Primary injection testing

Equipment Required
1. Primary injection test set (Megger CSU600A)
2. Clamp on meter
3. Digital Multimeter.
4. C.M.E.s (1 Set)
5. Ladders

Procedure

Whenever it becomes necessary to work on primary equipment, it is essential that all the necessary
switching, locking, earthing and safety procedures are observed and obeyed in a rigid and formalized
manner. Operating and testing procedures should be strictly followed in order to avoid exposure to
live equipment.

A test with primary current through the protected zone is usually a final check that the current circuits
are correctly connected to the IED protection scheme. It is important to have an appropriate source,
which is able to inject sufficient current in the primary circuit in order to distinguish between noise
and real injected current. Therefore it is recommended that the injection current should be at least
10% of rated CT primary current.

Operation of the differential protection

The primary injection tests of a differential IED consist of applying a suitable current source across
the primary winding of the CT connected to the current input of the IED. The testing is normally
carried out on one phase at a time. If the primary current is bigger than the set value of the
parameter, the IED shall issue the trip command as well. The primary current injection test should
be repeated for every CT until all current circuits in all phases are checked. The typical connection
for the primary injection test is shown in figure 2.

Relay

Primary Injection
CT Input
400/1

Optional equipment
(i.e,Test Switch,)

IEC05000470-2-en.vsd

IEC05000470 V2 EN

Figure 2: Typical test connection for primary injection testing

Testing will be explained from one general current input CTx (that is, x = 1, 2,..., Nmax; where
Nmax is equal to the maximum number of used CT inputs).
 Primary injection testing

Follow the following test instructions for all used current inputs in an IED.

Procedure

1. Connect the test set for injection primary current to the main CT connected to the
current terminals of CTx input of the IED as shown in figure 24.
2. Make sure that current measurement from the CTx input are included in one of
the differential zones.
3. Inject the primary current in phase L1 and note the incoming and differential
currents on the local HMI of the IED. The values of the incoming and the
differential currents shall correspond to the injected primary current.
4. Check that the current is present only in the phase being tested.
5. If the injected current is high enough, check that trip contacts operate
accordingly to the scheme wiring.
6. Check that trip information is stored in the disturbance recorder and event list (if
connected).
7. Switch off the current.
8. Check the function in the same way by injecting current in phases L2 and L3.

It is recommended that each primary CB is tripped directly from the protection scheme
at least once during these tests. This will confirm the trip-circuit connection between
the protection scheme and the CB.
Stability of the busbar differential protection
For stability testing, one current circuit shall always be used as a reference input. The
reference current circuit shall then be tested for stability against all other current
circuits connected to a busbar protection scheme on a one-by-one basis. Use the
current circuit connected to the CT1 current input as the reference current circuit. A
typical connection for the primary current test set for this type of tests is shown in
figure 3.
 Primary injection testing

RELAY

CT1 Current Input

CT2 Current Input

Primary Injection
Test Set

CT3 Current Input

CT4 Current Input

CT5 Current Input

IEC13000228-1
IEC05000307 V2 EN

Figure 3: Typical test connection for primary injection, which should confirm
the stability of the main CT connected to current inputs of the IED

For this type of primary injection tests a suitable current source should be applied
across the primary windings of two CTs connected in series as shown in figure 25. The
testing is normally done on one phase at the time. The currents in the secondary
winding of these CTs are then opposite in phase. The differential current displayed by
the IED should be negligible while the incoming current displayed should be equal to
the value of the injected primary current. The IED must not issue the trip command
during these tests. If it trips or the differential current has a high value it usually means
that there is a wiring problem in the CT circuits connected to the current input CTx
(that is, a differential current equal to twice the injection current probably indicates
wrong polarity of the main CT connected to the CTx current input). This problem must
be solved before the protection scheme is put in service.

Procedure

1. Connect the test set for primary current injection to the main CTs as shown in
figure 3.
2. Make sure that current measurement from two used CT inputs are included in the
same differential zone.
3. Inject the primary current in phase L1 and note the incoming and differential
currents on the local HMI of the IED.
The value of the incoming current for phase L1 shall correspond to the injected
primary current. The value of the differential current for phase L1 shall be
negligible.
4. Check that the current is present only in the phase being tested.
5. Switch the current off.
6. Check the function in phases L2 and L3 by injecting current in the same way.
 Primary injection testing

Stability of the line differential protection

Procedure:
1. Connect the test set for primary current injection to the main CTs as shown in figure 3.
2. Make sure that current measurement from two used CT inputs are included in the same differential zone and the
communication between the IEDs at the remote and local end is working correctly.
3. Inject the primary current in phase L1 and note the incoming and differential currents on the local HMI of
the IEDs in the local and remote substations.
The value of the incoming current for phase L1 shall correspond to the injected primary current. The value of
the differential current for phase L1 shall be negligible.
4. Check that the current is present only in the phase being tested.
5. Switch the current off.
6. Check the function in phases L2 and L3 by injecting current in the same way.

Remote Substation

Local substation
Primary Differentilal Relay
Injection
Set
Fig 3.