Power System Protection II

Dr. Raed Amro

Chapter 1
Introduction

1-1

Types of Distribution Systems

a) Radial Distribution System

The energy flows from the source in radial form down to the consumers as shown in
Fig.1-1

Fig.1-1: Radial Distribution System

Advantages:
-

Simple in design, realization and monitoring and control

Disadvantages
-

The consumers depend on a single distributer. Therefore, any fault on the

distributor cuts off the consumers who are on the side of the fault away
from the substation
Increasing voltage drop on the lines/cables far from the source ( Increased
Transmission Losses). Therefore, Consumers at the distant end of the
distributor are subjected to voltage fluctuations
Low security of supply
2

b) Ring Distribution System

The electrical energy and starting from the supply flows in two parallel paths
forming a ring. The ends of the paths are connected with each others to operate the
network as ring or radial system. See Fig. 1-2

Fig.1-2: Ring Distribution System

The loop system provides better continuity of service than the radial system,
with only short interruptions for switching. In the event of power failures due
to faults on the line, the utility has only to find the fault and switch around it to
restore service. The fault itself can then be repaired with a minimum of
customer interruptions. See Fig 1-3

Fig.1-3 a) Open Ring

b) Fault

c) Closed Ring

Advantages:
-

High security of supply

Disadvantages
-

Expensive because of the large number of the required switches and

conductors

1-2

Main Functions of Power Systems Protection

a) To safe guard the entire system to maintain continuity of supply
b) To minimize damage and repair costs
c) To ensure safety of personal

1-3

Main Requirements of Power Systems Protection

a) Selectivity: To detect and isolate the fault item only
b) Stability: To leave all healthy circuits intact to ensure continuity of supply
c) Speed: To operate as fast as possible when called upon to minimize
damage and ensure safety for personal

Fast isolation of faulty section is required to prevent:

Increased damage at fault location. Fault energy = I2 Rf t where t is the

time in seconds
Danger to the operating personal (flashes due to high fault energy
sustaining for a long time)
Danger of ignition of combustible gas in hazardous areas such as methane
in coal mines

d) Reliability
Dependability
It MUST trip when
called upon

Security
It MUST not when not
supposed to

e) Sensitivity : The protection system must differentiate between fault case

and normal operation or allowed overload
f) Cost-Effectiveness: The financial costs (capital cost+ maintenance
+updating costs ) must be appropriate with the cost of the equipment to be
protected or avoiding of possible negative consequences of the grid

Chapter 2
Fault Types and Their Effects

2-1 Short-Circuit Faults

Because of their catastrophic consequences, short circuits faults are the most
important faults. Short- circuit currents can reach multiples of the rated currents and
even in low-voltage networks, short circuit currents can reach values around 50kA
(rms value)
Possible sources for short circuit faults:
-

Aging of isolations
Mechanical stressing of the devices
Human error
Weak isolation
Dirty isolators at over-head lines

2-1-1 Types of Short Circuit Types

Short-circuit faults can be specified according to the number of the conductors
involved in the fault:
a) Symmetrical Short-Circuit Faults (Three-Phase Faults)

a-1) Three-Phase Fault

Fig.2-1 Three-Phase Fault

a-2) Three-Phase-to-Earth Fault

N
Fig.2-2 Three-Phase-to-Earth Fault

Three-phase short-circuit faults generate usually the largest fault currents and all
equipments must be dimensioned according these currents.
Three-phase faults and compared to the other types of faults is the easiest fault to
be overviewed and calculated. The voltage at the fault point is zero and all lines
are symmetrical stressed with the fault currents.
Notice that there is no short circuit flow through the earth in the case of threephase-to-earth faults even if the networks is earthed.

b) Asymmetrical Short-Circuit Faults (Three-Phase Faults)

b-1) Phase-to-Phase Short-Circuit clear of Erath

Fig.2-3 Phase-to-Phase Short-Circuit clear of Erath

b-2) Phase-to-Phase-to-Earth Short-Circuit

Fig.2-4 Phase-to-Phase-to-Earth Short-

b-3) Phase-to-Earth Short Circuit

Fig.2-5 Phase-to-Earth Short Circuit

Asymmetry short circuit fault analysis is more complex than that of symmetry faults.

Notice that asynchronous motors act like generators in case of short circuits because
when fault condition happens the power system voltage will drop dramatically and all
motors that are running at that time will not be able to sustain their speed and these
motors slow in speed . The stored energy within their fields will be discharged into
the power lines. Therefore, if the asymmetry faults occur near large asynchrony
motors and generators (notice that asynchronous motors act like generators in case of
short circuits ) , their fault currents can exceed the fault currents of three phase short
circuit faults

Phase-to-Phase-to-Earth Short-Circuit faults are practically not presence in lowvoltage networks hence this fault is combined with arc which leads very fast to threephase short circuit fault.

2-1-2 Development of the Short Circuit Current

The course of the short circuit current can be divided into three phases:
- Subtransient (The first 10 to 20ms)
- Transient (up to 500 ms)
- Steady State
The short circuit current contains of two components an AC and a DC component :
isc= iac + idc
The DC component disappears as real dissipated power (I2R) in the resistance of the
system. The decaying time depends on the resistance and reactance of the system
(L/R). If there is no reactance in the system, the DC component will decay
immediately and with pure reactance in the system, DC component would never
disappears

Short Circuit Faults Near Generator

Because of rotor reaction, short circuits occur near the supplying generator have the
following characteristics:
- Short circuit currents have decaying waveform
- The RMS value of the short circuit current at the start of the short
circuit fault is much higher than that at steady state condition

Top Envelop
Decaying DC component

Bottom Envelop

I''K: Initial symmetrical RMS SC current

IK : Steady state RMS SC current
ip: Peak SC current
A: Initial DC value

Fig.2-6 Short Circuit Current Near Generator

Short Circuit Faults Far From Generator

The majority of short circuit faults occur in low-voltage networks where the system is
provided with power through transformers are faults far from the generator. In this
case the short circuit current have the following characteristics:

- The RMS value of the short circuit current is constant (I''K=IK)

10

Top Envelop

Decaying DC component

2-1-3 Calculation of Short-Circuit Currents

Bottom Envelop

I''K: Initial symmetrical RMS SC

current

IK : Steady state RMS SC current

ip: Peak SC current
A: Initial DC value

Fig.2-7 Short Circuit Current Far from Generator

Generally , the worst type of fault that can occur is the three-phase faults where the
three-phase short circuits are deciding and their calculation and prediction is
important.
There are several methods for calculation of short circuit currents, like:
o Symmetrical Components (accurate but complex)
o Ohmic-Reactance method
o MVA method
In the following the MVA method is described

11

Calculation of Short Circuit Currents Using MVA Method

The MVA method is simple and has very good accuracy. The method uses the
admittance of each component in the power system expressed in the short circuit
apparent power MVAsc. The MVA method follows the following procedure:

Formulas for calculation of the different components are shown in the table below:
Table 2-1: Calculation of MVA of Power Components

Component

MVAsc

Notice
Usually provided by the
power company

- MVA is the rated apparent

power of the machine
- X''d: subtransient reactance

12

- MVA is the rated apparent

power of the transformer
-Zxfmr: Percentage
impedance of the
transformer

The fault current can then be calculated as follows:

13

14

15

2-2 Earth Faults

Phase-to-Earth leakage fault is special case of short circuit faults. However it occurs
in networks with isolated star point or with reactance earthing (Peterson Coil) and
the fault current is usually less than short circuit currents. Earth faults are mainly due
to isolation faults in power lines and cables or in stator windings of electrical
machines.
In unearthed networks or in networks with resonance earthing, the leakage fault
currents depends on the leakage capacities of the network and can be calculated using
the equation 2-1 (all resistances are neglected):
I CE 3 C E V LL
ICE = RMS value of the fault current at the fault point
CE = Earth leakage capacitance
VLL=Voltage of the network
= 2 f = 314 s 1 for f = 50 Hz

(Eq. 2-1)

Notice that it is difficult to find CE because it depends on several parameters like type
of cables, their alignment , dimensions. An approximation values for 6-kV and 10 kV
cables is 0,2 uF0,6 uF/km for cables of cross sectional area between 25 to 500
mm2 .
A very rough value for ICE can be calculated using Eq. 2-2:
I CE (0,1.....0,3) l K VLL

(Eq. 2-2)

lK = the total length of the cables

To reduce voltage drops at the fault point caused by the phase-to-earth fault currents ,
reactive earthing with tunable coils are used (Peterson coil), the reactance of the coil
is tuned to a value that allows the compensation of capacitive fault currents by the
reactive currents. Furthermore, networks use reactive earthing can be considered as
isolated networks and faulty sections can be left in service hence the fault currents
are negligible and of transient nature and the arc they cause extinguishes immediately
and doesn't restrike

Fig 2-8 shows a picture of a Peterson coil

16

Fig.2-8 Petersen Coil

Principle of Peterson Coil

Consider Fig 2-9 which shows a phase-to-earth fault at Ph1

Fig.2-9 a) Phase-Earth-Fault at Compensated Network

b) Phasor Diagram

We assume a phase to earth fault at phase B. In this case, the earth potential is
increased to the voltage level of the faulted phase B which increases the voltage of
the unfaulted phases to earth to the level of phase-to-phase voltage Vph.
The voltage across Petersen coil is then Vph and the inductive fault current IF is:

IF =

V ph

(Eq. 2-3)

XL

17

The capacitive currents IR and IY are equal in magnitude and can be expressed as
follows:

I R = IY =

3 V ph

(Eq. 2-4)

XC

Where XC is the line to ground capacitive reactance

The total capacitive currents IC which flows in CR and CY is the phasor sum of IR and
IY:
IC = I R + IY = 3 I R = 3

3 V ph
XC

3 V ph
XC

(see the pharos diagram

Fig. 2-9-b)
To obtain an effective cancellation of the fault current IL , IL must equal IC
remembering that the inductive current and capacitive current have a phase shift of
180 degree and compensate each others:

V ph
XL

3 V ph

(Eq. 2-6)

XC

Where XL is the inductive reactance of the arc suppression coil

XC
3
1
L =
3 C
XL =

L=

(Eq. 2-7)
(Eq. 2-8)

(Eq. 2-9)

3 2 C

The inductivity L must be adjusted according to the leakage capacitances which can
vary.

18

2-3 Arcs
Arcs are conductive air (Plasma) and can generate during switching process of circuit
breakers and fuses. Arcs arise also as result of short circuits and phase-earth faults.
Arcs have three parts:
a) Cathode end (-ve)
b) Arc Column: ionized gas which has a diameter proportional to the current
c) Anode end (+ve)
Arc columns can have very high temperatures (6000 to 25 000 C) which make them a
source for very intensive heat. Arcs can have serious consequence3s on the network
and personal like:
- Arcs make from almost all single or double phase short circuits and
earth faults a three-phase short circuits (arc three-phase short circuit)
and within milliseconds
- Arcs have at the fault point a contact resistance which acts as shortcircuit current limiter and leads to delay in the tripping of circuit
breakers and fuses. In medium voltage networks, this delay can reach
5% of the time needed to trip in case of metal short circuits (saturated
short circuit). However, in Low-voltage networks delays can reach 60
to 70% of the tripping time in case of metal short circuit.
- Arcs generation develops a pressure increase in the surrounding areas
which causes a dynamic stress to the equipment and staff
- The pressure expansion is accompanied with acoustic emission
(explosion shock) which can reach 160 dB and causes everlasting
hearing damage
- Arcs are source of electromagnetic emissions of the whole wavelength
spectrum from UV to IR. A risk of eyes and skin injury
- Due to the very high temperature of the arc columns, arcs lead to vapor
of toxic gases due to burning of surrounding material and melting of
copper and aluminum wires at the fault point. Furthermore a risk of
human burning due to the very high heat intensity must be considered.

Protection Measures against Arcs

The protection against arc has two components:
1) Active Protection: is focused on minimizing of the probability of arc
generation through:
Constructive design of equipment and devices (safe distance,
covering)
Using of high quality components and devices
Using of stress conform materials and equipments
19

Regular inspection of the equipment

2) Reactive protection: is focused on limitation of the effect of arcs when it

happens. Limitation of the effects can be achieved by:

o By limitation of influence area by e.g. pressure resistive construction,

measures for pressure release in safe directions
o By limitation of arcing time by using e.g. separately arc detection
sensors (Pressure sensors, light sensors, etc..)
Circuit breakers used in power protection systems are equipped with arc chute to
cease the generated arcs during switching processes. The principle of arc cease
depends on cooling down of the arc and increasing of the required arc voltage through
extension of the length of the arc column by diverting it ( using the produced heat)
into the chute. Another method of increasing the required arc voltage is breaking
down the arc into smaller arcs. Each small arc needs its own arc voltage and the total
required arc voltages cannot be provided by the system which leads to arc cease.
Isolators

Iron Plates
Arc

Contact Terminals
Fig 2-10: Arc Chute

2-4 Thermal Overload

Thermal overload in motors can occur due to:

Continuous overload
Hard starting of motors
Phase failure
20

Operation at low voltage

Mechanical fault and stress on the prime mover
Increased ambient temperature
Mechanical failures of the bearings

Thermal overload and exceeding of the max. allowed temperature can occur in
transformers (due to failure in cooling system) and high cables. Thermal overloads
lead to aging or even failure of isolation materials (like windings isolation) or even
earth and short circuit failures.
The thermal behavior of electrical devices can be described by Eq. 2-10. With
neglecting the ambient temperature, the over temperature of a device can be
calculated:

= max

th

1 e

I N

(Eq. 2-10)

max : Permanent allowed temperatur of the device

I N : Permanent allowed load current of the device
I

th

: Overcurrent
: Thermal time cons tan t

With consideration of the ambient temperature (coolant temperature) 0 ,

2
t

th I

(Eq. 2-11)

= 0 + max 1 e
I N

Fig. 2-11 shows the curves of the temperature at different load currents.

Fig. 2-11: Over Temperature in Dependency of Overload Current

21

From equation 2-11, the max allowed operation time tmax at any overload current

t max = th ln

I
1 (1 0 ) N
max I

(Eq. 2-11)

Fig 2-12 shows the influence of the ambient temperature on the max allowed
operation time at different over currents

Fig. 2-12 Allowed Loading Time at Different Over currents

The thermal time th is an important parameter which determines the thermal

characteristic of the electrical devices. However th is very difficult to be found hence
electrical devices are constructed by several materials and layers. For example
transformers windings have th in the range of minutes where the transformer oil have
th in the range on hours. Therefore, an approximated resultant th is usually used
for such devices.
For air-cooled high-voltage motors the th lies between 20 minutes (for 350 A motors)
and 100 minutes (for 1200 A motors). For high-voltage, natural cooled cables lies th
between 30 minutes (for continuous current of 185 A) and 300 minutes (for
continuous current of 600 A).
For the calculation of the maximal allowed overload operation time for synchron
generators, an international norm can be used:

22

t max =

37,5
I

IN

(Eq. 2-12)

2-5 Asymmetric Loading and Line Interruption

Unbalanced line loading in three-phase power systems can occur due to:
Blown fuses (during starting up of motors)
Power line interruption
Faulted circuit breakers
The asymmetry leads to unequal currents in the phases which produces beside the
positive current sequence (I1) a negative sequence component (I2) which causes
additional heating of power devices.
The maximal allowed value of I2 is usually provided by the manufacturer as a
percentage of the rated current of the device.
For synchron generators is the maximal allowed value for asymmetry current lies
between 20% (for medium power generators till 20 MVA) and 10% (for large scaled
generators till 100 MVA) of the rated current.
A special case of asymmetry is a line interruption which can have serious
consequences on motors and generators. The produced negative current sequences (I2)
leads to:
Production of negative torque
Production of Eddy currents in the rotor with double frequency of the
rated load current frequency. The Eddy currents lead to iron losses
and increase of motor temperature

2-6

Over-Voltage and Under -Voltage

Over-Voltage
23

Unallowable over-voltages of operation frequencies can occur due to:

Faults in voltage controllers and regulators of synchronous generators
Sudden switching-off of large consumers
Over-voltages can cause serious faults of isolators and isolation materials and must be
solved very fast

Under-Voltage (Voltage Collapses)

Under-voltages are time limited decrease of the voltage to values between 1 to 90% of
the rated voltage. This can occur due to:

Short circuits in the networks

Overload of the network
Hard starting up of large motors

Electrical devices have different sensitivity grades to under-voltages.

Asynchrononous motors react very sensitive to under-voltages hence the developed
torque depends strongly on the voltage (M=cV2 where c is constant ). In case of
voltage decrease, the rotation speed decreases too.
As shown in Fig.2-13, if the motor is loaded with the mechanical load Mm, a
decrease of the voltage would lead to decrease of the rated rotation n. A decrease of
M<=Mm which occurs already at 0,8 of the rated voltage (Vn), leads to motor still
standing which increases the motor losses and increases the motor temperature.

Fig. 2-13 Influence of Voltage Decrease on the Torque of Asychronous Motor (Mm= Const.)

24

Synchronous motors are less sensitive to under-voltages (M=cV). However, undervoltages can cause serious mechanical and electrical damages to synchronous motors.
In transformers lead under voltages to increase of the current drown from the network
which increases the copper losses in the windings and increase of transformer
temperature.
Further consequences of under-voltages are:

Increased feeding of reactive power in the network

Instable running of rotors

2-7 Real Power Deficit

In electrical energy distribution networks there is a balance between the produced and
used real power P.
Pex + Pin = Pused

(Eq. 2-13)

Where:
Pex
Pin
Pused

Externally supplied power

Internally produced power
Used power

In balanced situation the network frequency is constant and equals and around the
rated frequency.
The continuous connection and disconnection of loads leads to deviation from the
rated frequency. However these small deviations have normally no effect on the
operation of the network hence they can be compensated by the in the electrical
machines stored kinetic energy.
However, a sudden breakdown of generators unit in networks without reserve
suppliers leads to frequency deviation as described in Eq 2-14 and Fig 2-14

25

f P
f
= N
t Ts PN

(Eq. 2-14)

Where:
PN

Rated power of all connected generators

Real power deficit

Ts

Startup time constant (The time required for unloaded generator to

reach the rated rotation speed from still standing

f
t

Frequency gradient

fN

Rated network frequency (=50 Hz)

Fig. 2-14 Frequency Behavior at Power Deficit

Reestablishing of the balance between the generated and used power follows usually
by disconnection of less important loads.

26