Protection & Automation Application Guide

ZR − ZF IB
x 100%
ZR
ZC

where:
∼ IA+IB
ZR = intended relay reach (relay reach setting) Source
xZC
A IA
ZF = effective reach F
ZA
The main cause of under-reaching is the effect of fault current
infeed at remote busbars. This is best illustrated by an Z<
example. Relaying point
Relay setting: ZA+ZC
In Figure 11.21, the relay at A will not measure the correct Relay actual reach due to parallel line infeed: ZA+xZC
impedance for a fault on line section ZC due to current infeed
Figure 11.21: Effect on distance relays of infeed at the remote busbar
IB.
Care should also be taken that large forward reach settings will
For a fault at point F, the relay is presented with an not result in operation of healthy phase relays for reverse earth
impedance: faults, see Section 11.10.5.
I A + IB
ZA + ZC 11.10.4 Over-Reach
IA
A distance relay is said to over-reach when the apparent
So, for relay balance: impedance presented to it is less than the impedance to the
fault.
Z A + ZC = Z A +
(I A + I B ) Z
IA
C Percentage over-reach is defined by the equation:

Therefore the apparent impedance is ZF − ZR

x 100%
ZR
 I + IB 
Z A +  A  Z C Equation 11.9
 IA 
where:
Equation 11.8
ZR = relay reach setting
It is clear from Equation 11.8 that the relay will underreach. It
is relatively easy to compensate for this by increasing the reach ZF = effective reach
setting of the relay, but care has to be taken. Should there be An example of the over-reaching effect is when distance relays
a possibility of the remote infeed being reduced or zero, the are applied on parallel lines and one line is taken out of service
relay will then reach further than intended. For example, and earthed at each end. This is covered in Section 13.2.3.
setting Zone 2 to reach a specific distance into an adjacent line
section under parallel circuit conditions may mean that Zone 2 11.10.5 Forward Reach Limitations
reaches beyond the Zone 1 reach of the adjacent line
There are limitations on the maximum forward reach setting
protection under single circuit operation. If IB = 9IA and the
that can be applied to a distance relay. For example, with
relay reach is set to see faults at F, then in the absence of the
reference to Figure 11.6, Zone 2 of one line section should not
remote infeed, the relay effective setting becomes ZA + 10ZC.
reach beyond the Zone 1 coverage of the next line section
relay. Where there is a link between the forward reach setting
and the relay resistive coverage (e.g. a Mho Zone 3 element), a
relay must not operate under maximum load conditions. Also,
if the relay reach is excessive, the healthy phase-earth fault
units of some relay designs may be prone to operation for
heavy reverse faults. This problem only affected older relays
applied to three-terminal lines that have significant line section
length asymmetry. A number of the features offered with
modern relays can eliminate this problem.

11-18
 Chapter 11 ⋅ Distance Protection

11.10.6 Power Swing Blocking to operation of these devices.

Power swings are variations in power flow that occur when For these types of distance relay, supervision of the voltage
the internal voltages of generators at different points of the inputs is recommended. The supervision may be provided by
power system slip relative to each other. The changes in load external means, e.g. separate voltage supervision circuits, or it
flows that occur as a result of faults and their subsequent may be incorporated into the distance relay itself. On
clearance are one cause of power swings. detection of VT failure, tripping of the distance relay can be
A power swing may cause the impedance presented to a inhibited and/or an alarm is given. Modern distance
distance relay to move away from the normal load area and protection relays employ voltage supervision that operates
into the relay characteristic. In the case of a stable power from sequence voltages and currents. Zero or negative
swing it is especially important that the distance relay should sequence voltages and corresponding zero or negative
not trip to allow the power system to return to a stable sequence currents are derived. Discrimination between
conditions. For this reason, most distance protection schemes primary power system faults and wiring faults or loss of supply
applied to transmission systems have a power swing blocking due to individual fuses blowing or MCB’s being opened is
facility available. Different relays may use different principles obtained by blocking the distance protection only when zero or
for detection of a power swing, but all involve recognising that negative sequence voltage is detected without the presence of
the movement of the measured impedance in relation to the zero or negative sequence current. This arrangement will not
relay measurement characteristics is at a rate that is detect the simultaneous loss of all three voltages and
significantly less than the rate of change that occurs during additional detection is required that operates for loss of voltage
fault conditions. When the relay detects such a condition, with no change in current, or a current less than that
operation of the relay elements can be blocked. Power swing corresponding to the three phase fault current under minimum
blocking may be applied individually to each of the relay zones, fault infeed conditions. If fast-acting miniature circuit breakers
or on an all zones applied/inhibited basis, depending on the are used to protect the VT secondary circuits, contacts from
particular relay used. these may be used to inhibit operation of the distance
protection elements and prevent tripping.
Various techniques are used in different relay designs to inhibit
power swing blocking in the event of a fault occurring while a 11.11 OTHER DISTANCE RELAY FEATURES
power swing is in progress. This is particularly important, for
A modern digital or numerical distance relay will often
example, to allow the relay to respond to a fault that develops on
incorporate additional features that assist the protection
a line during the dead time of a single pole autoreclose cycle.
engineer in providing a comprehensive solution to the
Some Utilities may designate certain points on the network as protection requirements of a particular part of a network.
split points, where the network should be split in the event of Table 11.1 provides an indication of the additional features
an unstable power swing or pole-slipping occurring. A that may be provided in such a relay. The combination of
dedicated power swing tripping relay may be employed for this features that are actually provided is manufacturer and relay
purpose (see Section 11.7.8). Alternatively, it may be possible model dependent, but it can be seen from the Table that
to achieve splitting by strategically limiting the duration for steady progression is being made towards a ‘one-box’ solution
which the operation a specific distance relay is blocked during that incorporates all the protection and control requirements
power swing conditions. for a line or cable. However, at the highest transmission
voltages, the level of dependability required for rapid clearance
11.10.7 Voltage Transformer Supervision of any protected circuit fault will still demand the use of two
Fuses or sensitive miniature circuit breakers normally protect independent protection systems.
the secondary wiring between the voltage transformer
secondary windings and the relay terminals.
Distance relays having:
• self-polarised offset characteristics encompassing the
zero impedance point of the R/X diagram
• sound phase polarisation
• voltage memory polarisation
may maloperate if one or more voltage inputs are removed due

11-19
Protection & Automation Application Guide

Fault location (distance to fault) Relay Parameter

Parameter Description Units
Instantaneous overcurrent protection Parameter Value
Tee’d feeder protection R1ph Phase fault resistive reach value - Zone 1 78 Ω
Alternative setting groups R2ph Phase fault resistive reach value - Zone 2 78 Ω
CT supervision R3ph Phase fault resistive reach value - Zone 3 78 Ω
Check synchroniser TZ1 Time delay - Zone 1 0 sec

Auto-reclose TZ2 Time delay - Zone 2 0.35 sec

CB state monitoring TZ3 Time delay - Zone 3 0.8 sec

CB condition monitoring R1G Ground fault resistive reach value - Zone 1 104 Ω
CB control R2G Ground fault resistive reach value - Zone 2 104 Ω
Measurement of voltages, currents, etc. R3G Ground fault resistive reach value - Zone 3 104 Ω
Event recorder Table 11.2: Distance relay parameters for example
Disturbance recorder Calculations are carried out in terms of primary system
CB failure detection/logic impedances in ohms, rather than the traditional practice of
Directional/Non-directional phase fault overcurrent protection (backup to distance protection) using secondary impedances. With numerical relays, where
Directional/Non-directional earth fault overcurrent protection (backup to distance protection) the CT and VT ratios may be entered as parameters, the
Negative sequence protection
scaling between primary and secondary ohms can be
performed by the relay. This simplifies the example by
Under/overvoltage protection
allowing calculations to be carried out in primary quantities
Stub-bus protection
and eliminates considerations of VT/CT ratios.
Broken conductor detection
User-programmable scheme logic ABC XYZ PQR
1000/1A
100km 60km
Table 11.1: Listing of possible additional features in a numerical GS
distance relay
230kV 230kV 230kV

11.12 DISTANCE RELAY APPLICATION 230kV/110V

EXAMPLE
The system diagram shown in Figure 11.22 shows a simple Z<
230kV network. The following example shows the calculations
necessary to apply three-zone distance protection to the line Source Impedance: 5000MVA max
2000MVA min
interconnecting substations ABC and XYZ. All relevant data for
Line Impedance: Z = 0.089 + j0.476Ω/ km
this exercise are given in the diagram. The MiCOM P441 relay 1
= Z o 0. 4 2 6 + j 1 . 5 7 6 Ω / km
with quadrilateral characteristics is considered in this example.
Relay parameters used in the example are listed in Table 11.2. Figure 11.22: Example network for distance relay setting calculation

For simplicity it is assumed that only a conventional 3-zone

Relay Parameter
Parameter Description Units distance protection is to be set and that there is no
Parameter Value
teleprotection scheme to be considered. In practice, a
ZL1 (mag) Line positive sequence impedance (magnitude) 48.42 Ω
teleprotection scheme would normally be applied to a line at
ZL1 (ang) Line positive sequence impedance (phase angle) 79.41 deg
this voltage level.
ZLO (mag) Line zero sequence impedance (magnitude) 163.26 Ω
ZLO (ang) Line zero sequence impedance (phase angle) 74.87 deg
11.12.1 Line Impedance
KZO (mag) Default residual compensation factor (magnitude) 0.79 -
The line impedance is:
KZO (ang) Default residual compensation factor (phase angle) -6.5 deg
Z1 (mag) Zone 1 reach impedance setting (magnitude) 38.74 Ω Z L = (0.089 + j 0.476) x 100Ω
Z1 (ang) Zone 1 reach impedance setting (phase angle) 80 deg
Z2 (mag) Zone 2 reach impedance setting (magnitude) 62.95
= 8.9 + j 47.6Ω
Ω
Z2 (ang) Zone 2 reach impedance setting (phase angle) 80 deg
= 48.42∠79.41 Ω
Z3 (mag) Zone 3 reach impedance setting (magnitude) 83.27 Ω
Z3 (ang) Zone 3 reach impedance setting (phase angle) 80 deg Use values of 48.42Ω (magnitude) and 80o (angle) as nearest
settable values.

11-20
 Chapter 11 ⋅ Distance Protection

11.12.2 Residual Compensation = 48.42∠79.41 + (0.5 x 60 x (0.484 ∠79.41 )) Ω

The relays used are calibrated in terms of the positive sequence
impedance of the protected line. Since the zero sequence = 62.95∠79.41 Ω
impedance of the line between substations ABC and XYZ is Use 62.95∠80 Ω nearest available setting.


different from the positive sequence impedance, the

impedance seen by the relay in the case of an earth fault, 11.12.5 Zone 3 Phase Reach
involving the passage of zero sequence current, will be
Zone 3 is set to cover 120% of the sum of the lines between
different to that seen for a phase fault. Hence, the earth fault
substations ABC and PQR, provided this does not result in any
reach of the relay requires zero sequence compensation (see
transformers at substation XYZ being included. It is assumed
Section 11.9.2).
that this constraint is met. Hence, Zone 3 reach:
For the relay used, this adjustment is provided by the residual
(or neutral) compensation factor KZO, set equal to: = 48.42∠79.41 + (1.2 x 60 x (0.484 ∠79.41 )) Ω

(Z 0 − Z1 ) = 83.275∠79.41 Ω
K ZO =
3Z 1 Use a setting of 83.27∠80 Ω , nearest available setting.


11.12.6 Zone Time Delay Settings

∠K Z 0 = ∠
(Z 0 − Z1 ) Proper co-ordination of the distance relay settings with those
3Z1 of other relays is required. Independent timers are available for
the three zones to ensure this.
For each of the transmission lines:
For Zone 1, instantaneous tripping is normal. A time delay is
(
Z L1 = 0.089 + j 0.476Ω 0.484∠79.41 Ω ) used only in cases where large d.c. offsets occur and old circuit

= 0.426 + j1.576Ω (1.632∠74.87 Ω )

breakers, incapable of breaking the instantaneous d.c.
Z L0 
component, are involved.
Hence, The Zone 2 element has to grade with the relays protecting the
line between substations XYZ and PQR since the Zone 2
K Z 0 = 0.792
element covers part of these lines. Assuming that this line has
distance, unit or instantaneous high-set overcurrent protection
∠K Z 0 = −6.5 
applied, the time delay required is that to cover the total
clearance time of the downstream relays. To this must be
11.12.3 Zone 1 Phase Reach
added the reset time for the Zone 2 element following
The required Zone 1 reach is 80% of the line impedance. clearance of a fault on the adjacent line, and a suitable safety
Therefore, margin. A typical time delay is 350ms, and the normal range
( )
0.8x 48.42∠79.41 = 38.74∠79.41
is 200-500ms.
The considerations for the Zone 3 element are the same as for
Use 38.74∠80 Ω nearest settable value.

the Zone 2 element, except that the downstream fault
clearance time is that for the Zone 2 element of a distance
11.12.4 Zone 2 Phase Reach relay or IDMT overcurrent protection. Assuming distance
Ideally, the requirements for setting Zone 2 reach are: relays are used, a typical time is 800ms. In summary:

• at least 120% of the protected line TZ 1 = 0ms

• less than the protected line + 50% of the next line
TZ 2 = 250ms
Sometimes, the two requirements are in conflict. In this case,
both requirements can be met. A setting of the whole of the TZ 3 = 800ms
line between substations ABC and XYZ, plus 50% of the
adjacent line section to substation PQR is used. Hence, Zone 11.12.7 Phase Fault Resistive Reach Settings
2 reach:
With the use of a quadrilateral characteristic, the resistive

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

reach settings for each zone can be set independently of the R1G = 104Ω
impedance reach settings. The resistive reach setting
represents the maximum amount of additional fault resistance R2G = 104Ω
(in excess of the line impedance) for which a zone will trip,
regardless of the location of the fault within the zone. R3G = 104Ω
Two constraints are imposed upon the settings, as follows:
• it must be greater than the maximum expected phase- This completes the setting of the relay. Table 11.2 also shows
phase fault resistance (principally that of the fault arc) the settings calculated.
• it must be less than the apparent resistance measured
due to the heaviest load on the line, unless load 11.13 REFERENCE
blinding (load encroachment) is applied [11.1] Protective Relays – their Theory and Practice. A.R. van
The minimum fault current at Substation ABC is of the order of C. Warrington. Chapman and Hall, 1962
1.8kA, leading to a typical arc resistance Rarc using the van
Warrington formula (Equation 11.4) of 8Ω. Using the current
transformer ratio as a guide to the maximum expected load
current, the minimum load impedance Zlmin will be 130Ω.
Typically, the resistive reaches will be set to avoid the minimum
load impedance by a 40% margin for the phase elements,
leading to a maximum resistive reach setting of 78Ω.
Therefore, the resistive reach setting lies between 8Ω and 78Ω.
Allowance should be made for the effects of any remote fault
infeed, by using the maximum resistive reach possible. While
each zone can have its own resistive reach setting, for this
simple example they can all be set equal. This need not always Figure 11.23: Typical modern distance relay (Multilin D60 Distance
be the case, it depends on the particular distance protection Protection System)
scheme used and the need to include Power Swing Blocking.
Suitable settings are chosen to be 80% of the load resistance:

R1 ph = 78Ω

R2 ph = 78Ω

R3 ph = 78Ω

11.12.8 Earth Fault Impedance Reach Settings

By default, the residual compensation factor as calculated in
Section 11.12.2 is used to adjust the phase fault reach setting
in the case of earth faults, and is applied to all zones.

11.12.9 Earth Fault Resistive Reach Settings

The margin for avoiding the minimum load impedance need
only be 20%. Hence the settings are:

11-22
Chapter 11 ⋅ Distance Protection

11-23
DISTANCE PROTECTION
SCHEMES
Chapter 12
DISTANCE PROTECTION SCHEMES

12.1 Introduction 12.1 INTRODUCTION

12.2 Zone 1 Extension Scheme (Z1x Scheme) Conventional time-stepped distance protection is illustrated in
12.3 Transfer Tripping Schemes Figure 12.1. One of the main disadvantages of this scheme is
that the instantaneous Zone 1 protection at each end of the
12.4 Blocking Overreaching Schemes protected line cannot be set to cover the whole of the feeder
12.5 Directional Comparison Unblocking length and is usually set to about 80%. This leaves two ‘end
Scheme zones’, each being about 20% of the protected feeder length.
Faults in these zones are cleared in Zone 1 time by the protection
12.6 Comparison of Transfer Trip and at one end of the feeder and in Zone 2 time (typically 0.25 to 0.4
Blocking Relaying Schemes seconds) by the protection at the other end of the feeder.

Relay A
End Zone

Z3A
Time

Z2A
Z1A
A B C
F
0

Z1B
Z2B
Z3B

Relay B
End Zone
(a) Stepped time/distance characteristics

Z1

Z2 Z2T 0
≥1 Trip

Z3 Z3T 0

(b) Trip logic

Figure 12.1: Conventional distance scheme

This situation cannot be tolerated in some applications, for two

main reasons:
.. faults remaining on the feeder for Zone 2 time may
cause the system to become unstable
.. where high-speed auto-reclosing is used, the
non-simultaneous opening of the circuit breakers at
both ends of the faulted section results in no ‘dead
time’ during the auto-reclose cycle for the fault to be
extinguished and for ionised gases to clear. This results

GEGridSolutions.com 12-1
Protection & Automation Application Guide

in the possibility that a transient fault will cause 12.2 ZONE 1 EXTENSION SCHEME (Z1X
permanent lockout of the circuit breakers at each end of SCHEME)
the line section
This scheme is intended for use with an auto-reclose facility, or
Even where instability does not occur, the increased duration where no communications channel is available, or the channel
of the disturbance may give rise to power quality problems, has failed. Thus it may be used on radial distribution feeders,
and may result in increased plant damage. or on interconnected lines as a fallback when no
Unit schemes of protection that compare the conditions at the communications channel is available, e.g. due to maintenance
two ends of the feeder simultaneously positively identify or temporary fault. The scheme is shown in Figure 12.2.
whether the fault is internal or external to the protected section The Zone 1 elements of the distance relay have two settings.
and provide high-speed protection for the whole feeder length. One is set to cover 80% of the protected line length as in the
This advantage is balanced by the fact that the unit scheme basic distance scheme. The other, known as 'Extended Zone
does not provide the back up protection for adjacent feeders 1’ or ‘Z1X’, is set to overreach the protected line, a setting of
given by a distance scheme. 120% of the protected line being common. The Zone 1 reach is
The most desirable scheme is obviously a combination of the normally controlled by the Z1X setting and is reset to the basic
best features of both arrangements, that is, instantaneous Zone 1 setting when a command from the auto-reclose relay is
tripping over the whole feeder length plus back-up protection received.
to adjacent feeders. This can be achieved by interconnecting On occurrence of a fault at any point within the Z1X reach, the
the distance protection relays at each end of the protected relay operates in Zone 1 time, trips the circuit breaker and
feeder by a communications channel. Communication initiates auto-reclosure. The Zone 1 reach of the distance relay
techniques are described in detail in Chapter 8. is also reset to the basic value of 80%, prior to the auto-reclose
The purpose of the communications channel is to transmit closing pulse being applied to the breaker. This should also
information about the system conditions from one end of the occur when the auto-reclose facility is out of service.
protected line to the other, including requests to initiate or Reversion to the Z1X reach setting occurs only at the end of
prevent tripping of the remote circuit breaker. The former the reclaim time. For interconnected lines, the Z1X scheme is
arrangement is generally known as a 'transfer tripping scheme' established (automatically or manually) upon loss of the
while the latter is generally known as a 'blocking scheme'. communications channel by selection of the appropriate relay
However, the terminology of the various schemes varies setting (setting group in a numerical relay). If the fault is
widely, according to local custom and practice. transient, the tripped circuit breakers will reclose successfully,
but otherwise further tripping during the reclaim time is
Z3A subject to the discrimination obtained with normal Zone 1 and
Z2A
Zone 2 settings.
Z1A Z1extA
The disadvantage of the Zone 1 extension scheme is that
A B C external faults within the Z1X reach of the relay result in
tripping of circuit breakers external to the faulted section,
Z1extB Z1B increasing the amount of breaker maintenance needed and
Z2B needless transient loss of supply to some consumers. This is
Z3B illustrated in Figure 12.3(a) for a single circuit line where three
(a) Distance/time
(a) Z1ext scheme characteristics
- zone reaches circuit breakers operate and in Figure 12.3(b) for a double
circuit line, where five circuit breakers operate.

Auto-reclose
Reset Zone 1ext
Zone 1ext &

≥1 Trip
Zone 1

(b) Simplified logic

Figure 12.2: Zone 1 extension scheme

12-2
 Chapter 12 ⋅ Distance Protection Schemes

Z1A Z1ext A
Signal
A B C Z1
send

Z2 Z2T 0

Z1extB1 Z1B1 Z1B2 Z1extB2

≥1
Z1extC Z1C
Breakers Z3 Z3T 0 Trip
marked thus
auto-reclose

(a) Fault within Zone 1 extension reach of distance relays Signal receive
(single circuit lines)
Figure 12.4: Logic for direct underreach transfer tripping scheme
Z1A Z1extA A fault F in the end zone at end B in Figure 12.1(a) results in
operation of the Zone 1 relay and tripping of the circuit breaker
A D
B C at end B. A request to trip is also sent to the relay at end A.
Z1extD Z1D The receipt of a signal at A initiates tripping immediately
Z1extB Z1B because the receive relay contact is connected directly to the
Z1C Z1extC
trip relay. The disadvantage of this scheme is the possibility of
undesired tripping by accidental operation or maloperation of
signalling equipment, or interference on the communications
Z1P Z1extP
channel. As a result, it is not commonly used.
P L

N M
12.3.2 Permissive Under-reach Transfer Tripping
Z1extN Z1N (PUP) Scheme
Z1M Z1extM The direct under-reach transfer tripping scheme described
Z1extL Z1L
above is made more secure by supervising the received signal
with the operation of the Zone 2 relay element before allowing
(b) Fault within Zone 1 extension reach of distance relays an instantaneous trip, as shown in Figure 12.5. The scheme is
(double circuit lines) then known as a 'permissive under-reach transfer tripping
Figure 12.3: Performance of Zone 1 extension scheme in conjunction scheme' (sometimes abbreviated as a PUTT, PUR or PUP Z2
with auto-reclose relays
scheme) or ‘permissive underreach distance protection’, as
both relays must detect a fault before the remote end relay is
12.3 TRANSFER TRIPPING SCHEMES
permitted to trip in Zone 1 time.
A number of these schemes are available, as described below.
Selection of an appropriate scheme depends on the
requirements of the system being protected.

12.3.1 Direct Under-reach Transfer Tripping Scheme

The simplest way of reducing the fault clearance time at the
terminal that clears an end zone fault in Zone 2 time is to
adopt a direct transfer trip or intertrip technique, the logic of
which is shown in Figure 12.4. A contact operated by the
Zone 1 relay element is arranged to send a signal to the
remote relay requesting a trip. The scheme may be called a
'direct under-reach transfer tripping scheme’, ‘transfer trip
under-reaching scheme', or ‘intertripping underreach distance
protection scheme’, as the Zone 1 relay elements do not cover
the whole of the line.

12-3
Protection & Automation Application Guide

A B
Signal F
Z1
send

Z2T 0
∼
Z2

Z3 Z3T 0
≥1
Trip

(a) Fault occurs-bus bar voltage low so

Signal receive 0 T & negligible fault current via end B

A B
F
(a) Signal logic
Open

Signal Send Send Signal ∼

Distance relay

Distance relay
circuit circuit
send (f1) (f1) send

Signal Receive Receive Signal

circuit circuit receive
receive (f1) (b) End A relay clears fault and current
(f1)
starts feeding from end B
Signalling equipment Signalling equipment
-End A -End B Figure 12.6: PUP scheme: Single-end fed close-up fault on double
circuit line
(b) Signalling arrangement

Figure 12.5: Permissive under-reach transfer tripping scheme

The PUP schemes require only a single communications
channel for two-way signalling between the line ends, as the
A variant of this scheme, found on some relays, allows tripping channel is keyed by the under-reaching Zone 1 elements.
by Zone 3 element operation as well as Zone 2, provided the
fault is in the forward direction. This is sometimes called the When the circuit breaker at one end is open, or there is a weak
PUP-Fwd scheme. infeed such that the relevant relay element does not operate,
instantaneous clearance cannot be achieved for end-zone
Time delayed resetting of the 'signal received' element is faults near the 'breaker open' terminal unless special features
required to ensure that the relays at both ends of a single-end are included, as detailed in Section 12.3.5.
fed faulted line of a parallel feeder circuit have time to trip
when the fault is close to one end. Consider a fault F in a 12.3.3 Permissive Under-reaching Acceleration
double circuit line, as shown in Figure 12.6. The fault is close
Scheme
to end A, so there is negligible infeed from end B when the
fault at F occurs. The protection at B detects a Zone 2 fault This scheme is applicable only to zone switched distance relays
only after the breaker at end A has tripped. It is possible for that share the same measuring elements for both Zone 1 and
the Zone 1 element at A to reset, thus removing the permissive Zone 2. In these relays, the reach of the measuring elements
signal to B and causing the 'signal received' element at B to is extended from Zone 1 to Zone 2 by means of a range
reset before the Zone 2 unit at end B operates. It is therefore change signal immediately, instead of after Zone 2 time. It is
necessary to delay the resetting of the 'signal received' element also called an ‘accelerated underreach distance protection
to ensure high speed tripping at end B. scheme’.
The under-reaching Zone 1 unit is arranged to send a signal to
the remote end of the feeder in addition to tripping the local
circuit breaker. The receive relay contact is arranged to extend
the reach of the measuring element from Zone 1 to Zone 2.
This accelerates the fault clearance at the remote end for faults
that lie in the region between the Zone 1 and Zone 2 reaches.
The scheme is shown in Figure 12.7. Most quality modern
distance relays do not employ switched measuring elements,
so the scheme is likely to fall into disuse.

12-4
 Chapter 12 ⋅ Distance Protection Schemes

Z3A
Signal
Z2A Z1
send
Z1A

A B C Z2 Z2T 0

Z1B
Z3 Z3T 0
≥1
Z2B Trip
Z3B

(a) Signal receive &

(a) Zone reach settings
Distance/time characteristics

Z1 & Z2 (a) Signal logic

Z3T 0 ≥1 Trip
Z3
Signal Send f1 f2 Send Signal

Distance relay

Distance relay
circuit circuit
send (f1) (f2) send
Z2T 0
≥1 Range change signal Signal Receive Receive Signal
circuit circuit
Signal receive receive (f2) f2 f1 (f1) receive

Signalling equipment Signalling equipment

& Signal send -End A -End B

(b) Signalling arrangement

(b) Signal logic Figure 12.8: Permissive over-reach transfer tripping scheme
Figure 12.7: Permissive under-reaching acceleration scheme
Since the signalling channel is keyed by over-reaching Zone 2
elements, the scheme requires duplex communication
12.3.4 Permissive Over-reach Transfer Tripping (POP)
channels - one frequency for each direction of signalling.
Scheme
If distance relays with mho characteristics are used, the
In this scheme, a distance relay element set to reach beyond
scheme may be more advantageous than the permissive
the remote end of the protected line is used to send an
under-reaching scheme for protecting short lines, because the
intertripping signal to the remote end. However, it is essential
resistive coverage of the Zone 2 unit may be greater than that
that the receive relay contact is monitored by a directional relay
of Zone 1.
contact to ensure that tripping does not take place unless the
fault is within the protected section; see Figure 12.8. The To prevent operation under current reversal conditions in a
instantaneous contacts of the Zone 2 unit are arranged to send parallel feeder circuit, it is necessary to use a current reversal
the signal, and the received signal, supervised by Zone 2 guard timer to inhibit the tripping of the forward Zone 2
operation, is used to energise the trip circuit. The scheme is elements. Otherwise maloperation of the scheme may occur
then known as a 'permissive over-reach transfer tripping under current reversal conditions, see Section 12.3.2 for more
scheme' (sometimes abbreviated to POTT, POR or POP), details. It is necessary only when the Zone 2 reach is set
'directional comparison scheme', or ‘permissive overreach greater than 150% of the protected line impedance.
distance protection scheme’. The timer is used to block the permissive trip and signal send
circuits as shown in Figure 12.9. The timer is energised if a
signal is received and there is no operation of Zone 2 elements.
An adjustable time delay on pick-up (tp) is usually set to allow
instantaneous tripping to take place for any internal faults,
taking into account a possible slower operation of Zone 2. The
timer will have operated and blocked the ‘permissive trip’ and
‘signal send’ circuits by the time the current reversal takes
place.

12-5
Protection & Automation Application Guide

Z1 From 'POP' signal

send logic
Z2 Z2T 0 (Figure 12.8)
≥1 To 'POP' trip logic
Trip (Figure 12.8)
Z3 Z3T 0 Breaker
'open' T1 0 T2 0
Signal tp td
& & ≥1
Receive & Signal Signal
&
receive send

Figure 12.10: Weak Infeed Echo logic circuit

Signal transmission can take place even after the remote end
&
Signal
breaker has tripped. This gives rise to the possibility of
Send continuous signal transmission due to lock-up of both signals.
Figure 12.9: Current reversal guard logic – permissive over-reach Timer T2 is used to prevent this. After this time delay, 'signal
scheme send' is blocked.
The timer is de-energised if the Zone 2 elements operate or the A variation on the Weak Infeed Echo feature is to allow
'signal received' element resets. The reset time delay (td) of tripping of the remote relay under the circumstances described
the timer is set to cover any overlap in time caused by Zone 2 above, providing that an undervoltage condition exists, due to
elements operating and the signal resetting at the remote end, the fault. This is known as the Weak Infeed Trip feature and
when the current in the healthy feeder reverses. Using a timer ensures that both ends are tripped if the conditions are
in this manner means that no extra time delay is added in the satisfied.
permissive trip circuit for an internal fault.
The above scheme using Zone 2 relay elements is often 12.4 BLOCKING OVERREACHING SCHEMES
referred to as a POP Z2 scheme. An alternative exists that The arrangements described so far have used the signalling
uses Zone 1 elements instead of Zone 2, and this is referred to channel(s) to transmit a tripping instruction. If the signalling
as the POP Z1 scheme. However POP Z1 is unusual as it channel fails or there is no Weak Infeed feature provided, end-
requires Zone 1 to be set overreaching, which is not usual zone faults may take longer to be cleared.
practice.
Blocking over-reaching schemes use an over-reaching distance
scheme and inverse logic. Signalling is initiated only for
12.3.5 Weak Infeed Conditions
external faults and signalling transmission takes place over
In the standard permissive over-reach scheme, as with the healthy line sections. Fast fault clearance occurs when no
permissive under-reach scheme, instantaneous clearance signal is received and the over-reaching Zone 2 distance
cannot be achieved for end-zone faults under weak infeed or measuring elements looking into the line operate. The
breaker open conditions. To overcome this disadvantage, two signalling channel is keyed by reverse-looking distance
possibilities exist. elements (Z3 in the diagram, though which zone is used
The Weak Infeed Echo feature available in some protection depends on the particular relay, with a dedicated reverse zone
relays allows the remote relay to echo the trip signal back to such as Zone 4 now commonly-used in numerical relays). An
the sending relay even if the appropriate remote relay element ideal blocking scheme is shown in Figure 12.11.
has not operated. This caters for conditions of the remote end
having a weak infeed or circuit breaker open condition, so that
the relevant remote relay element does not operate. Fast
clearance for these faults is now obtained at both ends of the
line. The logic is shown in Figure 12.10. A time delay (T1) is
required in the echo circuit to prevent tripping of the remote
end breaker when the local breaker is tripped by the busbar
protection or breaker fail protection associated with other
feeders connected to the busbar. The time delay ensures that
the remote end Zone 2 element will reset by the time the
echoed signal is received at that end.

12-6
 Chapter 12 ⋅ Distance Protection Schemes

Z3A known as a ‘directional comparison blocking scheme’ or a

Z2A

Z1A
‘blocking over-reach distance protection scheme’.
A B C Z1 Signal
F1 F2 F3
send

Z2T 0
Z1B Z2
Z2B
Z3B

Z3 Z3T 0
≥1
(a) Distance/time characteristics Trip

STL 0
Signal send
Z1 &

0 td
Z2T 0 Signal receive
Z2

Channel in service
Z3 Z3T 0 ≥1 Trip
Figure 12.12: Signal logic for BOP Z2 scheme

Operation of the scheme can be understood by considering the

Signal receive &
faults shown at F1, F2 and F3 in Figure 12.11 along with the
signal logic of Figure 12.12.
(b) Simplified logic
A fault at F1 is seen by the Zone 1 relay elements at both ends
Send Send
A and B; as a result, the fault is cleared instantaneously at both
Signal
Distance relay

Distance relay

Signal
send
circuit
(f1)
circuit
(f1) send ends of the protected line. Signalling is controlled by the Z3
elements looking away from the protected section, so no
Receive Receive
Signal
circuit circuit
Signal
transmission takes place, thus giving fast tripping via the
receive (f1) (f1) receive
forward-looking Zone 1 elements.
Signalling equipment Signalling equipment
-End A -End B
A fault at F2 is seen by the forward-looking Zone 2 elements at
(c) Signalling arrangement ends A and B and by the Zone 1 elements at end B. No signal
Figure 12.11: Ideal distance protection blocking scheme transmission takes place, since the fault is internal and the
The single frequency signalling channel operates both local and fault is cleared in Zone 1 time at end B and after the short time
remote receive relays when a block signal is initiated at any lag (STL) at end A.
end of the protected section. A fault at F3 is seen by the reverse-looking Z3 elements at end
B and the forward looking Zone 2 elements at end A. The
12.4.1 Practical Blocking Schemes Zone 1 relay elements at end B associated with line section B-
A blocking instruction has to be sent by the reverse-looking C would normally clear the fault at F3. To prevent the Z2
relay elements to prevent instantaneous tripping of the remote elements at end A from tripping, the reverse-looking Zone 3
relay for Zone 2 faults external to the protected section. To elements at end B send a blocking signal to end A. If the fault
achieve this, the reverse-looking elements and the signalling is not cleared instantaneously by the protection on line section
channel must operate faster than the forward-looking B-C, the trip signal will be given at end B for section A-B after
elements. In practice, this is seldom the case and to ensure the Z3 time delay.
discrimination, a short time delay is generally introduced into The setting of the reverse-looking Zone 3 elements must be
the blocking mode trip circuit. Either the Zone 2 or Zone 1 greater than that of the Zone 2 elements at the remote end of
element can be used as the forward-looking element, giving the feeder, otherwise there is the possibility of Zone 2 elements
rise to two variants of the scheme. initiating tripping and the reverse looking Zone 3 elements
failing to see an external fault. This would result in
12.4.1.1 Blocking over-reaching protection scheme using instantaneous tripping for an external fault. When the
Zone 2 element signalling channel is used for a stabilising signal, as in the
This scheme (sometimes abbreviated to ‘BLOCKING’ or BOP above case, transmission takes place over a healthy line
Z2) is based on the ideal blocking scheme of Figure 12.11, but section if power line carrier is used. The signalling channel
has the signal logic illustrated in Figure 12.12. It is also should then be more reliable when used in the blocking mode
than in tripping mode.

12-7
Protection & Automation Application Guide

It is essential that the operating times of the various relays be 12.4.1.2 Blocking over-reaching protection scheme using
skilfully co-ordinated for all system conditions, so that Zone 1 element
sufficient time is always allowed for the receipt of a blocking This is similar to the BOP Z2 scheme described above, except
signal from the remote end of the feeder. If this is not done that an over-reaching Zone 1 element is used in the logic,
accurately, the scheme may trip for an external fault or instead of the Zone 2 element. It may also be known as the
alternatively, the end zone tripping times may be delayed BOP Z1 scheme, although it is rarely used.
longer than is necessary.
If the signalling channel fails, the scheme must be arranged to 12.4.2 Weak Infeed Conditions
revert to conventional basic distance protection. Normally, the The protection at the strong infeed terminal will operate for all
blocking mode trip circuit is supervised by a 'channel-in- internal faults, since a blocking signal is not received from the
service' contact so that the blocking mode trip circuit is weak infeed terminal end. In the case of external faults behind
isolated when the channel is out of service, as shown in Figure the weak infeed terminal, the reverse-looking elements at that
12.12. end will see the fault current fed from the strong infeed
In a practical application, the reverse-looking relay elements terminal and operate, initiating a block signal to the remote
may be set with a forward offset characteristic to provide back- end. The relay at the strong infeed end operates correctly
up protection for busbar faults after the zone time delay. It is without the need for any additional circuits. The relay at the
then necessary to stop the blocking signal being sent for weak infeed end cannot operate for internal faults, and so
internal faults. This is achieved by making the ‘signal send’ tripping of that breaker is possible only by means of direct
circuit conditional upon non-operation of the forward-looking intertripping from the strong source end.
Zone 2 elements, as shown in Figure 12.13.
12.5 DIRECTIONAL COMPARISON
Z3G
UNBLOCKING SCHEME
Z2G
Z1G The permissive over-reach scheme described in Section 12.3.4
can be arranged to operate on a directional comparison
G H
unblocking principle by providing additional circuitry in the
Z1H signalling equipment. In this scheme (also called a ’deblocking
Z2H overreach distance protection scheme’), a continuous block (or
Z3H
guard) signal is transmitted. When the over-reaching distance
elements operate, the frequency of the signal transmitted is
(a) Distance/time characteristics
shifted to an 'unblock' (trip) frequency. The receipt of the
unblock frequency signal and the operation of over-reaching
Z3
& Signal Send
distance elements allow fast tripping to occur for faults within
Z2
the protected zone. In principle, the scheme is similar to the
(b) Solid state logic of send circuit permissive over-reach scheme.
Figure 12.13: Blocking scheme using reverse-looking relays The scheme is made more dependable than the standard
Blocking schemes, like the permissive over-reach scheme, are permissive over-reach scheme by providing additional circuits
also affected by the current reversal in the healthy feeder due in the receiver equipment. These allow tripping to take place
to a fault in a double circuit line. If current reversal conditions for internal faults even if the transmitted unblock signal is
occur, as described in Section 12.3.2, it may be possible for the short-circuited by the fault. This is achieved by allowing aided
maloperation of a breaker on the healthy line to occur. To tripping for a short time interval, typically 100 to 150
avoid this, the resetting of the ‘signal received’ element milliseconds, after the loss of both the block and the unblock
provided in the blocking scheme is time delayed. frequency signals. After this time interval, aided tripping is
permitted only if the unblock frequency signal is received.
The timer with delayed resetting (td) is set to cover the time
difference between the maximum resetting time of reverse- This arrangement gives the scheme improved security over a
looking Zone 3 elements and the signalling channel. So, if blocking scheme, since tripping for external faults is possible
there is a momentary loss of the blocking signal during the only if the fault occurs within the above time interval of
current reversal, the timer does not have time to reset in the channel failure. Weak Infeed terminal conditions can be
blocking mode trip circuit and no false tripping takes place. catered for by the techniques detailed in 12.3.5 Weak Infeed
Conditions.

12-8
 Chapter 12 ⋅ Distance Protection Schemes

In this way, the scheme has the dependability of a blocking

scheme and the security of a permissive over-reach scheme.
This scheme is generally preferred when power line carrier is
used, except when continuous transmission of signal is not
acceptable.

12.6 COMPARISON OF TRANSFER TRIP AND

BLOCKING RELAYING SCHEMES
On normal two-terminal lines the main deciding factors in the
choice of the type of scheme, apart from the reliability of the
signalling channel previously discussed, are operating speed and Table 12.24: Example of a subcycle distance protection relay (Agile P446
the method of operation of the system. Table 12.1 compares the MiCOMho High Performance Distance Protection Relay)
important characteristics of the various types of scheme.
Transfer Tripping
Criterion Blocking Scheme
Scheme
Speed of operation Fast Not as fast
Speed with in-service testing Slower As fast
Suitable for auto-reclose Yes Yes
Security against maloperation due to:
Current reversal Special features required Special features required
Loss of communications Poor Good
Weak Infeed/Open CB Special features required Special features required
Table 12.1: Comparison of different distance protection schemes

Modern digital or numerical distance relays are provided with a

choice of several schemes in the same relay. Thus scheme
selection is now largely independent of relay selection, and the
user is assured that a relay is available with all the required
features to cope with changing system conditions.

12-9
PROTECTION OF
COMPLEX TRANSMISSION
CIRCUITS
Chapter 13
PROTECTION OF COMPLEX
TRANSMISSION CIRCUITS

13.1 Introduction 13.1 INTRODUCTION

13.2 Parallel Feeders Chapters 10-12 have covered the basic principles of protection
13.3 Multi-Ended Feeders – Unit Protection for two terminal, single circuit lines whose circuit impedance
Schemes is due solely to the conductors used. However parallel trans-
mission circuits are often installed, either as duplicate circuits
13.4 Multi-Ended Feeders - Distance Relays on a common structure, or as separate lines connecting the
13.5 Multi-Ended Feeders – Application of same two terminal points via different routes. Also, circuits may
be multi-ended, a three-ended circuit being the most common.
Distance Protection Schemes
For economic reasons, transmission and distribution lines
13.6 Protection of Series Compensated Lines
can be much more complicated, maybe having three or more
13.7 Example terminals (multi-ended feeder), or with more than one circuit
carried on a common structure (parallel feeders), as shown in
13.8 References
Figure 13.1. Other possibilities are the use of series capacitors
or direct-connected shunt reactors. The protection of such lines
is more complicated and requires the basic schemes described
in the above chapters to be modified.
The purpose of this chapter is to explain the special require-
ments of some of these situations in respect of protection and
identify which protection schemes are particularly appropriate
for use in these situations.
Bus C

Source Source
∼ ∼

Bus A Bus B
Figure 13.1: Parallel and Multi-ended feeders

13.2 PARALLEL FEEDERS

If two overhead lines are supported on the same structures
or are otherwise in close proximity over part or whole of their
length, there is a mutual coupling between the two circuits.
The positive and negative sequence coupling between the two
circuits is small and is usually neglected. The zero sequence
coupling can be strong and its effect cannot be ignored.
The other situation that requires mutual effects to be taken
into account is when there is an earth fault on a feeder when

GEGridSolutions.com 13-1
Protection & Automation Application Guide

the parallel feeder is out of service and earthed at both ends. C D

F
An earth fault in the feeder that is in service can induce current
in the earth loop of the earthed feeder, causing a misleading Z< Z<

mutual compensation signal. ∼ ∼

Fault

13.2.1 Unit Protection Systems

Types of protection that use current only, for example unit A B
Z< Z<
protection systems, are not affected by the coupling between
(a) Fault current distribution
the feeders. Therefore, compensation for the effects of mutual at instant of fault
coupling is not required for the relay tripping elements.
C Open D
If the relay has a distance-to-fault feature, mutual F

compensation is required for an accurate measurement. Refer

Z< Z<
to Section 13.2.2.3 for how this is achieved.
∼ Fault ∼
13.2.2 Distance Protection
There are a number of problems applicable to distance relays,
as described in the following sections. A
Z< Z<
B

13.2.2.1 Current Reversal on Double Circuit Lines (b) Fault current distribution
with circuit breaker D open
When a fault is cleared sequentially on one circuit of a double
Figure 13.2: Fault current distribution in double-circuit line
circuit line with generation sources at both ends of the circuit,
the current in the healthy line can reverse for a short time.
13.2.2.2 Under-Reach on Parallel Lines
Unwanted tripping of CBs on the healthy line can then occur if
a Permissive Overreach or Blocking distance scheme (see If a fault occurs on a line that lies beyond the remote terminal
Chapter 12) is used. Figure 13.2 shows how the situation can end of a parallel line circuit, the distance relay under-reaches
arise. The CB at D clears the fault at F faster than the CB at for those zones set to reach into the affected line. Analysis
shows that under these conditions, because the relay sees only
C. Before CB D opens, the Zone 2 elements at A may see the
50% (for two parallel circuits) of the total fault current for a
fault and operate, sending a permissive trip signal to the relay
fault in the adjacent line section, the relay sees the impedance
for CB B. The reverse looking element of the relay at CB B
of the affected section as twice the correct value. This may
also sees the fault and inhibits tripping of CBs A and B.
have to be allowed for in the settings of Zones 2 and 3 of
However, once CB D opens, the relay element at A starts to
conventionally set distance relays.
reset, while the forward looking elements at B pick up (due to
current reversal) and could initiate tripping. If the reset time of Since the requirement for the minimum reach of Zone 2 is to
the forward-looking elements of the relay at A is longer than the end of the protected line section and the under-reach effect
the operating time of the forward-looking elements at B, the only occurs for faults in the following line section(s), it is not
relays trip the healthy line. The solution is to incorporate a usually necessary to adjust Zone 2 impedance settings to
blocking time delay that prevents the tripping of the forward- compensate. However, Zone 3 elements are intended to
looking elements of the relays and is initiated by the reverse- provide backup protection to adjacent line sections and hence
looking element. This time delay must be longer than the reset the under-reaching effect must be allowed for in the
time of the relay elements at A. impedance calculations.

13.2.2.3 Behaviour of Distance Relays with Earth Faults

on the Protected Feeder
When an earth fault occurs in the system, the voltage applied
to the earth fault element of the relay in one circuit includes an
induced voltage proportional to the zero sequence current in
the other circuit.

13-2
 Chapter 13 ⋅ Protection of Complex Transmission Circuits

IB ZM 0
Z L1 Z LO
M =
Z S′ 1 ,Z SO
′
Line B
Z S′′1 ,Z SO
′′
Z L1
∼ Z MO ∼
IA The true impedance to the fault is nZL1where n is the per unit
Line A fault position measured from R and ZL1 is the positive
n sequence impedance of a single circuit. The 'error' in
Fault
measurement is determined from the fraction inside the
Relay R
Location bracket; this varies with the positive and zero sequence
(a) Single line diagram currents in circuit A and the zero sequence current in circuit B.
I B1 Z L1
These currents are expressed below in terms of the line and
Z S′ 1 Z S′′1 source parameters:
I A1 F1 I B0 nZ S'' 0 − (1 − n )Z S' 0
=
nZ L1 (1 − n ) Z L1 (
I A0 (2 − n )Z S'' 0 + (1 − n ) Z S' 0 + Z L 0 + Z M 0 )
R

(2 − n )Z S'' 1 + (1 − n )(Z S' 1 + Z L1 ) I

I1

I A1 =
( )
(b) Positive sequence network
1
2 Z S' 1 + Z S'' 1 + Z L1
I BO ( Z LO − Z M O )
′
Z SO nZ M O (1 − n ) Z M O ′′
Z SO
I A0 =
(2 − n )Z S'' 0 + (1 − n )(Z S' 0 + Z L 0 + Z M 0 ) I
I AO FO
( )
2 Z S' 0 + Z S'' 0 + Z L 0 + Z M 0
0

R
n ( ZLO − Z M O ) (1 − n ) ( Z LO − Z M O ) and
IO
ZM0 = zero sequence mutual impedance between two
(c) Zero sequence network circuits
Figure 13.3: General parallel circuit fed from both ends NOTE: For earth faults I1 = I0
As the current distribution in the two circuits is unaffected by
All symbols in the above expressions are either self-explanatory
the presence of mutual coupling, no similar variation in the
from Figure 13.3 or have been introduced in Chapter 11.
current applied to the relay element takes place and,
Using the above formulae, families of reach curves may be
consequently, the relay measures the impedance to the fault
constructed, of which Figure 13.4 is typical. In this figure, n’
incorrectly. Whether the apparent impedance to the fault is
is the effective per unit reach of a relay set to protect 80% of
greater or less than the actual impedance depends on the
the line. It has been assumed that an infinite busbar is located
direction of the current flow in the healthy circuit. For the
at each line end, that is, Z’S1 and Z”S1 are both zero. A family
common case of two circuits, A and B, connected at the local
of curves of constant n’ has been plotted for variations in the
and remote busbars, as shown in Figure 13.3, the impedance
source zero sequence impedances Z’S0 and Z”S0.
of Line A measured by a distance relay, with the normal zero
sequence current compensation from its own feeder, is given
by:

  I B0  
   M 

Z A = nZ L1 1 +  I A0  

 I A1 
 2  + K 
  I A0  
 

Equation 13.1

where:

13-3
Protection & Automation Application Guide

100 VR
Limit of n' =0.67 5 = Z L1
50 when y ∞ 0 .6
7
8
IR
x 0 n' = .6
=0
n'
0.
7 For a solid phase to earth fault at the theoretical reach of the
n' =
75
relay, the voltage and current in the faulty phase at the
10 0.
n' = .8 relaying point are given by:
=0 85
n' 0.
5
n'
= V A = I A1 Z L1 + I A 2 Z L 2 + I A0 Z L 0 + I B 0 Z M 0
1)
e
 Z ′′ 
on

9
(Z
y =  SO 

.
n'

=0
 Z LO  I A = I A1 + I A 2 + I A0
gn
tti
se

95
al

1
Equation 13.2

.
in

=0
m

n'
No

0.5
The voltage and current fed into the relay are given by:
Limit of
n'=1
VR = V A
when y 0
0.1
x ∞ I R = I A + K R I A0 + K M I B 0
0.1 0.5 1 5 10 50 100
Z 
x =  SO 
Equation 13.3
 Z LO 
where:
Figure 13.4: Typical reach curves showing the effect of mutual coupling

Figure 13.4 shows that relay R can under-reach or over-reach, K R = the residual compensation factor
according to the relative values of the zero sequence source to
K M = the mutual compensation factor
line impedance ratios; the extreme effective per unit reaches
for the relay are 0.67 and 1. Relay over-reach is not a Thus:
problem, as the condition being examined is a fault in the
protected feeder, for which relay operation is desirable. In
Z L 0 − Z L1
KR =
Figure 13.4, relay R tends to under-reach whereas the relay at Z L1
the opposite line end tends to over-reach. As a result, the
ZM 0
Zone 1 characteristic of the relays at both ends of the feeder KM =
overlap for an earth fault anywhere in the feeder – see Section Z L1
13.2.2.5 for more details.
13.2.2.4 Distance Relay Behaviour with Earth Faults on
Satisfactory protection can be obtained with a transfer trip, the Parallel Feeder
under-reach type distance scheme. Further, compensation for
Although distance relays with mutual compensation measure
the effect of zero sequence mutual impedance is not necessary
the correct distance to the fault, they may not operate correctly
unless a distance-to-fault facility is provided. Some
if the fault occurs in the adjacent feeder. Davison and Wright
manufacturers compensate for the effect of the mutual
[13.1] have shown that while distance relays without mutual
impedance in the distance relay elements, while others may
compensation do not over-reach for faults outside the
restrict the application of compensation to the distance-to-
protected feeder, the relays may see faults in the adjacent
fault function only. The latter is easy to implement in software
feeder if mutual compensation is provided. With reference to
for a digital/numerical relay but is impractical in relays using
Figure 13.3, the amount of over-reach is highest when
older technologies. Compensation is achieved by injecting a
proportion of the zero sequence current flowing in the parallel Z S'' 1 = Z S'' 2 = Z S'' 0 = ∞ .
Under these conditions, faults
feeder into the relay. However, some Utilities do not permit occurring in the first 43% of feeder A appear to the distance
this due to the potential hazards associated with feeding a relay in feeder B to be in its Zone 1 reach. The solution is to
relay protecting one circuit from a CT located in a different limit the mutual compensation applied to 150% of the zero
circuit. sequence compensation.
For the relay to measure the line impedance accurately, the
13.2.2.5 Distance Relay Behaviour with Single-Circuit
following condition must be met:
Operation
If only one of the parallel feeders is in service, the protection in
the remaining feeder measures the fault impedance correctly,
except when the feeder that is not in service is earthed at both

13-4
 Chapter 13 ⋅ Protection of Complex Transmission Circuits

ends. In this case, the zero sequence impedance network is as out of service for maintenance. However, the probability of
shown in Figure 13.5. having a fault on the first section of the following line while
one line is out of service is very small, and many Utilities do
Humpage and Kandil [13.2] have shown that the apparent
not reduce the setting under this condition. It should be noted
impedance presented to the relay under these conditions is
that the use of mutual compensation would not overcome the
given by:
over-reaching effect since earthing clamps are normally placed
I A0 Z M2 0 on the line side of the current transformers.
Z R = Z L1 −
I R Z L0 Typical values of zero sequence line impedances for HV lines in
the United Kingdom are given in Table 13.1, where the
Equation 13.4
2
where: Z 
maximum per unit over-reach error  M 0  is also given.
I R is the current fed into the relay  Z L0 
The over-reach values quoted in this table are maxima, and
= I A + K R I A0 are found only in rare cases. In most cases, there is generation
at both ends of the feeder and the amount of over-reach is
FO therefore be reduced. In the calculations carried out by
Humpage and Kandil, with more realistic conditions, the
IO maximum error found in a 400kV double circuit line was
′
Z SO nZ LO (1 − n ) Z LO ′′
Z SO 18.6%.

I GO Zero sequence
Zero sequence line
Conductor size mutual Per unit
Relay mZ LO (1 − n ) Z M O impedance ZL0
Location Line impedance ZM0 over-reach
volts Metric error
I HO 2 Ohms Ohms Ohms Ohms (ZM0/ZL0)
2
Z LO (in ) equiv.
2 /mile /km /mile /km
(mm )
0.3 + 0.19+ 0.41+j 0.25+
132kV 0.4 258 0.264
j0.81 j0.5 1.61 j1.0
0.18+ 0.11+ 0.24+ 0.15+
NO 275kV 2 x 0.4 516 0.292
j0.69 j0.43 j1.3 j0.81
Figure 13.5: Zero sequence impedance network during single circuit 0.135+ 0.80+ 0.16+ 0.1+
400kV 4 x 0.4 1032 0.2666
operation j0.6 j0.37 j1.18 j0.73
Table 13.1: Maximum over-reach errors found during single circuit
I A0
The ratio varies with the system conditions, reaching a working
IR
maximum when the system is earthed behind the relay with 13.3 MULTI-ENDED FEEDERS – UNIT
I PROTECTION SCHEMES
no generation at that end. In this case, the ratio A0 is equal
IR A multi-ended feeder is defined as one having three or more
Z terminals, with either load or generation, or both, at any
to L1 , and the apparent impedance presented to the relay terminal. Those terminals with load only are usually known as
Z L0
’taps’.
is:
The simplest multi-terminal feeders are three-ended, and are
 Z M2 0  generally known as tee’d feeders. This is the type most
Z R = Z L1 1 − 2 
 Z L0  commonly found in practice.

It is apparent from the above formulae that the relay has a The protection schemes described previously for the protection
tendency to over-reach. Care should be taken when Zone 1 of two-ended feeders can also be used for multi-ended feeders.
settings are selected for the distance protection of lines in However, the problems involved in the application of these
which this condition may be encountered. To overcome this schemes to multi-ended feeders are much more complex and
possible over-reaching effect, some Utilities reduce the reach require special attention.
of earth fault relays to around 0.65ZL1 when lines are taken The protection schemes that can be used with multi-ended

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

feeders are unit protection and distance schemes. Each uses value, the ‘trip angle’, a trip signal is sent to the corresponding
some form of signalling channel, such as fibre-optic cable, circuit breakers. To prevent incorrect operation for external
power line carrier or pilot wires. The specific problems that faults, two different detectors, set at different levels, are used.
may be met when applying these protections to multi-ended The low-set detector starts the transmission of carrier signal,
feeders are discussed in the following sections. while the high-set detector is used to control the trip output.
Without this safeguard, the scheme could operate incorrectly
13.3.1 Balanced Voltage Schemes for Tee’d Circuits for external faults because of operating tolerances of the
Although pilot wire schemes are uncommon in the protection equipment and the capacitive current of the protected feeder.
of transmission circuits (as per the strict title of this chapter), This condition is worse with multi-terminal feeders, since the
they are discussed here for completeness. currents at the feeder terminals can be very dissimilar for an
external fault. In the case of the three-terminal feeder in
The balanced voltage scheme is a modification of the Figure 13.7, if incorrect operation is to be avoided, it is
MHOA04 / H0A4 scheme described in Section 10.7.1. Since necessary to make certain that the low-set detector at end A or
it is necessary to maintain linearity in the balancing circuit, end B is energised when the current at end C is high enough to
though not in the sending element, the voltage reference is operate the high-set detector at that end. As only one low-set
derived from separate quadrature transformers, as shown in starter, at end A or end B, needs to be energised for correct
Figure 13.6. These are auxiliary units with summation operation, the most unfavourable condition is when currents IA
windings energised by the main current transformers in series and IB are equal. To maintain stability under this condition,
with the upper electromagnets of the sensing elements. The the high-set to low-set setting ratio of the fault detectors needs
secondary windings of the quadrature current transformers at to be twice as large as that required when the scheme is
all ends are interconnected by the pilots in a series circuit that applied to a plain feeder. This results in a loss of sensitivity,
also includes the lower electromagnets of the relays. which may make the equipment unsuitable if the minimum
Secondary windings on the relay elements are not used, but fault level of the power system is low.
these elements are fitted with bias loops in the usual way.
A C
The plain feeder settings are increased in the tee'd scheme by IA T IC
50% for one tee and 75% for two.
End A End B
A
B IB Fault
C

Quadrature
CT

Figure 13.7: External fault conditions

A C
IA T IC
End C

Relay
Pilots IB

Fault
Figure 13.6: Balanced voltage Tee’d feeder scheme
B
13.3.2 Power Line Carrier Phase Comparison
Figure 13.8: Internal fault with current flowing out at one line end
Schemes
A further unfavourable condition is that shown in Figure 13.8.
The operating principle of these protection schemes has
If an internal fault occurs near one of the ends of the feeder
already been covered in detail in Section 10.9. It involves
(end B in Figure 13.8) and there is little or no generation at
comparing the phase angles of signals derived from a
end C, the current at this end may be flowing outwards. The
combination of the sequence currents at each end of the
protection is then prevented from operating, since the fault
feeder. When the phase angle difference exceeds a pre-set
current distribution is similar to that for an external fault; see

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 Chapter 13 ⋅ Protection of Complex Transmission Circuits

Figure 13.7. The fault can be cleared only by the back-up

protection and, if high speed of operation is required, an Trip
alternative type of primary protection must be used. DifferentiaI
Current
A point that should also be considered when applying this | Idiff |
scheme is the attenuation of carrier signal at the 'tee' I di f f = K I bi as
junctions. This attenuation is a function of the relative
impedances of the branches of the feeder at the carrier Restrain
IS
frequency, including the impedance of the receiving
equipment. When the impedances of the second and third
terminals are equal, a power loss of 50% takes place. In other
Bias current | Ibias |
words, the carrier signal sent from terminal A to terminal B is
attenuated by 3dB by the existence of the third terminal C. If Figure 13.10: Percentage biased differential protection characteristic
the impedances of the two branches corresponding to terminal If IA , IB , IC are the current vector signals at line ends A, B, C,
B to C are not equal, the attenuation may be either greater or then for a healthy circuit:
less than 3dB.
I A + I B + IC = 0
13.3.3 Differential Relay using Optical Fibre The basic principles of operation of the system are that each
Signalling relay measures its local three phase currents and sends its
Current differential relays can provide unit protection for multi- values to the other relays. Each relay then calculates, for each
ended circuits without the restrictions associated with other phase, a resultant differential current and also a bias current,
forms of protection. In Section 8.6.5, the characteristics of which is used to restrain the relay in the manner conventional
optical fibre cables and their use in protection signalling are for biased differential unit protection.
outlined. The bias feature is necessary in this scheme because it is
Their use in a three-ended system is shown in Figure 13.9, designed to operate from conventional current transformers
where the relays at each line end are digital/numerical relays that are subject to steady-state and transient transformation
interconnected by optical fibre links so that each can send errors.
information to the others. In practice the optical fibre links can The two quantities are:
be dedicated to the protection system or multiplexed, in which
case multiplexing equipment, not shown in Figure 13.9,is used I diff = I A + I B + I C
to terminate the fibres.
1
Optical Fibre Signalling Channels I bias = ( I A + I B + IC )
2
RA RB
Figure 13.10 shows the percentage biased differential
characteristic used, the tripping criteria being:

A
IA IB
B I diff > K I bias
and
RC IC
I diff > I S
C where:
Figure 13.9: Current differential protection for tee’d feeders using
optical fibre signalling K = percentage bias setting
I S = minimum differential current setting
If the magnitudes of the differential currents indicate that a
fault has occurred, the relays trip their local circuit breaker.
The relays also continuously monitor the communication
channel performance and carry out self-testing and diagnostic

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

operations. The system measures individual phase currents the currents IA and IC are in phase and their ratio is a real
and so single phase tripping can be used when required. number. The apparent impedance presented to the relay in
Relays are provided with software to re-configure the this case can be expressed in terms of the source impedances
protection between two and three terminal lines, so that as follows:
modification of the system from two terminals to three
terminals does not require relay replacement. Further, loss of
(Z SA + Z LA )
Z A = Z LA + Z LB + Z
a single communications link only degrades scheme (Z SC + Z LC ) LB
performance slightly. The relays can recognise this and use
The magnitude of the third term in this expression is a function
alternate communications paths. Only if all communication
of the total impedances of the branches A and B and can
paths from a relay fail does the scheme have to revert to
reach a relatively high value when the fault current
backup protection.
contribution of branch C is much larger than that of branch A.
Figure 13.12 shows how a distance relay with a mho
13.4 MULTI-ENDED FEEDERS - DISTANCE
characteristic located at A with a Zone 2 element set to 120%
RELAYS of the protected feeder AB, fails to see a fault at the remote
Distance protection is widely used at present for tee'd feeder busbar B. The ’tee’ point T in this example is halfway between
protection. However, its application is not straightforward, substations A and B (Z LA = Z LB ) and the fault currents IA
requiring careful consideration and systematic checking of all
and IC have been assumed to be identical in magnitude and
the conditions described later in this section.
phase angle. With these conditions, the fault appears to the
Most of the problems found when applying distance protection relay to be located at B' instead of at B so the relay under-
to tee’d feeders are common to all schemes. A preliminary reaches.
discussion of these problems will assist in the assessment of
A B
the performance of the different types of distance schemes. ZSA
IA IB
ZSB
T
∼ ∼
ZLA
13.4.1 Apparent Impedance Seen by Distance Relays ZLB

The impedance seen by the distance relays is affected by the ZLC Fault
current infeeds in the branches of the feeders. Referring to
IC
Figure 13.11, for a fault at the busbars of the substation B, the
voltage VA at busbar A is given by:
C

V A = I A Z LA + I B Z LB ∼ ZSC

Figure 13.11: Fault at substation B busbars

so the impedance ZA seen by the distance relay at terminal A is
given by: X

VA I B'
ZA = = Z LA + B Z LB
IA IA
Or
B
IB
Z A = Z LA + Z LB
IA
Equation 13.5

or T

IC
Z A = Z LA + Z LB + Z LB
IA
R
The apparent impedance presented to the relay has been A

Figure 13.12: Apparent impedance presented to the relay at substation

 IC 
modified by the term   Z LB . If the pre-fault load is zero, A for a fault at substation B busbars
 IA  The under-reaching effect in tee’d feeders can be found for any

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 Chapter 13 ⋅ Protection of Complex Transmission Circuits

kind of fault. For the sake of simplicity, the equations and the reduction in zero sequence current. However, the solution
examples mentioned so far have been for balanced faults only. has two possible limitations:
For unbalanced faults, especially those involving earth, the
• over-reach occurs when the transformer is not
equations become somewhat more complicated, as the ratios
connected so operation for faults outside the protected
of the sequence fault current contributions at terminals A and
zone may occur
C may not be the same. An extreme example of this condition
is found when the third terminal is a tap with no generation • the inherent possibility of maloperation of the earth
but with the star point of the primary winding of the fault elements for earth faults behind the relay location
transformer connected directly to earth, as shown in Figure is increased
13.13. The corresponding sequence networks are shown in
Figure 13.14. 13.4.2 Effect of Pre-fault Load
In all the previous discussions it has been assumed that the
A B Z
ZSA IA T SB power transfer between terminals of the feeder immediately
∼ ZLA
∼ before the fault occurred was zero. If this is not the case, the
ZLB
fault currents IA and IC in Figure 13.11 may not be in phase,
ZLC
Phase A to
and the factor IC / IA in the equation for the impedance seen
ground fault by the relay at A, is a complex quantity with a positive or a
ZT negative phase angle according to whether the current IC
leads or lags the current IA. For the fault condition previously
considered in Figure 13.11 and Figure 13.12, the pre-fault
C load current may displace the impedance seen by the distance
M Load
relay to points such as B1' or B2' , shown in Figure 13.15,
Figure 13.13: Transformer tap with primary winding solidly earthed according to the phase angle and the magnitude of the pre-
fault load current. Humpage and Lewis [13.3] have analysed
Z SA1 Z LA1 T1 Z LB1 Z SH1 the effect of pre-fault load on the impedances seen by distance
A1 I A1
Z LJ1
B1 relays for typical cases. Their results and conclusions point out
some of the limitations of certain relay characteristics and
EA Z T1 EB
schemes.
Z M1
X
Z SA 2 Z LA 2 T2 Z LB2 Z SB2 B'2

G1 I A2 B2 B'1
Z LC2

ZT2

ZM2
B
Z SA O Z LA O TO Z LBO Z SBO

AO I AO BO
Z LCO
I CO
Z TO T

Figure 13.14: Sequence networks for a phase A to earth fault at busbar

B in the system shown in Figure 13.13 R
A
Figure 13.14 shows that the presence of the tap has little
Figure 13.15: effects of the pre-fault load on the apparent impedance
effect in the positive and negative sequence networks. presented to the relay
However, the zero sequence impedance of the branch actually
shunts the zero sequence current in branch A. As a result, the 13.4.3 Effect of the Fault Current Flowing Outwards
distance relay located at terminal A tends to under-reach. One at One Terminal
solution to the problem is to increase the residual current
Up to this point it has been assumed that the fault currents at
compensating factor in the distance relay, to compensate for
terminals A and C flow into the feeder for a fault at the busbar

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

B. Under some conditions, however, the current at one of 13.4.4 Maloperation with Reverse Faults
these terminals may flow outwards instead of inwards. A Earth fault distance relays with a directional characteristic tend
typical case is shown in Figure 13.16; that of a parallel tapped to lose their directional properties under reverse unbalanced
feeder with one of the ends of the parallel circuit open at fault conditions if the current flowing through the relay is high
terminal A. and the relay setting relatively large. These conditions arise
A B principally from earth faults. The relay setting and the reverse
IA IB
T fault current are now related, the first being a function of the
ZA ZB maximum line length and the second depending mainly on the
impedance of the shortest feeder and the fault level at that
∼ ∼
terminal. For instance, referring to Figure 13.18, the setting of
the relay at terminal A depends on the impedance ZA+ZB and
I'B
the fault current infeed IC, for a fault at B, while the fault
current IA for a reverse fault may be quite large if the T point is
IC I'C near the terminals A and C.
Fault

A B
C IA T IB
∼ ∼
ZA ZB
ZC
Fault
Figure 13.16: Internal Fault at busbar B with current flowing out at IC
terminal C

A IA B
T IB
C

∼
∼ Fault ∼ Figure 13.18: External fault behind the relay at terminal A

A summary of the main problems met in the application of

I'B distance protection to tee'd feeders is given in Table 13.2 .
Case Description Relevant figure number
IC I'C
Under-reaching effect for internal faults due to
1 13.12 to 13.15
current infeed at the T point

C Effect of pre-fault load on the impedance 'seen'

2 13.16
by the relay
Over-reaching effect for external faults, due to
3 13.17
current flowing outwards at one terminal
Figure 13.17: Internal fault near busbar B with current flowing out at Failure to operate for an internal fault, due to
terminal C 4 13.18
current flowing out at one terminal

As the currents IA and IC now have different signs, the factor 5

Incorrect operation for an external fault, due to
13.19
high current fed from nearest terminal
IC / IA becomes negative. Consequently, the distance relay at
Table 13.2: Main problems met in the application of distance protection
terminal A sees an impedance smaller than that of the to tee'd feeders.
protected feeder ZA+ZB and therefore has a tendency to over-
reach. In some cases the apparent impedance presented to 13.5 MULTI-ENDED FEEDERS – APPLICATION
the relay may be as low as 50% of the impedance of the OF DISTANCE PROTECTION SCHEMES
protected feeder, and even lower if other lines exist between
The schemes that have been described in Chapter 12 for the
terminals B and C.
protection of plain feeders may also be used for tee'd feeder
If the fault is internal to the feeder and close to the busbar B, protection. However, the applications of some of these
as shown in Figure 13.17, the current at terminal C may still schemes are much more limited in this case.
flow outwards. As a result, the fault appears as an external
Distance schemes can be subdivided into two main groups;
fault to the distance relay at terminal C, which fails to operate.
transfer trip schemes and blocking schemes. The usual

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 Chapter 13 ⋅ Protection of Complex Transmission Circuits

considerations when comparing these schemes are security, requirements mentioned later on, make transfer trip over-
that is, no operation for external faults, and dependability, that reach schemes unattractive for multi-ended feeder protection.
is, assured operation for internal faults.
13.5.3 Blocking Schemes
In addition, it should be borne in mind that transfer trip
schemes require fault current infeed at all the terminals to Blocking schemes are particularly suited to the protection of
achieve high-speed protection for any fault in the feeder. This multi-ended feeders, since high-speed operation can be
is not the case with blocking schemes. While it is rare to find obtained with no fault current infeed at one or more terminals.
a plain feeder in high voltage systems where there is current The only disadvantage is when there is fault current outfeed
infeed at one end only, it is not difficult to envisage a tee’d from a terminal, as shown in Figure 13.17. This is case 4 in
feeder with no current infeed at one end, for example when the Table 13.2. The protection units at that terminal may see the
tee’d feeder is operating as a plain feeder with the circuit fault as an external fault and send a blocking signal to the
breaker at one of the terminals open. Nevertheless, transfer remote terminals. Depending on the scheme logic either relay
trip schemes are also used for tee’d feeder protection, as they operation is blocked or clearance is in Zone 2 time.
offer some advantages under certain conditions. The directional unit should be set so that no maloperation can
occur for faults in the reverse direction; case 5 in Table 13.2.
13.5.1 Transfer Trip Under-Reach Schemes
The main requirement for transfer trip under-reach schemes is 13.5.4 Signalling Channel Considerations
that the Zone 1 of the protection, at one end at least, shall see The minimum number of signalling channels required depends
a fault in the feeder. To meet this requirement, the Zone 1 on the type of scheme used. With under-reach and blocking
characteristics of the relays at different ends must overlap, schemes, only one channel is required, whereas a permissive
either the three of them or in pairs. Cases 1, 2 and 3 in Table over-reach scheme requires as many channels as there are
13.2. should be checked when the settings for the Zone 1 feeder ends. The signalling channel equipment at each
characteristics are selected. If the conditions mentioned in terminal should include one transmitter and (N-1) receivers,
case 4 are found, direct transfer tripping may be used to clear where N is the total number of feeder ends. This may not be a
the fault; the alternative is to trip sequentially at end C when problem if fibre-optic cables are used, but could lead to
the fault current IC reverses after the circuit breaker at problems otherwise.
terminal B has opened; see Figure 13.17.
If frequency shift channels are used to improve the reliability of
Transfer trip schemes may be applied to feeders that have the protection schemes, mainly with transfer trip schemes, N
branches of similar length. If one or two of the branches are additional frequencies are required for the purpose. Problems
very short, and this is often the case in tee'd feeders, it may be of signal attenuation and impedance matching should also be
difficult or impossible to make the Zone 1 characteristics carefully considered when power line carrier frequency
overlap. Alternative schemes are then required. channels are used.
Another case for which under-reach schemes may be
advantageous is the protection of tapped feeders, mainly when 13.5.5 Directional Comparison Blocking Schemes
the tap is short and is not near one of the main terminals. The principle of operation of these schemes is the same as that
Overlap of the Zone 1 characteristics is then easily achieved, of the distance blocking schemes described in the previous
and the tap does not require protection applied to the terminal. section. The main advantage of directional comparison
schemes over distance schemes is their greater capability to
13.5.2 Transfer Trip Over-Reach Schemes detect high-resistance earth faults. The reliability of these
For correct operation when internal faults occur, the relays at schemes, in terms of stability for through faults, is lower than
the three ends should see a fault at any point in the feeder. that of distance blocking schemes. However, with the
This condition is often difficult to meet, since the impedance increasing reliability of modern signalling channels, directional
seen by the relays for faults at one of the remote ends of the comparison blocking schemes offer good solutions to the many
feeder may be too large, as in case 1 in Table 13.2, increasing difficult problems encountered in the protection of multi-ended
the possibility of maloperation for reverse faults, case 5 in feeders. For further information see Chapter 12 and specific
Table 13.2. In addition, the relay characteristic might relay manuals.
encroach on the load impedance.
These considerations, in addition to the signalling channel

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

13.6 PROTECTION OF SERIES COMPENSATED VF

E
LINES iXS
The basic power transfer equation in Figure 13.19 shows that
transmitted power is proportional to the system voltage level
∼ -iXC
and load angle while being inversely proportional to system Z<
impedance. Series compensated lines are used in transmission E IF
networks where the required level of transmitted power can
not be met, either from a load requirement or system stability XS > XC
requirement. Series compensated transmission lines introduce IF
a series connected capacitor, which has the net result of
reducing the overall inductive impedance of the line, hence VF
increasing the prospective, power flow. Typical levels of Figure 13.20: Voltage inversion on a transmission line
compensation are 35%, 50% and 70%, where the percentage
level dictates the capacitor impedance compared to the A second problem is that of current inversion which is
transmission line it is associated with. demonstrated in Figure 13.21. In this case, the overall fault
impedance is taken to be capacitive. The fault current
EA Bus A Bus B EB therefore leads the system e.m.f. by 90o whilst the measured
ZT fault voltage remains in phase with system e.m.f. Again this
∼ ∼ condition can give rise to directional stability problems for a
variety of protection devices. Practically, the case of current
E A EB
PT = sin δ inversion is difficult to obtain. To protect capacitors from high
XT
over voltages during fault conditions some form of voltage
Figure 13.19: Power transfer in a transmission line
limiting device (usually in the form of MOVs) is installed to
The introduction of a capacitive impedance to a network can bypass the capacitor at a set current level. In the case of
give rise to several relaying problems. The most common of current inversion, the overall fault impedance has to be
these is the situation of voltage inversion, which is shown in capacitive and is generally small. This leads to high levels of
Figure 13.20. In this case a fault occurs on the protected line. fault current, which triggers the MOVs and bypasses the
The overall fault impedance is inductive and hence the fault capacitors, leaving an inductive fault impedance and
current is inductive (shown lagging the system e.m.f. by 90 preventing the current inversion.
degrees in this case). However, the voltage measured by the
relay is that across the capacitor and therefore lags the fault VF
E
current by 90 degrees. The net result is that the voltage jXS
measured by the relay is in anti-phase to the system e.m.f. ∼
Whilst this view is highly simplistic, it adequately demonstrates -jXC
potential relay problems, in that any protection reliant upon VF Z<
making a directional decision bases its decision on an inductive IF
jIF XS
system i.e. one where a forward fault is indicated by fault
E
current lagging the measured voltage. A good example of this XS < X C
is a distance relay, which assumes the transmission line is an
evenly distributed inductive impedance. Presenting the relay IF
with a capacitive voltage (impedance) can lead the relay to Figure 13.21: Current inversion in a transmission line
make an incorrect directional decision.
The application of protective relays in a series compensated
power system needs careful evaluation. The problems
associated with the introduction of a series capacitor can be
overcome by a variety of relaying techniques so it is important
to ensure the suitability of the chosen protection. Each
particular application requires careful investigation to
determine the most appropriate solution in respect of
protection – there are no general guidelines that can be given.

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 Chapter 13 ⋅ Protection of Complex Transmission Circuits

13.7 EXAMPLE Relay Parameter Parameter Description Parameter Value Units

In this section, an example calculation showing the solution to ZL1 (mag)
Line positive sequence impedance
21.95 Ω
(magnitude)
a problem mentioned in this chapter is given.
Line positive sequence impedance
ZL1 (ang) 66.236 deg
(phase angle)
13.7.1 Distance Relay applied to Parallel Circuits
Line zero sequence impedance
ZLO (mag) 54.1 Ω
The system diagram shown in Figure 13.22 indicates a simple (magnitude)
110kV network supplied from a 220kV grid through two auto- Line zero sequence impedance
ZLO (ang) 70.895 deg
transformers. The following example shows the calculations (phase angle)
necessary to check the suitability of three zone distance Default residual compensation
KZO (mag) 0.49 -
protection to the two parallel feeders interconnecting factor (magnitude)

substations A and B, Line 1 being selected for this purpose. All KZO (ang)
Default residual compensation
7.8 deg
factor (phase angle)
relevant data for this exercise are given in the diagram. The
MiCOM P441 relay with quadrilateral characteristics is used to Zone 1 reach impedance setting
Z1 (mag) 17.56 Ω
(magnitude)
provide the relay data for the example. Relay quantities used
Zone 1 reach impedance setting
in the example are listed in Table 13.3, and calculations are Z1 (ang)
(phase angle)
66.3 deg
carried out in terms of actual system impedances in ohms,
Zone 2 reach impedance setting
rather than CT secondary quantities. This simplifies the Z2 (mag) 30.73 Ω
(magnitude)
calculations, and enables the example to be simplified by Zone 2 reach impedance setting
Z2 (ang) 66.3 deg
excluding considerations of CT ratios. Most modern distance (phase angle)
relays permit settings to be specified in system quantities Zone 3 reach impedance setting
Z3 (mag) 131.8 Ω
rather than CT secondary quantities, but older relays may (magnitude)
require the system quantities to be converted to impedances as Z3 (ang)
Zone 3 reach impedance setting
66.3 deg
seen by the relay. (phase angle)
Phase fault resistive reach value -
R1ph 84.8 Ω
Grid supply at 220kV Zone 1
Maximum fault level 7500MVA
Minimum fault level 2500MVA Phase fault resistive reach value -
R2ph 84.8 Ω
Zone 2
T3 T4
120MVA 220/110/11kV Transformers Phase fault resistive reach value -
XHL = 0.15; XHT = 0.35; XLT = 0.25 R3ph 84.8 Ω
XH = 0.125; XL = 0.025 Zone 3
XT = 0.225 on 120MVA
Zone 1 residual compensation
KZ1 (mag) 0.426 -
110kV Substation A factor (magnitude)
Zone 1 residual compensation
KZ1 (ang) 9.2 deg
factor (phase angle)
Current transformer ratio 600/1A
T5 Zone 2 residual compensation
Voltage transformer ratio KZ2 (mag) not used -
45 MVA 110kV/110V factor (magnitude)
Line 1 110/33kV Line 2
Transformer Zone 2 residual compensation
XT = 0.125
KZ2 (ang) not used deg
factor (phase angle)
110kV Substation B
TZ1 Time delay - Zone 1 0 s
TZ2 Time delay - Zone 2 0.25 s

T6 T7 45MVA 132/33kV Transformers TZ3 Time delay - Zone 3 0.45 s

XT = 0.125
Earth fault resistive reach value -
Line 4 R1G 84.8 Ω
Zone 1
Line 3 33kV
busbars Earth fault resistive reach value -
R2G 84.8 Ω
Zone 2
110kV Transmission Lines:
Z1 =0 . 1 7 7 + j 0 . 4 0 2Ω / km Earth fault resistive reach value -
R3G 84.8 Ω
Z o =0 . 3 5 4 + j 1 . 0 2 2Ω / km Zone 3
Length of Lines:
1, 2 = 50km Table 13.3: Distance relay settings
3 = 100km
4 = 40km
Figure 13.22: Example network for distance relay setting calculation
13.7.1.1 Residual Compensation
The relays used are calibrated in terms of the positive sequence
impedance of the protected line. Since the earth fault
impedance of Line 1 is different from the positive sequence

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

impedance, the impedance seen by the relay in the case of a ii. 21.95∠66.236 + 0.5 × 40 × 0.439∠66.236 Ω
fault involving earth is different to that seen for a phase fault.
Therefore the reach of the earth fault elements of the relay
It is clear that condition (ii) governs the setting, and therefore
needs to be different.
the initial Zone 2 reach setting is:
For the relay used, this adjustment is provided by the residual
(or neutral) compensation factor Kzo, set equal to: Z 2 = 30.73∠66.3 Ω
The effect of parallel Line 2 is to make relay 1 underreach for
KZ0 =
(Z 0 − Z1 ) faults on adjacent line sections, as discussed in Section 11.9.3.
3Z1 This is not a problem for the phase fault elements because Line
1 is always protected.
∠K Z 0 = ∠
(Z 0 − Z1 )
3Z1 13.7.1.5 Zone 3 Reach
For Lines 1 and 2, The function of Zone 3 is to provide backup protection for
uncleared faults in adjacent line sections. The criterion used is
Z L1 = 0.177 + j 0.402Ω that the relay should be set to cover 120% of the impedance
(
= 0.439∠66.236  Ω ) between the relay location and the end of the longest adjacent
line, taking account of any possible fault infeed from other
Z L 0 = 0.354 + j1.022Ω circuits or parallel paths. In this case, faults in Line 3 results in
(
= 1.082∠70.895 Ω ) the relay under-reaching due to the parallel Lines 1 and 2, so
the impedance of Line 3 should be doubled to take this effect
Hence, into account. Therefore,
K Z 0 = 0.490 (
Z 3 = 1.2 × 21.95∠66.3 + 100 × 2 × 0.439∠66.3 Ω )
∠K Z 0 = 7.8 
= 131.8∠66.3 Ω

13.7.1.2 Zone Impedance Reach Settings – Phase 13.7.1.6 Zone Time Delay Settings
Faults Proper co-ordination of the distance relay settings with those
Firstly, the impedance reaches for the three relay zones are of other relays is required. Independent timers are available for
calculated. the three zones to ensure this.
For Zone 1, instantaneous tripping is normal. A time delay is
13.7.1.3 Zone 1 Reach used only in cases where large d.c. offsets occur and old circuit
Zone 1 impedance is set to 80% of the impedance of the breakers, incapable of breaking the instantaneous d.c.
protected line. Hence, component, are involved.

(
Z1 = 0.8 × 50 × 0.439∠66.236 Ω ) The Zone 2 element has to grade with the relays protecting
Lines 3 and 4 since the Zone 2 element covers part of these
= 0.8 × 21.95∠66.236  Ω lines. Assuming that Lines 3/4 have distance, unit or
instantaneous high-set overcurrent protection applied, the
= 17.56∠66.236  Ω time delay required is that to cover the total clearance time of
Use a value of 17.56∠66.3 Ω the downstream relays. To this must be added the reset time
for the Zone 2 elements following clearance of a fault on an
13.7.1.4 Zone 2 Reach adjacent line, and a suitable safety margin. A typical time
delay is 250ms, and the normal range is 200-300ms.
Zone 2 impedance reach is set to cover the maximum of:
The considerations for the Zone 3 element are the same as for
i. 120% of Line 1 length
the Zone 2 element, except that the downstream fault
ii. Line 1 + 50% of shortest line from Substation B clearance time is that for the Zone 2 element of a distance
i.e. 50% of Line 4 relay or IDMT overcurrent protection. Assuming distance
From the line impedances given, relays are used, a typical time is 450ms. In summary:

i. 1.2 × 21.95∠66.236  = 26.34∠66.236  Ω TZ 1 = 0ms (instantaneous)

13-14
 Chapter 13 ⋅ Protection of Complex Transmission Circuits

TZ 2 = 250ms 13.7.1.9 Zone 1 Earth Fault Reach

Where distance protection is applied to parallel lines (as in this
TZ 3 = 450ms
example), the Zone 1 earth fault elements may sometimes
overreach and therefore operate when one line is out of service
13.7.1.7 Phase Fault Resistive Reach Settings and earthed at both ends
With the use of a quadrilateral characteristic, the resistive
The solution is to reduce the earth fault reach of the Zone 1
reach settings for each zone can be set independently of the
element to typically 80% of the default setting. Hence:
impedance reach settings. The resistive reach setting
represents the maximum amount of additional fault resistance K Z 1 = 0.8 × K Z 0
(in excess of the line impedance) for which a zone trips,
= 0.8 × 0.532
regardless of the fault in the zone.
= 0.426
Two constraints are imposed upon the settings, as follows:
In practice, the setting is selected by using an alternative
• it must be greater than the maximum expected phase- setting group, selected when the parallel line is out of service
phase fault resistance (principally that of the fault arc) and earthed.
• it must be less than the apparent resistance measured
due to the heaviest load on the line 13.7.1.10 Zone 2 Earth Fault Reach
The minimum fault current at Substation B is of the order of With parallel circuits, the Zone 2 element tends to under-reach
1.5kA, leading to a typical arc resistance Rarc using the van due to the zero sequence mutual coupling between the lines.
Warrington formula (equation 11.6) of 9Ω. Maloperation may occur, particularly for earth faults occurring
on the remote busbar. The effect can be countered by
Using the current transformer ratio on Line 1 as a guide to the increasing the Zone 2 earth fault reach setting, but first it is
maximum expected load current, the minimum load necessary to calculate the amount of under-reach that occurs.
impedance Zlmin is 106Ω
I fltp
. Typically, the resistive reaches are set to avoid the minimum Underreach = Z adj ×
load impedance by a 20% margin for the phase elements, I flt
leading to a maximum resistive reach setting of 84.8.Ω.
where:
Therefore, the resistive reach setting lies between 9Ω and
84.8Ω. While each zone can have its own resistive reach
Z adj = impedance of adjacent line covered by Zone 2
setting, for this simple example, all of the resistive reach
I fltp = fault current in parallel line
settings can be set equal (depending on the particular distance
protection scheme used and the need to include Power Swing I flt = total fault current
Blocking, this need not always be the case).
since the two parallel lines are identical, I fltp = 0.5 I flt and
Suitable settings are chosen to be 80% of the load resistance:
hence, for Lines 1 and 2,
R3 ph = 84.8Ω
Underreach = 8.78∠66.3 × 0.5 = 4.39∠66.3
 

R2 ph = 84.8Ω
% Underreach = Underreach / Reach of Protected Zone, and
R1 ph = 84.8Ω hence:
% Underreach =14.3%
13.7.1.8 Earth Fault Reach Settings This amount of under-reach is not significant and no
By default, the residual compensation factor as calculated in adjustment need be made. If adjustment is required, this can
section 13.7.1.1 is used to adjust the phase fault reach setting be achieved by using the KZ2 relay setting, increasing it over
in the case of earth faults, and is applied to all zones. the KZ0 setting by the percentage under-reach. When this is
However, it is also possible to apply this compensation to done, care must also be taken that the percentage over-reach
zones individually. Two cases in particular require during single circuit operation is not excessive – if it is then use
consideration, and are covered in this example can be made of the alternative setting groups provided in most
modern distance relays to change the relay settings according

13-15
Protection & Automation Application Guide

to the number of circuits in operation.

13.7.1.11 Earth Fault Resistive Reach Settings

The same settings can be used as for the phase fault resistive
reaches. Hence,

R3G = 84.8Ω

R2G = 84.8Ω

R1G = 84.8Ω
This completes the setting of the relay. Table 13.3 also shows
the settings calculated.

13.8 REFERENCES
[13.1] Some factors affecting the accuracy of distance type
protective equipment under earth fault conditions.
Davison, E.B. and Wright, A. Proc. IEE Vol. 110, No. 9,
Sept. 1963, pp. 1678-1688.
[13.2] Distance protection performance under conditions of
single-circuit working in double-circuit transmission
lines. Humpage, W.D. and Kandil, M.S. Proc. IEE. Vol.
117. No. 4, April 1970, pp. 766-770.
[13.3] Distance protection of tee'd circuits. Humpage, W.A.
and Lewis, D.W. Proc. IEE, Vol. 114, No. 10, Oct.
1967, pp. 1483-1498.

13-16
Chapter 13 ⋅ Protection of Complex Transmission Circuits

13-17
AUTO-RECLOSING
Chapter 14
AUTO-RECLOSING

14.1 Introduction 14.1 INTRODUCTION

14.2 Application of Auto-Reclosing Faults on overhead lines fall into one of three categories:
14.3 Auto-Reclosing on HV Distribution .. transient
Networks
.. semi-permanent
14.4 F actors Influencing HV Auto-Reclose
Schemes
.. permanent
80-90% of faults on any overhead line network are transient in
14.5 Auto-Reclosing on EHV Transmission nature. The remaining 10%-20% of faults are either semi-per-
Lines manent or permanent.
14.6 High Speed Auto-Reclosing on EHV Transient faults are commonly caused by lightning or temporary
Systems contact with foreign objects, and immediate tripping of one or
14.7 Single-Phase Auto-Reclosing more circuit breakers clears the fault. Subsequent re-energi-
sation of the line is usually successful.
14.8 High-Speed Auto-Reclosing on Lines
A small tree branch falling on the line could cause a semi-per-
Employing Distance Schemes
manent fault. The cause of the fault would not be removed by
14.9 Delayed Auto-Reclosing on EHV Systems the immediate tripping of the circuit, but could be burnt away
during a time-delayed trip. HV overhead lines in forest areas
14.10 Operating Features of Auto-Reclose
are prone to this type of fault. Permanent faults, such as broken
Schemes conductors, and faults on underground cable sections, must be
14.11 Auto-Close Schemes located and repaired before the supply can be restored.
14.12 Examples of Auto-Reclose Applications Use of an auto-reclose scheme to re-energise the line after a fault
trip permits successful re-energisation of the line. Sufficient time
must be allowed after tripping for the fault arc to de-energise
before reclosing otherwise the arc will re-strike. Such schemes
have been the cause of a substantial improvement in continuity
of supply. A further benefit, particularly to EHV systems, is the
maintenance of system stability and synchronism.
A typical single-shot auto-reclose scheme is shown in Figure
14.1 and Figure 14.2. Figure 14.1 shows a successful reclosure
in the event of a transient fault, and Figure 14.2 an unsuc-
cessful reclosure followed by lockout of the circuit breaker if the
fault is permanent.

GEGridSolutions.com 14-1
Protection & Automation Application Guide

Instant
of fault
Operates Resets

Protection

Operating
time
Transient Trip coil Contacts Arc Contacts Closing circuit Contacts Contacts
fault energised separate extinguished fully open energised make fully closed

Circuit
breaker
Opening Arcing Closing
time time time

Operating time Dead time

System disturbance time
Relay ready to respond
Reclose initiated to further fault incidents
by protection (after successful reclosure)

Auto-reclose
relay

Dead time Closing

pulse time

Reclaim time

Time

Figure 14.1: Single-shot auto-reclose scheme operation for a transient fault

Reclose
Operates Resets on to fault Operates Resets

Protection

Operating
time
Trip coil Contacts Arc Contacts Closing circuit Contacts Contacts Contacts Arc Contacts fully
Permanent energised separate extinguished fully open energised make fully closed separate Extinguished open
fault
Circuit
breaker
Opening Arcing Closing
time time time Trip coil
energised
Operating time Dead time
Relay locks out for protection
Reclose initiated re-operation before reclaim
by protection time has elapsed

Auto-reclose
relay

Dead time Closing

pulse time

Reclaim time Reclaim time

starts resets

Time

Figure 14.2: Single-shot auto-reclose scheme operation for a permanent fault

14-2
 Chapter 14 ⋅ Auto-Reclosing

14.2 APPLICATION OF AUTO-RECLOSING ensuing loss of supply to a number of healthy sections. Auto-
The most important parameters of an auto-reclose scheme reclosing allows these circuit breakers to be reclosed within a
are: few seconds. With transient faults, the overall effect would be
loss of supply for a very short time but affecting a larger
• dead time number of consumers. If only time-graded protection without
• reclaim time auto-reclose were used, a smaller number of consumers might
• single or multi-shot be affected, but for a longer time period.

These parameters are influenced by: When instantaneous protection is used with auto-reclosing,
the scheme is normally arranged to inhibit the instantaneous
• type of protection protection after the first trip. For a permanent fault, the time-
• type of switchgear graded protection will give discriminative tripping after
• possible stability problems reclosure, resulting in the isolation of the faulted section.
Some schemes allow a number of reclosures and time-graded
• effects on the various types of consumer loads trips after the first instantaneous trip, which may result in the
The weighting given to the above factors is different for HV burning out and clearance of semi-permanent faults. A further
distribution networks and EHV transmission systems and benefit of instantaneous tripping is a reduction in circuit
therefore it is convenient to discuss them under separate breaker maintenance by reducing pre-arc heating when
headings. Sections 14.3 and 14.4 cover the application of clearing transient faults.
auto-reclosing to HV distribution networks while Sections 14.5 When considering feeders that are partly overhead line and
to 14.9 cover EHV schemes. partly underground cable, any decision to install auto-reclosing
The rapid expansion in the use of auto-reclosing has led to the would be influenced by any data known on the frequency of
existence of a variety of different control schemes. The various transient faults. Where a significant proportion of faults are
features in common use are discussed in Section 14.10. The permanent, the advantages of auto-reclosing are small,
related subject of auto-closing, that is, the automatic closing of particularly since reclosing on to a faulty cable is likely to
normally open circuit breakers, is dealt with in Section 14.11. aggravate the damage.

14.3 AUTO-RECLOSING ON HV DISTRIBUTION 14.4 FACTORS INFLUENCING HV AUTO-

NETWORKS RECLOSE SCHEMES
On HV distribution networks, auto-reclosing is applied mainly The factors that influence the choice of dead time, reclaim
to radial feeders where problems of system stability do not time, and the number of shots are now discussed.
arise, and the main advantages to be derived from its use can
be summarised as follows: 14.4.1 Dead Time
• reduction to a minimum of the interruptions of supply Several factors affect the selection of system dead time as
to the consumer follows:

• instantaneous fault clearance can be introduced, with • system stability and synchronism
the accompanying benefits of shorter fault duration, • type of load
less fault damage, and fewer permanent faults
• CB characteristics
As 80% of overhead line faults are transient, elimination of loss • fault path de-ionisation time
of supply from this cause by the introduction of auto-reclosing
• protection reset time
gives obvious benefits through:
These factors are discussed in the following sections.
• improved supply continuity
• reduction of substation visits 14.4.1.1 System stability and synchronism
Instantaneous tripping reduces the duration of the power arc To reclose without loss of synchronism after a fault on the
resulting from an overhead line fault to a minimum. The interconnecting feeder, the dead time must be kept to the
chance of permanent damage occurring to the line is reduced. minimum permissible consistent with de-ionisation of the fault
The application of instantaneous protection may result in non- arc. Other time delays that contribute to the total system
selective tripping of a number of circuit breakers and an disturbance time must also be kept as short as possible. The

14-3
Protection & Automation Application Guide

problem arises only on distribution networks with more than mechanism to reset before applying a closing impulse.
one power source, where power can be fed into both ends of Where high speed reclosing is required, a latch check
an inter-connecting line. A typical example is embedded interlock is desirable in the reclosing circuit
generation (see Chapter 17), or where a small centre of • Closing time: This is the time interval between the
population with a local diesel generating plant may be energisation of the closing mechanism and the making
connected to the rest of the supply system by a single tie-line. of the contacts. Owing to the time constant of the
The use of high-speed protection, such as unit protection or solenoid and the inertia of the plunger, a solenoid
distance schemes, with operating times of less than 0.05s is closing mechanism may take 0.3s to close. A spring-
essential. The circuit breakers must have very short operation operated breaker, on the other hand, can close in less
times and then be able to reclose the circuit after a dead time than 0.2s. Modern vacuum circuit breakers may have
of the order of 0.3s - 0.6s to allow for fault-arc de-ionisation. a closing time of less than 0.1s

It may be desirable in some cases to use synchronism check The circuit breaker mechanism imposes a minimum dead time
logic, so that auto-reclosing is prevented if the phase angle has made up from the sum of (a) and (b) above. Figure 14.3
moved outside specified limits. The matter is dealt with more shows the performance of modern HV/EHV circuit breakers in
fully in Section 14.9. this respect. Older circuit breakers may require longer times
than those shown.
14.4.1.2 Type of load
Arc Time (s)
extinguished
On HV systems, the main problem to be considered in relation Contacts Contacts
to dead time is the effect on various types of consumer load. separate make
Trip Breaker fully open:
Breaker
• Industrial consumers: Most industrial consumers initiation closing circuit energised
fully
closed
operate mixed loads comprising induction motors,
lighting, process control and static loads. Synchronous t1
t3 t4
motors may also be used. The dead time has to be long t2 t6
enough to allow motor circuits to trip out on loss of t5
supply. Once the supply is restored, restarting of drives
can then occur under direction of the process control Oil Vacuum Oil Air SF6 SF6
system in a safe and programmed manner, and can 11kV 15kV 132kV 380kV 132kV 380kV
t1 0.06 0.038 0.03 0.035 0.04 0.02
often be fast enough to ensure no significant loss of t2 0.1 0.053 0.06 0.045 0.07 0.05
production or product quality t3 0.08 0.023 0.2 0.235 0.03 0.01
t4 0.16 0.048 0.35 0.065 0.08 0.06
• Domestic consumers: It is improbable that expensive t5 0.24 0.28 0.55 0.3 0.11 0.07
processes or dangerous conditions will be involved with t6 0.02 0.07 0.01 0.02 0.12 0.04

domestic consumers and the main consideration is that Note: 380kV data applicable to 400kV also. All times in seconds
of inconvenience and compensation for supply Figure 14.3: Typical circuit breaker trip-close operation times
interruption. A dead time of seconds or a few minutes
is of little importance compared with the loss of cooking 14.4.1.4 De-ionisation of the fault path
facilities, central heating, light and audio/visual As mentioned above, successful high speed reclosure requires
entertainment resulting from a longer supply failure the interruption of the fault by the circuit breaker to be
that could occur without auto-reclosing followed by a time delay long enough to allow the ionised air to
disperse. This time is dependent on the system voltage, cause
14.4.1.3 Circuit breaker characteristics of fault, weather conditions and so on, but at voltages up to
The time delays imposed by the circuit breaker during a 66kV, 0.1s - 0.2s should be adequate. On HV systems,
tripping and reclosing operation must be taken into therefore, fault de-ionisation time is of less importance than
consideration, especially when assessing the possibility of circuit breaker time delays.
applying high speed auto-reclosing.
14.4.1.5 Protection reset time
• Mechanism resetting time: Most circuit breakers are
‘trip free’, which means that the breaker can be tripped If time delayed protection is used, it is essential that the timing
during the closing stroke. After tripping, a time of the device shall fully reset during the dead time, so that correct
order of 0.2s must be allowed for the trip-free time discrimination will be maintained after reclosure on to a
fault. The reset time of the electromechanical I.D.M.T. relay is

14-4
 Chapter 14 ⋅ Auto-Reclosing

10 seconds or more when on maximum time setting, and dead are rarely used in practice, to relieve the duty on the circuit
times of at least this value may be required. breaker.
When short dead times are required, the protection relays
14.4.2.2 Spring winding time
must reset almost instantaneously, a requirement that is easily
met by the use of static, digital and numerical I.D.M.T. relays. The reclaim time of motor-wound spring-closed breakers must
be at least as long as the spring winding time, to ensure that
14.4.2 Reclaim Time the breaker is not subjected to a further reclosing operating
with a partly wound spring.
Factors affecting the setting of the reclaim time are discussed
in the following sections.
14.4.3 Number of Shots
14.4.2.1 Type of protection There are no definite rules for defining the number of shots for
any particular auto-reclose application, but a number of
The reclaim time must be long enough to allow the protection
factors must be taken into account.
relays to operate when the circuit breaker is reclosed on to a
permanent fault. The most common forms of protection
14.4.3.1 Circuit breaker limitations
applied to HV lines are I.D.M.T. or definite time over-current
and earth-fault relays. The maximum operating time for the Important considerations are the ability of the circuit breaker to
former with very low fault levels could be up to 30 seconds, perform several trip and close operations in quick succession
while for fault levels of several times rating the operating time and the effect of these operations on the maintenance period.
may be 10 seconds or less. Maintenance periods vary according to the type of circuit
breaker used and the fault current broken when clearing each
In the case of definite time protection, settings of 3 seconds or fault. Use of modern numerical relays can assist, as they often
less are common, with 10 seconds as an absolute maximum. have a CB condition-monitoring feature included that can be
It has been common practice to use reclaim times of 30 arranged to indicate to a Control Centre when maintenance is
seconds on HV auto-reclose schemes. However, there is a required. Auto-reclose may then be locked out until
danger with a setting of this length that during a maintenance has been carried out.
thunderstorm, when the incidence of transient faults is high,
the breaker may reclose successfully after one fault, and then 14.4.3.2 System conditions
trip and lock out for a second fault within this time. Use of a
If statistical information on a particular system shows a
shorter reclaim time of, say, 15 seconds may enable the
moderate percentage of semi-permanent faults that could be
second fault to be treated as a separate incident, with a further
burned out during 2 or 3 time-delayed trips, a multi-shot
successful reclosure.
scheme may be justified. This is often the case in forest areas.
Where fault levels are low, it may be difficult to select I.D.M.T. Multi-shot schemes may also be applicable where fused ‘tees’
time settings to give satisfactory grading with an operating are used and the fault level is low, since the fusing time may
time limit of 15 seconds, and the matter becomes a question not discriminate with the main I.D.M.T. relay. The use of
of selecting a reclaim time compatible with I.D.M.T. several shots will heat the fuse to such an extent that it would
requirements. eventually blow before the main protection operated.
It is common to fit sensitive earth-fault protection to
14.5 AUTO-RECLOSING ON EHV
supplement the normal protection to detect high resistance
earth faults. This protection is usually set to have an operating TRANSMISSION LINES
time longer than that of the main protection. This longer time The most important consideration in the application of auto-
may have to be taken into consideration when deciding on a reclosing to EHV transmission lines is the maintenance of
reclaim time. A broken overhead conductor in contact with dry system stability and synchronism. The problems involved are
ground or a wood fence may cause this type of fault. It is dependent on whether the transmission system is weak or
rarely if ever transient and may be a danger to the public. It is strong. With a weak system, loss of a transmission link may
therefore common practice to use a contact on the sensitive lead quickly to an excessive phase angle across the CB used for
earth fault relay to block auto-reclosing and lock out the circuit re-closure, thus preventing a successful re-closure. In a
breaker. relatively strong system, the rate of change of phase angle will
be slow, so that delayed auto-reclose can be successfully
Where high-speed protection is used, reclaim times of 1
applied.
second or less would be adequate. However, such short times

14-5
Protection & Automation Application Guide

An illustration is the interconnector between two power 14.6 HIGH SPEED AUTO-RECLOSING ON EHV
systems as shown in Figure 14.4. Under healthy conditions, SYSTEMS
the amount of synchronising power transmitted, P, crosses the
The first requirement for the application of high-speed auto-
power/angle curve OAB at point X, showing that the phase
reclosing is knowledge of the system disturbance time that can
displacement between the two systems is θ0. Under fault
be tolerated without loss of system stability. This will normally
conditions, the curve OCB is applicable, and the operating
require transient stability studies to be conducted for a defined
point changes to Y. Assuming constant power input to both
set of power system configurations and fault conditions. With
ends of the line, there is now an accelerating power XY. As a
knowledge of protection and circuit breaker operating
result, the operating point moves to Z, with an increased phase
characteristics and fault arc de-ionisation times, the feasibility
displacement, θ1, between the two systems. At this point the
of high-speed auto-reclosing can then be assessed. These
circuit breakers trip and break the connection. The phase
factors are now discussed.
displacement continues to increase at a rate dependent on the
inertia of the two power sources. To maintain synchronism,
14.6.1 Protection Characteristics
the circuit breaker must be reclosed in a time short enough to
prevent the phase angle exceeding θ2. This angle is such that The use of high-speed protection equipment, such as distance
the area (2) stays greater than the area (1), which is the or unit protection schemes, giving operating times of less than
condition for maintenance of synchronism. 40ms, is essential. In conjunction with fast operating circuit
breakers, high-speed protection reduces the duration of the
fault arc and thus the total system disturbance time.
∼ ∼
It is important that the circuit breakers at both ends of a fault
Fault line should be tripped as rapidly as possible. The time that the
line is still being fed from one end represents an effective
Loads Loads
reduction in the dead time, and may well jeopardise the
chances of a successful reclosure. When distance protection is
used, and the fault occurs near one end of the line, special
Normal system condition
A measures have to be adopted to ensure simultaneous tripping
Power

at each end. These are described in Section 14.8.

C 2
X
P Input line 14.6.2 De-Ionisation of the Fault Arc
Z
Y It is important to know the time that must be allowed for
1 complete de-ionisation of the arc, to prevent the arc restriking
Fault condition
when the voltage is re-applied.

B
The de-ionisation time of an uncontrolled arc, in free air
O θ0 θ1 θ2
Phase displacement depends on the circuit voltage, conductor spacing, fault
Figure 14.4: Effect of high-speed three-phase auto-reclosing on system currents, fault duration, wind speed and capacitive coupling
stability for a weak system from adjacent conductors. Of these, the circuit voltage is the
This example, for a weak system, shows that the successful most important, and as a general rule, the higher the voltage
application of auto-reclosing in such a case needs high-speed the longer the time required for de-ionisation. Typical values
protection and circuit breakers, and a short dead time. On for three-phase faults are given in Table 14.1.
strong systems, synchronism is unlikely to be lost by the Line Voltage (kV) Minimum De-energisation Time (Seconds)
tripping out of a single line. For such systems, an alternative
66 0.2
policy of delayed auto-reclosing may be adopted. This enables
110 0.28
the power swings on the system resulting from the fault to
132 0.3
decay before reclosure is attempted.
220 0.35
The various factors to be considered when using EHV auto-
275 0.38
reclose schemes are now dealt with. High-speed and delayed
400 0.45
auto-reclose schemes are discussed separately.
525 0.55
Table 14.1: Fault-arc de-ionisation times

14-6
 Chapter 14 ⋅ Auto-Reclosing

If single-phase tripping and auto-reclosing is used, capacitive 14.6.3.2 Air blast circuit breakers
coupling between the healthy phases and the faulty phase Air blast breakers have been developed for voltages up to the
tends to maintain the arc and hence extend the dead time highest at present in use on transmission lines. They fall into
required from the values given in the Table. This is a particular two categories:
problem on long distance EHV transmission lines. However
where shunt compensation is applied, a neutral reactor can • pressurised head circuit breakers
often be used to balance system inter-phase capacitance and • non-pressurised head circuit breakers
thus reduce the arcing time.
In pressurised head circuit breakers, compressed air is
maintained in the chamber surrounding the main contacts.
14.6.3 Circuit Breaker Characteristics
When a tripping signal is received, an auxiliary air system
The high fault levels involved in EHV systems impose a very separates the main contacts and allows compressed air to
severe duty on the circuit breakers used in high-speed auto- blast through the gap to the atmosphere, extinguishing the
reclose schemes. The accepted breaker cycle of break-make- arc. With the contacts fully open, compressed air is
break requires the circuit breaker to interrupt the fault current, maintained in the chamber.
reclose the circuit after a time delay of upwards of 0.2s and
then break the fault current again if the fault persists. The Loss of air pressure could result in the contacts reclosing, or, if
types of circuit breaker commonly used on EHV systems are a mechanical latch is employed, restriking of the arc in the de-
oil, air blast and SF6 types. pressurised chamber. For this reason, sequential series
isolators, which isolate the main contacts after tripping, are
14.6.3.1 Oil circuit breakers commonly used with air blast breakers. Since these are
comparatively slow in opening, their operation must be
Oil circuit breakers are used for transmission voltages up to
inhibited when auto-reclosing is required. A contact on the
300kV, and can be subdivided into the two types: ‘bulk oil’ and
auto-reclose relay is made available for this purpose.
‘small oil volume’. The latter is a design aimed at reducing the
fire hazard associated with the large volume of oil contained in Non-pressurised head circuit breakers are slower in operation
the bulk oil breaker. than the pressurised head type and are not usually applied in
high-speed reclosing schemes.
The operating mechanisms of oil circuit breakers are of two
types, ‘fixed trip’ and ‘trip free’, of which the latter is the most
14.6.3.3 SF6 circuit breakers
common. With trip-free types, the reclosing cycle must allow
time for the mechanism to reset after tripping before applying Most EHV circuit breaker designs now manufactured use SF6
the closing impulse. gas as an insulating and arc-quenching medium. The basic
design of such circuit breakers is in many ways similar to that
Special means have to be adopted to obtain the short dead of pressurised head air blast circuit breakers. Voltage
times required for high-speed auto-reclosing. Various types of withstand capability depends on a minimum gas pressure
tripping mechanism have been developed to meet this being available, and gas pressure monitors are fitted and
requirement. arranged to block CB operation in the event of low gas
The three types of closing mechanism fitted to oil circuit pressure occurring. Sequential series isolators are normally
breakers are: used, to prevent damage to the circuit breaker in the event of
voltage transients due to lightning strikes, etc. occurring when
• solenoid the CB is open. Provision should therefore be made to inhibit
• spring sequential series isolation during an auto-reclose cycle.
• pneumatic
14.6.4 Choice of Dead Time
CBs with solenoid closing are not suitable for high-speed auto-
At voltages of 220kV and above, the de-ionisation time will
reclose due to the long time constant involved. Spring,
probably dictate the minimum dead time, rather than any
hydraulic or pneumatic closing mechanisms are universal at
circuit breaker limitations. This can be deduced from Table
the upper end of the EHV range and give the fastest closing
14.1. The dead time setting on a high-speed auto-reclose
time. Figure 14.3 shows the operation times for various types
relay should be long enough to ensure complete de-ionisation
of EHV circuit breakers, including the dead time that can be
of the arc. On EHV systems, an unsuccessful reclosure is
attained.
more detrimental to the system than no reclosure at all.

14-7
Protection & Automation Application Guide

14.6.5 Choice of Reclaim Time • three-phase trip and lockout for phase-phase or 3-
Where EHV oil circuit breakers are concerned, the reclaim phase faults, or if either of the remaining phases should
time should take account of the time needed for the closing develop a fault during the dead time
mechanism to reset ready for the next reclosing operation. • use of a selector switch to give a choice of single or
three-phase reclosing
14.6.6 Number of Shots • combined single and three-phase auto-reclosing; single
High-speed auto-reclosing on EHV systems is invariably single phase to earth faults initiate single-phase tripping and
shot. Repeated reclosure attempts with high fault levels would reclosure, and phase-phase faults initiate three-phase
have serious effects on system stability, so the circuit breakers tripping and reclosure
are locked out after one unsuccessful attempt. Also, the
Modern numerical relays often incorporate the logic for all of
incidence of semi-permanent faults that can be cleared by
the above schemes for the user to select as required. Use can
repeated reclosures is less likely than on HV systems. Multi-
be made of any user-definable logic feature in a numerical
shot schemes have, however, occasionally been used on EHV
relay to implement other schemes that may be required.
systems, specifically to deal with bush fire faults prevalent in
Africa. The advantages of single-phase auto-reclosing are:
• the maintenance of system integrity
14.7 SINGLE-PHASE AUTO-RECLOSING
• on multiple earth systems, negligible interference with
Single phase to earth faults account for the majority of the transmission of load. This is because the current in
overhead line faults. When three-phase auto-reclosing is the unfaulted phases can continue to flow until the fault
applied to single circuit interconnectors between two power is cleared and the faulty phase restored
systems, the tripping of all three phases may cause the two
systems to drift apart in phase, as described in Section 14.5. The main disadvantage is the longer de-ionisation time
No interchange of synchronising power can take place during resulting from capacitive coupling between the faulty and
the dead time. If only the faulty phase is tripped, healthy lines. This leads to a longer dead time being required.
synchronising power can still be interchanged through the Maloperation of earth fault relays on double circuit lines owing
healthy phases. Any difference in phase between the two to the flow of zero sequence currents may also occur. These
systems will be correspondingly less, leading to a reduction in are induced by mutual induction between faulty and healthy
the disturbance on the system when the circuit breaker lines (see Chapter 13 for details).
recloses.
14.8 HIGH-SPEED AUTO-RECLOSING ON
For single-phase auto-reclosing each circuit breaker pole must
LINES EMPLOYING DISTANCE SCHEMES
be provided with its own closing and tripping mechanism; this
is normal with EHV air blast and SF6 breakers. The associated The importance of rapid tripping of the circuit breakers at each
tripping and reclosing circuitry is therefore more complicated, end of a faulted line where high-speed auto-reclosing is
as it must be inherently phase-selective. employed has already been covered in Section 14.6. Simple
distance protection presents some difficulties in this respect.
On the occurrence of a phase-earth fault, single-phase auto-
reclose schemes trip and reclose only the corresponding pole of Owing to the errors involved in determining the ohmic setting
the circuit breaker. The auto-reclose function in a relay of the distance relays, it is not possible to set Zone 1 of a
therefore has three separate elements, one for each phase. distance relay to cover 100% of the protected line – see
Operation of any element energises the corresponding dead Chapter 11 for more details. Zone 1 is set to cover 80-85% of
timer, which in turn initiates a closing pulse for the appropriate the line length, with the remainder of the line covered by time-
pole of the circuit breaker. A successful reclosure results in the delayed Zone 2 protection.
auto-reclose logic resetting at the end of the reclaim time,
ready to respond to a further fault incident. If the fault is
persistent and reclosure is unsuccessful, it is usual to trip and
lock out all three poles of the circuit breaker.
The above describes only one of many variants. Other
possibilities are:

14-8
 Chapter 14 ⋅ Auto-Reclosing

Zone 3(J) 14.8.2 Zone 1 Extension

Zone 3(G) In this scheme, the reach of Zone 1 is normally extended to
Middle Zone 2 (G) Zone 2(J)
Zone 120% of the line length and is reset to 80% when a command
End End
Zone 1(J) from the auto-reclose logic is received. This auto-reclose logic
Zone Zone 1(G) Zone
signal should occur before a closing pulse is applied to the
G H J K
circuit breaker and remain operated until the end of the
reclaim time. The logic signal should also be present when
Zone 1(H) Zone 1(K)
Zone 2(H) auto-reclose is out of service.
Zone 2(K)
14.9 DELAYED AUTO-RECLOSING ON EHV
Zone 3(K)
SYSTEMS
Zone 3(H)
On highly interconnected transmission systems, where the loss
Figure 14.5: Typical three zone distance scheme
of a single line is unlikely to cause two sections of the system
Figure 14.5 shows this for a typical three-zone distance to drift apart significantly and lose synchronism, delayed auto-
scheme covering two transmission lines. reclosing can be employed. Dead times of the order of 5s -
For this reason, a fault occurring in an end zone would be 60s are commonly used. No problems are presented by fault
cleared instantaneously, by the protection at one end of the arc de-ionisation times and circuit breaker operating
feeder. However, the CB at the other end opens in 0.3 - 0.4 characteristics, and power swings on the system decay before
seconds (Zone 2 time). High-speed auto-reclosing applied to reclosing. In addition, all tripping and reclose schemes can be
the circuit breakers at each end of the feeder could result either three-phase only, simplifying control circuits in comparison
in no dead time or in a dead time insufficient to allow de- with single-phase schemes. In systems on which delayed
ionisation of the fault arc. A transient fault could therefore be auto-reclosing is permissible, the chances of a reclosure being
seen as a permanent one, resulting in the locking out of both successful are somewhat greater with delayed reclosing than
circuit breakers. would be the case with high-speed reclosing.

Two methods are available for overcoming this difficulty. 14.9.1 Scheme Operation
Firstly, one of the transfer-trip or blocking schemes that
The sequence of operations of a delayed auto-reclose scheme
involves the use of an intertrip signal between the two ends of
can be best understood by reference to Figure 14.6. This
the line can be used. Alternatively, a Zone 1 extension scheme
shows a transmission line connecting two substations A and B,
may be used to give instantaneous tripping over the whole line
with the circuit beakers at A and B tripping out in the event of
length. Further details of these schemes are given in Chapter
a line fault. Synchronism is unlikely to be lost in a system that
12, but a brief description of how they are used in conjunction
employs delayed auto-reclose. However, the transfer of power
with an auto-reclose scheme is given below.
through the remaining tie-lines on the system could result in
the development of an excessive phase difference between the
14.8.1 Transfer-Trip or Blocking Schemes
voltages at points A and B. The result, if reclosure takes place,
This involves use of a signalling channel between the two ends is an unacceptable shock to the system. It is therefore usual
of the line. Tripping occurs rapidly at both ends of the faulty practice to incorporate a synchronism check relay into the
line, enabling the use of high-speed auto-reclose. Some reclosing system to determine whether auto-reclosing should
complication occurs if single-phase auto-reclose is used, as the take place.
signalling channel must identify which phase should be
tripped, but this problem does not exist if a modern numerical
relay is used.
Irrespective of the scheme used, it is customary to provide an
auto-reclose blocking relay to prevent the circuit breakers
auto-reclosing for faults seen by the distance relay in Zones 2
and 3.

14-9
Protection & Automation Application Guide

A B • phase angle difference

~ ~ • voltage
• rate of change of slip frequency
(a) Network diagram
The phase angle setting is usually set to between 20o – 45o,
and reclosure is inhibited if the phase difference exceeds this
Protn. operated
(local or intertrip) value. The scheme waits for a reclosing opportunity with the
&
phase angle within the set value, but locks out if reclosure does
AR in
progress
not occur within a defined period, typically 5s.
AR lockout S Q
1 _
R Q A voltage check is incorporated to prevent reclosure under
CB closed various circumstances. A number of different modes may be
1 0 ti
& available. These are typically undervoltage on either of the two
AR inhibit measured voltages, differential voltage, or both of these
time
conditions.
Reclaim timer
tR 0
The logic also incorporates a frequency difference check, either
by direct measurement or by using a timer in conjunction with
&
Dead time
td 0
CB close the phase angle check. In the latter case, if a 2 second timer is
CB open & command
Protn. reset
employed, the logic gives an output only if the phase difference
CB healthy does not exceed the phase angle setting over a period of 2
System S Q
healthy
_
R Q seconds. This limits the frequency difference (in the case of a
tR: reclaim time
ti: inhibit time
phase angle setting of 20o) to a maximum of 0.11% of 50Hz,
td: dead time corresponding to a phase swing from +20o to -20o over the
(b) Autoreclose logic for each CB measured 2 seconds. While a significant frequency difference
Figure 14.6: Delayed auto-reclose scheme logic is unlikely to arise during a delayed auto-reclose sequence, the
After tripping on a fault, it is normal procedure to reclose the time available allows this check to be carried out as an
breaker at one end first, a process known as ‘live bus/dead line additional safeguard.
charging’. Reclosing at the other and is then under the control As well as ‘live bus/dead line’ and ‘live bus/live line’ reclosing,
of a synchronism check relay element for what is known as sometimes ‘live line/dead bus’ reclosing may need to be
‘live bus/live line reclosing’. implemented. A numerical relay will typically allow any
For example, if it were decided to charge the line initially from combination of these modes to be implemented. The voltage
station A, the dead time in the auto-reclose relay at A would be settings for distinguishing between ‘live’ and ‘dead’ conditions
set at, say, 5 seconds, while the corresponding timer in the must be carefully chosen. In addition, the locations of the VTs
auto-reclose relay at B would be set at, say, 15 seconds. The must be known and checked so that the correct voltage signals
circuit beaker at A would then reclose after 5 seconds provided are connected to the ‘line’ and ‘bus’ inputs.
that voltage monitoring relays at A indicated that the busbars
were alive and the line dead. With the line recharged, the 14.10 OPERATING FEATURES OF AUTO-
circuit breaker at B would then reclose with a synchronism RECLOSE SCHEMES
check, after a 2 second delay imposed by the synchronism The extensive use of auto-reclosing has resulted in the
check relay element. existence of a wide variety of different control schemes. Some
If for any reason the line fails to ‘dead line charge’ from end A, of the more important variations in the features provided are
reclosure from end B would take place after 15 seconds. The described below.
circuit breaker at A would then be given the opportunity to
reclose with a synchronism check. 14.10.1 Initiation
Modern auto-reclosing schemes are invariably initiated by the
14.9.2 Synchronism Check Relays tripping command of a protection relay function. Some older
The synchronism check relay element commonly provides a schemes may employ a contact on the circuit breaker. Modern
three-fold check: digital or numerical relays often incorporate a comprehensive
auto-reclose facility, thus eliminating the need for a separate
auto-reclose relay.

14-10
 Chapter 14 ⋅ Auto-Reclosing

14.10.2 Type of Protection closed on to a fault and the closing pulse is longer than the
On HV distribution systems, advantage is often taken of auto- sum of protection relay and circuit breaker operating times.
reclosing to use instantaneous protection for the first trip, Circuit breakers with trip free mechanisms do not require this
followed by I.D.M.T. for subsequent trips in a single fault feature.
incident. In such cases, the auto-reclose relay must provide a
means of isolating the instantaneous relay after the first trip. 14.10.6 Reclaim Timer
In older schemes, this may be done with a normally closed Electromechanical, static or software-based timers are used to
contact on the auto-reclose starting element wired into the provide the reclaim time, depending on the relay technology
connection between the instantaneous relay contact and the used. If electromechanical timers are used, it is convenient to
circuit breaker trip coil. With digital or numerical relays with employ two independently adjustable timed contacts to obtain
in-built auto-reclose facilities, internal logic facilities will both the dead time and the reclaim time on one timer. With
normally be used. static and software-based timers, separate timer elements are
generally provided.
For certain utility companies, it is the rule to fit tripping relays
to every circuit breaker. If auto-reclosing is required, self or
14.10.7 CB Lockout
electrically reset tripping relays must be used. If the later is
used, a contact must be provided either in the auto-reclose If reclosure is unsuccessful the auto-reclose relay locks out the
logic or by separate trip relay resetting scheme to energise the circuit breaker. Some schemes provide a lockout relay with a
reset coil before reclosing can take place. flag, with provision of a contact for remote alarm. The circuit
breaker can then only be closed by hand; this action can be
14.10.3 Dead Timer arranged to reset the auto-reclose relay element automatically.
Alternatively, most modern relays can be configured such that
This will have a range of settings to cover the specified high-
a lockout condition can be reset only by operator action.
speed or delayed reclosing duty. Any interlocks that are
needed to hold up reclosing until conditions are suitable can be Circuit breaker manufacturers state the maximum number of
connected into the dead timer circuit. Section 14.12.1 operations allowed before maintenance is required. A number
provides an example of this applied to transformer feeders. of schemes provide a fault trip counting function and give a
warning when the total approaches the manufacturer's
14.10.4 Reclosing Impulse recommendation. These schemes will lock out when the total
The duration of the reclosing impulse must be related to the number of fault trips has reached the maximum value allowed.
requirements of the circuit breaker closing mechanism. On
auto-reclose schemes using spring-closed breakers, it is 14.10.8 Manual Closing
sufficient to operate a contact at the end of the dead time to It is undesirable to permit auto-reclosing if circuit breaker
energise the latch release coil on the spring-closing closing is manually initiated. Auto-reclose schemes include the
mechanism. A circuit breaker auxiliary switch can be used to facility to inhibit auto-reclose initiation for a set time following
cancel the closing pulse and reset the auto-reclose relay. With manual CB closure. The time is typically in the range of 2 - 5
solenoid operated breakers, it is usual to provide a closing seconds.
pulse of the order of 1 - 2 seconds, to hold the solenoid
energised for a short time after the main contacts have closed. 14.10.9 Multi-Shot Schemes
This ensures that the mechanism settles in the fully latched-in Schemes providing up to three or four shots use timing circuits
position. The pneumatic or hydraulic closing mechanisms are often included in an auto-reclose relay to provide different,
fitted to oil, air blast and SF6 circuit breakers use a circuit independently adjustable, dead times for each shot.
breaker auxiliary switch for terminating the closing pulse Instantaneous protection can be used for the first trip, since
applied by the auto-reclose relay. each scheme provides a signal to inhibit instantaneous tripping
after a set number of trips and selects I.D.M.T. protection for
14.10.5 Anti-Pumping Devices subsequent ones. The scheme resets if reclosure is successful
The function of an anti-pumping device is to prevent the circuit within the chosen number of shots, ready to respond to further
breaker closing and opening several times in quick succession. fault incidents.
This might be caused by the application of a closing pulse
while the circuit breaker is being tripped via the protection
relays. Alternatively, it may occur if the circuit breaker is

14-11
Protection & Automation Application Guide

14.11 AUTO-CLOSE SCHEMES scheme. The auto-close relay used in practice is a variant of
Auto-close schemes are employed to close automatically circuit one of the standard auto-reclose relays.
breakers that are normally open when the supply network is
healthy. This may occur for a variety of reasons, for instance 14.12 EXAMPLES OF AUTO-RECLOSE
the fault level may be excessive if the CBs were normally APPLICATIONS
closed. The circuits involved are very similar to those used for The following sections describe auto-reclose facilities in
auto-reclosing. Two typical applications are described in the common use for several standard substation configurations.
following sections.
14.12.1 Double Busbar Substation
14.11.1 Standby Transformers A typical double busbar station is shown in Figure 14.8. Each
Figure 14.7 shows a busbar station fed by three transformers, of the six EHV transmission lines brought into the station is
T1, T2 and T3. The loss of one transformer might cause under the control of a circuit breaker, CB1 to CB6 inclusive,
serious overloading of the remaining two. However, and each transmission line can be connected either to the
connection of a further transformer to overcome this may main or to the reserve busbars by manually operated isolators.
increase the fault level to an unacceptable value. Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 Line 5 Line 6

L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6
T1

CB1A I T1
T1 T2 T3 T4 T2
(Standby)
CB2A I T2

CB1 CB2 CB3 CB4 CB5 CB6

Bus C
Main
CB1 CB2 CB3 CB4
with
auto-closing EHV BC
Busbars

Reserve

Figure 14.7: Standby transformer with auto-closing Figure 14.8: Double busbar substation

The solution is to have a standby transformer T4 permanently Bus section isolators enable sections of busbar to be isolated in
energised from the primary side and arranged to be switched the event of a fault and the bus coupler breaker BC permits
into service if one of the others trips on fault. sections of main and reserve bars to be interconnected.

The starting circuits for breaker CB4 monitor the operation of 14.12.1.1 Basic scheme – banked transformers omitted
transformer protection on any of the transformers T1, T2 and
Each line circuit breaker is provided with an auto-reclose relay
T3 together with the tripping of an associated circuit breaker
that recloses the appropriate circuit breakers in the event of a
CB1 - CB3. In the event of a fault, the auto-close circuit is
line fault. For a fault on Line 1, this would require opening of
initiated and circuit breaker CB4 closes, after a short time
CB1 and the corresponding CB at the remote end of the line.
delay, to switch in the standby transformer. Some schemes
The operation of either the busbar protection or a VT Buchholz
employ an auto-tripping relay, so that when the faulty
relay is arranged to lock out the auto-reclosing sequence. In
transformer is returned to service, the standby is automatically
the event of a persistent fault on Line 1, the line circuit
disconnected.
breakers trip and lock out after one attempt at reclosure.
14.11.2 Bus Coupler or Bus Section Breaker
14.12.1.2 Scheme with banked transformers
If all four power transformers are normally in service for the
Some utilities use a variation of the basic scheme in which
system of Figure 14.7, and the bus sections are interconnected
Transformers T1 and T2 are banked off Lines 1 and 2, as
by a normally-open bus section breaker instead of the isolator,
shown in Figure 14.8. This provides some economy in the
the bus section breaker should be auto-closed in the event of
number of circuit breakers required. The corresponding
the loss of one transformer, to spread the load over the
transformer circuits 1 and 2 are tee'd off Lines 1 and 2
remaining transformers. This, of course, is subject to the fault
respectively. The transformer secondaries are connected to a
level being acceptable with the bus-section breaker closed.
separate HV busbar system via circuit breakers CB1A and
Starting and auto-trip circuits are employed as in the stand-by CB2A.

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 Chapter 14 ⋅ Auto-Reclosing

Auto-reclose facilities can be extended to cover the circuits for recloses again, followed by B1, so that both transformers T1
banked transformers where these are used. For example, a and T2 are then supplied from Line 2.
fault on line 1 would cause the tripping of circuit breakers CB1,
A transformer fault causes the automatic opening of the
CB1A and the remote line circuit breaker. When Line 1 is re-
appropriate transformer isolator, lock-out of the transformer
energised, either by auto-reclosure of CB1 or by the remote
secondary circuit breaker and reclosure of circuit breaker 120.
circuit breaker, whichever is set to reclose first, transformer T1
Facilities for dead line charging or reclosure with synchronism
is also energised. CB1A will not reclose until the appearance
check are provided for each circuit breaker.
of transformer secondary voltage, as monitored by the
secondary VT; it then recloses on to the HV busbars after a
14.12.3 Four-Switch Mesh Substation
short time delay, with a synchronism check if required.
The mesh substation shown in Figure 14.10 is extensively used
In the event of a fault on transformer T1, the local and remote by some utilities, either in full or part. The basic mesh has a
line circuit breakers and breaker CB1A trip to isolate the fault. feeder at each corner, as shown at mesh corners MC2, MC3
Automatic opening of the motorised transformer isolator IT1 and MC4. One or two transformers may also be banked at a
follows this. The line circuit breakers then reclose in the mesh corner, as shown at MC1. Mesh corner protection is
normal manner and circuit breaker CB1A locks out. required if more than one circuit is fed from a mesh corner,
A shortcoming of this scheme is that this results in healthy irrespective of the CT locations – see Chapter 15 for more
transformer T1 being isolated from the system; also, isolator details.
L1 must be opened manually before circuit breakers CB1 and
CB1A, can be closed to re-establish supply to the HV busbars G1A G1B

via the transformer. A variant of this scheme is designed to

instruct isolator L1 to open automatically following a persistent T1A T1B

fault on Line 1 and provide a second auto-reclosure of CB1 113A 113B

and CB1A. The supply to Bus C is thereby restored without 103 403

manual intervention. Line 1 MC1 420 MC4 Line 4

Zone covered by
mesh corner
14.12.2 Single Switch Substation 120 protection 320

The arrangement shown in Figure 14.9 consists basically of 203 MC2 MC3 303

two transformer feeders interconnected by a single circuit Line 2 220 Line 3

breaker 120. Each transformer therefore has an alternative Figure 14.10: Four-switch mesh substation
source of supply in the event of loss of one or other of the Considerable problems can are encountered in the application
feeders. of auto-reclosing to the mesh substation. For example, circuit
breakers 120 and 420 in Figure 14.10 are tripped out for a
variety of different types of fault associated with mesh corner 1
103 120 203
Bus A (MC1), and each requires different treatment as far as auto-
EHV Line 1 EHV Line 2 reclosing is concerned. Further variations occur if the faults
113 213
are persistent.
Following normal practice, circuit breakers must be reclosed in
T1 T2 sequence, so sequencing circuits are necessary for the four
mesh breakers. Closing priority may be in any order, but is
normally 120, 220, 320, and 420.
B1 B2
Bus B
A summary of facilities is now given, based on mesh corner
Figure 14.9: Single switch substation MC1 to show the inclusion of banked transformers; facilities at
For example, a transient fault on Line 1 causes tripping of other corners are similar but omit the operation of equipment
circuit breakers 120 and B1 followed by reclosure of CB 120. solely associated with the banked transformers.
If the reclosure is successful, Transformer T1 is re-energised
and circuit breaker B1 recloses after a short time delay. 14.12.3.1 Transient fault on Line 1
Tripping of circuit breakers 120, 420, G1A and G1B is followed
If the line fault is persistent, 120 trips again and the motorised
by reclosure of 120 to give dead line charging of Line 1.
line isolator 103 is automatically opened. Circuit breaker 120

14-13
Protection & Automation Application Guide

Breaker 420 recloses in sequence, with a synchronism check. be energised from each diameter, shown as Line 1 and Line 2.
Breakers G1A, G1B reclose with a synchronism check if It can therefore be seen that the ratio of circuit breakers to
necessary. lines is one-and-a-half, or breaker and a half. The advantage
of such a topology is that it reduces the number of costly
14.12.3.2 Persistent fault on Line 1 circuit breakers required, compared to a double-bus
Circuit breaker 120 trips again after the first reclosure and installation, but also it means that for any line fault, the
isolator 103 is automatically opened to isolate the faulted line. associated protection relay(s) must trip two circuit breakers to
Breakers 120, 420, G1A, and G1B then reclose in sequence as isolate it. Any autoreclose scheme will then need to manage
above. the closure of two breakers (e.g. CB1 and CB2 for reclosing
Line 1).
14.12.3.3 Transformer fault (local transformer 1A) Utilities usually select from one of three typical scheme
Automatic opening of isolator 113A to isolate the faulted philosophies in such a scenario:
transformer follows tripping of circuit breakers 120, 420, G1A
and G1B. Breakers 120, 420 and G1B then reclose in • Autoreclosure of an 'outer' (or 'diameter') breaker,
sequence, and breaker G1A is locked out. leaving the closing of the centre breaker for manual
remote control
14.12.3.4 Transformer fault (remote transformer) • A leader-follower autoreclosing scheme
For a remote transformer fault, an intertrip signal is received at • Autoreclosure of both breakers simultaneously
the local station to trip breakers 120, 420, G1A and G1B and
Bus 1
inhibit auto-reclosing until the faulted transformer has been VT
isolated at the remote station. If the intertrip persists for 60
seconds it is assumed that the fault cannot be isolated at the CB1 x
1
remote station. Isolator 103 is then automatically opened and
circuit breakers 120, 420, G1A and G1B are reclosed in Line 1
sequence. Line VT
CB2 x 3
14.12.3.5 Transient mesh corner fault A/R Relay

Any fault covered by the mesh corner protection zone, shown

Line 2
in Figure 14.10, results in tripping of circuit breakers 120, 420,
G1A and G1B. These are then reclosed in sequence. 1
CB3 x
There may be circumstances in which reclosure onto a VT
persistent fault is not permitted – clearly it is not known in
Bus 2
advance of reclosure if the fault is persistent or not. In these
circumstances, scheme logic inhibits reclosure and locks out Figure 14.11: Breaker and a half example
the circuit breakers. The first option offers re-energisation of the line, but leaves the
final topology restoration task of closing CB2 to the control
14.12.3.6 Persistent mesh corner fault operator.
The sequence described in Section 14.12.3.5 is followed A leader-follower scheme is one whereby just one circuit
initially. When CB 120 is reclosed, it will trip again due to the breaker is reclosed initially (CB1), and then only if this is
fault and lock out. At this point, the logic inhibits the reclosure successful, the second or 'follower' breaker (CB2) is reclosed
of CB’s 420, G1A and G1B and locks out these CBs. Line after a set follower time delay. The advantage here is that for
isolator 103 is automatically opened to isolate the fault from a persistent fault there is only the increased interrupting duty
the remote station. of a switch-on-to-fault trip for a single circuit breaker, not two.
Should a trip and lockout occur for CB1, then CB2 will also be
14.12.4Breaker and a Half Substations driven to lockout. Figure 14.11 shows how a single
A simplistic example of a breaker and a half substation is autoreclose relay, associated with Line 1, can exert control
shown in Figure 14.11. The substation has two busbars, Bus upon both CB1 and CB2 (it shares control of CB2 with the
1 and Bus 2, with lines being energised via a 'diameter' of autoreclose relay for Line 2). It is also important that before
three circuit breakers (CB1, CB2, CB3). Two line circuits can each circuit breaker is closed, the appropriate synchronism

14-14
 Chapter 14 ⋅ Auto-Reclosing

check is made. For this reason, the relay requires two bus
synchronising voltages as inputs, in addition to the three-
phase line VT input shown. CB1 can be permitted to close
only if the voltage checks between Bus 1 and the Line VT are
favourable, CB2 can be permitted to close only if the checks
between Bus 2 and the Line VT are favourable
If a utility opts for a scheme which closes two circuit breakers
simultaneously, the line voltage checks against both bus
voltages need to be satisfied before the relay issues
synchronised closing commands.

14-15
BUSBAR PROTECTION
Chapter 15
BUSBAR PROTECTION

15.1 Introduction 15.1 INTRODUCTION

15.2 Busbar Faults The protection scheme for a power system should cover the
15.3 Protection Requirements whole system against all probable types of fault. Unrestricted
forms of line protection, such as overcurrent and distance
15.4 Types of Protection System systems, meet this requirement, although faults in the busbar
15.5 System Protection Schemes zone are cleared only after some time delay. But if unit protection
is applied to feeders and plant, the busbars are not inherently
15.6 Frame-Earth Protection (Howard protected.
Protection)
Busbars were often left without any specific protection if we go
15.7 Differential Protection Principles back half a century or so, for one or more of the following reasons:
15.8 High Impedance Differential Protection .. busbars and switchgear have a high degree of reliability,
15.9 Low Impedance Biased Differential to the point of being regarded as intrinsically safe
Protection .. it was feared that accidental operation of busbar
protection might cause widespread disruption of the
15.10 Numerical Busbar Protection Schemes
power system, which, if not quickly cleared, would
15.11 Interlocked Overcurrent Busbar Schemes cause more loss than would the very infrequent actual
bus faults
15.12 Reference
.. it was hoped that system protection or back-up
protection would provide sufficient bus protection if
needed
It is true that the risk of a fault occurring on modern metal-clad
gear is very small, but it cannot be entirely ignored. However,
the damage resulting from one uncleared fault, because of
the concentration of fault MVA, may be very extensive indeed,
up to the complete loss of the station by fire. Serious damage
to or destruction of the installation would probably result in
widespread and prolonged supply interruption.
Finally, system protection will frequently not provide the cover
required. Such protection may be good enough for small distri-
bution substations, but not for important stations. Even if distance
protection is applied to all feeders, the busbar will lie in the second
zone of all the distance protections, so a bus fault will be cleared
relatively slowly, and the resultant duration of the voltage dip
imposed on the rest of the system may not be tolerable.
With outdoor switchgear the case is less clear since, although
the likelihood of a fault is higher, the risk of widespread
damage resulting is much less. In general then, busbar
protection is required when the system protection does not

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

stability, high-speed fault clearance is necessary. Unit busbar absolute, the degree of disturbance to which the power system
protection provides this, with the further advantage that if the is likely to be subjected may be increased by the installation of
busbars are sectionalised, one section only need be isolated to bus protection. The possibility of incorrect operation has, in
clear a fault. The case for unit busbar protection is in fact the past, led to hesitation in applying bus protection and has
strongest when there is sectionalisation. also resulted in application of some very complex systems.
Increased understanding of the response of differential systems
15.2 BUSBAR FAULTS to transient currents enables such systems to be applied with
The majority of bus faults involve one phase and earth, but confidence in their fundamental stability. The theory of
faults arise from many causes and a significant number are differential protection is given later in section 15.7.
interphase clear of earth. In fact, a large proportion of busbar Notwithstanding the complete stability of a correctly applied
faults result from human error rather than the failure of protection system, dangers exist in practice for a number of
switchgear components. reasons. These are:
With fully phase-segregated metalclad gear, only earth faults • interruption of the secondary circuit of a current
are possible, and a protection scheme need have earth fault transformer will produce an unbalance, which might
sensitivity only. In other cases, an ability to respond to phase cause tripping on load depending on the relative values
faults clear of earth is an advantage, although the phase fault of circuit load and effective setting. It would certainly
sensitivity need not be very high. do so during a through fault, producing substantial fault
current in the circuit in question
15.3 PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS
• a mechanical shock of sufficient severity may cause
Although not basically different from other circuit protection, operation, although the likelihood of this occurring with
the key position of the busbar intensifies the emphasis put on modern numerical schemes is reduced
the essential requirements of speed and stability. The special
• accidental interference with the relay, arising from a
features of busbar protection are discussed below.
mistake during maintenance testing, may lead to
operation
15.3.1 Speed
Busbar protection is primarily concerned with: In order to maintain the high order of integrity needed for
busbar protection, it is an almost invariable practice to make
• limitation of consequential damage tripping depend on two independent measurements of fault
• removal of busbar faults in less time than could be quantities. Moreover, if the tripping of all the breakers within a
achieved by back-up line protection, with the object of zone is derived from common measuring relays, two separate
maintaining system stability elements must be operated at each stage to complete a
tripping operation.
Some early busbar protection schemes used a low impedance
differential system having a relatively long operation time, of The two measurements may be made by two similar
up to 0.5 seconds. The basis of most modern schemes is a differential systems, or one differential system may be checked
differential system using either low impedance biased or high by a frame-earth system, by earth fault relays energised by
impedance unbiased relays capable of operating in a time of current transformers in the transformer neutral-earth
the order of one cycle at a very moderate multiple of fault conductors or by voltage or overcurrent relays. Alternatively, a
setting. To this must be added the operating time of any frame-earth system may be checked by earth fault relays.
tripping relays, but an overall tripping time of less than two
If two systems of the unit or other similar type are used, they
cycles can be achieved. With high-speed circuit breakers,
should be energised by separate current transformers in the
complete fault clearance may be obtained in approximately 0.1
case of high impedance unbiased differential schemes. The
seconds. When a frame-earth system is used, the operating
duplicate ring CT cores may be mounted on a common
speed is comparable.
primary conductor but independence must be maintained
throughout the secondary circuit.
15.3.2 Stability
In the case of low impedance, biased differential schemes that
The stability of bus protection is of paramount importance.
Bearing in mind the low rate of fault incidence, amounting to cater for unequal ratio CTs, the scheme can be energised from
either one or two separate sets of main current transformers.
no more than an average of one fault per busbar in twenty
The criteria of double feature operation before tripping can be
years, it is clear that unless the stability of the protection is
maintained by the provision of two sets of ratio matching

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 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

interposing CTs per circuit. When multi-contact tripping relays _

are used, these are also duplicated, one being energised from +
each discriminating relay; the contacts of the tripping relay are X Y Trip
circuits
then series-connected in pairs to provide tripping outputs. Y Z

Separate tripping relays, each controlling one breaker only, are Z X

usually preferred. The importance of such relays is then no
Figure 15.1: Two-out-of-three principle
more than that of normal circuit protection, so no duplication
is required at this stage. Not least among the advantages of 15.4 TYPES OF PROTECTION SYSTEM
using individual tripping relays is the simplification of trip
A number of busbar protection systems have been devised:
circuit wiring, compared with taking all trip circuits associated
with a given bus section through a common multi-contact a. system protection used to cover busbars
tripping relay. b. frame-earth protection
In double busbar installations, a separate protection system is c. differential protection
applied to each section of each busbar. An overall check d. phase comparison protection
system is also provided, covering all sections of both busbars.
e. directional blocking protection
The separate zones are arranged to overlap the busbar section
switches, so that a fault on the section switch trips both the Of these, (a) is suitable for small substations only. Type (d) is
adjacent zones. This has sometimes been avoided in the past often seen nowadays only as a supervision check element
by giving the section switch a time advantage; the section within biased differential numerical schemes. Type (e) is
switch is tripped first and the remaining breakers delayed by receiving greater acceptance nowadays when implemented as
0.5 seconds. Only the zone on the faulty side of the section IEC 61850 GOOSE-based schemes using overcurrent relays,
switch will remain operated and trip, the other zone resetting as described in section 15.11. Detailed discussion of types (b)
and retaining that section in service. This gain, applicable only and (c) occupies most of this chapter.
to very infrequent section switch faults, is obtained at the Early forms of biased differential protection for busbars, such
expense of seriously delaying the bus protection for all other as versions of 'Translay' protection and also a scheme using
faults. This practice is therefore not generally favoured. Some harmonic restraint, were superseded by unbiased high
variations are dealt with later under the more detailed scheme impedance differential protection.
descriptions. There are many combinations possible, but the
essential principle is that no single accidental incident of a The relative simplicity of the latter, and more importantly the
secondary nature shall be capable of causing an unnecessary relative ease with which its performance can be calculated,
trip of a bus section. have ensured its success up to the present day.

Security against maloperation is only achieved by increasing But in the 1980’s the advances in semiconductor technology,
the amount of equipment that is required to function to coupled with a more pressing need to be able to accommodate
complete an operation; and this inevitably increases the CTs of unequal ratio, led to the re-introduction of biased
statistical risk that a tripping operation due to a fault may fail. schemes, generally using static relay designs, particularly for
Such a failure, leaving aside the question of consequential the most extensive and onerous applications.
damage, may result in disruption of the power system to an Frame-earth protection systems have been in use for many
extent as great, or greater, than would be caused by an years, mainly associated with smaller busbar protection
unwanted trip. The relative risk of failure of this kind may be schemes at distribution voltages and for metalclad busbars
slight, but it has been thought worthwhile in some instances to (e.g. SF6 insulated busbars). However, it has often been quite
provide a guard in this respect as well. common for a unit protection scheme to be used in addition,
Security of both stability and operation is obtained by providing to provide two separate means of fault detection.
three independent channels (say X, Y and Z) whose outputs The different types of protection are described in the following
are arranged in a ‘two-out-of three’ voting arrangement, as sections.
shown in Figure 15.1.
15.5 SYSTEM PROTECTION SCHEMES
System protection that includes overcurrent or distance
systems will inherently give protection cover to the busbars.
Overcurrent protection will only be applied to relatively simple

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

distribution systems, or as a back-up protection, set to give a Switchgear frame

considerable time delay. Distance protection will provide cover
for busbar faults with its second and possibly subsequent
zones. In both cases the busbar protection obtained is slow
A B C D
and suitable only for limiting the consequential damage.
The only exception is the case of a mesh-connected substation,
in which the current transformers are located at the circuit
breakers. Here, the busbars are included, in sections, in the Frame-Earth
fault relay Neutral
individual zones of the main circuit protection, whether this is check relay
of unit type or not. In the special case when the current
transformers are located on the line side of the mesh, the
I > I >
circuit protection will not cover the busbars in the
instantaneous zone and separate busbar protection, known as
mesh-corner protection, is generally used see section 15.7.2
for details.
+
15.6 FRAME-EARTH PROTECTION (HOWARD Trip all
circuit
PROTECTION) breakers
Frame leakage protection has been extensively used in the past Figure 15.2: Single zone frame-earth protection
in many different situations. There are several variations of No other earth connections of any type, including incidental
frame leakage schemes available, providing busbar protection connections to structural steelwork are allowed. This
schemes with different capabilities. The following sections requirement is so that:
schemes have thus been retained for historical and general
reference purposes. A considerable number of schemes are still • the principal earth connection and current transformer
in service and frame leakage may provide an acceptable are not shunted, thereby raising the effective setting.
solution in particular circumstances. However, the need to An increased effective setting gives rise to the possibility
insulate the switchboard frame and provide cable gland of relay maloperation. This risk is small in practice
insulation and the availability of alternative schemes using • earth current flowing to a fault elsewhere on the system
numerical relays, has contributed to a decline in use of frame cannot flow into or out of the switchgear frame via two
leakage systems. earth connections, as this might lead to a spurious
operation
15.6.1 Single-Busbar Frame-Earth Protection
The switchgear must be insulated as a whole, usually by
This is purely an earth fault system and, in principle, involves standing it on concrete. Care must be taken that the
simply measuring the fault current flowing from the foundation bolts do not touch the steel reinforcement;
switchgear frame to earth. A current transformer is mounted sufficient concrete must be cut away at each hole to permit
on the earthing conductor and is used to energise a simple grouting-in with no risk of touching metalwork. The insulation
instantaneous relay as shown in Figure 15.2. to earth finally achieved will not be high, a value of 10 ohms
being satisfactory.
When planning the earthing arrangements of a frame-leakage
scheme, the use of one common electrode for both the
switchgear frame and the power system neutral point is
preferred, because the fault path would otherwise include the
two earthing electrodes in series. If either or both of these are
of high resistance or have inadequate current carrying
capacity, the fault current may be limited to such an extent
that the protection equipment becomes inoperative. In
addition, if the electrode earthing the switchgear frame is the
offender, the potential of the frame may be raised to a
dangerous value. The use of a common earthing electrode of

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 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

adequate rating and low resistance ensures sufficient current frame is also sub-divided, the sections mutually insulated, and
for scheme operation and limits the rise in frame potential. each provided with a separate earth conductor, current
When the system is resistance earthed, the earthing transformer and relay.
connection from the switchgear frame is made between the
Ideally, the section switch should be treated as a separate
bottom of the earthing resistor and the earthing electrode.
zone, as shown in Figure 15.4, and provided with either a
Figure 15.3 illustrates why a lower limit of 10 ohms insulation separate relay or two secondaries on the frame-leakage
resistance between frame and earth is necessary. current transformer, with an arrangement to trip both adjacent
zones. The individual zone relays trip their respective zone and
Outgoing
feeder Switchgear the section switch.
frame
Switchgear frame Insulation
Frame-leakage bonding bar barriers

current
IF=I1+I2 transformer
Zone G Zone H Zone J
Generator
L
K M

System I >

earthing
Earth resistor
Zone G
bar I >
frame leakage
I1+I2 relay

Zone H
I1 frame leakage
I1 I2 relay

Frame insulation Earthing

resistance to electrode Trip
K L1 L2 M
earth resistance relays

Figure 15.3: Current distribution for external fault Trip K Trip L Trip M

Under external fault conditions, the current IF flows through Figure 15.4: Three zone frame-earth scheme
the frame-leakage current transformer. If the insulation If it is inconvenient to insulate the section switch frame on one
resistance is too low, sufficient current may flow to operate the side, this switch may be included in that zone. It is then
frame-leakage relay, and, as the check feature is unrestricted, necessary to intertrip the other zone after approximately 0.5
this will also operate to complete the trip circuit. The earth seconds if a fault persists after the zone including the section
resistance between the earthing electrode and true earth is switch has been tripped. This is illustrated in Figure 15.5.
seldom greater than 1Ω, so with 10Ω insulation resistance the
current I1 is limited to 10% of the total earth fault current I1
and I2. For this reason, the recommended minimum setting
for the scheme is about 30% of the minimum earth fault
current.
All cable glands must be insulated, to prevent the circulation of
spurious current through the frame and earthing system by
any voltages induced in the cable sheath. Preferably, the gland
insulation should be provided in two layers or stages, with an
interposing layer of metal, to facilitate the testing of the gland
insulation. A test level of 5kV from each side is suitable.

15.6.2 Frame-Earth Protection - Sectioned Busbars

Section 15.6.1 covered the basic requirements for a system to
protect switchgear as a whole. When the busbar is divided
into sections, these can be protected separately, provided the

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

Insulation barriers
Insulation
barrier
Zone J
M
Zone G Zone H
Zone G Zone H
K L
J L g1 j1 h1 j2
K N

Zone H
Zone G Zone H I >
relay
I > I >

Zone G I >
relay
+ _
g1
K

Trip
j1
J K1 K2 L M1
relays

M2
Trip J Trip K Trip L Tripping
relays
Figure 15.5: Frame-earth scheme: bus section breaker insulated on one L1
side only
L2
For the above schemes to function it is necessary to have a
h1
least one infeed or earthed source of supply, and in the latter N
case it is essential that this source of supply be connected to
j2
the side of the switchboard not containing the section switch. G HJ Busbar isolator
Further, if possible, it is preferable that an earthed source of D.C. zone auxiliary switches
supply be provided on both sides of the switchboard, in order bus wires
to ensure that any faults that may develop between the Figure 15.6: Frame-earth scheme for double busbar substation
insulating barrier and the section switch will continue to be fed
with fault current after the isolation of the first half of the 15.6.4 Frame-Earth Protection - Check System
switchboard, and thus allow the fault to be removed. Of the On all but the smallest equipments, a check system should be
two arrangements, the first is the one normally recommended, provided to guard against such contingencies as operation due
since it provides instantaneous clearance of busbar faults on all to mechanical shock or mistakes made by personnel. Faults in
sections of the switchboard. the low voltage auxiliary wiring must also be prevented from
causing operation by passing current to earth through the
15.6.3 Frame-Earth Scheme - Double Bus Substation switchgear frame. A useful check is provided by a relay
It is not generally feasible to separately insulate the metal energised by the system neutral current, or residual current. If
enclosures of the main and auxiliary busbars. Protection is the neutral check cannot be provided, the frame-earth relays
therefore generally provided as for single bus installations, but should have a short time delay.
with the additional feature that circuits connected to the When a check system is used, instantaneous relays can be
auxiliary bus are tripped for all faults, as shown in Figure 15.6. used, with a setting of 30% of the minimum earth fault current
and an operating time at five times setting of 15 milliseconds
or less.
Figure 15.7 shows a frame-leakage scheme for a metalclad
switchgear installation similar to that shown in Figure 15.4
and incorporating a neutral current check obtained from a
suitable zero sequence current source, such as that shown in
Figure 15.2.

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 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

+ Trip relays - isolating switches - one switch per zone - are provided in the
In Out 64A-1 GH 64CH-1 trip supply circuits and an alarm cancellation relay is used.
K
CSS-G 64B-1
15.7 DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION PRINCIPLES
CSS-H L1
The Merz-Price principle is applicable to a multi-terminal zone
such as a busbar. The principle is a direct application of
L2
Kirchhoff's first law. Usually, the circulating current
arrangement is used, in which the current transformers and
M
interconnections form an analogue of the busbar and circuit
L5 connections. A relay connected across the CT bus wires
represents a fault path in the primary system in the analogue
64CH-2 64A-2
I > and hence is not energised until a fault occurs on the busbar; it
64B-2 then receives an input that, in principle at least, represents the
fault current.
74-1
The scheme may consist of a single relay connected to the bus
74-2
wires connecting all the current transformers in parallel, one
In Out L3 set per circuit, associated with a particular zone, as shown in
Figure 15.8(a). This will give earth fault protection for the
L4 busbar. This arrangement has often been thought to be
CSS-G
L3 adequate.

L4 If the current transformers are connected as a balanced group

for each phase together with a three-element relay, as shown
CSS-H
L6 in Figure 15.8(b), additional protection for phase faults can be
obtained.
74 Alarm cancellation relay
CSS Control selector switch protection in/protection out
L3 Busbar protection in service lamp Differential relay
L4 Busbar protection out of service lamp G H J K
L5 Tripping supply healthy lamp
L6 Alarm and indication supply healthy lamp
Id >
Figure 15.7: Typical tripping and alarm circuits for a frame-leakage
scheme

The protection relays used for the discriminating and check

functions are of the attracted armature type, with two
normally open self reset contacts. The tripping circuits cannot
be complete unless both the discriminating and check relays
a) Basic circulating current scheme (earth fault protection only)
operate; this is because the discriminating and check relay
contacts are connected in series. The tripping relays are of the
attracted armature type. G H

It is usual to supervise the satisfactory operation of the

protection scheme with audible and visual alarms and
indications for the following:
A
• busbar faults B
C
• busbar protection in service N

• busbar protection out of service Differential relay Id > Id > Id >

• tripping supply healthy

b) Phase and earth fault circulating current scheme using
• alarm supply healthy three-element relay
Figure 15.8: Circulating current scheme
To enable the protection equipment of each zone to be taken
out of service independently during maintenance periods, The phase and earth fault settings are identical, and this

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

scheme is recommended for its ease of application and good other and also the individual circuit protections. The overlap
performance. should occur across a circuit breaker, so that the latter lies in
both zones. For this arrangement it is necessary to install
15.7.1 Differential Protection for Sectionalised and current transformers on both sides of the circuit breakers,
Duplicate Busbars which is economically possible with many but not all types of
switchgear. With both the circuit and the bus protection
Each section of a divided bus is provided with a separate
circulating current system. The zones so formed are over- current transformers on the same side of the circuit breakers,
the zones may be overlapped at the current transformers, but
lapped across the section switches, so that a fault on the latter
a fault between the CT location and the circuit breaker will not
will trip the two adjacent zones. This is illustrated in Figure
be completely isolated. This matter is important in all
15.9.
switchgear to which these conditions apply, and is particularly
Tripping two zones for a section switch fault can be avoided by important in the case of outdoor switchgear where separately
using the time-delayed technique of section 15.6.2. However mounted, multi-secondary current transformers are generally
instantaneous operation is the preferred choice. used. The conditions are shown in Figure 15.10.

(a) (b)

Zone A Zone B
Bus protection
BS

Fault
BC BC

Zone C
Circuit
protection

a. Current transformers mounted on both sides of breaker

Figure 15.9: Zones of protection for double bus station -no unprotected region
b. Current transformers mounted on circuit side only of breaker
For double bus installation, the two busbars will be treated as -fault shown not cleared by circuit protection
separate zones. The auxiliary busbar zone will overlap the
Figure 15.10: Unprotected zone with current transformers mounted on
appropriate main busbar zone at the bus coupler. one side of the circuit breaker only
Since any circuit may be transferred from one busbar to the Figure 15.10(a) shows the ideal arrangement in which both
other by isolator switches, these and the associated tripping the circuit and busbar zones are overlapped leaving no region
circuit must also be switched to the appropriate zone by 'early of the primary circuit unprotected.
make' and 'late break' auxiliary contacts. This is to ensure that
Figure 15.10(b) shows how mounting all current transformers
when the isolators are closing, the auxiliary switches make
on the circuit side of the breaker results in a small region of the
before the main contacts of the isolator, and that when the
primary circuit unprotected. This unprotected region is
isolators are opened, their main contacts part before the
typically referred to as the ‘short zone’. The fault shown will
auxiliary switches open. The result is that the secondary
cause operation of the busbar protection, tripping the circuit
circuits of the two zones concerned are briefly paralleled while
breaker, but the fault will continue to be fed from the circuit, if
the circuit is being transferred; these two zones have in any
a source of power is present. It is necessary for the bus
case been united through the circuit isolators during the
protection to intertrip the far end of the circuit protection, if the
transfer operation.
latter is of the unit type.
15.7.2 Location of Current Transformers With reference to Figure 15.10(b), special ‘short zone’
Ideally, the separate discriminating zones should overlap each protection can be provided to detect that the circuit breaker

15-8
 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

has opened but that the fault current is still flowing. Under 15.8 HIGH IMPEDANCE DIFFERENTIAL
these conditions, the protection can initiate an intertrip to the PROTECTION
remote end of the circuit. This technique may be used,
This form of protection is still in common use. The
particularly when the circuit includes a generator. In this case
considerations that have to be taken into account are detailed
the intertrip proves that the fault is in the switchgear
in the following sections.
connections and not in the generator; the latter is therefore
tripped electrically but not shut down on the mechanical side
15.8.1 Stability
so as to be immediately ready for further service if the fault can
be cleared. The incidence of fault current with an initial unilateral transient
component causes an abnormal build-up of flux in a current
15.7.2.1 CT locations for mesh-connected substations transformer, as described in section 15.8.2. When through-
fault current traverses a zone protected by a differential
The protection of busbars in mesh connected substations gives
system, the transient flux produced in the current transformers
rise to additional considerations in respect of CT location. A
is not detrimental as long as it remains within the substantially
single mesh corner is shown in Figure 15.11(a). Where only
linear range of the magnetising characteristic. With fault
one connection to the mesh is made at a corner, CTs located
current of appreciable magnitude and long transient time
as shown will provide protection not only to the line but the
constant, the flux density will pass into the saturated region of
corner of the mesh included between them. However, this
the characteristic; this will not in itself produce a spill output
arrangement cannot be used where more than one connection
from a pair of balancing current transformers provided that
is made to a mesh corner. This is because a fault on any of the
these are identical and equally burdened. A group of current
connected circuits would result in disconnection of them all,
transformers, though they may be of the same design, will not
without any means of determining the faulted connection.
be completely identical, but a more important factor is
Protection CTs must therefore be located on each connection,
inequality of burden. In the case of a differential system for a
as shown in Figure 15.11(b). This leaves the corner of the
busbar, an external fault may be fed through a single circuit,
mesh unprotected, so additional CTs and a relay to provide
the current being supplied to the busbar through all other
mesh-corner protection are added, as also shown in Figure
circuits. The faulted circuit is many times more heavily loaded
15.11(b).
than the others and the corresponding current transformers
Mesh corner are likely to be heavily saturated, while those of the other
(Note 1)
circuits are not. Severe unbalance is therefore probable,
which, with a relay of normal burden, could exceed any
acceptable current setting. For this reason such systems were
Line protection at one time always provided with a time delay. This practice
relay
is, however, no longer acceptable.
Note 1: Only 1 connection to the mesh corner permitted It is not feasible to calculate the spill current that may occur,
(a) CT arrangements for protection including mesh corner
but, fortunately, this is not necessary; an alternative approach
provides both the necessary information and the technique
required to obtain a high performance.
An equivalent circuit, as in Figure 15.12, can represent a
Transformer circulating current system.
protection

Mesh corner
(Note 2)

Line
protection

Mesh corner
protection

Note 2: Multiple circuits may be connected to the mesh corner

(b) CT arrangements for protection - additional mesh corner protection required

Figure 15.11: Mesh-corner protection

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

Vf I f ( RLH + RCTH )
IR = =
RR RR
Equation 15.3

or alternatively:
G H
I R RR = V f = I f (RLH + RCTH )
RCTG RLG RLH RCTH Equation 15.4

It is clear that, by increasing RR, the spill current IR can be

RR reduced below any specified relay setting. RR is frequently
increased by the addition of a series-connected resistor which
ZEG ZEH is known as the stabilising resistor.
Id >
It can also be seen from Equation 15.4 that it is only the
voltage drop in the relay circuit at setting current that is
Figure 15.12: Equivalent circuit of circulating current system important. The relay can be designed as a voltage measuring
device consuming negligible current; and provided its setting
The current transformers are replaced in the diagram by ideal voltage exceeds the value Vf of Equation 15.4, the system will
current transformers feeding an equivalent circuit that
be stable. In fact, the setting voltage need not exceed Vf, since
represents the magnetising losses and secondary winding
the derivation of Equation 15.4 involves an extreme condition
resistance, and also the resistance of the connecting leads.
of unbalance between the G and H current transformers that is
These circuits can then be interconnected as shown, with a
not completely realised. So a safety margin is built-in if the
relay connected to the junction points to form the complete
voltage setting is made equal to Vf.
equivalent circuit.
It is necessary to realise that the value of If to be inserted in
Saturation has the effect of lowering the exciting impedance,
Equation 15.4 is the complete function of the fault current and
and is assumed to take place severely in current transformer H
the spill current IR through the relay, in the limiting condition,
until, at the limit, the shunt impedance becomes zero and the
will be of the same form. If the relay requires more time to
CT can produce no output. This condition is represented by a
operate than the effective duration of the d.c. transient
short circuit, shown in broken line, across the exciting
component, or has been designed with special features to
impedance. It should be noted that this is not the equivalent
block the d.c. component, then this factor can be ignored and
of a physical short circuit, since it is behind the winding
only the symmetrical value of the fault current need be entered
resistance RCTH.
in Equation 15.4. If the relay setting voltage, VS , is made
Applying the Thévenin method of solution, the voltage equal to Vf, that is, If (RL + RCT), an inherent safety factor of
developed across the relay will be given by: the order of two will exist.
V f = I f (RLH + RCTH ) In the case of a faster relay, capable of operating in one cycle
and with no special features to block the d.c. component, it is
Equation 15.1
the r.m.s. value of the first offset wave that is significant. This
The current through the relay is given by: value, for a fully offset waveform with no d.c. decrement, is
Vf I f ( RLH + RCTH ) √3If. If settings are then chosen in terms of the symmetrical
IR = = component of the fault current, the √3 factor which has been
RR + RLH + RCTH RR + RLH + RCTH ignored will take up most of the basic safety factor, leaving
Equation 15.2 only a very small margin.
If RR is small, IR will approximate to If, which is unacceptable. Finally, if a truly instantaneous relay were used, the relevant
On the other hand, if RR is large IR is reduced. Equation 15.2 value of If would be the maximum offset peak. In this case,
can be written, with little error, as follows: the factor has become less than unity, possibly as low as 0.7.
It is therefore possible to rewrite Equation 15.4 as:

15-10
 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

K × VS converted to the primary operating current by multiplying by

I SL = the turns ratio of the current transformers. The operating
RL + RCT
current so determined should be considered in terms of the
Equation 15.5 conditions of the application.
where: For a phase and earth fault scheme the setting can be based
ISL = stability limit of scheme on the fault current to be expected for minimum plant and
maximum system outage conditions. However, it should be
VS = relay circuit voltage setting remembered that:
RL + RCT = lead + CT winding resistance • phase-phase faults give only 86% of the three-phase
K = factor depending on relay design (range 0.7 - 2.0) fault current

It remains to be shown that the setting chosen is suitable in • fault arc resistance and earth path resistance reduce
section 15.8.2. fault currents somewhat
• a reasonable margin should be allowed to ensure that
The current transformers will have an excitation curve which
relays operate quickly and decisively
has not so far been related to the relay setting voltage, the
latter being equal to the maximum nominal voltage drop It is desirable that the primary effective setting should not
across the lead loop and the CT secondary winding resistance, exceed 30% of the prospective minimum fault current.
with the maximum secondary fault current flowing through
In the case of a scheme exclusively for earth fault protection,
them. Under in-zone fault conditions it is necessary for the
the minimum earth fault current should be considered, taking
current transformers to produce sufficient output to operate
into account any earthing impedance that might be present as
the relay. This will be achieved provided the CT knee-point
well. Furthermore, in the event of a double phase to earth
voltage exceeds the relay setting. In order to cater for errors, it
fault, regardless of the inter-phase currents, only 50% of the
is usual to specify that the current transformers should have a
system e.m.f. is available in the earth path, causing a further
knee-point e.m.f. of at least twice the necessary setting
reduction in the earth fault current. The primary operating
voltage; a higher multiple is of advantage in ensuring a high
current must therefore be not greater than 30% of the
speed of operation.
minimum single-phase earth fault current.

15.8.2 Effective Setting or Primary Operating Current In order to achieve high-speed operation, it is desirable that
settings should be still lower, particularly in the case of the
The minimum primary operating current is a further criterion
solidly earthed power system. The transient component of the
of the design of a differential system. The secondary effective
setting is the sum of the relay minimum operating current and fault current in conjunction with unfavourable residual flux in
the CT can cause a high degree of saturation and loss of
the excitation losses in all parallel connected current
output, possibly leading to a delay of several cycles additional
transformers, whether carrying primary current or not. This
summation should strictly speaking be vectorial, but is usually to the natural operating time of the element. This will not
done arithmetically. It can be expressed as: happen to any large degree if the fault current is a larger
multiple of setting; for example, if the fault current is five times
I R = I S + nI eS the scheme primary operating current and the CT knee-point
e.m.f. is three times the relay setting voltage, the additional
Equation 15.6
delay is unlikely to exceed one cycle.
where:
The primary operating current is sometimes designed to
IR = effective setting exceed the maximum expected circuit load in order to reduce
IS = relay circuit setting current the possibility of false operation under load current as a result
of a broken CT lead. Desirable as this safeguard may be, it will
IeS = CT excitation current at relay voltage setting be seen that it is better not to increase the effective current
n = number of parallel connected CTs setting too much, as this will sacrifice some speed; the check
feature in any case, maintains stability.
Having established the relay setting voltage from stability
considerations, as shown in section 15.8.1, and knowing the An overall earth fault scheme for a large distribution board
excitation characteristic of the current transformers, the may be difficult to design because of the large number of
effective setting can be computed. The secondary setting is current transformers paralleled together, which may lead to an

15-11
Protection & Automation Application Guide

excessive setting. It may be advantageous in such a case to +

In Out 87M1-1 M1 M2 R 87CH-1
96
provide a three-element phase and earth fault scheme, mainly CSS-M1 87M2-1
D1
96
to reduce the number of current transformers paralleled into CSS-M2 87R-1
a1 D2
96
E
one group. CSS-R
c1
96
F1
96
Extra-high-voltage substations usually present no such b1 F2
96
c2 G
problem. Using the voltage-calibrated relay, the current 96
H1
consumption can be very small. A simplification can be 96
H2
D.C. Buswires
achieved by providing one relay per circuit, all connected to the 80
T

CT paralleling buswires. This enables the trip circuits to be 87CH-2 87M1-2

30
M1
confined to the least area and reduces the risk of accidental 87M2-2
30
M2
87R-2
operation. 95M1-1 95
30
R
95M2-1 M1X
95
95R-1 M2X
15.8.3 Check Feature
95
95CH-1 RX
95
30M1-1 CHX
Schemes for earth faults only can be checked by a frame-earth 30M2-1 74-1
74

30R-1 74-2
system, applied to the switchboard as a whole, no subdivision 95M1X-1

being necessary. 95RX-1

95M2X-1

95CHX-1
For phase fault schemes, the check will usually be a similar In Out L1
type of scheme applied to the switchboard as a single overall L2

zone. A set of current transformers separate from those used CSS-M1 L1

in the discriminating zones should be provided. No CT L2

CSS-M2
switching is required and no current transformers are needed L1
L2
for the check zone in bus-coupler and bus-section breakers. CSS-R 80
I
30 Zone indicating relay 95X Zone bus wires shorting relay
74 Alarm cancellation relay CSS Control selector switch
15.8.4 Supervision of CT Secondary Circuits 80 D.C. volts supervision relay L1 Indicating lamp protection in service
87 High impedance circulating current relay L2 Indicating lamp protection out of service
Any interruption of a CT secondary circuit up to the paralleling 95 Bus wires supervision relay

interconnections will cause an unbalance in the system, Figure 15.13: D.C. circuits for high impedance circulating current
scheme
equivalent to the load being carried by the relevant primary
circuit. Even though this degree of spurious output is below
the effective setting the condition cannot be ignored, since it is
likely to lead to instability under any through fault condition.
Supervision can be carried out to detect such conditions by
connecting a sensitive alarm relay across the bus wires of each
zone. For a phase and earth fault scheme, an internal three-
phase rectifier can be used to effect a summation of the bus
wire voltages on to a single alarm element; see Figure 15.14
and Figure 15.13.
The alarm relay is set so that operation does not occur with the
protection system healthy under normal load. Subject to this
proviso, the alarm relay is made as sensitive as possible; the
desired effective setting is 125 primary amperes or 10% of the
lowest circuit rating, whichever is the greater.
Since a relay of this order of sensitivity is likely to operate
during through faults, a time delay, typically of three seconds,
is applied to avoid unnecessary alarm signals.

15-12
 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

Zone R

c1 c2

D H

Zone M1 Zone M2
a1 b1
E F G

c1 c2
a1 b1

Zone M1 A
Bus wires B
C
A
B Zone M2
C Bus wires
Zone R A
B
Bus wires C
N
A
Check zone B
Bus wires C
N
95 CHX-2
95 CHX-3

Zone R relay Zone M1 relay 95 CHX-4 Zone M2 relay

same as check same as check same as check

M1 First main busbar + Stabilising Resistor

M2 Second main busbar _ 95
R Reserve busbar CH v v v
High Impedance
Id Id Id Circulating Current
Supervision Relay
Relay Metrosil
(non-linear resistor)
Figure 15.14: A.C. circuits for high impedance circulating current panel and the bus section-switch marshalling cubicle. The
scheme for duplicate busbars reserve bar zone and the check zone relays will be connected
together by a cable running to the bus coupler circuit breaker
15.8.5 Arrangement of CT Connections marshalling cubicle. It is possible that special circumstances
It is shown in Equation 15.4 how the setting voltage for a involving onerous conditions may over-ride this convenience
given stability level is directly related to the resistance of the CT and make connection to some other part of the ring desirable.
secondary leads. This should therefore be kept to a practical
Connecting leads will usually be not less than 7/0.67mm
minimum. Taking into account the practical physical laying of
(2.5mm2), but for large sites or in other difficult circumstances
auxiliary cables, the CT bus wires are best arranged in the form
of a ring around the switchgear site. it may be necessary to use cables of, for example 7/1.04mm
(6mm2) for the bus wire ring and the CT connections to it.
In a double bus installation, the CT leads should be taken The cable from the ring to the relay need not be of the larger
directly to the isolator selection switches. The usual section.
arrangement of cables on a double bus site is as follows:
When the reserve bar is split by bus section isolators and the
• current transformers to marshalling kiosk two portions are protected as separate zones, it is necessary to
• marshalling kiosk to bus selection isolator auxiliary common the bus wires by means of auxiliary contacts, thereby
switches making these two zones into one when the section isolators
• interconnections between marshalling kiosks to form a are closed.
closed ring
15.8.6 Summary of Practical Details
The relay for each zone is connected to one point of the ring
This section provides a summary of practical considerations
bus wire. For convenience of cabling, the main zone relays
when implementing a high-impedance busbar protection
will be connected through a multicore cable between the relay

15-13
Protection & Automation Application Guide

scheme. advantageous to keep the secondary fault current low; this is

done by making the CT turns ratio high. It is common practice
15.8.6.1 Designed stability level to use current transformers with a secondary rating of 1A.
For normal circumstances, the stability level should be It can be shown that there is an optimum turns ratio for the
designed to correspond to the switchgear rating; even if the current transformers; this value depends on all the application
available short-circuit power in the system is much less than parameters but is generally about 2000/1. Although a lower
this figure, it can be expected that the system will be developed ratio, for instance 400/1, is often employed, the use of the
up to the limit of rating. optimum ratio can result in a considerable reduction in the
physical size of the current transformers.
15.8.6.2 Current transformers
Current transformers must have identical turns ratios, but a 15.8.6.7 Peak voltage developed by current transformers
turns error of one in 400 is recognised as a reasonable Under in-zone fault conditions, a high impedance relay
manufacturing tolerance. Also, they should preferably be of constitutes an excessive burden to the current transformers,
similar design; where this is not possible the magnetising leading to the development of a high voltage; the voltage
characteristics should be reasonably matched. waveform will be highly distorted but the peak value may be
Current transformers for use with high impedance protection many times the nominal saturation voltage.
schemes should meet the requirements of Class PX of IEC When the burden resistance is finite although high, an
60044-1. approximate formula for the peak voltage is:

15.8.6.3 Setting voltage V p = 2 2 VK (VF − VK )

The setting voltage is given by the equation:
Equation 15.7
VS ≥ I f (RL + RCT ) where:
where: Vp = peak Voltage developed
If = Steady state through fault current VK = saturation Voltage
VS = relay circuit voltage setting VF = prospective Voltage in absence of saturation
RL = CT lead loop resistance This formula does not hold for the open circuit condition and is
inaccurate for very high burden resistances that approximate
RCT = CT secondary winding resistance
to an open circuit, because simplifying assumptions used in
the derivation of the formula are not valid for the extreme
15.8.6.4 Knee-point voltage of current transformers
condition.
This is given by the formula:
Another approach applicable to the open circuit secondary
VK ≥ 2VS condition is:

15.8.6.5 Effective setting (secondary) If

Vp = 2 VK
The effective setting of the relay is given by: I ek
I R = I S + nI eS Equation 15.8

where: where:

IS = relay circuit setting current If = fault current

IeS = CT excitation current at relay voltage setting Iek = exciting current at knee-point voltage

n = number of parallel connected CTs Vk = knee-point voltage

Any burden connected across the secondary will reduce the
For the primary fault setting multiply IR by the CT turns ratio.
voltage, but the value cannot be deduced from a simple
15.8.6.6 Current transformer secondary rating combination of burden and exciting impedances.

It is clear from Equation 15.4 and Equation 15.6 that it is These formulae are therefore to be regarded only as a guide to

15-14
 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

the possible peak voltage. With large current transformers, through current bias feature alone, but is enhanced by the
particularly those with a low secondary current rating, the addition of a stabilising resistor, having a value which may be
voltage may be very high, above a suitable insulation voltage. calculated as follows.
The voltage can be limited without detriment to the scheme by
The through current will increase the effective relay minimum
connecting a ceramic non-linear resistor in parallel with the
operating current for a biased relay as follows:
relay having a characteristic given by:
I R = I S + BI F
V = CI β
where:
where C is a constant depending on dimensions and β is a
constant in the range 0.2 - 0.25. IR = effective minimum operating current
The current passed by the non-linear resistor at the relay IS = relay setting current
voltage setting depends on the value of C; in order to keep the IF = through fault current
shunting effect to a minimum it is recommended to use a non-
linear resistor with a value of C of 450 for relay voltages up to B = percentage restraint
175V and one with a value of C of 900 for setting voltages up As IF is generally much greater than IS, the relay effective
to 325V. current, IR = BIF approximately.

15.8.6.8 High impedance relay From Equation 15.4, the value of stabilising resistor is given
by:
Instantaneous attracted armature relays or numeric relays that
mimic the high impedance function are used. Simple fast- I F (RLH + RCTH ) (RLH + RCTH )
operating relays would have a low safety factor constant in the RR = =
IR B
stability equation, Equation 15.5, as discussed in section
15.8.1. The performance is improved by series-tuning the It is interesting to note that the value of the stabilising
relay coil, thereby making the circuit resistive in effect. resistance is independent of current level, and that there would
Inductive reactance would tend to reduce stability, whereas appear to be no limit to the through fault stability level. This
the action of capacitance is to block the unidirectional has been identified [15.1] as ‘The Principle of Infinite Stability’.
transient component of fault current and so raise the stability
The stabilising resistor still constitutes a significant burden on
constant.
the current transformers during internal faults.
An alternative technique used in some relays is to apply the
An alternative technique, used by biased differential schemes
limited spill voltage principle shown in Equation 15.4. A tuned
such as the MBCZ system described in section 15.9.6, is to
element is connected via a plug bridge to a chain of resistors;
block the differential measurement during the portion of the
and the relay is calibrated in terms of voltage.
cycle that a current transformer is saturated. If this is achieved
by momentarily short-circuiting the differential path, a very
15.9 LOW IMPEDANCE BIASED DIFFERENTIAL
low burden is placed on the current transformers. In this way
PROTECTION the differential circuit of the relay is prevented from responding
The principles of low impedance differential protection have to the spill current.
been described in section 10.4.2, including the principle
It must be recognised though that the use of any technique for
advantages to be gained by the use of a bias technique. Most
inhibiting operation, to improve stability performance for
modern busbar protection schemes use this technique.
through faults, must not be allowed to diminish the ability of
The principles of a check zone, zone selection, and tripping the relay to respond to internal faults.
arrangements can still be applied. Current transformer
secondary circuits are not switched directly by isolator contacts 15.9.2 Effective Setting or Primary Operating Current
but instead by isolator repeat relays after a secondary stage of For an internal fault, and with no through fault current flowing,
current transformation. These switching relays form a replica the effective setting IR is raised above the basic relay setting IS
of the busbar within the protection and provide the complete by whatever biasing effect is produced by the sum of the CT
selection logic. magnetising currents flowing through the bias circuit. With low
impedance biased differential schemes particularly where the
15.9.1 Stability busbar installation has relatively few circuits, these magnetising
With some biased relays, the stability is not assured by the

15-15
Protection & Automation Application Guide

currents may be negligible, depending on the value of IS. current that is just greater than the maximum load current, to
prevent the busbar protection from operating spuriously from
The basic relay setting current was formerly defined as the
load current should a secondary circuit wiring fault develop.
minimum current required solely in the differential circuit to
This consideration is particularly important where the check
cause operation – Figure 15.15(a). This approach simplified
feature is either not used or is fed from common main CTs.
analysis of performance, but was considered to be unrealistic,
as in practice any current flowing in the differential circuit
15.9.3 Check Feature
must flow in at least one half of the relay bias circuit causing
the practical minimum operating current always to be higher For some low impedance schemes, only one set of main CTs is
than the nominal basic setting current. As a result, a later required. This seems to contradict the general principle of all
definition, as shown in Figure 15.15(b) was developed. busbar protection systems with a check feature that complete
duplication of all equipment is required, but it is claimed that
Conversely, it needs to be appreciated that applying the later the spirit of the checking principle is met by making operation
definition of relay setting current, which flows through at least of the protection dependent on two different criteria such as
half the bias circuit, the notional minimum operation current in directional and differential measurements.
the differential circuit alone is somewhat less, as shown in
Figure 15.15(b). In the MBCZ scheme, described in section 15.9.6, the
provision of auxiliary CTs as standard for ratio matching also
Using the definition presently applicable, the effective provides a ready means for introducing the check feature
minimum primary operating current duplication at the auxiliary CTs and onwards to the relays.
[
= N I s + B ∑ I es ] This may be an attractive compromise when only one set of
main CTs is available.
Where N = CT ratio
Iop Iop
15.9.4 Supervision of CT Secondary Circuits
In low impedance schemes the integrity of the CT secondary
circuits can also be monitored. A current operated auxiliary
) IS ) relay, or element of the main protection equipment, may be
(B% (B%
e e
IS s Lin I’S s Lin applied to detect any unbalanced secondary currents and give
Bia Bia
an alarm after a time delay. For optimum discrimination, the
IB IB
current setting of this supervision relay must be less than that
IB IS of the main differential protection.
In modern busbar protection schemes, the supervision of the
IS
secondary circuits typically forms only a part of a
comprehensive supervision facility.

15.9.5 Arrangement of CT connections

I= I S + BI B It is a common modern requirement of low impedance
R IR = IS
 B schemes that none of the main CT secondary circuits should
= I 's 1 + 
 2 be switched, in the previously conventional manner, to match
the switching of primary circuit isolators.
(a) Superseded definition (b) Current definition
Figure 15.15: Definitions of relay setting current for biased relays The usual solution is to route all the CT secondary circuits back
to the protection panel or cubicle to auxiliary CTs. It is then
Unless the minimum effective operating current of a scheme
the secondary circuits of the auxiliary CTs that are switched as
has been raised deliberately to some preferred value, it will
necessary. So auxiliary CTs may be included for this function
usually be determined by the check zone, when present, as the
even when the ratio matching is not in question.
latter may be expected to involve the greatest number of
current transformers in parallel. A slightly more onerous In static protection equipment it is undesirable to use isolator
condition may arise when two discriminating zones are auxiliary contacts directly for the switching without some form
coupled, transiently or otherwise, by the closing of primary of insulation barrier. Position transducers that follow the
isolators. opening and closing of the isolators may provide the latter.
It is generally desirable to attain an effective primary operating Alternatively, a simpler arrangement may be provided on

15-16
 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

multiple busbar systems where the isolators switch the Zone 1 Zone 2
auxiliary current transformer secondary circuits via auxiliary
relays within the protection. These relays form a replica of the Zone 3b
Zone 3a
busbar and perform the necessary logic. It is therefore
necessary to route all the current transformer secondary
circuits to the relay to enable them to be connected into this
busbar replica.
Check
Z3b Feeder 4 zone Bus coupler 2
Some installations have only one set of current transformers Bus coupler 1 Feeder 1 Z1 Z3a Feeder 2 Bus section Feeder 3 Z2

available per circuit. Where the facility of a check zone is still

required, this can still be achieved with the low impedance
biased protection by connecting the auxiliary current Intermodule plug-in buswire connections
transformers at the input of the main and check zones in Figure 15.17: Type MBCZ busbar protection showing correlation
series, as shown in Figure 15.16. between circuit breakers and protection modules

The modules are interconnected via a multicore cable that is

plugged into the back of the modules. There are five main
groups of buswires, allocated for:
Main zone Main zone
• protection for main busbar
• protection for reserve busbar
• protection for the transfer busbar. When the reserve
Check zone Check zone busbar is also used as a transfer bar then this group of
buswires is used
• auxiliary connections used by the protection to combine
Figure 15.16: Alternative CT connections modules for some of the more complex busbar
configurations
15.9.6 Low Impedance Biased Differential Protection • protection for the check zone
- Type MBCZ
One extra module, not shown in this diagram, is plugged into
Numerical schemes are now prevalent in the majority of new
the multicore bus. This is the alarm module, which contains
busbar protection installations. However, in order to
the common alarm circuits and the bias resistors. The power
appreciate the historical installed base, and due to the
supplies are also fed in through this module.
similarity of the basic operating principles, this section now
considers a static scheme example – the MBCZ. 15.9.6.1 Bias
The Type MBCZ scheme conforms in general to the principles All zones of measurement are biased by the total current
outlined earlier and comprises a system of standard modules flowing to or from the busbar system via the feeders. This
that can be assembled to suit a particular busbar installation. ensures that all zones of measurement will have similar fault
Additional modules can be added at any time as the busbar is sensitivity under all load conditions. The bias is derived from
extended. the check zone and fixed at 20% with a characteristic generally
A separate module is used for each circuit breaker and also one as shown in Figure 15.15(b). Thus some ratio mismatch is
for each zone of protection. In addition to these there is a tolerable.
common alarm module and a number of power supply units.
Ratio correction facilities are provided within each differential
15.9.6.2 Stability with saturated current transformers
module to accommodate a wide range of CT mismatch. The traditional method for stabilising a differential relay is to
add a resistor to the differential path. Whilst this improves
Figure 15.17 shows the correlation between the circuit stability it increases the burden on the current transformer for
breakers and the protection modules for a typical double
internal faults. The technique used in the MBCZ scheme
busbar installation.
overcomes this problem.
The MBCZ design detects when a CT is saturated and short-
circuits the differential path for the portion of the cycle for

15-17
Protection & Automation Application Guide

which saturation occurs. The resultant spill current does not

Main zone Check zone
then flow through the measuring circuit and stability is
S1 D1 S1 D1
assured.
+ ve Trip
S2 D2 S2 D2
This principle allows a very low impedance differential circuit
to be developed that will operate successfully with relatively
small CTs.
Figure 15.19: Busbar protection trip logic
15.9.6.3 Operation for internal faults
If the CTs carrying fault current are not saturated there will be 15.9.6.5 Master/follower measuring units
ample current in the differential circuit to operate the When two sections of a busbar are connected together by
differential relay quickly for fault currents exceeding the isolators it will result in two measuring elements being
minimum operating level, which is adjustable between 20% - connected in parallel when the isolators are closed to operate
200% rated current. the two busbar sections as a single bar. The fault current will
then divide between the two measuring elements in the ratio
When the only CT(s) carrying internal fault current become
of their impedances. If both of the two measuring elements
saturated, it might be supposed that the CT saturation
are of low and equal impedance the effective minimum
detectors may completely inhibit operation by short-circuiting
operating current of the scheme will be doubled.
the differential circuit. However, the resulting inhibit pulses
remove only an insignificant portion of the differential current, This is avoided by using a 'master/follower' arrangement. By
so operation of the relay is therefore virtually unaffected. making the impedance of one of the measuring elements very
much higher than the other it is possible to ensure that one of
15.9.6.4 Discrepancy alarm feature the relays retains its original minimum operation current.
As shown in Figure 15.18, each measuring module contains Then to ensure that both the parallel-connected zones are
duplicated biased differential elements and also a pair of tripped the trip circuits of the two zones are connected in
supervision elements, which are a part of a comprehensive parallel. Any measuring unit can have the role of 'master' or
supervision facility. 'follower' as it is selectable by means of a switch on the front
of the module.
c = check
Supervision m = main
Current
r = reserve
t = transfer
15.9.6.6 Transfer tripping for breaker failure
Buswire =1 ≥1

Selection CT Fault
Alarm
Serious damage may result, and even danger to life, if a circuit
Links
c
Supervision OR
Trip
breaker fails to open when called upon to do so. To reduce this
Differential

m Enable
≥1 Buswire risk breaker fail protection schemes were developed some
r Selection
t Biased
Protection
fault
Links
Trip
years ago.
Differential c
Enable m These schemes are generally based on the assumption that if
Bias =1 ≥1
r current is still flowing through the circuit breaker a set time
Biased
Differential Trip
t
after the trip command has been issued, then it has failed to
function. The circuit breakers in the next stage back in the
Out of service system are then automatically tripped.
Figure 15.18: Block diagram of measuring unit
For a bus coupler or section breaker this would involve tripping
This arrangement provides supervision of CT secondary circuits all the infeeds to the adjacent zone, a facility that is included in
for both open circuit conditions and any impairment of the the busbar protection scheme.
element to operate for an internal fault, without waiting for an
actual system fault condition to show this up. For a zone to 15.10 NUMERICAL BUSBAR PROTECTION
operate it is necessary for both the differential supervision SCHEMES
element and the biased differential element to operate. For a
The application of numeric relay technology to busbar
circuit breaker to be tripped it requires the associated main
protection has become the preferred solution, overtaking the
zone to be operated and also the overall check zone, as shown
use of static. The very latest developments in the technology
in Figure 15.19.
can be included, such as extensive use of a data bus to link the
various units involved, and fault tolerance against loss of a

15-18
 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

particular link by providing multiple communications paths. The feeder units have responsibility for collecting the required
The development process has been very rigorous, because the data, such as voltages and currents, and processing it into
requirements for busbar protection in respect of immunity to digital form for onwards transmission to the central processing
maloperation are very high. unit. Modelling of the CT response is included, to eliminate
errors caused by effects such as CT saturation. Disturbance
A philosophy that can be adopted is one of distributed
recording for the monitored feeder is implemented, for later
processing of the measured values, as shown in Figure 15.20.
download as required. Because each feeder unit is concerned
Feeders each have their own processing unit, which collects
only with an individual feeder, the differential protection
together information on the state of the feeder (currents,
algorithms must reside in the central processing unit.
voltages, CB and isolator status, etc.) and communicates it
over high-speed fibre-optic data links to a central processing The differential protection algorithm can be much more
unit. For large substations, more than one central processing sophisticated than with earlier technology, due to
unit may be used, while in the case of small installations, all of improvements in processing power. In addition to calculating
the units can be co-located, leading to the appearance of a the sum of the measured currents, the algorithm can also
traditional centralised architecture. evaluate differences between successive current samples, since
a large change above a threshold may indicate a fault – the
Feeder 1 Feeder 2
threshold being chosen such that normal load changes, apart
CT CT CT CT from inrush conditions do not exceed the threshold. The same
DFU CB DFU CB DFU CB CB considerations can also be applied to the phase angles of
currents, and incremental changes in them.
Fibre optic link
Personal CFU
One advantage gained from the use of numerical technology is
Computer
Central Processing Unit the ability to easily re-configure the protection to cater for
CU
System Communication Network changes in configuration of the substation. For example,
addition of an extra feeder involves the addition of an extra
DFU: Distributed Feeder Unit
CFU: Central Feeder Unit feeder unit, the fibre-optic connection to the central unit and
Figure 15.20: Architecture for numerical protection scheme entry via the HMI of the new configuration into the central
processor unit. Figure 15.21 illustrates the latest numerical
For simple feeders, interface units at a bay may be used with
technology employed.
the data transmitted to a single centrally located feeder
processing unit. The central processing unit performs the
calculations required for the protection functions. Available
protection functions are:
• protection
• backup overcurrent protection
• breaker failure
• dead zone protection (alternatively referred to as ‘short
zone’ protection - see section 15.7.2)
In addition, monitoring functions such as CB and isolator
monitoring, disturbance recording and transformer supervision
are provided.
Because of the distributed topology used, synchronisation of
the measurements taken by the Feeder Units is of vital
importance. A high stability numerically-controlled oscillator is
fitted in each of the central and feeder units, with time
synchronisation between them. In the event of loss of the
synchronisation signal, the high stability of the oscillator in the
affected feeder unit(s) enables processing of the incoming data
to continue without significant errors until synchronisation can
be restored.

15-19
Protection & Automation Application Guide

relays, many of the functions of which are performed

internally within the software algorithms
• numerical schemes include sophisticated monitoring
features which provide alarm facilities if the scheme is
faulty. In certain cases, simulation of the scheme
functions can be performed on line from the CT inputs
through to the tripping outputs and thus scheme
functions can be checked on a regular basis to ensure a
full operational mode is available at all times
Reliability analyses using fault tree analysis methods have
examined issues of dependability (i.e. the ability to operate
when required) and security (i.e. the ability not to provide
spurious/indiscriminate operation). These analyses have
shown that:
• dependability of numerical schemes is better than
conventional high impedance schemes
• security of numerical and conventional high impedance
schemes are comparable
In addition, an important feature of numerical schemes is the
in-built monitoring system. This considerably improves the
potential availability of numerical schemes compared to
Figure 15.21: Busbar protection relay using the latest numerical conventional schemes as faults within the equipment and its
technology (MiCOM P740 range)
operational state can be detected and alarmed. With the
15.10.1 Reliability Considerations conventional scheme, failure to re-instate the scheme correctly
after maintenance may not be detected until the scheme is
In considering the introduction of numerical busbar protection required to operate. In this situation, its effective availability is
schemes, users have been concerned with reliability issues zero until it is detected and repaired.
such as security and availability. Conventional high impedance
schemes have been one of the main protection schemes used 15.11 INTERLOCKED OVERCURRENT BUSBAR
for busbar protection. The basic measuring element is simple
SCHEMES
in concept and has few components. Calculation of stability
limits and other setting parameters is straightforward and Dedicated busbar protection, such as high impedance or
scheme performance can be predicted without the need for biased differential, is commonplace for transmission and
costly testing. Practically high impedance schemes have subtransmission systems. This ensures fast fault clearance,
proved to be a very reliable form of protection. operating subcycle in some cases. The situation is a little
different for distribution substations, where utilities take into
In contrast, modern numerical schemes are more complex account the large number of stations, the large number of
with a much greater range of facilities and a higher feeder circuits, and may wish to consider an economical
component count. Based on low impedance bias techniques, alternative solution.
and with a greater range of facilities to set, setting calculations
can also be more complex. Interlocked overcurrent schemes, also described as ‘busbar
blocking’ or ‘zone sequence interlocking’ schemes can offer
However studies of the comparative reliability of conventional that economical alternative. The advantage is that the busbar
high impedance schemes and modern numerical schemes protection requires no dedicated relay(s) to be installed, as it is
have shown that assessing relative reliability is not quite so configured to operate using logic facilities already available in
simple as it might appear. The numerical scheme has two the feeder manager overcurrent relays installed on the
advantages over its older counterpart: incoming and outgoing feeders. As feeder protection must in
• there is a reduction in the number of external any case be installed for all circuits emanating from the
components such as switching and other auxiliary busbar, the only additional cost to configure the busbar
protection is to design and install the means for the individual

15-20
 Chapter 15 ⋅ Busbar Protection

relays to communicate peer-to-peer with each other.

Figure 15.22 shows a simple single incomer substation on a
radial system, with four outgoing feeders. It can be
appreciated that for any downstream fault, whether external to
the substation, or in-zone on the busbar, the incoming feeder
relay will detect the flow of fault current. The level of fault
current can be similar, thus on the basis of overcurrent or
earth fault detection alone, the incoming feeder relay cannot
discriminate whether the fault is in-zone and requires a trip, or
whether it is external (and tripping only by the correct outgoing
feeder relay is required). Figure 15.23: High-set bus-zone tripping: element
co-ordination

The definite time delay - ‘time to block’ - will often be of the

order of 50 to 100ms, meaning that the operating time for a
RLYincomer
genuine busbar fault will be of the order of 100ms. This
delayed clearance may not be an issue, as system stability is
typically not a primary concern for distribution systems.
Indeed, 100ms operation would be much faster than waiting
for the incoming feeder I.D.M.T. curve to time out, which
RLYF1 RLYF2 RLYF3 RLYF4 would be the historical means by which the fault would be
detected.
Figure 15.22 indicated that block signals would be exchanged
between relays by hardwiring, and this is still a valid solution
for simplicity. A more contemporary implementation would be
Figure 15.22: Simple busbar blocking scheme (single incomer)
to make use of IEC 61850 GOOSE logic to exchange such
However, most numerical feeder relays have the means to commands via Ethernet. GOOSE application is detailed in
issue an instantaneous start output, to indicate that they are Chapter 24 - The Digital Substation. Whether deployed as
measuring an operating current above setting, and as such, hardwired, or Ethernet schemes, circuit breaker failure is
their time-overcurrent function is in the process of timing out. commonly applied too.
Figure 15.22 shows how this facility can be enabled in the
Interlocked overcurrent busbar schemes may also be applied to
outgoing feeder relays, and communicated to the incomer
sectionalised busbars, with more than one incomer, provided
relay as a ‘block’ signal. This block does not block the critical
that directional relays are applied on any feeder which may act
time-overcurrent function in the incomer relay, but merely
as an infeed, and at each bus section. However, such
blocks a definite-time high-set that has been specially-
schemes are unlikely to be applicable in double busbar
configured to offer busbar protection.
stations, where dedicated busbar protection is recommended.
The high-set, measuring phase overcurrent, and often earth-
fault too, is delayed by a margin marked as ‘time to block’ in 15.12 REFERENCE
Figure 15.23. This deliberate delay on operation is necessary
[15.1] The Behaviour of Current Transformers subjected to
to allow enough time for an external fault to be detected by an
Transient Asymmetric Currents and the Effects on
outgoing feeder relay, and for it to be communicated as a Associated Protective Relays. J.W. Hodgkiss. CIGRE
‘block’ command, and acted upon by the incomer relay. Only
Paper Number 329, Session 15-25 June 1960.
if the incoming feeder relay measures fault current above the
high-set setting, and no block arrives, it determines that the
fault must lie on the protected busbar, and a bus zone trip
command is issued.

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TRANSFORMER AND
TRANSFORMER FEEDER
PROTECTION
Chapter 16
TRANSFORMER AND TRANSFORMER
FEEDER PROTECTION

16.1 Introduction 16.1 INTRODUCTION

16.2 Winding Faults The development of modern power systems has been reflected
16.3 Magnetising Inrush in the advances in transformer design. This has resulted in a
wide range of transformers with sizes ranging from a few kVA
16.4 Transformer Overheating to several hundred MVA being available for use in a wide variety
16.5 Transformer Protection – Overview of applications.

16.6 Transformer Overcurrent Protection The considerations for a transformer protection package
vary with the application and importance of the trans-
16.7 Restricted Earth Fault Protection former. To reduce the effects of thermal stress and electro-
16.8 Differential Protection dynamic forces, it is advisable to ensure that the protection
package used minimises the time for disconnection in the
16.9 Differential Protection Stabilisation During event of a fault occurring within the transformer. Small distri-
Magnetising Inrush Conditions bution transformers can be protected satisfactorily, from both
16.10 Combined Differential and Restricted technical and economic considerations, by the use of fuses or
overcurrent relays. This results in time-delayed protection due
Earth Fault Schemes
to downstream co-ordination requirements. However, time-de-
16.11 Earthing Transformer Protection layed fault clearance is unacceptable on larger power trans-
16.12 Autotransformer Protection formers used in distribution, transmission and generator appli-
cations, due to system operation/stability and cost of repair/
16.13 Overfluxing Protection length of outage considerations.
16.14 Tank-Earth Protection Transformer faults are generally classified into five categories:
16.15 Oil and Gas Devices .. winding and terminal faults
16.16 Transformer-Feeder Protection .. core faults
16.17 Intertripping .. tank and transformer accessory faults
16.18 Examples of Transformer Protection .. on–load tap changer faults
16.19 Transformer Asset Management .. abnormal operating conditions
.. sustained or uncleared external faults
For faults originating in the transformer itself, the approximate
proportion of faults due to each of the causes listed above is
shown in Figure 16.1.
Winding and
Terminal
Core
Tank and
Accessories
OLTC

Figure 16.1: Transformer fault statistics

16.2 WINDING FAULTS

A fault on a transformer winding is controlled in magnitude by
the following factors:

GEGridSolutions.com 16-1
Protection & Automation Application Guide

 source impedance 16.2.2 Star-Connected Winding with Neutral Point

 neutral earthing impedance Solidly Earthed
 transformer leakage reactance The fault current is controlled mainly by the leakage reactance
 fault voltage of the winding, which varies in a complex manner with the
position of the fault. The variable fault point voltage is also an
 winding connection
important factor, as in the case of impedance earthing. For
Several distinct cases arise and are examined below. faults close to the neutral end of the winding, the reactance is
very low, and results in the highest fault currents. The
16.2.1 Star-Connected Winding with Neutral Point variation of current with fault position is shown in Figure 16.3.
Earthed Through an Impedance 20
The winding earth fault current depends on the earthing
impedance value and is also proportional to the distance of the
fault from the neutral point, since the fault voltage will be
15
directly proportional to this distance.

Current (per unit)

Fault current
For a fault on a transformer secondary winding, the
corresponding primary current will depend on the
10
transformation ratio between the primary winding and the
short-circuited secondary turns. This also varies with the
position of the fault, so that the fault current in the transformer
primary winding is proportional to the square of the fraction of 5
the winding that is short-circuited. The effect is shown in
Figure 16.2. Faults in the lower third of the winding produce Primary current

very little current in the primary winding, making fault

detection by primary current measurement difficult. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Distance of fault from neutral

100
Percentage of respective maximum

(percentage of winding)
90
Single-Phase Earth fault current

Fault current
80 (IF)
70 For secondary winding faults, the primary winding fault
60
current is determined by the variable transformation ratio; as
the secondary fault current magnitude stays high throughout
50
the winding, the primary fault current is large for most points
40
along the winding.
30
20
Primary Current 16.2.3 Delta-Connected Winding
10 (Ip)
No part of a delta-connected winding operates with a voltage
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 to earth of less than 50% of the phase voltage. The range of
Distance of fault from Neutral fault current magnitude is therefore less than for a star
(percentage of winding) winding. The actual value of fault current will still depend on
the method of system earthing; it should also be remembered
that the impedance of a delta winding is particularly high to
fault currents flowing to a centrally placed fault on one leg.
The impedance can be expected to be between 25% and 50%,
based on the transformer rating, regardless of the normal
Ip
balanced through-current impedance. As the prefault voltage
to earth at this point is half the normal phase voltage, the
IF earth fault current may be no more than the rated current, or
even less than this value if the source or system earthing
impedance is appreciable. The current will flow to the fault
from each side through the two half windings, and will be

16-2
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

divided between two phases of the system. The individual 100 10

phase currents may therefore be relatively low, resulting in
difficulties in providing protection. Fault current in

Primary current (multiples of rated current)

80 short circuited turns 8

Fault current (multiples of rated current)

16.2.4 Phase to Phase Faults
Faults between phases within a transformer are relatively rare; 60 6
if such a fault does occur it will give rise to a substantial Primary input
current comparable to the earth fault currents discussed in current

Section 16.2.2. 40 4

16.2.5 Interturn Faults

20 2
In low voltage transformers, interturn insulation breakdown is
unlikely to occur unless the mechanical force on the winding
due to external short circuits has caused insulation
0 5 10 15 20 25
degradation, or insulating oil (if used) has become Turns short-circuited (percentage of winding)
contaminated by moisture.
A high voltage transformer connected to an overhead The additional core loss, although causing severe local heating,
transmission system will be subjected to steep fronted impulse does not produce a noticeable change in input current and
voltages, arising from lightning strikes, faults and switching could not be detected by the normal electrical protection.
operations. A line surge, which may be of several times the However it is important that the condition is detected before a
rated system voltage, will concentrate on the end turns of the major fault has been created. In an oil-immersed transformer,
winding because of the high equivalent frequency of the surge core heating sufficient to cause winding insulation damage
front. Part-winding resonance, involving voltages up to 20 also causes breakdown of some of the oil with an
times rated voltage may occur. The interturn insulation of the accompanying evolution of gas. This gas escapes to the
end turns is reinforced, but cannot be increased in proportion conservator and is used to operate a mechanical relay; see
to the insulation to earth, which is relatively great. Partial Section 16.15.3.
winding flashover is therefore more likely. The subsequent
progress of the fault, if not detected in the earliest stage, may 16.2.7 Tank Faults
well destroy the evidence of the true cause.
Loss of oil through tank leaks ultimately produces a dangerous
A short circuit of a few turns of the winding will give rise to a condition, either because of a reduction in winding insulation
heavy fault current in the short-circuited loop, but the terminal or because of overheating on load due to the loss of cooling.
currents will be very small, because of the high ratio of
Overheating may also occur due to prolonged overloading,
transformation between the whole winding and the short-
blocked cooling ducts due to oil sludging or failure of the forced
circuited turns.
cooling system, if fitted.
The graph in Figure 16.4 shows the corresponding data for a
typical transformer of 3.25% impedance with the short- 16.2.8 Externally Applied Conditions
circuited turns symmetrically located in the centre of the Sources of abnormal stress in a transformer are:
winding.
 overload
16.2.6 Core Faults  system faults
A conducting bridge across the laminated structures of the  overvoltage
core can permit sufficient eddy-current to flow to cause serious  reduced system frequency
overheating. The bolts that clamp the core together are
always insulated to avoid this trouble. If any portion of the 16.2.8.1 Overload
core insulation becomes defective, the resultant heating may
Overload causes increased 'copper loss' and a consequent
reach a magnitude sufficient to damage the winding.
temperature rise. Overloads can be carried for limited periods
and recommendations for oil-immersed transformers are given
in IEC 60354.

16-3
Protection & Automation Application Guide

The thermal time constant of naturally cooled transformers lies 16.2.8.4 Reduced system frequency
between 2.5-5 hours. Shorter time constants apply in the case Reduction of system frequency has an effect with regard to flux
of force-cooled transformers. density, similar to that of overvoltage.

16.2.8.2 System faults It follows that a transformer can operate with some degree of
overvoltage with a corresponding increase in frequency, but
System short circuits produce a relatively intense rate of
operation must not be continued with a high voltage input at a
heating of the feeding transformers, the copper loss increasing
low frequency. Operation cannot be sustained when the ratio
in proportion to the square of the per unit fault current. The
of voltage to frequency, with these quantities given values in
typical duration of external short circuits that a transformer
per unit of their rated values, exceeds unity by more than a
can sustain without damage if the current is limited only by
small amount, for instance if V/f >1.1. If a substantial rise in
the self-reactance is shown in Table 16.1. IEC 60076 provides
system voltage has been catered for in the design, the base of
further guidance on short-circuit withstand levels.
'unit voltage' should be taken as the highest voltage for which
Transformer Reactance Fault Current Permitted Fault the transformer is designed.
(%) (Multiple of Rating) Duration (seconds)
4 25 2 16.3 MAGNETISING INRUSH
5 20 2 The phenomenon of magnetising inrush is a transient
6 16.6 2 condition that occurs primarily when a transformer is
7 14.2 2 energised. It is not a fault condition, and therefore transformer
protection must remain stable during the inrush transient.
Maximum mechanical stress on windings occurs during the Figure 16.5(a) shows a transformer magnetising
first cycle of the fault. Avoidance of damage is a matter of characteristic. To minimise material costs, weight and size,
transformer design. transformers are generally operated near to the ‘knee point’ of
the magnetising characteristic. Consequently, only a small
16.2.8.3 Overvoltages increase in core flux above normal operating levels will result in
Overvoltage conditions are of two kinds: a high magnetising current.

 transient surge voltages Under normal steady-state conditions, the magnetising current
associated with the operating flux level is relatively small
 power frequency overvoltage
(Figure 16.5(b)). However, if a transformer winding is
Transient overvoltages arise from faults, switching, and energised at a voltage zero, with no remanent flux, the flux
lightning disturbances and are liable to cause interturn faults, level during the first voltage cycle (2 x normal flux) will result
as described in Section 16.2.5. These overvoltages are usually in core saturation and a high non-sinusoidal magnetising
limited by shunting the high voltage terminals to earth either current waveform – see Figure 16.5(c). This current is
with a plain rod gap or by surge diverters, which comprise a referred to as magnetising inrush current and may persist for
stack of short gaps in series with a non-linear resistor. The several cycles.
surge diverter, in contrast to the rod gap, has the advantage of
Several factors affect the magnitude and duration of the
extinguishing the flow of power current after discharging a
magnetising current inrush:
surge, in this way avoiding subsequent isolation of the
transformer.  residual flux – worst-case conditions result in the flux
peak value attaining 280% of normal value
Power frequency overvoltage causes both an increase in stress
on the insulation and a proportionate increase in the working  point on wave switching
flux. The latter effect causes an increase in the iron loss and a  number of banked transformers
disproportionately large increase in magnetising current. In  transformer design and rating
addition, flux is diverted from the laminated core into
structural steel parts. The core bolts, which normally carry  system fault level
little flux, may be subjected to a large flux diverted from the
highly saturated region of core alongside. This leads to a rapid
temperature rise in the bolts, destroying their insulation and
damaging coil insulation if the condition continues.

16-4
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

following negative half cycle of the voltage wave reduces the

Flux
Normal peak flux
flux to the starting value, the current falling symmetrically to
zero. The current wave is therefore fully offset and is only
restored to the steady state condition by the circuit losses. The
Magnetising time constant of the transient has a range between 0.1 second
current
(for a 100kVA transformer) to 1.0 second (for a large unit). As
the magnetising characteristic is non-linear, the envelope of
the transient current is not strictly of exponential form; the
(a) Typical magnetising characteristic magnetising current can be observed to be still changing up to
30 minutes after switching on.
Transient flux
80% residual at Although correct choice of the point on the wave for a single–
switching
phase transformer will result in no transient inrush, mutual
Transient flux effects ensure that a transient inrush occurs in all phases for
no residual
Voltage and flux

three-phase transformers.
at switching

Steady-state 16.3.1 Harmonic Content of Inrush Waveform

flux
The waveform of transformer magnetising current contains a
Voltage proportion of harmonics that increases as the peak flux density
Time is raised to the saturating condition. The magnetising current
of a transformer contains a third harmonic and progressively
smaller amounts of fifth and higher harmonics. If the degree
of saturation is progressively increased, not only will the
(b) Steady and maximum offset fluxes
harmonic content increase as a whole, but the relative
proportion of fifth harmonic will increase and eventually
Slow Decrement exceed the third harmonic. At a still higher level the seventh
would overtake the fifth harmonic but this involves a degree of
saturation that will not be experienced with power
Zero
transformers.
axis
(c) Typical inrush current The energising conditions that result in an offset inrush current
produce a waveform that is asymmetrical. Such a wave
typically contains both even and odd harmonics. Typical
inrush currents contain substantial amounts of second and
Zero
axis third harmonics and diminishing amounts of higher orders. As
with the steady state wave, the proportion of harmonics varies
with the degree of saturation, so that as a severe inrush
(d) Inrush without offset, due to yoke saturation transient decays, the harmonic makeup of the current passes
through a range of conditions.

The very high flux densities quoted above are so far beyond the 16.4 TRANSFORMER OVERHEATING
normal working range that the incremental relative
The rating of a transformer is based on the temperature rise
permeability of the core approximates to unity and the
above an assumed maximum ambient temperature; under this
inductance of the winding falls to a value near that of the 'air-
condition no sustained overload is usually permissible. At a
cored' inductance. The current wave, starting from zero,
lower ambient temperature some degree of sustained overload
increases slowly at first, the flux having a value just above the
can be safely applied. Short-term overloads are also
residual value and the permeability of the core being
permissible to an extent dependent on the previous loading
moderately high. As the flux passes the normal working value
conditions. IEC 60354 provides guidance in this respect.
and enters the highly saturated portion of the magnetising
characteristic, the inductance falls and the current rises rapidly The only certain statement is that the winding must not
to a peak that may be 500% of the steady state magnetising overheat; a temperature of about 95°C is considered to be the
current. When the peak is passed at the next voltage zero, the normal maximum working value beyond which a further rise of

16-5
Protection & Automation Application Guide

8°- 10°C, if sustained, will halve the insulation life of the unit. The fuse must have a rating well above the maximum
transformer load current to withstand the short duration
Protection against overload is therefore based on winding
overloads that may occur. Also, the fuses must withstand the
temperature, which is usually measured by a thermal
magnetising inrush currents drawn when power transformers
modelling technique. Protection is arranged to trip the
are energised. High Rupturing Capacity (HRC) fuses, although
transformer if excessive temperature is reached. The trip
very fast in operation with large fault currents, are extremely
signal is usually routed via a digital input of a protection relay
slow with currents of less than three times their rated value. It
on one side of the transformer, with both alarm and trip
follows that such fuses will do little to protect the transformer,
facilities made available through programmable logic in the
serving only to protect the system by disconnecting a faulty
relay. Intertripping between the relays on the two sides of the
transformer after the fault has reached an advanced stage.
transformer is usually applied to ensure total disconnection of
the transformer. Table 16.3 shows typical ratings of fuses for use with 11kV
transformers
Winding temperature protection may be included as a part of a
complete monitoring package. See Section 16.18 for more details. Transformer Rating Fuse
Full Load Current Rated Current Operating Time at 3 x
16.5 TRANSFORMER PROTECTION – kVA
(A) (A) Rating (s)
OVERVIEW 100 5.25 16 3.0
The problems relating to transformers described in Section 200 10.5 25 3.0
16.4 require some means of protection. Table 16.2 315 15.8 36 10.0
summarises the problems and the possible forms of protection 500 26.2 50 20.0
that may be used. The following sections provide more detail 1000 52.5 90 30.0
on the individual protection methods. It is normal for a
modern relay to provide all of the required protection functions
This table should be taken only as a typical example;
in a single package, in contrast to electromechanical types that
considerable differences exist in the time characteristics of
would require several relays complete with interconnections
different types of HRC fuses. Furthermore grading with
and higher overall CT burdens.
protection on the secondary side has not been considered.
Fault Type Protection Used
Primary winding Phase-phase fault Differential; Overcurrent 16.6.2 Overcurrent Relays
Primary winding Phase-earth fault Differential; Overcurrent With the advent of ring main units incorporating SF6 circuit
Secondary winding Phase-phase fault Differential breakers and isolators, protection of distribution transformers
Secondary winding Phase-earth fault Differential; Restricted Earth Fault can now be provided by overcurrent trips (e.g. tripping
Interturn Fault Differential, Buchholz controlled by time limit fuses connected across the secondary
Core Fault Differential, Buchholz windings of in-built current transformers) or by relays
Tank Fault Differential, Buchholz; Tank-Earth
connected to current transformers located on the transformer
primary side. Overcurrent relays are also used on larger
Overfluxing Overfluxing
transformers provided with standard circuit breaker control.
Overheating Thermal
Improvement in protection is obtained in two ways; the
excessive delays of the HRC fuse for lower fault currents are
avoided and an earth-fault tripping element is provided in
16.6 TRANSFORMER OVERCURRENT
addition to the overcurrent feature.
PROTECTION
Fuses may adequately protect small transformers, but larger The time delay characteristic should be chosen to discriminate
ones require overcurrent protection using a relay and CB, as with circuit protection on the secondary side. A high-set
instantaneous relay element is often provided, the current
fuses do not have the required fault breaking capacity.
setting being chosen to avoid operation for a secondary short
16.6.1 Fuses circuit. This enables high-speed clearance of primary terminal
short circuits.
Fuses commonly protect small distribution transformers
typically up to ratings of 1MVA at distribution voltages. In
many cases no circuit breaker is provided, making fuse
protection the only available means of automatic isolation.

16-6
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

16.7 RESTRICTED EARTH FAULT PROTECTION Earth fault protection applied to a delta-connected or
Conventional earth fault protection using overcurrent elements unearthed star winding is inherently restricted, since no zero
fails to provide adequate protection for transformer windings. sequence components can be transmitted through the
This applies particularly to a star-connected winding with an transformer to the other windings.
impedance-earthed neutral, as discussed in Section 16.2.1. Both windings of a transformer can be protected separately
The degree of protection is very much improved by the with restricted earth fault protection, thereby providing high-
application of restricted earth fault protection (or REF speed protection against earth faults for the whole transformer
protection). This is a unit protection scheme for one winding with relatively simple equipment. A high impedance relay is
of the transformer. It can be a high impedance type as shown used, giving fast operation and phase fault stability.
in Figure 16.6 or a biased low-impedance type. For the high-
impedance type, the residual current of three line current 16.8 DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION
transformers is balanced against the output of a current The restricted earth fault schemes described above in Section
transformer in the neutral conductor. In the biased low- 16.7 depend entirely on the Kirchhoff principle that the sum of
impedance version, the three phase currents and the neutral the currents flowing into a conducting network is zero. A
current become the bias inputs to a differential element. differential system can be arranged to cover the complete
transformer; this is possible because of the high efficiency of
The system is operative for faults within the region between
transformer operation, and the close equivalence of ampere-
current transformers, that is, for faults on the star winding in
turns developed on the primary and secondary windings.
question. The system remains stable for all faults outside this
Figure 16.7 shows the principle. Current transformers on the
zone.
primary and secondary sides are connected to form a
circulating current system.

Id >
I >

High impedance relay

16.8.1 Basic Considerations for Transformer

The gain in protection performance comes not only from using Differential Protection
an instantaneous relay with a low setting, but also because the
whole fault current is measured, not merely the transformed In applying the principles of differential protection to
component in the HV primary winding (if the star winding is a transformers, a variety of considerations have to be taken into
secondary winding). Hence, although the prospective current account. These include:
level decreases as fault positions progressively nearer the  correction for possible phase shift across the
neutral end of the winding are considered, the square law transformer windings (vector correction)
which controls the primary line current is not applicable, and  the effects of the variety of earthing and winding
with a low effective setting, a large percentage of the winding arrangements (filtering of zero sequence currents)
can be covered.
 correction for possible unbalance of signals from
Restricted earth fault protection is often applied even when the current transformers on either side of the windings
neutral is solidly earthed. Since fault current then remains at a (ratio correction)
high value even to the last turn of the winding (Figure 16.2),
 the effect of magnetising inrush during initial
virtually complete cover for earth faults is obtained. This is an
energisation
improvement compared with the performance of systems that
do not measure the neutral conductor current.  the possible occurrence of overfluxing
In traditional transformer differential schemes, the

16-7
Protection & Automation Application Guide

requirements for ratio and vector correction were met by the primary and secondary line CTs may not have the same
application of external interposing current transformers (ICTs), winding configuration. Phase compensation and associated
as a secondary replica of the main winding connections, or by relay data entry requires more detailed consideration in such
a delta connection of the main CTs to provide phase correction circumstances. Rarely, the available phase compensation
only. Digital/numerical relays implement ratio and correction facilities cannot accommodate the transformer winding
in the relay software instead, thus enabling most combinations connection, and in such cases interposing CTs must be used.
of transformer winding arrangements to be catered for,
irrespective of the winding connections of the primary CTs. 16.8.4 Filtering of Zero Sequence Currents
This avoids the additional space and cost requirements of As described in Chapter 10.8, it is essential to provide some
hardware interposing CTs. form of zero sequence filtering where a transformer winding
can pass zero sequence current to an external earth fault. This
16.8.2 Line Current Transformer Primary Ratings is to ensure that out-of-zone earth faults are not seen by the
Line current transformers have primary ratings selected to be transformer protection as an in-zone fault. This is achieved by
approximately equal to the rated currents of the transformer use of delta-connected line CTs or interposing CTs for older
windings to which they are applied. Primary ratings will relays, and hence the winding connection of the line and/or
usually be limited to those of available standard ratio CTs. interposing CTs must take this into account, in addition to any
phase compensation necessary. For digital/numerical relays,
16.8.3 Phase Correction the required filtering is applied in the relay software. Table
Correct operation of transformer differential protection requires 16.4 summarises the phase compensation and zero sequence
that the transformer primary and secondary currents, as filtering requirements. An example of an incorrect choice of
measured by the relay, are in phase. If the transformer is ICT connection is given in Section 16.19.1.
connected delta/star, as shown in Figure 16.8, balanced three- Clock Phase HV Zero LV Zero
phase through current suffers a phase change of 30°. If left Transformer Transformer
Face Compensation Sequence Sequence
Connection Phase Shift
uncorrected, this phase difference would lead to the relay Vector Required Filtering Filtering
seeing through current as an unbalanced fault current, and Yy0 Yes Yes
result in relay operation. Vector or phase correction must be Zd0 Yes
implemented. 0° 0 0°
Dz0 Yes
A Dd0
B Yz1 Zy1 Yes Yes
C
Yd1 -30° 1 30° Yes
Dy1 Yes
Yy6 Yes Yes
Zd6 Yes
-180° 1 180°
Dz6 Yes
Dd6
Id > Id > Id >
Yz11 Zy11 Yes Yes
Yd11 30° 11 -30° Yes
Dy11 Yes
Electromechanical and static relays use appropriate CT/ICT YyH YzH Yes Yes
connections to ensure that the primary and secondary currents YdH ZdH Yes
(H / 12) x 360° Hour ‘H’ -(H / 12) x 360°
applied to the relay are in phase. DzH DyH Yes

For digital and numerical relays, it is common to use star- DdH

connected line CTs on all windings of the transformer and
compensate for the winding phase shift in software.
Depending on relay design, the only data required in such
circumstances may be the transformer vector group
designation. Phase compensation is then performed
automatically. Caution is required if such a relay is used to
replace an existing electromechanical or static relay, as the

16-8
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

16.8.5 Ratio Correction 16.8.7 Transformers with Multiple Windings

Correct operation of the differential element requires that The unit protection principle remains valid for a system having
currents in the differential element balance under load and more than two connections, so a transformer with three or
through fault conditions. As the primary and secondary line CT more windings can still be protected by the application of the
ratios may not exactly match the transformer rated winding above principles.
currents, digital/numerical relays are provided with ratio
When the power transformer has only one of its three windings
correction factors for each of the CT inputs. The correction
connected to a source of supply, with the other two windings
factors may be calculated automatically by the relay from
feeding loads, a relay with only two sets of CT inputs can be
knowledge of the line CT ratios and the transformer MVA
used, connected as shown in Figure 16.10(a). The separate
rating. However, if interposing CTs are used, ratio correction
load currents are summated in the CT secondary circuits, and
may not be such an easy task and may need to take into
will balance with the infeed current on the supply side.
account a factor of √3 if delta-connected CTs or ICTs are
involved. If the transformer is fitted with a tap changer, line When more than one source of fault current infeed exists,
CT ratios and correction factors are normally chosen to achieve there is a danger in the scheme of Figure 16.10(a) of current
current balance at the mid tap of the transformer. It is circulating between the two paralleled sets of current
necessary to ensure that current mismatch due to off-nominal transformers without producing any bias. It is therefore
tap operation will not cause spurious operation. important a relay is used with separate CT inputs for the two
secondaries - Figure 16.10(b).
The example in Section 16.19.2 shows how ratio correction
factors are used, and that of Section 16.19.3 shows how to set When the third winding consists of a delta-connected tertiary
the ratio correction factors for a transformer with an with no connections brought out, the transformer may be
unsymmetrical tap range. regarded as a two winding transformer for protection purposes
and protected as shown in Figure 16.10(c).
16.8.6 Bias Setting
Source
Loads
Bias is applied to transformer differential protection for the
same reasons as any unit protection scheme – to ensure
stability for external faults while allowing sensitive settings to
pick up internal faults. The situation is slightly complicated if a
Id >
tap changer is present. With line CT/ICT ratios and correction
factors set to achieve current balance at nominal tap, an off-
(a) Three winding transformer (one power source)
nominal tap may be seen by the differential protection as an
internal fault. By selecting the minimum bias to be greater Source Possible
fault
than sum of the maximum tap of the transformer and possible infeed
CT errors, maloperation due to this cause is avoided. Some
relays use a bias characteristic with three sections, as shown in
Figure 16.9. The first section is set higher than the Id >
transformer magnetising current. The second section is set to
allow for off-nominal tap settings, while the third has a larger
(b) Three winding transformer (three power sources)
bias slope beginning well above rated current to cater for
heavy through-fault conditions. Source Possible
fault
infeed
3
Differential current ( Id )

2
Operate Id >

70%
slope
1 (c) Three winding transformer with unloaded delta tertiary
Setting range 30%
(0.1 - 0.5Id ) Restrain slope

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Effective bias (x In)

16-9
Protection & Automation Application Guide

16.9 DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION of a differential relay.

STABILISATION DURING MAGNETISING The second harmonic is therefore an attractive basis for a
INRUSH CONDITIONS stabilising against inrush effects, but care must be taken to
The magnetising inrush phenomenon described in Section ensure that the current transformers are sufficiently large so
16.3 produces current input to the energised winding which that the harmonics produced by transient saturation do not
has no equivalent on the other windings. The whole of the delay normal operation of the relay. The differential current is
inrush current appears, therefore, as unbalance and the passed through a filter that extracts the second harmonic; this
differential protection is unable to distinguish it from current component is then applied to produce a restraining quantity
due to an internal fault. The bias setting is not effective and an sufficient to overcome the operating tendency due to the whole
increase in the protection setting to a value that would avoid of the inrush current that flows in the operating circuit. By this
operation would make the protection of little value. Methods means a sensitive and high-speed system can be obtained.
of delaying, restraining or blocking of the differential element
must therefore be used to prevent mal-operation of the 16.9.3 Gap Detection Technique
protection. Another feature that characterises an inrush current can be
seen from Figure 16.5 where the two waveforms (c) and (d)
16.9.1 Time Delay have periods in the cycle where the current is zero. The
Since the phenomenon is transient, stability can be maintained minimum duration of this zero period is theoretically one
by providing a small time delay. However, because this time quarter of the cycle and is easily detected by a simple timer T1
delay also delays operation of the relay in the event of a fault that is set to 1 4 f seconds. Figure 16.11 shows the circuit
occurring at switch-on, the method is no longer used. in block diagram form. Timer T1 produces an output only if
the current is zero for a time exceeding 1 4 f seconds. It is
16.9.2 Harmonic Restraint reset when the instantaneous value of the differential current
The inrush current, although generally resembling an in-zone exceeds the setting reference.
fault current, differs greatly when the waveforms are
Bias
compared. The difference in the waveforms can be used to Differential Inhibit Timer 1 Inhibit Timer 2 Trip
Differential 1
comparator T1= T2 = 1
distinguish between the conditions. Threshold 4f f

As stated before, the inrush current contains all harmonic

orders, but these are not all equally suitable for identifying As the zero in the inrush current occurs towards the end of the
inrush condition. In practice, only the second harmonic is cycle, it is necessary to delay operation of the differential relay
used. by 1 f seconds to ensure that the zero condition can be
This component is present in all inrush waveforms. It is typical detected if present. This is achieved by using a second timer T2
of waveforms in which successive half period portions do not that is held reset by an output from timer T1.
repeat with reversal of polarity but in which mirror-image
When no current is flowing for a time exceeding 1 4 f
symmetry can be found about certain ordinates.
seconds, timer T2 is held reset and the differential relay that
The proportion of second harmonic varies somewhat with the may be controlled by these timers is blocked. When a
degree of saturation of the core, but is always present as long differential current exceeding the setting of the relay flows,
as the uni-directional component of flux exists. The amount timer T1 is reset and timer T2 times out to give a trip signal in
varies according to factors in the transformer design. Normal 1 f seconds. If the differential current is characteristic of
fault currents do not contain second or other even harmonics, transformer inrush then timer T2 will be reset on each cycle
nor do distorted currents flowing in saturated iron cored coils and the trip signal is blocked. Some numerical relays may use
under steady state conditions. a combination of the harmonic restraint and gap detection
The output current of a current transformer that is energised techniques for magnetising inrush detection.
into steady state saturation will contain odd harmonics but not
even harmonics. However, should the current transformer be 16.10 COMBINED DIFFERENTIAL AND
saturated by the transient component of the fault current, the RESTRICTED EARTH FAULT SCHEMES
resulting saturation is not symmetrical and even harmonics are The advantages to be obtained by the use of restricted earth
introduced into the output current. This can have the fault protection, discussed in Section 16.7 lead to the system
advantage of improving the through fault stability performance being frequently used in conjunction with an overall differential

16-10
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

system. The importance of this is shown in Figure 16.12 from

which it will be seen that if the neutral of a star-connected
winding is earthed through a resistance of one per unit, an
overall differential system having an effective setting of 20%
will detect faults in only 42% of the winding from the line end.

100
(percentage of rated current)

n
tio
Primary operating current

80

ec
ot
pr
u lt
fa

60
rth

n
ea

ctio
ed

o te
ct

40
pr
tri

l
tia
es

n
R

re
ffe
20 Di

0
100 80 60 40 20 0
Percentage of winding protected

Implementation of a combined differential/REF protection

scheme is made easy if a numerical relay with software
ratio/phase compensation is used. All compensation is made
internally in the relay.
Where software ratio/phase correction is not available, either a
summation transformer or auxiliary CTs can be used. The
connections are shown in Figure 16.13 and Figure 16.14 16.10.1 Application with Earthing Transformer in
respectively. Protected Zone
Care must be taken in calculating the settings, but the only A delta-connected winding cannot deliver any zero sequence
significant disadvantage of the Combined Differential/REF current to an earth fault on the connected system, any current
scheme is that the REF element is likely to operate for heavy that does flow is in consequence of an earthed neutral
internal faults as well as the differential elements, thus making elsewhere on the system and will have a 2-1-1 pattern of
subsequent fault analysis somewhat confusing. However, the current distribution between phases. When the transformer in
saving in CTs outweighs this disadvantage. question represents a major power feed, the system may be
earthed at that point by an earthing transformer or earthing
reactor. They are frequently connected to the system, close to
the main supply transformer and within the transformer
protection zone. Zero sequence current that flows through the
earthing transformer during system earth faults will flow
through the line current transformers on this side, and,
without an equivalent current in the balancing current
transformers, will cause unwanted operation of the relays.
The problem can be overcome by subtracting the appropriate
component of current from the main CT output. The earthing
transformer neutral current is used for this purpose. As this
represents three times the zero sequence current flowing, ratio
correction is required. This can take the form of interposing

16-11
Protection & Automation Application Guide

CT’s of ratio 1/0.333, arranged to subtract their output from

that of the line current transformers in each phase, as shown
in Figure 16.15. The zero sequence component is cancelled,
restoring balance to the differential system. Alternatively,
numerical relays may use software to perform the subtraction,
having calculated the zero sequence component internally.
A

1/0.333
Earthing
transformer

16.11 EARTHING TRANSFORMER

PROTECTION
Differential relay Id > Id > Id >
I > Earthing transformers not protected by other means can use
Restricted earth fault relay the scheme shown in Figure 16.18. The delta-connected
current transformers are connected to an overcurrent relay
having three phase-fault elements. The normal action of the
A high impedance relay element can be connected in the neutral earthing transformer is to pass zero sequence current. The
lead between current transformers and differential relays to transformer equivalent current circulates in the delta formed
provide restricted earth fault protection to the winding. by the CT secondaries without energising the relay. The latter
may therefore be set to give fast and sensitive protection
As an alternative to the above scheme, the circulating current against faults in the earthing transformer itself.
system can be completed via a three-phase group of interposing
transformers that are provided with tertiary windings connected
in delta. This winding effectively short-circuits the zero sequence
component and thereby removes it from the balancing
quantities in the relay circuit; see Figure 16.16.
Provided restricted earth fault protection is not required, the
scheme shown in Figure 16.16 has the advantage of not
requiring a current transformer, with its associated mounting
and cabling requirements, in the neutral-earth conductor. The
scheme can also be connected as shown in Figure 16.17 when
restricted earth fault protection is needed.
A
B
C

16.12 AUTOTRANSFORMER PROTECTION

Autotransformers are used to couple EHV power networks if
Earthing the ratio of their voltages is moderate. An alternative to
transformer
Differential Protection that can be applied to autotransformers
is protection based on the application of Kirchhoff's law to a
conducting network, namely that the sum of the currents
flowing into all external connections to the network is zero.
Differential relay Id > Id > Id >
A circulating current system is arranged between equal ratio
current transformers in the two groups of line connections and
the neutral end connections. If one neutral current transformer

16-12
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

is used, this and all the line current transformers can be 16.13 OVERFLUXING PROTECTION
connected in parallel to a single element relay, providing a The effects of excessive flux density are described in Section
scheme responsive to earth faults only; see Figure 16.19(a). 16.2.8. Overfluxing arises principally from the following system
conditions:
A
B  high system voltage
C
 low system frequency
 geomagnetic disturbances
High The latter results in low frequency earth currents circulating
Id > impedance
relay through a transmission system.
Since momentary system disturbances can cause transient
(a) Earth fault scheme
overfluxing that is not dangerous, time delayed tripping is
required. The normal protection is an IDMT or definite time
A
characteristic, initiated if a defined V/f threshold is exceeded.
B
C
Often separate alarm and trip elements are provided. The
alarm function would be definite time-delayed and the trip
a
function would be an IDMT characteristic. A typical
b characteristic is shown in Figure 16.20.
c
Geomagnetic disturbances may result in overfluxing without
Id > Id > Id > the V/f threshold being exceeded. Some relays provide a 5th
n harmonic detection feature, which can be used to detect such
(b) Phase and earth fault scheme a condition, as levels of this harmonic rise under overfluxing
conditions.

Operating 0.80.18K
t
If current transformers are fitted in each phase at the neutral time (s) M12
end of the windings and a three-element relay is used, a 1000
differential system can be provided, giving full protection
against phase and earth faults; see Figure 16.19(b). This
provides high-speed sensitive protection. It is unaffected by 100
ratio changes on the transformer due to tap-changing and is K=63
immune to the effects of magnetising inrush current. K=40

It does not respond to interturn faults, a deficiency that is 10 K=20

serious in view of the high statistical risk quoted in Section

K=5
16.1. Such faults, unless otherwise cleared, will be left to
develop into earth faults, by which time considerably more 1 K=1

damage to the transformer will have occurred. 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

V f
In addition, this scheme does not respond to any fault in a M 
Set t i ng
tertiary winding. Unloaded delta-connected tertiary windings
are often not protected; alternatively, the delta winding can be
earthed at one point through a current transformer that
16.14 TANK-EARTH PROTECTION
energises an instantaneous relay. This system should be
separate from the main winding protection. If the tertiary This is also known as Howard protection. If the transformer
winding earthing lead is connected to the main winding tank is nominally insulated from earth (an insulation resistance
neutral above the neutral current transformer in an attempt to of 10 ohms being sufficient) earth fault protection can be
make a combined system, there may be ‘blind spots’ which the provided by connecting a relay to the secondary of a current
protection cannot cover. transformer the primary of which is connected between the
tank and earth. This scheme is similar to the frame-earth fault
busbar protection described in Chapter 15.

16-13
Protection & Automation Application Guide

16.15 OIL AND GAS DEVICES device may have to be slowed deliberately to avoid spurious
All faults below oil in an oil-immersed transformer result in tripping during circulation pump starts. Alternatively, sudden
localised heating and breakdown of the oil; some degree of pressure rise relays may have their output supervised by
arcing will always take place in a winding fault and the resulting instantaneous high-set overcurrent elements.
decomposition of the oil will release gases. When the fault is of
a very minor type, such as a hot joint, gas is released slowly, but 16.15.3 Buchholz Protection
a major fault involving severe arcing causes a very rapid release Buchholz protection is normally provided on all transformers
of large volumes of gas as well as oil vapour. The action is so fitted with a conservator. The Buchholz relay is contained in a
violent that the gas and vapour do not have time to escape but cast housing which is connected in the pipe to the conservator,
instead build up pressure and bodily displace the oil. as in Figure 16.21.

When such faults occur in transformers having oil conservators, 3 x internal pipe
the fault causes a blast of oil to pass up the relief pipe to the diameter (min) Conservator
conservator. A Buchholz relay is used to protect against such 5 x internal pipe
conditions. Devices responding to abnormally high oil pressure diameter (min)
or rate-of-rise of oil pressure are also available and may be used
in conjunction with a Buchholz relay.

16.15.1 Oil Pressure Relief Devices

The simplest form of pressure relief device is the widely used 76mm typical
‘frangible disc’ that is normally located at the end of an oil
relief pipe protruding from the top of the transformer tank. Transformer

The surge of oil caused by a serious fault bursts the disc, so

allowing the oil to discharge rapidly. Relieving and limiting the A typical Buchholz relay will have two sets of contacts. One is
pressure rise avoids explosive rupture of the tank and arranged to operate for slow accumulations of gas, the other
consequent fire risk. Outdoor oil-immersed transformers are for bulk displacement of oil in the event of a heavy internal
usually mounted in a catchment pit to collect and contain spilt fault. An alarm is generated for the former, but the latter is
oil (from whatever cause), thereby minimising the possibility of usually direct-wired to the CB trip relay.
pollution. The device will therefore give an alarm for the following fault
A drawback of the frangible disc is that the oil remaining in the conditions, all of which are of a low order of urgency.
tank is left exposed to the atmosphere after rupture. This is  hot spots on the core due to short circuit of lamination
avoided in a more effective device, the sudden pressure relief insulation
valve, which opens to allow discharge of oil if the pressure
 core bolt insulation failure
exceeds a set level, but closes automatically as soon as the
internal pressure falls below this level. If the abnormal  faulty joints
pressure is relatively high, the valve can operate within a few  interturn faults or other winding faults involving only
milliseconds, and provide fast tripping when suitable contacts lower power infeeds
are fitted.
 loss of oil due to leakage
The device is commonly fitted to power transformers rated at When a major winding fault occurs, this causes a surge of oil,
2MVA or higher, but may be applied to distribution
which displaces the lower float and thus causes isolation of the
transformers rated as low as 200kVA, particularly those in
transformer. This action will take place for:
hazardous areas.
 all severe winding faults, either to earth or interphase
16.15.2 Sudden Pressure Rise Relay  loss of oil if allowed to continue to a dangerous degree
This device detects rapid rise of pressure rather than absolute An inspection window is usually provided on either side of the
pressure and thereby can respond even quicker than the gas collection space. Visible white or yellow gas indicates that
pressure relief valve to sudden abnormally high pressures. insulation has been burnt, while black or grey gas indicates the
Sensitivities as low as 0.07bar/s are attainable, but when fitted presence of, dissociated oil. In these cases the gas will
to forced-cooled transformers the operating speed of the probably be inflammable, whereas released air will not. A vent

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

valve is provided on the top of the housing for the gas to be moreover, the transformer-feeder can be protected as a single
released or collected for analysis. Transformers with forced oil zone or be provided with separate protections for the feeder
circulation may experience oil flow to/from the conservator on and the transformer. In the latter case, the separate
starting/stopping of the pumps. The Buchholz relay must not protections can both be unit type systems. An adequate
operate in this circumstance. alternative is the combination of unit transformer protection
with an unrestricted system of feeder protection, plus an
Cleaning operations may cause aeration of the oil. Under such
intertripping feature.
conditions, tripping of the transformer due to Buchholz
operation should be inhibited for a suitable period.
16.16.1 Non-Unit Schemes
Because of its universal response to faults within the The following sections describe how non-unit schemes are applied
transformer, some of which are difficult to detect by other to protect transformer-feeders against various types of fault.
means, the Buchholz relay is invaluable, whether regarded as
a main protection or as a supplement to other protection 16.16.1.1 Feeder phase and earth faults
schemes. Tests carried out by striking a high voltage arc in a
High-speed protection against phase and earth faults can be
transformer tank filled with oil, have shown that operation
provided by distance relays located at the end of the feeder
times of 0.05s-0.1s are possible. Electrical protection is
remote from the transformer. The transformer constitutes an
generally used as well, either to obtain faster operation for
appreciable lumped impedance. It is therefore possible to set a
heavy faults, or because Buchholz relays have to be prevented
distance relay zone to cover the whole feeder and reach part
from tripping during oil maintenance periods. Conservators
way into the transformer impedance. With a normal tolerance
are fitted to oil-cooled transformers above 1000kVA rating,
on setting thus allowed for, it is possible for fast Zone 1
except those to North American design practice that use a
protection to cover the whole of the feeder with certainty
different technique.
without risk of over-reaching to a fault on the low voltage side.
16.16 TRANSFORMER-FEEDER PROTECTION Although the distance zone is described as being set ’half way
A transformer-feeder comprises a transformer directly into the transformer’, it must not be thought that half the
connected to a transmission circuit without the intervention of transformer winding will be protected. The effects of auto-
switchgear. Examples are shown in Figure 16.22. transformer action and variations in the effective impedance of
the winding with fault position prevent this, making the
HV LV amount of winding beyond the terminals which is protected
very small. The value of the system is confined to the feeder,
which, as stated above, receives high-speed protection
throughout.

LV HV HV LV 16.16.1.2 Feeder phase faults

A distance scheme is not, for all practical purposes, affected by
varying fault levels on the high voltage busbars and is therefore
the best scheme to apply if the fault level may vary widely. In
cases where the fault level is reasonably constant, similar
HV LV protection can be obtained using high set instantaneous
overcurrent relays. These should have a low transient over-
reach ( t ), defined as:

IS  IF
 100%
IF
The saving in switchgear so achieved is offset by increased
complication in the necessary protection. The primary where:
requirement is intertripping, since the feeder protection remote Is = setting current
from the transformer will not respond to the low current fault
IF = steady state r.m.s value of the fault current, which when
conditions that can be detected by restricted earth fault and
fully offset, just operates the relay.
Buchholz protections.
The instantaneous overcurrent relays must be set without risk
Either unrestricted or restricted protection can be applied;

16-15
Protection & Automation Application Guide

of them operating for faults on the remote side of the ZT

ZS ZL
transformer. ~
Referring to Figure 16.23, the required setting to ensure that
the relay will not operate for a fully offset fault IF2 is given by:
I> >

I s  1.2 1  t  I F 2
IF1 IF2

Where IF2 is the fault current under maximum source

conditions, that is, when ZS is minimum, and the factor of 1.2 Setting ratio r 
IS
covers possible errors in the system impedance details used for I F1

calculation of IF2, together with relay and CT errors. Transient

5 25 50 100
over-reach (%)
As it is desirable for the instantaneous overcurrent protection 0.25 1.01 1.20 1.44 1.92
to clear all phase faults anywhere within the feeder under 0.5 0.84 1.00 1.20 1.60
varying system operating conditions, it is necessary to have a ZT
x 1.0 0.63 0.75 0.90 1.20
relay setting less than IF1 to ensure fast and reliable operation ZS  ZL
2.0 0.42 0.50 0.60 0.80
where IF1 is the fault current for a remote end feeder fault as
4.0 0.25 0.30 0.36 0.48
shown in Fig. 16.23.
8.0 0.14 0.17 0.20 0.27
Let the setting ratio resulting from setting Is be:
IS = Relay setting = 1 . 2 1  t  I F2
Is t = Transient over-reach (p.u.)
r
I F1
Therefore, It can be seen that for a given transformer size, the most
r I F1  1.2 1  t  I F 2 sensitive protection for the line will be obtained by using relays
with the lowest transient overreach. It should be noted that
Hence, where r is greater than 1, the protection will not cover the
ZS  ZL whole line. Also, any increase in source impedance above the
r  1.2 1  t  minimum value will increase the effective setting ratios above
Z S  Z L  ZT those shown. The instantaneous protection is usually applied
ZS  ZL with a time delayed overcurrent element having a lower
 1.2 1  t  current setting. In this way, instantaneous protection is
1  x Z S  Z L  provided for the feeder, with the time-delayed element
1.2 1  t  covering faults on the transformer.

1 x When the power can flow in the transformer-feeder in either
direction, overcurrent relays will be required at both ends. In
where:
the case of parallel transformer-feeders, it is essential that the
ZT overcurrent relays on the low voltage side be directional,
x
ZS  ZL operating only for fault current fed into the transformer-feeder,
as described in Section 9.14.3.

16.16.1.3 Earth faults

Instantaneous restricted earth fault protection is normally
provided. When the high voltage winding is delta connected, a
relay in the residual circuit of the line current transformers
gives earth fault protection which is fundamentally limited to
the feeder and the associated delta-connected transformer
winding. The latter is unable to transmit any zero sequence
current to a through earth fault.
When the feeder is associated with an earthed star-connected
winding, normal restricted earth fault protection as described

16-16
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

in Section 16.7 is not applicable because of the remoteness of appreciable capacitance between each conductor and earth.
the transformer neutral. During an external earth fault the neutral will be displaced,
and the resulting zero sequence component of voltage will
Restricted protection can be applied using a directional earth
produce a corresponding component of zero sequence
fault relay. A simple sensitive and high-speed directional
capacitance current. In the limiting case of full neutral
element can be used, but attention must be paid to the
displacement, this zero sequence current will be equal in value
transient stability of the element. Alternatively, a directional
to the normal positive sequence current.
IDMT relay may be used, the time multiplier being set low.
The slight inverse time delay in operation will ensure that The resulting residual current is equal to three times the zero
unwanted transient operation is avoided. sequence current and hence to three times the normal line
charging current. The value of this component of in-zone
When the supply source is on the high voltage star side, an
current should be considered when establishing the effective
alternative scheme that does not require a voltage transformer
setting of earth fault relays.
can be used. The scheme is shown in Figure 16.24. For the
circuit breaker to trip, both relays A and B must operate, which
16.16.2 Unit Schemes
will occur for earth faults on the feeder or transformer winding.
The basic differences between the requirements of feeder and
External earth faults cause the transformer to deliver zero transformer protections lie in the limitation imposed on the
sequence current only, which will circulate in the closed delta transfer of earth fault current by the transformer and the need
connection of the secondary windings of the three auxiliary for high sensitivity in the transformer protection, suggesting
current transformers. No output is available to relay B. that the two components of a transformer-feeder should be
Through phase faults will operate relay B, but not the residual protected separately. This involves mounting current
relay A. Relay B must have a setting above the maximum transformers adjacent to, or on, the high voltage terminals of
load. As the earthing of the neutral at a receiving point is likely the transformer. Separate current transformers are desirable
to be solid and the earth fault current will therefore be for the feeder and transformer protections so that these can be
comparable with the phase fault current, high settings are not arranged in two separate overlapping zones. The use of
a serious limitation. common current transformers is possible, but may involve the
use of auxiliary current transformers, or special winding and
A
connection arrangements of the relays. Intertripping of the
B
remote circuit breaker from the transformer protection will be
C necessary, but this can be done using the communication
facilities of the feeder protection relays.
Relay A I >>

Although technically superior, the use of separate protection

systems is seldom justifiable when compared with an overall
system or a combination of non-unit feeder protection and a
unit transformer system.
Relay B I >> I >> I >>
An overall unit system must take into account the fact that
zero sequence current on one side of a transformer may not be
reproduced in any form on the other side. This represents little
B difficulty to a modern numerical relay using software
+
phase/zero sequence compensation and digital
A B Trip
circuit communications to transmit full information on the phase and
B earth currents from one relay to the other. However, it does
represent a more difficult problem for relays using older
technology. The line current transformers can be connected to
Earth fault protection of the low voltage winding will be
a summation transformer with unequal taps, as shown in
provided by a restricted earth fault system using either three or
Figure 16.25(a). This arrangement produces an output for
four current transformers, according to whether the winding is
phase faults and also some response for A and B phase-earth
delta or star-connected, as described in Section 16.7.
faults. However, the resulting settings will be similar to those
for phase faults and no protection will be given for C phase-
16.16.1.4 In-zone capacitance
earth faults. An alternative technique is shown in Figure
The feeder portion of the transformer-feeder will have an

16-17
Protection & Automation Application Guide

16.25(b). Feeder A

The B phase is taken through a separate winding on another B

transformer or relay electromagnet, to provide another
C
balancing system. The two transformers are interconnected
with their counterparts at the other end of the feeder-
transformer by four pilot wires. Operation with three pilot
cores is possible but four are preferable, involving little increase D D
in pilot cost.
E E
16.17 INTERTRIPPING
To ensure that both the high and low voltage circuit breakers
operate for faults within the transformer and feeder, it is Differential relays
necessary to operate both circuit breakers from protection D Bias winding
E Operating winding
normally associated with one. The technique for doing this is
(a) Circulating current system
known as intertripping.
A
The necessity for intertripping on transformer-feeders arises
from the fact that certain types of fault produce insufficient B
current to operate the protection associated with one of the
C
circuit breakers. These faults are:
 faults in the transformer that operate the Buchholz
relay and trip the local low voltage circuit breaker, while
failing to produce enough fault current to operate the
protection associated with the remote high voltage
circuit breaker
Pilots

Relay electromagnets
(bias inherent)
(b) Balanced voltage system

 earth faults on the star winding of the transformer,

which, because of the position of the fault in the
winding, again produce insufficient current for relay
operation at the remote circuit breaker
 earth faults on the feeder or high voltage delta-
connected winding which trip the high voltage circuit
breaker only, leaving the transformer energised form
the low voltage side and with two high voltage phases
at near line-to-line voltage above earth. Intermittent
arcing may follow and there is a possibility of transient
overvoltage occurring and causing a further breakdown
of insulation
Several methods are available for intertripping; these are
discussed in Chapter 8.

16-18
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

16.17.1 Neutral Displacement 16.18.1 Provision of Vector Group Compensation and

An alternative to intertripping is to detect the condition by Zero-Sequence Filtering
measuring the residual voltage on the feeder. An earth fault Figure 16.27 shows a delta-star transformer to be protected
occurring on the feeder connected to an unearthed using a unit protection scheme. With a main winding
transformer winding should be cleared by the feeder circuit, connection of Dyn11, suitable choices of primary and
but if there is also a source of supply on the secondary side of secondary CT winding arrangements, and software phase
the transformer, the feeder may be still live. The feeder will compensation are to be made. With the KBCH relay, phase
then be a local unearthed system, and, if the earth fault compensation is selected by the user in the form of software-
continues in an arcing condition, dangerous overvoltages may implemented ICTs.
occur.
Dyn 11
A voltage relay is energised from the broken-delta connected Primary CTs Secondary CTs

secondary winding of a voltage transformer on the high

voltage line, and receives an input proportional to the zero
sequence voltage of the line, that is, to any displacement of the
neutral point; see Figure 16.26.
The relay normally receives zero voltage, but, in the presence
Id >
of an earth fault, the broken-delta voltage will rise to three
times the phase voltage. Earth faults elsewhere in the system Primary Unit Protection Secondary
may also result in displacement of the neutral and hence ICTs Relay ICTs
discrimination is achieved using definite or inverse time
characteristics. With the Dyn11 connection, the secondary voltages and
A
currents are displaced by +30o from the primary. Therefore,
B the combination of primary, secondary and phase correction
C must provide a phase shift of –30o of the secondary quantities
relative to the primary.
For simplicity, the CTs on the primary and secondary windings
Voltage
transformer of the transformer are connected in star. The required phase
shift can be achieved either by use of ICT connections on the
primary side having a phase shift of +30o or on the secondary
side having a phase shift of –30o. There is a wide combination
of primary and secondary ICT winding arrangements that can
provide this, such as Yd10 (+60o) on the primary and Yd3 (-
Ursd>
90o) on the secondary. Another possibility is Yd11 (+30o) on
the primary and Yy0 (0o) on the secondary. It is usual to
Residual choose the simplest arrangements possible, and therefore the
voltage relay latter of the above two possibilities might be selected.
However, the distribution of current in the primary and
secondary windings of the transformer due to an external earth
16.18 EXAMPLES OF TRANSFORMER fault on the secondary side of the transformer must now be
PROTECTION considered. The transformer has an earth connection on the
secondary winding, so it can deliver zero sequence current to
This section provides three examples of the application of
the fault. Use of star connected main CTs and Yy0 connected
modern relays to transformer protection. The latest MiCOM
ICTs provides a path for the zero sequence current to reach the
P640 series relay provides advanced software to simplify the
protection relay. On the primary side of the transformer, the
calculations, so an earlier Alstom type KBCH relay is used to
delta connected main primary winding causes zero-sequence
show the complexity of the required calculations.
current to circulate round the delta and hence will not be seen
by the primary side main CTs. The protection relay will
therefore not see any zero-sequence current on the primary
side, and hence detects the secondary side zero sequence

16-19
Protection & Automation Application Guide

current incorrectly as an in-zone fault. 1

Ratio =  1.428
The solution is to provide the ICTs on the secondary side of the 0.7
transformer with a delta winding, so that the zero-sequence Select nearest value = 1.43
current circulates round the delta and is not seen by the relay.
Therefore, a rule can be developed that a transformer winding 525
LV secondary current =  0.875
with a connection to earth must have a delta-connected main 600
or ICT for unit protection to operate correctly.
1
Selection of Yy0 connection for the primary side ICTs and Yd1 Ratio =  1.14
0.875
(–30o) for the secondary side ICTs provides the required phase
shift and the zero-sequence trap on the secondary side. 16.18.2.2 Transformer unit protection settings
Modern numerical MiCOM relays employ a setting wizard, A current setting of 20% of the rated relay current is
needing only vector group and zero sequence data to be recommended. This equates to 35A primary current. The KBCH
entered. The relay then automatically adapts itself to suit the relay has a dual slope bias characteristic with fixed bias slope
application. settings of 20% up to rated current and 80% above that level. The
corresponding characteristic is shown in Figure 16.29.
16.18.2 Unit Protection of a Delta-Star Transformer
differential current
Figure 16.28 shows a delta-star transformer to which unit 600
protection is to be applied, including restricted earth fault
protection to the star winding. 500
Differential current (A)

Referring to the figure, the ICTs have already been correctly

400
selected, and are conveniently applied in software. It therefore
remains to calculate suitable ratio compensation (it is assumed Operate
300
that the transformer has no taps), transformer differential
protection settings and restricted earth fault settings.
200
10MVA Restrain
33/11kV
Z=10% 100
Primary CT's Dyn11 Secondary CT's
Yy0, 250/1 Yy0, 600/1
0
0 200 400 600 800
FLC = 175A FLC = 525A
Effective bias (A)

600/1
16.18.2.3 Restricted earth fault protection
The KBCH relay implements high-impedance Restricted Earth
R=1000A Rstab
Fault (REF) protection. Operation is required for a primary
earth fault current of 25% rated earth fault current (i.e. 250A).
The prime task in calculating settings is to calculate the value
of the stabilising resistor Rstab and stability factor K.
Id >
A stabilising resistor is required to ensure through fault stability
Primary ICT's Unit Secondary ICT's
Yy0 protection Yd1 when one of the secondary CTs saturates while the others do
relay not. The requirements can be expressed as:

VS  I S Rstab
16.18.2.1 Ratio correction
And
Transformer HV full load current on secondary of main CTs is:
VS  KI f Rct  2Rl 
175
 0.7 where:
250

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

VS = stability voltage setting as

VK = CT knee point voltage VS  0.5  103.7  2  0.057  19.07V

K = relay stability factor Hence,

IS = relay current setting Calculated VK  4  19.07  76.28V
RCT = CT winding resistance However,

R1 = CT lead resistance Actual VK = 91V and VK/VS = 4.77

Rstab = stabilising resistor. Thus from Figure 16.30, with K = 0.5, the protection is
unstable.
For this example:
By adopting an iterative procedure for values of VK/VS and K,
VK = 97V
VK
RCT = 3.7Ω a final acceptable result of  4.55, K  0.6 is obtained.
VS
R1 = 0.057Ω This results in an operating time faster than 40ms.
For the relay used, the various factors are related by the graph The required earth fault setting current Iop is 250A. The
of Figure 16.30. chosen E/F CT has an exciting current Ie of 1%, and hence
using the equation:
70 0.1
I op  CTratio  I S  nI e 
Overall operation time - milliseconds

60
where:
50
0.2 n = no of CTs in parallel (=4)
40 Is = 0.377, use 0.38 nearest settable value.
K Factor

Overall Op 0.3
30 Time
The stabilising resistance Rstab can be calculated as 60.21.
0.4
Unstable The relay can only withstand a maximum of 3kV peak under
20 0.5
fault conditions. A check is required to see if this voltage is
Stable K Factor 0.6 exceeded – if it is, a non-linear resistor, known as a Metrosil,
10 0.7
0.8 must be connected across the relay and stabilising resistor.
0.9
0 1 The peak voltage is estimated using the formula:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Vk/Vs VP  2 2VK V f  VK 

where:
V
Starting with the desired operating time, the K ratio and K
VS V f  I f RCT  2Rl  Rstab 
factor can be found. And
An operating of 40ms (2 cycles at 50Hz) is usually acceptable, If = fault current in secondary of CT circuit and substituting
and hence, from Figure 16.30, values, VP = 544V. Thus a Metrosil is not required.
VK
 4, K  0.5 16.18.3 Unit Protection for On-Load Tap Changing
VS Transformer
The maximum earth fault current is limited by the earthing The previous example deals with a transformer having no taps.
resistor to 1000A (primary). The maximum phase fault In practice, most transformers have a range of taps to cater for
current can be estimated by assuming the source impedance different loading conditions. While most transformers have an
to be zero, so it is limited only by transformer impedance to off-load tap-changer, transformers used for voltage control in
5250A, or 10A secondary after taking account of the ratio a network are fitted with an on-load tap-changer. The
compensation. Hence the stability voltage can be calculated protection settings must then take the variation of tap-change

16-21
Protection & Automation Application Guide

position into account to avoid the possibility of spurious trips at reconditioning at a time of the asset-owner’s choosing is far
extreme tap positions. For this example, the same transformer more preferable than a forced unplanned outage due to failure.
as in Section 16.19.2 will be used, but with an on-load tapping
This section provides an overview of techniques commonly
range of +5% to -15%. The tap-changer is located on the
available in modern numerical transformer protection relays,
primary winding, while the tap-step usually does not matter.
which can extend to asset management of the protected
transformer.
16.18.3.1 Ratio correction
In accordance with Section 16.8.4 the mid-tap position is used 16.19.1 Loss of life monitoring
to calculate the ratio correction factors. The mid tap position is
Ageing of transformer insulation is a time-dependent function
–5%, and at this tap position:
of temperature, moisture, and oxygen content. The moisture
Primary voltage to give rated secondary voltage: and oxygen contributions to insulation deterioration are
= 33 x 0.95 = 31.35kV and Rated Primary Current = 184A minimised due to the preservation systems employed in the
design of most modern transformers. Therefore, temperature
Transformer HV full load current on secondary of main CTs is: is the key parameter in insulation ageing. Frequent excesses
184 of overloading will shorten the life-expectancy of the
 0.737 transformer, due to the elevated winding temperatures.
250
Insulation deterioration is not uniform, and will be more
1
Ratio compensation =  1.36 pronounced at hot-spots within the transformer tank.
0.737 Therefore, any asset management system intended to model
525 the rate of deterioration and current estimated state of the
LV secondary current =  0.875 insulation must do so based on simulated real-time hot spot
600 temperature algorithms. These models may take ambient
1 temperature, top-oil temperature, load current flowing, the
Ratio compensation =  1.14 status of oil pumps (pumping or not), and the status of
0.875
radiator fans (forced cooling or not) as inputs.
Both of the above values can be set in the relay.
The MiCOM P640 provides such a loss of life monitoring
16.18.3.2 Bias slope setting facility, according to the thermal model defined in IEEE
Standard C57.91. The protection algorithm determines the
The on-load tapping range of +5% to -15% gives rise to a
current rate of losing life, and uses that to indicate the
maximum excursion of 10% from the -5% mid-tap position.
remaining years or hours until critical insulation health
As the differential scheme notionally balances at this mid-tap,
statuses are likely to be reached. Such criticalities will relate
this means that as an approximation, the maximum
typically to known percentage degradations in the tensile
differential current that can flow when at top or bottom tap is
strength of the insulation, degradation in the degree of
10% of the load (or fault current which may flow to an external
polymerisation, and other life-loss factors. The asset owner
fault). Those relays having an adjustable k1 bias slope setting
can be alerted in advance that an outage will be required for
should ensure that it is at least 10% higher than the percentage
reconditioning or rewinding, such that investment budgeting
excursion.
can be made years and months ahead of time.
16.19 TRANSFORMER ASSET MANAGEMENT
16.19.2 Through-fault monitoring
Due to the high capital cost of transformers, and the need for
Loss of life monitoring serves to track the deterioration caused
their in-service availability to be as high as possible to avoid
by long term, repeated overloading. However, it is not the
constraining load flows demanded on the network, protection
right technique to monitor short-term heavy fault currents
is no-longer the only concern. As cities expand, consumers’
which flow through the transformer, out to an external fault on
lifestyle expectations raise, and electric vehicle recharging
the downstream power system (e.g. fault IF2 in Figure 16.23).
loads become more prevalent, these combine to increase the
Through faults are a major cause of transformer damage and
demand on the network - and it is through the transformers,
failure, as they stress the insulation and mechanical integrity -
between the different voltage levels on the system, that the
such as the bracing of the windings.
demand is traditionally supplied. This increases the focus on
knowing the health of transformers, real-time, to be able to A specific through-fault monitor is recommended to monitor
schedule condition-based maintenance. Maintenance or currents which are due to external faults passing through, and

16-22
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

so may range from 3.5 times up to tens of times the rated Monitored Equipment Measured Quantity Health Information
current of the transformer. The MiCOM P640 performs an I2t Voltage
calculation when the through current exceeds a user-set Partial discharge measurement Insulation quality
threshold, such that the heating effect of the square of the (wideband voltage)
maximum phase current, and the duration of the fault event Bushings Loading
are calculated. Calculation results are added to cumulative Load current Permissible overload rating
values, and monitored so that utilities can schedule Hot-spot temperature
transformer maintenance or identify a need for system
Oil pressure Insulation quality
reinforcement.
Hot-spot temperature
Oil temperature
Permissible overload rating
16.19.3 CONDITION MONITORING OF
Oil quality
TRANSFORMERS Tank Gas-in-oil content
Winding insulation condition
It is possible to provide transformers with measuring devices to
Moisture-in-oil content Oil quality
detect early signs of degradation in various components and
Buchholz gas content Winding insulation condition
provide warning to the operator to avoid a lengthy and
Frequency of use of each tap
expensive outage due to failure. The technique, which can be Position
position
applied to other plant as well as transformers, is called
Tap changer Drive power consumption OLTC health
condition monitoring, as the intent is to provide the operator
Total switched load current OLTC contact wear
with regular information on the condition of the transformer.
By reviewing the trends in the information provided, the OLTC oil temperature OLTC health

operator can make a better judgement as to the frequency of Oil temperature difference

maintenance, and detect early signs of deterioration that, if Cooling air temperature Cooler efficiency
Coolers
ignored, would lead to an internal fault occurring. Such Ambient temperature
techniques are an enhancement to, but are not a replacement Pump status Cooling plant health
for, the protection applied to a transformer. Conservator Oil level Tank integrity

The extent to which condition monitoring is applied to

transformers on a system will depend on many factors, As asset owners become more conscious of the costs of an
amongst which will be the policy of the asset owner, the unplanned outage, and electric supply networks are utilised
suitability of the design (existing transformers may require closer to capacity for long periods of time, the usefulness of
modifications involving a period out of service – this may be this technique can be expected to grow. See Section 16.20 for
costly and not justified), the importance of the asset to system further information on this topic.
operation, and the general record of reliability. Therefore, it
should not be expected that all transformers would be, or need
to be, so fitted.
A typical condition monitoring system for an oil-immersed
transformer is capable of monitoring the condition of various
transformer components as shown in Table 16.4. There can
be some overlap with the measurements available from a
digital/numerical relay. By the use of software to store and
perform trend analysis of the measured data, the operator can
be presented with information on the state of health of the
transformer, and alarms raised when measured values exceed
appropriate limits. This will normally provide the operator with
early warning of degradation within one or more components
of the transformer, enabling maintenance to be scheduled to
correct the problem prior to failure occurring. The maintenance
can obviously be planned to suit system conditions, provided
the rate of degradation is not excessive.

16-23
GENERATOR
AND GENERATOR
TRANSFORMER
PROTECTION
Chapter 17
GENERATOR AND GENERATOR
TRANSFORMER PROTECTION

17.1 Introduction 17.1 INTRODUCTION

17.2 Generator Earthing The core of an electric power system is the generation. With
17.3 Stator Winding Faults the exception of emerging fuel cell and solar-cell technology
for power systems, the conversion of the fundamental energy
17.4 Stator Winding Protection into its electrical equivalent normally requires a ‘prime mover’
17.5 D
 ifferential Protection of Direct Connected to develop mechanical power as an intermediate stage. The
Generators nature of this machine depends upon the source of energy and
in turn this has some bearing on the design of the generator.
17.6 D
 ifferential Protection of Generator- Generators based on steam, gas, water or wind turbines, and
Transformers reciprocating combustion engines are all in use. Electrical
ratings extend from a few hundred kVA (or even less) for recip-
17.7 Overcurrent Protection
rocating engine and renewable energy sets, up to steam turbine
17.8 Stator Earth Fault Protection sets exceeding 1200MVA.
17.9 Overvoltage Protection Small and medium sized sets may be directly connected to a
power distribution system. A larger set may be associated with
17.10 Undervoltage Protection
an individual transformer, through which it is coupled to the
17.11 Low Forward Power/Reverse Power EHV primary transmission system. Switchgear may or may not
Protection be provided between the generator and transformer. In some
cases, operational and economic advantages can be attained
17.12 Unbalanced Loading by providing a generator circuit breaker in addition to a high
17.13 Protection Against Inadvertent voltage circuit breaker, but special demands will be placed on
Energisation the generator circuit breaker for interruption of generator fault
current waveforms that do not have an early zero crossing.
17.14 U
 nder/Overfrequency/ Overfluxing
Protection A unit transformer may be tapped off the interconnection between
generator and transformer for the supply of power to auxiliary
17.15 Rotor Faults plant, as shown in Figure 17.1. The unit transformer could be of
17.16 Loss of Excitation Protection the order of 10% of the unit rating for a large fossil-fuelled steam
set with additional flue-gas desulphurisation plant, but it may
17.17 Pole Slipping Protection only be of the order of 1% of unit rating for a hydro set.
17.18 Stator Overheating
]17.19 Mechanical Faults Generator Main transformer

17.20 Complete Generator Protection Schemes ∼

17.21 Embedded Generation
17.22 Examples of Generator Protection Settings HV busbars
17.23 Reference
Unit transformer

Auxiliary
supplies switchboard
Figure 17.1: Generator-transformer unit

GEGridSolutions.com 17-1
Protection & Automation Application Guide

Industrial or commercial plants with a requirement for • overfluxing

steam/hot water now often include generating plant utilising • inadvertent energisation
or producing steam to improve overall economics, as a
• rotor electrical faults
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) scheme. The plant will
typically have a connection to the public Utility distribution • loss of excitation
system, and such generation is referred to as ‘embedded’ • loss of synchronism
generation. The generating plant may be capable of export of • failure of prime mover
surplus power, or simply reduce the import of power from the
supply Utility. This is shown in Figure 17.2. • lubrication oil failure
• overspeeding
Utility
• rotor distortion
• difference in expansion between rotating and stationary
parts
PCC • excessive vibration
Generator
Rating: yMW ∼ • core lamination faults

17.2 GENERATOR EARTHING

The neutral point of a generator is usually earthed to facilitate
Industrial plant
main busbar
protection of the stator winding and associated system.
Earthing also prevents damaging transient overvoltages in the
event of an arcing earth fault or ferroresonance.
For HV generators, impedance is usually inserted in the stator
earthing connection to limit the magnitude of earth fault
Plant feeders - total current. There is a wide variation in the earth fault current
demand: xMW chosen, common values being:
PCC: Point of Common Coupling
• rated current
When plant generator is running: • 200A-400A (low impedance earthing)
If y>x, Plant may export to Utility across PCC
If x>y, Plant max demand from Utility is reduced
• 10A-20A (high impedance earthing)
Figure 17.2: Embedded generation The main methods of impedance-earthing a generator are
A modern generating unit is a complex system comprising the shown in Figure 17.3. Low values of earth fault current may
generator stator winding, associated transformer and unit limit the damage caused from a fault, but they simultaneously
transformer (if present), the rotor with its field winding and make detection of a fault towards the stator winding star point
excitation system, and the prime mover with its associated more difficult. Except for special applications, such as marine,
auxiliaries. Faults of many kinds can occur within this system LV generators are normally solidly earthed to comply with
for which diverse forms of electrical and mechanical protection safety requirements. Where a step-up transformer is applied,
are required. The amount of protection applied will be the generator and the lower voltage winding of the
governed by economic considerations, taking into account the transformer can be treated as an isolated system that is not
value of the machine, and the value of its output to the plant influenced by the earthing requirements of the power system.
owner.
The following problems require consideration from the point of
view of applying protection:
• stator electrical faults
• overload
• overvoltage
• unbalanced loading

17-2
 Chapter 17 ⋅ Generator and Generator Transformer Protection

voltage above the rated value caused by a sudden loss of load

or by field forcing must be considered, as well as flux doubling
in the transformer due to the point-on-wave of voltage
application. It is sufficient that the transformer be designed to
(a) Direct earthing have a primary winding knee-point e.m.f. equal to 1.3 times
the generator rated line voltage.
Typical setting
(% of earthing 17.3 STATOR WINDING FAULTS
resistor rating) Failure of the stator windings or connection insulation can
I>> 10 result in severe damage to the windings and stator core. The
I> 5
extent of the damage will depend on the magnitude and
duration of the fault current.

(b) Resistance earthing

17.3.1 Earth Faults
The most probable mode of insulation failure is phase to earth.
Use of an earthing impedance limits the earth fault current
and hence stator damage.
An earth fault involving the stator core results in burning of the
Loading V>
resistor
iron at the point of fault and welds laminations together.
Replacement of the faulty conductor may not be a very serious
matter (dependent on set rating/voltage/construction) but the
(c) Distribution transformer earthing damage to the core cannot be ignored, since the welding of
with overvoltage relay. laminations may result in local overheating. The damaged
area can sometimes be repaired, but if severe damage has
occurred, a partial core rebuild will be necessary. A flashover is
more likely to occur in the end-winding region, where electrical
Loading stresses are highest. The resultant forces on the conductors
resistor would be very large and they may result in extensive damage,
requiring the partial or total rewinding of the generator. Apart
I> from burning the core, the greatest danger arising from failure
to quickly deal with a fault is fire. A large portion of the
(d) Distribution transformer earthing
with overcurrent relay
insulating material is inflammable, and in the case of an air-
cooled machine, the forced ventilation can quickly cause an
Figure 17.3: Methods of generator earthing
arc flame to spread around the winding. Fire will not occur in
An earthing transformer or a series impedance can be used as a hydrogen-cooled machine, provided the stator system
the impedance. If an earthing transformer is used, the remains sealed. In any case, the length of an outage may be
continuous rating is usually in the range 5-250kVA. The considerable, resulting in major financial impact from loss of
secondary winding is loaded with a resistor of a value which, generation revenue and/or import of additional energy.
when referred through the transformer ratio, will pass the
chosen short-time earth-fault current. This is typically in the 17.3.2 Phase-Phase Faults
range of 5-20A. The resistor prevents the production of high
Phase-phase faults clear of earth are less common; they may
transient overvoltages in the event of an arcing earth fault,
occur on the end portion of stator coils or in the slots if the
which it does by discharging the bound charge in the circuit
winding involves two coil sides in the same slot. In the latter
capacitance. For this reason, the resistive component of fault
case, the fault will involve earth in a very short time. Phase
current should not be less than the residual capacitance
fault current is not limited by the method of earthing the
current. This is the basis of the design, and in practice values
neutral point.
of between 3-5 Ico are used.
It is important that the earthing transformer never becomes 17.3.3 Interturn Faults
saturated; otherwise a very undesirable condition of Interturn faults are rare, but a significant fault-loop current
ferroresonance may occur. The normal rise of the generated

17-3