Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 13

PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

Bahir Dar University Institute of Technology


Faculty ofElectrical &Computer Engineering
Postgraduate studies inPower SystemEngineering-2ndyear
Power system protection and CB - EEng 6046

List of questions/topics which are to be focused!

1. Give a deep technical description of:


Air break switchgear The apparatus used for switching, controlling and protecting the electrical circuits and equipment is
a) known as switchgear.
(i) Air-break switch. It is an air switch and is designed to open a circuit under load. In order to quench
the arc that occurs on opening such a switch, special arcing horns are provided. Arcing horns are
pieces of metals between which arc is formed during opening operation. As the switch opens, these
horns are spread farther and farther apart. Consequently, the arc is lengthened, cooled and
interrupted. Air-break switches are generally used outdoor for circuits of medium capacity such as
lines supplying an industrial load from a main transmission line or feeder.
The air at atmosphere pressure is used as an arc extinguishing medium in Air-Break Circuit-Breakers. These circuit breakers employ the
high resistance interruption principle. The arc is rapidly lengthened by means of the arc runners and arc chutes and the resistance of
the arc is increased by cooling, lengthening and splitting the arc.
Air-breaker circuit breakers are used in d.c. circuits and a.c. Circuits up to 12 kV.

The air circuit breakers are generally indoor type and installed on vertical panels or indoor draw-out type switchgear.
A.C. air-break circuit breakers are widely used in indoor medium voltage and low voltage switchgear Arc Extinction in A.C Air-break
C.B.
In a.c. air-break circuit breakers, the arc is lengthened, cooled and splitted so as to increase the resistance of the arc. The rapid
increase in the arc resistance causes the reduction in the fault current and the fault current does not reach prospective high value. The
arc extinction process is assisted by the current zeros in the a.c. wave. The voltage drop across the arc goes on increasing with the
increase in the arc resistance and at a current zero, when the recovery voltage across the contacts is less than the arc-voltage, the arc
gets extinguished. The energy in the system inductance at current zero is zero. Elimination of risk and maintenance associated with
the use of oil.
The absence of mechanical stress that is set up by gas pressure and oil movement.
Elimination of the cost of regular oil replacement that arises due to deterioration of oil with the successive breaking operation.
In the air break, circuit breaker the contact separation and arc extinction take place in air at atmospheric pressure. In air break circuit
breaker high resistance principle is employed. In this circuit breaker arc is expanded by the mean of arc runners, arc chutes, and arc
resistance is increased by splitting, cooling and lengthening.

The arc resistance is increased to such an extent that the voltage drop across the arc becomes more than the system voltage, and the
arc gets extinguished at the current zero of AC wave.

Air break circuit breakers are employed in DC circuits and Ac circuits up to 12,000 voltages. Such breakers are usually of indoor type
and installed on vertical panels or indoor draw out switch gear. AC circuit breakers are widely employed indoor medium voltage and
low voltage switchgear

b) Vacuum circuit breakers and contactors

SF6 circuit breakers and

Sulphur Hexaflouride (SF6) Circuit Breakers


In such circuit breakers, sulphur hexaflouride (SF6) gas is used as the arc quenching medium. The
SF6 is an electro-negative gas and has a strong tendency to absorb free electrons. The contacts of the
breaker are opened in a high pressure flow of SF6 gas and an arc is struck between them. The
conducting free electrons in the arc are rapidly captured by the gas to form relatively immobile negative ions. This loss of conducting
electrons in the arc quickly builds up enough insulation strength to extinguish the arc. The SF6 circuit breakers have been found to be
very effective for high power

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 1
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

and high voltage service. Working. In the closed position of the breaker, the contacts remain surrounded by SF 6 gas at a
pressure of about 2·8 kg/cm2. When the breaker operates, the moving contact is pulled apart and an
arc is struck between the contacts. The movement of the moving contact is synchronised with the
opening of a valve which permits SF6 gas at 14 kg/cm2 pressure from the reservoir to the arc interruption
chamber. The high pressure flow of SF6 rapidly absorbs the free electrons in the arc path to form
immobile negative ions which are ineffective as charge carriers. The result is that the medium between
the contacts quickly builds up high dielectric strength and causes the extinction of the arc.
After the breaker operation (i.e., after arc extinction), the valve is closed by the action of a set of
springs.

19.16 Vacuum Circuit Breakers (VCB)


In such breakers, vacuum (degree of vacuum being in the range from 10 7 to 105 torr) is used as the
arc quenching medium. Since vacuum offers the highest insulating strength, it has far superior arc
quenching properties than any other medium. For example, when contacts of a breaker are opened in
vacuum, the interruption occurs at first current zero with dielectric strength between the contacts
building up at a rate thousands of times higher than that obtained with other circuit breakers.
Principle. The production of arc in a vacuum circuit breaker and its extinction can be explained
as follows : When the contacts of the breaker are opened in vacuum (10 7 to 105 torr), an arc is
produced between the contacts by the ionisation of metal vapours of contacts*. However, the arc is
quickly extinguished because the metallic vapours, electrons and ions produced during arc rapidly
condense on the surfaces of the circuit breaker contacts, resulting in quick recovery of dielectric
strength. The reader may note the salient feature of vacuum as an arc quenching medium. As soon as
the arc is produced in vacuum, it is quickly extinguished due to the fast rate of recovery of dielectric
strength in vacuum.
Construction. Fig. 19.12 shows the parts of a typical vacuum circuit breaker. It consists of
fixed contact, moving contact and arc shield mounted inside a vacuum chamber. The movable member
is connected to the control mechanism by stainless steel bellows. This enables the permanent
sealing of the vacuum chamber so as to eliminate the possibility of leak. A glass vessel or ceramic
vessel is used as the outer insulating body. The arc shield prevents the deterioration of the internal
dielectric strength by preventing metallic vapours falling on the inside surface of the outer insulating
cover.
Working. When the breaker operates, the moving contact separates from the fixed contact and
an arc is struck between the contacts. The production of arc is due to the ionisation of metal ions and
depends very much upon the material of contacts. The arc is quickly extinguished because the metallic
vapours, electrons and ions produced during arc are diffused in a short time and seized by the
surfaces of moving and fixed members and shields. Since vacuum has very fast rate of recovery of
dielectric strength, the arc extinction in a vacuum breaker occurs with a short contact separation (say
0·625 cm).
Oil Circuit Breakers
In such circuit breakers, some insulating oil (e.g., transformer

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 2
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

oil) is used as an arc quenching medium. The contacts


are opened under oil and an arc is struck between
them. The heat of the arc evaporates the surrounding oil
and dissociates it into a substantial volume of gaseous *hydrogen
at high pressure. The hydrogen gas occupies a
volume about one thousand times that of the oil decomposed.
The oil is, therefore, pushed away from the arc and
an expanding hydrogen gas bubble surrounds the arc region
and adjacent portions of the contacts (See Fig. 19.2).
The arc extinction is facilitated mainly by two processes.
Firstly, the hydrogen gas has high heat conductivity and
cools the arc, thus aiding the de-ionisation of the medium between the contacts. Secondly, the gas
sets up turbulence in the oil and forces it into the space between contacts, thus eliminating the arcing
products from the arc path. The result is that arc is extinguished and circuit current †interrupted

a) Oil Breakers
2. For the protection of a delta/star power transformers, the CTs on delta side must be connected in
.....star....... and those on the star side in ....delta........ why it’s so?

The CTs on one side of the power transformer are connected in such a way that the resultant currents fed into the pilot wires are
displaced in phase from the individual phase currents in the same direction as, and by an angle equal to, the phase shift between the
power-transformers primary and secondary currents
The table below shows the type of connections to be employed for CTs in order to compensate for the
phase difference in the primary and secondary currents of power transformer.

3. How will you protect an alternator from turn-to-turn fault on the same phase winding?

Fig. 22.7 shows the schematic arrangement of circulating-current and inter-turn protection of a 3-phase double wound generator. The
relays RC provide protection against phase-to-ground and phase-to-phase faults whereas relays R1 provide protection against inter-turn
faults.
Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 3
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

Under normal conditions, the currents in the stator windings S1 and S2 are equal and so will be the currents in the secondaries of the two
CTs. The secondary current round the loop then is the same at all points and no current flows through the relay R1. If a short-circuit
develops between adjacent turns, say on S1, the currents in the stator windings S1 and S2 will no longer be equal. Therefore, unequal
currents will be induced in the secondaries of CTs and the difference of these two currents flows through the relay R1. The relay then
closes its contacts to clear the generator from the system.

4. What is the difference between an over current relay and current differential relay?
Overcurrent relays providing protection mainly against phase-to-phase faults and overloading.
Differential system (or circulating-current system) providing protection against both earth and phase faults.

Current differential protection


"The differential protection is 100% selective and therefore only responds to faults within its protected zone. The boundary of
the protected zone is uniquely defined by the location of the current transformers. Time grading with other protection systems
is therefore not required, allowing for tripping without additional delay.

Differential protection is therefore suited as fast main protection for all important plant items."[33]:15. Differential protection
can be used to provide protection for plants with multiple terminals[34][35] and can be used to protect lines,[36] generators,
motors, transformers, and other electrical plant.

GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) circuit breakers combine overcurrent protection and differential protection (non-
adjustable) in standard, commonly available modules.
5. Why are differential relays more sensitive than over current relays?
6. Write short notes on the following:

(i) Resistance switching

It has been discussed above that current chopping, capacitive current breaking etc. give rise to
severe voltage oscillations. These excessive voltage surges during circuit interruption can be prevented
by the use of shunt resistance R connected across the circuit breaker contacts as shown in the
equivalent circuit in Fig. 19.22. This is known as resistance switching.

Referring to Fig. 19.22, when a fault occurs, the contacts of the circuit breaker are opened and an
arc is struck between the contacts. Since the contacts are shunted by resistance R, a part of arc current
flows through this resistance. This results in the decrease of arc current and an increase in the rate of
de-ionisation of the arc path. Consequently, the arc resistance is increased. The increased arc resistance
leads to a further increase in current through shunt resistance. This process continues until the
arc current becomes so small that it fails to maintain the arc. Now, the arc is extinguished and circuit
current is interrupted.
The shunt resistor also helps in limiting the oscillatory growth of re-striking voltage. It can be
proved mathematically that natural frequency of oscillations of the circuit shown in Fig. 19.22 is
given by :

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 4
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

(iii) To ensure even sharing of re-striking voltage transient acorss the various breaks in multibreak
circuit breakers.
It may be noted that value of resistance required to perform each function is usually different.
However, it is often necessary to compromise and make one resistor do more than one of these
function
(ii) Circuit breaker ratings

Circuit Breaker Ratings


A circuit breaker may be called upon to operate under all conditions. However, major duties are
imposed on the circuit breaker when there is a fault on the system in which it is connected. Under
fault conditions, a circuit breaker is required to perform the following three duties :
(i) It must be capable of opening the faulty circuit and breaking the fault current.
(ii) It must be capable of being closed on to a fault.
(iii) It must be capable of carrying fault current for a short time while another circuit breaker (in
series) is clearing the fault.
Corresponding to the above mentioned duties, the circuit breakers have three ratings viz.
(i) breaking capacity (ii) making capacity and (iii) short-time capacity.
(i) Breaking capacity. It is current (r.m.s.) that a circuit breaker is capable of breaking at
given recovery voltage and under specified conditions (e.g., power factor, rate of rise of restriking
voltage).
The breaking capacity is always stated at the r.m.s. value of
fault current at the instant of contact separation. When a fault
occurs, there is considerable asymmetry in the fault current due
to the presence of a d.c. component. The d.c. component dies
away rapidly, a typical decrement factor being 0·8 per cycle.

Making capacity. There is always a possibility of closing or making the circuit under shortcircuit
conditions. The capacity of a breaker to “make” current depends upon its ability to
withstand and close successfully against the effects of electromagnetic forces. These forces
are proportional to the square of maximum instantaneous current on closing. Therefore,
making capacity is stated in terms of a peak value of current instead of r.m.s. value.
The peak value of current (including d.c. component) during the first cycle of current wave after
the closure of circuit breaker is known as making capacity.
It may be noted that the definition is concerned with the first cycle of current wave on closing the
circuit breaker. This is because the maximum value of fault current possibly occurs in the first cycle
only when maximum asymmetry occurs in any phase of the breaker. In other words, the making
current is equal to the maximum value of asymmetrical current. To find this value, we must multiply
symmetrical breaking current by 2 to convert this from r.m.s. to peak, and then by 1·8 to include the
“doubling effect” of maximum asymmetry. The total multiplication factor becomes 2 1·8 = 2·55.
Making capacity =2·55 Symmetrical breaking capacity
(iii) Short-time rating. It is the period for which the circuit breaker is able to carry fault
current while remaining closed.

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 5
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

Sometimes a fault on the system is of very temporary nature and persists for 1 or 2 seconds after
which the fault is automatically cleared. In the interest of continuity of supply, the breaker should not
trip in such situations. This means that circuit breakers should be able to carry high current safely for
some specified period while remaining closed i.e., they should have proven short-time rating. However,
if the fault persists for a duration longer than the specified time limit, the circuit breaker will
trip, disconnecting the faulty section.
The short-time rating of a circuit breaker depends upon its ability to withstand (a) the electromagnetic
force effects and (b) the temperature rise. The oil circuit breakers have a specified limit of
3 seconds when the ratio of symmetrical breaking current to the rated normal current does not exceed
40. However, if this ratio is more than 40, then the specified limit is 1 second.
Normal current rating. It is the r.m.s. value of current which the circuit breaker is capable of
carrying continuously at its rated frequency under specified conditions. The only limitation in this
case is the temperature rise of current-carrying parts.

(iii) Circuit interruption problems

19.18 Problems of Circuit Interruption


The power system contains an appreciable amount of inductance and some capacitance. When a fault
occurs, the energy stored in the system can be considerable. Interruption of fault current by a circuit
breaker will result in most of the stored energy dissipated within the circuit breaker, the remainder
being dissipated during oscillatory surges in the system. The oscillatory surges are undesirable and, therefore, the circuit breaker must be
designed to dissipate as much of the stored energy as possible

7. Reason outthe following statements technically, why and/or arguments are quite acceptable?

a) The basic system used for protection against winding and connection faults in generators or power transformers is the
differential relay scheme because the differential nature of measurements makes this system much more sensitive
than other protective systems.

b) If the relay is very sensitive, then the small differential current flowing through the relay may cause it tooperate even
under no fault conditions.

i) There is usually a phase difference between the primary and secondary currents of a 3-phase power transformer. Even if
CTs of the proper turn-ratio are used, a differential current may flow through the relay under normal conditions and cause
relay operation.
ii) Most transformers have means for tap changing which makes this problem even more difficult.Tap changing will cause
differential current to flow through the relay even under normal operating conditions.
iii) Another complicating factor in transformer protection is the magnetising in-rush current. Under normal load conditions, the
magnetising current is very small. However, when a transformer is energised after it has been taken out of service, the
magnetising or in-rush current can be extremely high for a short period. Since magnetising current represents a current
going into the transformer without a corresponding current leaving, it appears as a fault current to differential relay and
may cause relay operation.
In order to overcome above difficulty, differential relays are set to operate at a relatively high degree of unbalance. This method
decreases the sensitivity of the relays. In practice, advantage is taken of the fact that the initial in-rush currents contain prominent
second-harmonic component. Hence, it is possible to design a scheme employing second-harmonic bias features, which, being tuned
to second-harmonic frequency only, exercise restrain during energising to prevent maloperation
Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 6
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

i) The pilot cables impedance generally causes a slight difference between the currents at the two ends of
the section to be protected. If the relay is very sensitive, then the small differential current flowing
through the relay may cause it to operate even under no fault conditions.
ii) Pilot cable capacitance causes incorrect operation of the relay when a large through-current flows.
iii) Accurate matching of current transformers cannot be achieved due to pilot circuit impedance. The
above disadvantages are overcome to a great extent in biased beam relay.

c) The consequences of even a rare fault may be very serious unless the transformer is quickly disconnected from the
system.

a prolonged arc in the transformer may cause oil fire

d) If a fault occurs on a bus bar, a considerable damage and disruption of supply will occur unless some form of quick-
acting automatic protection is provided to isolate the faulty bus bar.
Busbars in the generating stations and sub-stations form important link between the incoming and outgoing circuits. In the event of fault
on any section of the busbar, all the circuit equipments connected to that section must be tripped out to give complete isolation.

e) The probability of faults occurring on the lines is much more due to their greater length and exposure to atmospheric
conditions.

8. What is the difference between an over current relay and current differential relay?

Most of the relays discussed so far relied on excess of current for their operation. Such relays are less sensitive because they
cannot make correct distinction between heavy load conditions and minor fault conditions. In order to overcome this
difficulty, differential relays are used.

9. What are the principal relays and systems used for transformer protection?
(i) Buchholz devices providing protection against all kinds of incipient faults i.e. slow-developing faults such as insulation
failure of windings, core heating, fall of oil level due to leaky joints etc.
(ii) Earth-fault relays providing protection against earth-faults only.
(iii) Overcurrent relays providing protection mainly against phase-to-phase faults and overloading.
(iv) Differential system (or circulating-current system) providing protection against both earth and phase faults.

10. Explain the Primary and Backup Protection configuration in the context of transmission line protection.
21.21 Types of Protection
When a fault occurs on any part of electric power system, it must be cleared quickly in order to avoid
damage and/or interference with the rest of the system. It is a usual practice to divide the protection
scheme into two classes viz. primary protection and back-up protection.
(i) Primary Protection. It is the protection scheme which is designed to protect the component
parts of the power system. Thus referring to Fig. 21.29, each line has an overcurrent
relay that protects the line. If a fault occurs on any line, it will be cleared by its relay and
circuit breaker. This forms the primary or main protection and serves as the first line of
defence. The service record of primary relaying is very high with well over ninety percent
of all operations being correct. However, sometimes faults are not cleared by primary relay
system because of trouble within the relay, wiring system or breaker. Under such conditions,
back-up protection does the required job.

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 7
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

(ii) Back-up protection. It is the second line of defence in case of failure of the primary protection.
It is designed to operate with sufficient time delay so that primary relaying will be
given enough time to function if it is able to. Thus referring to Fig. 21.29, relay A provides
back-up protection for each of the four lines. If a line fault is not cleared by its relay and
breaker, the relay A on the group breaker will operate after a definite time delay and clear the
entire group of lines. It is evident that when back-up relaying functions, a larger part is
disconnected than when primary relaying functions correctly. Therefore, greater emphasis
should be placed on the better maintenance of primary relaying.

The main protection system for a given zone of protection is called the primary protection system. It
operates in the fastest time possible and removes the least amount of equipment from service. On Extra
High Voltage (EHV) systems, i.e., 345kV and above, it is common to use duplicate primary protection
systems in case a component in one primary protection chain fails to operate. This duplication is
therefore intended to cover the failure of the relays themselves. One may use relays from a different
manufacturer, or relays based on a different principle of operation to avoid common-mode failures. The
operating time and the tripping logic of both the primary and its duplicate system are the same.
It is not always practical to duplicate every element of the protection chain. On High Voltage (HV)
and EHV systems, the costs of transducers and circuit breakers are very expensive and the cost of
duplicate equipment may not be justified. On lower voltage systems, even the relays themselves may not
be duplicated. In such situations, a backup set of relays will be used. Backup relays are slower than the
primary relays and may remove more of the system elements than is necessary to clear the fault.
Remote Backup—These relays are located in a separate location and are completely independent of
the relays, transducers, batteries, and circuit breakers that they are backing up. There are no common
failures that can affect both sets of relays. However, complex system configurations may significantly
affect the ability of a remote relay to ‘‘see’’ all faults for which backup is desired. In addition, remote
backup may remove more sources of the system than can be allowed.
Local Backup—These relays do not suffer from the same difficulties as remote backup, but they are
installed in the same substation and use some of the same elements as the primary protection. They may then fail to operate for the same
reasons as the primary protection.

1. State and describe the fundamental requirements of Protective Relaying.

i) selectivity
It is the ability of the protective system to select correctly that part of the system in trouble and disconnect the faulty part without
disturbing the rest of the system. A well designed and efficient relay system should be selective i.e. it should be able to detect the
point at which the fault occurs and cause the opening of the circuit breakers closest to the fault with minimum or no damage to the
system.
ii) speed The relay system should disconnect the faulty section as fast as possible for the following reasons :
(a) Electrical apparatus may be damaged if they are made to carry the fault currents for a long
time.
(b) A failure on the system leads to a great reduction in the system voltage. If the faulty section
is not disconnected quickly, then the low voltage created by the fault may shut down consumers’
Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 8
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

motors and the generators on the system may become unstable.


(c) The high speed relay system decreases the possibility of development of one type of fault
into the other more severe type.
(iii) Sensitivity. It is the ability of the relay system to operate with low value of actuating quantity. Sensitivity of a relay is a function of
the volt-amperes input to the coil of the relay necessary to
cause its operation. The smaller the volt-ampere input required to cause relay operation, the more
sensitive is the relay. Thus, a 1 VA relay is more sensitive than a 3 VA relay. It is desirable that relay
system should be sensitive so that it operates with low values of volt-ampere input.

i) Sensitivity

Reliability It is the ability of the relay system to operate under the pre-determined conditions.
Without reliability, the protection would be rendered largely ineffective and could even become
a liability.
(v) Simplicity. The relaying system should be simple so that it can be easily maintained. Reliability
is closely related to simplicity. The simpler the protection scheme, the greater will be its
reliability.
(vi) Economy. The most important factor in the choice of a particular protection scheme is the
economic aspect. Sometimes it is economically unjustified to use an ideal scheme of protection and
a compromise method has to be adopted. As a rule, the protective gear should not cost more than 5%
of total cost. However, when the apparatus to be protected is of utmost importance (e.g. generator,main transmission line etc.), economic
considerations are often subordinated to reliability.
i) simplicity
ii) economy

2. Having the following three line protection diagram,(fig.1.), connect a necessary protective relay termination for:

a) Maximum fault Current protection of the transformer. And


b) Current differential relay protection separately.

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 9
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

Fig.1. Power transformer connected with a bas bar arrangement.

3. Describe the sub divisions of the following single line diagram and
4. How many probable relay protections are required in the zones 1,2,3,4 and 5 at the figure below,(fig.2.)
shows a three-zone step distance relaying scheme that provides instantaneous protection
over 80–90% of the protected line section (Zone 1) and time-delayed protection over the remainder of
the line (Zone 2) plus backup protection over the adjacent line section. Zone 3 also provides backup
protection for adjacent lines sections.
Distance Relays
Distance relays respond to the voltage and current, i.e., the impedance, at the relay location. The
impedance per mile is fairly constant so these relays respond to the distance between the relay location
and the fault location. As the power systems become more complex and the fault current varies with
changes in generation and system configuration, directional overcurrent relays become difficult to apply
and to set for all contingencies, whereas the distance relay setting is constant for a wide variety of
changes external to the protected line.
There are three general distance relay types as shown in Fig. 3.7. Each is distinguished by its
application and its operating characteristic.

5
2 4
3

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 10
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

Fig.2.

5. An over current relay connected to operate as a differential relay to protect almost all major equipments and apparatus.

Explain the protective relay operating mechanism of the followingconnections and why their operating currents are
different, (Fig.3 a,b,c,) and operating principle of the Buchholz relays having ratings in excess of 750 kVA ,(Fig.3 d ) :

a)

Under normal operating conditions, suppose the alternator winding carries a normal current of
1000 A. Then the currents in the two secondaries of CT’s are equal [See Fig. 21.23]. These currents
will merely circulate between the two CT’s and no current will flow through the differential relay.
Therefore, the relay remains inoperative

If a ground fault occurs on the alternator winding as shown


in Fig. 21.24 (i), the two secondary currents will not be equal and the current flows through the
operating coil of the relay, causing the relay to operate. The amount of current flow through the relay
will depend upon the way the fault is being fed.
(i) If some current (500 A in this case) flows out of one side while a larger current (2000 A)
enters the other side as shown in Fig. 21.24 (i), then the difference of the CT secondary
currents i.e. 10 2·5 = 7·5 A will flow through the relay.

b)

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 11
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

c)

If current flows to the fault from both sides as shown in Fig. 21.24 (ii), then sum of CT
secondary currents i.e. 10 + 5 = 15 A will flow through the relay.

Fig.3 a,b,c,

d)

Operation. The operation of Buchholz relay is as follows :


(i) In case of incipient faults within the transformer, the heat due to fault causes the decomposition
of some transformer oil in the main tank. The products of decomposition contain
more than 70% of hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas being light tries to go into the conserva-tor and in the process gets entrapped in the
upper part of relay chamber. When a predetermined

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 12
PS Protection and CB -EEng 6046List of questionsfor the preparation of the final exam June 2016

amount of gas gets accumulated, it exerts sufficient pressure on the float to


cause it to tilt and close the contacts of mercury switch attached to it. This completes the
alarm circuit to sound an *alarm.
(ii) If a serious fault occurs in the transformer, an enormous amount of gas is generated in the
main tank. The oil in the main tank rushes towards the conservator via the Buchholz relay
and in doing so tilts the flap to close the contacts of mercury switch. This completes the trip
circuit to open the circuit breaker controlling the transformer.

Fig.3 d

NB: Your assignment is supposed to be submitted as early as possible, onlytwo days after the exam date..

Good Luck!!!

Postgraduate studies in Power System Engineering School of Computational and Electrical Engineering-BDU
Page 13

You might also like