14

HIGH SPEED NUMERICAL TECHNIQUES FOR TRANSMISSION LINE PROTECTION

D A Keeling, S D A Pickering

GEC ALSTHOM T&D Protection and Control Ltd., UK

INTRODUCTION

more time efficient method is to utilise a numerical

phase comparison.

The application of numerical processing techniques to

the field of protection relays is well established.
Numerical relays can be more flexible, cost effective
and offer increased functionality compared with
electromagnetic or static relays.
However, due to restrictions in processing power and
limitations of the algorithms used, previous numerical
relays have not always met the protection performance
that had been previously achieved by static relays.

Z = Zone setting
V = Fault voltage

I = Fault current

Figure 1: Self polarised mho characteristic

The design and selection of algorithms to produce a

high speed distance relay will be discussed; together
with a summary of the implementation. The
applications benefits and the additional features
provided by such an implementation are also covered.

To serve as an example of the principle a simple MHO

impedance characteristic, as shown in figure 1, can be
generated by comparing the relative phase of the
numeric signals (VL) and (Z - VA).

PROTECTION ALGORITHMS

Operate criteria:

Design Objectives

The need for high speed fault clearance is a high

priority for EHV and UHV systems, particularly on
large networks where stability is of paramount
importance. The performance of the protective relay is
therefore critical.
Distance relays are commonly applied to such systems
as the main form of protection. Recent designs of
numerical protection, whilst providing many
advantages, have often compromised rapid fault
clearance. It has therefore been a primary design
objective to design high speed numerical algorithms.
To produce a distance relay several types of measuring
elements must be produced:

Impedance measuring elements - to establish fault

position.
Amplitude measuring elements - to provide voltage
and current level detectors ensuring stability.
Faulted phase detection - to prevent unwanted
operation of healthy phase elements.

Impedance Measuring Element

Many numerical distance relays measure absolute

values of impedance to establish fault position. This
can be a relatively slow technique and unnecessary in
the implementation of a distance characteristic. A
Developments in Power System Protection, 25-27th March 1997,
Conference Publication No. 434, 0 IEE, 1997

To evaluate the above expression it is first necessary to

calculate the complex vector (VA) from the sampled
analogue signals. This is often performed using an
Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT). This
technique provides good harmonic immunity but
requires a full cycle of faulted signals before an
accurate measurement can be made. An alternative
method for deriving V in terms of I, using a smaller
proportion of the cycle, and hence producing a much
faster result. is described below.
The following equation defines the fauited voltage as a
function of current and rate of change of current.

V ( t ) =A XI ( t ) + B x -dI(t)
dt
Because of the numerical design the analogue input
quantities are sampled at a set rate, 72 samples per
cycle for example. The instantaneous value at any
sample, n, is therefore known. The rate of change can
be found by calculating the difference between the
previous (n-I) and following (n+l) samples. Inserting
these instantaneous values into equation (2) gives an
equation in terms of A and B. This process is repeated
over the next set of three samples which produces
another equation. Solving the two simultaneous
equations allows A and B to be determined. These
values are the complex term for V/I, i.e.
VA = A + jB

(3)

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Once the V/I vector has been determined the two

inputs to the numerical phase comparator can now be
evaluated. Since this only requires 6 samples, with 72
samples per cycle, this is very much faster than the
IDFT which would require the full 72 samples.
The above description demonstrates how a simple self
polarised mho can be created. Selection of the two
comparator inputs can be used to produce the
following characteristics:

0
0
0
0

Residual compensation for earth faults

Memory or healthy phase polarised mho
Offset mho
Directional line
Reactance line

elements to make a decision based on current and

voltage signals of low magnitude could lead to errors.
Assume a current with a peak value Ipk. At any instant

For any sample i,,,, di,,jde can be derived using the

difference between previous and subsequent samples
(Figure 3).

p = angular

displacement between samples

Combining more than one comparator allows

quadrilateral and other complex characteristics to ble
created.
Count Strategy.
Following each evaluation of the
numerical phase comparator an operate or restrain
decision can be made. An operate condition is used to
increment a counter, which upon reaching a certain
value sets the relay output. This count strategy is used
to ensure stable operation and prevent overreach of the
element due to transients.

Using the standard equation:

I,, =
The rate of counting is controlled b y the angle between
the operate and polarising signals and the relative
amplitude of these two signals. This allows the
following characteristic to be produced.

Figure 3: Characteristic with variable count strategy

The above characteristic provides fast operation for
solid faults together with accurate and stable operation
for faults close to the boundary.
Amplitude Measurement
In the implementation of a protection relay it is
important to be able to quickly measure the absolute
amplitude of both current and voltage signals. These
are used to provide level detectors to control the
distance elements. An attempt by the impedance

i(n>

Figure 3:Rate of change calculation

sin(@)) + ( I , ~cos(s))2

(6)

and substituting for the values determined at sample n

the peak squared value of the current can be
calculated. This can be performed using only three
samples at any point on wave of the sinusoid.
The advantage of the above method over the Fourier
method is that only three samples are required to
calculate the amplitude, hence improving the speed of
the algorithm. The above method also has an
advantage compared to peak detection techniques in
that the amplitude can be determined at any point on
wave. Again, by ensuring fast determination of the
voltage and current amplitudes the operating time for
the relay is not compromised.
Superimposed Phase Selector
For all distance protection it has been necessary to
reduce the potential of operation of healthy phase
elements during a fault, for example where single pole
tripping and reclosing is used to ensure system
stability. Current level detectors are often used, but are
subject to operation due to load current. An alternative
is to use superimposed signals which measure changes
in the level of current flowing. Comparing the
superimposed. current flowing within each phase
allows the faulted phase to be determined.

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Three phase to phase superimposed signals are created
by subtracting from the present sample the sample
value exactly two cycles earlier, producing a 2 cycle
window of superimposed quantities. The amplitude of
the largest superimposed phase to phase signal is
determined using three samples as described above.
Any of the other superimposed current signals which
are greater than a certain proportion of this are
considered to be significant. The faulted phases can
now be selected based on the following result:

Single Phase to Earth - Two significant phase to

phase signals, select common phase.
Phase to Phase - One significant phase to phase,
select this.
Two Phase to Earth - One significant phase to
phase, select this. The presence of neutral current
is used to indicate the involvement of ground.
Three Phase - All phase to phase similar, select all
phase to phase elements.

Based on the above decision the appropriate distance

elements can be selected; the other elements are
ignored.
IMPLEMENTATION TECHNIQUES
The above algorithms describe how the elements that
are required to produce a complete distance relay can
be produced. All the algorithms described are capable
of making measurements based on a small part of a
power system cycle, allowing rapid fault detection. To
aid this rapid fault detection it is also necessary to
consider design concepts. Several of the more
significant aspects are described.
Sample Rate.
All the techniques defined above
perform measurements based on a small number of
samples. To improve the reaction of these elements to
a fault a high sample rate is selected, for example 72
samples/cycle.
Filtering.
Since the algorithms described use a
smaller proportion of the waveform than an IDFT they
will be more susceptible to errors caused by distortion.
Digital bandpass filtering is therefore performed on
the samples before they are used by the protection
elements.
Frequency Tracliing.
The relay makes use of
super-imposed quantities and prefault voltage memory
for polarising. For these quantities, it is important that
the sample frequency of the relay is accurately
synchronised to a multiple of the power system
frequency. This is achieved by controlling the sample
rate such that the super-imposed voltages and currents
are reduced to zero under steady state conditions.

The measured system frequency is also used to adapt

the inductive reach of the relay. Thus the reach of the
distance element will remain at a constant proportion
of the line if the system frequency shifts from its
nominal value.
Processing
Due to the high sample rate and the
large amount of processing required to implement a
complete distance scheme it is necessary to perform
the calculations rapidly. A Digital Signal Processor
@SP) is ideal to perform the floating point operations
within the short time space available between samples
(less than 5 0 0 ~ s ) .
The use of more than one processor also allows the
relay to operate at these high sample rates. Within the
implementation the scheme logic and the
communications/ancillary features are executed by
separate processors. This allows the ancillary features
such as fault location, communications and
oscillography to be added with no degradation of the
protection function of the relay.
APPLICATION BENEFITS
The techniques described above allow the protective
relay to be more flexible and offer benefits to the
application of the relay. Many of the benefits are due
to the fast operating time and subsequent rapid fault
clearance. The use of the phase selector to control the
impedance elements also provides several advantages.
Phase Selector and its Associated Benefits
As mentioned earlier, poor phase selection has often
presented problems to distance protection. A
superimposed phase selector as described can be used
to control which distance elements are able to operate.
Unlike a switched scheme relay, the phase selector
operates in parallel with the distance elements and
thus has no degrading effect on the operating time of
the relay.
The independent phase selection also has implications
for other functions within the relay. These include
design of polarising, directional earth fault protection
@EF) and power swing blocking. These issues are
also discussed.
Within the implementation
Control of Elements.
two phase selector elements are used, both operating
on phase to phase quantities. One of these always
creates the superimposed signal by comparing the
present value with that two cycles previous. This
element is used for power swing blocking and is
discussed later.

The other operates in the same way until a fault

occurs. It then compares the cuirrent value with ,a
recycled prefault. This prevents the element from
resetting after 2 cycles and also allows the relay to
adapt to developing faults. This second element is used
to enable the appropriate distance elements following
fault application. If no selected protective elements
have operated within two cycles then all protective
elements are enabled for a 5 cycle period. This
additional period provides dependability for complex
fault types.

Current

Superimposed current

1
7
1
cycles

Figure 4: Superimposed current during power swing

Control of DEF Protection.
The phase selector
provides two main benefits for the integral Directional
Earth Fault (DEF) protection:
1. By determining the faulted phase it is possible to

polarise the DEF element with the healthy phase

voltages. In the case of an A i o N fault the zero
sequence voltage is determined by summing the El
and C phase voltages only. This ensures the
presence of a polarising signal, even for high
resistance faults with strong sources, and negates
the requirement for current polarising.
2. The phase selector can be used to control single
pole instantaneous DEF tripping.
Power Swing Blocking.
The first of the two phase
selector elements (with no recycling) is used to prevent
the distance elements from operating during a power
swing. A power swing will be characterised by a,
continuous superimposed current which will keep this
phase selector operated for more than 2 cycles. For a
fault this phase selector will reset. If the phase selector
operates for more than 2 cycles a power swing is
considered to be present. This ofrers the following
benefits:
1. Detection of faster power swiings than can be
detected by traditional methods.
2. Detection of power swings during a single pole
auto-reclosure.
3. Tripping for all fault types developing during a
power swing.

Increased Flexibility.
For electromagnetic and
static relays the functionality is determined by the
hardware configuration. This presents practical
limitations in the flexibility of the relays settings and
options. The functionality of a numeric relay is
determined by the software, which provides greater
convenience and flexibility.

An example of this flexibility is the ability to

independently set the phase and earth fault reach, or to
be able to set independent characteristic angles and
residual compensation factors for each zone. This
gives greater control to the Application Engineer,
particularly when applying the relay to a non-standard
applications such as a hybrid system. Independent
phase and ground reach settings can be an advantage
where zero sequence mutual coupling may be a
problem with parallel transmission circuits.
CONCLUSlON

The aim of all protective systems for EHV application

is to provide rapid detection and clearance of internal
faults while remaining stable for external faults. To
design a numerical distance relay with fast operation
the following techniques have been utilised:
0

Polarising Quantities.
To stabilise the relay for
close-up faults, a prefault voltage memory is used to
polarise its elements. In previous relays the proportion
of memory voltage mixed with measured voltage was
restricted to prevent possible mall-operation of the
healthy phase elements. Since these elements are
prevented from operating by the phase selector this
restriction no longer applies, thus 100% memory
polarising can be used. Frequency tracking ensures the
phase accuracy of the voltage memory. This offers
optimum relay performance for high resistance faults.

Protection algorithms which can extract values

based on a small proportion of the faulted
waveforms.
High rate of sampling of the analogue waveforms.
The use of multiple high performance processors.

The use of numerical processing techniques allows

protective relays to be more flexible. Additional
features to aid fault diagnosis and to aid maintenance
can also be added. The benefit of these is to reduce
both the purchase and maintenance costs of the
protective system.