ABB Switzerland Ltd RE.

316*4 1KHA000835-UEN

4.2.9. Stator ground fault protection for generators in parallel

This is a discriminative ground fault scheme for generators with un-
grounded star-points. It covers 80 % of the winding and operates on
the basis of a directional zero-sequence component in the various
generator feeders. Since the capacitive component of a ground fault
current does not usually provide a sufficiently reliable criterion for
determining the feeder concerned, the ground fault current is artificially
increased by adding a real power component. The latter is generated
either by three single-phase VTs or a three-phase VT Whichever is the
case, the secondaries are connected as a broken delta and a resistor
(Re) is switched briefly into the delta after a ground fault has been
detected. The combined VT and grounding transformer are connected
to the continuously energized busbars. The number of generator
feeders can vary.
The protection scheme comprises two parts:
The first part is a non-discriminative ground fault detector on each
busbar comprising a:
• grounding transformer
• Ferro resonance damping resistor Rp
• switched grounding resistor Re
• zero-sequence voltage detector for switching in the resistor
• contactor
• interposing VT
The second part comprises the power function and either a core-
balance or three bushing CTs to measure the zero-sequence current
and discriminatively locate the ground fault after the real power
component has been added.
4.2.9.1. Principle of operation
Initially a ground fault is detected non-discriminately due to the
occurrence of a neutral voltage measured by a sensitively set voltage
function. The grounding resistor Re is switched in circuit after a short
delay (t1 = 0.1 s) to prevent operation during power system transients.
Only then is the ground fault current large enough to enable the power
functions on the generators to decide whether the ground fault is on
their generator feeder or not. The delay for the power function is set to
isolate the fault after 0.5 s. The grounding resistor Re is connected for
1.9 s. The resistor Re is switched out of circuit again after a delay of
2 s initiated by the voltage function.
Two timers ensure correct operation of the scheme:
• T1 prevents operation during transients, t1 = 0.1 s
• T2 prevents 'pumping' when the grounding resistor Re is switched
in and out of circuit, t2 = 1 s

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The protection operates with a maximum real power component in the

ground fault current of 12…20 A for a ground fault at the generator
terminals. The neutral voltage is then a maximum. The ground fault
current is proportional to the neutral voltage and is a maximum for a
ground fault at the generator terminals and a minimum for a ground
fault at the star-point.
An offset of the of the neutral of the three phase voltages is caused:
a) in normal operation by:
• asymmetries of the phase-to-ground
• the presence of a third harmonic component
b) under abnormal operating conditions by
• switching transients
• internal and external ground faults
To avoid any risk of mal-operation, the setting of the ground fault
detector must be higher than any voltage offset, which can occur
during normal operation.
Under abnormal conditions, the voltage offset can be increased by the
ferro resonance of the capacitance with the inductance of the VTs.
The danger of mal-operation of the ground fault detector due to
switching operations is minimized or even eliminated altogether by
adding the resistor Rp and also a delay. The effectiveness of this
measure depends on how low the resistor Rp can be. A low resistor,
however, increases the current, the power of the resistor and the load
on the VTs or grounding transformer.
4.2.9.2. Busbar ground faults
Should no ground fault be located on one of the generator feeders, it
has to be on the busbars or possibly an outgoing feeder. In such a
case, the voltage function operates and the alarm 'Busbar ground fault'
is generated after the set delay of 2 s.

4.2.9.3. Ground fault protection during start-up

The power function can only detect a ground fault on the generator
feeder when the circuit-breaker is closed. For the time that the circuit-
breaker is open, ground fault protection is afforded by a sensitive
voltage function which trips the excitation switch in the event of a
stator ground fault after a delay of 0.5 s. This ground fault protection
scheme is blocked once the circuit-breaker closes.

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4.2.9.4. Grounding transformer

The following arrangements can be used to increase the ground fault
current:
• 3 single-phase VTs with a maximum rating of 80 kVA for 10 s. This
arrangement can be used at 6.66 A up to a rated generator voltage
of 12 kV, at 5 A up to 16 kV and at 4 A up to 20 kV.
• 3 single-phase dry VTs can conduct 6.66 A at voltages higher than
12 kV.
Apart from a higher overload rating, a 3 single-phase grounding
transformer also has the advantage of a negligible voltage drop.
Example
for generators with a rated voltage of 10.5 kV and a ground fault
current of 20 A (6.66 A per phase):

Voltage transformers Short-time

sec. rating
U1N [V] U2N [V] S [kVA] [A] 10 s
10500 167 70 240
3

4.2.9.5. Ferro resonance damping resistor Rp

For a ground fault in the busbar zone, the ground fault detector issues
an alarm without interrupting operation. The resistor Rp must therefore
be rated for continuous operation. It generally has a rating of 1 or 2 A,
which is permissible for most VTs, but has only a limited damping
capacity. The output power of the VT in the example varies at a
continuous current of 2 A between 577 and 831 VA.
When the main priority is to prevent mal-operation, the resistor Rp is
chosen according to the maximum continuous rating of the VTs, which
is usually in the range of 5 to 10 % of the permissible 10 s current.
Where the VTs are also used for metering, it should be noted that the
voltage and phase errors increase at the maximum continuous current.

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4.2.9.6. Grounding resistor Re

The grounding resistor must be rated for 10 s. A voltage drop of 20 %
is allowed if a VT is used as grounding transformer. For a ground fault
current of 20 A and a rated voltage of UN = 10.5 kV, the recommended
value of the resistor is:

UN Ubroken ∆ Rp Re I2
[V] [V] [Ω] [A] VT [A] 10 s
10.500 500 250 2 1.7 Ω 240

4.2.9.7. Contactor
The contactor switches both ends of the grounding resistor Re.

4.2.9.8. Residual current CT

Alternative I:
1 core-balance CT 100/1 A, rated burden 2.5 Ω.
Alternative II:
3 bushing CTs, .../5 A - 33/1 A, rated burden 1.5 Ω.
The above burdens apply for CT leads of 2 × 100 m with a gauge of
4 mm2.
4.2.9.9. Required REG316*4 functions
The following REG316*4 functions are required for a discriminative
ground fault scheme:
• 1 100 V voltage input
• 1 metering current input
• 1 to 4 tripping channels
depending on the number of circuit-breaker tripping coils and
whether redundancy is required or not
• 1 'Ground fault' signaling channel
• 2 signaling inputs
The start-up scheme requires:
• 1 100 V voltage input
• 1 or 2 tripping channels for the de-excitation switch
• 1 'Start-up ground fault' signaling channel
• 1 'Generator CB closed' signaling input

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4.2.9.10. Protection sensitivity

For a ground fault at the generator terminals, a real power current of
20 A results in a voltage of approximately 80 V, respectively 100 V at
the input of the REG316*4. The lower of the two voltages takes the
voltage drops of three single-phase VTs into account. A current of 4 A
and a voltage of 16 V are produced by a ground fault at 20 % of the
winding from the start-point. The current at the input of the REG316*4
in the case of a core-balance CT with a ratio of 100/1 A is 0.04 A
which corresponds to a power of 0.64 W at 16 V. This is detected by
the power function with a setting of 0.5 % or 0.5 W at URN = 100 V and
IRN = 1 A.

Fig. 4.61 Discriminative ground fault and start-up schemes for a

generator feeder

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Fig. 4.62 Operation of the ground fault protection for a fault

a) on the busbar
b) on a feeder

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1
3

U> 2
5

P> 6 7 8
U> 9

UR

UTR USR U TR

U
UT US
HEST 965039 FL

U SR

Legend:
1 Generator star-point VT
2 Start-up scheme VT
3 3 neutral CTs for the generator ground fault current
4 Power relay for the generator ground fault protection
5 Grounding transformer
6 Grounding resistor Re
7 Ferro resonance damping resistor Rp
8 Interposing VT
9 Voltage relay for the busbar ground fault protection

Fig. 4.63 Three-phase diagram and vector diagram of the

protection

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