Mansoor Asif
Lecturer
Electronics, Power and Control Group
Electrical Engineering Department
SEECS, NUST
Differential Protection
1-Introduction
Protects equipment from fault occurring within the
equipment
Principle
The difference of current (magnitude, phase) entering and
leaving the equipment is measured
If the difference exceeds a predetermined value, trip
output is issued
Only suitable for equipment's where sending and
receiving end of the equipment are physically near
Used for equipment protection
Transformer, Busbar e.t.c.
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2-Dot markings
A, B and C are mutually coupled coils
According to Lenzs law current would flow in coil B in such a direction
So that the flux generated by it oppose the flux generated due to A
Current enters the dot mark on
the primary coil
Current should leave the dot
mark on the secondary coils
If currents are made to enter
two dot marked coils, their
respective fluxes would add up
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3-Simple Differential Protection
AKA Merz-Price Scheme
Current entering and leaving the equipment is
stepped down with help of CTs
When current enters the dot marks on the primary side of CT, it should leave
the similarly marked dot mark on the secondary side and vice versa
During the normal load flow current in the
spill path would be zero
Current would just keep circulating in the
pilot wire
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3.1-Behavior during external faults
During external faults or through faults the
current entering and leaving the equipment
remains unchanged
Therefore Diff Protection scheme should
remain stable
Should not generate trip signal
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3.2-Behavior during internal faults
Fault current If,int/n will flow through spill path
Minimum internal fault current that would
generate a trip signal would be
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3.3-Simple Differential Protection,
Double End Fed: Behavior during
internal faults
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4-Zone of protection of differential
protection
relay ShouldDifferential
trip during internal faults
Any fault occurring within the two CTs is
within zone of differential protection
Differential protection
Should restrain during external faults/through
faults
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5- Actual Behavior of a Differential
CT Errors
Protection Scheme
Ratio Error
Phase Angle Error
Spill current build up as through fault current increases
IS1 & IS2 Should be lagging instead i.e.
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Above the horizontal axis
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5.1-Through fault and stability ratio
Higher the stability ratio, better is the systems ability to discriminate between
internal and through faults
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5.2-Equivalent Circuit of CT
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5.2.1-Differential Protection Scheme
considering Equivalent Circuit of CT
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6-Percentage Differential Relay
Simple differential relay can be made more
stable if
Restraining torque proportional to the through
fault current can be generated
Operating torque remains proportional to the spill
current
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6-Percentage Differential Relay
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6-Percentage Differential Relay
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6-Percentage Differential Relay
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6.1-Block diagram of Percentage
Differential Relay
The relay has two settings
Pick up setting
Slope setting
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7-Earth Leakage Protection
Due to insulation failure the chassis of
equipment may become live
As the chassis is connected to earth, so
current will start flowing into earth
Earth current too small for OC relay to operate
Earth leakage relays or current balance relays
are used to detect earth faults
Can save the personnel when they come in
contact with live unearthed chassis.
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7.1-Earth Leakage Protection for a
Single-Phase load
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7.1-Earth Leakage Protection for a
Three-Phase load
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Problem
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Problem
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