GENERATOR GROUNDING

Contents:

Theory
ƒ Introduction
ƒ Objective of Generator Grounding
Generator Grounding Types
ƒ High-impedance grounding
ƒ Low resistance grounding
ƒ Reactance grounding
ƒ Grounding transformer grounding
ƒ Examples
ƒ High Resistance Grounding

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 Electrical power system

•
M
G

Generation Transmission Distribution Consumption

3
Grounding System

4
GENERATOR GROUNDING

NEUTRAL
POINT

11kV

Grounding
Method ? 3.3kV

400V

5
GENERATOR GROUNDING

Principle Objective of grounding a synchronous

generator system is the protection of generator and
associated against damage caused by abnormal
electrical conditions.

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Grounding Method

1. Ungrounded

2. High-resistance grounded

3. Low-resistance grounded

4. Low-inductance grounded

5. Effectively grounded

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OBJECTIVES OF GENERATOR GROUNDING

Minimize damage for internal ground fault

Limit mechanical stress in the generator for external ground faults

Limitation Temporary overvoltages and Transient overvoltage on

generator insulation system.

To provide a mean for detecting ground fault within the machine

Coordination the protection of Generator with requirements of other

equipment connected at Generator voltage level

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 Minimizing Damage for Internal Ground Faults

Key of Minimizing Damage

Low fault current and fast fault clearing

Normal shut down sequence

Ground fault relay initiated –Tripping

Generator Breaker , Excitation

Fault energy generated = I2Rf t,

where Rf is the fault resistance

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Ground fault current depend on Grounding Method

Order of increasing fault current:

1. Resonant grounded
low
2 Ungrounded
3 High-resistance grounded
4 Low-resistance grounded
5 Low-inductance grounded
Increase fault
6 Effectively grounded current direction

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Effects of Arc Burning on Stator Core Laminations

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Allowable damage criteria for copper or aluminum

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OBJECTIVES OF GENERATOR GROUNDING

Minimize damage for internal ground fault

Limit mechanical stress in the generator for external ground faults

Limitation Temporary overvoltages and Transient overvoltage on

generator insulation system.

To provide a mean for detecting ground fault within the machine

Coordination the protection of Generator with requirements of other

equipment connected at Generator voltage level

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Limiting Mechanical Stress in the Generator for External Ground Faults

ƒ Meeting the limitation of ANSI C 50-12-1981 and ANSI C 50-13-

1977 requires that at least a minimum value of impedance, either a
resistance or a reactance be installed in the neutral of all wye-
connected grounded generators where the zero-sequence
reactance is less than positive-sequence subtransient reactance

X0 < X1
ƒ The sufficient neutral impedance is used to make the phase-to-
ground fault current less than or equal to the 3-phase fault
current with the machine isolated from the system, the winding
currents for any fault will be less than or equal to the winding
current for a 3-phase fault

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OBJECTIVES OF GENERATOR GROUNDING

Minimize damage for internal ground fault

Limit mechanical stress in the generator for external ground faults

Limitation Temporary overvoltages and Transient overvoltage on

generator insulation system.

To provide a mean for detecting ground fault within the machine

Coordination the protection of Generator with requirements of other

equipment connected at Generator voltage level

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ƒ Limiting Overvoltages on Generator Insulation

The grounding affects generator overvoltage protection in controlling the

magnitude of temporary and transient overvoltages during a ground fault
and, consequently, determines the minimum rating of surge arresters that
can be employed,

1 Effectively grounded
2 Low-inductance grounded
3 Low-resistance grounded Increase
Temporary
4 Resonant grounded overvoltage
5 High-resistance grounded direction

6 Ungrounded

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 ƒ Limiting Overvoltages on Generator Insulation

Cg = capacitance of all
phase to ground , (3 C0)

Xcg =1/2 π f Cg
Rn = effective neutral
resistance

Transient Voltage in Percent of Rated Peak Line-to-Ground Generator Voltage for

Any Number of Restrikes in the Fault Arc or Across Circuit Breaker Contacts with
Distribution Transformer and Secondary Resistor scheme

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OBJECTIVES OF GENERATOR GROUNDING

Minimize damage for internal ground fault

Limit mechanical stress in the generator for external ground faults

Limitation Temporary overvoltages and Transient overvoltage on

generator insulation system.

To provide a mean for detecting ground fault within the machine

Coordination the protection of Generator with requirements of other

equipment connected at Generator voltage level

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ƒ Providing a Means of Generator System Ground-Fault Protection

Grounding generator has a significant impact on the sensitivity and

speed of ground-fault relaying for the generator and other apparatus
connected to the generator voltage system.

¾ Ungrounded, high-resistance, and resonant-grounded systems

allow for the most sensitive ground-fault detection

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OBJECTIVES OF GENERATOR GROUNDING

Minimize damage for internal ground fault

Limit mechanical stress in the generator for external ground faults

Limitation Temporary overvoltages and Transient overvoltage on

generator insulation system.

To provide a mean for detecting ground fault within the machine

Coordination the protection of Generator with requirements of other

equipment connected at Generator voltage level

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ƒ Coordinating with the Other Apparatus at Generator Voltage Level

Requirement for selective relaying

Overvoltage control

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Generator grounding

Winding configurations

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Winding Configuration

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Generator Grounding Method

¾ Neutral Grounding

¾ No Neutral Grounding

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 GUIDE OF THE APPLICATION

OF

NEUTRAL GROUNDING IN ELECTRICAL UTILITY SYSTEM

GROUNDING OF SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR SYSTEM

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Grounding Method

Solidly Ground (Effectively Grounded)

High Resistance Grounding

Low Resistance Grounding

Reactance Grounding

Grounding Transformer Grounding

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Generator Grounding Method

Solidly Ground Neutral

This method is not recommend for following reasons

¾ Risk of mechanical damage from line to ground fault

¾ Abnormal third harmonic current flow

¾ Generator is normally designed to withstand stress

associated with three- phase fault at the machine
terminals. Because of low zero-sequence
impedance in generators, a solid phase-to-ground
fault at the machine terminals will produce higher
winding currents than those from a three-phase
fault.
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Solidly Ground Neutral (Solidly (Effective) Grounded)
Advantage: Low transient voltage, better
measuring conditions for the protection

Disadvantage: Great damages to

generators, Leakage zero-
sequence currents

Application at low voltage generators

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Grounding Method

Solidly Ground (Effectively Grounded)

High Resistance Grounding

Low Resistance Grounding

Reactance Grounding

Grounding Transformer Grounding

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Generator Grounding Method
High- Resistance Grounding
Two Methods of Neutral High-Resistance Grounding:

‰ Resistor Directly connected to Neutral

9 this method is not recommend as high resistance and low
current make the resistor more fragile and prone to
mechanical damage.

‰ Distribution transformer and resistor combination

9 A single-phase distribution transformer is used for neutral
grounding and the resistor is connected to secondary. This
combination permits the application of a robust and higher
current-rated resistor.

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Generator Grounding Method –Resistor directly connected to ground

High- Resistance Grounding

The neutral current is limited 5-10A.

The main advantages :

¾ Minimum damage from internal ground faults.

¾ Transient overvoltage is limited

The Criteria of High-Resistance grounding

Load
Resistor < 10 A
Xcg
Rn ≤ Xcg or ≥ 1.0
Rn
Rn is the effective neutral resistance
Xcg is the capacitive reactance of the three phases
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 Generator Grounding Method –Resistor directly connected to ground

High- Resistance Grounding

Advantage : Small Fault Current

Disadvantage : High Transient Overvoltage

for intermittent ground faults

(2.5- 3 ) Voltage Phase-ground

Standard Application

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Generator Grounding Method-Distribution transformer and resistor combination

High- Resistance Grounding

Advantage:
ƒ Low- Ohmic value Load Resistor
ƒ Primary current 3 – 15 A
ƒ Rugged construction
ƒ More details, to be added
and Example to calculate R

Standard Application

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Generator Grounding Method-Distribution transformer and resistor combination

High- Resistance Grounding

ZA
or B
UGen
V n UR
3
UR
Voltage Relay

DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER NEUTRAL GROUNDING 34

Generator Grounding Method-Distribution transformer and resistor combination

High- Resistance Grounding

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Generator Grounding Method-Distribution transformer and resistor combination

High- Resistance Grounding

High-resistance grounding with resistor in the neutral 36

EXAMPLE : TYPICAL HIGH -RESISTANCE NEUTRAL GROUNDING
High- Resistance Grounding

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EXAMPLE : TYPICAL HIGH -RESISTANCE NEUTRAL GROUNDING
High- Resistance Grounding

Generator windings 0.24

Generator surge capacitor 0.25
Generator-to-transformer leads 0.004
Power transformer low-voltage winding 0.03
Station service transformer high-voltage winding 0.004

Voltage transformer windings 0.0005

Total capacitance to ground 0.5285

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Generator Grounding Method

High- Resistance Grounding

To power
system
X 1 = X 2 = 4%
Gen. VT's X 0 = 12%
Power transformer 100 MVA
surge 160 MVA
160 MVA 345 kV
Distribution capacitors 18: 345 kV
18 kV
transformer 15 %
Xd = X 2 = .21pu Unit
auxiliaries
transformer
15 MVA
18: 2.4 kV

R V0

0R Unit auxiliaries
service
bus

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Generator Grounding Method

High- Resistance Grounding

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Generator Grounding Method

High- Resistance Grounding

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Generator Grounding Method
Low-Resistance Grounding
This method permits coordination with other equipment connected
to the system and is generally used where:

¾ Generator is connected directly to the plant load bus

with outgoing feeders
¾ Two or more generators bused at voltage are connected
to the system through one step-up transformer.
Load
Resistor < 200 - 400 A

The resistor rating is usually from 100A to 1.5 time

generator full- load current with a short time
rating of 10 s.

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Generator Grounding Method

Low-Resistance Grounding

Advantage: Lower transient overvoltage,

95-98% protective range of
Generator protection

Disadvantage: High resistor cost

Great damage to generators
at longer fault duration
Load
Resistor < 200 - 400 A
Application in industrial plants

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 Generator Grounding Method- Ungrounded system

Grounded through a grounding transformer

This method is used to provide low-resistance grounding for the
same as low-resistance grounding and offered some advantages.

The ground current is not effect

by the number of units connected
to bus or system interconnection

Zig-Zag
GROUNDING
TRANSFORMER

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Generator Grounding Method

Low- Reactor Grounding

This method is generally used where the generator is connected
directly to the distribution system with solidly ground neutral

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 Generator Grounding Method

Reactor Grounding

Advantage : Small fault current at the fault location

Disadvantage : Transient overvoltage
( < 2.5 Phase-ground Voltage)
Higher cost

Very seldom; used in older plants

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Generator Grounding Method No Neutral Grounding
(Ungrounded )

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Generator Grounding Method
No Neutral Grounding

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BASIC GROUNDING

Voltages without ground fault Voltages at the point of ground fault at phase A
VCG=VCA
ƒ VLG voltage decreases in the faulty phase
(min -> 0)
N
VAG= 0 ƒ VLG voltage in both healthy phases are
increase (max -> Line to Line voltage)

ƒ VNG displacement voltage

(can measure at the star point)
VBG = VBA

ƒ VXG = voltage Line to ground

ƒ No displacement voltage (VNG = 0)

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Generator Ground Fault Current (Single Line to Ground)

Model
A
B
C

Ib Ic

VCG
1
XCg = ω = 2π f
ωCg
Vf = 3V0 N
VAG= 0
XCg = Three phase capacitance reactance to ground
Ib Ic

VBG
If

Vector diagram: ground fault in phase A

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Correlation from Earth fault location
Displacement voltage V0 (U0) and earth current IE (3I0) as function of the fault
location of an earth fault in the machine winding.

V0 Z0

VAG VBG
VAG VBG

V0 V0

V0
IE = 3
Z0

At faults close to the star-point the displacement voltage and the earth
currents become small.
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Elimination of the Disturbance High Voltage Ground Fault
Problem: grid earth faults cause disturbances Solution: attenuation by means of
due to the coupling capacitance between the a load resistor
two transformer windings Ck

CG CL R Prim CTr
R= 2
⎛ Q TR ⎞
⎜ ⎟
⎝ 3 ⎠ UGen 100 500
QTR = V V UN
3 3 3 UEO 
Note: 3
Earthing At solidly earthed
(Limb transformation ratio)
transformer
transformer the U is
UR
appr. 80% of UN/√3
(Safety margin, if solidly
earthing is open)

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Unit Connection – Influence on the Coupling Capacitance

equivalent circuit disturbance voltage

UC

R prim
U R ,prim ≈ U EO
1 220kV
R prim +
jω C K C K = 10 nF U EO =
CK 3
UR,Prim CE Rprim UEO Example: U N ,G = 10 .5 kV R = 5 Ω
uTr = 36 .4
2
⎛ u ⎞
R Prim = R. ⎜ Tr ⎟ = 735 Ω
⎝ 3 ⎠
CG+CL+CTr neglected ⇒ U R ,prim = 293V
UEO displacement voltage on the high voltage side
CK three phase coupling capacitance ⇒ U R ,sek ≈ 24V
Rprim primary load resistor
24V
üTr earthing transformer ratio ⇒ ⇒ 4 .83 % disturbance
500V
influence
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Unit Connection with Neutral Transformer

Generator Unit transformer

UGen
n= UR
3
UR

A high secondary nominal voltage UR (250V - 500V) is selected in

order to avoid very small load resistors.

R
Rsek = prim
Design of Rprim so that the fault current is < 10A
n

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Fault Current : High-Resistance Grounding (Distribution Transformer)

C 0 = CGEN + CMB + CAUX + CMSU

1
X0=
ω (CGEN + CMB + CAUX + CMSU )

X0
Xcg =
3
Rn = Xcg
Rn = effective neutral resistance
Rn
R= 2
n C0 = total of capacitance to ground/ phase

X0 = total of capacitance reactance to ground / phase

Xcg = total of reactance capacitance to ground seen at
….Neutral
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Directional Stator Earth Fault Protection
L L L 1 2 3

Network
L1
L2
L3
CE
Earthing
IC + IR transformer
3U0

Ohmic current
3i0 √3u0 boost
• DFT √3U0 >, 3I0 > UL1 UL2
•Direction
(√3U0 , 3I0)
3I0
IR

ICL2
IC

ICL1

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Fault Currents – Direct Connection

G1

IMess

G2

IMess

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Fault Currents – Direct Connection with Earthing Transformer

G1

IMess

G2 Earthing transformer
Ohmic current
RB

IMess

58
Directional Stator Earth Fault Protection - Characteristic

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