4/12/2016

TestingDirectionalOvercurrentRelaysfromValence

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InthepreviouspostaboutDirectionalOvercurrentrelay(67)testing(FindingtheDirectioninDirectional
OvercurrentRelays),wereviewedDirectionalOvercurrentprotectionfromasystemperspectivetoenhance

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thedescriptionsinTheRelayTestingHandbook:PrinciplesandPracticeorTheRelayTestingHandbook
#1:ElectricalFundamentalsforRelayTesting.WellbelookingatDirectionalOvercurrentrelaysfroma
testingperspectiveinthispost.

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SuccessfulDirectionalOvercurrenttestshavethreeparts:
1.Yourcurrentmustbeabovethepickupsetting.

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2.Yourcurrentmustbeinthecorrectdirection.

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3.Youmusthaveapolarizingsignal.

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Atraditionalrelaytester,orautomatedtestingsoftware,willoftenapplyatestscenariolikethefollowing:

FromOtherTesters(16)
HighVoltageTesting(4)
RelayElements(14)
RelayTestingTechniques(21)
TheRelayTestingHandbook#4:
CreatingandImplementingRelay
TestPlans(1)
Videos(14)

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Channel

Magnitude

Angle

Instruction

Ia

>Pickupsetting

0(default)

Raiseuntilpickup

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Thistestplanmayworkdependingonthesophisticationoftherelay,buttheresaprettygoodchancethat
thepickuptestswillwork,andthetimingtestwillfail.Inthisscenario,youmightgetfrustratedandstart
disablingthedirectionalfunction,orstartlookingforthenondirectionalrelaydefinitionssoyoucanmap

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themtoatestoutput.Letstakeacloserlookatyourtestplanbeforeyou,oryourtestsoftware,headdown

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TestingDirectionalOvercurrentRelaysfromValence

Basedonthedrawingofyourtestplan,itlookslikeyouvemetthefirsttwocriteriaforasuccessful

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DirectionalOvercurrenttest:

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1.Thecurrentisgreaterthanthepickupsetting.
2.Thecurrentisinthetrippingdirection.(Notintheshadedarea)
Butdoyouhaveapolarizingsignal?

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Testing Directional Overcurrent Relays That UsePhaseto-Phase References

ImaginethatIaskedyoufordirectionstoyourfavoriterestaurantafterdark.Youcouldgivemedirections

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like,Ifyouheadnorthfortenblocksandtheneastforthreeblocks,youllfindthebestBBQinthecounty.
Yourdirectionsareperfect,butIllbehungryuntilIfindacompassorsomeonetogivemeareferencelike,
Northisthatway.However,ifyousaid,Turnrightfortenblocksandthenturnrightforthreemoreblocks,
IllbeeatingthebestBBQinnotime.
Directionalrelaysneedareferencetoworkcorrectly,andthatreferenceiscalledthepolarizingsignal.The
DirectionalOvercurrentelementneedsapolarizingsignaltooperatereliablyotherwiseanythingcould
happendependingofthesophisticationoftherelay.
Mostelectromechanicalrelays,andGErelaysliketheonefromTheRelayTestingHandbookexample,use
thephasephasevoltagefromthetwounfaultedphasesasapolarizingsignal.Youcoulddriveyourself
crazytryingtofigureouthowtoapplythetestandphasordiagramsfromolderrelaymanualstomodern
testsets.

Oryoucantestallrelaysthatusetheunfaultedvoltagesasapolarizingsignalbysimplyapplyingthree
phasebalancedvoltagesasshowninthisphasordiagramfromthepreviouspost.WeaddedtheBC
phasephasevoltagetothedrawing,whichisthepolarizingvoltagethisstyleofrelayuses.

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Ifwerotatethestandardphasordiagramby90andaddthesamelabelingusedbytherelaybulletin
drawings,wecanseethatsimplyaddingvoltagewillallowustosuccessfullytesteveryrelayofthistype.

Channel

Magnitude

Angle

Instruction

Ia

>Pickupsetting

0(default)

Raiseuntilpickup

Va

NominalV

Vb

NominalV

120

Vc

NominalV

120

Testing Directional Overcurrent Relays That Use Negative

SequenceReferences
Unfortunately,noteveryrelayusesphasephasevoltagesasapolarizingsignal.Somerelaysusethe
negativesequencevoltageasthepolarizingsignal.Negativesequencevoltagecanbesimplifiedtomean
unbalancedvoltage(YoucangetmoreinformationintheSequenceComponentssectionofTheRelay
TestingHandbook:PrinciplesandPracticeorTheRelayTestingHandbook#1:ElectricalFundamentalsfor
RelayTesting).Arethevoltagesunbalancedintheprevioustestplan?
Youcantellbygraphicallyaddingthethreevoltagestogether,orwiththenegativesequenceformula.

Thenegativesequence,orunbalancevoltage,iszeroinabalancedsystem.Therefore,ourprevioustest
planwillnothaveapolarizingsignalonrelaysthatusenegativesequencepolarizing.
Wecanfixthisproblembythinkingaboutwhathappensduringaphasetogroundfault.
Whathappenstothefaultedvoltage?Thefaultedvoltagewilldrophowmuchitdropsdependson

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theseverityofthefault.Theworstpossiblefaultwoulddropthefaultvoltagetonearzero,butmost
faultswontbethatsevere.Wecancutthefaultedvoltageinhalftosimulateaphasetogroundfault.
Whathappenstothefaultedcurrent?Thefaultedcurrentswilljumptoahighervalue,andweknow
fromtherelaysettingshowmuchcurrentweneedfortherelaytodetectafault.Setthefaultcurrentat
least110%oftherelayspickupsetting.
Whathappenstotheothervoltagesandcurrentsthatarentfaulted?Theywouldchangeslightly
duringarealfault,butyouwouldneedsomemodellingsoftwaretofigureouthowmuch.Wecan
assumethattheydontmove,liketextbooksdo,fortestingpurposes.
Ifwealterourtestplantobettersimulateafault,itwouldlookliketherevisedplanbelow.
Channel

Magnitude

Angle

Instruction

Ia

>Pickupsetting

0(default)

Raiseuntilpickup

Va

OnehalfV

Vb

NominalV

120

Vc

NominalV

120

A plan to Test any Directional Overcurrent Relay

NowourDirectionalOvercurrent(67)testplanlookslikethefollowingdrawingwherewestartwiththeraw
currentsandvoltages,calculatethenonfaultedphasetophasevoltage,andplottheoperatingcurrentand
polarizingsignal,whichinthiscaseisVBC.Thistestplanhasagoodchanceofbeingsuccessfulbecause
wehaveanoperatingsignalandapolarizingsignal.

ThesedrawingslookatthesametestplanforaDirectionalOvercurrent(67)elementthatusesnegative
sequencevoltage.Westartwiththerawcurrentsandvoltages,thencalculatethenegativesequence
voltage,andthenplottheoperatingcurrentandpolarizingsignal(V2).Thistestplanhasagoodchanceof
beingsuccessfulbecausewehaveanoperatingsignalandapolarizingsignal.

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TestingDirectionalOvercurrentRelaysfromValence

WeappeartobeingoodshapeformostDirectionalOvercurrent(67)applications.However,therewillbe
timeswhenthistestplanwillnotwork.Whataretheoddsthataphasetogroundfaultwillbe100%
resistive?Theanswerisnever.Actually,therearealmostnopurelyresistivesystemsaswediscussedin
thepreviousarticle,soourtestcurrentatzerodegreescancauseproblems,especiallyneargeneration
systemslikewindfarmsthatcanhavecrazycharacteristicsorveryhighvoltage(>115kV)applications.
Somerelayshaveanoperatingcharacteristiclikethefollowingpicture:

Noticethatourtestcurrentisrightontheedgeofthereversedirection.Thismeansthatitisacointoss
whethertherelaywilloperateornot.Wecanensuretherelayalwaysoperatesbysettingthefaultedcurrent
toafaultanglethatwouldhappeninthesystem.Youcanchooseagoodfaultangleusingoneofthese
methods:
Mostmodernrelayshaveapositivesequenceanglesettingthatdefinestheexpectedfaultangle.Set
thefaultangletothatsetting.
Ifyouhaveagoodunderstandingoffaultcharacteristics,youcouldguessthefaultangles.
Averyhighvoltagesystem(>115kV)willhaveacharacteristicnear90degrees,soyoucould
safelychooseafaultangleof87.
Ahighvoltagesystem(>69kV)willhaveafaultanglecloserto75.
Adistributionsystem(>34kv)willhaveafaultanglecloserto60.
Amediumvoltagesystemwillhaveafaultanglecloserto45.
Youcannevergowrongwithafaultangleof60or75.Thisiswhatelectromechanicalrelaysused
becausetheiroptionswerelimitedandtheyneededagoodaverage.
Ourtestwillworkforallcommoncharacteristicanglesifwemodifyittoincludethephaseangleduringa
fault.
Channel

Magnitude

Angle

Instruction

Ia

>Pickupsetting

75(orfaultangle)

Raiseuntilpickup

Va

OnehalfV

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TestingDirectionalOvercurrentRelaysfromValence

Vb

NominalV

120

Vc

NominalV

120

Directional Overcurrent Relay Test Plan Summary

TestingDirectionalOvercurrent(67)elementsisalmostassimpleastestingstandardOvercurrent(50/51)
elementsaslongasyouproperlysimulateafault.Iusedtooccasionallyrunintoproblemswhentesting
DirectionalOvercurrent(67)elementsusingtraditionaltestingtechniques.Iwouldspendalotof
unnecessarytimetryingtofigurewhatwentwrongasIsaidtomyself,IknowImdoingitright,whywont
thisrelayworkright!!!NowIalwaysfollowthesestepsbeforerunninganytest:
Connectallcurrentsandvoltages
Choosethefaulttypetoapply
Applynominalbalancedthreephasevoltages
Cutthefaultvoltageinhalf
Raisethefaultcurrentmorethan110%ofthepickupsetting
Makesurethefaultcurrentlagsthefaultvoltagebythefaultangleor75
Moderntestingequipmentmakesthiseasy,whichmeansyoucanspendmoretimeunderstandingthe
applicationsoyoucanbecomeatruerelaytestingcraftsman.
Pleaselikeandsharethispostifyoufoundituseful.Ithelpsusgetnoticed,whichmeanswecanpostmore
freecontent.
AddyourcommentsforDirectionalOvercurrentrelay(67)testinginthecommentssection,startanewtopic
bybecomingaTechTalkContributor,oryoucanaskmequestionsaboutothertopicswiththeAskChris
form.

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HappyTesting!
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FiledUnder:AskChris,Featured,RelayElements,RelayTestingTechniquesTaggedWith:DirectionalOvercurrent(67)

About Chris Werstiuk

ChrisisanElectricalEngineeringTechnologist,aJourneymanPowerSystemElectrician,anda
ProfessionalEngineer.HeisalsotheAuthororTheRelayTestingHandbookseriesandfounder
ofValenceElectricalTrainingServices.YoucanfindoutmoreaboutChrishere.

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