1

ECE 4310: Energy Systems II

Power System Protection

Rama Gokaraju (Visiting Professor)
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of Manitoba
Email: rama.krishna@usask.ca, Phone: (204) 474-7199
1 Introduction

The purpose of power system protection is to continuously monitor the system to ensure
maximum continuity of electrical supply with minimum damage to life, equipment and
property. The general requirements for protective systems are 1) Reliability, 2) Speed, 3)
Selectivity, 4) Simplicity.

A protective system is based on detecting fault conditions by continuously monitoring
power system variables such as current, voltage, power, frequency and impedance.
Measurement of currents and voltages is performed by instrument transformers of current
type (current transformers CTs) and voltage type (voltage transformers VTs).

The instrument transformers feed measured variables to a relay system, which in turn,
upon detecting a fault, commands a circuit interrupting device known as circuit breaker
(CB) to disconnect the faulted section of the system.

Ideally the circuit breaker must operate immediately to isolate the fault. The interruption
of a large current causes an arc across the contacts of the breaker. The arc in a circuit
breaker is a column of hot, ionized gas. The breaking of the circuit by the extinction of
this arc occurs in two successive stages. In the first stage, the resistance of the arc
increases to a value so high that the current is negligible, and in the second stage, the
dielectric strength of the arc space increases to a value so high that the arc will not be
reignited by the circuit voltage.

The power system relays can be classified into three types based on the principle of
operation. These are electromechanical (moving parts), static (no moving parts and data
processing is analog) and numerical (no moving parts and data processing is digital).
2 Zones of Protection

It is essential to provide each major element of a power system with a protection as
shown in Figure 1. The first point to be noted in this figure is that each system element is
given adequate protection while keeping service interruption to a minimum. The second
2

point to be noted is that each zone is overlapped to avoid unprotected (blind) areas. The
connection of current transformers achieves the overlapping as shown in Figure 2. A fault
in the area of two CTs will trip all the breakers in both zones.

Gen
Motor
Generator
relay zone
Generator transformer
relay zone
Bus bar
relay zone
Bus bar
relay zone
Bus bar
relay zone
Line relay
zone
Transformer relay zone
Motor relay
zone



Figure 1 Zones of protection for a simple power system.


3

Circuit
Breaker
Zone 1 Zone 2
C. T. for
Zone 2
C. T. for
Zone 1
Circuit
Breaker
Zone 1 Zone 2
C. T. for
Zone 2
C. T. for
Zone 1
(a)
(b)




Figure 2 CT connections overlapping around a circuit breaker.

3 Primary and Backup Protection

Primary relaying is the first line of defense. Back-up relaying functions only when
primary relaying fails. Possible causes of primary relaying failure could be due to any of
the following failures: 1. Current or voltage supply failures to the relays 2. Protective
relay failure 3. Tripping circuit or breaker mechanism failure etc. It is highly desirable
that back-up relaying be arranged so that anything that might cause primary relaying to
fail will not also cause failure of back-up relaying. The practice is to locate the back-up
relays at a different station. Consider for example the backup relaying for the
transmission line section EF of Fig. 3. The back-up relays for this line section are
normally arranged to trip breakers A, B, I and J. Should breaker E fail to trip for a fault
on the line section EF, breakers A and B are tripped. Breakers A and B and their
associated back-up equipment, being physically apart from the equipment that has failed,
are not likely to be simultaneously affected as might be the case if breakers C and D were
chosen instead.


4

A C
B D
G I
H J
E F
Station K



Figure 3 Illustration of back-up protection of transmission line section EF.

4 Types of Protective Relays

Relays can be classified according to their function: current relays, voltage relays, power
relays, frequency relays, directional relays, distance relays, differential relays, etc.

5 Current Transformers (CTs)

It is necessary that a current transformer reproduce in its secondary winding a current
which duplicates the primary current waveform as faithfully as possible (similar
consideration holds good for a voltage transformer as well). The load on CTs (and
voltage transformers VTs) is commonly known as their burden. The burden is usually
specified in terms of the impedance or VA delivered to the load.

The schematic representation for current transformers is shown Figure 4. The primary
winding of a CT is a single turn, and is represented by a straight line marked a and b.
This single turn is obtained by threading the primary conductor through one or more
toroidal coils steel cores. The secondary windings, the terminals of which are marked as
a and b in Figure 4, are multiple-turn windings wound on the toroidal cores.

CTs have ratio errors and can be quite high if the impedance burden is too large, but with
proper selection of the CT with respect to the burden the error can be maintained at an
acceptable value.

The normal current rating of CT secondaries has been standardized at 5A, with a second
standard of 1 A being used in Europe. For short periods (for example during faults) this
rating of the CT secondary windings can be exceeded without damaging the windings.
Standard CT current ratios have been established, and some of these are given in Table 1.
5




a
a
b
b


Figure 4 Schematic Representation of a CT.


Table I: Standard CT ratios

Current ratio Current ratio Current ratio
50:5 300:5 800:5
100:5 400:5 900:5
150:5 450:5 1000:5
200:5 500:5 1200:5
250:5 600:5


6 Voltage Transformers (VTs)

Two types are commonly found in utility applications. For low-voltage applications
(system voltages about 12kV or lower), secondary windings at 67 V (line-to-neutral
voltage) are an industry standard. For voltages at HV and EHV levels, a capacitance
potential-divider circuit is used as shown in Figure 5. Capacitors C
1
and C
2
are so
adjusted that a voltage of a few kilovolts is obtained across C
2
when terminal A is at
system potential. In such a coupling-capacitor voltage transformer (CCVT), the tapped
voltage is further reduced to relaying voltage level by a transformer as shown in Figure 5.
The CCVT is a free standing device housed in its own supporting insulator structure.

The Thevenin impedance looking toward the system across the terminals of C
2
is

) C + C
(
1
2 1
e



Adjusting L so that L equal the Thevenin impedance results in series resonance. Under
this condition, the output of the CCVT is in phase with the line potential with no phase-
angle error introduced in the CCVT output.

VTs are generally far more accurate than the CTs and their ratio and phase angle errors
are generally neglected. However, it is often necessary to pay attention to the transient
6

response of the CCVTs under fault conditions, as errors under these conditions are
possible.

C
1
A
C
2
T
L

Figure 5 Circuit diagram of a capacitor-coupled voltage transformer (CCVT).

7 Logical Design of Relays

The main purpose of a relay is to discriminate between a fault within its zone of
protection, and do not trip for faults outside its zone of protection. The logical
performance can be defined in terms of the inputs and outputs of the relay. The logical
design of the most common relays is described next.

7.1 Magnitude Relays (Example - Overcurrent Relays)

Most common form are the overcurrent relays. The simplest form of the overcurrent is
described below:

|
p
I | > |
f
I | : TRIP

|
p
I | < |
f
I | : BLOCK

f
I is the fault current.
p
I is the pick up value of the fault current.

The simplest form just described is not sufficiently versatile and the conditions are
supplemented as follows:

(| | | |)
f p
T I I = if |
p
I | > |
f
I |

where T is the relay operating time and | is a function which describes its dependence
upon the fault current level. The functional dependence can be illustrated by adding time
circles such as T
1
and T
2
to the phasor diagram as shown in Figure 6. The length of
7

phasor |
f
I | then falls on a time line (or between two time lines) which represents the
operating time of the relay for that fault current.


Im ( I )
Re ( I )
|I
P
|
Block
I
f
T
1
T
2 Trip


Figure 6 Operating & blocking regions of a time over-current relay. Time T2 is earlier
that T1.

The characteristic curves of type IFC-53 (General Electric Company) electromechanical
time ovecurrent relay are shown Figure 7. In these characteristics, the pickup setting
|
p
I | is adjustable through taps on its input winding. The relay IFC-53 is available with
tap settings of 1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 10.0 and 12.0 A. The
characteristics are asymptotic to pickup values of current and decreases as inverse power
of current magnitude for |
p
I | > |
f
I | . The characteristic curves are presented with
multiples of pickup amperes on x-axis and operating time as ordinate. Multiples of
pickup amperes here means ratio of relay current to pickup current. The inverse-time
characteristics can be shifted up or down by an adjustment known as time-dial setting or
time multiplier setting. In the IFC-53, a time-dial setting of produces the fastest
operation of relay whereas a setting of 10 produces the slowest operation for a given
current.






8


Figure 7 Characteristic curves of type IFC-53 (General Electric) time overcurrent relays.

7.2 Directional Relays (Example Mho Relays)

For directional relays, the zone of a relay includes all of power system that is situated in
only one direction from the relay location. It is called directional because it depends on
direction of current with respect to voltage. For example in Figure 8, the relay is required
to operate for faults to left of its location and block for all other conditions. Currents
flowing from bus 2 towards bus 1 lag voltage at bus 2 by an angle of about 90 degrees
(because the transmission line impedance is mostly reactive). On the other hand for
faults to right of bus 2, current from bus 2 to bus 1 will lead voltage at bus 2 by an angle
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of about 90 degrees. The operation of relay is described by dividing complex plane of
phasor diagram such that current phasors lying in shaded region (voltage at bus 2 is used
as reference) would trip. The operating principle can be described by the following
equation:

max
>
op
>
min
u u u TRIP

max
<
op
<
min
u u u BLOCK


op
u is the phase angle of the operating quantity with respect to the polarizing phasor.
The quantity that provides reference phasor is called a polarizing quantity.

Trip Block
B21
R21
T
1 2
-I
21
(reverse)
Block
u
max
u
min
Trip
I
21
(forward)
V
2
(a) (b)


Figure 8: Operating principle of a directional relay.

7.3 Ratio Relays (Example - Distance Relays)

In some applications it is necessary that relay operate for faults within a certain distance
of its location on any lines originating at bus 1. The vicinity is described by distance
between bus 1 and its fault location. The zone of protection is thus a region such that the
length of a line originating at bus 1 and having impedance less than the required
setting |
r
Z | . The condition can be conveniently expressed in terms of two measurable
quantities (V and I) as follows:

12
I
1
V
= Z

The relay performance can then be specified by:
10


|
r
Z | < | Z | TRIP

|
r
Z | > | Z | BLOCK

The above relay is referred to as an impedance or a distance relay (see Figure 9(b)).
When Z is plotted in a complex plane under normal conditions it will lie outside circle
of radius |
r
Z | and consequently the relay will not trip. Under faulted conditions Z will
be inside the circle. Angle associated with Z is u or u t+ depending upon whether the
fault is to the right or left of bus 1 in the circuit.

Modification to an Impedance Relay (Mho Relay)

An impedance relay can be made directional by offsetting it by an amount ' Z :

| ' | | |
r
Z Z Z < TRIP

| ' | | |
r
Z Z Z > BLOCK

The above gives a mho relay characteristics as shown in Figure 9(c).

Fault to the left of relay at bus 1 will result in no trip decision i.e.
12
I
1
V
= Z will lie in the
third quadrant.

11

T
Trip
Block
B12
R12
1
Block
2
R
Trip
Z
|Z
r
|
R
X
Block
Trip
Z
|Z
r
|
R
X
Block
Z`
(a)
(b)
(c)



Figure 9: Impedance relay characteristics (a) Zone of protection for R12 (b)
Nondirectional impedance relay (c) Mho relay. In (b) & (c) the Z is indicated for a fault
to the left of R12.

7.4 Differential Relays (Example Generator or Transformer
Internal Fault Protection)

When entire zone of protection of a relay occupies a small physical space near relay we
can devise a very simple and effective relay using the current differential principle. Two
current transformers having same turns are placed at boundaries of zone of protection as
shown in Figure 10.






12

I
1
I
2
I
1
I
2
I
1
I
2
I
1
-I
2
1 2
3
Block Block
Trip
Generator phase
winding
I
f



Figure 10: Differential protection for a generator phase winding.


For normal faults outside the zone of protection,

1 2
0 I I =

For a fault inside protected zone

1 2 f
I I I =

The above two equations are strictly not true due to the errors of the CTs. Therefore to
account for these inaccuracies, a low value of |
p
I | is chosen such that

1 2
| | | |
p
I I I < for normal faults external to zone of protection.


1 2
| | | |
p
I I I > for internal faults.

Therefore the operating principle is:

1 2
| | | |
p
I I I > TRIP


1 2
| | | |
p
I I I < BLOCK

13

If we connect an overcurrent relay so that its operating coil is 3 in the figure, then the
current through coil is
1 2
I I and relay will protect generator by tripping a breaker
according to principle of differential relaying.

Often CT errors increase with increasing values of
1
I and
2
I and in such cases one can
make
p
I dependent upon average of
1
I and
2
I .

1 2 1 2
| | k | ( ) | /2 I I I I > + TRIP

1 2 1 2
| | k| ( ) | /2 I I I I < + BLOCK

The above equation represents the equation for a percentage differential relay.

)
2
I +
1
I ( /2 is called the restraining current.
1 2
( ) I I is called the tripping current. If
currents in coils 1 and 2 oppose effect of current through 3 then relay will exhibit
percentage differential characteristics expressed in the above equation. Relative
effectiveness of coils 1 and 2 compared to coil 3 determines k.

In an electromechanical relay, percentage differential relay coils 1, 2 and 3 are wound on
a common magnetic core such that direction of currents through 1 and 2 produce a MMF
that is in opposition to that produced by current in 3.

In modern electronic relays the desired characteristics can be obtained by amplification
factors in appropriate signal paths.

Similar differential protection schemes are used to protect a bus, transformer or a motor.

7.5 Protection of Subtransmission Lines and Radial Distribution
Networks

Consider the power system shown in Figure 11. A simplest form of protection system can
be devised when the system is radial in nature (generator connected to a load through a
transmission line). Since the source is only on one side, it is sufficient to provide only one
circuit breaker for each line at the source end (breakers at the other end of a line are not
necessary).


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1
2 3 4 5
j5.0
j5.0
j9.6
B1
j6.4
B2
j8.0
B3
j12.8
B4


Figure 11: Protection of a radial system. Line and transformer reactance values are
marked in ohms.


Overcurrent relays can be used to protect the lines of this kind of a system. The fault
current magnitude depends upon the type of fault and the amount of generation connected
at bus 1. Maximum fault currents are seen for maximum generation and a three-phase
fault. The minimum fault currents are seen for minimum generation and line-to-line or
line-to-ground fault.

The relays at each of the three buses 1, 2 and 3 are provided to protect their respective
lines as primary protection and to provide remote backup protection to one line
downstream from the relay location. For example when relay at 1 provides backup
protection for line 2-3, it must be adjusted such that relay at bus 2 expected to operate for
faults on line 2-3.

Example 1 (Fault Current Calculations)

A portion of a 13.8 kV radial system is shown in Figure 11. The system may be operated
with one rather than two source transformers under certain operating conditions. Assume
high voltage bus of transformer is an infinite bus. Protection system for line-to-line and
three-phase faults has to be designed. Transmission line reactances in ohms referred to
the 13.8 kV side are shown in the figure. Neglect resistance and first calculate the
minimum and maximum fault currents at bus 5.

Solution Hints:

1. Maximum fault current will occur for a three-phase with both transformers in
service.
2. Minimum fault in this case is assumed for a line-to-line fault. A line-to-line fault
produces a fault current equal to 2 / 3 times the three-phase fault. Also the
minimum fault current happens for line-to-line faults with one transformer in
service.

15

The maximum and minimum fault currents are given below for faults at bus 1-5:

Table II: Maximum and Minimum Fault Currents

Fault at bus 1 2 3 4 5
Max fault
current, A
3187 659 431 301 203
Min fault
current, A
1380 473 329 238 165

Example 2 (Designing an Overcurrent Relay)

Consider again the portion of the 13.8 kV radial system shown in Figure 11.

For the above system, an over-current protection system has to be designed for line-to-
line and three-phase faults (CT ratios, relay tap (pickup) settings, and the relay time dial
settings).

The standard CT ratios are listed in Table I. Use at all locations the IFC-53 relay whose
characteristic curves are given in Figure 7 and whose mechanical tap settings are as
follows: 1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 12.0 A. The relays at each bus 1, 2, 3,
and 4 are designated by R1, R2, R3, and R4, respectively. The breaker at each bus will
open all three phases when tripped by any of the three associated relays.

Determine the relay settings (CT ratios, relay tap (pickup) settings, and the relay time dial
settings) for R1-R4.

We will use the following design principles for calculations

1. Start you solution first with the calculations for R4. R4 must operate for all
currents above 165. A, but for reliability purpose choose a relay which will
operate with a current in the line which is 30% of the minimum.
2. Backup protection: Over-current relay for X, backing up the next downstream
relay Y, is that X must pick up
a. For 30% of the minimum current seen by Y and
b. For the maximum current seen by Y but no sooner than 0.3 s after Y
should have picked up for that current.
Solution

Settings for relay R4:

Select a relay which will operate when the current in the line is one-third of the minimum.

16

A 55 =
3
165
= '
p
I

Use a CT ratio of 50/5. Therefore,

A 5 . 5 =
50
5
x 55 =
p
I

Let us use a relay tap setting of 5.0 A. Relay is at end of radial system and therefore no
coordination is necessary. Time-dial setting therefore will be chosen to be .
2
1

Settings for relay R3:

R3 has to provide primary protection for line 3-4 and provide remote backup protection
for relay R4. Therefore, it must pick up reliably for smallest fault current seen by R4,
which is 165 A.

So just as for R4, we will use a CT ratio of 50/5 and a relay tap of 5A for R3 also.

The highest fault current seen by R4 is 301 A. The relay current of R3 and R4 is then

. A 1 . 30 =
50
5
x 301

Therefore 6 =
5
1 . 30
=
p
I
f
I
for both R3 and R4.

IFC-53 tells us the operating time for R4 is 0.135 s.

Therefore for R3 backing-up R4, the back-up time is:

0.135 + 0.3 = 0.435 s.

Settings for relay R2:

Smallest fault current for which R2 must pick up is 238 A. Therefore from backup
protection rule it is:

3 . 79 = 238 x
3
1
. Use a CT ratio of
100
5
. Therefore we have:

. A 4
100
5
x 3 . 79 Therefore we specify a 4.0 tap for R2.

Maximum fault current at bus 3 is 431 A.

17

Therefore the
p
I
f
I
for R3 is going to be equal to 6 . 8 =
5
1
x )
50
5
x 431 ( . The
time-dial setting of R3 is 2. Relay R3 will operate for this fault current in 0.31s.
Therefore R2 must operate while backing up R3 in 0.31+0.3=0.61 s.


p
I
f
I
for R2 while backing up R3 is:

4 . 5 =
4
1
x
100
5
x 431

Therefore the time-dial setting of R2 is 2.6 (for modern numerical relays intermediate
time-dial settings can be obtained easily and is drawn in the figure).

The relay R1 can be set similarly.

7.6 Protection of Loop Systems

Figure 12 shows the one-line diagram of a loop system.


1 2 3 4
A C E B D F
1 2
3
A
C
E
B
D F
(a) (b)


Figure 12: One-line diagram of a loop system. Arrows beside each circuit breaker show
the direction to the fault for which relay will respond. Relays having all arrows pointing
in the same direction around the loop coordinate with each other.

Overcurrent relay is made directional by using an additional directional relay at each
location and arranging outputs of directional and overcurrent units in such a manner that
a logical and operation between their outputs is performed.





18


7.7 Protection of HV and EHV Transmission Lines

In bulk power networks there are no radial or single-loop systems. Generating station and
subtransmission feed points are interconnected to form a network so that no simple loops
can be identified.

In such cases it becomes impossible to coordinate directional overcurrent relays to
provide protection for transmission lines. Impedance relays provide a method for
protecting transmission lines connected in a network. Impedance is proportional to
distance to fault (therefore called as distance relays) and does not depend upon the fault
current levels.

Consider application of directional distance relays for protection of line 1-2 in Figure
13(a).

For relay R12 faults at P
2
, P
3
and P
4
all appear to be at same distance from bus 1; yet
faults at P
3
and P
4
are clearly outside zone of protection of R12. To avoid this basic
problem zone of distance relay is modified as shown for R12 by dashed lines. The single
zone of protection shown by solid line is replaced by two zones (zone 1 and zone 2).
Zone 1 extends a shorter distance than zone shown by solid line and is usually about 80%
of the line length. For faults within this zone, distance relay at bus 1 operates normally
(i.e. as quickly as possible). The shortened zone 1 is commonly known as an
underreaching zone. Zone 2 on the other hand extends beyond line terminal well into
lines connected to remote bus and is said to be an overreaching zone. Relay R12
responds to a zone 2 fault with a time delay so that it may coordinate with R23 and R24.

Similarly zone 1 and zone 2 settings are available for relay R21 at bus 2.

For a fault at P
1
both relays R12 and R21 operate at highest possible speed since this fault
is in zone 1 of both relays. A fault at P
2
is in zone 1 of R21 and consequently breaker B21
will be tripped at high speed. Relay R12 however will not clear fault at high speed since
this fault lies in zone 2 of R12.

After its zone 2 time delay has expired, relay R12 will operate and trip circuit breaker
B12. There is thus a delayed fault clearing from bus 1 while bus2 end is cleared at high
speeds for faults such as P
2
.

Faults at P
3
:

Faults lying in zone 1 of relay R23 will be cleared by B23 at high speed. Relay R12 will
trip breaker B12 at bus 1 to isolate fault in zone-2 time of relay R12 if B23 fails to
operate. The zone-2 clearing time is slower than zone 1 clearing time of relay R23. The
zone-1 operating time is order of 1 cycle. Zone-2 operating time is in the order of 15 and
19

30 cycles. The response time of relays R12, R23 and R24 to their respective zone-1 and
zone-2 faults is shown in Figure 13(b).

Distance relays are also provided with another zone of protection known as their zone 3
to provide remote backup for neighboring lines.

Third zone of a relay must reach beyond longest line emanating from bus at remote end
of its protected line. Third zone of relay R12 must coordinate with zone 2 of relays at bus
2 (R23 and R24).

The co-ordination is by time and distance: zone-2 reach of relay R12 is shorter than zone-
1 reach of relay R23 or R24. Similarly zone-3 reach of relay R12 is shorter than zone-2
reach of R23 and R24. Zone-3 co-ordination order is of 1 s.


1 2
B12 B21
3
4
B23
B24
B32
B42
P
1
P
2
P
3
P
4
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
1 2
3 4
R12
R12
R12
R23
R24
T
2
T
3
O
p
e
r
a
t
i
n
g

t
i
m
e
(a)
(b)

Figure 13: Distance (or impedance) relays. (a) Zone of protection of protection shown by
solid line is replaced by zones 1 and 2 identified by dashed lines. Zone 3 provides backup
protection for neighboring protection systems. (b) Time delay and operating time for R12,
R23 and R24.

Figure 14(a) shows the characteristics of a directional impedance relay in the complex R-
X plane.
20

A straight line called the line impedance locus is shown in the figure. Along this line the
positive sequence impedances of the protected line as seen by the relay between its
location and different points along the protected line can be plotted.

Directional unit of the relay causes separation of the trip and block regions of the relay
characteristics by a line drawn perpendicular to the line impedance locus.

During emergency load-flow conditions when the load is quite high, the impedance seen
by the relay is low and must be checked to make sure that it does not fall within one of
the zone circles of the relay characteristics. To avoid this kind of a problem mho
characteristics as shown in Figure 14(b) can be used.

The centers of zone circles lie on line impedance locus for mho relay.

Note: Radii of zone circles are half of radii of corresponding zone circles of directional
distance relay for same impedances since intersection of a zone circle with the line
impedance locus must still be the impedance of line seen by relay between its location
and the end of zone.


R
X
1
2
3
2
4
Line impedance locus
Line impedance
locus
X
R
1
2
3
2
4
(a)
(b)


Figure 14: Characteristics of (a) Directional impedance relay (b) Mho relay for the
power system configuration shown in figure 13.


This kind of protection is used almost universally to protect transmission lines of a
modern power network. Ground faults are covered by directional time overcurrent relays.
Three-phase and line-to-line faults are covered by distance relays.



21


Example 3 (Designing Impedance Relays)

Consider again portion of a 138 kV transmission system shown in Figure 13(a). Lines 1-2,
2-3 and 2-4 are respectively 64, 64 and 96 km long. Positive-sequence impedance of
transmission lines is 0.05+j0.5/km. Maximum load carried by line 1-2 under emergency
conditions is 50 MVA. Design a three zone distance relaying system to determine for
R12 zone settings which are impedance values in terms of CT and CCVT secondary
quantities.

Note: Zone settings give points on R-X plane through which zone circles of relay
characteristics must pass.

Solution

Positive sequence impedances of the three lines are:

Line 1-2 3.2+j32
Line 2-3 3.2+j32
Line 2-4 4.8+j48

Maximum load current:

A 2 . 209 =
3
10 x 138 x 3
6
10 x 50


Select a CT ratio of 200/5 so that it produces 5 A in the secondary winding under
maximum loading conditions.

System voltage to neutral:

V
3
10 x 67 . 79 =
3
3
10 x 138


Industry standard for CCVT secondary voltage = 67 V.

CCVT ratio: 1 / 1 . 1189 =
67
3
10 x 67 . 79


Impedance measured by the relay:

0336 . 0 x
line
Z =
40 /
p
I
1 . 1189 /
p
V

22


The impedances of the three lines as seen by relay R12:

Line 1-2: 0.11+j1.1
Line 2-3: 0.11+j1.1
Line 2-4: 0.16+j1.6

Assume a 0.8 lagging pf load. Then the load impedance is going to be:

O 7 . 7 j + 2 . 10 = ) 6 . 0 j + 8 . 0 (
)
200
5
( 2 . 209
67
=
load
Z


Zone-1 (underreach) setting of R12:

O 88 . 0 j + 088 . 0 = ) 1 . 1 j + 11 . 0 ( x 8 . 0

Zone-2 has to reach past terminal 2 of line 1-2. Zone-2 has to be set at about 1.2 times the
length of the line 2 to be protected (to allow for various possible inaccuracies). Zone-2
therefore set at

O 32 . 1 j + 13 . 0 = ) 1 . 1 j + 11 . 0 ( x 2 . 1

Zone-3 settings (has to reach beyond the longest line connected to bus 2):

O 02 . 3 j + 302 . 0 = ) 6 . 1 j + 16 . 0 ( x 2 . 1 + ) 1 . 1 j + 11 . 0 (

Directional impedance relay with the characteristics shown in Figure 14(a) can be used.

If the maximum load is too close to the zone-3 settings of the directional impedance relay,
it would be necessary to replace with the mho relay as shown in Figure 14(b). Mho relay
encloses a smaller area of the R-X plane.

7.8 Line Protection with Pilot Relays

In modern EHV systems, delayed clearing of faults for the remote end is unacceptable
because of complex nature of interconnected networks and tighter stability margins.
Therefore high-speed protection for entire line is provided by pilot relaying.

For a fault anywhere on the protected line, directional relays A and B (see Figure 12(a))
see the fault current flowing in the forward direction. This information is communicated
over a pilot communication channel confirming that the fault is indeed on the protected
line. Such a scheme is called a directional comparison pilot scheme.

23

We can also obtain the same performance by comparing the phase angles of fault currents
seen at the two ends of a line and exchanging this phase angle information over the pilot
channel. Such a scheme is known as a phase comparison scheme.

8 References

1. U.D. Annakkage, Lecture Notes on Protection of Power Systems, University of
Auckland, New Zealand.
2. W.D. Stevenson, Elements of Power System Analysis, Fourth Ed., McGraw-
Hill, 1989.
3. Walter A. Elmore, Protective Relaying Theory and Applications, Second
Edition, Marcel Dekker Inc. (On-line book available through library), 2004.