CHAPTER 11 Distance Protection of Feeders

BY N. S. ELLIS.
INTRODUCTION
X
A variety of relays are used in modern schemes of dis-
tance protection as produced by different manufactur-
ers. These can be classified according to the theoretical
polar characteristics and the type of comparator used in LOCUS OF FAULTS
ON FEEDER
the basic relay element. There are only a limited number
of characteristics in general use. These are normally
referred to by the terms, plain impedance, ohm, reac-
tance, directional, mho, and polarised mho characteris-
tics. Any type of comparator can be used to produce any
type of characteristic. Thus while there appear to be an
exceptionally large number of relays in use, all with
individual characteristics, in fact the number of types is
restricted.
All distance relays are characterised by having two
input quantities respectively proportional to the voltage
and current at a particular point in the power system, x = Phase-angle of Feeder Impedance.
referred to as the relaying point. The ideal forms of such
FIG. 1. IMPEDANCEDIAGRAMFORSYSTEMFAULTS.
relays have characteristics which are not dependent on
the actual values of voltage and current but only on their
ratio and the phase angle between them. These ideal
characteristics which define the conditions for marginal
operation are thus completely specified by the complex
impedance Z where Z = VII. The impedance Z can be x
shown on a complex diagram having principal axes of
resistance and reactance. The modulus (( ZI ) of Z when
OPERATION OCCURS
plotted as a function of the phase angle (0) of Z com- INSIDE SHADED AREA
pletely defines the relay characteristics.
The locus of the impedances presented to the relay by
the power system can be superimposed on this same
diagram. Thus the locus of faults is a straight line
through the origin inclined at the angle of the line of
impedance to the resistance axis. This is illustrated in fig.
1. Other system conditions such as load currents and
power swings can also be represented and are consi-
dered later.

BASIC POLAR CHARACTERISTICS

Plain Impedance
The plain impedance characteristic shown in fig. 2 is the FIG. 2. PLAIN IMPEDANCECHARACTERISTIC.
simplest in use and consists of a circle with centre at the
origin. Operation occurs in the shaded area inside the
circle. The significance of this is that the relay operates
below a certain impedance level, which is independent
of the phase angle between voltage and current. admittance instead of impedance diagram, gives a
straight line. The more general case where the circular
Mho and Offset Mho characteristic of the plain impedance case is offset by
A class of relays is used in which the characteristic is varying amounts is known as the “offset mho” charac-
again circular but is not now centred on the origin. The teristic. Different degrees of offset mho characteristics
term “mho” is given to the particular case where the are shown in fig. 4. Offset mho relays used in practice are
circumference of the circle passes through the origin as intermediate in characteristic between a plain impe-
shown in fig. 3. This term was originally derived from the dance and a mho characteristic and do not normally take
fact that the mho characteristic when plotted on an the completely offset form of fig. 4b.

149
 The polarised mho characteristic is identical to the
mho characteristic. There are, however, important prac-
tical differences between relays with the two types of
characteristics. It should also be noted that the term
‘polarised mho’ is not in general use and has been intro-
duced in order that the two types may be distinguished.
In most of the literature, the term ‘mho’ is used indis-
criminately and a close study is necessary to determine
which type of relay is used.

Directional
The characteristic is a straight line passing through the
origin as shown in fig. 5. Operation takes place on one
side of the line as indicated by the shading.
X
FIG. 3. MHOCHARACTERISTIC.

FIG. 5. DIRECTIONAL CHARACTERISTIC

Ohm and Reactance

The characteristics of this group are also straight lines
FIG.4a. OFFSETMHO CHARACTERISTIC. but they do not pass through the origin. One of the most
commonly used forms is the reactance relay shown in fig.
6a in which the characteristic is parallel to the resistance
axis. Operation occurs for reactances less than this
value. Another is the ohm blocking relay in which the
characteristic lies parallel with the locus of the feeder
impedance as shown in fig.6b.

BASIC COMPARATOR DEVICES

General
Comparators are conveniently divided into two groups
according to whether a comparison is made of the amp-
litude of the two input quantities or of the phase-angle
between them. In practice the two types may be made to
give exactly similar results and the arrangements of cir-
cuits may be similar. It is important to recognise the
distinction however as similar circuits used with the two
types of comparators will in general give different relay
characteristics. Thus, for example, as will be shown later,
the circuit used to produce a directional characteristic
with an amplitude comparator is identical to that used to
l------ produce a plain impedance characteristic with a phase
FIG. 4b. ALTERNATIVE OFFSETMHO CHARACTERISTIC. angle comparator.

150
 OUTPUT

FIG. 7. REPRESENTATIONOFIDEALAMPLITUDE
(ORPHASE-ANGLE)COMPARATOR.

finite amount for an output to be obtained. The equation

FIG. 6a. REACTANCECHARACTERISTIC is then modified to:
lf(S,)IkK + If(&)/ ........ .. . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
The function (f) is the same for both inputs and for
most devices is either a linear or square function i.e. the
signal is either of the form S or Y.
LOCUS OF Over the working range of the relay it is always neces-
FEEDER IMPEDANC
sary for the constant K to be negligible so that the
simplified equation (1) may be used. This may be
achieved in practice either by making the input quan-
tities very large or by modifying one of the inputs so that
a further constant which is equal and opposite to K is
effectively added to the equation. It will be noted that
the above expressions are independent of the angle bet-
ween the complex inputs.

Phase-angle Comparator
The general case may again be conveniently rep-
resented by the ‘black box’ of fig. 7, the two inputs
signals now being designated by Si and Sz. The condi-
tions for operation in the ideal case may now be written
as:

- Tr < rl$
-= . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)
2
where y is the angle by which S, leads S2.
FIG. 6b. OHMCHARACTERISTIC In this case, the operation is independent of the mag-
nitude of the two input quantities.
With practical comparators, it is necessary for the
inputs to exceed a finite value before operation can be
obtained and the expression becomes:
Amplitude Comparators
f(l Si[ 1)Szl
, ~0s ~123.
The general case may be conveniently represented as In the simplest case, this function merely involves the
in fig. 7 by a ‘black box’ with two pairs of input terminal product of the three quantities, i.e.
and an output which may take the form of an electrical or
mechanical signal. The two alternating input quantities IS&z/ cos r, K.
may be either voltage or current according to the par-
ticular device in question. If the two inputs are denoted
by an operating signal (S,) and a restraint signal (S,), Practical Amplitude Comparators
then the conditions necessary to obtain an output can be Beam Relay
expressed as:
One of the earliest comparators used, which is being
IsO[lls,( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) gradually superseded, is the balanced beam relay. In this
With all practical comparators it is necessary for the relay, two magnetic circuits are arranged to act at oppo-
operating signal to be in excess of the restraint signal by a site ends of a beam as illustrated in fig. 8. Assuming that

151
the turns are equal on the two coil systems and that the
magnetic circuits are similar, operation isobtained when
~1,~‘)~11~’ + K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5)
It is necessary to ensure that the operating and
restraining forces are adequately smoothed as otherwise
there is a tendency for the beam to follow the pulsating
forces and violent c,hattering may be set up. This is
angle between inputs. So far as is known, it is not used in
any modern scheme of distance protection.
This type of comparator should not be confused with
the induction disc or cup phase-angle comparators
described later. In the former the driving torque is the
sum of two separately derived torques, whereas in the
latter the two compared quantities combine in the pro-
duction of a single torque.

Moving-Coil RelayI
A moving-coil relay (see fig. 10) with two operating
coils, the general construction of which is similar to that

RESTRAINT OPERATE

FIG. 8. BALANCED-BEAM AMPLITUDE COMPARATOR.

particularly the case when the two inputs are 90” out of
phase. It is difficult to design this comparator to work
safisfactorily over a large range of input quantities due to
the rapid increase of force with input-currents. The
beam must be designed to withstand the large forces
corresponding to maximum input and yet must also be
sufficiently light to enable a small control force K to be FIG. 10. MOVING-COIL AMPLITUDE COMPARATOR
used. The comparator is also very susceptible to posi-
tional errors as the operating force increases rapidly with
change in position of the beam. of a loudspeaker movement, is currently used by one
The main application of this type nowadays lies in the manufacturer. With this unit, operating and restraining
provision of cheap starting elements with limited range forces are proportional to the input currents. This,
and accuracy requirements. together with the high basic sensitivity of the moving-
coil relay, enables a reasonable range to be obtained
Induction Disc before thermal overloading limits the maximum values
By providing two entirely separate driving mechan- of input currents. As the forces are independent of the
isms on an induction disc as shown in fig. 9, an amplitude position of the coil the unit does not suffer from posi-
comparator is obtained. This unit suffers from most of tional errors and also has a reset value equal to the
the disadvantages of the beam relay with regard to range operating value. An alternative form of relay similar in
of operation but has not the positional errors, as the principle to an ordinary ammeter movment can also be
forces are independent of the actual position of the disc. used. In practice this form is currently used only in
It is much less efficient however and is slow in operation. conjunction with the rectifier comparator.
There is also interference between the two magnetic
circuits, which produces errors dependent on the phase
Rectifier ComparatoP
A comparator circuit consisting of two bridge recti-
fiers and a sensitive output relay is shown in fig. 11. A
moving-coil relay is normally used as the sensitive ele-
RESTRAINT OPERATE ment, both axial and rotary types being currently used.
The unit is capable of operating over a large range as the
sensitive relay never obtains large restraint or operating
inputs, these being limited by the action of the rectifiers
to a value in the region of 3 to 5 times the relay-setting.

Transductor”
The transductor can be used as shown in fig. 12. The
output winding of the transductor is directly coupled to
an input winding to which is applied the operating-
current input. The restraint input is rectified and applied
FIG. 9. INDUCTION-DISCAMPLITUDE COMPARA-T‘OR. to the bias winding of the transductor. The unit is inher-

152
 -+ LEAF SPRING

r-’
b 0
RESTRAINT OPERATE
INPUT INPUT

FIG. 11. RECTIFIER-BRIDGE AMPLITUDE COMPARATOR. \ t

ARMATURE

ently sensitive but has certain disadvantages associated

with the transient response. It is not currently used by
any manufacturer.
FIG. 13. POLARISED MOVING-IRONCOMPARATOR.
Polarised Moving Iron’
A large number of relays are in use which employ a
magnetic circuit and an attracted armature. These are of
two types, one of which is not sensitive to the direction of
the d.c. flux in the magnetic core and is not suitable as a direction, the armature releases under the action of a
comparator. The other type has a permanent magnet mechanical spring. The relay must be reset by hand or by
somewhere in the magnetic circuit and will only operate an auxiliary set of relays which complicates the overall
for a given sense of the d.c. input to the coil system. scheme of protection.

Practical Phase-Angle Comparators

Induction Disc
A torque is obtained by the interaction of the fluxes
from the two magnet circuits which act in close proximity
on the copper disc as illustrated in fig. 14. The unit has a
very low sensitivity and suffers from interaction between
the two magnetic circuits. It is also difficult to balance
and there is a tendency for spurious torques where only
one input is applied. It is currently used in directional
elements where high performance is not required.

RESTRAINT
INPUT

FIG. 12. TRANSDUCTORAMPLITUDECOMPARATOR.

Relays of this type can be used as comparators by having

double coils, one being used for the restraint input and
the other for the operating input. Since the coils are on a
common magnetic circuit, there is a certain amount of
mutual coupling between the two inputs, which must be
considered in the design of a relay with such a com-
parator. One type which is in use is illustrated schemati-
cally in fig. 13. An armature is held in an operated
position in a loop magnetic circuit due to remanent flux.
When the flux in the magnetic circuit is in the correct FIG. 14. INDUCTION-DISCPHASE-ANGLECOMPARATOR

153
Induction Cup3
The induction-cup comparator is illustrated in fig. 15.
It is an improved version of the induction disc phase-
angle comparator just described. It is more efficient, can
work over a larger range of input quantities, and has very
little interaction. The forces are proportional to the pro-
duct of the input quantities. In order to limit the torque
produced at high inputs, a clutch mechanism is some-
times inserted between the contacts and the cup.

FIG. 16. IMPEDANCE DIAGRAM FOR 1 z (5 1.

If now the sum and difference of two input quantities

S, and S2 are fed to the comparator such that
S,=S, + S2 and S,=S,-S2,
the equation for operation becomes:
IS1 + SZI 1(S1-S21.
b INPUT I b If S1=o where w is complex quantity with
FIG. 15. INDUCTION-CUP PHASE-ANGLE COMPARATOR s2
angle y, this equation can be written as
10 + I(&-11.
This can be seen to represent a straight line on the
Electronic Relays
imaginary axis through the origin as shown by the
Experimental comparators have been produced using graphical construction of fig. 17. This however, is the
valve circuits 14, 15. Many of these have been very crude characteristic of the ideal phase-angle comparator and
and lacking in accuracy, while others, though accurate, can be expressed alternatively as
have been exceptionally complicated. None of them has
found practical application as yet apart from experimen-
tal insallations. Present indications are that the transis-
tor ‘s. 19.2o offers a lot more promise here and may well
be applied in the not far distant future in applications
where exceptional range is required and for very high
speeds.
It will be noted that electronic comparators have been
described under the heading of phase-angle com-
parators. This is deliberate as they lend themselves far
more readily to this than to the amplitude comparator.

DERIVATION OF IDEAL
CHARACTERISTICS
Relation between amplitude and phase-angle
comparators
The expression for marginal operation of the ideal amp-
litude comparator has been given previously as:
I &Ill s,l FIG. 17. IMPEDANCE DIAGRAM OF 1 w + 1 111 OJ- 1 1
This can be written as:
The combination of an amplitude comparator and
I& 1 where z = 5 Ideal transformers is thus exactly equivalent to a phase-
SO angle comparator and is illustrated in fig. 18. It can be
The characteristic of z on a polar graph is a circle as shown that the converse, as illustrated in fig. 19, is also
indicated in fig. 16. true.

154
 AMPLITUDE PHASE-ANGLE
COMPARATOR COMPARATOR

FIG. 18. EQUIVALENCE OF PHASE-ANGLE COMPARATOR TO AMPLITUDE COMPARATOR PLUS IDEAL

TRANSFORMERS.

In general, therefore, any characteristic which can be Plain Impedance Characteristics

produced by one comparator can also be produced by From what has already been done, it is fairly easily
the other comparator with a different combination of the seen that a plain impedance characteristic can be pro-
input quantities. The required relations are given below: duced by applying a quantity proportional to the system
or S,=SI + S2 and Sr=S1-S2, voltage as the restraint input, and a quantity propor-
tional to the system current as the operating input in an
or S,= % + S, and S2= s+%
amplitude comparator. The system voltage and current
2 2
considered are those associated with the faulty phase or
Derivation of Characteristics phases.
General
V
Thus (It - where S, = I and S, = 1,
Having shown the equivalent of the two types of com-
Z, Z,
parators it is convenient to take each characteristic in
Z
turn and consider first in each case that comparator or - ( 1 where Z = .I.
which most simply produces the desired results. Z, I

AMPLITUDE
COMPARATOR

(VOLTAG E)

0 0 0 0
Sr SC.

FIG. 19. EQUIVALENCE OF AMPLITUDE COMPARATOR TO PHASE-ANGLE COMPARATOR PLUS IDEAL

TRANSFORMERS.

155
 The phase-angle of the impedance Z has no effect on The overall equation becomes:
the ideal characteristics. In practice, however, it may be V
__ -nI
significant where non-ideal comparators are used in 7 I517
11
1 G I
which the characteristic is not an exact circle.
which reduces to:
Directional Characteristic I Z--nZrIIIZrl
From the previous analysis, it is again easy to see that a This can be seen to represent a circle by the graphical
directional characteristic is obtained directly from a construction of fig. 2 1. The difference between the com-
phase-angle comparator by making one input propor- plex impedances Z, represented by the line OA, and nZr
tional to the system current and the other to the system represented by the line OC, is constant and equal to ) Z,(
voltage. if the locus of A is a circle with centre at C and radius
IZrL

the angle of Z, is p, and

the angle of Z is 8.
The phase-angle of Z, determines the angle of the
perpendicular to the characteristic as indicated in fig. 20.
The magnitude of Z,, has no effect on the characteristics
in this case.

FIG. 21. CHARACTERISTICTO) Z - nZ, 1 = 1 Z, I.

/
For the particular case in which n = 1, the circumfer-
ence of the circle passes through the origin. It should be
noted that this does not give a true directional action for
very small impedances which are obtained for faults near
FIG. 20. DIRECT~ONALCHARACTERISTIC. the relaying point.
The corresponding inputs in the case of the phase-
angle comparator are obtained as:
The corresponding inputs to the amplitude com-
parator become: S,= (l-n)I+v/zr and s = (l+n)I-v/z,
2 2

Ohm Characteristic
and the overall equation for the amplitude comparator
The ohm characteristic is obtained with the amplitude
is:
comparator by feeding the voltage signal into each side
of the comparator and the current into the operating
side. The inputs are given by

Offset Mho Characteristic &,=I +v.

An offset mho characteristic is obtained with an amp- Z,
litude comparator by taking a plain impedance relay as
described and feeding a fraction of the operating current s,=v.
into the restraint input. Thus the two inputs are now Z,
given by: The overall equation thus becomes

S,, = I, and S, = G- nI. I%1 d /I + :I and IZ(Z(Z, + ZI

r

156
 This represents a straight line as illustrated in fig. 22. to multiply both inputs by the same terms and consider
The perpendicular to this line from the origin is equal to the phase relation between the following two modified
inputs
Z,/2. The phase-angle (a) of Z, controls the angle at
which the characteristic is inclined to the axis. gl= IL
X7
z,z
_ ’ and sz=zr-z.

The simplest case is where the input S1 can be taken as

a scalar quantity times the impedance Z. (This is equi-
valent to assuming that the polarising and restraint cur-
rents are in phase.) This can be seen to represent a circle
by the graphical construction of fig. 23. The major
diameter of this circle is the impedance Z,. The condi-
tion that the angle between (Z) and (Z,Z) is a right-
angle is that the locus of(Z) is a circle centred on (Z,) as
a diameter.

FIG. 22. CHARACTERISTIC OF ) Z ( 5 1 Z, + ZI.

The more general case in which the voltage signal

injected into the operate side of the comparator is not
equal to the restraint signal results in an offset mho
characteristic. This form of offset mho relay has practical FIG. 23. POLARISED MHO CHARACTERISTIC.
limitations and is not in general use.
The corresponding inputs for the phase-angle com-
parator are:

s,=L + v. and Sz= 1_, In the more general case where the polarising and
2 Z, 2 restraint currents are displaced by an angle (y) the
characteristic is still a circle but of the form shown in fig.
24. The angle between (Z) and (Z,-Z) is now (90”---y)
on one side of the impedance Z, and (9O”+y) on the
Polarised-Mho Characteristics
other side.
This characterisitic is most easily obtained using the
phase-angle comparator. One input is taken from a suit-
able reference voltage which will be termed the polaris-
ing voltage (V,). The other is taken as the difference
between voltage and current. The two inputs can thus be
written down in the form.

S,=v,~
7
&=I-3. 7

LP &I
Generally, the polarising voltage can be related to the
restraint voltage by an angle (@ such that

The ratio C can have any value.

To analyse the behaviour of this relay it is necessary to

determine the conditions for there to be a 290” shift
between the two input-signals S, and S2. It is convenient FIG. 24. GENERALCASEOFPOLARISEDMHO.

157
 In practice it is usual to work with the particular case
of polarising and restraint currents in phase, though
small angular shifts are used to some extent to swing the
characteristic round. The performance of a practical
relay deteriorates as the angular shift is increased.
The corresponding inputs in the case of the amplitude
comparator become

s,=++1--v-, and S,=x -I+ L

P Z, ZP Z,

MODIFIED CHARACTERISTICS
General
Modified polar characteristics can be obtained in a
number of ways. In general, these have found very little
application up to the present. A brief survey of the
various methods is given in this section.

FIG. 26. MODIFIED IMPEDANCE CHARACTERISTICS.

Modified Two-input
Phase-angle Comparator
A phase-angle comparator can often be arranged so
that the cut-off angles are some angle less than 90”. The
equation can thus be rewritten as

This results in modified forms of the various characteris-

= 30”
tics. These are shown in figs 25-27 for the directional,
plain impedance, and polarised-mho relays. The offset =IS”
mho and ohm characteristics are of identical shape to the
plain impedance and directional relays respectively but =I)”
with offset axes.

X
\
FIG. 27. MODIFIED POLARISED MHO

\
\ \
\ ’
\ The flattened form of polarised mho and offset-mho
\
\ \ characteristics are used by one manufacturer, the flat-
\ ’
tening being at right anles to the locus of the system
\
\ fault.
\
\
\
Three-input Amplitude Comparator
\
An amplitude comparator can be be made with three
inputss. This can be represented by an equation
I %I1 * /&*I I I SOI
Elliptical characteristics are obtained by making the
inputs as follows:
s,i=v-z, I
s,z=v-zs I
s,=zc I,
FIG. 25. MODIFIED DIRECTIONAL CHARACTERISTIC. and using the additive arrangement.

158
Thus 1V - Z/,11 + ( V - Z,II 5 1 Z,II , PERFORMANCE OF PRACTICAL
which can be rewritten as IMPEDANCE-MEASURING RELAYS
lz--z,l + I z-zL3l5l z,I General
The characteristics are shown in fig. 28 and can be The ideal polar characteristics so far described are inde-
deduced from the property of the ellipse that the sum of pendent of the actual values of current and voltage
the distance from the two foci to a point on the curve is applied to a distance measuring relay and depend only
constant. on the ratio of the input quantities. Practical distance
relays depart from the ideal and have characteristics
which depend on the actual values of voltage and cur-
rent. An approximation to the ideal is obtained only
over a limited range of input quantities. Inside this range
X the relay will have errors which are acceptable, and
outside this range it will have excessive errors and may
not operate. The operating time of the relay will be
variable depending on the individual magnitudes of the
input quantities, being for example long for small inputs
near the cut-off impedance and short for large inputs
well within the cut-off impedance. The complete rep-
resentation of a practical relay has thus to include infor-
mation on these aspects in addition to the ideal polar
characteristics.

Performance requirements of Power System

The requirements for a particular distance relay can be
assessed in relation to the power system by reference to
the simplified diagram of fig. 30. Z, represents the

I P
1
FIG. 28. ELLIPTICAL CHARACTERISTIC.

Using the subtractive arrangement and similar inputs Zf

a hyperbolic characteristic is obtained as shown in fig.
29. Relays have been constructed using these com-
parators but have not found any application as yet. 1' '

I I
FIG. 30. BASICCIRCUITOFPOWER-SYSTEM UNDER
FAULTCONDITIONS.

source impedance from the relaying point (P) back to

the generators and Z, the fault impedance of the power
system from the relaying point to the fault. Both are
supplied from the open-circuit system voltage (E). The
current and voltage applied to the relay via the
current and voltage transformers at the junction of the
two impedances are proportional to those at the relaying
point. The source impedance (Z,) depends on the
amount of generating plant available behind the relaying
point and is directly related to the short-circuit MVA at
the relaying point. This will vary according to the system
conditions but it will normally be possible to assign
upper and lower limits to the short-circuit MVA and
FIG. 29. HYPERBOLICCHARACTERISTIC. hence to Z,.

159
 The fault impedance (Zr) is proportional to the dis-
tance of the fault from the relaying point. The ratio of
the voltage and current applied to the relay is always
equal to Zr, but the actual values are determined by both
qyiG&q~:
Z, and Zt.
Consider a fault at the nominal cut-off impedance of
the relay. The impedance Zr is thus fixed and will nor- FIG. 31. PLAINIMPEDANCE RELAY.
mall correspond to 80% of the line protected. The vol-
tage at the relaying point is then determined only by Z,.
For a very large MVA source, i.e. small Z,, this voltage
will approach the normal system voltage. For a small
MVA source, i.e. large Z,, the voltage will only be a
fraction of the normal voltage and will be determined by Compensation of Characteristics
the ratio Z,/Zt. A practical relay is required to work It will be noted in the above example that the
correctly between these limits of voltage. Since the top minimum current at which the relay can be used is
limit is normally fixed by the system voltage, it is usually appreciably greater than the minimum pick-up current.
necssary only to specify that the relay will work down to In order that the relay may be utilised to full advantage,
some minimum voltage V,. compensation can be added to produce a curve of the
Apart from the magnitudes of the impedances Z, and form shown in fig. 33. This compensation may take the
Zr it is necessary to consider their phase-angle. This form of a non-linear impedance in the voltage circuit of
determines the time constant of the primary transients the relay to prevent the voltage input being effective
which will occur in the voltage and current waveforms until a value is reached which corresponds to the product
when a sudden fault is applied. With high speed relays of the minimum pick-up current and the nominal impe-
this factor beomes of great importance as the relay is dance setting.
required to measure correctly during the transient
period.
As relays are generally connected to a three-phase
system, the problem is more complicated than that
shown in fig. 30 as different types of fault can occur. The
problem can always be reduced to the simple case for a
particular fault though it may be necessary to use differ-
(d) I
ent values for the source impedance according to
whether the fault is to earth or between phases.

E
Factors affecting Relay Performance
Characteristics of Simple Relay
The various factors affecting the performance of a (b)
relay are most easily explained by taking a simple exam-
ple such as the plain impedance relay based on the V
amplitude comparator. Considering a linear comparator
comparing current signals, a circuit of the form shown in
fig. 31 could be used. The relevant equation for opera-
tion is Vl7l

1I,I 2 i, + (I,[, and1I,( L i, + .

1
These characteristics are shown in fig. 32 (curve a).
With zero applied voltage a certain minimum current FIG. 32. CHARACTERISTICS OFSIMPLERELAY
known as the minimum pick-up current (i,) is required
to cause operation. With increasing voltage the current
required increases linearly. At large inputs the impe-
dance setting of the relay approaches Z, which is taken
as the nominal setting of the relay. If limits of permiss- Compensation may also be obtained by introducing a
ible accuracy are assigned as indicated by the line (b) and step in the current input to the relay. The resulting curve
(d), the relay characteristic must lie within the shaded is then of the form shown in fig. 34. At first sight this is
area to be of practical use. The useful working range of attractive and enables the relay to operate down to lower
the relay thus lies between the minimum voltage V, and voltages and currents. The extra voltage range can only
the normal system voltage (E). be obtained, however, at the expense of using the relay

160
 A relay is represented in fig. 35a which has a voltage
transformer burden W and operates correctly from the
normal system voltage down to a minimum voltage V,.
If transformers of ratio N:l are inserted in the input
circuits as shown in fig. 35b, the normal impedance
setting of the relay is unaltered because the ratio VI is
unaltered. The minimum voltage is reduced to V,N but
V
the voltage transformer burden is increased to WN’. If
the useful performance range of the relay is expressed as
the ratio of normal system voltage to minimum voltage
for correct operation, this is related to the voltage trans-
former burden by:

V,ll “m

i, I

FIG. 33. VOLTAGECOMPENSATED

$--J--~
in a very delicate state below the normal minimum set-
ting. This introduces problems of variation of setting (a)
with friction, of long operating times, and of general
mechanical instability. Voltage compensation is there-
fore to be preferred to current compensation.

(a) Direct Connection.

(6) Transformer Connection.

FIG. 35. RELATIONBETWEENVOLTAGE-TRANSFORMER

BURDENANDPERFORMANCE.

The burden of the current input is related m a similar

manner to the voltage range of the relay. Normally this is
not so important as the voltage circuit burden, the main
difference being that the voltage circuit is energised
FIG. 34. CURRENTCOMPENSATED. continuously whereas the current circuit is only ener-
gised to any extent during fault conditions.
The voltage range of the relay is also closely bound up
with the sensitivity of the basic relay element. For a
particular relay the minimum current setting and hence
V.T. Burden and Relay Sensitivity
ihe minimum-voltage setting is proportioial to 6,
when w is the sensitivity expressed in milliwatts, all other
The optimum performance that can be obtained from parameters being constant. The general expression
a given relay is directly related to factors such as the relating the voltage transformer burden and the basic
burden on the voltage transformers at normal system
relay setting is thus of the form
voltage and the minimum operating current of the basic
relay element. The relationship between performance E /w
~ “dw
and voltage transformer burden is illustrated in fig. 35. V,,

161
Thermal, Mechanical and Saturation Limitations design of the impedance element it is possible to minim-
The maximum voltage that can be applied to a given ise the effects of the transients and still maintain a fast
relay is often limited by thermal effects. The designs may operating time. Theoretically a relay can be made free
thus be chosen so that the voltage corresponds to the from transient effects by the correct use of a ‘replica
normal system voltage. This can be achieved by the use impedance’. In essence the principle is to ensure that the
of voltage-matching transformers or in most cases by the transient inputs are identical on both sides of the com-
suitable choice of turns level on the relay coils. With a parator. This is achieved by deriving a restraint current
given sensitivity of relay element, this places a funda- from the voltage through an impedance which is equi-
mental restriction on the maximum obtainable range. valent to the impedance of the faulted line. The transient
Exactly similar limitations occur due to mechanical components of operating and restraint currents are then
forces and saturation of magnet circuits. identical.

PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION
OF IMPEDANCE MEASURING RELAYS
Distortion, Operating Time and Transients Cut off Impedance
Distortion of Characteristics Review of Methods of Presentation
The operating torque of a relay is in general of a pulsat- Under the heading ‘Factors Affecting Relay Perfor-
ing nature due to the alternating nature of the input mance’ the errors in a relay were assessed in relation to a
quantities. When the operating and restraint inputs are graph of voltage against current plotted on linear scales
in phase in an amplitude comparator, this is not normally (figs 32, 33, and 34). Such a graph does not enable the
of great consequence as the restraint and operating tor- errors to be determined directly and also has limitations
ques pulsate together and there is only a small residual in that the lower ends of the scales are very cramped.
pulsating torque on the relay element. If the operating Alternative methods are reviewed briefly in this section
and restraint inputs are not in phase, however, very large and indication given of the merits and demerits of each
pulsating torques are set up. These may cause distortion form.
of the characteristics. For example, with a balanced The first modification to the basic graph of volts
beam relay, violent chattering commences and the set- against amperes is to replace the linear scales by log
ting becomes indeterminate. The effects may be minim- scales. Constant distances on the graph now represent
ised by electrical or mechanical ‘smoothing’, but this constant percentage errors and difficulties associated
tends to increase the operating time of the relay. with the cramping of scales at lower values are removed.
Because of this, it is normal to arrange that measure- In order that errors may be measured directly, it is
ment is made when the inputs are approximately in preferable to plot the per-unit impedance as a function
phase in any particular design of relay. Apart from the of current or voltage. Per-unit impedance is the ratio of
fact that greater accuracy and consistency is obtained the cut-off impedance to the nominal impedance setting of
operating time is in general smallest along this axis. the relay, i.e. per-unit impedance of I is fully accurate. In
this case, the per-unit impedance can be plotted on a
linear scale and the current or voltage on a log. scale. A
comparison of the different methods is given in figs. 36
Operating-time and 37. The most useful of the two final methods consi-
The operating-time of a distance relay is dependent on dered is that using current, as the minimum pick-up
a number of factors and cannot be simply assessed. The
factors involved are: magnitude of individual inputs,
ratio of inputs, phase angle between inputs, and trans-
ient components of each input. In order that fast
operating-times can be obtained it is necessary to use
light movements with low mechanical inertia. This con-
flicts with the requirements for ‘smoothing’ and some
compromise is always necessary.

Transients
When a fault occurs on a power system a transient d.c.
component exists in both current and voltage inputs to
the relay. These transient components may cause ‘over- E I, I I
.
I I I

reach’ of the impedance measuring elements, i.e. trans- I 2 5 10 20 50 100

ient operation for impedance in excess of the steady CURRENT (AMPERES)
state setting. The transient components may alterna-
tively cause an increase in operating-time. By correct FIG. 36. PER-UNITIMPEDANCEICURRENTGRAPH

162
 FIG. 38. BASISOFRANGEFACTOR.

;
VOLTS
FIG. 37. PER-UNITIMPEDANCEIVOLTAGEGRAPH

current can easily be obtained. By using current times

nominal-impedance in place of current as the indepen-
dent variable, the curves are made more general. The
maximum point now corresponds to the normal system
voltage. Such graphs provide the most convenient
method for plotting the results of steady-state tests and I, I,, I11 I
enable characteristics of relays to be compared and .I .2 .s I.02.0 5 IO 20 50
assessed quickly.
RANGE v

FIG. 39. PER-UNITIMPEDANCEIRANGEGRAPH.

Per-unit Impedance versus Range Presentation”
The per-unit impedance versus current times
nominal-impedance method, while enabling relays to be
assessed as individual items, is not readily applicable to
assessing the requirements or performance of a relay in Polar Characteristics
relation to a power system. On a power sytem, condi- The accuracy range curves referred to previously can
tions are normally such that at a particular time, the be plotted for various values of phase-angle between
source MVA and the length of the protected line are voltage and current. Normally only the curve at nominal
known, the variable factor being the position of the fault. angle and either side of this angle is required. A general
At other times, the source MVA may have different idea of the relay performance outside this region is best
values. Information on the performance of the relay is given by a series of polar characteristics taken for fixed
required in terms of the length of line at which cut-off values of current. It would be theoretically possible to
takes place as a function of source MVA. Ideally this take such curves at fixed values of range (y) but in
length is constant. These two variables may be general- practice such elaboration is unjustified.
ised in terms of per-unit fault position (x) and ‘impe-
dance range factor’ (y) where Operating-time of Relays
General
Z
x=Landy= -,ZS The variation of cut-off impedance with system condi-
zN ZN tions is not in itself adequate for applying distance pro-
tection. It is necessary to know the operating-time of the
and the symbols have the significance shown in fig. 38.
The ‘impedance range factor is conveniently referred to relays as a function of both fault position and system
as ‘range’ and this shortened form will be used from now source conditions. In the simplified theory of distance
on. The variables (x) and (y) are related to the voltage protection, a constant low operating-time of say 60 mS is
and current applied to the relay by assumed for the zone-l relay which extends to 80% of
the protected line. A further constant time of say 300 mS
~ X
v=
( ) x+Y
E I=$_
N
(
1
Y+x )
) is assumed for the zone-2 relays up to 150% of the first
feeder. In practice the operating time of a relay may
become long for fault positions near the cut-off impe-
E-V dance. If the effect is very marked the zone-2 relay may
y=rz, operate before the zone-l relay thus reducing the effec-
tive zone-l cut-off impedance. It is thus important to
It is again convenient to pilot y on log scales and x on present information as regards operating time which can
linear scales as shown in fig. 39. be readily applied to the evaluation of such effects.

163
Review of Methods
Various methods of presenting operating-time
characteristics are in current use by various manufactur-
ers.
One common method is to plot operating-time as a
function of current for specified values of voltage, a
series of curves being obtained as in fig. 40. This is
difficult to relate to system conditions.
An improved form is shown in fig. 41. Operating time
is here plotted as a function of fault position, curves
being given for various values of current. The fault posi-
tion is expressed on a per-unit basis, a value of 1 corres-
ponding to the nominal cut-off impedance. It is neces-
sary to use care in the evaluation of such curves, it being
possible for all the curves to represent large inputs to the L 1

relay. I.0
By replacing the constant current by constant range, a PER-UNIT FAULT POSITION
set of curves corresponding to a given set of system
conditions is obtained. These are more easily applied FIG. 41. TIME/FAULT-POSITIONGRAPH.
and assessed. The general form is very much the same as
the constant current curves of fig. 41.

The per-unit impedance versus range curve already

described is a particular contour curve in which the
Contour Presentation operating-time is infinite, i.e. operation of the relay is
With methods of presenting operating time so far marginal. Similar curves can be plotted for a given
described it is necessary to provide a separate curve to operating-time and will be of similar shape. By plotting a
show the per-unit impedance versus range characteris- series of curves in this manner, a contour graph is
tics. It is thus necessary to have two separate sets of obtained as shown in fig. 42. The outside curve repres-
curves describing the performance of a relay. With the
contour method described below, only one set of curves
is used to give complete information on both cut-off
impedance and operating time.

400 0 IO

(1 ,2 ,s I 2 5 IO 20 50 100
RANGE y

FIG. 42. CONTOURTIMINGCURVES

ents the boundary between operation and non-

I r I I operation and thus shows the cut-off impedance. Succes-
I 2 3 4 sive curves approaching the origin give decreasing
CURRENT operating-times as the inputs to the relay are increased.
FIG. 40. TIMEICURRENTGRAPH. The time of operation for a given set of system condtions

164
 CUT-OFF IMPEDANCE Linear Comparator
The linear comparator has a characteristic as illus-
rRE-SET IMPEDANCE
trated in fig. 44. It will be seen that the setting is constant
X in terms of either input and that the curve has a discon-
----I
200mS ’ IOhS tinuity at the point where the two setting lines cross.
l-i-l --. \ Curves at different phase-angles between inputs are
parallel, the settings becoming higher as the phase-angle
difference is increased.

System Characteristics
Plain directional relays are normally only applied for
‘I ,2 ,5 I 3 5 IO 20 50 100 earth-fault distance protection and are energised from
residual voltage and current at the relaying point.
RANGE y
Phase-fault directional relays are practically always
FIG. 43. EXTENSIONOFCONTOUR METHOD TORESET made in the form of crude polarised mho relay and can
CURVES. be treated by the methods developed for impedance
measuring relays. It is thus only necessary to determine
the relation between residual current and voltage at the
is thus obtained directly from the graphs by finding the relaying point for various source and line conditons to
fault position (x) and the range (y) corresponding to the obtain the requirements for practical earth-fault dirc-
available source MVA and then interpolating between tional relays.
contours if necessary. The general form of these requirements can be seen
The curves can be extended to cover reset impedances from a consideration of the simplified system of fig.
and reset times as shown in fig. 43 without any difficulty. 45(a) in which a single-phase-to-earth fault is consi-

PERFORMANCE OF PRACTICAL
DIRECTIONAL RELAYS
General
As directional relays have no impedance setting the
methods of specifying performance described for (a) ’ (b)
impedance-measuring relays are not generally applic-
able. Only the contour timing curves are of any applica-
tion and these are normally considered in relation to an
overall scheme in which impedance and directional
relays are used in conjunction. This aspect is discussed
later under the heading “System Application Charts”.
So far as the directional relay is concerned, the main
information required is the relation between voltage and
current for marginal operation of the relay. This must
then be related to the voltage and current available
under various system conditions.

Voltage-Current Characteristics
Square-Law Comparator
The characteristics of directional relays in use nowadays
2
can be divided into two groups, the square-law and
linear comparator. These have appreciably different
characteristics. The square-law comparator has an equa-
tion of the form. I 2 5 IO 20 50 ’ 100
I
At a fixed value of the phase-angle between inputs this
is the equation of a rectangular hyperbola. Thus if the ia) Square-law comparator.
characteristics are plotted on log.-log. scales the locus is (b) Modified square-law comparator.
a straight line as illustrated in fig. 44. Curves taken at Cc) Linear comparator.
other angles will also be straight lines parallel to the
original line. FIG 44. SQUARE-LAwDIRECTIONALRELAY.

165
 SOURCE LINE
IMPEDANCE IMPEDANCE
Z%, Zf0
Z,, 41
b

t Vo

SINGLE PHASE-TO-EARTH
FAULT

0 MILES

.I .2 .5 I 2 5 IO 20 50 100
RESIDUAL CURRENT (AMPERES)

Boundary curve shown for:

Source 100-2500 MVA. Line 100 miles.

(b)
FIG. 45. APPLICATIONOFDIRECTIONALRELAYS.

166
 dered. For this system the following relations can be POLARISING SUPPLIES
shown to apply:
General
Residual current = 3 lo=
In the previous descriptions of impedance measuring
and directional relays, reference has been made to three
input quantities to the relay. These were operating cur-
rent, restraint voltage, and polarising input. The first two
determine the complex impedance (Z) measured by the
Residual voltage=3V= -3Z,, I,,. relay and are derived from the voltage and current
associated with the fault. The third quantity isessentially
Considering the above expressions it can be seen that a reference for determining the phase-sense of the
low voltages and currents are obtained together with a operating current and may be derived from a variety of
low source-impedance and a large line-impedance. quantities. The requirements for the polarising input
The boundary line within which the voltage and cur- may be summarised as follows:
rent must lie can be plotted on a voltage/current diagram (a) The phase-angle of the polarising input should be
as in fig. 45(b) if limits of source and line impedance are fixed relative to the restraint voltage.
known. In this diagram a particular type of system is (b) The magnitude of the polarising input is unim-
chosen by way of example in which the source has a portant so long as it is never zero, e.g. for terminal
ZO/Z1 ratio of 0.5 and the line has a Za/Z ratio of 2.5. faults, when the restraint voltage is zero the
Similar curves can be drawn for other examples. Consid- polarising input must still exist.
ering a particular case of a 100 mile line and source In practice it is not possible to satisfy these two
which can vary between 100 MVA and 2500 MVA the requirements completely. The different methods in use
area in which the directional relay must operate is indi- for polarising suffer from limitations and are discussed in
cated in chain-dot. the following sections.
From considerations of these curves and those given
in fig. 44 for the two types of comparators it can be seen
that the area covered by the square-law comparator is
far wider than is necessary. Under conditions of one Faulty Phase Voltage
large and one small input to the relay the setting will
If the same voltage is used for polarising as is used for the
tend to be excessively sensitive. This introduces diffi-
restraint voltage and the comparator input is derived
culty with regard to spurious operation on small out-of
through similar impedance, the polarising signal disap-
balance quantities under three-phase fault conditions. In
pears when the fault impedance is low and thus this
some practical relays using square-law comparators the
method of polarising is not of practical use. It is worth
characterisitics have been modified slightly to the shape
noting however that the phase-angle relation is always
indicated by curve (c) of fig. 44 to help overcome these
satisfied. A combination of faulty phase voltage with
defects. The linear comparator is not affected to the
some other input is thus sometimes used to minimise
same extent by these effects.
phase-angle errors.

Phase-Angle Characteristics
A general picture is best achieved by plotting phase-
angle characteristics on a polar diagram in similar fash- Faulty Phase Voltage with Memory
ion to the ideal characteristics. Curves taken at constant
If, instead of applying the faulty phase voltage through a
voltage and constant current are both useful to cover the
similar impedance to the restraint impedance to provide
full field of the relay. A typical curve is shown in fig. 46.
a polarising input, an alternative impedance consisting
of a tuned circuit is used, it is possible to maintain a
polarising signal for a short time after a fault occurs.
Thus in the case of a terminal fault the polarising input
will be maintained sufficiently long for operation of the
relay to occur. This method, which is straightforward in
principle, is widely used in America by one manufac-
turer in this country. The two ideal requirements laid
down previously are not satisfied completely. From
apphcation constderations, the most serious drawback is
that the arrangement is not effective when a line is
energised. The relay being initially de-energised the
‘memory’ is ineffective under this condition. The disad-
vantage can be overcome completely by using busbar
instead of line voltage-transformers.
The polarising current does not maintain a constant
phase relation to the faulty phase voltage. When the
FIG. 46. POLARCHARACTERISTICOF DIRECTIONAL RELAY fault occurs the phase-angle of the faulty phase voltage

167
alters whereas the memory circuit maintains a current at
the original phase-angle. The value of this shift is given
in Table 1 which summarises phase-angle shifts for all
the various methods of polarising. The amount of this
shift is not excessive and can be tolerated. It is men-
tioned mainly because the fact that it exists at all is not
always appreciated.
A further and more serious cause of phase-angle shifts
is due to variations in the supply frequency. The reson-
ant circuit always resonates at a fixed frequency whereas
the supply frequency may vary between certain limits. In
this country these limits are laid down as 47 to 51 cycles.
The error due to this cause is cumulative.The phase-
angle shift increasing with each cycle. To avoid trouble it
is essential that the ‘memory’ is restricted to about three
cycles at the most. This implies that the relay must be
very fast.
Healthy Phase Voltage
A polarising voltage can be obtained from one of the
healthy phases or between two phases. Numerous alter-
natives are possible depending upon whether the relay in
question is an earth or phase fault relay. The phase-angle
shifts associated with the principal methods in use are
given in Table 1.
The main disadvantage of this method is that in the
event of a three phase terminal fault the polarising vol-
tage disappears. This risk is normally accepted in this
country and no special measures are taken to cover this
condition apart from the back-up feature provided by
zone 3 of the protection. In a number of cases in
America it has been possible to use high-set overcurrent
relays which can protect for this type of fault.

Table 1
Phase-Angle between Polarising and Restraint Voltage.
The phase-angle by which the polarising voltage leads the restraint voltage is tabulated for various types of relay connections and
system connections. These cover the principal types of fault and limiting values of the source conditions. Under the column headed
“Source”, the first letter indicates whether the source impedance is large with respect to the fault impedance, letter L-Large, or small,
letter S. The followipg figures give the phase-angle of the source impedance in degrees. The column headed K ives the ratio of zero
sequence to osltlve sequence impedance of the source impedance. The corresponding value fort IFl e fault impedance is
taken as 2. P. m all cases. The phase-an le of the line is taken as 60 de rees.
In the main part of the table the first 7 etter denotes the magnitude oft a e polarising voltage, i.e. Large-L, small-S,
zero-O. The second figure 1s the angle by which the polansing voltage leads the restraint voltage.

Source Type of Fault

Relay
Connctions Value K, R-N R-Y-NB-R-N Y-B-N Y-B R-Y-B

Restraint V, L, 120 L, 120 L, 120 - - L, 120

s, -
L, 60 F5 L, 134 L, 120 s, 120 - s, 120
Operating I, L, 90 0.5 L, 139 L, 180 S, 60 s, 120
Polarising V, L, 90 1.0 L, 1.50 L, 169 s, 82 - r s, 120

Restraint V, S, 60 2.5 S, 0 s, 300 S, 60 - - 0, -

s, 90 +_1 s, 30 s, 330 s, 90 - 0, -
Operating I, L,60 2.5 L,O L, 300 L, 60 - 0, -
L, 90 0.5 L, 30 L, 90 L, 90 0, -
Polarising-V, L, 90 1.0 L, 30 L, 19 L, 101 - r 0, -

Restraint V,.-BI, s, - L, 90 L, 90 L, 90
L, 60 F5 - 1 - L, 90 L, 90 s, 90
Operating I,-& L, 90 0.5 - - L, 120 L, 120 s, 90
Polarising V, L, 90 1.0 - L, 120 L, 120 s, 90

Restraint V,-V, s,- - - - L, 120 L, 120 L, 120

L, 60 2.5 - L, 90 L, 90 s, 120
Operating I,,-& L, 90 0.5 L, 120 L, 120 s, 120
Polarising Vr--VY L, 90 1.0 - 1 1 L, 120 L, 120 s, 120

Restraint V,-V, s, - - - L, 240 L, 240 L, 240

L, 60 F5 - L, 270 L, 270 S, 240
Operating Iy-Ih L, 90 0.5 - - L, 300 L, 300 S, 240
Polarising V,-V, L, 90 1.0 - - L, 300 L, 300 S, 240

Restraint V,-V, s,- - LO L, 0 L, 0

Operating I~-Ib L, 60 2.5 - 1 - L: 0 L, 0 L, 0
Polarising V,-V, L, 90 0.5 - - - L, 30 L, 30 L, 30
(Memory) L, 90 1.0 - - - L, 30 L, 30 L, 30

168
Residual Voltage
The residual voltage, i.e. zero sequence voltage, at the
relaying point can be used for polarising all the earth-
fault relays. The phase-angle is automatically correct for
an earth-fault on any phase for the appropriate relay. On
two-phase-to-earth faults, however, the shift in angle is
excessive for use with polarised mho relays. This limita-
tion does not exist with an earth-fault directional relay in
which the operating current is derived from the residual
current of the main system and this arrangement is
commonly used. The method suffers from the disadvan-
tage discussed earlier under “Healthy Phase Voltage”
above that no polarising is obtained for a three-phase
terminal fault. There is a further practical limitation in
that under conditions of long lines and low source-
impedances the residual voltages may become very
small. Relays can be designed to operate with this small
voltage but there is always the possibility of spurious
operation due to out-of-balance voltages appearing in
the residual voltage. This point has been discussed more
fully under “System Characteristics”.
impedances. In this first zone tripping is instantaneous.
The second zone reach is set to a point outside the end of
the protected line but short of the end of the next line in
the system. The second zone thus extends from the end
of the first zone to the second zone cut-off and covers the
remote line terminal. In this zone, tripping is delayed
sufficiently to co-ordinate with the operating-time of a
circuit-breaker on a zone-l fault. An external fault will
thus be cleared by the circuit-breaker of the adjacent
line section before a tripping impulse is received on the
protected line. The two zones described are sufficient to
establish a complete scheme of protection. It is custom-
ary however to provide a third zone as back-up protec-
tion. This is set to extend into the third line and has a
long time-delay of the order of 2 to 5 seconds. It is
important to realise that the operating times indicated
by the diagram of fig. 47 are ideal times and are not
obtained in practice. Near the cut-off points of the vari-
ous zones the times increase rapidly. Reference should
be made to the later section on “System Application
Charts” for practical timing curves.

Residual Current
If a transformer neutral is available at the relaying point Application to Three-phase System
a polarising current can be obtained from a current- In a three-phase system a wide variety of faults can
transformer connected to respond to neutral current. occur, i.e. phase-to-phase, phase-to-earth, two-phase-
The available current may be small if the neutral current to-earth, and three-phase. Some duplication of relays is
is shared by a number of transformers and may also vary thus necessary in order to provide complete protection.
with system operating conditions. Normally the method A number of methods can be adopted and are listed
can be used and overcomes the limitations of very small below.
signals under conditions of long lines and low source-
impedances. The main practical drawback is that a trans- (0 Multiplicity of relays to cover all fault conditions.
former neutral may not be available for all system condi- Six sets of relays are required for the three poss-
tions. ible phase-to-phase faults and the three possible
earth-faults. Other faults are covered by one or
more sets of relays. This method involves the
most equipment but is also the most reliable. It is
SCHEMES OF DISTANCE PROTECTION generally adopted by nearly all manufacturers for
all important applications.
Principle
(ii) Three sets of relays are sometimes used, which
Up to the present distance-relays have been considered
can be switched to measure either phase-to-phase
as individual units and their performances assessed in
or phase-to-neutral quantities. The relays are
terms of the single-phase voltage and current applied to
normally connected for phase-to-phase fault
the relay terminals. In developing an overall scheme of
measurement and are switched to earth-fault
distance protection it is necessary to provide a number of
measurement by a residual current-detector. Dif-
relays to obtain the required discrimination. The
ficulties arise due to spurious residual currents
method adopted in all medium and high performance
and on changing faults. The arrangement is not
schemes today is known as the three-zone scheme. Con-
in common use.
sidering this in relation to a single-phase system in which
only one type of fault can occur, the principle is illus- (iii) One set of relays is used and can be switched to
trated in fig. 47. A number of distance relays are used in any one of the six measuring conditions. This
association with timing relays so that the power system is phase selection is normally accomplished by
divided into a number of zones with varying tripping over-current and residual current relays, but may
times associated with each zone. be supplemented by under-voltage relays. The
Thus the first zone extends from the relaying point to a phase-selection relays restrict the application to
point just short of the far end of the protected line. The lower voltage and relatively unimportant lines.
first zone reach is normally set to between 80% and 90% The same difficulties are experienced with chang-
of the line, the margin being allowed to cover inac- ing faults but are generally accepted as a reason-
curacies in the relays and assessment of the system able risk in this particular application.

169
 ZONE-3 BACK-UP RELAY
I I

INSTANTANEOUS

FIG. 47. TYPICALSTEPPEDTIMEIDISTANCE CHARACTERISTIC.

A method by which one set of relays can be used Phase-fault relays-Phase-to phase voltage.
for all faults by the use of static sequence net- Difference between phase cur-
works has been considered.” The basic principle rents.
is to derive the various sequence components of
voltage and current at the relaying point and Earth-fault relays-Phase-to-neutral voltage.
make use of the relation that Phase current plus k times
residual current (31,)
where
ZF, =
ALL-1
k= z1
3
This is reasonably accurate so long as the
phase-angle between source and line impedances and Z. and Z, are the positive and
is small. Special methods have to be adopted zero sequence impedances of the
however for two-phase-to-earth faults for which protected line.
the expression does not apply. This method has
It can be shown that all relays measure positive sequ-
not been used in practice.
ence impedance for all appropriate fault-conditions. The
reason for the added component in the earth-fault relays
is that currents flow in the sound phases of the system in
the event of an earth-fault due to the various zero sequ-
Earth and Phase Fault Compensation’ ence paths via transformer neutrals. The presence of
Having provided six sets of relays it is still necessary to these sound-phase currents induces a voltage into the
arrange the inputs in order that correct measurement is loop formed by the faulty phase and ground causing an
obtained under all conditions. A typical arrangement is error in measurement. The added current component is
shown in fig. 48. It can be seen that the quantities proportional to these currents and compensates for
applied to the various relays are as follows: them.

170
 CURRENT- COMPENSATION- RELAYS
TRANSFORMERS TRANSFORMERS EARTH- PHASE-

For Red Relay I = IR + 3n1o

I = 11 + I2 + (1 + 3”) I
I = Ii + 12 + kIo
k-l.
where k = 1 + 3n, or n = ~
3

FIG. 48. CURRENTCOMPENSATION.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPLETE Phase-Fault Schemes

SCHEMES Directional and Plain Impedance Relays
General The overall characteristics are shown in fig. 49. There
The characteristics of complete schemes of protection are three identical sets of relays for the three types of
are conveniently expressed in the form of ideal polar phase fault and one set only need be considered. The
characteristics of similar form to those previously consi- direction of the fault is determined by a directional relay
dered for single relays. The arrangements adopted for and three separate impedance relays are used to deter-
phase faults and earth faults are conveniently studied mine the zone 1, 2 and 3 cut-off points. The tripping
separately, different combinations of the various areas for the three zones are thus as indicated by the
schemes being used in practice. The principal forms in shaded areas. The d.c. circuits associated with the relays
current use are considered in the following sections. are shown in fig. 50. Operation of the directional (D)
and third zone impedance element (23) start a timing
relay (T) which permits tripping after a time-lag (T3).
ZONE I - - - - Tripping in a shorter time is obtained if the zone-2
ZONEZ_---__- impedance relay (22) has also operated. Direct tripping
ZONE 3 is obtained if the first zone relay (Zl) operates.
One of the difficulties associated with this arrange-
ment is the co-ordination between the directional and
the zone-l impedance relays. Under external-fault con-
ditions on an inter-connected system it is possible for a

TRIP

FIG. 49. DIRECTIONALANDIMPEDANCE

CHARACTERISTIC. FIG. 50. DC. CIRCUIT

171
 Polarised Mho and Plain Impedance
In the arrangement just described four relays are
used. An obvious simplification is to use only one impe-
dance relay instead of three and change the setting by
the appropriate timing relays to obtain the second and
third zones. If this is done, starting must be by means of
the directional element only. A plain directional ele-
ment is liable to operate under load conditions, how-
+- AFTER C OPENS f --INITIAL ever, and such an arrangement is not very satisfactory.
By using a modified directional element, which is in
FIG. 5 1. CONDITION FOR SUDDEN effect a crude form of polarised mho relay with very
REVERSALOFCURRENT. inaccurate settings, this difficulty is overcome. The
arrangement is shown in fig. 52. It should be noted that
the circle shown for the polarised mho relay can vary
widely and does not give a precise cut-off point. The
general operation of the scheme is similar to that previ-
ously described and the same problems are encountered
as regards directional control.
sudden reversal of current to take place when one With long heavily loaded lines, the inaccurate setting
circuit-breaker opens. Unless the timing of the direc- of the polarised mho relay is not adequate to distinguish
tional and impedance relays are carefully co-ordinated between load and fault conditions. The polarised mho
this can result in spurious tripping. The condition is relay can be made more accurate and provide the zone-3
illustrated in fig. 51. There are two conditions which setting. This simplifies the arrangements for changing
must be satisfied. the settings on the impedance relays and makes the
scheme of wider application. In practice, however, the
limitations as regards operating time usually mean that
(i) At terminal A the directional relay will initially
the scheme using off-set mho and polarised mho relays
restrain and the zone 1,2, and 3 impedance relays
described later is used instead.
operate. When circuit-breaker C opens the direc-
tional relay will operate and the zone 1 and 2
impedance relays reset. It is thus essential that the
reset of the zone-l impedance relay is less than Polarised Mho and Reactance6
the operating time of the directional relay. With very short lines difficulty is experienced on arc-
ing faults due to the resistive component of the arc-drop
(ii) At terminal B the directional relay, zone-2 and being added to the line impedance drop. In an attempt to
zone-3 impedance relays will operate initially. overcome this difficulty, reactance measuring relays
When circuit-breaker C opens the directional have been used instead of impedance measuring relays.
relay will restrain and the zone-l impedance relay
operate. It is thus essential that the directional
relay resets before the zone-l impedance relay
operates. Thus both directional and impedance
relays require slow operating and fast reset times.
The “slow” is, of course, a relative term, as the ZONE I - ---
ZONE 2 -.~__~_
operation must still be fairly fast if the protection
is to be in the high-speed class. ZONE 3

To avoid this race between contacts some manufac-

turers adopt the practice of directional control. In this
the impedance relays are short-circuited until the direc-
tional relay operates. This cuts out condition (i) com-
pletely. Of the two, this is the more onerous condition. It
can be shown that condition (ii) cannot in fact arise at all
if both lines are the same length, because the zone-l
impedance relay can never operate during the second
stage of the fault. This applies for any source conditions
at either end of the lines. The condition can arise if the
line AB is shorter than the line CD as may be possible on
a more complex system. Since in any case it is likely that
the impedance relay would then be operating marginally
with long time, the condition can normally be disre- FIG. 52. POLARISED MHO AND IMPEDANCE
garded as a practical risk. CHARACTERISTIC.

173
A polarised mho starting relay is used which also pro- ZONE I ----~
vides the zone-3 setting, the reactance relay being set for ZONE2 ~~~~--~
zone-l cut-off. The setting of the reactance relay is ZONE 3
altered by the timing relay to give the zone-2 cut-off. The
impedance diagram for this arrangement is shown in
fig. 53.
The same problems as regards directional control
arise as discussed under “Directional and Plain Impe-
dance Relays” above. An alternative solution adopted
by one American manufacturer is to open the trip circuit
by means of an auxiliary element if the reactance relay
has not operated within 30 mS after the polarised mho
relay. To prevent a permanent lock-out of the trip circuit
in the event of slow operation of the reactance relay, a
further auxiliary relay reconnects the trip-circuit if the
reactance-relay contacts remain closed for 15 mS.
FIG. 54. OFFSETMHO ANDPOLARISED
MHO CHARACTERISTICS

20~~ I ---.-- (ii) The tripping area associated with zone-l is small.
ZONE 2 ______. This is of help in respect to power swings. (See
the section “Power Swings” on page 29).
ZONE 3
(iii) The area associated with the starting relays is
small. This is a help in cases where it is difficult to
distinguish between load and fault conditions.

Earth-Fault Schemes
Single Directional and Separate Impedance Relays
A single directional relay is used which is energised by
zero-sequence voltage and current at the terminal. This
is adequate for both directional properties and starting,
there being no difficulties associated with spurious oper-
ation on load currents. Separate impedance relays are
FIG. 53. POLARISEDMHO AND used in each phase and are normally used for all three
REACTANCECHARACTERISTICS. impedance settings by alteration of settings. The
arrangement is illustrated in fig. 5.5.

The use of reactance relays is falling out of favour with

ZONE I -----
some manufacturers nowadays and their use has been
discontinued. There are two main reasons for this: the ZONE 2 -------
first is the preference for schemes in which zone-l trip- ZONE 3 -~-~
ping is determined by one relay only in order to obtain
maximum speed. The second is that technically it is very
doubtful whether the use of reactance relays actually
improves matters when all system conditions are taken
into account. This aspect is discussed more fully later in
the section “Arc Resistance”.

Offset Mho and Polarised Mho’, 4.

This arrangement is shown in fig. 54. Zone-l is deter-
mined completely by a polarised mho relay and zone-2 is
obtained by alteration of the settings of this relay. An
offset mho relay is normally used for starting the timing
relays and for the zone-3 back up. This is set with the
backwards reach about 10% of the forwards reach. The
main features of this arrangement are as follows:
(i) The maximum possible speed is obtained for FIG. 55. DIRECTIONALANDIMPEDANCE
zone-l faults. CHARACTERISTIC.

173
Single Directional and Separate Reactance Relays ZONE I -.-.-
ZONE 2 .______
Reactance relays are sometimes used instead of impe-
dance relays for zone-l and zone-2 cut-off points. Due to ZONE 3
the large area covered by the reactance characteristic
associated with the directional characteristic an extra
impedance relay is added to restrict the tripping area.
This can be seen from fig. 56. This relay is normally used
to give the zone-3 cut-off point.

Offset Mho and Polarised Mho

With long lines and high source MVA difficulty is
experienced due to the very low polarising voltage avail-
able at the relaying point. This can be sometimes over-
come by using current polarising but this is not always
possible. A further difficulty is that a fairly low current-
setting is required for the operating current of the direc-
tional relay. With the long untransposed lines which are FIG. 56. DIRECTIONALANDREACTANCE
becoming common nowadays, the zero-sequence cur- CHARACTERISTIC.
rent produced on a three-phase fault may be large
enough to operate the relay. As the phase angle is inde-
terminate this could result in spurious tripping. In such
cases, an identical scheme can be used to that already
described in the section headed “Offset Mho and Polar-
ised Mho” on page 26. This overcomes the difficulties
just described and also enables the faster operating-
times to obtained.

MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS

Arc Resistance4
The effective resistance of an arcing fault is difficult to
assess accurately. The voltage does not vary uniformly
with current and the waveform is considerably distorted.
FIG. 57. ARC-RESISTANCEANDPLAINIMPEDANCE
The effect on the protection is also dependent on the line
length and spacing and imponderables such as the arc
length which is dependent upon wind velocity and other
variables. Published information on the subject gives a
figure for the drop of

V =8,75OL V=drop in volts.

I 0.4 L=length of arc in feet.
I=current in amperes.

It is generally accepted that the effects become pro-

nounced with lines of 10 miles or less at the higher
voltages, and distance protection is not normally applied
to very short lines.
It is of interest to compare the errors produced by the
three types of relay characteristic in common use, i.e.
impedance, reactance, and poiarised mho for various
system conditions. For this purpose it is not necessary to FIG. 58. ARC-RESISTANCE AND REACTANCE

174
know the value of arc resistance accurately as relative
performances are being considered. In the simplest case
in which there is only an in-feed to the fault from one line
terminal the reactance relay has no errors, the impe-
dance relay has fairly large errors, and the polarised mho
relay is intermediate, the exact values depending upon
the angle chosen for the characteristic. Normally the axis
of the circle will be lined up along the axis of the line but
as can be seen there is a definite advantage to be gained
by setting the axis of the circle to a smaller phase-angle.
These conditions are illustrated in figs 57-60.
Normally there will be a feed into the fault from both
ends of the protected line. If the two in-feeds have the

FIG. 61. MODIFIED ARC-RESISTANCE AND PLAIN

IMPEDANCE.

FIG. 59. ARC-RESISTANCEANDMHO.

n
FIG. 62. MODIFIED ARC-RESISTANCE
ANDREACTANCE.

same phase-angle there will be no difference in the rela-

FIG. 60. ARC-RESISTANCE
SHIFTIN ANGLE.
tive performance of relays. The actual effects of the arc
resistance will be accentuated slightly due to the larger
current in the arc. If, however, there is a phase shift
between the two in-feeds, as is quite likely when large
blocks of load are being transmitted on the system,
conditions are changed. The voltage across the arc can
now appear to have a reactive component. When viewed
from one line terminal this appears as a positive reac-
tance and when viewed from the other as a negative
reactance. The effect on the various relays is illustrated
AND MHO WITH A in figs. 61-64. It will be noted that the reactance relay is
now worse than the polarised mho relay.

175
 SOURCE IMPEDANCE

.------.
LINE IMPEDANCE

FIG. 65. LOCUS OF POWER SWING

FIG. 63. MODIFIED ARC-RESISTANCE AND MHO

Double Circuit Lines

With double circuit lines there is an appreciable zero
sequence mutual coupling between the two circuits. The
impedance seen at the relaying point at the end of one
line is thus dependent on the current flowing in the other
line due to the induced mutual voltage. The apparent
impedance may become either larger or smaller depend-
ing on the direction of current in the unfaulted line. The
relay may thus tend to under-reach or over-reach respec-
tively. The amount of this over-reach or under-reach is
dependent on the line parameters, source and line impe-
dances, and position of fault. For a particular line con-
figuration it is possible to plot a graph as shown in fig. 66
in terms of the two range factors and the fault position.
The main axes are the range values of the source impe-
dances at the two ends of the double circuit line, i.e. the
values yA and ys are equal to the ratio of the respective
source impedances to the impedance of one line. The
various lines on the graph represent the actual cut-off
FIG. 64. MODIFIED ARC-RESISTANCE AND MHO WITH A point of the zone-l relays assuming that these have a
SHIFT IN ANGLE nominal cut-off of 80% of the line length. Thus, knowing
the values of the source impedances the cut-off point can
be estimated by interpolating between contours.
It should be noted that the maximum amount of over-
Power Swing+ * reach is restricted to the total length of the line and the
cut-off point can never extend outside the line length.
Distance protection, not being a true unit protection, is This can be shown to be independent of the line para-
affected by power swings on the system and can operate meters and the actual value chosen for the zone- 1 cut-off
under these conditions. The locus of a power swing can point. It is thus unnecessary to provide any form of
be illustrated on the polar diagram as shown in fig. 65. It compensation for these effects in practice.
will be noted that the locus is at right angles to the
general direction of the line impedances. In general
terms the mho types of characteristics are less suscept-
ible to operation on power swings due to their narrower
Setting Adjustments
characteristics. If the system actually goes out of step of
course these relays will also operate. Because of this Distance-measuring relays must be set to correspond to
special measures are sometimes taken to block opera- the actual length of the protected line. These initial
tion during a swing. In general, these work on the time setting adjustments may be made on either the voltage
interval between the operation of successive relays to or current inputs to the relay. In order that the perfor-
determine if a swing or a fault exists. mance of the relay can be maintained for all values of

176
 4; :j&* ;:$ji
POINT Ii= .53
FAULT

Y-
-01 , J
.Ol *02 .05 .I .2 .5 2 5 IO 20 3” I””

YA

FIG. 66. CUT-OFFIMPEDANCEOFZONE-1 RELAYFORVARIATIONINSOURCEIMPEDANCES

setting the adjustments must be made on the current Transient Response of Current-transformers and
input circuits. This follows directly from the considera- Voltage-transformers
tions of an earlier section headed “Characteristics of
Simple Relay” in which it was shown that the range of a Current-transformers
relay is dependent on the burden on the voltage-
transformers. Any alteration to the voltage input affects With any form of distance protection it is necessary to
the range of the relay. It is common practice therefore to ensure that steady-state saturation of the current-
make the main initial adjustments in the current circuit transformers does not take place when system condi-
and to make only fine adjustments or zone-2 settings in tions are such that the relays are operating near the
the voltage circuit. cut-off impedance. This normally does not present any

177
 ZONE- 2 CUT-OFF
__----_

ZONE-I CUT-OFF

-----------
___- -______
_--___
-------

RANGE y

~ COMPOSITE TIMING
------- ZONE-l RELAY TIMING
ZONE-2 RELAY TIMING

FIG. 67. SYSTEM APPLICATION CHART.

difficult design problem. With high-speed protection it is System Application Charts

also necessary to ensure that transient saturation does The contour method of presentation of distance relay
not occur under the same system conditions. This may characteristics already discussed can be extended to
present difficulties with units having a high burden in the cover the performance of a complete scheme of distance
current circuits. protection comprising a number of relays with different
nominal impedance settings. In this application of the
method it is convenient to take the impedance corres-
ponding to the complete length of the protected line as
Voltage-transformers
the nominal impedance ZN. All relay characteristics are
Electromagnetic voltage-transformers do not present then expressed on this basis and composite contours
any problem as the primary voltage is reproduced faith- drawn representing the performance of the complete
fully in the secondary winding. With capacitor voltage- schmem, as illustrated in fig. 67.
transformers, transient voltages occur in the secondary As the performance of the protection may be quite
whenever a sudden change of primary voltage takes different for different types of faults it will normally be
place. These transient components consist of two necessary to have a series of diagrams covering the prin-
damped oscillations, one at a frequency higher than the cipal types of fault, e.g. phase-to-earth, phase-to-phase,
normal mains frequency and one at a lower frequency. and three-phase faults.
The order of these frequencies is 200 c/s and 12 c/s
respectively. Special Applications
The effect of these transients will depend on the par- Distance relays may be applied to the protection of
ticular type of relay in use. Normally there is a slight transformer feeders and to tee’d feeders. In recent years
reduction in operating-speed of the protection. Cases protective schemes employing distance relays and a car-
have occurred however in which mal-operations have rier link between feeder ends have been used to an
occurred with half-cycle protection in which this cause increasing extent in order to provide high-speed clear-
has been suspected. ance over the complete length of line.

178
BIBLIOGRAPHY 10. NEUGEBAUER,The use of Rotating Coil Relays and
Rectifiers in Protection, Elketrotechnische
The following bibliography is not intended to be exhaus- Zeitschrift, 1950, August. (In German).
tive of the literature on distance protection. It has been 11. The Effect of Coupling Capacitor Potential Devices
chosen so that further study may be made of topics dealt on Protective Relay Operation, A.I.E.E., 1951,
with in this paper. To assist in this respect number refer- p.2089.
ences have been given throughout the text to relevant 12. EDGELEY & HAMILTON, The Applications of
papers. Further references will be found in the bibliog- Transductors as Relays to Protective Gear,
raphies given in the various papers listed. Proc.I.E.E., 1952, August.
1. GUTTMAN, Behaviour of Reactance Relays with 13. RYDER,RUSHTON& PEARCE,A Moving Coil Relay
Short-Circuit fed from both Ends, Elektrotech- Applied to Modern System of Protection,
nische Zeitung, 1940. p.514 (in German). Pro.I.E.E., 1950.
2. CLARKE,Impedances seen by Relays during power 14. BERGSETH,An Electronic Distance Relay using
Swings with and without Faults, A.I.E.E., 1945, Phase Discriminator Principles, A.I.E.E., 1954.
p.372. 15. All Electronic One Cycle Carrier Relaying Scheme,
3. HUTCHINSON,The Mho Distance Relay, A.I.E.E., Four papers, p.161-186, A.I.E.E., 1954.
1946, p.353. 16. GIBSON,Improvements in Electric Protective and/or
4. WARRINGTON,Application of the Ohm and Mho Fault Locating Systems for Polyphase Alternating
Principles to Distance Relays, A,I.E.E., 1946, Current Power Transmission Network, British
p.278. Patent 743,323, 1956.
LEWIS & TIPPE~T,Fundamental Basis for Relaying 17. HAMILTON & ELLIS,The performance of Distance
on a Three-Phase System, A.I.E.E., 1947, p.694. Relays, Reyrolle Review, No. 166, 1956.
DEWEY & MCGLYNN, A New Reactance Distance 18. BERGSETH. A Transistorised Distance Relay,
Relay, A.I.E.E., 1948, p.743. A.I.E.E., 1956.
GOLDSBROUGH,A New Distance Ground Relay, 19. ADAMSON & WEDERPOHL,Power System Protec-
A.I.E.E., 1948, p.1442. tion with Particular Reference to the Application of
WARRINGTON,Graphical Method for Estimating the Junction Transistors to Distance Relays,
Performance of Distance Relays during Faults and Proc.I.E.E., Part A, October, 1956.
Power Swings. A.I.E.E., 1949, p.608 20. ADAMSON & WEDERPOHL,A Dual-Comparator
9. BRATEN & HOEL, A New High Speed Distance Mho-Distance Relay using Transistors, Proc. I.E.E.,
Relay, C.I.G.R.E., 1950, Paper 307. Part A, August, 1956.

179