Application Note

System-based Testing of Line Differential Protection

Author
Jens Baumeister | Jens.Baumeister@omicronenergy.com

Date
February 20, 2017

Related OMICRON Product

CMC, RelaySimTest, CMGPS 588

Application Area
Line Differential Protection End to End Testing

Keywords
RelaySimTest, System Testing, Line Differential Protection, End to End Testing, GPS synchronization, PTP

Version
v2.0

Document ID
ANS_14003_ENU

Abstract
Due to the increasing complexity of our electrical power systems, the need for highly selective protection is
increasingly being fulfilled by the use of line differential protection. To test such a protection system
thoroughly, a distributed end to end test with synchronized injection can be utilized.
This application note describes how this could be done in an easy and comfortable way using the OMICRON
RelaySimTest software. RelaySimTest offers simulation based system testing methods. To perform a test a
fault scenario is calculated based on the simulation of the power system network. The resulting voltages and
currents for the different relay locations can be used to test the correct behavior of the differential protection
system. For this reason RelaySimTest offers the possibility to control several distributed and time
synchronized CMC test sets.

© OMICRON Page 1 of 14
 General information

OMICRON electronics GmbH including all international branch offices is henceforth referred to as
OMICRON.
The product information, specifications, and technical data embodied in this application note represent the
technical status at the time of writing and are subject to change without prior notice.
We have done our best to ensure that the information given in this application note is useful, accurate and
entirely reliable. However, OMICRON does not assume responsibility for any inaccuracies which may be
present.
OMICRON translates this application note from the source language English into a number of other
languages. Any translation of this document is done for local requirements, and in the event of a dispute
between the English and a non-English version, the English version of this note shall govern.

All rights including translation reserved. Reproduction of any kind, for example, photocopying, microfilming,
optical character recognition and/or storage in electronic data processing systems, requires the explicit
consent of OMICRON. Reprinting, wholly or in part, is not permitted.
© OMICRON 2017. All rights reserved. This application note is a publication of OMICRON.

© OMICRON 2017 Page 2 of 14

 Content

1 Safety Instructions ................................................................................................................................4

2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 General Requirements....................................................................................................................5
2.2 What this Application Note describes .............................................................................................5
2.3 Line Differential Protection..............................................................................................................5
3 System Under Test ................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Application Example .......................................................................................................................7
3.2 Settings of the System Under Test Menu in RelaySimTest ...........................................................7
4 Test Cases ..............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Suitable Test Cases ........................................................................................................................9
4.1.1 General Test Information .................................................................................................................. 9
4.1.2 Test Case 1 - Charging and Load Current ...................................................................................... 10
4.1.3 Test Case 2 and 3 – Single Infeed, Fault on Busbar....................................................................... 10
4.1.4 Test Case 4 – Double Infeed, Fault on Line.................................................................................... 11
4.1.5 Test Case 5 and 6 – Single Infeed, Fault on Line ........................................................................... 11
5 List of Literature ................................................................................................................................. 13

© OMICRON 2017 Page 3 of 14

1 Safety Instructions
This application note may only be used in combination with the relevant product manuals which contain all
safety instructions. The user is fully responsibility for any application that makes use of OMICRON products.
Instructions are always characterized by a  symbol even if they are included to a safety instruction.

DANGER
Death or severe injury caused by high voltage or current if the respective
protective measures are not complied.

 Carefully read and understand the content of this application note as well as
the manuals of the involved systems before starting its practical application.
 Please contact OMICRON before you continue the process if you do not
understand the safety instructions, operating instructions, or parts of it.
 Follow each instruction mentioned there especially the safety instructions
since this is the only way to avoid danger that can occur when working at
high voltage or high current systems.
 Furthermore, only use the involved equipment according to its intended
purpose to guarantee a safe operation.
 Existing national safety standards for accident prevention and
environmental protection may supplement the equipment’s manual.

DANGER
Death or severe injury caused by high voltage or current.

 Before wiring up or rewiring the equipment always turn off each system
involved to the test process.

WARNING
Equipment damage or loss of data caused by high voltage or current possible.

 Before wiring up or rewiring the equipment always turn off each system
involved to the test process.
 Before starting a test always check that the test signals are suitable for your
system under test.

Only experienced and competent professionals that are trained for working in high voltage or high current
environments may perform this application note. Additional the following qualifications are required:
• authorized to work in environments of energy generation, transmission or distribution and familiar
with the approved operating practices in such environments
• familiar with the five safety rules
• familiar with protection testing
• good knowledge of the OMICRON CMC test sets, RelaySimTest and CMGPS 588

© OMICRON 2017 Page 4 of 14

2 Introduction

2.1 General Requirements

Before you get started with this application note, read the “Getting Started” manual [1] of RelaySimTest.
Please make sure that you also have a good knowledge about the CMC test system.

2.2 What this Application Note describes

The application note describes the end to end relay tests of the RelaySimTest predefined line differential
protection template. Therefore it covers the following content of the test template.

1. Line Differential Protection (general information)

2. System Under Test
3. Test Sets Configuration
4. Test Cases

The application note does not describe single end tests, wiring checks and parameter tests. To test the
protection thoroughly such tests are also recommended.

2.3 Line Differential Protection

A line differential protection system compares the current flowing into the protected area with the current
flowing out of the protected area. Under normal conditions there should be nearly no difference between this
currents. A high differential current (Idiff) indicates a fault on the line. The protection system should switch off
the line as fast as possible if a fault occurs.

Figure 1: Protection principle: no fault on the line (left); fault on the line (right)

Some effects like capacitive currents and measurement errors lead to a relatively small differential current
even if there is no fault. To prevent unwanted tripping due to these influences the protection system has to
be stabilized. For this reason many relays calculate a bias (or stabilization) current I bias. Depending on this a
relay operating characteristic defines which differential currents have to lead to a trip and which not.

© OMICRON 2017 Page 5 of 14

 Figure 2: Example of a differential operating characteristic

The protected area is defined by the current transformer at the beginning and the end of the line. That
means a line differential protection system provides 100% selectivity for the line, but no back-up protection
for any other object. Faults outside of the protected area should not provoke a trip of the differential
protection system.

Figure 3: Protection principle - fault outside the protected area Figure 4: Line differential protection system

Due to the fact that the line ends are distanced from each other, there has to be one relay on each end of
the line. For the comparison of the currents a communication between the ends is necessary. With this
communication the measured current values are transmitted to the relay at the remote end. This is often
realized by optical fiber. Two synchronized CMCs are necessary to test such a distributed system with two
ends (see chapter Error! Reference source not found.).

For more information about line differential protection see [2]

© OMICRON 2017 Page 6 of 14

3 System Under Test
3.1 Application Example
The following figure shows the power system protected by a line differential protection system that is used as
example in the RelaySimTest template.

Figure 5: Application example

3.2 Settings of the System Under Test Menu in RelaySimTest

The power system parameters according to the example (see chapter 3.1 ) are in the submenu Power
system of the menu System Under Test. A click on an element like “Infeed A” opens the associated input
mask on the right side of the screen.

© OMICRON 2017 Page 7 of 14

 Figure 6: Power system

A double click on a protection relay opens the corresponding configuration menu. It contains details like
general settings and device connections as well as the description of signal in- and outputs. The line
differential protection relays are connected to the corresponding CT of their site as well as to the
corresponding CB (trip signal).

Figure 7: Protection relay

© OMICRON 2017 Page 8 of 14

4 Test Cases
4.1 Suitable Test Cases
4.1.1 General Test Information
Figure 8 shows the menu Test cases. It contains the test scenarios and test steps of the corresponding
RelaySimTest template. A double click on a test case opens it.

Figure 8: Test cases menu

To keep the template simple, it uses only the following fault types:
> L1-N
> L2-L3
> L1-L2-L3

All test cases with faults include these fault types. Depending on the relays under test, on the relay’s
parameter and on the grid where the protection system is used, it can be necessary to add more fault types.

To get particularly high currents the fault inception angle is set to 0° (except in the test cases 5 and 6).

The nominal trip time of the differential protection is 0 s. All test cases should have an adequate simulation
time to cover the whole test scenario and to ensure that the relay has enough time to show its reaction on
the test.

Sometimes the behavior of the protection system depends on the prefault condition. For example it might be
different if there is a load current during the prefault state. However for this example this distinction is not
considered.

Some of the following test cases are used to test the protection system with particularly high currents (Test
case 2 to 4) and one is used to test it with particularly small currents (Test cases 5 and 6). This is realized by
using certain fault conditions like a certain fault location, inception angle or fault resistance. For example the

© OMICRON 2017 Page 9 of 14

 fault resistance RF is set to 0 Ω in test cases where the fault currents should be high. However the
impedances of the infeeds are not changed. In a real grid these impedances vary due to the different grid
topologies that are used. For this reason those test cases which should lead to high currents can be further
improved by using the minimum infeed impedances of the real grid. On the other hand test cases which
should lead to small currents can be improved by using the maximum infeed impedances.

The following chapters 4.1.2 to 4.1.5 describe the test cases of the RelaySimTest template in detail. To use
the template power system and test cases have to be adapted to the respective application, because each
protection system is very individual. In all test cases the relay trip command of relay A and B is observed.
Chapter Error! Reference source not found.describes how the measurement and assessment is realized.

4.1.2 Test Case 1 - Charging and Load Current

This test case should show that the differential protection does not trip, if the charging current of the line
capacitances flows and if a load current flows through the protected area.

> First, the line is switched off – CBs on both sites are open.

Figure 9: Test case 1

> Afterwards CB A is closed, while CB B remains open.

→ Due to the line capacitances a charging current flows. The differential protection system measures this
current as differential current, but it should not trip, because there is no fault on the line.

> After 0.5 s CB B is closed too.

> The phase angle of infeed 2 is varied in 5 test steps between -20 and +20°, while the phase angle of
infeed 1 stays at 0°.

→ A load current flows due to the different phase angles of infeed A and B. This current flows through the
protected line. There is no differential current (except the charging current). Therefore the differential
protection should not trip.

4.1.3 Test Case 2 and 3 – Single Infeed, Fault on Busbar

These test cases should show that the differential protection does not trip, if a fault occurs outside of the
protected area.

> In test case 2 a fault occurs on busbar A.

> Only infeed B is connected, it will feed the fault current that flows through the protected line.

© OMICRON 2017 Page 10 of 14

 Figure 10: Test case 2

> In test case 3 a fault occurs on busbar B.

> Only infeed A is connected and feeds the fault current.

→ The fault current flows through the protected line. It differs between test case 2 and 3 due to the
different source impedances of infeed A and B. There is no differential current (except the load current).
Therefore the differential protection should not trip.

4.1.4 Test Case 4 – Double Infeed, Fault on Line

This test case should show that a fault on the protected line leads to a trip of the differential protection.
The height of the fault current depends on the fault location. Hence the fault is placed on different Fault
locations.
> Fault locations: 0%, 50%, 100% of the protected line.

Figure 11: Test case 4

→ A fault on the protected line leads to a differential current. Therefore the protection system has to trip.

4.1.5 Test Case 5 and 6 – Single Infeed, Fault on Line

This test cases have a fault on the line that is characterized by a particularly small differential current.

> In test case 5 only infeed A is connected to get a small differential current.

> The fault is placed at the end of the line (fault location 100%) to have a high impedance from the system
feeding the fault to its location (infeed A, 100% of the protected line).

> In test case 6 only infeed B is connected to get a small differential current.

> The fault is placed at the beginning of the line (fault location 0%) to have a high impedance from the
system feeding the fault to its location (infeed B, 100% of the protected line).

© OMICRON 2017 Page 11 of 14

 Figure 12: Test case 6

> A fault resistance of 5 Ohm is used to reduce the fault current. (Number [3] of the bibliography shows
how to estimate an arc resistance for a 110 kV grid.)

> In the test case properties the “output as steady-state sequence”-feature is active to suppress transients.

Figure 13: Output as steady-state sequence

→ The fault has to lead to a trip, because it is a fault inside of the protected area even if the fault current is
small.

© OMICRON 2017 Page 12 of 14

5 List of Literature

[1] Getting Started with RelaySimTest; OMICRON electronics GmbH; 2017

[2] “Numerical Differential Protection: Principles and Applications”; second edition; Gerhard Ziegler;
Publicis MCD; 2012
[3] “Digitaler Distanzschutz: Grundlagen und Anwendungen”; second edition; Gerhard Ziegler;
Publicis MCD; 2008 (English version is also available)
[4] “Implementation and Transition Concepts for IEEE 1588 Precision Timing in IEC 61850
Substation Environments”; B. Baumgartner, C. Riesch, M. Rudigier; OMICRON electronics
GmbH

© OMICRON 2017 Page 13 of 14

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