TRANSFORMER

AND

SWITCHYARD

PROTECTION
INTRODUCTION:

Protection of switchyard is necessary because during the fault, very high

current flows and also phase currents are unbalanced. If this faulty part is not
isolated from the system, it will damage faulty circuit as well as equipment
which comes through the path. Some time it also affect the stability of the
power system.
Some abnormal condition are not serious enough to cause tripping. The
protection system is arranged to sound the alarm. For serious fault such as
short circuit and earth fault protection system are arranged to trip the circuit
breaker and isolate the faulty section as quickly as possible.
In switchyard primary and backup protections are provided in case primary
protection fails to operate, the back up protection will clear the fault by
operating with time delay.
Being the key equipment for power transmission, transformer is also
protected with different protective schemes to isolate it during the abnormal
internal as well as external condition.
For reliability and quick operation of the protective gears the identical
Current Transformers and Potential Transformers are chosen with minimum
errors. Also CTs are selected to withstand good relation ship during through
fault condition i.e. high knee point voltage CTs are used to avoid saturation
problem. For some special protections separate CT cores are used with
different turn ratio.
 SWITCHYARD PROTECTION
CLASSIFICATION

In switchyard protection scheme various protections are introduced for

apparatus as well as certain portion of the transmission line. These are
classified as:

1) TRANSFORMER PROTECTIONS
2) BUS-BAR PROTECTIONS
3) LINE PROTECTIONS

According to the operating parameters as well as design data, protection

schemes are designed such that before reaching the maximum value of the
operating quantity it will isolate the apparatus under threat. Various types of
relays are used to monitor electrical quantity of the protected segment of the
switchyard.
In a recent scenario, digital as well as numerical relays are used in protection
system but their basic inputs are from CT and PT only. For any protection
scheme, sensing apparatus must be error free and also hold good reliability
through out the working range and speed to operate at set value.
Various types of relays are introduced into the protection system with salient
features viz. current, voltage, power, frequency, pressure etc. In protection
system timer circuits are also playing an important role for clearing the
faulty section, so high speed electronic timer relays and in built timer relays
are used.
As far as switchyard protection schemes are concerned there are other ways
also to isolate the fault feeding system through carrier communication
system. For that separate channels are used in PLCC ( Power Line Carrier
Communication) panels to receive as well as transmit the trip signal to the
zonal end.
1) TRANSFORMER PROTECTION:
The power transformer is the most important in the power system. Being
static and totally oil immersed, it develops rarely fault but the consequence
of rare fault may be serious unless it is disconnected from the system.

FAULTS IN THE TRANSFORMERS:

A) faults in the auxiliary equipment
B) faults in the transformer windings and connections
C) overloads and external short circuits

FAULTS IN THE AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT:

1. Low oil is a dangerous condition in a transformer because live parts
which have to be under oil gets exposed if the oil level drops. Oil level
indicators are available to give indication for immediate attention.
2. Deterioration of transformer oil and insulation is minimized if
oxygen and moisture are excluded from the gap space. Sealing if the tank is
not recommended because normal operating pressure varies widely.
Conservator tank is mounted on the main tank to take the expansion and
contraction of the oil and silica gel is placed to prevent moisture from
entering.
3. The top oil temperature normally gives indication of the load.
Increased oil temperature might be an indication of an over load or may be
due to fault in the cooling system such as failure of oil pump, blocking of
radiator or failure of cooling fans.
4. Failure of insulation between laminations of core and core bolt will
result in increased eddy current losses and hence rise in temperature of core.
This may lead to failure of the insulation of winding which means a major
fault.
5. If only few turns of any of the windings are shorted, the electrical
relays will not operate but the local overheating caused by the fault may
slowly deteriorate the insulation and a major fault may occur.
WINDING FAULTS:
When the insulation between windings and between the winding and
core fails, electrical faults are said to have taken place. There can be phase to
phase faults, phase to ground faults, faults between HV and LV windings or
inter-turn faults. The faults outside the oil have to be taken care of by
electrical relays.
OVERLOADS AND EXTERNAL SHORT
CIRCUIT:
The through faults can occur due to overloads or external short
circuits. The transformer must be disconnected when such faults occur, only
after certain time delay.
BUCHHOLZ RELAY:
All faults within the transformer tank give rise to generation of gas,
which may be slow for minor or incipient faults and violent in case of heavy
faults. The generation of gas is used as a means of fault detection by
buchholz relay. The buchholz relay is provided in the connecting pipe from
transformer tank to conservator. Two floats are provided inside the relay and
are connected to mercury switches. Normally the relay is full of oil and in
case of gas collection the floats rotate on their support to operate the
mercury switches, depends on amount of gas collected.
Incipient faults are minor but subsequently develops itself resulting into
damage to the transformer. These may be due to :-
1. Core bolt insulation failure
2. Short circuit in core laminations
3. Local overheating because of clogging of oil
4. Loss of oil due to heavy leakage
5. Uneven load sharing by two parallel transformers
These conditions generate gases due to decomposition of transformer oil and
give alarm or trip switch operation depends on the amount of gas generated.
Serious faults inside the transformer are :-
1. Short circuit between phases
2. Winding earth faults
3. Inter winding faults
4. Tap changer problem
5. Bushing faults

These type of faults are of serious nature and may generate large amount of
gases which operate both alarm & trip mercury switches of buchholz relays.
SUDDEN PRESSURE RELAYS:
Serious faults inside the transformer may cause heavy pressure rise
due to generated gases and may rupture the tank and consequent risk of fire.
Hence a pressure relief device provided on top of the transformer which
opens to allow discharge of oil if pressure exceeds the setting value and also
extend tripping command, but closes automatically as soon as the internal
pressure falls below the critical level. This will avoid tank oil exposure to
the atmosphere for long time.

OVERCURRENT PROTECTION:
The over current protection relays are provided in addition to
differential relays to take care of through faults and as back-up to differential
protection.
Instantaneous over current units should be high set to avoid mal-operation.
The setting of an instantaneous over current relay on the
Primary side of transformer should be high enough to over ride magnetizing
inrush current. Same set of current transformers should not be used for
differential protection and over current protection as the CT requirements
are different.

DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION:
Following problems are experienced in case of transformer
differential protection.
1. The transformer voltage rating is different for primary and
secondary. So, voltage rating of CT used in primary and secondary are
different. The non-identical CT may cause high spill current to flow through
the relay in case of external fault which calls for unwanted tripping. This can
be avoided by biased transformer differential relay. I.e by the use of
restraining coil
2. The full load currents of the transformer on primary and secondary
sides are different. The ratio of the CT used on both the sides, have to be so
selected that secondary currents are same. To avoid this, CT of standard
ratios are employed with interposing CT. The interposing CT are low
voltage and have a non standard ratio.
3. Inherent phase shift of currents in the transformers:
The primary and secondary currents are not in phase in delta star
transformer. This problem can be taken care of by proper connections of CT
on both the sides, by connecting CT on delta side of the transformer in star
and those on star side of the transformer in delta.
4. Tap changing:
Power transformers are always provided with the tapping to regulate the
output voltage. Some spill current will flow through the operating coil of the
relay in this case. So, biased differential relay must be used to avoid such
uncalled tripping.
5. Magnetizing inrush current of the transformer:
Any condition that calls for an instantaneous change in flux linkages in
power transformer will cause abnormally large magnetizing currents to flow
and these will produce an operating tendency in a differential relay. Such
inrush currents are large in magnitude.
And since this current exists only on the source side, the current will appear
in the operating coil of the differential relay and operate the relay.
Solutions for the same is as follows.
1. Even harmonic cancellation
2. Harmonic restraint
3. Harmonic blocking
A popular method is harmonic restraint.
Harmonic restraint is obtained from the tuned circuit which will permit only
fundamental component to enter the operating coil and harmonic being
diverted to the harmonic restraint coil.

TRANSFORMER DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION ( 87 )

Y
B

BIAS
2nd RECTIFIER &
HIGH SET 5th hormonic
hormonic SMOOTHING
filter
filter CKT

TRIP Polarized
COMPARATOR
relay

FIG -1
RESTRICTED EARTH FAULT
Power transformers are generally provided with restricted earth fault
scheme. The REF protection which employs principle of circulating
differential protection, responds to the internal earth faults in any one of the
windings. For external faults the time graded earth faults are used.

(A) INTERNAL WINDING EARTH FAULT

In balanced condition CT secondary current of all the three phases are

equal and their vector sum is zero. So no current will flow through the relay.
In fig. 2 earth fault in R phase winding of the transformer in rushing power
from connected terminal side. In this case the polarity of the CT current is
reversed in R phase only while other two phases deliver the power to the
bus. Now relay is placed across the all three phase CTs and neutral CT. Due
to internal winding earth fault the relay current IRelay = (IN+ IR)

IR PRIMARY CURRENT

IN
R

FIG -2
(B) EXTERNAL EARTH FAULT

In
PRIMARY CURRENT

FIG -3

In Fig. 3 shows earth fault beyond the protected transformer. For REF
protection Bushing CTs are used.
For external earth fault in R phase current is flowing in the same direction as
other two phases. And current through neutral CT is also in the same

direction so no current will flow through the relay and hence no operation of
the relay occurred.
Irelay = Ir-In
2) BUS BAR PROTECTION
INTRODUCTION
With ever increasing short circuit levels and growing complexities of the
supply system, bus bar protection is becoming increasingly relevant even at
medium voltage level also. Damage resulting from one un cleared fault may
very extensive. Serious damage to or destruction of the installation would
probably result in widespread and prolonged supply interruption. So high
speed bus bar protection is required in order to maintain the system stability.

BUS-BAR FAULT STATASTICS

FAULTS AND ITS PERCENTAG
Phase to earth 67.4%
Two phases to earth 11.6%
Three phases to earth 14.7%
Three phase 4.7%
Unknown 1.6%
CAUSES OF FAULT
 Flashover
 Breaker failure
 Switchgear insulation failure
 Current transformer failure
 Isolators opened on load or closed to earth
 Safety earths left on
 Accidental contact
 Falling debris

Types of Busbar Protection

1) System protection covering Bus-bar

These are primarily local or remote back up protection such as
over current/ earth fault relays on feeders/ transformers or
distance protection provided on lines.
2) Differential Protection
High impedance scheme
Low impedance scheme
 TWO ZONE BUSBAR PROTECTION WITH CHECK FEATURE
A
BUS A 6mtr. B P2 BUS B
P1 B/C

FAULT S1 S2 I3

87
B
52F1 FAULT
S1
I1 I2 I1+I2+I3 P1

87
A S2

P2
87
G1 GL1&ZL1 CH GL2&ZL2 G2

UNPROTECTED ZONE BY DIFF. PROT. AT SLPP

DIFFERNTIAL PROTECTION

 Principle of operation - circulating current arrangement

 CTs of identical ratio and Secondary of all CTs are connected in
parallel
 Differntial relay connected across the CT secondary bus wires
 Requires special class PS CTs (with low turns ratio errors)
 The unprotected zones for the bus-bar differential protections are
shown in the Diagram. Conductors between CT and Breaker of
respective bay are not seen by the differential relay but they are
looked for by over current relays.
 87A is bus-A differential relay which is connected between CTs of
bus A feeders and bus- A CT.
 87B is bus-B differential relay which is connected between CTs of
bus B feeders and bus- B CT.
 87CH is the differential relay for the two bus bar. It is connected
between the CTs of bus-A and bus-B.
 CURRENT DISTRIBUTIION FOR
INTERNAL FAULT
BUS

52
52 52
If=1500

S1 1000/1 S1 S1
P1 Ir =1.5A
87
0.4 0.5 0.6
P2 FIG -5
S2 S2
S2
ALL CTs SEE INFLOW OF
CURRENT IN TO THE BUS
400 500 600

For internal earth fault in to the bus, the nearest feeder feed the maximum
fault current compared to other one. Here according to the magnitude of the
fault current , the secondary current of the CTs of respective feeders and
lines summed to 1.5 A. This 1.5 A current is sufficient to operate the
differential relay.
The setting of the relay is 0.4 A .
 CURRENT DISTRIBUTION FOR
EXTERNAL FAULT

BUS

SUMMATED INFLOW FROM

HEALTHY CIRCUIT(0.4+0.5)
=OUTFLOWCURRENT (0.9)
52 52 52 FROM FAULTED CKT.

87 =differential relay

1000/1 S1 S1 S1
P1 P1 P1 D S

87 P1 P2

0.4 0.5 0.9 D

P2 P2 P2 S
S2
S2 S2 If
FIG -4
400A 500A 900A

For external earth fault ( beyond the protected zone) is shown in

fig. Here feeder 3 is subjecting the earth fault while other two are
feeding the fault currents. By polarity the CT secondary current
of the all CTs are nullified so no current will be flown through
the relay. Hence differential protection is not operated for the
external earth fault.
 Tripping Circuit
+ 87 A 87 CH -
96
A

87 B
96
B
96A

TO TRIP 52F1/F2

TO TRIP 52F3/F4
96B

TO TRIP 52 BS
96A
87A/B- A/B zone diff. relay
87CH - check zone diff relay FIG -8
96B
96A/B- Trip relay for busA/B
sections

As per the control circuit the tripping of the faulty bus circuit is enabled
only when both 87 CH and either of 87A or 87B are operating
simultaneously.
It energises the 96A/96B master trip relay to trip the connected feeders of
that bus and bus-coupler.
 3) LINE PROTECTION
Z3B(III)
Z2B(II)
A B Z1B(I) C D
20%
80%
Z1C
t2 Z1C
Z1B
G1 t3 Z2C G2

Z3C
FIG -09

THREE ZONES DISTANCE PROTECTION

.
GRADING

SETTINGS :

ZONE 1 : 80 - 85% OF THE PROTECTED LINE SECTION

T1= INSTANTANEOUS

ZONE 2 : PROTECTED SECTION ( 100 % ) + 50 % OF SHORTEST ADJOINING SECTION

OR 120 % OF THE PROTECTED LINE SECTION WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
T2 = 0.2 TO 0.4 SEC

ZONE 3F : PROTECTED LINE SECTION 100 % + LONGEST ADJOINING SECTION

T3= 1 TO 1.5 SEC

ZONE 3R : 20 % OF PROTECTED LINE SECTION

Using OFF-Set MHO relay the admittance of the transmission line segment is seen
by giving the CT and PT inputs. For fault discrimination time settings with respect to
the sensed admittance introduced in such a manner that faulty section is isolated
within the given time setting.
Unnecessary isolation of the healthy section is prevented in Z2 and Z3 protected
area. In Z1 area fault is cleared instantaneously and also the relay gives tripping
command to receiving end respective breaker through PLCC ( Carrier Tripping).
 OFF SET MHO CHARECTERISTICS

X A

Zl
ZR

 R

FIG -13

The offset MHO characteristic encloses the origin providing a small coverage for
faults behind relaying point for reverse offset. The offset MHO characteristic. when
provided with reverse offset is used for Zone 3 primarily as a back up against Bus
bar faults.
 TWO ZONE BUSBAR PROTECTION WITH CHECK FEATURE
Simple arrangement ofB
distance
A BUS B
BUS A 6mtr. P2
P1 protection
B/C

FAULT S1 S2 I3

A B
87 ZL
Zs CT
B
52F1 FAULT
S1
I1 I2 I1+I2+I3 P1
VT Zs=Source impedance
G ZL=Line impedance
R Zload=load impedance Z load
87
A relay S2
Distance

If
P2
87=Z load (ZL is very less than Zload)
Healthy condition:- Zrelay =V/I
G1 GL1&ZL1 CH GL2&ZL2 FIG -11 G2
On Fault :- Zrelay = Vf/If =ZL (Z load is shunted by fault) FIG -10
UNPROTECTION ZONE BY DIFF. PROT. AT SLPP

IMPEDANCE CHARACTERISTIC
Zrela > Zset
X y
Relay
does not operates
B

ZL


 R
O
Zrelay < Zset
Relay
operates

FIG -12

Draw Back :

This characteristic is non directional and is highly susceptible to power

swings and load encroachment because of its large coverage on the R-X
plane
TYPICAL CT CONNECTION FOR HIGH IMPEDANCE SCHEME

BUSBAR

Rst

Stabilizing Resistor
87

DIFF. RELAY

FIG -6