EEE 462

Switch Gear and Protection

Lecture 6
SOME TERMS IN PROTECTIVE RELAYING
Trip Circuit: The circuit comprising trip coil, relay contacts, auxiliary switch, battery
supply, etc which controls the circuit-breaker for opening operation.

Current Transformers (CT): The current ratio of a CT is usually high. The secondary
current ratings are of the order of 5 A, 1A, and 0.1 A, the latter being used for
static relays. Primary current ratings vary from 10 to 3000 A or more. Ratio error
and phase angle are important aspects of CT’s. The CT’s play an important role in
protective relaying. The Volt-Ampere rating of current transformers is low (5—150
VA) as compared with that of power transformers (a few kVA to several MVA).

Voltage Transformers or Potential Transformer: The voltage transformers

step-down the primary voltage to a secondary voltage of lower value. The
standard rated secondary voltage is 110 V, 240, 440 V. The Volt-Ampere capacity
of Potential Transformer is small relative to that of power transformers. The VT’s
are used for measurement and protection. They are accordingly called as
measuring instrument potential transformers and protective potential
transformers.
Fault Clearing Time: Time elapsed between the instant of occurrence of
fault and instant of final arc extinction in circuit breaker. It is expressed in
milliseconds (ms) or cycles 1 cycle in 50 Hz system is equivalent to 1/50
second, i.e. 0.02 second.

Relay Time: Time interval between occurrence of fault and closure of Relay
contact

Breaker Time: Time interval between closure of trip circuit and final arc
interruption.

Relay time plus breaker time is equal to fault clearing time.

Pick-up: The operation of relay is called relay Pick-up. Pick-up value or level is
the value of operating quantity which is on threshold (border) above which the
relay operates and closes its contacts. (testing quantity)
Consider an over-current delay. During an injection test, suppose, the current
is gradually increased. At a certain value of current, the relay contacts are on
the verge of moving such that increase in current causes contacts movement.
This value of current is known as pick-up value.
Normally the relay setting corresponds to pick-up value.
Basic Types of Relays
Most of the relays in service on electric power system today are of
electro-mechanical type.
They work on the following two main operating principles :
(i) Electromagnetic attraction
(ii) Electromagnetic induction
Electromagnetic attraction type:
• Electromagnetic attraction relays operate by virtue of an armature being
attracted to the poles of an electromagnet or a plunger being drawn into a
solenoid. Such relays may be actuated by d.c. or a.c.
quantities. The important types of electromagnetic attraction relays are-
(i) Attracted armature type relay
(ii) Solenoid type relay
(iii)
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Induction Relays
• Electromagnetic induction relays operate on the principle of induction
motor and are widely used for protective relaying purposes involving a.c.
quantities. They are not used with d.c. quantities owing to the principle of
operation.
• An induction relay essentially consists of a pivoted aluminium disc placed
in two alternating magnetic fields of the same frequency but displaced in
time and space.
• The torque is produced in the disc by the interaction of one of the
magnetic fields with the currents induced in the disc by the other.
• The two a.c. fluxes φ2 and φ1 differing in phase by an angle α induce e.m.f. in
the disc and cause the circulation of eddy currents i2 and i1 respectively.
These currents lag behind their respective fluxes by 90 degree.
The following points may be noted from the equation :

(a) The greater the phase angle α between the fluxes, the greater is the net
force applied to the disc. Obviously, the maximum force will be produced when
the two fluxes are 90 degree out of phase.

(b) The direction of net force and hence the direction of motion of the disc
depends upon which flux is leading.

The following three types of structures are commonly used for obtaining the
phase difference in the fluxes and hence the operating torque in induction
relays :
(i) shaded-pole structure
(ii) watthour-meter or double winding structure
(iii) induction cup structure
Thermal over load relay:
• It is a 3 pole relay. The measuring current flows through their
bimetals (1 per phase) which are indirectly heated.

• Under the effect of the heating, the bimetals bend (thermostat effect); cause
the relay to trip and the position of the auxiliary contacts to change.
• The relay setting range is graduated in amps.
• The relays are built to be self protecting in the event of an overload until the
short circuit protection device is activated. To make a fine adjustment, change
the distance between the heater and the heat-sensitive element.
Relay Timing
An important characteristic of a relay is its time of operation. By ‘the time
of operation’ is meant length of the time from the instant when the
actuating element is energized to the instant when the relay contacts are
closed. Sometimes it is desirable and necessary to control the operating
time of a relay.
Instantaneous relay:
• An instantaneous relay is one in which no intentional time delay is provided. In
this case, the relay contacts are closed immediately after current in the relay coil
exceeds the minimum calibrated value.
• Although there will be a short time interval between the instant of pickup and the
closing of relay contacts, no intentional time delay has been added. The
instantaneous relays have operating time less than 0·1 second.
• The instantaneous relay is effective only where the impedance between the relay
and source is small compared to the protected section impedance.
Inverse-time relay
• An inverse-time relay is one in which the operating time is approximately
inversely proportional to the magnitude of the actuating quantity.
Following figure shows the time-current characteristics of an inverse
current relay.
• At values of current less than pickup, the relay never operates. At higher
values, the time of operation of the relay decreases steadily with the
increase of current. The inverse-time delay can be achieved by associating
mechanical accessories with relays.
Definite time lag relay
• There is a definite time elapse between the instant of pickup and the
closing of relay contacts.
• This particular time setting is independent of the amount of current
through the relay coil; being the same for all values of current in excess of
the pickup value.
• Practically all inverse-time relays are also provided with definite minimum
time feature in order that the relay may never become instantaneous in
its action for very long overloads.
Important Terms
Pickup Current
• It is the minimum current in the relay coil at which the relay starts to
operate.
• So long as the current in the relay is less than the pick-up value, the
relay does not operate and the breaker controlled by it remains in the
closed position.
• when the relay coil current is equal to or greater than the pickup
value, relay operates to energise the trip coil which opens the circuit
breaker.
Important Terms
Current setting:
• It is often desirable to adjust the pick-up current to any required
value. This is known as current setting and is usually achieved by the
use of tappings on the relay operating coil.
• The plug bridge permits to alter the number of turns on the relay coil.
This changes the torque on the disc and hence the time of operation
of the relay.
• The values assigned to each tap are expressed in terms of percentage
full-load rating of C.T. with which the relay is associated and
represents the value above which the disc commences to rotate and
finally closes the trip circuit.
 Pick-up current = Rated secondary current of C.T. × Current setting
Problem: An OC relay having current setting of 125% is connected to a supply
circuit through a current transformer of 400/5. The rated secondary current of
C.T. is 5 Amp. Calculate the pickup current

Solution: the pick-up value will be 25% more than 5 A i.e. 5 × 1·25 = 6·25 A. It
means that with above current setting, the relay will actually operate for a
relay coil current equal to or greater than 6·25 A.
• Plug-setting multiplier (P.S.M.) The value of PSM indicates the severity of
the fault as seen by the relay. It is the ratio of fault current in relay coil to the
pick-up current i.e.
Time-setting multiplier
• A relay is generally provided with control to adjust the time of operation.
This adjustment is known as time-setting multiplier.
• The time-setting dial is calibrated from 0 to 1 in
steps of 0.05 sec
• These figures are multipliers to be used to convert
the time derived from time/P.S.M. curve into the
actual operating time. Thus if the time setting is 0·1
and the time obtained from the time/P.S.M. curve is
3 seconds, then actual relay operating
time = 3 × 0·1 = 0·3 second.
Time/P.S.M. Curve
• Following figure shows the curve between time of operation and plug
setting multiplier of a typical relay.
• If the P.S.M. is 10, then the time of operation (from the curve) is 3
seconds. The actual time of operation is obtained by multiplying this time
by the time-setting multiplier.
Calculation of Relay Operating Time
• To calculate the actual relay operating time, following things must be known :
(a) Time/P.S.M. curve (b) Current setting (c) Time setting (d) Fault current (e)
Current transformer ratio
• The procedure for calculating the actual relay operating time is as follows :
(i) Convert the fault current into the relay coil current by using the current
transformer ratio.
(ii) Express the relay current as a multiple of current setting i.e. calculate the
P.S.M.
(iii) From the Time/P.S.M. curve of the relay, read off the time of operation
for the calculated P.S.M.
(iv) Determine the actual time of operation by multiplying the above time of
the relay by time setting multiplier in use.
Determine the time of operation of a 5-ampere, 3-second overcurrent relay
having a current setting of 125% and a time setting multiplier of 0·6
connected to supply circuit through a 400/5 current transformer when the
circuit carries a fault current of 4000 A. Use the Time/P.S.M. Curve.
 Overcurrent protection
Overcurrent protection is that protection in which the relay picks up when
the magnitude of current exceeds the pickup level.
Overcurrent Relay
The overcurrent relays are connected to the system, normally by means
of CTs. Overcurrent relaying has following types:
— High speed overcurrent protection.
— Definite time overcurrent protection.
— Inverse minimum time overcurrent protection.
— Directional overcurrent protection (of above types).
Overcurrent Relay – basic function
• Over current protection includes the protection from overloads. This is
most widely used protection. Overloading of a machine Or equipment
(generally) means the machine is taking more current than is rated
current. Hence with overloading, there is an associated temperature rise.
The permissible temperature rise has limit based on insulation class and
material problems. Over-current protection of overloads is generally
provided by thermal relays.
• Over-current protection includes short-circuit protection. Short circuits can
be phase faults, earth faults or winding faults. Short-circuit currents are
generally several times (5 to 20) full load. Hence fast fault clearance is
always desirable on short-circuits.
• When a machine is protected by differential protection, the over-current is
provided in addition as a back-up and in some cases to protect the
machine from sustained through fault.
Applications of Over-current Protection
• Motor Protection: Over-current protection is the basic type of protection used
against over-loads and short-circuits in stator windings of motors. Inverse time
and instantaneous phase and ground over-current relays can be employed for
above 1000 kW. For small/medium size motors Where cost of CTS and
protective relays is not economically justified, thermal relays and HRC fuses
are employed, thermal relays used for overload protection and HRC fuses for
short-circuit protection.
• Transformer protection: Transformers are provided with over-current
protection against faults, only, when the cost of differential relaying cannot be
justified. However, over-current relays are provided in addition to differential
relays to take care of through faults. Temperature indicators and alarms are
always provided for large transformers.
• Line Protection: The lines (feeders) can be protected by :
1. Instantaneous over-current relays.
2. Inverse time over-current relays.
3. Directional over-current relays.
Characteristics of relay units for over-current
• There is a wide variety of relay-units. These are classified according to
their type and characteristics. The major characteristic include :
1. Definite characteristic
2. Inverse Definite Minimum Time (IDMT) Relay
3. very Inverse
4. Extremely inverse
Connection scheme with three O/C Relay