GENERATOR AND GENERATOR TRANSFORMERS

PROTECTION
General
1.1

1.2

Generators are designed to run at high load factor for a large number of years and permit certain incidences of
abnormal working conditions. The machine and its auxiliaries are supervised by monitoring devices to keep the
incidences of abnormal working conditions down to a minimum. Despite the monitoring, electrical and
mechanical faults may occur, and the generators must be provided with protective relays, which, in case of a
fault, quickly initiate a disconnection of the machine from the system and, if necessary, initiate a complete
shutdown of the machine.
Recommendations contained herein for electrical protective system of generator and generator transformer are
intended to be used for generators of 10 MVA and above. It describes requirements of various protections,
special comments to help in determining applications of these for units of various types and sizes, setting
criteria and tripping principles.

The protection requirements of machine used in pumped storage schemes need further attention and the
recommendations given below do not cover these details.
1.2.1

Generator can be connected to the primary transmission system in the following two ways:
I.
Unit Scheme
In this scheme no switchgear is provided between the generator and generator transformer which
are treated as a unit; a unit transformer is trapped off the interconnection for the supply of power to
auxiliary plant.
II.
Generator Circuit Breakers Scheme
In this scheme, a generator circuit breaker is provided between the generator and generater
transformer.

1.3

In view of generator unit being a complex system, various electrical hazards require consideration. These are
given below:
a. Stator insulation failure
b. Overvoltage
c. Rotor faults
d. Loss of synchronism
e. Over/under frequency
f. Overload
g. Unbalanced loading
h. Loss of excitation
i.
Reverse power protection
j.
Inadvertent energisation of generator

1.4

Following are the various protections recommended for the generator and generator transformer protection.

Type of Fault
GENERATOR STATOR
Short circuits

Asymmetry
Stator overload

ANSI Device No.

87 G
87 GT
21 G
51/27 G
46 G
51 G

Device No.

Protection Functions
Generator differential
Overall differential
Minimum impedance(or alternatively
over current/under voltage)
Negative sequence
Overload

Earth fault stator

64 G1
64 G2
40 G
98 G
32 G/37 G

Loss of excitation
Out of step
Monitoring
Blade fatigue
Inter turn fault
Mag.circuits
Higher voltage
Accidental energisation
Monitoring
GENERATOR ROTOR
Rotor ground
GENERATOR TRANSFORMER
Short circuits

Ground fault
Overhang
UNIT AUXILIARY TRANSFORMER
Short circuit
Ground fault

81 G
59 G/87 GT
99 G
59 G
27/50 G
60 G

95% stator earth fault

100% stator earth fault
Loss of excitation
Pole slip
Low forward power/reverse power
(double protection for large generators)
Minimum frequency
Over voltage or under current
Overfluxing volt/Hz
Overvoltage
Dead machine
PT fuse failure

64 F

Rotor earth fault

87 GT
51 GT
87 T
51 NGT
87 NT
87 HV

Overall differential
Overcurrent
Transformer differential
Earth fault overcurrent
Restricted earth fault
HV winding cum overhang differential

87 UAT
51 UAT
51 UAT
64 UAT

Transformer differential
Overcurrent
Residual overcurrent
Restricted earth fault

The transformers guards like Buchholtz protection, winding temperature high, oil temperature high, etc. are also
important and shall be provided as per transformer manufacturers recommendations.
1.5

Recommendations regarding selection of the generator protections for units of different types and sizes are
summarized in the table given below:
Functions

differential
95% stator E/F
100% stator E/F
Interturn faults
Backup
impedance
Voltage
controlled O/C
Negative
sequence
Field Failure
Reverse power
Pole slipping
overload
overvoltage
Under frequency
Dead machine
Rotar earth fault
overfluxing

Steam
Small(<1
0 MVA)
Y
Y
N
Y
N

Gas
Medium(<10100 MVA)
Y
Y
Y/N
Y
Y

Turbines
Large(>100
MVA)
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y

Hydro
Small(<10
MVA)
Y
Y
N
Y
N

Turbines
Medium(<10100 MVA)
Y
Y
Y/N
Y
Y

Large(>100
MVA)
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y

Y
Y
N
N
Y
Y
N
Y
N

Y
Y
N
N
Y
Y
N
Y
Y

Y
Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y

Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
N
Y
N

Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
N
Y
Y

Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y

2. Detailed requirements
2.1 Generator stator
2.1.1
Generator differential protection(87 G)
This is a unit type protection, instantaneous in operation, covering the stator winding for phase to phase
faults.
The generator differential relay is not sensitive to phase earth faults due to high neutral earthing
resistance arrangement.
As this protection operates for generator internal faults, opening the generator breaker in class-A
eliminates the system in-feed to the fault(if the unit is synchronized).
For all machines of ratings 10 MVA and above, this protection shall be provided.
Requirements :
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)

2.1.2

Be triple pole type with individual phase indication

Have operating time less than 30 milliseconds at 2 times setting
Be high or low impedance principle based
Operating current 5 to 10% of nominal current
High stability against maximum through fault condition, CT saturation, harmonics and DC
transients
Be provided with suitable voltage dependent resistors across the relay to limit the voltage to
safe level, in case of high impedance type relay

Generator transformer differential protection (87 GT)

This is a unit type protection with coverage from the generator terminals up to the HV breaker and the
generator transformer HV terminals.
It will detect phase faults on both sides of the generator transformer and single phase to earth faults of
the HV side only (the earth fault current on the LV side is very small, due to the high neutral earthling
resistance).
Generator transformer differential relays have harmonic restraint circuits to prevent incorrect operation
when the generator and the unit transformers are energized from the system.
For all machines of ratings MVA and above, this shall be provided. The protection need not include Unit
Auxiliary Transformer (UAT) in its zone and UAT should be covered by a separate protection.
In case of breaker-and-half switching scheme, the CTs associated with main and tie breakers shall be
connected to separate bias winding and these should not be paralleled in order to avoid false operation
due to dissimilar CT transient response.
Requirements :
i)
ii)
iii)

iv)
v)
vi)

Be triple pole type with individual phase indication

Have through fault restraint features for external faults with an adjustable or multi-bias setting
Have magnetizing inrush restraint features and also be stable for inrush under normal over
fluxing conditions, magnetizing inrush proof feature shall not be achieved through any
intentional time delay e.g. use of timers to block relay operation
Shall have unrestrained instantaneous highest overcurrent unit operation which is unaffected
by inrush
Have one bias winding per phase and per CT input (However UAT CT need not have separate
input and maybe parallel with the generator CT).
Have an adjustable operating current

vii)
viii)

2.1.3

Have an operating time not greater than 30 milliseconds at 5 times setting

Have facility for ratio and phase angle correction eiter through auxiliary transformer or through
inbuilt provisions.

Backup protection for short circuits

For machines of 10 MVA above this shall be provided. For machines of ratings less than 10 MVA
voltage restrained over current relay may be used in place of minimum impedance relay.

2.1.3.1 Backup impedance protection (21 G)

This operates for phase faults in the unit, in the HV yard or in the adjacent transmission lines with a
suitable delay, for cases when the corresponding main protection fails to operate.
For faults on the high voltage side of the delta-star connected generator transformer, the impedance
measured by the relay is influenced by the relay connection, the fault type and generator and system
source impedance. For this reason a circular characteristic the center of which corresponds to
connection position of VT should be used.
The impedance relay shall have fuse-fail interlock.
Requirements :
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

Be triple pole type

Be of single step under impedance type
Shall have two adjustable definite time delay of 0.5-5 seconds
Be suitable for measuring two or three phase faults within a set distance from the point of
installation
Shall be able to operate for fault currents down to 0.3 in.

Setting recommendations
The impedance relay shall have reach setting to cover the longest HV outgoing line or 70% of rated
generator load impedance
-

Time relay of step 1 = 0.5 sec

Time relay of step 2 shall be set to coordinate with third zone time of distance relay or back up o/c
relay of the outgoing line

2.1.3.2 Overcurrent/undervoltage protection (51/27 )G

i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
2.1.4

Be triple pole type

Should be able to operate when the fault current from the generator terminals becomes low
due to excitation system characteristic
Shall have undervoltage criteria
Shall reset to de-energized position if under-voltage criteria disappears

Negative phase sequence protection (46 G)

The negative phase sequence protection safeguards the generator rotor against overheating caused by
the induced double frequency (100 Hz) currents when negative phase sequence currents are present in
the stator. The negative phase sequence current can appear due to un-balanced single phase loads or
transmission line unsymmetrical faults.
For all machines of ratings 10 MVA and above this shall be provided.
Requirements:

i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

Be triple pole type

Have an alarm unit and a trap unit
Have a continuously adjustable negative sequence current setting
Have a definite time setting range of 1-10 seconds associated with an alarm unit
Have alarm unit range covering negative phase sequence current of 5-10 % of generator rated
current continuously adjustable

vi)

Have a trip unit with a variable time current characteristic matching with the generator

I2 t

characteristic
Setting recommendations
The relay should be set to the NPS capacity of the generator. The NPS capability of the machines
varies considerably from one machine to another and no required settings are thus suggested.
Alarm unit shall be set at 50% of continuous withstand capability value of the machine and time delay
for alarm can be = 3 seconds.
2.1.5

Generator overload protection (51 G)

As an additional check of the stator winding temperatures, overload relay is used.
This may be provided for hydro units where there are high head variations and connected for alarm. It
may also be connected for run back.
In case of thermal set there is no chance of thermal overloading as the machine is provided with
number of limiters and therefore is not recommended.
Requirements:

2.1.6

i)
Be single pole type
ii)
Be of definite time over-current type
iii)
Have a continuously adjustable setting range of 50-200%
iv)
Have a drop-off/pick-up ratio greater than 95%
v)
Have an adjustable time setting range of 2.5 to 25 seconds
Generator stator earth fault protection
The high neutral earthling resistance arrangement limits the generator earth fault current to less than 10
amperes, therefore minimizing damage to the core lamination. Although a single phase earth fault is not
critical, it requires clearance within a short time, due to the following:
-

It may develop into a phase to phase fault (due to presence of ionized air)
If a second earth fault occurs the current is no longer limited by the earthing resistor
Fire may result from the earth arc

Two different types of stator earth fault relays are recommended both installed in the secondary circuit
of the generator.
2.1.6.1 0-95% stator earth fault protection (64 G1)
This protection zone is limited to approximately 95% of the stator winding due to the danger of false
tripping. This shall be voltage relay monitoring the voltage developed across the earthing resistor by the
neutral return current. This is normally in the back up protection. It also covers the generator bus, low
voltage winding of the unit transformer and the high voltage winding of the UAT. When connected to
open delta winding of generation PT, the protection shall be blocked for PT fuse failure.
For faults within 10% of the generator neutral, the resulting current is not enough to operate the relay.

For all machines of ratings 10 MVA and above this shall be provided.
Requirements:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

Single pole type

Shall have independently adjustable voltage and time setting
Suitable to protect 95% of stator winding
Be suitable for operating from broken-delta voltage transformers or neutral grounding
transformer secondary
Shall be insensitive to 3rd harmonic voltage

Setting recommendations
Pick-up voltage of the relay = 5% of maximum neutral voltage
Time delay 0.3-0.5 seconds
2.1.6.2 100% stator earth fault protection (64 G2)
This protects the whole stator winding and the generator neutral. The relay generally operates on the
principle of low frequency signal injection into the secondary of the earthing transformer, detecting the
corresponding current if an earth fault occurs. The relay is set in terms of insulation resistance. This is
normally in the main protection.
Alternatively, a protection based on change in magnitude/distribution of 3rd harmonic voltage caused by
an earth fault is used. When provided, this shall have voltage check or current check unit as applicable,
to prevent faulty operation of the relay at generator stand still or during the machine running down
period.
For machines above 100 MVA the protection shall always be provided. For machines of smaller sizes
the option is left to the utility depending upon the importance of the machine. For machines of 200 MVA
and above low frequency current injection based relays are recommended.
Where 95-100% relay is separately available, this may be connected for alarm and operator can take
the machine out.
Requirements:
i)
ii)
iii)

iv)
v)

vi)

Be suitable to protect 100% of stator winding

Be insensitive to external faults, transients and inherent harmonic currents.
Shall be based on low frequency current injection principle/alternatively shall operate on the
principle of detecting change in the magnitude/distribution of third harmonic voltage caused by
an earth fault.
Have continuously adjustable time delay range 1-20 seconds
If based on injection principle
o Shall continuously monitor ground circuit
o Shall continuously monitor injection signal and injection equipment
o Shall be in service at standstill, startup and stop
If based on 3rd harmonic voltage principle
o Shall have under voltage or over current check

Setting recommendations
100% stator earth fault relay (injection principle)
Pick up level of the relay = 500 ohms

Time delay 2 seconds (greater than 3rd zone of distance relay)

100% stator earth fault relay (3rd harmonic principle)

2.1.7

Setting
0.45 V
Time delay
2.0 sec
Voltage check unit
80% of rated voltage
Current check unit
20% of rated current
Loss of excitation protection (40 G)
A complete loss of excitation may occur as a result of unintentional opening of the field breaker, an open
circuit or a short circuit of the main field or a fault in AVR.
When a generator with sufficient active load loses the field current it goes out of synchronism and starts
to run on asynchronously at a speed higher than the system absorbing reactive power for the excitation
from the system. Under these conditions the stator end regions and part od the rotor get over heated.
This is recommended for machines of all sizes above 10 MVA.
Requirements:
i)

ii)
iii)

Have mho characteristic lying in the 3rd and 4th quadrant of impedance diagram with adjustable
reach and offset. Alternatively, this protection shall be based on directional current unit with
setting range to match generator capability curve.
Shall have an under voltage relay and/or over current relay as an additional check.
Shall have timer with adjustable range of 1-10 seconds to distinguish loss of excitation from
power swings.

Setting recommendations
i)

2.1.8

For offset mho type relay

o Diameter of mho circle = Xd
o Offset of the mho circle from origin = Xd/2
o Time delay = 1.0 second
o Under voltage relay = 70%
ii)
For directional current type relay
o directional current relay is set to match with the generator capability curve in 4th quardrand
o time delay
0.5 1 second
o under voltage
70%
o over current
110 115%
Pole slipping protection (98G)
The loss of field protection shall be supplemented by an additional out of step function which detects all
pole slips.
Pole slipping of generators with respect to the system, can be caused by a number of conditions leading
to an increase in rotor angular position beyond the generator transient stability limits. Some of the
causes of pole slipping are:
a) Large network disturbances
b) Faults on electrical network close to the generator
c) Weak tie between the network and the generator (tripping of transmission lines)
d) Loss of generator field (field winding or excitation supply failure)
e) Operating the generator in an excessive under excited mode.

This is recommended for machines of 100 MVA and above. For hydro machines utilities can decide
depending on machine parameter.

Requirements
i)
ii)

Shall be capable of detecting a power swing which can lead to instability in addition to being able to
detect an actual pole slip
By varying size of the characteristic it shall be possible to ensure that a trip command is given to
the circuit breakers in such a way that seperation of poles occurs at a controlled angle at any time.

Setting requirements
i)

If the source of oscillation lies within a generator/transformer unit, the machine has to be isolated
from the network after the first slip

Forward reach of relay characteristics shall cover generator/generator transformer. Tripping in this zone shall
be in the first pole slip. The reach of this zone is = 0.7 XT
ii)
2.1.9

If the source of oscillation lies outside the unit in the network, the generator should not be switched
off or atleast not until several pole slips have occurred.
Low forward power/reverse power interlock relays (32 G/37 G)
The low forward power interlock is recommended for thermal machines and reverse power protection
may be used for hydro machines to protect against motoring.
When the steam flow through turbine is interrupted by closing the ESVs or the governor valves, the
remaining energy stored in the set is delivered to the system and the machine enters into a motoring
condition drawing power from the system to supply its losses while keeping the turbo alternator shaft at
synchronous speed.
The low forward power relay detects that the unitis motoring and must therefore be
shutdown
Tripping for mechanical faults and abnormal conditions

For faults in the turbine or boiler, the turbine protection closes the ESVs. For abnormal conditions, the
generator protection closes the ESVs. When the generator develops low forward power, the relay after a
short time delay trips the generator breaker.
A protection field suppression signal may also be required if the AVR does not have a built-in facility to
reduce the generator field current as the speed decreases, to avoid overfluxing conditions.
Requirements
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)

be single phase power measuring type

have a power setting of approximately 0.5 1 % of rated active power of generator unit
have independent time delay relay with setting range of 1 - 10 seconds and 0 20 seconds
respectively on pick up
have one more common timer with a pick up setting range 5 50 seconds for annunciation that the
turbo generator set has started motoring
have suitable arrangement for preventing the operation of this protection during startup and
synchronizing of the unit
shall be provided with possibility of angle correction to facilitate measurement of power accurately.

Setting recommendations:

2.1.10

low forward power relay pickup < 0.05 x Pn

timer t1 = 2 seconds, t2 = 2 seconds
Under frequency protection
The frequency under protection
Prevents the steam turbine and generator from exceeding the permissible operating time
at reduced frequencies

Ensures that the generating unit is separated from the network at a present value of
frequency that is less than the final stage of system load shedding.
Prevents the AVR from exciting the machine at reduced speeds when some protective
relays may not perform at all
Prevent over fluxing of the generator. The over fluxing relay is used to protect against
small over fluxing for long periods while the over voltage and under frequency relays als
protect against large over fluxing for short times

The stator under frequency relay measures the frequency of the stator terminal voltage.
Though under frequency tripping is recommended by turbine manufactures, care should be taken by grid
operating personnel in ensuring that machines are not run at lower frequencies and instead resort to means
like load shedding in the event of overload.
Requirements:
i)
ii)
iii)

Have one alarm stage and two tripping stages

Shall have setting of range of 45 Hz 55 Hz with a least count of 0.1 Hz for each stage
Timer for alarm stage have a range of 0.5 5 seconds with a least count of 0.5 second. Timers for
each tripping stage shall have a range of 1 to 10 seconds with a least count of 0.1 second
Shall have under voltage blocking

iv)

Setting recommendations:
-

Stator under frequency relay pickup level = 48.5 Hz

Time delay
Alarm -2 seconds

For tripping stages recommendations of turbine manufacturers may be followed.

2.1.11

Inter turn fault protection (59 G)

It is generally considered difficult to obtain reliable protection against short circuit of one turn if the stator
winding has large number of turns per phase.
Inter turn fault protection is recommended only for machines where there is a split winding and all the
six terminals are brought out on the neutral side.
For the generator with split neutral, conventional inter-turn fault protective scheme comprises a time
delayed low set over-current relay which senses the current flowing in the connection between the
neutrals of the stator winding.
Alternatively, a split phase differential protection may be used.
Requirements:
i)
ii)
iii)

Over current relay with time delay

Over current relay shall have built in filters to reject higher harmonics
Range of over current shall be selected depending on maximum spill current for external fault

Setting recommendations
Over current relay shall be set to maximum unbalanced current in case of external fault.
Time delay 0.2 0.4 seconds
2.1.12

Generator transformer over fluxing protection (99 GT)

Over fluxing protection is provided to safeguard the generator, generator transformer and unit
transformer against operation at flux densities which may cause accumulative damage to the core.

From the fundamental equation V = 4.44 x f x n x , the level of flux is proportional to the ratio of
terminal voltage to frequency (v/f). This ratio is monitored by the protective relay.
An over fluxing condition is more likely to occur while the generator is separated from the system and
the speed is allowed to drop, but it can also happen with the machine on load if the tap changer of the
generator transformer (HV side) is on a low tap position and the excitation of the generator is manually
increased. In this case the increased generator terminal voltage may cause over fluxing tripping at
nominal frequency.
The over fluxing protection operates with a time delay after which the tripping functions are executed.
This protection must be provided for generator-transformer of size 10 MVA and above.
Requirements:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

Over fluxing protection shall be phase to phase connected

Operate on the principle of measurement of voltage to frequency ratio
Have inverse time characteristics compatible with generator transformer over fluxing withstand
capability for tripping
Provide an independent alarm with a definite time delay of value of V/f between 100% to 130%
of rated value
Have a high resetting ratio of 98% or better

Setting recommendations:
The over fluxing capability of the transformer must be checked and the characteristic matched
accordingly for both alarm and trip.
2.1.13

Generator over voltage protection (59 G)