earth fault relays takes the number 64 which differs from the overcurrent relays*

due to the different connection in the circuit

1st solution for earth fault protection is called ''Residual connected earth fault
relay''
the main idea behind this relay is the sum of the three phases current , as in the
normal case the sum of the currents is zero but in the fault case the sum doesn't
equal to zero but higher
so the relay is connected to the circuit so the currents pass through it , if the sum is
zero he will remain passive otherwise he will send a cutoff signal if the current is
higher than zero (20% higher value of the normal phase current)
*overcurrent relay: the actuating quantity is only current. There is only one
current operated element in the relay, no voltage coil etc. are required to construct
this protective relay
In an over current relay, there would be essentially a current coil. When normal
current flows through this coil, the magnetic effect generated by the coil is not
sufficient to move the moving element of the relay, as in this condition the
restraining force is greater than deflecting force. But when the current through the
coil increased, the magnetic effect increases, and after certain level of current, the
deflecting force generated by the magnetic effect of the coil, crosses the restraining
force, as a result, the moving element starts moving to change the contact position
in the relay.

2nd solution is called "EF In Neutral Connection"

in most of the circuits , there is a connection between the ground and the neutral
"Earthing Connection" with or without a resistance
so in the normal cases the current in this connection is zero , and in the earth fault
cases in any of the phases lines the fault current has to find a way to the ground
and back to the device (transformer or generator) to close the circuit
so the earthing connection has now a high current passes through it
so there is a device called (EF ralay) is connected to the earthing connection
thought a current transformer so that if a high current passes through it it'll be
modified so that there will be cutoff option

3rd solution is called "Core balance EF protection"

is frequently used instead of the 2nd solution if it's hard to get an earthing
connection or connecting a CT in each phase line
in this method a single CT is used in the shape of a ring which passes through it the
three phases lines
and the EF relay in connected to it's secondary end
so if there is a fault , the flux increases . which is an indication of the fault
and due to that the relay switchs to a cutoff option
in the normal cases the total flux generated due to the current in the phases lines is
zero , and in the fault cases it's higher than zero
this method is popular for its high sensitivity

4th solution depends on the connection between the relay and the metal structure
of the CT and the ground
so if the turns of the relay is in contact with the CT , a high fault current will flow
through the connection and will be detected quickly []

5th solution : unlike the previous solution we can secure EF protection with phase
protection which comes with a higher cost that the previous solutions but it more
reliable

*OC-1 & OC-2 & OC-3 : is short for "Optical Carrier" with different transmission rate
are a standardized set of specifications of transmission bandwidth for digital signals
that can be carried on Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) fiber optic
networks.

6th solution is called "Residual Voltage Relay" in this method instead of using
currents to detect the fault, we use the voltage of the three phases lines using VT
(voltage transformer)
as in normal cases the sum (Residual Voltage) of the three voltages is zero , in the
EF cases the sum equals to 3Vo
notes : how to connect the
the VT is connected between every phase line and the neutral so the relay could
read the value of the line voltage separately

to read the sum of the three voltages (Residual Voltage) we use a connection
called (residual connection) which is used to detect unsymmetrical faults
but this method can't detect symmetrical faults as it can't separate the fault case
(voltage sum is zero) from the normal case

the resources used for this subject is the reference (( /

and for the side notes with the mark '*' Wikipedia was used beside the site
"http://www.electrical4u.com/"