Lab No.

BAHRIA UNIVERSITY KARACHI CAMPUS

Department of Electrical Engineering

Power System Protection

LAB EXPERIMENT # 1

Introduction to Power System Protection Lab

OBJECTIVES:

 To understand the power protection devices and their application in power system.

THEORY:

ed face some problems to carry

out tasks in a routine. In
order to help system to carry out
routine tasks, there is a need to
provide protection to
the system.
• The main objective of using
power system protection is to
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ed face some problems to carry

out tasks in a routine. In
order to help system to carry out
routine tasks, there is a need to
provide protection to
the system.
• The main objective of using
power system protection is to
ed face some problems to carry
out tasks in a routine. In
order to help system to carry out
routine tasks, there is a need to
provide protection to
the system.

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• The main objective of using

power system protection is to

Why do we need to study

Power System Protection?
• Any system which is
developed face some problems to
carry out tasks in a routine. In
order to help system to carry out
routine tasks, there is a need to
provide protection to
the system.
• The main objective of using
power system protection is to
isolate the faulty section
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from the system to make the rest

of the portion work without any
disturbance.
• Apart from this, it is used for
the protection of power system
and to block the flow of
fault current.
• It can help in preventing the
continuation of flow by quickly
disconnecting the short
Any system which is developed
face some problems to carry out
tasks in a routine. In

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order to help system to carry out

routine tasks, there is a need to
provide protection to
the system.
• The main objective of using
power system protection is to
isolate the faulty section
from the system to make the rest
of the portion work without any
disturbance.
• Apart from thi
Importance of Power System Protection
Any system which is developed face some problems to carry out tasks in a routine. In order to help
system to carry out routine tasks, there is a need to provide protection to the system.
The main objective of using power system protection is:
 To isolate the faulty section from the system to make the rest of the portion work without any
disturbance.
 Apart from this, it is used for the protection of power system and to block the flow of fault
current.
 It can help in preventing the continuation of flow by quickly disconnecting the short circuit.

Power System Elements

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The main Elements of Power

Systems are as following
• Generating units (Water, solar,
Thermal, Wind, nuclear etc.)
• Bus Bars
• Transformers
• Transmission Lines
• Protection devices
• Measuring Devices
• FACT Devices
• Loads
The main Elements of Power Systems are as following
 Generating units (Water, solar, Thermal, Wind, nuclear etc.)
 Bus Bars
 Transformers
 Transmission Lines
 Protection devices
 Measuring Devices
 FACT Devices
 Loads

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Protection devices used in Power System

Protection devices used for Power systems are as following:
 Fuses
 Relays
 Circuit Breakers
 Isolators
 Instrument Transformers
 DC Supply System

Fuses
A fuse is an electrical safety device built around a conductive strip that is designed to melt and
separate in the event of excessive current. Fuses are always connected in series with the
components to be protected from overcurrent, so that when the fuse blows (opens) it will open the
entire circuit and stop current through the components. A fuse connected in one branch of a
parallel circuit, of course, would not affect current through any of the other branches.

Figure 1: Working of Fuse

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Fuses can be divided into two main categories according to the type of input supply voltage.
 AC fuses
 DC fuses
In a DC system, when the metallic wire melts because of the heat generated by the over current,
then Arc is produced and it is very difficult to extinguish this arc because of DC constant value.
So in order to minimize the fuse arcing, DC fuse are little bigger than an AC fuse which increases
the distance between the electrodes to reduce the arc in the fuse.
On the other hand, i.e. in the AC system, voltage with 60Hz or 50Hz frequency changes its
amplitude from zero to 60 times every second, so arc can be extinct easily as compared to DC.
Therefore, AC fuses are a little bit small in sizes as compared to DC fuses.
Fuses are always supposed to be placed on the “hot” side of the load in systems that are
grounded. The intent of this is for the load to be completely de-energized in all respects after the
fuse opens. To see the difference between fusing the “hot” side versus the “neutral” side of a
load, compare these two circuits:

Figure 1.2 Placement of Fuse

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Relays
A relay is an electromagnetic switch operated by a relatively small electric current that can turn
on or off a much larger electric current. The heart of a relay is an electromagnet (a coil of wire
that becomes a temporary magnet when electricity flows through it).
Working
Figure 1.3 shows the basic working of an electromagnetic relay. On the left side, there's an input
circuit powered by a switch or a sensor of some kind. When this circuit is activated, it feeds
current to an electromagnet that pulls a metal switch closed and activates the second, output
circuit (on the right side). The relatively small current in the input circuit thus activates the larger
current in the output circuit:

(a) (b)
Figure 1.3 Working of an Electromagnetic Relay

In figure 1.3a input circuit is switched off and no current flows through it until something (either
a sensor or a switch closing) turns it on. The output circuit (red loop) is also switched off.
When a small current flows in the input circuit shown in figure 1.3b, it activates the
electromagnet, which produces a magnetic field all around it. The energized electromagnet pulls
the metal bar in the output circuit toward it, closing the switch and allowing a much bigger
current to flow through the output circuit. The output circuit operates a high-current appliance
such as a lamp or an electric motor.

Type of Relays
Following are some types of relays used in a substation:
 Differential Relay
 Over Current Relay
 Earth Fault Relay

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 Tripping Relay
 Auxiliary Relay
 Buchholz Relay
 Distance Relay

Circuit Breaker
A circuit breaker is a switching device that interrupts the abnormal or fault current. It is a
mechanical device that disturbs the flow of high magnitude (fault) current and in additions
performs the function of a switch. The circuit breaker is mainly designed for closing or opening
of an electrical circuit, thus protects the electrical system from damage.
Working
Circuit breaker essentially consists of fixed and moving contacts. These contacts are touching
each other and carrying the current under normal conditions when the circuit is closed. When the
circuit breaker is closed, the current carrying contacts, called the electrodes, engaged each other
under the pressure of a spring.
During the normal operating condition, the arms of the circuit breaker can be opened or closed for
a switching and maintenance of the system. To open the circuit breaker, only a pressure is
required to be applied to a trigger.

Figure 1.4 Basic Circuit Breaker Operation

Whenever a fault occurs on any part of the system, the trip coil of the breaker gets energized and
the moving contacts are getting apart from each other by some mechanism, thus opening the
circuit.
Types of Circuit Breakers
Following are some types of circuit breakers used in a substation:
 Oil Circuit Breaker

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This type of circuit breaker is one of the oldest types of circuit breaker among the other.
The construction and architecture of the oil circuit were very simple and it consists of the
combination of water and oil that filled the two wooden barrels.
 Air Circuit Breaker
Air Circuit Breaker also known as ACB is the type of circuit breaker that works at the
high atmospheric pressure of the air. ACB is developed after the oil circuit breaker and
replaced the oil circuit breaker completely for medium voltage level. ACB can be chosen
and more preferred until the rating of ACB up to 15kV. To avoid the risk of fire by oil, the
ACB is a good choice.
 SF6 Circuit Breaker
This type of circuit breaker using gas that known as sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). This type
of circuit is high voltage circuit breaker due to the excellent to quench the arc and
isolation properties. So that, it is widely used as a protection in high voltage. This gas was
selected because of the characteristics of this gas that has high electro-negativity.
 Vacuum Circuit Breaker
The vacuum circuit breaker is also known as the VCB is one of the circuit breakers that
categories in the medium voltage level. The operation of this circuit breaker has a
different principle from other circuit breakers. The arc quenching takes place in a vacuum.
The opening and closing the contact and related arc interference take place in a vacuum
chamber known as a vacuum interrupter.

Isolators
Electrical isolator which is commonly known as isolator or disconnector is a piece of equipment
that is used in electric devices and power systems with the main function of effectively isolating
two different parts of an instrument. By definition, isolation is the process of complete separation
of various parts of an apparatus and this separation can either be physical or electrical or both. If a
fault occurs in one section of a circuit or power supply then electrical isolator is used as a switch
to keep apart that section from other sections of system to perform repair work. Isolators also
ensure safety of workers in regular maintenance and service of the power system. Isolators
separate a certain circuit from the electricity mains and discharge any residual current, left in the
circuit, to the ground.

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Working
Working of an isolator is very simple and it can be operated in various ways such as fully-
automatic, semi-automatic or manually operated. Isolator are sometimes used as switches that can
be opened or closed based on the requirement. But many times, isolator are used permanently in a
fixed position to keep isolation such as in electrical transmission lines, transformers.

Figure 1.5 Isolators on a Transmission Line

Figure 1.5 shows isolators being used as insulators in transmission lines to isolate transmission
tower from the conductor. And here isolators are particularly useful in eliminating grounding
loops, such as lowering the risk of accidental paths for electric current to flow towards the
ground.
Isolator switches, in particular, are used in power grids and substations to efficiently isolate very
high voltage apparatuses such as transformers and circuit-breakers when they are due for
maintenance. Commonly used isolators are not intended to stop current during a fault or eliminate
high voltage arcs, which occur due to disturbance in electric conductors. In high-voltage power
systems, isolators are use in conjunction with circuit breakers to provide an extra layer of safety.
First circuit breaker is opened which disconnects the circuit then isolator is also opened. And for
the reverse process, first isolator is closed then circuit breaker is closed and circuit is reconnected.

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Types of Isolators
Depending upon the position in power system, the Isolators are categorized into following three
types according to their placement in the power system.
 Bus side isolator: It directly connects to the main bus
 Transfer bus side isolator: It directly connects to the transfer bus.
 Line side isolator: It is generally located at line side of the feeder

Instrument Transformer
The instrument transformer can be classified into:
 Current transformer (CT)
 Potential transformer (PT)

Current Transformer (CT)

A current transformer (C.T.) is an instrument transformer which is used for the protection and
measurement purposes in a power system. The C.T. is primarily used to measure high alternating
currents in a power system.

Working
The potential transformer is connected in parallel with the circuit. The primary windings of the
potential transformer are directly connected to the power circuit whose voltage is to be measured.
The secondary terminals of the potential transformer are connected to the measuring instrument
like the voltmeter, wattmeter, etc.The secondary windings of the potential transformer are
magnetically coupled through the magnetic circuit of the primary windings.

Figure 1.6 Three phase current transformer connection

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The secondary winding of a current transformer should never be left open. When the current is
flowing in the primary winding of a current transformer, its secondary winding should never be
open circuited. When the current flows through the primary winding, a current also flows through
the secondary winding and the MMF produced by each winding is equal and opposite.
Then, opening of the secondary winding under normal operation removes the opposing MMF
produced by the secondary and allows the magnetic flux in the core of CT to reach a value that is
determined only by the primary MMR. As a result of it, the flux in the core is greatly increased
which leads the following harmful effects:
 The increased flux may saturate the magnetic core of CT which can leave the CT with a
large value of residual flux and will seriously impair the accuracy in future.
 The flux in the core increases at a very high rate inducing a large voltage in the open
circuited secondary winding of the current transformer. This high voltage may be
sufficient to cause a danger to life and breakdown of the insulation.

Application
Some of the important applications of current transformers are as follows:
 The current transformers are used in measurement of high alternating currents in the
power system.
 The current transformers are used in the power system protection applications such as to
activate the protection relays.

Potential Transformer (PT)

The potential transformer may be defined as an instrument transformer used for the
transformation of voltage from a higher value to the lower value. This transformer step down the
voltage to a safe limit value which can be easily measured by the ordinary low voltage instrument
like a voltmeter, wattmeter and watt-hour meters, etc.

Working
The potential transformer is connected in parallel with the circuit. The primary windings of the
potential transformer are directly connected to the power circuit whose voltage is to be measured.
The secondary terminals of the potential transformer are connected to the measuring instrument like

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the voltmeter, wattmeter, etc. The secondary windings of the potential transformer are magnetically
coupled through the magnetic circuit of the primary windings.

Figure 1.7 Connection of Potential Transformer

Applications of Potential Transformer

 It is used for a metering purpose.
 For the protection of the feeders.
 For protecting the impedance of the generators.
 For synchronising the generators and feeders.
The potential transformers are used in the protecting relaying scheme because the potential coils
of the protective device are not directly connected to the system in case of the high voltage.
Therefore, it is necessary to step down the voltage and also to insulate the protective equipment
from the primary circuit.
Power transformer can never be short circuited as PT is a "step-down transformer" that steps
down voltage from a very high voltage level (220kV,) to a lower level (220V). Since, the power
(P=VI) in a transformer (input and output) is same, the current rises to a very high level. Thus, a
very high resistance is maintained at the secondary terminal to limit the current (which appears as
open circuit). Short circuiting the secondary would burn out the windings.

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Power System Distribution Network Topologies

An electric power distribution system can be classified according to its feeder connection schemes or
topologies as follows

 Radial
 Parallel feeders
 Ring main
 Meshed systems

1. Radial
Many distribution systems operate using a radial feeder system. A typical radial feeder system is
shown schematically in Figure 1.3. Radial feeders are the simplest and least expensive, both to
construct and for their protection system.
This advantage however is offset by the difficulty of maintaining supply in the event of a fault
occurring in the feeder. A fault would result in the loss of supply to a number of customers until the
fault is located and cleared. The next level of reliability is given by a ‘parallel feeder’ system.

Figure 1.3 Radial feeder system

2. Parallel feeders
A greater level of reliability at a higher cost is achieved with a parallel feeder. A typical parallel
feeder system is shown schematically in Figure 1.4. In the event of a line fault  only one of the

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feeder sets of cables will be affected, thus allowing the remaining parallel feeder to continue to
supply the load.
To improve the reliability factor it may be possible to have the separate sets of cables follow
different routes. In this case the capital cost is double that of a radial feeder but there is a greater
reliability factor for the line. This may be justified if the load is higher, more customers are being
supplied, or there are loads such as hospitals which require high levels of reliability.
Parallel feeders are more common in urban areas or for feeders to large single customers, where
load shedding in an emergency may be possible.

Figure 1.4 Parallel feeder system

3. Ring Main
A similar level of system reliability to that of the parallel arrangement can be achieved by using ring
main feeders. This usually results from the growth of load supplied by a parallel feeder where the
cabling has been installed along different routes. These are most common in urban and industrial
environments.
Whilst the start and finish ends of the ring are at the same location, power is delivered by both
pathways of the ring into substations located around the ring. Should a fault occur on a feeder cable
at any point around the ring the faulty section may be isolated by the operation of the protecting
circuit breakers, at the same time maintaining supply to all substations on the ring.
In typical urban / suburban ring main arrangements, the open ring is operated manually, and loss of
supply restored by manual switching.
Current practice is to use distribution automation, where operation and supply restoration in the
feeder rings is done automatically by centrally controlled supervisory systems.
This gives the advantages of ring main systems as line voltage drops are reduced at the various load
substations there is a ‘firm’ supply (i.e. an alternative path is available if the primary one fails) to
each load substation.

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Figure 1.5 A ring main feeder system

4. Meshed Systems
In transmission and sub-transmission systems, usually parallel, ring or interconnected (mesh)
systems are used. This ensures that alternative supply can be made to customers in the event of
failure of a transmission line or element. The extra expense can be justified because of the much
greater load and number of customers that are affected by failure of lines at transmission or sub-
transmission levels.
The general rule is that where large loads or numbers of customers are involved, then some form of
standby, in the form of deliberate redundancy, is built into the network design, through the use of
parallel, meshed or ring type feeders.

Figure 1.6 Meshed systems

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Only in outer rural areas would one consider using only radial supply at a sub-transmission level.
On the other hand, simple radial supply is almost universally used for low voltage (400V)
feeders, even in urban areas, because they supply relatively few customers.
Task:
Perform simulation and analysis of power system distribution network topologies which are
above mentioned either on MATLAB simulink, PowerFactory or ETAP.

Conclusion:

Questions:

What is Difference between fuse and relay?

Difference Between fuses and Circuit Breaker?
What is function of DC Batteries on a substation?
What is Isolator and why it is used?
What is difference between Potential and Voltage Transformer?
What is difference between Potential and Power Transformer?
What is difference between Power and Auto Transformer?
What is difference between Potential and Voltage Transformer?
What is difference between Potential and Power Transformer?
What is difference between Power and Auto Transformer?

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Lab Assessment Rubric # 1

Needs Total
Category Excellent 8 Good 6 Satisfactory 4
improvement 2 (40)
Clearly describes the Adequately Describes the Cannot describe
objectives of lab. describes the objectives but the objectives of
Understands objectives, but misses some the lab, or what
Objectives and possible sources of cannot discuss details. Cannot was learnt,
Results errors and their possible sources discuss possible sources of errors
effects. Suggests of errors and sources of error or and their effects
ways to minimize their effects their effects
them.
Circuit works Circuit performs Circuit performs Circuit does not
perfectly. All wires most the but output not give any output.
Circuit are attached. / Code functions, gives exactly as Most wires are
implementatio works perfectly output. / Code expected. Some not connected/
n/ software gives some connections not code not
coding errors done/ code gives compiled/ many
some correct errors
output
Can clearly identify Adequately Describe the Cannot describe
the problems and identify the problem but the problem and
take steps to fix problems and cannot suggest has no effective
Trouble them. Uses an steps taken to fix steps on how to strategy on how
Shooting effective strategy to them. Uses an solve them. to solve them.
solve problems effective strategy Trouble shooting
but misses some is not consistent.
details
Detailed results are Adequate results Some missing Most results are
Measurements shown for each step. are shown. 80% observations. 70% missing. Only
and 100% measurements measurements results are correct 30%
Observations are correct are correct measurements
are correct
Thorough Good Limited Shows incorrect
understanding of the understanding of understanding of understanding of
concepts underlying the concepts, the concepts. the concept.
the lab. Can apply it however, cannot Cannot apply to Cannot find any
Conclusions
in real life situations apply them in real life situations usage of the
real life and suggest any knowledge.
situations use of the Cannot describe
knowledge what was learnt.

Lab No: 1 Total Marks: 40 Marks Obtained:

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Signature:

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