POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION

Fall-2021

Week-02
Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh
Lecturer (EE)
Sukkur IBA University
 Protective Relays
• “A protective relay is a device that detects the fault and initiates the operation
of the circuit breaker to isolate the defective element from the rest of the
system”.

• The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) defines a relay as

‘‘an electric device that is designed to respond to input conditions in a
prescribed manner and, after specified conditions are met, to cause contact
operation or similar abrupt change in associated electric control circuits.’’

• The IEEE defines a protective relay as "a relay whose function is to detect
defective lines or apparatus or other power system conditions of an abnormal
or dangerous nature and to initiate appropriate control circuit action" (IEEE
100, 2000).

• “A relay is a logical element which process the inputs (mostly voltages and
currents) from the system and issues a trip decision if a fault within its
jurisdiction/influence is detected”
Figure: A conceptual diagram of relay
• The relays detect the abnormal conditions in the electrical circuits by
constantly measuring the electrical quantities which are different under normal
and fault conditions.

• The electrical quantities which may change under fault conditions are voltage,
current, frequency and phase angle as shown in Figure.

• Having detected the fault, the relay operates to close the trip circuit of the
breaker. This results in the opening of the breaker and disconnection of the
faulty circuit.
❖Protective relays provide the brains to sense trouble, but as low-
energy devices, they are not able to open and isolate the problem
area of the power system.

❖Circuit breakers and various types of circuit interrupters, including

motor contactors and motor controllers, are used for this and provide
the muscle for fault isolation.

❖Thus, protective relays and circuit breaker-interrupting devices are

a team; both are necessary for the quick isolation of a trouble area or
damaged equipment.
❖A protective relay without a circuit breaker has no basic value except possibly
for alarm. Similarly, a circuit breaker without relays has minimum value, that
being for manually energizing or de-energizing a circuit or equipment.

❖Primary objective of all power systems is to maintain a very high level of

continuity of service, and when intolerable conditions occur, time of outage
should be minimum.

❖Loss of power, voltage dips(rise and fall), and over voltages will occur
,however ,because it is impossible as well as impractical to avoid the
consequences of natural events, Physical accidents, equipment failure, or human
error. Many of these result in faults: unintentional, accidental connections, and
flashovers b/w the phase wires or from the phase wires to ground.
 The protective relays act only after an abnormal or intolerable
condition has occurred, with sufficient indication to permit their
operation. Thus, protection does not mean prevention , but rather,
minimizing the duration of the trouble and limiting the damage,
outage time, and related problems that may result if not.
Fundamental Requirements for a
Protection relaying:
✓ Selectivity
✓ Speed
✓ Sensitivity
✓ Stability
✓ Reliability
✓ Simplicity
✓ Economy
The protection system must have:
Reliability : Assurance that the protection will perform correctly.

Stability : No action on healthy circuits.

Sensitivity : Minimal changes in measured parameter that the system can react to.

Selectivity : Maximum continuity of service with minimum system disconnection.

Speed : Minimum fault duration and consequent equipment damage and system
instability.

Economy: The most important factor in the choice of a particular protection

scheme is the economic aspect.
❑ SELECTIVITY

Only the effected parts of the power system shall be disconnected. This quality
of protective relay is called discrimination. Protection system must discriminate
between healthy and faulty sections of power system.

This can be achieved by two main methods:

1. Time-grading/Current Grading:

▪ Relays are set to operate depending on the time and current characteristics.

2. Unit systems

▪ Current is measured at several points and compared

❑ SENSITIVITY

▪ The protective relay should operate when the magnitude of the current exceeds
the preset value. This value is called pick – up current. Relay should operate
when current value just exceed its pick – up value.

▪ For electromagnetic relays, this was a main design characteristic.

▪ Presently, the sensitivity is determined by the CT/VT and design of the system

❑ STABILITY

▪ The protection system shall not react to non-fault situations.

▪ The protection system must not react to faults in neighboring zones or high load
currents.
❑ RELIABILITY

The protection system must provide its function when required to avoid damage to
equipment, people or property.

▪ Reliability problems stem from

– Incorrect design
– Incorrect installation/testing
– Deterioration

▪ The study of the reliability of a protection system is critical.

▪ A typical value of reliability of a protective scheme is 95%.

❑ SIMPLICITY

• The relaying system should be simple so that it can be easily maintained.

• Reliability is closely related to simplicity. The simpler the protection scheme,

the greater will be its reliability.
❑ SPEED

Faults must be isolated as fast as possible.

▪ Speed is necessary for two main reasons:

1. Maintain stability of the overall power system

2. Reduction of damage to equipment & property

❑ ECONOMY

The most important factor in the choice of a particular protection scheme is the
economic aspect. Sometimes it is economically unjustified to use an ideal scheme of
protection and a compromise method has to be adopted. As a rule, the protective gear
should not cost more than 5% of total cost. However, when the apparatus to be
protected is of utmost importance (e.g., generator, main transmission line etc.),
economic considerations are often subordinated to reliability.
 Classification of Protective Relays
❑ According to construction and technology, relays can be classified as;

1. Electromagnetic Relays pre 1970s

(Electromechanical Relays)
2. Static Relays 1970s
3. Microprocessor Based Relays 1980s to date
(Numerical Relays)
 Electromechanical relays
❖Most of the relays in service on electric power system today are of
electro-mechanical type and can be defined as below.

Definition:

“When the principle of electromechanical energy conversion is used

for decision making, the relay is referred as an electromechanical
relay”.

“It is a conventional relay in which the measurement is performed

by movable parts”.

They work on the following two main operating principles :

✓ Electromagnetic attraction
✓ Electromagnetic induction
❖Electromagnetic-attraction relays operate by having either a
plunger drawn by a solenoid, or an armature drawn to a pole of an
electromagnet. This type of relay will operate from either an ac or a
dc current or voltage source and is used for instantaneous or high-
speed trips.
❖Electromagnetic-induction relays (disk or cup type) use the
principle of induction motor, where torque is developed by induction
into a rotor. This principle is used in a watt-hour meter, where the
rotor is a disk.

❖The actuating force developed on the rotor is a result of the

interaction of the electromagnetic fluxes applied and the flux
produced by eddy currents that are induced in the rotor.

❖ Induction type relays can only be used in ac applications.

❖Time overcurrent and time under/overvoltage relays commonly are
of the disk design, while cup (cylinder) structures are often found in
high-speed overcurrent, directional relays, differential relays, and
distance relays.
❖Electromechanical relays have been used for years and have
established a reputation for simplicity, reliability, security, low
maintenance, and long life.

❖Devices of these types were in common use by 1930s and cost a few
hundred dollars.

❖However, in recent years, solid-state relays are being used

advantageously in some applications.
❖Some of the advantages are lower burden, improved dynamic
performance characteristics, high seismic-withstand capability, and
reduced panel space.

❖Many of the protection functions can be accomplished equally

well by either electromechanical or solid-state relays. The specific
application should dictate which type of relay is used.
Electromagnetic attraction type relays:
Induction type relays:
 Solid State relays
❖Research Began in the 1940’s

❖First Commercial Products in the Late 1950’s

❖Full Development in the 1960’s

❖Advantages Over Electromechanical Relays

 Solid State relays
❖The relays which do not use moving parts and use solid state
electronic components such as diodes, transistors etc. are called
static relays.

❖The circuits such as comparators, level detectors, zero crossing

detectors etc. are used in static relays for measurement and
comparison of electrical quantities.

❖The static relay is designed in such a way that whenever a

quantity under consideration exceeds a particular level, the static
circuit produces a response without any moving parts.
• Solid state relays (static relays) are extremely fast in their
operation. They have no moving parts and have very quick
response time and they are very reliable.

Fig. Small overcurrent relay and the circuit board for a simple static relay.
❖This response is then manipulated and given to a tripping circuit
which may be electronic or electromagnetic.

Basic Elements of a Static Relay

❖The Fig. shows block diagram of a static relay indicating basic

elements.
Input Element

❖The relaying quantity can be the output of C.T. or P.T. or it may

be the output of a transducer or combination of various signals.
Thus, an electronic circuit such as rectifier is required as an input
element to get the input signal in a convenient form before applying
it to a measuring element. Some mixing circuits such as op-amp
adder may also be required as an input element.
Measuring Element
❖This is the heart of static relay. It compares, the output of an input
element with a set value and decides the signal to be applied to
output element which ultimately drives the tripping circuit. Thus,
measuring element is a deciding signal generator. Measuring
element can be a; Single input, Two input or Multi-input device.

Output Element
❖The signals obtained from measuring element are required to be
amplified before applying to the tripping circuit.
❖Thus, output element is an amplifier. Sometimes this element
not only amplifies the signals but multiplies them or combines
them with other signals to delay them.

Feed Element
❖The measuring element uses electronic circuits consisting
transistors, diodes etc. The output element uses transistor as an
amplifier. All these components along with the tripping circuit
require dc supply for proper functioning. The feed element
provides the dc voltage required by various elements.
 Applications of Solid-state Relays:

• Industrial automation, lighting and appliances

• Packaging and tooling machines
• Electronic appliances and Manufacturing equipment
• Test and security systems
• Instrumentation system and Production equipment
• On-board power control
• Traffic control and Elevator control etc.
 Advantages of Static Relays:
1. The moving parts are absent in the control circuit.
2. The burden on current transformers gets considerably reduced thus
smaller C.Ts can be used.
3. The power consumption is very low as most of the circuits are
electronic.
4. The response is very quick.
5. As moving parts are absent, the minimum maintenance is required.
No bearing friction or contact troubles exist.
6. The resetting time can be reduced, and overshoots can be reduced
due to absence of mechanical inertia and thermal storage.
7. The sensitivity is high as signal amplification can be achieved very
easily.
8. As electronic circuits can be used to perform number of functions,
the wide range of operating characteristics can be obtained, which
almost approach to ideal requirements.
9. The low energy levels required in the measuring circuits make the
relays smaller and compact in size.
10. The testing and servicing is simplified.
 Limitations of Static Relays
With various advantages, the static relays also have the following
limitations,
1. The characteristics of electronic components such as transistors,
diodes etc. are temperature dependent. Hence relay characteristics
vary with temperature and ageing.
2. The reliability is unpredictable as it depends on a large number of
small components and their electrical connections.
3. These relays have low short time overload capacity compared to
electromagnetic relays.
4. Additional dc supply is required for various transistor circuits.
5. Susceptible to the voltage fluctuations and transients.
6. Less mechanically robust compared to electromagnetic relays.
 Digital Relay
• Research Began in the 1960’s
• Basic Developments: Early 1970’s
• A Technical and Economic Solution: the Microprocessor
• Commercial Relays: Early 1980
• A digital protective relay is a microcomputer-controlled relay.
• The data acquisition system collects the transducers information and
converts it to the proper form for use by the microcomputer. Information
from CT and PT and other systems is amplified and sampled at several
kHz.
• The sampled signals are digitized with A/D converter and fed to registers
in microprocessor system.
• The microprocessor may use some kind of counting technique or use the
Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) to compare the information with preset
limits for overcurrent , over/under voltage…etc., and then send command
through D/A converter to alarm or trip signals to the circuit breakers.
 Digital Relay Operation

• The relay applies A/D (analog/digital) conversion processes to the incoming

the voltages and currents.

• The relay analyzes the A/D converter output to extract the magnitude of the
incoming quantity (RMS value) using Fourier transform concept. Further, the
Fourier transform is commonly used to extract the signal's phase angle relative
to some reference.

• The digital relay is capable of analyzing whether the relay should trip or
restrain from tripping based on current and/or voltage magnitude (and angle in
some applications)
Figure: Digital relays
 Signal path for Microprocessor Relays

The signal path for voltage and current input signals are shown in Figure
below.

• After the currents and voltages are reduced to acceptable levels by the
instrument transformers, the signals are filtered with an analog filter.

• The signal then digitized and re-filtered with a digital filter.

• Numerical operating quantities are then calculated from the processed

waveforms.
Digital Relay Construction

 Analog Input
Subsystem
 Discrete Input
Subsystem
 A/D Converter
 Microprocessor
 Discrete output
Subsystem
 Operating signaling
and
communication
subsystems
Digital Relay Algorithm
 Digital Relay Advantages
• Low Cost • Protection system (supervised
• Multifunctionality by the relays)
• Protection and control • Sensitivity and Selectivity
• Measurement • New Protection Principles
• Fault recording • New Relay Operating
• Communications capability Characteristics
• Compatibility with Digital • Maintenance-Free
Integrated Systems • Reduced Burden on CTs and
• High Reliability VTs
• Relays (integration, self-testing) • Adaptive Protection
 Numerical Relays
❖The distinction between digital and numerical relay rests on
points of fine technical detail and is rarely found in areas other than
Protection.
❖They can be viewed as natural developments of digital relays as a
result of advances in technology.
❖Typically, they use a specialized digital signal processor (DSP) as
the computational hardware, together with the associated software
tools.
Numerical measurement treatment
Mode of operation
Advantages of numerical technology:
• Comprehensive information supply
• clear representation of the fault sequence

Fault sequence of event and disturbance recording indicate:

• What actually happened ?
• What did the current and voltage signals look like (CT saturation) ?
• When did the protection issue a trip signal ?
• How long did the circuit breaker need to operate ?
• What was the magnitude of the interrupted current ?
• How did the system behave after the circuit breaker tripped ?
Comparison between Electromagnetic vs Computerized Relays
Directional type relays:

Relays based on Timing

Distance type relays:
Differential type relays:
Other type of relays:
 Relay Contact Types.
The standard descriptions of normally open, (NO) and normally closed, (NC)
used to describe how the relays contacts are connected, relay contact
arrangements can also be classed by their actions. Electrical relays can be
made up of one or more individual switch contacts with each "contact"
being referred to as a "pole". Each one of these contacts or poles can be
connected or "thrown" together by energizing the relays coil and this gives
rise to the description of the contact types as being:
SPST - Single Pole Single Throw
SPDT - Single Pole Double Throw
DPST - Double Pole Single Throw
DPDT - Double Pole Double Throw

With the action of the contacts being described as "make" (M) or "break"
(B). Then a simple relay with one set of contacts as shown above can have
a contact description of:
"Single Pole Double Throw - (Break before Make)", or SPDT - (B-M).
Examples of just some of the more common contact types for relays in circuit
or schematic diagrams is given, but there are many more possible
configurations.
Relay Contact Configurations

Where:
C is the Common terminal
NO is the Normally Open contact
NC is the Normally Closed contact
USEFULL CONVERSIONS:
 Assignment
 What are the types of Instrument transformer?
 What is difference between measuring and protective CTs?
 Elaborate working of C.T and P.T?
 What is the burden on C.T?
 What are the errors of C.T?
 What is exact difference among Electromechanical, Solid-state, Digital and
Numerical Relays?
Thank You