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500kV IPT
Breaker Failure Protection

65
th
Annual TAMU Protective Relay Conference
April 2
nd
, 2012
Vinh Duong, P. E., PMP ABB
J orge L. Pardo, P. E. Progress Energy
J ohn Elmore Power Grid Eng.
Road Map for the Paper
Introduction Who We Are, What We Do
Existing System Configuration
Brief Overview of Breaker Failure Protection
Need for Improvement
New Application Concept
Conclusions, Where We Go Next


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Who We Are, What We Do
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Progress Energy (March 2012)
Utility company head quartered in Raleigh, NC
Listed in NYSE: PGN
Two operating entities: The Carolinas (PEC) and Florida (PEF)
Serves 3.1 millions electric customers
22,000 MW of regulated electric generating capacity
PEF System Configuration
4700 miles of transmission lines including 69kV,
115kV, 230kV and 500kV
One nuclear generating site of 860 MW in western
Florida
Additional 13,000 MW from coal, combustion, and
oil plants throughout the territory
Five 500kV-230kV substation sites
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500kV Transmission Syst. Protection
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Transmission Lines: Three redundant high-speed
pilot schemes
Communication means including self-healing multiplexor over
fiber optic network, power line carrier and micro-wave
Autotransformers and Substation Buses: Dual
redundant protection packages
A dedicated breaker failure protection package
(separate from other relay & control functions)
Redundant battery systems with dedicated station
DC load centers
The Art of Line Protection
To detect transmission line faults and
initiate isolation of that fault on the line
segment with minimal impact to the rest
of the transmission system and to the
customer.

Do it by isolating the minimum faulted
section in the quickest time.

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Typical 500kV Protection System
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Breaker Failure Protection Scheme
Expand the clearing area for faults due to breaker
mis-operation (stuck breaker)
Time delayed operation initiated by all tripping
relays using breaker as clearing point
Time coordinated to allow primary zone clearing
but faster than other backup functions in order to
avoid system instability conditions
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Typical BF Protection Logic
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BF Scheme Needs:
BFI input from protection relays
Fault detector setting
(*Transformer fault detector if necessary)
BF timer setting
OR
AND
TIMER
62-1
Breaker Failure
Scheme Output
50FD
87T*
BFI
Typical BF Timing
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Not a problem if the total fault clearing time is 12+
cycles
The total fault clearing time shall not be longer than
the system critical clearing time
Line Relay Zones
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instantaneous
Blocked
Blocked
Typical Transmission Line
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t1 time zero
t2 relay operate time (1/2 to 3 cycles)
t3 carrier start (immediate)
t4 remote carrier received (channel time)
t5 trip initiated from relay
t6 breaker opens (2-4 cycle mechanical operate times)
t7 breaker failure trip (20 cy from trip initiate)
t8 - Zone 2 trip (30 cy) & t9 - Zone 3 trip (90cy)
t1 t2 t3 t4 t5 t6 t7 t8 t9
strike
detect
start
receive
Trip
Zone 3
Zone 2
BF
operate
breaker
open
timeline
action
The Need
With addition of 2
nd
nuclear site and expansion of
500kV network, the recommended critical clearing
time would be:
5.5 cycles for multi-phase fault
8.0 cycles for single-phase fault
Need faster reset times for BF schemes to avoid
overtrip
Use of IPT (Independent Pole Trip) breakers


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Can the new scheme Meet the
Need?
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Considerations
Relay operating time: 2 cycles
Failed breaker operating time: 2 cycles
Relay 50BF reset time: 1 cycle
BF timer safety margin: 2 cycles
Local and remote contributing
breaker operating time: 2 cycles
DTT channel time: 0.5 cycles
Total BF times = Critical clearing: 9.5 cycles
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Latency
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Just how fast must it be?






< 6 ms


Telecom Delivers the Message
<6 milliseconds
Relay/Protection Executes the Action
<10 milliseconds
Total Time to React
<1 Cycle ~16 milliseconds
What system or relays are available?
Line, auto, and bus differential protection relays to
be sub-cycle type
Directly tripping breaker(s) and issuing BFI
Eliminate auxiliary/tripping relays from the circuit
Replace PLC, lease line, and micro-wave with dedicate fiber
optic cable or fiber optic based multiplexor
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Breaker Failure Protection Relay
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BF protection relay to be sub-cycle type
Directly tripping breakers and DTT
Re-sequence the BF logic to discount fault detector
reset time
Allow the BF timer to time out first
BF Timing Improvement
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Relay operating time: 1 cycles
Failed breaker operating time: 2 cycles
Relay 50BF reset time: 1 cycle
BF timer safety margin: 2 cycles
Local and remote contributing
breaker operating time: 2 cycles
DTT channel time: 0.5 cycles
Total BF times = Critical clearing: 7.5 cycles

Applying IPT Breakers
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IPT Breakers:
Operating time 2-cycle or less
Three independently operating poles
Trip all three poles simultaneously regardless of fault type
Probability:
Not all but one pole fails to open at a time
Multi-phase fault hence transforms into single-phase as seen
by the system
8-cycle critical clearing time for 1-phase fault

Issues with IPT Breakers
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Low SF6 Gas:
Slow leakage to critically low => breaker opens and block close
Fast leakage to critically low => breaker block operation and
lock into its current position => all three poles inoperable
Loss of Spring Charge:
Sudden loss of spring charge => breaker block operation and
lock into its current position => all three poles inoperable



The Solution
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Implement dual BF timer scheme with IPT breaker
Typical time = 8.0 cycles for single-phase fault
One IPT pole fails
Short time = 5.5 cycles for multi-phase fault
Two or three IPT pole fails
BF relay armed to bypass the failed breaker and directly trips the
local and remote contributing breakers
Summary

Multi-Phase Fault BF Time
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Relay operating time: 1 cycles
Failed breaker operating time: 2 cycles
BF timer safety margin: 0 cycles
Local and remote contributing
breaker operating time: 2 cycles
DTT channel time: 0.5 cycles
Total BF times = Critical clearing: 5.5 cycles

BF Time with Bypass Logic
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Relay operating time: 1 cycles
Failed breaker operating time: 2 cycles
BF timer safety margin: 0 cycles
Local and remote contributing
breaker operating time: 2 cycles
DTT channel time: 0.5 cycles
Total BF times = Critical clearing: 3.5 cycles

Where Do We Go Next
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Consider its expanded use where critical
clearing time margins are becoming more
critical
Continue to expand our fiber network to
provide communications assisted relaying
and BF-DTT
Look into peer to peer communication
network among IEDs in the substation to cut
down IED contact operating time and wiring

Questions?


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