EEL 3086 SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION

EXPERIMENT 2
DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION OF A THREE-PHASE TRANSFORMER

Objective

• To analyse the differential protection scheme as applied to a three-phase

power transformer
• To describe the operation and setting of differential protection.
• To explain the transformer supply voltage and current waveforms during the
differential relay operation.
• To evaluate the differential protection performance.

Introduction

The differential protection scheme can be used to protect both the primary and
secondary windings of a three-phase transformer against earth faults and phase-to-phase
faults. This is possible because the efficiency of the power transformers is high and
the magnetizing current is negligibly small. In a differential protection scheme a circuit
compare the current entering the protective equipment to the current leaving the
equipment, in each phase. Any difference of current of sufficient magnitude operates a
relay, which in turn indicates fault clearance. Figure 1 shows a simplified diagram of a
single-phase differential protection scheme.

The currents entering and leaving the protected equipment (I pin and lpout) are sensed
through two identical current transformers. When there is no fault in the protected
equipment, currents Ipin and Ipout are equal and the currents at the transformer
secondaries are also equal (I sin = Isout) because the current transformers are identical.
When the current transformers are connected with the polarities indicated in Figure 1,

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the secondary currents flow round the circuit and no current flows in the coil of the
protective relay (IR = 0), which can be an overcurrent relay. However, when a fault
occurs in the protected equipment, currents lpin and lpout are no longer equal.
Consequently, currents Isin and Isout are also no longer equal. The current resulting
from the difference between these two currents (Isin – Isout) flows in the protective
relay coil. This trips the protective relay, there by, initiating fault clearance. Similar
differential protection scheme can be employed for the protection of transformers.
In this case, when the turns ratio of the protected transformer is not unity, the
primary and secondary currents are different, and thereby, current transformers with
different turns ratio are required for the CT secondary currents to be equal and the
residual current IR to be zero under no fault condition. When protecting three-phase
power transformers, some additional considerations must be taken into account:

• There is a 30° phase shift between the primary and secondary currents of a three-phase
power transformer that is connected delta-wye or wye-delta and supplies a balanced load.
• When a three-phase power transformer is connected delta-wye or wye-delta, the zero
sequence current on the wye side of the power transformer has no replica on the delta side.

The 30° phase shift must be compensated and the zero sequence current on the wye side
of the power transformer must be eliminated, for the CT secondary currents to be equal
under no fault condition. This is achieved by proper connections of the current
transformer secondary windings. A general rule for connecting the current
transformers states that the CT secondary windings should be connected in delta
when the power transformer windings are connected in wye, and vice versa. Figure 2
shows typical connections of the current transformers for three-phase power transformers
connected delta-wye and delta-delta. Note that it is assumed that the ratios of the current
transformers have been selected so that the secondary currents supplied by the two groups of
current transformers are equal, thereby ensuring balance of the currents in the differential
protection system.

In practice, it is very difficult to maintain perfect balance of the currents in a differential

protection system protecting a three-phase power transformer. This is mainly due to the
following factors:

• Change in the power transformer turns ratio (on transformers with a tap-changing
facility).
• Current transformer mismatch (difficulty in having current transformers with ratios that
perfectly balances the differential protection system).
• Transformer magnetizing current.

All these factors unbalance the differential protection system and produce a residual
current IR in the differential relay coil. This residual current increases as the line currents
flowing through the three-phase power transformer increase. Therefore, the current
setting of the differential relay must be increased to prevent undesired relay tripping, thereby
reducing the system sensitivity. Differential relays with bias coils are often used in
transformer differential protection systems to reduce the negative effect of current

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unbalance on the system sensitivity. Figure 3 shows the bias characteristic of a
differential relay. This characteristic shows that the current required to trip the differential
relay (differential operating current) increases as the current flowing through the
transformer increases. Note that, in general, the sensitivity of transformer differential
protection systems is less than that achieved in differential protection systems protecting
the stator windings of a synchronous generator.

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 Figure 3: Typical bias characteristics of a differential relay
Transformer magnetizing inrush, discussed in the first exercise of this unit, is another
source of unbalance in transformer differential protection systems. This is because the
magnetizing inrush current in the energized winding of a transformer is not replicated in
the other windings of the transformer. This appears as a current unbalance to the
differential protection system, which superficially, cannot be distinguished from a current
unbalance caused by a fault in the transformer. When magnetizing inrush is severe, the
current unbalance may easily exceed the current required to trip the differential
relay and cause undesired disconnection of the power transformer. Fortunately,
transformer magnetizing inrush is a transient phenomenon occurring on transformer
energization. Undesired transformer disconnection can therefore be avoided by
adding a short time delay to prevent the differential protection system from tripping
on transformer magnetizing inrush.
Note that after the magnetizing inrush, the magnetizing current stabilizes to a very low
value. This current, however, causes a slight current unbalance that is stable under normal
operating conditions. To preserve the system stability, this slight current unbalance must
be taken into account when setting the differential relay operating current.
To obtain additional information on transformer differential protection, refer to section
16.7, entitled "Differential protection", in the third edition of the Protective Relays
Application Guide published by GEC Alsthom Measurements Limited.

Procedure Summary
In the first part of the exercise, set up the equipment in the EMS Workstation and the
Protective Relaying Control Station.
In the second part of the exercise, connect the equipment as shown in Figures 4 and 5.
In this circuit, power transformers connected delta-wye are protected by a differential
protection system which mainly consists of a current sensitive relay and line current
transformers. When a fault occurs in the power transformers, the overcurrent) relay
trips. This energizes time delay relay TD1. Once the time delay is elapsed, contact TD1-
A closes to initiate a trip current in the coil of control relay CR1. Contact CR1-C closes
to memorize the fault and light up the corresponding reset button. Contact CR1-B
opens to open contactor CR2, thereby disconnecting the power transformers from the

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three-phase power source.
Open contactor CR3 to prevent operation of the differential protection system. Check
whether or not the differential protection system is perfectly balanced when no load is
applied to the power transformers. Adjust the current setpoint of the overcurrent relay.
With the power transformers supplying power to a balanced three-phase load, initiate earth
faults at the primary and secondary windings of the power transformers and observe what
happens in the differential protection system.
You will close contactor CR3 to allow operation of the differential protection system. You will
verify whether or not the differential protection system is stable on transformer
magnetizing inrush. You will initiate earth faults and a phase-to-phase fault in the power
transformers, and observe the operation of the differential protection system.

Equipment Required Protective Relaying Control Station: (record the equipment

rating)
1. AC/DC current sensitive relay: __________
2. EMS: ____________________________
Workstation (record the equipment rating)
1. Power supply: _________________________
2. Interconnection module: _________________
3. Universal fault module: __________________
4. Faultable transformers: __________________
5. Transmission grid – A: _________________
6. Current transformers: ___________________
7. Resistive loads: ________________________
8. AC ammeter: __________________________
9. AC voltmeter: _________________________

PROCEDURE
CAUTION!
High voltages are present In this laboratory exercise! Do not make or modify any
banana jack connections with the power on unless otherwise specified!
Setting Up the Equipment
1.Ensure that the Protective Relaying Control Station is connected to a three-phase power
source.
Make sure the DC Power Supply of the Protective Relaying Control Station is turned off.
Install AC/DC Current sensitive relay in the Protective Relaying Control Station.
2.Make the following settings on the Universal Fault Module:
TD1 time delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1 s
SST1 time interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~5 s
SS12 time interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ 1 0 s
Note: The control knobs for adjusting the time delay and time intervals are located on
time delay relay TD1 and solid-state timers SST1 and SST2 in the Universal Fault
Module.
3.Install the Interconnection Module, Power, Supply, Universal Fault Module, Faultable

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Transformers, Transmission Grid "A", Current Transformers, Resistive Load, AC Ammeter,
and AC Voltmeter in the EMS Workstation.
Make sure the Power Supply is turned off and its voltage control knob is set to the O
position. Connect the Power Supply to one of the three-phase power outlets on the back
panel of the Protective Relaying Control Station.
On the Current Transformers module, make sure that all switches are set to the I (close)
position to short-circuit the secondary’s of the current transformers.

Differential Protection of a Three-Phase Power Transformer

4.Connect the Interconnection Module installed in the EMS Workstation to the
Interconnection Panel of the Protective Relaying Control Station using the supplied cables.
Connect the equipment as shown in Figures 4 and 5
Note: Since a single AC/DC Current Sensitive Belay is available, terminals A2 and A3 are
connected to terminal A4 to avoid disturbing the operation of the differential protection
system.
5.Make the following settings:
On the Faultable Transformers
Transformer T1 Fault Switches (FS1 to FS3).............. O
Transformer T3 Fault Switches (FS1 to FS3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O
On Transmission Grid "A"
Switch S1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I (close)
Switch S2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O (open)

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 Figure 4 Connection diagram of the equipment in the EMS workstation

Figure 5 Connection diagram of the equipment in the protective relaying control

station
On the AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay
INPUT switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … … … AC
MODE switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OVER CURRENT

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Current setpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . minimum (fully CCW)
Hysteresis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … … . . . ~7.5%
On the Universal Fault Module
INITIATE FAULT button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . released position
FAULT DURATION switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … . 0.05 - 5 s

Make sure that the current transformers are connected as shown in Figures 4 and 5
then set the switches of current transformers CT1 to CT6 on the Current
Transformers module to the O (open) position.
6.On Control Relays 2 of the Protective Relaying Control Station, set the time delay of control
relay TD1 to approximately 2 s.

Note: -Access to the time delay adjustment knob of control relay TD1 is through a
panel on top of the Protective Relaying Control Station.
Turn on the DC Power Supply of the Protective Relaying Control Station.
On Transmission Grid "A", set switch S3 to the O (open) position to open contactor
CR3. This will prevent operation of the differential protection system and allow the
operation of the AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay to be observed.

7.On the Resistive Load module, set all toggle switches to the O (open) position to
temporarily disconnect the load (resistors R1, R2, and R3) from the secondary
windings of the power transformers.

Turn on the Power Supply and set the voltage control knob so that the line-to-neutral
voltage at the secondary windings of the power transformers
Record the circuit voltages and currents in the following blank spaces.
E1 = ___ V I1 = ___ A
E2 =___V I 2 = ___ A
E3 = ___ V I3 = ___ A
Is the differential protection system perfectly balanced? Briefly explain?

8. Adjust the current setpoint of the AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay to approximately
110% of the residual current (I 3) measured in the previous step. To do so, slowly turn the
current setpoint adjustment knob clockwise until the tripping indicator (red LED) of the
AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay turns OFF.
On the Resistive Load module, set the resistance of resistors R1, R2, andR 3 to the
value indicated in Figure 2.

9.On the Faultable Transformers, set fault switch FS1 of transformer T1 to the I position
to insert an earth fault near the middle of the primary winding of transformer T1.
While doing this, observe the circuit currents and the tripping indicator on the AC/DC
Current Sensitive Relay.

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Record the circuit voltages and currents in the following blank spaces.
E1 = ______V I1 = ______A

E2 = ______V I2 = ______A

E3 = ______V I3 = ______A
Describe what happens when an earth fault occurs near the middle of one of the power
transformer primary windings.

On the Faultable Transformers, set fault switch FS1 of transformer T1 to the O position
to remove the fault.

10. On the Faultable Transformers, set fault switch FS3 of transformer T1 to the I
position to insert an earth fault near the neutral end of the secondary winding of
transformer T1. While doing this, observe the circuit currents and the tripping
indicator on the AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay.
Record the circuit voltages and currents in the following blank spaces
E1 = ______V I1 = ______A

E2 = ______V I2 = ______A

E3 = ______V I3 = ______A

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Describe what happens when an earth fault occurs near the neutral end of one of the
power transformer secondary windings.

On the Faultable Transformers, set fault switch FS3 of transformer T1 to the O position to
remove the fault.

11.On Transmission Grid "A", set switch S3 to the I (close) position to close contactor CR3.
This will allow operation of the differential protection system.

12.On Transmission Grid "A", set switch S1 to the O (open) position to open contactor CR1
and remove power from the power transformers.
Energize the power transformers by setting switch S1 on Transmission Grid "A" to the I
(close) position. While doing this, observe the circuit currents and the tripping indicator on
the AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay.

13. Repeat the previous step at least ten times.

Does the residual current (I3) sometimes exceed the current setpoint of the AC/DC Current
Sensitive Relay on transformer energization?

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 EEL3086 SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION

Ye No

Is the differential protection system stable on transformer energization?

Yes No

Note: The AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay is fairly insensitive to the residual current resulting
from the transformer magnetizing inrush. A time delay relay is, however, included in the
differential protection system to prevent transformer disconnection in case a high magnetizing
inrush would trip the AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay.

14.On Transmission Grid "A", set switch S1 to the I position to close contactor CR1 and energize
the power transformers.
On the Faultable Transformers, set fault switch FS3 of transformer T1 to the I position to insert
an earth fault near the neutral end of the secondary winding of transformer T1. While doing this,
observe the circuit currents and the tripping indicator on the AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay.
Describe what has happened.

Has the fault been cleared by the differential protection system?

Yes No
On the Faultable Transformers, set fault switch FS3 of transformer T1 to the O position to
remove the fault.

15.On the Faultable Transformers, set fault switch FS1 of transformer T1 to the I position to
insert an earth fault near the middle of the primary winding of transformer T1. While doing
this, observe the circuit currents and the tripping indicator on the AC/DC Current Sensitive
Relay.
Describe what has happened.

Has the fault been cleared by the differential protection system?

Yes No
On the Faultable Transformers, set fault switch FS1 of transformer T1 to the O position to
remove the fault.

16.On Control Relays 1 of the Protective Relaying Control Station, press the RESET button of
control relay CR1 to reset the differential protection system.
On the Universal Fault Module, depress the INITIATE FAULT button to produce a phase-to-
phase fault at the secondary windings of the power transformers. While doing this, observe the
circuit currents and the tripping indicator on the AC/DC Current Sensitive Relay.
Describe what has happened.
 EEL3086 SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION

Has the fault been cleared by the differential protection system?

Yes No
Does the differential protection system protect the power transformers against earth
faults as well as phase-to-phase faults? Briefly explain.

Turn off the Power Supply.

17. Turn off the DC Power Supply of the Protective Relaying Control Station. Remove all
leads and cables.

CONCLUSION
In this exercise, you learned that differential protection can be used to protect the primary and
secondary windings of a three-phase power transformer against earth faults and phase-to-phase
faults. You also learned that the sensitivity of transformer differential protection is limited by several
factors explained in the discussion of this exercise. You saw that transformer magnetizing inrush
unbalances the circulating current circuit of a differential protection system, and may cause
undesired transformer disconnection. You saw that transformer disconnection on a magnetizing
inrush can be prevented by adding a time delay relay in the differential protection system.

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. A differential protection system protects
a. Power transformers against magnetizing inrush.
b. The primary and secondary windings of a power transformer against earth faults
c. Power transformers against phase-to-phase faults
d. Both b and c

2.In general, when using differential protection to protect a three-phase power transformer, the
secondary windings of the line current transformers should be connected in
.a Wye when the power transformer windings are connected in delta, and vice-versa.
b. Wye on-both sides of the power transformer
c. Delta on both sides of the power transformer
d. None of the above.

3. In transformer differential protection systems, a time delay relay can be used to

a. Increase the sensitivity to earth faults occurring on the secondary windings of power
transformers

b. Compensate the 30° phase shift of the line currents in power transformers connected
delta-wye or wye-delta
c. Prevent undesired transformer disconnection on transformer magnetizing inrush
d. None of the above.

CONCLUSIONS
Write briefly your own conclusions about this experiment and the theory you have understood
and concept learned.
 EEL3086 SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION

EET 3086 SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY, CYBERJAYA
LAB REPORT

ID NAME: EXPERIMENT DATE:

EXPERIMENT TITLE:
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OBJECTIVE:

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Instruments/Software required: (refer labsheet and lab equipment)

NAME RATING/RANGE/DETAILS NUMBER

 EEL3086 SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION

Circuit/Schematic Diagram: (draw a neat sketch of diagram and indicate ratings)

EXPERIMENTAL PRECAUTIONS: (Precautions related to experiment alone)

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 EEL3086 SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION

Experimental/Design Calculations: (show detailed calculations)

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS: (Refer labsheet)

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS ANALYSIS: (plot graph and analyze results)

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CONCLUSIONS: (Discuss whether experimental results met the objectives or not)

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