Setting the ASPEN RAZOA Relay

in the

Computer-Aided Protection Engineering System

(CAPE)

Prepared for

CAPE Users’ Group

April 2001

Electrocon International, Inc. Georgia Power Company

Ann Arbor, Michigan Atlanta, Georgia

This document is the sole property of Electrocon International, Inc. and is provided to the
CAPE Users Group for its own use only. It may not be supplied to any third party, or
copied or reproduced in any form, without the express written permission of Electrocon
International, Inc. All copies and reproductions shall be the property of Electrocon
International, Inc. and must bear this ownership statement in its entirety.
 Application Note on Setting the ASPEN RAZOA Relay

I. Relay Models

The ASPEN RAZOA distance relay method has now been modeled in CAPE. This note
describes the CAPE model of this relay. It also describes the method for setting the relay for
use in coordination studies in CAPE.

You can access the relay data model from the database “CAPE_STARTER.GDB,” which is a
part of the CAPE distribution. Under the relay manufacturer “ASPEN,” you will find the
relay type “ASPEN_DS,” the relay model “ASPEN_RAZOA” and the relay style

a) ASPEN_RAZOA: with three distance measuring zones

You can import this style into your own database. You can also change the name of the
style to anything you wish. However, please do not change the names of the common taps or
the designations of the various elements, since they are hard-coded in the CAPE code.

II. Relay Elements

The RAZOA relay has three distance measuring zones. The element designations are:

1. DIST “Z_Measuring” 1: The zone 1 element, with a POLYGON characteristic. Part of

this characteristic is a circular MHO, while the rest is made up of straight-line
segments.
2. DIST “Z_Measuring” 2: The zone 2 element, with a POLYGON characteristic as in Zone
1. This zone can be set to operate in the reverse direction if required.
3. DIST “Z_Measuring” 3: The zone 3 element, with a POLYGONAL characteristic as in
Zone 1. Zone 3 can be set to operate in the reverse direction if desired.

Each zone element has one unit that can evaluate three phase-earth loops and three phase-
phase loops. A phase selection procedure determines which of the six loops to evaluate for
the present fault. The phase selection procedure uses the magnitudes of the phase currents
and the ground currents to identify the faulted phases.

Zone 1 operates instantaneously (zone operation time is one cycle). Zones 2 and 3 can each
be provided with additional time delays by means of the following TIMER elements:

1. TIMER “T2”: Time delay for zone 2.

2. TIMER “T3”: Time delay for zone 3.

The internal supervision is shown in Figure 1.

1
 Z2 Z3
DIST DIST

Z1 T2 T3
DIST TIMER TIMER

LZOP Logic

Figure 1: Internal Supervision in the RAZOA

Zone 1 is an instantaneous element. Zones 2 and 3 supervise their own timers to provide
additional delays. The phase selection procedure based on current magnitudes is
implemented in the CAPE code for each DIST element.

The outputs from the instantaneous zone 1 element, and the timers can be combined using
contact logic codes to trip the logical breaker at the relay location. An example of this is
provided in the section on “Contact Logic” later in this document.

You can study the operation of the individual elements in the Coordination Graphics (CG)
module of CAPE1. The operation time of each zone will include the operation time of the
zone itself, plus any additional time delay provided by the zone timers.

III. Common Tap Settings

In this section, a listing of the common taps in the relay is provided. To set the relay, you
will have to set these taps appropriately. You can ignore all element level settings. The
common tap settings will override the element level settings.

The tap “Phase/Ground/Both” is not part of the relay model. The RAZOA evaluates either a
phase-earth loop or phase-phase loop as determined by the phase-selection procedure.

Zone 2 Sup. on OC Relay Fixed/variable time delay for zone 2 (Information only)

This tap is for informational purposes only in CAPE. It refers to an unusual feature of
Aspen distance element models that allows a distance element to supervise a time-
overcurrent element to achieve a variable time delay. As far as the CAPE model of the
relay is concerned, the zone 2 element always supervises the fixed timer “T2.” To achieve a
variable time delay for zone 2, you must do the following:

1. Set up external supervision in the “Database Editor” to make the zone 2 element
supervise a time-overcurrent (TOC) element in the network.

1Please see the “Coordination Graphics Tutorial” manual for a detailed tutorial on using CG. It can
be accessed from the online help in CAPE.

2
2. Use the output of the TOC element in the contact logic expression to achieve the
variable time delay.

Note that in CG, you will always see the fixed time delay being displayed for the zone 2
element.

The zero sequence compensation factor K0 is set by the following taps:

KM Magnitude of the K0 factor

KA Angle of the K0 factor (in degrees)

The minimum phase and ground starter currents are set by:

Phase start (A) Minimum phase current setting for phase starter
operation. Set in secondary amperes, 0-50A.
Ground start (A) Minimum ground current setting for ground starter
operation. Set in secondary amperes, 0-50A.

The taps “IMin_Phase” and “IMin_Ground” are not present in this model.

Phase selection is controlled by the tap:

PS position (0-5) Phase selector switch position

The zone 1 element is set by the following taps:

Z1_Imp. Zone 1 reach in secondary ohms (0.01–250Ω)

Z1_Ang. Zone 1 characteristic angle in degrees (0°–90°)

The zone 2 element is set by the following taps:

Z2_Imp. Zone 2 reach in secondary ohms (0.01–250Ω)

Z2_Delay Zone 2 time delay in seconds (0–100 s)
Z2_Frwrd(1)/Rev(0) Zone 2 direction

The zone 3 element is set by the following taps:

Z3_Imp. Zone 3 reach in secondary ohms (0.01–250Ω)

Z3_Delay Zone 3 time delay in seconds (0–100 s)
Z3_Frwrd(1)/Rev(0) Zone 3 direction

Zone 1 is forward directional. Zones 2 and 3 can be set to operate in the reverse direction.

The MTA or characteristic angle of all the zones is defined by the tap “Z1_Ang.” This is
unlike other ASPEN methods (MHO, MHO4, KD) where each zone is allowed to have its
own MTA.

3
Figure 2 below shows a forward directional zone 1 and a reverse directional zone 3 of a
RAZOA relay. The zone 1 reach is 2.0 Ω at 65°; the zone 2 reach is 1.0Ω at 245°.

As you can see, only part of the characteristic is circular. If the forward reach is “Z ∠θ,” the
vertical line is drawn at “Zcos(θ)” while the horizontal line is drawn at “Zsin(θ).”

Figure 2: RAZOA Characteristics

You can use the mouse to drag the relay characteristic. You can drag the resistance line,
the reactance line or the circular portion. Dragging the characteristic will change the reach
setting tap in the CAPE buffer of the relay. When you exit from CAPE, you will have the
option of saving the changes you made back to the database.

IV. Element Operation

In this section, the comparator equations of the RAZOA relay elements are discussed. First,
the starter checks the current magnitudes and determines the loop in which the impedance
to the fault is to be measured.

4
A. Starter Operation

The individual phase currents and the ground current are checked against their settings to
determine the phases that are faulted. The position of the PS Switch then determines the
loop to be evaluated by the distance element. Table 1 below summarizes this process.

Starting PS Switch Position

Element 0 1 2 3 4 5
A A-G C-A A-G C-A A-G C-A
B B-G A-B B-G A-B B-G A-B
C C-G B-C C-G B-C C-G B-C
A,B A-B A-B A-B A-B A-B A-B
B,C B-C B-C B-C B-C B-C B-C
C,A C-A C-A C-A C-A C-A C-A
A,B,C A-B A-B A-B A-B A-B A-B
A,G A-G A-G A-G A-G A-G A-G
B,G B-G B-G B-G B-G B-G B-G
C,G C-G C-G C-G C-G C-G C-G
A,B,G B-G B-G A-G A-G A-B A-B
B,C,G C-G C-G B-G B-G B-C B-C
C,A,G A-G A-G C-G C-G C-A C-A
A,B,C,G A-B A-B A-B A-B A-B A-B

Table 1: Loop Selection

For single-phase-ground faults, the corresponding phase-earth loop is selected for

evaluation in the distance element (rows 8, 9 and 10 of Table 1), irrespective of the switch
position.

For line-to-line faults, the corresponding phase-phase loop is picked for evaluation (rows 4,
5 and 6 of Table 1). For three-phase faults with or without ground, the phase-phase loop A-
B is selected (rows 7 and 14 of Table 1).

In the case of double-line-ground faults, (rows 11, 12 and 13 of Table 1), the switch position
determines whether:

1. The lagging phase-earth loop is selected (PS position 0, 1)

2. The leading phase-earth loop is selected (PS position 2, 3) or
3. The phase-phase loop is selected (PS position 4, 5)

In the case of single-phase faults, without ground fault detection (rows 1, 2 and 3 of Table
1), the switch position determines whether:

1. A phase-earth loop is selected (PS position 0, 2 or 4) or

2. A phase-phase loop is selected (PS position 1, 3 or 5)

Please note that the CAPE method of phase selection is different from the ASPEN method
of phase selection. The ASPEN method does not treat the rows of Table 1 as mutually

5
exclusive from one another. That is, if overcurrent elements in phases B and C operate,
indicating a B-C fault, and if the switch position is set to “2,” the following loops will be
selected:

1. Phase-phase loop B-C

2. Phase-earth loop B-G and
3. Phase-earth loop C-G

Since there are two phases involved in the fault, it is sufficient if the corresponding phase-
phase loop is evaluated. There is really no need to check individual phase-earth loops,
especially because a ground fault was not detected. Further, it is also possible that while
the phase-phase loop does not operate for the fault (correct operation), one of the phase-
earth loops might, and cause a misoperation.

B. Distance Element Operation

Define ZC as the complex forward reach of a zone at the characteristic angle (MTA). There
is no offset in the RAZOA. The operating and polarizing quantities for each phase-earth and
phase-phase loop are listed below in Table 2.

Loop Operating Voltage Operating Current Polarizing Voltage

VOP IOP VPOL
A-G VA IA + 3K0I0 VB – VC
B-G VB IB + 3K0I0 VC – VA
C-G VC IC + 3K0I0 VA – VB
A-B VA – VB IA – IB –VC,MEM
B-C VB – VC IB – IC –VA,MEM
C-A VC – VA IC – IA –VB,MEM

Table 2: Operating and Polarizing Quantities

Please note that the polarizing voltage is the cross-polarized voltage, lagging the operating
voltage by 90°. In the case of phase-phase loops, the prefault voltage is used for
polarization.

Now, compute the apparent impedance in the loop, ZOP as

VOP
ZOP =
IOP

where VOP is the operating voltage and IOP is the operating current in the loop.

The zone element will operate if all three of the conditions below are satisfied.

180°≤ arg
FG V
OP − IOP ⋅ ZCIJ
≤ 360°
H VPOL K

6
Note that VPOL is not in phase with VOP, it is 90° behind VOP. Therefore, the comparator
equation above uses 180° and 360° as its limits. If the two were in phase, the limits would
be 90° and 270°.

The above condition ensures that the fault lies within the MHO circle. The next two
conditions check if the fault lies within the straight-line segments of the zone characteristic.

b g b g
Re ZOP < Re ZC

Im bZ g < Im bZ g
OP C

For reverse directional zones, ZC is defined at the characteristic angle of (180°+MTA). Also,
the two inequalities above will be reversed.

V. Placing the Relay in the System

To use the relay in CAPE, you first have to place it at an appropriate substation in your
system. This is done from within the Database Editor. Please see the “Getting Started
Exercises” in the “Database Editor Tutorials” for instructions on how to do this. You can
access these tutorials from within the online help system in CAPE. The tutorial also
explains how to hook the relay up to instrument transformers (CTs and VTs).

Figure 3 below shows the RAZOA relay, after it has been placed in the database “cape.gdb.”

Figure 3: The RAZOA Relay Setting Form

Click on the “Elements” tab. As you can see, the relay has 3 zone distance elements and 2
timer elements. Use the “Connect Op CT” and “Connect Op VT” buttons to specify a CT and
VT for the relay. Clicking on those buttons will bring up a list of CTs and a list of VTs at

7
the substation at which the relay has been placed. You can choose appropriate instrument
transformers for the relay from the lists.

Next, click on the “Common Taps” tab. You will see a listing of all the taps in the relay. The
meaning of each tap was discussed earlier. You can set them to any value within the range
allowed for each tap.

Once you have saved your changes, you are ready to use the relay in CAPE. At this point,
you have not specified any contact logic codes for the elements in the relay. This means that
you can only study individual elements of the relay in the CG module. You cannot use the
relay in System Simulator2 (SS) or Relay Checking (RC) studies until you specify contact
logic codes for the elements.

VI. Contact Logic Codes

All relays in CAPE are made up of a number of elements. The various types of elements
allowed in CAPE are:

1. IOC: Instantaneous overcurrent element

2. TOC: Time overcurrent element
3. DIST: Distance element
4. VOLT: Voltage element (under/overvoltage, instantaneous/time-varying)
5. DIR: Directional element
6. TIMER: Timer element
7. AUX: Auxiliary element useful in simulating pilot protection schemes.

Every element can be assigned a “Contact Logic Code,” a user-specified logical name, which
will be asserted TRUE, if the element operates.

Every relay that is placed in the system belongs to what is called a “Local Zone of
Protection” or LZOP. An LZOP can be thought of as a relay panel, consisting of a number of
relays.

If you look at the top-left part of Figure 3, you will see the LZOP data for the RAZOA relay
shown above. This relay is located at the “AVALON” substation, and it is within the LZOP
named “Tallulah 115 Line,” which protects the 115kV line to the “Tallulah” substation.

Associated with every LZOP is a logical breaker. In our case, it is the logical breaker at the
“AVALON” substation, on the 115kV line to “Tallulah.”

Also associated with the LZOP is the “Contact Logic Expression”: a Boolean expression
that is made up of a number of “Contact Logic Codes.”

So, we now have the following:

2Please see the “System Simulator Tutorial” manual for a detailed tutorial on using the System
Simulator module. It can be accessed from the online help in CAPE.

8
1. “Contact Logic Codes” that indicate the output of individual relay elements
2. “Contact Logic Expression” that combines the outputs of the individual relay elements
(the “Contact Logic Codes”) in a Boolean expression.

If the “Contact Logic Expression” evaluates to be TRUE, the logical breaker at the LZOP
will operate and open its contacts.

The “Contact Logic Expression” and “Contact Logic Codes” are required for System
Simulator or Relay Checking studies. In SS and RC, you can perform sequential breaker
operation studies, to check relay coordination in a large portion of your network. SS and RC
will open a breaker only if a “Contact Logic Expression” evaluates to be TRUE.

In the CG module of CAPE, you will be analyzing individual elements, and consequently,
the “Contact Logic Expression” for the LZOP will not be evaluated.

In the example below, we will use the RAZOA relay to build a step-distance scheme. All
logic codes are user-definable. The names used here are for illustration only.

The Aspen RAZOA relay has 3 zone distance elements. Zone 1 operates instantaneously,
while zones 2 and 3 supervise their corresponding zone delay timers. In a step-distance
scheme, contact logic codes will be assigned to the zone 1 element, and the timers for zones
2 and 3.

Element Designation Suggested Contact Logic Code

DIST “Z_Measuring” 1 DIST_Z1

TIMER “T2” DIST_Z2T
TIMER “T3” DIST_Z3T

We can now write a contact logic expression for the RAZOA as:

DIST_RAZOA = DIST_Z1 OR DIST_Z2T OR DIST_Z3T

The expression “DIST_RAZOA” logically combines the outputs from individual relay
elements. You can now assign “DIST_RAZOA” to be the logic expression for the LZOP to
which the RAZOA belongs. The logical breaker at the relay location will trip if either the
zone 1 element operates, or if any one of the zone delay timers operates, due to operation of
the corresponding zone distance element.