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PROTECTIVE RELAYING
B. R. Ravishankar, G. Girija & Swaraj Kumar Das
In electrical system, the current transformers and voltage transformers are used to
measure the current and voltage signals to the protective relays for tripping the
protective devices in case of faults.
The main functions of current and voltage transformers are:
To transform currents or voltages from usually a high value to a value easy to
voltage system.
To provide possibilities of standardizing the relays and instruments, etc. to a
I2
Is
Rct
Ie
Rb
Es
Lm
Rw
Xb
Is = Np / Ns * Ip
In reality however, it is not possible to neglect the exciting current. Figure below
shows a simplified equivalent current transformer diagram converted to the secondary
side.
Fig. 1 shows that not all the primary current passes through the secondary circuit. Part
of it is consumed by the core, which means that the primary current is not reproduced
exactly. The equivalent diagram comprises all quantities necessary for error
calculations. The secondary internal impedance, however, must be taken into account,
but only the winding resistance Rct. The leakage reactance is negligible where
continuous ring cores and uniformly distributed secondary windings are concerned.
The exiting impedance is represented by an inductive reactance in parallel with a
resistance. Im and Iw are the reactive and loss components of the exiting current.
The error in the reproduction will appear both in amplitude and phase. The error in
amplitude is called current or ratio error and the error in phase is called phase error or
phase displacement. The corresponding vector representation would be as below:
In Fig. 2, Is represents the secondary current. It flows through the impedance of the
secondary winding and the burden which determines the magnitude and direction of
the necessary induced voltage Es and of the flux which is perpendicular to the
voltage vector. This flux is maintained by the exciting current Ie, having a
magnetizing component Im parallel to the flux , and a loss (or active) component Ia
parallel to the voltage. The vector sum of the secondary current Is and the exciting
current Ie is the vector I p representing the primary current divided by the turns ratio
(number of secondary turns to number of primary turns). Thus, for a current
transformer with turns ratio equal to the rated transformation ratio, the difference in
the lengths of the vectors Is and I p, related to the length of I p, is the current error ,
and the angular difference is the phase displacement.
Fig. 2
So, Errors in protective current transformers are defined as below.
E=
Kn.Is Ip
x100
Ip
where
Kn
Ip
Is
Phase Error
The difference in angle between the primary and secondary current vectors, the
direction of the vectors being chosen that the angle is zero for a perfect transformer.
The phase error is said to be positive when the secondary current vector leads the
primary current vector and vice versa. Its usually expressed in minutes or
centiradians.
Composite Error
100
Ec =
Ip
1
T
(Kn
is ip
)2
dt
where
Kn
Ip
ip
is
T
The numerical value of the composite error will never be less than the vector sum of
ratio error and the phase error (the latter being expressed in centiradians).
Consequently, the composite error is always a true expression for the maximum value
of ratio error or phase error. When the power factor of the total load is known, it is
possible to estimate the ratio error and the phase error.
The current error is of particular interest in the operation of overcurrent relays, and
the phase displacement in the operation of phase sensitive relays (e.g. directional
relays).
In the case of differential relays, it is the combination of the composite errors of the
current transformers involved which must be considered.
For burdens between 50 percent and 100 percent of the rated burden, it is usually
conservative to estimate the composite error proportionally lower, but no estimate can
be made for greater burdens.
An additional advantage of a limitation of composite error is the resulting limitation
of the harmonic content of the secondary current which is necessary for the correct
operation of certain types of relays.
The limits of current error, phase displacement and composite error for protective CTs
are specified in standard as below:
Current error at Phase displacement at
Composite error at
Accuracy
rated primary
rated accuracy limit
rated primary current
Class
current
primary current
%
min
%
5P
1
60
5
10P
3
10
Importance of CT ALF
Accuracy limit Factor is defined as the multiple of rated primary current up to which
the transformer will comply with the requirements of 'Composite
Error'. Composite Error is the deviation from an ideal CT (as in Current Error), but
takes account of harmonics in the secondary current caused by
non-linear magnetic conditions through the cycle at higher flux densities.
Class 5P and 10P protective current transformers are generally used in overcurrent
and unrestricted earth fault protection.
Protective CT has to be accurate in the events of fault involving higher currents. This
is necessary so that operation of the relay is ensured. Accuracy Limit Factor ALF
defines the accuracy limit current as multiple of the rated primary current. i.e. the
current transformer have to maintain its specified accuracy upto ALF times of full
load primary current. This necessitates bigger core and hence size of the CTs are
generally higher.
When choosing a CT out of the standard CTs, it is necessary to keep in mind the
relationship linking the nominal ALF (linked to Rn) and the real ALF linked to the
real load Rp.
The ratio between the number of turns on the secondary winding and the number of
urns on the secondary. The turns ratio of the special purpose current transformer
determined shall not differ from the specified ratio by more than 0.25 percent.
It should be noted that as the turns ratio error is limited, transformers of this class are
suitable for protective schemes requiring close balance of the secondary currents from
different phases or circuits. Such current transformers should be so designed that
balance is maintained within the protective system when maximum through-fault
current is flowing through the primary windings of the current transformer used for
this system, that is, stability of the protection should be assured, whether in the
transient or in the steady state, upto the maximum through fault current which can be
passed in service through their primary windings.
Current Transformers of class PS shall be of low reactance and this may be
established in any of the ways described below.
a) The core is of the jointless ring type (including spirally wound cores).
b) The secondary turns are substantially evenly distributed along the whole length of
the magnetic circuit except that a circumferential spacing which does not exceed 20
mm on the outer periphery or which subtends an angle between radii not exceeding 30
degree, whichever is greater, is permissible between the two ends of the winding.
c) The primary conductor(s) passes through the approximate centre of the core
aperture or is approximately evenly distributed along the whole length of the magnetic
circuit.
d) Flux equalizing windings, where employed to meet the requirements of design,
consist of at last four parallel connected coils, evenly distributed along with whole
length of the magnetic circuit, each coil occupying one quadrant.
Such an arrangement ensures substantially even flux distribution within the core
irrespective of the presence of stray flux which may result from such conditions as the
close proximity of the return primary conductor.
Characterising CTs According To Applications
Different equipments need different types of protections like line incomers and
feeders, transformers, busbars, generators, motors, capacitor banks, etc.
Each component requires the use of several protections. However, to optimise choice
of a CT, it is important to know which protections it supplies, as well as their settings,
real impedance, short-circuit current, etc. For this reason it is required to study the
various applications.
A CT can supply several different protections either separate or grouped in a multiprotection system. This leads us to examine the protections determining CT sizing.
Is
Application
(monitored area)
i'e
id
i's
Rst
Protection
(Rp)
Since CTs are an important component of power system, it is necessary to test them
comprehensively. Following tests are specified in standards [IEC 60044-1 & IS 2705
(Part 1, 2, 3 & 4)]. There are different requirements for Metering CTs, Protective CTs
and Protective CTs for special purpose applications.
Type Tests
Routine Tests
Special Tests
The following tests are carried out upon agreement between manufacturer and
purchaser:
POTENTIAL TRANSFORMERS
(Ns/Np)xIpZp
Up
Is
Ie
IsZs
IsZb
Us
Typically, only C1 differs and a standard intermediate transformer is used for all
primary voltages. The intermediate voltage transformer (IVT) also contains reactors for
compensation of the capacitive voltage regulation.
The capacitor voltage transformer has a double function, one for metering/protection
and one for power line communications (PLC).
C1
E1
E2
C2
E3
Rated voltage
Rated voltage factor
Burdens and accuracy classes
Transient response
Ferroresonance
The performance of a voltage transformer is based on its rated primary and secondary
voltage. Unlike CT, It is generally seen that the variation of accuracy within a wide
range of voltages is very small. The transformers will therefore supply a secondary
voltage at good accuracy even when the primary voltage varies considerably from the
rated voltage.
10
Following tests are specified in standards [IEC 60044-2 & IS 3156 (Part 1)].
Type Tests
12
Special Tests
The following tests are performed upon agreement between manufacturer and
purchaser:
a) Chopped lighting impulse test as a type test
b) Short circuit withstand capability test as a type test
c) Commissioning test on non-earthed voltage transformers of up to and including
36 kV
REFERENCES
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