ASSIGNMENT TITLE:

PROTECTIVE RELAYS

SUBMITTED BY:
UMAR RAZZAQ ( 312861 )

SUBMISSION DATE:
27-09-2013

SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. WAQAS UMAR

PROTECTIVE RELAYS
A protective relay is a device that detects the fault and initiates the operation of the
circuit breaker to isolate the defective element from the rest of the system. The relays detect
the abnormal conditions in the electrical circuits by constantly measuring the electrical
quantities which are different under normal and fault conditions. The electrical quantities
which may change under fault conditions are voltage, current, frequency and phase angle.
Through the changes in one or more of these quantities, the faults signal their presence, type
and location to the protective relays. Having detected the fault, the relay operates to close the
trip circuit of the breaker. This results in the opening of the breaker and disconnection of the
faulty circuit.
A typical relay circuit is shown in Fig. This diagram shows one phase of 3-phase system
for simplicity. The relay circuit connections can be divided into three parts.
i. First part is the primary winding of a current transformer (C.T.) which is connected in
series with the line to be protected.
ii. Second part consists of secondary winding of C.T. and the relay operating coil.
iii. Third part is the tripping circuit which may be either A.C or D.C. It consists of a source of
supply, the trip coil of the circuit breaker and the relay stationary contacts.

When a short circuit occurs at point F on the transmission line, the current flowing in
the line increases to an enormous value. This results in a heavy current flow through the relay
coil, causing the relay to operate by closing its contacts. This in turn closes the trip circuit of the
breaker, making the circuit breaker open and isolating the faulty section from the rest of the
system. In this way, the relay ensures the safety of the circuit equipment from damage and
normal working of the healthy portion of the system.

In order to provide selectivity to the system, it is a usual practice to divide the entire
system into several protection zones. When a fault occurs in a given zone, then only the circuit
breakers within that zone will be opened. This will isolate only the faulty circuit or apparatus,
leaving the healthy circuits intact. The system can be divided into the following protection
zones:
i. Generators
ii. Low-Tension Switchgear
iii. Transformers
iv. High-Tension Switchgear
v. Transmission lines

It may be seen in Figure that there is certain amount of overlap between the adjacent
protection zones. For a failure within the region where two adjacent zones overlap, more
breakers will be opened than the minimum necessary to disconnect the faulty section. But if
there were no overlap, a failure in the region between zones would not lie in either region and,
therefore, no breaker would be opened. For this reason, a certain amount of overlap is
provided between the adjacent zones.

OVER CURRENT RELAY:Over Current Relay has a single I/p in the form of ac current while the o/p of relay is a
normally open contact which changes its state whenever the value of actuating current
increases from the pick up value preset according to the requirement.There are two settings,

plug settings and time settings. Time setting determine operating time of the relay and plug
settings are used to set the pick up vlue of the current.

PSM =I relay/PS
Where I relay is the current through the relay operating coil and Ps is the plug setting for
pickup value. The value of PSM tells us about the severity of current as seen by the relay. A PSM
less than one means that normal load current is flowing .At PSM greater than one the relay is
supposed to pick up. Higher values of PSM indicate how serious the fault is.

INSTANTANEOUS OVER CURRENT RELAY:An instantaneous relay is one in which no intentional time delay is provided. In this case,
the relay contacts are closed immediately after current in the relay coil exceeds the minimum
calibrated value. Figure shows an instantaneous solenoid type of relay. Although there will be a
short time interval between the instant of pickup and the closing of relay contacts, no
intentional time delay has been added.

The instantaneous relays have operating time less than 01 second. The instantaneous
relay is effective only where the impedance between the relay and source is small compared to
the protected section impedance. The operating time of instantaneous relay is sometimes
expressed in cycles based on the power-system frequency e.g. one-cycle would be 1/50 second

in a 50-cycle system. Such a relay has only the pickup settings and does not have any time
settings. Otherwise there is no difference in this and over current relay.

INVERSE TIME OVER CURRENT RELAY:An inverse-time relay is one in which the operating time is approximately inversely
proportional to the magnitude of the actuating quantity. At values of current less than pickup,
the relay never operates. At higher values, the time of operation of the relay decreases steadily
with the increase of current. The inverse-time delay can be achieved by associating mechanical
accessories with relays.
The inverse-time characteristic can also be obtained by connecting a time-limit fuse in
parallel with the trip coil terminals of the relay. The shunt path formed by time-limit fuse is of
negligible impedance as compared with the relatively high impedance of the trip coil.
Therefore, so long as the fuse remains intact, it will divert practically the whole secondary
current of CT from the trip oil. When the secondary current exceeds the current carrying
capacity of the fuse, the fuse will blow and the whole current will pass through the trip coil,
thus opening the circuit breaker. The time lag between the incidence of excess current and the
tripping of the breaker is governed by the characteristics of the fuse. Careful selection of the
fuse can give the desired inverse-time characteristics, although necessity for replacement after
operation is a disadvantage.

IDMT (INVERSE DEFINITE MINIMUM TIME OVER CURRENT RELAY):In this type of relay, there is a definite time elapse between the instant of pickup and
the closing of relay contacts. This particular time setting is independent of the amount of
current through the relay coil; being the same for all values of current in excess of the pickup
value. Practically all inverse-time relays are also provided with definite minimum time feature
in order that the relay may never become instantaneous in its action for very long overloads.
The characteristic is inverse in the initial part which tends to a definite minimum
operating time as the current becomes very high. The reason for the operating time, becoming
definite minimum at higher values of current.

PROTECTION OF THREE PHASE FEEDER:-

DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION:Differential protection is based on the fact that any fault within an electrical equipment
would cause the current entering it to be different from that leaving it .Thus we can compare
the two currents whether in magnitude or in phase or both and issue a trip signal if the
difference exceeds the predetermined set value .This method of detecting faults is very
attractive when both ends of apparatus are physically located near each other. A typical
situation, where this is true is in the case of a Transformer or generator or a bus bar.

BUCHOLZ RELAY:Buchholz Relay is a safety device mounted on some oil-filled Power Transformers and
reactors, equipped with an external overhead oil reservoir called a conservator. The Buchholz

Relay is used as a protective device sensitive to the effects of dielectric failure inside the
equipment in case of large internal faults.
When a large internal fault such as a winding to core fault occurs on the transformer
winding, there is severe heating of the oil. This causes gases to be liberated from the oil around
350 degree Celsius. This causes a buildup of oil pressure causing oil to rush into the
conservator. A vane is placed in the path of surge of oil between the transformer and the
conservator. A set of contacts operated by this vane is used as trip contacts of Bucholz relay.
This output from Bucholz relay is used to trip transformer.
Bucholz relay also has another set of contacts operated by a float. These contacts stay
open when the transformer tank is filled with oil but in case of leakage of oil or decomposition
of oil the floats sinks causing the contacts to close. This loss of oil results in rise of temperature
of transformer but does not initiate immediate tripping. So these contacts are always
connected to an alarm which alerts the operator.

RELAY TIMING:An important characteristic of a relay is its time of operation. By the time of operation
is meant length of the time from the instant when the actuating element is energized to the
instant when the relay contacts are closed. Sometimes it is desirable and necessary to control
the operating time of a relay. For this purpose, mechanical accessories are used with relays.

IMPORTANT TERMS:It is desirable to define and explain some important terms much used in connection with
relays.
PICK-UP CURRENT:It is the minimum current in the relay coil at which the relay starts to operate. So long as
the current in the relay is less than the pick-up value, the relay does not operate and the
breaker controlled by it remains in the closed position. However, when the relay coil current is
equal to or greater than the pickup value, the relay operates to energize the trip coil which
opens the circuit breaker.
CURRENT SETTING:It is often desirable to adjust the pick-up current to any required value. This is known as
current setting and is usually achieved by the use of tapings on the relay operating coil. The
taps are brought out to a plug bridge as shown in Figure. The plug bridge permits to alter the
number of turns on the relay coil. This changes the torque on the disc and hence the time of
operation of the relay. The values assigned to each tap are expressed in terms of percentage
full-load rating of C.T. with which the relay is associated and represents the value above which
the disc commences to rotate and finally closes the trip circuit.

Pick-up current = Rated secondary current of C.T. x Current setting

For example, suppose that an overcurrent relay having current setting of 125% is
connected to a supply circuit through a current transformer of 400/5. The rated secondary
current of C.T. is 5 amperes. Therefore, the pick-up value will be 25% more than 5 A i.e. 5 x 125
= 625 A. It means that with above current setting, the relay will actually operate for a relay coil
current equal to or greater than 625 A. The current plug settings usually range from 50% to
200% in steps of 25% for overcurrent relays and 10% to 70% in steps of 10% for earth leakage
relays. The desired current setting is obtained by inserting a plug between the jaws of a bridge
type socket at the tap value required.
PLUG-SETTING MULTIPLIER (P.S.M.):It is the ratio of fault current in relay coil to the pick-up current i.e.
P.S.M. = Fault current in relay coil
Pick - up current
= ____________Fault current in relay coil_________
Rated secondary current of CT x Current setting
For example, suppose that a relay is connected to a 400/5 current transformer and set at 150%.
With a primary fault current of 2400 A, the plug-setting multiplier can be calculated as under:
Pick-up value = Rated secondary current of CT x Current setting
= 5 x 15 = 75 A
Fault current in relay coil
= _2400 x 5_
400
= 30 A
P.S.M.
= 30/75 = 4

TIME-SETTING MULTIPLIER:A relay is generally provided with control to adjust the time of operation. This
adjustment is known as time-setting multiplier. The time-setting dial is calibrated from 0 to 1 in
steps of 0.05 sec. These figures are multipliers to be used to convert the time derived from
time/P.S.M. curve into the actual operating time. Thus if the time setting is 01 and the time
obtained from the time/P.S.M. curve is 3 seconds, then actual relay operating time = 3 x 01 =
03 second. For instance, in an induction relay, the time of operation is controlled by adjusting
the amount of travel of the disc from its reset position to its pickup position. This is achieved by
the adjustment of the position of a movable backstop which controls the travel of the disc and
thereby varies the time in which the relay will close its contacts for given values of fault current.
A so-called time dial with an evenly divided scale provides this adjustment. The actual time of
operation is calculated by multiplying the time setting multiplier with the time obtained from
time/P.S.M. curve of the relay.

TIME/P.S.M. CURVE:Figure shows the curve between time of operation and plug setting multiplier of a
typical relay. The horizontal scale is marked in terms of plug-setting multiplier and represents
the number of times the relay current is in excess of the current setting. The vertical scale is
marked in terms of the time required for relay operation. If the P.S.M. is 10, then the time of
operation (from the curve) is 3 seconds.
The actual time of operation is obtained by multiplying this time by the time-setting multiplier.

It is evident from Figure that for lower values of overcurrent, time of operation varies inversely
with the current but as the current approaches 20 times full-load value, the operating time of
relay tends to become constant. This feature is necessary in order to ensure discrimination on
very heavy fault currents flowing through sound feeders.

CALCULATION OF RELAY OPERATING TIME:In order to calculate the actual relay operating time, the following things must be known:
i. Time/P.S.M. curve
ii. Current setting
iii. Time setting
iv. Fault current
v. Current transformer ratio
The procedure for calculating the actual relay operating time is as follows:
i. Convert the fault current into the relay coil current by using the current transformer
ratio.
ii. Express the relay current as a multiple of current setting i.e. calculate the P.S.M.
iii. From the Time/P.S.M. curve of the relay, read off the time of operation for the
calculated P.S.M.

iv.

Determine the actual time of operation by multiplying the above time of the relay by
time setting multiplier in use.

DISTANCE OR IMPEDANCE RELAYS:There is a group of relays in which the operation is governed by the ratio of applied
voltage to current in the protected circuit. Such relays are called distance or impedance relays
and are used for protection of Transmission lines. In an impedance relay, the torque produced
by a current element is opposed by the torque produced by a voltage element. The relay will
operate when the ratio V/I is less than a predetermined value. Figure illustrates the basic
principle of operation of an impedance relay. The voltage element of the relay is excited
through a potential transformer (P.T.) from the line to be protected. The current element of the
relay is excited from a current transformer (C.T.) in series with the line. The portion AB of the
line is the protected zone. Under normal operating conditions, the impedance of the protected
zone is ZL. The relay is so designed that it closes its contacts whenever impedance of the
protected section falls below the pre-determined value i.e. ZL in this case.

Now suppose a fault occurs at point F1 in the protected zone. The impedance Z (= *V/I)
between the point where the relay is installed and the point of fault will be less than ZL and
hence the relay operates. Should the fault occur beyond the protected zone (say point F2), the
impedance Z will be greater than ZL and the relay does not operate.
Types:A distance or impedance relay is essentially an ohmmeter and operates whenever the
impedance of the protected zone falls below a pre-determined value. There are two types of
distance relays in use for the protection of power supply, namely;
(i) Definite-distance relay which operates instantaneously for fault up to a pre-determined
distance from the relay.
(ii) Time-distance relay in which the time of operation is proportional to the distance of fault
from the relay point. A fault nearer to the relay will operate it earlier than a fault farther away
from the relay.

THERMAL RELAYS:Thermal relays work on the principle of unequal linear expansion of two different metals
as a result of heat generated by the passage of fault current. Figure (a) shows a bimetallic relay
consisting of strips AB and CD of two different materials. Both the strips get heated up by the
same amount but are deformed by different amounts. Figure (b) shows the relay operation. The
material with higher coefficient of expansion is at the outer surface of the curve while that with
lower coefficient is at the inner surface.

Since the heating effect is proportional to the square of the current, the energy
dissipated is given by (I2R)t where t is the time for which the current flows through the relay.
As accumulation of sufficient amount of heat depends on thermal inertia of relay, which is
rather large, so these relays are used where very quick operation is not required. A typical
application of thermal relay is to provide protection against prolonged overheating of motors.
The thermal overload relay lets the motor supply overload for a preset amount of time before
tripping it off.

REVERSE POWER RELAY:There are situations when directional relays have to be used under non fault conditions.
Such an application of directional relays exists in reverse power protection of a turbo

alternator. Reverse power is applied when there is no collapse in system voltage. Directional
relays for short circuit protection are connected in such a way that they develop maximum
operating torque under fault conditions. Reverse power relays on the other hand are connected
in such a way that they develop maximum torque when direction of power flow reverses.

FREQUENCY RELAY:Frequency Relay is used for detection of increasing or decreasing frequency in AC

systems up to 400V. Frequency relays monitor overshooting and undershooting against the set
frequency thresholds in 50 Hz or 60 Hz systems. They mostly have the following properties:
i. It is an electronic measuring relay.
ii. It is used for monitoring frequency.
iii. No additional supply voltage is required for frequency relay.
iv. It is connected with an alarm relay which in turn gives signal to alarm LED.