MODULE 1 - PROTECTION SCHEMES AND RELAYS

1.1 Principles and need for protective schemes

1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults

1.3 Zones of protection, Primary and Backup protection

1.4 Essential qualities of protection

1.5 Protection Schemes

1.6 Electromagnetic relays

21EE701 -Power System Protection and Switchgear

 LEARNING OUTCOME

Learners will be able to

• Classify the type of faults
• Summarize the effects of faults

CO Addressed
CO1 Describe the need for power system protection in terms of [U]
fault types, methods of grounding and the schemes of
protection.

21EE701 -Power System Protection and

Switchgear
Nature and Cause of faults
✔ Insulation failure
✔ Conducting path failure
✔ Overvoltage due to lightening
✔ Puncturing or breaking of insulators
✔ Failure of conducting path due to broken conductors
✔ Failure of solid insulation due to ageing, heat, moisture,
overvoltage, flashover voltage
Abnormalities in power system
✔ Over current(overload, short circuit, open circuit)
✔ Ground potentials(Ungrounded equipment, touch potentials)
✔ Surge Voltages(lightening strikes, switching surges, harmonics)
21EE701 -Power System Protection and
Switchgear
 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Nature and causes of faults
✔ Nature of a fault - simply implies any abnormal condition which
causes a reduction in the basic insulation strength between phase
conductors or between conductors and earth.

✔ Breakdown may occur at normal voltage on account of

(i) The deterioration of insulation

(ii) Damage due to unpredictable causes such as the

perching of birds, accidental short circuiting by snakes, tree branches,
etc.

✔ Breakdown may occur because of abnormal voltage

(1) Switching surges (2) Surges caused by lightning

21EE701 -Power System Protection and

Switchgear
 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Nature and causes of faults
❖ One of the sources of trouble to continuous supply is the shunt fault or
short circuit which produces a sudden and sometimes violent change
in system operation.

❖ The present day practice is to provide a high insulation level of the

order of 3 to 5 times the nominal value of the voltage.
❖ Lightning produces a very high voltage surge in the power system of
the order of millions of voltage and thus it is not feasible to provide
insulation.

❖ Faults can be minimized by (1) System design (2) Quality of the

equipment (3) Maintenance
1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Fault Statistics
Percentage of various causes of faults

S.No. Cause Percentage

1 Lightning 12%

2 Sleet, wind, mechanical 20%

3 Apparatus failure 20%

4 Switching to a fault 20%

5 Miscellaneous 28%
 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Examples of abnormal conditions
S

Tree Falling in over head line Lightening strikes

Insulation breakdown Short circuit faults

21EE701 -Power System Protection and
Switchgear
 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Faults in Power system

Symmetrical Faults
✔ Faults giving rising to equal currents in lines and displaced by equal
phase angles (120° in three phase system)
✔ Examples : Short circuit of all three phase conductors of a cable at a
single location

Unsymmetrical Faults
Faults in which not all three currents are equal and not all have the same
phase
✔ Examples : single Line to Ground(LG) fault, Phase to phase(L-L) fault

21EE701 -Power System Protection and

Switchgear
1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Types of faults

Faults in Power System

Symmetrical Unsymmetrical faults

✔ Three phase faults ❖ Single phase to Ground (L-G)
✔ Three phase earth fault
faults ❖ Phase to phase(L-L) fault
❖ Two phase to ground(2L-G)
fault
❖ Open circuit phases

This video represents various types of faults occur in power

system

21EE701 -Power System Protection and Switchgear

 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Symmetrical Faults (or) Three phase fault
• All three phases are short circuited
• It may happened two situations- all three phases are short circuit to
ground or without involving ground

Three phase fault Three phase earth fault

(L-L-L fault) (L-L-L-G fault)
21EE701 -Power System Protection and
Switchgear
1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Single phase to Ground (L-G) fault

❖ A short circuit between any

one of the phase conductors
and earth is called as Single
phase to Ground(L-G) fault
❖ This fault may be due to
failure of the insulation
between a conductor and the
earth or due to phase
L-G Fault
conductor breaking and falling
to the ground.
21EE701 -Power System Protection and
Switchgear
 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
L-L and L-LG fault

❖ A short circuit between any

two phases is called line to
line or phase to phase fault
Line to Line Fault(L-L Fault)
❖ A short circuit between any
two phases of earth is called a
double line to ground or L-L-G
fault

Double line to Ground Fault (L-L-G Fault)

21EE701 -Power System Protection and
Switchgear
 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Open Circuit Fault

The open circuit fault mainly occurs because of the failure of one or
two conductors.
The open circuit fault is categorized as
✔ Single phase open conductor Fault
✔ Two phase open conductor Fault
✔ Three phase open conductor Fault

Single phase Open Conductor Fault Two phase Open Conductor Fault

Three phase Open Conductor Fault

21EE701 -Power System Protection and Switchgear
 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Causes and effects of open circuit fault

Causes
✔ Broken conductor and malfunctioning of circuit breaker in one or
more phases.
Effects
✔ Abnormal operation of the system

✔ Danger to the personnel as well as animals

✔ Exceeding the voltages beyond normal values in certain parts of the
network, which further leads to insulation failures and developing of
short circuit faults.

21EE701 -Power System Protection and Switchgear

1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Frequency of types of faults

S.NO. Types of faults % of Total Faults

1 Line to Ground 85 %

2 Line to Line 8%

3 Double Line to Ground 5%

4 Three phase 2%

21EE701 -Power System Protection and Switchgear

 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Frequency of fault occurrence in power system

Sl.no. Equipment Total Percentage

1 Overhead lines 50%

2 Under ground Cables 10%

3 Switchgear 15%

4 Transformers 12%

5 CTs and PTs 2%

6 Control equipment 3%

7 Miscellaneous 8%

21EE701 -Power System Protection and Switchgear

1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Sl.no. Equipment Cause of faults
✔ Lightning stroke
✔ Earth quake
1 Overhead lines ✔ Tree branches
✔ Birds and Kite strings
✔ Internal overvoltage
✔ Damage due to digging,
✔ Insulation failure due to
2 Underground Cables
temperature rise
✔ Failure of joints
3 Alternator Stator and Rotor faults

21EE701 -Power System Protection and Switchgear

 1.2 Nature and cause of faults, Types of faults
Sl.no. Equipment Cause of faults
✔ Insulation failure
4 Transformers ✔ Fault in tap changer
✔ Overloading

✔ Overvoltage and Insulation failure

Current and voltage
5 ✔ Break of conductors
Transformers
✔ Wrong connections

✔ Insulation failure
✔ Leakage of air/oil/gas
6 Switchgear
✔ Mechanical defect
✔ Lack of maintenance

21EE701 -Power System Protection and Switchgear