Introduction to

Switchgear &
Protection
➢A notable features of modern civilization is the
great demand for electrical energy that is needed
for lighting, heating, domestic appliances,
industrial electrical machinery and electrical
traction.
What is a Switchgear?
➢ A switchgear is an apparatus used for switching, controlling
and protecting the electrical circuits and equipment.

Why do we need to protect power systems?

▪ to avoid harm during fault conditions
▪ to ensure maximum continuity of supply
Power Systems Protection Zones
▪ Generators
▪ Low-tension switchgear
▪ Transformers
▪ High-tension switchgear
▪ Transmission lines
Note: When any fault occurs, the circuit breakers within
the zone will be opened, this will isolate only the faulty
circuit leaving the healthy circuit intact.
Basic Structure of Protection scheme
Figure 1.1 description
Fig.1.1 shows the various protective zones used in a system.
The circuit breakers are located in the connections to each
power system element in order to make it possible to
disconnect only the faulty section. If a fault occurs at bus-
bars on the last zone, then only breakers nearest to the
faulty (10, 11, 12 and 13) should be open. There is a certain
overlap between the adjacent protection zone for breaker
to open, otherwise if there were no overlap, a failure in the
region between zones would not lie in either region and
therefore no breaker would be opened.
Switchgear Equipment
1. Switches
➢ A device that is used to open or close an electrical circuit in
convenient manner and can be used under full-load or no-
load condition but it cannot interrupt the fault currents.
➢ For a high voltage or large current capacity circuits, arc is
produced in the air between the contacts when the
contacts of the switch are opened.
Classification of Switches

i. Air-break switch
➢ an air switch that is designed to open a circuit under load.
➢ Used outdoor for circuits of medium capacity such as lines
supplying an industrial load from main transmission line
or feeder.
➢ arcing horns are provided to quench the arc that may
occurs during the opening of the switch.
➢ Arcing horns are pieces of metals between which arc is
formed during the opening operation and as the switch
opens, these horns are spread farther and farther apart.
ii. Isolator or disconnecting switch
➢ It is designed to open a circuit under no load.
➢ Its main purpose is to isolate one portion of the circuit
from the other and is not intended to be opened while
current is flowing in the line.
➢ Used on both sides of circuit breakers in order that repairs
and replacement of circuit breakers can be made without
any danger.
➢ It should not be opened until the circuit breaker in the
same circuit has been opened and should always be closed
before the circuit breaker is closed.
iii. Oil switches
➢ the contacts of such switches are opened under oil, usually
transformer oil to cool and quench the arc that tends to
form when the circuit is opened.
➢ used for circuits of high voltage and large current carrying
capacities.
2. Fuses
➢ a short piece or thin strip which melts when excessive
current flows through it for sufficient time.
➢ normally inserted in series with the circuit to be protected.
➢ under normal operating conditions, the fuse element is at
temperature below its melting to carry the normal load
current without overheating.
➢ when a short circuit or overload occurs, the current
through the fuse element increases beyond its rated
capacity that causes the raise of temperature and the fuse
element melts thereby disconnecting the circuit protected
by it.
➢ a fuse protects the machine and equipment from damage
due to excessive currents.
➢ It performs both detection and interruption functions.
3. Circuit breakers
➢ An equipment which can open or close a circuit under all
conditions (no load, full load, and fault conditions)
➢ It is designed to operate manually or remotely under
normal conditions and automatically under fault
conditions.
4. Relays
➢ A device that detects the fault and supplies information to
the breaker for circuit interruption.
What is Protective relay?
 a device that detects the fault and initiates the operation of
the circuit breaker to isolate the defective element from the
rest of the system.
Figure 1.2 description
 It is a relay circuit which shows one phase of 3-phase
system for simplicity. The relay circuit connections can be
divided into three parts.
i. Primary winding of a current transformer (C.T.) which is
connected in series with the line to be protected.
ii. Secondary winding of C.T. and the relay operating coil.
iii. The tripping circuit which may be either A.C or D.C. It
consists of a source of supply, the trip coil of the circuit
breaker and the relay stationary contacts
Working Principle of a typical relay
➢ When a short circuit occurs at point F on the transmission
line, the current flowing in the line increases to an
enormous value. This results in a heavy current flow
through the relay coil, causing the relay to operate by
closing its contacts. This in turn closes the trip circuit of
the breaker, making the circuit breaker open and isolating
the faulty section from the rest of the system
Basic Requirement of Protective Relays
 Selectivity
➢ the ability of the protective system to select correctly that part of
the system in trouble and disconnect the faulty part without
disturbing the rest of the system.
 Speed
➢ The relay system should disconnect the faulty section as fast as
possible for the following reasons;
(i) Electrical apparatus may be damaged if they are made to carry
the fault currents for a long time
(ii) A failure on the system leads to a great reduction in the system
voltage.
(iii) The high speed relay system decreases the possibility of
development of one type of fault into the other more severe
type.
 Sensitivity
➢ The ability of the relay system to operate with low
value of actuating quantity.
➢ It is a function of the volt-amperes input to the coil of
the relay necessary to cause its operation. The smaller
the volt-ampere input required causing relay
operation, the more sensitive is the relay.
 Reliability
➢ The ability of the relay system to operate under the
pre-determined conditions.
➢ Without reliability, the protection would be rendered
largely ineffective and could even become a liability.
 Simplicity
➢ The relaying system should be simple so that it can be
easily maintained. Reliability is closely related to
simplicity.
➢ The simpler the protection scheme, the greater will be
its reliability.
 Economy
➢ The most important factor in the choice of a particular
protection scheme is the economic aspect. As a rule,
the protective gear should not cost more than 5% of
the total cost.
 Electromechanical relay
➢ an electrically operated switch.
➢ Most of the relays used in power system operate by the
virtue of the current or voltage supplied by current and
voltage transformers connected in various combinations to
the system element that is to be protected.
 Types of Electromechanical Relays
1. Electromagnetic attraction relays
➢ it operates by virtue of an armature being attracted to the
poles of an electromagnet or a plunger being drawn into a
solenoid and it may be actuated by d.c or a.c. quantities.
Types of Electromagnetic Attraction Relays
i. Attracted armature type relay
Working Principle:
 When a short circuit occurs, the current through
the relay coil increases sufficiently and the relay
armature is attracted upwards. The contacts on the
relay armature bridge a pair of stationary contacts
attached to the relay frame. This completes the trip
circuit which results in the opening of the circuit
breaker and, therefore, in the disconnect the faulty
circuit.
Pick up current
➢The minimum current at which the relay armature
is attracted to close the trip circuit.
ii. Solenoid Type Relay
Working Principle:
➢ When the fault occurs, the current through the relay coil
becomes more than the pick up value, causing the plunger
to be attracted to the solenoid. The upward movement of
the plunger closes the trip circuit, thus opening the circuit
breaker and disconnecting the faulty circuit.
iii. Balanced beam type relay
Working Principle:
➢ When a fault occurs, the current through the relay coil
becomes greater than the pick up value and the beam is
attracted to close the trip circuit. This causes the opening
of the circuit breaker to isolate the faulty circuit.
2. Electromagnetic Induction Relays
➢ it operates on the principle of induction motor and used
widely for protective relaying purposes involving a.c.
quantities.
➢ it consists of a pivoted aluminum disc placed in two
alternating magnetic fields of the same frequency but
displaced in time and space. The torque is produced in the
disc by the interaction of one magnetic fields with the
currents induced in the disc by the other.
The instantaneous values of two A.C. f luxes are
Ø1 = Ø1max sinωt ---(1.1)
Ø2 = Ø2max sin(ωt + Ө) --(1.2)
The induced eddy currents are proportional to the f luxes, which can be written as
 Three types of structures commonly used types for
obtaining the phase difference in the fluxes and hence
the operating torque in induction relays
1. Shaded Pole Structure
Working Principle:
➢ One-half of each pole of the magnet is surrounded by a
copper band known as shading ring as shown in Fig 1.7.
Due to shaded band the alternating flux φs lag behind the
flux φu in the unshaded portion by an angle θ. These two
a.c. fluxes differing in phase will produce the necessary
torque to rotate the disc.
2. Watt-hour Meter or double winding structure
Working Principle:
➢ The primary winding carries the relay current I1 while the
secondary winding is connected to the winding of the lower
magnet. The primary current induces e.m.f. in the secondary
and so circulates a current I2 in it. The flux φ2 induced in the
lower magnet will lag behind φ1 by an angle θ. The two fluxes
φ1 and φ2 differing in phase by θ will produce a driving
torque on the disc proportional to φ1φ2 sin θ.
3. Induction cup structure
Working Principle:
➢ The rotating field is produced by two pairs of coils wound on
four poles as shown in Fig. 1.9. The rotating field induces
currents in the Induction relay cup to provide the necessary
driving torque. If Ø1 and Ø2 represent the fluxes produced
by the respective pairs of poles, then torque produced is
proportional to Ø1 Ø2sin Ө.
Relay Timing
➢ the length of time between the inputs to output operation of a
relay.
 Instantaneous relay
➢ no intentional time delay is provided.
➢ the relay contacts are closed immediately after current in the
relay coil exceeds the minimum calibrated value.
 Inverse time relay
➢ its operating time is approximately inversely proportional to
the magnitude of the actuating quantity.
 Definite time lag relay
➢ there is a definite time lag between the instant of pick up and
the closing of relay contacts.
Current setting
➢ the desired adjusted pick-up current to any required value.
Time-setting multiplier
➢ the relay control provided to adjust the time of operation.
Plug- Setting Multiplier (P.S.M)
➢ the ratio of fault current in relay coil to the pick-up current.

Pick-up current = Rated secondary current of C.T. X Current

setting ---(1.8)

𝐹𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙

𝑃. 𝑆. 𝑀 = ---(1.9)
𝑃𝑖𝑐𝑘−𝑢𝑝 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝐹𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙

= ---(1.10)
(𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐶.𝑇.𝑋 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔)
Example
1. An overcurrent relay having current setting of 125% is
connected to a supply circuit through a current transformer
of 400/5. Determine the pick-up current.
Solution:
Pick-up current = Rated secondary current of C.T. X Current
setting
Pick –up current = 5 X 1.25 = 6.25A.
It means that with above current setting, the relay will
actually operate for a relay coil current equal to or greater
than 6.25 A.
2. Relay is connected to 400/5 current transformer and set at
150%. With a primary fault current of 2400A, find the P.S.M.

Solution
Pick-up value = Rated secondary current of CT X Current
setting
= 5 X 1·5 = 7·5 A
Fault current in relay coil = 2400 x (5 / 400) = 30A
P.S.M. = 30/7·5 = 4.
 Calculation of Relay Operating Time
The following things must be known:
▪ Time/P.S.M. curve
▪ Current setting
▪ Time setting
▪ Fault current
▪ Current transformer ratio
Procedure for calculating the actual relay
operating time
 Convert the fault current into the relay coil current by
using the current transformer ratio.
 Express the relay current as a multiple of current
setting i.e. calculate the P.S.M.
 From the Time/P.S.M. curve of the relay, read off the
time of operation for the calculated P.S.M.
 Determine the actual time of operation by multiplying
the above time of the relay by time setting multiplier
in use.
Types of Induction Relays
1. Induction type overcurrent relay (non-directional)
➢ When current in the circuit exceeds the predetermined
value, this type of relay open the circuit. These relays are
used on A.C. circuits only and operate for fault current flow
in either direction.
Working Principle:
➢ Under normal condition, the restraining torque in the
spring is more than the driving torque, hence the
aluminum disc remains stationary.
➢ If the current in the protected circuit exceeds the limit, the
driving torque becomes greater than the restraining
torque, hence the disc starts rotates and touches the trip
circuit. The trip circuit operates the circuit breaker which
isolates the faulty section.
2. Induction type directional power relay
➢ This relay operates when power in the circuit flows in a
specific direction
➢ Operating torque is obtained by the interaction magnetic
field of both voltage and current.
Working Principle:
 The flux Ø1 due to current in the potential coil will be nearly
900 lagging behind the applied voltage V and the flux Ø2 due
to the current coil will be nearly in phase with the operating
current I as shown in Fig.1.15b. The interaction of fluxes Ø1,
Ø2 with eddy currents induced in the disc produces a driving
torque given by T ∝ Ø1 Ø2 sin α. When the reverse driving
torque is large enough, the disc rotates in the reverse
direction and the moving contact closes the trip and the
circuit breaker disconnects the faulty section.
3. Induction type directional overcurrent relay
➢ This relay is almost independent of system voltage and
power factor.
➢ It consists of two relay elements mounted on a common
case. They are
(i) Directional element and (ii) non-directional element
Working Principle:
➢ When a short circuit occurs, there is a tendency for the
current or power to flow in the reverse direction that may
cause the disc of the upper element rotates to bridge the
fixed contacts 1 and 2. This completes the circuit for
overcurrent element. The disc rotates and the moving
contact attached to it closes the trip circuit thereby isolates
the faulty section by the circuit breaker.
Distance or Impedance relay
➢ This type of relay will operate if the ratio of Voltage to
Current (Impedance) is less than a predetermined value.
Working Principle:
➢ Fig.1.17 illustrates the basic principle of operation of an
impedance relay. The voltage of the relay is excited through a
potential transformer (P.T.) from the line to be protected. The
current element of the relay is excited from the current
transformer (C.T.) in series with the line. The portion AB is
the protected zone. Under normal conditions, the impedance
of the protected zone is ZL.
 Suppose a fault occurs at point F in the protected zone, the
impedance between the point where the relay is installed and
the point of fault will be less than ZL and hence the relay
operates.
Differential relays
➢ Differential relay is one that operates when the phasor
difference of two or more similar electrical quantities
exceeds a pre-determined value.
Current differential relay
➢ A relay which senses and operates the phase difference
between the current entering into the electrical system and
the current leaving the electrical system.
Working Principle:
➢ Under normal operating condition, both sides of the
alternator windings carry the same current. So no current
flow through the operating coil.
➢ If any fault occurs, then the two secondary currents will not
be equal, hence the current flows through the operating coil
and operates the relay.
Voltage differential relay
➢ Uses two similar transformer places across the protective
zone with the help of pilot wire.
➢ The relays are connected in series with the secondary of the
current transformer in such a way that no current flows
through it in the normal operating condition.
Working Principle:
➢ Under normal condition equal currents (I1 = I2) flow in both
primary windings. Therefore, the secondary voltages of the
two transformers are balanced against each other and no
current will flow through the operating coil.
➢ If any fault occurs in the protected zone, the two primary
currents will differ from one another (I1 not equal I2) and
their secondary voltages will no longer be balance. This
voltage difference will cause a current to flow through the
operating coil of the relay which closes the trip coil.
Types of Protection
Primary Protection (Main protection)
➢ The first line protection which provides quick-acting
and selective clearing of a fault within the boundary of
the circuit section or element it protects.
➢ The main protection is provided in each section of an
electrical installation.
Back-up protection
➢ The second line of defense which operates if the
primary protection fails to activate within a definite
time period.
Working Principle:
➢ As shown in Fig. 1.20, each line has an overcurrent relay that
protects the line. If a fault occurs on any line, it will be
cleared by its relay and circuit breaker. This forms the
primary or main protection and serves as the first line of
defense.
➢ However, if faults are not cleared by primary relay system
because of trouble within the relay, wiring system or breaker,
then backup protection is used.
➢ From Fig. 1.20 relay A provides back-up protection for each of
the four lines. If a line fault is not cleared by its relay and
breaker, the relay A on the group breaker will operate after a
definite time delay and clear the entire group of lines.
➢ When a back-up relaying functions, a larger part is
disconnected than when primary relaying functions correctly.