CHAPTER 6

POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION

6.1 Components of Protection System
6.2 Transducers & Relays
6.3 Zones of protection
6.4 Example of protection applications

6.1 COMPONENTS OF PROTECTION SYSTEM

Power system protection is a branch of electrical power engineering that deals with
the protection of electrical power systems from faults through the isolation of faulted
parts from the rest of the electrical network. The objective of a protection scheme is to
keep the power system stable by isolating only the components that are under fault,
whilst leaving as much of the network as possible still in operation. Thus, protection
schemes must apply a very pragmatic and pessimistic approach to clearing system faults.
For this reason, the technology and philosophies utilized in protection schemes can often
be old and well-established because they must be very reliable.

Protection systems usually comprise five components:

• Current and voltage transformers to step down the high voltages and currents of
the electrical power system to convenient levels for the relays to deal with;
• Relays to sense the fault and initiate a trip, or disconnection, order;
• Circuit breakers to open/close the system based on relay and auto recloser
commands;
• Batteries to provide power in case of power disconnection in the system.
• Communication channels to allow analysis of current and voltage at remote
terminals of a line and to allow remote tripping of equipment.

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 Figure 1: Overccurrent protection schematic

For parts
p of a diistribution syystem, fusess are capable of both seensing and disconnectin
d ng
faultss.

Failures may
m occur in each parrt, such as insulation failure,
f falleen or brokeen
transm
mission lines, incorrect operation off circuit breaakers, short circuits
c and open circuits.
Proteection devicces are installed with the aims of
o protectionn of assets,, and ensurre
continnued supply
y of energy.

a) Instru
ument Tran
nsformers - Current traansformer & voltage traansformer arre
instrument transfoormer.
• A curren
nt transform
mer (CT) iss used for measuremennt of electriic
currents. When
W current in a circcuit is too high
h to directly apply to
t
measuringg instrumentts, a currennt transform
mer producees a reduceed
current accurately prooportional to the current in the circuuit, which caan
be convenniently conneected to meaasuring and recording innstruments. A
current traansformer also isolates the
t measurinng instrumennts from whaat
may be veery high volttage in the primary
p circcuit. Currentt transformerrs
are commonly used inn metering and
a protectivve relays in the electricaal
power induustry.
• Voltage transformers (VTs)
( or pottential transfformers (PTss) are anotheer
type of innstrument traansformer, used
u for meetering and protection in
i
high-voltaage circuits. They are deesigned to present
p negliigible load to
t

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 the supply being measured and to have a precise voltage ratio to
accurately step down high voltages so that metering and protective
relay equipment can be operated at a lower potential.

b) Relays - A relay is an electrical switch that opens and closes under the control
of another electrical circuit. In the original form, the switch is operated by an
electromagnet to open or close one or many sets of contacts. A protective
relay is a complex electromechanical apparatus, often with more than one coil,
designed to calculate operating conditions on an electrical circuit and trip
circuit breakers when a fault was found. Unlike switching type relays with
fixed and usually ill-defined operating voltage thresholds and operating times,
protective relays had well-established, selectable, time/current (or other
operating parameter) curves.

Such relays were very elaborate, using arrays of induction disks, shaded-pole
magnets, operating and restraint coils, solenoid-type operators, telephone-
relay style contacts, and phase-shifting networks to allow the relay to respond
to such conditions as over-current, over-voltage, reverse power flow, over-
and under- frequency, and even distance relays that would trip for faults up to
a certain distance away from a substation but not beyond that point. An
important transmission line or generator unit would have had cubicles
dedicated to protection, with a score of individual electromechanical devices.
The various protective functions available on a given relay are denoted by
standard ANSI Device Numbers. For example, a relay including function 51
would be a timed overcurrent protective relay.

These protective relays provide various types of electrical protection by

detecting abnormal conditions and isolating them from the rest of the
electrical system by circuit breaker operation. Such relays may be located at
the service entrance or at major load centers.

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 Design and theory of these protective devices is an important part of the
education of an electrical engineer who specializes in power systems. Today
these devices are nearly entirely replaced (in new designs) with
microprocessor-based instruments (numerical relays) that emulate their
electromechanical ancestors with great precision and convenience in
application. By combining several functions in one case, numerical relays also
save capital cost and maintenance cost over electromechanical relays.
However, due to their very long life span, tens of thousands of these "silent
sentinels" are still protecting transmission lines and electrical apparatus all
over the world.

An "Overcurrent Relay" is a type of protective relay which operates when the

load current exceeds a preset value. The ANSI Device Designation Number is
50 for an Instantaneous OverCurrent (IOC), 51 for a Time OverCurrent
(TOC). In a typical application the overcurrent relay is used for overcurrent
protection, connected to a current transformer and calibrated to operate at or
above a specific current level. When the relay operates, one or more contacts
will operate and energize a trip coil in a Circuit Breaker and trip (open) the
Circuit Breaker.

c) Circuit Breaker - A circuit breaker is an automatically-operated electrical

switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by
overload or short circuit. Its basic function is to detect a fault condition and,
by interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue electrical flow. Unlike
a fuse, which operates once and then has to be replaced, a circuit breaker can
be reset (either manually or automatically) to resume normal operation.
Circuit breakers are made in varying sizes, from small devices that protect an
individual household appliance up to large switchgear designed to protect high
voltage circuits feeding an entire city.

The circuit breaker must detect a fault condition; in low-voltage circuit

breakers this is usually done within the breaker enclosure. Circuit breakers for

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 large currents or high voltages are usually arranged with pilot devices to sense
a fault current and to operate the trip opening mechanism. The trip solenoid
that releases the latch is usually energized by a separate battery, although
some high-voltage circuit breakers are self-contained with current
transformers, protection relays, and an internal control power source.

Once a fault is detected, contacts within the circuit breaker must open to
interrupt the circuit; some mechanically-stored energy (using something such
as springs or compressed air) contained within the breaker is used to separate
the contacts, although some of the energy required may be obtained from the
fault current itself. Small circuit breakers may be manually operated; larger
units have solenoids to trip the mechanism, and electric motors to restore
energy to the springs.

The circuit breaker contacts must carry the load current without excessive
heating, and must also withstand the heat of the arc produced when
interrupting the circuit. Contacts are made of copper or copper alloys, silver
alloys, and other materials. Service life of the contacts is limited by the
erosion due to interrupting the arc. Miniature circuit breakers are usually
discarded when the contacts are worn, but power circuit breakers and high-
voltage circuit breakers have replaceable contacts.

When a current is interrupted, an arc is generated - this arc must be contained,

cooled, and extinguished in a controlled way, so that the gap between the
contacts can again withstand the voltage in the circuit. Different circuit
breakers use vacuum, air, insulating gas, or oil as the medium in which the arc
forms. Different techniques are used to extinguish the arc including:

• Lengthening of the arc

• Intensive cooling (in jet chambers)
• Division into partial arcs
• Zero point quenching

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 • Connecting capacitors in parallel with contacts in DC circuits

Finally, once the fault condition has been cleared, the contacts must again be
closed to restore power to the interrupted circuit.

Many different classifications of circuit breakers can be made, based on their

features such as voltage class, construction type, interrupting type, and
structural features.

6.2 TRANSDUCERS & RELAYS

a) Transducer - A transducer is a device, usually electrical, electronic, electro-

mechanical, electromagnetic, photonic, or photovoltaic that converts one type of
energy or physical attribute to another for various purposes including
measurement or information transfer (for example, pressure sensors).

The term transducer is commonly used in two senses; the sensor, used to detect a
parameter in one form and report it in another (usually an electrical or digital
signal), and an actuator may be described as opposite to a sensor-it converts
electrical signal into generally non-electrical energy. An example of a transducer
is a loudspeaker which converts an electrical signal into a variable magnetic field
and, subsequently, into acoustic waves.

b) Relay

i) Overcurrent Relay - Overcurrent relaying is the simplest and cheapest, the

most difficult to apply, and the quickest to need readjustment or even replacement
as a system changes. It is generally used for phase- and ground-fault protection on
station-service and distribution circuits in electric utility and in industrial systems,
and on some sub-transmission lines where the cost of distance relaying cannot be
justified. It is used for primary ground-fault protection on most transmission lines
where distance relays are used for phase faults, and for ground back-up protection

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on most lines having pilot relaying for primary protection. However, distance
relaying for ground-fault primary and back-up protection of transmission lines is
slowly replacing overcurrent relaying. Overcurrent relaying is used extensively
also at power-transformer locations for external-fault back-up protection, but
here, also, there is a trend toward replacing overcurrent with distance relays.

It is generally the practice to use a set of two or three overcurrent relays for
protection against inter-phase faults and a separate overcurrent relay for single-
phase-to-ground faults. Separate ground relays are generally favored because they
can be adjusted to provide faster and more sensitive protection for single-phase-
to-ground faults than the phase relays can provide. However, the phase relays
alone are sometimes relied on for protection against all types of faults. On the
other hand, the phase relays must sometimes be made to be inoperative on the
zero-phase-sequence component of ground-fault current. Overcurrent relaying is
well suited to distribution-system protection for several reasons. Not only is
overcurrent relaying basically simple and inexpensive but also these advantages
are realized in the greatest degree in many distribution circuits. Very often, the
relays do not need to be directional, and then no a-c voltage source is required.
Also, two phase relays and one ground relay are permissible. And finally, tripping
reactor or capacitor tripping may be used.

In electric-utility distribution-circuit protection, the greatest advantage can be

taken of the inverse-time characteristic because the fault-current magnitude
depends mostly on the fault location and is practically unaffected by changes in
generation or in the high-voltage transmission system. Not only may relays with
extremely inverse curves be used for this reason but also such relays provide the
best selectivity with fuses and reclosers. However, if ground-fault-current
magnitude is severely limited by neutral-grounding impedance, as is often true in
industrial circuits, there is little or no advantage to be gained from the inverse
characteristic of a ground relay.

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 ii) Directional Relay - Directional overcurrent relays consist of a typical
overcurrent unit and a directional unit combined to operate together for a
predetermined phase-angle and magnitude of current. The current in one coil is
compared in phase-angle position with a voltage or current in another coil of that
unit. The reference current or voltage is called the polarization. The relay operates
only for current flow in one direction and will be insensitive to current flow in the
opposite direction.

6.3 ZONE OF PROTECTION

For more general power system configurations, a fundamental concept is the
division of a system into protective zones. If a fault occurs anywhere within a zone,
action will be taken to isolate that zone from the rest of the system. Zones are defined for
generators, transformer, buses, transmission and distribution lines and motors. Figure 2
illustrates the protective zone concept. Each zone is defined by a closed dashed line.
Ideally, the zones of protection should overlap across the circuit breaker, the circuit
breaker being included in both zones. Each zone may contain more than one
component. Circuit breakers are located in the overlap regions and fault can be
occurring anywhere in the zone. At these condition, all circuit breakers in the zone
open to isolate the fault.

Figure 1: Power system protective zones

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Figure 3 shows the zones are overlapped to avoid the possibility of unprotected areas.
Without overlap the small area between two neighboring zones would not be located in
any zone and thus would not be protected.

Figure 3: Overlapping protection around a circuit breaker

Alternatively, the zone may be unrestricted. The start will be defined but the extent
will depend on measurement of the system quantities and will therefore be subject to
variation, owing to changes in system conditions and measurement errors.
The advantages of zones:
i) Stability - This term, applied to protection as distinct from power networks, refers
to the ability of the system to remain inert to all load conditions and faults external to
the relevant zone. It is essentially a term which is applicable to unit systems; the term
'discrimination' is the equivalent expression applicable to non-unit systems.

ii) Speed - The function of automatic protection is to isolate faults from the power
system in a very much shorter time than could be achieved manually, even with a
great deal of personal supervision. The object is to safeguard continuity of supply by
removing each disturbance before it leads to widespread loss of synchronism, which
would necessitate the shutting down of plant.

Loading the system produces phase displacements between the voltages at

different points and therefore increases the probability that synchronism will be lost
when the system is disturbed by a fault. The shorter the time a fault is allowed to
remain in the system, the greater can be the loading of the system. Figure 1.5 shows
typical relations between system loading and fault clearance times for various types of

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fault. It will be noted that phase faults have a more marked effect on the stability of
the system than does a simple earth fault and therefore require faster clearance.

It is not enough to maintain stability; unnecessary consequential damage must

also be avoided. The destructive power of a fault arc carrying a high current is very
great; it can burn through copper conductors or weld together core laminations in a
transformer or machine in a very short time. Even away from the fault arc itself,
heavy fault currents can cause damage to plant if they continue for more than a few
seconds.

Figure 4: Typical values of power that can be transmitted as a function of fault

clearance time

It will be seen that protective gear must operate as quickly as possible; speed,
however, must be weighed against economy. For this reason, distribution circuits for
which the requirements for fast operation are not very severe are usually protected by
time-graded systems, but generating plant and EHV systems require protective gear of
the highest attainable speed; the only limiting factor will be the necessity for correct
operation.

iii) Sensitivity - Sensitivity is a term frequently used when referring to the

minimum operating current of a complete protective system. A protective system is
said to be sensitive if the primary operating current is low. When the term is applied

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to an individual relay, it does not refer to a current or voltage setting but to the volt-
ampere consumption at the minimum operating current. A given type of relay
element can usually be wound for a wide range of setting currents; the coil will have
an impedance which is inversely proportional to the square of the setting current
value, so that the volt-ampere product at any setting is constant. This is the true
measure of the input requirements of the relay, and so also of the sensitivity. Relay
power factor has some significance in the matter of transient performance.

For D.C. relays the VA input also represents power consumption, and the burden
is therefore frequently quoted in watts.

Primary and backup Protection

The reliability of a power system has been discussed in earlier sections. Many factors
may cause protection failure and there is always some possibility of a circuit breaker
failure. For this reason, it is usual to supplement primary protection with other
systems to 'back-up' the operation of the main system and ensure that nothing can
prevent the clearance of a fault from the system. Back-up protection may be obtained
automatically as an inherent feature of the main protection scheme or separately by
means of additional equipment.
Time graded schemes such as over current or distance protection schemes are
examples of those providing inherent back-up protection. The faulty section is
normally isolated discriminatively by the time grading, but if the appropriate relay
fails or the circuit breaker fails to trip, the next relay in the grading sequence will
complete its operation and trip the associated circuit breaker, thereby interrupting the
fault circuit one section further back. In this way complete back-up cover is obtained.
One more section is isolated than is desirable but this is inevitable in the event of the
failure of a circuit breaker. Where the system interconnection is more complex, the
above operation will be repeated so that all parallel in feeds are tripped.

If the power system is protected mainly by unit schemes, automatic back-up

protection is not obtained, and it is then normal to supplement the main protection
with time graded over current protection, which will provide local back-up cover if

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the main protective relays have failed, and will trip further back in the event of
circuit breaker failure.
Such back-up protection is inherently slower than the main protection and,
depending on the power system configuration, may be less discriminative. For the
most important circuits the performance may not be good enough, even as a back-up
protection, or, in some cases, not even possible, owing to the effect of multiple in
feeds. In these cases duplicate high speed protective systems may be installed. These
provide excellent mutual back-up cover against failure of the protective equipment,
but either no remote back-up protection against circuit breaker failure or, at best,
time delayed cover. Breaker fail protection can be obtained by checking that fault
current ceases within a brief time interval from the operation of the main protection.
If this does not occur, all other connections to the bus bar section are interrupted, the
condition being necessarily treated as a bus bar fault. This provides the required
back-up protection with the minimum of time delay, and confines the tripping
operation to the one station, as compared with the alternative of tripping the remote
ends of all the relevant circuits.
The extent and type of back-up protection which is applied will naturally be
related to the failure risks and relative economic importance of the system. For
distribution systems where fault clearance. Times are not critical, time delayed
remote back-up protection is adequate but for EHV systems, where system stability is
at risk unless a fault is cleared quickly, local back-up, as described above, should be
chosen.
Ideal back-up protection would be completely independent of the main
protection. Current trans-formers, voltage transformers, auxiliary tripping relays, trip
coils and D.C. supplies would be duplicated. This ideal is rarely attained in practice.
The following compromises are typical:
a. Separate current transformers (cores and secondary windings only) are
used for each protective system, as this involves little extra cost or
accommodation compared with the use of common current transformers
which would have to be larger because of the combined burden.

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b. Common voltage transformers are used because duplication would involve
a considerable increase in cost, because of the voltage transformers them-
selves, and also because of the increased accommodation which would
have to be provided. Since security of the VT output is vital, it is desirable
that the supply to each protection should be separately fused and also
continuously supervised by a relay which will give an alarm on failure of
the supply and, where appropriate, prevent an unwanted operation of the
protection.
c. Trip supplies to the two protections should be separately fused.
Duplication of tripping batteries and of tripping coils on circuit breakers is
sometimes provided. Trip circuits should be continuously supervised.
d. It is desirable that the main and back-up protections (or duplicate main
protections) should operate on different principles, so that unusual events
that may cause failure of the one will be less likely to affect the other.

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 Example:

Draw the protective zones for the power system shown in figure 5. Which circuit
breaker should open for a fault at:

a) P1

b) P2

Figure 5: Power system

Solution:

Figure 6: Protective zones

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a) for a fault at P1, located in zone5, breakers B24 and B42 should open
b) for a fault at P2, located in the overlap region of zones 4 and 5, breakers B24, B42,
B21 and B23 should open.

Tutorial 1:

Figure 7: Power system

For the system shown in figure 7, directional over current relays are used at breakers
B12, B21, B23, B32, B34 and B43. Over current relays aloe are used at B1 and B4. For
fault at P1, which breakers do not operate? Which breakers should be coordinated?
Repeat, for a fault at P2 and P3. Explain how the system is protected against bus faults?

Tutorial 2:

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 Figure 8: Three types of power system connection
Figure 8 shows the three typical bus arrangements. Although the number of lines
connected to each arrangement varies widely in practice, four lines are shown for
convenience and comparison. Note that the required number of circuit breakers per line is
1 for the ring bus, 1 for the breakera dn half double bus and 2 for the double breaker

double bus arrangement. For each arrangement:

a) Draw the protective zones
b) identifies the breakers that open under primary protection for a fault on line 1
c) identify the lines that are removed from service under primary protection during a bus
fault at P1
d) identify the breakers that open under backup protection in the event a breaker fails to
clear a fault on line 1 ( that is a stuck breaker during a fault on line 1)

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6.4 EXAMPLE OF PROTECTION APPLICATION

Figure 5: Photos by Abdul Kazia, which show lightning strikes hitting the Burj Dubai
on 29 April 2009
(the world's tallest building)

The purpose of an electrical power generation system is to distribute energy

to a multiplicity of points for diverse applications. The system should be designed
and managed to deliver this energy to the utilization points with both reliability and
economy. As these two requirements are largely opposed, it is instructive to look at
the relationship between the reliability of a system and its cost and value to the
consumer. High reliability should not be pursued as an end in itself, regardless of
cost, but should rather be balanced against economy, taking all factors into account.
Security of supply can be bettered by improving plant design, increasing the spare
capacity margin and arranging alternative circuits to supply loads. Sub-division of
the system into zones, each controlled by switchgear in association with protective
gear, provides flexibility during normal operation and ensures a minimum of
dislocation following a breakdown.

The greatest threat to a secure supply is the shunt fault or short circuit, which
imposes a sudden and sometimes violent change on system operation. The large
current which then flows, accompanied by the localized release of a considerable
quantity of energy, can cause fire at the fault location, and mechanical damage

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throughout the system, particularly to machine and transformer windings. Rapid
isolation of the fault by the nearest switch-gear will minimize the damage and
disruption caused to the system. A power system represents a very large capital
investment. To maximize the return on this outlay, the system must be loaded as
much as possible. For this reason it is necessary not only to provide a supply of
energy which is attractive to prospective users by operating the system

Revenue for the supply authority. Absolute freedom from failure of the plant
and system network cannot be guaranteed. The risk of a fault occurring, however
slight for each item, is multiplied by the number of such items which are closely
associated in an extensive system, as any fault produces repercussions throughout the
net-work. When the system is large, the chance of a fault occurring and the
disturbance that a fault would bring are both so great that without equipment to
remove faults the system will become, in practical terms, inoperable.

The object of the system will be defeated if adequate provision for fault
clearance is not made. Nor is the installation of switchgear alone sufficient;
discriminative protective gear, designed according to the characteristics and
requirements of the power system, must be provided to control the switchgear.

A system is not properly designed and managed if it is not adequately

protected. This is the measure of the importance of protective systems in modern
practice and of the responsibility vested in the protection engineer. For more example
on application of the zone protection, please visit the website at
http://www.mantatest.com/BusProtection.html.

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