Basic Protection Philosophy

Imagination at work

All Power Systems may experience faults at some

time.
Based on the Parameters measured, we can understand the
following,

Normal operation

Abnormal operation

Faults in the system

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Protection - Why Is It Needed?
All Power Systems may experience faults at some time.
PROTECTION IS INSTALLED TO :
Detect fault occurrence and isolate the faulted equipment.

SO THAT :
Damage to the faulted equipment is limited;
Disruption of supplies to adjacent unfaulted equipment is minimised.

PROTECTION IS EFFECTIVELY AN INSURANCE POLICY

- AN INVESTMENT AGAINST DAMAGE FROM FUTURE
FAULTS.

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Protection - Why Is It Needed?

FAULTS ON POWER SYSTEMS RISK :

Severe damage to the faulted equipment :
Excessive current may flow;
Causes burning of conductors or equipment windings;
Arcing - energy dissipation;
Risk of explosions for oil - filled switchgear, or when in
hazardous environments.
Damage to adjacent plant :
As the fault evolves, if not cleared quickly;
Due to the voltage depression / loss of supply.
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Protection - Why Is It Needed?

FAULTS ON POWER SYSTEMS RISK :

Danger to staff or the public :
Risk of shock from direct contact with the faulted
equipment;
Danger of potential (voltage) rises in exposed metalwork –
accessible to touch;
Fumes released by burning insulation;
Burns etc.
Disruption to adjacent plant :
Prolonged voltage dips cause motors to stall;
Loss of synchronism for synchronous generators / motors.
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Protection - Why Is It Needed?

SUMMARY :

Protection must :

Detect faults and abnormal operating conditions;

Isolate the faulted equipment.

So as to :

Limit damage caused by fault energy;

Limit effect on rest of system.

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 Operating States of Power System

NORMAL

RESTORATIVE ALERT

IN EXTREMIS EMERGENCY

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Important Considerations When Applying Protection

Types of fault and abnormal conditions to be protected against
Quantities available for measurement
Types of protection available
Speed
Fault position discrimination
Dependability / Reliability
Security / Stability
Overlap of protections
Phase discrimination / Selectivity
CTs and VTs
Auxiliary supplies
Back-up protection
Cost & Duplication of protection
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Faults Are Mainly Caused By Insulation Failure

Underground Cables

Diggers
Overloading
Oil Leakage
Ageing

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Faults Are Mainly Caused By Insulation Failure

Overhead Lines

Lightning
Kites
Trees
Moisture
Salt
Birds
Broken Conductors

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Faults Are Mainly Caused By Insulation Failure

Machines

Mechanical Damage
Unbalanced Load

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Types of Fault
a
b
Ø/E
c

a
b
Ø/Ø/E
c
e

a
Ø/Ø b
c

a a
3Ø b b
c 3Ø/E c

e
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Types of Fault

a a'
CROSS b b'
COUNTRY c c'
FAULT
e e

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Types of Fault

a
OPEN
CIRCUIT
b
+ Ø/E c

FAULT
BETWEEN
ADJACENT
PARALLEL
LINES

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Types of Fault

a
CHANGING
FAULT IN
CABLE
b c

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Types Of Protection

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Types of Protection
Fuses
For : LV Systems, Distribution Feeders and
Transformers, VTs, Auxiliary Supplies
Direct Acting AC Trip
For : LV Systems, Pole Mounted Reclosers
Overcurrent and Earthfault
Widely used in all Power Systems
Non-Directional
Voltage Dependant
Directional

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Types of Protection

Differential
For : Feeders, Busbars, Transformers, Generators, etc.
High Impedance
Restricted E/F
Biased (or low-impedance)
Pilot Wire
Digital

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Types of Protection

Distance
For : Distribution Feeders and Transmission and
Sub-Transmission Circuits
Also used as Back-up Protection for
Transformers and Generators
Phase Comparison
For : Transmission Lines
Directional Comparison
For : Transmission Lines

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Types of Protection

Miscellaneous
Under and Over Voltage
Under and Over Frequency
Special Relays for Generators, Transformers,
Motors, etc.

Control Relays
Auto-Reclose, Tap Change Control, etc.

Tripping and Auxiliary Relays

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Overcurrent Protection Direct Acting AC Trip

51

Trip Coil

IF

AC series trip
• common for electromechanical O/C relays
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Overcurrent Protection Direct Acting AC Trip

IF'

+
Sensitive
51 Trip
Coil
-

IF

Capacitor discharge trip

• used with static relays where no secure DC supply is
available
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Overcurrent Protection DC Shunt Trip

IF
IF'

51

DC SHUNT
BATTERY TRIP COIL

Requires secure DC auxiliary

• No trip if DC fails See tutorial regarding confidentiality
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Overcurrent Protection Co-ordination Principle

Relay closest to fault

must operate first
Other relays must have
R1 R2

adequate additional
IF1

operating time to
prevent them operating
T

Current setting chosen

to allow FLC
Consider worst case
conditions, operating
modes and current
IS2 IS1 Maximum I

flows
Fault
Level
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Differential Protection Principle (1)

Protected
Circuit

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Differential Protection Principle (2)

Protected
Circuit

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Basic Principle of Distance Protection

Relay
ZS PT. IR ZL

Normal
VS VR ZLOAD
Load

ZR = = Z L + Z LOAD
VR
Impedance measured
ΙR

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Basic Principle of Distance Protection

ZL

ZS IR ZF

VS VR ZLOAD Fault

Impedance Measured ZR = VR/IR = ZF

Relay Operates if ZF < Z where Z = setting

Increasing VR has a Restraining Effect ∴VR called
Restraining Voltage

Increasing IR has an Operating Effect
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Plain Impedance Characteristic

jX ZL Impedance Seen At
Measuring Location
For Line Faults

TRIP STABLE

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Impedance Characteristic Generation

zF jIX
IF
IZ V1
V2
VF V3

IR
Trip TRIP STABLE
Spring

Restrain Voltage to Relay = V

Operate
Current to Relay = I
Replica Impedance = Z
Ampere Turns : VF IZ
Trip Condition : S2 < S1
Trip Conditions : VF < IFZ
where : S1 = IZ ≈ Z
S2 = V ≈ ZF

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Buchholz Relay Installation

3 x internal pipe
Conservator
diameter (minimum)
5 x internal pipe
diameter (minimum)

Oil conservator
3 minimum

Transformer

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Autoreclose Benefits (1)

Improved continuity of supply
• Supply restoration is automatic (does not require
human intervention)
• Shorter duration interruptions
• Less consumer hours lost
Use of instantaneous protection for faster fault
clearance
(NB: some healthy circuits may also be tripped)
• Less damage
• Less pre-heating of circuit breaker contacts
(reduced maintenance?)
• Less chance of transient fault becoming
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Autoreclose Benefits (2)

Less frequent visits to substations

• More unmanned substations

• Reduced operating costs

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Definitions & Considerations

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Classes of Protection
Non-Unit, or Unrestricted Protection :
No specific point downstream up to which
protection will protect
Will operate for faults on the protected equipment;
May also operate for faults on downstream equipment,
which has its own protection;
Need for discrimination with downstream protection,
usually by means of time grading.

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Classes of Protection
Unit, or Restricted Protection :

Has an accurately defined zone of protection

An item of power system plant is protected as a

unit;
Will not operate for out of zone faults, thus no
back-up protection for downstream faults.

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Co-ordination

LOAD

SOURCE
LOAD

LOAD

F1 LOAD F2
F3

Co-ordinate protection so that relay nearest to fault

operates first – minimises amount of system
disconnection.

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ANSI Reference Numbers

2 Time Delay 51 Time Delayed Overcurrent

51N Time Delayed Earthfault
21 Distance 52 Circuit Breaker
25 Synchronising Check 52a Auxiliary Switch - Normally Open
52b Auxiliary Switch - Normally Closed
27 Undervoltage 59 Overvoltage
30 Annunciator 60 Voltage or Current Balance
64 Instantaneous Earth Fault (High Impedance)
32 Directional Power 67 Directional Overcurrent
37 Undercurrent or Under
67N Directional Earthfault
Power
74 Alarm
85 Signal Receive
40 Field Failure 86 Lock-Out
46 Negative Sequence 87 Differential

49 Thermal 79 Auto-Reclose

50 Instantaneous Overcurrent
81 Frequency
85 Signal Receive
86 Lock-Out
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Important Considerations When Applying Protection

Speed
Fast operation :
Minimises damage and danger
Very fast operation :
Minimises system instability
Discrimination and security can be costly to
achieve as it generally involves additional
signaling / communications equipment.

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Important Considerations When Applying Protection

Fault Position Discrimination

Power system divided into PROTECTED ZONES
Must isolate only the faulty equipment or section

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Zones of Protection

TRANSF- BUSBAR
BUSBAR ORMER ZONE
ZONE ZONE
FEEDER
ZONE

GENERATION ZONE

BUSBAR
ZONE FEEDER
ZONE

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Important Considerations When Applying Protection

Overlap of Protections
No blind spots
Where possible use overlapping CTs

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Protection Overlap

BBP BBP
‘1’ ‘2’

H J

‘Z’

G LP LP K L
‘H’ ‘J’

LP LP
‘K’ ‘L’

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Important Considerations When Applying Protection

Dependability / Reliability
Protection must operate when required to
Failure to operate can be extremely damaging
and disruptive
Faults are rare. Protection must operate even
after years of inactivity
Improved by use of: Back-up protection and
duplicate protection

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Important Considerations When Applying Protection

Security / Stability
Protection must not operate when not
required to,
e.g. due to : Load switching
Faults on other parts of the system
Recoverable power swings

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Important Considerations When Applying Protection

Phase Discrimination
Correct indication of phases involved in the fault
Important for single phase tripping and auto-
reclosing applications

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Cost

The cost of protection is equivalent to an insurance

policy against damage to plant, and loss of supply and
customer goodwill.
Acceptable cost is based on a balance of economics
and technical factors. Cost of protection should be
balanced against the cost of potential hazards.
There is an economic limit on what can be spent.

MINIMUM COST : Must ensure that all faulty

equipment is isolated by
protection.

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Cost
TOTAL COST should take account of :

Relays, schemes and associated panels and
panel wiring

Setting studies

Commissioning

CTs and VTs

Maintenance and repairs to relays

Damage repair if protection fails to operate

Lost revenue if protection operates
unnecessarily

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Cost
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Large numbers of switching and distribution
points, transformers and feeders

Economics often overrides technical issues

Protection may be the minimum consistent
with statutory safety regulations

Speed less important than on transmission
systems

Back-up protection can be simple and is often
inherent in the main protection

Although important, the consequences of
maloperation or failure to operate is less
serious than for transmission systems
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Cost
TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS

Emphasis is on technical considerations rather
than economics

Economics cannot be ignored but is of secondary
importance compared with the need for highly reliable,
fully discriminative high speed protection

Higher protection costs justifiable by high capital
cost of power system elements protected

Risk of security of supply should be reduced to
lowest practical levels

High speed protection requires unit protection

Duplicate protections used to improve reliability

Single phase tripping and auto-reclose may be
required to maintain system stability
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Important Considerations When Applying
Protection

Current and Voltage Transformers

These are an essential part of the protection scheme to
reduce primary current and volts to a low level suitable
to input to relay.
They must be suitably specified to meet the requirements
of the protective relays.
Correct connection of CTs and VTs to the protection is
important. In particular for directional, distance, phase
comparison and differential protections.
VTs may be electromagnetic or capacitor types.
Busbar VTs : Special consideration needed when used for
line protection.
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Current Transformer Circuits

Never open circuit a CT secondary circuit, so :

Never fuse CT circuits;
VTs must be fused or protected by MCB.
Do wire test blocks in circuit (both VT and CT) to allow
commissioning and periodic injection testing of relays.
Earth CT and VT circuits at one point only;
Wire gauge > 2.5mm2 recommended for mechanical
strength.

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 Auxiliary Supplies
Required for : TRIPPING CIRCUIT BREAKERS
CLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKERS
PROTECTION and TRIP RELAYS
AC AUXILIARY SUPPLIES are only used on LV and MV systems.
DC AUXILIARY SUPPLIES are more secure than AC supplies.
SEPARATELY FUSED SUPPLIES used for each protection.
DUPLICATE BATTERIES are occasionally provided for extra security.
MODERN PROTECTION RELAYS need a continuous auxiliary supply.
During unoperated (healthy) conditions, they draw a small
‘QUIESCENT’ load to keep relay circuits energised.
During operation, they draw a larger current which increases due to
operation of output elements.

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Relay Outputs
TRIP OUTPUT CONTACTS :

Check that these are rated sufficiently to make and carry the
circuit breaker trip coil current. If not, a heavier duty tripping relay
will be needed.

Use a circuit breaker normally open (52a) contact to
interrupt trip coil current. This extends the life of the
protection relay trip contacts.
TYPE OF CONTACTS :
Make (M) / Close when energised, typically used
Normally Open (NO) for tripping.

Break (B) / Close when de-energised.

Normally Closed (NC)

Changeover (C/O) Can be break before make (BBM) or

make before break (MBB).

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 Electrical Network
Generation
Transmission P139 P940
P340
P640
P140
P340
P740 P440 P540 P140

P240
P640 Industry

P120 P640

Home
P140
Distribution
P139 Low Voltage

MiCOM protections cover all areas of the power system

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MiCOM Protection portfolio

P900 Frequency Protection Relays

P800 Autoreclose Relays

P700 Busbar Protection Relays

P600 Transformer Protection Relays

P500 Line Differential Relays

P400 Distance Protection Relays

P300 Generator Protection Relays

P200 Universal Motor Protection Relay

P100 Feeder Management Relays

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 Front Panel
Rating Information
Fixed function LCD
LEDs
Direct Access
(Hot Keys)

Menu Navigation
Alarm viewer Keys
(Read Key)

Programmable
Battery LEDs
back-up

25 Pin Download/
9 Pin Local
Monitor port
communications
Security seal
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Rear view
Voltage inputs
Dual rated CTs
Digital inputs

Power
Time supply
Synchronisation

Fibre optic Output Relays

substation
communications

K-Bus / RS485
Expansion slot communications See tutorial regarding confidentiality

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