THEORY AND PRACTICAL PERFORMANCE OF INTERLOCKED OVERCURRENT BUSBAR ZONE PROTECTION IN DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATIONS

K Brewis, K Hearfield VATECH Reyrolle ACP Ltd.

AB STRACT

K Chapman UK. NEDL. UK. This practice of relying on backup overcurrent protection to clear busbar faults resulted in total loss of supplies from the substation and very long clearance times. Typical clearance times were of the order of 1.5 to 4 seconds dependant on location and grading margins and on system conditions. Between August 1980 and September 1994 six busbar faults occurred on NEDL I l k v or 20kv, primary substation switchboards. All of these faults started as single phase to earth faults but very quickly developed into phase-to-phase faults and were cleared by back up overcurrent protection. In all instances the long clearance times resulted in extensive damage to the substation together with total loss of outgoing supplies. Had any NEDL Engineers been in any of the Sub-stations at the time of the fault there would undoubtedly have been danger to life.
SIMPLE LOGIC BUSBAR ZONE PROTECTION UTILISING MODERN MICROPROCESSOR RELAYS

Modern micro-processor based, numeric, Overcurrent Protection relays provide multiple overcurrent elements, including instantaneous elements, with tightly defined characteristics. Additionally such relays can provide internal timers, with accurate, independent, pick-up and drop-off time delay settings, initiated from digital status inputs and capable of being mapped to output relays. Numeric relays also provide digital status inputs that can be User selected to internally inhibit the Overcurrent elements. A Distribution substation normally has Overcurrent relays applied to all the incomers and to all outgoing feeders. The instantaneous elements and timers of these relays may be used not only for plain Overcurrent Protection but also as part of an efficient, cost effective, high speed, Busbar Zone Protection, which protects not only for Busbar faults but also internal faults within the Circuit Breakers. This paper discusses the Protection theory and application issues to be considered in the design of Busbar Protection schemes utilising the Instantaneous elements contained in. numeric Overcurrent Relays and also reports on-in-service performance.
KEYWORDS

Specifically, for a busbar fault in 1992, in addition to the loss of supply, outage and repair costs, there were also obvious personnel Health and Safety issues. In the light of the then current legislation NEDL could possibly have been criticised on its protection policy in respect ,of clearance times for primary substation busbar faults. The cost of installing dedicated busbar protection is difficult to justify in some MV installations. Cost savings can however be made if the functionality incorporated in modern numeric overcurrent protection devices is utilised to provide basic busbar zone protection. Performance of installed overcurrent relays during busbar faults can be significantly improved by supplementing the standard overcurrent with an Instantaneous Protection + Blocking Logic scheme.
All NEDL s primary substations commissioned since 1992 have been fitted with the simple logic, busbar zone protection scheme.

Busbar Zone Protection, Interlocked Overcurrent, Blocking I Unblocking Protection.

INTRODUCTION

Prior to 1992, with the exception of a brief period in the mid 1960s when Frame Leakage busbar protection was applied which was found to be prone to maloperation and its use discontinued, NEDLs primary substation distribution switchboards were protected using back up overcurrent and standby earth fault protection.

Developments in Power System Protection, Conference Publication No.479 0 IEE 2001.

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With the use of modern microprocessor based relays as the standard arrangement at new primary substations, the opportunity exists to apply the instantaneous overcurrent protection provided as standard in the numeric overcurrenffearth fault relays. These instantaneous elements would not normally be used in the protection schemes applied to the LV side of the transformer incomer or to each of the outgoing feeders. The resulting simple busbar protection scheme using blocking I unblocking logic has to date been widely applied and proven to give a stable and very low cost, effective busbar zone protection providing discriminative phase and earth fault protection. Even applying generous grading margins the clearance time of the scheme should not exceed 0.5 seconds, the time varying only slightly with magnitude of fault current, this represents a substantial improvement over previous practice. The accuracy and repeatability of the latest generation of intelligent numeric protection relays enables the grading margins, and hence clearance times, to be safely reduced even further if required.
BLOCKlNGlUNBLOCKlNG BUSBAR PROTECTION SCHEME LOGIC ZONE

typically where incomers can be paralleled or on sectionalising CBs. Where directional relays are not fitted to Bus-couplers and Bus-section CBs then multi-staged tripping schemes can be applied to initially trip the Bus-coupler and Bus-section CBs, then, after a further time delay, to trip the incomers if fault current is still being detected. Separate phase and earth fault elements are used where earth fault levels are lower than phase fault levels. Where earth fault start elements are used to block phase fault time delayed instantaneous elements it should be checked whether it is possible that earth fault start elements can transiently operate due to CT spill current caused by CT unbalance/saturation. If this is the case earth fault elements should not be used to block overcurrent trip elements. The incomer busbar fault setting should exceed the maximum transient load current, and should be current graded with the highest setting of an outgoing feeder. Induction motor loads may transiently back-feed into a busbar fault. If this back-feed from any motor circuit is in excess of a non-directional blocking element setting the incomer highset may be transiently blocked then an increased setting or directional blocking should be applied. Where motors are connected to the busbars via step-down transformers the current contribution from these motors to a busbar fault will probably . be insignificant. Where the switchgear design does not incorporate comprehensive interlocking to prevent a close onto an earthed busbar, closing onto a busbar fault condition can occur. The resulting three phase to earth fault will produce no earth fault current and no
polarising voltage for directional relays on the

Fig. 1, below, illustrates the basic principle of operation. Sources of busbar fault current (incomers) must be switched out on occurrence of a busbar fault. On occurrence of an external circuit fault the incomers are to remain closed, the relevant Feeder circuit being isolated by its own CB. An instantaneous overcurrent element on the incomer is given a current setting below the minimum busbar fault level. A short time delay is applied to the incomer busbar trip element to ensure that time is allowed for the receipt of a blocking signal from an outgoing feeder relay for a feeder fault in excess of the incomer setting. Factory type testing has proved that, for correct busbar blocking operation, relay grading time delays greater than 40ms are satisfactory for nondirectional schemes and 60ms for directional busbar trip elements, this delay takes into account any effects due to CT saturation. To this delay must be added the Circuit Breaker grading time margin. An instantaneous blocking output from each feeder relay is connected to block (Inhibit) the incomers instantaneous elements from operating. Directional relays may be required where current can flow in both directions at the relaying point,

incomers. It is recommended that an alternative settings group of the relay be selected for the period immediately following busbar energisation and that this group of settings incorporates a nondirectional highset stage set to operate for this condition. For certain conditions such as heavy current inrush on capacitive loads, phase fault trip and block elements may both be picked up. It may be considered desirable to have separate block signalslwiring for phase and earth poles so that busbar earth fault protection is still available during the inrush period. The discharge current of capacitors may be neglected.

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Single Busbar with One lncomer

lncomer

I-

HSI

Fig. 1
Block BBZ Trip

For this configuration of Substation the direction of fault current flow in the incoming circuits must be determined to distinguish between busbar or incomer circuit faults. Directional overcurrent relays must therefore be applied on all incomers. The reverse direction highset 1 elements (II>>) on the incomers are used to provide the busbar tripping scheme. The highset elements are blocked whenever a starter element (PIs) of any outgoing feeder or the forward starter element of any lncomer circuit sees current above setting.
Single Busbar (Sectionalised)
lncomer 1

with

Two

lncomers

lncomer 2

The substation illustrated in fig. 1 provides a radial feed i.e. the current will always flow in one direction only. Non-directional overcurrent relays can be used on both the incoming transformer LV connections and the outgoing feeder circuits. Busbar protection is provided by the highset 1 elements (II>>) on the incomers, operation of these elements is, however, blocked whenever any one of the starter elements (I>ls) of the outgoing feeder circuits is picked up. The starter elements of the outgoing feeders should be set lower than the I,>> of the incomer. Care should be taken in selecting current settings if feeders can be tied at the remote ends since any feeder fault current will then be shared by the feeders i.e. reduced in each feeder.
Single Busbar with Two (or more) lncomers
lncomer 1 lncomer 2

8w

I(staner outputs)

F W D t C R E V

Fig.3

Directional relays are required on the incomer circuits as the Bus Section could be closed and the incomers paralleled. Also current can flow in both directions through the Bus Section e.g. with both transformers in service and the Bus Section closed, a directional relay is preferred on the Bus Section circuit. It is assumed for the purposes of this example that no busbar fault back feed is available from the feeder remote ends, therefore, non-directional relays are shown fitted to the feeders. The highset 1 elements 11>> on the incomers are used to provide the busbar tripping scheme. To ensure that only the faulted busbar is isolated, the directional starters of the Bus Section relay are used to block the 11>> element of the incomer connected to the healthy busbar. Starter elements of the feeder circuits are arranged to block the Bus Section I,>> characteristic and incomer connected to the same section of busbar.

RADIAL SISTN

1
477

An output from forward starters of the incomer relays is connected to inhibit tripping of the Bus Section CB for faults on the incomer circuits. Double Busbar with Two lncomers No Section or Coupler Protection

trip the circuit breaker, could be set up to detect Circuit Breaker Fail and after a short time delay (typically 200 msecs) could remove the blocking signal which in turn would result in the tripping of the bus coupler and one transformer incomer.
COMMISSIONING

Directional relays are advisable on the incomer circuits if it is'possible that the Bus Section can be closed and the incomers paralleled. Directional relays should also be fitted to the feeder circuits if a remote end infeed is possible. The highset elements of the incomers are used to provide a two stage tripping scheme. Stage 1 tripping uses the time delayed highset 1 (I,>>) elements to trip the Bus Section and Bus Coupler circuit breakers and after a further time delay if fault current flow is still detected the stage 2 highset 2 (I2>>) elements trip the incoming circuit breakers. The highset elements are blocked whenever the forward starter elements (INs) of the outgoing feeder or transformer circuits are picked up. It is only necessary to block the highset.elementsof the incomer relays connected to the same busbar. A busbar selection facility using isolator auxiliary switches is required to switch the blocking signals according to the busbar to which the outgoing circuit is connected. Note:- that this scheme does not utilise Bus Section or Bus Coupler relays. Directionalised relays on these circuits would negate the requirement for a two stage tripping scheme.
OTHER ADVANTAGES OF SCHEME

There are no particular problems in commissioning such a scheme other than proving that the Instantaneous blocking action operates correctly for an external fault i.e. Feeder fault current flow; and that unblocking occurs correctly for an internal busbar fault current flow; also, that the correct isolation of the faulted section occurs and the set operation I clearance times are achieved for both conditions.
CONCLUSIONS

The performance i.e. clearance time, of a blocked instantaneous overcurrent scheme is not intended to compare with that of a dedicated busbar hi-speed protection. Implementing the Blocking scheme does, however, provide improvement over previous practice where the whole substation would be' disconnected and extensive damage result from the inherent, relatively slow, overcurrent clearance time for a busbar fault. The Blocking scheme also provides considerable improvements in Back-up Protection for the situation of failure of an outgoing feeder Relay, or Trip circuit failure, or a 'stuck Circuit Breaker.
The schemes described in this paper provide very

In addition to its use as a dedicated busbar protection, the scheme also performs a very important secondary function. Should the power supply, or the Trip output circuitry of an outgoing feeder relay fail, then that protection would be inoperative and a Feeder fault would normally have to be cleared by the incoming transformer protection with a long clearance time and total shut down of the substation. Utilising the simple logic busbar scheme, the above situation would appear as a busbar fault but result in a reduced fast clearance time and shutdown of only one busbar. In the event of a 'stuck Circuit Breaker !on a Feeder, the feeder relay, after failing to successfully

cost effective means of installing discriminative phase and earth fault protection of primary substation busbars. NEDL. now have some Fifty Substations with Instantaneous Blocking, Busbar Zone Protection Schemes installed and in commission. To-date the performance record has been exemplary, whilst there have not been any Busbar faults since the first schemes were commissioned,there have been numerous feeder faults which have proven the stability of the scheme. Both Companies are thanked for their permission to publish this paper.

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