POWER SYSTEM

PROTECTION
FUNDAMENTALS

PRESENTED BY : FABIAN M. MULENGA. MEIZ.Rteg.

FABIAN MALAMA MULENGA. MEIZ, R.Teg.
 Power Distribution Systems Protection & Switchgear
Maintenance Technologist.
 Over 25 years experience in Distribution Protection &
Control Systems.
 Passionate about Substation Automation and the
application of digital technologies in protection and
control systems.
 Senior Authorized Person to carry switching at 33kV.
Copyright © SEL 2008
 Introduction.

This presentation is basically meant to enlighten us on

the need to appreciate Protection and be able to relate
it to our day to day operations.

3
Copyright © SEL 2008
 Agenda

 What is power system protection

 Why protection is needed
 Principles and elements of the protection
system
 Basic protection schemes
 Protection relaying theory and applications.

Copyright © SEL 2008

 Protection System

A series of devices whose main purpose is

to protect persons and primary electric
power equipment from the effects of
faults

Copyright © SEL 2008

Purpose of System Protection

• Protect the public

• Improve system stability
• Minimize damage to
equipment
• Protect against normal
overloads

Copyright © SEL 2008

 The protection shall thereby prevent:

 Injuries to people
 Damage to property caused by e.g. arcs, forces,
induced current and potential rise
 Limit the damage of the faulty components
 Prevent damages on other components in the power
system.
 Prevent negative consequences on the network as a
whole e.g.
- Voltage drops
- Abnormal frequencies
- Oscillations and out of step conditions

7
Damage to Main Equipment

Copyright © SEL 2008

Copyright © SEL 2008
 How Are Faults Detected?
 When a fault takes place, the current, voltage,
frequency, and other electrical variables behave in a
peculiar way. For example:
 Current suddenly increases
 Voltage suddenly decreases

 Relays can measure the currents and the voltages and

detect that there is an overcurrent, or an undervoltage,
or a combination of both
 Many other detection principles determine the design of
protective relays

Copyright © SEL 2008

Desirable Attributes Of A Protection System

 Reliability: System operate properly

 Security: Don’t trip when you shouldn’t
 Dependability: Trip when you should
 Selectivity: Trip the minimal amount to clear the
fault or abnormal operating condition
 Speed: Usually the faster the better in terms of
minimizing equipment damage and maintaining
system integrity
 Simplicity: Apply only what is necessary
 Economics: Don’t break the bank
Copyright © SEL 2008
Protection System Elements

 Current and voltage transformers

 Protective relays
 Circuit breakers
 DC supply system
 Control cables

Copyright © SEL 2008

Current & Voltage Transformer

 Also called instrument transformers.

Their purpose is to step down the current
or voltage of a device to measurable
values, within the instrumentation
measurement range 5A or 1A in the case
of a current transformers (CTs), and
110V or 100V in the case of a voltage (or
potential) transformers (VTs/ PTs).
 Protective equipment inputs are
standardized within the ranges above.

Copyright © SEL 2008

 Current Transformers
 Current transformers are used to step primary system currents to
values usable by relays, meters, SCADA, transducers, etc.
 CT ratios are expressed as primary to secondary; 2000:5, 1200:5,
600:5, 300:5
 A 2000:5 CT has a “CTR” of 400

14
GE Consumer & Industrial Copyright © SEL 2008
Multilin
 Voltage Transformers
• Voltage (potential) transformers are used to isolate and step down and
accurately reproduce the scaled voltage for the protective device or
relay
• VT ratios are typically expressed as primary to secondary; 14400:120,
7200:120
• A 4160:120 VT has a “VTR” of 34.66

VP

VS
Relay

15
GE Consumer & Industrial Copyright © SEL 2008
Multilin
 Protective relays

 Protective Relays receive measured signals from the secondary side of CTs and VTs and
determine whether the protected unit is in a stressed condition (based on their type and
configuration) or not.
 A trip signal is sent by protective relays to the circuit breakers to disconnect the faulty
components from power system if necessary.

Copyright © SEL 2008

 Examples of Relay Panels

Microprocessor-
Based Relay

Old Electromechanical

Copyright © SEL 2008

 Circuit Breakers

 Circuit Breakers act upon open commands sent by protective

relays when faults are detected and close commands when faults
are cleared.
 They can also be manually opened, for example, to isolate a
component for maintenance.

Copyright © SEL 2008

Circuit Breakers

Copyright © SEL 2008

 DC System…

 The DC system, is a critical link

in the chain to disconnect a
faulty section of the power
system.
 Batteries are used to ensure
availability of trip supply at all
times.
 Batteries should therefore be
properly looked after.
 Standard DC supply systems are
110V & 30 V.
20
Three-Phase Diagram of the Protection Team
CTs CB

Protected
Control Equipment

Relay

VTs

Copyright © SEL 2008

 Sequence of protection operation

Pickup of Operation of
Fault protection element protection element

Assertion of relay Action of relay

trip logic signal trip contact

Circuit breaker Fault cleared

opening

22
Copyright © SEL 2008
 Faults In Power Transformers
 Transformer faults are generally classified into
six categories:
 winding and terminal faults
 core faults
 tank and transformer accessory faults
 on–load tap changer faults
 abnormal operating conditions
 sustained or un-cleared external faults

Copyright © SEL 2008

The role of Transformer protection is to:

 Detect and determine if it shall operate on

abnormal conditions
 external faults
 Initiate the tripping of the associated circuit breaker
 To prevent damage to the transformer at:
 over load,
 low frequency,
 high voltage etc.

24
Copyright © SEL 2008
 Transformer Protection
The commonly employed protection schemes are:
 Fuse
 Over current Phase
 Over current Earth
 Differential protection
 Restricted earth fault - REF(LV & HV)
 Standby Earth Fault (SBEF)
 Buchhloz (Main Tank & Tap Changer)
 Winding & Oil Temperature
 Pressure Relief
 Surge Protection

25
 Principles Of Unit Protection
 unit schemes should only detect and
react to primary system faults within the
zone of protection, while remaining
inoperative for external faults
 React only to faults inside protected
zone
 Remain stable for external faults
 No backup for neighbouring system

Copyright © SEL 2008

 Types of Protection

Differential
 Power in = Power out
 Simple
 Very fast
 Very defined clearing area
 Expensive

27
GE Consumer & Industrial Copyright © SEL 2008
Multilin
 Differential Protection Principle

Balanced CT Ratio

CT CT
Protected
Equipment External
Fault

50 IDIF = 0

No Relay Operation if CTs Are Considered Ideal

Copyright © SEL 2008
Differential Protection Principle

CTR CTR
Protected
Equipment
Internal
Fault

50 IDIF > ISETTING

Relay Operates
Copyright © SEL 2008
Transformer Protection

Copyright © SEL 2008

Restricted Earth Fault Protection of
11kV Winding

Copyright © SEL 2008

Buchholz Relay

Copyright © SEL 2008

 Gas Detector Relay (Buchholz)
 At a fault in an oil immersed transformer the
arc will cause the oil to decompose and gas will
be released.
 The gas will pass through the pipe between the
main tank and the conservator and can be
detected by a gas detector relay.
 The gas detector have an alarm unit collecting
the gas, and one unit for tripping responding to
the high flow of gas at a serious internal fault

Copyright © SEL 2008

 Winding & Oil Temperature
 A too high temperature in a transformer can be
caused by overloading or by problems in the
cooling equipment.
 Oil immersed transformers are supervised with
thermometers.
 There are two types: oil &winding temperature
gauges.

Copyright © SEL 2008

 SURGE PROTECTION

 Lightning is a random occurrence

 Unpredictable Surges
 Maybe direct or indirect
 Lightning Arrestors discharge the surges
 Must be applied on transformers & cables

Copyright © SEL 2008

Arc Flash Hazard

36
GE Consumer & Industrial Copyright © SEL 2008
Multilin
 SCADA

 SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data

Acquisition) system refers to the
combination of telemetry and data
acquisition.
 It consists of collecting information,
transferring it back to a central site,
carrying out necessary analysis and
control, and then displaying this data on
a number of operator screens.
 The SCADA system is used to monitor
and control a plant or equipment.
 Control may be automatic or can be
initiated by operator commands. Copyright © SEL 2008
Future Of Protection & Control Systems
 Improvements in computer-based protection
systems
 Highly reliable and viable communication
systems (satellite, optical fiber, etc.)
 Integration of control, command, protection,
and communication (automation)
 Improvements to human-machine interface
 Much more…

Copyright © SEL 2008

Copyright © SEL 2008
Copyright © SEL 2008