Protection (87T) in Case of Resistive

Restricted Earth Fault Protection (64R) in Resistive Grounded Transformer

(Comprehensive Analysis)
 Restricted Earth Fault Protection (64R) in
Resistive Grounded Transformer
(Comprehensive Analysis)

Electrical Engineering Department

SgurrEnergy Private Limited

April 2023

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Analysis) | SgurrEnergy- www.sgurrenergy.com
Abstract
Transformer is considered vital equipment in transmission and distribution network. Power
Transformer is typically considered the costliest equipment for any substation/switchyard project
and is expected to serve a lifecycle of 35 years*. Considering the significant cost associated with
power transformers and the relatively long outage time in case of failure of the same equipment,
it is emphasizing the importance of implementing effective protection strategies to prevent or
mitigate such events.
Below listed are the commonly used protections for power transformers†:
 Backup over current (50/51) and earth fault (50N/51N) protection.
 Differential Protection (87T).
 Restricted Earth fault protection (64R).
 Thermal overload protection (49).
 External Trip function (i.e. Buchholz relay, Pressure Relief Valve etc.).
The protection of power systems and the grounding of electrical equipment are interdependent.
It is important to note that the type of grounding that is chosen for a power system can have a
substantial impact on the selection of the protection scheme.
Power Transformer HV (high voltage) and LV (low voltage) winding can have multiple
configurations like star or delta on either side. With both the windings system grounding can also
have multiple cases such as solid, resistive, reactive or grounding transformer. Each of the
selected configurations has a certain impact on the protection system and the same shall be
ensured in the Design and Engineering phase of the project.
In the case of a power transformer having Delta-Star configuration with resistance or reactance
grounding, whenever in zone line to ground fault occurs at the low voltage (LV) side, certain
difficulties are encountered with regard to the implementation of differential protection. These
challenges include the following:
 The magnitude of reflected fault current at the HV side varies with the location of the line
to ground fault at the LV side.
 Up to some extent the reflected fault current at the HV side in case of ground fault‡ at LV
side winding, is less compared to the relay setting.
 The sensitivity of differential protection is inadequate to ensure complete winding
protection.
This paper aims to examine the aforementioned technical challenges and suggest a mitigation
method.

*
According to CERC (Central Electricity Regulatory Commission) norms.
† We have considered 6MVA, 11/6.6kV as Power Transformer for case study purpose.
‡ ground fault has the meaning Line to Ground fault (in zone) in this paper.

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Problem Statement
In a power system, the transformer is grounded through a resistor, reactor or using grounding
transformer and the single line to ground fault current at the LV side is limited by means of the
type of grounding method utilized. By limiting the ground fault, the transformer differential
protection is not enough sensitive to protect the complete winding as the reflected fault current
varies with fault location and up to some extent reflected current at HV remains below the settled
value.
Background
Consider a Delta-Star transformer with a neutral grounding resistor.

I1Phase = High voltage (HV) side current per phase.

I2Phase = Low voltage (LV) side current per phase.

N1 = Number of turns of HV winding.

N2 = Number of turns of LV winding.

T = Turn Ratio.

Figure 1: Power Transformer Winding Configuration

Transformer turn ratio:
I1Phase N2
I2Phase
= N1
(1)
N2
I1Phase = N1
x I2Phase (2)
I1Phase = T x I2Phase (3)

For an internal L-G fault at fraction ‘m’ from the neutral:

White Paper | Restricted Earth Fault Protection (64R) in Resistive Grounded Transformer (Comprehensive
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 m x V2phase
Fault current If = (4)
R
Where,

m = Distance from neutral to the fault location.

R = Neutral Grounding Resistor.

Due to the L-G fault at LV winding, the effective turn ratio (Te) of the transformer is computed as:
N
T𝑒 = (N2 ) x m (5)
1

I2Phas m x V2phase
= If = (6)
e R

Reflected fault current at HV (delta) side:

I1Phase = Te x I2Phase

= m x T x I2Phase
m x V2phase
= mxTx
R
V2phase
I1Phase = m2 x T x (7)
R
From the equation (6) and (7) we can state that:
I2Phase ∝ m
I1Phase ∝ m2
The above equations describe the relationship between HV and LV side currents in a transformer
during a line-to-ground fault in LV winding.
The equations demonstrate that the LV side fault current is directly proportional to the distance
from the neutral, while the HV side fault current is proportional to the square of the distance from
the neutral. This relationship is further illustrated in the below graph.

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Analysis) | SgurrEnergy- www.sgurrenergy.com
 1
Fault Current (LV)
0.9
Reflected fault Current at HV

0.8
% of Winding (from neutral)

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0.1

0.4

0.7

1
0.97
0.13
0.16
0.19
0.22
0.25
0.28
0.31
0.34
0.37

0.43
0.46
0.49
0.52
0.55
0.58
0.61
0.64
0.67

0.73
0.76
0.79
0.82
0.85
0.88
0.91
0.94
% of respective maximum L-G fault current

Figure 2: % effective winding vs LV and reflected HV fault current

Case Study

Transformer Rating = 6MVA

HV Winding = 11kV

LV Winding = 6.6kV

Vector Group = Dyn11 or Dyn1

NGR = 15.877Ω

HV CT ratio = 350/1A

LV CT ratio = 550/1A

Voltage per phase at LV side:

V2 line-line
V2Phase =
√3
11000
=
√3

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 = 6351V

Rated current per phase at LV side:

V2phase
I2phase =
R
6351
=
15.877
= 400A

Turn Ratio:
V2phase
T =
V1phase
6351
=
66000
= 0.1667

Using equation number (7), reflected fault current per phase at HV side with 100% winding (m=1):
max. V2phase
I1phase = m2 x T x
R
6351
= 12 x 0.1667 x
15.877
= 66.67A

The reflected fault current on HV side is a function of fault location ‘m’ and can be calculated for
various fault location in transformer winding.

Sr.No. m (%) I2phase (A)§ I2phase / If I1phase (A)** I1phase / I1max

1 0.05 26.24 0.05 0.45 0.003

2 0.10 52.48 0.10 1.81 0.010

Unprotected
3 0.20 104.97 0.20 7.21 0.040 Region

4 0.30 157.46 0.30 16.36 0.090

5 0.40 209.95 0.40 29.09 0.160

§
Refer equation (6).
**
Refer equation (7).

White Paper | Restricted Earth Fault Protection (64R) in Resistive Grounded Transformer (Comprehensive
Analysis) | SgurrEnergy- www.sgurrenergy.com
 Sr.No. m (%) I2phase (A)§ I2phase / If I1phase (A)** I1phase / I1max

6 0.50 262.43 0.50 45.45 0.250

7 0.60 314.92 0.60 65.45 0.360

Unprotected
8 0.61 320.17 0.61 67.65 0.372 Region

9 0.62 325.42 0.62 69.89 0.384

10 0.63 330.67 0.63 72.16 0.397

11 0.70 367.41 0.70 89.09 0.490

12 0.80 419.90 0.80 116.37 0.640 Protected

region

13 0.90 472.39 0.90 147.28 0.81

14 1.00 524.87 1.00 181.82 1.00

If we consider pick up for differential first stage is 0.20pu (20%):

Hence, relay pick up current,
Ist = Pick up setting x CT ratio
= 350 x 0.2
= 70A
The differential relay will only issue a trip command when it senses more than 70A current with a
pre-defined time delay (typically instantaneous). In the event of a single line to a ground fault
occurring in the LV winding up to 62% from the neutral of the transformer, the reflected fault
current in the HV side is found to be less than 70A, which cannot be sensed by differential relay
with given pick up settings. Therefore, up to 62% of winding from neutral remains unprotected,
while the remaining 38% is protected by differential protection against line-to-ground fault.
Mitigation
One of the possible solutions is to implement a Restricted Earth Fault-REF (64R) protection at
the LV (star) side of the power transformer. REF protection is an effective solution for impedance
and solidly grounded transformers, as it can easily detect and respond to line-to-ground faults,
thereby providing essential protection for the unprotected winding.

White Paper | Restricted Earth Fault Protection (64R) in Resistive Grounded Transformer (Comprehensive
Analysis) | SgurrEnergy- www.sgurrenergy.com
References
 Network protection and Automation Guide by Alstom.
 Monograph of IEEEMA articles of Dr. K Rajamani, Rev 05, 2022.

Restricted Earth Fault Protection (64R) in Resistive Grounded Transformer

White Paper
(Comprehensive Analysis)

Year April 2023

Department EHV and Power System Studies Division of Electrical Engineering

Prepared By Darshan Suthar ([email protected] )

Approved By Anurag Chaturvedi ([email protected] )

This white paper will help to understand constrains with system grounding selected and mitigation plan to select proper
protection for Power Transformer. This document is prepared only for reference to understand protection system
concept. Intent of this document is not to show any project specific calculation/scheme, which can be utilized directly in
project. We welcome readers to share their observations, suggestions, or queries on our email id specified.

White Paper | Restricted Earth Fault Protection (64R) in Resistive Grounded Transformer (Comprehensive
Analysis) | SgurrEnergy- www.sgurrenergy.com