28/08/2023

EE 466
Power System Protection
Protective Relaying Fundamentals

Updated by: Dr. Suhail Shaik

Credit to Prof. Mohamed Abido for preparing the original slides 1

Outlines
• What is relaying?
• Protection Requirements and Methodology
• Power System Structural Considerations
• Neutral Grounding of Power Systems
• Power System Configuration
• Power System Bus Configuration
• Relay Reliability
• Relay Speed
• Protection Zones
• Primary and Back-up Protection
• Elements of a Protection System
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What is relaying?
Relaying is the branch of power engineering concerned
with the principles of design and operation of the
protective relays which detect abnormal conditions and
initiate corrective action as quickly as possible to return
the power system to its normal state.

Relay Inputs:
Usually electric, but may be mechanical, thermal, or
other quantities or a combination of quantities.

Relay output:
Trip signal to the circuit breaker. 3

Basic Objectives of System Protection

• The fundamental objective of system protection

is to provide isolation of a problem area in the
power system quickly, so that the shock to the
rest of the system is minimized and as much as
possible is left intact.

• Thus protection does NOT mean prevention, but

rather, minimizing the duration of the trouble
and limiting the damage, outage time, and
related problems that may result otherwise.
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What are the requirements?

1. Reliability: assurance that the protection will perform
correctly.
– Dependability: Trip when it should
– Security: Doesn’t trip when it shouldn’t
2. Selectivity: maximum continuity of service with
minimum system disconnection.
3. Speed of operation: minimum fault duration and
consequent equipment damage and system instability.
4. Simplicity: minimum protective equipment and
associated circuitry to achieve the protection
objectives.
5. Economics: maximum protection at minimal total cost. 5

Methodology to meet the requirements

• Examine all possible abnormal conditions

• Analyze the required response to each one
• Design protective equipment, which
provide such a response
• Examine the possibility that protective
relay itself may fail to operate correctly,
and provide a backup protective function
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Multi-Layered Structure of Power System

Control Equipment

Protection Equipment

Power Apparatus
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Multi-Layered Structure of Power System

• Power apparatus generates, transforms,

and distribute the electric power
• Control equipment maintains power
system continuously at its normal voltage,
frequency, optimal economy and security
• Protection equipment acts fast to
open/close circuit breakers, thus changing
the system structure
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Multi-Layered Structure of Power System

• Power apparatus
– Generators, transformers, motors, capacitors,
reactors,…etc
• Control equipment
– Governor, automatic voltage regulator (AVR), tap
changers, power factor corrector,…etc
• Protection equipment
– Relays, fuses, circuit breakers, reclosers,
sectionalizers, …etc
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Neutral grounding of power systems

• Power system grounding has a significant effect on
the protection of all the components since the
large majority of faults involve grounding.
• The principal purposes of grounding are
– to minimize potential transient overvoltages for safety
requirements
– to assist in the rapid detection and isolation of the
trouble or fault areas.
• Power system can be:
– Ungrounded
– Solidly grounded
– Grounded through an impedance (R or X) 10

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Ungrounded power systems

• An ungrounded system is defined as a system without an
intentional connection to ground.
• The neutral of an ungrounded system under reasonably
balanced load conditions is usually close to ground potential.
• No ground fault current in a truly ungrounded system.
• As the majority of faults are ground faults, service interruptions
due to faults on an ungrounded system are greatly reduced.

IF = ? 11

Ungrounded power systems

• The capacitive coupling

of the feeder conductors
with ground provides a
path to ground, and a
ground fault on such a
system produces a
capacitive fault current.

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Ungrounded power systems

• Ungrounded systems produce good service
continuity, but are subjected to high overvoltages
( 3 Vph) on the unfaulted phases when a ground
fault occurs.

phase a solidly grounded

normal balanced system

13

Ungrounded power systems

Highlights
• Very little ground current (less damage)
• Big neutral voltage shift
⎯ Must insulate line-to-line voltage
• May run system while trying to find ground
fault
• More difficult/costly to detect and locate
ground faults
• If you get a second ground fault on an adjacent
phase, watch out!
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Solidly grounded power systems

• For system voltages > 100 kV, the fault-induced overvoltage is
critical for insulation design, especially of power transformers.
• At high voltages, it is common to use solidly grounded neutrals.
• Such systems have high ground fault currents, which is easy to
detect and must be cleared by circuit breakers.
• As high-voltage systems are generally heavily interconnected
network, operation of CBs for ground faults does not lead to a
reduced service continuity.

In this figure, the neutral is

solidly grounded and
there is no overvoltage in
unfaulted phases due to
the ground fault.
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Solidly grounded power systems

Highlights
• Much ground current (damage)
• No neutral voltage shift
– Line-ground insulation
• Faulted area will be cleared
• Inexpensive relaying
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Grounded power systems via impedance

• If ground fault current is beyond the capability of the CBs,
it becomes necessary to insert an impedance (R or L) in
neutral to limit the ground fault current to a safe value.
• Resistance can be inserted between the neutral and the
ground to reduce the fault current. The resistance must
have the thermal capacity to handle the fault current.
• Inductance can be inserted in the neutral to limit the
ground fault current to a safe value. (R or L?)
– As the network Thevenin impedance is primarily inductive, a
neutral inductance is much more effective than resistance in
reducing the fault current.
– Also, there is no significant power loss in the neutral reactor
during ground faults. 17

Grounded power systems via impedance

Highlights
• Manage ground current (manage
damage)
• Some neutral voltage shift
• Faulted area will be cleared
• More expensive than solidly grounded

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Power system configurations

Power system configurations

Radial Network

Contrast & Compare! 19

Power system configurations

Radial Network
Single source Multiple sources
Voltage < 100 kV (Distribution) Voltage > 100 kV (Transmission)
Economic to build Expensive to build
Unreliable Reliable
Complex protection (fault
Simple protection (fault current
current has multiple directions
flow in one direction only)
and all should be considered)
Since radial systems are
IF varies greatly with changes in
electrically remote from
system configuration and
generators, IF does not vary much
generation capacity
with generation capacity changes
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Example 1
Find the fault current in the following cases:-
a) Fault occurs at bus 2
b) Fault occurs at bus 2 while line 2-3 is out of the service
c) Fault occurs at bus 9
d) Fault occurs at bus 9 while one generator is lost

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Example 1
a) Fault occurs at bus 2
V2 = 0
IF = 1/j0.1 + 1/j0.1 = -j20 pu

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Example 1
b) Fault occurs at bus 2 while line 2-3 is out of the
service
V2 = 0
IF = 1/j0.1 = -j10 pu
Big difference from (a)

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Example 1
c) Fault occurs at bus 9
V9 = 0
For the network system, J0.05 J4.3

ZTH2 = 0.05 pu, VTH2 = 1.0 pu

IF = 1/(j0.05 + j4.3) = -j0.230 pu VTH2 IF

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Example 1
d) Fault occurs at bus 9 while one generator is lost
V9 = 0, For the network system if one generator is lost,
ZTH2 = 0.0667 pu, VTH2 = 1.0 pu
IF = 1/(j0.0667 + j4.3) = -j0.229 pu J0.0667 J4.3
Small change in IF compared to (c)
VTH2
IF

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Substation bus configurations

General requirements
• Reliability of service
• Flexibility in operation
• Minimum interruption of service during
equipment maintenance
The most common bus arrangements are:
1. Single-bus single-breaker
2. Two-bus single-breaker Compare
• Cost
in terms of:-

3. Two-bus two-breakers • Reliability

• Flexibility for bus maintenance
4. Ring bus • Flexibility for CB maintenance
• Protection complexity
5. Breaker-and-a-half 26

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Substation bus configurations

1- Single-bus single-breaker
• Simplest arrangement
• The least costly to build
• Requires less installation area
• Relatively simple for protective relaying
• However, it is also the least flexible.
• To do maintenance work on the bus, de-energizing
the associated transmission lines is necessary.
• Failure of a circuit breaker or a bus fault causes loss
of the entire substation
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Substation bus configurations

2- Two-bus single-breaker
• If the tie breaker is closed, it allows
more flexibility in operation.
• It allows breakers to be maintained
without de-energizing the line.
• If CB is bypassed, the circuit is then
protected by the tie breaker.
• A fault on one bus requires isolation of the bus while the
circuits are fed from the other bus.
• More expensive and requires more installation space than the
single-bus configuration.
• Since the bus tie breaker, have to be able to be substituted for
any line breaker, its associated relaying may be complicated.
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Substation bus configurations

3- Two-bus two-breakers
• This allows any bus or breaker to be
removed from service, and the lines
can be kept in service.
• A line fault requires two breakers to
trip to clear a fault.

• A bus fault must trip all of the breakers on the faulted bus, but
does not affect the other bus or any of the lines.
• Provides the greatest flexibility
• However, this is at a considerable expense (# of breakers = twice
# of lines).

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Substation bus configurations

4- Ring Bus
• While the ring is intact, it achieves similar flexibility
of two-bus two-breakers arrangement.
• When one breaker is being maintained, the ring is
broken, and the remaining bus arrangement is no
longer as flexible.
• This is a more involved relay
scheme since each breaker
has to respond to faults on
two circuits.

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Substation bus configurations

5- Breaker-and-a-half
• Most commonly used in most extra high voltage (EHV)
transmission substations.
• It provides for the same flexibility as the two-bus,
two-breaker arrangement at less cost of just one-and-
a-half breakers per line on an average.
• Protective relay schemes in
this configuration are
complicated as the middle
breaker is associated
with two circuits.
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Substation bus configurations: Cost Comparison

Approximate Cost
Switching Scheme
Comparison
Single-Bus Single-Breaker 100%
Two-Bus Single-Breaker 143%
Two-Bus Two-Breaker 214%
Ring Bus 114%
Breaker-and-a-Half 158%
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Reminder!
What are the requirements of the
protection systems?
Reliability
1. Reliability
2. Selectivity Economics Selectivity
Mandatory
3. Speed requirements of
protective systems

4. Simplicity
Simplicity Speed
5. Economics
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The nature of relaying

Remember!
• The function of protective relaying is to promptly
remove any element that starts to operate in an
abnormal manner.
• Relays do not prevent damage: they operate after
some detectable damage has already occurred.
• Their purpose is
– To limit further damage to equipment,
– To minimize danger to people,
– To reduce stress on other equipment and, above all,
– To remove the faulted equipment from the power
system as quickly as possible so that the integrity
and stability of the remaining system is maintained. 34

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The nature of relaying: Reliability

• Reliability is a measure that a piece of equipment
will perform as intended.
• Relays have two alternative ways in which they can
be unreliable:
– They may fail to operate when they are expected to, or
– They may operate when they are not expected to.
• This leads to a two-pronged definition of relaying
systems reliability: a reliable relaying system must be
– Dependable
– Secure
Reliability

Dependability Security
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The nature of relaying: Reliability

• Dependability is a measure that the relays will operate correctly
for all the faults for which they are designed to operate.
• Security is a measure that the relays will not operate incorrectly
for any fault.
• As a relay system becomes dependable, its tendency to become
less secure increases. (Compromise!)
• There is a bias towards making relays more dependable at the
expense of some degree of security since the power system
provides many alternative paths for power to flow
• Therefore, loss of a power system element due to unnecessary
trip is less objectionable than the presence of a sustained fault.
• This philosophy is not appropriate in a radial power system, or in
a power system in an emergency operating state.
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Example 2

• In normal operation, this fault should be cleared by

The relays R1 and R2 through the circuit breakers B1 and B2.
• If R2 does not operate for this fault,
It becomes unreliable through a loss of dependability.
• If relay R5 operates faster than R2 for the same fault,
It becomes unreliable through a loss of security. 37

The nature of relaying: Selectivity

Selectivity is the ability of the protection system to
isolate the faulty part of power system from the rest of
the system.
Protection zone is the region of a power system for
which a given relay is responsible.
• The protection zone is bounded by CTs.
• In order to cover all power equipment by protection
systems, the protection zones must meet the
following requirements.
– All elements must be covered by at least one zone. More
important elements must be included in at least two zones.
– Zones must overlap to prevent any element from being
unprotected. The region of overlap must be finite but small.
Why? 38

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The nature of relaying: Protection zones

Bus zone Bus zone Bus zone

Unit Generator-Tx zone Line zone
Transformer zone Motor zone
Transformer zone

Generator Transformer Bus Line Bus Transformer Bus Motor

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The nature of relaying: Protection zones

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Motors
E E
M M

Station
C
C
Station Station F
F C
A A F B

B
Gen D

B F Gen
D
Gen

A C
A- Unit Generator-Transformer Zone Station
B- Generator Zone D
F
C- Transformer Zone DD
D- Transmission, Distribution Line Zone
E- Motor Zone
F- Bus Zone
Note: Overlap of Zones

Zones of Protection 41

C.T. for Zone B

Circuit Breaker

Zone A Zone B

C.T. for Zone A a. Dead Tank Breaker and Breakers

with Separate Current Transformers
on Both Sides of Breakers

Circuit Breaker

Zone A Zone B

C.T. for Zone A

b. Live Tank and Breakers with
Separate Current Transformers
on One Side Only C.T. for Zone B

Principle of Overlapping Protection around a Circuit Breaker

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Example 3

• For F1, which CBs will trip?

B1 and B2.
• For F2, which CBs will trip?
B1, B2, B3, and B4.
• For F3, which CBs will trip?
B6, if for some reason B6 fails to clear the fault, B5 as the
backup breaker for this fault will trip.
43

The nature of relaying: Speed

Relay speed is measured by the time between
the moment relay reaches a secure decision and
the initiation of the trip signal to CB.
• It is required to remove the fault as quickly as
possible.
• Analyzing the V & I waveforms, the relay takes
some time to arrive at a decision with necessary
degree of certainty.
• The relationship between the relay response
time and its degree of certainty is an inverse
one. 44

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The nature of relaying: Speed

Relays are generally classified by their speed of
operation as follows.
• Instantaneous: operate as soon as a secure
decision is made. No intentional time delay is
introduced
• Time-delay: an intentional time-delay is
inserted between the relay decision time and
the initiation of the trip action.
• High-speed: operate in less than a specified
time (3 cycles = 50 ms).
• Ultra high-speed: operate in 4 ms or less. 45

The nature of relaying: Simplicity

• A protection system should be kept as

simple and straightforward as possible
while still accomplishing its goals.
• Each added unit or component, which
may offer enhancement of the protection,
but is not necessary, should be considered
very carefully.
• Each addition provides a potential source
of trouble and added maintenance.
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The nature of relaying: Economics

• It is fundamental to obtain the maximum protection for the
minimum cost.
• The lowest-priced, initial-cost-protective system may not be
the most reliable one.
• Protection costs are considered high when considered alone,
but they should be evaluated in the light of
– The higher cost of the equipment they are protecting,
– The cost of an outage or loss of the protected equipment through
improper protection.
• Saving to reduce the costs can result in spending many more
times of this saving to repair or replace equipment damaged or
lost because of inadequate or improper protection.
• Redundancy (reliability) vs. economics should be considered.
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Primary and backup protection

Primary or Main Protection: is provided to ensure fast and reliable
tripping to clear faults occurring within the boundary of its own
protection zone. It removes the least amount of equipment.
• A primary protection system may fail to operate and it is
essential to provide duplicate or backup protection.
• On EHV systems, it is common to use duplicate protection in
case an element in primary protection chain may fail to operate.
• Operating times of primary and duplicate systems are the same.
• This duplication is therefore intended to cover the failure of the
relays themselves. One may use
– Relays from a different manufacturer.
– Relays based upon a different principle of operation.
• In EHV systems the transducers or CBs are very expensive to
duplicate and backup relaying is used. 48

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Primary and backup protection

Back-up Protection: is provided in case the primary
protection fails to operate. It removes more equipment
than necessary to clear the fault.
• Relays for back-up protection are slower than those of
primary protection.
• Backup relaying may be installed locally in the same
substation as the primary protection, or remotely.
• Unlike the local backup protection, remote backup
relays are completely independent of the relays,
transducers, batteries and CBs of the protection
system they are backing up. There are no common
failures that can affect both sets of relays.
49

Example 4

• For fault F, what are the primary protection relays?

R1 and R5 through B1 and B5.
• At substation B, what is the local backup relays?
R2 and R3. R2 operates in the same time as R1. R3 operates
slower than R1 and R2. R3 will trip B5, B6, B7 and B8.
• What are the remote backup of R1?
R4, R9, and R10. Remote backup is slower than R1, R2 or R3. 50

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Elements of a protection system

Breaker Transducer

Relay Battery

51

Bus Circuit Protected

Breaker Equipment
CT
52

VT Protective Bus
Relay
R

DC Station
Battery

Protection System Components (Subsystems)

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Elements of a protection system

(Current and Voltage Transformers, CTs and
VTs): serve as sensors to detect abnormal
Transducers
conditions and to transform the high values of
current and voltage to lower levels.
Logic elements (brains) that process the
Relay signals provided by transducers and initiate
the tripping and closing operations.
Separate sources to prevent relay failure
Battery /
when the AC voltage available may not be of
DC supply
sufficient magnitudes.
Mechanical devices (muscles) used to
Circuit
energize and interrupt an electric circuit. They
breakers
should carry the rated current continuously. 53

Elements of a protection system: Batteries

• The ability to trip a circuit breaker through a relay
must not be compromised during a fault.
• Batteries are separate sources to prevent relay failure
when the AC voltage available may not be sufficient.
• The battery is permanently connected through a
charger to the station AC.
• Usually, the battery is rated to maintain adequate DC
power for 8–12 hours following a station blackout.
• Although the battery is probably the most reliable
piece of equipment in a substation, in EHV substations
it is common to have duplicate batteries.
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Elements of a protection system: Batteries

• Supply DC to circuit breakers trip coils
• Provide power for emergency alarms, lighting, etc.
• DC voltage supplied is usually 125 V
• Very large substations are 250 V
• When large numbers of solid state relaying required,
48 V is used.
• DC battery system is one of most important systems
within a power system.

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Elements of a protection system: CBs

• Protective relays provide the ‘‘brains’’ to sense
trouble, but as low-energy devices, they are not
able to open and isolate the problem area.
• CB is the “muscle” of the protection system.
• Purpose of CB is to isolate the fault by interrupting
the current at or near a current zero.
• CB have current rating up to 100 kA at a system
voltages up to 800 kV.
• CB usually clears fault at first, second, or third
current zero after fault initiation.
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Elements of a protection system: CBs

• Under short-circuit condition the fault current is very
high compared with the normal operating current.
• When electrical contacts open, there is a tendency
for an arc to form between the opened contacts
especially with highly inductive networks.
• Many different classification can be used for circuit
breakers, based on their feature such as
– Interrupting media
– Voltage level
– Installation location
– External Design
57

Elements of a protection system: CBs

• Based on Interrupting media
– Air circuit breaker
– Vacuum circuit breaker
– Oil circuit breaker
– SF6 (Sulfur hexafluoride) circuit breaker

SF6 CB Oil CB Vacuum CB Air CB

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ELEMENTS OF A PROTECTION SYSTEM: CBS

ELEMENTS OF A PROTECTION SYSTEM: CBS

Comparison in terms of insulating methods of CBs

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ELEMENTS OF A PROTECTION SYSTEM: CBS

Features of different types of CBs

Elements of a protection system: CBs

• Based on Voltage
– Low voltage CBs- rated at low voltages < 2 kV and are
mainly used in small-scale industries.
– High voltage CBs- rated at voltages > 2 kV. High voltage
circuit breakers are further subdivided into
• High voltage class 123 kV and above
• Medium voltage class < 72 kV

High voltage CB Medium voltage CB Low voltage CB 62

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Elements of a protection system: CBs

• By Installation Location
– Indoor CBs- inside the buildings or in weather-
resistant enclosures. They are typically operated at a
medium voltage with a metal clad switchgear
enclosure.
– Outdoor CBs- outdoors without any roof due to their
design. Their external enclosure is stronger and can
withstand wear and tear.

Outdoor CB Indoor CB 63

Elements of a protection system: CBs

• Based on External Design
– Dead-tank CBs- enclosed tank is at ground potential. The tank
encloses all the insulating and interrupting medium.
– Live-tank CBs- tank housing interrupter is at a potential
above the ground with some insulation medium in between.

Live-tank CB Dead-tank CB 64

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Example 5

• For fault F1, How to clear the fault?

Both bus and line protective systems will operate. The bus
relays will trip B1 and all other breakers on the bus. The line
protection will similarly trip breaker B1 and the corresponding
relays at the remote station will also trip their breakers. This is
unnecessary, but unavoidable. If there are tapped loads on the
line, they will be de-energized until the breakers reclose.
• For fault F2, How to clear the fault?
Both bus and line protective systems will operate. For this fault,
tripping the other bus breakers is not necessary to clear the
fault, but tripping the two ends of the line is necessary. 65

Example 6

• For fault F1, How to clear the fault?

Bus protective system will operate. The bus relays will trip B1
and all other breakers on the bus.
• For fault F2, How to clear the fault?
Tripping the bus breakers does not clear the fault, since it is still
energized from the remote end, and the line relays do not
operate. This is a blind spot in this configuration.
• For fault F3, How to clear the fault?
Line relays will operate. However, unnecessary tripping of the
bus breakers is unavoidable.
• For fault F4, How to clear the fault?
Line relays will operate. 66

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EFHARISTO
DANKIE
CHOUKRANE

STRENGTH
SHUKRAN
SUKRIA

TODA
PALDIES

‫شكرا جزيال‬
OBRIGADO
धन्यवाद SPASIBO
XIE XIE DEKUJI
GRATIAS TIBI

DO JEH

ধন্যবাদ MERCIGRAZIE MAHALO

SALAMAT PO
DEKUJI
TERIMA KASISH
Shukran

FALEMINDERIT
NGIYABONGA

DANK U
TRUGERE

67

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