GENERATOR PROTECTION

PROTECTION FUNCTIONS IN MICOM P143

Inverse time (IDMT) characteristic
IDMT characteristics are selectable from a choice of four IEC/UK and five
IEEE/US curves as shown in the table below.
The IEC/UK IDMT curves conform to the following formula:

t=T x {

}
M 1

Inverse-Time
Characteristics
Standard Inverse
Very Inverse
Extremely Inverse

0.02
1.0
2.0

0.14
13.5
80.0

t Operation time
T Time setting
M I/Is
I Measured current
Is Current threshold setting
- Constant
Constant

VERY INVERSE (VI) OVERCURRENT RELAYS

Very inverse overcurrent relays are particularly suitable if there is a substantial
reduction of fault current as the distance from the power source increases, i.e.
there is a substantial increase in fault impedance. The VI operating characteristic
is such that the operating time is approximately doubled for reduction in current
from 7 to 4 times the relay current setting. This permits the use of the same time
multiplier setting for several relays in series. The VI curve is much steeper and
therefore the operation increases much faster for the same reduction in current

compared to the SI curve. This enables the requisite grading margin to be

obtained with a lower TMS for the same setting current, and hence the tripping
time at source can be minimised.

EXTREMELY INVERSE (EI) OVERCURRENT RELAYS

With this characteristic, the operation time is

approximately

inversely

proportional to the square of the applied current. This makes it suitable for the
protection of distribution feeder circuits in which the feeder is subjected to peak
currents on switching in, as would be the case on a power circuit supplying
refrigerators, pumps, water heaters and so on, which remain connected even
after a prolonged interruption of supply. The long time operating characteristic of
the extremely inverse relay at normal peak load values of current also makes this
relay particularly suitable for grading with fuses. Figure 9.9 shows typical curves.
The EI characteristic gives a satisfactory grading margin, but the VI or SI
characteristics at the same settings does not. Another application of this relay is
in conjunction with auto-reclosers in low voltage distribution circuits. The
majority of faults are transient in nature and necessary blowing and replacing of
the fuses present in final circuits of such a system can be avoided if the autoreclosers are set to operate before the fuse blows. If the fault persists, the autorecloser locks itself in the closed position after one opening and the fuse blows to
isolate the fault.

MOTOR PROTECTION
THERMAL PROTECTION
The majority of winding failures are either indirectly or directly caused by
overloading (either prolonged or cyclic), operation on unbalanced supply voltage,
or single phasing, which all lead
through excessive heating to the deterioration of the winding insulation until an
electrical fault occurs.

t= x log e ( ( K 2 A2 ) / ( K 21 ) )

where:
= heating time constant

K = I th / I eq

A2 = initial state of motor (cold or hot)

th I = thermal setting current
Equation 19.1 takes into account the cold and hot
characteristics defined in IEC 60255, part 8.

STALL PROTECTION
Should a motor stall when running or be unable to start because of excessive
load, it will draw a current from the supply equivalent to the locked rotor current.
It is obviously desirable to avoid damage by disconnecting the machine as
quickly as possible if this condition arises. Motor stalling can be recognised by
the motor current exceeding the start current threshold after a successful start
i.e. a motor start has been detected and the motor current has dropped below
the start current threshold within the motor safe start time. A subsequent rise in
motor current above the motor starting current threshold is then indicative of a
stall condition and tripping will occur if this condition persists for greater than the
setting of the stall timer.

UNDERVOLTAGE PROTECTION
Motors may stall when subjected to prolonged under voltage conditions.
Transient under voltage will generally allow a motor to recover when the voltage
is restored, unless the supply is weak. An interlock with the motor starter is
required to block relay operation when the starting device is open, otherwise a
start will never be permitted. The voltage and time delay settings will be system
and motor dependent. They must allow for all voltage dips likely to occur on the
system during transient faults, starting of motors, etc. to avoid spurious trips. As
motor starting can result in a voltage depression to 80% of nominal, the voltage
setting is likely to be below this value. Re-acceleration is normally possible for
voltage dips lasting between 0.5-2 seconds depending on system, motor and
drive characteristics.

NEGATIVE PHASE SEQUENCE PROTECTION

Negative phase sequence current is generated from any unbalanced voltage
condition, such as unbalanced loading, loss of a single phase, or single-phase
faults.

Grading: Fuse to Fuse

The operating time of a fuse is a function of both the prearcing and arcing time of the
fusing element, which follows an I2t law. So, to achieve proper co-ordination between two
fuses in series, it is necessary to ensure that the total I2ttaken by the smaller fuse is not
greater than the pre-arcing I2t value of the larger fuse. It has been established by tests
that satisfactory grading between the two fuses will generally be achieved if the current
rating ratio between them is greater than two.

9.12.3 Grading: Fuse to Relay

For grading inverse time relays with fuses, the basic approach is to ensure
whenever possible that the relay backs up the fuse and not vice versa. If the fuse
is upstream of the relay, it is very difficult to maintain correct discrimination at
high values of fault current because of the fast operation of the fuse. The relay
characteristic best suited for this co-ordination with fuses is normally the
extremely inverse (EI) characteristic as it follows a similar I2t characteristic. To
ensure satisfactory coordination between relay and fuse, the primary current
setting of the relay should be approximately three times the current rating of the
fuse. The grading margin for proper coordination, when expressed as a fixed
quantity, should not be less than 0.4s or, when expressed as a variable quantity,
should have a minimum value of: t' _ 0.4t _ 0.15seconds

Restricted earth fault protection

The relay implements high-impedance Restricted Earth Fault (REF) protection.
Operation is required for a primary earth fault current of 25% rated earth fault
current (i.e. 250A). The prime task in calculating settings is to calculate the value
of the stabilising resistor Rstab and stability factor K.
A stabilising resistor is required to ensure through fault stability when one of the
secondary CTs saturates while the others do not. The requirements can be
expressed as:
S S stab V _ I R
And

_S f ct l V _ KI R _ 2R

where:
VS = stability voltage setting
VK = CT knee point voltage
K = relay stability factor
IS = relay current setting
RCT = CT winding resistance
R1 = CT lead resistance
Rstab = stabilising resistor

BUSBAR FAULTS
The majority of bus faults involve one phase and earth, but faults arise from many
causes and a significant number are interphase clear of earth.

Effective Setting or Primary Operating Current

The minimum primary operating current is a further criterion of the design of a
differential system. The secondary effective setting is the sum of the relay minimum
operating current and the excitation losses in all parallel connected current transformers,
whether carrying primary current or not. This summation should strictly speaking be
vectorial, but is usually done arithmetically. It can be expressed as:
R S eS

I _ I _ nI

Equation 15.6

where:
IR = effective setting
IS = relay circuit setting current
IeS = CT excitation current at relay voltage setting
n = number of parallel connected CTs