Effect of Power Swing on Distance

Protection
April 19, 2016 by admin
In last post Power Swing, we discussed Power Swing and behavior of machine on
Power Swing. Now we will discuss the impact of Power Swing on Distance Relaying.
We consider the two machine system connected by Transmission line of Impedance
ZL as shown in figure below.

For making the calculation easy, assume ER as reference and its angle as zero.
Therefore current seen by Relay located at A,
I= Volateg / Z
  = (Esejδ – ER) / (Zs+ZL+ZR)
Let, Z = Zs+ZL+ZR
Now, Impedance seen by Relay,
Z = Voltage seen by Relay/Current seen by Relay
   = (Esejδ– IZs)/I
   = -Zs + Esejδ/I
   = -Zs + Esejδ/[(Esejδ– ER) / (Zs+ZL+ZR)]
   = -Zs + EsejδxZ/(Esejδ– ER) ……………………(Since Z = Zs+ZL+ZR)
   = -Zs + Z/[1- (ER/ES) e-jδ]
Assume that ER/ES = K and K = 1 for simplicity then
Z = -Zs + Z/[1- e-jδ] = -Zs + Z/[1-cosδ+jsinδ]
   = -Zs + (Z/2)/[sin2δ/2+jsinδcosδ] = -Zs +(Z/2sinδ/2)/[sinδ/2 + jcosδ/2]
  = -Zs + (Z/2sinδ/2)( sinδ/2 – jcosδ/2)
  = -Zs + (Z/2)( 1 – jcotδ/2)
Therefore,
 
 
Impedance seen by Relay, Z = -Zs + (Z/2)( 1 – jcotδ/2)
                                         = (-Zs +Z/2) – j(Z/2)cotδ/2
 
 
From above equation of Impedance seen by Relay, if δ= 180°
Z = (-Zs +Z/2) as cotδ/2 = 0
Geometrical Interpretation:
The vector component in above equation is a constant in R – X plane. The
component – j(Z/2)cotδ/2 lies on a straight line, perpendicular to line segment   (-Zs
+Z/2). Thus, the trajectory of the impedance measured by relay during the power
swing is a straight line as shown in figure below. The angle subtended by a point in
the locus on S and R end points is angle δ. For simplicity, angle of Zs, ZR and ZL are
considered same.
The point where the Power Swing locus intersects line AB, the angle between E S and
ER is 180 degree which means both the sources are out of step. This point of
intersection is called Electrical Center.
The existence of the electrical center is an indication of system instability, the
two Generators being out of step. If the power swing is stable, i.e. if the post fault
system is stable, then δmax will be less than (180°- δ) as in this case both the sources
won’t be out of step.
Now, suppose ER/ES = K ≠1 then,
 
Z = -Zs + kZ[(k – cosδ) – jsinδ] / [(k – cosδ)2 – sin2δ]
 
Therefore, the power swing locus on the R – X is an arc of the circle as shown in
figure below.
It is also clear from the above figure that the location of the Electrical Center is
dependent upon the ratio ES/ER. Appearance of electrical center on a transmission
line is a transient phenomenon. This is because, during unstable transient, is not
stationary. As the rotor angles separate in time Electrical Center arises during out-of-
step condition.
Voltage at the Point of Occurrence of Electrical Center:
The voltage profile across the transmission system at the point of occurrence of
electrical center is shown in figure below.

At the electrical center, the voltage is exactly zero. This

means that relays at both ends of the line perceive it as a bolted three phase
fault and immediately trip the line. Thus, we can conclude that existence of Electrical
Center means system instability which can introduce nuisance tripping of distance
relay.
Now consider a double end- fed transmission line with three stepped distance
protection scheme having Z1, Z2 and Z3 protection zones. The mho relays are used
and characteristics are plotted on R-X plane as shown in figure below.

Here, Swing impedance trajectory is also overlapped on relay characteristics for a

simple case of equal end voltages (i.e. k = 1) and it is perpendicular to line AB. It is
clear from figure that δz1, δz2 and δz3are rotor angles when swing just enters the zone
Z1, Z2 and Z3 respectively and it can be obtained from the intersection of swing
trajectory with the relay characteristics as shown in figure above.
As we know that δ maxis the maximum rotor angle for stable Power Swing, hence we
can conclude following from the figure:
 If, δmax< δz3 then swing will not enter the relay characteristics.
 If, δz3<δmax< δz2 swing will enter in zone Z3. If it stays in zone -3 for larger
interval than its time setting, then the relay will trip the line.
 If δz2<δmax< δz1, swing will enter in both the zones Z2 and Z3. If it stays in
zone-2, for a larger interval than its time setting, then the relay will trip
on Z2. Typically, time setting of Z2 is less than Z3.
 If δmax> δz1, swing will enter in the zones Z1, Z2 and Z3 and operate
zone-1 protection without any intentional delay.