Exploring the IEEE C37.

234 Guide for Protective

Relay Application to Power System Buses
Working Group K14 of the IEEE PES Power System Relaying Committee
B. Kasztenny, Chairman, S. Conrad, Vice-Chairman, P. Beaumont, K. Behrendt, O. Bolado, J. Boyle,
G. Brunello, J. Burger, F. Calero, S. Chano, G. Dalke, A. Darlington, H. DoCarmo, D. Fontana, Z. Gajic,
J. Holbach, L. Kojovic, F. Lopez, D. Lukach, D. McGinn, J. Miller, P. Mysore, J. O’Brien, B. Pickett,
S. Sambasivan, G. Sessler, V. Skendzic, J. Smith, D. Tholomier, M. Thompson, J. Uchiyama, D. Ware,
D. Weers, R. Whittaker, R. Young, and S. Zocholl

Abstract—This paper summarizes the IEEE C37.234-2009 protection systems. This includes reconfigurable buses, such as
Guide for Protective Relay Applications to Power System Buses. double-bus single-breaker configuration, breaker substitution,
In the Guide, concepts of power bus protection are discussed. main and transfer bus, etc., where the zones of protection shift as
Consideration is given to availability and location of breakers,
current transformers, and disconnectors as well as bus switching the bus is reconfigured, thus requiring the bus protection system
scenarios, and their impact on the selection and application of bus to adapt accordingly for optimum selectivity.
protection. A number of bus protection schemes are presented; The Guide reviews the most common bus protection schemes
their adequacy, complexity, strengths and limitations with respect and presents their relative advantages given specific bus con-
to a variety of bus arrangements are discussed; specific application figuration, switching flexibility and performance requirements
guidelines are provided for a variety of situations. Breaker failure
protection is discussed as pertaining to bus protection. Means of for the protection system. This includes schemes ranging from
securing bus protection schemes against corrupted relay input differentially-connected overcurrent relays to microprocessor-
signals are also included. based differential schemes with dynamic zone selection.
Index Terms—Breaker failure protection, bus, check zone, cur- After reviewing relay input sources—current transformers,
rent transformers, differential bus protection, dynamic bus replica, voltage transformers, and position sensing schemes for breakers
electric power substation, high impedance differential, partial dif- and disconnect switches, the Guide elaborates on each bus pro-
ferential, percentage differential, protective relaying, stub bus pro- tection method in more detail by examining the operating prin-
tection, voltage trip supervision, zone interlocked bus protection.
ciple, providing general setting guidelines and listing general
requirements for current transformers.
I. INTRODUCTION The Guide also discusses specific bus protection application
issues including, but not limited to, partial differential protec-
tion, applications with paralleled current transformers, current
LECTRIC power system buses are points of common con-
E nection for source and load circuits. As such, buses are es-
sential in maintaining power system integrity. Unnecessary iso-
transformer column ground fault protection, voltage trip su-
pervision, dynamic bus selection for double-bus single-breaker
buses, bus protection under a breaker substitution configura-
lation of a power bus by its protection system can considerably
tion, stub bus configuration, or configuration with paralleled
alter the topology of the power grid and, even without other con-
buses, breaker failure application for reconfigurable buses, and
tingencies, can lead to system stability problems. Therefore, the
treatment of in-zone out-of-service elements that provide a
security of bus protection schemes is of paramount importance.
ground path for short circuit currents.
At the same time the proximity and connection of various
The Guide incorporates informative Annexes with setting cal-
power apparatus within the perimeter of a substation and their
culations examples for high-impedance and differentially con-
exposure to secondary effects of a short circuit require fast iso-
nected overcurrent schemes, as well as a logic design example
lation of all bus faults.
for a double-bus single-breaker bus.
The IEEE C37.234 bus protection guide [1] provides appli-
The purpose of the Guide is to assist utility engineers and
cation guidelines for selecting and engineering bus protection
industrial and commercial plant engineers in selecting and en-
schemes for typical bus configurations using a variety of pro-
gineering proper bus protection.
tection philosophies to meet the requirements of security, de-
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the 120-page doc-
pendability, and speed of operation.
ument and highlight its main points.
The document reviews many typical bus configurations and
explains typical switching operations and their impact on the bus
II. BUS CONFIGURATIONS
Manuscript received March 10, 2010. Paper no. TPWRD-00175-2010. It is essential to understand the various bus arrangements be-
B. Kasztenny is with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc., Markham, fore selecting an appropriate protection scheme for a given bus
ON L3R 5A4, Canada (e-mail: [email protected]). configuration.
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. There are six major bus configurations in common use:
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2010.2048128 1) single bus;

Copyright © 2010 IEEE. Reprinted from IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 2010.

978-1-4577-0496-3/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE 29 Protective Relay 2011

 Fig. 2. Temporary breaker-substitution configuration.
Fig. 1. Double-bus single-breaker bus configuration with breaker by-pass
switches.

2) main and transfer bus;

3) double-bus double-breaker
4) double-bus single-breaker;
5) breaker-and-a-half;
6) ring bus.
These classical bus arrangements and typical switching sce-
narios are described in detail in the Guide.
As an example consider a breaker substitution in a main and
transfer bus or double-bus single-breaker configuration. In order
to use one of the buses as a transfer bus and the bus tie breaker Fig. 3. Protection zone boundaries for a reconfigurable bus.
(TB) as a substituting breaker, by-pass switches are added to the
network element breakers as shown in Fig. 1.
To isolate a breaker for maintenance, all network elements of protection, with the intent to issue a trip command to the
are routed to one bus, the network element of the said breaker breakers located on the tripping boundary of the zone.
is routed to the other bus, the by-pass switch is closed, and the For maximum selectivity, a dedicated zone of protection
maintained breaker is isolated via its disconnects while the bus covers each bus section with its own measuring and tripping
tie is closed and used to substitute the said breaker (Fig. 2). boundaries. In the case of re-configurable buses, the zone’s
Both the bus protection and the network element protection boundaries may shift to follow the actual bus configuration at
need to adapt accordingly to accommodate this temporary bus any given time using the concept of a dynamic bus replica (see
configuration including the switching conditions. Fig. 3 for illustration).

III. ZONES OF BUS PROTECTION IV. TYPES OF BUS PROTECTION

The bus protection zone is defined by location of CTs sur- The major types of bus protection systems are:
rounding the bus. In terms of its ability to clear the fault once de- • differential;
tected, the bus protection zone is defined by location of breakers • zone interlocked schemes;
surrounding the bus. • time coordinated relays that overlap the bus zone.
Ideally, CTs are located on both sides of a breaker, and It is convenient to describe the general types of bus protection
the breaker is overlapped by the bus and network element schemes and their characteristics before describing their suit-
protective relaying zones. As a result, no blind spots exist in the ability for a given application.
system, and the measuring boundary of the bus protection zone
is slightly larger than the tripping boundary of the bus zone. A. Differential
Bus protection schemes perform the task of detecting an Any relay that has information on the sum of all currents en-
internal bus fault within the measuring boundary of the zone tering and exiting the zone of protection and operates on the dif-

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Fig. 4. Differentially connected overcurrent scheme.

ference in these currents falls under the category of differential

relaying. There are five general categories of differential relays
used in bus applications: Fig. 5. Bus differential protection with electro-mechanical percentage-re-
1) differentially connected overcurrent (instantaneous or time strained relays.
delayed);
2) percentage-restrained differential (or differential with
other means of dealing with CT saturation); over years of field experience, and based on heuristic rules de-
3) high-impedance differential; veloped by protection engineering departments are applied. An
4) partial differential overcurrent; informative annex is included in the Guide that discusses set-
5) fault bus. tings for differentially connected overcurrent schemes.
Differential protection is often applied on bus protection for To avoid such heuristic approaches, more advanced, easier to
its high selectivity. All currents into and out of a zone of pro- set differential relays can be used.
tection are measured. The zone of protection is determined by 2) Percentage Restrained Differential: The percentage-re-
the location of the current transformers that define the differen- strained differential relay operates on the ratio of:
tial zone. With high selectivity, a differential relay does not need • operate current (differential current);
to have any intentional time delay to coordinate with relays in • restraint current (a measure of the through current in the
adjacent zones. Thus, differential protection can provide high bus zone).
speed of operation. As mentioned above, there are a number of The ratio of operate to restraint current is referred to as the
different types of differential relays. Each has different levels slope, which is often expressed in percentage, hence the desig-
of performance with regard to ultimate speed, selectivity, sensi- nation. There are multiple ways of defining the slope character-
tivity, and security. istic (variable percentage slope versus fixed percentage slope).
The other attribute of differential relays is their relatively high There are multiple ways of defining the restraint current also.
sensitivity. The relay operates on the difference current instead When the operate current divided by the restraint current ex-
of the through current in the system. Thus, it can have much ceeds the slope characteristic, the relay operates.
greater sensitivity than an overcurrent or distance relay that is Fig. 5 illustrates an application with an electro-mechanical
typically set above the load flow through the protected zone. percentage-restrained relay. Modern microprocessor-based re-
However, for a bus protection application, high sensitivity is lays apply more sophisticated means to cope with spurious dif-
generally not particularly critical. The exception to this is on ferential currents caused by CT saturation, in addition to using
buses where the minimum fault current levels are very low, such percentage restraint.
as on a high-impedance grounded system. 3) High-Impedance Differential: High impedance differen-
1) Differentially Connected Overcurrent: Differentially con- tial relays place a very high burden (around 1000–2000 ohms)
nected overcurrent relays respond to the magnitude of the differ- in the differential leg of the CT circuit. The relay typically re-
ence current (Fig. 4). Their inherent limitation is that they can sponds to the voltage measured across the summing point in the
operate on false differential current caused by CT saturation so CT circuit. If an internal fault on the bus occurs, all CTs try to
they are relatively insecure compared to most other differential force the differential current through the high impedance. All
relaying principles. There are several means to enhance their se- of the CTs will typically saturate and a high voltage will appear
curity: across the CT circuit summing point. These schemes include
• Set the pickup above the worst case anticipated false dif- means of limiting the voltage in the circuit to prevent CT, cable
ferential current. and relay insulation breakdown (Fig. 6).
• Use time delay, typically inverse timing, that will trip For an external fault, the differential current sums to zero and
fast for high differential current but slow enough to ride no current flows in the high impedance branch of the circuit.
through asymmetrical saturation until the CT recovers. If a CT saturates during an external fault, the impedance of
• Add a stabilizing resistance to the differential leg of the CT the circuit branch of the saturated CT is much less than the
circuit to reduce the amount of false differential current that impedance of the circuit branch to the differential relay. The
flows to the relay. voltage elements of the relay are set above the highest voltage
that can be seen across the summing point of the CT circuit
The first two remedies require analysis that is beyond the ca- for an external fault. This is obtained by assuming that a CT
pability of simple engineering tools. Often, settings fine tuned saturates completely. This protection system provides both

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 Fig. 7. Fault bus scheme.

bus, even though the said differential current is measured di-

rectly owing to the controlled way of grounding the bus struc-
ture. Being differential, the fault bus scheme allows for high
speed and good sensitivity for ground faults.

Fig. 6. High-impedance bus differential protection with MOVs. B. Zone-Interlocked Schemes

Any scheme that relies upon relays on the network elements
to signal the location of the power system fault falls under
high security for external faults and high sensitivity for internal the category of a zone-interlocked scheme. There are two
faults. The high sensitivity is provided because very little general categories of zone-interlocked schemes used in bus
difference current is required to create a voltage drop across applications:
the high impedance to allow a trip. This scheme is especially 1) simple blocking;
suitable to high impedance grounded systems for this reason. 2) directional blocking.
4) Partial Differential Overcurrent: This scheme is closely These schemes are simple to apply in configurations where
related to the differentially connected overcurrent scheme (Fig. the network element relaying can determine that the fault is on
4) except that there are some network elements connected to the the protected circuit and not on the bus. With directional relays
bus that are not monitored, typically because of lack of CTs. A it is possible to use this bus protection method with multiple
typical example would be a bus with radial loads that has mul- sources, but the application becomes more complex.
tiple sources such as a main and a tie. The source circuits would These schemes are also particularly suitable to applications
be included in the differential circuit; but, the non-source net- where the bus can be sectionalized by disconnect switches in-
work element breakers (e.g., feeder breakers) may not because stead of circuit breakers. It takes simple logic to reconfigure the
CTs are not available or they are not adequately rated for dif- zones based upon which sources and network elements are on
ferential application. Partial Differential is sometimes used as which bus sections to maintain selectivity.
a combined backup for the main bus and feeder protections. A 1) Zone Interlocked Simple Blocking Schemes: Simple
bus with a fuse-protected bus-connected shunt capacitor bank is blocking schemes are suitable for radial applications. In a
another typical example. blocking scheme, the relays on the network elements are con-
This scheme has somewhat reduced sensitivity than a true nected to a relay measuring the source circuit(s) such that they
differential scheme because its minimum pickup is set above can block the source relay from tripping if they detect a fault
the maximum current in the unmonitored circuit(s). This scheme on their network elements. The tripping elements on the source
can be set to operate instantaneously if it is deemed acceptable relay are delayed only long enough so that the blocking logic
to trip the bus for faults in the unmonitored network elements. will reliably assert if the fault is external to the bus. Delay is
Otherwise, time coordination is required to maintain selectivity. typically on the order of one to two cycles.
5) Fault Bus: A fault bus scheme uses an instantaneous over- 2) Zone Interlocked Directional Blocking Schemes: Direc-
current element that responds to the fault current flowing to tional blocking schemes are suitable for networked applications
ground from the bus structure (Fig. 7). This scheme is typically where multiple network elements are sources to the bus. Di-
limited to distribution level voltages and metal-clad switchgear rectional blocking schemes typically rely upon directional el-
where it is possible to insulate the entire bus structure from ements in each network element to assert “fault towards bus”
ground except for one or two grounding jumpers. The grounding or “fault away from bus” logic. The logic is set up such that if
jumpers are passed through a CT to measure any ground fault any one relay sees a fault towards the bus and no other relay
current. The scheme responds to ground faults and will not de- sees a fault away from the bus, the bus is tripped. The logic in-
tect phase to phase faults. cludes a small coordination delay so that the “fault away from
Technically this scheme is a differential scheme as it effec- bus” blocking elements have enough time to assert. Delay is typ-
tively responds to the sum of all the currents surrounding the ically on the order of one half to one cycle.

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C. Time-Coordinated Relays That Overlap the Bus Zone
When there is a lack of a dedicated bus protection scheme,
faults in the bus zone are cleared by time-coordinated relays that
overlap the bus zone. Examples include relying upon remote
zone 2 step distance relays to time out and trip for a bus fault
beyond the protected line. Or, in radial applications, simply a
time coordinated overcurrent element on the source breaker to
the bus.
Selectivity can be enhanced (the remote line terminals are not
tripped) if, either a local forward element with offset to include
the origin of the impedance plane, or a local reverse element,
starts a timer that is coordinated with the remote overreaching
distance zone timers to trip each network element of the bus.
This scheme has poor speed performance compared to most Fig. 8. Case of a breaker with CTs on one side. Line-side CT (top) and bus-side
of the dedicated bus protection schemes. CT (bottom).
In a non-redundant bus protection scheme, these techniques
are relied upon for backup protection of the bus.
partial differential overcurrent or time coordinated relaying may
be used. If CTs are available on every network element around
V. CONSIDERATIONS FOR BUS SCHEME SELECTION
the bus, differential relays may be applied. Some differential
The factors to consider in selecting a bus protection scheme schemes such as high-impedance differential require a dedicated
for a particular application include: set of CTs to make up the differential circuit. If the CT circuits
• bus configuration; are shared with other protection systems, a low impedance dif-
• availability and location of CTs; ferential scheme such as differentially connected overcurrent or
• characteristics of available CTs; percentage-restrained differential relays may be selected.
• availability and location of VTs; With electromechanical relays, the differential current is
• performance requirements; summed by physical connection of all of the CTs in the
• cost and complexity. differential circuit. It is desirable to not place additional
electromechanical relays in the circuit in order to limit the
A. Bus Configuration burden. Most microprocessor-based relays have isolated CT
The station arrangement has a major influence on how the inputs and negligible burden such that it is possible to use a
bus protection system is designed. In the context of selecting the CT circuit in a low impedance differential scheme for other
type of bus protection the most important distinction is between relaying schemes. In these relays, the differential current is
fixed and switchable bus arrangements. obtained mathematically internal to the relay. This makes it
In fixed bus arrangements, the configuration of the bus zones possible to improve the zones of protection in an existing
and circuit breakers and their associated network elements con- substation with available CTs or reduce the number of CTs
nected to them are fixed. There is no need to reconfigure the required in new installations.
zones of protection and the CTs that are associated with each.
However, under special conditions such as a breaker with CTs C. Characteristics of Available CTs
on only one side of the breaker (Fig. 8), it may be beneficial to In differential relay applications where the differential current
make some of the associations dynamic, even for fixed bus con- is made up by physical summation of the CT circuits, matching
figurations. For example, in the case of a bus-side CT in Fig. 8 the ratio of the CTs can also present a problem. If CTs of suitable
one may dynamically remove the CT from the bus zone mea- common ratio are not available, a bus protection system that can
surements if the breaker is opened, and by doing so shift the tolerate mismatched ratios would be selected. Microprocessor-
boundary of the bus zone from the CT to the breaker, thus elim- based bus differential relays accept high ratio mismatch.
inating the blind spot between the CT and the breaker. This logic The ratings of the CTs can also influence the choice of the bus
can be used to clear bus faults between the CT and the breaker protection system. CTs with too low an accuracy rating or too
without reliance on the breaker failure function initiated by the low a ratio versus the available fault current can make certain
network element protection. types of bus protection systems not suitable. For example, if
In switchable bus arrangements, circuit breakers and their as- there is not adequate margin between the secure voltage setting
sociated network elements can be connected to more than one of a high impedance differential relay and the lowest voltage
bus by disconnect switches (Fig. 3). Thus, some means of re- rating of the CTs in the scheme, a high impedance relay might
configuring the bus protection is required. not be able to trip dependably due to the CT clamping the
voltage in the circuit too low. A simple percentage restrained
B. Availability and Location of CTs differential relay may not have adequate security, if any of the
The availability of CTs to define the bus zones is an impor- CTs is rated in such a way that it saturates too much during
tant consideration. If CTs are not available on every network external faults. An advanced differential relay with a CT satu-
element, full differential protection is not possible. In this case, ration detector may be required.

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D. Availability of VTs the power system in loss of loads, and in simultaneously taking
out multiple transmission paths. Some bus protection schemes
Zone interlocked directional blocking schemes typically will
have inherently greater security than others. Simple differen-
require VTs for polarizing the directional elements.
tial overcurrent and partial differential schemes have low in-
Voltage elements are also sometimes applied to enhance se-
herent security. Zone interlocked systems have better security.
curity in bus differential applications where the zones of pro-
Percentage restrained differential systems have higher security.
tection are switched (switchable bus arrangements). Differen-
The best security performance can be achieved with advanced
tial current without a corresponding unbalance, undervoltage or
percentage restrained differential relays with CT saturation de-
change in the voltage indicates an error in associating currents
tector functions and other features to enhance security such as
to bus protection zones instead of a short circuit on the bus.
voltage trip supervision, CT trouble detection or a check zone,
and with high impedance differential systems.
E. Performance Requirements
Bus protection systems can be evaluated based upon perfor- F. Cost and Complexity
mance criteria. These include: Cost is often a consideration in determining the appropriate
• selectivity; protection system as long as performance criteria are met. The
• speed; cost of the protection system itself is only one of the costs to be
• sensitivity; evaluated. A complete list includes:
• security. • cost of protective relays and cabling that make up the
1) Selectivity: Bus protection systems generally require high system;
levels of selectivity. The impedance of the protected circuit, • cost of instrument transformers required to implement the
fault current levels, and time delay can achieve selectivity in protection system;
other applications. These factors do not apply to bus applica- • cost of engineering studies to verify adequate performance
tions, and therefore, an inherent selectivity of the protection of the protection system;
system is required by appropriate shaping of the bus zone mea- • cost of testing and validation of the protection system.
suring and tripping boundaries. That is why some form of dif- Complexity can introduce hidden costs. For example, even
ferential protection is often chosen. Zone interlocked schemes though zone interlocked systems make use of the relays on each
achieve selectivity by logic. of the network elements and therefore do not require dedicated
2) Speed: Various schemes can have different levels of bus protection system equipment: they can be much more com-
performance. Zone interlocked schemes include a delay to plex than a dedicated differential system to design, set, and com-
coordinate with the receipt of blocking signals. Traditional mission.
percentage restrained relays tend to be somewhat slower than Simple differential overcurrent relays may make use of a
advanced percentage restrained relays with high-speed algo- low cost overcurrent relay, but the engineering studies required
rithms. High impedance differential relays tend to be very fast to verify a high level of security can be quite expensive. This
since the voltage reaches tripping levels in fractions of a cycle, scheme is only economical if the end user does not require a
and no intentional delay is needed for security or selectivity. high level of security and/or speed.
The ultimate speed requirements of the bus protection system In many cases a tradeoff is possible between the amount of
are determined by system stability, power quality, and equip- engineering effort and the cost of equipment required.
ment through-fault withstand. The Guide includes a bus scheme selection matrix that can be
3) Sensitivity: Normally, sensitivity is not a very critical re- used to help evaluate the applicability of various bus protection
quirement of bus protection systems. Typically, high impedance systems based upon several criteria.
faults are not likely due to the fact that the bus work is sur-
rounded by solidly grounded structures.
VI. RELAY INPUT SOURCES
Impedance grounding will decrease ground fault levels. In
this case, the difference between phase fault levels and ground Bus protection schemes require inputs to measure parameters
fault levels can require a bus protection system that includes of the bus to be protected. These include current transformers to
higher sensitivity for ground faults. measure the current entering the bus from the branch network
Differential relays, due to the fact that they operate on the elements surrounding the bus. With this respect the Guide re-
difference current and not the through current in the circuit views performance, engineering rules and classification of CTs
tend to have higher sensitivity than other protection systems using both the ANSI and IEC classification schemes.
such as distance or overcurrent-based systems. High impedance Voltage transformers are necessary in schemes that require di-
differential relays have much higher sensitivity than percentage rectional information. Bus voltage can also be used to enhance
restrained differential relays. Zone interlocked systems can security in switchable bus arrangements where the CTs are dy-
achieve the required sensitivity if all of the relays that protect namically assigned to each bus zone. With this respect the Guide
the network elements have adequate sensitivities such as by reviews typical voltage trip supervision schemes such as nega-
using negative-sequence or neutral overcurrent elements rather tive-sequence overvoltage or phase undervoltage.
than phase overcurrent elements. Breaker and disconnect switch positions around the bus may
4) Security: Security is paramount for bus protection. Trip- also be required. The Guide discusses requirements for these
ping of a bus for an external fault can have a significant effect on various input sources for application with bus protection. Fig. 9

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Fig. 9. Position filtering scheme for a power switch.

TABLE I
“IF NOT OPENED THEN CLOSED” FILTERING LOGIC

Fig. 10. Sample double-bus single-breaker bus configuration.

this single breaker and single CT, and in order to maintain pro-
tection selectivity, it needs to dynamically adjust its bus zones
illustrates a typical monitoring application while Table I sum- of protection to follow the changing bus configuration.
marizes one of the possible filtering logic schemes. As a result it is necessary to provide a logical scheme that
dynamically assigns individual network element currents to ap-
VII. APPLICATION CONSIDERATIONS propriate differential measuring zones, and upon operation of a
The Guide includes detailed discussion on many application given bus differential zone decides which breakers to trip. This
considerations relating to different bus protection schemes. Sec- logical scheme is often referred to as a dynamic bus replica.
tions are included for: Consider a sample double-bus single-breaker bus of Fig. 10.
• partial differential protection; Two zones of bus protection are required for optimum selec-
• combined bus and transformer protection; tivity. Z1 protecting BUS 1 is associated with the CT-1 and
• protection of buses with directly connected grounding CT-5 currents and with the CB-1 and CB-4 breakers. Z2 pro-
transformers; tecting BUS 2 is associated with the CT-2, CT-3 and CT-4 cur-
• application of auxiliary current transformers; rents and with the CB-2, CB-3 and CB-4 breakers. Furthermore,
• application with paralleled current transformers; upon a failure of CB-1 the CB-4 breaker needs to be tripped for
• application of auxiliary tripping relays; optimum selectivity, while upon a failure of CB-2, the CB-3 and
• automatic reclosing after bus faults; CB-4 breakers need to be tripped.
• dynamic bus replica; Logical signals signifying the assignment of a given current to
• voltage trip supervision; a given zone of protection as well as routing of trip commands to
• check zone; individual breakers, are typically derived using position of dis-
• application of CT trouble detection; connect switches, but other switching devices can be involved
• reliable, selective tripping at the differential zone in special cases as well. This includes breakers, breaker by-pass
boundary; switches and even grounding switches.
• CT column ground fault protection; The concept of dynamic association of currents and breakers
• in-service transfer of network elements and breaker substi- to bus zones of protection allows the following applications:
tution; • dynamic association of currents to zone of protection for
• in-zone grounds; optimum selectivity for reconfigurable buses;
• stub bus considerations; • dynamic routing of trip commands to individual circuit
• breaker failure considerations; breakers for optimum selectivity for reconfigurable buses;
• backup protection. • enhanced applications with breakers having CTs on one
Consider for example the concept of a dynamic bus replica. side only and with bus couplers;
Bus configurations may include network elements that can be • effective merging of individual bus zones during transfers
switched between different bus sections via disconnect switches of in-service network elements while temporarily paral-
with no fault current interrupting capabilities. These network leling buses via disconnect switches;
elements typically incorporate a single breaker with associated • adjustments of bus zones of protection for breaker substi-
current transformer(s). The bus protection system works with tution configurations;

35
 • treatment of temporary grounds within the bus differential 2) double-bus single-breaker application example (logic de-
measuring zone; sign—Annex B);
• routing of breaker failure trip commands for reconfigurable 3) setting example for differentially connected overcurrent
buses; bus protection (sample setting rules—Annex C).
• status supervision for disconnect switches and breakers. In addition, a comprehensive bibliography list related to bus
The Guide explains and illustrates the above aspects of the protection is compiled in Annex D.
dynamic bus replica in detail.
Implementation of the dynamic bus replica differs consid- IX. SUMMARY
erably between analog relays, particularly electro-mechanical, Selecting and engineering a bus protection scheme calls for
and microprocessor-based relays. considering a number of factors and making a number of trade-
Microprocessor-based relays provide for dynamic bus replica offs between the required performance and existing constraints.
by associating currents, zones and breakers logically in their The 2009 IEEE C37.234 Guide for Protective Relay Appli-
software. The physical signals of both currents and trip circuits cations to Power System Buses offers a set of selection criteria
are wired permanently to the bus protection system terminals for bus protection schemes depending on the bus arrangement,
and are not switched physically. availability, and characteristic of instrument transformers and
performance requirements.
VIII. ANNEXES It provides help to protection engineers by both explaining
the basic principles and elaborating on a number of practical
There are three informative annexes included in the Guide application issues.
to provide examples to illustrate several applications. These
include: REFERENCES
1) high-impedance bus differential application example (set- [1] IEEE C37.234 Guide for Protective Relay Applications to Power
ting calculations—Annex A); System Buses. 2009.

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