NTRODUCTION TO PROTECTIVE RELAYING

1965 Power Failure

Faults on power systems manifest themselves by high currents. The consequences of not
removing a fault from a system would be:
- damage to the faulted part of the system
- damage to a healthy part of the system
- loss of synchronism and consequently splitting of the system
The function of protection on power systems is to detect and remove the faulted parts as fast and
as selectively as possible. A well designed protective system should be:
- reliable (capable detecting all types of faults)
- selective (isolating only the faulted parts of the system)
- fast
- economical
- simple (minimum amount of equipment and circuitry. A complex protection system
results from one of two basic reasons:
(1) desire to save on circuit breakers (this is justifiable) or
(2) bad design)
The ASA Standards define four classes of relays:
1. auxiliary relays - used to assist other relays or devices to perform their function
Examples: timing relays, interposing relays, etc.
2. protective relays - used to detect faults and to initiate switching (i.e. send a signal to
the breakers to open)
Examples: overcurrent relays, impedance relays, etc.
3. regulating relays - used to detect a departure from a predetermined quantity and to
initiate corrective action to get the quantity back to its limits.
Examples: frequency relays, voltage relays used for voltage regulation, etc.
4. verification relays - used to verify conditions of the power system
Examples: alarm relays, etc.
Another classification of the relays is according to their speed.
1. high speed relays - operation time 3 cycles or less
2. low speed relays - operation time over 3 cycles
Advantage of using high speed relays is minimizing the amount of damage to the system during
a fault. Disadvantages are higher cost, and an increased probability of incorrect operation during
transient conditions.
Any relay operation falls into one of the following classes:

1. correct and desired

2. correct and undesired - arises from unforeseen conditions of the system
3. failure to trip - this can be guarded against by using back-up protection
4. incorrect - can be more disastrous to the system than a failure to trip. The design of protection
should minimize the consequences of an incorrect relay operation.
Each relay used for a power system protection performs a certain function and responds to a
change in a certain quantity. The quantities to which the relays respond are
- increased current in one or more phases
- direction of the current flow
- reduced voltage
- direction of power flow
- temperature rise of the equipment
- frequency
- ratio of voltage and current
According to their function, relays are classified as
- current relays (directional and nondirectional)
- voltage relays
- impedance relays (also called distance relays)
- power relays
- differential relays
- frequency relays

Connection of Relays to the Breakers

Large circuit breakers are operated electrically. Their operating mechanism includes a tripping
coil for opening of the breakers, and a closing coil for closing them. The tripping coil is
connected to contacts of protection relays. When the relays operate, the relay contacts close and
connect the breaker tripping coil to a d.c. source (129 V battery). After the breaker is opened,
there is an interlocking contact arrangement that prevents breakers to be closed back into the
fault.

Zones of Protection:
Figure below shows a typical protective system and its zones of protection. The power system is
divided into zones. Each section is either a transmission line, or a piece of major equipment such
as a transformer or a generator. The zones overlap to avoid leaving any area without protection.
The overlap of zones is usually achieved by overlapping connection to current transformers.