Overcurrent

Protection
for Phase and Earth
Faults
Protection against excess current was naturally the earliest protection
system to evolve.
From this basic principle, the graded overcurrent system, a
discriminative fault protection, has been developed.
This should not be confused with ‘overload’ protection, which normally
makes use of relays that operate in a time related in some degree to
the thermal capability of the plant to be protected.
Overcurrent protection, on the other hand, is directed entirely to the
clearance of faults, although with the settings usually adopted some
measure of overload protection may be obtained.
Correct overcurrent relay application requires knowledge
of the fault current that can flow in each part of the
network.

The data required for a relay setting study are:

i. a one-line diagram of the power system involved,
showing the type and rating of the protection devices and their
associated current transformers
ii. the impedances in ohms, per cent or per unit,
of all power transformers, rotating machine and feeder circuits
iii. the maximum and minimum values of short circuit
currents that are expected to flow through each protection device
iv. the maximum load current through protection
devices
v. the starting current requirements of motors and
the starting and locked rotor/stalling times of induction motors
vi. the transformer inrush, thermal withstand and
damage characteristics
vii. decrement curves showing the rate of decay of
the fault current supplied by the generators
viii. performance curves of the current transformers
The relay settings are first determined to give the
shortest operating times at maximum fault levels and then checked to
see if operation will also be satisfactory at the minimum fault current
expected.
It is always advisable to plot the curves of relays and other
protection devices, such as fuses, that are to operate in series,
on a common scale.
The basic rules for correct relay co-ordination can generally
be stated as follows:
a. whenever possible, use relays with the same
operating characteristic in series with each other
b. make sure that the relay farthest from the source
has current settings equal to or less than the relays
behind it, that is, that the primary current required
to operate the relay in front is always equal to or
less than the primary current required to operate
the relay behind it.
Among the various possible methods used to achieve
correct relay co-ordination are those using either
time or
overcurrent, or
a combination of both.
The common aim of all three methods is to give correct discrimination.
That is to say, each one must isolate only the fault section of the power
system network, leaving the rest ofMthe system undisturbed.
Discrimination by Time
In this method, an appropriate time setting is given
to each of the relays controlling the circuit breakers in a
power system to ensure that the breaker nearest to the
fault opens first.
Overcurrent protection is provided at B, C, D and E, that is,
at the infeed end of each section of the power system.
Each protection unit comprises a definite-time delay
overcurrent relay in which the operation of the current
sensitive element simply initiates the time delay element.
It is the time delay element, therefore, which provides
the means of discrimination. The relay at B is set at the
shortest time delay possible to allow the fuse to blow for
a fault at A on the secondary side of the transformer.
After the time delay has expired, the relay output
contact closes to trip the circuit breaker. The relay at C
has a time delay setting equal to t1 seconds, and similarly
for the relays at D and E.
If a fault occurs at F, the relay at B will operate in t seconds and the
subsequent operation of the circuit breaker at B will clear the fault
before the relays at C, D and E have time to operate.
The time interval t1 between each relay time setting must be long
enough to ensure that the upstream relays do not operate before the
circuit breaker at the fault location has tripped and cleared the fault.
The main disadvantage of this method of discrimination
is that the longest fault clearance time occurs for faults
in the section closest to the power source, where the
fault level (MVA) is highest.
Discrimination by Current
Discrimination by current relies on the fact that the fault
current varies with the position of the fault because of
the difference in impedance values between the source
and the fault.
Hence, typically, the relays controlling the various circuit breakers are
set to operate at suitably tapered (gradual decreased) values of current
such that only the relay nearest to the fault trips its breaker.
For a fault at F1, the system short-circuit current is given
by:
So, a relay controlling the circuit breaker at C and
set to operate at a fault current of 8800A would in theory
protect the whole of the cable section between C and B.
However, there are two important practical points that
affect this method of co-ordination:
a. it is not practical to distinguish between a fault at
F1 and a fault at F2,
since the distance between these points may be only a few meters,
corresponding to a change in fault current of approximately 0.1%
b. in practice, there would be variations in the source fault level,
typically from 250MVA to 130MVA.
At this lower fault level the fault current would not exceed 6800A,
even for a cable fault close to C.
A relay set at 8800A would not protect any part of the cable section
concerned
Discrimination by current is therefore not a practical proposition for
correct grading between the circuit breakers at C and B.
However, the problem changes appreciably when there is significant
impedance between the two circuit breakers concerned.
Consider the grading required between the circuit breakers at C
and A.
Assuming a fault at F4, the short circuit current is given by:
For this reason, a relay controlling the circuit breaker at B and set to
operate at a current of 2200A plus a safety margin would not operate
for a fault at F4 and would thus discriminate with the relay at A.
Assuming a safety margin of 20% to allow for relay errors and a further
10% for variations in the system impedance values, it is reasonable to
choose a relay setting of 1.3 x 2200A, that is 2860A, for the relay at B.
Now, assuming a fault at F3, at the end of the 11kV cable feeding the
4MVA transformer, the short-circuit current is given by:
Discrimination by both Time and Current
Each of the two methods described so far has a fundamental
disadvantage.
In the case of discrimination by time alone, the disadvantage is due to
the fact that the more severe faults are cleared in the longest
operating time.
On the other hand, discrimination by current can be applied only
where there is appreciable impedance between the two circuit
breakers concerned.
In the following Figure are illustrated the
characteristics of two relays given different current/time
settings. For a large variation in fault current between
the two ends of the feeder, faster operating times can be
achieved by the relays nearest to the source, where the
fault level is the highest. The disadvantages of grading
by time or current alone are overcome.
The selection of overcurrent relay characteristics generally starts with
selection of the correct characteristic to be used for each relay,
followed by choice of the relay current settings.
Finally the grading margins and hence time settings of the relays are
determined.
STANDARD I.D.M.T. (Inverse Definite Minimum Time) OVERCURRENT RELAYS
The current/time tripping characteristics of the relays may need to be
varied according to the tripping time required and the characteristics of
other protection devices used in the network.
For these purposes, IEC 60255 defines a number of standard
characteristics as follows:
Standard Inverse (SI)
Very Inverse (VI)
Extremely Inverse (EI)
Definite Time (DT)
COMBINED I.D.M.T. AND HIGH SET INSTANTANEOUS OVERCURRENT
RELAYS
A high-set instantaneous element can be used where the source
impedance is small in comparison with the protected circuit
impedance. This makes a reduction in the tripping time at high fault
levels possible. It also improves the overall system grading by allowing
the 'discriminating curves' behind the high set instantaneous
elements to be lowered.
As shown at the next slide, one of the advantages of the high
set instantaneous elements is to reduce the operating
time of the circuit protection by the shaded area below
the 'discriminating curves'.

The rapid fault clearance time achieved helps to minimize damage at

the fault location.