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How Do Reclosers Work? Settings and

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Table of Contents  [hide]

How Do Reclosers Work?

Recloser States[1][2]
Top Posts & Pages
Recloser Settings[3][4][5]

References Vector Group of Transformer

Dyn1|Dyn11|Ynd1|Ynd11
Basic Transformer Differential
Protection Calculation
Fundamentals of Distance
Protection

Photo Credit: NOJA Power

Reclosers, otherwise known as autoreclosers (derived from “automatic reclosing” capability) or ACRs
(Automatic Circuit Reclosers) have been widely used in transmission and distribution systems. The purpose
of reclosers is mainly to increase system reliability by isolating only the faulted part of the power system.
Unlike fuses, reclosers can automatically re-energize the line following a trip operation from a transient or
temporary fault thus the term ‘reclose’ meaning to close again.

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In medium voltage distribution systems, overhead power lines are very common. Most faults on these
lines are either transient, resulting from lightning-induced transient high voltage, or temporary, as a result
of contact from foreign objects such as animal contact or vegetation e.g. falling tree branches or
momentary tree contact caused by the wind. These faults include the following, with very approximate
percentages of occurrence[1]:

Single phase-to-ground: 70% – 80%

Double phase-to-ground: 10% – 17%

Phase-to-phase: 8% – 10%

Three-phase: 2% – 3%

You might want to read:

kAIC Rating Assessment of an Electrical Recloser

ETAP Star Coordination on Focus | Detailed Example

How Do Reclosers Work?

Unlike fuses, reclosers can automatically re-energize the line following a trip operation. The automatic
reclose operation can be single or multiple shots. Figure 1 shows a typical sequence of a recloser
operation.

Figure 1. Typical Recloser Operation Sequence

Recloser States[1][2]
Reset State – The circuit breaker is closed for a pre-configured reset time and the autoreclose
function is waiting to receive an initiate signal to start timing to reclose after the breaker opens.

Figure 2. Lockout-Close-to-Reset Sequence

 Cycle State – The recloser is going through the autoreclose cycle after the circuit breaker opens
and following a successful initiation, reclosing as many times as programmed.

Figure 3. Reset-Open-Close-to-Reset Sequence

Lockout State – All reclose attempts are unsuccessful or the reclose initiation fails or other
conditions that drive the recloser into lockout. The circuit breaker remains open until a manual
close operation is made.

Figure 4. Reset-Open-Close-Open-Close-Open-to-Lockout Sequence

Referring to figure 1, the circuit breaker is initially in a close position (normal loading condition). At this
point, the recloser is in the reset state (assuming that the circuit breaker has been closed for a duration
greater than the pre-configured reset time). The recloser in reset state waits for an initiate signal before it
can start timing after the breaker opens. The initiate signal is usually a protection trip signal such as an
overcurrent trip.

Following a successful initiate, the recloser goes into the cycle state, closing the breaker at a pre-
configured time interval after the breaker opens. If the breaker remains closed for a duration greater than
the pre-configured reset time, the recloser goes back into the reset state. However, if the breaker trips
after reclosing, the recloser will try to close the breaker again depending on the programmed number of
reclose attempts. The cycle repeats until the recloser exhausts its remaining reclose attempts. In figure 1,
the total reclose attempts is two.

After exhausting all reclose attempts, the recloser goes into the lockout state. The circuit breaker remains
open until a manual close operation is made. When the circuit breaker is manually closed, the recloser
goes back into the reset state after a pre-configured reset time. However, if the breaker trips before the
reset time expires, the recloser goes directly into the lockout state.

It is important to note that the recloser may not attempt to reclose and go directly to the lockout state
depending on the programmed conditions such as but not limited to the following:

Reclosing is disabled by user

 Manual open

High Current Trip or Instantaneous lockout overcurrent trip

Trips from the operation of protection elements other than the overcurrent protection such as
voltage (27/59), frequency (81), etc.

Trip by Hot Line Tag

Recloser Settings[3][4][5]
Setting reclosers might be a little confusing especially with the different terms used by vendors or
manufacturers. As such, familiarity with how reclosers work and the basic settings associated with their
operation is important to make the configuration a fairly straightforward process. The following settings
are integral in the operation of reclosers.

Number of Reclosing Attempts

This setting refers to the number of close attempts before the recloser goes to lockout. Different vendors
have different implementations of this setting. Some require a simple as specifying the number of
reclosing operations while others, the number of trips to lockout. Some others relate the number of
reclosing attempts to the dead time or open interval setting. For example, if there are three available dead
time or open interval settings in the recloser, setting all dead time or open interval setting to a non-zero
value effectively sets the number of reclosing attempts to three. If for example, the third dead time or
open interval setting is set to zero, the effective number of reclosing attempts is two.

Other vendors have a very specific way to set the number of reclosing attempts such that the setting
depends on which protection element has operated. In figure 5, the protection element OC1+ is set to R-
R-L-L, this means that the number of reclosing attempts if OC1+ operated is two.

Figure 5. Auto Reclosing Map

Photo credit: NOJA Power

Dead Time

Dead Time refers to the time delay before a reclosing attempt can be made after the tripping of the circuit
breaker. Some vendors refer to this as ‘Open/Reclosing Interval Time’ while others call this ‘Reclose Time’.
There can be one or more dead time setting available depending on the number of reclosing attempts
which are set independently from each other.

According to the IEEE Guide for Automatic Reclosing of Circuit Breakers for AC Distribution and
Transmission Lines,

“… an autoreclose attempt without sufficient time delay to allow the dielectric to re-
establish its strength results in an unsuccessful reclose attempt.”
IEEE Std C37.104-2012

In order to prevent this, the dead time should be set not lesser than the recommended minimum time
delay based on the following equation.

t = 10.5 + VL-L/34.5
where

t is the minimum time delay in cycles

VL-L is the rated line-to-line voltage in kV

Table 1 shows the recommended dead time intervals for distribution systems.

Dead Time Interval Typical Setting Range (seconds)

Initial Trip to 1st Reclose 0–5

2nd Trip to 2nd Reclose 10 – 20

3rd Trip to 3rd Reclose 10 – 30

Table 1. Dead Time Intervals

Reset Time

Reset time refers to the time delay before the recloser goes into the reset state from either the cycle or
lockout state. Some vendors implement a single reset timer while others use two separate reset timers,
one for the reset time from reclose cycle state and the other for the reset time from lockout state.

Setting the reset time usually depends on the preference between excessive tripping and autoreclosing or
undesirable lockout operations. It should be noted however to set the reset time longer than the dead
time.

References
[1] Blackburn, J., “Protective Relaying Principles and Application, 4th ed.,” Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2014

[2] “IEEE Guide for Automatic Reclosing of Circuit Breakers for AC Distribution and Transmission Lines,” in
IEEE Std C37.104-2012 (Revision of IEEE Std C37.104-2002) , vol., no., pp.1-72, 6 July 2012, doi:
10.1109/IEEESTD.2012.6232415.

[3] “SEL-351-5, -6, -7 Relay Instruction Manual,” Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc., 20160715

[4] “OSM User Manual OSM Automatic Circuit Recloser 15kV, 27kV & 38kV Models”, NOJA Power

[5] “Recloser Control EVRC2A-NT User’s Manual”, ENTEC Electric & Electronic Co., 2018

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August 23, 2022 at 9:59 AM

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