Assessment of Power Swing Blocking Functions

Michael O’Donovan Eoin Cowhey Noel Barry Joe Connell

Department of Electrical Engineering ESB Networks Department of Electrical Engineering Department of Electrical Engineering
Cork Institute of Technology ESB Ireland Cork Institute of Technology Cork Institute of Technology
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract—Power swings and loss of synchronism are periodically during these swings. The natural frequency is
complex events which occur during power system faults, line typically in the range of 0.5–2 Hz for stable swings and 4–10
switching, generator disconnection, and the loss or application Hz for unstable swings [3].
of large loads. As generators have different frequencies for a
duration following the event, this results in power swings which
cause voltages and currents in different parts of the network to The classical two machine system in Fig 1 can be used to
swing in amplitude and phase angle. Power swing blocking describe the performance of distance protection during power
(PSB) is a vital security feature in distance protection relays for swings. The impedance seen by the relay at R during a power
preventing unnecessary tripping during temporary power swing can be determined by (1).
system oscillatory events. A case study is taken as an example,
which following a system disturbance on the Irish transmission
system, there was a subsequent power swing event on a part of
a 110 kV network. DigSilent PowerFactory was used to perform
dynamic time-domain simulations of the event. A COMTRADE
A B
file is generated from simulations and can be “played back” to
a relay to verify how the relay responds to various stable and S R
ZS R ZL ZR
unstable power swing. The paper also outlines a utility’s
experience in analysing PSB algorithms on distance protective
relays in use on a transmission system. Finally, an overview of
the methods used in developing a systematic and practical Fig 1. Two Machine System
approach to testing and mitigating the effects of the disturbance
on the network is investigated.
Frequency, amplitude, and duration of power swings are
Keywords— Power swing, Power swing blocking, Out of step, determined by the parameters of the power system and
Distance protection testing, DigSilent PowerFactory. generators as well as by the swing trigger conditions,
especially the short-circuit duration.
I. INTRODUCTION When one of these disturbances occurs, it will cause
The primary protection used to protect transmission lines changes in the electrical power parameters [5].
is a numerical distance or impedance protection relay. Today
these relays are known as Intelligent Electronic Devices
(IEDs). The distance or impedance measuring principle −
represents the most widely applied non-unit protection as = (1)
primary (or main) protection to high voltage transmission
lines.
Line switching, generator disconnection, and the addition where:
and loss of large blocks of load can cause instability resulting ES is the voltage of machine S
in power swings in the electrical power system. The use of ER is the voltage of machine R
IED’s has allowed the protection algorithms to become more δ is the angle by which ES leads ER
and more adaptive to the conditions of power systems. The ZS is the impedance of source S
impedance seen by the relay oscillates due to swings of ZR is the impedance of source R
voltage and current during a power swing event. This must be ZL is the impedance of the transmission line (AB)
taken into consideration during the setting of the distance ZT is the total impedance between the two
relay. machines
Distance protection relays incorporate a PSB function,
which blocks the relay operation during a stable power swing. A sudden load/generation imbalance may create a power
In the event of an out-of-step (OOS) condition or an unstable swing resulting in the load impedance oscillating and entering
power swing, the relay should activate. This should result in a the relay tripping zones.
controlled separation of the system at predetermined locations The occurrence of a fault will cause a voltage drop, while
to prevent widespread power outage and damage to generators the disconnection of a line will change the total impedance ZT
[1]. seen by the two machines.
During a power swing, the apparent impedance is A power swing is considered unstable if a generator or a
fluctuating, so it will enter the relay tripping zones leading to group of generators rotors slip poles when some corrective
undesired relay operation [2]. Voltages, currents, and the action is necessary.
derived quantities (e.g., power or impedance) are oscillating

978-1-7281-1078-3/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE

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 II. POWER SWING ANALYSIS the impedance seen by relays in the network to enter their
Consider a transmission line AB, which connects two respective impedance tripping zones. In most instances, the
generating stations, as shown in Fig 1. The voltage at the remaining generators can balance the system and the
relay R location is V. The current flowing through the line is impedance returns to the load area, and this is known as a
given by: stable power swing.
X

− Outer Blinder
= (2)
+ + Inner Blinder

Impedance
Zones
Stable Swing
= − (3) Load
Area

The impedance seen by the relay is given by: R

−
= = = − (4)

Fig 3. Stable Power Swing Condition

= − (5)
−
B. Unstable Power Swing Condition.
In instances where there are extreme power swings or out
If ES lead ER by an angle δ and ES/ER = n the above
of step conditions, the remaining generators are unable to
expression is written as:
balance the network and become out of synchronism with the
grid, this is known as an unstable power swing, see Fig 4
= − (6) below. Distance relays can be configured to issue a trip
−1 during this out of step condition and balance the network by
islanding parts of the network. This function is utilised in
large interconnected power systems and requires dynamic
The equation (6) represents a family of circles with n as studies. As Ireland is an isolated network and not massively
parameter and δ as variable as shown in Fig 2. When n = 1 interconnected to Europe, this function is not active on
the power swing locus is a straight line perpendicular to AB distance relays. PSB is set to disable all zones except for zone
(AB = ZT) [4]. With n > 1 and n < 1, the power swing loci are 1 on distance protection relays. This ensures that during
circular as shown in Fig 2. extreme power swing events, the nearest node is tripped, and
the system is split as appropriate.
X
X
R
Outer Blinder

B ZR Power Swing
Inner Blinder
Impedance
n>1 Trajectory Impedance
Zones
δ
90o Load Point Load
Area

R
A
ZS R
n=1
S
n<1
Fig 2. Impedance trajectories as seen by a distance relay during a power
swing
Fig 4. Unstable Power Swing Condition or Out of Step

A. Stable Power Swing

A stable power swing is fundamentally a slow rate of C. Actual Fault Conditions
change of impedance. The power swing may cause the During a fault condition, the impedance moves
impedance presented to a distance relay to move away from instantaneously from the load area into the distance
the normal load area and into the relay characteristic, as protection tripping zone, as seen in Fig 5.
shown in Fig 3. In the case of a stable power swing, it is
essential that the distance relay should not trip and allow the
power system to return to a stable condition. During this
event, voltages and currents seen by relays throughout the
network oscillate in magnitude and phase angles resulting in

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 X X

Outer Blinder
ΔX1
Inner Blinder
Impedance
Zones ΔX3 ΔX2
Fault
Load
Area
ΔR3 ΔR2 ΔR1
R

Fig 6. Monotony Trajectory [8]

Fig 5. Fault condition When the impedance enters the power swing detection
zone, a power swing is active, and the distance zones are
blocked from tripping provided that the monotony and
III. POWER SWING DETECTION METHODS continuity are satisfied.
PSB functions are utilised on distance protection relays in
order to prevent the undesired tripping on some or all zones
during power swing events. However, relays must still be IV. POWER SYSTEM EVENT INVESTIGATION
capable of detecting internal faults during power swing In 2014, following a system disturbance, there was a
events and release the impedance tripping function. During subsequent power swing event on the part of the Irish 110 kV
severe power swing conditions from which a system is transmission network. The distance protection relays in use
unlikely to recover, stability might only be regained if the had PSB enabled, but the function did not correctly block the
swinging sources are separated [5]. distance protection from operating. This resulted in the loss
of three transmission stations. After examining the relay
A. Dual Blinder Method sequence of events and fault records, it was determined that
Traditional approaches for detecting power swing the relay operated in zone 1 time (instantaneous) for a fault
conditions utilise a simplified method where the impedance clearly located in zone 4 (1.2s). In a follow-up investigation,
locus is monitored. When the impedance enters the area an issue was found in the detection algorithm of the relay
between the outer and inner blinders, as shown in Fig 3, a itself.
power swing condition is initiated provided that the
impedance remains within this area for some time. When a A. Fault Background
power swing is detected, some or all zone tripping functions On the part of the 110 kV transmission network, there was
are blocked until the condition has passed, becomes unstable a fault on a line between Stations C and D shown in Fig 7.
or an internal fault occurs during this condition. When the While the primary protection for this line picked up and
swing locus exits the outer blinder, a new timer can be set to cleared the fault correctly, an outer distance zone from the
deactivate the PSB. In reality, the impedance trajectories will protection in Station A also picked up. This zone is used for
not follow a perfect elliptical path. back-up protection and has a long-time delay of 1.2 secs [9].
The outer zone should only operate in exceptional
B. Continuous Impedance Method circumstances where a fault is not cleared in the primary
The continuous impedance detection method is an location.
advanced and more complex detection method than the dual Along with the outer zone pickup from this relay, the PSB
blinder detection method. The power swing detection element also picked up; this blocked the relevant impedance
function is based on a continuous impedance calculation [6]. zones. However, upon reset of the PSB element following the
An impedance calculation is performed in 5ms steps (50 Hz) fault clearance, a trip was issued incorrectly from Station A
and compared with the previous 5ms calculation. Continuity distance protection. This protection operation resulted in a
verifies that the trajectory is not motionless and requires that significant loss of supply to customers and disconnection of
the successive ΔR and ΔX be above a set threshold [7]. generation sources in the area. The considerable impact to
As shown in Fig 6, checking that the successive ΔR and ΔX customers was due to the network feeding arrangements at
have the same signs, confirms that the trajectory does not the time, where the line between Stations E and F was out of
change direction (Monitory). Finally, by looking at the ratios service, effectively leaving this part of the network in a tail
of the successive ΔR and ΔX and comparing them to a feeding arrangement from Station A [8].
threshold value, confirms that there are no sudden changes in After an investigation and consultation with the
the trajectory (Smoothness). manufacturer, an issue was found with the operation of the
This method avoids the need for detailed system analysis PSB function in the specific relay type. The manufacturer
when setting the distance relay and can detect slip frequencies corrected the functionality in a subsequent firmware release,
up to 7 Hz. and this solution was applied retrospectively to all distance
protection relays of this type on the system.

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 V. POWER SYSTEM SIMULATION
The transmission networks simulations reported in the
paper uses DigSilent Powerfactory software that includes a
dynamic model of the power system and the protection relays.
An overall protection study of dynamic simulations was made
in order to investigate the operation of the PSB function of
the various lines. The simulations allowed the identification
of various PSB and tripping locations.
The case simulated was a fault on a line between Stations
C and D shown in Fig 7. The primary protection for this line
picked up and cleared the fault correctly, an outer distance
zone 4 from the protection in Station A also picked up.
Fig 8. R-X Plane for Fault Simulation in zone 4 of protected Line AB

Fig 9. R-X Plane showing an unstable power swing zone 4 of protected Line
AB

The outer PSB characteristic surrounds the largest set

zones automatically by a fixed ΔZ value of 5 Ω secondary (1
A relay). The PSB function is only active during three-phase
Fig 7. 110 kV Network Configuration. symmetrical conditions (non-symmetry < 25%). An unstable
A. Analysis of three-phase fault on an overhead line power swing was detected in zone 4 at station A. The PSB
between Station C and D function appeared to operate correctly. The primary
protection for this line picked up and cleared the fault
Within DigSilent PowerFactory, a three-phase fault was correctly.
applied to the outgoing 110 kV line 2 line between Stations
C and D. The fault clearing time was varied to produce the
desired power swing impedance trajectory. VI. TESTING APPROACH
Zone 1 on a distance relay is set to protect about 70-85 % The following sections describe the testing approaches
of the circuit length and trips for all faults that present an employed for verifying the functionality of PSB schemes on
impedance inside this range [9]. The zone 1 operating time distance relays, utilising a dual blinder detection method and
corresponds to the fastest measuring speed that the distance the continuous impedance detection methods. These testing
relay will achieve, and typical clearance times are 50 to 80 approaches are being investigated to determine the most
ms. suitable and practical ways of testing for commissioning
The zone 2 characteristic operates after a delay and is seen engineers. The IEC 60255-121 standard specifies the
to have a reach in excess of the remote line terminal (this minimum requirements for functional and performance
reach is typically 120%). The delay is typically 300 to 400 evaluation of distance protection. The standard describes
ms. This is referred to as the remote back-up function. different tests to be performed and how to compare the test
Typical zone 2 fault clearance times are 450 to 550 ms. results of relays from different manufacturers. The
The third zone is seen to encompass the relay location and complexity of modern multifunctional distance protection
is the first reverse zone. This zone operates in a time greater devices primarily related to their behaviour during dynamic
than zone 2 and thus provides some further remote back-up wide-area system disturbances requires the use of advanced
extending further into the system. It is set to 20 – 50% of the tools and software that can simulate the different system
length of the shortest feeder in the reverse direction. It conditions when they are being tested.
provides some local reverse back-up that is useful in the event
of the circuit breaker behind relay location failing to clear the
fault. A delay of approximately 500 ms is applied. Typical A. Traditional Methods
zone 2 fault clearance times are 550 to 650 ms. Traditional methods for testing of the PSB function of
protection relays have been used for many years and have
Zone 4 is the third forward step of a distance scheme with been based on the requirements for testing of
a typical time delay 1.2 s. electromechanical or solid-state relays. As a result, the use of

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constant current and constant voltage methods are the ones The following equation (7) can be used to superimpose the
usually applied. voltage waveforms and the current.

The main characteristic of this method is to inject voltages

and currents over several states into the distance relay on the , ( )=( sin( + )) + sin( + ) (7)
resistance axis until the operation of the tested elements is where:
detected. For testing a PSB function, a minimum of three
points is needed, the first one in the load area for a pre-swing A1 is the magnitude of the first current/voltage
duration, one point between the inner and outer source in r.m.s. values
characteristics, and a third point inside the tripping zones ω1 is the angular frequency in rad/s
[11]. φ1 is the initial phase angle of current/voltage
source 1 in degrees
The voltages and currents for each state are calculated A2 is the magnitude of the second current/voltage
based on a single-source model with constant source source in r.m.s. values
impedance, providing dynamic test values. Starting with the ω2 is the angular frequency in rad/s
impedance in the load area at point 1 (see Fig 10), we can φ2 is the initial phase angle of current/voltage
then move the impedance into position 2 for a period longer source 2 in degrees
than the PSB timer. When the PSB timer has elapsed a power t the time of the event in seconds
swing condition will be activated, and distance zone
protection is blocked. By then moving the impedance into It can be deduced that the voltage and current waveforms
point 3, as the PSB is active, no trip will be issued from the decrease and increase at the same time and remain in phase for
relay. Moving the impedance back to the load area at position the duration of the waveform plot. This is not the behaviour of
4 the PSB will deactivate, we can then move the impedance a power swing or out-of-step condition [10].
into point 5 where a power swing will not be detected, and By changing either φ1 or φ2, the phase current can be offset
the relay will issue a trip once its zone timer has elapsed. by 180°. By changing φ1, the phase angle will initially start
180° out of phase and then slowly come back into phase, then
X go back out, and repeat indefinitely. Since it is desirable to
Outer Blinder control the phase angle from the start, φ2 will be set to 180°.
Inner Blinder
This will result in the two waveforms starting in phase and
Impedance then slowly go out of phase and come back into phase and
Zones
repeating again.
Load
Area By defining where the impedance starts (outside the PSB
3&5 2 1&4
blinder) and where it finishes (how far into the zone
protection) one can generate a stable or an unstable power
c ti on

swing.
D ete
PSB

Fig 11 shows the tool created based on the superimposition

-Test Points
of waveforms. As can be seen the frequencies, voltage phase
angle and current phase angles of both generating sources can
be adjusted as well as the nominal voltage, fault voltage,
Fig 10. Traditional Dual Blinder Detection – Testing Approach
starting impedance and finishing impedance. This tool creates
As can be seen from the above tests, this is a simplified a COMTRADE file which can be played to a distance relay
method of testing power swings, but it does not represent a and the response monitored. A COMTRADE file contains
transient waveform and event data collected from power
correct operation of the step changes in voltages and currents
systems or power system models. This test approach has the
in a power system. Power swings are smooth transitions and advantage that it can be implemented across different power
do not feature such abrupt changes in impedance (unless a swing detection schemes and is a simplified approach for test
fault exists). This approach is not suitable for more engineers.
complicated algorithm based IEDs as they require many
criteria, including a smooth impedance trajectory to detect a
power swing.

B. Superimposed Waveform Method

For distance relays with complex algorithm-based
detection of power swings, another method of testing is
required. This method involves the superimposition of two
voltage and two current waveforms of similar amplitudes and
frequencies. This smooth impedance ramp generator of a
modern-day relay test set, allows the user to define the starting
and finishing impedances, the nominal and fault voltages, the
rate of change of impedance, and the starting phase angles.

Fig 11. PSB tool for the Superimposition of Voltage and Current Plots

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 DigSilent PowerFactory was used to perform dynamic in the field as it simplifies the testing, negating the need for
time-domain simulations, as shown in Fig 12. The three-phase complex calculations and knowledge of advanced simulation
currents and voltages obtained from the time domain software techniques.
simulations from the case study were then converted to The stable and unstable power swing COMTRADE files
COMTRADE files, which are then used to test the actual relay that were generated for the tests performed in this paper can
device. The COMTRADE files can then be used with any be used in the future to test the distance protection relays. The
modern relay test equipment, which allows the various COMTRADE files can be played back to the distance
analogue signals to be played back. protection relays to determine if they operate correctly for
stable and unstable power swings.

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