BASIC RELAY TERMINOLOGY

Relay: A relay is an automatic device by means of

which an electrical circuit is indirectly controlled
(opened or closed) and is governed by a change in
the same or another electrical circuit.
Protective relay: A protective relay is an automatic
device which detects an abnor- mal condition in an
electrical circuit and causes a circuit breaker to
isolate thefaulty element of the system. In some
cases it may give an alarm or visible indication to
alert operator. Operating force or torque: A force or
torque which tends to close the contacts of the relay.
Restraining force or torque: A force or torque which
opposes the operating force/ torque.
 Actuating quantity: An electrical quantity
(current, voltage, etc) to which relay responds.
Pick-up(level):
The threshold value of the actuating
quantity(current,voltage,etc.) above which the
relayoperates.
Reset on drop-out (level): The threshold value
of the actuating quantity (current,voltage etc.)
below which the relay is deenergised and
returns to its normal position or state.maximum
value of the actuating quantity below which
contacts are opened is called the reset or drop-
out value.
 Operatingtime:
It is the time which elapses from the instant at
which the actuating quantity exceeds the relays
pick-up value to the instant at which the relay
closes its contacts.
Reset time:
It is the time which elapses from the moment
the actuating quantity falls below its reset value
to the instant when the relay comes back to its
normal (initial) position.
Setting: The value of the actuating quantity at
which the relay is set to operate.
 Seal-in relay:
This is a kind of an auxiliary relay. It is energised by the
contacts of the main relay. Its contacts are placed in
parallel with those of the main relay and is designed
to relieve the contacts of the main relay from their
current carrying duty.It remains in the circuit until the
circuit breaker trips. The seal-in contacts are usually
heavier than those of the main relay.
Back-up relay:
A back-up relay operates after a slight delay, if the
main relay fails to operate.
Back-up protection:
The back-up protection is designed to clear the fault if
primary protection fails. It acts as a second line of defence.
 Primaryprotection:
If a fault occurs,it is the duty of the primary
protective scheme to clear the fault. It acts
as a first line of defence. If it fails, the back-
up protection clears the fault.
Auxiliary relays:
Auxiliary relays assist protective relays. They
repeat the operations of protective relays,
control switches, etc. They relieve the
protective relays of duties like tripping,
timelag, sounding an alarm,etc.They may be
instantaneous or may have a time delay.
 Electromagnetic relay:
A relay which operates on the electromagnetic
principle, i.e., an electromagnet attracts magnetic
moving parts (e.g.,) plunger type moving iron type,
attracted armature type). Such a relay operates
principally by action of an electromagnetic element
which is energized by the input quantity.
Electromechanical relay:
An electrical relay in which the designed response is
developed by the relative movement of mechanical
elements under the action of a
currentintheinputcircuit.Suchrelayoperatesbyphysical
movementofmechanical parts resulting from
electromagnetic or electrothermic forces created by
 Static relays:
These are solid state relays and employ
semiconductor diodes, transistors, thyristors,
logic gates, ICs, etc. The measuring circuit is a
static circuit and there are no moving parts.In
some staticrelays,a slave relay which is a dc
potarised relay is used as the tripping device.
Analog relay:
An analog relay is that in which the measured
quantities are con- verted into lower voltage but
similar signals, which are then combined or
compared directly to reference values in level
detectors to produce the desired output.
 Digitalrelay:
A digital relay is that in which the measured ac quantities
are manipulated in analog form and subsequently
converted into either square-wave voltages or digital form.
Logic circuits or microprocessors compare either the phase
relation- ships of the square waves or the magnitudes of
the quantities in digital form to make a trip decision.
Numerical relay:
A numerical relay is that in which the measured ac
quantities are sequentially sampled and converted into
numerical (digital) data form. A microprocessor or a
microcontroller processes the data numerically (i.e.,
performs mathematical and/or logical operations on the
data) using an algorithm to calculate the fault discriminants
and make trip decisions.
 Microprocessor-based relay:
A microprocessor is used to perform all functions of a
relay. It measures electrical quantities, makes
comparisons, performs computations, and sends
tripping signals. It can realise all sorts of relaying
characteristics, even irregular curves which cannot
be reslised by electromechanical or static relays
easily. Microcontroller-based relay:
A microcontroller is used for performing all the
functionoftherelay.Itmeasurestheelectricalquantities
byacquiringthemindigital form through a data
acquisition system, makes comparisons, processes
the digital data to calculate the fault discriminants
and make trip decisions. It can realise all sorts of
 DSP-basedrelay:
A Digita lSignal Processor(DSP)is used to perform al lthe
functions of a relay.
Undervoltage relay:
A relay which operates when the system voltage falls
below a certain preset value.
Directional or reverse power relay:
A directional relay is able to detect whether the point
of fault lies in the forward or reverse direction with
respect to the relay location. It is able to sense the
direction of power flow, i.e. whether the power is
flowing in the normal direction or the reversedirection.
Polarised relay:
A relay whose operation depends on the direction of
curren or voltage
 Time-lag relay:
A time-lag relay operates after a certain preset time
lag. The time lag may be due to its inherent design
feature o rmay be due to the presence of a time
delay component. Such relays are used in protection
schemes as a means of time discrimination. They
are frequently used in control and alarm schemes.
Inverse time relay:
A relay in which the operating time is inversely
proportionalto the magnitude of the operating
current.
Definite time relay:
A relay in which the operating time is independent
of the magnitude of the actuating current.
Inverse Definite Minimum Time (IDMT) Relay:
A relay which gives an inverse time
characteristic at lower values of the operating
current and definite time charac- teristic at
higher values of the operating current.
Induction relay:
A relay which operates on the principle of
induction. Examples are induction disc relays,
induction cup relays etc.
Thermal relay:
This relay utilises the electrothermal effect of
the actuating current for its operation.
 Distance relay:
A relay which measures impedance or a component of
the impedance at the relay location is known as
adistancerelay.It is used for the protection of a
transmission line.As the impedance of a line is
proportional to the length of the line, a relay which
measures impedance or its component is called a
distancerelay.
Impedancerelay:
A relay which measures impedance at the relay
location is called an impedance relay. It is a kind of a
distancerelay.
Pickup
A relay is said to be picked up when it moves from
‘OFF position to ‘ ON’ position.
 Pickup Value
It is the minimum value of an actuating quantity at
which relay starts operating. In most of the Relays the
actuating quantity is current in the relay coil and pickup
value of current is indicated along with the Relay.
Dropout or Reset
A relay is said to dropout or reset when it comes back
to original position (i.e) when relay contacts open from
its closed position. The value of an actuating quantity
current or voltage below which the relay resets is called
reset value of that relay.
Time Delay
The Time taken by the relay to operate after it has
sensed the fault is called time delay of relay
 Sealing Relays or Holding Relays
The relay contacts are designed for light
weight and hence they are therefore very
delicate. When the protective relay closes
its contacts, it is relieved from other duties
such as time lag, tripping etc. These duties
are performed by auxiliary relays which are
also called sealing relays or holding relays
( Note : Auxillary relay contact bypasses
the relay contact) Current Settings
 Current Settings
The pick up value of current can be adjusted to the
required level in the relays – current setting of that
relay.It is achieved by use of tapings on the relay coil –
Plug bridge.Tap values - % full load ratings of C.T with
which the relay is associated. Fig shows the current
setting. The value of pickup current is obtained as
pickupcurrent=% current setting X rated secondary
current of CT
The rating of CT = 500 / 10 A
Current setting = 150 %
Pickup current = 1.5 X 10 = 15A When the relay coil
current is greater than or equal to 15A, the relay
operates