A Fast Distance Relay Using Adaptive Data Window Filters

T.S . Sidhu, Senior Member, IEEE
D.S.Ghotra, Student Member, IEEE M. S.Sachdev, Fellow, IEEE
Power System Research Group
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
CANADA S7N SA9

Abstract: This paper describes the design of a distance relay that uses
adaptive data window filters to provide high speed tripping. The
relay uses a fault detector to detect the inception of a fault. Starting
from the fault detection, the data window size is progressively
increased as new fault samples become available until the window
size becomes one cycle of the fundamental frequency. At each
instant, a suitable filter is used for estimating voltage and current
phasors. This procedure improves the transient response of the relay
and allows faster convergence of the impedance estimates and,
therefore, reduces the trip time. The proposed relay was tested by
using fault simulations on a sample power system. Results indicate
that the proposed relay design reduces the trip times.
Keywords: Transmission line protection, Distance relay, Adaptive
data window filters
1. INTRODUCTION
Protective relays are a vital control component of a power
system. They detect faults and issue trip commands to
appropriate circuit breakers for isolating the faulted portion of
the power system from the rest of the system. Distance relays
are generally used for transmission line protection. Most
distance protection relays now marketed are microprocessor-
based systems [1,2,3]. The trip times of these relays are
similar to those of electromechanical and solid-state
counterparts.
Several distance relays being sold today estimate
fundamental frequency phasors from the quantized values of
voltage and current samples [4]. As a fault occurs on a
transmission line, the acquired signals may include high
frequency damped oscillations, exponential components,
harmonic components, etc., in addition to the fundamental
frequency signal. Therefore, suitable filters are required to
extract the fundamental frequency component. The higher
frequency components are eliminated by using an analog anti-
aliasing filter of appropriate cut-off frequency. There can be
some low frequency, dc and dc-decaying components, present
in the signals after filtering through the anti-aliasing filter.
Most distance relays use filters that use fixed data windows
of one cycle of the nominal frequency to estimate the
fundamental frequency phasors [4]. As a new sample is
acquired, the data window advances by including a new
sample and discarding the oldest sample. This keeps the
length of the data window constant. Therefore, the transient
response of the filter is about one cycle and the impedance
estimates do not converge before this time. However, it is
possible to use different lengths of data windows at different
stages of a disturbance 131.
This paper describes the use of digital filters of different
data window lengths in a distance relay to provide faster
tripping. This technique requires a fault detector to detect the
occurrence of a fault and initiate the filtering process.
Starting from the fault detection, the data window size is
progressively increased to one cycle of the fundamental
frequency. Using the filters of appropriate lengths at
different sampling instants, the transient response of the
relay becomes faster. This allows faster convergence of the
seen impedance and, therefore, reduces the trip time. The
relay was tested using the fault simulations on a part of
138/230 kV power system of SaskPower Corporation
modeled using the EMTDWSCAD software. Some results
are included in the paper.
II. THE PROPOSED TECHNIQUE
A. Overview
The acquired voltage and current signals are filtered
through a low pass anti-aliasing filter. The filtered signals
are used for fault detection, computations of voltage and
current phasors, and apparent impedance calculations.
Once a fault detector indicates a fault, the digital filters are
initiated for phasor computations. The filtering is started
with a data window size of ten samples, therefore, the
coefficients of the 10* order orthogonal filters are used to
compute the fundamental frequency phasors. Starting from
the isstant of fault detection, the immediately preceding ten
samples of the input signal form the first data window as
shown in Figure 1. This ten-sample window may include
pre- and post-fault samples. The data window is advanced by
one sample as a new sample becomes available. This means
that the most recent sample is included in the data window
and the oldest sample is discarded, which keeps the length of
the data window to ten samples. The advancement of ten-
sample window is continued until four sampling instants
after the fault detection as shown in Figure 1. After this, the
data window size is progressively increased by one
Figure 1.Adaptive data windows

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 sample as the new sample becomes available. The increase in
data window size is continued till its length becomes equal to
one cycle of the nominal frequency, and it remains fixed
thereafter.
As the data window size is increased, the filters of
appropriate length are used for estimating fundamental
frequency phasors. The computed phasors are then used to
estimate the impedances seen by the various relay elements.
B. Fault Detector
The fault detector used in the proposed relay is described in
this section. There are various techniques available to detect a
disturbance or a fault in a power system. It is desired that a
fault detector has a fast transient response. This can be
achieved by using a short data window algorithm such as the
ones described in [5] and [6].For the work presented in this
paper, the algorithm of [5] was selected for the fault detection.
This algorithm eliminates most of the effects of dc offset but
amplifies the effects of harmonics. However, the presence of
harmonics does not significantly affect the fault detection.
The algorithm uses first and second derivatives of the input
signal to compute the phasors from the sampled values. If
Equation (I) describes the assumed signal, Equations (2) and
(3) represent its fmt and second derivatives respectively, and
Equation (4) provides the estimate of the peak value of the
input signal.
v = V, sin(o t + 0) (1)
v'= ov,cos(ot + 9 )
VI'= sin(w+@)
-CU*V~
To detect d e prhsen6e 02 a fault, the estimated peak values
of the fundamental frequency phasors, using the present data
window and the window immediately preceding it, are
compared. If the difference between them is more than a
specified threshold value, a fault is assumed to have occurred.
However, for security reasons, the final indication of the fault
is only given if three successive comparisons show that the
difference is more than the specified threshold. For the studies
reported in this paper, the threshold is set to be 10% of the
peak value estimated using the window immediately
preceding the present data window.
C. Design of Filters
The proposed relay requires orthogonal filters of different
lengths to be designed for extracting the fundamental
frequency phasors of voltage and current. For protective
relaying, a variety of filter design methods have been
proposed. However, the Least Error Square (LES) method [7]
is selected for the filter design. This method is easier to
comprehend and does not require knowledge of signal
statistics. Design of the filters allows to specify the signal
composition, the sampling rate, and the data window length.
The number of components that can be assumed in the signal
composition is limited to the data window length. LES filters
0-7803-6420-1/00/$10.00 ( c ) 2000 IEEE 1408
of different data window lengths are designed and their
coefficients are stored for estimating the fundamental
frequency phasors. In the proposed relay, a fundamental
frequency of 60 Hz is assumed and a sampling frequency of
1200 Hz is used. Table 1 shows the signal composition that
was assumed for designing LES filters.
Twelve LES filters are designed ranging from IOth order to
20" order. For the design of 10" order filters, dc.
fundamental frequency, and third harmonic components are
assumed to be present in the signal. As the length of the filter
is increased, the 5" harmonic component is eventually
included in the signal composition in addition to the
previously assumed components. DC-decay is not assumed
to be present in the signal when the data window length is
less than one cycle of the fundamental frequency. This was
done to avoid amplification of the harmonic and sub-
harmonic coniponents'present in the signal. However, the dc-
decay compolnent was included for the second 20' order
LES filter design. This filter replaces the first 20th order
LES filter two sampling instants after the data window size
becomes twenty samples. The second 20" order LES filter
was also used in the relay using the fixed data window
approach.
Table 1. Signnl compositions assumed for filter design.
I I I I I I
"X"denotes that the component is assumed
D. Impedance Estimation
The computed voltage and current phasors are used to
estimate the impedance seen by the relay. The impedance
estimation is performed by six relay elements - three being
used for phase faults and another three for earth faults. The
six elements are presented with appropriate voltage and
current signals. Table 2 shows the relay elements and the
corresponding voltage and current signals used by them to
compute the seen impedances. These signals are formed
using the fundamental frequency voltage and current
phasors.
AB, BC and CA relay elements are used for detecting
three-phase, phase-to-phase and two-phase faults, whereas,
AG, BG
 ~

Table 2. Relay elements and signals used for impedance estimation.

I Relay element I Voltage, V, I Current, I,

BG
CG + 3kb
where,
A, B and C denote the three phasors,
G denotes the ground.
V, and I, are the voltage and current signals used by the relay elements.
V. Vb and V, are the voltages of a, b and c phases with respect to
ground respectively.
I,, I* and are the cunents in a b and c phases respectively,
k = (Za- Z N 5 .
& and Zl are the zero and positive sequence line impedances
respectively, and
b is the zero sequence current. Genemtor < .
,.,
@ L4,3.184kms L,,78.592 kms 1'
and CG relay elements are used for detecting three-phase to A
ground, two-phase to ground, and phase to ground faults. 6 L6, 6.208 k m s 7
Operating characteristics, shown in Figure 2, are identical for V
- "
all relay elements. The seen impedance is estimated by each circuit line

FTFg2-
relay element separately and is used to identify the location of
the fault. If the seen impedance estimated by any relay
element lies inside the characteristics, a trip command is
150
T I & TMVA
2
230/13.8/138 kV ''2
.?fUL
- 13.8kV Double
circuit line

issued by the relay element. However, for security reasons, a

trip command is issued only if four successive seen
impedances lie inside the operating characteristics of the relay
element.

at /Line

Figure 3. Power system under test.

The power system was modeled and, faults of different

Figure 2. Relay operating characteristics.
111.TESTING
The proposed technique for distance relays has been
described in the previous sections. This section describes the
developed relay program, the simulated power system model,
and some of the test results. Test results comparing the
performance of the proposed relay with the relay using fixed
data window filters are also presented.
Two relay programs were developed using the MATLAB
software. The first relay program is based on the adaptive data
window approach. The program is subdivided into two parts.
The first part includes simulation of a low-pass Butterworth
anti-aliasing filter with a cut-off frequency of 200 Hz, and a
resampling module that resamples the signals at 1200 Hz. The
second part includes the algorithm for fault detection, phasor
and apparent impedance calculations. and the relay operating
types and at various locations on the lines were simulated
using the EMTDWSCAD software. The faults were also
simulated by changing the generation levels of the
generators, and including the fault resistance. The phase
voltages and currents were recorded at the relay location
using a sampling frequency of 24 kHz. The recorded signals
were then presented to the relay programs. Fault trajectories
of the seen impedances and the trip times were compared.
The relays did not issue a trip command for the faults outside
the protection zone of the relay. It was observed that the seen
impedances converge faster when the adaptive data window
approach was used. Therefore, the speed of the proposed
relay is faster in comparison to the one that is based on the
fixed window approach. Some results are presented in the
following sections.
A. Test Results
Figure 4 shows the fault trajectories when the generation
level is maximum and a phase 'a' to ground fault is
experienced on the line, LI,at a distance of 100 kms from
the relay location. This figure depicts the impedances as seen
by the AG relay element when adaptive and fixed data
window approaches are used. It is observed that when the
adaptive window approach is used, the seen impedance
enters the operating zone of the relay ten samples after the

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 occurrence of the fault. Whereas, when the fixed window other relay elements. The seen impedance enters the
approach is used, the seen impedance enters the operating operating zone of the relay seven samples after the
zone eighteen samples after the occurrence of the fault. occurrence of the fault. However, when the fixed data
Therefore, the transient response of the proposed technique is window approach is used, the convergence of impedance as
faster, and thus, a lower trip time is obtained. seen the AB relay element is faster than that by the other
relay elements. The seen impedance enters the operating
* zone of the d a y twelve samples after the occurrence of the
b fault. Therefore, the transient response of the proposed
technique is faster, and thus, a lower trip time is obtained.
(11.1O31.76.1013) / M 10thssmplealterlhe

I\. data whdow approach

12th sample after the I) '

eo-
80-
data window approach
B eo-
3
m-
$50-
I
604-30-20-10 0 10 20 3l 40 50 % 40-
Resistance(Ohms) 2 30.
Figure 4. Trajectories of the seen impedances for a phase 'a' to ground 20-
fault. 10 -
0 -
Figure 5 shows the fault trajectories when the generation
level is minimum and a phase 'b' to phase 'c' fault is Resistance ( o h s )
experienced on the line, L1,at a distance of 140 kms from the
Figure 6. Trajectories of the seen impedvlces for n three-phase
relay location. This figure depicts the impedances as seen by to ground fault.
the BC relay element when adaptive and fmed data window
approaches are used. It is observed that when the adaptive
Figure 7 shows the fault trajectories when the generation
window approach is used, the seen impedance enters the
level is minimum and a three-phase to ground fault is
operating zone of the relay fourteen samples after the
experienced cm the line, L,,at a distance of 185 kms from
occurrence of the fault. Whereas, when the fixed window
the relay location, which is outside the protection zone.
approach is used, the seen impedance enters the operating
Wher. the adaptive and the fixed window approaches are
zone twenty-three samples after the occurrence of the fault.
used, the seen impedance does not enter the operating zone
Therefore, the transient response of the proposed technique is of the relay. Therefore, no trip command is issued.
faster, and thus, a lower trip time is obtained.

ICih sample afterlhe

fault using the rrdapnw,

(11.1031,76.1013)
** I b m p l e after the
fatdl usingthe fixed
data window approach

(11.1031,76.1013)

10 -
60-100-30-2o-io o i o 10 30
U)
Resistance (ohms)
Figure 5. Trajectoriesof the seen impedances for a phase 'b
phase 'c' fault.
Figure 6 shows the fault trajectories when the generation
level is maximum and a three-phase to ground fault is
experienced on the line. L1,at a distance of 20 kms from the
relay location. It is observed that when the adaptive window
approach is used, the convergence of the impedance as seen
by the AG relay element is faster as compared to that by the
m n l
I . . . . . 1
dO403(HQ10 0 1020304050
Resistance (ohms)
Figure 7. Trajectories of the seen impedances for a three-phase
to ground fault outside the zone.
B. Trip Times
Trip times of the relays using the adaptive and fixed data
window approaches were compared for various faults on
different lines; and at different distances from the relay

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 location. The hip times were also compared by varying the
generation levels of the generators, and by including the fault 0.0107
resistance in various faults. Results for some of the faults are
presented in this section.
Figures 8 , 9 and 10 show the comparison of the trip times
when different fault are simulated at 20 kms, 100 kms and 140 -H O'O1=

kms from the relay location and the generation level is U

0.0083

minimum. Figures 11, 12 and 13 show the comparison of the P

;F
trip times when different fault are simulated at 20 kms, 100 0.0012
kms and 140 k m s from the relay location and the generation
level is maximum. It can be seen that the trip times for all the
faults are lower when the relay uses adaptive data window O .bsg .be .b bc C. .bo bcp Gag g
. bg cg
i ~20 k m
approach. F ~ l i dIll

Figure 11. Comparison of trip times for faults at 20 kms line

0.01e7 length when generation is maximum.
USlnO~xdd.U*IndarSH.n

Faullsat 20 kma

Rgure 8. Comparison of trip times for faults at 20 kms

line length when generation is minimum. Faun8 at 100 kme

Figure 12. Comparison of trip times for faults at 100 kms

line length when generation is maximmn.

0.m51

-1
0 . m

0.0167
I

f 0,0126

CI
F 0".
figure 9.Comparison of trip times for faults at 100 kms 0.W
line length when generation is minimum.
.bco .bc .b bc Ca .bo baa a-9 ag bg cg
0.0251 Faults a1 140 kma

Figure 13. Comparison of trip times for faults at 140 kms

- 0.moO
line length when generation is maximum.

-D
v)
0.0'87
Figures 14 and 15 show the comparison of trip times when
0.0126
a
Q
faults are simulated at maximum generation level by
E 00083 including the fault resistance of 10 ohms and 20 ohms,
respectively. It can be seen that by including the fault
0.- resistance, the trip times -€orall the faults are lower when the
relay uses adaptive data window approach.
Falltsat140kma
Hgurc 10. Comparisonof trip times for faults at 140 kms
line length when generation is minimum.

0-7803-6420-1/00/$10.00 (c) 2000 IEEE 1411


70 100 70 100 70 100 70 100 70 100 70hns
d their distances (Lmc)
Faults a
Figure 14. Comparison of trip timeswben fault resistance is 10 ohms
Fault and their distances @us)
Rgure 15. Comparison of trip times wben fault resistance is 20 ohms
IV.CONCLUSI0NS
The paper describes the design of a distance relay using the
adaptive data window filters for transmission line protection.
The relay elements used for estimating the seen impedance
and the design of the fault detector are also discussed. The
signal compositions selected for the design of various LES
filters using different data window lengths are also described.
The proposed relay is extensively tested for a variety of
faults by varying fault distance, generation level, and fault
resistance. It is shown that the =lay using the proposed
technique is able to converge the seen impedance much faster
as compared to the relay using the fixed data window
approach. The relay operates correctly for all faults simulated
within the protection zone of the relay and does not issue a
trip command for the faults simulated outside the protection
zone. The proposed relay is able to issue the trip commands in
lesser time in comparison to a relay using fixed-window
approach. It is also observed that the average computation
time required by the proposed relay is more than that required
by the relay using the fixed data window filters. However,
with the availability of fast and powerful signal processors
higher computational speed can be easily obtained.
0-7803-6420-1/00/$10.00(c) 2000 IEEE
V. REFERENCES
[l] Sachdev. M.S. (Coordinator), Computer Relaying Tutorial Text. IEEE
publication no. 79 EH0148-7-PwR. New York. 1979.
[2] Sachdev. M.S. (Coordinator). Microprocessor Relays and Protection
Svstems. IEEE Tutorial Course Text No. 88 EH0169-I-PWR
Fkatawriy, NJ, 1988.
Sachdev, M.S. (Coordinator), Advancement in Microprocessor-based
Protectiori and Communication. IEEE Tutorial Course Text, 97TP120-
0. 1997.
Phadke, I4.G. and Thorp, J.S..Computer Relaying for Power Systems.
John Wilcy and Sons,New York,1988.
Gilcrest G. B., Rockefeller. G. D. and Udren E. A., "High Speed
Distance Relaying Using a Digital Computer, Part 1 -
System
Description", IEEE Trans.Power Apparatus and Systems, vol. 91. no. 3.
1972, pp. 1235-1243.
Mann. B. J. and Momson. J. F., "Digital Calculation of Impedance for
Transmission Line Protection". IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and
Systems, %vol.90,no. 1. 1971. pp. 270-279.
Sachdev M.S. and Boribenu, M.A., "A New Algorithm for Digital
Impedance Relays", IEEE Trans. Power ApparaNs and Systems. vol.
PAS-98. NOVJDeC. 1979, pp. 2232-2240.
BIOGRAPHIES
Tarlochan S. Sidhu received the B.E. (Hons.) degree from the Punjabi
University, Patiala, India in 1979 and the M.Sc. and Ph.D.degrees from the
University 0 1 Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada in 1985 and 1989
respectively. He worked for the Regional Computer Center, Chandigarh.
India from 1979 to 1980 and developed software for computer-based
systems. He rdso worked for Punjab State Electricity Board, lndia from
1980 to 1983 in distribution system operation and thermal generating station
design. After obtaining the Ph.D. degree. he joined Bell-Northern Research
Ltd.. Ottawa, Canada and worked on a software development project for
about one year. He joined, in 1990, the University of Saskatchewan where
he is pmently Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and
Graduate Chaiuman of the. Department of Electrical Engineering. He is a
senior member of the IEEE. a Registered Professional Engineer in the
Province of Saskatchewan and a ChWrCd Engineer in the UK. His areas of
interest includt: power system protection. monitoring and control.
Daljit S. Ghoitra received the B.E. degree in electronics engineering from
Marathwada lrtstitute of Engineering and Tcchnology.Aurangabad, lndia in
1995. He wokrd for Jnnotech Madceting as an engineer From 1995 to 1997.
He joined University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. Canada in 1998. where
he is cumntl:y pursuing the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering. His
research inmert includes power system protection, monitoring & control. '
Mohindar S. Sachdev was born in Amritsar, India, in 1928. He received
the B.Sc. from the Banaras Hindu University, India, the M.Sc. degree from
Punjab University, Chandigarh, lndia and the University of Saskatchewan.
Saskatoon. Canada and, the Ph.D. and the D.Sc.degrees from the University
of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. He worked for the Punjab P.W.D
Electricity Branch and the Punjab State Electricity Board, India from I950
to 1968 in System Operation, Design and Planning. In 1968, he joined the
University of Saskatchewan wherc he is currently Professor Emeritus of
Electrical Engineering. His areas of intemt BR power system analysis and
power system protection. He is a Fellow of the IEEE. a fellow of Institution
of Engineers (India) and a Fellow of htiNtiOn of Electrical Engineers.
London (Englrmd). He is also a Registered Professional Engineer in the
Province of Sa!;katchewan and a Charkred Engineer in the UK.
1412