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Important considerations when design protection system

Important considerations when design protection system.

1. Types of fault and abnormal conditions to be protected against

2. Quantities available for measurement
3. Types of protection available
4. Speed
5. Fault position discrimination
6. Dependability / reliability
7. Security / stability
8. Overlap of protections
9. Phase discrimination / selectivity
10. CT’s and VT’s ratio required
11. Auxiliary supplies
12. Back-up protection
13. Cost
14. Duplication of protection
Types of protection
A - Fuses
For LV Systems, Distribution Feeders and Transformers, VT’s, Auxiliary Supplies

B - Over current and earth fault

Widely used in All Power Systems
1. Non-Directional
2. Directional.

C - DIFFERENTIAL
For feeders, Bus-bars, Transformers, Generators etc
1. High Impedance
2. Low Impedance
3. Restricted E/F
4. Biased
5. Pilot Wire

D - Distance
For transmission and sub-transmission lines and distribution feeders, also used as back-up protection for transformers
and generators without signaling with signaling to provide unit protection e.g.:

1. Time-stepped distance protection

2. Permissive underreach protection (PUP)
3. Permissive overreach protection (POP)
4. Unblocking overreach protection (UOP)
5. Blocking overreach protection (BOP)
6. Power swing blocking
7. Phase comparison for transmission lines
8. Directional comparison for transmission lines

E - Miscellaneous:
1. Under and over voltage
2. Under and over frequency
3. A special relay for generators, transformers, motors etc.
4. Control relays: auto-reclose, tap change control, etc.
5. tripping and auxiliary relays

Speed
Fast operation: minimizes damage and danger
Very fast operation: minimizes system instability discrimination and security can be costly to achieve.
Examples:
1. differential protection
2. differential protection with digital signaling
3. distance protection with signaling
4. directional comparison with signaling

Fault position discrimination

Power system divided into protected zones must isolate only the faulty equipment or section

Dependability / reliability
Protection must operate when required to Failure to operate can be extremely damaging and disruptive Faults are
rare. Protection must operate even after years of inactivity Improved by use of:
1. Back-up Protection and
2. duplicate Protection

Security / Stability
Protection must not operate when not required to e.g. due to:
1. Load Switching
2. Faults on other parts of the system
3. Recoverable Power Swings

Overlap of protections
1. No blind spots
2. Where possible use overlapping CTs
Phase discrimination / selectivity
Correct indication of phases involved in the fault Important for Single Phase Tripping and auto-Reclosing
applications

Current and voltage transformers

These are an essential part of the Protection Scheme. They must be suitably specified to meet the requirements of the
protective relays.
1A and 5A secondary current ratings, Saturation of current transformers during heavy fault conditions should not
exceed the limits laid down by the relay manufacturer.
Current transformers for fast operating protections must allow for any offset in the current waveform. Output rating
under fault conditions must allow for maximum transient offset. This is a function of the system X/R ratio.
Current Transformer Standards/Classes:
British Standards: 10P, 5P, X
IEC: 10P, SP, TPX, TPY, TPZ
American: C, T.
Location of CTs should, if possible, provide for overlap of protections. Correct connection of CTs to the protection is
important. In particular for directional, distance, phase comparison and differential protections. VT’s may be
Electromagnetic or Capacitor types. Busbar VT’s: Special consideration needed when used for Line Protection.

Auxiliary supplies

Required for:
1. Tripping circuit breakers
2. Closing circuit breakers
3. Protection and trip relays
• AC. auxiliary supplies are only used on LV and MV systems.
• DC. auxiliary supplies are more secure than ac supplies.
• Separately fused supplies used for each protection.
• Duplicate batteries are occasionally provided for extra security.
• Modern protection relays need a continuous auxiliary supply.
• During operation, they draw a large current which increases due to operation of output elements.
Relays are given a rated auxiliary voltage and an operative auxiliary voltage range.
the rated value is marked on the relay. Refer to relay documentation for details of operative range. it is important to
make sure that the range of voltages which can appear at the relay auxiliary supply terminals is within the operative
range.

IEC recommended values (IEC 255-6):

Rated battery voltages:
12, 24, 48, 60, 11 0, 125, 220, 250, 440
Preferred operative range of relays:
80 to 10% of voltage rated
AC. component ripple in the dc supply:
<10% of voltage rated

COST
The cost of protection is equivalent to insurance policy against damage to plant, and loss of supply and customer
goodwill.
Acceptable cost is based on a balance of economics and technical factors. Cost of protection should be balanced
against the cost of potential hazards there is an economic limit on what can be spent.

Minimum cost:
Must ensure that all faulty equipment is isolated by protection
Other factors:
1. Speed
2. Security/Stability
3. Sensitivity:
Degree of risk in allowing a low level fault to develop into a more severe fault
4. Reliability

Total cost should take account of:

1. Relays, schemes and associated panels and panel wiring
2. Setting studies
3. Commissioning
4. CT’s and VT’s
5. Maintenance and repairs to relays
6. Damage repair if protection fails to operate
7. Lost revenue if protection operates unnecessarily

Distribution systems
1. Large number of switching and distribution points, transformers and feeders.
2. Economics often overrides technical issues
3. Protection may be the minimum consistent with - statutory safety regulations
4. Speed less important than on transmission systems
5. Back-up protection can be simple and is often inherent in the main protection.
6. Although important, the consequences of maloperation or failure to operate are less
serious than for transmission systems.

Transmission systems
1. Emphasis is on technical considerations rather than economics
2. Economics cannot be ignored but is of secondary importance compared with the need for highly reliable,
fully discriminative high speed protection
3. Higher protection costs justifiable by high capital cost of power system elements protected.
4. Risk of security of supply should be reduced to the lowest practical levels
5. High speed protection requires unit protection
6. Duplicate protections used to improve reliability
7. Single phase tripping and auto-reclose may be required to maintain system stability
 Basic of protection system

Introduction
The purpose of an electrical power generation system is to distribute energy to a multiplicity of points for
diverse applications.

The system should be designed and managed to deliver this energy to the utilization points with both
reliability and economy.

As these two requirements are largely opposed, it is instructive to look at the relationship between the
reliability of a system and its cost and value to the consumer, which is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Relationship between reliability of supply,

its cost and value to the consumer.

It is important to realize that the system is viable only between the cross-over points A and B.
The diagram illustrates the significance of reliability in system design, and the necessity of achieving
sufficient reliability.
On the other hand, high reliability should not be pursued as an end in itself, regardless of cost, but
should rather be balanced against economy, taking all factors into account.
Security of supply can be bettered by improving plant design, increasing the spare capacity margin
and arranging alternative circuits to supply loads. Sub-division of the system into zones, each controlled by
switchgear in association with protective gear, provides flexibility during normal operation and ensures a
minimum of dislocation following a breakdown.
The greatest threat to a secure supply is the shunt fault or short circuit, which imposes a sudden and
sometimes violent change on system operation.
The large current which then flows, accompanied by the localized release of a considerable quantity of
energy, can cause fire at the fault location, and mechanical damage throughout the system, particularly to
machine and transformer windings. Rapid isolation of the fault by the nearest switch-gear will minimize the
damage and disruption caused to the system.

A power system represents a very large capital investment. To maximize the return on this outlay, the system
must be loaded as much as possible. For this reason it is necessary not only to provide a supply of energy which
is attractive to prospective users by operating the system within the range AB (Figure 1.1), but also to keep the
system in full operation as far as possible continuously, so that it may give the best service to the consumer, and
earn the most.
 Revenue for the supply authority. Absolute freedom from failure of the plant and system network
cannot be guaranteed.

The risk of a fault occurring, however slight for each item, is multiplied by the number of such items
which are closely associated in an extensive system, as any fault produces repercussions throughout the net-
work. When the system is large, the chance of a fault occurring and the disturbance that a fault would bring are
both so great that without equipment to remove faults the system will become, in practical terms, inoperable.

The object of the system will be defeated if adequate provision for fault clearance is not made. Nor is
the installation of switchgear alone sufficient; discriminative protective gear, designed according to the
characteristics and requirements of the power system, must be provided to control the switchgear.

A system is not properly designed and managed if it is not adequately protected. This is the measure of
the importance of protective systems in modern practice and of the responsibility vested in the protection
engineer.
 Fundamentals of protection practice

This is a collective term which covers all the equipment used for detecting, locating and initiating the removal
of a fault from the power system. Relays are extensively used for major protective functions, But the term also
covers direct-acting A.C. trips and fuses.

In addition to relays the term includes all accessories such as current and voltage transformers, shunts,
D.C. and A.C. wiring and any other devices relating to the protective relays.

In general, the main switchgear, although fundamentally protective in its function, is excluded from
the term 'protective gear', as are also common services, such as the station battery and any other equipment
required to secure operation of the circuit breaker.

In order to fulfil the requirements of discriminative protection with the optimum speed for the many
different configurations, operating conditions and construction features of power systems, it has been
necessary to develop many types of relay which respond to various functions of the power system quantities.

For example, observation simply of the magnitude of the fault current suffices in some cases but
measurement of power or impedance may be necessary in others. Relays frequently measure complex functions
of the system quantities, which are only readily expressible by mathematical or graphical means.

In many cases it is not feasible to protect against all hazards with any one relay. Use is then made of a
combination of different types of relay which individually protect against different risks. Each individual
protective arrangement is known as a 'protection system'; while the whole coordinated combination of relays is
called a 'protection scheme'.
• Reliability
The need for a high degree of reliability is discussed in Section 1. Incorrect operation can be attributed to one of
the following classifications:

a. Incorrect design.
b. Incorrect installation.
c. Deterioration.
d. Protection performance

1. Design
This is of the highest importance. The nature of the power system condition which is being guarded against
must be thoroughly understood in order to make an adequate design. Comprehensive testing is just as important,
and this testing should cover all aspects of the protection, as well as reproducing operational and environmental
conditions as closely as possible. For many protective systems, it is necessary to test the complete assembly of
relays, current transformers and other ancillary items, and the tests must simulate fault conditions realistically.

2. Installation.
The need for correct installation of protective equipment is obvious, but the complexity of the
interconnections of many systems and their relation-ship to the remainder of the station may make.

Difficult the checking of such correctness. Testing is therefore necessary; since it will be difficult to
reproduce all fault conditions correctly, these tests must be directed to proving the installation. This is the
function of site testing, which should be limited to such simple and direct tests as will prove the correctness of
the connections and freedom from damage of the equipment.

No attempt should be made to 'type test' the equipment or to establish complex aspects of its technical
performance;

3. Deterioration in service.
After a piece of equipment has been installed in perfect condition, deterioration may take place which, in time,
could interfere with correct functioning. For example, contacts may become rough or burnt owing to frequent
operation, or tarnished owing to atmospheric contamination; coils and other circuits may be open-circuited,
auxiliary components may fail, and mechanical parts may become clogged with dirt or corroded to an extent
that may interfere with movement.
One of the particular difficulties of protective relays is that the time between operations may be
measured in years, during which period defects may have developed unnoticed until revealed by the failure of
the protection to respond to a power system fault. For this reason, relays should be given simple basic tests at
suitable intervals in order to check that their ability to operate has not deteriorated.
Testing should be carried out without disturbing permanent connections. This can be achieved by the
provision of test blocks or switches.
Draw-out relays inherently provide this facility; a test plug can be inserted between the relay and case
contacts giving access to all relay input circuits for injection. When temporary disconnection of panel wiring is
necessary, mistakes in correct restoration of connections can be avoided by using identity tags on leads and
terminals, clip-on leads for injection supplies, and easily visible double-ended clip-on leads where 'jumper
connections' are required.
The quality of testing personnel is an essential feature when assessing reliability and considering
means for improvement. Staff must be technically competent and adequately trained, as well as self-disciplined
to proceed in a deliberate manner, in which each step taken and quantity measured is checked before final
acceptance.
Important circuits which are especially vulnerable can be provided with continuous electrical super-
vision; such arrangements are commonly applied to circuit breaker trip circuits and to pilot circuits.

4. Protection performance
The performance of the protection applied to large power systems is frequently assessed numerically. For this
purpose each system fault is classed as an incident and those which are cleared by the tripping of the correct
circuit breakers and only those are classed as 'correct'.
The percentage of correct clearances can then be determined.
This principle of assessment gives an accurate evaluation of the protection of the system as a whole, but it is
severe in its judgment of relay performance, in that many relays are called into operation for each system fault,
and all must behave correctly for a correct clearance to be recorded.

On this basis, a performance of 94 % is obtainable by standard techniques.

Complete reliability is unlikely ever to be achieved by further improvements in construction. A very big step,
however, can be taken by providing duplication of equipment or 'redundancy'. Two complete sets of equipment
are provided, and arranged so that either by itself can carry out the required function. If the risk of an equipment
failing is x/unit, the resultant risk, allowing for redundancy, is x2. Where x is small the resultant risk (x2) may
be negligible.
It has long been the practice to apply duplicate protective systems to bus-bars, both being required to
operate to complete a tripping operation, that is, a 'two-out-of-two' arrangement. In other cases, important
circuits have been provided with duplicate main protection schemes, either being able to trip independently,
that is, a 'one-out-of-two' arrangement. The former arrangement guards against unwanted operation, the latter
against failure to operate.
These two features can be obtained together by adopting a 'two-out-of-three' arrangement in which
three basic systems are used and are interconnected so that the operation of any two will complete the tripping
function.

Such schemes have already been used to a limited extent and application of the principle will
undoubtedly increase. Probability theory suggests that if a power network were protected throughout on this
basis, a protection performance of 99.98 % should be attainable.
This performance figure requires that the separate protection systems be completely independent; any
common factors, such as, for instance, common current transformers or tripping batteries, will reduce the
overall performance to a certain extent.

• Selectivity.
Protection is arranged in zones, which should cover the power system completely, leaving no part unprotected.
When a fault occurs the protection is required to select and trip only the nearest circuit breakers. This property
of selective tripping is also called 'discrimination' and is achieved by two general methods:
1. Time graded systems.
Protective systems in successive zones are arranged to operate in times which are graded through the sequence
of equipments so that upon the occurrence of a fault, although a number of protective equipments respond,
only those relevant to the faulty zone complete the tripping function. The others make incomplete operations
and then reset.

2. Unit systems.
It is possible to design protective systems which respond only to fault conditions lying within a clearly defined
zone. This 'unit protection' or 'restricted Protection' can be applied throughout a power system and, since it
does not involve time grading, can be relatively fast in operation.
zone. Certain protective systems derive their 'restricted' property from the configuration of the power system
and may also be classed as unit protection.
Whichever method is used, it must be kept in mind that selectivity is not merely a matter of relay
design.
It is a function of the correct co-ordination of current transformers and relays with a suitable choice of
relay settings, taking into account the possible range of such variables as fault currents, maximum load current,
system impedances and so on, where appropriate.
• Zones of protection
Ideally, the zones of protection should overlap across the circuit breaker as shown in Figure 2, the circuit
breaker being included in both zones.

Figure 2. Location of current transformers

on both sides of the circuit breaker.

For practical physical reasons, this ideal is not always achieved, accommodation for current trans-
formers being in some cases available only on one side of the circuit breakers, as in Figure 3. This leaves a
section between the current transformers and the circuit breaker A within which a fault is not cleared by the
operation of the protection that responds. In Figure 3 a fault at F would cause the bus-bar protection to operate
and open the circuit breaker but the fault would continue to be fed through the feeder.
Figure 3 Location of current transformers
on circuit side of the circuit
breaker.
The feeder protection, if of the unit type, would not operate, since the fault is outside its zone. This
problem is dealt. With by some form of zone extension, to operate when opening the circuit breaker does not
fully interrupt the flow of fault current. A time delay is incurred in fault clearance, although by restricting this
operation to occasions when the bus-bar protection is operated the time delay can be reduced.

Figure 4 Overlapping zones of protection systems.

The point of connection of the protection with the power system usually defines the zone and corresponds to
the location of the current transformers. The protection may be of the unit type, in which case the boundary
will be a clearly defined and closed loop. Figure 4 illustrates a typical arrangement of overlapping zones.

Alternatively, the zone may be unrestricted; the start will be defined but the extent will depend on measurement
of the system quantities and will therefore be subject to variation, owing to changes in system conditions and
measurement errors.

• Stability.
This term, applied to protection as distinct from power networks, refers to the ability of the system to remain
inert to all load conditions and faults external to the relevant zone. It is essentially a term which is applicable to
unit systems; the term 'discrimination' is the equivalent expression applicable to non-unit systems.
• Speed.
The function of automatic protection is to isolate faults from the power system in a very much shorter time than
could be achieved manually, even with a great deal of personal supervision. The object is to safeguard
continuity of supply by removing each disturbance before it leads to widespread loss of synchronism, which
would necessitate the shutting down of plant.
Loading the system produces phase displacements between the voltages at different points and
therefore increases the probability that synchronism will be lost when the system is disturbed by a fault. The
shorter the time a fault is allowed to remain in the system, the greater can be the loading of the system. Figure
1.5 shows typical relations between system loading and fault clearance times for various types of fault.
It will be noted that phase faults have a more marked effect on the stability of the system than does a
simple earth fault and therefore require faster clearance.
It is not enough to maintain stability; unnecessary consequential damage must also be avoided. The
destructive power of a fault arc carrying a high current is very great; it can burn through copper conductors or
weld together core laminations in a transformer or machine in a very short time. Even away from the fault arc
itself, heavy fault currents can cause damage to plant if they continue for more than a few seconds

Figure 5 Typical values of power that can be

transmitted as a function of fault clearance time.

It will be seen that protective gear must operate as quickly as possible; speed, however, must be weighed
against economy.

For this reason, distribution circuits for which the requirements for fast operation are not very severe
are usually protected by time-graded systems, but generating plant and EHV systems require protective gear of
the highest attainable speed; the only limiting factor will be the necessity for correct operation.
• Sensitivity
Sensitivity is a term frequently used when referring to the minimum operating current of a complete protective
system. A protective system is said to be sensitive if the primary operating current is low.
When the term is applied to an individual relay, it does not refer to a current or voltage setting but to
the volt-ampere consumption at the minimum operating current.
A given type of relay element can usually be wound for a wide range of setting currents; the coil will
have an impedance which is inversely proportional to the square of the setting current value, so that the volt-
ampere product at any setting is constant.
This is the true measure of the input requirements of the relay, and so also of the sensitivity. Relay
power factor has some significance in the matter of transient performance.
For D.C. relays the VA input also represents power consumption, and the burden is therefore frequently
quoted in watts.
 Primary and back-up protection

The reliability of a power system has been discussed in earlier sections. Many factors may cause protection
failure and there is always some possibility of a circuit breaker failure. For this reason, it is usual to
supplement primary protection with other systems to 'back-up' the operation of the main system and ensure that
nothing can prevent the clearance of a fault from the system.

Back-up protection may be obtained automatically as an inherent feature of the main protection
scheme, or separately by means of additional equipment.
Time graded schemes such as over current or distance protection schemes are examples of those
providing inherent back-up protection; the faulty section is normally isolated discriminatively by the time
grading, but if the appropriate relay fails or the circuit breaker fails to trip, the next relay in the grading
sequence will complete its operation and trip the associated circuit breaker, thereby interrupting the fault
circuit one section further back. In this way complete back-up cover is obtained; one more section is isolated
than is desirable but this is inevitable in the event of the failure of a circuit breaker.
Where the system interconnection is more complex, the above operation will be repeated so that all
parallel infeeds are tripped.

If the power system is protected mainly by unit schemes, automatic back-up protection is not obtained, and it is
then normal to supplement the main protection with time graded over current protection, which will provide
local back-up cover if the main protective relays have failed, and will trip further back in the event of circuit
breaker failure.
Such back-up protection is inherently slower than the main protection and, depending on the power
system configuration, may be less discriminative. For the most important circuits the performance may not be
good enough, even as a back-up protection, or, in some cases, not even possible, owing to the effect of multiple
infeeds. In these cases duplicate high speed protective systems may be installed. These provide excellent
mutual back-up cover against failure of the protective equipment, but either no remote back-up protection
against circuit breaker failure or, at best, time delayed cover.

Breaker fail protection can be obtained by checking that fault current ceases within a brief time
interval from the operation of the main protection. If this does not occur, all other connections to the bus bar
section are interrupted, the condition being necessarily treated as a bus bar fault. This provides the required
back-up protection with the minimum of time delay, and confines the tripping operation to the one station, as
compared with the alternative of tripping the remote ends of all the relevant circuits.
The extent and type of back-up protection which is applied will naturally be related to the failure risks
and relative economic importance of the system. For distribution systems where fault clearance

Times are not critical, time delayed remote back-up protection is adequate but for EHV systems,
where system stability is at risk unless a fault is cleared quickly, local back-up, as described above, should be
chosen.

Ideal back-up protection would be completely independent of the main protection. Current trans-
formers, voltage transformers, auxiliary tripping relays, trip coils and D.C. supplies would be duplicated. This
ideal is rarely attained in practice. The following compromises are typical:
a. Separate current transformers (cores and secondary windings only) are used for each protective
system, as this involves little extra cost or accommodation compared with the use of common
current transformers which would have to be larger because of the combined burden.
b. Common voltage transformers are used because duplication would involve a considerable increase
in cost, because of the voltage transformers them-selves, and also because of the increased accom-
modation which would have to be provided. Since security of the VT output is vital, it is desirable
that the supply to each protection should be separately fused and also continuously supervised by
a relay which will give an alarm on failure of the supply and, where appropriate, prevent an
unwanted operation of the protection.
c. Trip supplies to the two protections should be separately fused. Duplication of tripping batteries and
of tripping coils on circuit breakers is sometimes provided. Trip circuits should be continuously
supervised.
d. It is desirable that the main and back-up protections (or duplicate main protections) should operate
on different principles, so that unusual events that may cause failure of the one will be less likely
to affect the other.
 Definitions and Terminology

1. All-or-nothing relay
A relay which is not designed to have any specified accuracy as to its operating value.

2. Auxiliary relay.
An all-or-nothing relay used to supplement the performance of another relay, by modifying contact performance
for example, or by introducing time delays.

3. Back-up protection.
A protective system intended to supplement the main protection in case the latter should be in-effective, or to deal
with faults in those parts of the power system that are not readily included in the operating zones of the main
protection.

4. Biased relay.
A relay in which the characteristics are modified by the introduction of some quantity other than the actuating
quantity, and which is usually in opposition to the actuating quantity.

5. Burden.
The loading imposed by the circuits of the relay on the energizing power source or sources, expressed as the
product of voltage and current (volt-amperes, or watts if D.C) for a given condition, which may be either at
'setting' or at rated current or voltage.
The rated output of measuring transformers, expressed in VA, is always at rated current or voltage and it is
important, in assessing the burden imposed by a relay, to ensure that the value of burden at rated current is used.

6. Characteristic angle.
The phase angle at which the performance of the relay is declared. It is usually the angle at which maximum
sensitivity occurs.

7. Characteristic curve.
The curve showing the operating value of the characteristic quantity corresponding to various values or
combinations of the energizing quantities.

8. Characteristic quantity.
A quantity, the value of which characterizes the operation of the relay, e.g. current for an over current relay,
voltage for a voltage relay, phase angle for a directional relay, time for an independent time delay relay,
impedance for an impedance relay.

9. Characteristic impedance ratio (C.I. R.)

The maximum value of the System Impedance Ratio up to which the relay performance remains within the
prescribed limits of accuracy.

10. Check protective system.

An auxiliary protective system intended to prevent tripping due to inadvertent operation of the main protective
system.

11. Conjunctive test.

A test on a protective system including all relevant components and ancillary equipment appropriately interconnected.
The test may be parametric or specific.

a. Parametric conjunctive test.

A test to ascertain the range of values that may be assigned to each parameter when considered in combination with
other parameters, while still complying with the relevant performance requirements.

b. Specific conjunctive test.

A test to prove the performance for a particular application, for which definite values are assigned to each of the
parameters.

12. Dependent time delay relay.

A time delay relay in which the time delay varies with the value of the energizing quantity.

13. Discrimination.
The quality whereby a protective system distinguishes between those conditions for which it is intended to operate
and those for which it shall not operate.

14. Drop-out.
A relay drops out when it moves from the energized position to the un-energized position.

15. Drop-out / pick ratio.

The ratio of the limiting values of the characteristic quantity at which the relay resets and operates. This value is
sometimes called the differential of the relay.

16. Earth fault protective system.

A protective system which is designed to respond only to faults to earth.

17. Earthing transformer.

A three-phase transformer intended essentially to provide a neutral point to a power system for the purpose of
Earthing.
18. Effective range
The range of values of the characteristic quantity or quantities, or of the energizing quantities to which the relay will
respond and satisfy the requirements concerning it, in particular those concerning precision.

19. Effective setting

The 'setting' of a protective system including the effects of current transformers. The effective setting can be expressed
in terms of primary current or secondary current from the current transformers and is so designated as appropriate.

20. Electrical relay

A device designed to produce sudden predetermined changes in one or more electrical circuits after the
appearance of certain conditions in the electrical circuit or circuits controlling it.
NOTE: The term 'relay' includes all the ancillary equipment calibrated with the device.

21. Energizing quantity.

The electrical quantity, either current or voltage, which alone or in combination with other energizing quantities,
must be applied to the relay to cause it to function.

22. Independent time delay relay.

A time delay relay in which the time delay is independent of the energizing quantity.

21. Instantaneous relay.

A relay which operates and resets with no intentional time delay.
NOTE: All relays require some time to operate; it is possible, within the above definition, to discuss the operating
time characteristics of an instantaneous relay.

22. Inverse time delay relay.

A dependent time delay relay having an operating time which is an inverse function of the electrical characteristic
quantity.

23. Inverse time delay relay with definite minimum (I.D. M . T.)
A relay in which the time delay varies inversely with the characteristic quantity up to a certain value, after which
the time delay becomes substantially independent.

24. Knee-point e.m.f.

That sinusoidal e.m.f. applied to the secondary terminals of a current transformer, which, when increased by 10 %,
causes the exciting current to increase by 50%.

25. Main protection.

The protective system which is normally expected to operate in response to a fault in the protected zone.

26. Measuring relay.

A relay intended to operate with a specified accuracy at one or more values of its characteristic quantity.

27. Notching relay.

A relay which switches in response to a specific number of applied impulses.

28. Operating time.

With a relay de-energized and in its initial condition, the time which elapses between the application of a
characteristic quantity and the instant when the relay operates.
29. Operating time characteristic.
The curve depicting the relationship between different values of the characteristic quantity applied to a relay and
the corresponding values of operating time.

30. Operating value.

The limiting value of the characteristic quantity at which the relay actually operates.

31. Overshoot time.

The extent to which the condition that leads to final operation is advanced after the removal of the energizing
quantity, expressed as time at the rate of progress of the said condition appropriate to the value of the energizing
quantity that was initially applied.

32. Pick-up.
A relay is said to 'pick-up' when it changes from the un-energized position to the energized position.

33. Pilot channel.

A means of interconnection between relaying points for the purpose of protection.

34. Protected zone.

The portion of a power system protected by a given protective system or a part of that protective system.

35. Protective gear.

The apparatus, including protective relays, trans-formers and ancillary equipment, for use in a protective system.

36. Protective relay.

A relay designed to initiate disconnection of a part of an electrical installation or to operate a warning signal, in
the case of a fault or other abnormal condition in the installation. A protective relay may include more than one
unit electrical relay and accessories.

37. Protective scheme.

The coordinated arrangements for the protection of one or more elements of a power system.
A protective scheme may comprise several protective systems.

38. Protective system.

A combination of protective gear designed to secure, under predetermined conditions, usually abnormal, the
disconnection of an element of a power system, or to give an alarm signal, or both.

39. Rating.
The nominal value of an energizing quantity which appears in the designation of a relay. The nominal value
usually corresponds to the CT and VT secondary ratings.

40. Resetting value.

The limiting value of the characteristic quantity at which the relay returns to its initial position.

41. Residua/ current.

The algebraic sum, in a multi-phase system, of all the line currents.

42. Residua/ voltage.

The algebraic sum, in a multi-phase system, of all the line-to-earth voltages.

43. Setting.
The limiting value of a 'characteristic' or 'energizing' quantity at which the relay is designed to operate under
specified conditions.
Such values are usually marked on the relay and may be expressed as direct values, percentages of rated values, or
multiples.

44. Stability.
The quality whereby a protective system remains inoperative under all conditions other than those for which it is
specifically designed to operate.

45. Stability limits.

The R.M.S. value of the symmetrical component of the through fault current up to which the protective system
remains stable.

46. Starting relay.

A unit relay which responds to abnormal conditions and initiates the operation of other elements of the protective
system.

47. System impedance ratio (S./.R.).

The ratio of the power system source impedance to the impedance of the protected zone.

48. Through fault current.

The current flowing through a protected zone to a fault beyond that zone.

49. Time delay.

A delay intentionally introduced into the operation of a relay system.

50. Time delay relay.

A relay having an intentional delaying device.

51. Unit electrical relay.

A single relay which can be used alone or in combinations with others.

52. Unit protection.

A protection system which is designed to operate only for abnormal conditions within a clearly defined zone of
the power system.

53. Unrestricted protection.

A protection system which has no clearly defined zone of operation and which achieves selective operation only
by time grading.

• Fault Definitions and:

For the purpose of this International Standard, the following definitions, some of them based on IEC
60050(191), IEC 60050(212) and
IEC 60050(604) apply:

1- Fault
An unplanned occurrence or defect in an item which may result in one or more failures of the item itself or of
other associated equipment
[IEC 604-02-011
NOTE - In electrical equipment, a fault may or may not result in damage to the insulation and failure of the
equipment.

2- Non-damage fault
A fault which does not involve repair or replacement action at the point of the fault
NOTE - Typical examples are self-extinguishing arcs in switching equipment or general overheating without
paper carbonization.
[IEC 604-02-091

3- Damage fault
A fault which involves repair or replacement action at the point of the fault
[IEC 604-02-08, modified]

4- Incident
An event related to an internal fault which temporarily or permanently disturbs the normal operation of an
equipment [IEV 604-02-03, modified]
NOTE - Typical examples are gas alarms, equipment tripping or equipment leakage.

5- Failure
The termination of the ability of an item to perform a required function [IEC 191-04-01]

NOTE - In the electrical equipment, failure will result from a damage fault or incident necessitating outage,
repair or replacement of the equipment, such as internal breakdown, rupture of tank, fire or explosion.

6- Electrical fault
a partial or disruptive discharge through the insulation.

7- Partial discharge
A discharge which only partially bridges the insulation between conductors. It may occur inside the insulation
or adjacent to a conductor
[IEC 212-01-34, modified]

NOTE 1 - Corona is a form of partial discharge that occurs in gaseous media around conductors which are
remote from solid or liquid insulation. This term is not to be used as a general term for all forms of partial
discharges.

NOTE 2 - X-wax is a solid material which is formed from mineral insulating oil as a result of electrical
discharges and which consists of polymerized fragments of the molecules of the original liquid
[IEV 212-07-24, modified].
Comparable products may be formed from other liquids under similar conditions.

NOTE 3 - Sparking of low energy, for example because of metals or floating potentials, is sometimes
described as
Partial discharge but should rather be considered as a discharge of low energy.

8- Discharge (disruptive) .
The passage of an arc following the breakdown of the insulation
[IEC 604-03-38, modified]

NOTE 1 - Discharges are often described as arcing, breakdown or short circuits.

The more specific following terms are also used:
- spark over (discharge through the oil);
- puncture (discharge through the solid insulation);
- Flashover (discharge at the surface of the solid insulation);
- tracking (the progressive degradation of the surface of solid insulation
by local
Discharges to form conducting or partially conducting paths);
- sparking discharges which, in the conventions of physics, are local
Dielectric breakdowns of high ionization density or small arcs.

NOTE 2 - Depending on the amount of energy contained in the discharge, it will be described as a discharge
of low or high energy, based on the extent of damage observed on the equipment .
9- Thermal fault
Excessive temperature rise in the insulation

NOTE - Typical causes are

- Insufficient cooling,
- Excessive currents circulating in adjacent metal parts (as a result of bad
Contacts, eddy currents, stray losses or leakage flux),
- Excessive currents circulating through the insulation (as a result of high
Dielectric losses), leading to a thermal runaway,
- overheating of internal winding or bushing connection lead.

10- Typical values of gas concentrations.

gas concentrations normally found in the equipment in service which have no symptoms of failure, and which
are over passed by only an arbitrary percentage of higher gas contents, for example 10 % .

NOTE 1 - Typical values will differ in different types of equipment and in different networks, depending on
operating practices (load levels, climate, etc.).

NOTE 2 - Typical values, in many countries and by many users, are quoted as "normal values", but this term
has not been used here to avoid possible misinterpretations.
LIST OF DEVICE NUMBERS
• 2 Time delay starting or closing relay.
• 3 Checking or interlocking relay
• 21 Distance relay
• 25 Synchronizing or synchronism check relay
• 27 Under voltage relay
• 30 Annunciator relay
• 32 Directional power relay
• 37 Undercurrent or under power relay
• 40 Field failure relay
• 46 Reverse phase or phase balance current relay
• 49 Machine or transformer thermal relay
• 50 Instantaneous over current or rate-of-rise relay
• 51 A.c. time over current relay
• 52 A.c. circuit breaker
• 52a Circuit breaker auxiliary switch—normally open
• 52b Circuit breaker auxiliary switch—normally closed
• 55 Power factor relay
• 56 Field_application relay
• 59 Over voltage relay
• 60 Voltage or current balance relay
• 64 Earth fault protective relay
• 67 A.c. directional over current relay
• 68 Blocking relay
• 74 Alarm relay
• 76 D.c. over current relay
• 78 Phase angle measuring or out-of-step protective relay
• 79 A.c. reclosing relay
• 81 Frequency relay
• 83 Automatic selective control or transfer relay
• 85 Carrier or pilot wire receive relay
• 86 Locking-out relay
• 87 Differential protective relay
• 94 auxiliary tripping relay
 Relay contact systems

• Relay contact systems

a. Self-reset.
The contacts remain operated only while the controlling quantity is applied, returning to their original
condition when it is removed.

b. Hand or electrical reset.

These contacts remain in the operated position after the controlling quantity is removed. They can be
reset either by hand or by an auxiliary electromagnetic element.
The majority of protective relay elements have self-reset contact systems, which, if it is so desired, can
be made to give hand reset output contacts by the use of auxiliary elements.
Hand or electrically reset relays are used when it is necessary to maintain a signal or a lock-out
condition. Contacts are shown on diagrams in the position corresponding to the un-operated or de-energized
condition regardless of the continuous service condition of the equipment. For example, a voltage supervising
relay, which is continually picked-up, would still be shown in the de-energized condition.
A 'make' contact is one that closes when the relay picks up, whereas a 'break' contact is one that is
closed when the relay is un-energized and opens when the relay picks up. Examples of these conventions and
variations are shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 indications of contacts on diagrams.

A protective relay is usually required to trip a circuit breaker, the tripping mechanism of which may be
a solenoid with a plunger acting directly on the mechanism latch or, in the case of air-blast or pneumatically
operated breakers, an electrically operated valve. The relay may energize the tripping coil directly, or,
according to the coil rating, and the number of circuits to be energized, may do so through the agency of
another multi-channel auxiliary relay.
The power required by the trip coil of the circuit breaker may range from up to 50 watts, for a small
'distribution' circuit breaker, to 3000 watts for a large extra-high-voltage circuit breaker.
The basic trip circuit is simple, being made up of a hand-trip control switch and the contacts of the
protective relays in parallel to energize the trip coil from a battery, through a normally open auxiliary switch
operated by the circuit breaker. This auxiliary switch is needed to open the trip circuit when the circuit breaker
opens, since the protective relay contacts will usually be quite incapable of performing the interrupting duty.
The auxiliary switch will be adjusted to close as early as possible in the closing stroke, to make the protection
effective in case the breaker is being closed on to a fault.

Protective relays are precise measuring devices, the contacts of which should not be expected to
perform large making and breaking duties. Attracted armature relays, which combine many of the
characteristics of measuring devices and contactors,
Occupy an intermediate position and according to their design and consequent closeness to one or
other category, may have an appreciable contact capacity.
Most other types of relay develop an effort which is independent of the position of the moving system.
At setting, the electromechanical effort is absorbed by the controlling force, the margin for operating
the contacts being negligibly small. Not only does this limit the 'making' capacity of the contacts, but if more
than one contact pair is fitted any slight misalignment may result in only one contact being closed at the
minimum operating value, there being insufficient force to compress the spring of the first contact to make, by
the small amount required to permit closure of the second.
For this reason, the provision of multiple contacts on such elements is undesirable. Although two
contacts can be fitted, care must be taken in their alignment, and a small tolerance in the closing value of
operating current may have to be allowed between them. These effects can be reduced by providing a small
amount of 'run-in' to contact make in the relay behavior, by special shaping of the active parts.
For the above reasons it is often better to use inter-posing contactor type elements which do not have
the same limitations, although some measuring relay elements are capable of tripping the smaller types of
circuit breaker directly. These may be small attracted armature type elements fitted in the same case as the
measuring relay.
In general, static relays have discrete measuring and tripping circuits, or modules. The functioning of
the measuring modules will not react on the tripping modules. Such a relay is equivalent to a sensitive
electromechanical relay with a tripping contactor, so that the number or rating of outputs has no more
significance than the fact that they have been provided.
For larger switchgear installations the tripping power requirement of each circuit breaker is
considerable, and, further, two or more breakers may have to be tripped by one protective system.
There may also be remote signaling requirements, interlocking with other functions (for example auto-
reclosing arrangements), and other control functions to be performed. These various operations are carried out
by multi-contact tripping relays, which are energized by the protection relays and provide the necessary
number of adequately rated output contacts.
• Operation indicators.
As a guide for power system operation staff, protective systems are invariably provided with
indicating devices. In British practice these are called 'flags', whereas in America they are known as 'targets'.
Not every component relay will have one, as indicators are arranged to operate only if a trip operation is
initiated. Indicators, with very few exceptions, are bi-stable devices, and may be either mechanically or
electrically operated. A mechanical indicator consists of a small shutter which is
Released by the protective relay movement to expose the indicator pattern, which, on GEC
Measurements relays, consists of a red diagonal stripe on a white background.
Electrical indicators may be simple attracted armature elements either with or without contacts.
Operation of the armature releases a shutter to expose an indicator as above.
An alternative type consists of a small cylindrical permanent magnet magnetized across a diameter, and
lying between the poles of an electromagnet. The magnet, which is free to rotate, lines up its magnetic axis with
the electromagnet poles, but can be made to reverse its orientation by the application of a field. The edge of the
magnet is colored to give the indication.

• Relay tripping circuits.

Auxiliary contactors can be used to supplement protective relays in a number of ways:
a. Series sealing.
b. Shunt reinforcing.
c. Shunt reinforcement with sealing. These are illustrated in
Figure 7.
When such auxiliary elements are fitted, they can conveniently carry the operation indicator, avoiding the need
for indicators on the measuring elements.
Electrically operated indicators avoid imposing an additional friction load on the measuring element,
which would be a serious handicap for certain types. Another advantage is that the indicator can operate only
after the main contacts have closed.
Figure 7 Typical relay tripping circuits.

With indicators operated directly by the measuring elements, care must be taken to line up their operation with
the closure of the main contacts. The indicator must have operated by the time the contacts make, but must not
have done so more than marginally earlier.
This is to stop indication occurring when the tripping operation has not been completed.
Ta. Series sealing.
The coil of the series contactor carries the trip current initiated by the protective relay, and the
contactor closes a contact in parallel with the protective relay contact.
This closure relieves the protective relay contact of further duty and keeps the tripping circuit securely closed,
even if chatter occurs at the main contact. Nothing is added to the total tripping time, and the indicator does not
operate until current is actually flowing through the trip coil.
The main disadvantage of this method is that such series elements must have their coils matched with
the trip circuit with which they are associated.
The coils of these contactors must be of low impedance, with about
5 % of the trip supply voltage being dropped across them.
When used in association with high speed trip relays, which usually interrupt their own coil current, the
auxiliary elements must be fast enough to operate and release the flag before their coil current is cut off.
This may pose a problem in design if a variable number of auxiliary elements (for different phases and
so on) may be required to operate in parallel to energize a common tripping relay.

b. Shunt reinforcing.
Here the sensitive contacts are arranged to trip the circuit breaker and simultaneously to energize the
auxiliary unit, which then reinforces the contact which is energizing the trip coil.
It should be noted that two contacts are required on the protective relay, since it is not permissible to
energize the trip coil and the reinforcing contactor in parallel. If this were done, and more than one protective
relay were connected to trip the same circuit breaker, all the auxiliary relays would be energized in parallel for
each relay operation and the indication would be confused. The duplicate main contacts are frequently
provided
As a three point arrangement to reduce the number of contact fingers.
Figure 8 Examples of trip circuit supervision.

c. Shunt reinforcement with sealing.

This is a development of the shunt reinforcing circuit to make it applicable to relays with low torque
movements or where there is a possibility of contact bounce for any other reason.
Using the shunt reinforcing system under these circumstances would result in chattering on the
auxiliary unit, and the possible burning out of the contacts not only of the sensitive element but also of the
auxiliary unit. The chattering would only end when the circuit breaker had finally tripped.
It will be seen that the effect of bounce is countered by means of a further contact on the auxiliary unit
connected as a retaining contact.
This means that provision must be made for releasing the sealing circuit when tripping is complete; this
is a disadvantage, because it is sometimes in-convenient to find a suitable contact to use for this purpose.

• Supervision of trip circuits.

The trip circuit extends beyond the relay enclosure and passes through more components, such as
fuses, links, relay contacts, auxiliary switch contacts and so on, and in some cases through a considerable
amount of circuit wiring with intermediate terminal boards.
These complications, coupled with the importance of the circuit, have directed attention to its
supervision.
The simplest arrangement contains a healthy trip lamp, as shown in Figure 8(a).
The resistance in series with the lamp prevents the breaker being tripped by an internal short circuit
caused by failure of the lamp. This provides super-vision while the circuit breaker is closed; a simple extension
gives pre-closing supervision.
Figure 1.8(b) shows how, by the addition of a normally closed auxiliary switch and a resistance unit,
supervision can be obtained while the breaker is both open and closed.
I n either case, the addition of a normally open push-button contact in series with the lamp will make
the supervision indication available only when required.
Schemes using a lamp to indicate continuity are suitable for locally controlled installations, but when control is
exercised from a distance it is necessary to use a relay system. Figure 8(c) illustrates such a scheme, which is
applicable wherever a remote signal is required.
With the circuit healthy either or both of relays A and B are operated and energize relay C. Both A and B must
reset to allow C to drop-off. Relays A and C are time-delayed by copper slugs to prevent spurious alarms
during tripping or closing operations. The resistors are mounted separately from the relays and their values are
chosen such that if any one component is inadvertently short-circuited, a tripping operation will not take place.
The alarm supply should be independent of the tripping supply so that indication will be obtained in the event
of the failure of the tripping battery.
 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.
• Control.

3.1.2 Construction:
• Electromagnetic.
• Solid state.
• Microprocessor.
• Computerized.
• Nonelectric (thermal, pressure ......etc.).

3.1.3 Incoming signal:

• Current.
• Voltage.
• Frequency.
• Temperature.
• Pressure.
• Velocity.
• Others.
3 . 1 . 4 Type of protection
• Over current.
• Directional over current.
• Distance.
• Over voltage.
• Differential.
• Reverse power.
• Other.

Figure 1 Armature-type relay

location, for example G for generator, Τ for transformer etc. Nonelectric relays are outside the scope of this
book and therefore are not referred to.

3.2 Electromagnetic relays

Electromagnetic relays are constructed with electrical, magnetic and mechanical components, have
an operating coil and various contacts and are very robust and reliable. The construction characteristics can be
classified in three groups, as detailed below.
3 . 2 . 1 Attraction relays
Attraction relays can be supplied by AC or DC, and operate by the movement of a piece of metal
when it is attracted by the magnetic field produced by a coil. There are two main types of relay in this class.
The attracted armature relay, which is shown in f ig u r e 1, consists of a bar or plate of metal which pivots
when it is att r acted towards the coil.
The 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. The other type is the piston or solenoid relay, illustrated in Figure 2, in which
α 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 equal to K1I2 - K2, where Κ1 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. K2 is
the restraining force, usually produced by a spring. When the relay is balanced, the resultant force is zero and therefore
Κ112 = K2,

So that
I = K 2 / K1 =constant.

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 required.
3 . 2 . 2 Relays with moveable coils
This 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. The coil is restrained by two springs which also serve as connections to
carry the current to the coil.
The torque produced in the coil is given by:
T = B.l.a.N.i
Where:
T= torque
B = flux density
L =length of the coil
a = diameter of the coil
N = number of turns on the coil
i = current flowing through the coil

Figure 2 Solenoid-type relay

 Figure 3 Inverse time characteristic

From the above equation it will be noted that the torque developed is proportional to the current. The speed of
movement is controlled by the damping action, which is proportional to the torque. It thus follows that the relay has
an inverse time characteristic similar to that illustrated in Figure 3. The relay can be designed so that the coil makes a
large angular movement, for example 80º.

3 . 2 . 3 Induction 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 Fault currents which are induced in the rotor by these fluxes. These two fluxes, which are
mutually displaced both in angle and in position, produce a torque that can be expressed by

T= Κ1.Φ1.Φ2 .sin θ,

Where Φ1 and Φ2 are the interacting fluxes and θ is the phase angle between Φ1 and Φ2. It should be noted that the
torque is a maximum when the fluxes are out of phase by 90º, and zero when they are in phase.

Figure 4 Electromagnetic forces in induction relays

It can be shown that Φ1= Φ1sin ωt, and Φ2= Φ2 sin (ωt+ θ ) , where θ is the angle by which Φ2 leads Φ1. Then:

dΦ1
iΦ1 α α Φ1 cosωt
dt
And

dΦ 1
i Φ1 α α Φ 1 cos ( ωt + θ )
dt
Figure 4 shows the interrelationship between the currents and the opposing forces. Thus:
F = ( F 1 - F 2 ) α (Φ2 iΦ1+ Φ1 iΦ2 )

∴FαΦ Φ 2 1 sin θ α T
Induction relays can be grouped into three classes as set out below.
• Shaded-pole relay
In this case a portion of the electromagnetic section is short-circuited by means of a copper ring or coil. This
creates a flux in the area influenced by the short circuited section (the so-called shaded section) which lags the
flux in the nonshaded section, see Figure 5.

Figure 5 Shaded-pole relay

Figure 6 Wattmetric-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 just one supply for the top coil, which induces an out-of-phase f l ux in the
lower coil because of the air gap. Figure 6 illust r ates a typical arrangement.

• Cup-type relay

This type of relay has a cylinder similar to a cu which can rotate in the annular air gap between the poles of the coils, and has a
fixed central core, see Figure 7. The operation of this relay is very similar to that
 Figure 7Cup-type relay
Of an induction motor with salient poles for the windings of the stator. Configurations with four or eight poles spaced
symmetrically around the circumference of the cup are often used. The movement of the cylinder is limited to a small
amount by the contact and the stops. Α special spring provides the restraining torque.
The torque is a function of the product of the two currents through the coils and the cosine of the angle between
them. The torque equation is

T= ( KI1I2 cos (θ12 – Φ) – Ks ),

Where K, .Κs and Φ are design constants, Ι1 and I2 are the currents through the two coils and θ12 is the angle
between I1 and I2.

In the first two types of relay mentioned above, which are provided with a disc, the inertia of the disc provides the
time-delay characteristic. The time delay can be increased by the addition of a permanent magnet. The cup-type relay
has a small inertia and is therefore principally used when high speed operation is required, for example in
instantaneous units.
 IEEE device numbers and functions for switchgear apparatus

The devices in switching equipments are referred to by numbers, with appropriate suffix
letters when necessary, according to the functions they perform. These numbers are based on a system adopted as
standard for automatic switchgear by IEEE, and incorporated in American
Standard C37.2-1979. This system is used in connection diagrams, in instruction books,
and in specifications.

Device Number Definition and function

1- 1 Master element
is the initiating device, such as a control switch, voltage relay, float switch etc., that serves either irectly, or through such
permissive devices as protective and time-delay relays, to place an equipment
in or out of operation.

2- 2 Time-delay starting or closing relay

is a device that functions to give a desired amount of time delay before or after any point of operation in a switching
sequence or protective relay system, except as specifically
provided by device functions 48, 62 and 79 described later.

3- 3 Checking or interlocking relay

is a device that operates in response to the position of a number of other devices, (or to a number of predetermined
conditions), in an equipment to allow an operating sequence to proceed,
to stop, or to provide a check of the position of these devices or of these conditions for any purpose.

4- 4 Master contactor
is a device, generally controlled by device No. 1 or equivalent, and the required permissive
and protective devices, that serve to make and break the necessary control circuits to place an equipment into operation
under the desired conditions and to take it out of operation under
other or abnormal conditions.

5- 5 Stopping device
is a control device used primarily to shut down an equipment and hold it out of operation. [This device may be manually or
electrically actuated, but excludes the function of
electrical lockout (see device function 86) on abnormal conditions.]

6- 6 Starting circuit breaker

is a device whose principal function is to connect a machine to its source of starting
voltage.

7- 7 Rate-of-rise relay
is a relay that functions on an excessive rate of rise of current.

8- 8 Control power disconnecting device

is a disconnecting device, such as a knife switch, circuit breaker, or pull-out fuse block, used for the purpose of
respectively connecting and disconnecting the source of control power to and from the control bus or equipment.

9- 9 Reversing device
is used for the purpose of reversing a machine field or for performing any other reversing
functions.

10- 10 Unit sequence switch

is used to change the sequence in which units may be placed in and out of service in
multiple-unit equipment.

11- 11 Multifunction device

is a device that performs three or more comparatively important functions that could only be
designated by combining several of these device function numbers. All of the functions performed by device 11 shall be
defined in the drawing legend or device function list.

12- 12 Over speed device

is usually a direct connected speed switch that functions on machine over speed.

13- 13 Synchronous-speed device

such as a centrifugal speed switch, a slip frequency relay, a voltage relay, an undercurrent relay, or any other type of
device that operates at approximately the synchronous speed of a
machine.

14- 14 Under speed device

functions when the speed of a machine falls below a pre-determined value.

15- 15 Speed or frequency matching device

functions to match and hold the speed or the frequency of a machine or of a system equal to, or approximately equal to,
that of another machine, source, or system.

16- 16 Reserved for future application

17- 17 Shunting or discharge switch

serves to open or to close a shunting circuit around any piece of apparatus (except a resistor), such as a machine field, a
machine armature, a capacitor, or a reactor.
Note: This excludes devices that perform such shunting operations as may be necessary in the process of starting a
machine by devices 6 or 42, or their equivalent, and also excludes
device 73 function that serves for the switching of resistors.

18- 18 Accelerating or decelerating device

is used to close or to cause the closing of circuits that are used to increase or decrease the speed of a machine.

19- 19 Starting-to-running transition

contactor is a device that operates to initiate or cause the automatic transfer of a machine from the starting to the running
power connection.

20- 20 Electrically operated valve

is an electrically operated, controlled, or monitored valve used in a fluid, air, gas, or vacuum line.
Note: The function of the valve may be indicated by the use of the suffixes, see page 11.

21- 21 Distance relay

is a relay that functions when the circuit admittance, impedance, or reactance increases or
decreases beyond a predetermined value.

22- 22 Equalizer circuit breaker

is a breaker that serves to control or to make and break the equalizer or the current balancing
connections for a machine field, or for regulating equipment, in a multiple unit installation.

23- 23 Temperature control device

Functions to raise or to lower the temperature of a machine or other apparatus, or of any medium, when its temperature
falls below or rises above a predetermined value.

Note: An example is a thermostat that switches on a space heater in a switchgear assembly when the temperature falls to a
desired value as distinguished from a device that is used to provide automatic temperature regulation between close limits
and would be designated as 90T.

24- 24 Volts per hertz relay

is a relay that functions when the ratio of voltage to frequency exceeds a preset value.
The relay may have an instantaneous or a time characteristic.

25- 25 Synchronizing or synchronism check

device operates when two ac circuits are within the desired limits of frequency, phase angle, or voltage to permit or to
cause the paralleling of these two circuits.

26- 26 Apparatus thermal device

Functions when the temperature of the protected apparatus (other than the loadcarrying
windings of machines and transformers as covered by device function number 49) or of a liquid or other medium exceeds a
predetermined value; or when the temperature of the protected apparatus or of any medium decreases below a
predetermined value.

27- 27 Under voltage relay

is a relay that operates when its input voltage is less than a predetermined value.

28- 28 Flame detector

is a device that monitors the presence of the pilot or main flame in such apparatus as a gas
turbine or a steam boiler.

29- 29 Isolating contactor

is used expressly for disconnecting one circuit from another for the purposes of emergency
operation, maintenance, or test.
30 Annunciator relay
is a nonautomatically reset device that gives a number of separate visual indications upon the functioning of protective
devices and that may also be arranged to perform a lock-out function.

31- 31 Separate excitation device

connects a circuit, such as the shunt field of a synchronous converter, to a source of separate excitation during the starting
sequence; or one which energizes the excitation and ignition
circuits of a power rectifier.

32- 32 Directional power relay

is a relay that operates on a predetermined value of power flow in a given direction or upon reverse power flow such as
that resulting from the motoring of a generator upon loss of its prime mover.

33- 33 Position switch

makes or breaks contact when the main device or piece of apparatus that has no device function number reaches a given
position.

34- 34 Master sequence device

is a device such as a motor operated multi contact switch, or the equivalent, or a programming device, such as a computer,
that establishes or determines the
operating sequence of the major devices in an equipment during starting
and stopping or during other sequential switching operations.

35- 35 Brush-operating or slip-ring short circuiting

device is used for raising, lowering or shifting the brushes of a machine; short-circuiting its slip rings; or engaging or
disengaging the contacts of a mechanical rectifier.

36- 36 Polarity or polarizing voltage device

operates, or permits the operation of, another device on a predetermined polarity only or that
verifies the presence of a polarizing voltage in an equipment.

37- 37 Undercurrent or under power relay

functions when the current or power flow decreases below a predetermined value.

38- 38 Bearing protective device

Functions on excessive bearing temperature or on other abnormal mechanical conditions
associated with the bearing, such as undue wear, which may eventually result in excessive bearing temperature or failure.

39- 39 Mechanical condition monitor

is a device that functions upon the occurrence of an abnormal mechanical condition (except that associated with bearings
as covered under device function 38), such as excessive vibration, eccentricity, expansion, shock, tilting, or seal failure.

40- 40 Field relay

functions on a given or abnormally low value or failure of machine field current, or on an excessive value of the reactive
component of armature current in an ac machine indicating abnormally low field excitation.

41- 41 Field circuit breaker

is a device that functions to apply or remove the field excitation of a machine.

42- 42 Running circuit breaker

is a device whose principal function is to connect a machine to its source of running or
operating voltage. This function may also be used for a device, such as a contactor, that is used in series with a circuit
breaker or other fault protecting means, primarily for frequent opening and closing of the circuit.

43- 43 Manual transfer or selector device

is a manually operated device that transfers the control circuits in order to modify the plan of operation of the switching
equipment or of some of the devices.

44- 44 Unit sequence starting relay

is a relay that functions to start the next available unit in multiple unit equipment upon the failure or nonavailability of
the normally preceding unit.

45- 45 Atmospheric condition monitor

is a device that functions upon the occurrence of an abnormal atmospheric condition, such as damaging fumes, explosive
mixtures, smoke, or fire.

46- 46 Reverse-phase or phase-balance

current relay is a relay that functions when the polyphase currents are of reverse phase sequence or when the polyphase
currents are unbalanced or contain negative phase-sequence
components above a given amount.
47- 47 Phase-sequence or phase-balance
voltage relay functions upon a predetermined value of polyphase voltage in the desired phase sequence, or when the
polyphase voltages are unbalanced, or when the negative phase-sequence voltage exceeds a given amount.

48- 48 Incomplete sequence relay

is a relay that generally returns the equipment to the normal, or off, position and locks it out if the normal starting,
operating, or stopping sequence is not properly completed within a predetermined time. If the device is used for alarm
purposes only, it should preferably
be designated as 48A (alarm).

49- 49 Machine or transformer thermal

relay is a relay that functions when the temperature of a machine armature winding or other load-carrying winding or
element of a machine or power transformer exceeds a redetermined
value.

50- 50 Instantaneous over current relay

is a relay that functions instantaneously on an excessive value of current.

51- 51 Ac time over current relay

is a relay with either a definite or inverse time characteristic that functions when the ac input current exceeds a
predetermined value, and in which the input current and operating time are independently related or inversely related
through a substantial portion of the performance range.

52- 52 Ac circuit breaker

is a device that is used to close and interrupt an ac power circuit under normal conditions
or to interrupt this circuit under fault or emergency conditions.

53- 53 Exciter or dc generator relay

is a relay that forces the dc machine field excitation to build up during starting or that functions when the machine voltage
has built up to a given value.

54- 54 Turning gear engaging device

is an electrically operated, controlled, or monitored device that functions to cause the turning gear to engage (or
disengage) the machine shaft.

55- 55 Power factor relay

is a relay that operates when the power factor in an ac circuit rises above or falls below a
predetermined value.

56- 56 Field application relay

is a relay that automatically controls the application of the field excitation to an ac motor at
some predetermined point in the slip cycle.

57- 57 Short-circuiting or grounding device

is a primary circuit switching device that functions to short circuit or ground a circuit in response to automatic or manual
means.

58- 58 Rectification failure relay

is a device that functions if a power recitifier fails to conduct or block properly.

59- 59 Over voltage relay

is a relay that operates when its input voltage is higher than a predetermined value.

60- 60 Voltage or current balance relay

is a relay that operates on a given difference in voltage, or current input or output,
of two circuits.

61- 61 Density switch or sensor

is a device that operates on a given value, or a given rate of change, of gas density.

62- 62 Time-delay stopping or opening relay

is a time-delay relay that serves in conjunction with the device that initiates the shutdown, stopping, or opening operation
in an automatic sequence or protective relay system.

63- 63 Pressure switch

is a switch that operates on given values, or on a given rate of change, of pressure.

64- 64 Ground detector relay

is a relay that operates upon failure of machine or other apparatus insulation to ground,
or on flashover of a dc machine to ground.

Note: This function is assigned only to a relay which detects the flow of current from the frame of a machine or enclosing
case or structure of a piece of apparatus to ground, or detects a ground on a normally ungrounded winding or circuit. It is
not applied to a device connected in the secondary neutral of a current transformer, or in the secondary neutral of current
transformers, connected in the power circuit of a normally grounded system.

65- 65 Governor
is the assembly of fluid, electrical, or mechanical control equipment used for regulating the flow of water, steam, or other
media to the prime mover for such purposes as starting, holding speed or load, or stopping.

66- 66 Notching or jogging device

Functions to allow only a specified number of operations of a given device or equipment, or a specified number of
successive operations within a given time of each other. It is also a device that functions to energize a circuit periodically or
for fractions of specified time intervals, or that is used to permit intermittent acceleration or jogging of a machine at low
speeds for mechanical positioning.

67- 67 Ac directional over current relay

is a relay that functions on a desired value of ac over current flowing in a predetermined
direction.

68- 68 Blocking relay

is a relay that initiates a pilot signal for blocking of tripping on external faults in a transmission line or in other apparatus
under predetermined conditions, or that cooperates
with other devices to block tripping or to block reclosing on an out-of-step condition or on power swings.

69- 69 Permissive control device

is generally, a two-position device that in one position permits the closing of a circuit
breaker, or the placing of an equipment into operation, and in the other position prevents the circuit breaker or the
equipment from being operated.

70- 70 Rheostat
is a variable resistance device used in an electric circuit which is electrically operated or has other electrical
accessories, such as auxiliary, position, or limit switches.

71- 71 Level switch

is a switch that operates on given values, or on a given rate of change, of level.

72- 72 Dc circuit breaker

is used to close and interrupt a dc power circuit under normal conditions or to interrupt this
circuit under fault or emergency conditions.

73- 73 Load-resistor contactor

is used to shunt or insert a step of load limiting, shifting, or indicating resistance in a
power circuit, or to switch a space heater in circuit, or to switch a light, or regenerative load resistor of a
power rectifier or other machine in and out of circuit.

74- 74 Alarm relay

is a relay other than an annunciator, as covered under device function 30, that is used to operate, or that
operates in connection with, a visual or audible alarm.

75- 75 Position changing mechanism

is a mechanism that is used for moving a main device from one position to another in an equipment; for
example, shifting a removable circuit breaker unit to and from the connected, disconnected, and test positions.

76-76 Dc over current relay

is a relay that functions when the current in a dc circuit exceeds a given value.
77- 77 Telemetering device
is a transmitter used to generate and transmit to a remote location an electrical signal
representing a measured quantity, or a receiver used to receive the electrical signal from a remote transmitter
and convert the signal to represent the original measured quantity.
78- 78 Phase-angle measuring or out-of step
protective relay is a relay that functions at a predetermined phase angle between two voltages, or between two
currents, or between voltage and current.

79- 79 Ac reclosing relay

is a relay that controls the automatic reclosing and locking out of an ac circuit interrupter.
80- 80 Flow switch
is a switch that operates on given values, or on a given rate of change, of flow.

81- 81 Frequency relay

is a relay that responds to the frequency of an electrical quantity, operating when
the frequency or rate of change of frequency exceeds or is less than a predetermined value.

82 82 Dc load-measuring reclosing relay

is a relay that controls the automatic closing and reclosing of a dc circuit interrupter, generally in response to
load circuit conditions.

83- 83 Automatic selective control or transfer relay

is a relay that operates to select automatically between certain sources or conditions in an
equipment or that performs a transfer operation automatically.

84- 84 Operating mechanism

is the complete electrical mechanism or servomechanism, including the operating
motor, solenoids, position switches, etc., for a tap changer, induction regulator,
or any similar piece of apparatus that otherwise has no device function number.

85 Carrier or pilot-wire receiver relay

Is a relay that is operated or restrained by a signal used in connection with carrier-current or dc pilot-wire
fault directional relaying.

86- 86 Lockout relay

is an electrically operated hand or electrically reset auxiliary relay that is operated upon
the occurrence of abnormal conditions to maintain associated equipment or devices out of service until it is
reset.

87- 87 Differential protective relay

is a protective relay that functions on a percentage, or phase angle, or other quantitative difference between
two currents or some other electrical quantities.

88- 88 Auxiliary motor or motor generator

is a device used for operating auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, blowers, exciters, rotating magnetic
amplifiers, etc.

89- 89 Line switch

is used as a disconnecting, load interrupter, or isolating switch in an ac or dc power circuit. (Thisdevice
function number is normally not necessary unless the switch is electrically operated or has electrical
accessories, such as an auxiliary switch, a magnetic lock, etc.)

90- 90 Regulating device

functions to regulate a quantity or quantities, such as voltage, current, power, speed,
frequency, temperature, and load, at a certain value or between certain (generally close) limits for machines,
tie lines, or other apparatus.

91- 91 Voltage directional relay

is a relay that operates when the voltage across an open circuit breaker or contactor
exceeds a given value in a given direction.

92- 92 Voltage and power directional relay

is a relay that permits or causes the connection of two circuits when the voltage difference between them
exceeds a given value in a predetermined direction and causes these two
circuits to be disconnected from each other when the power flowing between them exceeds a given value in the
opposite direction.

93- 93 Field-changing contactor

Functions to increase or decrease, in one step, the value of field excitation on a machine.

94- 94 Tripping or trip-free relay

Functions to trip a circuit breaker, contactor, or equipment, or to permit immediate
tripping by other devices; or to prevent immediate reclosing of a circuit interrupter
if it should open automatically, even though its closing circuit is maintained closed.
95- 95
96- 96
97- 97
98- 98
99- 99
Used only for specific applications on individual installations where none of the assigned numbered functions
from 1 to 94 is suitable.
 IEEE device numbers
Supervisory control and indication.
A similar series of numbers, prefixed by the letters RE (for “remote”) shall be used for the interposing relays
performing functions that are controlled directly from the supervisory
system. Typical examples of such device functions are: RE1, RE5 and RE94.

Note: The user of the “RE” prefix for this purpose in place of the former 200 series of numbers now makes it
possible to obtain increased flexibility of the device function numbering system. For example, in pipeline pump
stations, the numbers 1 through 99
are applied to device functions that are associated with the over-all station
operation. A similar series of numbers,
starting with 101 instead of 1, are used for those device functions that are associated with unit 1; a similar
series starting with 201 for device functions that are associated with unit
2; and so on, for each unit in these installations.

Devices performing more than one function

If one device performs two relatively important functions in an equipment so that it is
desirable to identify both of these functions, this may be done by using a double function
number and name such as:
50/51 Instantaneous and Time Over current
relay.

Suffix numbers
If two or more devices with the same function number and suffix letter (if used) are present
in the same equipment, they may be distinguished by numbered suffixes as for example,
52X-1, 52X-2 and 52X-3, when necessary.

Suffix letters
Suffix letters are used with device function numbers for various purposes. In order to prevent
possible conflict each suffix letter should have only one meaning in an individual equipment. All other words
should use the abbreviations as contained in American Standard Z32.13-1950, or latest revision thereof, or
should use some other distinctive abbreviation, or be written out in full each time they are used.
The meaning of each single suffix letter, or combination of letters, should be clearly designated in the legend
on the drawings or publications applying to the equipment. In cases where the same suffix (consisting of one
letter or a combination of letters) has different meanings in the same equipment, depending upon the device
function number with which is used, then the complete device function number with which it is used, the
complete device function number with its suffix letter or letters and its corresponding function name should be
listed in the legend in each case, as follows: 90V, Voltage regulator. Lower case (small) suffix letters are used
in practically all instances on electrical diagrams for the auxiliary, position, and limit switches. Capital letters
are generally used for all other suffix letters.
The letters should generally form part of the device function designation, are usually written
directly after the device function number, as for example, 52CS, 71W, or 49D. When it
is necessary to use two types of suffix letters in connection with one function number, it is
often desirable for clarity to separate them by a slanted line or dash, as for example,
20D/CS or 20D-CS. The suffix letters which denote parts of the main device, and those which cannot or need
not form part of the device function designation, are generally written directly below the device function
number on drawings, as for example, or .
52/CC or 43/A

Auxiliary devices Separate auxiliary devices Actuating quantities

These letters indicate the condition or electrical quantity to which the device responds, or the medium in
which it is located, such as:

Main devices
These letters denote the location of the main device in the circuit, or the type of circuit in
which the device is used or the type of circuit or apparatus with which it is associated, when
this is necessary, such as:
X
Y – Auxiliary relay 1)
Z
R – Raising relay
L – Lowering relay
O – Opening relay or contactor
C – Closing relay or contactor
CS – Control switch
CL – Auxiliary relay, open (energized when main device is in open position)
OP – Auxiliary relay, open (energized when main device is in open position)
U – “Up” position-switch relay
D – “Down” position-switch relay
PB – Push button
1) In the control of a circuit breaker with so-called
X-Y relay control scheme, the X relay is the device whose main contacts are used to energize
the closing coil or the device which in some other manner, such as by the release of stored energy, causes the
breaker to close.
The contacts of the Y relay provide the antipump feature for the circuit breaker.
A – Air or Amperes or Alternating
C – Current
D – Direct or Discharge
E – Electrolyte
F – Frequency, or Flow, or Fault
H – Explosive
J – Differential
L – Level, or Liquid
P – Power, or Pressure
PF – Power factor
Q – Oil
S – Speed, or Suction, or Smoke
T – Temperature
V – Voltage, Volts, or Vacuum
VAR – Reactive power
VB – Vibration
W – Water, or Watts
A – Alarm or Auxiliary power
AN – Anode
B – Battery, or Blower, or Bus
BK – Brake
BL – Block (Valve)
BP – Bypass
BT – Bus tie
C – Capacitor, or Condenser, or Compensator, or Carrier current, or Case, or Compressor
CA – Cathode
CH – Check (Valve)
D – Discharge (Valve)
E – Exciter
F – Feeder, or Field, or Filament, or Filter, or Fan
G – Generator, or Ground2)
H – Heater, or Housing
L – Line, or Logic
M – Motor, or Metering
N – Network, or Neutral 2)
P – Pump, or Phase comparison
R – Reactor, or Rectifier, or Room
S – Synchronizing, or Secondary, or
Strainer, or Sump, or Suction (Valve)
T – Transformer, or Thyratron
TH – Transformer (high-voltage side)
TL – Transformer (low-voltage side)
TM – Telemeter
U – Unit
2) Suffix “N” is generally used in preference to “G” for devices connected in the secondary neutral of current
transformers, or in the secondary of a current transformer whose primary winding is located in the neutral of
a machine or power transformer, except in the case of transmission line relaying, where the suffix “G” is more
commonly used for those relays which operate on ground faults.

Main device parts

These letters denote parts of the main device, divided in the two following categories:

1. All parts, except auxiliary contacts, position switches, limit switches, and torque limit
switches.

2. All auxiliary contacts and positioning and limit switches

for such devices and equipment as circuit breakers, contactors, valves and rheostats
and contacts of relays. These are designated as follows:

Standard reference positions of some typical devices are as follows:

BK – Brake
C – Coil, or Condenser, or Capacitor
CC – Closing coil
HC – Holding coil
M – Operating motor
MF – Fly-ball motor
ML – Load-limit motor
MS – Speed adjusting, or Synchronizing
motor
S – Solenoid
SI – Seal-in
TC – Trip coil
V – Valve
a – Contact that is open when the main device is in the standard reference position, commonly referred to as
the nonoperated or reenergized position and that closes when the device assumes the opposite position.
b – Contact that is closed when the main device is in the standard reference position, commonly referred to as
the nonoperated or deenergized position, and that opens when the device assumes the opposite position.
aa – Contact that is open when the operating mechanism of the main device is in the
nonoperated position and that closes when the operating mechanism assumes the opposite position.
bb – Contact that is closed when the operating mechanism of the main device is in
the nonoperated position and that opens when the operating mechanism assumes the opposite position.

Device Standard reference position

Power circuit breaker Main contacts open
Disconnecting switch Main contacts open
Load-break switch Main contacts open
Valve Closed position
Gate Closed position
Clutch Disengaged position
Turning gear Disengaged position
Power electrodes Maximum gap position
Rheostat Maximum resistance
position
Adjusting means 1) Low or Down position
Relay 2) Deenergized position
Contactor 2) Deenergized position
Relay (latched-in type)
Non-latched-in position
Contactor (latched-in type)
Main contacts open
Temperature relay 3) Lowest temperature
Level detector 3) Lowest level
Flow detector 3) Lowest flow
Speed switch 3) Lowest speed
Vibration detector 3) Minimum vibration
Pressure switch 3) Lowest pressure
Vacuum switch 3) Lowest pressure, i.e.,
highest vacuum
The simple designation “a” or “b” is used in all cases where there is no need to adjust the
contacts to change position at any particular point in the travel of the main device or where the part of the
travel where the contacts change position is of no significance in the control or operating scheme. Hence the
“a” and “b” designations usually are sufficient for circuit breaker auxiliary switches.
Note: If several similar auxiliary switches are present on the same device, they should be designated
numerically 1, 2, 3, etc. when necessary.

Other switches
These letters cover all other distinguishing
features or characteristics or conditions,
which serve to describe the use of the device
or its contacts in the equipment such as:

Device Standard reference position

1) These may be speed, voltage, current, load, or similar adjusting devices comprising rheostats, springs,
levers, or other components for the purpose.

2) These electrically operated devices are of the non-latched-in type, whose contact position is dependent only
upon the degree of energization of the operating or restraining or holding
coil or coils which may or may not be suitable for continuous energization. The deenergized
position of the device is that with all coils deenergized.

3) The energizing influences for these devices are considered to be, respectively, rising
temperature, rising level, increasing flow, rising speed, increasing vibration, and increasing
pressure.

A – Accelerating, or Automatic
B – Blocking, or Back-up
C – Close, or Cold
D – Decelerating, or Detonate, or Down, or
Disengaged
E – Emergency, or Engaged
F – Failure, or Forward
H – Hot, or High
HR – Hand reset
HS – High speed
L – Left, or Local, or Low, or Lower, or
Leading
M – Manual
OFF – Off
ON – On
P – Polarizing
R – Right, or Raise, or Reclosing, or Receiving, or Remote, or Reverse
S – Sending, or Swing
T – Test, or Trip, or Trailing
TDC – Time-delay closing
TDO – Time-delay opening