CHAPTER 3 : COORDINATION PROTECTION - CONCEPT AND PRINCIPLE

Protection system coordination is an important aspect of an electrical system design . The term or
phrase relay coordination therefore covers the concept of discrimination, selectivity and backup .
Further the coordination is not confined only to relays and equipment operating characteristics, but
also includes other protective device characteristics such as Fuse, MCB's, Circuit Breakers as
applicable.
The term ,, selective coordination ‘’ refers to the selection and setting of protective devices in
electrical power system ,as stipulates by National Electrical Code NEC ‘’ where an orderly
shutdown is required to minimize the hazard(s) to personnel and equipment ,a system of
coordination based on the following two conditions shall be permitted:
 Coordination short-circuit protection
 Overload indication based on monitoring systems or devices
The selected protection principle affects the operating speed of the protection ,which has a
significant impact on the harm cause by short-circuits. The faster the protection operates ,the
smaller the resulting hazards, damage and thermal stress will be .In transmission network ,any
increases of the operation speed of the protection will allow the loading of the lines to be increased
without increasing the risk of loosing the network stability .Thus ,a valid protection system must
be able to [ 9 ] :
 understand what and where an event has occurred;
 discriminating between situations that are anomalous but tolerable and genuine faults
within a given zone of influence;
 avoiding unwarranted trips which lead to unjustified stoppage of a sound part of the
installation;
 act as rapidly as possible to limit damage (destruction, accelerated ageing, etc.);
 safeguarding continuity and stability of the power supply
The point of connection of the protection with the power system usually defines the zone and
corresponds to the location of the current transformers. Ideally, the zones of protection should
overlap, so that no part of the power system is left unprotected. For practical physical and economic
reasons, this ideal design is not always achieved .
Technically a large number of solutions can be realised regarding coordination of the protection
relay. Selecting which type of coordination to use in the various zones of the installation is strictly
linked to installation and design parameters and stems from a series of compromises so that the
objectives required in terms of reliability and availability are achieved keeping the costs and
limiting the risks within acceptable limits. Its necessary the best balance between technical and
financial requirements according to [ 10 ]:
– functional and safety requirements (acceptable risk levels) and reliability
– the reference value of the electrical values;
– the costs (protection devices, control systems, interconnection components, etc.);
– the effects, the admissible duration and the cost of electrical disservices;
– any future evolution of the system.
As stipulates by National Electrical Code NEC a system of coordination based on short-circuit
condition mentioned previous .Selected short-circuit protection can be achieved in different ways
,such as :
1. Time graded protection
2. Time -and current -graded protection
3. Time -and direction -graded protection
4. Logic-based protection
5. Balance current protection

3.1 CO-ORDINATION PROCEDURE

Correct relay application requires knowledge of the fault current that can flow in each part of the
network. Since large-scale tests are normally impracticable, system analysis must be used. The data
required for a relay setting study are [5 ] [10] :
i. a one-line diagram of the power system involved, showing the type and rating of the
protection devices and their associated current transformers
ii. the impedances in ohms, per cent or per unit, of all power transformers, rotating
machine and feeder circuits
iii. the maximum and minimum values of short circuit currents that are expected to flow
through each protection device
iv. the maximum load current through protection devices v. the starting current
requirements of motors and the starting and locked rotor/stalling times of induction
motors
v. the transformer inrush, thermal withstand and damage characteristics
vi. decrement curves showing the rate of decay of the fault current supplied by the
generators
vii. performance curves of the current transformer
The protection relays have to be set to not operate for the maximum load current but must operate
at the minimum expected fault current. It is recommended to use relays with the identical operating
characteristics in succession. In addition, the relay which is furthest from the source must have a
current setting which is equal to or less than the primary current required to operate the relay behind
it. Furthermore, for the relays to operate correctly, sufficient time has to be left which is referred
to as grading margin. The grading margin depends on the following factors [10]:
 circuit breaker’s fault current interrupting time
 relay timing errors (variation from the characteristic time delay curve)
 the overshoot time of the relay
 CT errors
3.2 PRINCIPLE OF RELAY COORDINATION

3.2.1 Current- graded Protection

Discrimination by current relies on the fact that the current varies with the position of the fault, because of
the difference in impedance values between the source and the fault. Hence, typically, the relays controlling
the various circuit breakers are set to operate at suitably tapered values such that only the relay nearest to
the fault trips its breaker.
Discrimination by current has the disadvantage that there needs to be enough cable or overhead line between
the two protection relays, in series, to achieve an appreciable difference in fault current between two relays..

3.2.2 Time- graded Protection

A straightforward way of obtaining selective protection is to use time grading .The principle is to
grade the operating(tripping ) times of relays in such as a way that the relay closet to the fault spot
operates first .When one section of network develop a fault ,current flows into it via the remaining
heathy sections so that the faulty section has the most current .Time-graded protection is
implemented using overcurrent relays with either definite time characteristic or inverse time
characteristic .
The operating time of definite time relays does not depending on magnitudes of the fault current
,while the operating time of invers time relays is shorter the higher fault current magnitude is .
The principle of invers time protection is especially suited for radial networks where the variations
of short-circuit power due changes in network configuration are small or where the short-circuit
current magnitude at the beginning and the end feeder differs considerably .In these case ,the use
of inverse time relays in favor of definite time relays can usually speed up the operating time of
the protection at high fault current magnitudes .The selection of the proper grading time is of
essential importance for the selectivity of the protection .The grading time is time difference
between two consecutive protective stages .In heavy fault current conditions ,the relay operating
time must not be unnecessarily prolonged [5] .
Figures 3.2.2 show a times-graded protection arrangement in a radial network .In this example
network ,three -stage protection is implemented .For the low-set stage (3I>),either invers time or
definite time characteristic can be given .The high -set and the instantaneous stage (3I >>and
3I>>>) have definite time characteristic and their purpose is to accelerate the operational of
protective relay under heavy fault current conditions .Clearly ,a multiple -stage protection is often
required to meet with the sensitivity and operating speed requirement .This also provide a good
and reliable grading of protection .
Figure 3.2.2 Overcurrent protection of radial network and the corresponding selectivity diagram

Studying and planning of time- selective protection schemes is most conveniently carried out using
selectivity -diagram .The selectivity diagram is a set of specific time /current curves which shows
all the times /currents curves ,that is ,the operating characteristics of the relays of the concerned
chain of protection relays .
The chains of relays in example of Figure 3.2.2 includes two relays .The selectivity diagram also
includes additional information needed for the planning and operation of protection ,such as lowest
and highest fault current levels in relay points ,maximum load current ,nominal current and the
maximum limit values of possible switching inrush currents and start currents.
The time -graded protection can also be implemented with definite time underimpedance relays
(or distance relay ).The relay measures the phases currents and phase to phase or phase to earth
voltages .Base on these values, it determines the appearance impedance seen from the relay
location .The relay operates if the measured impedances falls below the set start value .The set start
value determines so -called reach of relay ,which define at distance faults seen from relaying point
can still detected .The advantages of impedance relays are [5] :
 Its operation is independent of the short-circuit power of the incoming network
 The reach and operation time relay are unchanged even if the source impedance changes
 These relay operates reliability even though the short -circuit current would be particularly
low .
Underimpedance relays are frequency used as feeder protection relays in networks low short
circuit Another typical application is the use of underimpedance relays as back-up protection relays
in
3.2.3 Time -and Current -graded Protection
Time -and Current -graded Protection can be used in cases where the fault current magnitudes in
fault occurring in front of and behind the relaying point are different .Due to the different fault
current levels using invers time relays but also multi stage definite time relays ,different operating
times can be obtained in either direction .

Figure 3.2.3a Diferent fault level current

The fault at upstream transformer is higher than downstream transformer or far away at feeder .So
the high set stage current is apply for upstream transformer and the low stage for down stream
transformer
Figure 3.2.3b shows an example time -current -graded protection application .From the selectivity
diagram ,it can be seen that when a fault occur on feeder 4 ,for example, the total fault current fed
by network and other feeder reaches the level indication 4 .At the diagram ,the operation time can
can even be shorter than 0.1 s (100ms) .The fault current fed by the equivalent generator is at least
on the level indicated by 2 .It can be clearly be seen that in this way a reliable time -grading is
obtained between the generator feeders also in case the fault fed by the network is particularly low
or if one generator is out of operation.
Figure 3.2.3b Power plant overcurrent protection implemented with time and current grading
towards the generator feeders. The generators are of equal rated power and their inverse time relays
share the same settings. I ng = rated current of a single generator.

3.2.4 Time -and direction -graded protection

In ring and meshed networks ,the selectivity of the protection can be based on directional
overcurrent relay s .Directional relays are needed as different operating times are required
depending on the location of the fault , that is ,if the fault spot is in front of the relaying point on
the feeder or behind the relaying point ( eg. On the busbar system ).
The directional overcurrent relay operates once the fault current exceeds the set start current and
the direction of the fault current complies with the setting. Thus the selectivity of the protection is
based on both time and current direction. The directional overcurrent protection can operate either
according to definite time or inverse time characteristics and the aforementioned central principles
of time-grading are also applicable to directional protection [ 9 ].
Typical applications based on the directional protection are shown in Figure 3.2.4
Figure 3.2.4 Directional overcurrent relays applied to short-circuit protection of ring-type
networks supplied from one point [ 5 ]
The most conventional way is to determine the direction phase-specifically so that the current
phasor of each faulty phase is compared to the phasor of the opposite phase-to-phase voltage, for
example, the direction of the phase current phasor I L1 is compared to the direction of the phasor
U 23 . The relay operates if one or more of the direction comparisons show that the fault is located
in the forward or reverse direction with regard to the set relay operating direction [ 4 ].
 Figure 3.2.4.1 Direction determination principle of phases L1 and L2 based on using
the opposite phase-to-phase voltage U L23 and U L31 correspondingly. The fault is
located in forward direction .

Another way of determining the direction is first to identify the faulty phases on the basis of the
starts of the phase-specific overcurrent functions and then compare the difference between these
current phasors to the difference between the other two phase-to-phase voltages, for example, the
direction of the phasor I L1 - IL2 is compared to the direction of the phasor U 23 −U 31 . Alternatively,
the phasor I L1 - IL2 can also be compared to the direction of the corresponding faulty phase-to-
phase phasor U12 , or to the corresponding positive-sequence voltage U1 ,which must be suitably
rotated according to the fault type in question.

The protection of ring and meshed networks can also be carried out using underimpedance or
distance relays. These relays are frequently used for the protection of transmission and
subtransmission networks, meshed or ring-operated distribution networks or weak radial networks.
The advantages of the use of distance relays are the same as for the underimpedance relays in
general, and the general time-grading principles also apply in this protection concept.
To achieve a good and reliable selectivity and to fulfill the operating speed requirements as well as
possible, it is typically necessary to implement multiple directional underimpedance stages. The
reach of these stages defines the zones of protection toward the desired operating direction, which
can be either forward of reverse [ 9 ]
 Figure 3.2.4.2 Load and short circuit impedance in R-X plane

The figure 3.7 shows the principal reaches of the different zones of the example distance relay The
zone Z1 is underreaching the remote end station, making it possible to apply minimum operating
times. Zone Z2 is slightly overreaching the remote end, which means that the time coordination
with zone Z1 of the successive line is required; therefore the operating time is delayed as much as
the grading margin requires .

3.2.5 Logic -based Protection

Each of the first two methods described so far has a fundamental disadvantage. In the case of
discrimination by time alone, the disadvantage is due to the fact that the more severe faults are
cleared in the longest operating time. Logic coordination it is designed and developed to solve the
drawbacks of both time-based and current-based coordination. With this system, coordination
intervals between two successive protection units are not needed. Furthermore, the tripping time
delay of the CB closest to the source is considerably reduced.
Blocking scheme can be implemented in two ways [ 11 ] :
– the measuring devices send information to the supervision system about the fact that the set
current threshold has been exceeded and the latter decides which protection device to trip;
– when there are current/impedance values over the set threshold, each protection device sends a
blocking signal via a direct connection or a bus to the protection device higher in the hierarchy (i.e.
on the supply side in relation to the direction of the power flow) and, before it trips, makes sure
that a similar blocking signal has not arrived from the protection device on the load side. This way,
only the protection device immediately to the supply side of the fault is tripped .
 Figure 3.2.5 Logic coordination principle
When a fault occurs on the system shown in the figure above, the relays that are in an upstream
way from the fault (𝑅₁, 𝑅₂, 𝑅₃) are activated, while the relays on downstream way are not. Each
relay that is activated by the fault sends a blocking signal to the relay which is in an upper level as
an order to increase the upstream relay time delay. In this case, the circuit breaker 𝐶𝐵₁ is tripped
since the relay R₁ has not received a blocking signal from the downstream level. Therefore, the
relay R₁ will send a blocking signal to relay R₂, which in turn sends a blocking signal to R₃. This
tripping order given by R₁ is provided after a delay time 𝑡𝑅1 and the duration of blocking signal to
R₂ is limited to 𝑡𝑅1 + 𝑡1, where t₁ is the sum of opening and arc extinction time of CB₁. In this way
if CB₁, fails to trip, the relay R₂ gives the tripping order at 𝑡𝑅1 + 𝑡1, as a backup protection. If there
is fault between 𝐶𝐵2 and 𝐶𝐵1, the relay R₂ will operate after a time delay 𝑡𝑅2 .

3.2.6 Balance current protection

Balance current protection is a useful method of protection that can be applied to the protection of
any network component, such as transformers, machines, busbars, lines and feeders.
The balance current protection (differential relay ) compares the incoming phase currents of an
object to the outgoing phase currents of the same object. If these currents differ from each other as
to the amplitude or phase angle or both more than allowed by the setting values of the relay, the
relay will trip. The measuring principle ensures that the relay operates exclusively on faults inside
the area of protection, which means that the protection is absolutely selective. Therefore the
operating time of the protection is very short, typically shorter than one cycle. The obtainable
sensitivity depends on [ 5]:
 relay type used
 characteristics of the current transformers
 protected object (plant )
In practices ,a small differential current ,mainly caused by measuring error of the current
transformers and the relay ,can be noticed even though there is no fault within the area protect.
A differential scheme measures the currents on either side of the protected object and forms
from these a differential current Id .To avoid a false operation of the differential relay, the relay
must be stabilized, which means that the higher the through-fault current, the higher differential
current is required for tripping. The stabilizing current I b is formed from the phase currents
measured on both sides of the protected object. An example of the operating characteristic of a
stabilized differential relay is shown in Figure 3.2.6.

Figure 3.2.6 Operating characteristic of a low-impedance type differential current relay

3.3 BACK-UP PROTECTION

Backup protection is an important function of the protection system. According to the International
Electrotechnical Vocabulary [8.13.5], ,, backup protection’’ is intended to operate when a power
system fault is not cleared or an abnormal condition is not detected in the required time because of
failure or inability of other protection to operate or failure of the appropriate circuit-breaker(s) to
trip.
,,By providing backup protection, it is possible to reduce the risk for problems when a protection
relay or a switching device fails to operate.‘’ [ 9 ]

 Remote Backup Protection

Characteristic of remote backup protection is following :
 independent of the protection relays, current transformers and voltage transformers of the
main protection system.
 independent of the auxiliary DC supply system and the breakers in the substation

Figure 3.3.1 Remote backup protection

Here, a fault occurs at F on the power line to C, and the line protection 2 at substation B fails to
operate. The line protections 5, 7 and 8 have to detect the fault at F. They also have to trip the
breakers at A, D and E.
Next is given a specific example to illustrate the concept of remote backup protection. The Figure
3.3.2 shows a network protected by distance protections without telecommunication. The distance
protection uses the current and voltage measured at one end of the line. The protection uses these
measurements to decide if the fault lies within the zones of the distance protection. Zone-1 of the
distance protection covers about 85% of the line.

Figure 3.3.2 Distance protection

Zone-2 of the distance protection at A setting sets to cover the entire line from A to B, including
remote substation B. Zone-3 of the distance protection at A sets to cover the entire line from B to
C, including the next substation C.To obtain a rapid fault clearing, the distance protections operate
instantaneously when the fault occurs within Zone-1. To obtain selectivity, the tripping for faults
within Zone-2 and Zone-3 has to be delayed.

 Substation Local Backup Protection

Assume that a short circuit occurs at F on the feeder to D and that the feeder protection P4 fails to
operate in figure 3.3.3. and It is also assumed that the transformer protection P1 can detect short
circuits along any feeder connected to the busbar A. The transformer protection P1 at A provides
substation local backup protection of the feeders to B, C and D. Substation local backup protection
becomes difficult if one feeder connected to the busbar A is very long or if the transformer T has a
high rated capacity.

Figure 3.3.3 Substation Local Backup Protection