MODULE 6

POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION

Components of a Protection System
 Discuss the basic components
At the end of
of a power system protection.
this lesson you
will be able to: Discuss the principle of
zone of protection.
Three types of components generally constitute a power
system protection system:
1. Circuit breakers
2. Transducers
3. Relays
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.

How Circuit Breakers Work:

https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/circuit-breaker.htm
https://electrical-engineering-portal.com/the-role-of-circuit-
breakers-in-lvmv-power-systems
HV and EHV applications exclusively
use SF6 circuit breakers. Circuit
breakers protect industrial
plants, electrical machines,
transformers, transmission and
distribution equipment, and
generators. These devices switch off
an electrical circuit in case of an over
current or short circuit condition
occurring downstream. https://electrical-engineering-portal.com/hv-ehv-
circuit-breakers
A power system requires some form of instrumentation to
monitor and control its operation. In the past this function has
been performed by electro-mechanical devices. With these
devices their use was limited by being confined to close to
the point of measurement. Replacing these mechanical
devices with their electronic equivalents has allowed the
monitoring system to become more versatile.
• These transducers act as the interface between the power
system and the measurement system.
• Electrical transducers are specifically transducers for
converting the raw voltage and currents in a power system into
useful and meaningful electrical signals which can be used in
and transmitted about the measurement system.
• The inputs to these devices are usually currents and voltages
from instrument transformers such as current transformers
(CTs) and voltage transformers (VTs) whilst the outputs are
standardized dc currents or digital signals.
Traditionally most electrical transducers are designed to measure
a specific physical parameter. The parameters measured will be
one of the following:
• Current (Amps) - current transformer
• Voltage (Volts) – potential transformer
• Active power (Watts)
• Reactive power (Vars)
• Apparent power (VA)
• Phase angle (deg)
• Frequency (Hz)
• Tap position
• Resistance
• Signal convertors (dc to dc)
• Relays are the primary protection as well as switching
devices in most of the control processes or equipments. All
the relays respond to one or more electrical quantities like
voltage or current such that they open or close the
contacts or circuits.
• A relay is a switching device as it works to isolate or
change the state of an electric circuit from one state to
another.
Classification or the types of relays depend on the function
for which they are used. Some of the categories include:
• Protective
• Reclosing
• Regulating
• Auxiliary
• Monitoring relays
Protective relays are
categorized
depending on the
component which are
protect:
• Generators
• Transmission lines
• Transformers
• Loads
https://electrical-engineering-portal.com/implementations-
protective-relays
Protective relays continuously monitor these parameters:
voltage, current, and power; and if these parameters violate
from set limits, they generate alarm or isolate that particular
circuit. These types of relays are used to protect equipments
like motors, generators, and transformers, and so on.
Reclosing relays are used to connect various components
and devices within the system network, such as
synchronizing process, and to restore the various devices
soon after any electrical fault vanishes, and then to connect
transformers and feeders to line network. Regulating relays
are the switches that contacts, such that voltage boosts up,
as in the case of tap changing transformers.
• In essence, when a fault occurs on the system, a voltage
or current signal is transmitted to a relay by a transducer.
The relay, in turn, operates a circuit breaker, and thereby
the fault is cleared.
• The fault gives rise to abnormal voltages and currents,
which may be in the range of kilovolts and kiloamperes.
• The transducer reduces them to much lower levels before
transmitting the signal to the relay. The entire sequence of
sensing and clearing the fault must be fast and reliable.
This figures shows a one-line diagram of a portion of a power
system with the components of its protection system in place.
 For reliability, the concept of zones of protection is
implemented in protection systems.
The overlapping of zones ensures that no portion of the
power system is left unprotected. However, the regions of
overlap must be made as small as possible.
• Transducers are used to reduce abnormal current and
voltage levels and transmit input signals to the relays of a
protection system. These transducers take the form of
current and voltage (or potential) transformers, also known
as instrument transformers.
• In contrast to power transformers, the power ratings of
instruments transformers are rather low, perhaps 25 to 500
VA, depending on the load or burden on the transformer.
A current transformer (CT) is symbolically represented as in
above figure. The primary generally consists of the
transmission line (ab in Fig); the secondary winding consists
of a multiturn coil.
The dots in the symbol imply that the secondary current
leaving terminal a' is ideally in phase with the primary current
entering terminal a.
Nonideal instrument transformers have phase-angle and ratio
errors. Standard CT transformation ratios range from 50:5 to
1200:5.
Voltage transformers (VTs) for
application at or below 12kV
(primary voltage) generally
have a 67 V secondary
winding. For higher-voltage
applications, a configuration
of the type shown in figure is
used.
In such a coupling-capacitor
voltage transformer (CVT), with the
appropriate L and C values (tuned
for resonance), the phase-angle
error is eliminated. Also, C1 and C2
are chosen so that only a few
kilovolts appear across C2 when A
is at the (infinite) bus voltage, and
the tapped voltage is reduced to
the relay operating voltage.
The majority of the relays used in protection systems are of
the following five types:
1. magnitude relays
2. directional relays
3. ratio relays
4. differential relays
5. pilot relays.
• Magnitude relays, also known as overcurrent relays,
respond to current inputs.
• They operate to trip a circuit breaker when the fault current
exceeds a predetermined value.
• The current (on the secondary side of a CT) required to
actuate the relay is known as the pickup current IIPI.
If IIFI is the fault current
referred to the secondary,
then the relay operates
according to the following
constraints:

Ip is the pick-up current.

There is, however, another constraints-the
relay operating time T, which is a function of IF
and IP. That is, the time required for the relay
to operate once IIFI exceeds IIPI may be
written as the function

and represented by a circle such as T1 or T2 in

the figure.
The time characteristics of
overcurrent relays are more
generally represented in the form
of curves like those in figure. The
pickup current is adjusted by
choosing the proper primary tap
setting.
A directional relay responds to faults either to the left or to the
right of its location. Its operation depends upon the direction
(lead or lag) of the fault current with respect to a reference
voltage.
If the reference voltage is Vref,
faults producing lagging currents in
the shaded region of the phasor
diagram on figure will cause the
relay to trip (and for all other faults
it will block). The reference voltage
is known as the polarizing
voltage. The constraints on the
operation of a directional relay are
also given by:
ϴop is the phase angle of
the operating quantity,
relative to that of the
reference quantity (Vref in
the figure), and ϴmin and
ϴmax define the
boundaries of the
operating range.
A ratio relay responds to faults
only within a certain distance
of its location. Suppose the
impedance of a length of
transmission line equal to that
distance is IZrI, and denote the
ratio of the voltage to the
current at the location of the
relay by Z.
A relay with the operating
constraints

is called an impedance or
distance relay and, in the
complex impedance plane, has
the operating characteristic
shown.
By selecting IZ’I to be equal
IZrI, the relay characteristic
can be made to pass through
the origin, as illustrated in the
figure. Such a relay is
obviously directional and is
called a mho relay.
The operation of a differential
relay may be understood by
referring to the given figure.
Under normal conditions we
have I1 – I2 = 0. Under fault
conditions, I1 – I2 = IF, where IF
is the fault current referred to
the secondary of the CTs.
If a current IIPI < IIFI is chosen to
cause relay operation, then the
relay’s operating constraints are

Note that the zone of protection

of a differential relay is small; that
is, the boundary points of the
zone are closed to each other.
A pilot relay provides a means of transmitting fault signals
from a remote zone boundary to relays at the terminals of a
long transmission line.
 Protection of Lines,
Transformers, and Generators
 At the end of discuss the methods of
this lesson you transformer, line and
generator protection.
will be able to:
Transformers are normally protected against short circuits
and over-heating. For short circuits normally, percentage
differential protection is recommended for transformers rated
for more than 1 MVA. For low rating, overcurrent relaying is
used.
The differential protection scheme is considered to be suitable if it satisfies
the two conditions:
(i) The relays must not operate under normal load conditions and for
through fault (external fault) conditions
(ii) it must operate for severe enough internal fault conditions.
In fact, these are the tests that any good protection scheme must satisfy.
For differential protection, the vector difference of two currents is fed to the
operating coil of the relay. This means for an external fault the line currents
of the two CTs should be equal in magnitude and should be in phase
opposition so that the difference current is zero.
The CTs on the star side of the power transformer are connected in delta,
and on the delta side, they are connected in star as the line currents of star-
delta power transformer will be displaced in phase by 30°. It is required that
this phase displacement must be nullified by connecting the CTs in that
fashion.
Ungrounded star-star transformer protection, through
fault.

When the star point of both the transformers is ungrounded, a line-to-ground

fault has no meaning because no fault current can flow. Consider a L-L fault
as shown (through fault).
Grounded star-star transformer protection, through fault.

Assuming again unity transformation ratio, if the fault current on the secondary
side is 3I, only 2I current will be supplied by the primary (isolated star point).
This type of connection of secondary is known as zero sequence current
generator.
Transformer star-star grounded CT delta connected
protection.

It is seen from the figure that when CTs are delta connected,
for an external fault, the relays do not operate.
Star-star grounded, internal fault.

For an internal fault the scheme is shown in the figure.

Bus Protection
 A radial transmission line can be protected with time-
overcurrent relays. These relays can be set to provide primary
protection for one line and remote backup protection for a
neighboring line. For instance, the relay at bus 1 will protect the
line from bus 1 to bus 2 and act as a backup for the line between
buses 2 and 3.
 To protect lines fed from both ends or loop systems,
directional relays with coordinated time settings are used. (In
the figures the arrows show the direction protected by each
relay.)
The relays associated with circuit breakers 1, 3, and 5 must be
coordinated, as must the relays associated with breakers 2, 4, and 6.
Overcurrent relays are used and are made directional by adding a
directional relay at each location, and then arranging the outputs of the
directional relay and the overcurrent relay so that their breakers will
not operate unless both relays provide a trip signal.
 Transmission lines belonging to a complex
interconnected system are protected by impedance relays,
which respond to the impedance between their own location
and the location of a fault.
Generator Protection
• A generator is subjected to electrical stresses imposed on the
insulation of the machine, mechanical forces acting on the
various parts of the machine, and temperature rise.
• These are the main factors which make protection necessary
for the generator or alternator. Even when properly used, a
machine in its perfect running condition does not only maintain
its specified rated performance for many years, but it does
also repeatedly withstand certain excess of overload.
Preventive measures must be taken against overloads and
abnormal conditions of the machine so that it can serve
safely. Even ensuring an efficient design, construction,
operation, and preventive means of protection – the risk of a
fault cannot be completely eliminated from any machine. The
devices used in generator protection, ensure that when a
fault arises, it is eliminated as quickly as possible.
An electrical generator can be subjected to either an internal
fault or external fault or both. The generators are normally
connected to an electrical power system, hence any fault
occurred in the power system should also be cleared from
the generator as soon as possible otherwise it may create
permanent damage in the generator.
The various forms of protection applied to the generator can
be categorized into two manners:
• Protective relays to detect faults occurring outside the
generator.
• Protective relays to detect faults occurring inside the
generator.
Other than protective relays, associated directly with the
generator and its associated transformer, there are:
• lightning arrestors
• over speed safe guards
• oil flow devices and
• temperature measuring devices for shaft bearing, stator
winding, transformer winding and transformer oil.
Some of these protective arrangement are of non-trip type
i.e. they only generate alarm during abnormalities.
But the other protective schemes ultimately operate master
tripping relay of the generator. This should be noted that no
protective relay can prevent fault, it only indicates and
minimizes the duration of the fault to prevent high
temperature rise in the generator otherwise there may be
permanent damage in it.
It is desirable to avoid any undue stresses in the generator,
and for that it is usual practice to install surge capacitor or
surge diverter or both to reduce the effects of lightning and
other voltage surges on the machine.
 Transformers and generators are protected against certain types of
faults by differential relays. The figures show arrangement of differential
relays to protect against faults on a transformer and a generator.
The differential relay is one that
operates when the vector difference
of two or more similar electrical
quantities exceeds a pre-determined
value.
This means for a differential relay, it
should have:
(1) two or more similar electrical
quantities
(2) these quantities should have
phase displacement (normally
approx. 180°), for the operation
of the relay. https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/transformer-
differential-protection-relay-17812482212.html
The most common application of this relay is the current
differential type. The simple connection for this type of
protection is given in the figure below.
The dotted line represents the equipment to be protected
which may be a transformer, an alternator, a bus etc. Two
suitable CTs are connected in series as shown with the help
of pilot wires.
When the operating coil of the relay is not connected
between the equipotential points, even though the current
through each CT is same, the burden on the two CTs is
unequal.
If the two CTs behave identically for all fault currents, the
secondary currents are of the same magnitude and phase. The
difference current, therefore, being zero through the operating
coil, the relay does not operate. This is a desirable feature.
• Gupta, J. B. (2015) A Course in Electrical Power. Delhi, India: S.K.
Kataria & Sons.
• Gupta, J. B. (2015). Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power. S.K.
Kataria & Sons
• Glover, Duncan J. (2012) Power System Analysis and Design 5th Edition
Cengage Learning Connecticut, U.S.A.
• Wadhwa, C. L. (2012) Electrical Power Systems New Academic Science
Limited U.K.
• Wildi, Theodore (2002) Electrical Machines, Drives, and Power Systems
Pearson Education, Inc. New Jersey U.S.A
• Kothari, D P (2009) Modern Power System Analysis 3rd Edition Tata
McGraw-Hill Education Private Limited New Delhi
• Stevenson, William D. Elements of Power System Analysis McGraw-Hill
Publishing Co. New York, U.S.A
http://rrc05.blogspot.com/2013/07/technopreneurship.ht
ml
https://www.carrel-
electrade.co.nz/transducers/pdf/analogue.pdf

https://www.servonics.com/PowerTransducerCatalog.pdf

https://www.elprocus.com/different-types-of-relays-used-
in-protection-system-and-their-workings