Unit-II (EEE 333N)

POWER SYSTEM
PROTECTION SCHEMES

Afroz Alam
Assistant Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
AMU, Aligarh
Generator Protection
Components of a Power Plant
Introduction
 In a generating station, the generator and transformer are
the most expensive equipments.
 It is desirable to employ a protective system to isolate the
faulty equipment as quickly as possible to keep the
healthy section in normal operation and to ensure
uninterrupted power supply.
 The basic electrical quantities which are likely to
change during abnormal fault conditions are current,
voltage, phase angle and frequency .
 Protective relays utilizes one or more of these quantities
to detect abnormal conditions in a power system.
Stator protection
Stator faults include the following:
 Phase-to-earth faults
 Phase-to-phase faults
 Inter-turn faults
Phase faults and inter-turn faults are less common.
These usually develop into an earth fault. This causes,
• Arcing to core
• Damage of conductor and insulation
Differential Protection of Generator
Differential Protection of Generator (Contd.)
 CTs are provided at each end of the generator
winding which is to be protected.
 When there is no any fault, the differential current
(I1-I2) through the relay is zero. So the relay will
not operate.
 When the fault occurs, the balance is disturbed and
differential current (I1-I2) flows through the
operating coil of the relay causing relay operation
and the trip circuit of the circuit breaker is closed.
Biased Differential Protection
 Due to the difference in the magnetising currents of the
CTs on the two sides of the generator, the current through
the operating coil will not be zero even under normal
operating conditions or during external fault conditions.
 To provide stability on external faults, bias coils
(restraining coils) are provided.
 The relay is set to operate, not at a definite current but at
a certain percentage of the through current.
 To obtain the required amount of biasing, a suitable ratio
of the restraining coil turns to operating coil turns is
provided.
Biased Differential Protection (Contd.)
Modified Differential Protection
 Generally, protection is made for 80 to 85% of the
winding.
 If any fault occurs near the neutral point then the fault
current is very small and relay does not operate.
 Modified differential protection scheme is used to
overcome this.
 Two phase elements (PC and PA) and balancing
resistor (BR) is connected in star and the earth
relay (ER) is connected between the star point and
neutral pilot wire.
Modified Differential Protection (Contd.)
Restricted or Balanced Earth Fault
Protection
 In case of small size generators, star point is not
available because it is made inside the generator
and grounded through some low resistance, then
percentage differential relay for ground fault is
provided and is known as restricted earth fault
protection.
 This scheme can be used only for ground faults but
not for phase faults.
Restricted or Balanced Earth Fault
Protection (Contd.)
Stator Inter-turn Fault Protection
 Inter-turn fault on the same phase of the stator
winding cannot be detected by differential
protection as it does not disturb the balance
between the currents in neutral and high voltage
CTs.
 For protection against inter-turn faults, the
following protection schemes are used.
(1) Cross differential protection.
(2) Residual voltage protection.
Cross Differential Protection
Cross Differential Protection
(Contd.)
 Used in case of hydroelectric generator having
double winding armature.
 As shown in figure on the previous slide, relay Rc
provides protection against phase to ground and
phase to phase fault.
 The relay R1 provides protection against inter-turn
faults.
Residual voltage protection
Residual voltage protection (Contd.)
 This method is used in case of alternators not
having parallel stator windings.
 During normal operations,
VRES=VRN+VBN+VYN = 0.
 In case of fault, VRES is not equal to zero and this
residual voltage operates the relay.
Rotor faults
 Faults in the rotor circuit may be either earth faults
or between the turns of the field winding .
 Field circuits are normally operated un-earthed. So
a single earth fault will not affect its operation. But
when a second fault arises then field winding is
short circuited and produces unsymmetrical field
system which leads to unbalanced forces on rotor
and results in excess pressure and bearing and shaft
distortion.
Rotor Earth Fault Protection
 The rotor earth fault protection is done by “dc
injection method or ac injection method”.
 The dc or ac voltage is impressed between the field
circuit and ground through a sensitive overvoltage
relay and current limiting resistor or capacitor(in
case of ac).
 But dc source is generally used as over-current
relay in case of dc which is more sensitive than ac.
 A single earth fault in rotor circuit will complete
the path and the fault is sensed by the relay.
Rotor Earth Fault Protection
(Contd.)
Rotor Temperature Alarm
Rotor Temperature Alarm (Contd.)
 It is provided in large generators.
 It indicates the level of temperature.
 The relay measures the temperature by measuring
the resistance.(as shown in the figure of the
previous slide)
Loss of Excitation Protection
 When the excitation of generator is lost it operate
as an Induction generator.
 It derives excitation from the system and supply
power at leading power factor, which may cause:
(1) A fall in voltage & so loss of synchronism &
system instability.
(2) Over heating of rotor due to induction current
on it.
 A protection having MHO characteristic is used to
detect loss of field.
Over Voltage Protection
 Over voltage may be caused due to ;
(1) Transient over voltage in the transmission line due to
lightening.
(2) Defective operation of the voltage regulator.
(3) Sudden loss of load due to line tripping.
 The protection is provided with an over voltage relay. It
is usually of induction pattern with an IDMT
Characteristic.
Overload Protection
 Overloading of the machine causes overheating in
the stator winding.
 This can be prevented by using over-current relay
with time delay adjustment.
 Overheating not only depends on over-current but
also on the failure of the cooling system in the
generator.
 So, temperature detector coils such as thermistors
or thermocouples are used at various points in
stator winding for indication of the temperature.
Reverse Power Protection
 When prime-mover fails machine starts motoring
and draws electrical power from the system and
this is known as inverted operation .
 The generator can be protected from inverted
operation by using single-element directional
power relay (reverse power relay) which senses the
direction of power flow.
Negative Phase Sequence Protection
 Unbalance may cause due to single phase fault or
unbalanced loading and it gives rise to negative
sequence current .
 This current in rotor causes rotor overheating and
damage to the rotor.
 This can be protected by negative sequence current
filter with over current relay.
Negative Phase Sequence
Protection (Contd.)
Protection of Power
Transformer
Differential Protection Scheme

 This scheme is employed for the protection of

transformers against internal short circuits. It provides
the best overall protection for internal faults.
 It compares the current entering the transformer with the
current leaving the transformer.
If they are equal there is no fault inside the zone of
protection.
If they are not equal it means that a fault occurs
between the two ends.
Differential Protection of Transformer

Ip - primary rated current of transformer

Is - secondary current of transformer
CT of ratio Ip/1 A at primary side and
CT of ratio Is/1 A at secondary side of the transformer.
Differential Protection of Transformer (Contd.)

 The secondaries of these both CTs are connected

together in such a manner that secondary currents
of both CTs will oppose each other.
 In other words, the secondaries of both CTs should
be connected to same current coil of differential
relay in such an opposite manner that there will be
no resultant current in that coil in normal working
condition of the transformer.
Differential Protection of Transformer (Contd.)

 If any major fault occurs inside the transformer, the

normal ratio of the transformer is disturbed and
hence, secondary currents of both sides of the
transformer will not remain the same and the
resultant current will flow through the current coil
of the differential relay, which will actuate the relay
and trip both the primary and secondary circuit
breakers.
 To correct phase shift of current because of star –
delta connection of transformer winding in case of
three phase transformer, the current transformer
secondaries should be connected in delta and star.
Protection Against Incipient Faults
INCIPIENT FAULTS: Faults which are not serious at
the beginning but slowly develops into serious faults
are known as incipient faults.
Buchholz Relay
 It is a gas actuated relay.
 When a fault develops slowly, it produces heat
thereby decomposing solid or liquid insulating
material in the transformer.
 The decomposition of the insulating material
produces inflammable gases.
 When a specified amount of gas is formed, the
Buchholz relay gives an alarm. The analysis of the
gas collected in the relay chamber indicates the type
of the incipient fault.
Buchholz Relay (Contd.)
To accommodate Buchholz relay, there is a chamber in
between the transformer tank and the conservator. The
Buchholz relay is a slow acting device. The minimum
operating time is 0.1 s and the average time is 0.2 s.
Buchholz Relay (Contd.)
 The Buchholz relay also has another set of contacts
operated by a float. These contacts stay open when
the transformer tank is filled with oil. However, in
case of leakage of oil or decomposition of oil, the
float sinks causing the contacts to close.

 Loss of oil will no doubt cause the transformer

temperature to rise but does not warrant immediate
tripping. Hence, normally these contacts are wired to
an alarm which alerts the operator.
Need of Restricted Earth Fault Protection
 A percentage differential relay has a certain
minimum value of pick up for internal faults.
Faults with current below this value are not
detected by the relay.

 Winding-to-core faults, which are single phase to

ground type, involving high resistance, fall in this
category.

 Therefore, for such type of faults RESTRICTED

EARTH FAULT PROTECTION is used.
Restricted Earth Fault Protection
Restricted Earth Fault Protection (Contd.)
 The CT connected to the neutral of transformer is called
Neutral Current Transformer (NCT).

 An external fault in the star side will result in current

flowing in the line CT of the affected phase and at the same
time a balancing current flows in the NCT, hence the
resultant current in the relay is therefore zero. So this REF
relay will not be actuated for external earth fault.

 During internal fault, the NCT only carries the unbalance

fault current and operation of Restricted Earth Fault
Relay takes place. This scheme of REF protection is very
sensitive for internal earth fault of electrical power
transformer.
Restricted Earth Fault Protection (Contd.)
 The protection scheme is comparatively cheaper than the
differential protection scheme.

 Restricted earth fault protection is provided in power

transformer for sensing internal earth fault of the
transformer. In this scheme the CT secondary of each phase
of power transformer are connected together.

 The common terminals are connected to the secondary of a

NCT.
Over Current Protection
 In an over current relay, there would be essentially
a current coil.
 When normal current flows through this coil, the
magnetic effect generated by the coil is not
sufficient to move the moving element of the relay,
as in this condition the restraining force is greater
than deflecting force.
Over Current Protection (Contd.)
 When the current through the coil is
increased, the magnetic effect increases, and
after certain level of current, the deflecting
force generated by the magnetic effect of the
coil, crosses the restraining force. As a
result, the moving element starts moving to
change the contact position in the relay.
Protection Against Overfluxing
 The magnetic flux increases when voltage
increases. This results in increased iron loss and
magnetizing current. The core and core bolts gets
heated and the lamination insulation is affected.

 Protection against overfluxing is required where

overfluxing due to sustained overvoltage can occur.
The reduction in frequency also increases the flux
density and thus has the same effect of overfluxing.
Protection Against Overfluxing (Contd.)
The expression for flux in a transformer is
given by

Φ = K E/f
Where
Φ = flux E = applied voltage
f = frequency K is a constant.

To control flux, the ratio E/ f is controlled.

When the ratio exceeds a threshold value, it has
to be detected.
Protection Against Overfluxing (Contd.)
Electronic circuits with suitable relays are available to
measure this ratio. Overfluxing does not require high
speed tripping and hence instantaneous operation is
undesirable when momentary disturbances occur. But
the transformer should be isolated in one or two
minutes at the most if overfluxing persists.
What is a bus bar?
 Bus is derived from
Latin word
“OMNIBUS”
(common for all)
 Nerve center of the
power system
where various
circuits are
connected together.
Protective Zones
Need For Bus Bar Protection
 Minimizing damage at fault location.

 Maintaining system stability.

 Localizing isolation to avoid wide spread disruption.

 Delayed clearance create shock to inter connected

equipment like Generator shaft and windings of
Transformer.
Requirement Of Bus Bar Protection
 High speed operation

 Selectivity – shall isolate the faulty bus bar only

 Stability – stable for through faults up to 40 kA fault level

 Reliability – should be high

 Applicable for any type of bus bar protection

 Shall provide zone indication

Requirement Of Bus Bar Protection (Contd.)
 Continuous supervision for CT secondaries against any possible
open circuit.

 In case of detection of any Open Circuiting of CT secondary,

after a time delay, the affected zone of protection shall be
rendered (provided) in-operative and an alarm will be
initiated.
Recommendations For Providing Bus Bar Protection
 Bus bar protection must be provided in all Substations as well as
Generation Switch Yards

 For existing substations, provision of bus bar protection is considered

a must at 400 kV level and for 220 kV level it is essential at substations
having multiple feed.

 In case of radially fed 220 kV substations, having more than one bus, it
is desirable to have bus bar protection but is not a must.
Differential Relay Principle
Bus bar protection relays work on the differential principle i.e.
comparing the currents entering and leaving a protected object.
If those currents matches, the protected object is assumed to be in
healthy condition and relay remains stable (non operating) . If there is a
difference in magnitude of currents, it is assumed that there is some
internal fault and the differential relay operates.
C.T C.T

Protected object

Differential
Relay
Differential Protection of Bus Bar
Differential Protection of Bus Bar (Contd.)
 The bus bar is fed by a generator and supplies load
to two lines.
 Secondaries of CT in the generator lead, in line 1 &
2 are all connected in parallel.
 The protective relay is connected across this
parallel connection.
 When a fault occurs, the fault current upsets the
balance and produces a differential current to
operate the relay.
Differential Protection of Bus Bar (Contd.)
Simple Current Differential Circuit with Bus Fault
Simple Current Differential Circuit with Close in Line Fault
Typical Instantaneous Over-current Relay
Single Bus Bar Protection (Healthy condition)
Current
entering
the bus

S P2
2 BUSBAR
ZONE

S P1
1

87 Busbar

S P1
1

P2

Under healthy condition, the current entering S

2
the bus bar and leaving the bus bar will be same
and the CT secondary current circulates through Current
leaving
the secondaries. No current flows through the the bus
relay. Hence the relay will remain restrained
(non operating).
Single Bus Bar Protection (fault within bus)
Current
entering
to the bus

S P2
2 BUSBAR
ZONE

S P1
1
Busbar
87

S P1
1

P2
S
2

Under faulty condition all remote bus

bars feed into fault and the direction Current
enters
of CT secondary currents become from the
remote
additive and flow though the relay. bus
Single Bus Bar Protection scheme

K
BUSBAR
ZONE
Relay
(R) 87

B C

A D

 Here, in the figure above we assume that at normal condition feed, A, B, C & D carry
currents IA, IB, IC and ID . Now, according to Kirchhoff's current law, at node K, IA +
IB+ IC+ID = 0
 So, it is clear that under normal condition there is no current flowing through the bus
bar protection tripping relay.
 Now, say fault is occurred at any of the feeders, outside the protected zone. In that
case, the faulty current will pass through primary of the CT of that feeder. This fault
current is contributed by all other feeders connected to the bus. So, contributed part of
fault current flows through the corresponding CT of respective feeder. Hence at that
faulty condition, if we apply KCL at node K, we will still get, iR = 0.
Single Bus Bar Protection Scheme (Contd.)

 When fault is occurred on the bus itself. The fault current is

contributed by all feeders connected to the bus. Hence, at this
condition, sum of all contributed fault current is equal to total
fault current. The sum of all secondary currents is no longer
zero. It is equal to secondary equivalent of fault current.
 So at this condition, current starts flowing through 87 relay
and it makes trip the circuit breaker corresponding to all the
feeders connected to this section of the bus bar.
 As all the incoming and outgoing feeders connected to this
section of bus are tripped, the bus becomes dead.
 This differential bus bar protection scheme is also referred as
current differential protection of bus bar.
 Double Bus Bar system

Double bus system consists of two number of buses (Bus1 & Bus2 ) separated
by a bus coupler.
 Double Bus Bar Protection Scheme
(explained step-by-step)

Feeder #1 100 A Feeder #2

100 A

Bus #1 Bus #2
87-1
87-2
Bus
Coupler
Bus bar Bus bar
Protection Open Protection
Relay Bus-1 Relay Bus-2
100 A 100 A

T/F #1 T/F #2

Two number of bus bar protection relays are required for protection of the double bus system,
one for each bus. The relays will remain stable as long as the bus coupler CB is open.
 Bus coupler closed condition
Feeder #1 200 A Feeder #2

Feeder #2 CB
open
Bus #1 Bus #2
87-1
87-2
100 A Bus
Coupler
Bus bar closed Bus bar
Protection Protection
Relay Bus-1 Relay Bus-2
100 A
100 A

T/F #1 T/F #2

When bus coupler CB is closed and feeder #2 is in switched-off condition, all the load current is
coming through feeder #1. There will be unbalance current in the relays and both relays will
operate. Hence, the bus coupler shall also be included in the protection scheme.
 Bus Coupler CTs
Feeder #1 200 A Feeder #2

Feeder #2 CB
open

Bus #1 100 A 100 A Bus #2

87-1
87-2
Bus
Coupler
Bus bar closed Bus bar
Protection Protection
Relay Relay
Bus-1 Bus-2
100 A 100 A

T/F #1 T/F #2

When the bus coupler bay is included in the bus bar protection scheme, the
relays will remain stable during normal condition and external fault.
 Fault at bus coupler
Feeder #1 Feeder #2

Bus bar -1 Bus bar -2

Protection Zone Bus Protection Zone
Coupler
fault
Bus #1 Bus #2
87-1
87-2

Bus bar
Bus bar
Protection
Protection
Relay fault Relay
100 A Bus-2
Bus-1

T/F #1 T/F #2

In case of a fault in bus bar, heavy fault current flows but bus coupler CB is not covered by any bus bar
protection zones. So the bus bar protection relays will not operate. So the scheme needs modification.
 Overlapping of Zones
Feeder #1 Feeder #2

Bus bar -1 Bus bar -2

Protection Zone Protection Zone

Bus
Bus #1 Coupler Bus #2
87-1
87-2

Bus bar Bus bar

Protection Protection
Relay Relay
Bus-1 Bus-2

T/F #2
T/F #1

Now the protection zones of Bus-1 and Bus-2 overlaps to include the bus
coupler CB, So both relays operates for a fault in the bus coupler bay.
 Check Zone Relay
Check Relay
Protection Zone

Bus #1 Bus #2
87- 87-1 87-2
CH Bus
Coupler

87 CH- Check Zone

Relay
T/F #1 T/F #2

The figure above shows double bus bar protection scheme with a check zone relay.
Check Zone Relay (Contd.)
 For a double bus bar arrangement, two different high
impedance units are required. In this case, the current must be
switched between the two different measuring units by
connecting auxiliary switches to the bus bar isolator contacts.
 In some cases the auxiliary switches do not operate correctly.
This causes the bus bar protection to trip the bus bar. For this
reason, a safety precaution is introduced.
 Check zone is a safety precaution to avoid tripping of bus bars
due to defective CT switching relays.

Double bus system consists of 2 bus differential and a

check zone relay.
Feeder Protection
What is a Feeder?
 Feeders are the overhead lines or cables that transfer the
power from source end to the distribution end to
distribute the load to the customers.
 To have an uninterrupted power supply for consumers,
feeders need to be protected from various faults using
different schemes.
 This is an electrical supply line either overhead or
underground which runs from the substation through
various paths ending with the transformers.
 They interconnect substations.
What is a Feeder? (Contd.)
 The word Feeder may be referred as the
connecting link between the two circuits. The
feeder could be in the form of transmission line
that is short, medium, or long or this could be a
distribution circuit.
 Feeders form the integral part of power system, as
power is transferred through feeders from source to
load.
 Hence it is important to protect feeders from faults
for continuous supply of power to consumers.
Types of protection
Protection schemes can be divided into two major
groupings:

 Unit schemes
 Non-unit schemes
Unit Type Protection Schemes
 Unit Type Protection Schemes
 Unit type schemes protect a specific area of the system,
i.e., a transformer, transmission line, generator or busbar.
 The most obvious example of unit protection schemes is
based on Kirchhoff's current law – the sum of the
currents entering an area of the system must be zero.
Any deviation from this must indicate an abnormal
current path.
 In these schemes, the effects of any disturbance or
abnormal operating condition outside the area of interest
are totally ignored and the protection must be designed
to be stable above the maximum possible fault current
that could flow through the protected area.
Non Unit Type Protection Schemes
Non Unit Type Protection Schemes
 The non-unit schemes are also intended to protect
specific areas but have no fixed boundaries.
 Apart from protecting their own designated areas, the
protective zones can overlap into other areas.
 While this can be very beneficial for backup purposes,
there can be a tendency for too great area to be isolated if
a fault is detected by different non unit schemes.
 The most simple of these schemes measures current and
incorporates an inverse time characteristic into the
protection operation to allow protection nearer to the
fault to operate first.
Non Unit Type Protection Schemes (Contd.)
 The non unit type protection system includes the
following schemes:
- Time graded over current protection
- Current graded over current protection
- Distance or Impedance Protection
Time Graded Protection
 This is a scheme of over current protection in
which time discrimination is incorporated. In other
words, the time setting of the relays is so graded
that minimum possible part of system is isolated in
the event of fault.
 We will discuss the application of the time graded
protection on
- Radial feeder
- Parallel feeder
- Ring main feeder
Protection Of Radial Feeder
 The main characteristic of the radial feeder is that
power can flow in one direction only from
generator to supply end of the load line.
 In radial feeder, number of feeders can be
connected in series and it is desired that smallest
part of the system should be off in the event of
fault.
 This is achieved by time graded protection.
 In this system, time setting of a relay is so adjusted
that farther the relay from the generating system,
lesser the time of operation.
Time Graded Protection Of Radial Feeder
Drawbacks Of Time Graded Protection On Radial Feeder

 The drawbacks of graded time lag over current

protection are given below:
- Suitable for radial feeders with supply at one end only.
- Time lag is provided which is not desirable on short
circuits.
- With the addition of load, it is difficult to coordinate and
requires changes.
- It is not suitable for long distance transmission lines
where rapid fault clearance is necessary for stability.
Protection Of Parallel Feeders
 For important installations, continuity of supply is
a matter of vital importance and at least two lines
are used and connected parallel so as to share load.
 In the event of occurrence of fault, the protecting
device will select the faulty feeder and isolate it
while other feeder instantly assumes increased
load.
 The simplest method of obtaining such protection
is providing time graded overcurrent relays with
inverse time characteristics at one end and reverse
power directional relay at the other end.
Protection Of Parallel Feeders (Contd.)
Protection Of Ring Main Feeder
 The ring main is a system of inter connection
between a series of power stations by an alternate
route.
 The direction of power flow can be changed at
will.
IDMT Relay In Time Graded Protection
 In time graded protections IDMT (Inverse definite
minimum time) relays are used.
 As the name implies, it is a relay monitoring the
current, and has inverse characteristics with respect
to the currents being monitored. This relay is
without doubt one of the most popular relay used
on medium and low voltage systems for many
years.
 Modern digital relay’s characteristics are still
mainly based on the torque characteristic of this
type of relay.
IDMT Relay
Block Diagram Of IDTM Relay
IDMT Relay (Contd.)
As already discussed in Unit-1, the operating time of an IDMTL
relay is inversely proportional to the function of current, i.e. it has
a long operating time at low multiples of setting current and a
relatively short operating time at high multiples of setting current.
Current Graded Protection
 It is an alternative to time graded protection and is used
when the impedance between two substations is
sufficient.
 It is based on the fact that short circuit current along the
length of protected line of the circuit decreases with
increase in distance between the supply end and the fault
point.
 If the relays are set to operate at a progressively higher
current towards the supply end of the line then the
drawback of the long time delays occurring in the graded
time lag system can be partially overcome.
Current Graded Protection Scheme
Distance Or Impedance Protection
 A distance relay (as its name implies) has the ability to
detect a fault within a pre-set distance along a
transmission line or power cable from its location.

Basic Principle
 The basic principle of distance protection involves the
division of the voltage at the relaying point by the
measured current.
 The apparent impedance so calculated is compared with
the reach point impedance.
 If the measured impedance is less than the reach point
impedance, it is assumed that a fault exists on the line
between the relay and the reach point.
Basic Principle Of Operation Of Impedance Relay
Balanced Beam Principle Of Impedance Relay

 The voltage is fed onto one coil to provide

restraining torque, while the current is fed to the
other coil to provide the operating torque.
 Under healthy conditions, the voltage will be high
(i.e. at full-rated level), while the current will be low
thereby balancing the beam, and restraining it so that
the contacts remain open.
 Under fault conditions, the voltage collapses and the
current increases dramatically, causing the beam to
unbalance and close the contacts.
Three Stepped Distance Protection
 Zone 1
First step of distance protection is set to reach up to
80 to 90% of the length of the line section. This is
instantaneous protection i.e. there is no intentional
delay .
 Zone 2
Second zone is required in order to provide primary
protection to remaining 10 to 20% of the line and a
cover up to 50% of the next line section. The
operating time of this zone is delayed so as to be
selective with zone 1.
Three Stepped Distance Protection (Contd.)
 Zone 3
The third zone is provided with an intention to give
full back up to adjoining line section. It covers the
line of the section, 100% of the next line section
and reaches farther into the system. The motivation
behind the extended reach of this step is to provide
full back up to the next line section. Its operating
time is slightly more than that of zone 2.
Three Stepped Distance Protection (Contd.)
Three Stepped Distance Protection (Contd.)
Distance Relay
Main or Unit Protection
 Main or Unit Protection
 The graded over current systems described earlier do not
meet the protection requirements of a power system.
 The grading is not possible to be achieved in long
networks and also it can be noticed that grading of
settings may lead to longer tripping times closer to the
sources, which are not always desired.
 These problems have given way to the concept of ‘Unit
Protection’ where the circuits are divided into discrete
sections without reference to the other sections.
 The power system is divided into discrete zones. Each
zone is provided with relays and circuit breakers to allow
for the detection and isolation of its own internal faults.
Back-up Protection
 It is necessary to provide additional protection to
ensure isolation of the fault when the main protection
fails to function correctly. This additional protection is
referred to as ‘Back-up’ Protection.
 The fault is outside the zones of the main protection
and can only be cleared by the separate back-up
protection.
 Back-up protection must be time delayed to allow for
the selective isolation of the fault by the main or unit
protection.
Types of Main Protection
 Following types of main or unit protections are
used in feeder networks
- Differential protection
- Carrier current protection using phase comparison
- Translay Y protection system
Methods Of Obtaining Selectivity
 The most positive and effective method of
obtaining selectivity is the use of differential
protection.
 For less important installations, selectivity may be
obtained (at the expense of speed of operation)
with time-graded protection.
 The principle of unit protection was initially
established by Merz and Price who were the
creators of the fundamental differential protection
scheme.
Differential Protection
 Differential protection (as already discussed in
Generator, Transformer and Bus bar protection
schemes in previous lectures) compares the
currents entering and leaving the protected zone
and operates when the difference between these
currents exceeds a pre-determined magnitude. This
type of protection can be divided into two types,
namely
- Balanced current
- Balanced voltage
Balanced Current Protection
 The CTs are connected in series and the secondary
current circulates between them.
 The relay is connected across the midpoint thus the
voltage across the relay is theoretically nil,
therefore no current through the relay and hence no
operation for any faults outside the protected zone.
 Similarly under normal conditions, the currents
leaving zone A and B are equal, making the relay to
be inactive by the current balance.
Differential Protection Using Current Balance
Scheme (External Fault Condition)
Differential Protection For An Internal Fault Condition
Balanced Current Protection
 The current transformers are assumed identical and
are assumed to share the burden equally between the
two ends. However, it is not always possible to have
identical CTs and to have the relay at a location
equidistant from the two end CTs. It is a normal
practice to add a resistor in series with the relay to
balance the unbalance created by the unequal nature
of burden between the two end circuits. This resistor
is named as ‘stabilizing resistance’.
Mccoll Circulating Current Protection
For Single Phase Systems
Balanced Voltage System
 As the name implies, it is necessary to create a
balanced voltage across the relays at end A and end
B under healthy and out-of-zone fault conditions.
 In this arrangement, the CTs are connected to
oppose each other . Voltages produced by the
secondary currents are equal and opposite, thus no
currents flow in the pilots or relays, hence stable on
through-fault conditions.
 Under internal fault conditions relays will operate.
Balanced Voltage System – External Fault (Stable)
Balanced Voltage System – Internal Fault (Operate)
Carrier Current Protection
 For long overhead lines the power line itself may be used as the
interconnecting channel between the terminal equipments.
 Carrier-current protection is the most widely used scheme for the
protection of Extra High Voltage (EHV) and Ultra High Voltage (UHV)
power lines.
 The carrier signal is directly coupled to the power line itself which is to
be protected.
 Carrier-current protection is faster and superior to distance protection
schemes and is more reliable when used for long transmission lines.
 Although the terminal equipments are more expensive and complicated.
In addition to protection the carrier signals can also be used for
communication, supervisory control and telemetering.
 In carrier-current protection or any other unit protection, the circuit
breakers at both the ends of the line trip simultaneously when a fault
occurs.
Carrier Current Protection (Contd.)
 Carrier current protection scheme is mainly used
for the protection of the long transmission line.
 In this scheme, the phase angle of the current at the
two phases of the line are compared instead of the
actual current.
 The phase angle of the line decides whether the
fault is internal or external.
 The main elements of the carrier channel are
transmitter, receiver, coupling equipment, and
line trap.
Carrier Current Protection (Contd.)
Carrier Current Protection (Contd.)
 The carrier current receiver receives the carrier
current from the transmitter at the distant end of
the line.
 The receiver converts the received carrier current
into a DC voltage that can be used in a relay or
other circuit that performs any desired function.
 The voltage is zero when the carrier current, is not
being received.
Carrier Current Protection (Contd.)
 The signals generated in a carrier-current protection scheme
are at a frequency between 50 and 500 kHz.
 Below 50 kHz the size and cost of the coupling equipments
would be too high and above 500 kHz the line losses and
therefore the signal attenuation would be too high on long
lines.
 Carrier-current protection can be used only on overhead
lines and cannot be used for underground cables as the
capacitance of a cable would attenuate the carrier signals
appreciably.
Carrier Current Protection (Contd.)
 Line trap is inserted between the bus-bar and
connection of coupling capacitor to the line. It is a
parallel LC network tuned to resonance at the high
frequency.
 The traps restrict the carrier current to the
unprotected section so as to avoid interference
from the other adjacent carrier current channels.
 It also avoids the loss of the carrier current signal
to the adjoining power circuit.
Carrier Current Protection (Contd.)
 The coupling capacitor connects the high-
frequency equipment to one of the line conductors
and simultaneously separate the power equipment
from the high power line voltage.
 The normal current will be able to flow only
through the line conductor, while the high
frequency carrier current will circulate over the line
conductor fitted with the high-frequency traps,
through the trap capacitor and the ground.
Operating Techniques Used In Carrier
Current Protection
The two operating techniques mainly used in carrier-
current protection are:

 Phase comparison technique

 Directional comparison technique
Phase Comparison Technique
 In phase comparison technique, the phase angle of
the current entering at one end is compared with
the phase angle of the current leaving the other end
of the protected section.
 During normal operating conditions or in case of
an external fault, the currents at both the ends of
the protected line are in phase.
 In case of an internal fault i.e. fault in the protected
section, the currents at the two ends will be
180o out of phase.
Directional Comparison Technique
 The direction of power flow at the two ends of the
protected sections is compared in the directional
comparison technique.
 During normal conditions or external faults, the
power flows into the protected section at one end
and leaves at the other end.
 During internal faults, the direction of power flow
is inwards at both the ends.
Unit Type Carrier Aided Directional
Comparison Relaying: Internal Fault
Advantages Of Carrier Current Protection
 It has a fast and simultaneous operation of circuit
breakers at both the ends.
 It has a fast, clearing process and prevents shock to
the system.
 No separate wires are required for signaling
because the power line themselves carry the power
as well as communication signaling.
 It’s simultaneously tripping of circuit breakers at
both the end of the line in one to three cycles.
 This system is best suited for fast relaying also
with modern fast circuit breakers.
Translay Protection system
 The system can be employed for the protection of
single phase or 3-phase feeders, transformer
feeders and parallel feeders against both earth and
phase faults.
 It works on the principle that current entering one
end of the feeder at any instant equals the current
leaving the feeder.
Translay Protection system
Translay Protection system For 3-Phase Feeders
Translay Protection system For 3-Phase Feeders
(more clear diagram)
Advantages of Translay system
 The capacitance currents do not effect the
operation much.
 Only two pilot wires needed.
 The current transformers of normal designs are
employed i.e. air core type.
 The pilot resistance do not effect the operation as
the major part of power is obtained from CTs for
operation.
Advantages Of Unit Protection
 Fast and selective
Unit protection is fast and selective. It will only trip the
faulty item of plant, thereby ensuring the elimination of
any network disruptions.
 No time constraints
Time constraints imposed by the supply authorities do
not become a major problem anymore.
 Future expansion relatively easy
Any future expansion that may require another in-feed
point can be handled with relative ease without any
change to the existing protection.