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Application Guide
About the Author
Mr. Rockefeller worked for Westinghouse Electric Corporation for twenty-one years in application and
system design of protective relaying systems. He worked for Consolidated Edison Company for ten
years as a System Engineer. He has also served as a private consultant since 1982.
This Guide contains a summary of information for the protection of various types of electrical
equipment. Neither Basler Electric Company nor anyone acting on its behalf makes any warranty or
representation, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained
herein, nor assumes any responsibility or liability for the use or consequences of use of any of this
information.
Revised 8/03
Transformer Protection
Application Guide
This guide focuses primarily on electrically Setting procedures are not included; refer to
actuated relays for the more prevalent applica- specific instruction manuals. Fuse protection is
tions. Principles are emphasized. The refer- only briefly addressed. Grounding transformers
ences provide a source for additional informa- and 3 phase banks of single-phase transformers
tion. Reference 1 includes extensive references are not considered here, but are treated in
and bibliographies. References 2 & 3 contain a Reference 1.
chapter on transformer protection.
Table I (page 18) provides Basler model,
This guide was prepared to assist in the selec- function, description and style number. It also
tion of relays to protect power transformers. The references the figures where the relays are
purpose of each relay is described and related indicated by their ANSI numbers.
to one or more power system examples.
1. Failure Statistics
The engineer must balance the expense of
applying a particular relay against the conse- Table II (page 3) lists failures for six categories
quences of relying on other protection or sacri- of faults (Reference 1). Winding and tap chang-
ficing the transformer. Allowing a protracted fault ers account for 70% of failures. Loose connec-
would increase the damage to the transformer tions are included as the initiating event, as well
and the possibility of tank rupture with a conse- as insulation failures. The miscellaneous
quent oil fire. An increase in damage would not category includes CT failure, external faults,
necessarily have significant economic impact, overloads and damage in shipment. An undis-
depending upon whether the initial damage can closed number of failures start as incipient
be repaired on site. For example, a tap changer problems. These failures can be detected by
flashover can ordinarily be repaired in the field, sophisticated on-line monitoring devices (e.g.
but if this fault is allowed to evolve into a winding gas-in-oil analyzer) before a serious event
fault, the economic impact can be substantial. occurs. Such devices will probably see increas-
Transformers used in a unit-connected genera- ing use on larger transformers, to supplement
tor unit are particularly critical, since the unavail- more conventional relays (Reference 8).
ability of the transformer can create large
generation-replacement costs. Similar economic 2. Fuses
impacts may also exist at industrial sites. This
explains why the MVA rating of the transformer Fuses are economical, require little maintenance
may not be the pivotal aspect in choosing the and do not need an external power source to
appropriate protection. clear a fault. However, they introduce single-
phasing conditions when just one or two
1
FIGURE 1. (See Legend, next page).
LEGEND FOR FIGURES.
resistance grounded on the 13 kV side. A
Device Description Legend detailed discussion of this application is prema-
49 Thermal CS Circuit Switcher
50/51 Instantaneous & Time Rg Grounding Resistor
ture, but the following is an introductory treat-
Overcurrent ment. The phase differential (87), ground
51 Time Overcurrent Transformer differential (87N) and sudden pressure relay (63)
51N-1 Ground Time Overcurrent Bushing
51N-2 Neutral Time Overcurrent N.C. Normally Closed
provide the primary transformer fault protection.
51N-3 Ground Time Overcurrent OP Operating Coil Note that the 51N-2 relay serves primarily as
63 Sudden Pressure Pol Polarizing Coil back-up rather than as transformer protection.
67 Directional Overcurrent
67N Directional Ground Overcurrent
The 51 and 51N-3 relays function as partial
86 Lockout Auxiliary differential relays to protect the bus and back up
87T Phase Differential, 3 Phase the downstream relays and breakers. The 67N
87N Ground Differential
relay offers an alternative to the 87N function.
The 50/51 phase overcurrent relays provide
Table II (Ref. 1) Failure Statistics for Two Time Periods
transformer backup. Also note the redundant
lockout relays (86), with the trip connections
1955 - 1965 1975-1982
Description Typical Settings & arranged such that complete protection is
Remarks
available even with a failure of one 86 relay or its
1 Number % of Number % of dc feed.
Total Total
3. Protection Example
3
istic can be set from 15 to 60%. The relay
becomes desensitized at the higher currents in
order to remain secure in the presence of
dissimilar CT performance. This creates false
operating current. In contrast, the characteristic
of the relay in Fig. 2 is a horizontal line. The
restraint current can be derived in a number of
ways. In the BE1-87T, the maximum of the input
currents provides the restraint, yielding a
consistent method regardless of the number of
inputs. Up to 5 inputs per phase can be sepa-
FIGURE 3. rately measured, depending upon the relay
flows into the zone are cancelled by the flows style.
leaving. Accordingly, such relays can be more
sensitive than phase overcurrent relays and Transformers present differential relays with
need not be delayed to coordinate with other distinctive problems, which affect their design
relays during external faults. and application. These are:
• Unequal secondary currents, because of
The simplest implementation of differential the different turns ratios of the power
protection merely parallels the CTs on all the transformer windings and the cts.
connections to the zone, per Fig. 2. However, • Phase shift of wye-delta banks.
more sophisticated means are usually employed • Tap changing under load.
to provide faster, more sensitive and reliable • Magnetizing inrush.
schemes. • Unmeasured grounded neutral current.
FIGURE 4. FIGURE 5.
This tap position also connects to the midpoint
of the operating winding, so that the net opera-
ting ampere-turns is zero. Thus, by ratio match-
ing, the input currents are normalized and the
operating signal is reduced to zero. Fig. 5
applies generally to electromechanical relays.
FIGURE 7.
FIGURE 6.
5
wye-side CTs is caused by zero-sequence
current, the delta CTs filter out this unbalance in
Fig. 10.
FIGURE 9.
FIGURE 11.
7
4.5 Overexcitation
FIGURE 14.
9
CTs must be connected in delta (or equivalent
electronic differencing with a 3 phase relay),
since the autotransformer is a zero-sequence
current source. Otherwise, any current flowing in
the transformer ground connection will unbal-
ance the differential relay. This current is
not measured and inputted to the relay. The
relay Fig. 18(c) protects the combination of a
bus and transformer.
10
A)
B)
FIGURE 20.
11
how the CT delta windings must be completed overcurrent relay, shown as 87N-1 in Fig. 21.
as shown in step 6 of Fig. 20(b). For example, However, such protection must use a delay (e.g.
in order to produce IA-IC in the direction shown, 25 cycles) to ride through the false residual
the non-polarity side of the phase “C” CT must current resulting from the dissimilar performance
connect to the phase “A” polarity side. With the of the phase CTs during a phase fault. The
delta CT connection, the relay currents on each phase fault current can be 100 times the maxi-
phase are in phase. Any difference in magnitude mum level of current during a ground fault. Thus,
is handled by selecting current taps approxi- it does not take much difference in the perfor-
mately in proportion to the current input mance of the phase CTs to create a large false
proportion. The delta CT connection also serves residual current. For the same reason, a per-
to filter any zero-sequence component from the centage differential relay for the ground differen-
relay. This component circulates in the CT delta, tial function can be insecure during external
but does not appear in the relay. phase faults, since the neutral current contrib-
utes negligible restraint during phase faults.
4.8 Ground Differential
With the 13.8kV bus tie normally closed in Fig.
1, either a ground differential or directional
ground relay is needed. Otherwise, the neutral
overcurrent relays on both transformers will
operate for a 13.8kV winding or lead fault,
resulting in an unnecessary interruption of the
station.
13
5. Turn-to-Turn Faults bellows 5 closing microswitch contact 7. Equal-
izer port 8, much smaller than the main port 4,
Phase differential relays may not detect a turn- prevents bellows movement for slow changes in
to-turn fault and ground differential relays do not gas pressure due to ambient temperature
respond to such faults. A neutral overcurrent changes and load cycling.
relay will see fault current if an external ground
source exists. However, for an impedance Fig. 24(b) shows use of the break contact of the
grounded system most of the fault current microswitch (63) in conjunction with auxiliary
probably will be contributed by the delta-side relay 63X. This circuit prevents tripping for a
source. A single turn fault may produce a total flashover of the make contact of 63.
less than rated current (Reference 6). Accord-
ingly, a sudden pressure relay (SPR) should be A design similar to that of Fig. 24(a) is mounted
applied to complement the differential protection. within the oil either in gas-cushioned or in
The SPR will detect any abnormality that gener- conservator-type transformers.
ates a sudden increase in pressure due to gas
generation (e.g. arcing due to a loose connec- The SPR will respond only to arcs within the oil.
tion). While more sensitive than a differential relay, the
SPR is not as fast as the electrical relay, so both
6. Sudden-Pressure Relays (63) relays should be applied.
15
8.4 51N-2 Relay 67N provides just marginal value, since 51N-2
backs up 87N. Because ground fault current is
The neutral overcurrent relay in Fig. 1 primarily limited, the need for fast backup is less impel-
backs up the 51N-3 partial differential protection ling. Relays 67N and 51N-2 offer an alternative
for bus faults and it backs up 87N as well. In the to 87N. However, the advantage of the 87N
absence of the 87N application, 51N-1 provides application is that it provides fast response with
the primary ground fault protection for the the low-side breaker open or with no external
transformer low-side zone. It also backs up 87T, ground source.
depending upon the sensitivity of the 87T. The
51N-2 relay must coordinate with 51N-3 to allow 9.0 49 Thermal Protection
the latter to clear a bus fault without tripping both
transformers. Conventional thermal relays measure the oil
temperature and transformer current to estimate
If the 13.8kV bus tie can be closed with both the hot-spot temperature. They provide an
transformers in service, as shown in Fig. 1, the indication and means for controlling pumps and
51N-2 relays on both transformers will operate fans. Typically these devices provide two
for a 13.8kV winding or lead fault, unless a 67N temperature sensing levels for control, and a
or 87N relay is provided for faster clearing. third, higher temperature sensing for alarm or
tripping.
8.5 51N-3 Relay
Recently developed fiber-optic sensors, incorpo-
Section 8.2 also applies to the 51N-3 relay rated in the transformer winding, provide a direct
except that this relay provides the ground fault method of measuring the hot-spot temperature.
coverage. About four of these sensors would provide good
coverage.
8.6 67 Relay
References
The 67 relay operates for power flow from the
transformer low side toward the high side. Such 1. ANSI/IEEE C37.91-1985, IEEE Guide for
flow could occur with the 115 kV tie breaker Protective Relay Applications to Power
open, either for a 115 kV fault or under load Transformers
conditions. Reversed flow can also occur with 2. Lewis Blackburn, “Protective Relaying:
the 115 kV tie breaker closed, with local genera- Principles and Applications”, Marcel Dekker,
tion. This relay will respond to high-side ground Inc. 1987
faults, because of the phase current flow (posi- 3. S. Horowitz and A. Phadke, “Power System
tive- and negative-sequence). This is valid only Relaying”, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992
as long as a remote high-side ground source 4. W. K. Sonnemann, C.L. Wagner and G.D.
remains connected. 50/51 is the only other relay Rockefeller, “Magnetizing Inrush Phenom-
in Fig. 1 responsive to a high-side ground fault ena in Transformer Banks”, AIEE Transac-
beyond the transformer high-side bushings. tions, Vol. 77, pt. III, pp 884-892, Oct. 1958
Because normal load flow is toward the low side, 5. IEEE Committee Report, “Transient Re-
67 can be set more sensitively than 50/51 and sponse of Current Transformers”, IEEE
may also be faster. Relays associated with the Special Publication, 76CH1130-4PWR
115kV breaker "A" will trip the high side circuit 6. Klingshorn, H.R. Moore, E.C. Wentz,
switcher. However, if the circuit switcher fails to “Detection of Faults in Power Transfor-
open, the 67 relay tripping the circuit switches mers”, AIEE Transactions, Vol. 76, pt. III,
and the 13.8kV breaker "B" functions as backup Apr. 1957, pp 87-98
to de-energize the circuit. 7. ANSI/IEEE C37.95-1989 “IEEE Guide for
Protective Relaying of Utility-Consumer
8.7 67N Relay Interconnections”
8. “On-Line Transformer Monitoring,” Electrical
The 67N relay serves as fast back-up protection World, Oct. 1995, pp. 19-26.
for the 87N relay. Unless 87N is not applied,
FIGURE 25.
17
Table I Relays and Typical Settings for 60 Hz Models
ANSI Qty. Basler Model/ Typical Settings & Figure
No. Description Basler Style No.
Function Remarks No.
24 1 BE1-24 1-3.99 V/Hz ACXF1XX0SXX Inverse:2.05 V/Hz --
Overexcitation (107%), TD=2, Reset:
2s/% FS; Alarm: 2.26
V/Hz(118%)
49 1 Thermal 1
50/5 3 BE1-50/51B 0.5-15.9A., 1 ph. 50/51B-1XX P.U.: 9A; TD:2 (VI); 1
1 phase 1-99A inst. Instantaneous reset;
overcurrent 60A instantaneous
51 3 BE1-50/51B 0.5-15.9A, 1 ph. 50/51B-1XX P.U.: 9A; TD: 1 (VI); 1
partial Instantaneous reset;
differential Disconnect instantaneous
51N-1 1 BE1-50/51B 0.1-3.18A, 1 ph. 50/51B-1XX P.U.: 0.25A; TD: 4 (VI); 1
ground Instantaneous reset;
overcurrent Disconnect instantaneous
51N-2 1 BE1-50/51B 0.1-3.18A, 1 ph. 50/51B-1XX P.U.: 0.5A; TD: 5 (VI); 1
Neutral Instantaneous reset;
overcurrent Disconnect instantaneous
51N-3 1 BE1-50/51B 0.1-3.18A, 1 ph. 50/51B-1XX P.U.: 0.1A; TD: 2 (VI) 1
Ground partial Instantaneous reset;
differential Disconnect instantaneous
63 Sudden pressure or 1,23
Bucholz Gas Accum.
67 1 BE1-67 Phase 0.5-12A; inst. B1XZ2XX3C6X TOC: 1A, 02 TD, B6 (VI) 1
Directional 1-40 times; 3 ph. Inst.: 15A
overcurrent
67N 1 BE1-67N 0.25-6A; directional A1XZ2XX3CXX Inst.: Not connected TOC:1
Directional instant, 2-100A 0.25A, 01 TD, B3 (Def.)
overcurrent
86-1/ 2 Lockout Aux. 1
86-2
87N-1 1 BE1-50/51M 0.1-3.18A TOC BE1-50/51M-2 Inst.: not connected 20
0.2-19.8A inst. TOC: 0.5A, 2 TD, D (Def.)
87N-2 1 BE-67N 0.25-6A TOC; A1XZ2XX3CXX Inst: 2A, polar. p.u.: 2A; 1,22
Ground 2-100A dir. inst. TOC: 0.25A, 07 TD,
differential B1(Short)
87T 3 BE-87T 2-8.9A, 3 phase E1EA1XX1XXX See Setting section of IM 1,17,2
Transformer
differential
Appendix I:
Time to Ct Saturation
For the application in Fig. 1, assume a high-side,
wye-connected, multiratio 600/5 CT on the 300/5
tap and an ANSI accuracy class of C200. The
unrestrained element pickup is 22A on the
secondary of the 300/5 CTs. The maximum time
constant of the fault current is 0.02s. Two way
lead burden (for ground fault) and CT winding
resistance is 0.4 ohms. Assume an internal fault
producing 33A, which is 150% of pickup.
From Fig. I-1 (Reference 5), the time to satura- FIGURE I-2.
tion is 13ms (3/4 cycle). This applies for a fully
offset current of 33A rms symmetrical and
assumes the CT saturates at the knee point, a
somewhat conservative assumption.
19
the unrestrained pickup level (see Appendix I).
Appendix II: Ks is the ratio of the CT knee-point voltage to
the burden voltage. The higher the Ks value, the
Harmonics During Ct better the CT performance.
Saturation
CTs experience both “ac” and “dc” saturation.
Ac saturation results under symmetrical current
conditions. Dc saturation occurs when the
current contains a “dc” component, during a
fault, magnetizing inrush, motor starting or
generator synchronizing. CTs that produce
negligible distortion under symmetrical condi-
tions can become severely distorted when a dc
component exists (Reference 5). While faults
generally produce the most current, other
conditions such as a motor starting produce
much slower dc decay than occurs for a fault. A
smaller dc current that persists longer can also
produce dc saturation. For these external
disturbances, unequal times to saturation in
various CTs results in false operating current.
Either the harmonic-restraint or the percentage
differential restraint (fundamental frequency
characteristic) prevents unwanted tripping for
this condition.