Lecture-02

Samiya Zafar
Assistant Professor, EED NEDUET
M.Engg Fall Semester 2017
Cont’d…..

Components of a Typical
Protection System…….
Protective Relays

Current and Voltage Transformers

Circuit Breakers/Fuses

Communication Channels

DC Supply System

Current Transformers
CTs are also used for measurement purposes.
However, the desired response from measurement CTs
under short-circuit conditions (when the primary
current is high) is quite different.
A protection CT is required to faithfully transform the
primary current throughout its entire range from
normal load current to short-circuit current.
A measurement CT, on the other hand, is designed to
saturate at currents more than around 1.2 times the
full-load current, and thus save the measuring
instruments from possible damage.
By suitable design, the operating point of the
measurement CT is kept near the knee of the
excitation characteristic.
A protective CT is designed to operate much below
the knee point so that it maintains its transformation
ratio during high magnitude short-circuit currents
 General considerations for the application of current
transformers (from IEEE Std C57.13™-2008)

Continuous-Current Rating. The maximum continuous-current

rating should be equal to or greater than the rating of the circuit in
which the current transformer is used. The magnitude of inrush
current should also be considered, particularly with respect to its
affect upon meters, relays, and other connected devices.
Continuous-Thermal-Current Rating Factor (RF). The specified
factor by which the rated primary current of a CT can be multiplied
to obtain the maximum primary current that can be carried
continuously without exceeding the limiting temperature rise from
30 °C ambient air temperature. The rating factor (RF) shall be 1.0,
1.33, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, or 4.0, for example, a 100:5 CT with an RF equal
to 1.5 may be operated up to current levels of 150:7.5
Thermal Short-Time Rating. This is the symmetrical rms primary
current that the current transformer can carry for 1 s with the
secondary winding short circuited, without exceeding the limiting
temperature in any winding. The limiting temperature shall be 250
°C for copper conductor or 200 °C for aluminum conductor.
Mechanical Short-Time Rating. The short-time mechanical current
rating shall be the rms value of the ac component of a displaced
(asymmetrical) primary current wave that the transformer is capable
of withstanding with the secondary winding short-circuited.
“Capable of withstanding” shall be interpreted to mean that if
subjected to this duty, the current transformer shall show no
damage and shall be capable of meeting the other applicable
requirements of this standard.
Nominal System Voltage. Current transformers are capable of
operating continuously at 10% above rated nominal system voltage.
Standard nominal system voltages for most industrial applications
are 600, 2400, 4800, 8320, 13 800, and 14 400 V.
Basic Impulse Insulation Levels Versus Nominal System Voltage.
Insulation levels are designed to withstand voltage surges, rather
than only normal operating voltages. The minimum level is known
as the Basic Insulation Level (BIL) .
Accuracy ratings for relaying
A current transformer designed for relaying purposes shall be
given an accuracy rating as follows:

C classification covers current transformers in which the leakage

flux in the core of the transformer does not have an appreciable
effect on the ratio(s) within the current limits, with standard
burdens outlined.
T classification covers current transformers in which the leakage
flux does have an appreciable effect on the ratio(s) within the
current limits, with standard burdens outlined.
The most common relaying accuracy class for current
transformers is the C designation, which requires a maximum limit
of ratio error at 20 times rated primary current of 10 percent.
( 3 percent at rated primary current)
The C designation is followed by a number, which is a secondary
terminal voltage that the CT will support while meeting the error limit (≤
10 percent) at 20 times rated primary current. (e.g. C100 or C400)
 In turn, the common secondary terminal voltage classes have a direct
link to the allowable secondary circuit burden on the CT. The common
generic accuracy classes in the standard, with the associated secondary
burdens, are as shown in Table.
It will be seen that, with:
the standard rated secondary current of 5 A,
the short-circuit current of 20 times current would be 100 A,
which when multiplied by the burden impedance in the table,
results in the secondary terminal voltage shown.
For example, with 20 times rated current flowing in a B-4.0 burden, if
the accuracy limit is met, the secondary terminal voltage would be 400
V and the CT accuracy class is C400.

IEC 61869-2 protection (relaying) accuracy classes

The classification scheme of IEC 61869-2 is substantially
different from that of IEEE C57.13, but since the underlying physics
are same, the two systems are able to be correlated, at least in part.
In IEC, the current transformer class of interest is class P
protective current transformer.
The rated output classes in IEC are 5, 10, 15, 20, & 30, where the
number represents the load output in VA at rated secondary current.
The preferred accuracy classes are 5P (5 percent maximum error)
and 10P (10 percent maximum error).
Lastly, IEC has an accuracy limit factor (ALF), which indicates the
multiples of rated secondary current at which the accuracy class
applies. The typical values of the ALF are 10,20 and 30.
So, the complete accuracy specification for a particular current
transformer might be 20 VA class 5P10, to signify a transformer
with less than 5 percent error at 10 times rated current, with a load
output of 20 VA.
Voltage Transformer
The voltage transformer steps down the high voltage
of the line to a level safe enough for the relaying system
(pressure coil of relay) and personnel to handle.
The standard secondary voltage on line-to-line basis is
120 V. This helps in standardizing the protective
relaying equipment irrespective of the value of the
primary EHV adopted.
A PT primary is connected in parallel at the point
where a measurement is desired, unlike a CT whose
primary is in series with the line in which current is to be
measured.
Voltage transformers are capable of continuous and
accurate operation when the voltage applied across the
primary is within 107% (plus or minus) of rated primary
voltage.
Standard burdens for voltage transformers with a
secondary voltage of 120 V are shown in Table.
The VT also suffers from ratio and phase angle errors.
Standard accuracy classifications of voltage transformers
range from 0.3–1.2, representing percent ratio
corrections to obtain a true ratio.

A VT rated 0.3 WXMY will maintain

0.3 accuracy class from 0 to 75 VA (“Y”
burden).
Another type of VT that is commonly
used in EHV systems is the Capacitive
Voltage Transformer or CVT.
Capacitive voltage transformer (CVT)
consists of a capacitive voltage divider.
Short Questions
A 250: 5, current transformer is used along with an
ammeter. if ammeter reading is 2.7 A, estimate the
line current.
Ans : 135 A

A 11000 : 110, potential transformer is used along

with a voltmeter reading 87.5V. Estimate the value of
line voltage.

Ans: 8750 V
Sensitivity
Selectivity
Dependability
Security
Speed
Simplicity
Economics
Sensitivity – ability of
relay to determine a faulted
power system from a normal
power system.

For example, The protective system must have

ability to detect the smallest possible fault current.
The smaller the current that it can detect, the more
sensitive it is. One way to improve sensitivity is to
determine characteristic signature of a fault.
It is unique to the fault type and it
does not occur in the normal operation.
For example, earth faults involve zero sequence
current. This provide a very sensitive method to
detect earth faults. Once, this signature is seen,
abnormality is rightly classified and hence
appropriate action is initialized.

Selectivity – ability of a
relay to determine what part of
the power system is faulted
(also called relay coordination).
A relay should be smart enough, not just to identify
a fault but also to be able to decide whether fault is
in it's jurisdiction or not.
For example, a relay for a feeder should be able to
discriminate a fault on it's own feeder from faults on
adjacent feeders. This jurisdiction of a relay is also
called as zone of protection . Typically, protection
zones are classified into primary and backup zones.
Backup zone is a second line of defense in a situation
where the primary protection fails.
The back-up protection should not have anything
in common with the primary protection.
It should also preferably be located at a place
different from where the primary protection is
located.
Further, the back-up protection must wait for the
primary protection to operate, before issuing the
trip command to its associated circuit breakers.
Let us consider a radial system,
Relay B, in conjunction with circuit breaker CBB,
provides primary protection to the line section B-C.
Relay A with circuit breaker CBA provides back-up
protection to the section B-C. Consider a fault in
section B-C.
Dependability – ability
of relay to always trip for a
fault in its protected zone
A relay is said to be
dependable if it trips only
when it is expected to trip.

This is either when the fault is in relay’s primary

jurisdiction or when it is called upon to provide the
back-up protection. Dependability is the degree of
certainty that the relay will operate correctly:
Security – ability of relay to
never trip for a fault outside its
protected zone
Security is a property used to
characterize false tripping on relays.

A relay is said to be secure if it does not trip when it

is not expected to trip. It is the degree of certainty that
the relay will not operate incorrectly.
False trips do not just create nuisance, they can even
compromise system stability.
For example, tripping of a tie-line in a two area
system can result in load-generation imbalance in each
area which can be dangerous.

Simplicity – minimum
protective equipment and
associated circuitry to achieve
protection objectives

Each added unit provides a potential source of

trouble and added maintenance, leading to probability
of incorrect operations.
Economics– maximum
protection at minimal total
cost (i.e. protective
Equipment costs & Outage
costs)
Protection costs are considered generally high when
considered alone, but they should be evaluated in the
light of the much higher cost of equipment they are
protecting, and the cost of an outage or loss of
production resulting through improper protection.
Speed – how fast can the relay
determine that there is a fault in
its Zone.
To maximize safety, and to
minimize equipment damage and system instability, a
fault should be cleared as quickly as possible.

This implies that relay should quickly arrive at a

decision and circuit breaker operation should be fast
enough.
Cont’d…..

Components of a Typical
Protection System…….
Protective Relays

Current and Voltage Transformers

Circuit Breakers/Fuses

Communication Channels

DC Supply System

The circuit breaker is “a mechanical switching device
capable of making, carrying and breaking currents
under normal circuit conditions and also making,
carrying and breaking
for a specified time, and
breaking currents under
specified abnormal
circuit conditions such
as a short circuit” (IEEE
Std. C37.100-1992).
Circuit breakers are the central part of air-
insulated (AIS) and gas-insulated (GIS)
switchgear. High-voltage circuit breakers
connect and break operating and fault currents
and carry the nominal current in closed position.

The circuit
breaker is
operated by the
output of an
associated relay.
Circuit breakers are generally classified
according to the interrupting medium used to
cool and elongate the electrical arc permitting
interruption. The types are:
• Air
• Oil
• Air blast
• Vacuum
• SF6 gas
Air circuit breakers are limited to older
switchgear and have generally been replaced by
vacuum or SF6 for switchgear applications.
Similarly, Air blast breakers, used for high
voltages (≥ 765 kV), are no longer manufactured
and have been replaced by breakers using SF6
technology.
Vacuum is used for switchgear applications and
some outdoor breakers, generally 38 kV class and
below.
Oil circuit breakers were large and required
significant foundations to support the weight and
impact loads occurring during operation.
Environmental concerns forcing the necessity of oil
retention systems, maintenance costs, and the
development of the SF6 gas circuit breaker have led
to the gradual replacement of the oil circuit breaker
for new installations.
Gas circuit breakers typically operate at
pressures between six and seven atmospheres.
The dielectric strength of SF6 gas reduces
significantly at lower pressures.

Monitoring of the
density of the SF6 gas is
critical and some designs
will block operation of the
circuit breaker in the
event of low gas density.
Interrupting times are usually quoted in cycles
and are defined as the maximum possible delay
between energizing the trip circuit at rated
control voltage and the interruption of the main
contacts in all poles.
Circuit breaker ratings must be examined
closely.
Voltage and interrupting ratings are stated at a
maximum operating voltage rating, i.e., 38 kV
voltage rating for a breaker applied on a nominal
34.5-kV circuit.
The breakers have an operating range
designated as K factor per IEEE C37.06. For a 72-
kV breaker, the voltage range is 1.21, indicating
that the breaker is capable of its full interrupting
rating down to a voltage of 60 kV.
A circuit breaker can be specified by the following
parameters:
RATED VOLTAGE: is the voltage, for which the circuit
breaker was designed to work with.
CLOSING TIME (tc) of the breaker – the interval of time
between energizing the closing circuit, the circuit breaker
being in the open position, and the instant when the
contacts touch the poles.
OPENING TIME (to) of the breaker -. the interval of time
between the instant of energizing the opening release,
the circuit breaker being in the closed position, and the
instant when the contacts have separated in all poles.
SIMULTANEITY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POLES
(ON/OFF) (td) - interval time characterizing the
divergence from coincidence of connection or
disconnection of the breaker contacts (non-
simultaneous switching).
RATED LIGHTNING IMPULSE WITHSTAND VOLTAGE:
the r.m.s value of sinusoidal voltage that a equipment
can withstand during surge or lightning.
ARCING TIME: the time a circuit breaker takes for
extinguishing an arc is called arcing time. It lies b/w
30 to 150 ms after the mechanism has been tripped.
TRANSIENT RECOVERY VOLTAGE (TRV) for HV circuit
breakers is the voltage that appears across the terminals
after current interruption. It is a critical parameter for
fault interruption by an HV circuit breaker. Its
characteristics (amplitude, rate of rise) can lead either to
a successful current interruption or to a failure (called
re-ignition or re-strike).
TRV is dependent on characteristics of the system
connected on both terminals of circuit-breaker, and on
type of fault that this breaker has to interrupt (single,
double or three-phase faults, grounded or ungrounded
fault).
 HOW DO PROTECTIVE RELAYS OPERATE?
All relays (used for short-circuit protection, and
many other types also,) operate by virtue of the
current and/or voltage supplied to them by current
and voltage transformers.
Through individual or relative changes in these two
quantities, faults signal their presence, type, and
location to the protective relays.
For every type and location of fault, there is some
distinctive difference in these quantities, and each
relay is designed to recognize a particular difference
and to operate in response to it.
Differences in each quantity are possible in one or
more of the following:
A. Magnitude. E. Rate of change.
B. Frequency. F. Direction or order of change.
C. Phase angle. G. Harmonics or wave shape.
D. Duration.
Based on these differences, various relay
types and functions have been established.
These various protective relay functions
have been given identifying device function
numbers, with appropriate suffix letters when
necessary. These numbers are listed in
ANSI/IEEE C37.2.
In the relay identification numbering
system, a circuit breaker is given number 52.
These numbers and suffixes are used in
diagrams, instruction books, and specifications.
OVER-CURRENT RELAY
The most obvious effect of a shunt fault is a sudden build
up of current. Therefore, the magnitude of current can be
utilized as a positive indication of existence of a fault.
Therefore, the over-current protection is the most widely
used form of protection. In many situations, it may be the
only protection provided.
This type of protection which depends on only the
magnitude of the current, without taking any cognizance of
its phase angle, is known as the non-directional over-
current protection.
However, many times it is required to discriminate
between faults in front of the breaker and faults behind
the breaker.
This is possible only if we take into account, not only
the magnitude of the current but also its phase with
respect to the voltage at the relay location. In such
cases, the protection is known as the directional over-
current protection.
A directional over-current protection affords greater
selectivity than a non-directional over-current
protection.
An over-current (OC) relay has a single input in the form
of ac current. The output of the relay is a normally-open
contact, which changes over to closed state when the
relay trips.
The relay has two settings. These are the time setting
and the plug setting.

The time setting decides the

operating time of the relay
while the plug setting decides
the current required for the
relay to pick up.
The name plug setting comes from electromechanical
over-current relay. In these relays, we have to insert a
shorting plug in a plug-setting bridge, so as to change the
number of turns of operating coil to get a particular pick-up
value. The same terminology continues to be used in
modern relays.
The plug-setting multiplier, PSM, is defined as follows:
PSM = Irelay / PS
where Irelay is the current through the relay operating coil
and PS is the plug-setting of the relay.
Plug setting= rated CT secondary x some percentage
The value of PSM tells us about the severity of the
current as seen by the relay.
A PSM less than 1 means that normal load current is
flowing. At PSM > 1, the relay is supposed to pick up.
Higher values of PSM indicate how serious the fault is.
For example, let us consider a 1.0 A relay (i.e. a relay
with current coil designed to carry 1.0 A on a continuous
basis) whose plug has been set at 0.5 A, i.e. at 50%.
Assume that, for a certain fault, the relay current is 5.0 A.
The relay, therefore, is said to be operating at a PSM of
(5.0/0.5) = 10.
Instantaneous OC Relay 50
Instantaneous in this context actually means no
intentional time delay.
Howsoever fast we want the relay to operate; it needs a
certain minimum amount of time.
The operating time of an instantaneous relay is of the
order of a few milliseconds.
Such a relay has only the pick-up setting and does not
have any time setting.
The instantaneous OC relays used in industry historically
have been of the electromagnetic attraction type.
 Instantaneous over-
Ideal Instantaneous
current relay
over-current relay
characteristic with
characteristic
inherent time delay
in milliseconds
Definite Time Over-current Relay
A definite time over-current relay can be
adjusted to issue a trip output at a definite (and
adjustable) amount of time, after it picks up.
Thus, it has a time-
setting adjustment
and a pick-up
adjustment.
The characteristic
are shown in Figure.
 Application of Definite Time OC Relays for
Protection of a Distribution Feeder

Consider a
feeder as
shown in
single line
diagram of
Figure, with
two line
sections AB
and BC.
Assume that DTOC relays are used at buses A and B.
There are loads at all the three buses. The protection
problem can be stated as follows:
Given the magnitudes of all the loads and the fault
currents at all the buses, how to set the DTOC relays at
buses A and B so that the entire feeder gets over-
current protection arranged as primary and back-up
protection.
The first step in designing the over-current protection is
to select the ratios for all the CTs. The secondary current
of the CT is decided by the rating of the relay current coil.
The CT primary current is decided by the maximum load
current to be carried by the CT primary.
Next we have to do the relay setting. It may be noted
that setting of the relay, where the DTOC relays are
involved, means:
1. How to select the pick-up value of the relay?
2. How to set the operating time of the relay?

1. We can set the pick-up value of the relay, keeping in

mind, that the relay should allow normal load as well as a

certain degree of overload to be supplied.
Thus the pick-up value of the relay should be more
than the allowable maximum load.
At the same time, the relay should be sensitive enough
to respond to the smallest fault. Thus, the pick-up value
should be less than the smallest fault current.
Therefore, we can write the following rule, for setting
the pick-up value of the OC relay :

2. A relay must get an adequate chance to protect the

zone under its primary protection.
Only if the primary protection doesn’t clear the fault,
the back-up protection should initiate tripping.
Thus as soon as the fault takes place, it is sensed by
both the primary and the back-up protection.
The primary protection is the first to operate, its
operating time being less than that of the back-up relay.
We also have to allow for the overshoot of the relay.
Overshoot time is defined as the time for which the relay
mechanism continues to move, even after the operating
coil has been de-energized. Overshoot is because of the
moment of inertia of the moving system.
The correct procedure would be to start the setting
from the tail end of the feeder system. The relay, which
is at the end of the radial feeder, can be made to operate
without any delay, as it does not have to coordinate with
any other relay.
Let us assume that the operating time of RB is set to
0.1s. Thus relay RA should wait for 0.1 s plus, a time
equal to the operating time of circuit breaker at bus B
(TCB,B) plus overshoot time of relay A (Tos,A).
Thus, we can write: TR,B = 0.1 s (fastest)
Assuming CB operating time = 0.5 s and overshoot time
= 0.2 s, we have TR,A = 0.1 + 0.5 + 0.2 = 0.8 s
The time step between the operating times of the two
relays, which is equal to the sum of the operating time of
the circuit breaker at B and the overshoot time of relay
A, is essential for maintaining selectivity between relays
at A and B. Hence this interval is referred to as the
selective time interval (STI).
Note that, as the fault moves towards the source, the
fault currents become larger and the fault clearing time
also becomes longer which is not desirable.
The more severe a fault is, the faster it should be
cleared to avoid damage to the apparatus.
It can be shown that a significant improvement in
fault clearing time, as we move towards the source, is
obtained if we use Inverse Definite Minimum Time
(IDMT) relays.
In IDMT relay, as the
current keeps
increasing, the relay
takes minimum time to
trip the circuit.
The mathematical relation between the current and
the operating time of IDMT characteristic from the
curve can be written as:

where PSM is the plug-setting multiplier and TMS is

the time-multiplier setting of the relay. Thus, the
operating time is directly proportional to the TMS and
inversely proportional to the PSM.
Very inverse time over-current relay
The inverseness of this characteristic is higher than that
of the IDMT characteristic. The mathematical relation
between the current and the operating time of such a
characteristic can be written as

Extremely inverse time over-current relay

The inverseness of this characteristic is higher than that
of the very inverse characteristic. The mathematical
relation between the current and the operating time of
such a characteristic can be written as