Distribution System Feeder

Overcurrent Protection
General Electric
GET-6450

HISTORICAL PAPER
from the GE Archive

1. Introduction
With the increasing loads, voltages and short-circuit duty of
distribution substation feeders, distribution overcurrent protection
has become more important today than it was even 10 years ago.
The ability of the protective equipment to minimize damage when
failures do occur and also to minimize service interruption time is
demanded not only for economic reasons but also because the
general public just expects “reliable” service.

This publication will attempt to review some of the present

distribution practices, particularly with regard to relaying, in
view of some of these new developments. It is not the purpose
of this publication to settle the controversy surrounding some
of the problems dealt with, but rather to give the reader a better
understanding of distribution overcurrent protection problems
and some of the methods being used to solve them.

Among the areas covered will be such things as: cold load pickup,
ground-fault detection, tripping methods, current-transformer
(CT) connections, line burndown, and coordination between
various devices.

2. Relay Fundamentals
2.1 Required Characteristics
The required characteristics necessary for protective equipment
to perform its function properly are: sensitivity, selectivity, speed
and reliability. This is especially true for relays.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity applies to the ability of the relay to operate reliably

under the actual condition that produces the least operating
tendency. For example, a time-overcurrent relay must operate
under the minimum fault current condition expected. In the normal
operation of a power system, generation is switched in and out
to give the most economical power generation for different loads
which can change at various times of the day and various seasons
of the year. The relay on a distribution feeder must be sensitive Selectivity
enough to operate under the condition of minimum generation
when a short circuit at a given point to be protected draws a Selectivity is the ability of the relay to differentiate between those
minimum current through the relay. (NOTE: On many distribution conditions for which immediate action is required and those for
systems, the fault-current magnitude does not differ very much which no action or a time-delayed operation is required. The
for minimum and maximum generation conditions because most relays must be able to recognize faults on their own protected
of the system impedance is in the transformer and lines rather equipment and ignore, in certain cases, all faults outside their
than the generators themselves.)

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 1

 protective area. It is the purpose of the relay to be selective in by the instantaneous curve of Figure 2. The time-overcurrent
the sense that, for a given fault condition, the minimum number relay (IAC, IFC, or SFC) has an operating characteristic such that
of devices operate to isolate the fault and interrupt service to the its operating time varies inversely as the current flowing in the
fewest customers possible. An example of an inherently selective relay. This type of characteristic is also shown in Figure 2. The
scheme is differential relaying; other types, which operate with diagram shows the three most commonly used time-overcurrent
time delay for faults outside of the protected apparatus, are said characteristics: inverse, very inverse, and extremely inverse. These
to be relatively selective. If protective devices are of different curves differ by the rate at which relay operating time decreases
operating characteristics, it is especially important that selectivity as the current increases.
be established over the full range of short-circuit current
magnitudes. Both types of overcurrent relays are inherently nonselective in
that they can detect overcurrent conditions not only in their own
Speed protected equipment but also in adjoining equipment. However,
in practice, selectivity between overcurrent relays protecting
Speed is the ability of the relay to operate in the required time different system elements can be obtained on the basis of
period. Speed is important in clearing a fault since it has a direct sensitivity (pickup) or operating time or a combination of both,
bearing on the damage done by the short-circuit current; thus, depending on the relative time-current characteristics of the
the ultimate goal of the protective equipment is to disconnect the particular relays involved. These methods of achieving selectivity
faulty equipment as quickly as possible. will be illustrated later. Directional relays may also be used with
Reliability overcurrent relays to achieve selectivity.

A basic requirement of protective relaying equipment is that it The application of overcurrent relays is generally more difficult
be reliable. Reliability refers to the ability of the relay system to and less permanent than that of any other type of relaying. This
perform correctly. It denotes the certainty of correct operation is because the operation of overcurrent relays is affected by
together with the assurance against incorrect operation from all variations in short-circuit-current magnitude caused by changes
extraneous causes. The proper application of protective relaying in system operation and configuration. Overcurrent relaying in
equipment involves the correct choice not only of relaying one form or another has been used for relaying of all system
equipment but also of the associated apparatus. For example, components. It is now used primarily on distribution systems
lack of suitable sources of current and voltage for energizing the where low cost is an important factor.
relay may compromise, if not jeopardize, the protection. Figure 3 shows a family of inverse-time curves of the widely used
IAC relay, which is an induction disc type. The time curves for the
2.2 Characteristics of Overcurrent Relays new design IFC relay are similar.
The overcurrent relay is the simplest type of protective relay. (See A curve is shown for each numerical setting of the time dial scale.
Figure 1.) As the name implies, the relay is designed to operate Any intermediate curves can be obtained by interpolation since
when more than a predetermined amount of current flows into a the adjustment is continuous.
particular portion of the power system. There are two basic forms
of overcurrent relays: the instantaneous type and the time-delay It will be noted that the curves shown in Figure 3 are plotted in
type. terms of multiples of pickup value, so that the same curves can be
used for any value of pickup. This is possible with induction-type
The instantaneous overcurrent relay is designed to operate with relays where the pickup adjustment is by coil taps, because the
no intentional time delay when the current exceeds the relay ampere-turns at pickup are the same for each tap. Therefore at
setting. Nonetheless, the operating time of this type of relay can a given multiple of pickup, the coil ampere-turns, and hence the
vary significantly. It may be as low as 0.016 seconds or as high as torque, are the same regardless of the tap used.
0.1 seconds. The operating characteristic of this relay is illustrated
Current tap block Time dial Instantaneous
unit pickup
Sliding top lead Time dial
adjustment
Current tap block
Instantaneous unit
Target and calibration plate
seal-in unit Sliding top lead
Seal-in contact Instantaneous unit
pickup adjustment
Time-overcurrent Instantaneous unit Target and
stationary contact contact seal-in unit Instantaneous
Control spring Target coil tops unit contact
Identification
Operating coil card
Time overcurrent Time-overcurrent
Time-overcurrent
Damping magnet stationary contact moving contact
moving contact
Induction disk Seal-in contact Identification
Chassis contact
card
Cradle block Operating coil
Latch

Typical IAC relay mechanism with standard hinged armature instantaneous unit Typical IFC relay mechanism with standard hinged armature instantaneous unit
withdrawn from case (Model 12IAC53BB10A) withdrawn from case (model 12IFC53B1A)

Figure 1.
Typical IAC and IFC time-overcurrent relays

2 Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection

 The time-current curves shown in Figure 3 can be used not only to
determine how long it will take the relay to close its contacts at a given
multiple of pickup and for any time adjustment, but also how far the
relay disc will travel toward the contact-closed position within any
time interval. For example, assume that the No. 5 time-dial adjustment
is used and that the multiple of pickup is 3. It will take the relay 2.45
seconds to close its contacts. We see that in 1.45 seconds, the relay
would close its contacts if the No. 3 time-dial adjustment were used. In
other words, in 1.45 seconds the disc travels a distance corresponding
to 3.0 time-dial divisions, or three fifths of the total distance to close
the contacts.

For the most effective use of an inverse-time relay characteristic, its

pickup should be chosen so that the relay will be operating on the most
inverse part of its time curve over the range of values of current for
which the relay must operate. In other words, the minimum value of
current for which the relay must operate should be at least 1.5 times
pickup, but not very much more.

Figure 4 shows the application of time-overcurrent relays to a radial

Figure 2. feeder and the total tripping time characteristics for faults at any
Time-current characteristics of overcurrent relays
location along a circuit. The figure shows the increase in the minimum
tripping time as faults occur nearer to the distribution substation - an
increase inherent with overcurrent relaying. It also shows the effect of
the inverse-time characteristic in reducing this increase. Obviously, the
more line sections there are in series, the greater is the tripping time at
the source end. It is not at all unusual for this time to be as high as 2 or
3 seconds. This is not a very long time according to some standards,
but it would be intolerable if system stability or line burndown were an
important consideration.

During light loads, some of the generators are usually shut down. At
other times, the system may be split into several parts. In either case,
the short-circuit current tends to vary with the amount of generation
feeding it. It should be appreciated that a reduction in the magnitude of
shortcircuit current raises all of the characteristic curves of Figure 4.

For locations where inverse time-overcurrent relays must be mutually

selective, it is generally a good policy to use relays whose time-current
curves have the same degree of inverseness. Otherwise, the problem
of obtaining selectivity over wide ranges of short-circuit current may
be difficult. Instantaneous or undelayed overcurrent relaying is used
only for primary relaying to supplement inverse-time relaying and is
presently being used by most utilities. It can be used only when the
current during short circuit is substantially greater than that under
any other possible condition - for example, the momentary current
that accompanies the energization of certain system components. The
Figure 3.
zone of protection of undelayed overcurrent relaying is established
Inverse time curves

Figure 4.
Operating time of overcurrent relays with inverse time characteristics

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 3

 entirely by adjustment of sensitivity and The extremely inverse relay characteristic
is terminated short of the far end of the has also been found helpful, under certain
line. For instance, the instantaneous- FASTER TRIPPING conditions, in permitting a feeder to be
overcurrent relay is usually set so that returned to service after a prolonged
its pickup is 25 percent higher than the UNDER THE MAXIMUM outage.
maximum current the relay will see for a
After such a feeder has been out of
three-phase fault at the end of the line. SHORT-CIRCUIT service for so long a period that the
With this setting, the instantaneous relay
normal “off” period of all intermittent
will provide fault protection for about 80
percent of the line section.
CONDITIONS IS THE loads (such as furnaces, refrigerators,
pumps, water heaters, etc.) has been
Undelayed (“instantaneous”) trips can PRIMARY OBJECTIVE exceeded, reclosing the feeder throws
frequently be added to inverse-time all of these loads on at once without the
relaying and effect a considerable usual diversity. The total inrush current,
reduction in tripping time. This is shown also referred to as cold-load pickup, may
in Figure 5 where the two sets of be approximately four times the normal
characteristics are superimposed. The time saved through the peak-load current. This inrush current decays very slowly and will
use of the instantaneous relays is shown by the shaded area. A be approximately 1.5 times normal peak current after as much as
reduction in the magnitude of short-circuit current shortens the three or four seconds. Only an extremely inverse characteristic
distance over which the instantaneous unit operates and may relay provides selectivity between this inrush and short-circuit
even reduce this distance to zero. However, this fact is usually of current.
no great importance since faster tripping under the maximum
short-circuit conditions is the primary objective. 2.3 CT Connections
Instantaneous tripping is feasible only if there is a substantial A minimum of three overcurrent relays and a total of three
increase in the magnitude of the short-circuit current as the current transformers is required to detect all possible faults in a
short circuit is moved from the far end of a line toward the relay three-phase AC system. Two of the relays are usually connected
location. This increase should be at least two or three times. For in the phase circuits and the third relay is usually connected
this reason, it often happens that instantaneous relaying can be in the residual circuit of the current transformers as shown
used only on certain lines and not on others. in Figure 6. Sensitive ground-fault protection and protection
against simultaneous grounds on different parts of the system is
On systems where the magnitude of short-circuit current flowing
provided by this arrangement whether the system is grounded or
through any given relay is dependent mainly upon the location
ungrounded. On ungrounded systems, current flows in the residual
of the fault to the relay, and only slightly or not at all upon the
relay when grounds occur on different phases on opposite sides
generation in service, faster clearing can usually be obtained with
of the current transformer location as indicated in Figure 6.
very-inverse-time-overcurrent relays (IAC 53, IFC 53, or SFC 153).
Where the shortcircuit current magnitude is dependent largely On three-phase, four-wire systems (which represent a large
upon system generating capacity at the time of the fault, better percentage of the new installations), it is not always possible to
results will be obtained with relays having inverse-time operating balance perfectly the single-phase loads among the three phases.
characteristics (IAC 51, IFC 51, or SFC 151). The use of a sensitive residual ground overcurrent relay may not
be feasible if the relay picks up under normal load conditions. For
However, towards the ends of primary distribution circuits, fuses
such systems, the three overcurrent relays are often connected
are sometimes used instead of relays and breakers. In the region
in the phase circuits of the current transformers and the sensitive
where the transition occurs, it is frequently necessary to use
ground-fault protection sacrificed. An alternative is to use the
overcurrent relays having extremely inverse characteristics (IAC
residual connection of the ground relay in Figure 6 and to set
77, IFC 77 or SFC 177) to coordinate with the fuse characteristics.
the pickup of the relay above the maximum expected unbalance
phase current.

Figure 5.
Reduction in tripping time using instantaneous relaying

4 Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection

It is the practice of some operating companies to block the residual This coil is called the “seal-in” or “holding” coil. Other relays use a
relay to prevent false tripping of the circuit breaker during periods small auxiliary relay whose contacts by-pass the protective relay
of routine maintenance or when balancing loads on the feeders. contacts and seal the circuit closed while tripping current flows.
This leaves feeders without protection for a line-to-ground fault This seal-in relay may also display the target. In either case, the
on the phase without an overcurrent relay, while the residual relay circuit is arranged so that, once the trip-coil current starts to flow,
is blocked. It is the usual practice of these companies to request it can be interrupted only by a circuit breaker auxiliary switch (that
three phase overcurrent relays in addition to one residual-ground is connected in series with the trip-coil circuit) and that opens
relay for these feeders. This gives complete overcurrent protection when the breaker opens. This auxiliary switch is defined as an “a”
to the feeders at all times. contact.

The circuits of both alternatives are shown in Figure 7.

2.4 Seal-in (or holdings) Coils and Seal-in
Relays 2.5 Tripping Methods
To protect the contacts from damage resulting from a possible The substation circuit-breaker tripping power may be from either
inadvertent attempt to interrupt the flow of the circuit-breaker a DC or an AC source. A DC tripping source is usually obtained from
trip-coil current, some relays are provided with a holding a tripping battery, but may also be obtained from a station service
mechanism comprising a small coil in series with the contacts. battery or a charged capacitor. The AC tripping source is obtained
This coil is on a small electromagnet that acts on a small armature from current transformers located in the circuit to be protected.
on the moving contact assembly to hold the contacts tightly
closed once they have established the flow of trip-coil current.

Figure 6. Figure 7.
Elementary diagram of overcurrent relays used for Alternative contact seal-in methods
phase- and ground-fault protection of three-phase circuit

Figure 8.
Elementary diagram of overcurrent relays used with DC battery tripping

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 5

 substations in outlying locations where periodic maintenance is
difficult, such as many single-circuit substation applications, other
types of tripping sources may be more satisfactory.

2.6 Capacitor Trip

An AC potential source is required for charging the capacitors
used in the capacitor trip unit. This source may be either a control
power transformer or a potential transformer connected where
voltage is normally present. A control power transformer is usually
used because it is required for AC closing of the circuit breakers.
Capacitor trip uses the same standard single-closing contact
relays as DC battery trip (see Figure 9). A separate capacitor trip
unit is required for each breaker in the substation. The charging
time for the unit is approximately 0.04 second and any failure in
the charging source for a period longer than 30 seconds renders
Figure 9. the trip inoperative. This time must be factored into time-delay
Elementary diagram of overcurrent relays used with capacitor tripping
settings of relays.

The capacitor trip unit can be used only with low energy tripping
devices such as the impact trip device used .on modern breaker-
operating mechanisms. Due to the limited amount of energy
available from this device, the breaker must be well maintained to
assure successful operation. This unit provides tripping potential
independent of the magnitude of fault current, which makes it
particularly applicable on lightly loaded, high-impedance circuits
where AC current trip cannot be used and a battery cannot be
justified.

The capacitor trip unit has an additional limitation which is

illustrated in Figure 10. Assume that Breaker A has been open
long enough for the capacitor trip unit at Breaker B to become de-
energized; further assume that a fault has occurred on the feeder
of Breaker B during the time that Breaker A was open. Under
these conditions, when Breaker A is reclosed, it will re-energize the
feeder of Breaker B on a fault. Due to the fault holding the voltage
Figure 10. down, the capacitor may not be charged to provide tripping
One-line diagram of feeder breaker using capacitor trip with back-up energy upon closing of the protective relay contacts and backup
breaker using battery trip Breaker A would have to clear the fault. The load fed by Breakers
C would be without service until Breaker B was manually tripped
DC Battery Trip and Breaker A was reclosed. However, the probability of such a
chain of coincident circumstances occurring is relatively small.
When properly and adequately maintained, the battery offers
the most reliable tripping source. It requires no auxiliary tripping 2.7 AC Current Trip
devices, and uses single-contact relays that directly energize a
single trip coil in the breaker as shown in Figure 8. A battery trip If adequate current is always available during fault conditions,
supply is not affected by the power-circuit voltage and current the current transformers in the protected circuit provide a
conditions during time of faults, and therefore is considered the reliable source of tripping energy which is obtained directly from
best source for all types of protective relay tripping. An additional the faulted circuit. The tripping may be either instantaneous or
advantage is that only one battery is required for each substation time delay in operation; but in all cases, it is applicable only to
location and it may be used for other equipment; e.g., high voltage overcurrent protection.
breaker trip circuits and ground switches. The trip circuit is more complex than for DC tripping because
A tripping battery is usually the most economical source of power three trip circuits, complete with individual trip coils and auxiliary
for tripping a number of breakers. When only one or two breakers devices, are required for each breaker for overcurrent tripping.
are involved, however, it may be more economical to use AC A potential trip coil is also required for each breaker for normal
current or capacitor trip. switching operations. This permits manual tripping of the breaker
by means of the breaker control switch. The three trip coils are
Long service can be obtained from batteries when they receive normally connected in each phase circuit, rather than two phase
proper maintenance and when they are kept fully charged and coils and one residual coil. This is because adequate trip current
the electrolyte is maintained at the proper level and density. may not be available under all ground-fault conditions - e.g., when
When lead-acid batteries are subjected to extremely low ambient a ground fault occurs at some distance out on the feeder so that
temperatures, their output is considerably reduced. In outdoor unit there is sufficient neutral impedance to limit the fault current to a
substations, this necessitates larger ampere-hour capacities. For value insufficient to cause tripping, or when applied to a system

6 Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection

grounded through a neutral impedance. A residual relay, which 2. current to raise the temperatures of lamp filaments and
trips the breaker by means of a potential trip coil, is used to provide heater elements, and
ground-fault protection under conditions such as these.
3. motor-starting current.
A minimum of three or four amperes CT secondary current is
required to energize the three-ampere current-trip coils used for Figure 11 shows the inrush current for the first five seconds to a
this method of tripping. The use of 0.5- to 4.0-ampere range time- feeder which has been de-energized for 15 minutes. The inrush
overcurrent relays is not recommended because they are more current, due to magnetizing iron and raising filament and heater
sensitive than the AC trip coils. elements temperatures, is very high but of such a short duration
as to be no problem. However, motor-starting currents may cause
AC current trip may be by means of reactor trip (circuit-closing the inrush current to remain sufficiently high to initiate operation
relays) or auxiliary relay trip (circuit-opening relays). The reactor of protective relays. The inrush current in Figure 11 is above 200
trip method is usually recommended because of its simplicity and percent for almost two seconds.
because it uses the more standard type overcurrent relays.
The magnitude of the inrush current is closely related to load
Application Considerations diversity, but quite difficult to determine accurately because of the
variation of load between feeders. If refrigerators and deep freeze
The choice of the proper source of tripping energy should be
units run five minutes out of every 20, then all diversity would be
based on the application considerations listed here. Any of the
lost on outages exceeding 20 minutes.
foregoing methods are reliable when properly applied; however,
each possesses certain advantages and disadvantages. The A feeder relay setting of 200 to 400 percent of full load is considered
following general recommendations can be made: reasonable. However, unless precautions are taken, this setting
may be too low to prevent relay misoperation on inrush following
1. Where several breakers are involved and maintenance an outage. Increasing this setting may restrict feeder coverage or
is good, the storage battery is the most economical. This prevent a reasonable setting of fuses and relays on the source
method also has the added benefit of reliability, simplicity, side of this relay.
and ability to be used with all types of protective relays.
A satisfactory solution to this problem is the use of the extremely
2. Where only one or two breakers are used, or maintenance is inverse relay. Figure 12 shows three overcurrent relays which will
difficult, one of the other sources could be applied. ride over cold-load inrush. However, the extremely inverse curve is
a. AC current trip should be used when adequate current is superior in that substantially faster fault-clearing time is achieved
available. at the high-current levels.
b. Capacitor trip could be used where adequate trip current This figure, for the purpose of comparison, shows each
is not available. characteristic with a pickup setting of 200 percent peak load and
a five-second time delay at 300-percent peak load to comply with
the requirements for re-energizing feeders.
3. Feeder Protection
It is evident that the more inverse the characteristic, the more
3.1 Cold Load Pickup suitable the relay is for feeder short-circuit protection. The relay

Whenever service has been interrupted to a distribution feeder for

20 minutes or more, it may be extremely difficult to re-energize
the load without causing protective relays to operate. The reason
for this is the flow of abnormally high inrush current resulting from
the loss of load diversity. High inrush currents are caused by:

1. magnetizing inrush currents to transformers and motors,

Figure 11. Figure 12.

Five-, ten-, and fifteen-minute outage pickup curves for first five seconds Comparison of overcurrent relay characteristics
after restoral

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 7

 operating time, and hence, the duration of the fault can be 4. the fuse will detect few transformer internal faults since a
appreciably decreased by using a more inverse relay. Comparing fault across one-half the winding may be required to cause a
the inverse characteristic shows that the extremely inverse fuse to operate.
characteristic gives from 30-cycles faster operation at high
currents to as much as 70-cycles faster at lower currents. The fuse must be sized so that it will be able to carry 200 percent of
transformer full-load current continuously during emergencies and
Unfortunately, the extremely inverse relay may not always take so that transformer inrush current of 12 to 15 times transformer
care of the problem. As the feeder load grows, the relay pickup full-load current can be carried for 0.1 seconds.
must be increased and a point may be reached at which the
relay cannot detect all faults. At this time, it may be necessary to Coordination with substation transformer primary fuses requires
either move the fuses or reclosers closer to the substation or use that the total clearing time of the main breaker (relay time plus
automatic sectionalizing. breaker interrupting time) be less than 75 percent to 90 percent
of the minimum melt characteristics of the primary fuses at all
values of current up to the maximum available fault current at the
3.2 Coordination with the Transformer Primary secondary bus.
Use
Figure 13 shows a plot of a 50E fuse which satisfies the inrush and
The practice of fusing the distribution substation is controversial. emergency criterion mentioned above and another curve of 75
This is mainly because: percent of this minimum melt curve.

1. the fuse must be replaced every time it blows, To prevent the extremely inverse relay from operating on
cold-load pickup, its minimum pickup should not be less than 200
2. the possibility of blowing one fuse and single-phasing three- to 250 percent of full-load current. In this case. It will be about
phase motors exists, 90-amperes primary current. As Figure 13 shows, the two devices
are coordinated only if the maximum secondary fault current is
3. the operating time of the fuse must be quite slow so that it less than 1500 amperes. If such is not the case, then the size of
coordinates with secondary and feeder breaker relays, and the fuse must be increased, which in turn limits it’s transformer-
finally overload protection capabilities.

3.3 Coordination between Feeder Breakers and

the Secondary Breaker
Coordination between feeder breakers and the transformer
secondary breaker requires the total clearing time of the feeder
breaker (relay time plus breaker interrupting time) to be less
than the relay time of the main secondary breaker by a margin
which allows 0.1 seconds for electromechanical relay overtravel
plus a 0.1 to 0.3-second factor of safety. This margin should be
maintained at all values of current through the maximum fault
currents available at the secondary bus.

3.4 Fault Selective Feeder Relaying

The reclosing relay recloses its associated feeder breaker at
preset intervals after the breaker has been tripped by overcurrent
relays. A recent survey indicates that approximately 70 percent
of the faults on overhead lines are nonpersistent. Little or no
physical damage results if these faults are promptly cleared by
the operation of relays and circuit breakers. Reclosing the feeder
breaker restores the feeder to service with a minimum of outage
time.

If any reclosure of the breaker is successful, the reclosing relay

resets to its normal position. However, if the fault is persistent, the
reclosing relay recloses the breaker a preset number of times and
then goes to the lockout position.

The reclosing relay can provide an immediate initial reclosure plus

three timedelay reclosures. The immediate initial reclosure and/or
one or more of the time-delay reclosures can be made inoperative
as required. The intervals between timedelay reclosures are
independently adjustable.

The primary advantage of immediate initial reclosing is that

service is restored so quickly for the majority of interruptions that
Figure 13. the customer does not realize that service has been interrupted.
Plot of a 50E fuse satisfying inrush and emergency criterion

8 Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection

The primary objection is that certain industrial customers cannot The feeder breaker, when tripped instantaneously, must
live with immediate initial reclosing. The operating times of the clear the fault before the fuse is damaged. Therefore, the
overcurrent relays at each end of the tie feeder will be different breaker-interrupting time plus ,the operating time of the relay-
due to unequal fault-current magnitudes. For this reason, the instantaneous attachment must be less than 75 percent of the fuse
breakers at each end will trip and reclose at different times and minimum-melting current at the maximum fault current available
the feeder circuit may not be de-energized until both breakers at the fuse location. In turn, the fuse must clear the fault before the
trip again. breaker trips on time delay for subsequent operations. Therefore,
the total clearing characteristic of the fuse must lie below the relay
The majority of utilities use a three-shot reclosing cycle with characteristic at all values of current up to the maximum current
either three timedelay reclosures or an immediate initial reclosure available at the fuse location. The margin between the fuse and
followed by two time-delay reclosures. In general, the interval relay characteristics must include a safety factor of 0.1 to 0.3
between reclosures is 15 seconds or longer, with the intervals second plus 0.1 second for relay overtravel.
progressively increasing (e.g., a 15-30-45second cycle), giving an
over-all time of 90 seconds.

Fault-selective feeder relaying allows the feeder breaker to

clear non-persistent faults on the entire feeder, even beyond
sectionalizing or branch fuses, without blowing the 10 fuses. In
the event of a persistent fault beyond a fuse, the fuse will blow to
isolate the faulty section. Operating engineers report reductions
of 65 to 85 percent in fuse blowing on non-persistent faults
through the use of this method of relaying.
The feeder circuit-breaker overcurrent relays (No. 150/ 151)
are provided with inverse-time overcurrent tripping and also
instantaneous tripping. When a fault occurs, the instantaneous
relay (No. 150) trips the circuit breaker before any of the branch-
circuit fuses can blow. When the breaker opens, the instantaneous-
trip circuit is automatically opened by the reclosing relay (No. 179) Figure 15.
and remains open until the reclosing relay has completely timed One-line diagram of typical feeder circuit protected by fault-selective
out the reset (see Figure 14). If the fault is non-persistent, service feeder relaying
to the entire feeder is restored when the breaker recloses, after
which the reclosing relay times out to the reset position and the
instantaneous trip function is automatically restored.

If the fault is persistent, the circuit breaker recloses on the

fault and must trip on the time-delay characteristic since the
instantaneous trip is effective only on the first opening. The
timedelay trip is adjusted to be slower than the sectionalizing or
branch-circuit fuses; consequently, this gives the fuses a chance
to blow and isolate the faulted section, leaving the remainder of
the feeder in service.

The success of fault-selective feeder relaying depends on proper

coordination between the branch-circuit fuses and the feeder-
breaker overcurrent relays.

Figure 14. Figure 16.

Elementary diagram of breaker trip circuit showing connections for fault- Coordination of relay and fuse characteristics for fault-selective feeder
selective feeder relaying relay

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 9

 An example of fault-selective feeder 3.5 Coordination of Feeder
relaying is illustrated in Figures 15 and
16. The one-line diagram of the feeder AN IMPORTANT Relays and Reclosers
circuit is shown in Figure 15 and the If a permanent fault occurs anywhere on
coordination curves are shown in Figure FACTOR IN OBTAINING the system beyond a feeder, the recloser
16. The overcurrent relay (No. 150/151) device will operate once, twice, or three
has an extremely inverse characteristic THIS SELECTIVITY IS times instantaneously (depending upon
(No. 151) with a pickup setting of 480 adjustment) in an attempt to clear the
amperes and 1-1/2 time-dial setting.
The instantaneous element (No. 150) has
THE RESET TIME OF fault. However, since a permanent fault
will still be on the line at the end of these
a pickup setting of 600 amperes. The instantaneous operations, it must be
EEI-NEMA 80T (slow) fuse is the largest THE OVERCURRENT cleared away by some other means. For
“slow” fuse which will coordinate with this this reason, the recloser is provided with
combination of relay characteristics and RELAYS one-, two-, or three-time delay operations
settings. At 1780 amperes, the time delay (depending upon adjustment). These
of the relay-instantaneous element, plus additional operations are purposely
the breaker-interrupting time, are just slower to provide coordination with fuses
equal to 75 percent of the fuse minimum- or allow the fault to “self clear”. After the
melting time. At this same current magnitude, the fuse total fourth opening, if the fault is still on the line, the recloser will lock
clearing time is less than the relay time-delay characteristic by open.
a suitable margin. Therefore, the fuse and relay coordinate for
current magnitudes of 1780 amperes or less. Figure 17 represents the instantaneous-and time-delay
characteristics of a conventional automatic circuit recloser.
For certain applications, the maximum available fault current
will exceed the maximum current which will permit coordination. At substations where the available short-circuit current at the
There are two reasons for this: distribution feeder bus is 250 MVA or more, the feeder circuits
are usually provided with circuit breakers and extremely inverse-
1. the maximum current for coordination is lower for lower- time overcurrent relays. The relays of each feeder should be
rated fuses and is also lower for Type K (fast) fuses, and adjusted so that they can protect the circuit to a point beyond
the first recloser in the main feeder but with enough time delay to
2. fault currents may be quite high at fuse locations be selective with the recloser during any or all of the operations
comparatively near the substation. within the complete recloser cycle.
Of course, if the branch circuit is single phase, it is only necessary An important factor in obtaining this selectivity is the reset time
to consider the maximum line-to-line or line-to-ground fault of the overcurrent relays. If, having started to operate when a
current, both of which are less than the maximum three-phase fault occurs beyond the recloser, an overcurrent relay does not
fault current. For such applications, coordination can be relied have time to completely reset after the recloser trips and before
upon only when there is sufficient additional impedance to it recloses (an interval of approximately one second), the relay
limit the fault current to the maximum current which will permit may “inch” its way toward tripping during successive recloser
coordination. This additional impedance can either be in the operations. Thus it can be seen that it is not sufficient merely to
fault itself or in the branch circuit between the fuse and the fault make the relay time only slightly longer than the recloser time.
location. Therefore, while coordination will be questionable for
faults near the fuse, there will be complete coordination for faults It is a good “rule of thumb” that there will be a possible lack of
which occur father out on the branch circuit. selectivity if the operating time of the relay at any current is less
than twice the time-delay characteristic of the recloser. The basis
of this rule, and the method of calculating the selectivity, will
become evident by considering an example.

First, it should be known how to use available data for calculating

the relay response under conditions of possibly incomplete
resetting. The angular velocity of the rotor of an inverse-time
relay for a given multiple of pickup current is substantially
constant throughout the travel from the reset (i.e., completely
open) position to the closed position where the contacts close.
Therefore, if it is known (from the time-current curves) how long
it takes a relay to close its contacts at a given multiple of pickup
and with a given time-dial adjustment, it can be estimated what
portion of the total travel toward the contact-closed position the
rotor will move in any given time. Similarly, the resetting velocity
of the relay rotor is substantially constant throughout its travel.
If the re-set time from the contact-closed position is known for
any given time-delay adjustment, the reset time for any portion
Figure 17. of the total travel can be determined. The re-set time for the
Tripping characteristic for conventional automatic circuit recloser

10 Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection

longest travel (when the longest time delay adjustment is used) variations from published characteristics, errors in reading curves,
is generally given for each type of relay. The re-set time for the etc. (The static overcurrent relay Type SFC, overcomes some of
number 10 time-dial setting is approximately six seconds for an these problems since the overtravel of such a relay is about 0.01
inverse Type IAC relay, and approximately 60 seconds for either a seconds and the reset time is 0.1 seconds or less.)
very inverse or any extremely inverse Type IAC relay.
If the automatic circuit reclosers are used at the substation as
The foregoing information may be applied to an example by feeder breakers, it is necessary to select the proper size to meet
referring to Figure 18. Curves A and 8 are the upper curves of the following conditions:
the band of variation for the instantaneous and timedelay
characteristics of a 35-ampere recloser. Curve C is the time- 1 The interrupting capacity of the recloser should be greater
current curve of the very inverse Type IAC relay set on the number than the maximum calculated fault current available on the
1.O time-dial adjustment and 4-ampere tap (160-ampere primary bus.
with 200/5 current transformers). Assume that it is desired
to check the selectivity for a fault current of 500 amperes. It is 2. The load-current rating (coil rating) of the recloser should
assumed that the fault will persist through all of the reclosures. be greater than the peak-load current of the circuit. It
To be selective, the IAC relay must not trip its breaker for a fault is recommended that the coil rating of the recloser be
beyond the recloser. of sufficient size to allow for normal load growth and be
relatively free from unnecessary tripping due to inrush
The operating times of the relay and recloser for this example current following a prolonged outage. The margin between
are: peak load on the circuit and the recloser rating is usually
about 30 percent.
Recloser:

Instantaneous - 0.036 second

Time delay - 0.25

Relay:

Pickup - 0.65 second

Reset - (1.0/10)(60) = 6.0 second

The percent of total travel of the IAC relay during the various
recloser operations is as follows, where plus means travel in the
contact-closing direction and minus means travel in the re-set
direction:

It is apparent from this that the IAC relay will completely reset
while the recloser is open following each instantaneous opening.

From this analysis, it appears that the relay will have a net travel
of 60.3 percent of the total travel toward the contact-closed
position.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the relay travel lacks

approximately 40 percent (or 0.4 x 0.65 = 0.24 second) of that
necessary for the relay to close its contacts and trip its breaker. On Figure 18.
the basis of these figures, the IAC will be selective. A 0.15- to 0.2- Relay-recloser coordination
second margin is generally considered desirable to guard against

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 11

 3. The minimum pickup current of the recloser is two times This will establish the high-current limit of satisfactory
(2X) its coil rating. This determines its zone of protection as coordination indicated by intersection point b’. To establish the
established by the minimum calculated fault current in the low-current limit of successful coordination, the total heat input
circuit. The minimum pickup rating should reach beyond to the fuse represented by curve B’ (which is equal to the sum
the first-line recloser sectionalizing point, i.e., overlapping of two instantaneous (A) plus two time-delay (B) openings) is
protection must be provided between the station recloser compared with the total clearingtime curve of the fuse. The point
and the first-line recloser. If overlapping protection cannot be of intersection is indicated by a’.
obtained when satisfying requirement (l), it will be necessary
to relocate the first-line recloser to have it fall within the For example, to establish how coordination is achieved between
station recloser protective zone. the limits of a’ and b’, refer to Figure 21. It is assumed that the fuse
beyond the recloser must be protected against blowing or being
damaged during two instantaneous operations of the recloser
3.6 Coordination of Reclosers and Fuses in the event of a transient fault at X. If the maximum calculated
Figure 19 shows the time-current characteristic curves of the short-circuit current at the fuse location does not exceed the
automatic circuit recloser. On these curves, the timecurrent magnitude of current indicated by b’, the fuse will be protected
characteristics of a fuse C is superimposed. It will be noted that
fuse curve C is made up of two parts: the upper portion of the
curve (low-current range) representing the total clearing time
curve, and the lower portion (highcurrent range) representing
the melting curve for the fuse. The intersection points of the fuse
curves with recloser curves A and B, define the limits between
which coordination will be expected. It is necessary; however, that
the characteristic curves of both recloser and fuse be shifted or
modified to take into account alternate heating and cooling of
the fusible element as the recloser goes through its sequence of
operations.

Figure 20 shows what occurs when the current flowing through the
fuse link is interrupted periodically. The oscillogram shows typical
recloser operation. The first time the recloser opens and closes
due to fault or overload, the action is instantaneous, requiring only
two cycles. The second action is also two cycles, while the third
action is delayed to 20 cycles, as is the fourth. Then the recloser
locks itself open.

For example, if the fuse link is to be protected for two instantaneous

openings, it is necessary to compare the heat input to the fuse
during these two instantaneous recloser openings. The recloser-
fuse coordination must be such that during instantaneous
operation the fuse link is not damaged thermally.

Curve A’, Figure 21, is the sum of two instantaneous openings (A) Figure 20.
and is compared with the fuse damage curve which is 75 percent Fuse link heating and cooling
of the melting-time curve of the fuse.

Figure 19. Figure 21.

Time-current characteristic curves of recloser superimposed on fuse curve C Recloser- fuse coordination (fuse operated for heating and cooling)

12 Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection

during transient faults. For any magnitude of short-circuit current 3.7 Static Overcurrent Relays (SFC)
less than b’, but greater than a’ (see Figure 21), the recloser will trip
on its instantaneous characteristic once or twice to clear the fault Since static over-current relays (SFC) are electronic analogs of
before the fuse-melting characteristic is approached. However, if conventional electromechanical relays, it is to be expected that
the fault is permanent, the fuse should blow before the recloser the general principles of application covered earlier will still
locks out. If the minimum (line-to-ground) calculated short-circuit be pertinent. In general, this is true although there are several
current available at the end of the branch is greater than the important differences which come about because the relay
current indicated by a’, the fuse will blow (see Figure 21) before employs solid-state electronic operating principles.
the time-delay characteristic of the recloser is approached.
In designing the SFC static overcurrent relay, it was recognized
that the time-current characteristic could be built with any desired
shape. Furthermore, the manner in which the relay operates
ensures that the curve shape will remain essentially unchanged
regardless of the actual time dial setting. Thus, a critical decision
in relay design was to choose a curve shape. It was judged to be
important that the relay be designed so that it could easily be
integrated into an existing system. This consideration essentially
ruled out the use of totally new curve shapes and lead to a
decision to duplicate the three basic time-current characteristics
of IAC relays: inverse, very inverse, and extremely inverse.
Because experience indicates that the lower timedial settings on
IAC relays tend to be used somewhat more frequently than the
upper time-dial settings, the actual curves chosen for the new
SFC relays were selected to match the lower time-dial curve from
IAC relays. However, it should be noted that there is no reason
to insist that this match be exact. IAC curves were selected as
design goals for convenience only; other curves could have been
selected as well.

Figure 22 illustrates the correlation between the curves of IAC (solid

lines) and SFC (dashed lines) relays in the inverse, very inverse, and
extremely inverse characteristics, respectively. A brief comparison
of the curves reveals that the characteristics match very closely
for lower time-dial settings, but at higher time dials there are
Figure 22.
Comparison of extremely inverse time-current characteristics of SFC 177 noticeable differences both in time and shape. Therefore, it is very
and IAC 77 relays important to recognize that the SFC is functionally equivalent to
an IAC of corresponding characteristic and that it may be used
to advantage as a backup relay for an electromechanical relay
or vice versa; however, it is equally important to recognize that a
static SFC relay cannot be substituted for an electromechanical
relay in an existing application without first determining an
appropriate setting for the SFC in that application. Specifically,
this means that equivalent settings for IAC and SFC relays will
have identical pickup taps, but the time-dial calibration will be
different.

Two specific areas where the electromechanical (IAC and IFC) and
static (SFC) relay differ are overtravel and reset.

Overtravel in electromechanical relays is a function of the design

of the relay, its pickup and time-dial settings, and the magnitude
of fault current. It is not an easy number to determine precisely
and traditionally an estimate of 0.1 seconds has proved to be
sufficiently long. Overtravel in the SFC static overcurrent relay is
0.01 seconds or less. Based upon these numbers, the following
minimum coordination margins can be determined:

IAC IFC SFC

Breaker Time 0.0833 0.0833 0.0833

Overtravel 0.1000 0.1000 0.0100

Safety Factor 0.1000 0.1000 0.1000

0.2833 0.2833 0.1933

Figure 23. For practical purposes, these numbers can be given as 0.3
Sample system for recloser-relay coordination illustration seconds for IAC and IFC electromechanical relays and 0.2 seconds
for SFC static relays.

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 13

 Reset time is the time required for the relay to return to its fully the margin between the backup and feeder relays can be reduced
reset position after the recloser has interrupted the short circuit. to 0.2 seconds at the maximum fault level. The result is that the
For conventional electromechanical relays, reset time is very long. backup clearing time is 0.15 seconds faster at the maximum fault
The IAC 77 takes a full minute to return to the reset position from level when static SFC overcurrent relays are used; at a fault limited
the contact-closed position when set on the number 10 time dial. to 1.5 times the pickup of the backup relay, static relays are a full
10 seconds faster in operation.
However, the static SFC relay resets in 0.1 seconds or less
regardless of the characteristic or time dial used, which is faster
than the reclosing time of any distribution recloser or breaker
available today. This difference is best illustrated by an example.
4. Ground Fault Detection
A complex problem, for which there is no ready solution, is high
Consider the system of Figure 23. The pole-type recloser is set
impedance ground-fault detection and protection. This is also
for one fast and three time-delay trips and its reclose time is two
a very serious problem in that personnel safety is involved,
seconds. In coordinating relays and reclosers, a margin of 0.15 to
particularly so when a live conductor drops to the ground and
0.2 seconds is normally considered the minimum safe tolerance.
there is insufficient fault current available to operate protective
In this instance, in anticipation of possible problems with reset, a
devices. Sensitivity is determined by the permissible unbalance
longer margin (0.3 seconds) was selected as a point of departure.
in a four-wire grounded system and/or the number of breaker
The feeder breaker is equipped with an instantaneous overcurrent
operation interruptions that can be tolerated. Where the majority
relay set at 5362 amperes (primary) for an equivalent coverage
of all faults that occur on a four-wire distribution system initiate as
of approximately 1.5 miles of 13.8-kV circuit. The instantaneous
line-to-ground faults and where many are of the self-clearing type,
unit is blocked after the first trip and the reclosing relay on the
it must be evaluated whether or not very sensitive ground tripping
feeder breaker is adjusted for a CO+5+CO+5+CO+5+CO operating
can be justified with the acceptance of the many unnecessary
cycles. The backup relay at the substation is shown as a partial
interruptions that can be expected.
differential (summation overcurrent) connection, although this is
not significant to the example.
4.1 Unbalance
Figure 24 shows the time-current curves for this system using
electromechanical IAC 77 relays. The trial setting for the feeder The problem of setting ground-relay sensitivity to include all faults,
relay is shown as the dashed curve B and a 320-ampere pickup yet not trip for heavy-load currents or load inrush, is not as difficult
and number 7 time dial. With this time dial, the reset time of the
IAC 77 is about 42 seconds. It is significant to observe that even
though the curves show an apparent margin of 0.3 seconds, the
true margin between the IAC 77 and the recloser is only 0.103
seconds as determined in Table 1. Thus the number 8 time dial is
required as noted by the solid curve B in Figure 24. Similarly, the
apparent margin for the backup relay is not sufficient because of
reclosing by the feeder breaker, and a higher time dial must be
used to assure a minimum of 0.3- second margin between relays.

In Figure 25 the system curves are again drawn, but this time for
static SFC 177 relays on the feeder breaker and as the backup
relay, The reset time of the SFC (0.1 seconds) is faster than the
reclosing delay of either the automatic recloser or the reclosing
feeder breaker. Therefore, no consideration at all need be given
to “notching” and the relay settings can be determined by the Figure 26.
time-current curves alone. Also, because overtravel is negligible, Burndown characteristics of several weatherproof conductors

Figure 24. Figure 25.

Pole-type recloser vs IAC 77 relay coordination example Pole-type recloser vs SFC 177 relay coordination example

14 Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection

as it is for phase relays. If the three-phase load is balanced, normal In 7.2/12.47 kV short-circuit calculations, a factor of 30, 35 or 40
ground current is near zero. Therefore, the ground relay should ohms is often used as the fault resistance in determining minimum
not be affected by load current and can have a sensitive setting. values of line-to-ground current available. However, these values
Unfortunately, it is difficult to keep the loads on the distribution are purely imaginative values without ample substantiation.
system balanced to the point where ground relays can be set to The closest reference to this appears in AIEE Paper 49-175,
pick up on as little as 25 percent of load current. Most ground Overcurrent Investigation on Rural Systems.
relays are set to pick up at about 50 percent of load current.
With the general acceptance by utility operators of the use
of the coordinated recloser-fuse method of distribution line
4.2 Faults sectionalizing, the problem of high-impedance groundfault
The two basic factors affecting low-magnitude ground current protection is greatly simplified in the fringe areas. However, the
are line impedance and fault impedance. problem is further complicated in protection of the main circuit
close to the substations. Where ground relays are generally
The line impedance can be readily calculated on the basis of a accepted as a means of ground fault detection and protection,
“bolted” fault. However, it is often recognized that in many cases the minimum setting is usually established by the maximum
the magnitude of measurable shortcircuit current is less than unbalance that could exist with the heaviest loaded single-phase
indicated by calculations. This is understandable in view of the branch interrupted. In all probability, this setting will be less
many variables not accounted for in calculations. For example, than the minimum pickup value of the nearest automatic circuit
conductor-splice resistance, reduced generating capacity, low recloser. Hence, if reclosers are to be used out on the distribution
system voltage at time of fault, voltage reduction due to the feeder, ground relays must be adjusted to have a minimum
fault at the time of interruption, and error in calculations due to pickup higher than 200 percent of the largest rated recloser or be
incorrect circuit footage, transpositions, and configurations. In disconnected entirely. When the ground relay is adjusted as high
addition, a big factor known to exist, but not possible to calculate as required, it loses its effectiveness as ground protection.
or obtain from industry records, is fault impedance. This factor in
itself can vary due to the type of fault, ground resistivity, contact It is possible to add time delay to the ground relays so that they
pressure and weather and tree conditions. This factor has a may be set lower than the reclosers and still achieve coordination.
decided effect in reducing the short-circuit current magnitude. This feature could be utilized to achieve back-up protection for
some of the ground faults that are in the recloser protective zone

Figure 27.
Curves illustrating coordination between the arc damage and burndown characteristics for a No. l/O conductor land the protective devices which must
operate to prevent serious conductor damage

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 15

 and disconnect the feeder if the recloser Figure 26 shows the burndown
fails to function. characteristics of several weatherproof
THE PROPER USE OF conductors. Arc damage curves are given
The combination of low-rated reclosers as arc is extended by traveling along the
and fuses properly coordinated and RECLOSERS AND FUSES, phase wire, it is extinguished but may be
located on the branch and fringe ends re-established across the original path.
of the circuit will provide the possibility of
interrupting low values of ground current,
ALONG WITH HIGHER Generally the neutral wire is burned
down.
i.e., where reclosers can be applied with
thermal ratings approximately 30 percent SPEED BREAKERS, Figure 27 shows the coordination
greater than full-load current at the point between the arc damage and burndown
of installation and do have adequate SHOULD PREVENT characteristics for a No. l/O conductor
interrupting capacity. Thus the possibility and the protective devices which must
of operating on low-magnitude ground MOST CONDUCTOR operate to prevent serious conductor
current is more assured than if operation damage. This curve shows that with
the present breaker operating times,
is dependent upon the ground current
relays at the substation.
BURNDOWN the feeder breaker would afford little
protection. It should be realized that the
In a few cases, detection of a fallen PROBLEMS breaker time used was assumed to be
conductor has been considered so eight cycles regardless of the fault current.
important that loads have been In an actual case, the breaker time would
connected line-to-line, so there could be probably be less than one half this value
no neutral current due to unbalance. The at its nameplate interrupting rating.
neutral has been grounded through high resistance to limit the
ground current thus minimizing the effect of fault resistance on The use of automatic circuit reclosers and fuses will greatly
fault-current magnitude. Very sensitive ground relays have been improve the protection of conductors against burn down as
installed with this system to assure clearing of conductors that shown in Figure 27. Proper utilization of reclosers and fuses should
have fallen. provide protection for all conductors within the current range
shown. As systems increase in size, many engineers are worried
about burndown becoming more of a problem since the available
5. Conductor Burndown short-circuit current will increase. This problem may be delayed
by the sectionalizing of buses and the addition of current-limiting
Conductor burndown is a function of (1) conductor size (2) whether reactors. It is quite possible that proper sectionalizing may delay
the wire is bare or covered (3) the magnitude of the fault current the problem indefinitely for some systems.
(4) climatic conditions such as wind and (5) the duration of the
fault current. The proper use of reclosers and fuses, along with higher speed
breakers, should prevent most conductor burndown problems.
If burndown is less of a problem today than in years past, it must
be attributed to the trend of using heavier conductors and a lesser
use of covered conductors. However, extensive outages and 6. Appendix A
hazards to life and property still occur as the result of primary lines
being burned down by flashover, tree branches falling on lines, 6.1 Functions and Definitions
etc. Insulated conductors, which are used less and less, anchor
the arc at one point and thus are the most susceptible to being The devices in the switching equipments are referred to by
burned down. With bare conductors, except on multi-grounded numbers, with appropriate suffix letters (when necessary),
neutral circuits, the motoring action of the current flux of an according to the functions they perform. These numbers are
arc always tends to propel the arc along the line away from the based on a system which has been adopted as standard for
power source until the arc elongates sufficiently to automatically automatic switchgear by the American Standards Association.
extinguish itself. However, if the arc encounters some insulated
object, the arc will stop traveling and may cause line burndown. Device No. Function and Definition

CONTROL POWER TRANSFORMER is a transformer which serves

11
With bare conductors, on multi-grounded neutral circuits, the as the source of AC control power for operating AC devices.

motorizing effect occurs only on the phase wire since current 24 BUS-TIE CIRCUIT BREAKER serves to connect buses or bus
sections together.
may flow both ways in the neutral. When the 25 percent of the
burndown and the protective equipment should be installed to 27 AC UNDERVOLTAGE RELAY is one which functions on a given
value of singlephase AC undervoltage.
limit the currents and times to less than those given.
TRANSFER DEVICE is a manually operated device which
43 transfers the control circuit to modify the plan of operation of
With tree branches falling on bare conductors, the arc may the switching equipment or of some of the devices.
travel away and clear itself; however, the arc will generally re- SHORT-CIRCUIT SELECTIVE RELAY is one which functions
instantaneously on an excessive value of current or on
establish itself at the original point and continue this procedure 50 an excessive rate of current rise, indicating a fault in the
apparatus or circuit being protected.
until the line burns down or the branch fails off the line. Limbs of
soft spongy wood are more likely to burn clear than hard wood. 51 AC OVERCURRENT RELAY is one which functions when the
current in an AC circuit exceeds a given value.
However, one-half inch diameter branches of any wood, which
AC CIRCUIT BREAKER is one whose principal function is usually
cause a flashover, are apt to burn the lines down unless the fault 52 to interrupt short-circuit or fault currents.
is cleared quickly enough.

16 Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection

 Device No. Function and Definition To prevent any possible conflict, one letter or combination of
letters has only one meaning on an individual equipment. Any
GROUND PROTECTIVE RELAY is one which functions on failure
of the insulation of a machine, transformer or other apparatus other words beginning with the same letter are written out in full
64 to ground. This function is, however, not applied to devices 51N each time, or some other distinctive abbreviation is used.
and 67N connected in the residual or secondary neutral circuit
of current transformers.
How to set an IAC relay
AC POWER DIRECTIONAL OR AC POWER DIRECTIONAL
OVERCURRENT RELAY is one which functions on a desired
67 value of power flow in a given direction or on a desired value of Time and current settings of IAC relays are made by selecting
overcurrent with AC power flow in a given direction.
the proper current tap and adjusting the time dial to the number
PHASE-ANGLE MEASURING RELAY is one which functions at a
78 pre-determined phase angle between voltage and current. which corresponds to the characteristic required. The following
DIFFERENTIAL CURRENT RELAY is a fault-detecting relay which
example illustrates the procedure.
87 functions on a differential current of a given percentage or
amount. Assume an IAC inverse-time relay in a circuit where the circuit
breaker should trip on a sustained current of approximately
The above numbers are used to designate device functions on 450 amperes, and that the breaker should trip in 1.9 seconds
all types of manual and automatic switchgear, with exceptions on a short-circuit current of 3750 amperes. Assume further that
as follows: current transformers of 60:1 ratio are used.

Feeders Find the current tap setting by dividing the minimum primary
tripping current by the current transformer ratio: g= 7.5 Since
A similar series of numbers starting.with 101 instead of 1, is used there is no 7.5-ampere tap, use the 8-ampere tap. TO find the time
for the functions which apply to automatic reclosing feeders. setting which will give 1.9-second time delay at 3750 amperes,
divide 3750 by the transformer atio. This gives 62.5-amperes
Hand reset secondary current, which is 7.8 times the 8-ampere tap setting.
The term “Hand Reset” shall be added wherever it applies.

Letter suffixes 7. References

These are used with device function numbers for various purposes [1] Master Unit Substations and Their Relay and Control
as follows: Arrangements, GE Publication QET-2528, by J. H. Easley and
1. CS - Control Switch YY - Auxiliary Relay W. W. Walkley, Dec. 1955.
X - Auxiliary Relay Z - Auxiliary Relay
[2] Electric Utility Systems and Practices, GE Publication
Y - Auxiliary Relay
GEZ-2587, 1967
2. To denote the location of the main device in the circuit or
[3] The Art and Science of Protective Relaying, by C. R. Mason,
the type of circuit in which the device is used or with which
John Wiley and Sons, 1956.
it is associated, or otherwise identify its application in the
circuit or equipment, the following are used: [4] Evaluation of Distribution System Relaying Methods by
N - Neutral SI - Seal-in A. J. McConnell, Presented at the Pennsylvania Electric
Association, May 16-17, 1957.
3. To denote parts of the main device (except auxiliary
contacts as covered under (4) below), the following are [5] Type IAC Time Overcurrent Switchgear Protective Relays, GE
used: Publication GET-7215, 1973.
H - High Set Unit of Relay RC - Restraining Coil
[6] A Comparison of Static and Electromechanical Time
L - Low Set Unit of Relay TC - Trip Coil Overcurrent Relay Characteristics, Application and Testing.
OC - Operating Coil by J. J. Burke, R. F. Koch, and L. J. Powell presented at PEA
1975.
4. To denote parts of the main device such as auxiliary contacts
(except limit-switch contacts covered under (3) above) which [7] Burndown Tests Guide Distribution Design, by W. B. Goode
move as part of the main device and are not actuated by and G. H. Gaertner, EL&P, Dec. 1966.
external means. These auxiliary switches are designated as
follows: [8] Vertical Lift Metalclad Switchgear, GE Publication GEA-
“a”- closed when main device is in energized or operated 5664L.
position
[9] Relay Time-characteristic Curves
“b”- closed when main device is in de-energized or non-
operated position TYPE
Model
IAC IFC SFC
5. To indicate special features, characteristics, the conditions
when the contacts operate, or are made operative or placed 51 GES-7001 GES-7014 GES-7011
in the circuit, the following are used: 53 GES-7002 GES-7015 GES-7012
A - Automatic TDC - Time-delay Closing 77 GES-7005 GES-7016 GES-7013
ER - Electrically Reset TDDO - Time-delay Dropping Out
HR - Hand Reset TDO - Time-delay Opening
M - Manual

042610-v8

Distribution System Feeder Overcurrent Protection 17