Protection and Relay Schemes

Agenda

Introduction of Protective Relays

Electrical System Protection with
Protective Relays
Conclusion

What are Relays?

Relays are electrical

switches that open or close
another circuit under
certain conditions.

Advantages for Using Protective

Relays

Detect system failures when they occur

and isolate the faulted section from the
remaining of the system.
Mitigating the effects of failures after they
occur. Minimize risk of fire, danger to
personal and other high voltage systems.

Relay Types

Electromagnetic Relays (EMRs)

Solid-state Relays (SSRs)

EMRs consist of an input coil that's wound to accept a

particular voltage signal, plus a set of one or more
contacts that rely on an armature (or lever) activated
by the energized coil to open or close an electrical
circuit.
SSRs use semiconductor output instead of mechanical
contacts to switch the circuit. The output device is
optically-coupled to an LED light source inside the
relay. The relay is turned on by energizing this LED,
usually with low-voltage DC power.

Microprocessor Based Relays

Use microprocessor for switching mechanism.

Commonly used in power system monitoring and
protection.

How a Relay Works

Sold-State Relay

Advantages/Disadvantages

Electromagnetic Relays (EMRs)

Simplicity
Not expensive
Mechanical Wear
Solid-state Relays (SSRs)
No Mechanical movements
Faster than EMR
No sparking between contacts
Microprocessor-based Relay
Much higher precision and more reliable and durable.
Improve the reliability and power quality of electrical
power systems before, during and after faults occur.
Capable of both digital and analog I/O.
Higher cost

Why A System Needs Protection?

There is no fault free system.

It is neither practical nor economical to
build a fault free system.
Electrical system shall tolerate certain
degree of faults.
Usually faults are caused by breakdown of
insulation due to various reasons: system
aging, lighting, etc.

Electrical Faults

majority are phase-to-ground faults

phase-to-phase
phase-phase-phase
double-phase-to-ground

Protective Devices Comparison

Relays

Circuit Breakers

Fuses

Acquisition
Detection

Activation

Actuation

Protective Devices Comparison

Circuit Breakers V.S. Relays

Relays are like human brain; circuit
breakers are like human muscle.
Relays make decisions based on settings.
Relays send signals to circuit breakers.
Based the sending signals circuit breakers
will open/close.

Transformer Protection

Gas and Temperature Monitoring

Differential and Ground Fault
Protection

Transformer Protection
Gas Monitoring Relays:
These relays will sense any amount of gas
inside the transformer. A tiny little
amount of gas will cause transformer
explosion.
Temperature Monitoring Relays:
These relays are used to monitor the
winding temperature of the transformer
and prevent overheating.

Transformer Protection
Ground Fault

For a wye connection, ground fault

can be detected from the grounded
neutral wire.

Transformer Protection
Ground Fault and Differential Relay

Conclusion
Relays control output circuits of a
much higher power.
Safety is increased
Protective relays are essential for
keeping faults in the system
isolated and keep equipment from
being damaged.

Reference:

IEEE Red Book (IEEE Recommended

Practice for Electric Power
Distribution for Industrial Plants)
Principles of power system by V.K
Mehta