Power System Protection and Switchgear

Protection of Transmission Lines using Distance Relays

Dr. BHAVESHKUMAR BHALJA

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

1
 Distance Relay
 Depending on the requirements, transmission lines are protected by
overcurrent, distance, and pilot relaying systems.
 The current-based scheme fails in many situations and does not provide
instantaneous protection to the entire line.
 Moreover, the coordination of overcurrent relays is very difficult,
particularly for a large, interconnected power system.
 Pilot relaying is used to protect a line when high-speed protection of an
entire line is desirable.

 Distance relaying scheme has been widely used for the protection of
transmission lines for the last five decades.

2
 Fault Distance Measurement
 The operation of distance relays is mainly based on the impedance
measured at the relaying point. The voltage-to-current ratio of the
fundamental frequency components seen at the relaying point is an
indicator of the system’s normal or fault condition.
A B

KS
Z2
ZA ZB
GA Z1 GB
IA
IB
RF
Relay IF F1 F2
F3
3
 Fault Distance Measurement
 A distance relay is connected at bus A and bus B to protect the
transmission line having an impedance
ZL = RL + jXL.
 KS is the set value of impedance.
 For an internal fault at F1, the measured impedance at bus A lies in the
first quadrant of the impedance plane and is less than the set value of
impedance (Z1 < KS).

 For an external fault at F2, it lies in the first quadrant of the impedance
plane, but it is greater than the set value of impedance (Z2 > KS).

 For a backward or reverse fault at F3, it lies in the third quadrant of the
impedance plane (negative impedance).

4
 Fault Distance Measurement
 The faults F1 to F3 are assumed not to have any fault resistance value.

 For internal fault, the fault trajectory of the impedance moves from pre-
fault condition (load area) to its post-fault steady state measurement.
X
 As soon as the fault trajectory enters (Imaginary)
F2
the trip area and settles down on a
KS
line defined by the transmission line
angle (φL = tan−1(XL/RL)), the relay F1
Line to be
(local and remote end) sends a trip φL Protected Load Area
signal to the respective breakers (local R (Real)
F3
and remote end).

5
 Stepped Distance Characteristic
 Backup protection is made possible in distance protection by stepped
distance characteristics. It is one of the most commonly used backup
protection schemes on high voltage (HV) and EHV transmission lines. In
such a scheme of protection, a distance relay has three zones of
protection.

6
 Stepped Distance Characteristic
 The first zone or the high-speed zone, designated as zone 1, is set to trip
without any intentional time delay and provides primary protection for the
line section to be protected.

 To avoid unnecessary operation on faults beyond the remote end due to

the transient overreach and errors in the instrument (current and voltage)
transformers (CTs and VTs), zone 1 is adjusted to reach 80–90% of the
length of the line section.

 The second zone, designated as zone 2, is used to provide high-speed

protection for the remainder of the line with an adequate margin.

7
 Stepped Distance Characteristic
 It gives instantaneous protection for the line section that is uncovered by
zone 1 and time-delayed protection for half of the following line section.

 It should be adjusted so that it will be able to operate even for arcing

faults at the end of the line.

 Even if the arcing faults did not have to be considered, the underreaching
tendency of the relay because of the effect of intermediate current
sources and the errors in the data, CTs, potential transformers (PTs), and
relays, should be taken into account.

 It is customary to have the second-zone unit reach 50% of an adjoining

line section.
8
 Stepped Distance Characteristic
 The second-zone relays have to be time delayed to coordinate with relays
at the remote bus, and the typical time delays are of the order of 0.3–0.6s.

 The third zone, designated as zone 3, is used to provide remote backup to

the first and second zone of an adjacent line sections when a relay or
breaker fails to clear the fault locally.

 The usual practice is to extend its reach beyond the end of the largest
adjoining line section or more than double the line section to be
protected.

 The third-zone operation is usually delayed by about 1.4–1.8 s.

9
 Stepped Distance Characteristic
 The third-zone reach setting is a more complex problem.

 It has been observed that the zone 3 unit trips under heavy and unusual
loading conditions, and thereby leads to the cascade tripping of the power
system.

 The third-zone setting must be blocked in case of extreme loading

conditions. In certain conditions, its reach can be modified.

 There are certain critical locations where zone 3 protection can be

removed if an alternative protection functions in other forms are
available.
10
 Reach of Distance Relay
 The settings of phase distance relays are done on the basis of the positive-
sequence impedance between the relaying point and the fault point.
 On the other hand, the settings of ground distance relays are carried out
on the basis of the zero-phase-sequence impedance.
 Hence, the corresponding distance or impedance is known as the reach of
the relay.

 Now, the relay is always connected on the secondary side of the CT and PT.

 Hence, to transfer the impedance of the line referred to the primary of CTs
and PTs to line impedance referred to the relay side, the following
equation is to be used.
11
 Reach of Distance Relay
 The settings of phase distance relays are done on the basis of the positive-
sequence impedance between the relaying point and the fault point.
 On the other hand, the settings of ground distance relays are carried out
on the basis of the zero-phase-sequence impedance.
 Hence, the corresponding distance or impedance is known as the reach of
the relay.

 Now, the relay is always connected on the secondary side of the CT and PT.

 Hence, to transfer the impedance of the line referred to the primary of CTs
and PTs to line impedance referred to the relay side, the following
equation is to be used.
12
 Reach of Distance Relay
 where, the CTr is the ratio of the CT primary current to the CT secondary
current, and the PTr is the ratio of the primary phase-to-phase voltage to
the secondary phase-to-phase voltage. These values are under balanced
three-phase conditions. CTr
Z= sec Z pri ×
PTr
 The phenomenon when a distance relay operates beyond its zone of
protection or for impedances greater than its set value is known as
overreaching of the relay.
F1 F2
 Similarly, the tendency of a distance relay not to operate within its zone of
protection or lower than its set value of impedance is known as
underreaching of the relay.
13
 Reach of Distance Relay
 The value of DC offset in the fault current is responsible for the
overreaching of distance relay.
 The ratio of DC offset to the fundamental frequency component depends
on the instant at which the fault occurs.

 However, the instant of fault is not predicated, and hence, it is not in the
user’s hand. The rate of decay of DC offset depends on the X/R ratio of the
system, which is very high for modern power systems.

 However, this DC offset is present only up to the first few cycles after the
inception of fault. This overreach is transient in nature as the DC offset
decays rapidly. Hence, this overreach is widely known as transient
overreach.
14
 Reach of Distance Relay
 As the transient overreach disappears after a few cycles, the second and
the third zone of distance relays are not affected by this phenomenon.
 Conversely, the first zone or high-speed protection zone is affected by the
transient overreach.
 The percentage transient overreach is defined as
Zx − Zy
× 100
Zy
 where, Zx is the maximum impedance for which the relay will operate with
an offset current wave, for a given adjustment.

 Zy is the maximum impedance for which the relay will operate for
symmetrical currents, for the same adjustment as for Zy.
15
 Reach of Distance Relay
 As the angle of system (ϕ = tan−1(X/R)) increases, the transient overreach
increases.

 Furthermore, it also increases for long EHV and UHV lines as the value of
inductive reactance is very high because of the greater spacing between
conductors and also because of the bundling of conductors.

16
 Selection of Measuring Unit
 The discrimination of fault condition against heavy load and such other
conditions when the relay is not required to operate requires the
measurement of not only the magnitude but also the angle of the
impedance of the line up to the fault point.
 Many types of distance relays have therefore been developed and applied
for line protection.
1. Impedance relay
2. Reactance relay
3. Mho or admittance relay
4. Ohm or angle impedance relay
5. Offset mho relay
6. Quadrilateral and other special characteristics
17
 Selection of Measuring Unit
 The conventional representation of the operating characteristics of these
relays on R–X (impedance) plane (polar characteristic) along with their
positive torque region (PTR) and negative torque region (NTR) is as under.

 Impedance relay requires separate directional unit.

 There is a possibility of maloperation of the reactance element, because of

power swings and loading condition. Hence, to overcome maloperation, a
fault detector unit is used in conjunction with the reactance element.
Moreover, separate directional element is also required to prevent the
maloperation of this unit in case of reverse faults.

18
 Selection of Measuring Unit
X X Block
PTR X
ZR
ZR Block XR θ Trip θ
θ
n
R R R
L
Trip
NTR MHO
Reactance
Impedance
X X
X Block
Block
Block Trip
Trip Trip
R n
R
R
L
Offset MHO Ohm Quadrilateral

19
 Selection of Measuring Unit
 Mho elements are inherently directional, and no separate directional unit
is required. However, mho element cannot incorporate the value of the
fault resistance.

 Hence, in practical field, a quadrilateral element is widely used, which

incorporates reasonable value of fault resistance.
 The function of zone 3 is to provide backup protection in case a relay or a
breaker in the next bus section fails to clear a fault. Inaccuracy due to the
loads and power infeed are worse with zone 3 because there are two
buses between the relay and the cut-off point of the relay.

20
 Selection of Measuring Unit
 Overreaching can cause the third-zone unit to trip undesirably for a fault
on the other side of a large distribution transformer.

 Further, if the setting is too large, the third-zone unit becomes susceptible
to operation on power swings.

 In addition, the discrimination between faults and loads becomes poor.

 Therefore, at certain lines, the recent practice is to omit the third zone of
the distance relay and use only the two zones of the distance element.

21
Quantities to be fed to Distance Relays

Phase Distance Relays Ground Distance Relays

(i) L-L (i) L-G
(ii) L-L-L (ii) L-L-G
(iii)L-L-L-G

22
 Quantities to be fed to Distance Relays
 The impedance measurement rendered by distance relay should be a
positive-sequence impedance of transmission line between the relaying
point and the fault point.

 It is essential that this measurement should remain unaltered irrespective

of fault:

R
F1 F2

23
 Quantities to be fed to Distance Relays
(𝐢𝐢) Three−phase fault
IR=I1+I2+I0 VR=V1+V2+V0
IY=α2I1+ α I2+I0 VY= α 2V1+ α V2+V0
IB= α I1+ α 2I2+I0 VB= α V1+ α 2V2+V0

Now, in case of three−phase short circuit, VR = VY = VB = 0 at fault point

Hence, V1 = V2 = V0 = 0 as per the symmetrical component matrix
Also, as V2 and V0 are zero, I2 and I0 will vanish.

Relaying
Point 𝑉𝑉1′ =𝑉𝑉1 + 𝐼𝐼1 × 𝑍𝑍1

Fault
24
 Quantities to be fed to Distance Relays
Here, VR, = V1, , VY, = α 2 V1, , VB, = αV1,
Also, the current in three phases will be,
IR = I1 , IY = α 2I1 , IB = αI1
VR, = V1, =
V1 + I1Z1 , VY, =
α 2 (V1 + I1Z1), VB, =+
α(V1 I1Z1 )
to, VR, I1=
but as V1 =0, the equation will reduce = Z1 , VY, α 2I1=
Z1 , VB, αI1Z1
VR, VY, VB,
This means, = = = Z1
IR IY IB

25
 Quantities to be fed to Distance Relays
VY =VB
α 2V1+ α V2+V0 = α V1+ α 2V2+V0
(ii) Two−phase fault V1 =V2
In case of a Y−B fault, VY =VB , IR =0 and IY =−IB
Using symmetrical equations, (VY −VB )=V1 (𝛼𝛼 2
− 𝛼𝛼)+V2 (𝛼𝛼 − 𝛼𝛼 2 )=0
V1 =V2 Fault
Similarly, IR +IY +IB =3I0 =0 ⇒ I0 =0
Relaying
IR = I1 +I2 +I0 = 0 ⇒ I1 +I2 = 0
I1 =−I2 Point
The sequence network for such a fault is shown in Fig. Fault
V1, = 𝑉𝑉1 + 𝐼𝐼1 𝑍𝑍1 , V2, = 𝑉𝑉2 + 𝐼𝐼2 𝑍𝑍2
Relaying
Point
𝑉𝑉2′ = 𝑉𝑉1 − 𝐼𝐼1 × 𝑍𝑍1

26
 Quantities to be fed to Distance Relays
As I2 =-I1 and V1 =V2 for two-phase fault and Z1 =Z2 for transmission line
V1, =
V1 + I1Z1 , V2, =
V1 − I1Z1

As the zero sequence current and hence zero sequence voltage are absent in two-phase faults,
VR, =
V1, + V2, , VY, =
α 2 V1, + αV2, , VB, =
αV1, + α 2 V2,
VR, = V1 + I1Z1 + V1 − I1Z1 = 2V1 IR = I1 + I2 = 0
V=
Y
,
V1 (α 2 + α) + I1Z1(α 2 − α) IY = α 2I1 + αI2 = I1 (α 2 − α)
VB, = V1 (α + α 2 ) + I1Z1(α − α 2 ) IB =αI1 + I1 (α − α 2 )

VYB, 2I1Z1(α 2 − α)
= = Z1
IY − IB 2I1(α 2 − α)

27
Quantities to be fed to Phase Distance Relays

28
 Quantities to be fed to Ground Distance Relays
(iii) Two−phase to ground fault
In case of a Y−B−g fault, VY =VB =0, IR =0 Relaying Point Fault
IR =I1 + I2 + I0 = 0 ⇒ I1 = −(I2 + I0 )
and, using symmetrical equation, V1 =V2 =V0
Hence, V𝑌𝑌, = 𝛼𝛼 2 𝑉𝑉1, + 𝛼𝛼𝑉𝑉2, + 𝑉𝑉0, , V𝐵𝐵, = 𝛼𝛼𝑉𝑉1, + 𝛼𝛼 2 𝑉𝑉2, + 𝑉𝑉0,
,
𝑉𝑉𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌 = (V𝑌𝑌, − V𝐵𝐵, ) = V1, (𝛼𝛼 2 − 𝛼𝛼) + V2, (𝛼𝛼 − 𝛼𝛼 2 )
=(V1 + 𝐼𝐼1 𝑍𝑍1 )(𝛼𝛼 2 − 𝛼𝛼) + (V1 + 𝐼𝐼2 𝑍𝑍1 )(𝛼𝛼 − 𝛼𝛼 2 )
= 𝑍𝑍1 (𝛼𝛼 2 − 𝛼𝛼)(𝐼𝐼1 − 𝐼𝐼2 )
Similarly, (IY −IB ) = (𝛼𝛼 2 − 𝛼𝛼)(𝐼𝐼1 − 𝐼𝐼2 )
,
𝑉𝑉𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌
Hence, = 𝑍𝑍1
IY −IB

29
 Quantities to be fed to Distance Relays
(iv) Single−phase to ground fault
In case of a R−g fault, VR =0, IY =0, IB =0
Using Symmetrical component matrix, I1 =I2 =I0
𝑉𝑉1 + 𝑉𝑉2 = 𝑉𝑉0 = 0
𝑉𝑉𝑅𝑅, = 𝑉𝑉1, + 𝑉𝑉2, + 𝑉𝑉0,
= (𝑉𝑉1 + 𝐼𝐼1 𝑍𝑍1 ) + (𝑉𝑉2 + 𝐼𝐼2 𝑍𝑍2 ) + (𝑉𝑉0 + 𝐼𝐼0 𝑍𝑍1 )
=(𝑉𝑉1 + 𝑉𝑉2 + 𝑉𝑉0 ) + 𝐼𝐼1 𝑍𝑍1 + 𝐼𝐼2 𝑍𝑍2 + 𝐼𝐼0 𝑍𝑍0
= 2𝐼𝐼1 𝑍𝑍1 + 𝐼𝐼1 𝑍𝑍0
IR = I1 + I2 + I0 = 3I1

If the relay is suppplied with current

,  Z 0 - Z1  VR, VR,
I =
R IR + I0   ,Then, ' = Z1
=
 1 Z IR  Z - Z 
IR + I0  0 1 
 Z1 
30
 Derivation of Denominator
IR = I1 + I2 + I0 = 3I1

If the relay is suppplied with current

,  Z0 - Z1  VR, VR,
I =
R IR + I0   ,Then, ' = Z1
=
Z
 1  IR  Z -Z 
IR + I0  0 1 
 Z1 
3I1Z1 + I0 Z 0 − I0 Z1 3I1Z1 + I1Z 0 − I1Z1
=
Z1 Z1
2I1Z1 + I1Z 0
Z1

31
 Quantities to be fed to Distance Relays
 Thus, six distance relays are required to protect a transmission line
against all types of faults.
 The input of these relays are summarized in the Table.

32
 Important Equations
CTr
Z=
sec Z pri ×
PTr

𝑍𝑍𝑥𝑥
𝐾𝐾𝑥𝑥 =
cos(∅ − 𝜃𝜃)

33
 Effect of Fault Resistance
 Whenever a fault occurs, there is a possibility of involvement of
resistance, which varies depending upon the types of fault.

 For double-line and triple-line faults, the value of resistance is negligible

and contains only arc resistance. This arc resistance changes with
reference to time as the fault current continues to flow.

 However, for faults that involve ground, the value of fault resistance is
significant.

34
 Effect of Fault Resistance
 In this situation, the fault path consists of arc resistance in series with
tower footing resistance and resistance of ground.

 The value of tower footing resistance depends on the resistivity of soil. For
all practical purposes, it is considered as a constant parameter in case of
fault and varies between 5 and 50 ohm.

 The resistance of ground depends on the types of the surface.

35
 Effect of Fault Resistance
 Whenever a fault occurs, the value of arc resistance is very small and can
be neglected, particularly during the first few cycles. It increases as the
fault current prolongs. However, for all practical relaying calculations, the
value of arc resistance is assumed to be constant and is given by,

76V 2
Rarc =
Ssc

36
 Effect of Fault Resistance
 Since ground resistance may vary considerably, a ground distance relay
must not be practically unaffected by large variation in fault resistance.
X
Reactance
RF
ZR′ Impedance
ZR″
Mho
R
Quadrilateral

37
 Effect of Fault Resistance
 It is noted that the reactance relay is not affected by the fault resistance
and is, therefore, suitable for protecting the short transmission lines
where fault resistance could be comparable to the line reactance.

 Mho relay can incorporate more fault resistance than the impedance relay.
Hence, for long transmission lines, mho relay is preferred.

 The distance relay having quadrilateral characteristic is even better than

the mho relay.

38
 Effect of Fault Resistance
 For a fault at the middle of the line, the apparent impedance seen by the
relay at bus A is given by,

Ea = I A pZ L + RF × ( I A + I B )

EA  I 
Za = = pZ L + RF ×  1 + B 
IA  IA 
 IB 
Z a =pZ L + RF +  RF 
 I A 

39
 Effect of Fault Resistance
 Because of the pre-fault power flow, the phase angles of the two sources
(A and B) connected through the transmission line differ, resulting in a
phase shift of the currents flowing from each side of the line to the fault.
Thus, not only does the resistance measured at the relay location differ
from the actual resistance from the relaying point to the fault, but also the
measured inductive reactance is affected.

 The error in the inductive reactance due to fault resistance can be positive
or negative depending on the pre-fault power flow direction. It becomes
more pronounced with the increase in pre-fault power flow and fault
resistance.

40
 Effect of Fault Resistance
 If the pre-fault power flows from bus A to bus B, then the measured
reactance at the relay location is less than the inductive reactance from
the relay location to the fault, causing an eventual tripping for an external
fault.

 On the other hand, if the pre-fault power flows from bus B to bus A, then
the measured reactance is greater than the actual reactance from the
relay location to the fault, and an internal fault within the first zone of
protection may not be detected, resulting in a delayed fault clearance.

41
Effect of Fault Resistance

42
 Effect of Power Swing
⮚ Power swing causes large fluctuations in the power flow between two areas of a power
system due to changes in load magnitude and direction, line switching, loss of generation,
faults, and other system disturbances.

⮚ These large fluctuations die down if the swing is stable.

⮚ On the other hand, if the swing is unstable, the fluctuations cannot die down; it causes large
fluctuations of voltages and current, and may finally result in a loss of synchronism.

⮚ With the presence of power swing, the locus of load impedance can enter the operating zone
of the distance relay.

43
 Effect of Power Swing
⮚ Directional or bidirectional relay may mal-operate because of the unstable
power swings, which can generate high currents.

⮚ Furthermore, the unwanted operation of short time undervoltage relays also

occurs because of the reduction in voltages.

⮚ During large frequency excursions, digital distance relays measure a wrong

value of phasors and may mal-operate.

⮚ Mho relays are likely to operate undesirably on large power swings.

⮚ This tendency of undesired operation is less with relays having quadrilateral
characteristics.

44
 Effect of Power Swing
⮚ When the power angle difference is close to 180°, the
apparent impedance seen by a distance relay can be
within the operating zone of the relay.
⮚ Hence, the relay sees this condition as a three-phase fault.

⮚ A blocking function is provided, which blocks the

operation of a distance relay in case of a power swing.

⮚ However, if a fault occurs, particularly symmetrical in

nature, during a power swing, then this function is not
useful.

r = ratio of sending end voltage to recieving end voltage (magnitude)

Behavior of relays on power swings

45
 Effect of Overload Condition
⮚ For a particular value of load, the locus of apparent
impedance enters the third zone of a relay (point A and
point B), and the relay will operate.

⮚ Hence, the setting of the third zone of distance relay is

decided by the probable overload.

⮚ The value of load at which the relay is on the verge of

operation is known as the loadability limit of the relay.

Fig. Effect of overload on mho and

quadrilateral distance relay characteristics

46
 Effect of Overload Condition
⮚ The loadability limit of the quadrilateral distance relay
(point B) is significantly greater than that of a mho
distance relay (point B).

⮚ Quadrilateral characteristic of distance relay is commonly

used for transmission line protection because of its ability
to accommodate the predetermined arc resistance while
maintaining sufficient margin from the load region.

Effect of overload on mho and

quadrilateral distance relay
characteristics

47
Thank You

48