Study on Sequence Component Based Fault

Phase Selector During Power Swings

Wei Li; Tian-shu Bi, Senior Memeber, IEEE; Qi-xun Yang

X, R, C, refer to the inductance, resistance, capacitance

Abstract-For digital distance relays, in order to get the
correct measuring impedance, phase selector is widely used to
identify the fault phases first. However, when a fault occurs at
the line during power system swings, the traditional sequence
component based phase selector might not identify the fault
phase correctly, which leads to mal-operation of distance relays.
Therefore, how to improve the existing sequence component
based phase selector, especially at the condition of power system
swings, is crucial. The relationship between the relative phase
respectively
Z\, Z2, Zo, the positive, negative, and zero sequence
impedance of the whole system;
UfJol, pre fault voltage at the fault point.
R[, fault resistance.
jfig' jf2 ' jfO' are the phasors of positive, negative and
zero sequence currents at the fault point.
jiM ' j2M ' JOM ' are the positive, negative and zero

and amplitude of the sequence component of various asymmetric
faults is analyzed. An improved asymmetric fault phase selector
during power swings is proposed according to the corresponding
relationship between the zero, negative sequence
components and the asymmetric fault types. The simulation
results have shown the effectiveness of the method under power
swings. Combining with fault component phase selector in no
power swing, this method can perfectly solve the phase selection
problem of transmission lines.
Index Terms--Distance protection, sequence current, phase
selector, power swings
sequence currents of M side.
CIM, C2M, COM, the distribution factors of jiM ' j2M and
jOM '
current
ZOM, ZIM, the short circuit impedances of zero and negative
sequence of M-side.
k, the ratio coefficient of zero sequence impedance and
positive sequence impedance of the system.
a, equal to ZIM/ZI, is the ratio between the positive
sequence impedance of the fault point to the system of M side
and the positive sequence impedance of the whole system.
/3 = arg( ioM /j2 M ) , the phase angle difference between
JOM andj2M '

<l>IoM, <l>hM' the zero and negative sequence current phase

I. NOMENCLATURE angle of M side.

a, b, c, in subscript denote phase A, B, C.

0, 1, 2, in subscript refer to the zero, positive, and negative
II. INTRODUCTION
phase sequence components respectively.
with the increasing development of Chinese power industry,
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of
major international cooperation project (50920105705), National Natural
the scale of the network becomes considerably large and
Science Foundation Key Project (50837002), the National Natural Science the structure becomes more complex as well, which makes the
Foundation of China (50607005), Higher Education Subject Innovation Talent
Recruitment Funded (B08013), National Key Basic Research Program funded power system swings occur frequently. The phase selector
projects (973 projects) (2009CB219704), Beijing Municipal Education
Commission Build Project Special Assistance. may be failed during power swings. Therefore, the study of
W. Li, TS. Bi and Q.X Yang are all with the Key Laboratory of Power
System Protection and Dynamic Security Monitoring and Control under the the novel method for phase selector which is unaffected by the
Ministry of Education, North China Electric Power University, Changping
District; Beijing 102206, China (e-mail:tsbi@ncepu.edu.cn). swings, has a very important practical value.

978-1-4244-8081-4/10/$26.00 ©2010 IEEE

 There are several methods for phase selector using between Zo and ZI is similar to the inductance ratio between
sequence component. The method of phase selector based on
zero sequence and negative sequence of the line, the ratio
the relative phase between iOM and i2M is introduced in [1].
coefficient k.
Reference [2] changes the division of three phase zone to the
division of six phase zone with inter-phase impedance
exclusive. Reference [3-5] express that the fault type can be A. The Relationship Between iOM and i2M During Single
judged according to the phase relation among iOM' ilM and
Phase Grounding Fault:
i2M . The influence of the transition resistance is only
considered during the phase selecting in above cited literatures. The relation of iOM and i2M is depicted in (5). It can be
The non-fault-phase may be selected by the impedance
component for the difficulty of excluding the influence of load inferred (5) from (1-4) combining with the sequence network
current and extracting ilM when the swing or the abrupt of single phase grounding fault
change of power flow occurs. The phase selection method
using sequence component and the impedance during the iOM / i2M =COM / C2M (5)
swings may lead to mal-operation [6]. The main difficulty is to
= ZON(ZIM + ZIN)/(ZIN(ZOM + ZON) )
distinguish between single-phase grounding fault and phase­
phase grounding fault. It can be concluded from (5), the angle J3 has no relation
The novel phase selector is proposed according to the with the grounding resistance. It is determined by the phase
relationship of the amplitude and phase of iOM and i2M . It difference of distribution coefficient.
According to the preceding assumption, the following
finds out the amplitude difference of iOM and i2M between
equation can be derived
single-phase grounding fault and phase-phase grounding fault.
ZON / ZIN =(ZOM + ZON) / (ZIM + ZIN) (6)
It has successfully solved the difficulty to distinguish between
single-phase grounding fault and phase-phase grounding fault. So the amplitude ratio between iOM and i2M is
The phase selection theory, inheriting the merits of phase­ approximately equal to one, their angles tend to the same.
comparison scheme of sequence component, withstands the
impact of transition resistance and has the large margin angle B. The Relationship Between i2M and iOM During Phase-
during the phase comparing. The accuracy and validity of the
phase selector are verified in the simulation experiment. phase Grounding Fault:

Similarly, equations for phase-phase grounding fault can be

III. THEORETICAL ANALYSIS derived. Equation (1) - (4) are still tenable. It can be inferred
When asymmetrical grounding faults happen, the relative (7) - (9) from (1) - (4) combining with the sequence network
phase of iOM and i2M in the actual allocation of M side is of phase-phase grounding fault
decided by the corresponding phase current distribution
coefficient. It is assumed that the phase angle of the (7)
impedance of the system component is equal and IZII=IZ21,
C1M= C2M. The distribution factors are
(8)
COM = ZON /(ZOM + ZON) (1)
CIM = ZIN /(ZIM + ZIN) (2) iOM / i2M =COMZ2 / C2M(ZO + 3Rf ) (9)
The following equations can be derived
ZONZIM
iOM =coM iof (3)
i2M =C2M i2f (4)
The phase difference of distribution factors between iOM
This paper focuses on large-capacity power system with and i2M is relatively small in phase-phase grounding fault,
long-distance EHV transmission lines. The equivalent power mainly influenced by the grounding resistance. By the derived

system impedance of line ends is smaller than the line total (9), if Rf=O, iOM/ i2M = ZIM / ZOM ' the ratio is 11k. When

impedance. The ratio between Zo and ZI is approximately Rf is not zero, the slope of amplitude ratio is expressed in (10)
equal to the impedance ratio of lines. EHV line impedance is
mainly inductive components. It is assumed that the ratio
 ZONZIM
d( )/dRj (10)
(ZOMZON + 3Rj(ZOM + ZON»
-3Z0NZ1M(ZOM + ZON)
2
(ZOMZON + 3R/ZOM + ZON»
The value of (10) is less than zero constantly, if Rj =+00,

iOM / i2M "'" OL90° . The amplitude ratio increases

monotonically with the decrease of Rj.
Fig.3 Phase plane illustrating phase selection criterion
Because the system power impedances of two sides are not
fault and BC-phase grounding fault through small arc
zero, then a is always between zero and one. The following
resistance. If the amplitude ratio is less than (1+k)/2, it is
equation is deduced by deformed from (9)
selected as BC phase grounding fault, otherwise selected as A­
(11) phase grounding fault. For some extraordinary cases of phase­
phase grounding fault through large transition resistance, with
The phase angle difference of iOM and i2 M is obtained by
calculating argument feature from (11) as the increase of grounding resistance, i2M lags 10M more. In
f3 =90° - arctg(a(1- a)ZoI(3Rj» (12)
Fig. 3, when BC-phase short-circuit through large transition

Where resistance grounding happens, hM lags iOM' the angle f3 enter

argZ1M =90°
argZo =90° -300�-90° phase region, and the amplitude ratio will be less
than (1+k)l2, directly elected to BC phase-phase high
Therefore, it can be drawn from the above analysis that the
resistance grounding fault. With the above analysis, the
amplitude ratios of iOM and i2M between single-phase divisions of other similar areas are shown in Fig. 3.

grounding fault and phase-phase grounding fault are clearly

IV. PROPOSED PHASE SELECTOR AND FLOW CHART

different. The relationship of the amplitude ratio between iOM
and i2M of phase-phase grounding fault is as follows. If the
grounding impedance is small, f3 is near zero, the amplitude
ratio reaches the maximum. The larger the grounding
resistance is, the more �loM advances �12M' In the extreme
cases, the angle f3 that �loM ahead of �12M is close to 900, while
the amplitude ratio approach zero.
C. Phase Division
The results of fault type features obtained by the above
theoretical analysis are clear. The flow chart of the new
scheme is shown in Fig. 4. The subscript M is omitted in the
chart for pithiness.
Due to system imbalance and other factors, the results have
a certain error in the actual system. To ensure the reliability of
the phase election, the following practical criteria are used to
judge the fault type in 500kV transmission lines. Generally,
the ratio coefficient k of 500kv lines is about 0.326. The
higher the voltage, the smaller the ratio. The following
equations are given to distinguish single-phase grounding fault
from phase to phase grounding fault:

The relationships of amplitude and phase between iOM and (1 3 )

i2M are analyzed when phase A is the reference phase. A
traditional zone map, like Fig. 3, is shown below [7]. It can be The single-phase grounding fault is judged.
obtained from the above deduction, when the argument of
If:
iOM is the reference coordinate, combining with the previous
analysis results of the relative amplitude and phase difference
(14)
of iOM and i2M between single phase grounding fault and
phase-phase grounding fault.
It can be concluded from Fig. 3, the relative phase between The phase-phase low resistance grounding fault is judged.
i2M and iOM is within -300�+30° during A-phase grounding If:
 Various types of line faults under the system swing are
(15) included in the simulation projects. Some results are shown in
Fig. 6-7 under the condition of the single-phase grounding
The phase-phase high resistance grounding fault is judged. fault with different fault resistances.
1.1 --+- GrourJjjrg Resistarce o atm.
----e- GrouOOirg Resistarce 100 ohm.
---- GrourJjirg Resistarce 200 ohm.
1.05 - GrouOOirg Resistarce 300 ohm.

2060

Fig 6 Amplitude ratio of 10M, 12M in the single-phase grounding fault

Fig .4 The phase selection flowchart
35 -t- Grounding Resistance is 0 atm.
---e--- Grounding Resistance is 100 ohm.
Grounding Resistance is 200 ohm.
---- Grounding Resistance is 300 ohm.

V. COMPUTER SIMULATION RESULTS 30

The power system used for testing the proposed method is

shown in Fig. S. It consists of a 2700 MVA turbo generator
supplying power to an infinite bus. The generator is connected
to the infinite bus via a MY transformer and a SOO kV, 200 km
double circuit transmission lines. Positive sequence \
parameters of the line: X]=0.28n!km, R]=0.022Qlkm,
C]=O.013 2f.lFlkm, zero sequence parameters of the line: 2060

Xo=0.86Qlkm, Ro=0.182 8Q/km, Co=O.OOS Sf.lFlkm, zero Fig 7 Phase difference of 10M, 12M in the single-phase grounding fault
sequence mutual inductance: Xo,v=0.S22 QIkm. A disturbance
is created by a three-phase fault at location FI on circuit I, Other results are shown in Fig. 8-9 under the condition of
which is cleared after a time interval of 320 ms by phase-phase grounding fault of different fault resistances. It

disconnecting the faulted line circuit 1. Such a disturbance on shows the correct action of the selector.
the power system will cause the generator to accelerate or 0.4 r-
--�--�-----,

decelerate resulting in a power swing or a pole slip. The fault 0.35

set at F2 located at the percentage a of line length from M­ 0.3

side of circuit 2. The sampling frequency is 2400 Hz (for

0.25 -+-- Grouooing Resistance is 0 ohm.
SOHz system). A distance relay location is in circuit 2 near ---€I-

---lIt-
Grourt:lirg Resistance is
Grouooing Resistance is
100 ohm.
200 ohm.
0.2 - Grourt:lirg Resistance is 300 ohm.
Bus M as shown in Fig.S.
0.15

M iUJ/ N
--=--- ....- Hi
0.1
�v
'V
0.05
6Y
FI
�
VA fAil "];;; VN P960 1960 2000 2020 2040 2060 2060
CIRCUIT 1
Fig.S Simulation system model Fig 8 Amplitude ratio of 10M, hM in the phase-phase grounding fault
 9
o .-----.-----�--_.--�--_, [6] 1. L. Suonan, Q. Q Xu, G. B. Song, et ai, "Analysis on the operating

so characteristic of the sequence component fault phase selector during

70 power swings," (in Chinese) Automation of Electric Power Systems, Vol.

60 27, No. 2, pp: 52-55, Jan. 2003.

0
5 [7] Q. X. Yang, S. F. Huang, Microcomputer-Based Relaying Protection,
Grounding Resistarce is a atm.
(2nd ed.) (in Chinese). Beijing: China Electric Power Press, 2005, pp:
---+-

40 -e- Grounding Resistarce is 01 0 ohm.

-lI- Grounding Resistarce is 200 ohm.
0
3 ----!+- Grounding Resistarce is 3 0 ohm.
0 91-95.

20

0
1
Wei Li was born in China in 1983. He is currently a Ph.D candidate in North

China Electric Power University. His research interests include power system

protection and control, and substation automation. Email:li-

P
. 1 96
L,------
O
9
1'"
" 0
S
.,.-----, '""----20
�2 O 0
O �2 0 -,-60 -----,
'"" 2-0,------,.,20-4 0,------c O2 ,-,J OS

wei@ncepu.edu.cn.

Fig 9 Phase difference of 10M, 12M in phase-phase grounding fault

Tianshu Bi received her Ph.D degree at the Department of EEE in the

University of Hong Kong in 2002. She is currently a professor at North China

VI. CONCLUSIONS
Electric Power University. Her research interests include power system
The reliable phase selector is the crucial element to ensure protection and control, synchronized phasor measurement technique and its
the operation security of the line protection. A new phase
application and the fault diagnose. Email: tsbi@ncepu.edu.cn.
selector based on the amplitude and phase relationship
between iOM and i2M is proposed to improve the operation
performance of phase selection. This phase selector Qixun Yang was born in China in 1937. He is currently a Chinese

combines the advantage of the phase-comparison scheme academician of engineering and a professor at North China Electric Power
with those of the magnitude-comparison scheme to guarantee
University. His research interests include power system protection and control,
the reliability of phase selection during power swings. A
and substation automation.
beneficial effect on the transition resistance is absorbed in the
method. The greater the grounding resistance, the higher
reliability the phase selector. It has a good prospect in the
500kV transmission lines and above.

VII. REFERENCES

[1] S. S. Zhu, The Principle and Technique of High Voltage Network

Protection (in Chinese), Beijing: China Electric Power Press, 1995, pp:

264-265.

[2] Z. Y. XU, Q. X. YANG, W S. LIU, "A sequence fault phase selector for

transmission line protective relay," (in Chinese) Proceedings of the

CSEE, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp: 214-216, May. 1997.

[3] Y. Z. Ge, New Types of Principles and Technologies of Protection and

Fault Location (in Chinese). Xi'an, China: Xi 'an Jiaotong Univ.Press,

1996, pp: 37-42.

[4] Q. Q Xu, J. L. Suonan, G. B. Song, et al. "A fault phase selection for

transmission line protective relaying using current fault components,"

(in Chinese) Automation of Electric Power Systems, Vol. 27, No. 7, pp:

50-54, Apr. 2003.

[5] H. Bai, Y. A. WANG, "New Sequence Fault Phase Selector Component

for Transmission Line Protection," (in Chinese) Automation of Electric

Power Systems, Vol. 32, No. 12, pp: 64-67, Jun. 2007.