Power system

basics
Electric Power System

Electricity is generated at a power plant (1),

voltage is “stepped-up” for transmission(2)
Energy travels along a transmission line to the area where the
power is needed (3)
voltage is decreased or “stepped-down,” at another substation (4),
& a distribution power line (5)
carries that electricity until it reaches a home or business (6).
S I N G L E L I N E D I AG R A M
 UNIT 1 Syllabus
• Importance of protective schemes for
electrical apparatus and power system
• Qualitative review of faults and fault currents
• Relay terminology – definitions
• Essential qualities of protection
• Protection against over voltages due to lightning
and switching - arcing grounds
• Peterson Coil
• Ground wires
• surge absorber and diverters
• Power System Earthing – neutral Earthing
• Basic ideas of insulation coordination.
 Importance of protective
schemes for electrical
apparatus and power system
 Primary Equipment & Components
• Transformers - to step up or step down voltage level

• Breakers - to energize equipment and interrupt fault current to

isolate faulted equipment
• Insulators - to insulate equipment from ground and other
phases
• Isolators (switches) - to create a visible and permanent isolation
of primary equipment for maintenance purposes and route power
flow over certain buses.
• Bus - to allow multiple connections (feeders) to the same source
of power (transformer).
 Primary Equipment & Components
• Grounding - to operate and maintain equipment safely

• Arrester - to protect primary equipment of sudden overvoltage

(lightning strike).
• Switchgear – integrated components to switch, protect, meter
and control power flow
• Reactors - to limit fault current (series) or compensate for charge
current (shunt)
• VT and CT - to measure primary current and voltage and supply
scaled down values to P&C, metering, SCADA, etc.
• Regulators - voltage, current, VAR, phase angle, etc.
Why A System Needs Protection?
• There is no ‘fault free’ system.
• Ensure safety of personnel.
• Usually faults are caused by
breakdown
of insulation due to various reasons:
system over current, over
lighting, etc. voltage,
POWER SYSTEM WITHOUT
PROTECTION
• Short circuits and other abnormal conditions
often occur on the power system. The heavy
current associated with short circuits is likely to
cause damage to the equipment
 Element of protection system
(1)Current and Voltage Transformers
(2)Relays
(3)Circuit breakers
(4)Batteries
(5)Fuses
(6)Lighting
Arresters
Current transformer
• Current transformer consists at least of two secondary windings.
• The first winding is usually designed for measuring, the second
is used for protection.
• The secondary of current transformers are almost connected in
star
 Voltage transformer
• Voltage transformer is often consists of two windings.
• The first winding is connected in star, and the stare
point must be earthed.
• The second winding is connected as open delta.

VS
Relay
V
P
 Relay Purpose
 Isolate controlling circuit from controlled
circuit.
 Control high voltage system with low voltage.
 Control high current system with low current.
 Logic Functions
 Advantages for Using Protective Relays
• Detect system failures when they
occur and isolate the faulted section
from the remaining of the system.
• Mitigating the effects of failures after
they occur.
• Minimize risk of fire, danger to
personal and other high voltage
systems.
 CIRCUIT BREAKER
• Low voltage circuit breaker
• Magnetic circuit breaker
• Medium voltage circuit
breaker
• High voltage circuit breaker
 Battery bank
• Battery bank are called as
backbone of protection system
• Emergency use for
power system
 Fuse
• Fuses are selected to allow passage of normal
current and of excessive current only for
short periods.
• It is used to protect the low voltage or
current rating devices
 Lighting arrester
• A lightning arrester is a device used on
electrical power system to protect the
insulation damaging effect of
lightning.
• All lighting arrester are earthed
 What is Switchgear ?
• Switchgear is the combination of switches,
fuses or circuit breakers(CB) used to
control , protect & isolate electrical
equipment.
• It is used de-energize equipment & clear
faults.
Different elements of switchgear
• Circuit breaker • Load Breaking Switch LBS
Air ckt breaker ACB • By pass and changeover
Vacuumed ckt breaker
switches
VCB Oil filled ckt breaker
OCB
SF6 Ckt Breaker • Isolators(switches)
• Fuses
• MCCB (Moulded Case
Ckt Breakers)

• MCB
(Miniature Circuit Breaker)
• RCCB
Residual current circuit breaker
Function wise categories
• Automatic & Manual operation
{ example: Circuit breaker ,MCB ,
MCCB }

• Only automatic operation

Fuse

• Only manually activated / operated

Isolator, LBS
Voltage wise switchgear categories
• Low voltage Switchgear
up to 11KV
• Medium voltage switchgear
up to 66KV
• High Voltage switchgear
up to 400KV
• Extra High Voltage switchgear
up to 765KV
• HVDC Switchgear
 Qualitative review of
faults & fault currents
NATURE & CAUSES OF FAULTS
•Insulation failure.
•Conducting path failure.
•Over voltages due to lightening or switching surges.
•Puncturing or breaking of insulators.
•Failure of conducting path due to broken conductors.
•Failure of solid insulation due to aging, heat, moisture,
overvoltage , accidental contact with earth or earth screens,
flash over voltages and etc.,
FAU LT I N P O W E R S Y S T E M
 A power system fault may be defined as any
condition or abnormality of the system which
involves the electrical failure of primary
equipment such as generators, transformers,
busbars, overhead lines and cables and all other
items of plant which operate at power system
voltage.

 Electrical failure generally implies one or the

other (or both) of two types of failure, namely
insulation failure resulting in a short-circuit
condition or conducting path failure resulting in
an open-circuit condition, the former being by far
the more common type of failure.
 FAU LT I N P O W E R S Y S T E M
 Symmetrical fault
Faults giving rise to equal currents in lines
displaced by
equal phase angles i.e 120o in three phase
systems.
Example: short circuit of all three
phase
conductors of a cable at a single location

 Unsymmetrical fault
Faults in which not all the line currents are equal
and not all have the same phase.
Example (any one): single phase line to ground
fault (L-G), two phase to ground (LL-G) fault and
phase to phase (L-L) fault.
Abnormalities in Power Systems

• Overcurrent (overload, short circuit, open circuit)

• Ground Potential (ungrounded equipment, touch
potentials, step potentials)
• Surge Voltages (lightning strokes, switching surges,
harmonics)
Fault Types (Shunt)
Frequency of Types of Faults
Type of %
Fault Occurrence

SLG 85
LL 8
DLG 5
3L 2 or less
Frequency of Fault Occurrence

Equipment % of Total

Overhead lines 50
Cables 10
Switchgear 15
Transformers 12
CTs and PTs 2
Control Equipment 3
Miscellaneous 8
S Y M M E T R I C A L FAU LT

T HREE- P H A S E FAU LT

T H R E E P H A S E - E A RT H
FAU LT
U N S Y M M E T R I C A L FAU LT
P H A S E – P H A S E FAU LT

TWO P H A S E – E A RT H
FAU LT

S I N G L E P H A S E - E A RT H
FAU LT
O P E N C I RC U I T FAU LT
SINGLE- PHASE OPEN
C I RC U I T

TWO- P H A S E O P E N
C I RC U I T

T HREE- P H A S E O P E N
C I RC U I T
 Equipments Causes of Faults
&
% of total fault
Over head lines •Lighting Stroke
•Earthquake
(50%) •Icing
•Birds
•Tree branches
•Kite Strings
•Internal Overvoltage

Under ground Cable •Damage due to digging

(9%) • Insulation failure due to temperature rise
•Failure of Joints

Alternator •Stator & Rotor faults

(7%)
 Equipments & Causes of Faults
% of total fault
Transforme •Insulation Failure
•Faults in tap changer
r (10%) •Overloading

Current Transformer •Overvoltage

•Insulation Failure
& •Break of Conductors
Potential Transformer •Wrong Connections
(12%)

Switch Gear •Insulation failure

•Leakage of air/oil/gas
(12%) •Mechanical defect
•Lack of Maintenance
 Fault Minimization
⚫ Improving the quality of machines, equipments,
installation etc., by improving the design techniques.

⚫ Adequate & reliable protection system control

⚫ Regular maintenance by trained professionals

⚫ Effective management of electrical plant

Merits of Fast fault clearing
 Helps to avoid permanent damage to equipment

& components of the apparatus

 Reduces the chances of risks like fire hazards

 Maintains the continuity of the power supply

 Brings back the power system to the normal

state sooner
Relay terminology –
definitions
Relays are electrical
switches that open or close
another circuit under certain
conditions.
 Protective relays are devices which
monitor power system conditions and
operate to quickly and accurately isolate
faults or dangerous conditions. A well
designed protective system can limit
damage to equipment, as well as minimize
the extent of associated service
interruption.
 Isolate controlling circuit from controlled circuit.
 Control high voltage system with low voltage.
 Control high current system with low current.
 Logic Functions
Electromagnetic Relays (EMRs)

Solid-state Relays (SSRs)

◦ There is no mechanical contacts to switch the circuit.

Microprocessor Based Relays

Commonly used in power system monitoring and protection.
Electromagnetic Relays (EMRs)
◦ Simplicity
◦ Not expensive

Solid-state Relays (SSRs)

◦ No Mechanical movements
◦ Faster than EMR

Microprocessor-based Relay
◦ Much higher precision and more reliable and durable.
◦ Capable of both digital and analog I/O.
◦ Higher cost
Detect system failures when they occur and
isolate the faulted section from the remaining of
the system.

Mitigating the effects of failures after they occur.

Minimize risk of fire, danger to personal and
other high voltage systems.