Application of ESI 48-3 Standard for Computing Settings for High Impedance Protections

relays for Protecting Transformers and Bus bars

Abstract- The Synchronous Machine and power transformer constitute the most expensive
item in the power system. The healthy ness of bus bar system of power net work provides the
reliability of power supply. Various types of protection system available to protect the
Generators, Transformer and bus bar system against external phase and earth faults.
To protect the primary plants of the power system against the internal faults the
current differential protection is widely used using low impedance relay or high impedance
relay. This paper summarizes the theory of High Impedance Protections relays for Protecting
Transformers and Bus bars and computing the relay settings using the ESI48-3 Standard.
I.

INTRODUCTION

High-impedance bus differential relays are applied to the paralleled output of all
CTs from each phase connected to a common bus. As the name implies, the high-impedance
bus differential relay presents a very high impedance to the flow of current. The paralleled
CTs must have the same ratio and proper polarity connection to ensure that the secondary
current output from the paralleled CTs vectorially add up to zero in the same way the primary
currents in the bus do under normal through-load conditions.
Any current difference is forced through the high impedance of the bus differential
relay causing a voltage drop across the relay. The high-impedance relay, which is calibrated
and set to trip based on the voltage across the relay, is extremely sensitive to CT difference
current. For this reason, not only must the CT ratios match, but the CT accuracy ratings must
also match in order to minimize the CT performance differences that could create CT
difference current.
The high-impedance REF relay is normally a currentoperated relay with a resistor in series
that provides stabilization. Generally, it may be one of two different types. The first type has
internal resistors and has a voltage setting. In this type, the resistors are effectively switched in
and out to change the setting and therefore the value of the stabilizing voltage. The second
type has an external variable resistor where the setting is calculated in ohms and applied by
changing the resistance of the variable resistor.

II.

HIGH IMPEDANCE BUS DIFFERENTIAL RELAY OPERATION

A simplified connection of high impedance bus difference relay is shown in the Fig.01.The
high-impedance input is created by an internal impedance, typically resistive, of 2000 ohms or
higher. A sensitive current element is placed in series with the high-impedance element and is
calibrated in voltage based on the voltage drop across the internal impedance.

Fig..01Paralleled CTs connected to a high-impedance bus differential relay

Fig. 02 shows the basic elements of a high-impedance bus differential relay. The 87Z element
is a sensitive low- impedance adjustable pickup current element scaled in voltage. A metal
oxide varistor (MOV) is connected across the high-impedance circuit to prevent high voltage
from damaging the relay and CT circuitry. The energy absorption capability of the MOV must
be sufficient to tolerate the energy delivered from the paralleled CTs for a period of several
cycles. Under worst-case scenarios with a breaker that fails to interrupt fault current, the
current may continue to flow for as much as 20 to 30 cycles. Some high-impedance bus
differential relays offer MOVs with sufficient size to tolerate the energy absorption over this
extended period. Others reduce the MOV energy absorption requirements by connecting a
lockout relay (device 86) contact across the high-impedance branch of the relay to divert
current away from the high-impedance relay path after the relay trips the lockout relay for an
internal bus fault. Modern microprocessor-based high-impedance bus differential relays often
include at least two levels of voltage elements: one level set high for fast and secure tripping
and one level set lower for triggering event reports and/or providing a more sensitive trip
function with time delay added for security.

Fig 02. High-impedance bus differential relay internal elements

A separate set of over current elements in parallel with the parallel combination of highimpedance element and MOVprovides backup protection for MOV failure and a separate
current measurement after the lockout relay contact closes; bypass the high-impedance voltage
element.
1) Normal Through-Load Conditions:
Under normal conditions with through-load current and equal performance from all CTs, the
secondary CT current circulates around the paralleled CT circuit as shown in the equivalent
two-CT drawing in Fig. 03.

Fig. 03 shows a constant current source for CT A, which is the sum of all CT secondary
currents except one. The constant current source labeled CT B represents the current flowing
through the remaining single CT. Under balance load conditions, or during an external fault
condition, if the CTs do not saturate and all CTs have the same ratio, the current from CT A
will be equal to the current from CT B. As a result, the current will circulate among the CTs,
and no current will flow through the high-impedance relay path (Rs and Device 87Z),
regardless of the internal impedance of the relay. For an external fault condition, CT A is the
parallel combination of the CTs that are providing current to the bus, and CT B is the CT that
is on the faulted circuit. Because CT A is a parallel combination, the exciting branch reactance
and the series resistance is divided by n 1, where n is the total number of CTs in the scheme.
This assumes that all CTs have the same or very similar magnetizing branch impedances,
internal resistance, and CT lead resistance. With no CT saturation and equal performance from
matched CTs, there is very little or no difference current to create a voltage across the highimpedance relay element, as shown in Fig. 13 and Fig. 14.

Fig. 13. Equivalent two-CT circuit showing balanced current in parallel CTs

Fig. 14. Balanced current flow in CTs for through-load condition

2) Through-Fault Conditions
Under through-fault conditions, the faulted circuit CT carries the most current, making it the
most likely to saturate. The high-impedance bus differential relay tripping voltage threshold
must be set above the voltage that could develop across the relay with a completely saturated
CT. A completely saturated CT produces no current output. The saturated CT circuit becomes
a simple current path represented by the internal CT resistance, RCT. Because the CT lead and
internal resistance are small with respect to the internal resistance of the high-impedance relay
path, the worst case voltage Vr across the relay is the voltage drop across the CT lead and
internal resistance under maximum external fault conditions as shown in Fig. 15.

Fig. 15 CT connection diagram for through fault condition

Fig. 16 shows the current flow in the bus for an external fault and the relay voltage Vr
developed because of the fully saturated CT. The relay trip threshold voltage pickup must be
set higher than the maximum voltage developed across the high-impedance relay element,
usually by a factor of 1.5 or more, for the worst case external fault

Fig. 16 Fault current flow for an external bus fault

3) Internal Bus Faults
During an internal bus fault all the primary current sources contribute to the total bus fault
current. Likewise, the CT secondary currents try to force the equivalent total secondary
current into the high-impedance bus differential relay. Fig.17 shows the equivalent circuit of n
number of CTs driving current into the high internal impedance of the high-impedance relay.
Analyzing the result is quite complex. Essentially, the high internal impedance of the relay
presents an open circuit to the parallel CTs. This would normally produce extremely high
voltages that could be damaging and hazardous. In this case, the MOV safely clamps the
voltage spikes every half cycle to prevent any damage to the relay or wiring.

Fig. 18 shows the primary current flow for an internal bus fault. It also shows that the voltage
developed across the relay exceeds the pickup setting on the relay to produce a trip.

Fig. 18.Fault current flow for an internal bus fault

What voltage the relay measures, however, is very much dependent on the relay design. As we
stated earlier, severe CT saturation creates voltage spikes and the MOV acts to clamp the
voltage across the relay voltage element, clipping the voltage spikes. As a result, the voltage
developed across the relay is extremely non-sinusoidal as shown in Fig. 19 for a 60 kA
symmetrical internal fault in a system with four C200, 1200/5 CTs.

The magnitude of the filter output exceeds the 200 V pickup threshold, but not by as much as
one might expect for a 60 kA internal bus fault. In fact, the filtered output voltage does not
change appreciably with fault current or even CT ratio. The nearly constant MOV clamping
voltage and the fast rise-time voltage across the CTs creates a nearly identical voltage
waveform regardless of fault current or CT ratio for the same CT accuracy class. The
magnitude of the voltage waveform in Fig. 19 is limited by the MOV, and the pulse width is

limited to the volt-time area of the C200 CT. Increasing the CT accuracy class to C400
doubles the volt- time area of the pulse and increases the filtered output as
shown in Fig. 21.

Fig. 21. Voltage waveform and filtered output magnitude for a 60 kA

primary current through a 1200/5, C400 class CT connected to a highimpedance bus differential relay with a 1400 V MOV

4) Other Conditions
As discussed earlier in section II.A.4, for low-impedance relays, high-impedance bus
differential relay protection is similarly affected by shunt connected equipment, such as surge
arresters, auxiliary power transformers, and voltage transformers (VTs) that either
momentarily or continuously provide a leakage current path in the protection zone.Highimpedance differential relays may need to apply a small delay, typically 1 cycle, to prevent
tripping on MOV surge arrester operation. Older gapped surge arresters typically have a
power follow current that can last up to cycle, so an additional -cycle delay where these
older style arresters are present.
Auxiliary power transformers need to be accounted for. It may be necessary to raise the relay
tripping threshold voltage to avoid nuisance trips caused by auxiliary transformer magnetizing
inrush, secondary faults, or motor starting. If that is not possible, then a time delay may be
added to ride through these transient conditions. If a time delay is undesirable, then
matching CTs need to be applied to the transformer, with the secondary circuits paralleled
with the existing bus differential CTs to exclude the transformer from the bus differential
protection zone. Primary protection, such as fuses, need to be applied to protect the
transformer. As with low-impedance bus differential schemes, stray bus capacitance is usually
negligible because of the limited size of typical substation busses and can generally be ignored
when applying high-impedance bus differential relays.

III.

High Impedance Transformer differential relay operation

1) Earth-Fault Currents in a Transformer for Different Connections

When operating from the neutral CT, REF protection provides more sensitive earth-fault
protection than does biased current differential protection. However, many setting engineers
are uncertain as to the exact increase in sensitivity that REF protection provides. It is therefore
necessary to quantify what one means by more sensitive. In the following discussion, we
investigate the available fault current for star windings (solidly earthed, impedance earthed,
and unearthed) and delta windings.
a) Star WindingSolidly Earthed
For a solidly earthed star winding, an earth fault anywhere on the winding is similar to an
autotransformer with a fault on the secondary side. Fig. 1 explains the phenomenon.

From Fig. 1, it can be seen that the turns ratio (TR) is as follows:

Where
Nc = the number of turns on the common winding (on the
shorted part of the winding)
NS = the number of turns on the series winding (on the
healthy part of the winding)
x = the distance from the neutral (p.u.)
Ip = primary side current
In = fault current
Therefore, for faults close to the neutral (when x is very small, on the order of 0.1 p.u.), the
current flowing in the neutral is In = Ip/0.1 = 10 Ip. Clearly, the change in neutral cur-

rent is much greater than the change in phase current.

Fig. 2 shows the difference in neutral current and phase current, plotted as a function of the
fault distance from the neutral point [1] [2] [3] [4]. This curve was obtained from tests that
were performed on a solidly earthed star transformer. (Because results vary for different
transformer designs, the authors were unable to locate a formula that accurately describes the
theoretical earth-fault current for all transformers).
Fig. 2 shows that the neutral current (that also flows through the neutral CT) is always very
high, in excess of 5 to 6 p.u.

For faults closer to the phase terminal of the star winding, there is reduced current
contribution from the transformer neutral. Relay sensitivity is still not compromised, because
the operating current through the relay is the sum of the neutral and phase current, with the
phase current now higher than for faults near the neutral.Therefore, in the case of a solidly
earthed star winding, relay sensitivity is not a problem for faults near the neutral because there is always sufficient current flowing in the neutralCT and through the relay and
varistor to ensure relay operation.
b) Star WindingResistance Earthed
In the case of a resistance-earthed star winding, the relationship between fault location and
fault current is linear, and the value of the earthing resistance determines the amount of fault
current. From Fig. 1, assuming that the neutral is earthed through a resistor, we can see that
the following is true
In = x * V/(3*R)
Where

In = fault current
x = the distance from the neutral

V = the healthy phase-to-phase voltage

R = the value of the earthing resistor
Equation 3 presents a linear relationship between the fault location and the neutral current
available to operate the relay.For small values of x, In is small and there may not be sufficient current to operate the relay. Therefore, for a resistanceearthed star winding, relay
sensitivity is important for faults near the neutral. The value of x where the relay will begin
operation is related directly to the relay operating current and the CT characteristics, i.e., how
much magnetizing current the CTs on the healthy phases will require.
c) Delta WindingNEC/R Earthed
In the case of a delta winding, there is always sufficient voltage to drive fault current through
the fault and NEC/R. In theory, there is always at least half the phase-to-earth voltage
available to drive the fault. This results in sufficient fault current, and relay sensitivity is not
an issue [3].
Because delta-connected windings do not have a star point, you can use the so-called balanced
earth-fault connection or hybrid REF protection function in cases where the source is on the
delta side of the transformer. In this case, the neutral CT is excluded from the circuit and the
three-phase CTs are all connected in parallel with the relay element. The zone of protection is
still only the delta winding of the transformer. The balanced earth-fault connection may also
be applied to an unearthed star winding.
VI. Computing Technique for relay setting using ESI48-3 Standard
Applications:
In applying this types of protection, the following shall be taken into account:
i)
The resistance of all wiring used for connecting the apparatus on site;
ii)
The characteristics of the CT; particularly to ensure that they are of the low reactance
type;
iii)
The impedance of the protected plant and its reted current;
iv)
The method of earthing of the power system to which the plant is connected, and, if
appropriate, the earthing of the plant, e.g. whether
a) directly earthed,
b) earthed through resistor or reactor,
c) earthed through an earthing transformer with or without resistor or reactor,
d) earthed through a distribution transformer;
v)
The minimum fault current available within the protected zone;
vi)
The maximum current available for external faults;
vii)
The in-zone primary capacitance current;
viii)
Any high frequency transient current;
ix)
The continuous and short-time thermal ratings of the components of the protective
systems;
x)
The maximum value of the peak voltages in the secondary circuits during internal fault
conditions.

Design Considerations:

Data requirement for computation:

Performance requirements
1.Current rating
In assessing performance requirements specified in this sectioned, it should be noted, that
rated current of the protected equipment will not necessarily be the same as primary rating of the CTs,
since the latter will generally be designed to have the nearest standard primary current rating.
2. Tabulation of Differential Protection for Pahse and Earth fault
Fault Setting Range
(In = Rated Current)
Not Solidly
Solidly Earthed
Earthed

Sl.
No.

Differential Protection Type

Transformers other than Auto

Transformers

10 to 60% x In

Auto Transformers

10 to 60% x In
(HV side)

Synchronous machines

Series Reactors

10 to 30 % of min fault current

Shunt Reactors

10 to 25 % x In

Busbars and other primary plant

10 to 30 % of min fault current

Feeder Transformers

10 to 25% x In

10 to 25% x In
(min earth
fault current)
10% x In

10 to 60% x In

10 to 25% x In

Rated Stability
Limit
16 x In (Rated LV)
16 x In (Rated LV)
12.5 x In
20 x rated reactor
winding current
10 x In
Max thro fault
current
16 x In (Rated LV)

Basis of calculation
The performance of instantaneous high impedance differential protective system using lowreactive current transformers by two basis, they are
1. Stability Limit
The stability of a current differential system using a high impedance relay circuit and lowreactance current transformer is based on the fact that for a given value of through fault
current the maximum voltage which can appear across the relay circuit is determined by
means of a simple calculation. If the setting voltage of the relay circuit is equal to or greater
than this voltage, then the protection will be stable.
In calculating the required setting voltage of the relay circuit, it is assumed that one current
transformer is fully saturated and that the remaining current transformers maintain their ratio.
In the fully saturated condition, the excitation impedance of the current transformer is
negligible. Since the current transformer are specified as being of the low-reactance type,
only the resistance of the secondary winding, together with the wiring connecting the
saturated CT to the relay circuit terminals need be considered. The simple case of the two CT
only connected in a differential system. Hence the voltage, V, across the relay circuit is given
by:
V = If (A) T for CT1 saturated (1)
V = If (B) T for CT2 saturated . (2)
Where: T
= turns ratio of current transformer
A, B = resistance of wiring plus current transformer winding
If
= fault current corresponding to the r.m.s component of the required
maximum symmetrical through-fault current of the protected plant.

Application of calculations

Peak voltage developed

Example :

Varistor

Stabalising Resistor