62

Functional Description

5 Excitation Protection
The Excitation Protection trips the excitation (and discharges the generator field rapidly) whenever a
danger arises that threatens the generator, the Power Converter or the excitation transformer. Limiter or
monitoring functions normally respond before the Excitation Protection must initiate a trip. Most of the
protection functions are real ized with the UNITROL P soft ware. Some other protection functions are
realized by "hardwired" functions which directly trip the Field Circuit Breaker (see Hardware Diagram
sheet /351, /360, /365).

5.1 Overcurrent Protection

The Control Channel contains this protection function realized with software:

I2 - 20 - PROTECTION 60 - EXC - OVERCURR

Start
kinv

t
field current I f AC kinv * 13,5
If > Ifn t= Inverstime
fr. analog If - 1
sign. process. Ifn

kinst
Ifn

If
> kinst. Instantaneous
Ifn

Hold max
I f max
Reset
Reset

Fig. 38 Overcurrent Protection

The Overcurrent Protection includes basically two protection functions:
Inverse-time characteristic Overcurrent Protection
Instantaneous Overcurrent Protection

The Overcurrent Protection with inverse-tim e characteristic operates according to the following
formula:

K 13. 5 [s] Very inverse time characteristic acc. to British Standard

t=
If 142, see Fig. 39
1
Ifn

Where : If = Actual Field Current

Ifn = Rated Field Current
=
K Pick-up characteristic factor (Curve selection)
=
t Pick-up time

According to the above form ula the tim e-out function t reacts progressively to the amount of
overcurrent If/Ifn. That means, for small overcurrents a long time-out is calculated, for high overcurrents
a short time-out is calculated. The cal culation of t he time-out t starts as soon as the value 1.1 x Ifn is
exceeded. After the tim e-out has been exceeded (inverse-tim e t as function of the amount of
overcurrent), an excitation trip is activated.

HIER 95-240-E2
 63
Functional Description

The instantaneous Overcurrent Protection is set typically between 2.5...5 x Ifn. This limit is n ormally
reached only at a DC-short circuit on the generato r brushes or on the Power Converter. In case the
instantaneous overcurrent is reached, the excitation is tripped practically non-delayed.

The parameters K-inverse-time and "K-I f /Ifn" (instantaneous trip) are i ndividually chosen and set,
observing the maximum permissible continuous and ceiling current speci fied for the generator and the
Excitation System.

For the adjustment of t he Overcurrent Protection it must be consi dered that, at the normal operation
condition of the excitation, the Maximum Field Current Limiter comes in action before the Overcurrent
Protection reacts.

200

100

50

20

10

t (s)

1 k=
1
0.5 0.8
0.6

0.4
0.2

0.2
0.1

0.1
0.05
1 1.5 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 12 15 20

I / Is

Fig. 39 Very inverse time characteristic

Parameter Range of adjustment Default setting Remarks

PAR-prot_k-inverse-time 0 to 128 1 Pick up characteristic factor of
inverse time curve
PAR-prot_k-instantaneous 0 to 128 3 Pick up value of instantaneous
action.
1 1 p.u. nominal Field Current

HIER 95-240-E2