What is System Protection?

System protection is the art and science of

detecting problems with power system
components and isolating these components.
Problems on the power system include:
1.Short circuits
2.Abnormal conditions
3.Equipment failures
the protection system defines as:
Current Approved Definition:
Protective relays, associated communication
systems, voltage and current sensing devices,
station batteries and DC control circuitry.
 Purpose of System Protection

•Protect the public

•Improve system stability
•Minimize damage to equipment
•Protect against overloads
•Employ relay techs and engineers
 Computer aided protection

• The field of computer relaying started with attempts to investigate

whether power system relaying functions could be performed with a
digital computer. These investigations began in the 1960s, a period
during which the digital computer was slowly and systematically
replacing many of the traditional tools of analytical electric power
engineering. The short circuit, load flow, and stability problems –
whose solution was the primary preoccupation of power system
planners – had already been converted to computer programs,
replacing the DC boards and the Network
• Analyzers. Relaying was thought to be the next promising and exciting
field for computerization. It was clear from the outset that digital
computers of that period could not handle the technical needs of high
speed relaying functions. Nor was there any economic incentive to do
so. Computers were orders of magnitude too expensive. Yet, the
prospect of developing and examining relaying algorithms looked
attractive to several researchers
 3.2 Expected benefits of computer
relaying
• It would be well to summarize the advantages
offered by computer relays, and some of the features
of this technology which have required new
operational considerations.
• Among the benefits flowing from computer relays
are:
• Cost
• Self-checking and reliability
• System integration and digital environment
• Functional flexibility and adaptive relaying
 A.Hardware Architecture

• The typical architecture of a numerical relay consists of a power

supply, digital and analogue input/output (I/O), one or more DSP
Microprocessors, few memory and other interfacing components
here multiple processors are provided are among them is to be
dedicated to execute the protection relay algorithms, while the
other implements any associated logic and handles the interfaces
like Human Machine Interface (HMI) to enhance the capability of
printed circuit boards (PCB's), the I/O can be organized properly so
as to enhance the limits of hardware/software additional I/O can be
easily added to support the functionality. The internal
communications bus links the hardware and is considered as the
critical component in the design. The work speed must be high. The
interference from the noisy substation environment is to be
 Relay Software

• The series of tasks, operating in real time is the back

bone of software provided it is organized in to series of
tasks. . the most essential component is the Real Time
Operating System (RTOS), this ensures that the other
tasks are executed at the time of need, on a priority
basis. Other task software provided will naturally vary
according to the function of the specific relay, but can
he generalized as follows:
• A. system services software - this is akin to the BIOS of
an ordinary PC, and controls the low-level I/O for the
relay (i.e. drivers for the relay hardware, boot-up
sequence, etc.)
 Cont’d
• B. HMI interface software - the high level
software for communicating with a user, via the
front panel controls or through a data link to
another computer running suitable software,
storage of setting data, etc.
• C. application software - this is the software that
defines the protection function of the relay
• D. auxiliary functions - software to implement
other features offered in the relay - often
structured as a series of modules to reflect the
options offered to a user by the manufacturer
What Components (Equipment) Do We
Protect?

•Generators
•Transformers, Reactors
•Lines
•Buses
•Capacitors
CONT’D
 Generator Protection

• How Do We Protect the Stator?

• A. Differential Protection (what goes in must come
out) 1. Detects phase-phase faults
B. Stator Ground Protection
1. 59N (95% of Stator)
2. Third Harmonic Voltage Method (100% of Stator)
3. Signal Injection (100% of Stator)
 What can go wrong?
• B. Rotor Problems
1. Loss of field ,2. Field ground
a. First ground ,b. Second ground =TROUBLE
 How Do We Protect the Rotor?

• 1.Loss of Field a. Impedance

2. Field ground
a. DC voltage relay (64F)
The field ground relay is
connected from the
negative side of the field
to DC ground. Detects
voltage from the field to
ground.
 Rotor protection
• Assuming that simultaneous samples of
currents at the two ends of a stator winding
are obtained see figure above, a sample by
sample percentage differential relation could
be used to detect the presence of a fault:
 Cont’d
where K is the slope of the percentage differential
characteristic. If the estimation of differential and restraint
currents is made on a per-sample basis as in Equation
(3.4), it would be necessary to take a vote among several
samples to confirm that a fault has indeed occurred, and
that the differential current sample is not created by an
anomalous data sample for one of the currents.
• A somewhat more secure decision is obtained if
phasors estimated from I1(k) and I2(k) are used in
this comparison. Either a mimic circuit must be
used to eliminate the influence of the DC offset in
the current, or a full cycle DFT technique must be
used to calculate the phasors
 What else can go wrong?
C. Abnormal Conditions
1. Over/Under Frequency
2. Over Excitation
3. Reverse Power
4. Out of Step
5. Unbalance Current
Transformer Protection
CONSTRUCTION
HOW U FORM NUETRAL LINE IN TRM?
 What can go wrong?

● Winding-to-winding faults
● Winding-to-ground faults
● Bushing faults
 Protection Methods

● Fuse (e.g in distribution trx drop out &HRC

fuzes)
● Overcurrent
● Differential
 Differential Protection:

• What goes in must come out….. P-in = P-out

 Algorithm
• If we consider a three-winding transformer as
shown in Figure below with the current
polarities as shown, the trip current is given by
• IT = I1 + I2 + I3
• while there are two restraining currents given
by
IR1 = I1 − I2 − I3 and IR2 = −I1 + I2 − I3
 Cont’d
• The second restraint current is necessary to
protect the transformer operating with the
primary breaker open. Although much of the
original algorithm development has been on a
single-phase basis, the ultimate application is on
a three-phase device.
• Thus, there would be three trip currents (one per
phase) and six restraint currents (two per phase)
for a three-phase three-winding transformer.
Cont’d
 LINE PROTECTION
• Transmission lines can vary in length from several
hundred feet to several hundred miles, and in voltage
(line-to-line) from 46KV to 750KV.
• Construction can be simple, such as a single wood
pole with insulators a top a cross arm, with little
spacing between the conductors and from the
conductors to ground. At the other end of the scale
are metal lattice structures with bundled conductors
(2 or more conductors per phase) with large spacing
between conductors and between conductors and
ground.
Typical overall protection for large
transformer
• 87T – Transformer Differential Relay
• 63 – Sudden Pressure Relay
• 51- Over-current Back Up Relay low side
• 50/51 - Over-current Back Up Relay high side
Cont’d
 What Can Go Wrong?

• FAULTS (Short Circuits)

• Some causes of faults:
●Trees
● Lightning
● Animals (birds, squirrels, snakes)
● Weather (wind, snow, ice)
● Natural Disasters (earthquakes, floods)
● Faulty equipment (switches, insulators, clamps, etc.)
 Faults
• “Faults come uninvited and seldom go away
voluntarily.” Fault Types:
●Single line-to-ground
● Line-to-line
● Three Phase
● Line-to-line-to-ground
 How Do We Protect Transmission
Lines?

• A. Over current
• B. Directional Overcurrent
• C. Distance (Impedance)
• D. Pilot 1. DCB (Directional Comparison Blocking
• 2. POTT (Permissive Overreaching Transfer Trip)
E. Line Current Differential
 Overcurrent Protection

• Non-Directional
• Relay responds to overcurrent condition
• Instantaneous (IOC) device #50
• No intentional time delay
• Time Overcurrent (TOC) device #51
• Various curve types, including inverse, very
inverse, extremely inverse
AC schematics
Directional relays
 Distance Protection
• A distance relay measures the impedance of a
line using the voltage applied to the relay and
the current applied to the relay. When a fault
occurs on a line, the current rises significantly
and the voltage collapses significantly. The
distance relay (also known as impedance relay)
determines the impedance by Z = V/I. If the
impedance is within the reach setting of the
relay, it will operate.
 Distance Relay

• CT and PT
Connections
Cont’d
Cont’d
Why impedance protection?
Situation: Meshed network and two infeeds
Directional overcurrent time relays

0,6s 0,3s

0,6s 0,3s

0,6s 0,3s

0,6s 0,3s
non-selective trip
Why impedance protection?
Situation: Meshed network and two infeeds
Directional overcurrent time relays

0,6s 0,3s

0,6s 0,3s

0,6s 0,3s

0,6s 0,3s
non-selective trip
 Pilot Relaying Scheme

• A protection scheme which employs

communications to send a signal from one
station to another to allow high speed tripping
(permission) or to prevent high speed tripping
(blocking).
• Pilot protection allows over-reaching zones of
protection to ensure full protection of the line
as well as high speed tripping.
Comparison of Electro-Mechanical to
Microprocessor-Based Protective Relays

Advantages of Electromechanical
•Lower Cost
•Easier to Test
Disadvantages of Electromechanical
•Need three individual relays
•Maintain more often
•Moving Parts
•Usually performs only one protective function
•Slower operating than Micro-Processor Based
Advantages of Micro-Processor Based
•Performs hundreds of protective functions
•Only one relay needed for all phases
Faster operating than Electromechanical
•Self-Monitoring
•Takes up less space
•Longer maintenance cycle

Disadvantages Micro-Processor Based

•Higher Cost
•Complex training for testing