Unit 3

Protection Relay Technologies

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Objectives:

Describe the principle of operation and types of protection relays

Discuss the factors that have influenced relay technological advances

Discuss the relationship between the burden of an electromechanical relay

and the relay plug setting.

Contrast the hardware used in traditional relay systems with the modern
systems

Discuss the advantages of the modern numerical relays over the

electromechanical and static relays.

Explain and use the time-current characteristic curves of the relays

Explain the operating and resetting currents

Calculate the plug setting, time multiple setting and operating times of
relays

Test and investigate relay operation

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Contents:
1. Relay technologies
2. Principle of relay operation
3. Relay types and principles of operation
4. Electromechanical relays
5. Solid state relays
6. Numerical relays
7. Relay characteristic curves

8. Relay settings

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Introduction:
Definition:
A relay is an automatic device which constantly senses the
system condition and is capable of distinguishing any abnormal
condition according to its settings upon which it generates some
form of signal for an action to be taken.

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Introduction

Protection Relay Technologies:

1. Electromechanical relays:
A protection relay design which uses magnetomotive force in its decision
making stage and has moving parts in it.
2. Static Static :
A protection relay design which uses electronic components and integrated
circuits (ICs). They do not have any moving part in the decision making
stage.
3. Digital and Numerical relays:
Microprocessors and microcontrollers replaced analogue circuits used in
static relays to implement relay functions.

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Introduction:

Protection Relay Technology Evolution:

The electromechanical relay has been replaced successively by static

and numerical relays, each change bringing with it reductions in size and
improvements in functionality.

At the same time, reliability levels have been maintained or even

improved and availability significantly increased due to techniques not
available with older relay types.

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Relay Technology

Principle:

Protection Relay Functional Block Diagram

The voltage and/or current signal is first reduced to measurable quantities

and necessary conditioning done

The decision making stage does the actual protection as per the set value

The output stage implements the necessary logic before issuing trip and
alarm commands.

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Electromechanical Relays:

Constructed with electrical, magnetic and mechanical components,

Have an operating coil and various contacts,
Very robust and reliable.
Provide galvanic isolation between the inputs and outputs in a
simple, cheap and reliable form.

Construction types:

Two types: the attracted armature and induction disc have

significant application today;
(all other types having been superseded by more modern
equivalents).

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Electromechanical Relays

Attracted armature relays

Attraction relays can be supplied by AC or DC,

Consists of a bar or plate of metal which pivots

when it is attracted by the magnetic field
produced by a coil.

The armature carries the moving part of the

contact, which is closed or opened according to
the design when the armature is attracted to the
coil.

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Electromechanical Relays

Operating Force and relay Setting:

It can be shown that the force of attraction is proportional to the square of
the current, i.e.

Force K1 I2
where 1 depends upon the number of turns on the operating solenoid, the air gap,
the effective area and the reluctance of the magnetic circuit, among other factors;

The spring provides the restraining force, K2.

When the relay is balanced, the resultant force is zero and therefore
112 = K2, so

I K2 K1 cons tan t
The relay operating value (setting) is thus controlled by both the coil and
spring
Attraction relays effectively have no time delay and, for that reason, are
widely used when instantaneous operations are required.
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Electromechanical Relays

Induction disc relays

Consists of an electromagnetic system which operates on a moving

conductor, in the form of a disc.

Functions through the interaction of two electromagnetic fluxes derived

from the system current and/or voltage (like the induction motor).

Disc rotates and closes contact during fault.

The inertia of the disc provides the time-delay characteristic. The time
delay can be increased by the addition of a permanent magnet.

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Induction Relays

These two fluxes, which are mutually displaced both in phase (angle)
and in position, produce a torque that can be expressed by

T K12 sin
where 1 and 2 are the interacting fluxes and is the phase angle between
1 and 2.

Torque is a maximum when the fluxes are out of phase by 90, and
zero when they are in phase.

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Induction Relays

T K12 sin

Hence, Torque I2

Also speed of rotation (of disc) is proportional to the torque, hence

speed I2
Now
time = (distance/speed)
Hence
time 1/I2
(i.e. time inversely proportional to square of the current)

Giving the inverse time-current characteristic of operation of the induction

relay.

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Solid State Technology (Static):

The design is based on the use of analogue electronic devices instead of

coils and magnets to create the relay characteristic.

Early versions used discrete devices such as transistors and diodes in

conjunction with resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc.

Later versions used linear and digital integrated circuits for signal
processing and implementation of logic functions.

User programming restricted to the basic functions of adjustment of relay

characteristic curves.

Additionally, flexibility in settings and some saving in space requirements.

In some cases, relay burden is reduced, making for reduced CT/VT output
requirements.

Require an independent, highly reliable and secure source of relay power

supply.

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Solid State Technology (Static):

Common solid state circuits employed in

relays

Squaring circuits
Phase shifting circuits
Integrators
Coincidence circuits
Level Detection
ANDing circuits

A combination of the above circuits are

used to implement a particular protection
in static technology

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Digital and Numerical Relays:

Microprocessors and microcontrollers replaced analogue circuits used

in static relays to implement relay functions.

Require A/D conversion of all measured analogue quantities and use

a microprocessor to implement the protection algorithm.

However, the early microprocessors used had limited processing

capacity and memory.

The functionality tended to be limited and restricted largely to the

protection function itself digital relays.

Additional functionality compared to that provided by an

electromechanical or static relay is available in the form of a wider
range of settings, and greater accuracy.

A communications link to a remote computer may also be provided.

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Numerical Relays:

Technological development from the digital relay.

The input analogue signals are converted into a digital representation

and processed according to the appropriate mathematical algorithm.

Processing is carried out using a specialised microprocessor that is

optimised for signal processing applications, known as a digital signal
processor (DSP).

By using multiple microprocessors to provide the necessary

computational performance, a large number of functions previously
implemented in separate items of hardware can now be included
within a single item (i.e. relay).

The relay functions (overcurrent, earth fault, etc.) are now referred to
as being relay elements, so that a single relay (i.e. an item of
hardware housed in a single case) may implement several functions
using several relay elements.

Each relay element will typically be a software routine or routines.

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Numerical Relays:

The advantages of a modern numerical relay over the static

equivalent:

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Numerical Relays:

The argument against putting many features into one piece of

hardware centres on the issues of reliability and availability.

A failure of a numerical relay may cause many more functions to be

lost, compared to applications where different functions are
implemented by separate hardware items.

Comparison of reliability and availability between the two methods

is complex as interdependency of elements of an application
provided by separate relay elements needs to be taken into
account.

However, practical experience indicates that numerical relays are

at least as reliable and have at least as good a record of availability
as relays of earlier technologies.

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Numerical Relays:

Dual setting banks

Numerical relays designed to provide a dual settings bank, which provides a

complete duplication of all the settings and operating switch positions.

Setting 1 or setting 2 can be selected at the relay, via the serial

communications system or a remote switch, which can be an output contact
of another relay or a circuit breaker auxiliary switch.

This dual setting bank is useful in a ring main circuit, which can be opened at
different places, necessitating differing settings when a relay can be in two
different places in two radial feeders.

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Hardware architecture of a Numerical relay

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Hardware Architecture:

1.

Input VT & CT:

The input current and voltage is reduced to electronics measurable
range. Typical 1 to 5V full scale.

2.

Filtering & Buffering:

Analogue signal conditioning, to make is suitable for digitizing.

3.

Sample & hold

Sampling -Converting the continuous time analog signal to discrete
time analog signal
Holds the signal at the sampled value for digitizing

4.

Analog to Digital Converter:

Converts the instantaneous current and voltage to equivalent digital
value (0s and 1s)
Number of bits representing each value depends on resolution of ADC

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Hardware Architecture:

5.

Multiplexer:
Sends digitized current and voltage in turns to the data bus.
Controlled from DSP

6.

DSP:
Signal processing.
Where multiple processors are provided, one is dedicated to executing
the protection relay algorithms, while the remainder implements any
associated logic and handles the Human Machine Interface (HMI)
interfaces.

7.

Digital I/O and Communication:

Digital I/O to issue trip/alarm commands and receive plant status
Communication for local and remote communication / SCADA, DCS

8.

Power Supply & Clock:

DC/AC to DC converter to provide power to circuit comments at different
rail voltage.
Crystal to provide reference clock for digital processing.
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Relay Software:
The software provided is commonly organised into a series of tasks,
operating in real time.
1. Operating System (OS) software:
whose function is to ensure that the other tasks are executed as and
when required, on a priority basis.
2. HMI interface software:
the high level software for communicating with a user, via the front
panel controls or through a data link to another computer running
suitable software, storage of setting data, etc.
3. Application software:
this is the software that defines the protection function of the relay

4. Auxiliary functions:
software to implement other features offered in the relay often
structured as a series of modules to reflect the options offered to a
user by the manufacturer

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Relay Technology:

Any protection can be implemented in any technology

Though technology has evolved from electromechanical to numerical,

each has its own strengths

However the flexibility and series of extra features offered by

numerical relays combined with advancements in DSP and
communication has made numerical relays very popular.

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RELAY TECHNOLOGY

Some Definitions:
1.

Pick-up value:
The value of the actuating quantity (current or voltage) which is on the
threshold above which the relay operates.

2.

Reset value
The value of current or voltage below which a relay opens its contacts
and comes to original position.

3.

Operating time
The time which elapses between the instant when the actuating quantity
exceeds the pick-up value to the instant when the relay contacts close.

4.

Reset time
The time which elapses between the instant when the actuating signal
becomes less than the reset value to the instant when the relay contact
returns to its normal position.

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Relay Characteristics:
IDMT curves:
Standard inverse (SI) curve
Very inverse (VI) curve
Extremely inverse (EI) curve

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Relay Characteristics:

Mathematical descriptions:
Operating Time =

A TMS
PSM B 1

where:
Curve Type

Standard

0.14

0.02

Very Inverse

13.5

Extremely Inverse

80

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Relay Settings:
1.

Plug (Pick-Up) Setting (PS)

Means of adjusting the pick-up current

Pick-up current expressed as:
CT secondary current, or
Percentage of CT sec. nominal (rated) current

Relay characteristic horizontal axis labeled in terms of the Plug

Setting Multiple (Multiples of Plug/Tap Setting)

P.S.M.

I
Ip

where
I is the current (or If for the fault current)
Ip - is the pick-up current

Shifts the time-current curve along horizontal axis

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Relay Settings:

2.

Time Multiplier Setting (TMS) or Time Dial Setting (TDS)

Means of adjusting the time taken by the relay to trip once the current
exceeds the set value
T
T.M.S. a
Tc

where,
Ta - is the required time of operation
Tc - is the time obtained from the relay characteristics curve at TMS = 1.0

Shifts the time-current curve along vertical axis

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Problem 1
An IDMT relay with a nominal current of 5A has a plug setting of 125%.
Calculate the setting current (or pick-up current) of the relay (in amps).
Problem 2
The fault current in a system is 7.5kA. A 1A IDMT relay with a plug setting of
75% is connected to a 1000/1A CT. Calculate the PSM with the fault current
flowing.
Problem 3
A protection system consists of the following:
CT ratio
800/1A
Relay characteristic
Standard IDMT
Plug setting
100%
Calculate the TMS that the relay needs to be set if it must trip in 0.6 seconds
for a fault current of 12.5kA in the system.

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Relay Characteristics:

Alternative standard IDMT equation:

3
Operating Time, Tc = log ( PSM ) ,
10

and,

for TMS = 1.

T
T.M.S. a
Tc
where,
Ta - is the required time of operation
Tc - is the time obtained from the relay characteristics curve at TMS = 1.0

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Problem 4

A protection system consists of the following:

CT ratio:

750/5A

Relay characteristic:

TC

Plug setting

100%

3
, (at TMS 1.0)
log10 ( PSM )

Calculate the TMS that the relay needs to be set if it must trip in 0.6 seconds
for a fault current of 12.5kA in the system.

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