PART A

POWER SYTSEM PROTECTION

CHAPTER

1
BASIC PRINCIPLES

1.1

INTRODUCTION TO PROTECTIVE RELAYING

Protective Relaying or Protection is the term that defines the branch of

electric power engineering that is concerned with the detection and
disconnection of short-circuits (faults) and other abnormal conditions on
the power system.
There are three aspects of the design and operation of a power system
that are important in considering the role of protective relaying:
Normal operation
Prevention of electrical failure
Mitigation of the effects of electrical failure.
The term normal operation assumes no failures of equipment, no
mistakes of personnel, nor acts of God. It involves the minimum
requirements for supplying the existing customer load and a certain amount
of anticipated future load. Design of the power system for normal operation
involves major expense for equipment and includes consideration of:
Choice between hydro, steam, or other sources of power
Location of generating stations
Transmission of power to the load
Study of the load characteristics and planning for its future
growth
Metering
Voltage and frequency regulation
System operation

POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Maintenance requirements
The consequences of equipment or plant failure.
Protection systems must not interfere with or limit the normal
operation of the system but must continuously monitor the system to detect
electrical failure or abnormal electrical conditions.
Further important aspects in the design of the power system are:
Incorporation of features aimed at preventing failures, and
Provisions for mitigating the effects of failure when it occurs.
Modern power system design employs both recourse as dictated by
the economics of any particular situation. Notable advances continue to
be made toward greater reliability. However also, increasingly greater
reliance is being placed on electric power. Consequently, even though the
probability of failure is decreased, the tolerance of the possible harm to the
service is also decreased.
The type of electrical failure that causes greatest concern is the
short-circuit, or fault as it is usually called, but there are other abnormal
operating conditions peculiar to certain elements of the system that also
require attention. Some of the features of design and operation aimed at
preventing electrical failure are:
Provision of adequate insulation
Coordination of insulation strength with the capabilities of
lightning surge arresters
Use of overhead ground wires and low tower-footing resistance
Design for mechanical strength to reduce exposure, and to
minimise the likelihood of failure caused by animals, birds,
insects, dirt, sleet, bushfires, etc.
Proper operation and maintenance practice.
Some of the features of design and operation for mitigating the effects
of failure are:
Features that mitigate the immediate effects of an electrical failure
1. Design to limit the magnitude of short-circuit current
(a) By avoiding too large concentrations of generating
capacity
(b) By using current-limiting impedance
2. Design to withstand mechanical stresses and heating owing
to short-circuit currents
3. Time-delay undervoltage devices on circuit breakers to
prevent dropping loads during momentary voltage dips
4. Ground-fault neutralisers.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Features for promptly disconnecting the faulty element

1. Protective relaying
2. Circuit breakers with sufficient interrupting capacity
3. Fuses.
Features that mitigate the loss of the faulty element
1. Alternate circuits
2. Reserve generator and transformer capacity
3. Automatic reclosing.
Features that operate throughout the period from the inception of the
fault until after its removal, to maintain voltage and stability
1. Automatic voltage regulation
2. Stability characteristics of generators.
Means for observing the effectiveness of the foregoing features
1. Automatic oscillographs
2. Efficient human observation and record keeping.
Frequent surveys as system changes or additions are made, to be sure
that the foregoing features are still adequate.
Thus, protective relaying is one of several features of system design
concerned with minimising damage to equipment and interruptions to
service when electrical failures occur. WHEN WE SAY THAT RELAYS
PROTECT, WE MEAN THAT, TOGETHER WITH OTHER EQUIPMENT,
THE RELAYS HELP TO MINIMISE DAMAGE AND IMPROVE SERVICE
AT A MINIMUM COST. It will be evident that all the mitigation features
are dependent on one another for successfully minimising the effects of
failure.

1.2

POWER SYSTEM PLANT AND LAYOUT

The following section gives an overview of plant and the electrical

characteristic that are relevant to design of the protection system. They
also outline some of the various switching arrangements that are likely to
be encountered on the power system.
The aim is to identify, for the reader, some of the underlying issues
that need to be considered in the design of protection.

1.2.1 Power System Plant

The system for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity is
made up of generators, lines, transformers, reactive plant (capacitors and
static compensators) etc. connected in a network to provide reliable
transport of electrical energy from the generation source to the customer.
The parameters of the plant (size and electrical specifications) and its

POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

associated auxiliary equipment, together with the arrangement of the

network, have a significant influence on the design of the protection system.
Plant impedances and earthing arrangements will determine the
magnitude and path of fault currents. Number and location of current and
voltage transformers will determine the arrangement of protection zones
which, in turn affects the reliability of the whole power system.
Consequently, the protection engineer must have a sound knowledge of
the design of both the electrical plant and the power system in order to
influence the design.
The following paragraphs briefly outline some of the plant and
system design considerations.

1.2.2 Generators
Generators appear in a number of sizes ranging from less than 1 MW
(typically in a cogeneration plant) to 600 MW or more in a large fossil
fuelled station. Generated voltages are generally constrained in the range
of 6.6 kV to 33 kV due to design limitations in the generator insulation
systems. This means that step-up transformers are generally needed to
connect the generator to the transmission system. Important parameters
in the design of protection for the system and the generator are the generator
impedances.
A distinction is made for two conditions, namely the direct and
quadrature axis which cover the positions when the axis of the rotor poles
are in phase with the machine poles, or 90 electrical degrees out of phase.
Fault currents (resulting from a short-circuit on the power system) are
mainly reactive and as they cause drops in the direct axis voltage, we use
the direct axis impedances for fault calculations.
The impedance of the generator varies with time following inception
of a fault, due to the inductive nature of the generator electrical circuit.
The value depends on the time that has elapsed from the inception of a
short-circuit. Impedances in three time zones are specified for calculation
of currents and voltages:
Subtransient impedance (X d )determines the level for
short-circuit current during the first 1 to 3 cycles after short-circuit
inception.
Transient impedance (Xd)determines the level of current that
a particular generator will contribute to a short-circuit during
the transient period between 3 to 20 cycles.
Synchronous impedance (Xd)determines the steady state value
of short-circuit current after the transient period.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

The time constant that determines the duration of the subtransient

and transient periods and related offset of the short-circuit current is
determined by the inductance and resistance of the generator. It is often
referred to as the X/R ratio of the generator. In a multi-generator system
the X/R ratio is highest near the generation source and reduces as lines
and transformers are interposed between the generation and the load. The
X/R ratio is important in the determination of required current transformer
performance, as you will see in Chapter 4.
For protection calculations, we assume that the nominal terminal
voltage of all machines is acting behind the machine impedance i.e., all
machines are unloaded, and their voltages are all in phase. Some
organisations use the subtransient impedance Xd for fault calculations
and apply a decrement to reduce current with time, depending on the
measuring and operating time of the protection relays. This can be
appropriate if accurate high speed measurement is required, however, the
majority use the transient impedance Xd and assume that the current does
not change during the protection relay operating period. This is adequate
for most applications and these sections are based on the use of the transient
impedance Xd.
Also of importance in the design of the protection system is the
method of earthing, which determines the paths for earth fault currents in
the system. Generator neutrals are generally earthed through a high
impedance to limit the flow of earth fault currents in the generator windings
and eliminate the damage that this would cause. The path for earth fault
currents on the external power system is established through earthing of
transformer neutral connections.

1.2.3 Transformers
Power transformers of various sizes are located throughout the power
system. Step-up transformers convert the generator voltage to levels
suitable for the transmission system which transmits bulk power to the
load centres. Depending on the size of the system, transmission voltages
will range from 132 kV to 500 kV. Step-down transformers reduce the
voltages at the bulk load centres to typically 66 kV or 33 kV for distribution
through a subtransmission network which supplies the high voltage
distribution system. The distributions system is typically 33, 22 or 11 kV
and supplies distribution substations that transform the voltage to the
customer level.

POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Large transformers in the generating stations or transmission stations

may be made up of three single phase units or a single three phase unit.
Physical size and transport limitations can frequently determine the choice
that has to be made. Single phase units, as well as taking up more space,
have more complex connection arrangements, particularly with the
connection of the delta or tertiary winding. The external delta connections
are more exposed to faults and failure can result in high short-circuit
currents, which can be disastrous mechanically for the delta windings.
Inter-winding impedances, winding connections (i.e., delta, star,
interstar) and earthing arrangements are important for the protection
engineer. These factors determine the magnitude and path of fault currents
and consequently the ability for protection systems to selectively detect
and clear faults from the system.
It is usually sufficient to use the inductive component of the
transformer impedance in protection calculations and this will usually be
expressed as a per cent or per unit at rating i.e., per cent impedance is the
percentage voltage drop across the transformer at rated voltage and current.
With a short-circuit on the terminals the current will be:
I Rated 100
%Z

1.2.4 Lines
Impedances, for calculation of fault currents, are the most important line
parameter for protection purposes. These are usually calculated in resistive
and reactive ohms at system frequency and are expressed in the form R + jx
or ZQ. The R term is the resistance per phase and the jx term is obtained
from the basic equation of the type
jx = k log10

F Separation of conductors I
GH k Radius of conductor JK
1

Factors that influence the impedance include the presence of

overhead earth wire and mutual coupling with parallel lines.

1.3

SWITCHING ARRANGEMENTS

Switching arrangements used in a particular power system or individual

stations within the system are influenced by a number of factors and there
is no clear right or wrong arrangement. Factors that need to be considered
are:

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Economic and business investment criteria,

History of development of the individual power system i.e.,
decisions made in the past can be uneconomic to change because
of widespread changes that may be required,
Ease and safety of operation and maintenance,
Security, reliability and quality of supply to the customer,
Flexibility for future development.
There are many switching arrangements used on the power system,
all of which influence the design of the protection system.
A major consideration for the Protection Engineer is the ability to
establish appropriate protection zones that will selectively isolate faulty
items of plant. In this respect the number and location of current and voltage
transformers is a major consideration. The preference would be to locate
current transformers on each side of the circuit breaker, transformer and
generator so that independent overlapping zones of protection can be
established for each plant item. This practice can result in significant costs,
either in the cost of the plant item itself (e.g., if the CTs are mounted within
the CB structure) or in the cost of additional space and structures to mount
free standing CTs in the switchyard. A frequent compromise is to provide
CTs on one side of the plant. With this arrangement it is possible to achieve
overlapping zones of protection but it can result in blind spots or dead
zones which requires special measures. For example, with CTs located
on the line side of a circuit breaker, a fault between the CB and the CT post
will be detected by the busbar protection zone but is outside the line
protection zone. The bus protection will operate to trip the local circuit
breakers but the protection at the other end of the line must detect and
clear the fault from that end.

1.3.1 Single Switching

Each item of plant has its own CB. This arrangement: (see Fig. 1.1)
is economic in terms of plant requirements,
is straight forward and safe to operate and maintain,
has few complications from a protection viewpoint, apart from
selecting the location for CTs and VTs.
The major disadvantage is the inflexibility in programming
maintenance. For example, an outage of a CB will result in the loss of the
associated plant item to the system (possible a major generator or
transformer).

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POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

FIGURE 1.1 Single switching

1.3.2 Double Switching

Each plant item has two circuit breakers to provide the ability to switch to
either of two bus-bars.
This is a very flexible arrangement (Fig. 1.2) and has the major
advantage that any item of plant can be transferred from bus to bus without
interrupting the circuit that it feeds. Again there are no particular design
problems from a protection viewpoint. It is relatively easy to establish
selective zones for protection of each plant item, the bus-bars and the
incoming and outgoing circuits.

FIGURE 1.2 Double switching

11

BASIC PRINCIPLES

The major disadvantage is the high cost of providing circuit breaker

and their associated auxiliary equipment and space requirements. This
additional expenditure has to be weighed against the gain in revenue or
convenience of keeping generation and other plant in service during
outages of circuit breakers or bus-bars for maintenance or as a result of
plant failure.
Some savings can be achieved by using a combination of single and
double switching. For example, it can be argued that the generator could
be single switched and any maintenance requirements on the CB would
be to coordinate with generator maintenance. In this case the generators
shown in the double switched arrangement, two CBs could be eliminated
by single switching the generators to alternate bus-bars.

1.3.3 Mesh Layout

This scheme (Fig. 1.3) has most of the advantages of a double bus layout,
in that all plant can be kept in service for the outage of any one CB. But, it
requires only one CB for each item of plant in its simplest form compared
with the two CBs for each item of plant in the double switched
arrangement.
The limit on the number of items of plant in a mesh layout is usually
around six in order not to prejudice the system in the event of outages e.g.,
if CB A is open for maintenance and a fault occurs on Feeder 1, the system
G1

Feeder 1
A

G2

FIGURE 1.3 Six circuit breaker mesh

is left with generator 2 disconnected. The mesh layout is flexible and uses
less CBs than the double switched arrangement. There are no particular

12

POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

design problems from a protection viewpoint. It is relatively easy to

establish selective zones for protection of each plant item and the incoming
and outgoing circuits provided current transformers are provided with
each circuit breaker and plant item and, depending on the protection
selected, voltage transformers are provided in the outgoing lines.

1.3.4 1 CB Switching
A more elaborate system than the mesh system is the 1 CB arrangement
(Fig. 1.4).

FIGURE 1.4 1 Circuit breaker

This arrangement uses more CBs than the mesh arrangement but
gives better reliability for faults in the transmission lines or generation
plant. Again, provided current transformers and voltage transformers are
carefully located the protection arrangements is straight forward.

1.3.5 Transfer Bus Arrangement

This arrangement (Fig. 1.5) is applicable to stations where there are a large
number of feeders. It permits more flexibility than the single switched
arrangement as any feeder may be kept in service while its CB is out of
service, by using the transfer bus and connecting the feeder either in parallel
with another feeder or to a spare CB.
The system is more complex to operate and can require switching of
current transformers and protection circuits through auxiliary switches
on the transfer isolators, to maintain adequate protection on the feeders.
Problems can also arise with the operation of earth fault protection
when feeders are operated in parallel due to the unbalance in load currents

13

BASIC PRINCIPLES

giving rise to artificial earth fault current in the relay circuits. Special
operating procedures may be required to overcome this problem.

FIGURE 1.5 Transfer bus

1.4

THE FUNCTION OF PROTECTIVE RELAYING

The function of protective relaying is to cause the prompt removal from

service of any element of a power system when it suffers a short-circuit, or
when it starts to operate in any abnormal manner that might cause damage
or otherwise interfere with the effective operation of the rest of the system.
It achieves this through relays and protection schemes that measure power
system quantities, detect a fault or abnormal condition and open (trip)
appropriate circuit breakers.
Circuit breakers are generally located so that each generator,
transformer, bus, transmission line, etc., can be completely disconnected
from the rest of the system. These circuit breakers must have sufficient
capacity so that they can carry momentarily the maximum short-circuit
current that can flow through them, and then interrupt this current; they
must also withstand closing in on such a short-circuit and then interrupting
it according to certain prescribed standards.
Fusing is employed where protective relays and circuit breakers are
not economically justifiable.
A secondary function of protective relaying is to provide indication
of the location and type of failure. Such data not only assists in expediting
repair but also, by comparison with human observation and automatic
oscillograph records, they provide means for analysing the effectiveness
of the fault-prevention and mitigation features including the protective
relaying itself.

14

1.5

POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

PRINCIPLES OF PROTECTIVE RELAYING

The protection system can be divided into two main groups:

primary relaying
back up relaying.
Primary relaying is the first line of defence, whereas back up relaying
provides for failure of the primary protection to clear the fault or
abnormality, either through failure of protection equipment or primary
plant.

1.5.1 Primary Relaying

Fig. 1.6 illustrates primary relaying.
Circuit
breaker
Generator

Low voltage
switchgear

High voltage
switchgear

Power transformer

High voltage
switchgear

Transmission line

FIGURE 1.6 Single line diagram of a portion of an electric

power system showing primary relaying

Observation:
Circuit breakers are located in close proximity to each power
system element. This provision makes it possible to disconnect
only a faulty element. Occasionally, a breaker between two
adjacent elements may be omitted, in which event both elements
must be disconnected for a failure in either one.
A separate zone of protection is established around each system
element. The significance of this is that any failure occurring
within a given zone will cause the tripping (i.e., opening) of all
circuit breakers within that zone, and only those breakers.
It will become evident that, for failures within the region where
two adjacent protective zones overlap, more breakers will be
tripped than the minimum necessary to disconnect the faulty
element. However, if there were no overlap, a failure in a region
between zones would not lie in either zone, and therefore no

BASIC PRINCIPLES

15

breakers would be tripped. The overlap is the lesser of the two

evils. The extent of the overlap is relatively small, and the
probability of failure in this region is low; consequently, the
tripping of too many breakers will be quite infrequent.
Adjacent protective zones of Fig. 1.6 overlap around a circuit
breaker. This is the preferred practice because, for failures
anywhere except in the overlap region, the minimum numbers
of circuit breakers need to be tripped. When it becomes desirable
for economic or space-saving reasons to overlap on one side of a
breaker, as is frequently true in metal-clad switchgear, the relaying
equipment of the zone that overlaps the breaker must be arranged
to trip not only the breakers within its zone but also one or more
breakers of the adjacent zone, in order to completely disconnect
certain faults.

1.5.2 Back up Relaying

Back up relaying is intended to operate when a system fault is not cleared
in due time because of failure or inability of the main protection or the
associated protection to operate.
A clear understanding of the possible causes of primary-relaying
failure is necessary for a better appreciation of the practices involved in
back up relaying. When primary relaying fail several things may happen
to prevent primary relaying from causing the disconnection of a power
system fault. Primary relaying may fail because of failure in any of the
following:
Current or voltage supply to the relays
DC tripping-voltage supply
Protective relays
Tripping circuit or breaker mechanism
Circuit breaker.
It is highly desirable that back up relaying be arranged so that
anything that might cause primary relaying to fail will not also cause failure
of back up relaying. Two principles are applied:
Remote back up
Local back up.
With remote back up the back up relays are located so that they do
not employ or control anything in common with the primary relays that
are to be backed up. So far as possible, the practice is to locate the back up
relays at a different station. Consider, for example, the back up relaying
for the transmission line section EF of Fig. 1.7. The back up relays for this

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POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

line section is normally arranged to trip breakers A, B, I, and J. Should

breaker E fail to trip for a fault on the line section EF, breakers A and B are
tripped; breakers A and B and their associated back up relaying equipment,
being physically apart from the equipment that has failed, are not likely to
be simultaneously affected as might be the case if breakers C and D were
chosen instead.
Station K
A

FIGURE 1.7 Illustration for back up protection

The back up relays at locations A, B, and F provide back up protection

if bus faults occur at station K. Also, the back up relays at A and F provides
back up protection for faults in the line DB. In other words, the zone of
protection of back up relaying extends in one direction from the location
of any back up relay and at least overlaps each adjacent system element.
Where adjacent line sections are of different length, the back up relays
must overreach some line sections more than others in order to provide
back up protection for the longest line.
A given set of back up relays will provide incidental back up
protection for faults in the circuit whose breaker the back up relays control.
For example, the back up relays that trip breaker A of Fig. 1.7 may also act
as back up for faults in the line section AB. However, this duplication of
protection is only an incidental benefit and is not to be relied on to the
exclusion of a conventional back up arrangement when such arrangement
is possible; to differentiate between the two, this type might be called
duplicate primary relaying.
A second function of back up relaying is often to provide primary
protection when the primary-relaying equipment is out of service for
maintenance or repair.
It is perhaps evident that, when back up relaying functions, a larger
part of the system is disconnected than when primary relaying operates
correctly. This is inevitable if back up relaying is to be made independent
of those factors that might cause primary relaying to fail. However, it
emphasises the importance of the second requirement of back up relaying,
that it must operate with sufficient time delay so that primary relaying
will be given enough time to function if it is able to. In other words, when
a short-circuit occurs, both primary relaying and back up relaying will

BASIC PRINCIPLES

17

normally start to operate, but primary relaying is expected to trip the

necessary breakers to remove the short-circuited element from the system,
and back up relaying will then reset without having had time to complete
its function. When a given set of relays provides back up protection for
several adjacent system elements, the slowest primary relaying of any of
those adjacent elements will determine the necessary time delay of the
given back up relays.
Local back up provides for the initiation of the required action at
the same location as that at which the main protection is situated. Local
back up usually involves the provision of two completely independent
(duplicate) protection systems including relays, current transformers,
circuit breaker trip coils, etc.
For many applications, it is impossible to abide by the principle of
complete segregation of the back up relays. Then one tries to supply the
back up relays from sources other than those that supply the primary relays
of the system element in question, and to trip other breakers. This can
usually be accomplished; however, the same tripping battery may be
employed in common, to save money and because it is considered only a
minor risk.

1.6

UNIT AND NON-UNIT SCHEMES

The purpose of an electrical power generation system is to distribute energy

to a multiplicity of points for diverse applications. The system should be
designed and managed to deliver this energy to the utilisation points with
both reliability and economy. As there is a natural conflict between these
two requirements, some compromise is necessary. Reliability in system
design is very important and although it is possible to achieve very high
reliability, the economics of doing so due to the excess plant required are
prohibitive. Several ways of improving security of supply without adding
too much to the costs are by:
improving plant design
increasing the spare capacity
arranging alternative circuits to supply loads.
Also such division of the system into zones, each controlled by its
own switchgear in association with protective gear, provides flexibility
during normal operation and ensures a minimum of dislocation following
a breakdown.
In practical power systems any fault condition, especially a
short-circuit, is a potential threat to a secure supply as such a condition
cannot only disrupt supply to consumers but can also cause irreparable

18

POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

damage to very expensive equipment. The importance of removing such

abnormal conditions as rapidly as possible, is therefore, quite obvious. This
is where the protective gear plays its part.
It is the function of protective gear to detect and initiate action to
remove disturbances, as soon as it is practicable. Protection is therefore
applied in overlapping zones to cover the system completely, leaving no
part unprotected. Another important requirement of the protective
equipment is that only the faulted section should be disconnected and
protective devices must therefore be selective i.e., when a fault occurs the
protection is required to select and trip only the nearest circuit breakers.
This property of selective tripping is also called discrimination and is
achieved by two general methods.
1. Non Unit Schemes
These are invariably time-graded systems that utilise information
(voltages and currents) derived from a particular point on the system.
Protection systems in successive zones as shown in Fig. 1.8 are arranged to
operate in times that are graded through the sequence of equipments to
that upon occurrence of a fault, although a number of protective equipments
respond, only those relevant to the faulted zone complete the tripping
function. The others make incomplete operations and reset. Distance
protection and time graded overcurrent devices are prime examples of
non-unit protection.
End Zone
Z3A
Z2A
Z1A
Y
Time

Z1B
Z2B
Z3B
End Zone
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 1
X
Y

=
=
=
=
=

80-90% of protected line

Protected line + 50% of shortest line
Protected line + longest second line + 25% of third line
Circuit breaker operating time
Discriminating time

FIGURE 1.8 Protective systems arranged in successive zones

19

BASIC PRINCIPLES

2. Unit Protection
These are schemes that respond to fault conditions lying within a
clearly defined zone. They utilise information from two or occasionally
more points in a system. In most cases a unit protection system involves
the measurement of quantities at each end of the zone, and the transmission
of information between the equipment at zone boundaries. Examples of
unit protection are differential current relays where the current entering a
zone is compared with that which leaves it. Also phase comparison carrier
protection is another example.

1.7

ZONES OF PROTECTION

The protected zone is that part of a power system guarded by a certain

protection and usually contains one or at the most two elements of the
power system. For a non-unit scheme, the zone lies between the current
transformers and the point or points on the protected circuit beyond which
the system is unable to detect the presence of a fault (Figs. 1.9 & 1.10). For
a unit scheme, the zone lies between the two or several sets of current
transformers and the point or points which together with the relays
constitute the protective system (Fig. 1.11).
A

Protected zone

FIGURE 1.9 Protected and back up zones of a non-unit system of protection

C
R

Protected
zone

Back up
zone

FIGURE 1.10 Application of a non-unit scheme of protection (i.e. distance

protection with its associated VTs on the line side of the
isolator) and the standby protection zone of the normally
shorted standby protection

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POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Standby protection
zone
Line
Voltage
transformer
X

X = Main protection relay

Y = Standby protection relay

FIGURE 1.11 Protected zone of a unit system protection

1.8

COMMON TERMINOLOGIES

A list of Recommended Terminology is included at the beginning of the

book. Some of the terms that are important for understanding the basic
principles of the protection system are:
Stability
This term refers to the ability of the system to remain
inoperative to all load conditions and faults external to
the relevant zone. This quality is present in unit system,
as they remain inoperative under all conditions, with
faults outside their own zone. However, non-unit
systems can respond to faults anywhere on the power
system.
Selectivity Protection is arranged in zones so as to assure no part is
left unprotected. When a fault occurs the protection is
required to select and trip the nearest circuit breakers
only. Also known widely as Discrimination. In the nonunit systems the discrimination is not absolute, but it is
dependant on responses of a number of similar systems,
all of which respond to a given abnormal condition.
However, for the unit systems, the discrimination is
absolute and it is able to detect and respond to abnormal
condition occurring within the zone of protection.
Sensitivity This term is frequently used when referring to the
minimum operating current of a complete protective
system. Hence protective system is sensitive, if the
primary current is low. The requirements of all relays
should be quite sensitive for reliable operation. This term
is usually expressed in amperes referred to the primary

21

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Load power

circuit or as a percentage of the rated current of the

current transformers.
Reliability Power system represents a large capital investment and
in order to get maximum return it must be loaded to its
maximum. The purpose of power system is not only to
supply energy but also to keep the system in full
operation, in order to give the best service to the
consumers and earn revenue for the supply authority.
Failure is not confined to the protective gear but may
also be due to the failure of the circuit breaker. Hence
every component involved in fault clearance can be
regarded as a source of failure.
Failures can be reduced by:
reliable designs
regular maintenance
site testing.
Speed
The objective of speed is to safeguard continuity of
supply. Hence if fault can be isolated in the shortest time,
the greater the system can be loaded. Fig. 1.12 shows
typical values of power that can be transmitted as a
function of fault clearing times for various types of faults.
It can be seen that the fault involving phases has marked
effect on stability compared with the line-to-earth faults.
The other advantage of having fast clearance times is
that unnecessary changes can occur in the system due
to:
high fault arc
burn copper conductors
machine or transformer lamination weld.

Phase-earth
Phase-phase
Two phase-earth
Three phase

Time

FIGURE 1.12 Typical values of power that can be transmitted as

a function of fault clearance time

Fault currents can cause irreparable damage if allowed

to continue for more than a few seconds. Hence fast
fault clearance is imperative.