Application Guide Volume I AG2015-20

Using Traveling Wave Fault Location

in the SEL-411L-1 Relay
Alex Polikoff

INTRODUCTION
The SEL-411L-1 Advanced Line Differential Protection, Automation, and Control System
provides differential and distance protection. It also features line current data capture at a high
sampling rate to allow for traveling wave fault location (TWFL). The TWFL algorithm relies on
the electrical transient generated upon fault inception on a protected line. This transient moves
toward the relay location at nearly the speed of light. The relay detects the arrival of the received
wave, time-stamps it using a high-accuracy IRIG-B signal, and communicates that time stamp to
a relay at the far terminal via a differential communications channel. With the length of the line,
the propagation velocity (characteristic speed of electrical transients across the line), and the
current transformer (CT) secondary cable length, the relay can calculate the location of the fault.
This application guide demonstrates how to use data obtained from a breaker close operation to
calculate traveling wave propagation velocity and how to ensure accurate TWFL results. In order
to calculate and report the fault location automatically using TWFL, the SEL-411L-1 requires a
healthy differential communications channel between the two terminals of a transmission line.
This guide further shows how to generate a TW time stamp to allow simple hand calculation of a
fault location when the differential communications channel is absent or out of service.

FAULT LOCATION REPORTING

The SEL-411L-1 uses several methods to determine fault location, including the following:
• Traveling wave (TW).
• Multi-ended (ME).
• Single-ended (SE).
TWFL uses the time stamps from the traveling wave data and requires a healthy differential
communications channel to be present to report TW-based fault location automatically. It is the
most accurate of the three methods.
Double-ended fault location is an impedance-based method used when a differential
communications channel is present. The relay at each location knows the total current and uses it
as a polarizing quantity to achieve more accurate results than the single-ended method.
Single-ended fault location is an impedance-based method used when there is no differential
communications channel between relays. The relay uses a modified Takagi algorithm to calculate
the distance to the fault based on voltages and currents at the relay location.
The fault location, reported in the event summary, is analog quantity CONFLOC (consolidated
fault location), which is available via DNP3. The method the relay uses to arrive at that value is
reported in the event summary as FLM (fault location method). The method is selected based on

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the order shown previously, with TW given first priority. If TW is not available, as in the case of
fault incidence at a voltage zero, the fault locator reverts to the impedance-based methods.
Starting with firmware Version R111, TWFL is reported separately from impedance-based fault
location in both the event summary and the TW header file (Common Format for Transient Data
Exchange [COMTRADE] file with a filename of *****TW.HDR). Whether that quantity is in
miles or kilometers is based on the user setting LLUNIT (line length units).
The presence of the following on a protected transmission line should not prevent the use of
traveling waves for fault location:
• Change in conductor size and/or spacing.
• Change in tower configuration.
• Conductor transposition.
• Tapped lines.
• Series capacitors (pass high frequencies).
Because the relay uses the time stamp of the initial fault wavefront, reflections from tapped
transformers or adjacent lines do not interfere with the reported distance from TWFL. However,
variation of the electrical characteristics across a protected line impacts the propagation velocity.
This value does not vary much, but could lead to an additional error of 1 or 2 percent in fault
location distance estimation.
TWFL cannot be applied on transmission lines with in-line transformers (group setting
E87XFMR = Y) because the wave is attenuated by the power transformer.
Presently, TWFL can only be automatically calculated by the SEL-411L-1 when applied on
two-terminal lines.
Because a high-accuracy IRIG-B signal must be present to generate the necessary time stamps for
double-ended TWFL, verify that Relay Word bit TSOK is asserted (logical 1) at both relay
terminals by issuing the serial TAR TSOK command.

TWFL SETTINGS
First, verify that both EFLOC and ETWFL are set to Y in the Relay Configuration Settings. The
following are three critical settings associated with TWFL:
• TWLL—transmission line length (in miles or kilometers based on setting LLUNIT).
• SCBL—CT secondary cable length (in meters or yards based on setting LLUNIT).
• LPVEL—line propagation velocity (in per unit of the speed of light).
Of the three, line propagation velocity is usually the hardest to determine. How a wavefront
propagates across the transmission line depends on the shunt capacitance and series inductance of
the line.
Starting with firmware Version R111, the traveling wave feature can use either set of three-phase
current inputs or the combined current inputs. For proper performance, ensure that the secondary
cable lengths are equal if using both sets of current inputs.

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DETERMINING LINE PROPAGATION VELOCITY

The propagation velocity of a transmission line is determined by the line’s characteristic
impedance, 1/√LC. The default value for LPVEL is a good starting point, but any error impacts
fault location accuracy, especially on long transmission lines. If the length of the line is known,
this value can be experimentally determined.

Determining Propagation Velocity From a Line Energization

The best method for determining the propagation velocity of a line is closing a breaker onto the
de-energized line and generating a TW report of the operation.
To capture a TW event on breaker close, include the dropout of the open phase detector Relay
Word bits in the ER event report logic equation in the relay settings at the terminal used to
energize the line, as follows:
ER = ………….. OR F_TRIG LOPHA OR F_TRIG LOPHB OR F_TRIG LOPHC
This method works for all SEL-411L-1 firmware versions. Remember to remove these elements
from the logic equation after the desired event report has been collected so that the event buffer
does not undesirably fill up with breaker close events under normal system conditions.
Once the TW event is collected from the relay, analyze the oscillography to determine the time
stamp of the highest peak recorded on the close event. Note that transients are seen on all three
phases simultaneously due to electromagnetic coupling. This is why the highest current
magnitude is used to determine the initiating phase, whether it be positive or negative polarity.
Looking further out on the timeline for that same phase, record the arrival time of the reflection
from the open breaker at the far terminal. A line energization TW event is shown in Figure 1.
TWIA TWIB TWIC
500 Phase A Close
TWIA

0
Reflection From
–500 Phase B Close Phase B Close
500
TWIB

0
–500 1.081605 ms

–1,000 Phase C Close

250
TWIC

–250

1.0180 1.0185 1.0190 1.0195 1.0200 1.0205 1.0210

Event Time (seconds) 13:15:01.014515761

Figure 1 Traveling Waves During Line Energization

Note that a traveling wave is generated on the other phases whenever a breaker pole is closed.
This is due to coupling between the phases, and it is why the maximum transient should be used
to determine which phase initiated the event.
If there are taps on the line, reflections will be generated from them, possibly confusing the
results. A good method for distinguishing the breaker reflection from others due to line taps is to
note that the breaker-reflected wave appears as opposite polarity from the initial wavefront.

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When magnifying the Phase B waves from Figure 1, the initial wave is seen containing a large
negative spike in Figure 2.
TWIB

500

0
TWIB

–500

–1,000

–1,500

1.01853 1.01855 1.01857 1.01859 1.01861 1.01863

Event Time (seconds) 13:15:01.010614303

Figure 2 Phase B Initial Wave Peak During Line Energization

The wave reflected from the open breaker at the remote terminal shows the opposite polarity in
Figure 3.
TWIB
400

300

200

100

0
TWIB

–100

–200

–300

–400

–500
1.01940 1.01950 1.01960 1.01970 1.01980 1.01990
Event Time (seconds) 13:15:01.010614303

Figure 3 Wave Reflection From Open Breaker at Remote Terminal

If there are multiple wave reflections, you can use the default value of 0.98 for LPVEL to
calculate an estimated breaker reflection arrival time based on the known line length. This should
allow proper selection of the appropriate wave reflection to use as a time stamp.

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Once the times are established, the setting for line propagation velocity can be simply determined
by (1).
2 • TWLL
LPVEL = (1)
(T2 − T1 ) • c
where:
T1 = time of initial wavefront.
T2 = time of wave reflected from far terminal.
TWLL = line length.
c = speed of light (299,792.458 kilometers per second or 186,282.397 miles per second
based on setting LLUNIT).
If TW event reports are available from multiple line energizations, average the resultant values of
line propagation velocity before entering them as a relay setting.

Determining Line Propagation Velocity From a Fault Report

If event reports from a line energization are not available, it is possible to determine propagation
velocity from single-ended analysis of a TW fault report. The initial wave reflects back from the
far terminal, and the two time stamps can be used as shown in (2).
2 • TWLL
LPVEL = (2)
( ∆T1 + ∆T2 ) • c
where:
ΔT1 = time between initial wave and reflection from fault location.
ΔT2 = time between initial wave and reflection from breaker at far terminal.
TWLL = line length.
c = speed of light (299,792.458 kilometers per second or 186,282.397 miles per second
based on setting LLUNIT).
This method of determining propagation velocity is usually far more difficult than the use of line
energization. If there are any taps on the line or adjacent lines that are shorter in length, these
generate reflections that have to be disregarded when determining the actual transient reflected
from the far terminal.

USING TWFL WITHOUT A DIFFERENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL

As mentioned previously, the SEL-411L-1 uses a differential communications channel to
exchange the time stamps of a fault-generated traveling wave in order to report the fault location.
If the relay is in service but has no differential channel installed (or the channel is out of service
for any reason with no backup channel available), the fault location can still be determined
through hand calculation.

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Generating a Traveling Wave Time Stamp

The SEL-411L-1 generates a TW event report whenever a standard event report is generated and
saves it in nonvolatile memory. This occurs on assertion of trip or logic equation ER, as well as
by issuing the serial trigger command.
The conditions that must be met for the SEL-411L-1 to generate a TW arrival time for that event
report in the TW COMTRADE header file depend on the firmware version.
• For firmware Versions R108 and R110, Relay Word bit 87OP or COMPRM must be
asserted. If the differential communications channel is not present, 87OP will never assert
and COMPRM must be used. The simplest way to guarantee generation of TW arrival
time is to copy all logic from the TR logic equation into the DT logic equation.
This direct coupling between the hard-coded logic with the processing of the TWFL
algorithm limits flexibility. It is recommended to upgrade older SEL-411L-1 firmware in
order to take advantage of decoupled time-stamp generation and other improvements,
such as increased range of sampled frequencies.
• For firmware Version R111 and later, the SELOGIC® control equation TWFLIF (relay
setting) must evaluate to logical 1. By default, the relay only generates a TW time stamp
on relay trips, but this setting can be modified to generate a TW time stamp for any
condition you desire. Verify that all elements in TWFLIF are included in either the ER or
TR logic equations to guarantee that a TW report is produced.
There are some additional checks that must be completed before calculation of a time
stamp, the most important of which being the availability of a high-accuracy IRIG-B
clock signal (verified by the status of Relay Word bit TSOK = 1). Consult the
SEL-411L-1 Instruction Manual, available for download at http://www.selinc.com, for
more detailed information.

Calculating Fault Location

If using the time stamp generated by the relays in the TW COMTRADE header file, be sure that
the appropriate phase has been selected in the header file from both relays. Remember that
transients are generated on all three phases, even on a line-to-ground fault, due to electromagnetic
coupling between the phases.

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If the relay does not generate a traveling wave time stamp, you must use the oscillography from
the TW event reports to determine the wave arrival time. Always choose the phase exhibiting the
wave peak with the highest amplitude because this typically corresponds to the actual faulted
phase. Figure 4 shows a TW report for a C-phase-to-ground fault.
TWIA TWIB TWIC

100

75

50

25
Amperes

–25

–50

–75

42.04338 42.04340 42.04342 42.04344 42.04346 42.04348

Seconds

Figure 4 C-Phase-to-Ground TW Oscillography

Note that in the header file for the event (Figure 5), the relay selects the faulted Phase C wave
arrival time, even though the Phase B time is slightly earlier.
TWSPL indicates the phase selected by the TWFL algorithm, with 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to
Phases A, B, and C, respectively.

Figure 5 C-Phase-to-Ground Traveling Wave Header File

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Double-Ended Fault Location

If TW time stamps are available at both relays, the calculation for fault location is the same as
that used by the relay TWFL algorithm in (3).
TWLL + ( Twave1 − Twave 2 ) • LPVEL • c
TWFL = (3)
2
where:
Twave1 = time of initial wavefront at local terminal.
Twave2 = time of initial wavefront at remote terminal.
TWLL = line length.
c = speed of light (299,792.458 kilometers per second or 186,282.397 miles per second
based on setting LLUNIT).
LPVEL = line propagation velocity in per unit of the speed of light.

Single-Ended Fault Location

If only one terminal generates a TW event report, it is still possible to determine the fault
location. Once the initial wave hits the terminal at the relay location, it reflects back toward the
fault location. Because the fault point acts as a discontinuity, the wave is reflected back toward
the relay location.
It can be a challenging task to find the correct wave reflection because there will likely be
multiple wave reflections from adjacent lines, nearby transformers, and so on. Because the relay
is not able to estimate the fault location using TWs from both line terminals, it falls back to
impedance-based fault location. Even though this method is not as accurate, the impedance-based
fault location can be multiplied by the line propagation velocity to estimate what the wave arrival
time should be. That time can be used to discriminate between wave reflections in the TW report
and to determine the precise time of the wave reflected back from the fault.
Once the time of the reflected wave is ascertained, the fault location is determined simply by (4).

TWFL = LPVEL •
( Twave1 − Twave2 ) (4)
2
where:
Twave1 = time of initial wave.
Twave2 = time of reflected wave from fault location.

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OTHER POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Traveling wave event reports can be generated independently from fault events using logic
equation ER. This allows for potential applications beyond traditional fault location. The
following are a few examples:
• Capture of transients surrounding breaker contact separation. The high resolution of TW
reports could shed light on potential restrike within the breaker.
• More accurate determination of actual breaker closing time, as well as breaker pole
scatter. This can be critical with respect to settings for point-on-wave breaker control in
extra-high voltage (EHV) applications.
• Detection of a broken conductor under low load conditions where sequence voltages and
currents are not present in sufficient magnitudes to allow traditional detection methods.
• Incipient fault detection. Analysis of traveling wave events generated without a
concurrent fault-generated event report could lead to early detection of problems, such as
tracking on line insulators.
When using TWFL for other applications, keep in mind the short window of the TW
COMTRADE report. Relays with firmware Version R111 and later capture a total of
7.5 milliseconds of data. Consider this when determining when and how to trigger TW events.
The SEL-411L-1 stores approximately 20 traveling wave event reports irrespective of the relay
sample rate (report setting SRATE) and event report length (report setting LER). At lower
settings for SRATE and LER, it is possible that the TW event reports will be overwritten before
the standard events are. Remember to retrieve event data in a timely fashion to prevent the loss of
valuable information. Automated collection of events is encouraged to minimize this possibility.
To facilitate troubleshooting of any issues with traveling wave fault location, it is recommended
to include all of the associated Relay Word bits in the event report digital settings. These include
TWREC, TWRTV, TWPOST, TWWAIT, TWFLIF, FLTINT, TSOK, and DDTO.

CONCLUSION
Fault location provided by transmission line relays has been invaluable in helping to reduce
outage times and increase overall system reliability for decades. Unfortunately, factors such as
fault resistance, mutual coupling, infeed, and series capacitance can impact the accuracy of
traditional impedance-based fault location. TWFL does not suffer under these constraints and can
result in much greater accuracy and dependability than traditional fault location methods. It also
has the potential to yield information far beyond fault location. The exploration of innovative
applications of this technology is encouraged.

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Telephone: +1.509.332.1890
Fax: +1.509.332.7990
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SEL Application Guide 2015-20 Date Code 20150511