Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.

GENERATOR PROTECTIONS
Presented By :-
AMIT VERMA
Deputy Manager- Electrical O&M, DCPP, JSPL

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 SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR – AN
OVERVIEW
 The synchronous generator or alternator is an electrical generator that
converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating
current.

 A synchronous generator consists of two main parts - the stator and the
rotor. The stator is the stationary external part that contains windings, while
the rotor is the rotating internal part that revolves within the stator.

 Stator: The stator is the non-moving component of the alternator. It houses

the armature winding where the voltage is generated. The alternator’s
output is derived from the stator.

 Rotor: The rotor is the moving part of the alternator. It generates the primary
field flux.

 There are two common types of rotor construction in synchronous generators - salient pole
rotor and cylindrical rotor.
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ROTOR CONSTRUCTION

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 TYPES OF FAULTS AND PROTECTION FUNCTIONS

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 PROTECTION FUNTIONS:
I.- For insulations failures
Differential Inter-turn fault
Stator Earth Fault – (95% & 100% )
Rotor Earth fault (2 Stage)

II.– For abnormal running conditions

Loss of excitation (field failure)
Unbalanced loading (negative phase sequence) Pole slipping
Over frequency/Over speed
Over voltage Reverse/Forward power
Impedance/Over current back-up protection, etc…

III. – For Generator transformer protections

Differential protection Bias test
2nd harmonics restrained.
REF protection

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 AN OVERVIEW OF GENERATOR SINGLE LINE DIAGRAM:

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 GENERATOR PROTECTIONS CLASSIFICATION

CLASS – A :- This covers all electrical protections for faults within the generating
unit in which generator field breaker, generator breaker and turbine should be
tripped.


CLASS – B:- This covers all mechanical protections of the turbine in which turbine
will be tripped first and following this generator will trip on reverse power / low
forward power
protections.


CLASS – C:- This covers electrical protection for faults in the system in which
generator will be unloaded by tripping of generator breaker only.

Various protections of this class are:

1. 220 KV (HV side of Generator Transformer) busbar protections.
2. Generator Transformer HV side breaker pole discrepancy.
3. Generator negative phase sequence protection
4. Generator Transformer over current / Earth fault protection
5. Reverse power protection without turbine trip.

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FOR INSULATION FAILURES PROTECTIONS:
1. GENERATOR DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION (87 G): -
It is unit type protection, covering the stator winding for phase to phase faults due to breakdown
of insulation between stator phase windings. This relay is not sensitive for single line to earth faults
as the earth fault current is limited due to the high neutral earthing resistance. If CTs of identical ratios
are used on neutral and line side of generator, an operating current setting of 20% it can be
adopted. It is instantaneous in operation and it trips the generator breaker (Class – A) to eliminate the
system in – feed to the fault along with field breaker and turbines.

For all machines of ratings 10 MVA and above, this protection shall be provided.
Diagram:

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FOR INSULATION FAILURES PROTECTIONS:
2. INTER TURN FAULT PROTECTION OF THE STATOR WINDING (64GIT) :

Formerly, this type of protection was considered unnecessary because breakdown of insulation
between points on the same phase winding, contained in the same slot, and between which a potential
difference exists, will very rapidly change into an earth fault, and will be detective by either the
differential protections or the stator earth fault protection. An exception is the generator designed to
produce a relatively high voltage in comparison to its output and which therefore contains a large
number of conductors per slot. With the size and voltage output of generators increasing, this form of
protection is becoming essential for all generating units.

Diagram: Each path is fitted with identical current transformers

(CTs), and their secondaries are cross-connected.
This cross-connection is because the currents at the
primary of both CTs are entering, unlike differential
protection of transformer where current enters from
one side and exits the other.

A differential relay and series stabilizing resistor are

connected across the CT secondary loop. If an inter
turn fault occurs in any path of the stator winding, it
creates an imbalance in the CT secondary circuits,
triggering the 87 differential relay. Cross differential
protection should be applied individually to each
phase.

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FOR INSULATION FAILURES PROTECTIONS:
3. STATOR EARTH FAULT PROTECTION (0-95%) 64G1:

It is an over voltage relay monitoring the voltage developed across the secondary of the neutral
grounding transformer in case of ground faults. It covers generator, LV winding of generator
transformer and HV winding of UAT. A pickup voltage setting of 5% is adopted with a time delay setting
of about 1.0 Sec. For all machines of ratings 10 MVA and above this shall be provided. Relay application
for this protection is mainly inf luenced by the method of stator earthing. Two methods are in common
use.
Resistor earthing and Distribution transformer earthing
With resistor earthing, the fault current is limited to 200-300Amps while with distribution transformer
earthing; it is limited to 5-10Amps. The latter method has the advantage of ensuring minimum damage
to the stator core, but it is only practicable when the stator winding is directly connected to the delta
winding of the main transformer. The two schemes for stator earth fault protection (95%) are shown
below:-
1. Distribution transformer earthing (NGT) 2. Resistor earthing(NGR)

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FOR INSULATION FAILURES PROTECTIONS:

Distribution transformer earthing (High impedance Resistor earthing(Low impedance earthing):

earthing):
In the resistor earthed scheme, a CT is required in
Earth fault protection is provided by connecting an the neutral to earth connection, and the relay used
Over voltage relay across its secondary, as shown. is an inverse time current relay so that it can grade
The maximum earth fault current is determined by the with other earth fault relays in the system. It also
Size of the transformer and the loading resistor R. The provides prot ect ion for t he neut ra l ea r t hing
Relay used for this Application is an inverse time or resistor. In this system, it is impossible to protect
def in ite Time over voltage relay (Also know n as 100% of the stator winding. The percentage of
neutral winding protected depends on the value of the neutral
displacement Relay) with a setting range Of 2.5 to 20 earthing resistor and the relay setting. In the f igure
Volts. The relay is Provided with an inbuilt third below, the percentage of winding protector is given
Harmonic f ilter so as to avoid Unwanted operations for various values of earthing resistor at different
due relays settings, from 5-100 %.
t o t h ir d Ha r mon ic cu r r en t s a n d t h e P r ob lems
a s s o c i a t ed w i t h t r a n s f o r m er i n t er w i n d i n g
capacitance. It is possible to protect up to 95% of the
generator stator Winding with this relay.

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FOR INSULATION FAILURES PROTECTIONS:

3. 100% STATOR EARTH FAULT PROTECTION:-

To provide 100% stator earth fault protection, an additional relay for covering 95-100% of the winding is
provided.. This is a 3rd harmonic U/V relay. It protects 100% of stator winding. During the machine
running condition there will be certain third harmonic voltage at neutral side of the generator. This 3rd
harmonic voltage will come down when a stator earth fault occurs causing this relay to operate.
This shall have voltage check or current check unit, to prevent faulty operation of the relay at generator
stand still or during the machine running down period. The third harmonic relays setting is determined
from the amount of generator neutral third harmonic neutral voltages. Calculations can be based on
mission specifications and equipment capacitances or on field measurements.
To prevent 64G2 function from false tripping when there is no voltage, or low voltage, on the generator
it's supervised by the phase under-voltage relay 27.
Set this relay at 90% of the rated voltage.

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FOR INSULATION FAILURES PROTECTIONS:
4. ROTOR EARTH FAULT (64F):

A single earth fault on the f ield winding or in the exciter circuit of a generator is not in itself a danger to
the machine. Should a second earth fault develop, however, part of the f ield winding will become short
circuited, resulting in magnetic un-balance of the f iled system with subsequent mechanical damage to
the machine bearings. It is necessary to ensure that should a second rotor earth fault occur, the
machine is disconnected. This is achieved by the use of a second rotor earth fault relay which comprises
adjustable resistors and a sensing element.
Diagram:

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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
5. LOSS OF EXCITATION OR UNDER EXCITATION(40G):

In case of loss of excitation (loss of f ield or f ield failure), the generator goes out of synchronism and
starts running asynchronously at a speed higher than the system, absorbing reactive power from the
system. Under these conditions, the stator end regions and part of the rotor get over heated.

The excitation system controls how much voltage the generator will produce internally, which is the
same as the Generator Terminal Voltage when the generator is energized and offline.

The Internal Generator Voltage and the Generator Terminal Voltage are different when the generator is
connected to a load.

The generator will export VARs when the Internal Generator Voltage is greater than the Generator
Terminal Voltage.

Alternatively, the generator will import VARs when the Internal Generator Voltage is less than the
Generator Terminal Voltage.

The generator becomes a synchronous condenser that imports VARs and exports watts. The excitation
f ield usually creates the rotor’s magnetic f ield, but now the rotor’s magnetic f ield is induced from the
stator. The generator is not designed to operate this way, so the rotor and stator will start to overheat,
and the end cores of the stator may be damaged.

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The f in al generator impedance after the f ield is lost depends on system conditions and generator
loading before the fault. If the generator was lightly loaded before the fault, the f inal impedance will be
near the generator’s synchronous impedance (Xd). If the generator was heavily loaded before the fault,
the final impedance will be closer to the generator’s transient impedance (X’d).

The minimum expected impedance during a loss-of-f ield condition will be close to the transient
impedance (X’d). The distance between the impedance diagram’s origin and the start of the impedance
circle is the offset, which is usually set at one-half of the generator’s X’d. The maximum expected
impedance will be near the steady-state impedance (Xd). Therefore, the diameter of the impedance circle
should be the generator’s Xd impedance.
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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
6. NEGATIVE PHASE SEQUENCE PROTECTION (46 G):-

It safeguards the generator rotor against over heating caused by the induced double frequency (100 Hz)
currents when negative phase sequence currents are present in the stator. The negative phase
sequence current (I2) can appear due to unbalanced single phase loads or transmission line
unsymmetrical fault.

The Negative sequence current create magnetic f lu x in the air gap which rotates in opposition to the
rotor. This f lu x induce eddy current as twice the fundamental frequency in the rotor which cause
overheating of rotor body, wedged and retaining rings. The rotor body gets heated instantaneously.

Alarm stage can be set at 50% of continuous withstand capability of the machine with a time delay of 3
to 5 Sec.

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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
7. BACKUP IMPEDANCE PROTECTION (21G):-

This operates for phase faults in the unit, in the HV yard or in the adjacent transmission lines, with a
suitable time delay. It operates as a backup when the corresponding main protection fails. In A.P.
System the reach is set as 120% of generator transformer with a time delay of about 1.0 to 1.5 Sec.

Under the protection, voltage and current both inputs are given to the relay. By monitoring the voltage
and current inputs, impedance is calculated by the relay. When the impedance value goes below the set
value, it will operate and isolate the system.

Z=V/I, Here, Z= Impedance of the protection zone, V=Input voltage, I= input current
•During an internal fault condition, the current will be increased and the voltage also dropped. Under the
condition, the calculated impedance value is found below the set impedance value in the relay and the
relay will operate under the protection.

•Voltage input is necessary for backup impedance protection. During the fuse fail condition, the voltage
goes zero to the relay and the relay will operate. To prevent the situation, the fuse failure block function
is used in the relay.

•Impedance protection is not as sensitive as differential or REF protection in transformer and Reactor.
As a backup of the differential and REF protection, it is used to protect the Generator, Transformer &
Reactor in Power System.

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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
8. OVER FLUXING PROTECTION V/F (24):
It is basically a relay which measures v/f of the generator and transformers. As modern power
transformers are designed to operate at very near saturation f lu x levels under normal operating
conditions, any increase in the voltage or decrease in the frequency, results in the saturation of the core
and the additional f lu x tries to f in d its fault through core bolts damaging the core bolt insulation. To
prevent this, over fluxing relay is used.
Over Fluxing relay is used to protect the generator against overheating and the winding insulation failure.

Induced EMF of Alternator,

Eph = 4.44 Kc Kd f ΦTph volts

Hence ,

Flux Φ directly proportional to

EMF and inversely to Frequency.

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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
9. LOW FORWARD POWER RELAY (37G):-
Low Forward Power means the output of Generator is suf ficiently reduced. When the machine is
generating and the CB connecting the generator to the system is tripped, the electrical load on the
generator is cut, the machine enters to motoring conditions drawing power from the system. This
could lead to generator over-speed if the mechanical input power is not reduced quickly. Trapped steam
in the turbine, downstream of a valve that has just closed, can rapidly lead to over speed.
This protection detects low forward power conditions of the generator and trips generator breaker
after a time delay, avoiding motoring of generator.

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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
10. REVERSE POWER RELAY (32G):-

When the input to the turbine is interrupted the machine enters into motoring condition drawing power
from the system. Under the failure of prime mover, due to motoring of turbine windage loss will be more
in turbine blades as there is no steam to cool it down. Thus it will lead to damage of turbine. In thermal
machines, reverse power condition appears subsequent to low forward power condition. For reverse
power relay, a setting of 0.5% of rated active power of generator with 2 stage timer as given below.

Stage – I : - With turbine trip interlock, a time delay of 2 Sec. shall be adopted.

Stage –II:- Without ‘ turbine trip’ interlock, a time delay of about 20 Sec. can be adopted to
avoid unnecessary tripping of unit during system disturbance causing sudden rise in frequency or
power swing conditions

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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
11. INADVERTENT ENERGISING or DEAD MACHINE PROTECTION (27/50)

Dead Machine Protection in a Generator is provided to ensure that Generator is not energized
accidentally in standstill condition or when the Generator is on Turning Gear. Accidental energization of
Generator when the machine is not running can cause severe damage to the machine.

Suppose the Breaker is closed when the Generator is at standstill condition, the Generator will behave as
an Induction Motor with surface of rotor core and rotor winding slot wedges acting as rotor current
carrying conductors.

This abnormal current in the rotor can cause arcing between the components like slot wedge to core
leading to rapid overheating and damage.

Generally, the time to damage the generator stator from the high in-rush currents received during
energizing at standstill is in the order of a few seconds.

The bearing, however, may be damaged more quickly due to the lack of oil pressure. Thus it is very
important to provide a fast and reliable protection to protect Generator from accidental energization at
standstill condition.

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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
12. OUT-OF-STEP PROTECTION OR POLE SLIP(78G):
This condition occurs when the machine is subjected to severe system disturbances involving rapid
change of voltage and frequency. If the generator goes out of synchronism for more than preset time,
these relays will disconnect the machine from the system.
Under normal condition the generator is synchronized with grid. But during some extreme fault
condition such as heavy line fault, lightning impulse, switching transient etc. the heavy transient torque
may be subjected to the generator winding. Due to that the generator may loss its synchronism and Pole
slipping occurs.
Pole slipping is nothing but a generator’s rotor produces weak magnetic f ield or low excitation for the
given input or the physical slip occurs in the rotor’s shaft.
During normal operations of a generator, the output of electric power from the generator produces an
electric torque that balances the mechanical torque applied to the generator rotor shaft. The generator
rotor therefore runs at a constant speed with this balance of electric and mechanical torques. Under
fault condition, the fault reduces the amount of power transmission, the electric torque that counters
the mechanical torque is also decreased. If the mechanical power is not reduced during the period of the
fault, the generator rotor will accelerate with a net surplus of torque input. This mismatching of torques
causes large separation of generator rotor angles, large swings of power f lows, large f lu ctuations of
voltages and currents, and eventually lead to a loss of synchronism between groups of generators or
between neighboring utility systems
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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
13. GENERATOR UNDER FREQUENCY PROTECTION (81 G):

The Under Frequency protection prevents the steam turbine and generator from exceeding the
permissible operating time at reduced frequencies. It ensures that the generating unit is separated from
the network at a preset value of frequency. It Prevents over f lu xing (v/f) of the generator (large over
f luxing for short times).The stator under frequency relay measures the frequency of the stator terminal
voltage.

Setting Recommendations:-
For Alarm : 48.0 Hz, 2.0 Sec. time delay.
For Trip : 47.5 Hz, 1.0 Sec. (or)
As recommended by Generator Manufacturers.

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FOR AN ABNORMAL RUNNING CONDITION:
14. GENERATOR OVER VOLTAGE PROTECTION (59 G):
An over voltage on the terminals of the generator can damage the insulator of the generator, bus ducting,
breakers, generator transformer and auxiliary equipment. Hence over voltage protection should be
provided for machines of all sizes.
Over voltage protection is used to protect the synchronous Generator/transformer/alternator form high
voltage. Generally, overvoltage occurs due to sudden load through off, elevated grid synchronized
voltage, AVR malfunctioning, power transformer taps changer failure, lightning strike on the
transmission line, turbine over speed etc. the power system must be isolated when the system voltage
high.
Severe overvoltage causes the winding or electrical insulation failure, over f lu xing (u/f), transformer’s
core saturation etc. The over voltage protection can be considered as a backup to the Volts-per-Hertz
protection (Over fluxing).

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 THANKS

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