c-V a

V -V
a b

V -V

b c

Phase voltages andcurrents

during normal operation

Polarizing voltages andcurrents

during normal operation

Figure 9 (a). Phase and polarizing voltages, and phase currents during normal operation.

Phase voltages andcurrents

fora twophase fault close to
the relay location

Phase B current andthe

Phase C current andthe

polarizing voltage V c-Va

polarizing voltage V a-Vb

Figure 9 (b). Phase currents and polarizing voltages for identifying the direction of a phase-b to phase-c fault.

- 12 Terms Usedby Power SystemProtectionEngineers

Copyright C The Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

5. OHMIC RELAY APPLICATIONS

This class of relays was originally used to protect transmission lines and were believed to measure the distance from
the relay location to a fault. Currently, several types are
applied to power systems for protecting lines during faults,
generators during loss of excitation, and the system during
power swings. The terms most commonly used and described in this section are

distance relay,
impedance relay,
mho relay, and
Blinder.

5.1 Distance Relay

Faults on transmission lines are commonly detected by
protective relays that measure and respond to one or another form of the ratio of voltage to current. This ratio is
impedance or a component of impedance. These relays are
termed distance relays because (ideally) the measured impedance is proportional to the distance along a homogeneous transmission line from the relay location to the fault.
This class of relays is assigned device number 21.
The portion of line that is being protected by a distance
relay is called the "zone of protection" or the "protected
zone." Figure 10 shows that the zone of protection of Relay A, installed at bus 1, is from the relay location to a location close to bus 2. Similarly, the zone of protection of
Relay B, installed at bus 2, is from the relay location to a
location close to bus 1. If the line impedance is Z, the
reach of each relay is nZ; n ranging from 0.75 to 0.90 in
some applications, and more than 1.0 in some others.
Relay A Reach

~l

Zone of Protection of Relay A I

-----nZ
.1

Busl

Location of

Relay A

I"
I~

jaYB

t--_---1

Location of

Z
Transmission Line

I
I

nZ-----

Zone of Protecuon of Relay 8

predominantly resistive. But, during faults, this impedance

is lower and highly reactive in nature. A change in the
detected impedance is used to determine if a fault has occurred, and also if the fault is in its zone of protection or is
elsewhere on the system. This is accomplished by limiting
the operation of the relay to a certain range of the observed
impedance, commonly called, "reach." When a fault occurs within the protected zone of a distance relay protecting an end to end line, only the faulted transmission line is
isolated.
The operating characteristics of these relays are expressed
in terms of impedance or its components, resistance and
reactance. Plotted on a rectangular coordinate system,
(using resistance, R, as the abscissa and reactance, X, as
the ordinate) the characteristics usually form simple geometric figures. Commonly used operating characteristics
are shown in Figure 11. The point of measurement for a
distance relay is located at the origin of the figures, and the
relay is designed to generally operate when the measured
impedance falls within the shaded area in the figures.
The major advantage of using a distance relay for multiphase faults, not involving ground, is that its zone of operation is a function of only the impedance of the protected
line and the fault resistance (except for the situations when
there is current in-feed from the remote terminal of the line
or there is mutual coupling with lines on the same right of
way). This is approximately a fixed constant, irrespective
of the levels of fault current magnitudes. Therefore, a distance relay has a fixed reach, as opposed to an overcurrent
relay whose reach varies as the system operating conditions change. Consequently, it is not necessary to change
the settings of distance relays unless the line characteristics
change. This makes distance relays ideally suited for primary and backup protection for faults on transmission
lines.

5.2
Bus 2

Relay BReach

Figure 10. Protection zones for relays protecting a

transmission line.
The impedance measured during normal operation of a line
is the ratio of the voltage at the line terminal and the current flowing in the line; this value is usually high and is

Impedance Relay

Relays that respond to the magnitude of the measured impedance are classified as impedance relays. The measurement is taken by determining the ratio of the rms voltage of
the line at the relay location to the rms current flowing in
the line at the relay location. These relays are commonly
applied to detect faults on transmission lines. A comparison of the measured impedance with the line impedance
provides an indication whether the fault is in the protected
zone of the relay or not. This type of relay is also assigned
a device number of21.

- 13 Terms Used by PowerSystem Protection Engineers

Copyright o The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

jX

Line Impedance

jX

Line Impedance

Restraint
Maximum
Sensitivity Angle

Mho Characteristic
- Forward Reach

Impedance Characteristic

jX

jX

Restraint

Restraint

Offset Mho Characteristic

- Forward Reach

Reverse Offset Mho

Characteristic

Figure 11. Generally used characteristics of generic distance relays.

The operating characteristics of the impedance relay, and
the "reach," plotted on a rectangular coordinate system, is
shown in Figure 12. Since an impedance relay responds to
measurements in all quadrants, a directional unit is generally used to limit the reach to the line side of the relay, as is
shown in this figure. With this combination, the impedance
relay responds only to the measured impedances which are
in the shaded portion of this diagram.
A variation of the impedance relays, called "offset impedance relays," whose characteristic is also shown in Figure
12, are used to start power line carrier protection. These
relays look from the circuit breaker towards the line as well
as the station bus. In addition, impedance relays can be
used to protect generators and transmission lines from outof-step conditions. On generators, this condition is due to

power crossing the air gap being less than the load on the
shaft, which is a function of the supply voltage and its
phase displacement from the voltage of the receiving system.

5.3

Mho Relay

Distance relays can be designed to have circular operating

characteristics, plotted on an impedance plane, that passes
through the origin of the plane as shown in Figure 13. This
type of relay is called a Mho relay or Admittance relay. A
fraction n of the line impedance ZL is a measure of distance of the fault on the line from the relay location. The
Mho relay is inherently directional; that is, it will "see"
and, therefore, respond only to transmission line faults in
one direction from the relay location. Maximum torque

- 14 Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

angle is the impedance angle at which the relay is most

sensitive.
5.4

Blinder

Sometimes transmission lines are heavily loaded . The

power being transmitted is such that the voltage to current
ratio (apparent impedance) at the line terminal is less than

jX

the reach of the third zone setting of the line protection

relays. A distance relay which has a straight-line nondirectional characteristic is used to block the line relay
from tripping during normal operation of the line. The
characteristic takes advantage of the fact that the apparent
impedance is predominantly resistive. The typical characteristic ofa blinder is shown in Figure 13.

Line Impedance
Restraint
Maximum
Sensitivity Angle
R

Operating characteristic
of an impedance and a
directional relay

Figure 12. Operating characteristics of impedance and offset impedance relays.

jX

jX

Line Impedance
Maximum Torque Line
Restraint
Maximum
Sensitivity Angle

Restraint

Mho Characteristic
- Forward Reach

Blinder Characteristic

Figure 13. Typical operating characteristic of a mho relay and a blinder.

- 15 Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright The Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers, Inc.

6. OTHER RELAYS
Several other relays are used in power systems. Terms
used for the following relays are described in this section.

Differential relays
Inrush phenomenon
Combustible gas relay
Gas accumulation relay
Static pressure relay
Sudden pressure relay
Thermal relay
Replica or replica temperature relay
RTD relay
Phase disagreement
Breaker failure
Pole flash-over
Single phase tripping

differential relay is used and an internal fault occurs, the

total ct secondary current flows through the high impedance overvoltage coil, producing operation.

Protected ...._..,......~. ._ _
Device

---.
I.

In

---. I-

---. I

In

out

Figure 14. A typical current differential relay.

6.1 Differential Relays

Differential relays, which are assigned the device number
87 by ANSI, are used for protecting lines, transformers,
generators, buses and other components of power systems.
They function on the principal of comparing two or more
electrical quantities (usually currents) and operating if the
difference between the values of any signal, observed at
the input and output terminals of the protected component
of the power system, exceeds a specified threshold.
Current differential relays are based on Kirchhoffs current
law which states that the sum of currents entering a node in
a network must be zero. Cts are used to provide the currents entering and leaving a zone to a current differential
relay. The currents entering a zone are compared with
those leaving the zone. The operating current is the phasor
difference between these currents.
When there is a fault in the protected zone, the currents
entering and leaving the protected zone do not add to zero
and, therefore, the differential relay operates. On the other
hand, when there is a fault outside the protected zone, the
currents entering and leaving the zone add to approximately zero and the differential relay does not operate.
Figure 14 shows one phase of a differential relay circuit.
The cts are connected to each other and to the operating
coil of the differential relay. The current in the operating
coil is the difference between lin and lout.
In low impedance current differential relays, the difference
current flows in the operating coil and the relay operates
like an overcurrent relay. When a high impedance current

Since the fault currents are large and the cts are not perfect,
there is always a relay operating current when a fault occurs outside the differential relay zone. This current could
cause an undesired operation of the relay. One of the
measures used to keep the differential relays from operating during external faults is the use of the percentage differential principle. Figure 15 shows one phase of a typical
percentage current differential relay. Two restraining
coils, R1 and R2, are included to provide the restraint. The
operating coil is excited by the difference between the currents lin and lout, but the relay operates only when the
operating current, lin-lout, is more than a specified percentage of the restraint currents.

Protected
Device

---.

t--..,....~...--

I-In

tI I.In

---.
I.
In

j Iop=1.-1
In out
---.
I
out

Figure 15. A typical percentage differential relay.

- 16 TermsUsedby PowerSystem Protection Engineers

Copyright (0 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

6.1.1 Transformer differential protection

The ratio of the cts provided at the two terminals of the
protected zone and the differences in their characteristics
are always of concern in most applications. When differential relays are used to protect transformers, the issues
that are given special consideration include
matching of ct ratios and performance,
phase shift due to transformer winding interconnections,
elimination of zero sequence currents, and
transformer inrush.
The volt-amperes at the primary and secondary terminals
of a two-winding transformer are equal if the magnetizing
currents are negligible. If a transformer steps up the primary voltage to a higher level, the current at the high voltage terminal is proportionately reduced. Selection of appropriate ct ratios is used to match the magnitudes of the
currents entering and leaving the protected zone as applied
to the relay.
The connections of the windings of the protected transformer may introduce a phase shift. For example, a transformer with the high-side winding connected in delta and
the low-side winding connected in wye, would shift the
phase angle of the low-side current by 30. To compensate
for this phase shift, the cts of the wye side are connected in
delta and cts outside the delta winding are connected in
wye.
Example:
Consider a three-phase 100 MV A deltawye 13.8/230 kV transformer. The nominal currents on
the 13.8 kV and 230 kV sides are

*1000.;. (13.8 *~) =

100 * 1000.;. (230 *~) =

100

4,184 A
251 A

If the primary cts are of 5,000/5 ratio and the secondary

cts are of 400/5 ratio, the outputs of the primary and
secondary cts will be 4.18 A and 3. 14 A respectively,
when the transformer is supplying rated current.
Since cts on the wye-side of the transformer are connected
in delta, the outputs applied to the relay by the secondary
cts will be 3.14*"3 = 5.43 A. The difference between the
4.18 A current from the primary cts and 5.43 A current
from the secondary cts is eliminated by using ratio matching cts provided in the relays (or installed outside the relay)
or taps provided on the relay. In some microprocessor
relays, this is achieved by including a multiplier in the relay software.

The phase shift matching can also be achieved (incorrectly)

by connecting the wye-side cts in wye and delta-side cts in
delta. This arrangement would not compensate for the
zero-sequence currents that would flow in the wyeconnected winding and not in the delta-connected winding.
In the arrangement of Figure 16, zero-sequence currents
flow in the wye-connected winding but circulate in the
delta winding when a single phase to ground fault on the
system connected to the wye winding of the transformer is
experienced. The outputs of the cts provided on the delta
side do not contain the zero-sequence currents. The solution is to eliminate the zero-sequence currents from the
outputs of the cts connected to the wye connected winding.
This can be done by using a zero-sequence shunt (or trap)
or by connecting the ct secondaries in delta, which also
solves the phase shift problem described above.

Singlelineto-ground
fault

No 10 flow

Figure 16. Zero-sequence currents

transformer.

in

delta-wye

6.1.2 Magnetizing inrush currents

When a transformer is disconnected from the system and
the flow of current is interrupted, the transformer core retains a residual flux. The next time the transformer is energized, the core may saturate and, therefore, draw large
magnetizing currents from the source even if no load is
connected to the transformer. Since the magnetizing current is supplied by the source and is not reflected on the
output side of the transformer, it shows up as operating
current in the differential relay circuit. Therefore, the relay
must be restrained from operating for this current.
The waveforms of magnetizing inrush currents are not sinusoids of a single frequency; they contain substantial
amounts of harmonics. Figure 17 shows two examples of
the magnetizing inrush currents flowing into a delta winding of a delta-wye transformer. These currents decay over
a period of time, which depends on the size and type of the
transformer and the nature of the system.

- 17 Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

2O',-------,-----.----..------r---.---,---~

eo

20
(a>

101,---

!
~

----,-

m,oe.,..

100

00'

- - - - , - - - - - , - - - - . --

120

,ao

- - - , - - - - , - - -- - ,

5
011--------"

jl<

-5

.'O
IO
!----=----f;;---~-__.;;---___,;il-____,;O-_;:
, 40
120
eo
00
20
'00
(b)

TlWE-'"

Figure 17. Typical magnetizing inrush currents in a

delta-wye transformer.

6.2 Other Relays for Transformer Protection

Other relays generally used for transformer protection include

combustible gas relay,

gas accumulation relay,
static pressure relay,
sudden pressure relay,
thermal replica relay ,
RTD relay,
loss-of-field (excitation) relay, and
out-of-step relay.

These relays are briefly described in this section .

6.2.1 Combustible gas relay

The combustible gas relay is applied to transformers which
are equipped with positive pressure inert gas-oil preservation systems . This device measures the presence of combustible gas in the transformer in the inert gas blanket. The
presence of the combustible gas indicates the decomposition of insulating materials due to faults or corona. Since
these faults are not accompanied with large fault currents,
they are usually not detected by other relays until they develop into major short circuits which usually cause substantial damage . The combustible gas relay is expensive
and is not normally applied on substation transformers.

portion of the gas released by the protected equipment. It

operates when the volume of gas reaches a certain level.
The accumulator relay can only be applied to transformers
with conservator tanks . Another name for this device is a
gas detection relay .

6.2.3 Static pressure relay

This relay (assigned the device number 71) can be used on
all types of oil-immersed transformers. It is mounted below the oil level on the transformer tank wall and is activated by the pressure in the tank . Because of the many
incorrect operations of the static pressure relays over the
years, most have been superseded by sudden pressure relays.

6.2.4 Sudden pressure relay

Two types of sudden pressure relays (assigned device
number 63) generally used to protect transformers are the
sudden gas pressure and sudden oil pressure relays.
Sudden gas pressure relays operate if the rate of rise of
pressure in the transformer exceeds a specified level.
These relays can be applied on all gas cushioned oilimmersed transformers and are mounted in the gas space
above the oil.
Sudden oil pressure relays measure the rate of rise of oil
pressure and operate if it exceeds a specified value. These
relays can be applied on all oil-immersed transformers and
are usually mounted near the bottom of the transformer
tank wall.
These relays are commonly used to protect transformers
and are generally connected to trip circuit breakers to disconnect the transformer from the rest of the power system.
Because the micro-switch contacts used in sudden pressure
relays are sensitive to control circuit disturbances, an auxiliary relay is often included in the sudden pressure circuit.

6.3 Thermal Relay

A thermal relay, (assigned device number 49) operates if
the heat developed within the relay as a result of external
and internal conditions exceeds a specified level. The relay uses input(s) from ct(s) to monitor the 12R heating in
the protected equipment. This relay is different from a
temperature relay which uses a temperature sensing device,
either in or on the equipment being monitored. The circuit
of a typical thermal relay is shown in Figure 19.

6.2.2 Gas accumulation relay

6.4 Temperature Relay

Commonly known as a Buchholz relay, the gas accumulation relay is constructed so that it accumulates all or a fixed

A temperature relay (assigned device number 49) measures

the external temperature of the protected equipment.

- 18 Terms Usedby Power SystemProtectionEngineers

Copyright <I} The Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

temperature rise of the protected apparatus, or conductor,

over a range of values. A current proportional to the current in the protected equipment is passed through a heating
element in the relay. The relay is designed to simulate the
heating and cooling of the protected apparatus. The modeling of the cooling of the equipment is essential to protect
the equipment from being returned to service too soon after
a thermal overload. A typical circuit for a replica relay is
shown in Figure 21.

Monitoring of the temperature is accomplished by using an

RTD, gas bulb, thermocouple or another temperature
sensing device located at the point to be monitored. The
mounting of a typical temperature relay is shown in Figure
20.

6.4.1 Replica relay or replica temperature

relay
These relays (assigned device number 49) are designed to
achieve an internal temperature rise proportional to the

Transformer
tank wall
Bellows
Trip
circuit

Enlarged
view

Micro-switch

Sealed
chamber
mounted on
the outside
of the tank
wall

. --. -

Sudden /
pressure relay

.....
T r ansformer tank

Equalizing
orifice

Sudden gas pressure relay mounting onthe

sideof a transformer above theoillevel

Simplified scheme for a sudden gaspressure relay

Figure 18. Mounting and schematic arrangement of a sudden gas pressure relay.

To protected!
monitored equipment

Electrical
Source

Electrical Source to Equipment

Thermal
Relay

Figure 19. Thermal relay monitors IZR losses in the

protected equipment.

Figure 20. The mounting of a typical temperature relay.

- 19 -

Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Electrical
Source

To protected!
monitored equipment

of the system experiencing a disturbance, the magnetic

field must be changed to maintain the system voltage (at or
near the generator terminals) at the nominal value.
The excitation system can be supplied current from an
auxiliary generator mounted on the shaft of the main turbine-generator unit, or from the plant auxiliary bus, or the
main generator. Several circumstances can result in lossof-field; these include

Bi-metal

Resistoror
heat source

Figure 21. The circuit diagram of a replica relay.

6.4.2 RTD relay

A temperature relay, assigned device number 49, uses a
resistance temperature detector (RTO) to monitor the temperature of the protected equipment. An RTO is a resistor
made of a material whose resistance changes in a predetermined manner when the temperature changes. Electromechanical RTD relays normally use a Wheatstone bridge
(or an equivalent circuit) to sense the temperature changes
and respond with a predetermined output. One form of
microprocessor RTD relay applies a low level of current to
the resistor and measures the voltage drop across the resistor. From this measurement, it calculates the resistance
and the temperature. The electrical circuit of a RTD relay
is shown in Figure 22.

To~

Power
SUP~
--I----~--t_'

Monitored
Equipment

Figure 22. Circuit of a typical RTD relay.

6.5 Loss-or-field (excitation) Relay

The magnetic field is set up in a generator by providing dc
currents to the field winding of the generator. In the event

accidental tripping of the field circuit breaker,

poor brush contact in the slip rings of the rotor, and
loss of ac supply to the excitation system.

Reduced levels of excitation, or complete loss of field can

result in loss of synchronism, instability and, possibly,
damage to the generator. When a disturbance is experienced, the generator output oscillates (accompanied with
rotor oscillations) in an attempt to stay in synchronous operation with the system. If the disturbance is accompanied
by a substantial decrease in the terminal voltage, system
stability is threatened. For these reasons, a loss-of-field
relay is applied to protect the generator and the system to
which it is connected. The relay is usually designed to trip
the generator when the relationship between the alternating
voltages and currents, measured at the generator terminals,
indicates that a loss-of-field condition has occurred. ANSI
has assigned device number 40 to loss-of-field relays.

6.6 Out-or-step Relay

When two or more interconnected synchronous generators
or systems have lost synchronism with respect to one another and are operating at different frequencies, they are
said to be operating under an out-of-step condition. This
condition can be caused by a mismatch between the electrical output of the generator and the mechanical input to
the generator. Distance relays (in conjunction with blinders) are applied to detect and trip the generators when this
is suspected to have happened. Generally, the protection is
designed either to trip the generator breaker or to open the
line interconnecting the two systems. The disconnected
generator, or the interconnecting line are brought back in
service after the condition has stabilized. The out-of-step
relays are assigned the device number 78.

- 20Terms Used by Power SystemProtection Engineers

Copyright C The Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

7. CIRCUIT BREAKER APPLICATIONS

A few terms concerning circuit breakers often used by

protection engineers are

breaker failure,
phase disagreement,
pole flashover, or
single-phase tripping.

These terms are briefly described in this section.

inadequate or damaged interrupter,

mechanically damaged mechanism, and
lack of electrical continuity of the trip circuit.

A breaker failure relay (assigned device number 50BF)

recognizes the condition of current continuing to flow in
the circuit breaker after a reasonable period of time has
elapsed since a relay made an attempt to energize the trip
coil of the circuit breaker. On recognizing such a condition, the breaker failure relay initiates the clearing of all the
circuits that can feed current to the fault via the failed
breaker.
The following three examples show the circuit breakers
that are tripped by a breaker failure relay.
Example: Circuit breaker A of a single bus switching
station, shown in Figure 23, has failed to interrupt current flowing to a fault on the line it controls. The condition is identified by the breaker failure relay which issues commands to trip circuit breakers B, C and D. The
relay also issues a trip command to trip circuit breaker
A.
Example: Circuit breaker A of the switching station,
shown in Figure 24, has failed to interrupt current
flowing to a fault on line to circuit breaker J at the remote station. Circuit breakers Band J have successfully interrupted the flow of current through them. On
detecting circuit breaker failure, the breaker failure relays issues trip commands to circuit breakers 0 and G,
as well as A and B. If communication facilities are
available, the trip command is also sent to circuit
breaker J.

Circuit breaker A fails to

interrupt the fault current

7.1 Breaker Failure

The failure of a circuit breaker to interrupt fault current
following the attempt to energize its trip coil by a protective relay is described as breaker failure. The reason for
such failures include

Figure 23.

Single bus switching arrangement; circuit

breaker A fails to interrupt current.

-I

Remote I
Station I
J

I Fault

"'-I-II

-0--

1-

I
I

_I

Circuit breaker A fails to interrupt current to

the fault on the lineto the remote station.
Figure 24.

A breaker-and-a-half switching arrangement; circuit breaker A fails to interrupt

current to fault on the line to circuit
breaker J.

Example: Circuit breaker A of the switching station,

shown in Figure 25, has failed to interrupt current
flowing to a fault on the line to circuit breaker H at the
remote station Y. Circuit breakers D and H have successfully interrupted the flow of current through them.
On detecting circuit breaker failure, the breaker failure
relay issues trip commands to circuit breakers Band J,
as well as A, D and H.

- 21 Terms Usedby PowerSystemProtection Engineers

Copyright0 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

-------------,

Remote
Station X

J
!
--e--:_--

,--

__[L-IIH

the contacts of interrupters in the other two

phases are closed

is identified as pole disagreement. If the contacts of

interrupter A, or A and B, are open and the contacts
of interrupters C, D, E and F are closed, pole disagreement has occurred.

I Remote
Fault I Station Y

Pole disagreement is supervised by auxiliary contact arrays

("a" and "b" switches) or by comparing phase currents in
the three phases. On identifying a pole disagreement, the
pole disagreement relay starts a timer and, if the disagreement continues for a specified time, either all three poles of
the circuit breaker are tripped or backup clearing of the
condition is initiated.

Circuit breaker A fails to interrupt current

to the fault on the line to the remote station.

JI' Jt

Figure 25. Circuit breaker failure in a ring bus

switching station.
The three examples, one for a single bus switching station,
one for a breaker-and-a-half switching arrangement and the
third for a ring bus switching station show the local, as
well as, remote circuit breakers that could supply fault current through the failed circuit breaker. The breaker failure
relay issues trip commands to these circuit breakers as well
as the circuit breakers that have successfully interrupted
the flow of fault current.

7.2 Pole Disagreement

This is the condition in which one pole of a three-phase
circuit breaker is open while the remaining poles are
closed. It also includes the condition in which two poles of
a three-phase circuit breaker are open while the remaining
pole is closed. Such conditions cause negative-sequence
currents to flow in the equipment controlled by the circuit
breaker. Since the flow of negative-sequence currents can
damage equipment, especially the rotating machines, these
conditions must be recognized and the circuit breaker
opened. This condition also causes zero-sequence currents
to flow in the system which can result in ground fault relays to operate. This condition is sometimes called "pole
disagreement".

Example: Figure 26 shows the contact arrangement of

a three-phase breaker which has two breaks per pole.
The condition in which

the contacts of an interrupter, or interrupters in one

phase are open, and

.......I HI
..... C

----I H 1--1E

Figure 26. Contact arrangement of a three phase circuit breaker which has two interrupters per
phase. The contacts of interrupters "A"
and "B" are closed whereas the interrupters
"C", "D", "E" and "F" are open.

7.3 Pole Flashover

A flashover across an open or partially open pole of a
three-phase circuit beaker can occur due to lightning,
switching surges or loss of dielectric in a pressurized interrupter. This phenomenon is called pole flashover. Flashover can occur on circuit breakers which have one operating mechanism for all three poles and also on circuit
breakers which have independent operating mechanisms
for each pole.

7.4 Single-Pole Tripping

When a single-phase fault is experienced on a system, fault
current flows in one phase only. In many situations, only
one pole of the circuit breaker controlling a line is opened
during these faults. Most power system protection engineers call this practice "single-pole tripping" but sometimes it is called single phase tripping".
Faults other than single phase to ground faults are usually
isolated by tripping all three poles.

- 22Terms Used by Power System Protection Engineers

Copyright o The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

8. SYSTEM DISTURBANCES
The importance of protection from system disturbances has
increased with the development of interconnections between power systems. Load generation unbalance may be
caused in a system by loss of generators or interconnections with the neighboring utilities. If the load of a system
exceeds the available generation, the frequency decreases.
Severe overloads produce rapid frequency decay. Rotating
machinery, especially steam turbines, cannot operate safely
at frequencies less than a few percent below the rated frequency. Frequency relays are, therefore, used to shed load
to restore generation-load balance.

8.1 Underfrequency Relay

ating frequency decreases to a specified level below the

nominal frequency or if its rate of decay (df/dt) exceeds a
specified level. They trip selected loads to prevent a system from collapsing, or experiencing a major blackout, by
restoring the balance between load and generation.
Underfrequency relays are usually installed at distribution
substations and industrial installations, and are generally
set between 59.7 and 58.5 Hz. Time delays are usually
applied to provide system security. In addition, particularly for solid-state underfrequency relays, an undervoltage
inhibit function is included to further improve security.
Relays may have multiple settings to ensure that loads are
tripped in small increments as the frequency decreases.

Underfrequency relays (assigned device number 81) are

applied to automatically shed load when the system oper-

- 23 Terms Used by PowerSystem Protection Engineers

Copyright (g The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

9. DISTURBANCE ANALYSIS
Fault analysis has become an important activity because it
provides a better insight in the operation of the system as
well as its equipment. Power system engineers, especially
protection engineers had been recording waveforms of
voltages and currents during faults for many year.
Before the use of the digital electronics technology became
wide spread in power systems, light beam oscilloscopes
were being used. As the manufacturers developed digital
relays, they found that some capabilities for recording
waveforms of power system signals could be include in the
relays. Consequently, several devices were made available
that could record voltages and currents during systems
disturbances. However, many stand-alone devices have
been developed and used in power systems to record voltages and currents during system disturbances. The difference between the capabilities of the commercial relays and
dedicated recording devices is that the resolution of the
recording made by the relays are usually not as good as the
recordings made by the dedicated devices.
Out of the several terms used in this area, the following
terms are briefly described in this section.

Sequential events recorder

Transient fault recorder
Pre-fault, fault and post-fault periods

9.1 Sequential Events Recorder

A sequential events recorder is a system that monitors and

records the state of discrete events, such as, "on" or "off'

status of a circuit breaker, "closing" or "opening" of a circuit breaker, activation of an alarm or its deactivation. In
addition to this binary information, the sequential event
recorders note the absolute or relative time of the occurrence of the observed events. Other names used for a sequential event recorder include sequence of events recorder, SER and data logger.

9.2 Transient Fault Recorder

A transient fault recorder is a device that records the magnitudes of system quantities (typically currents, voltages,
etc.) along with the time when those magnitudes were observed. Each recorder has a frequency response and a dynamic range that dictates the quality of the observations.
Depending on the design of the recorder, the signals can be
recorded for monitoring transient system changes, including the high frequency components in them, or for observing long term changes, such as monitoring power system swings. Often, a transient recorder includes the ability
to record binary changes of states as described for the sequential events recorder.

9.3 Pre-fault, Fault and Post-Fault Periods

Pre-fault period is the time before the inception of a fault.
Fault period is the time during which the system continues
to experience a fault. The post-fault period is the time that
starts from the instant a fault has been cleared.

- 24Terms Usedby PowerSystem Protection Engineers

Copyright C The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

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- 26Terms Usedby PowerSystem Protection Engineers

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- 27Terms Used by PowerSystem Protection Engineers

Copyright <0 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.