Protection Fundamentals

What is protection?
The most essential requirement of any power system is to maintain continuity of supply to all customers This is achieved by two means: Generate sufficient power at any instant to meet the total load demand Quickly isolate any faulted section but ensuring continuity of supply to as many customers as possible

What is protection?
Two types of faults are considered: 1. Transient faults Faulty section is disconnected, fault is cleared and reconnected within seconds. 2. Permanent faults Faulty section is isolated but leaving as many customers with power as possible

Components

Profile of a power system

Three major components: Generation Transmission (220 kV and above) Distribution (132 kV and below) Primary equipment: Overhead lines, transformers, generators, busbars, circuit breakers Protection of the system involves automatic disconnection of the faulted equipment using circuit breakers

Circuit breakers
Usually triple pole (3 phase) devices One pole for each phase Allows independent tripping of each phase for transient faults Capable of breaking the highest fault current expected at the point where they are installed Ratings include: Operating voltage Continuous full load current per phase Fault current braking capacity

Circuit breakers
Excessive short current above the rated value can cause the circuit breaker to explode Opening and closing is controlled using trip coils Types: Oil, Air blast, Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) SF6 gas when under pressure has a high insulating property thus reducing the size of the equipment at high voltages

Circuit breakers

Isolators (links or Disconnectors)

Provided for the purpose of isolating equipment from the source of power Not designed to make or break load or load or fault current Manually or motor operated Opening of isolator can only take place once associated circuit breaker has opened Ensures complete isolation for safe repair and maintenance work

Components

Busbars
Busbars are the heart of a power station or substation Busbar protection is important to minimize disruptions Large stations have dual sets of busbars The first set of bars is split into two or more sections These sections are joined by bus-section CBs The second set of bars is continuous and connected to each section of the first set by bus coupler CBs

Busbars
Uses of the second set of busbars Enable maintenance Reduce the impact of a busbar fault Allows for the transfer of load For low voltages (11 kV) busbars are enclosed in a metal clad switchboard For outdoor substations busbars consist of copper or aluminium bars mounted on post insulators or heavy stranded conductors on suspension insulators

Busbars

Introduction to Switchgear
Switchgear: These are apparatus used for switching, controlling and protecting the electrical circuits and power in a network. Concerned with switching and interrupting currents under normal and abnormal conditions.

Introduction to Switchgear
Essential features; Complete reliability - must increase the reliability Absolute certain discrimination - must discriminate between the faulty section and healthy section Quick operation - must limit damage to equipment Provision for manual control Provision for measuring instruments - voltmeters, ammeters, CTs, VTs

Introduction to Switchgear (Switches, fuses, circuit breakers, relays)

Switches Used to open and close an electrical circuit Can be under full load or no load conditions Cannot interrupt fault currents Two types: - air switches - oil switches

Introduction to Switchgear (Switches) Air break switch Can open or close under load Used outdoors for circuits of medium capacity (e.g. on lines supplying an industrial load)

Introduction to Switchgear (Switches)

Isolator or disconnecting switch Designed to open or close under no load Main purpose is to isolate one portion of a circuit from another Generally used on both sides of a circuit breaker

Introduction to Switchgear (Switches)

Oil switch Contacts are opened under oil Used in circuits of high voltage and large current carrying capacities

Fuse A short piece of wire or metallic strip that melts under excessive current of sufficient duration Connected in series with circuit

Introduction to Switchgear

Introduction to Switchgear
Circuit breaker (CB)
Used to open or close a circuit under all conditions Can be operated under remote control or manually under normal conditions Operated automatically under fault conditions

Introduction to Switchgear
Relay
A device which detects the fault and supplies information to the CB for circuit interruption The circuit consists of 3 parts: 1. Primary winding of CT 2. Secondary winding of CT connected to relay coil 3. Tripping circuit (Power supply, CB trip coil, relay contacts)

Introduction to Switchgear
Busbar Arrangements
Electrical equipment operating at the same voltage are connected together using busbars. Busbars are copper rods or thin walled tubes Busbars can be arranged as follows: Single busbar system Single busbar system with sectionalisation Duplicate busbar system

Introduction to Switchgear (Busbar Arrangements)

Single busbar system

Introduction to Switchgear (Busbar Arrangements)

Single busbar system Simplest design Used in small outdoor stations Advantages include low cost, low maintenance, simple operation Disadvantages Cannot be mainainted without de-energising the whole system Complete interruption of supply for a fault on the busbar Large fault currents for any fault on the system

Introduction to Switchgear (Busbar Arrangements)

Single busbar with sectionalisation

Introduction to Switchgear (Busbar Arrangements)

Single busbar with sectionalisation The busbar is sectionalised Advantages For a fault in any section, the section can be isolated without causing a complete shutdown Repairs and maintenance to any section can be carried out without causing a complete shutdown Feeder fault current is lower than in the unsectionalised case

Introduction to Switchgear (Busbar Arrangements)

Duplicate busbar system

Introduction to Switchgear (Busbar Arrangements)

Duplicate busbar system Consists of a main and a spare busbar Each generator or feeder can be connected to either busbar using a bus coupler Advantages For a fault on one bus, the load can be transferred to the other busbar Repairs and maintenance can be done to the main bus without interruption of supply Testing of feeder circuit breakers can be done using the spare busbar

Introduction to Switchgear (Switchgear Accomodation)

Switchgear may be classified into: Outdoor type (66 kV and above) Indoor type (below 66 kV)

Short circuits versus Overloads

Short circuits: A short circuit is a faulted condition in a network resulting in large currents in one or more phases For a short circuit the voltage at the fault is zero Overloads: An overload occurs when the load exceeds its deigned value resulting in a low voltage at the overload point

Short Circuits
Effects of short circuits: High currents which cause overheating Can cause arcing which can result in serious damage Low voltages can cause loads to trip and stability problems

Short Circuit Currents

Importance of short circuit current calculations: Enables switchgear to be suitably rated Determines settings and in some cases type and location of protection system Determines size of protective reactors needed to limit fault current Enables proper selection of associated equipment (busbars, CTs etc) so as to withstand the short circuit current forces

Power System Faults

Two main categories of faults : Symmetrical fault ( three phase faults) balanced fault with equal fault currents and a 1200 displacement in each phase Unsymmetrical (single line to ground, line to line, double line to ground) - unbalanced fault with unequal fault current in each phase

Symmetrical Faults
Most severe fault Rarely occurs in practice

Symmetrical Faults (Current Limiting Factors)

s/c current is limited by the impedance of the system upto the point of fault To determine the s/c current, the impedance of the various components must be known

Symmetrical Faults (Percentage Reactance)

Reactance of generators and transformers usually expressed as a % Allows for quick s/c calculations % Reactance is the % volt drop across the component when full load current is flowing

%X = 100 I full load current V phase voltage X reactance in per phase

Symmetrical Faults (Percentage Reactance)

Alternatively

%X =
%X =

() 10()2
100() ()2

X reactance in per phase

Symmetrical Faults (Short Circuit Current)

If X is the only reactance in the circuit
= (100) = % (100) = %

Example If the % reactance is 20% and the full load current is 50A then =
50(100) 20

= 250 A

Symmetrical Faults (Percentage Reactance)

% reactance at base kVA = (% reactance at
rated kVA)

Example If a 1000 kVA transformer has a % reactance of 5%, calculate the % reactance on a 2000 kVA base
% reactance at base kVA = (% reactance at

2000 (5%)( ) 1000

rated kVA)

= 10%

Symmetrical Faults (Choice of base power)

Assuming a three phase fault on the HV side of the transformer, calculate the s/c current? Assume a 2500 kVA common base is chosen = (5%)(1000) = 12.5% = (10%)(2500) = 10%
2500 2500

= + = 22.5% Full load current on a 2500 kVA base at 66 kV

25001000 = 21.87 A 3(66103 ) (100) 21.87(100) = = = 97.1 % 22.5

I=

Symmetrical Faults (Choice of base power)

Assume a 5000 kVA common base is chosen = (5%)( =
5000 ) = 25% 1000 5000 (10%)( ) = 20% 2500

= + = 45% Full load current on a 5000 kVA base at 66 kV I=

50001000 3(66103 )

= 43.7 A 97.1 A

(100) 43.7(100) = = % 45

Symmetrical Faults (Short Circuit kVA)

It is normal practice to express the short circuit current in terms of the short circuit kVA based on the normal system voltage and the s/c at the point of fault Short circuit kVA at a point is the product of nominal system voltage and s/c current at the point of fault
kVAsc = V =V =V
(100) in % (100) 1000%

VA in kVA
(100)

= (base kVA) %

Symmetrical Faults (Reactor control of short circuit currents)

Generally the reactance of the system under fault conditions is low Reactors are connected in series to increase the system reactance These are known as s/c current limiting reactors Have a high inductance and low resistance These reactors may be connected as follows: Generator reactors Feeder reactors Busbar reactors

Symmetrical Faults (Generator Reactors)

Connected in series with each generator May be considered as part of the leakage reactance of the generator Disadvantages: Constant volt drop and power loss even during normal conditions Fault close to the busbar will result in a low voltage and can cause generators to loose synchronism A fault in any feeder can affect the other feeders

Symmetrical Faults (Feeder Reactors)

Connected in series with each feeder Most short circuits occur on feeders A large number of reactors are used for such circuits Advantages: A fault in any feeder will not cause the busbar voltage to drop too low and cause synchronisation problems A fault in any feeder is localised. Doe not affect the other feeders Disadvantages: Constant volt drop and power loss even during normal conditions No protection for the generators when a short circuit occurs at the busbar If the number of generators is increased, the size of the reactors will have to be increased

Symmetrical Faults (Busbar Reactors)

Reactors are located in the busbar There are two approaches: Ring system Tie bar system Ring system Busbar is divided into sections Sections are connected through reactors Generally one feeder is fed from one generator Power loss and volt drop is minimal For a fault on a feeder, only one generator feeds the fault

Symmetrical Faults (Busbar Reactors)

Tie Bar System Advantages Two reactors in series for each section thus reactors can have half the reactance of the ring system Addition of generators to the system does not require changes to existing reactors Disadvantage Requires an additional busbar

Symmetrical Faults (Example)

A three phase line operating at 10 kV has an impedance of (1+4). The line is connected to a generator station busbar through a 5 MVA step up transformer with a reactance of 5%. The generator has a 10% reactance. Calculate the short circuit kVA for a symmetrical fault that occurs at the end of the transmission line. Assume a 100 MVA base.

Symmetrical Faults (Example)

Solution: = (10%)(

100 ) = 100% 10 1000 (5%)( ) = 100% 5

% resistance of line = %R = % reactance of line = %X = kVAsc = (base kVA) = (100000) = 16447 Isc =
3

= + + = (100 +j600)% = 608810

(100) % (100) 608

100() 100 100 1 = = 100 ()2 (10)2 100() 100 100 4 = = 400 ()2 (10)2

16447 1000 3 (10 1000)

= 950 A