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PACWorldmagazine:GeneratorProtectionCoordination

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GeneratorProtectionCoordination
Author:
CharlesJ.Mozina,USA
2003BlackoutGeneratorTrippingsNERCAnalysis
Therecordofgeneratortrips(290unitstotaling52,743.9MW)duringthe2003blackoutincluded13
typesofgeneratorprotectionrelayfunctionsthatoperatedtoinitiategeneratortripping.Alistofthe
protectionelementsthattrippedaresummarizedinFigure1andinclude:generatorsystembackup
protection,undervoltage,lossoffield,overvoltageandinadvertentgeneratorenergizingprotection.Of
the290trippings,96areunknownbyrelayingorcontrolsandcouldnotbeidentifiedfromthemonitoring
available.Thereisnoinformationregardingwhichofthe290trippingswereappropriatefortheBulk
ElectricSystem(BES)conditions,andwhichwerenuisancetrips.Theabovefactorshavemotivated
NERCtobecomeproactiveinaddressingthecoordinationofgeneratorandBPSprotection.
CoordinationofGeneratorandTransmissionSystemProtection
SixrelayfunctionsunderlinedinFigure1accountedforthevastmajorityoftrippingsandarediscussedin
thisarticle.
SystemBackupProtection(21&51V):TheDevice21relaymeasuresimpedancederivedfromthe
quotientofgeneratorterminalvoltagedividedbygeneratorstatorcurrent.Thisrelayfunctionprovides
backupprotectionforsystemfaultsthathavenotbeenclearedbytransmissionsystemprotectiverelays.
TheDevice51V,VoltageControlledorVoltageRestrainedOvercurrent,Protections,isanothermethodof
providingbackupforsystemfaults.TheNERCwhitepaperstatesthatitisneverappropriatetoenable
bothDevice51VandDevice21withinageneratordigitalrelayandthatthe21impedancefunctionis
muchpreferredwhencoordinationiswithtransmissionlineimpedancerelays.
Therearetwotypesof51Vrelays:VoltageControlledandVoltageRestrained.Theseovercurrent
protectiverelaysmeasuregeneratorterminalvoltageandgeneratorstatorcurrent.Itsfunctionisto
providebackupprotectionforsystemfaultswhenthepowersystemtowhichthegeneratorisconnected
isprotectedbytimeovercurrentprotections.Asstatedabove,thepreferreddeviceforprotectionof
generatorsthatareinterconnectedtothebulkpowertransmissionsystemisthe21devicebecausethe
protectiononthetransmissionsystemistypicallycomprisedof21relays.Thecoordinationbetweenthese
relayscanbemosteffectivelydonebecausetheserelayshavethesameoperatingcharacteristicsi.e.,
theybothmeasureimpedance.The51Vbackuprelayisdesignedforapplicationwherethesystemto
whichthegeneratorisconnectedisprotectedbytimeovercurrentrelaying.Becauseofthecost
differencesinelectromechanicaltechnology,the51Vrelayswereusedtoprovidebackupprotectionin
placeofthemoreexpensive21relayswhichcontributedtothenumberofmisoperationsthatoccurred
duringthe2003EastCoastblackout.
Figure2showsaonelineconnectiondiagramfortheserelays,whicharesettorespondtofaultsonthe
transmissionsystemandtheirtrippingisdelayedtoallowthetransmissionsystemprotectiontooperate
first.Thedegreetowhichtherelayscanbesettorespondtotransmissionsystemfaultsislimiteddueto
loadabilityconsiderations.Thegeneratorsteadystateloadcapabilityisdescribedbythegenerator
capabilitycurvethatplotstheMWMVARcapability.
The21ImpedanceRelayoperatesbymeasuringimpedance.Thegeneratorcapabilitymustbeplottedon
therelayoperatingimpedanceplottodeterminewhattheloadabilityisinrelationshiptotherelay
settings.Figure4explainsthisconversion.TheCTandVTratios(Rc/Rv)convertprimaryohmsto
secondaryquantitiesthataresetwithintherelayandKVistheratedvoltageofthegenerator.
Typically,thephasedistancerelaysreachbeginsatthegeneratorterminalsandideallyextendstothe
lengthofthelongestlineoutofthepowerplanttransmissionsubstation.Somefactorsimpactingthe
settingsareasfollows:
1.Infeeds:Apparentimpedanceduetomultipleinfeedswillrequirelargerreachestocoverlonglines
andwilloverreachadjacentshorterlines.Theapparentimpedanceeffectoccursbecausethegeneratoris
onlyoneofseveralsourcesoffaultcurrentforalinefault.Thiscausestheimpedancevalueofthe
faultedlinetoappearfurtherawayandrequiresalargerimpedancesettingtocoverfaultsattheremote
endoftheline.
2.TransmissionSystemProtection:Ifthetransmissionlinesexitingthepowerplanthaveproperprimary
andbackupprotection,aswellaslocalbreakerfailure,theneedtosetthe21generatorbackuprelayto
respondtofaultsattheendofthelongestlinesismitigatedsincelocalbackuphasbeenprovidedonthe
transmissionsystem.
3.21RelayLoadabilityTest(IEEE):Settingsshouldbecheckedtoensurethemaximumload
impedance(ZLoad=kV2/MVAG)atthegeneratorsratedpowerfactorangle(RPFA)doesnotencroach
intothe21relaysetting.Atypicalmarginof150200%(50to67%ofcapabilitycurve)attheratedpower
factorofthegeneratorisrecommendedbyIEEEC37.1022006toavoidtrippingduringpowerswing
conditions.Asecondcriteriaisamarginof80to90%underthegeneratorcapabilitycurveattherelay
maximumtorqueanglesettingofthe21relay.Duetorecentblackoutscausedbyvoltagecollapse,the
21distancesettingshouldbecheckedforproperoperatingmarginswhenthegeneratorissubjectedto
lowsystemvoltage.Notethattheimpedanceisreducedbythesquareofthevoltage.Systemvoltage
underemergencyconditionscanreducetoplannedlevelsof90to94%ofnominalratings.Utility
transmissionplannersshouldbeconsultedforworstcaseemergencyvoltagelevels.Inalmostallcases,
theloadabilityconsiderationslimitthereachofthegenerator21backuprelaysetting.

21RelayLoadabilityTest(NERC)
TheNERCwhitepaperhoweversuggestsamorerestrictiveloadabilitytestbasedondataobtainedand

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PACWorldmagazine:GeneratorProtectionCoordination
analyzedforthe2003blackoutwheretheimpactoffieldforcingbythegeneratorAVRcontrolresultedin
ahighVaroutputduringsystemlowvoltage.ModernAVRcontrolallowsfieldcurrentaboverating(160
230%)forashortperiodoftime(510seconds)inanefforttoraisesystemvoltage.
Thisresultinarelativehighoutputofreactivepower(Mvars)atthesametimethegeneratorrealpower
(Mw)isnearnormalandresultinanimpedanceanglethattendstomoveintothe21relaytrip
characteristic.
NERCsuggestsasinglesetpointthatshouldbeusedtocheckthe21settingduringBPSextremestress
whenfieldforcingistakingplace.Thetwoloadpointisasfollows:
#1)MVA=1.0puMw+J(1.5puMw)Mvars
Notethatthereactivepower(Mvars)isdefinedintermofgeneratorMWratingwhere1.0puistheMW
ratingofthegenerator.ThemethodsoutlineinFigure4canbeusedtoconverttheMwandMvarvalues
toimpedanceandtheycanbeplottedonanRXdiagramofthe21relaysetting.
Figure3showsboththeplotof
bothIEEEandNERCloadability
testonanRXdiagramfora
typicallargegenerator.Itcanbe
seenthattheNERCloadability
testismuchmorerestrictiveand
resultsina21settingthatwillbe
morerestrictiveinrespondingto
faultonthepowersystem.With
verylimitedbackupfor
transmissionsystemfaultsthe
transmissionsystemline
protectionwillneedtohave
delineatedprimaryandbackupas
wellaslocalbreakerfailuresono
singlecontingencyfailurewill
requireremotebackuptrippingby
thegenerator21protectionwhichhaslimitedresponsetoremotetransmissionfaults.BothIEEEand
NERCrequirethatthetimedelayforthe21relayshouldbesetlongerthanthetransmissionlinesbackup
andbreakerfailureprotectionwithappropriatemarginforpropercoordinationandbesetsothatitdoes
notoperateonstablepowerswings.

51VVoltageOvercurrentRelayTherearetwotypesof51VrelaysVoltageControlled(51VC)and
VoltageRestrained(51VR).Theseovercurrentprotectiverelaysmeasuregeneratorterminalvoltageand
generatorstatorcurrent.Theuseofavoltagecontrolisnecessaryduetothefactthatthegenerator
whensubjectedtoafaultconditionwillgothroughitsgeneratordecrementswithshortcircuitcurrent
reducingtonearorbelowfullloadcurrentovertime.Figure5illustratesthiscurrentdecay.The
impedanceofthegeneratorchanges(Xd,Xd,Xs)tohighervalueswithtimeasshowninFigure5and
thespeedofdecayisdeterminedbythegeneratorfieldtimeconstants(Td).Sincethe51Vrelayneedto
becoordinatedwithsystembackupprotectionaswellasbreakerfailurethelevelofcurrentatthetimeof
trippingisreducedsubstantiallyfromthecurrentattheinceptionofthefault.Thustheneedforavoltage
inputtoprovidethesensitivityrequiredtodetectafaultinbackuptime.
Whenthe51VCvoltagecontrolledrelayissubjectedtoafaultthevoltageelementwillenablethe
overcurrentelementpermittingoperationofthesensitivetimeovercurrentfunction.Theovercurrent
pickuplevelwillgenerallybesetbelowthegeneratorfaultcurrentlevelasdeterminedbysynchronous
reactance(Xs).Thevoltagefunctionmustbesetsuchthatitwillnotenabletheovercurrentelementfor
extremesystemcontingencies.The51VCmustbecoordinatedwiththelongestclearingtime,including
breakerfailure,foranyofthetransmissionbackupprotectionincludingbreakerfailure.Atimemarginof
0.5secondsisrecommended.Avoltagesettingof0.75perunitorlessisrecommendedbytheNERC
documenttopreventimproperoperationduringsystemlowvoltageconditionsthatarerecoverable
events.Typicallythepickupvalueoftheovercurrentrelayisdeterminedbyusingthesynchronous
reactance(Xs)forthegeneratorimpedancewhencalculatingthefaultonthesystemforwhichtherelay
shouldoperatetoprovideproperbackupprotection.Thisprovidesthelowestcurrentonthegenerator
decrementcurveshowninFigure5.Forcoordinationwithotherovercurrentordistancerelays
transmissionsystemtheminimumgeneratorimpedance(Xd)isusedtoprovidethemaximumfault
currentfromthegeneratorforcoordinationwithtransmissionsystemrelaying.
The51VRrelaychangeditspickupwithterminalvoltage.Figure6showsthetimeversustherelay
pickuprelationship.Forthe51VRfunction,thevoltagefunctionwillnotpreventoperationforsystem
loadingconditionsunderlowsystemvoltagecondition.Theovercurrentfunctionmustbesetabove
generatorfullloadcurrent.IEEEC37.102recommendstheovercurrentfunctiontobeset150%above
fullloadcurrent.TheNERCdocumentsstatesthatthe75%voltagetheovercurrentpickupvalueshould
begreaterthanthegeneratorfullloadcurrent.Witha150%overcurrentpickupatratedvoltagethe
marginovergeneratorratedloadat75%generatorterminalvoltageis113%.

UndervoltageProtection(27)
Undervoltage(Device27)trippingofgeneratorswasthesinglebiggestidentifiablecauseofgenerator

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PACWorldmagazine:GeneratorProtectionCoordination
trippingduringthe2003blackout.Thedevice27measuresgeneratorterminalvoltage.IEEEStandard
C37.102IEEEGuideforACGeneratorProtectiondoesnotrecommenduseofthe27functionfor
tripping,butonlytoalarmtoalertoperatorstotakenecessaryactions.Undervoltagealarmsas
experiencedbyhydro,fossil,combustionandnuclearunitsareanindicatorofpossibleabnormal
operatingconditionssuchasexcitationproblemsandthermalissueswithintheunit.Otheralarmsfrom
RTDsandhydrogenpressurearebetterindicatorsofthermalconcerns.Iffunction27trippingisusedfor
anunmannedfacilitythesettingsmustcoordinatewiththestressedsystemconditionof0.85perunit
voltageandtimedelayssettoallowforclearingofsystemfaultsbytransmissionsystemprotection,
includingbreakerfailuretimes.Thetimedelayrecommendedis10secondsorlonger.

Manufacturersrecommendoperatoractionuptoandincludingreductioninunitoutputratherthanaunit
trip.Generatorsareusuallydesignedtooperatecontinuouslyataminimumvoltageof95%ofitsrated
voltage,whiledeliveringratedpoweratratedfrequency.Operatingageneratorwithterminalvoltage
lowerthan95%ofitsratedvoltagemayresultinundesirableeffectssuchasreductioninstabilitylimit,
importofexcessivereactivepowerfromthegridtowhichitisconnected,andmalfunctioningofvoltage
sensitivedevicesandequipment.Lowgeneratorvoltagecanaffecttheplantauxiliarysystemsupplied
fromthegeneratorauxiliarytransformer.Auxiliarysystemsatsteamplantscontainalargenumberof
motors,whichareconstantKVAdevicesthatcanbeoverloadedduetolowvoltage.Thelowertheir
operatingvoltage,themorecurrentthemotordraws.Thus,plantauxiliarysystemmotorscanandhave
trippedviatheirthermalprotectionforlowgeneratorterminalvoltage.Generatorundervoltagerelays
shouldnotbeusedtoprotectthesemotors.Thethermalprotectiononthemotorsshouldbethe
protectionelementthatprotectsthesemotorsfromoverload.

Atnuclearplants,thevoltageontheIEbussesistypicallymonitoredbyundervoltagerelays.If1E
voltagedropstoapointwheretheplantcannotbesafelyshutdown,thedieselsarestartedandtheIE
loadstransferstothediesels.Theplantthenmustbeshutdownifsystemvoltagedoesnotreturnto
normal.Thenuclearplantshouldprovidethetransmissionsystemoperatorthelevelofthe1Eseparation
voltagesothatplanningstudiescanrecognizethepossibletrippingofthenuclearplantduetolow
systemvoltage.
InadvertentEnergizingGeneratorProtection(27/50):Inadvertentoraccidentalenergizingofoffline
generatorshasoccurredoftenenoughtowarrantinstallationofdedicatedprotectiontodetectthis
condition.Operatingerrors,breakerheadflashovers,controlcircuitmalfunctions,oracombinationof
thesecauseshasresultedingeneratorsbeingaccidentallyenergizedwhileoffline.
Theproblemisparticularlyprevalentonlargegeneratorsthatarecommonlyconnectedthrougha
disconnectswitchtoeitheraringbusorbreakerandahalfbusconfiguration.Figure7illustratesthistype
ofbusconfiguration.Thesebusconfigurationsallowthehighvoltagegeneratorbreakerstobereturnedto
serviceasbusbreakers,toclosearingbusorbreakerandahalfbaywhenthemachineisoffline.The
generator,underthiscondition,isisolatedfromthepowersystemthroughonlythehighvoltage
disconnectswitch.Whileinterlocksarecommonlyusedtopreventaccidentalclosureofthisdisconnect
switch,anumberofgeneratorshavebeendamagedorcompletelydestroyedwheninterlockswere
inadvertentlybypassedorfailedandtheswitchaccidentallyclosed.Whenageneratoronturninggearis
energizedfromthepowersystem(threephasesource),itwillacceleratelikeaninductionmotor.The
generatorterminalvoltageandthecurrentareafunctionofthegenerator,transformer,andsystem
impedances.
Dependingonthesystem,thiscurrentmaybeashighas3puto4puandaslowas1puto2puofthe
machinerating.Whilethemachineisaccelerating,highcurrentsinducedintotherotormaycause
significantdamageinonlyamatterofseconds.Ifthegeneratorisaccidentallybackfedfromthestation
auxiliarytransformer,thecurrentmaybeaslowas0.1puto0.2pu.Whilethisisofconcernandhas
occurred,therehavenotbeenreportsofextensivegeneratordamagefromthistypeofenergizing
however,auxiliarytransformershavefailed.
Themostcommonlyinstalledschemetoprovideprotectionforinadvertentenergizingprotectionisa
voltagecontrolledovercurrentschemeshowninFigure8.Whentheunitisremovedfromservice,an
undervoltagerelay(27)operatesafteratimedelay(pickuptimersetting)setlongerthanfaultclearing
timefortransmissionsystembackupfaultstoarmaninstantaneousovercurrentrelay(50).Inmany
casestheovercurrentrelay(50)issetbelowgeneratorfullloadtoprovidethenecessarysensitivityto
detectinadvertentenergizing.ThelogicshowninFigure8providesrapiddetectionofaninadvertent
energizingevent.Thevoltagerelaypickupmustbesetlowerthananysteadystateemergencylow
voltageconditionthatcanoccurwhenthesystemisunderextremestressconditions.Whenthegenerator
returnstoserviceandthevoltagewillexceedthe27relaysettingtheschemeisautomaticallyremoved
fromserviceafteranappropriatetimedelay(dropouttimersetting).Theinadvertentenergizing
protectionmustonlybeinservicewhenthegeneratorisoutofserviceanddisabledwhenthegenerator
isonline.DuringtheAugust14,2003blackoutevent,sevenunitsusingthisschemeoperatedonin

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PACWorldmagazine:GeneratorProtectionCoordination
servicegeneratorsduetodepressedvoltagebelowthe27settingandunnecessarilytrippedthoseunits.It
isbelievedthattheseunitshadtheundervoltagesupervisionsetabovetherecommendedsetpointof
lessthan50%ofgeneratorratedvoltage.
LossofFieldProtection(40)
Partialortotallossoffieldonasynchronousgeneratorisdetrimentaltoboththegeneratorandthe
powersystemtowhichitisconnected.Theconditionmustbequicklydetectedandthegeneratorisolated
fromthesystemtoavoidgeneratordamage.Alossoffieldconditionwhichisnotdetectedcanhavea
devastatingimpactonthepowersystembycausingbothalossofreactivepowersupport,aswellas
creatingasubstantialreactivepowerdrain.Thisreactivedrain,whenthefieldislostonalargegenerator,
cancauseasubstantialsystemvoltagedip.Whenthegeneratorlosesitsfield,itoperatesasan
inductiongeneratorcausingtherotortemperaturetorapidlyincreaseduetotheslipinducededdy
currentsintherotor.Thehighreactivecurrentdrawnbythegeneratorfromthepowersystemcan
overloadthestatorwindings.
Therearetwowidelyappliedmethodsfordetectingageneratorlossoffieldcondition.Atwozone
distancerelayapproachisusedinbothschemestoprovidehighspeeddetection.Figure9illustratesboth
approaches.Thezone2impedancecirclediameterissettoequaltothegeneratorsynchronous
reactance(Xd)(or1.1timesXdinoneapproach)andisoffsetsdownwardbyhalfofthegenerator
transientreactance(Xd).Adirectionalelementisusedinoneapproachsothezone2unitwillnot
operateforforwarddirectionfaults.Theoperationofthezone2elementisdelayedapproximately3045
cyclestopreventmisoperationduringastabletransientpowerswing.Thezone1usedinboth
approacheshasaslighttimedelayof5to6cyclesandisusedforhighspeeddetectionofmoresevere
lossoffieldconditions.Thelossoffieldsettingmustbecheckedforcoordinationwiththegenerator
capabilitycurve,AVRunderexcitationlimitersettingandnottripforstablepowerswings.Figure9
illustratesthiscoordinationonanRXimpedancediagram.
Systemstabilitystudiesshouldbeconductedtoseeiftheabovetimedelaysaresufficienttoprevent
inadvertenttrippingduringstablepowerswingsforbothsteadystateandtransientstabilityconditions.
NERCdocumentrecommendsthatthelossoffieldfunctionsettingsmustbeprovidedtothePlanning
CoordinatorbytheGeneratorOwnersothatthePlanningCoordinatorcandetermineifanystableswings
encroachlongenoughinthelossoffieldfunctiontripzonetocauseaninadvertenttrip.ThePlanning
Coordinatorhastheresponsibilitytoperiodicallyverifythatpowersystemmodificationsdonotresultin
stableswingsenteringthetripzone(s)ofthelossoffieldfunctioncausinganinadvertenttrip.If
permanentmodificationstothepowersystemcausethestableswingimpedancetrajectorytoenterthe
lossoffieldcharacteristic,thenthePlanningCoordinatormustnotifyGeneratorOwnerthatnewlossof
fieldfunctionsettingsarerequired.ThePlanningCoordinatorshouldprovidethenewstableswing
impedancetrajectorysothatthenewlossoffieldsettingswillaccommodatestableswingswithadequate
timedelay.ThenewsettingsmustbeprovidedtothePlanningCoordinatorfromtheGeneratorOwner
forfutureperiodicmonitoring.Inalimitednumberofcases,conditionsmayexistthatcoordinationcannot
beachievedforeverygeneratingunit.Insuchcasescoordinationmaybedeemedacceptableiftripping
doesnotcascadeandislimitedtoasmallamountofgeneration(asapercentageoftheloadinthe
affectedportionofthesystem).Protectionmodelsmustbeaddedtosystemmodelsforanyunitsfor
whichcoordinationcannotbeobtained.
OvervoltageProtection(59):Thedevice59overvoltageprotectionusesthemeasurementofgenerator
terminalvoltage.Overvoltageprotectionisforpreventinganinsulationbreakdownfromasustained
overvoltage.Thegeneratorinsulationsystemiscapableofoperatingat105%overvoltagecontinuously.
Beyond105%,sustainedovervoltageconditionshouldnormallynotoccurforageneratorwithahealthy
voltageregulator,butitmaybecausedbythefollowingcontingencies:(1)defectiveAVRoperation,(2)
manualoperationwithoutavoltageregulator,and(3)suddenloadloss.Figure10showstheconnection
ofthe59relayonatypicalgenerator.
Therearenocoordinationrequirementswiththetransmissionprotectiverelaysforsystemfaultsgiventhe
highvoltagesetpointand/orlongdelay:tensofsecondsorlonger.Additionally,mostsystemfault
conditionswouldcauseareductioninvoltage.Themisoperationthatoccurredduringthe2003blackout
appearedtobecausedbysettingtherelaywithtooshortatimedelaysuchthatshorttimesystem
overvoltageconditionsduringtheeventtriggeredthetrippings.ThefollowingisaNERCexampleof
settingthe59Tand59Ifunctiontimedelays.
Step1VNominal=120V
Step259T=105%of110%ofVNominal=1.05x1.10x120V=139V(1.155pu),withatimedelayof
10secondsorlonger
Step359I=105%of130%of=1.05x1.30x120V=184V(=1.365pu)withnotimedelay
Itissuggestedthatforcreditablecontingencieswhereovervoltagemayoccur,thatallshuntreactorsnear
thegeneratorbeplacedinserviceorallcapacitorbanksnearthegeneratorberemovedfromserviceprior
tothe10secondtriplimitonthegenerator.OvervoltagecanalsooccurwhenEHVtransmissionlines
exitingtheplantaretrippedonlyattheterminalremotefromthegeneratingstation.Theseunloaded
lineshavehighshuntcapacitancethatcanraisegeneratorterminalvoltage.
Figure11providesanexampleofavoltageregulatorresponsetoloadrejectionwheretransmissionline
protectionhastrippedtocauseasuddenlossofgeneratorload.Theregulatorcausesthegeneratorto
operatebacknearnominalvoltageinabouttwoseconds,wellbeforeanyactionbytheovervoltage
protection.

CoordinationofGeneratorProtectionwithGeneratorControl
InNorthAmerica,theNERCrequiresthatsystemoperatorshavepositiveassurancethatgenerator
excitationcontrolsareinserviceandthatspecifiedgeneratorreactivepowerisavailable.Assuranceof
thiscapabilityrequiresperiodictestingoftheAVRcontroltoensureitisoperatingproperlyandthatit
coordinateswiththeprotectionsystem.NERCisalsorequiringspecificdataforgeneratorsthatare
interconnectedtothepowergridandaboveaspecificMVAsize(insomecases,assmallas10MVA).
Thisinformationincludes:
Reactivecapabilityrangeofthegenerator

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PACWorldmagazine:GeneratorProtectionCoordination
Excitationsystemmodelswithdatavalidatedbytests
Generatorcharacteristicsandsynchronous,transientandsubtransientreactancesthatareverified
bytestdata
Excitationlimitersthataremodeledandverified
Generatorprotectionrelaysthatareverifiedthattheycoordinatewithexcitationlimiters.(The
methodsfordoingthiscoordinationaredescribedinthisarticle)
Anexcitationsystemthatmustbeoperatedintheautomaticmode
ForgeneratorsoperatinginthewesternUnitedStates,apowersystem(PPS)thatmustbe
enabledandaverifiedmodelprovided

TheseNERCrequirementspointouttheimportanceofthegeneratorsAVRcontrolandassociated
excitationsystemsinhelpingavoidsystemblackouts.Duringsystemstressconditions,theAVRlimitsare
frequentlychallengedwhensystemconditionssuchasvoltagecollapseorsteadystatestabilitylimits
mightbeapproached.TheAVRcontrollimitersplayanimportantroleinmakingsurethegeneratoris
operatedwithinitscapabilitywhileprovidingshorttimepositiveandnegativefieldforcingtohelpstabilize
bothhighandlowtransientsystemvoltageduetofaultandloadrejections.
EffectsofVoltageDepressionon
AVRControlandLimiters:The
generatorAVRusesthe
generatorterminalvoltageand
phasecurrenttocalculate
generatoroperatingconditionsas
showninFigure12.By
comparingtheactualpointof
operationtothedesiredlevel,
theAVRdetermineswhenitis
appropriatetoadjustthegeneratorfieldcurrenttomaintainthedesiredgeneratoroperatingvoltage.
Dependingonthespecificmanufacturer,theAVRlimitersettingsmaychangewithvoltage.SomeAVR
limiterschangeasthesquareofthevoltage(90%voltageresultsin81%ofthesetting),whileothersare
proportionalwiththevoltage(90%voltageresultsin90%ofthesetting).Stillotherlimitersmaynot
changewithvoltageatall.
Toassureproperoperationforallconditions,thespecificlimitervoltagevariationcharacteristicshouldbe
identifiedwhensettingthelimiterandtheperformanceatthelowestcredibleoperatingvoltage
examined.

Biography
Biography:Charles(Chuck)MozinaisaConsultantforBeckwithElectric.Heisanactive25year
memberoftheIEEEPowerSystemRelayCommittee(PSRC),isactiveintheIEEEIAScommittees,
andisthepastchairmanoftheRotatingMachinerySubcommittee.HeisaformerU.S.representative
totheCIGREStudyCommittee34(nowB5)onSystemProtection.ChuckhasaBachelorofSciencein
ElectricalEngineeringfromPurdueUniversity.Hehasover25yearsofexperienceasaprotection
engineeratCenteriorEnergy(nowpartofFirstEnergy),amajorinvestorownedutilityinCleveland,Ohio
wherehewastheManageroftheSystemProtectionSection.HeisaregisteredProfessionalEngineerin
thestateofOhio.Hehasauthoredanumberofpapersandmagazinearticlesonprotectiverelaying.He
isaLifeFellowoftheIEEE.
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