See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/329317620

Design of a Digital Standard Inverse Overcurrent Relay Using Arduino Uno as a

Microcontroller

Conference Paper · September 2018

DOI: 10.1109/ICELTICS.2018.8548835

CITATION READS

1 176

3 authors, including:

Syukriyadin Syukriyadin Ira Sara

Syiah Kuala University Syiah Kuala University
17 PUBLICATIONS 27 CITATIONS 43 PUBLICATIONS 151 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Editor-in-Chief International Journal of Solar Thermal Vacuum Engineering View project

Predictive Modeling With Machine Learning View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Syukriyadin Syukriyadin on 23 November 2022.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 2018 International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Informatics (ICELTICs), Sept. 19-20, 2018

Design of a Digital Standard Inverse Overcurrent

Relay Using Arduino Uno as a Microcontroller
Syukriyadin Syukriyadin Ira Devi Sara* Fariz Mashuri
Department of Electrical and Computer Department of Electrical and Computer Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering Engineering Engineering
Syiah Kuala University Syiah Kuala University Syiah Kuala University
Banda Aceh, Indonesia Banda Aceh, Indonesia Banda Aceh, Indonesia
syukriyadin@unsyiah.ac.id ira.sara@unsyiah.ac.id fariz.mashuri@gmail.com

Abstract— This paper aims to design a digital overcurrent
relay with a characteristic of a standard inverse that can
comply to the IEC standard 60255. The overcurrent relay
which is used to protect one phase of an alternating circuit
(AC) from the overcurrent disturbances consists of an Arduino
Uno as a microcontroller to control the operation of the relay,
a current sensor ACS712 with the allowable current up to 30A
used to detect the input current to the relay and a circuit
breaker module. The Time Multiplier Setting (TMS) of the
relay was set at 0.1. The trip test of the relay was conducted at
a varying TMS from 0.1 to 0.4 and the operation current was
limited to 1A. When a fault current was detected at 2.02A, it
was found that the operation time of the relay occurred at
1008ms with a TMS of 0.1 and at 3932ms with the TMS of 0.4.
Increasing the fault current to 3.99A decreases the operation
time to 504ms at the TMS of 0.1 and to 2016ms at TMS of 0.4.
From these findings, it can be concluded that the prototype of
the digital overcurrent relay can fulfill the inverse
characteristic of the standard IEC 60255.
Keywords—digital relay, overcurrent relay, inverse standard,
Arduino Uno microcontroller
I. INTRODUCTION
A good power system must be equipped with a proper
protection system which is intended to prevent and to
protect the system against any faults that might occur during
the operation of the system [1]. This protection system
consists of a current transformer, a relay and a circuit
breaker. A current transformer is used to inform the
magnitude of the input current signal to the relay [2]. If the
value of the input current sensed by the relay exceeds the
setting current of the relay, the relay will send the signal to
the circuit breaker to trip or open the circuit. Basically, most
of the protection relays are electromagnetic types [3].
Advances in power technology, protection relays based on a
microprocessor have been developed. These types of relays
are also known as numerical relays which convert the
analogue input signal into digital signal. The numerical
relays comprise of a microprocessor, an input module, an
output module and a communication module [2,3].
Some studies have been conducted to investigate and
analyze the performance of overcurrent relay based on a
microprocessor [4,5,6]. For example, the trip test was done
to examine the response of the relay due to varying fault
currents caused by over load [4], a multifunction relay based
on a microprocessor was also developed to protect against
overcurrent and under voltage faults [5]. An overcurrent
relay based on Arduino has been investigated to protect the
*Corresponding author: ira.sara@unsyiah.ac.id
electrical system which consists of resistive load and lamps
against the overcurrent disturbances [6]. In [7], Arduino
Uno has been applied as a protection relay to protect the
micro-grid system against the overcurrent faults. The
adaptive model based on the dual simplex algorithm was
used to simulate the system. In this paper, a simple digital
relay based on Arduino Uno is proposed to protect the
electrical system against overcurrent faults.
The proposed overcurrent protection relay consists of a
current sensor ACS712, an Arduino as a microcontroller and
a circuit breaker. It is designed to have an inverse time
characteristic and can fulfill the standard IEC 60255. The
proposed relay also needs to have some capabilities such as
to be selective to different types of AC fault currents and
fast responses. To verify the performance of the proposed
overcurrent relay, its operation time is compared to the
SPCJ4D29 overcurrent relay with the same inverse
characteristic.
II. OVERCURRENT PROTECTION
A. Overcurrent relay
The purpose of the overcurrent protection is to minimize
damages due to overcurrent faults to the electrical system by
detecting the abnormalities quickly and isolating the
disturbed components from the healthy electrical system
selectively. To operate selectively, the input current entering
the overcurrent relay needs to be set at certain value. If the
input current goes to the overcurrent relay greater than its
setting value, the relay will operate by sending the electrical
signal to the circuit breaker (CB) to trip the electrical circuit
immediately [8] as illustrated in Fig.1.
Time Setting
Input Current
Over-Current
Trip Output
Relay
Plug Setting (Pick-Up)
Fig.1. The illustration of the operation of an overcurrent relay [8]

978-1-5386-6140-6/18/$31.00
Authorized ©2018Library.
licensed use limited to: Cornell University 45September 03,2020 atICELTICs
IEEE Downloaded on 2018,
08:47:57 UTC fromBanda AcehRestrictions
IEEE Xplore. - Indonesia
apply.
 The overcurrent relays are classified into two types based Long Time Inverse:
on their operation time, i.e.: an instantaneous relay and a
time delay relay. (4)
• Instantaneous Relay where,
This kind of overcurrent relay operates quickly without t = the time delay of the relay (second)
any delays when the current entering the relay exceeds TMS = the time multiplier setting (second)
its pick-up current value [9]. This relay is used to protect Ir = the ratio of the fault current to the setting current
the outgoing feeder from overcurrent faults such as due
to the short-circuit conditions, transient conditions and
over loads. Its operation time is within 100ms. The
construction of the instantaneous relay comprises of a
moving armature, plunger and an induction disk.
• Time delay Relay
A time delay relay operates with certain time delay. If
the fault current exceeds the pick-up or operating current
of the relay, the relay will send the signal to the circuit
breaker to trip after its time delay is reached [9]. The
pick-up current and the time delay of the relay can be
adjusted according to the protection requirement of the
system. The operation of the relay is determined by the
magnitude of the pick-up current and the time delay. It
only operates if two conditions are fulfilled. Even
though the current entering the relay exceeds its pick-up
current such as the starting current and the surge current,
the relay is still not operating if the time delay of the
relay is not met [10, 11, 12]. Based on the variations of Fig.2. The Inverse characteristic curves with the time delay [12]
the time delay, the time delay relay can be distinguished
The inverse characteristic curves show the relationship
into two types i.e.: the definite time and the inverse time
between the operation time in seconds and the fault current
relays. Basically, both relays with definite and inverse of the relay as the multiple of its pick-up current [9]. The
characteristics have certain time delay. The definite time curve has the asymptote in the vertical axis and it is inverse
delay relay has a constant time delay. The definite time to the current that exceeds to the pick-up current. The inverse
relays are usually applied as a back-up relay [10, 11, 12]. time characteristic curve can be shifted up and down by
For example, it is used to back-up the distance relay to adjusting the Time Dial Setting (TDS). If the relay reaches
protect the transmission line and to back-up the its pick-up value due to a fault current, then its time delay is
differential relay to protect the power transformer. It also set to identify that incoming fault current. The relay will send
can be applied as the main protection relay to protect the the signal to the circuit breaker to trip only if the duration of
outgoing feeder and bus coupler. the fault exceeds its setting time delay. The example of the
relay operation is given in Fig.3 where the pick-up current
In contract to the definite time relay, the time delay of value is set at 1 Ampere and the TDS is positioned at 0.1.
the inverse relay is varied depending on the magnitude of Then the value of its time delay is adjusted to the magnitude
the incoming fault current. Generally, if the magnitude of of the fault current relay which is the area under the curve as
the detected fault current is very high, the time delay of the shown in the Fig.3.
relay is also very fast. The characteristics of the inverse
time relay can be classified into four types as shown in the
standard IEC 60255 [1], i.e.: Standard inverse, the Definite
inverse, the Very inverse and the Extremely inverse. Their
characteristic curves are shown in Figure 2.
The time delay of those different inverse relays can be
calculated as expressed in (1) to (4) [1]:
Standard Inverse:

(1)

Very Inverse:

(2)

Extremely Inverse:

(3) Fig.3. Operation time of the inverse relay with a TMS setting at 0.1 [12]

46September 03,2020 at 08:47:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Cornell University Library. Downloaded on
 Another example of the relay operation is given in Fig.4
where different sets of TDS can be chosen for the
overcurrent relay SPCJ 4D29 type.
Fig.4. The inverse characteristic curve of the reference relay SPCJ 4D29
with different TMS settings [12]
B. Setting the Time-Delay of Overcurrent relay
There are two components that need to be adjusted for
the operation of the time-delay overcurrent relay, i.e.: the
current tap setting or the pick-up current in Ampere and the
time-dial setting [9, 10, 11]. To accurately set the time delay
of the inverse relay, the following considerations are
required. Those are the maximum load that might occur in
the protected electrical system, the maximum fault current,
the power factor, the tripping speed of the circuit breaker
and the ratio of the current transformer. From those
considerations, the maximum fault current is the most
important concern for setting the time delay of the
overcurrent relay with a standard inverse characteristic. If
this overcurrent relay is applied to protect the radial line, the
lowest time delay has to be set to the relay that is placed at
the longest point of the circuit then the time delay of the
following relays are increased gradually.
III. METHODS
The procedures to design of the proposed digital standard
inverse relay are differentiated into two stages. The first
stage is the software design and the second stage is the
hardware design. The complete design of the whole proposed
overcurrent relay with the standard inverse time
characteristic is shown in Figure 5.
The electrical components of the proposed digital relay
consist of the current sensor ACS712, the Arduino Uno as
the microcontroller, the single pole double through (SPDT)
electromagnetic switch, the pull-up resistor circuit, LCD and
keypad.
47September 03,2020 at 08:47:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Authorized licensed use limited to: Cornell University Library. Downloaded on
220 VAC
ACS712 SPDT Relay
Load
Arduino
Uno
LCD Keypad
Fig.5. The Design of the proposed digital standard inverse overcurrent relay
A. Software design
The purpose of the software design is to connect all the
electrical components of the proposed digital relay such as
the sensor current ACS712, the Arduino Uno, the breaker
relay module SPDT, keypad, the resistor as a whole system
that can functions to protect the electrical power system
from any overcurrent faults.
The program for the microcontroller Arduino Uno was
written using the Arduino IDE 1.8.5.0 (sketch). The standard
inverse time was chosen as the characteristic of the proposed
digital relay.
B. Hardware design
In this stage, all the electrical components are assembled
and connected together as shown in Fig. 5 to produce the
prototype of the proposed digital relay with standard inverse
characteristic. Not only the hardware components are
connected, but the software part was also integrated into the
prototype to regulate the operation of the hardware
components.
1) Current Sensor ACS712
The installation of the current sensor ACS712 30A is in
series to the one phase cable where the current flowing
through the circuit as shown in Fig. 6. The current sensor
ACS712 has the ability to measure the current up to
30Amps. The sensor works based on the hall sensor effect
where the magnitude of the current passes through the
conductor (IP+ to IP-) is directly proportional to the
magnitude of the magnetic field. The generated magnetic
fields are accumulated in the hall and produce the output
voltage at the output terminals of the sensor. The current
sensor ACS712 30A sends the reading of the alternating
current to Arduino Uno through the jumper of the female-
male cable.
Fig.6. The installation of the current sensor ACS712
2) The calculation of the fault duration: input the setting current value to the Arduino Uno. The
input and output (I/O) connection of the keypad to the I/O
The calculation of the time that is used in the prototype is
pin of the Arduino Uno is shown in Fig.9.
using the function that is available in the Arduino Uno
which is called the millis() function. Besides, the pull-up
resistor system as shown in Fig. 7 is also used to assign the
pick-up condition which is marked by either HGH or LOW
conditions to the digital pin of the Arduino Uno. If the relay
has reached its pick-up current setting, the value of the
millis() at that condition is used as a reference. Then the
increased millis() value is used as a subtraction to the
reference millis() value. Afterward, the difference between
the two values is used as a stopwatch to calculate the
duration time in milliseconds (ms).

Fig.9. The connection of keypad to the I/O pin of Arduino Uno

The TMS of the proposed relay is set through the ‘B’

button of the keypad. After the B button is pressed, the value
of the TMS can be entered and the ‘#’ button is also used to
enter the value to the Arduino Uno.
Fig.7. The pull-up resistor circuit.

3) Electromagnetic switches IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

When the magnitude of the fault current occurred exceeds
the setting current value and its duration is longer than the
setting delay time of the relay, then the fault is considered
and written as a permanent fault in the Arduino Uno
program. At this stage, the digital pin of the Arduino Uno
has a voltage of 5 Volts. A single pole double through
(SPDT) electromagnetic switch is used to break the
electrical circuit when the permanent fault occurs. The
assembly of the breaker circuit is shown in Fig.8.
The physical construction of the prototype of the
proposed digital standard inverse relay is shown in Fig.10.
To test the performance of the prototype relay, the following
three tests are carried out, i.e.: the short-circuit test, the
transient test and the overloading test. Apart from those tests,
the first test is done to verify the reading the current sensor
ACS712. In this section, the results of the complete tests are
given.

Fig.10. the physical construction of the proposed digital overcurrent relay

with an inverse standard characteristic.

Fig.8. The Installation of the electromagnetic switch
4) Keypad
The keypad is used to enter the setting current and the TMS
values of the proposed relay. The current value of the relay
is set through the ‘A’ button of the keypad. After the A
button is pressed, then the operating current value of the
relay can be entered. Finally, the’#’ button is pressed to
A. The verification of the the current sensor ACS712 30A
reading
The readings of the current sensor ACS712 30A are
compared to the trusted Ampere meter. The verification
results are shown in Table I. As shown in the Table I, the
reading of the current sensor has a very small difference
which is less than 0.5% to that of the trusted Ampere meter.
This shows that the current sensor used has a good accuracy.

48September 03,2020 at 08:47:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Cornell University Library. Downloaded on
 TABLE I. The verification results of the current sensor ACS712 30A D. The tripping test during overloading conditions
The reading of the The overloading test is carried out to investigate the
The reading of the The
trusted Ampere meter
current sensor
differences
performance of the proposed relay during the overloading
ACS712 30A condition. To assess how the relay behaves at different TMS
(A) (A) (%) settings and pick-up currents, other tripping tests are carried
1.02 1.02 0 out. In the tests, the tripping time of the proposed relay is
2.04 2.03 0.49 compared to that of the SPCJ relay as the reference relay
3.04 3.03 0.32 with the same characteristic. The results are shown in Table
4.03 4.03 0 IV.

B. The tripping test during short-curcuit conditions. TABLE IV. The result of the trip test during the transient conditions at
different TMS setting
The purpose of this short-circuit test is to assess the
performance of the prototype relay during the short-circuit Isetting = 1A and TMS=0.1
The tripping
The relay’s pickup current = 1.01A
condition whether it can sense the fault current and trip the time of the
Time Delay of SI The Tripping time
breaker. The test is carried out by simulating the short- Current SPCJ relay
IEC 60255 of the tested relay
(millisecond)
circuit condition. The fault current entering is varied from (Ampere) (milliseconds) (milliseconds)
2.5 Amps to 4.03 Amps. In this test, the operating or pick- 2,02 979,68 1008 1000
up current of the relay is set at 2.1 Amps and the TMS is
3,01 627,2 705 645
chosen at 0.1. According to the relay’s inverse characteristic
curve, the time delay of the relay is within 1000ms. The 3,99 496,25 504 510
results of the short-circuit test are shown in Table II. 5,06 423,91 504 445

TABEL II. The result of the trip test during the short-circuit conditions 6,04 382,44 402 395
Isetting = 1A and TMS=0.2
Time delay of The tripping
The relay’s pickup current = 1.01A
Duration time of the
The the Time Delay of SI The Tripping time
The Line of the Current SPCJ relay
Setting Standard Tripping 60255 of the tested relay
TMS current fault (millisecond)
Current Inverse Condition (Ampere) (Ampere) (millisecond)
Setting (A) (millisecond)
(A) IEC 60255
2,02 1983,66 2016 2000
(millisecond)
2.05 - OFF No TRIP 3,01 1255,27 1310 1350
4.03 0 No TRIP 3,99 997,32 1008 1000
2.5 0.1 4.03 No. TRIP
5,06 849,58 908 885
4.03 TRIP
0 - OFF TRIP 6,04 765,67 807 780
Isetting = 1Aand TMS=0.3
The tripping
C. The tripping test during the transient conditions The relay’s pickup current = 1.01A
time of the
Time Delay of SI The Tripping time
Current SPCJ relay
The results of the relay’s tripping test are shown in Table 60255 of the tested relay
(millisecond)
III. The purpose of the transient test is to investigate the (Ampere) (milliseconds) (milliseconds)
condition of the relay when the transient current occurs in 2,02 2957,23 3024 3000
the circuit whether it can trip or not. In the test, the 3,01 1887,79 1916 1900
operating current of the relay is set at 1.7 Amps and the
TMS is chosen at 0.1. The transient current is simulated by 3,99 1497,14 1513 1550
changing the connection of the output terminals from star to 5,06 1275,45 1310 1400
delta connection. As shown in Table III, the relay does not 6,04 1147,91 1209 1200
trip when the fault current is less than the pick-up current of
Isetting = 1Aand TMS=0.4
the relay. The same condition also prevails when the fault The relay’s pickup current = 1.01A
The tripping
current entering the relay is greater than the pick-up current. time of the
Time Delay of SI The Tripping time
Current SPCJ relay
The relay still does not trip the circuit. This is due to the 60255 of the tested relay
(millisecond)
duration of the fault is only at 179ms which is far below the (Ampere) (milliseconds) (milliseconds)
time delay of the relay. 2,02 3927,68 3932 4000
3,01 2515,65 2520 2550
TABLE III. The result of the trip test during the transient conditions
3,99 1993,8 2016 2000
Time delay of
The 5,06 1698,14 1713 1750
Duration of the Standard
Setting The TMS Line Tripping
the fault (ms) Inverse (SI)
Current Setting current (A) Condition 6,04 1532,24 1613 1650
IEC 60255
(A)
(ms)
0.47 As shown in the Table IV, the proposed relay works
- OFF No TRIP
(Y) very well to trip the circuit when the fault current occurs. Its
5.89 tripping time is within the tripping time of the reference
1.7 0.1 179 556.35 No TRIP
(Y-Delta)
relay. The difference between their tripping times is only
1.58
- OFF No TRIP ±3 %. Based on these findings, it reveals that the
(Delta)

49September 03,2020 at 08:47:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Cornell University Library. Downloaded on
performance of the proposed relay has fulfilled the
requirement of the standard inverse characteristic as stated
in the standard IEC 60255. The tripping times of the
proposed relay at different TMS settings are summarised in
Figure 11.
Fig.11. The tripping test of the proposed relay at different TMS settings.
V. CONCLUSIONS
To sum up that the current sensor ACS712 30A that is
used to sense the fault current has a very good accuracy with
the error less than 0.5%. The prototype digital relay has
fulfilled the standard inverse characteristic as shown in the
standard IEC 60255. It only works to trip if the pick-up
current setting of the relay is reached as well as its time
delay. At the same TMS setting, the more the magnitude of
the fault current occurs, the quicker the response of the relay
is. For the same pick-up current setting, the more value of the
TMS effected to the longer tripping time.
50September 03,2020 at 08:47:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Authorized licensed use limited to: Cornell University Library. Downloaded on
View publication stats
REFERENCES
[1] B. Pandjaitan, Praktik-praktik Proteksi Sistem Tenaga Listrik,
Yogyakarta: Andi, 2012.
[2] J. M. Gers and E. J. Holmes, Protection of Electricity Distribution
Networks 2nd Edition, London: The Institution of Electrical
Engineers, 2005.
[3] J. L. Blackburn and T. J. Domin, Protective Relaying Principles and
Applications, Boca Roton: CRC Press, 2007.
[4] Cahayahati and M. Zoni, “Perancangan Rele Arus Lebih Dengan
Karakteristik Standar Invers Berbasis Mikrokontroler Atmega 8535,”
Jurnal Nasional Teknik Elektro, vol. 1, no. 2302-2949, pp. 51-57,
2012.
[5] Ramarao, G., Sateesh K. Telagamsetti, and V. S. Kale. "Design of
Microcontroller based Multi-Functional Relay for Automated
Protective System." Engineering and Systems (SCES), 2014
Students Conference on. IEEE, 2014.
[6] Bhattacharya, Sourin, et al. "A Novel Approach to Overvoltage and
Overcurrent Protection of Simple Single Phase Two Terminal
Systems Utilizing Arduino Uno."IRPH, Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 7-110,
2017
[7] Swathika, OV Gnana, et al. "Optimization Techniques based
Adaptive Overcurrent Protection in Microgrids." J Electr. Syst. Spec.
(3) (2015): 6614-6618.
[8] Paithankar, Yeshwant G., and S. R. Bhide. Fundamentals of Power
System Protection. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., 2011.
[9] Glover, J. Duncan, Mulukutla S. Sarma, and Thomas Overbye.
Power System Analysis & Design, SI Version. Cengage Learning,
2012.
[10] Horowitz, Stanley H., and Arun G. Phadke. Power System Relaying.
Vol. 22. John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
[11] Sleva, Anthony F. Protective relay principles. CRC Press, 2009.
[12] Jiguparmar, “Electrical Engineering Portal,” 1 February 2013.
[Online]. Available: http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/types-
and-applications-of-overcurrent-relay-1. [Accessed 2 January 2018]
[13] Anonymous, “SPCJ 4D29 Overcurrent and Earth-Fault Relay
Module,” ABB, Issued 1995-09-14.