REG 316*4 1MRB520049-Uen / Rev.

F ABB Switzerland Ltd

3.5.28. Breaker failure protection (BreakerFailure)

A. Application
· Redundant tripping schemes (RED 1))
· Repeated tripping attempts (BFP 2))
· Backup tripping (BFP)
· End fault protection (EFP 3))
· Unconditional tripping (UT 4))
· External trip initiation.

B. Features
· insensitive to DC component
· insensitive to harmonics
· single or three-phase operation
· blocking
· two independent timers (t1, t2)
· transfer tripping
· provision for disabling features (RED, BFP, EFP, UT)
· unique ID for each binary input and output.

C. Inputs and outputs

I. C.t./v.t. inputs
· current.

II. Binary inputs

· 13205 Block BFP
· 13710 Start L1
· 13720 Start L2
· 13730 Start L3
· 13740 Start L1L2L3
· 13705 External start
· 13770 CB Off
· 13775 CB On
· 13780 Ext. trip t2
· 13785 Ext. trip EFP

1) Redundant
2) Breaker failure protection
3) End fault protection
4) Unconditional trip

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III. Binary outputs

· 23305 Trip t1
· 23315 Trip t1 L1
· 23320 Trip t1 L2
· 23325 Trip t1 L3
· 23310 Trip t2
· 23340 Remote trip
· 23345 Red. Trip L1
· 23350 Red. Trip L2
· 23355 Red. Trip L3
· 23375 EFP Rem trip
· 23370 EFP Bus trip
· 23330 Repeat trip after t1
· 23360 Unconditional trip after t1
· 23380 External trip after t1
· 23335 Backup trip after t2
· 23365 Unconditional trip after t2

IV. Measurements
· Current amplitude L1
· Current amplitude L2
· Current amplitude L3

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D. Breaker failure protection settings – BreakerFailure

Summary of parameters:
Text Unit Default Min. Max. Step

CB commands
TRIP t1 B00000000
TRIP t1 L1 B00000000
TRIP t1 L2 B00000000
TRIP t1 L3 B00000000
TRIP t2 B00000000
REMOTE TRIP B00000000
RED TRIP L1 B00000000
RED TRIP L2 B00000000
RED TRIP L3 B00000000
EFP REM TRIP B00000000
EFP BUS TRIP B00000000
General parameters
ParSet4..1 P1 (Select)
I Setting IN 1.20 0.20 5.00 0.01
Delay t1 s 0.15 0.02 60.00 0.01
Delay t2 s 0.15 0.02 60.00 0.01
Delay tEFP s 0.04 0.02 60.00 0.01
t Drop Retrip s 0.05 0.02 60.00 0.01
t Drop BuTrip s 0.05 0.02 60.00 0.01
t Puls RemTrip s 0.05 0.02 60.00 0.01
t1 active on (Select)
t2 active on (Select)
RemTrip active on (Select)
EFP active on (Select)
Red active on (Select)
Start Ext act. on (Select)
RemTrip after t1 (Select)
NrOfPhases 3 1 3 2
CurrentInp CT/VT-Addr 0

Block BFP BinaryAddr F

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Text Unit Default Min. Max. Step

Start L1 BinaryAddr F
Start L2 BinaryAddr F
Start L3 BinaryAddr F
Start L1L2L3 BinaryAddr F
External Start BinaryAddr F
CB Off BinaryAddr F
CB On BinaryAddr F
Ext Trip t2 BinaryAddr F
Ext Trip EFP BinaryAddr F
Trip t1 SignalAddr ER
Trip t1 L1 SignalAddr ER
Trip t1 L2 SignalAddr ER
Trip t1 L3 SignalAddr ER
Trip t2 SignalAddr ER
Remote Trip SignalAddr ER
Red Trip L1 SignalAddr ER
Red Trip L2 SignalAddr ER
Red Trip L3 SignalAddr ER
EFP Rem Trip SignalAddr ER
EFP Bus Trip SignalAddr ER
Retrip t1 SignalAddr ER
Uncon Trip t1 SignalAddr ER
Ext Trip t1 SignalAddr ER
Backup Trip t2 SignalAddr ER
Uncon Trip t2 SignalAddr ER

Explanation of parameters:
TRIP t1
defines the tripping channel activated by the function’s trip-
ping output TRIP t1 (matrix tripping logic). This output is acti-
vated for a ‘Retrip’, ‘External Trip Initiate’ or ‘Unconditional
Trip’.

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TRIP t1 L1, L2 or L3
defines the tripping channel activated by the function’s trip-
ping outputs TRIP t1 L1, L2 or L3 (matrix tripping logic). This
output is activated for a phase segregated ‘Retrip’.

TRIP t2
defines the tripping channel activated by the function’s trip-
ping output TRIP t2 (matrix tripping logic). This output is acti-
vated for a ‘Backup Trip’ or ‘Unconditional Trip’ the after sec-
ond time step t2.

REMOTE TRIP
defines the tripping channel activated by the function’s trip-
ping output REMOTE TRIP (matrix tripping logic).

RED TRIP L1, L2 or L3

defines the tripping channel activated by the function’s trip-
ping outputs RED TRIP L1, L2 or L3 (matrix tripping logic).

EFP REM TRIP

defines the tripping channel activated by the function’s trip-
ping output EFP REM TRIP (matrix tripping logic).

EFP BUS TRIP

defines the tripping channel activated by the function’s trip-
ping output EFP BUS TRIP (matrix tripping logic).

ParSet 4..1
Parameter for determining in which set of parameters a par-
ticular function is active (see Section 5.11.).

I Setting
Pick-up of the current criterion for the breaker failure protec-
tion (BFP), end fault protection (EFP) and the redundant trip-
ping logic (RED).
Delay t1
‘Retrip’ tripping delay

Delay t2
Backup tripping delay.

Delay tEFP
End fault protection delay.

t Drop Retrip
Reset delay for ‘Retrip’, ‘Redundant Trip’ and ‘External Trip
Initiate’.

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t Drop BuTrip
Reset delay for backup tripping attempt.
t Puls RemTrip
Transfer tripping impulse width.
t1 active
defines whether timer t1 is enabled or disabled.
‘on’ Timer t1 enabled
‘off’ Timer t1 disabled.
t2 active
defines whether timer t2 is enabled or disabled.
‘on’ Timer t2 enabled
‘off’ Timer t2 disabled.
RemTrip active
defines whether transfer tripping is enabled or disabled.
‘on’ Transfer tripping enabled
‘off’ Transfer tripping disabled.
EFP active
defines whether the end fault protection is enabled or disabled.
‘on’ End fault protection enabled
‘off’ End fault protection disabled.
Red active
defines whether the redundant logic is enabled or disabled.
‘on’ Redundant tripping logic enabled
‘off’ Redundant tripping logic disabled.
Start Ext active
defines whether the unconditional tripping logic is enabled or
disabled.
‘on’ Unconditional tripping logic enabled
‘off’ Unconditional tripping logic disabled.
RemTrip after
defines the delay for transfer tripping.
‘t1’ after BFP time t1
‘t2’ after BFP time t2.
NrOfPhases
defines the number of phases supervised.
‘1’ single-phase operation
‘3’ three-phase operation.
CurrentInp
defines the c.t. input channel. Single and three-phase c.t’s
can be set. The first channel (R phase) of the group of three
selected must be specified for three-phase c.t’s.

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Block BFP
Input for blocking the function.
F: not blocked
T: blocked
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).

Start L1, L2 or L3
BFP or RED Start in phase L1, L2 or L3
F: disabled
T: enabled
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).

Start L1L2L3
BFP or RED Start in all three phases
F: disabled
T: enabled
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).

External Start
starts the unconditional trip.
F: disabled
T: enabled
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).

CB Off
signals that the circuit-breaker is fully open and also used to
start the end zone fault protection.
F: CB not fully open
T: CB fully open
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).

CB On
signals that the circuit-breaker is fully closed.
F: CB not fully closed
T: CB fully closed
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).

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Ext Trip t2
Input for signals from the other BFP units in the station.
F: No external trip after t2
T: External trip after t2
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).

Ext Trip EFP

Input for signals from the end zone fault outputs of the other
BFP units in the station.
F: No trip for end zone fault
T: Trip for end zone fault
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).

Trip t1
signals a trip which is activated by one of the following logics:
· Repeat trip (see “Retrip t1”)
· External trip (see “Ext Trip t1”)
· Unconditional trip (see “UnconTrip t1”).

Trip t1 L1, L2 or L3
signals a repeat trip of phase L1, L2 or L3.

Trip t2
signals a backup trip. This signal is activated by the following
logics:
· Backup trip after t2 (see “Backup Trip t2”)
· Unconditional trip after t2 (see “UnconTrip t2”).

Remote Trip
signals a transfer trip.

Red Trip L1, L2 or L3

signals a redundant trip of phase L1, L2 or L3.

EFP Rem Trip

signals an end zone trip. This signal is an impulse of length ‘t
Puls Rem Trip’ generated when the EFP timer has timed out.

EFP Bus Trip

signals an end zone trip. This signal is generated when the
EFP timer has timed out and resets ‘tDrop Bu Trip’ after the
initiating signal has reset.

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Retrip t1
signals a repeat trip after t1. This signal is generated when
the BFP timer t1 in one of the phases has timed out.

Uncon Trip t1
signals an unconditional trip after t1. This signal is generated
when the UT timer t1 has timed out.

Ext Trip t1
signals an external trip. This signal is generated when either
the input “Ext Trip t2” or “Ext Trip EFP” is enabled.

Backup Trip t2
signals a backup trip after t2. This signal is generated when
the BFP timer t2 has timed out.

Uncon Trip t2
signals an unconditional trip after t2. This signal is generated
when the UT timer t2 has timed out.

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E. Setting instructions

Settings:
Pick-up current setting: I Setting
Tripping delay: Delay t1
Delay t2
Delay tEFP

Rest delay: t Drop Retrip

t Drop BuTrip
Impulse: t Puls RemTrip

Enabled signals: t1 active

t2 active
RemTrip active
EFP active
Red active
Start Ext active.

Pick-up current setting “I Setting”

If the BFP current detector pick-up setting is too low, there is a
possibility that the detectors may reset too late after it has suc-
cessfully tripped the circuit-breaker. This can be caused by
damped oscillations on the secondary side of the c.t.
On the other hand, if the setting is too high, the BFP may fail to
operate at all should, for example, the current fall below pick-up
again due to severe c.t. saturation. A typical setting for the pick-
up current is just below the minimum fault current that can occur
on the respective line.

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Tripping delays t1 and t2

The tripping delay settings enable the BFP to be adapted to its
particular operating environment (e.g. circuit-breaker character-
istics etc.). Fig. 3.5.28.1 shows a typical timing diagram for
clearing a fault.

Fault CB Repeat
incidence (1) Start (2) open (3) trip (4)

CB Backup
open (5) trip (6)

Tripping time tCB open tReset + tMargin

tCB open tReset + tMargin

Delay t1
Delay t2

Fig. 3.5.28.1 Operation of the BFP/UT timers t1 and t2

Timing in the case of breaker failure:

(1) A fault has occurred and been detected by a protective de-
vice.
(2) A tripping command is transmitted to the circuit-breaker
after the unit protection operating time which also starts the
BFP. The tripping command can be either single (Start Lx)
or three-phase (Start L1L2L3). The redundant signals are
also activated at the same time.
(3) The circuit-breaker ruptures the fault current.
(4) After the reset delay tReset plus a safety margin tMargin , the
BFP either detects that the fault current has been inter-
rupted and the protection function resets, or the fault cur-
rent continues to flow and a second attempt is made by the
BFP to trip the circuit-breaker.
(5) The second attempt to trip the circuit-breaker is successful
and the fault current is interrupted.

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(6) After a further reset delay tReset plus a safety margin tMargin ,
the BFP either detects that the fault current has been inter-
rupted and the protection function resets, or the fault cur-
rent continues to flow and the BFP initiates backup tripping.
If the BFP is only required to carry out a single breaker failure
step, timer t1 can be disabled (see ‘t1 active’). The response of
the BFP corresponds once again to Fig. 3.5.28.1, but with timer
t1 set to zero.

Timing in the case of an unconditional trip:

(1) A fault has occurred and been detected by a protective de-
vice.
(2) A signal at input ‘Ext Start’ starts the UT function.
(3) The circuit-breaker ruptures the fault current.
(4) If after the reset delay tReset plus a safety margin tMargin ,
the CB auxiliary contact “CB On” still signals to the UT that
the CB is closed, a second attempt is made by the UT
function to trip the circuit-breaker.
(5) The second attempt to trip the circuit-breaker is successful
and the fault current is interrupted.
(6) If after a further reset delay tReset plus a safety margin tMar-
gin the CB auxiliary contact “CB On” still signals to the UT
that the CB is closed, backup tripping is initiated by the UT
function.

Delay t1 ³ t CB open + t Reset + tMargin

Delay t 2 ³ t CB open + t Reset + tMargin

tCB open CB opening time including arc extinction time

tReset Reset time of the current criterion 1)
tMargin Allowance for variations in normal fault clearing times 2)

1) see reset time of the current detector tReset

2) see safety margin tMargin

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Tripping delay tEFP

The setting for tEFP can be seen from Fig. 3.5.28.2 which shows
a typical timing diagram for tripping a fault.

CB CB EFP
tripping signal (1) open (3) tripping signal (4)

tCB open
tReset + tMargin

tCB Off tEFP

CB
tripped (2)

Fig. 3.5.28.2 Timing diagram for an end zone fault

(1) Tripping command applied to the CB.

(2) CB auxiliary contact sends a signal that the CB is open to
the “CB Off” input of the function which is used to start the
EFP.
(3) The circuit-breaker ruptures the fault current.
(4) After a reset delay plus a safety margin, the current unit ei-
ther detects that the fault current has been interrupted and
the EFP function resets, or the fault current continues to
flow and an EFP signal is issued.

tEFP ³ t CB open - t CB Off + t Reset + tMargin

tCB open CB opening time including arc extinction time

tCB Off CB opening time of the CB auxiliary contact
(Signal „CB open“)
tReset Reset time of the current detector 3)
tMargin Allowance for variations in normal fault clearing time 4)

3) see reset time of the current detector tReset

4) see Margin time tMargin

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Reset time of the current detector tReset

The current detector reset time is determine by the power sys-
tem configuration as follows:
· Power system time constant up to 300 ms
· Fault current up to 40 IN

Primary c.t’s TPX: tReset = 28 ms (ISetting ³ 0.2 IN)

Primary c.t’s TPY: tReset = 28 ms (ISetting ³ 1.2 IN)
tReset = 38 ms (ISetting ³ 0.4 IN)
Safety margin tMargin
A safety margin of 20 ms is recommended.

Reset times ‘t Drop Retrip’ and ‘t Drop BuTrip’

The function includes two independently adjustable signal reset
delays.
‘t Drop Retrip’ determines the reset delay for the following sig-
nals: 23305 Trip t1
23315 Trip t1 L1
23320 Trip t1 L2
23325 Trip t1 L3
23345 Red Trip L1
23350 Red Trip L2
23355 Red Trip L3
23330 Retrip t1
23360 Uncon Trip t1
23380 Ext Trip t1.

‘t Drop BuTrip’ determines the reset delay for the following sig-
nals: 23310 Trip t2
23370 EFP Bus Trip
23335 Backup Trip t2
23365 Uncon Trip t2.

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Impulse ‘t Puls RemTrip’

‘t Puls RemTrip’ determines the width of the transfer tripping im-
pulse for the following signals:
23340 Remote Trip
23375 EFP Rem Trip.

Enabling and disabling the various features

A number of the function’s features can be enabled and dis-
abled.

t1 active
This setting provides facility for disabling the timer t1. When it is
disabled, none of the “repeat trip” group of signals is generated.

t2 active
This setting provides facility for disabling the timer t2. When it is
disabled, none of the “backup trip” group of signals is generated.

RemTrip active
This setting provides facility for disabling transfer tripping. When
it is disabled, none of the “remote trip” group of signals is gener-
ated.

EFP active
This setting provides facility for disabling the end fault protection.
When it is disabled, none of the “end fault” group of signals is
generated.

Red active
This setting provides facility for disabling the redundant protec-
tion. When it is disabled, none of the “redundant” group of sig-
nals is generated.

Start Ext act.

This setting provides facility for disabling the unconditional trip
feature. When it is disabled, none of the “unconditional trip”
group of signals is generated.

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