Power Swing Out-of-Step App Guide

Description of Method
Past methods of testing power swing and out of step conditions have often
involved brute force methods of applying voltages and currents to simulate impedances
seen by the relay. By manually ramping the impedance trajectory, or playing several
vector states where a specific impedance was applied, it was possible to trick the relay
into seeing that an impedance was tracking across the measurement zones. However,
with more advanced algorithms, trying to trick the relay no longer works. The relay is
looking for a smooth transition between the measurement zones, and if it does not see
it, then it will not block the power swing or trip on the out-of-step.
In order to satisfy the conditions for the power swing and out-of-step algorithms
currently in use, a new method is proposed. By superimposing two waveforms of
similar frequencies, a smooth impedance ramp can be achieved. This method is similar
to a two source model in that both sources have similar frequencies and amplitudes.
The rate of change of impedance can be controlled as well as the minimum and
maximum impedances, the number of pole slips, as well as the starting phase angle
relationships. The characteristic equation of the output waveform for the voltage and
current is as follows:
Eq. 1
f I ,V ( t )=( A 1 sin ( 1 t+ 1) ) + A2 sin ( 2 t+ 2 )
Where:
A1 = Magnitude of the first current/voltage source in RMS values
1 = 2*FrequencySource1, (Frequency is in Hz, 1is in rad/s)
1 = Initial phase angle of current/voltage source 1 in degrees
A2 = Magnitude of the second current/voltage source in RMS values
2 = 2*FrequencySource2, (Frequency is in Hz, 2is in rad/s)
2 = Initial phase angle of current/voltage source 2 in degrees
t = the time of the event in seconds
Using arbitrary values for Equation 1, Figure 5 shows the plot of a voltage and current
waveform with the following parameters:
V1= 49.5 V, V2=19.5 V, I1=16.725A, I2=13.275A, F1=60 Hz, F2 = 59 Hz, 1Current = 0,
2Current = 0, 1Voltage = 0, 2Voltage = 0
Figure 5. Superimposed voltage and current waveforms
Both the voltage and current waveforms decrease and increase at the same time
and remain in phase for the duration of the waveform plot. This is not the behavior of a
power swing or out-of-step condition. To change this, the phase current needs to be
offset by 180. The option is to either change either 1Current or 2Current. By changing
1Current, the phase angle will initially start 180 out of phase and then slowly come back
into phase, then go back out, and repeat indefinitely. Since it is desirable to control the
phase angle from the start, 2Current will be set to 180. This will allow the two waveforms
to start in phase and then slowly go out of phase and come back into phase, and
repeat. A plot of the waveforms with the appropriate phase shift is shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Plot of voltage and current waveforms with current offset by 180
In Figure 6, the voltage and current start in phase, then about a quarter of the
way through the swing, it goes out of phase by 90, then comes back into phase, then
goes out of phase by -90 at of the swing, and back into phase at the end of the
swing. This is the general form of the power swing waveform. The next section will
discuss how to implement a controlled power swing and out-of-step condition using any
of the Megger Test Sets.
Applying the Method

Power Swing
To apply a power swing, the following parameters need to be defined first.
1. The Maximum Impedance, Zmax, of the Power Swing/Out-of-Step needs to be
defined. This will be based on the outer most characteristic that is tracking the
impedance. It is recommended that the maximum impedance be greater than
the largest blinder/characteristic impedance, but not so large that the trajectory of
the swing exits the characteristic prematurely.
2. The Minimum Impedance, Zmin, of the Power Swing/Out-of-Step also needs to be
defined. This will be the stopping point of the swing/step.
3. The Source Frequencies will determine how long of a duration a single power
swing or out-of-step condition will be. The source frequencies will also factor in
determining the rate of change of the trajectory of the impedance. The larger the
difference in frequency between the two sources, the faster the swing/step, and
the smaller the difference, the slower the swing/step.
4. The Starting Phase Angle needs to be defined so that proper loading conditions
can be simulated properly.
Here is how to create a power swing with a maximum impedance of 15 , a
minimum impedance of 1 , a Source 1 Frequency of 60 Hz, a Source 2 Frequency of
59 Hz, and a starting Phase Angle of 0.
The first parameter that we can determine is how long a complete power swing
cycle will take, tSwing. This is giving by Eq. 2.
Eq. 2
t Swing =
1
(s)
f 1f 2
Eq. 3
t Swing =
1
=1 s
6059
When applying this method to any type of test routine, t Swing should be the maximum
time set for how long the swing should be applied. If multiple turns are desired, then
maximum time would be the number of turns times t Swing.
Next will be solving for the currents and voltages that should be applied to the
relay. To start, only the A phase voltages and currents will be discussed. B and C
phases are identical to A, with only the appropriate phase shifts taking place. A nominal
voltage should be defined for the maximum impedance, and a fault voltage should be
defined for the minimum impedance. Take care in choosing a fault voltage because
some of the impedances could still be quite large, with large being defined as around 15
or greater. If the fault voltage is too small, negative valued currents would end up
being calculated to create the correct conditions. If that is the case, increase the fault
voltage until the currents are at an acceptable level. As a rule of thumb the nominal
voltage, Vnom, is 69 V line-to-ground, and the fault voltage, V fault, is around 30 V line-toground.
The value of Vfault can change depending on the impedance and the current
required from the test set. The moniker of Vfault can also be a little misleading. A power
swing event may not necessarily require the extreme values of traditional fault voltages.
The swing of impedance may only go from a large value to a slightly smaller value.
Such would be the case if the user wanted to swing from 89 to 50. The required
fault voltage would not be much less than what was required for starting impedance.
The equations for the two voltages for phase a are shown in the following
equations.
Eq. 4
V 1=V fault +
Eq. 5
V 1=30+
V nomV fault
2
=49.5 V
( 6930
2 )
Eq. 6
V 2=
(V
Eq. 7
V 2=
=19.5V
( 6930
2 )
V fault
2
nom
Then the two currents for I1 and I2 will be solved.
Eq. 8
Eq. 9
[(
I1 =
Eq. 11
) ( ))
2
[ (
30
69
( )
(
)
1
15
69
I = ( )
1
2
1
Eq. 10
() (
V fault
Z min
V fault
V
nom
Z min
Z max
)]
= 17.3 A
(( ) ( ) )
I2 =
V fault
V
nom
Zmin
Z max
2
69
69
(
1 ) ( 15 )
I =
=12.7 A
2
Other parameters can now be solved such as the rate of change of impedance. Since
the swing goes from a maximum impedance to a minimum and back again, the rate
should only be calculated based on the time it takes to go from the maximum to the
minimum. This is shown in Eq. 12.
Eq. 12
Z rate =2
Eq. 13
Z r ate=2
Z maxZ min
t Swing
=28 /s
( 151
1 )
When starting in the pre-fault mode for testing, it is handy to be at the same current
level as the starting current for the swing. This is minimum current, which is shown in
Eq. 14.
Eq. 14
I min=I 1I 2
Eq. 15
I min=17.312.7=4.6 A
These commands were giving in a Pre-Fault, Fault, Post-Fault format. For a

possible front end, more states can be implemented. Figure 7 shows a captured
waveform from AVTS.
Figure 7. Waveform capture of a power swing in AVTS

The time set for the Pre-Fault duration is critical in that it is necessary for the
waveform to end at the precise phase angle and magnitude that is equal to the start of
the power swing event. The Pre-Fault phase angle of the current should be equal to the
starting phase angle of the power swing. This will also ensure smoothness. This is
shown previously in the RTS commands to the test set. In Figure 7, the duration was
set for 1 second, and the calculated time of 1 power swing was also calculated at 1
second. By setting the Pre-Fault to the same time as the calculated time of the power
swing, a smooth transition is guaranteed in the waveforms. The time can also be set to
a multiple of the swing duration. In this case, 2, 3, or 4 seconds would also work. A
time of 0.5 seconds would not work. This is shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8. Power Swing with Pre-Fault Duration changed to 0.5 s

Comparing Figure 7 to Figure 8, the shift of the power swing characteristic is
apparent when the Pre-Fault duration is changed to a value other than a multiple of the
time of the swing event. The Pre-Fault duration, or any state before a swing event
should be set according to Equation 16.
Eq. 16
T prefault =Nt Swing
Where:
N = whole number multiples of tSwing
It should be noted that if it is desirable to have flexible Pre-Fault times, then the initial
current and voltage magnitudes can be solved for using Eq. 1 for the applied times.
While testing the power swing element, other parameters should be displayed as
well. The user will be interested to see the impedance trajectory of the power swing.
This should be plotted in the R-X plane so the user can trace the circular path. The
instantaneous impedance, Z, is calculated, followed by the phase angle, . The
instantaneous impedance, Z, is defined in Equation 17.
Eq. 17
Z=
V
I
The phase angle, , is defined in Equation 18.
Eq. 18
( t Vzerot Izero )
1
f 360
Where:
tVzero = time of the voltage magnitude zero crossing in seconds
tIzero = time of the current magnitude zero crossing in seconds
f = frequency of the waveform in Hz
The phase angle of power swing is shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9. Phase angle of the power swing in degrees vs time in seconds

The frequency of two superimposed waveforms will not be constant. Signal
processing techniques should be used to take and accurate measurement of the
frequency as well as the phase angle. Equation 18 is given as a reference and will not
provide a very accurate phase angle unless a very large sampling rate is used to
determine the zero crossing of the waveform.
Once the impedance and phase angle are known, then the resistance, R, and
reactance, X, of the impedance can be determined as shown in Equations 19 and 20
respectively.
Eq. 19
R=Zcos
Eq. 20
X =Zsin
Once the resistance and reactance are determined, they can be plotted. This is shown
in Figure 9.
Figure 9. Trajectory of impedance during a power swing

The trajectory starts out at the maximum impedance of 15 and travels in an arc
towards the minimum impedance of 1 , and then circles back towards 15 . The
process will repeat if the swing is unstable. To simulate an unstable swing, simply
increase the duration of the swing in even multiples.
Out-of-Step
Applying an out-of-step condition is very similar to applying a power swing
condition. The only difference is that instead of the impedance turning around when the
minimum impedance trajectory is reached, the trajectory will continue through the origin
and exit out of the other side of the characteristic. In order to achieve this a few things
need to be done first.
The total time of the out of step condition will be the same as the total time for a
power swing, tSwing. However, the changes need to be made at the halfway point of the
total time in order to create an out-of-step. This time is important, so it will be called,
tevent, and is equal to the time of tSwing as shown in Eq. 21.
Eq. 21
t event =
t Swing
2
At time tevent, the frequency and phase angles of currents I1 and I2 need to be
swapped. This will create a waveform that will continue to a phase angle difference
between the voltage and current of 180. All other calculations are the same. Here are
the RTS commands to command an out of step condition with the same parameters as
the power swing in the previous example. The swapped phase angles and frequencies
are highlighted. Each part of the out-of-step has a duration of t event.
MPRTMODEOF,
t01hd,t01cal,t01ad,t01sta,t02hd,t02cal,t02ad,t02sto,t03hd,t03cau,t03ad,t03m,t04hd,t04cau,t04ad,t04m,
t05hd,t05cau,t05ad,t05m,t06hd,t06cau,t06ad,t06m,t07hd,t07cau,t07ad,t07m,t08hd,t08cau,t08ad,t08m,
t09hd,t09cau,t09ad,t09m,t10hd,t10cau,t10ad,t10m;tr;
LOC;
T01M,T02M;
tr;
TD0.000,C123,on,C123,RA6,V123,on,V123,RA2,RECRSET;
SREC1,RECRATE1,
TSOSTA,
rp,
C1,WAVENUM1,A4.600,P0.0,F60.000,D0.000,V1,WAVENUM1,A69.000,P0.0,F60.000,D0.000,
WAI1000.0,
WAI500.0,
STARTVT1,
WANYXXXXXXX1XX:500:C,
STOPVT1,
WAI1000.0,
TSOSTO,
SREC0,
;
These commands yield the waveform in Figure 10, which at first glance, looks
very similar to the waveform in Figure 7. The difference is in the phase angle
relationship between the voltage and current. Where the power swing would have a
maximum phase angle difference of 90, the out-of-step condition has a maximum
phase angle difference of 180. The phase angle relationship over time is shown in
Figure 11.
Figure 10. Waveform capture of an out-of-step condition
Figure 11. Phase angle relationship of the out-of-step condition vs time

The impedance trajectory is also split. Instead of the circular path of the power
swing, the return portion of the trajectory is flipped 180 so that it continues to the other
side of where the relay characteristics would be located. This is shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12. Impedance trajectory of out-of-step condition

Power Swing Out-of-Step App Guide

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Description of Method

f I ,V ( t )=( A 1 sin ( 1 t+ 1) ) + A2 sin ( 2 t+ 2 )

Figure 5. Superimposed voltage and current waveforms

Applying the Method

Then the two currents for I1 and I2 will be solved.

These commands were giving in a Pre-Fault, Fault, Post-Fault format. For a

Figure 7. Waveform capture of a power swing in AVTS

Figure 8. Power Swing with Pre-Fault Duration changed to 0.5 s

T prefault =Nt Swing

The phase angle, , is defined in Equation 18.

Figure 9. Phase angle of the power swing in degrees vs time in seconds

Figure 9. Trajectory of impedance during a power swing

Figure 10. Waveform capture of an out-of-step condition

Figure 11. Phase angle relationship of the out-of-step condition vs time

Figure 12. Impedance trajectory of out-of-step condition

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