Classification and function of relays

A protection relay is a device that senses any change in the signal which it is receiving,
usually from a current and/or voltage source. If the magnitude of the incoming signal
is outside a preset range, the relay will operate, generally to close or open electrical
contacts to initiate some further operation, for example the tripping of a circuit
breaker.
3.1 Classification:
Protection relays can be classified in accordance with the function which they carry
out, their construction, the incoming signal and the type of functioning.
3.1.1 General function:
Auxiliary.
Protection.
Monitoring.
ontrol.
3.1.2 Construction:
!lectromagnetic.
"olid state.
Microprocessor.
omputeri#ed.
$onelectric %thermal, pressure ......etc.&.

3.1.3 Incoming signal:
urrent.
'oltage.
(re)uency.
*emperature.
Pressure.
'elocity.
+thers.
3.1.4 Type of protection
Over current.
Directional over current.
Distance.
Over voltage.
Differential.
Reverse power.
Other.
Figure 1 Armature-type relay
In some cases a letter is added to the number associated with the protection in
order to specify its place of location, for example , for generator, - for
transformer etc. $onelectric relays are outside the scope of this book and
therefore are not referred to.
3.2 Electromagnetic relays
!lectromagnetic relays are constructed with electrical, magnetic and
mechanical components, have an operating coil and various contacts and are
very robust and reliable. *he construction characteristics can be classified in
three groups, as detailed below.
3. 2. 1 Attraction relays
Attraction relays can be supplied by A or ., and operate by the
movement of a piece of metal when it is attracted by the magnetic field
produced by a coil. *here are two main types of relay in this class.
*he attracted armature relay, which is shown in figure /, consists of a bar
or plate of metal which pivots when it is attracted towards the coil.
*he armature carries the moving part of the contact, which is closed or
opened according to the design when the armature is attracted to the coil. *he other
type is the piston or solenoid relay, illustrated in (igure 0, in which 1 bar or piston is
attracted axially within the field of the solenoid. In this case, the piston also carries
the operating contacts.
It can be shown that the force of attraction is e)ual to 2
/
I
0
3 2
0
, where 4
/
depends
upon the number of turns on the operating solenoid, the air gap, the effective area
and the reluctance of the magnetic circuit, among other factors. 20 is the
restraining force, usually produced by a spring. 5hen the relay is balanced, the
resultant force is #ero and therefore
1
1
2
= 20,
"o that
In order to control the value at which the relay starts to operate, the
restraining tension of the spring or the resistance of the solenoid circuit can be
varied, thus modifying the restricting force. Attraction relays effectively have no
time delay and, for that reason, are widely used when instantaneous operations
are re)uired.
3. 2. 2 Relays wit mo!ea"le coils
*his type of relay consists of a rotating movement with a small coil suspended or
pivoted with the freedom to rotate between the poles of a permanent magnet. *he
coil is restrained by two springs which also serve as connections to carry the
current to the coil.
*he tor)ue produced in the coil is given by6
T = B.l.a.N.i
#ere:
T7 tor)ue
B 7 flux density
L 7length of the coil
a 7 diameter of the coil
N 7 number of turns on the coil
i 7 current flowing through the coil
Figure 2 olenoid!type relay

Figure 3 In!erse time caracteristic
(rom the above e)uation it will be noted that the tor)ue developed is proportional
to the current. *he speed of movement is controlled by the damping action, which
is proportional to the tor)ue. It thus follows that the relay has an inverse time
characteristic similar to that illustrated in (igure 8. *he relay can be designed so
that the coil makes a large angular movement, for example 9:;.
3. 2. 3 In$uction relays
An induction relay works only with alternating current. It consists of an
electromagnetic system which operates on a moving conductor, generally in the
form of a disc or cup, and functions through the interaction of electromagnetic
fluxes with the parasitic (ault currents which are induced in the rotor by these
fluxes. *hese two fluxes, which are mutually displaced both in angle and in
position, produce a tor)ue that can be expressed by
*7 4
/
.</.<
0
.sin =,
5here </ and <
0
are the interacting fluxes and = is the phase angle between </ and
<
0
. It should be noted that the tor)ue is a maximum when the fluxes are out of
phase by >:;, and #ero when they are in phase.
Figure 4 Electromagnetic forces in in$uction
relays
It can be shown that <
/
7 <
/
sin ?t, and <
0
7 <
0
sin %?t@ =& , where = is the
angle by which <
0
leads <
/
.

*hen6

And

(igure A shows the interrelationship between the currents and the opposing forces.
*hus6
F" # F1 ! F2 $ % #&
2

i
&1
'

&
1

i
&2
$
F % &
2

&
1

sin ( % )
Induction relays can be grouped into three classes as set out below.
%a$e$-pole relay
In this case a portion of the electromagnetic section is short3circuited by means
of a copper ring or coil. *his creates a flux in the area influenced by the short
circuited section %the so3called shaded section& which lags the flux in the
nonshaded section, see (igure B.
Figure * haded!
p
ole relay
Figure & +att,etric!type relay
In its more common form, this type of relay uses an arrangement of coils above and
below the disc with the upper and lower coils fed by different values or, in some cases,
with Cust one supply for the top coil, which induces an out3of3phase fl ux in the lower
coil because of the air gap. (igure D illust r ates a typical arrangement.
'up-type relay
*his type of relay has a cylinder similar to a cup which can rotate in the annular air gap
between the poles of the coils, and has a fixed central core, see (igure E. *he operation
of this relay is very similar to that
Figure -'up-type relay
+f an induction motor with salient poles for the windings of the stator.
onfigurations with four or eight poles spaced symmetrically around the
circumference of the cup are often used. *he movement of the cylinder is limited
to a small amount by the contact and the stops. F special spring provides the
restraining tor)ue.
*he tor)ue is a function of the product of the two currents through the coils and
the cosine of the angle between them. *he tor)ue e)uation is
T( ) *I
1
I
2
cos )+
12
, -. , *
s
./
5here 2, .4s and < are design constants, G
/
and I
0
are the currents through the
two coils and +
12
is the angle between I
/
and I
0
.
In the first two types of relay mentioned above, which are provided with a disc,
the inertia of the disc provides the time3delay characteristic. *he time delay can be
increased by the addition of a permanent magnet. *he cup3type relay has a small
inertia and is therefore principally used when high speed operation is re)uired, for
example in instantaneous units.