Presentation 23.

Application Oriented Testing of Line Differential Protection Devices Theory and Practice
Cord Mempel / Michael Albert, OMICRON, Austria

Abstract
Conventional testing of modern protection devices with
their numerous functions and configuration options
results in more and more complex test sequences.
Frequently this involves an increasing amount of time
spent on protection testing. The approach of application-oriented testing requires only a limited effort and
furnishes easily understandable and plausible statements about whether the protection device fulfills its
operational function or not. In contrast to conventional
parameter testing, this test is based on power system
parameters rather than the specific relay settings.
This approach is explained with the example of line
differential protection. Testing for protection devices of
various manufacturers is performed using an identical
test sequence which guarantees the function of the
protection devices at their location in the field. The
differences between conventional parameter tests and
the new application-oriented test approach are discussed.
Keywords: Application-oriented testing, deviceindependent test templates, black box testing, simulation, parameter test.

Introduction
The intervals of innovation in protection engineering
have become short. Along with the ever more powerful
but also ever more complex protection devices, automated test templates become more and more important
for commissioning and maintenance of protection
devices (e.g. upgrading to new firmware version).
For this purpose, the OMICRON "Protection Testing
Library" (PTL) provides a powerful library of relayspecific test templates which adjust themselves automatically to the specific relay settings [1].
Nevertheless such an automated test template only
covers the main functions of the protection device and
only a subset of the protection settings of these functions.
Checking the protection parameters

had only a few parameters, but each of these parameters intervened in the circuit by means of particular
components. Figure 1 shows an example of such a
circuit. The arrows indicate examples of points where
settings intervene by means of potentiometers, pins or
mechanically operated contacts.

Figure 1: Circuit diagram of an electromechanical protection

device, intervention by means of "parameters"

Hence, these protection devices required proving the

effectiveness of each individual setting by means of a
test. But is this also true for modern protection devices?
In any case, there is statistical evidence that incorrect
settings are often the cause of unwanted relay reactions
(hyper function or under function) [2] [3], particularly in
case of digital protection devices.
However, the problem is that such incorrectly set
parameters usually cannot be found at all by conventional checking of settings since they are already
incorrect in the template. This means that protection
testing consequently refers to incorrect parameter
settings.
Moreover, many modern protection devices include
functions with adaptive characteristics which cannot be
tested at all using conventional test procedures.

Application-oriented testing
The application-oriented testing approach aims at
solving these problems. A transient simulation of
realistic faults is to ensure that the device has useful
settings for the job and will fulfill its task correctly in
actual operation. This means that the focus of the test is
on checking the correct function of the protection device
at the place of installation rather than checking individual parameter settings.

Checking the effectiveness of individual protection

parameters has its roots in testing of electromechanical
and analog static protection devices. These devices

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Presentation 23.2

Concept
Figure 2 shows a typical process for defining the
protection concept and the settings for commissioning
the protection device [3]. A test focusing on the protection functions and parameters - such as defined, for
example, in the PTL test templates - is used to verify
that the protection functions operate properly according
to their settings. In this way, the process steps P9 to
P12 are verified and errors are likely to be detected.
The basis for this conventional test is the relay settings
sheet which is used as a reference for the tests.

Electrical
network

P1

P2

Aquiring network
data

Protection concept

In contrast, the reference for application-oriented testing

is the power system data and the protection concept.
Thus it allows the verification of the process steps P4 to
P12.
Implementation
When setting up the protection concept, various test
cases (internal & external faults, other network incidents) can be defined which the protection device
should be able to handle. This forms the basis for the
application-oriented test. The transient current and
voltage characteristics are calculated for this group of
faults. For this reason, the power system data should
be as precise as possible. This can be achieved by
using measurement results (e.g. of the line impedance
values).
The verification of the protection concept, i.e., the
realization of application-oriented testing, is done by
running simulated network faults with a test set on the
protection device (see Fig. 3).

P3
Network calculation

P4
Selection of
protective functions

P5
Selection of
protection relay

P6

P7

Standard
settings

Setting calculation

P8
Transfer
to relay setting
sheet

P9

P10

Standardized
Master setting
file

Relay setting file

Figure 3: Application-oriented testing

Specific aspects of the application-oriented approach

P11
Transfer settings
into relay

P12
Commissioning

Relay

Figure 2: Process steps for determining the protection

settings [3]

With conventional test methods, a major share of the

work involved lies in the preparation for the actual test.
The complex reconstruction of protection functions,
especially the tripping characteristics, is not necessary.
In contrast to parameter testing, it is not necessary to
know the precise parameter setting of the protection
device. Rather, it is even possible to test protection
devices of several manufacturers with exactly the same

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Presentation 23.3

test template. The following example illustrates these

statements.

Example: Differential protection of a single line

Figure 4: Line, protected by differential protection devices

Figure 4 shows a line that is protected using differential

protection. The protection relays are tested twice, using
a parameter test and using the application-oriented test
approach. The discussion is limited to the test of the
differential protection function.

Application-oriented testing
The faults (and selected operating states like switching
of a line) which the protection device should be able to
handle have to be defined in the preparation phase for
the application-oriented test. Since these faults are
needed as early as when calculating the protection
settings (see Fig. 2), this group of faults is already
available for the test.
So the test cases to be applied comprise:
Internal faults in order to exclude under function
(see Figure 5)
External faults and selected operating states in
order to exclude hyper function (see Figure 6)
Falsification of the secondary measurement currents (CT error).

Parameter test (PTL)

Before it is possible to set up a test of the differential
protection function, it is necessary to define which
parameters are to be tested. In this example, a line
differential protection device made by SIEMENS is used
(7SD610). The following settings are verified for this
protection device during the test:
-

Idiff>, Idiff>>: These are the only parameters

describing the tripping behavior.
n'/n, f1, f2: These parameters describe the fault of
the instrument transformer and are required when
determining the stabilization.
General data of the instrument transformer: Transformer ratio and secondary nominal current

These parameters have to be entered for each protection device involved in the protection system and have
to be tested for each of these protection devices.
Hence, a parameter test involves the following test
steps:
-

Differential protection pickup test (phase-selective)

Trip time test
Trip behavior test (tripping characteristic); this test
has to be performed with synchronized feeding
(GPS, IRIG-B).

These tests have to be created separately for each

protection device. For their definition, it is important to
analyze the exact functional principle of the protection
devices.

Figure 5: Testing an internal fault

As shown in Figure 3, these faults and the corresponding power system data are used for producing transient
simulation data which are supplied to the protection
device by means of a test set.
The following quantities for internal faults can be
specified from the power system calculation for the
calculation of the test points:
The maximum fault current Ik,max,in for internal faults
and single-end feeding,
the minimum fault current Ik,min,in for internal faults,
the maximum measurement error fl,
and, for trouble-free operation and external shortcircuits,
the maximum differential current IL (for example,
the maximum charging current of a line),
the maximum fault current Ik,max,au for external
faults.

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Presentation 23.4

Figure 7: Tripping characteristic test for the RED615 [7]

Figure 6: Stability test with fault currents flowing through

Precise verification using a parameter test requires an

analysis of the tripping characteristic and an adjustment
in the corresponding test software (see Figure 7, Figure
8).

Black box testing

Performing a parameter test for a protection device
requires detailed knowledge about the precise function
of the algorithms of these devices. The market offers a
large number of protection devices of various manufacturers which have the same or a similar functional
scope.
In this example, a SIEMENS line differential protection
device was used (7SD610). Other manufacturers offer
devices with similar functions, for example, ABB with its
RED615. As a consequence of the diversity of the
algorithms used in the protection devices, the parameter test has to be defined differently for the two devices
and also includes technical details of the two protection
devices. The tripping characteristic of the devices is
mentioned here as an example.

Figure 8: Tripping characteristic test for the 7SD610 [6]

For application-oriented testing, the same test procedure can be used for different protection devices. The
actual test does not depend on the protection device
but is essentially governed by the location of the protection device within the power system. This makes it
possible to test different protection devices with the
same test procedure regardless of their precise algorithmic functionality (black box testing).

Comparison: Parameter testing versus applicationoriented testing

The parameter test is characterized by checking individual settings for their correctness. However, the
following aspects must be taken into account:

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Presentation 23.5

The number of settings increases with each protection device generation.

The algorithms of the protection devices become
increasingly complex and are not described in detail in the protection device manuals.
Testing with ideal sinusoidal signals becomes
difficult due to plausibility checks in the protection
device algorithms.
The test is not well suited to detect design errors.

The application-oriented test is characterized by the

following aspects:
Testing depends on the availability of power
system data and appropriate simulation tools
The high effort for reconstruction of the protection
functions (e.g. of characteristics) for testing is eliminated. The test becomes independent of the device and is easily portable.
A larger number of error sources is covered (see
Figure 2).
If a test should fail, it is necessary to verify the
individual process steps. This requires detailed
knowledge about relays as before.

Summary
Modern protection devices make ever increasing
demands on testing technology in conventional protection device testing as a consequence of their intelligent
algorithms. The settings sheet is used as a reference
and is not questioned during the test. The test sequences are relay-specific and also depend on the
settings; this means that they have to be redefined
again and again, taking the technical requirements of
the protection devices into account. This complexness
involves an increased time requirement.

Literature
[1] B. Bastigkeit
How a library of relay specific test templates can
support the protection engineer
OMICRON IPTS 2007, Bregenz
[2] C. Mempel
Optimization Strategies for Protection Maintenance
OMICRON IPTS 2006, Dornbirn
[3] North American Electric Reliability Corporation
Letter to industry for the NERC System Protection
Initiative,
dated
April
24,
2009
www.nerc.com
[4] A.
Ludwig,
R.
Luxenburger,
M.
Albert,
R. Marenbach
Anforderungen moderner Schutzgerte an die Prftechnik
VDN/ETG Fachtagung Dortmund, 2007
[5] S. Eldmrdash
System testing A new approach for testing digital
protection relays
Master Thesis, Deggendorf University of Applied
Sciences, 2008
[6] Siemens, 7SD610 manual
[7] ABB, RED615 manual
[8] OMICRON PTL:
www.omicron.at

Protection

With the application-oriented test, other aspects can be

included in protection testing. The process of defining
the protection parameters is verified almost completely
(see Fig. 2). The test is prepared on the basis of transient power system calculations and does therefore not
depend any more on the protection device itself but only
on its location within the power system and its protection functions. The test has a simpler structure and can
therefore be performed with less effort.
The simple example of line differential protection shows
that such testing is possible even with existing resources. This means that application-oriented testing
can already be used today, whether as a standalone
test or as a supplement to parameter tests.

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