Chapter No.

10 (taspr) A-C GENERATOR AND MOTOR PROTECTION

GENERATOR PROTECTION

For Generators protection consider all possible abnormal operating conditions Minimum amount of automatic protective equipment : (a) More automatic equipment need more maintenance and hence it will be less reliable; (b) Automatic equipment might operate incorrectly and trip a generator undesirably; (c) Sometimes an operator may avoid unnecessary removal of a generator from service

The protection of generators against extensive damage is more important than the protection of the service of the system. Centralized control is gaining popularity. It requires: a) More automatic equipment b) Less manual supervision c) Higher standards of service d) Greater efficiency. e) More automatic equipment need more maintenace

SHORT-CIRCUIT PROTECTION OF STATOR WINDINGS BY PERCENTAGE-DIFFERENTIAL RELAYS

Standardized practice of manufacturers is to recommend differential protection for generators rated 1 MVA or higher. Above 10MVA differential Protection is adopted everywhere Size of a generator doesnt determines how good the protection should be; the important thing is the effect on the rest of the system of a prolonged fault in the generator, if the generator is badly damaged and is out of service for a long time.

The CT primary-current rating would have to CT primary current rating is as much as about 25% higher than full load. The equivalent circuit of each CT is shown in order to illustrate the method of solution. The fact that (IS1-IS2) is flowing through the relays operating coil in the direction shown is the result of assuming that CT1 is more accurate than CT2, or in other words that IS1 is greater than IS2. We shall assume that IS1 and IS2 are in phase, and by Kirchhoffs laws, we can write the voltages for the circuit a-b-c-d-a as follows:

I is the initial rms magnitude of the fundamental component of primary current. This enables us to calculate the value of (IS1 - IS2). Once we know the values of IS1 and IS2, we can quickly determine whether the differential relay will operate for the maximum external fault current.

CT Class RatingThe second part of the CT Accuracy Class is a letter that designates the application for which the CT is rated. Metering CTs are designated with the letter B. Relaying CTs have several different letter designations: C - The CT has low leakage flux. (Accuracy can be calculated before manufacturing.) T - The CT can have significant leakage flux. (Accuracy must be determined by testing at the factory.)

H -The CT accuracy is applicable within the entire range of secondary currents from 5 to 20 times the nominal CT rating. (Typically wound CTs.)
L - The CT accuracy applies at the maximum rated secondary burden at 20 time rated only. The ratio accuracy can be up to four times greater than the listedvalue, depending on connected burden and fault current. (Typically window, busing, or bar-type CTs.)

Finally, the curves of IS1 and IS2 versus (IS1 - IS2) for each of the two CTs is plotted on the same graph.

Equivalent circuit for calculating CT errors in a generator differential circuit.

Generally, the practice is to have the percentagedifferential relays trip a hand-reset multicontact auxiliary relay. This auxiliary relay simultaneously initiates the following: trip main breaker, trip field breaker, trip neutral breaker if provided, shut down the prime mover, turn on CO2 if provided, operate an alarm and/or annunciator.

THE VARIABLE-PERCENTAGEDIFFERENTIAL RELAY

High-speed percentage-differential relays having variable ratio or percent-slope characteristics are preferred. At low values of through current, the slope is about 5%, increasing to well over 50% at the high values of through current existing during external faults. This characteristic permits the application of sensitive high-speed relaying equipment using conventional current transformers, with no danger of undesired tripping because of transient inaccuracies in the CTs. Two different operating principles are employed to obtain the variable characteristic. In both, saturation of the operating element is responsible for a certain amount of increase in the percent slope.

Contd

In one equipment,13 saturation alone causes the slope to increase to about 20%. The net effect of both saturation and phase angle is to increase the slope to more than 50%. The other equipmentl4 obtains a slope greater than 50% for large values of through current entirely by saturation of the operating element. A principle called product restraint is used to assure operation for internal short circuits. Product restraint provides restraint sufficient to overcome the effect of any CT errors for external short circuits; for internal short circuits when the system supplies very large currents to a fault, there is no restraint.

PROTECTION AGAINST TURN-TOTURN-FAULTS IN STATOR WINDINGS

Turn-fault protection has been devised for multicircuit generators, and is used quite extensively, particularly in Canada. In the United States, the government-operated hydroelectric generating stations are the largest users. Because the coils of modern large steamturbine generators usually have only one turn, they do not need turn-fault protection because turn faults cannot occur without involving ground.

Contd

Split-phase relaying at its best could not completely replace over-all differential relaying which is required for protection of the generator circuit beyond the junctions of the paralleled windings. The principal advantage of retaining the generatordifferential relaying, apart from the duplicate protection that it affords, is the value of its target indication in helping to locate a fault.

COMBINED SPLIT-PHASE AND OVER-ALL DIFFERENTIAL RELAYING

Figure 11 shows an arrangement that has been used to try to get the benefits of split-phase and over-all differential protection at a saving in current transformers and in relays. this arrangement is not as sensitive as the separate conventional split-phase and over-all differential equipments. Sensitivity for turn faults is sacrificed with a percentage differential relay; with full-load secondary current flowing through the restraining coil, the pickup is considerably higher than with the conventional split-phase equipment, and the equipment will not operate if a single turn is shorted.

Contd

The current flowing in the winding having the CT is much smaller than one-half of the current flowing in the neutral lead where the over-all differential CT would be. For this reason, the modification shown in Fig. 12 is sometimes used.

STATOR GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION OF UNIT GENERATORS.

It has been found by test that, to avoid the possibility of harmfully high transient overvoltages because of ferroresonance, the resistance of the resistor should be no higher, approximately, than:

The value of R may be less than that given by the foregoing equation.

Contd

In fact, it has been suggested 21 that for this reason, and also to simplify the calculations by making it unnecessary to determine XC a resistor be chosen that will limit the fault current to approximately 15 amperes, neglecting the effect of XC In other words,

where VG is the phase-to-phase-voltage rating of the generator in kilovolts.

Contd

A number of power companies simply connect a potential transformer between the generator neutral and ground without any loading resistor. An overvoltage relay is used as with the distribution-transformer arrangement. The maximum current that can flow in a ground fault is 71% of that with the distribution-transformer-and-resistor combination if the maximum allowable value of R is used, which is not a significant difference. In either case,the arc energy is sufficient to cause damage if immediate tripping is not done. The potential transformer is considerably smaller and cheaper than the distributiontransformer- and-resistor combination, although either one is relatively inexpensive compared with the equipment protected.

Contd

If one prefers to let a generator operate with a ground fault in its stator winding, a ground fault neutralizer will limit the fault current to the smallest value of any of the arrangements, and at the same time will hold the transient voltage to a lower level. However, it is necessary to be sure that surgeprotective capacitors, if used, cannot cause harmfully high overvoltages should a defect cause the capacitances to ground to become unbalanced.

SHORT CIRCUIT PROTECTION OF STATOR WINDINGS BY OVERCURRENT RELAYS

If current transformers are not connected in the neutral ends of wye-connected generator windings, or if only the outgoing leads are brought out, protective devices can be actuated, as in Fig. 16, only by the shortcircuit current supplied by the system.

Contd

If non-directional voltage-restrained or -controlled overcurrent relays are used for external fault backup protection, they could also serve to protect against generator phase faults. None of the foregoing forms of relaying will provide nearly as good protection as percentage-differential relaying equipment, and they should not be used except when the cost of bringing out the generator leads and installing current transformers and differential relays cannot be justified.

PROTECTION AGAINST STATOR OPEN CIRCUITS

An open circuit or a high-resistance joint in a stator winding is very difficult to detect before it has caused considerable damage. Split-phase relaying may provide such protection, but only the most sensitive equipment will detect the trouble in its early stages. Negative-phase-sequence-relaying equipment for protection against unbalanced phase currents contains a sensitive alarm unit that will alert an operator to the abnormal condition. It is not the practice to provide protective-relaying equipment purposely for open circuits. It is not the practice to provide protective-relaying equipment purposely for open circuits. Open circuits are most unlikely in well-constructed machines.

STATOR-OVERHEATING PROTECTION

General stator overheating is caused by overloading or by failure of the cooling system, and it can be detected quite easily. The practice is to embed resistance temperature-detector coils or thermocouples in the slots with the stator windings of generators larger than about 500 to 1500 kva. Supplementary temperature devices may monitor the cooling system; such equipment would give the earliest alarm in the event of cooling-system failure, but it is generally felt that the stator temperature detectors and alarm devices are sufficient.

Contd

Figure 17 shows one form of detector-operated relaying equipment using a Wheatstone-bridge circuit and a directional relay. Replica-type temperature relays may be used with small generators that do not have temperature detectors. Such a relay is energized either directly by the current flowing in one of the stator windings of the machine or indirectly from current transformers in the stator circuit. The temperature-detector-operated devices are preferred because they respond more nearly to the actual temperature of the stator. The fact that the actual stator copper temperature is higher than the temperature at the detector29 should be taken into account in the adjustment of the temperature relay.

OVERVOLTAGE PROTECTION

Overvoltage protection is recommended for all hydroelectric or gas-turbine generators that are subject to overspeed and consequent overvoltage on loss of load. This protection is often provided by the voltage-regulating equipment. If it is not, it should be provided by an a-c overvoltage relay. This relay should have a time-delay unit with pickup at about 110% of rated voltage, and an instantaneous unit with pickup at about 130% to 150% of rated voltage. The relay should be energized from a potential transformer other than the one used for the automatic voltage regulator. Then, if overvoltage persists, the main generator breaker and the generator or exciter field breaker should be tripped.

LOSS-OF-SYNCHRONISM PROTECTION

It is not the usual practice to provide loss-of-synchronism protection at a prime-moverdriven generator. One generator is not likely to lose synchronism with other generators in the same station unless it loses excitation, for which protection is usually provided. Whether a station has one generator or more, if this station loses synchronism with another station, the necessary tripping to separate the generators that are out of step is usually done in the interconnecting transmission system between them. All induction-synchronous frequency converters for interconnecting two systems should have loss-of-synchronism protection on the synchronous-machine side. With synchronous sets, such protection may be required on both sides. Operation of the relay should trip the main breaker on the side where the relay is located.

FIELD GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION

Because field circuits are operated ungrounded, a single ground fault will not cause any damage or affect the operation of a generator in any way. The existence of a single ground fault increases the stress to ground at other points in the field winding when voltages are induced in the field by stator transients. Thus, the probability of a second ground occurring is increased.

Contd

Depending on what portion of the field is by-passed, this unbalance of forces may be large enough to spring the rotor shaft, and make it eccentric. A calculation of the possible unbalance force for a particular generator gave 40,000 pounds. The second ground fault may not by-pass enough of the field winding to cause a bad magnetic unbalance, but arcing at the fault may heat the rotor locally and slowly distort it, thereby causing eccentricity and its accompanying vibration to develop slowly in from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Contd

The safest practice is to use protective-relaying equipment to trip the generators main and field breakers immediately when the first ground fault occurs, and this practice should certainly be followed in all unattended stations. If a generator is to be permitted to operate with a single ground fault in its field, there should at least be provided automatic equipment for immediately tripping the main and field breakers at an abnormal amplitude of vibration. Vibration-detecting equipment should be in service continuously and not be put in service manually after the first ground fault has occurred, because the two ground faults may occur together or in quick succession.

PROTECTION AGAINST ROTOR OVERHEATING BECAUSE OF UNBALANCED THREE-PHASE STATOR CURRENTS

Unbalanced three-phase stator currents cause double-system-frequency currents to be induced in the rotor iron. These currents will quickly cause rotor overheating and serious damage if the generator is permitted to continue operating with such an unbalance. Unbalanced currents may also cause severe vibration, but the overheating problem is more acute.

where i2 is the instantaneous negative-phase-sequence component of the stator current as a function of time; i2 is expressed in per unit based on the generator rating, and K is a constant.

LOSS-OF-EXCITATION PROTECTION

When a synchronous generator loses excitation, it operates as an induction generator, running above synchronous speed. The stator of any type of synchronous generator may overheat, owing to overcurrent in the stator windings, while the machine is running as an induction generator. When a generator loses excitation, it draws reactive power from the system, amounting to as much as 2 to 4 times the generators rated load. Before it lost excitation, the generator may have been delivering reactive power to the system. Thus, this large reactive load suddenly thrown on the system, together with the loss of the generators reactive-power output, may cause widespread voltage reduction, which, in turn, may cause extensive instability unless the other generators can automatically pick up the additional reactive load immediately.

Contd

Undercurrent relays connected in the field circuit have been used quite extensively, but the most selective type of lose-of-excitation relay is a directional-distance type operating from the a-c current and voltage at the main generator terminals. Figure 20 shows several loss-of-excitation characteristics and the operating characteristic of one type of loss-ofexcitation relay on an R-X diagram.

PROTECTION AGAINST ROTOR OVERHEATING BECAUSE OF OVEREXCITATION

It is not the general practice to provide protection against overheating because of overexcitation. Such protection would be provided indirectly by the stator-overheating protective equipment or by excitation-limiting features of the voltage-regulator equipment.

PROTECTION AGAINST VIBRATION

Protective-relaying practices and equipment that are described under the headings Protection against Rotor Overheating because of Unbalanced Three-Phase Stator Currents and Field Ground-Fault Protection prevent or minimize vibration under those circumstances. If the vibration-detecting equipment recommended under the latter heading is used, it will also provide protection if vibration results from a mechanical failure or abnormality. For a steam turbine, it is the general practice to provide vibration recorders that can also be used if desired to control an alarm or to trip. However, it is not the general practice to trip.

PROTECTION AGAINST MOTORING

Motoring protection is for the benefit of the prime mover or the system, and not for the generator. Steam Turbines. A steam turbine requires protection against overheating when its steam supply is cut off and its generator runs as a motor. The length of time required for a turbine to overheat, when its steam is completely cut off, varies from about 30 seconds to about 30 minutes, depending on the type of turbine.

Contd

Hydraulic Turbines: Motoring protection may occasionally be desirable to protect an unattended hydraulic turbine against cavitation of the blades. Protection can be provided by power-directional relaying equipment capable of operating on motoring current of somewhat less than about 2.5% of the generators full-load rating.

Contd

Diesel Engines: Motoring protection for Diesel engines is generally desirable. The generator will take about 15% of its rated power or more from the system, which may constitute an undesirably high load on the system. Also, there may be danger of fire or explosion from unburned fuel. The engine manufacturer should be consulted if one wishes to omit motoring protection.

Contd

Gas Turbines: The power required to motor a gas turbine varies from 10% to 50% of full load rating, depending on turbine design and whether it is a type that has a load turbine separate from that used to drive the compressor. Protective relays should be applied based primarily on the undesirability of imposing the motoring load on the system. There is usually no turbine requirement for motoring protection.

OVERSPEED PROTECTION

Overspeed protection is recommended for all prime-mover-driven generators. The overspeed element may be furnished as part of the prime mover, or of its speed governor, or of the generator. It should operate the speed governor, or whatever other shutdown means is provided, to shut down the prime mover. It should also trip the generator circuit breaker. This is to prevent overfrequency operation of loads connected to the system supplied by the generator, and also to prevent possible overfrequency operation of the generator itself from the a-c system. A direct-connected centrifugal switch is preferred.

Contd

Inverse-time-overcurrent relays for phase-fault-back-up protection are considered decidedly inferior; owing to the decrement in the short-circuit current put out by a generator, the margin between the maximum-load current and the short-circuit current a short time after the fault current has started to flow is too narrow for reliable protection. When a unit generator-transformer arrangement is involved, the external-fault-back-up relay is generally energized by current and voltage sources on the low-voltage side of the power transformer. Then the connections should be such that the distance-type units measure distance properly for high-voltage faults.

BEARING-OVERHEATING PROTECTION

Bearing overheating can be detected by a relay actuated by a thermometer-type bulb inserted in a hole in the bearing, or by a resistance-temperaturedetector relay. Such as that described for stator-overheating protection, with the detector embedded in the bearing. Or, where lubricating oil is circulated through the bearing under pressure, the temperature of the oil may be monitored if the system has provision for giving an alarm if the oil stops flowing.

GENERATOR POTENTIAL-TRANSFORMER FUSING AND FUSE BLOWING

Unless special provision is made, the blowing of a potentialtransformer fuse may cause certain relays to trip the generator breakers. Such relays are those types employing voltage restraint, such as voltage-controlled or distance-type relays used for loss-ofexcitation or external-fault-back-up protection. It is not necessarily a complete 1oss of voltage that clauses such undesired tripping. Three-phase voltage supply consisting of two or three potential transformers, the blowing of a fuse may change the magnitude and phase relations of certain secondary voltages through the mechanism of the potentiometer effect of other devices connected to the PTs.

Contd

The proper solution to this problem is not the complete removal of all fuses. Advantage is usually taken of this clause not to fuse the secondary, and the record with this practice has been very good. Primary fuses should not be omitted, but they must be chosen so that they will not blow on magnetizing-current inrush or other transients. When secondary fusing is used because of the better protection that it gives the potential transformers, the exposure of critical devices to the effects of accidental fuse blowing can be minimized by fusing their circuits separately, or by fusing all circuits except those of the critical devices.

PROTECTION OF THE PRIME MOVER

Except for the protection against motoring and overspeed, the protection of the prime mover and its associated mechanical equipment is not treated in this book.

MOTOR PROTECTION

Motors in unattended stations must be protected against all harmful abnormal conditions. The practices described here for large motors are at least equal to those covered by the Code, and are generally more comprehensive.

STATOR-OVERHEATING PROTECTION

All motors need protection against overheating resulting from overload, stalled rotor, or unbalanced stator currents. For complete protection, three-phase motors should have an overload element in each phase; this is because an open circuit in the supply to the power transformer feeding a motor will cause twice as much current to flow in one phase of the motor as in either of the other two phases, as shown in Fig. 21.

Motors Other than Essential Service: Except for some essentialservice motors, whose protection will be discussed later, it is the practice for motors rated less than about 1500 hp to provide either replica-type thermal-overload relays or long-time inversetime-overcurrent relays or direct-acting tripping devices to disconnect a motor from its source of supply in the event of overload. Which type of relay to use is largely a matter of personal preference. Other things being equal, the replica type will generally provide the best protection because, as shown in Fig. 22

Essential-Service Motors: The protection recommended for some essential-service motors is based on minimizing the possibility of unnecessarily tripping the motor, even though such practice may sometimes endanger the motor.

ROTOR-OVERHEATING PROTECTION

Squirrel-Cage Induction Motors: The replica-type or the inverse-time-overcurrent relays, recommended for protection against stator overheating, will generally protect the rotor except where high-inertia load is involved; such applications should be referred to the manufacturer for recommendations. Where resistance-temperature-detector relaying is used, a single replica-type or inverse-timeovercurrent relay should be added for rotor protection during starting.

Contd

Wound-Rotor Induction Motors: General recommendations for this type of motor cannot be given except that the rotor may not be protected by the stator-overheating protective equipment that has been described. Each application should be referred to the manufacturer for recommendations.

Contd

Synchronous Motors. Amortisseur-overheating protection during starting or loss of synchronism should be provided for all loaded-start motors. (A loaded-start motor is any motor other than either a synchronous condenser or a motor driving a generator; it includes any motor driving a mechanical load even though automatic unloading means may be employed.) Such protection is best provided by a time-delay thermal overload relay connected in the field-discharge circuit.

LOSS-OF-SYNCHRONISM PROTECTION

All loaded-start synchronous motors should have protection against loss of synchronism, generally arranged to remove the load and the excitation temporarily and to reapply them when permissible. All frequency converters interconnecting two systems should have loss-of-synchronism protection on the synchronous-machine side. The protective-relaying equipment should be arranged to trip the main breaker on its side.

UNDERVOLTAGE PROTECTION

All a-c motors except essential-service motors should have protection against undervoltage on at least one phase during both starting and running. For polyphase motors larger than about 1500 hp, polyphase undervoltage protection is generally provided. Wherever possible, the protective equipment should have inverse-time-delay characteristics. Undervoltage release which provides only temporary shutdown on voltage failure and which permits automatic restart when voltage is re-established, should not be used with such equipment as machine tools, etc., where such automatic restart might be hazardous to personnel or detrimental to process or equipment.

LOSS-OF-EXCITATION PROTECTION

All unloaded-start synchronous motors that do not have loss-of-synchronism protection as described elsewhere, and that do not have automatic voltage regulators, should have loss of- excitation protection in the form of a low-set, time-delay-reset undercurrent relay whose coil is in series with the field winding. If a motor has loss-of-synchronism protection, amortisseur-over-heating protection, and statoroverheating protection, these equipments indirectly provide loss-of-excitation protection.

FIELD GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION

The same equipment as that described for generators may be used if the size or importance of the motor warrants it.