P64x/EN AP/A32 (AP) 6-46 2.3 2.3.

1 Restricted earth fault protection Basic principles

Application Notes MiCOM P642, P643, P645

An earth fault is the most common type of fault that occurs in a transformer. The following conditions must be satisfied for an earth fault current to flow: A path exists for the current to flow into and out of the windings (a zero sequence path) The ampere turns balance is maintained between the windings

The magnitude of earth fault current is dependent on the method of earthing (solid or resistance) and the transformer connection. Consider the star winding resistance earthed shown in Figure 32. An earthfault on such a winding causes a current which is dependent on the value of earthing impedance, and is proportional to the distance of the fault from the neutral point since the fault voltage is directly proportional to this distance. The ratio of transformation between the primary winding and the short circuited turns also varies with the position of the fault, so the current which flows through the transformer terminals is proportional to the square of the fraction of the winding which is short circuited

AP

V1 3R

= FLC

V 1 = T 1 V 2 = T 2 V1 = V2 1= 3 V 1 = V 2 3 T 1 T2

3 T 1 T 2 = 3 T 1 T2
f =

x.V1 3R

primary =

x V1 x T1 T2 3R 1 3

= x 2 FLC

Figure 32 Star winding resistance earthed

Application Notes MiCOM P642, P643, P645

P64x/EN AP/A32 (AP) 6-47

If the fault in Figure 32 is a single end fed fault, the primary current should be greater than 0.2 pu (Is1 default setting) for the differential protection to operate. Therefore,

x2 3

> 20%

The following table shows that 41% of the winding is protected by the differential element. x 10 20 30 40 50 59 70 80 90 100 Idiff in % 0.58 2.31 5.20 9.24 14.43 20.00 28.29 36.95 46.77 57.74

59% of unprotected winding

41% of protected winding

In a solidly earthed star winding, the fault current is limited only by the leakage reactance of the winding, which varies in a complex manner with the position of the fault. For the majority of the winding the fault current is approximately 3 x IFLC, reaching a maximum of 5 x IFLC. Earth faults occurring on a transformer winding or terminal may be of limited magnitude, either due to the impedance present in the earth path or by the percentage of transformer winding that is involved in the fault. It is common to apply standby earth fault protection fed from a single CT in the transformer earth connection; this provides time-delayed protection for a transformer winding or terminal fault. In general, particularly as the size of the transformer increases, it becomes unacceptable to rely on time delayed protection to clear winding or terminal faults as this would lead to an increased amount of damage to the transformer. A common requirement is therefore to provide instantaneous phase and earth fault protection. Applying differential protection across the transformer may also fulfil these requirements. However, an earth fault occurring on the LV winding, particularly if it is of a limited level, may not be detected by the differential relay, as it is only measuring the corresponding HV current. Therefore, instantaneous protection that is restricted to operating for transformer earth faults only, is applied. This is referred to as restricted, or balanced, earth fault protection (REF or BEF). The BEF terminology is usually used when the protection is applied to a delta winding. The P64x uses biased differential protection to provide fast clearance for faults within the protected zone. The value of earth fault current, however, may be limited by any impedance in the earth path or by the percentage of the winding involved in the fault. The P64x offers a restricted earth fault element for up to 3 windings of the protected transformer to provide greater sensitivity for earth faults which will not change with load current. The levels of fault current available for relay measurement are shown below. If an earth fault is considered on an impedance earthed star winding of a Dyn transformer (Figure 33), the value of current flowing in the fault (If) depends on two factors. These are the value of earthing impedance and the fault point voltage, which is governed by the fault location. The value of fault current (If) is directly proportional to the location of the fault as shown in Figure 33. A restricted earth fault element (64) is connected to measure If directly, to provide more sensitive earth fault protection. The overall differential protection is less sensitive, since it only measures the HV current Is. The value of Is is limited by the number of faulty secondary turns in relation to the HV turns.

AP

P64x/EN AP/A32 (AP) 6-48

Application Notes MiCOM P642, P643, P645

P4308ENa

Figure 33

Fault limitation on an impedance earthed system

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Figure 34

Fault limitation on a solidly earthed system

Application Notes MiCOM P642, P643, P645

P64x/EN AP/A32 (AP) 6-49

If a fault on a solidly earthed star winding (Figure 34) is considered, the fault current is limited by the leakage reactance of the winding, any impedance in the fault and by the fault point voltage. The value of fault current varies in a complex manner with fault location. As in the case of the impedance earthed transformer, the value of current available as an overall differential protection operating quantity is limited. More sensitive earth fault protection is provided by a restricted earth fault relay (64), which is arranged to measure If directly. Although more sensitive protection is provided by REF, the operating current for the overall differential protection is still significant for faults over most of the winding. For this reason, independent REF protection may not have previously been considered necessary for a solidly earthed winding, especially where an additional relay would have been required. With the P64x, the REF protection is available at no extra cost if a neutral CT is available. Restricted earth fault protection is also commonly applied to Delta windings of large power transformers, to improve the operating speed and sensitivity of the protection package for winding earth faults. When applied to a Delta winding this protection is commonly referred to as balanced earth fault protection. It is inherently restricted in its zone of operation when it is stabilized for CT spill current during inrush or during phase faults. The value of the fault current flowing depends on system earthing arrangements and the fault point voltage. 2.3.2 REF operating mode When applying differential protection such as REF, some suitable means must be used to give the protection stability under external fault conditions, ensuring that relay operation only occurs for faults on the transformer winding or connections. The P64x uses the bias technique which operates by measuring the level of through current flowing and altering the relay sensitivity accordingly. In addition, the P64x uses the delayed bias and transient bias to improve the stability of REF during external faults. Low impedance REF with a triple slope biased characteristic is provided in the P64x. One low impedance REF protection function is available for each transformer winding. It is based on comparing the vector sum of phase currents of the transformer winding to the neutral point current measured directly. The differential current and bias current are given by the following expression:

AP

I REF ,diff = I A + I B + IC + I N scaling factor

IREF,bias = 0.5 max I A , IB , IC + IN scaling factor

The REF biased characteristic is as follows:

P64x/EN AP/A32 (AP) 6-50

Application Notes MiCOM P642, P643, P645

Operating Region

K2

Restraint Region

Is1

K1 Is2 IREF Bias

P4274ENa

AP
Figure 35

P64x restricted earth fault biased characteristic

Low impedance biased REF settings are similar to those of the biased differential protection function. The low impedance REF is blocked by CTS. 2.3.3 Setting guidelines for low impedance biased REF protection Two bias settings are provided in the REF protection in the P64x. The REF K1 level of bias is applied up to through currents of s2 Set, which is normally set to the rated current of the transformer. REF> K1 is normally set to 0% to give optimum sensitivity for internal faults. However, if any differential spill current is present under normal conditions due to CT mismatch, REF K1 may be increased accordingly to compensate. Then a setting of 20% is recommended. REF> K2 bias is applied for through currents above s2 Set and may typically be set to 150% to ensure adequate restraint for external faults. The neutral current scaling factor which automatically compensates for differences between neutral and phase CT ratios relies on the relay having been programmed with the correct CT ratios. It must therefore be ensured that these CT ratios are entered into the relay, in the CT RATIOS menu, for the scheme to operate correctly. Typical settings for s1 Set according to ESI 48-3 1977 are 10-60% of the winding rated current when solidly earthed and 10-25% of the minimum earth fault current for a fault at the transformer terminals when resistance earthed. Figure 36 shows the relay connections for the P64x relay applied for biased REF protection.

Application Notes MiCOM P642, P643, P645

P64x/EN AP/A32 (AP) 6-51

Figure 36

P64x connections for biased REF protection

In Figure 36, the three line CTs are connected to the three phase CTs in the normal manner. The neutral CT is then connected to the Iy input. These currents are then used internally to derive both a bias and a differential current quantity for use by the low impedance REF protection. The actual operating characteristic of the element is shown in Figure 37. The advantage of this mode of connection is that the line and neutral CTs are not differentially connected so the neutral CT can also be used to drive the 51N protection to provide Standby Earth Fault Protection. Also, no external equipment such as stabilizing resistors or metrosils are required, as is the case with high impedance protection. Where it is required that the neutral CT also drives the 51N protection element to provide standby earth fault protection, it may be a requirement that the neutral CT has a lower ratio than the line CTs to provide better earth fault sensitivity. If this was not accounted for in the REF protection, the neutral current value used would be incorrect. The relay automatically calculates the scaling factor that matches in amplitude the summation of line currents to the neutral current. This is shown in Figure 37.

AP

P64x/EN AP/A32 (AP) 6-52 Power transformer Line CTs ratio 1000 / 1

Application Notes MiCOM P642, P643, P645

Phase A Phase B Phase C F

IA IB

V V
IN

IC

Neutral CT ratio 200/1

EF 1 MiCOM 64 x

AP

P4311ENa

Figure 37

P64x REF scaling factor

Example 1: Consider a solidly earthed 90 MVA transformer which has a star winding protected by the REF function in the P64x. Consider 400:1 line CTs. Is1 Set is set to 10% of the winding nominal current:
Is1 Set = 0.1 90 10 6 3 132 10
3

= 39 Aprimary

39 = 0.98 A sec ondary 400

Is2 is set to the rated current of the transformer:

Is 2 Set = 90 10 6 3 132 10
3

= 390 Aprimary =

390 = 1A sec ondary 400

As recommended previously K1 may be set to 0% and K2 to 150%.