POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Lecture 32
Power System Protection, Transient Stability

Dr. Ali Al-Awami

Ack.: Prof. Tom Overbye
Power System Protection

 Main idea is to remove faults as quickly as possible

while leaving as much of the system intact as
possible
 Fault sequence of events
1. Fault occurs somewhere on the system, changing the
system currents and voltages
2. Current transformers (CTs) and potential transformers
(PTs) sensors detect the change in currents/voltages
3. Relays use sensor input to determine whether a fault has
occurred
4. If fault occurs relays open circuit breakers to isolate fault
Power System Protection

 Protection systems must be designed with both primary

protection and backup protection in case primary protection
devices fail
 In designing power system protection systems there are two
main types of systems that need to be considered:
1. Radial: there is a single source of power, so power always
flows in a single direction; this is the easiest from a protection
point of view
2. Network: power can flow in either direction: protection is
much more involved
Radial Power System Protection

 Radial systems are primarily used in the lower

voltage distribution systems. Protection actions
usually result in loss of customer load, but the
outages are usually quite local.
The figure shows
potential protection
schemes for a
radial system. The
bottom scheme is
preferred since it
results in less lost load
Radial Power System Protection

 In radial power systems the amount of fault current is

limited by the fault distance from the power source: faults
further done the feeder have less fault current since the
current is limited by feeder impedance
 Radial power system protection systems usually use
inverse-time overcurrent relays.
 Coordination of relay current settings is needed to
open the correct breakers
Inverse Time Overcurrent Relays

 Inverse time overcurrent relays respond instan-taneously to a current

above their maximum setting
 They respond slower to currents below this value but above the pickup
current value

5A
Inverse Time Relays, cont'd

 The inverse time characteristic provides backup

protection since relays further upstream (closer to
power source) should eventually trip if relays closer
to the fault fail
 Challenge is to make sure the minimum pickup
current is set low enough to pick up all likely faults,
but high enough not to trip on load current
 When outaged feeders are returned to service there
can be a large in-rush current as all the motors try to
simultaneously start; this in-rush current may re-trip
the feeder
Inverse Time Overcurrent Relays

Current and time

settings are ad-
justed using dials
on the relay

Relays have
traditionally been
electromechanical
devices, but are
gradually being
replaced by
digital relays
Protection of Network Systems

 In a networked system there is a number of

different sources of power. Power flows are
bidirectional
 Networked system offer greater reliability, since the
failure of a single device does not result in a loss of
load
 Networked systems are usually used with the
transmission system, and are sometimes used with
the distribution systems, particularly in urban areas
Network System Protection

 Removing networked elements require the opening

of circuit breakers at both ends of the device
 There are several common protection schemes;
multiple overlapping schemes are usually used
1. Directional relays with communication between
the device terminals
2. Impedance (distance) relays.
3. Differential protection
Directional Relays

 Directional relays are commonly used to protect high voltage

transmission lines
 Voltage and current measurements are used to determine
direction of current flow (into or out of line)
 Relays on both ends of line communicate and will only trip
the line if excessive current is flowing into the line from both
ends
– line carrier communication is popular in which a high frequency
signal (30 kHz to 300 kHz) is used
– microwave communication is sometimes used
Directional Relays

 Directional relays are commonly used to protect high voltage

transmission lines
 Voltage and current measurements are used to determine
direction of current flow (into or out of line)
 Relays on both ends of line communicate and will only trip
the line if excessive current is flowing into the line from both
ends
– line carrier communication is popular in which a high frequency
signal (30 kHz to 300 kHz) is used
– microwave communication is sometimes used
Directional Relays

 Directional relays are commonly used to protect high voltage

transmission lines
 Voltage and current measurements are used to determine
direction of current flow (into or out of line)
 Relays on both ends of line communicate and will only trip
the line if excessive current is flowing into the line from both
ends
– line carrier communication is popular in which a high frequency
signal (30 kHz to 300 kHz) is used
– microwave communication is sometimes used
Impedance Relays

 Impedance (distance) relays measure ratio of

voltage to current to determine if a fault exists on a
particular line

Assume Z is the line impedance and x is the

normalized fault location (x 0 at bus 1, x 1 at bus 2)
V1 V1
Normally is high; during fault x Z
I12 I12
Impedance Relays Protection Zones

 Toavoid inadvertent tripping for faults on other

transmission lines, impedance relays usually have
several zones of protection:
– zone 1 may be 80% of line for a 3 fault; trip is instantaneous
– zone 2 may cover 120% of line but with a delay to prevent
tripping for faults on adjacent lines
– zone 3 went further; most removed due to 8/14/03 events
 The key problem is that different fault types will present
the relays with different apparent impedances; adequate
protection for a 3 fault gives very limited protection for
LL faults
Impedance Relay Trip Characteristics

Source: August 14th 2003 Blackout Final Report, p. 78

Differential Relays

 Main idea behind differential protection is that during

normal operation the net current into a device should
sum to zero for each phase
– transformer turns ratios must, of course, be considered
 Differential protection is used with geographically local
devices
– buses
– transformers
– generators

I1  I 2  I 3 0 for each phase

except during a fault
Other Types of Relays

 In addition to providing fault protection, relays are used to

protect the system against operational problems as well
 Being automatic devices, relays can respond much quicker
than a human operator and therefore have an advantage when
time is of the essence
 Other common types of relays include
– under-frequency for load: e.g., 10% of system load must be shed if
system frequency falls to 59.3 Hz
– over-frequency on generators
– under-voltage on loads (less common)
Sequence of Events Recording

 During major system disturbances numerous relays

at a number of substations may operate
 Event reconstruction requires time synchronization
between substations to figure out the sequence of
events
 Most utilities now have sequence of events
recording that provide time synchronization of at
least 1 microsecond
Impact of renewables on If?!

 What is the impact of high penetration of solar PV on

fault current?
 What about the impact of wind?
 Impact of renewables on If
– The inverter limits current injected by PV array during faults.
– Is this good or bad?

http://www.google.com/patents/US8305058
21
 Impact of renewables on If
Are Renewables All the Same? Wind Topologies

Fixed speed IG
(squirrel-cage IG)

Variable speed IG
(round-rotor IG)

DFIG: Doubly-
Fed Induction
Generator
(round-rotor IG)

E. Muljadi, V. Gevorgian, M. Singh and S. Santoso,

"Understanding inertial and frequency response of
wind power plants," 2012 IEEE Power Electronics Synchronous
and Machines in Wind Applications, Denver, CO,
2012, pp. 1-8.
Generator
22
Use of GPS for Fault Location

 Since power system lines may span hundreds of miles,

a key difficulty in power system restoration is
determining the location of the fault
 One newer technique is the use of the global
positioning system (GPS).
 GPS can provide time synchronization of about 1
microsecond
 Since the traveling electromagnetic waves propagate at
about the speed of light (300m per microsecond), the
fault location can be found by comparing arrival times
of the waves at each substation
Power System Transient Stability

 In order to operate as an interconnected system all of

the generators (and other synchronous machines)
must remain “in synchronism” with one another
– synchronism requires that (for two pole machines) the
rotors turn at exactly the same speed
 Loss of synchronism results in a condition in which
no net power can be transferred between the
machines
 A system is said to be transiently unstable if
following a disturbance one or more of the
generators lose synchronism
Generator Transient Stability Models

 In order to study the transient response of a power

system we need to develop models for the generator
valid during the transient time frame of several
seconds following a system disturbance
 We need to develop both electrical and mechanical
models for the generators. After all, a generator is
an electro-mechanical machine.
Example of Transient Behavior
Generator Electrical Model

 The simplest generator model, known as the

classical model, treats the generator as a voltage
source behind the direct-axis transient reactance;
the voltage magnitude is fixed (for a given field
current level), but its angle changes according to
the mechanical dynamics

VT Ea
Pe ( )  '
sin 
Xd
Generator Mechanical Model

Generator Mechanical Block Diagram

Tm  J m  TD  Te ( )
Tm  mechanical input torque (N-m)
J  moment of inertia of turbine & rotor
 m  angular acceleration of turbine & rotor
TD  damping torque
Te ( )  equivalent electrical torque
Generator Mechanical Model, cont’d
In general power = torque  angular speed
Hence when a generator is spinning at speed s
Tm  J  m  TD  Te ( )
Tm s  ( J  m  TD  Te ( )) s  Pm
Pm  J  ms  TDs  Pe ( )
Initially we'll assume no damping (i.e., TD 0)
Then
Pm  Pe ( )  J  ms

Pm is the mechanical power input, which is assumed

to be constant throughout the study time period
(for a given valve opening)
Generator Mechanical Model, cont’d
Pm  Pe ( )  J  ms Initial rotor angle,
before disturbance,
m  st   i.e. at t = 0.
d m Rotor angle
m   m  s  
dt Initial rotor speed,
 m   m   Synchronous speed
Rotor speed
Pm  Pe ( )  J s m  J s
J s  inertia of machine at synchronous speed
Convert to per unit by dividing by MVA rating, S B ,
Pm Pe ( ) J s 2s
 
SB SB S B 2s
Generator Mechanical Model, cont’d
Pm Pe ( ) J s 2 s
 
SB SB S B 2 s
Pm  Pe ( ) J  s2 1 
  (since  s 2 f s )
SB 2S B  f s
J  s2
Define  H  per unit inertia constant (sec)
2S B
All values are now converted to per unit
H  H
Pm  Pe ( )   Define M 
 fs  fs
Then Pm  Pe ( )  M 
Generator Swing Equation
This equation is known as the generator swing equation
Pm  Pe ( )  M 
Adding damping we get
Pm  Pe ( )  M  D
This equation is analogous to a mass suspended by
a spring
k x  gM Mx Dx
Single Machine Infinite Bus (SMIB)

 To understand the transient stability problem we’ll

first consider the case of a single machine
(generator) connected to a power system bus with
a fixed voltage magnitude and angle (known as an
infinite bus) through a transmission line with
impedance jXL
SMIB, cont’d

Ea
Pe ( )  ' sin 
Xd  XL
Ea
M  D  PM  ' sin 
Xd  XL
SMIB Equilibrium Points
Equilibrium points are determined by setting the
right-hand side to zero
Ea
M  D  PM  ' sin 
Xd  XL

Ea
PM  ' sin  0
Xd  XL
'
Define X th  X d  XL
 1  PMX th 
  sin 
 Ea 
Transient Stability Analysis

 Equal-area criterion (sec 11.5)

 Stability limit for sudden change in Pm (sec
11.5.1)
Example 11.2/11.4
Transient Stability Analysis –
Application to 3-phase Fault (Sec 11.6)
 For transient stability analysis we need to consider
three systems
1. Prefault - before the fault occurs the system is
assumed to be at an equilibrium point
2. Faulted - the fault changes the system equations,
moving the system away from its equilibrium point
3. Postfault - after fault is cleared the system
hopefully returns to a new operating point
Transient Stability Solution Methods

 There are two methods for solving the transient

stability problem
1. Numerical integration
 this is by far the most common technique, particularly
for large systems; during the fault and after the fault the
power system differential equations are solved using
numerical methods
2. Direct or energy methods; for a two bus system
this method is known as the equal area criteria
 mostly used to provide an intuitive insight into the
transient stability problem
SMIB Example
 Assume a generator is supplying power to an
infinite bus through two parallel transmission lines.
Then a balanced three phase fault occurs at the
terminal of one of the lines. The fault is cleared by
itself after a while without the need to open line L2
ckt breakers.
SMIB Example, cont’d

Simplified prefault system

The prefault system has two

equilibrium points; the left one
is stable, the right one unstable
 1  PMX th 
  sin 
 Ea 
SMIB Example, Faulted System

During the fault the system changes

The equivalent system during the fault is then

During this fault no
power can be transferred
from the generator to
the system
SMIB Example, cont’d
Pe pre-fault
Pe post-fault

Pe during fault
Obtaining critical clearing angle
Apply equal-area criterion

Pe pre-fault
Pe post-fault

Pe during fault
Example 11.5
SMIB Example

 Assume a generator is supplying power to an

infinite bus through two parallel transmission lines.
Then a balanced three phase fault occurs at the
terminal of one of the lines. The fault is cleared by
the opening of this line’s circuit breakers.
SMIB Example, cont’d

Simplified prefault system

The prefault system has two

equilibrium points; the left one
is stable, the right one unstable
 1  PMX th 
  sin 
 Ea 
SMIB Example, Faulted System

During the fault the system changes

The equivalent system during the fault is then

During this fault no
power can be transferred
from the generator to
the system
SMIB Example, Post Fault System

After the fault the system again changes

The equivalent system after the fault is then

SMIB Example, Dynamics

During the disturbance the form of Pe ( ) changes,

altering the power system dynamics:

 1  EaVth 
   PM  sin  
M X th 
SMIB Example

 Assume a generator is supplying power to an

infinite bus through two parallel transmission lines.
Then a balanced three phase fault occurs at the
middle of one of the lines. The fault is cleared by
the opening of this line’s circuit breakers.
SMIB Example, Dynamics
SMIB Example, Dynamics
Example 11.5