Power System Protection: ( Part 3 )

Protective Relay systems:

Protective relay systems are intended to detect abnormal conditions and to isolate them by initiating
the operation of circuit breakers or other devices. Normally, relays operate power circuit breakers
rated above 600 V. The most common condition for which protection is required is the short circuit.
There are many other conditions, however, which also require protection. These conditions include
undervoltage, overvoltage, open-phase, overcurrent, unbalanced phase currents, reverse power
flow, underfrequency, overfrequency, and overtemperature.

The basic relay types most commonly used in power systems are: overcurrent, directional,
differential, current phase-balance, ground-fault, synchronism check and synchronizing, pilot-wire,
voltage, distance, phase-sequence or reverse-phase, frequency, temperature, pressure, and auxiliary
relays.

Overcurrent Relays:

The most common relay for short-circuit protection of the industrial power system is the
overcurrent relay. Overcurrent relays used in the industry are mostly of the electromagnetic
attraction, induction, and solid-state types.

Electromagnetic Attraction:

The simplest overcurrent relay using the electromagnetic attraction principle is the solenoid type.
The basic elements of this relay are a solenoid wound around an iron core and steel plunger or
armature which moves inside the solenoid and supports the moving contacts.

Induction:

The induction overcurrent relay is similar to a watt-hour meter since it consists of an electromagnet
and a movable armature which is usually a metal disk on a vertical shaft restrained by a coiled
spring. The relay contacts are operated by the movable armature.

Operating Current:

The pickup or operating current for all overcurrent relays is adjustable. When the current through
the relay coil exceeds a given setting, the relay contacts close and initiate the circuit breaker tripping
operation. The relay operates as a burden to a current transformer.

Operating Time:

If the current operates the relay without intentional time delay, the protection is called
instantaneous overcurrent protection. When the overcurrent is of a transient nature, such as
caused by the starting of a motor or some sudden overload of brief duration, the circuit breaker
should not open. For this reason most overcurrent relays are equipped with a time delay which
permits a current several times the relay setting to persist for a limited period of time without
closing the contacts. If a relay operates faster as current increases, it is said to have an inverse-time
characteristic. Overcurrent relays are available with inverse-, very inverse-, and extremely inverse-
time characteristics to fit the requirements of the particular application. There are also definite
minimum-time overcurrent relays having an operating time that is practically independent of the
magnitude of current after a certain current value is reached. Induction overcurrent relays have a
provision for variation of the time adjustment and permit change of operating time for a given
current. This adjustment is called the time lever or time dial setting of the relay. It is possible to
adjust the operating time of relays to selectively trip circuit breakers which operate in series on the
same circuit.

Overcurrent Relays with Voltage Restraint or Voltage Control. A short circuit on an electric system is
always accompanied by a corresponding large voltage dip, whereas an overload will cause only a
moderate voltage drop. A voltage-restrained overcurrent relay is designed to operate at lower
current values when the system voltage drops below its nominal value. A voltage-controlled relay
will not operate until the system voltage drops below a predetermined setting, as would occur
during a short circuit.

Directional Relays:

Directional Overcurrent Relays:

Directional overcurrent relays consist of a typical overcurrent unit and a directional unit combined to
operate together for a predetermined phase-angle and magnitude of current. The current in one
coil is compared in phase-angle position with a voltage or current in another coil of that unit. The
reference current or voltage is called the polarization. The relay operates only for current flow in
one direction and will be insensitive to current flow in the opposite direction.

Directional Ground Relays:

The grounded-neutral industrial power system may use directional ground relays, constructed much
the same as the directional overcurrent relays. In order to properly sense the direction of fault
current flow, directional ground relays require a polarizing source which may be either potential or
current, as the situation requires.

Directional Power Relays:

The directional power relay is, in principle, a single-phase or three-phase contact-making wattmeter
and operates at a predetermined value of power. It is often used as a directional overpower relay
set to operate if excess energy flows out of an industrial power system into the utility power system.
Under certain conditions it may also be useful as an underpower relay to separate the two systems if
the power flow drops below a predetermined value. It is also used to disconnect a generator
operating in parallel with a larger generator or a utility, should the prime mover's fuel supply be
interrupted.

Differential Relays:

All the previously described relays have the common characteristic of adjustable settings to operate
at a given value of some electrical quantity such as current, voltage, or power. There are other fault-
protection relays which function by virtue of continually comparing two or more currents. Certain
fault conditions will cause a difference in these compared values and the resulting differential
current can be used to operate the relay. Current transformers, however, have a small error in ratio
and phase angle between the primary and secondary currents, depending upon variations in
manufacture, the magnitude of current, and the connected secondary burden. These errors will
cause a differential current to flow even when the primary currents are balanced. The error current
may become proportionately larger during fault conditions, especially when there is a direct current
component present in the fault current. The differential relays, of course, must not operate for the
maximum error current which can flow for a fault condition external to the protected zone. To
provide this feature, the percentage differential relay has special restraint windings to prevent
improper operation due to the error current on heavy through-fault conditions while providing very
sensitive detection of low-magnitude faults inside the differentials protected zone.

Current Phase-Balance Relays:

In some cases phase-balance current relays can provide an acceptable substitute for differential
protection. A negative-sequence current relay is a more sensitive device that also detects
unbalanced phase currents. In applying these relays it is assumed that under normal conditions the
phase currents in the three-phase supply to the equipment and the corresponding output signals
from each phase current transformer are balanced. Should the fault occur in the motor or generator
involving one or two phases or should an open circuit develop in any of the phases, the currents will
become unbalanced and the relay will operate. In addition to protecting against winding faults, the
phase-balance current relay affords protection against damage to the motor or generator due to
single-phase operation.

Ground-Fault Relays:

Ground-fault relays may be used to provide improved protection when the power system is
intentionally grounded and ground-fault current can flow through the conductors. This is often an
overcurrent relay connected to sense the resultant current (vector summation of currents through
all conductors of a feeder) or the current flow through the grounded conductor. The ground relay
can be set to pick up at a much lower current value than the phase relays, because the vector
summation of the currents flowing through the conductors of a feeder is normally zero.
Overcurrent relays used for ground-fault protection are generally the same as those used for phase-
fault protection, except that a more sensitive range of minimum operating current values is possible
since they see only fault currents and not load currents. Relays with inverse-, very inverse-, and
extremely inverse-time characteristics, as well as instantaneous relays, are all applicable as ground-
fault relays.
Synchronizing Relays:

The synchronizing relay monitors two separate systems that are to be paralleled. It automatically
initiates switching when the phase-angle displacement, frequency difference, voltage deviation, and
the operating time of the switching equipment (to accomplish interconnection) are acceptable.

Pilot-Wire Relays:

The relaying of tie lines, either between the industrial system and the utility system or between
major load centers within the industrial system, often present a special problem. Such lines must be
capable of carrying maximum emergency load currents for any length of time and they must be
easily and quickly removed from service when a fault occurs. A type of differential relaying called
pilot-wire relaying responds very quickly to faults in the protected line. It clears the fault promptly
and minimizes line damage and disturbance to the system, yet is normally unresponsive to load
currents and to currents flowing to faults in other lines and equipment. The various types of pilot-
wire relaying schemes all operate on the principle of comparing the conditions at the terminals of
the protected line. The relays are connected to operate if the comparison indicates a fault in the
line. The information necessary for this comparison is transmitted between terminals over a pilot-
wire circuit.

Voltage Relays:

Voltage relays actuate at predetermined values of voltage, which may be overvoltage, undervoltage,
a combination of both, voltage unbalance (comparing two sources of voltage), reverse phase
voltage, and excess negative-sequence voltage (single phasing of a three-phase system).
Adjustments for pickup or dropout voltage and operation timing are usually provided in these relays.
Time-delay is often required to preclude nuisance relay operation by transient voltage disturbances.

Distance Relays:

Distance relays comprise a family of relays that respond to voltage and current in terms of
impedance. This impedance represents an electrical measure of the distance along a transmission
line from the relay location to a fault. The impedance can also represent the equivalent impedance
of a generator or large synchronous motor when a distance relay is used for loss-of-field protection.

Frequency Relays:

Frequency relays sense underfrequency or overfrequency conditions during system disturbances.

Temperature relays usually operate in conjunction with temperature detecting devices such as
resistance temperature detectors or thermocouples located in the equipment to be protected and
are used for protection against overheating of large motors (above 1500 hp), generator stator
windings, and large transformer windings.

Pressure Relays:

Pressure relays used in power systems respond either to the rate of rise of gas pressure (sudden
pressure relay) or to a slow accumulation of gas (gas-detector relay), or a combination of both.
Such relays are valuable supplements to differential or other forms of relaying on power, regulating,
and rectifier transformers.

Auxiliary Relays:

Auxiliary relays are used in protection schemes whenever a single protective device alone cannot
provide all the functions necessary for satisfactory protection. Auxiliary relays are available with a
wide range of coil ratings, contact arrangements, and tripping functions, each suited for a particular
application. Some of the most common applications of auxiliary relays are circuit breaker lockout,
circuit breaker latching, targeting, multiplication of contacts, timing, circuit supervision, and
alarming.