UNIT 1

Switchgear and protection:

What is Switchgear? | Features, Components and
Classification

What is Switchgear?
Definition of Switchgear:
The apparatus used for switching, controlling and protecting the electrical circuits and equipment is
known as switchgear.
The term ‘switchgear’ is a generic term that includes a wide range of switching devices like circuit
breakers, switches, switch fuse units, off-load isolators, HRC fuses, contactors, miniature circuit breakers
(MCB), Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers (ELCBs), ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCIs) etc.
It also includes the combination of these switching devices with associated control, measuring,
protecting and regulating equipment. The switchgear devices and their assemblies are used in connection
with the generation, transmission, distribution, and conversion of electrical energy.
We all are familiar with low voltage switches and re-wirable fuses in our homes. Switches are used
for opening and closing an electric circuit while fuses are used for over-current and short-circuit protection.
In such a way, every electrical device wants a switching and a protecting device.
Various forms of switching and protective devices have been developed. Thus switchgear can be taken as a
general term covering a wide range of equipment concerned with the switching, protection, and control of
various electrical equipment.

The function of Switchgear

Switchgear has to perform the functions of carrying, making and breaking the normal load current
like a switch.
 In addition, it has to perform the function of clearing the fault current for which sensing devices like
current transformers, potential transformers and various types of relays, depending on the application, are
employed.
There also has to be provision for metering, controlling and data, wherein innumerable devices are
used for achieving the switching function.
Thus switchgear can include circuit breaker, current transformers, potential transformers, protective
relays, measuring instruments, switches, fuses, MCBs, surge arrestors, isolators, and various associated
types of equipment. (Related components can be found at electronic components distributor)

Components of Switchgear
Switchgear essentially consists of switching and protecting devices such as switches, fuses, isolators, circuit
breakers, protective relays, control panels, lightning arrestors, current transformers, potential transformers,
auto reclosures, and various associated equipment.
(For more details, visit a complete list on components of switchgear.)
Some types of equipment are designed to operate under both normal and abnormal conditions. Some
equipment is meant for switching and not sensing the fault.
During normal operation, switchgear permits to switch on or off generators, transmission lines, distributors
and other electrical equipment. On the other hand, when a failure (e.g. short circuit) occurs on any part of
the power system, a heavy current flows through the equipment, threatening damage to the equipment and
interruption of service to the customers.
However, the switchgear detects the fault and disconnects the unhealthy section from the system. (For more
details visit working of a circuit breaker and protective relays.)
Similarly, switching and current interrupting devices play a significant role in the modern electrical network,
right from generating stations, transmission substations at different voltages, distribution substations, and
load centers. The switching device here is called a circuit breaker.
The circuit breaker, along with associated devices for protection, metering, and control regulation, is called
switchgear.

Read in detail about Components of Switchgear

Evolution of Switchgear
The switchgear equipment is essentially concerned with switching and interrupting currents either
under normal or abnormal operating conditions.
The tumbler switch with ordinary fuse is the simplest form of switchgear and was used to control and
protect lights and other equipment in homes, offices, etc.
For circuits of a higher rating, a high-rupturing capacity (H.R.C.) fuse in conjunction with a switch
may serve the purpose of controlling and protecting the circuit. However, such switchgear cannot be used
profitably on a high voltage system (33 kV) for two reasons.
Firstly, when a fuse blows, it takes some time to replace it and consequently, there is an interruption
of service to the customers.
Secondly, the fuse cannot successfully interrupt large fault currents that result from the faults on the
high voltage system.
With the advancement of the power system, lines and other equipment operate at high voltages and
carry large currents. When a short circuit occurs on the system, a heavy current flowing through the
equipment may cause considerable damage.
 In order to interrupt such heavy fault currents, automatic circuit breakers (or simply circuit breakers)
are used.
A circuit breaker is one switchgear which can open or close an electrical circuit under both normal
and abnormal conditions.
Even in instances where a fuse is adequate, as regards to breaking capacity, a circuit breaker may be
preferable. It is because a circuit breaker can close circuits, as well as break them without replacement and
thus has a wider range of use altogether than a fuse.

Essential Features of Switchgear

The essential features of switchgear are :

 Complete Reliability
 Absolutely certain discrimination
 Quick operation
 Provision for manual control

1. Complete reliability
With the continued trend of interconnection and the increasing capacity of generating stations, the
need for reliable switchgear has become of paramount importance.
This is not surprising because it is added to the power system to improve reliability. When a fault occurs on
any part of the power system, they must operate to isolate the faulty section from the remainder circuit.

2. Absolutely certain discrimination

When a fault occurs on any section of the power system, the switchgear must be able to discriminate
between the faulty section and the healthy section.
It should isolate the faulty section from the system without affecting the healthy section. This will
ensure continuity of supply.

3. Quick operation
When a fault occurs on any part of the power system, the switchgear must operate quickly so that no
damage is done to generators, transformers and other equipment by the short-circuit currents.
If the fault is not cleared quickly, it is likely to spread into healthy parts, thus endangering complete
shutdown of the system

4. Provision for manual control

Switchgear must have provision for manual control. In case the electrical (or electronics) control
fails, the necessary operation can be carried out through manual control.

Classification of Switchgear
Switchgear can be classified on the basis of the voltage level into the following

 Low voltage (LV) Switchgear

 Medium voltage (MV) Switchgear
 High voltage (HV) Switchgear

1. Low Voltage Switchgear

Switchgear for low voltage applications is generally rated up to 1000 V AC and 1500V DC.
 The commonly used low voltage devices include oil circuit breakers(OCBs), air circuit breakers
(ACBs), switch fuse units (SFUs), off-load isolators, HRC fuses, earth leakage circuit breakers (ELCBs),
Residual Current Protective Devices (RCCB & RCBO), miniature circuit breakers (MCB) and moulded case
circuit breakers (MCCB) etc i.e. all the accessories required to protect the LV system.
The most common use of this is in LV distribution board.

2. Medium Voltage Switchgear

Switchgear for medium voltage applications is rated from 3.3 kV to 33 kV class.
Medium voltage switchgear is mainly used for the distribution of electrical energy connected to various
electrical networks. They include most of the substation equipment such as minimum oil circuit breakers,
bulk oil circuit breakers, air magnetic, SF6 gas-insulated, vacuum, and gas-insulated switchgear.
They may metal-enclosed indoor type, metal-enclosed outdoor type, outdoor type without a metal enclosure,
etc. The interruption medium maybe oil, SF6, and vacuum.
The main requirement of MV power network is to interrupt the current during faulty condition irrespective
of what type of CB is used in the system. Although it may be capable of functioning in other conditions also.
Medium voltage switchgear should be capable of,

 Normal ON/OFF switching operation.

 Short circuit current interruption.
 Switching of capacitive currents.
 Switching of inductive currents.
 Some special application.

3. High Voltage Switchgear

The power system deals with the voltage above 36kV is referred to as high voltage.
As the voltage level is high the arcing produced during switching operation is also very high. So, special
care to be taken during designing of high voltage switchgear.
High voltage circuit breakers (such as SF6 Circuit breaker or Vacuum Circuit breaker) are the main
component of HV switchgear. Hence high voltage circuit breaker should have special features for safe and
reliable operation.
Faulty tripping and switching operation of high voltage circuit breakers are comparatively very rare. Most of
the time these circuit breakers remain at ON condition and may be operated after a long period of time. So
Circuit Breakers must be reliable enough to ensure safe operation, as when required.
Read more about different types of High Voltage Circuit Breakers.

Indoor and Outdoor Switchgear

The main components of switchgear are circuit breakers, switches, bus-bars, instruments and instrument
transformers.
It is necessary to house the switchgear in power stations and substations in such a way so as to safeguard
personnel during operation and maintenance and to ensure that the effects of fault on any section of the gear
are confined to a limited region.
Depending upon the voltage to be handled, switchgear may be broadly classified into
1. Indoor type Switchgear
2. Outdoor Switchgear
 Outdoor type Switchgear
For voltages beyond 66 kV, we install outdoor switchgear equipment.
It is because, for such voltages, the clearances between conductors and the space required for switches,
circuit breakers, transformers, and others equipment become so great that it is not economical to install all
such equipment indoor.
The circuit breakers, isolators, transformers, bus-bars, and all other substation equipment occupy
considerable space on account of large electrical clearance associated with high voltages.

Indoor Switchgear
For voltages below 66 kV, switchgear is generally installed indoor because of economic considerations.
It is generally of metal-clad type. In this type of construction, all live parts are completely enclosed in an
earthed metal casing. The primary object of this practice is the definite localization and restriction of any
fault to its place of origin.

Switchgear Equipment
Switchgear covers a wide range of equipment concerned with switching and interrupting currents under both
normal and abnormal conditions. It includes switches, fuses, circuit breakers, relays, current transformer,
and other equipment.
A brief account of these devices is given below.

1. Switches
A switch is a device which is used to open or close an electrical circuit in a convenient way. It can be used
under full-load or no-load conditions but it cannot interrupt the fault currents.
When the contacts of a switch are opened, an arc is produced in the air between the contacts. This is
particularly true for circuits of high voltage and large current capacity.
The switches may be classified into
1. air switches
2. oil switches
The contacts of the former are opened in the air and that of the latter is opened in oil.
Air-break switch – It is an air switch and is designed to open a circuit under load. In order to quench the arc
that occurs on opening such a switch, special arcing horns are provided. Read different types of air break
switch.

Types of AB Switch

Air break switches can be of two types

1. Single Pole Air Break Switch
2. The Gang Operated Air Break Switch
 3. Air Break Switch

Isolator or disconnecting switch – It is essentially a knife switch and is designed to open a circuit under no
load.
Oil switches – As the name implies, the contacts of such switches are opened under oil, usually transformer
oil.

2. Fuses
A fuse is a short piece of wire or thin strip which melts when excessive current flows through it for
sufficient time. It is inserted in series with the circuit to be protected.
When a short circuit or overload occurs, the current through the fuse element increases beyond its rated
capacity. This raises the temperature and the fuse element melts (or blows out), disconnecting the circuit
protected by it.

Electrical Fuses Switchgear

3. Circuit Breakers
A circuit breaker is an equipment which can open or close a circuit under all conditions viz. no-load,
full load and fault conditions. It is so designed that it can be operated manually (or by remote control) under
normal conditions and automatically under fault conditions. For the latter operation, a relay circuit is used
with a circuit breaker.
Low Voltage Circuit Breakers: Miniature Circuit Breaker, Moulded Case Circuit Breaker, Residual
Current Circuit Breaker, Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter
High Voltage Circuit Breakers: Vacuum Circuit Breaker, SF6 Circuit Breaker, Oil Circuit Breaker,
Air Blast Circuit Breaker
4. Protective Relays
Protective relays are vital parts of the switchgear equipment.
A relay is a device which detects the fault and supplies information to the breaker for circuit interruption.
The function of a protective relay is to initiate a signal to circuit breakers for disconnecting the elements of
the power system when it develops a fault.
When a fault occurs the relay contacts are closed and the trip coil of the circuit breaker is energized to open
the contacts of the circuit breaker.
There have been rapid developments in relaying technology during the last two decades. The most important
advancement has been due to the advent of computer technology which has helped in the development of
numerical relays.

Functional Characteristics of Protective Relaying

The function of protective relaying is to cause the prompt removal from service of any element of a power
system when it suffers a short circuit, or when it starts to operate in any abnormal manner that might cause
damage or otherwise interfere with the effective operation of the rest of the system.
The relaying equipment is aided in this task by circuit breakers that are capable of disconnecting the faulty
element when they are called upon to do so by the relaying equipment.

How Protective Relays Work?

Circuit breakers are generally located so that each generator, transformer, bus, transmission line, etc., can be
completely disconnected from the rest of the system.
These circuit breakers must have sufficient capacity so that they can carry momentarily the maximum short-
circuit current that can flow through them, and then interrupt this current; they must also withstand closing
in on such a short circuit and then interrupting it according to certain prescribed standards.
Fusing is employed where protective relays and circuit breakers are not economically justifiable.
Although the principal function of protective relaying is to mitigate the effects of short circuits, other
abnormal operating conditions arise that also require the services of protective relaying. This is particularly
true of generators and motors.
A secondary function of protective relaying is to provide an indication of the location and type of failure.
Such data not only assist in expediting repair but also, by comparison with human observation and automatic
oscillograph records, they provide means for analyzing the effectiveness of the fault-prevention and
mitigation features including the protective relaying itself.

5. Instrument Transformers
Instrument transformers (current transformer and voltage transformer) are used in switchgear installations
for the measurement of electrical parameters for protection and metering purposes.
An instrument transformer in which the secondary current is substantially proportional to the primary
current and differs in phase from it by approximately zero degrees is called a current transformer (CT).
A voltage transformer (VT) is an instrument transformer in which the secondary voltage is substantially
proportional to the primary voltage and differs in phase from it by approximately zero degrees.

Current Transformer (CT) – Construction and Working Principle

A current transformer (CT) is a type of transformer that is used to measure AC current. It produces
an alternating current (AC) in its secondary which is proportional to the AC current in its primary. Current
transformers, along with voltage or potential transformers are Instrument transformer.
 Current transformers are designed to provide a scaled-down replica of the current in the HV line and
isolate the measuring instruments, meters, relays, etc., from the high voltage power circuit.
The large alternating currents which can not be sensed or passed through the normal ammeter, and
current coils of wattmeters, energy meters can easily be measured by use of current transformers along with
normal low range instruments.
Related: Working Principle of Transformer
Current Transformer Symbol / Circuit Diagram

Current Transformer Circuit Diagram

A current transformer (CT) basically has a primary coil of one or more turns of heavy cross-sectional
area. In some, the bar carrying high current may act as a primary. This is connected in series with the line
carrying high current.

Current Transformer Circuit Symbols according to IEEE and IEC Standards

The secondary of the current transformer is made up of a large number of turns of fine wire having a small
cross-sectional area. This is usually rated for 5A. This is connected to the coil of normal range ammeter.
Working Principle of Current Transformer
These transformers are basically step-up transformers i.e. stepping up a voltage from primary to secondary.
Thus the current reduces from primary to secondary.
So from the current point of view, these step down transformer, stepping down the current value
considerably from primary to secondary.
Let,
N1 = Number of Primary Turns

N2 = Number of Secondary Turns

I1 = Primary Current

I2 = Secondary Current

For a transformer,

I1/I2 = N2/N1

As N2 is very high compared to N1, the ratio I1 to I2 is also very high for current transformers. Such
a current ratio is indicated for representing the range of the current transformer.
For example, consider a 500:5 range then it indicates that C.T. steps down the current from primary
to secondary by a ratio 500 to 5.
I1/I2 = 500/5
Knowing this current ratio and the meter reading on the secondary, the actual high line current
flowing through the primary can be obtained.

Types of Current Transformer

On the basis of their applications in the field, current transformers can be broadly classified into two types,
1. Indoor current transformers
2. Outdoor current transformers

Indoor Current Transformers

Current transformers designed for mounting inside metal cubicles are known as Indoor Current
Transformers.
Depending upon the method of insulation, these can further be classified as:
1. Tape insulated
2. Cast resin (epoxy, polyurethane or polycrete)
In terms of constructional aspects, Indoor Current Transformers can be further classified into the following
types:
Bar Type CT: The CTs having a bar of suitable size and material used as primary winding are known as bar-
type CT s’. The bar may be of rectangular or circular cross-section.
Slot/ Window/ Ring Type CT: CTs having an opening in the center to accommodate a primary conductor
through it is known as ‘ring-type’ (or ’slot/ window type’) CT.
Wound Type CT: A CT having a primary winding of more than one full turn wound on the core is known as
wound type CT. The connecting primary terminals may be similar to those of a bar type CT or rectangular
pads can be provided for this purpose.

Outdoor Current Transformer

These current transformers are designed for outdoor application. They use transformer oil or any other
suitable liquid for insulation and cooling. A liquid-immersed CT which is sealed and does not communicate
with the atmosphere is known as a hermetically sealed CT.
Outdoor oil-filled CTs are further classified as
1. live tank type CT
2. dead tank type CT

6. Surge Arresters
Surge Suppressors or Surge Arrestors are very important components of switchgear and substation
installations.
These are used to protect the substation equipment from temporary over-voltages, switching impulses, and
lightning impulses, and to a certain extent, very fast transient over-voltages.
Historically, spark gaps with air insulation were used as surge suppressors. Lightning arrestors, surge
capacitors, surge suppressing reactors, and thyrite resistors with series gaps were used in the past for this
purpose.
Innovation in this field has resulted in the advent of two commonly used types, viz. the metal oxide-based
(ZnO) type and C-R type of surge arrestors/ suppressors.

7. Auto Reclosures and sectionalisers

Auto reclosures and sectionalisers are used in the distribution networks of medium voltage switchgear up to
33 kV class.
These equipment are useful for the fast automatic restoration of supply following transient faults in the
system. The faults may be due to frequent lightning surges and in areas where power lines run through
forests and trees.
These types of equipment are extensively used in the continents of America and Australia due to their
distinct advantages over conventional switchgear.
8. Disconnect Switch / Isolator
Disconnectors (Isolators) are devices which are generally operated off-load to provide isolation of main
plant items for maintenance, on to isolate faulted equipment from other live equipment.
Air Insulated or open terminal disconnectors are available in several forms for different applications.
At the lower voltages, single break types are usual with either ‘rocker’ type or single end rotating post types
being predominant.
At higher voltages, rotating center post, double end rotating post, vertical break, and pantograph type
disconnectors are more common. Air break switches are used in lower voltage to disconnect on load.
 PROTECTIVE RELAYING

What is a Protective Relay?

The protective relay was invented more than 160 years ago. During the last 60 years, it has
undergone considerable change, the most obvious of which is its reduction in size.

A protective relay is a switchgear device that detects the fault and initiates the operation of the
circuit breaker to isolate the defective element from the rest of the system.
They are compact and self-contained devices which can detect abnormal conditions. Protective
relays detect the abnormal conditions in the electrical circuits by constantly measuring the electrical
quantities which are different under normal and fault conditions.
The electrical quantities which may change under fault conditions are voltage, current, frequency,
and phase angle. Through the changes in one or more of these quantities, the faults signal their presence,
type, and location to the protective relays.
Having detected the fault, the relay operates to close the trip circuit of the breaker. This results in the
opening of the breaker and disconnection of the faulty circuit. The protective relaying is used in electrical
substations to give an alarm or to cause prompt removal of any element of the power system from service
when that element behaves abnormally.
The abnormal behavior of an element might cause damage or interference within the effective
operation of the rest of the system. The protective relaying minimizes the damage to the equipment and
interruptions to the service when an electrical failure occurs. Along with some other equipment the relays
help to minimize damage and improve the service
The protective relaying scheme includes protective current transformers, voltage transformers,
protective relays, time delay relays, auxiliary relays, secondary circuits, trip circuits, etc.
Each component plays its own role, which is very important in the overall operation of the scheme.
The protective relaying is the teamwork of all these components. The protective relaying also provides an
indication of location and type of fault.

Relay Circuit Diagram

A typical relay circuit is shown in the figure below. This diagram shows one phase of a 3-phase system for
simplicity.

Relay-Circuit-Diagram
The relay circuit connections can be divided into three parts viz.
 The first part is the primary winding of a current transformer (C.T.) which is connected in series with
the line to be protected.
 The second part consists of the secondary winding of the current transformer and circuit breaker and
the relay operating coil.
 The third part is the tripping circuit which may be either Ac or DC. It consists of a source of supply,
the trip coil of the circuit breaker and the relay stationary contacts.

Protective Relay Working

The working of an electrical relay based on the above diagram is explained below.
When a short circuit occurs at point F on the transmission line, the current flowing in the line
increases to an enormous value.
This results in a heavy current flow through the relay coil, causing the relay to operate by closing its
contacts.
In turn, closes the trip circuit of the breaker, making the circuit breaker open and isolating the faulty
section from the rest of the system.
This way, the relay ensures the safety of the circuit equipment from damage and normal working of
the healthy portion of the system.

Requirements of Protective Relaying

The principal function of protective relaying is to cause the prompt removal front service of any element of
the power system when it starts to operate in an abnormal manner or interfere with the effective operation of
the rest of the system.
In order that protective relay system may perform this function satisfactorily, it should have the following
qualities :
1. selectivity
2. speed
3. sensitivity
4. reliability
5. simplicity
6. economy
Read more about each of them at the Fundamental Characteristics and Functional Requirements of
protective relaying.

1. Selectivity
It is the ability of the protective system to select correctly that part of the system in trouble and
disconnect the faulty part without disturbing the rest of the system.
A well designed and efficient relay system should be selective i.e. it should be able to detect the
point at which the fault occurs and cause the opening of the circuit breakers closest to the fault with
minimum or no damage to the system.
This can be illustrated by referring to the single line diagram of a portion of a typical power system
shown in the figure below. It may be seen that circuit breakers are located in the connections to each power
system elements in order to make it possible to disconnect only the faulty section.
If a fault occurs at bus-bars on the last zone, then only breakers nearest to the fault viz. 10, 11, 12 and 13
should open. In fact, the opening of any other breaker to clear the fault will lead to a greater part of the
system being disconnected.
 Single Line Diagram of a portion of Power System
In order to provide selectivity to the system, it is a usual practice to divide the entire system into
several protection zones. When a fault occurs in a given zone, then only the circuit breakers within that zone
will be opened. This will isolate only the faulty circuit or apparatus, leaving the healthy circuits intact.

The system can be divided into the following protection zones :

(a) generators
(b) low-tension switchgear
(c) transformers
(d) high-tension switchgear
(e) transmission lines
It may be seen in the above figure that there is a certain amount of overlap between the adjacent
protection zones. For a failure within the region where two adjacent zones overlap, more breakers will be
opened than the minimum necessary to disconnect the faulty section.
But if there were no overlap, a failure in the region between zones would not lie in either region and,
therefore, no breaker would be opened. For this reason, a certain amount of overlap is provided between the
adjacent zones.

Speed
The relay system should disconnect the faulty section as fast as possible for the following reasons :
 Electrical apparatus may be damaged if they are made to carry the fault currents for a long time.
 A failure on the system leads to a great reduction in the system voltage. If the faulty section is not
disconnected quickly, then the low voltage created by the fault may shut down consumers motors
and the generators on the system may become unstable.
 The high-speed relay system decreases the possibility of development of one type of fault into the
other more severe type.
The ultimate goal of protective relaying is to disconnect a faulty system element as quickly as possible.
Sensitivity and selectivity are essential to assuring that the proper circuit breakers will be tripped, but speed
is the ‘pay-off’.

Sensitivity
It is the ability of the relay system to operate with a low value of actuating quantity.
The sensitivity of a relay is a function of the volt-amperes input to the coil of the relay necessary to cause its
operation.
The smaller the volt-ampere input required to cause relay operation, the more sensitive is the relay.
Thus, a 1 VA relay is more sensitive than a 3 VA relay. It is desirable that the relay system should be
sensitive so that it operates with low values of volt-ampere input.

Reliability
It is the ability of the relay system to operate under pre-determined conditions. Without reliability, the
protection would be rendered largely ineffective and could even become a liability.
That protective-relaying equipment must be reliable is a basic requirement. When protective relaying fails to
function properly, the allied mitigation features are largely ineffective.
Therefore, it is essential that protective-relaying equipment be inherently reliable, and that its application,
installation, and maintenance be such as to assure that its maximum capabilities will be realized.

Simplicity
The relaying system should be simple so that it can be easily maintained. Reliability is closely related to
simplicity. The simpler the protection scheme, the greater will be its reliability.

Economy
The most important factor in the choice of a particular protection scheme is the economic aspect. Sometimes
it is economically unjustified to use an ideal scheme of protection and a compromise method has to be
adopted.
As a rule, the protective gear should not cost more than 5% of the total cost.
However, when the apparatus to be protected is of utmost importance (e.g. generator, main transmission line
etc.), economic considerations are often subordinated to reliability

Basic Protective Relays Types

Most of the relays in service on the electric power system today are of the electromechanical type.
They work on the following two main operating principles :
1. Electromagnetic attraction
2. Electromagnetic induction
Electromagnetic attraction relays operate by virtue of an armature being attracted to the poles of an
electromagnet or a plunger being drawn into a solenoid. Such relays may be actuated by d.c. or a.c.
quantities.
Electromagnetic induction relays operate on the principle of the induction motor and are widely used for
protective relaying purposes involving a.c. quantities. They are not used with dc quantities owing to the
principle of operation.

Functions of Protective Relays

The various functions of protective relaying are to:
1. The prompt removal of the component which is behaving abnormally by closing the trip circuit of
the circuit breaker or to sound an alarm.
2. Disconnect the abnormally operating part so as to avoid the damage or interference within the
effective operation of the rest of the system.
 3. Prevent the subsequent faults by disconnecting the abnormally operating part.
4. Disconnect the faulty part as quickly as possible so as to minimize the damage to the faulty part
itself. For example, if there is a winding fault in a machine and if it persists for a long time then there
is a possibility of the damage of the entire winding. As against this, if it is disconnected quickly then
only a few coils may get damaged instead of the entire winding.
5. Restrict the spreading of the effect of the fault causing the least interference to the rest of the healthy
system. Thus by disconnecting the faulty part, the fault effects get localized.
6. To improve system performance, system reliability, system stability, and service continuity.
7. The faults cannot be completely avoided but can be minimized.
Thus the protective relaying plays an important role in sensing the faults, minimizing the effects of faults
and minimizing the damage due to the faults.

Primary and Backup Protection Working Principle

What is primary protection and backup protection:

Generally, the protection given by the protective devices can be divided in to two categories

 Primary protection
 Backup protection

Let see the full detailed explanation about the categories.

Primary protection:
The primary protection scheme ensures fast and selective clearing of any circuit fault within the
boundaries of the circuit element, that the zone is required to protect. Primary Protection as a rule is
provided for each section of an electrical installation. It is a first line of defense for our system, very
sensitive, the fault clearing time and the current setting value is lesser as compared with back up protection.
It is responsible for all system protection. Always the primary protection is having the relay co-coordination
of tripping before the backup protection.
Example: Restricted Earth Fault, Differential protection etc.

Reason for Primary protection failure:

1. Current or voltage supply to the relay.

2. D.C. tripping voltage supply-absence of DC tripping voltage. DC Voltage trip are commonly used
for monitoring battery voltage conditions, but can be used in any application where dc voltage
level is critical. Whenever the Battery voltage reaches abnormal condition the DC tripping relay
works in order to protect the other protective equipment’s relay coil. DC tripping voltage system
is mainly used in sensitive equipment like alternator control circuit and protective circuit, high
voltage Power transformer protective circuit, turbine control panel etc.
3. Protective relays- Relays’ malfunctioning.
4. Failure in the Tripping circuit.
5. Failure in the Circuit Breaker.
6. loose contact or insufficient contact to reach the trip circuit.

Backup protection:

Back-up protection is the name given to a protection which backs the primary protection whenever the
primary protection failed to operate during fault condition. The back-up protection by definition is slower
than the primary protection system. The design of the back-up protection needs to be coordinated with the
design of the primary protection and essentially it is the second line of defense after the primary protection
system. Here the backup protection and primary protection do not have anything common. Generally, the
backup protection is located in different location. From the cost effect and economy point of view the
backup protection will be implemented to protect the system against short circuit.

Refer above scheme, here the relays C, D, G and H are primary relays while A, B, I and J are the
backup relays. Normally backup relays trips the circuit breaker, if primary relay fails. So if the primary relay
E fails to trip, then backup relays A and B get tripped. The backup relays and associated backup relaying
equipments are physically apart from the faulty equipment.
The backup relays A and B provide backup protection for fault at station K. Also the backup relays
at A and F provide the backup protection for the faults in line DB. The backup relaying often provides
primary protection when the primary relays are out of service for repairs. It is obvious that when the backup
relay operates, the larger part of the system is disconnected The important requirement of backup relaying is
that it must operate with sufficient time delay so that the primary relaying is given a chance to operate. Also
the backup relays should be coordinated with the primary relays. When fault occurs, both the type of relays
starts relaying operation but primary is expected to trip first and backup will then reset without having had
time to complete its relaying operation. When the given set of relays provides the backup protection for
several adjacent system elements then the slowest primary relaying of any of those will determine the
necessary time delay of the given backup relays.

Types of Backup Protection:

1. Relays backup protection: Single circuit breaker is used to for both primary and backup relays.

2. Breaker Backup protection: Separate circuit breakers is used for both protections in the same
station.

3. Remote backup protection: one breaker for primary protection in one station and then another
breaker for backup protection in another station.

Principle of operation

They are basically classified into two types based on their working principle as electro-mechanical
and solid-state relays. Let us discuss the principle of operation of each one of them in detail.
 Operation of electromechanical relays
Operation of electromechanical relay
Electromechanical relays transfer signals between its contact through a mechanical motion. It
consists of two sections: the first is the electromagnet section and the other is the armature and mechanical
contacts section. The electromagnet section consists of a set of coil wound over a magnetic core.

When an input voltage (almost equal to the rated voltage of the coil) is applied to the coil, it gets
magnetized and attracts the armature. The mechanical contacts are attached to the armature. Hence, when
the armature is pulled towards the electromagnet, the contact closes. When the input voltage applied to the
coil is removed, the armature is brought back to its original position by the spring release.

Operation of Solid-state relays

Working principle of solid state relays

Solid-state relays are commonly known as SSRs. Unlike electromechanical type, they do not posses
any mechanically moving parts. On the other hand, it consists of semiconductor and electronic components
within. In solid-state relays, the electromagnetic section is replaced by optocoupler and required driver
circuits and the output contact section is replaced by a TRIAC or transistor plus snubber and driver circuits.

When the rated voltage is applied to the input section, current flows through the optocoupler. The
output of the optocoupler is used to operate the switching circuit of TRIAC or transistor. Switching circuit
applies a gate pulse to the TRIAC and the TRIAC starts conducting. Similarly, when the applied input
voltage is removed, the optocoupler turns off the TRIAC switching circuit and which, in turn, stops the gate
pulse to the TRIAC and the TRAIC stops conducting.

In the following sections, we shall discuss in detail the parts and operation of electromechanical and solid-
state relays in detail.
Parts of an electromechanical relay
A typical electromechanical relay consists of the following components:
 Electromagnetic coil
 Armature
 Core
 Movable contacts
 Spring return arrangement
Structure of electromechanical relays

Electromagnetic coil
The electromagnetic coil is the most important part of an electromechanical relay. It consists of a set of
copper windings over a magnetic core. As you know, the flow of current through the coil produces a
magnetic field. Therefore, when voltage is applied to the coil, it becomes an electromagnet and attracts the
armature.

Armature
An armature is a movable piece of metal, balanced using a pivot.

Core
Core is the metallic part over which the coil is wound.

Movable contacts and fixed contact

Contacts are the conducting parts inside the relay, that open or close when voltage is applied to its coil. The
contact that is attracted by the electromagnet is called movable contact and that is stationary and connected
to the terminals are called fixed contacts.

Spring arrangement
Spring arrangements are also present in them, such as to bring the armature and the contacts back to the
original position when the coil is de-energized.

Parts of a solid-state relay

As discussed earlier, solid-state relays do not have any movable parts within. In order to explain their
internal parts, here, we have split it to the following sections:

 Input circuit section

 Electrical isolation
 Driver circuitry
 Output section
Construction of solid state relay

Input circuit section

The input circuit consists of diodes/transistors/gates and resistors required to drive the optocoupler.

Electrical Isolation
Unlike electromagnetic relays, the input and output sections of an SSR do not have any physical contacts.
Galvanic separation is provided between them using optocouplers.

Driver circuit
Driver circuits consist of components required to turn on the TRIAC or transistors or thyristors in the output
circuit. The output of the optocoupler is conditioned and the gate pulse needed to trigger the transistor is
generated.

Output section
The output section consists of semiconductor devices such as transistor or TRIAC or thyristor as an
alternative to relay contacts.

Types of relays
They have a wide range of classifications. Here, we have classified them based on their application as
follows:

Classification of relays
Auxiliary or Miniature relays
Auxiliary or miniature relays are those used in the control circuits to switch any device/circuit when some
condition is satisfied. It is the basic form of relays, with a coil and a set of contacts for switching. They are
available in various contact configurations.

Latching relays
Latching relays hold the position of contacts indefinitely even if the supply to the coil is removed. It consists
of two separate coils, one to latch and others to release. When current flows through the first coil (Coil A),
the York gets magnetized and the armature is attracted towards the core. The York is made up of a special
magnetic material that keeps the armature attracted even if the voltage applied to the coil is removed.

Principle of operation of latch relay

In order to bring back the armature to its original position, voltage is applied to the second coil(Coil B). The
second coil is wound over the York in such a way that the current flow through the coil generates magnetic
flux opposite to the existing field. This weakens the existing magnetic field and the armature is released.
Hence the contacts fall back to its original position.

Timer relays
Delay timers are the example of timer relays. They are made in such a way that the contacts operates in a
short time after the coil is energized.

Contactors
Contactors are used for the switch of electric motors, capacitors, lighting loads and other high-power
applications that a relay cannot handle. The principle of operation of contactors is same as that of the relays.
Contactors are designed to carry more current than the relays. They have specially designed arc chutes to
mitigate the electric arcs formed during the switching of high current loads.

Machine tool relays

These are used for logic control in machinery. These are electro-mechanical relays with a large number of
contacts. They are obsolete now and are replaced by PLCs.

Overload relays
Overload relays are used for the protection of electric motors from overloads and phase losses. They can be
either electronic or thermal type. The electronic overload relays use electronic circuits and CTs for sensing
current flow to the motor whereas thermal type have bimetallic strips within, that deforms when the current
flow through them exceeds the preset limits.

Earth leakage relay

An Earth leakage or earth fault relay (ELR) is used to protect a device or a circuit from earth faults and
human being from electric shocks. It senses the current leakage to the earth and helps safely isolating the
circuit or device. Their contacts are connected to the trip circuit of a circuit breaker. The ELR activates the
trip circuit as soon as the leakage current goes over the preset value and opens the circuit breaker.
Earth leakage relay
Apart from the above classifications, relays are also classified based on the type of operating voltage to be
supplied to the coil as DC and AC relays, classified based on construction as sealed, hinged, plunger relays
etc.

Buchholz relay
Buchholz relay is an oil actuated relay. It gives an alarm or trips the input supply based on the level of oil
inside it. It also responds quickly to the unusual oil flow from the transformer main tank to the oil
conservator. It is a protection and monitoring equipment not only for transformers but also for oil-immersed
chokes with an oil conservator. It protects a transformer from short circuits happening inside the main tank.

Relay contact configuration

The relay contact configuration is commonly known as ‘relay mechanism‘. Contact mechanisms are mainly
classified into three: NC contact, NO contact and transfer contact. NC contacts or break contacts remain
closed until the control voltage is applied to their coil and NO contacts or make contacts remain open until
the control voltage is applied. Changeover contacts or transfer contacts has a common contact and two other
contacts. When voltage is applied to the coil, the contact shift from its original position to the other contact
and returns to its previous position when the coil is de-energized.

NO contact NC contact Changeover contact

How to use relay in a circuit.

In the above circuit, whenever some object is brought close to the sensor, 24VDC from the source is applied
across the relay coil. A current flows through the coil, it is magnetized and the contacts are closed.
Therefore, the lamp glows. When the object moves away from the proximity sensor, it stops conducting and
the coil is demagnetized, and the contacts fall back to its original position. Current flow to the lamp is
interrupted and the lamp stops glowing.

Application
Relays have a wide range of applications starting from washing machines at homes to the
telecommunication systems at the International space station, they can be found everywhere. The following
are a few key applications:

 They are used in electronic circuits and home appliances for isolating low voltage or DC circuits
from high voltage AC circuits.
 They are the backbone of industrial process automation systems. They are used in combination with
PLCs for process control. They are one of the key components in an automation cabinet.
 Used for signalling and control in railway networks.
 In motor control circuits for motor switching, protection as well as control.
 In substations and power distribution centers for sensing various faults and operating the circuit
breaker.

Relay selection considerations
The following factors must be considered while selecting a relay for any application.

 Nominal voltage: The voltage at which the coil is designed to operate.

 Rated power: The power consumed by the coil at normal room temperature.
 Contact rating: The current carrying capacity and voltage rating of their contacts
  Contact mechanism: The number of contacts required and the contact configuration
(NO/NC/changeover).
 Environmental protection: the degree of sealing required, meaning, whether the external casing of
relay is necessary or not?
 Insulation resistance: Insulation resistance between any two sets of contacts and that between the
contacts and the coil.

Electromagnetic Attraction Relays Working & Construction:

In Electromagnetic Attraction Relays, there is a coil which energises an electromagnet.When the
operating current becomes large, the magnetic field produced by an electromagnet is so high that it attracts
the armature or plunger, making contact with the trip circuit contacts.These are the simplest type of relays.

The various types of electromagnetic attraction type relays are

1. Attracted armature relay

2. Solenoid and plunger type relay

Attracted Armature Type Relay:

There are two types of structures available for attracted armature type relay which are,

i) Hinged armature type

ii) Polarised moving iron type

The two types of attracted armature type relays are shown in the Figure(a) and (b).In attracted
armature type, there exists a laminated electromagnet which carries a coil.The coil is energised by the
operating quantity which is proportional to the circuit voltage or current.The armature or a moving iron is
subjected to the magnetic force produced by the operating quantity.The force produced is proportional to the
square of current hence Electromagnetic Attraction Relays relays can be used for a.c. as well as d.c.

The spring is used to produce restraining force.When the current through coil increases beyond the
limit under fault conditions, armature gets attracted.Due to this, it makes contact with contacts of a trip
circuit, which results in an opening of a circuit breaker.The minimum current at which the armature gets
attracted to close the trip circuit is called pickup current.

Generally, the number of tappings are provided on the relay coil with which its turns can be selected
as per the requirement. This is used to adjust the set value of an operating quantity at which relay should
operate.

Moving Iron Type

 An important advantage of such relays is their high operating speed. In modern relays an operating
time as small as 0.5ms is possible. The current-time characteristics of such relays is hyperbolic, as shown in
the figure below.

Solenoid and Plunger Type Relay:

The below figure is Solenoid and Plunger Type Relay which works on the principle of electromagnetic
attraction.

Plunger Type Relay

It consists of a solenoid which is nothing but an electromagnet. It also consists a movable iron
plunger. Under normal working conditions, the spring holds the plunger in the position such that it cannot
make contact with trip circuit contacts.

Under fault conditions, when the current through relay coil increases, the solenoid draws the plunger
upwards.Due to this,it makes contact with the trip circuit contacts, which results in an opening of a circuit
breaker.
Operating Principle of Electromagnetic Attraction Relays:
The electromagnetic force produced due to the operating quantity which is exerted on the armature, moving
iron or plunger is proportional to the square of the flux in the air gap.Thus neglecting the saturation effect,
the force is proportional to the square of the operating current. Hence such relays are useful for a.c. and d.c.
both.

For d.c. operation :

In d.c. operation, the electromagnetic force is constant. When this force exceeds the restraining force, the
relay operates.
Now Fe = K1 I²

where Fe = Electromagnetic force

K1 = Constant
I = Operating current in a coil

And Fr = K2

where Fr = Restraining force due to spring including friction

K2 = Constant

On the verge of relay operating, the electromagnetic force is just equal to the restraining force.

This is the current at which relay operates in case of d.c. operation.

For a.c. operation : In a.c. electromagnetic relays, the electromagnetic for proportional to square of the
current but it is not constant. It is given by,

where Im = Maximum value of the operating current

K = Constant

It shows that the electromagnetic force consists of two components,

i) Constant, independent of time.

ii) Pulsating at double the frequency of applied voltage.

The total force thus pulsates at double the frequency. If the restraining force Fr which is produced by
the spring is constant then the armature of relay will be picked up at time t1 and it drops off at time t2 as
shown in the below figure.
 Thus relay armature pulsates at double frequency. This causes the relay to hum and produces a noise.
It may cause damage to the relay contacts. To overcome this difficulty, the air gap flux producing an
electromagnetic force is divided into two fluxes acting simultaneously but differing in time phase. This
causes resulting electromagnetic force to be always positive. If this is always greater than restraining force
Fr then armature will not vibrate. The phase lag between the two components of flux can be easily produced
using shading in a relay. The flux through the shaded pole lags behind the flux through the unshaded part.

Advantages of Electromagnetic Relays:

The various advantages of electromagnetic relays are

1. Can be used for both a.c. and d.c.

2. They have fast operation and fast reset.
3.Electromagnetic Attraction Relays are almost instantaneous.Though instantaneous, the operating to varies
with current. With extra arrangements like dashpot, copper ring etc, slow operating and resetting times can
be obtained.
4. High operating speed with operating time in few milliseconds also can be achieved.
5. The pickup can be as high as 90-95% for d.c. operation and 60 to 90% for the d.c. operation.
6. Modern relays are compact, simple, reliable and robust.

Disadvantages of Electromagnetic Relays:

The few disadvantages of Electromagnetic Attraction Relays are,

1. The directional feature is absent.

2. Due to fast operation the working can be affected by the transients. As transients contain d.c. as well as
pulsating component, under steady state value less than set value, the relay can operate during transients.

Applications of Electromagnetic Relays:

The various applications of Electromagnetic Attraction Relays are,

1.The protection of various a.c. and d.c. equipments.

2.The over/under current and over/under voltage protection of various a.c. and d.c. equipments.
3.In the definite time lag over current and earth fault protection along with definite time lag over current
relay.
4.For the differential protection.
5.Used as auxiliary relays in the contact systems of protective relaying schemes.

Balanced beam relay:

The balanced beam relay is also a type of attracted armature type relay. It consists of a beam carrying two
electromagnets at its ends. One electromagnet produces operating torque while the other produces
restraining torque.The beam is supported at the middle.

Under normal operating conditions, the two torques are equal and beam remains horizontal. The
construction is shown in the above figure. When there is a fault, the operating current is high and produces
high operating torque. Thus the beam gets deflected more on operating side.
Balanced beam type relay can be said a variant of attraction armature type relay, but still these are treated as
different types of relay as they are employed in different field of application.
Balanced beam type relays were used in differential and distance protection schemes. The use of these relay
becomes absolute as sophisticated induction disc type relay and induction cup type relays supersede them.

The working principle of a Balance Beam Relay is quite simple. Here one beam is supported by one hinge.
The hinge supports the beam from somewhere in the middle of the beam. There are two forces acts on two
ends of the beams, respectively. The direction of both of the forces is same. Not only direction, in normal
working condition the torque produced by the forces in respect of the hinge, are also same. Due to these two
same directional torques, the beam is held in horizontal position in normal working condition. One of these
torques is restraining torque and other is operating torque.
The restraining torque can be provided either by restraining coil or by restraining spring.
This is a kind of attracted armature type relay. But balance beam relay is treated separately from their
application point of view. When any fault occurred, the current through the operating coil, crosses its pick
up value, and hence the mmf of operating coil increases and crosses its pick-up value. Due to this increased
mmf, the coil attracts more strongly the beam end and hence, torque on respective end of the beam
increases. As this torque is increased, the balance of the beam is being disturbed. Due to this unbalanced
torque condition, the beam end associated with operating torque, moves downward, to close No contacts of
the relay.
Typical arrangements of both types of balance beam relay are illustrated below :
 Now-a-days, balance beam relays become obsolete. In past days these relays were widely used in
differential and impedance measurements. The uses of these relays are superseded by more sophisticated
induction disc and cup type relays.
The main drawbacks of balance beam relay, is poor reset / operate ratio, susceptibility to phase displacement
between the two energizing and mal-operation on transients.
Moving Coil Type Relay
The moving coil relay or polarized DC moving coil relay is most sensitive electromagnetic relay. Because
of its high sensitive, this relay is used widely for sensitive and accurate measurement for distance and
differential protection. This type of relays is inherently suitable for DC system. Although this type of relay
can be used for A.C system also but necessary rectifier circuit should be provided in current transformer.
In a moving coil relay the movement of the coil may be rotary or axial. Both of them have been perfected to
a large extent by the various manufactures but the inherent limitation of a moving coil relay remains i.e to
lead the current in and out of the moving coil system which, for reasons of sensitivity has to be designed to
be very delicate.
Between these two types of moving coil relay a axial moving type has twice sensitivity than that of rotary
type. With moving coil relay, sensitivities of the order of 0.2 mW to 0.5 mW are typical. Speed of operation
depends upon damping provided in the relay.

Due to this, armature fitted at end of the beam gets pulled and makes contact with the contacts of trip circuit.
Thus the trip circuit operates. It is robust and fast in operation. Generally only one cycle is enough for the
operation. But due to the d.c. transients, it is not accurate. Now a days, this type of relay is not used.

Types of Induction Relays & Torque Equation Derivation

INDUCTION RELAYS:

The induction type relays are also called magnitude relays. These relays work on the principle of the
induction motor or an energy meter. In these relays, a metallic disc is allowed to rotate between the two
electromagnets. The coils of the electromagnets are energised with the help of alternating currents.

The torque is produced in Induction relays due to the interaction of one alternating flux with eddy
currents induced in the rotor by another alternating flux. The two fluxes have the same frequency but are
displaced in time and space. As the interaction of alternating fluxes is the base of operation of Induction
relays, these are not used for the d.c. quantities. These are widely used for protective relaying involving only
a.c. quantities.

Types of Induction Relays:

Based on the construction, the various types of induction relays are:

1)Shaded pole Relays

2)Watt-hour meter Relays

3)Induction cup Relays

Before studying these types in detail, let us derive the torque equation for the induction type relays,
which is same for all the three types of induction relays.
Non-Indirectional Induction Type Overcurrent Relay

Torque Equation for Induction Type Relays:

As mentioned earlier, the alternating currents supplied to two electromagnets produce the two
alternating fluxes φ1 and φ2.These two fluxes have the same frequency but they have a phase difference of α
in between them such that φ2 leads φ1.Thus the two fluxes can be mathematically expressed as,

φ1 = φ1m sin ωt

φ2 = φ2m sin (ωt+α)

induction-type-relays-working-principle-construction-types

These alternating fluxes cause the induced e.m.f.s in the rotor. Due to the induced e.m.f.s, the eddy
currents i1 and i2 are circulated in the disc.The two eddy currents react with each other to produce a force
which acts on the rotor.

The figure above shows how the forces are produced in a section of the rotor due to the alternating
fluxes. The instant considered to show the various quantities is when both the fluxes are directed downwards
and are increasing in magnitude. The induced eddy currents lag behind the respective fluxes by 90o.

Assumption: The parts of the rotor in which rotor currents flow have negligible self-inductance and hence
the rotor currents are in phase with the respective induced voltages. The induced voltages are proportional to
the rate of change of fluxes and hence the eddy currents also are proportional to the rate of change of fluxes.
Hence we can write,
The forces are produced due to the interaction of φ1 with i2 and φ2 with i1.

The directions of F1 and F2 can be obtained by Flemings left-hand rule.It can be seen from the above
figure that the two forces are acting in the opposite directions and hence the net force acting on the disc is
proportional to the difference between the two forces.

Substituting the proportional expressions of φ1, φ2, i1, i2 in the above equation we get,

induction-type-relays-working-principle-construction-types

The equation above gives the net force acting on the disc which is proportional to sin α.

Substituting the r.m.s values of the fluxes instead of maximum values we get,
 It is important to note that the net force or torque acting on the disc is same at every instant. The action
of Induction relay under such force is free from vibrations.

It can be observed from the above equation that if ∝ is zero then the net force is zero and disc cannot
rotate. Hence there must exist a phase difference between the two fluxes. The torque is maximum when the
phase difference is 90°.

The direction of the net force which decides the direction of rotation of disc depends on which flux is
leading the other. In practice, various constructions are used to produce phase displacement between the two
fluxes.

Shaded Pole Type Induction Relay:

The construction of Shaded Pole Type Induction Relay is shown in below figure.

It consists of an aluminium disc which is free to rotate in an air gap of an electromagnet. The part of
pole face of each pole is shaded with the help of copper band or ring. This is called shading ring. The total
flux φ produced due to the alternating current split into two fluxes displaced in time and space due to the
shading ring.

Due to the alternating flux, e.m.f gets induced in the shading ring. This e.m.f drives the currents
causing the flux to exist in shaded portion. This flux lags behind the flux in the unshaded portion by angle α.

Let φs = Flux in shaded portion

φu = Flux in unshaded portion

Es = E.M.F. induced in the disc due to φs

Eu = E.M.F. induced in the disc due to φu

Is = Induced current due to Es

Iu = Induced current due to Eu

Eu lags behind φu by 90° while Es lags behind φs by 90°. The current Is lags Es by small angle β
while Iu lags Eu by small angle β. This angle is generally neglected and Is and Iu are assumed to be in phase
with Es and Eu respectively, in practice. The phasor diagram is shown in the figure below.

As proved in the previous section, neglecting It we get,

 Assuming fluxes φs and φu to be proportional to the current I in the relay coil we can write,

As sin α is constant for the given design. Thus the torque is proportional to the Aare of the current
through the coil.

Watthour Meter Type Induction Relay:

The construction of Watthour Meter Type Induction relay is similar to the watthour meter which is
very popularly used everywhere. Thus relay has double winding structure. The arrangement is shown in the
figure below.
 It consists of two magnets, one E shaped magnet and other U shaped magnet. The disc is free to
rotate in between these two magnets. The upper E shaped magnet carries both primary winding which is
relay coil and the secondary winding. The primary carries the relay current I1 which produces the flux φ1.
The e.m.f gets induced in the secondary due to this flux. This drives current I2 through secondary.

Due to this current I2, flux φ2 gets produced in the lower magnet. This flux lags behind the main flux
φ1 by an angle α. Due to the interaction of these two fluxes, the torque is exerted on the disc and disc
rotates.

Assuming that the entire flux φ1 enters the disc from upper magnet and entire flux φ2 enters the disc
from lower magnet, we can write,

In Watthour Meter Type Induction relay, the tapping can be provided on the primary. With the help of
this suitable number of primary turns can be selected and hence current setting can be adjusted. Most of the
induction relays are of this type.

An important feature of Watthour Meter Type Induction relay is that its operation can be controlled by
opening or closing of the secondary winding. It is opened, no current can flow through secondary hence flux
φ2 cannot be produced and hence no torque can be produced. Thus relay can be made inoperative opening
the secondary winding.

Induction Cup Relay:

The construction of induction cup relay is very similar to an induction motor as shown in below figure.
 The stator consists of two, four or more poles. These are energized by the relay coils. The figure
below shows 4 pole structure and the two pairs of coils. The coils 1 and 1' are connected while the coils 2
and 2' are connected to form two pairs of coils. The rotor is hollow cylindrical cup type in structure.
Compared to induction motor the difference is that in induction cup relay the rotor core is stationary and
only rotor conductor portion is free to rotate about its axis.

The currents and respective fluxes produced by the two pairs of coils are displaced from each other by
angle α. Thus the resultant flux in the air gap is rotating. So rotating magnetic field is produced by two pairs
of coils. Due to this, eddy currents are induced in the cup type rotor.

These currents produce the flux. The interaction of the two fluxes produce the torque and the rotor
rotates in the same direction as that of rotating magnetic field.A control spring and the back stop carried on
an arm attached to the spindle of the cup, are responsible to prevent continuous rotation.

Induction cup relay is very fast in operation. The operating time of the order of 10 milliseconds is
possible with this type. This is because the rotor is light having very low moment of (induction loop) inertia.
The induction cup structure can be used for two quantity or single quantity relays.

A single quantity relay means both the coils are fed by the same actuating quantity with a fixed phase angle
shift in between them. To reduce the rotor inertia and to make the operation faster, double induction loop
structure is used. Such a structure is shown in the above figure.

In all, the induction relays are widely used for protective relays involving a.c quantities. High, low and
adjustable speeds are possible in these relays. Various shapes of time against operating quantity curves can
be obtained.
Overcurrent Relay
Definition: The overcurrent relay is defined as the relay, which operates only when the value of the current
is greater than the relay setting time. It protects the equipment of the power system from the fault current.

Depending on the time of operation the overcurrent relay is categorized into following types.

 Instantaneous Overcurrent relay

 Inverse time Overcurrent Relay
 Definite Time Overcurrent Relay
 Inverse Definite Time Overcurrent Relay
 Very Inverse Definite Time Overcurrent Relay
 Extremely Inverse Definite Time Overcurrent Relay

Instantaneous Overcurrent Relay

The relay has no intentional time delay for operation. The contacts of the relay are closed instantly when the
current inside the relay rises beyond the operational value. The time interval between the instant pick-up
value and the closing contacts of the relay is very less.

The most significant advantage of the instantaneous relay is that it has low operating time. It starts operating
instantly when the value of current is more than the relay setting. This relay operates only when the
impedance between the source and the relay is less than that provided in the section.

The most important feature of the relay is their speed of operation. The relay protects the system from earth
fault and also used for protecting the system from circulating current. The instantaneous overcurrent relay is
placed in the outgoing feeder.

Inverse-Time Overcurrent Relay

The relay operates only when the magnitude of their operating current is inversely proportional to the
magnitude of the energize quantities. The operating time of relay decreases with the increases in the current.
The operation of the relay depends on the magnitude of the current
The characteristic curve for the relay is shown in the figure below. The relay will not operate when the value
of current is less than the pick value. The relay is used for the protection of the distribution lines. The
inverse time relay is of three types.

Inverse Definite Minimum Time Relay

The relay whose operating time is approximately proportional to the fault current is known as the IDMT
relay. The operating time of the relay is maintained by adjusting the time delay setting. The IDMT relay uses
the electromagnetic core because it can easily saturate for the current having larger magnitude than pick up
current. The relay is used for the protection of the distribution line.

Very Inverse Relay

The inverse characteristic of the relay is more than the IDMT. Such type of relay is used in the feeder and on
long transmission lines. The relay is used in the places where there the magnitude of the short-circuit current
fall rapidly because of the large distance from the source. It is used for sensing the fault current which is free
from the fault location.

Extremely Inverse Relay

The characteristic time of the relay is extremely large as compared to the IDMT and the Very inverse relay.
This relay is used for protecting the cable, transformer, etc. The relay can operate instantly when the pickup
value of the current is more than the relay setting time. The relay provides faster operation even under the
fault current. It is used for sensing the overheating of the machines.

The inverse time relay is used in the distribution networks and the power plants. The relay gives the fast
operation in the fault conditions because of their fault time characteristic
Directional Over Current & Non Directional Over Current Protection
Working Principle:
Directional Earth Fault Relay is used to protect the transformer/generator/alternator from over current fault.
The relay sense the fault current in only one direction, the relay does not operate when the current in
opposite direction. Due to high cost, the Directional Earth fault Relays are used only of high sensitive
electrical machine such as alternator & High voltage transmission lines.
Working Principle of Non Directional & Directional Over Current Protection:
First of all, what is over current relay? The relay operates when the fault current exceeds the pickup current.
For Directional Over current relay, the fault current can flow in both the directions through the relay either
forward or reverse, depending upon fault location. Therefore, it is necessary to make the relay respond for a
particular defined direction, so that proper discrimination is possible. This can be achieved by introduction
of directional control elements. During the opposite flow of current the CT polarity reverses, the power
measuring device in which the system voltage is used as a reference for establishing the relative phase of the
fault current.

Non Directional & Directional Over Current Relay Explanation:

Case: 1

Consider a Power system consists of 6 circuit breaker A, B, C, D, E and F. In this, A, B, C, E are the
Non directional over current relays and D, F is a directional over current relay. Consider a fault occurs at a
point P. You should remember one thing first, the current always flow through the low impedance
path. Hence the fault current flows from the generator G through the breaker A and E. Also the fault current
comes from the breaker series A, B, C, and F. In this, the directional relay F operates the breaker of F, but
the remaining all relay operates the respective circuit breaker in non-directional relay. Here the directional
Relay D become in operative, because the load only observes the current.

Case 2:
Now the fault occurs at a point P which is nearer to the load. In this case, the fault current flow from the
generator through A, B, C, P, & A, E, F, P. In this condition, the relay A, B, C & E operates their respective
breaker in Non-directional operation. D & F become in operative.

Case 3:

Now we are using another generator G2, in place of load. Consider the fault occurs in P nearer to the
generator G2. Now the current flow from G2 & A, B, C, D, P, & A, E, F, D, P. In this condition, the relay A,
B, C & E operates their respective breaker in Non-directional operation. D operates the Circuit Breaker D on
directional over current. F become in operative because the current direction remains unchanged.

Direction Over current relay ANSI code: 67

Non- Direction Over current relay ANSI code: 67 NC

Directional Relays:
Selective protection cannot be achieved with time graded overcurrent protection systems in ring or loop
systems as well as in radial circuits with two end power supply. A directional feature is incorporated in the
Directional Relays as shown in Fig.

Figure (a) shows how an induction disc type overcurrent relay with split-pole magnet, having in addition a
directional unit consisting of capacitance or a resistance capacitance circuit works. Figure (b) shows the
wattmetric type of induction disc relay. Here the directional unit controls the angle between the two fluxes
by varying the RX parameters of the lower electromagnet.
Another method of control in the wattmetric element is to supply the lower winding from a separate voltage
source. When the voltage of this source is equal and opposite to the output of the upper magnet secondary
winding there is no current in the lower coil, and therefore no torque is produced. If it opposes and is less
than the secondary output, or if it assists the secondary output, there is an operating torque.

Conversely, if this source voltage opposes and exceeds the secondary output the current in the lower coif is
reversed, giving a reverse torque. This latter method of control is the basis of the Translay balanced-voltage
unit protection.

Directional relays must have the following features:

 High speed of operation;
 High sensitivity;
 Ability to operate with low values of voltage;
 Adequate short-time thermal rating;
 Burden must not be excessive; and
 There should be no voltage creep and current creep. That is, if either the voltage coil alone or the
current coil alone is energized with the other one unenergized there should be no movement.

Induction cup units satisfy these requirements and are therefore very popular.

Differential Protection Relay

Definition: The relay whose operation depends on the phase difference of two or more electrical quantities
is known as the differential protection relay. It works on the principle of comparison between the phase
angle and the magnitude of the same electrical quantities.

For example: Consider the comparison of the input and output current of the transmission line. If the
magnitude of the input current of the transmission line is more than that of output current that means the
additional current flows through it because of the fault. The difference in the current can operate the
differential protection relay.

The following are the essential condition requires for the working of the differential protection relay.

 The network in which the relay use should have two or more similar electrical quantities.
 The quantities have the phase displacement of approximately 180º.
The differential protection relay is used for the protection of the generator, transformer, feeder, large motor,
bus-bars etc. The following are the classification of the differential protection relay.

 Current Differential Relay

 Voltage Differential Relay
 Biased or Percentage Differential Relay
 Voltage Balance Differential Relay

Current Differential Relay

A relay which senses and operates the phase difference between the current entering into the electrical
system and the current leaving the electrical system is called a current differential relay. An arrangement of
overcurrent relay connected to operate as a differential relay is shown in the figure below.
The arrangement of the overcurrent relay is shown in the figure below. The dotted line shows the section
which is used to be protected. The current transformer is placed at both the ends of the protection zone. The
secondary of the transformers is connected in series with the help of the pilot wire. Thereby, the current
induces in the CTs flows in the same direction. The operating coil of the relay is connected on the secondary
of the CTs.

In the normal operating condition, the magnitude of current in the secondary of the CTs remains same. The
zero current flows through the operating coil. On the occurrence of the fault, the magnitude of the current on
the secondary of CTs becomes unequal because of which the relay starts operating.

Voltage Balance Differential Relay

The current differential relay is not suitable for the protection of the feeders. For the protection of the
feeders, the voltage balance differential relays are used. The voltage differential relay uses two similar
current transformer places across the protective zone with the help of pilot wire.

The relays are connected in series with the secondary of the current transformer. The relays are connected in
such a way that no current flows through it in the normal operating condition. The voltage balance
differential relay uses the air core CTs in which the voltages induces regarding current.
biased-voltage-differential-protection-relay- When the fault occurs in the protection zone, the current in
the CTs become unbalance because of which the voltage in the secondary of the CTs disturbs. The current
starts flowing through the operating coil. Thus, the relay starts operating and gives the command to the
circuit breaker to operates.

Percentage Differential Relay

Definition: The percentage differential relay is defined as the relay that operates on the phase difference of
two or more similar electrical quantities. It is the advanced form of differential protection relay. The only
difference between them is the restraining coil. The percentage differential relay consists restraining coil for
overcoming the trouble arising out of differences in the current ratio for the high value of an external short
circuit current.

The percentage differential system consists of a restraining coil connected in the pilot wire as shown in the
figure below and the current induced in both the CTs flows through it. The operating coil places between the
midpoint of the restraining coil.
The restraining coil controls the sensitive characteristic of the relay. It restricts the unwanted tripping of the
transformer due to the imbalance current. The restraining coil also restrains the harmonics in the inrush
current.

Working of Percentage Differential Relay

The torque due to the restraining coil prevents the closing of the trip circuit while the torque due to the
operating coil tends to close the trip circuit contacts. Under normal operating conditions and through load
condition the torque developed by the restraining coil is greater than the operating coil torque. Thus the relay
remains inoperative.

When an internal fault occurs, the operating torque exceeds the restraining torque then the trip circuit
contacts are closed to open the circuit breaker. The restraining torque may adjust by varying the number of
turns of the restraining coil.

The differential current required to utilise this relay is a variable quantity, due to the effect of the restraining
coil. The differential current in the operating coil is proportional to (I1-I2), and the restraining coil is
proportional to (I1-I2)/2 as the operating current is connected to the midpoint of the restraining coil. For
external faults both I1 and I2 increase and thereby the restraining torque increase, which prevents the
maloperation.

Operating Characteristic of the Percentage Differential Relay

The operating characteristic of the relay is shown in the figure below. The above graph shows that the ratio
of their operating current and restraining current is fixed percentage. This relay is also called the biased
differential relay because the restraining coil is also called a bias coil as it provides additional flux.
Types of Percentage Differential Relay

The percentage differential relay is mainly classified into two types. They are the

1. Three terminal system application of the percentage differential relay.

2. Induction Type biased Differential Relay.
Such types of relays use for the protection of generators, transformer, feeders, transmission line, etc.

1. Three Terminal System Application – This relay can be applied to the element having more than two
terminals. Each of the three terminals has the same number of turns, and each of these coils develops a
torque which is independent of each other. Their torques are added arithmetically.

The percentage slope characteristic of the relay will change with the distribution of the current between the
restraining coils. These relays are instantaneous or high speed.

2. Induction Type Biased Differential Relay – This relay consists pivoted disc, which moves in the air
gaps of two electromagnets. The portion of each pole is fitted with a copper ring. This ring can further move
from, into or out of the pole.

The disc experience two torques – one due to the operating element and other due to the restraining element.
If the shading ring were in the same position of each element, then the restraining torque experienced by the
ring would be zero. But if the shaded ring of restraining element was moved further into the iron core, the
torque exerted by the restraining element will exceed than that of the restraining torque.
 Distance Relay

There is one type of relay which functions depending upon the distance of fault in the line. More
specifically, the relay operates depending upon the impedance between the point of fault and the point
where relay is installed. These relays are known as distance relay or impedance relay.

Working Principle of Distance or Impedance Relay

The working principle of distance relay or impedance relay is very simple. There is one voltage
element from potential transformer and a current element fed from current transformer of the system.
The deflecting torque is produced by secondary current of CT and restoring torque is produced by
voltage of potential transformer.

In normal operating condition, restoring torque is more than deflecting torque. Hence relay will
not operate. But in faulty condition, the current becomes quite large whereas voltage becomes less.
Consequently, deflecting torque becomes more than restoring torque and dynamic parts of the relay
starts moving which ultimately close the No contact of relay. Hence clearly operation or working
principle of distance relay depends upon the ratio of system voltage and current. As the ratio of voltage
to current is nothing but impedance so a distance relay is also known as impedance relay.

The operation of such relay depends upon the predetermined value of voltage to current ratio.
This ratio is nothing but impedance. The relay will only operate when this voltage to current ratio
becomes less than its predetermined value. Hence, it can be said that the relay will only operate when
the impedance of the line becomes less than predetermined impedance (voltage/current). As the
impedance of a transmission line is directly proportional to its length, it can easily be concluded that a
distance relay can only operate if fault is occurred within a predetermined distance or length of line.

The working principle of distance relay or impedance relay is very simple. There is one voltage
element from potential transformer and a current element fed from current transformer of the system.
The deflecting torque is produced by secondary current of CT and restoring torque is produced by
voltage of potential transformer.

Types of Distance or Impedance Relay

There are mainly two types of distance relay–
1. Definite distance relay.
2. Time distance relay.

Definite Distance Relay

This is simply a variety of balance beam relay. Here one beam is placed horizontally and
supported by hinge on the middle. One end of the beam is pulled downward by the magnetic force of
voltage coil, fed from potential transformer attached to the line. Other end of the beam is pulled
downward by the magnetic force of current coil fed from current transformer connected in series with
line. Due to torque produced by these two downward forces, the beam stays at an equilibrium position.
The torque due to voltage coil, serves as restraining torque and torque due to current coil, serves as
deflecting torque.

Under normal operating condition restraining torque is greater than deflecting torque. Hence
contacts of this distance relay remain open. When any fault occurs in the feeder, under protected zone,
voltage of feeder decreases and at the same time currentt increases. The ratio of voltage to current i.e.
impedance falls below the pre-determined value. In this situation, current coil pulls the beam more
strongly than voltage coil, hence beam tilts to close the relay contacts and consequently the circuit
breaker associated with this impedance relay will trip.
Time Distance Impedance Relay
This delay automatically adjusts its operating time according to the distance of the relay from the fault
point. The time distance impedance relay will not only be operated depending upon voltage to current
ratio, its operating time also depends upon the value of this ratio. That means,

Construction of Time Distance Impedance Relay

The relay mainly consists of a current driven element like double winding type induction over current
relay. The spindle carrying the disc of this element is connected by means of a spiral spring coupling to
a second spindle which carries the bridging piece of the relay contacts. The bridge is normally held in
the open position by an armature held against the pole face of an electromagnet excited by the voltage
of the circuit to be protected.

Operating Principle of Time Distance Impedance Relay

During normal operating condition the attraction force of armature fed from PT is more than force
generated by induction element, hence relay contacts remain in open position when a short circuit fault
occurs in the transmission line, the current in the induction element increases. Then the induction in the
induction element increases. Then the induction element starts rotating. The speed of rotation of
induction elements depends upon the level of fault i.e. quantity of current in the induction element. As
the rotation of the disc proceeds, the spiral spring coupling is wound up till the tension of the spring is
sufficient to pull the armature away from the pole face of the voltage excited magnet.

The angle through which the disc travels the disc travel before relay operate depends upon the pull of
the voltage excited magnet. The greater the pull, the greater will be the travel of the disc. The pull of
this magnet depends upon the line voltage. The greater the line voltage the greater the pull hence longer
will be the travel of the disc i.e. operating time is proportional to V.

Again, speed of rotation of induction element approximately proportional to current in this element.
Hence, time of operation is inversely proportional to current.

Therefore time of operation of relay,

Impedance Type Distance Relay
Definition: The relay whose working depends on the distance between the impedance of the faulty
section and the position on which relay installed is known as the impedance relay or distance relay. It is
a voltage controlled equipment.

The relay measures the impedance of the faulty point, if the impedance is less than the impedance of the
relay setting, it gives the tripping command to the circuit breaker for closing their contacts. The impedance
relay continuously monitors the line current and voltage flows through the CT and PT respectively. If the
ratio of voltage and current is less than the relay starts operating then the relay starts operating.

Principle of Operation of Impedance Relay

In the normal operating condition, the value of the line voltage is more than the current. But when the fault
occurs on the line the magnitude of the current rises and the voltage becomes less. The line current is
inversely proportional to the impedance of the transmission line. Thus, the impedance decreases because of
which the impedance relay starts operating.

The figure below explains the impedance relay in much easier way. The potential transformer supplies the
voltage to the transmission line and the current flows because of the current transformer. The current
transformer is connected in series with the circuit.

Consider the impedance relay is placed on the transmission line for the protection of the line AB. The Z is
the impedance of the line in normal operating condition. If the impedances of the line fall below the
impedance Z then the relay starts working.

Let, the fault F1 occur in the line AB. This fault decreases the impedance of the line below the relay setting
impedance. The relay starts operating, and its send the tripping command to the circuit breaker. If the fault
reached beyond the protective zone, the contacts of the relay remain unclosed.

Operating Characteristic of an Impedance Relay

The voltage and the current operating elements are the two important component of the impedance relay.
The current operating element generates the deflecting torque while the voltage storage element generates
the restoring torque. The torque equation of the relay is shown in the figure below

The -K3 is the spring effect of the relay. The V and I are the value of the voltage and current. When the relay
is in normal operating condition, then the net torque of the relay becomes zero.

If the spring control effect becomes neglected, the equation becomes

 The operating characteristic concerning the voltage and current is shown in the figure below. The
dashed line in the image represents the operating condition at the constant line impedance.

The operating characteristic of the impedance relay is shown in the figure below. The positive torque region
of the impedance relay is above the operating characteristic line. In positive torque region, the impedance of
the line is more than the impedance of the faulty section. Similarly, in negative region, the impedance of the
faulty section is more than the line impedance

The impedance of the line is represented by the radius of the circle. The phase angle between the X and R
axis represents the position of the vector. If the impedance of the line is less than the radius of the circle,
then it shows the positive torque region. If the impedance is greater than the negative region, then it
represents the negative torque region.
This type of relay is called the high-speed relay.

Electromagnetic Type Induction Relay

In such type of relay, the torque is induced by the electromagnetic action on the voltage and current.
These torques are compared. Consider the circuit of the electromagnetic type induction relay. The solenoid
B is excited by the voltage supplied of the PT. This voltage develops the torque in the clockwise direction,
and it pulls the plunger P2 in the downward direction. The spring connects to the plunger P2 apply the
restraining force on it. This spring generates the mechanical torque in the clockwise direction.

The solenoid A generates the other torque in the clockwise direction and thus moves the plunger
P1 downwards. The solenoid one is excited by the CT of the lines. This torque is called the deflecting or
pick up torque.

When the system is free from fault, the contacts of the relay become open. When the fault occurs in
the protective zone, the current of the system rises because of which the current across the relay also
increases. The more torque developed on the solenoid A. The restoring torque because of the voltage
decreases. The balance arms of the relay start rotating in the opposite direction, thus closed their contacts.
The pull of the solenoid A, i.e., (current element) is proportional to I2 and that due to solenoid B (voltage
element) to V2. Consequently, the relay will operate when

The value of the constants k1 and k2 depend on the ampere-turns of the two solenoids, and the ratios of the
instrument transformers. By providing tappings on the coil, the setting of the relay can be changed.

The y-axis shows the operating time of the relay and the X-axis represents their impedances. The operating
time of the relay remains constants. The value of the voltage and current becomes constant at the
predetermined distance and after that their value becomes infinite.
The circuit diagram of the induction type impedance relay is shown in the figure below. This relay consists
current and voltage element. The relay has an aluminium disc, which is rotating between the electromagnets.

The upper electromagnet has two separate windings. The primary winding is connected to the secondary coil
of the current transformer. The current setting of the winding is varied by the help of the plug bridge placed
below the relay.

The electromagnetics of the relay connects in series with each other. The flux induce between the
electromagnets produces the rotational torque, which rotates the aluminium disc of the relay. The permanent
magnet provides the controlling and braking torque.

In normal operating conditions the force exerted on the armature is more than the induction element which
keeps the trip contacts open. When the fault occurs in the system, then the aluminium disc starts rotating,
and their rotation is directly proportional to the current of the electromagnet. The rotation of the disc-wound
the spring.

The angle of the rotation of the disc for relay operation depends on the force acting on their armature. The
force acting on the armature is directly proportional to the applied voltage. Thus, the angle of rotation also
depends on the voltage.
Time-Characteristic of High-Speed Type Impedance Relay

The figure below shows that the relay does not operate for the value more than the 100 percent pickup value.
The curves 1 is the actual characteristic, and the curve 2 is the simplified characteristic of the curve 1.

Drawbacks of Plan Impedance Relay

The following are the disadvantages of the impedance relay.

1. It gives the response on both the side of the CT and PT. Thus, it becomes difficult for the breaker to
determine whether the fault is external or internal.
2. The relay is easily affected by the arc resistance of the line.
3. It is very sensitive to the power swing. The powerful wings generate the faults on the line because of
which the impedances of the line vary.

The relay always operates when the impedance of the line is less than the relay settings.

Reactance Relay
The reactance relay is a high-speed relay. This relay consists of two elements an overcurrent element and a
current-voltage directional element. The current element developed positive torque and a current-voltage
developed directional element which opposes the current element depending on the phase angle between
current and voltage.

Reactance relay is an overcurrent relay with directional limitation. The directional element is arranged to
develop maximum negative torque when its current lag behinds its voltage by 90°. The induction cup or
double induction loop structures are best suited for actuating reactance type distance relays.

Construction of Reactance Relay

A typical reactance relay using the induction cup structure is shown in the figure below. It has a four-pole
structure carrying operating, polarizing, and restraining coils, as shown in the figure below. The operating
torque is developed by the interaction of fluxes due to current carrying coils, i.e., the interaction of fluxes of
2, 3 and 4 and the restraining torque is produced by the interaction of fluxes due to poles 1, 2 and 4.
The operating torque will be proportional to the square of the current while the restraining torque will be
proportional to VI cos (Θ – 90°). The desired maximum torque angle is obtained with the help of resistance-
capacitance circuits, as illustrated in the figure. If the control effect is indicated by –k3, the torque equation
becomes

where Θ, is defined as positive when I lag behind V. At the balance point net torque is zero, and hence

The spring control effect is neglected in the above equation, i.e., K3 = 0.

Operating Characteristic of Reactance Relay

The operating characteristic of a reactance relay is shown in the figure below. X is the reactance of the
protected line between the relay location and the fault point, and R is the resistance component of the
impedance. The characteristic shows that the resistance component of the impedance has no consequence on
the working of the relay, the relay reacts solely to the reactance component. The point below the operating
characteristic is called the positive torque region.
If the value of τ, in the general torque equation, expressed below is made any other 90º, a straight line
characteristic will still be obtained, but it will not be parallel to R-axis. Such a relay is called an angle
impedance relay.

This type of relay is not capable of selecting whether the fault has taken place in the section where the relay
is located, or it has taken place in the adjoining section when used on the transmission line. The directional
unit used with the reactance relay will not be same as used with the impedance type relay because the
restraining reactive volt-ampere, in that case, will be nearly equal to zero.
Therefore the reactance type distance relay needs a directional unit that is inoperative under load conditions.
Reactance type relay is very suitable as a ground relay for ground fault because its reach is not affected by
fault impedance.

Mho Relay
A mho Relay is a high-speed relay and is also known as the admittance relay. In this relay operating torque
is obtained by the volt-amperes element and the controlling element is developed due to the voltage element.
It means a mho relay is a voltage controlled directional relay.

A mho relay using the induction cup structure is shown in the figure below. The operating torque is
developed by the interaction of fluxes due to pole 2, 3, and 4 and the controlling torque is developed due to
poles 1, 2 and 4.
If the spring controlling effect is indicated by –K3, the torque equation becomes,

mho-relay-equation-1Where Θ and τ are defined as positive when I lag behind V. At balance point, the net
torque is zero, and hence the equation becomes

mho-relay-equation-2mho-relay-equation-3-mho-relay-equation-4If the spring controlled effect is neglected

i.e., k3 = 0.

Operating Characteristic of Mho Relay

The operating characteristic of the mho relay is shown in the figure below. The diameter of the circle is
practically independent of V and I, except at a very low magnitude of the voltage and current when the
spring effect is considered, which causes the diameter to decrease. The diameter of the circle is expressed by
the equation as ZR= K1 / K2 = ohmic setting of the relay.

The relay operates when the impedance seen by the relay within the circle. The operating characteristic
showed that circle passes through the origin, which makes the relay naturally directional. The relay because
of its naturally directional characteristic requires only one pair of contacts which makes it fast tripping for
fault clearance and reduces the VA burdens on the current transformer.

The impedance angle of the protected line is normally 60º and 70º which is shown by line OC in the figure.
The arc resistance R is represented by the length AB, which is horizontal to OC from the extremity of the
chord Z. By making the τ equal to, or little less lagging than Θ, the circle is made to fit around the faulty
area so that the relay is insensitive to power swings and therefore particularly applicable to the protection of
long or heavily loaded lines.
For a given relay the τ is constant, and the admittance phasor Y will lie on the straight line. The
characteristic of mho relays on the admittance diagram is, therefore, a straight line and is shown in the figure
below.

Mho relay is suitable for EHV/UHV heavily loaded transmission lines as its threshold characteristic in Z-
plane is a circle passing through the origin, and its diameter is ZR. Because of this, the threshold
characteristic is quite compact enclosing faulty area compactly and hence, there is lesser chance to operate
during power swing and also it is directional.