CHAPTER-I OVERVIEW OF HVDC SYSTEM

1.1 Introduction Remote generation and system inter connections lead to search of efficient power transmission at increasing power levels. The increase in voltage levels is not always feasible. The problems of AC transmission particularly in long distance transmission, has led to the development of DC Transmission. However, as generation and utilization of power remain at

alternating current, the DC transmission requires conversion at both ends, from AC to DC at the sending end and back to AC at the receiving end. This conversion is done at converter stationsrectifier station at the sending end and inverter station at the receiving end. The converters are static-using high power thyristors connected in series to give the required voltage ratings. The physical process of conversion is such that the same station can switch from rectifier to inverter by simple control action, thus facilitating power reversal. The HVDC transmission made a modest beginning in 1954 when a 100 KV, 20 MW DC link was established between Swedish mainland and the island of Gotland. Until 1970, the converter stations utilized mercury arc valves for rectification. The successful use of thyristors for power control in industrial drives encouraged its adoption in HVDC converters by development of high power semi conductor devices. The device voltage rating is now in the range of 10 kV, and current rating up to 5 kA (for 125 mm device).The highest transmission voltage reached is 800kV. HVAC transmission is having severe limitations like line length, uncontrolled power flow, over/low voltages during lightly / over loaded conditions, stability problems, fault isolation etc. These disadvantages are overcome by DC transmission. 1.2. Application of DC transmission The detailed comparison of AC and DC transmission in terms of economics and technical performance, leads to following areas of application for DC transmission: 1) Long distance bulk power transmission 2) Underground or Under water cables

3) Asynchronous interconnection of AC systems operating at different frequencies or where independent control of system is desired 4) Control and stabilization of power flows in AC ties in an integrated power system.

1.3. Types of HVDC Connection: 1) Monopolar Connection: Mono polar link has one conductor usually of negative polarity and use ground or sea return .Sometimes metallic return is also used. 2) Bi-pole connection: Bipolar link has two conductors, one positive and the other negative. Each terminal has two sets of converters of identical ratings, connected in series on the DC side. The junction between the two sets of converters is grounded at one or both ends. Normally, both poles operate at equal currents and hence there is zero ground current flowing under these conditions. 3) Multi-terminal HVDC: It consists of two rectifier stations are connected in parallel and supplying DC power to inverter. 1.4. Components of the HVDC system: The main components of the HVDC system are

Fig.1.1 components of HVDC system inter connection

1.4.1 Converters The task of the converters is to rectify alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC) and invert the direct current back to AC current .This method allows power transfer in either direction of the AC system. One 12- pulse 3-phase converter of one pole consists of three quadruple valve towers. One quadruple valve tower consist of four thyristor valves ,each of them consist of three thyristor modules and each module contain 26 water cooled thyristors with a blocking voltage of 8 KV .That results in 936 thyristors per pole .The thyristors are gate triggered via fibre optics and their thyristor electronics. In parallel with each valve is a valve arrester, which limits external over voltages. 1.4.2 Converter transformers They serve as connection and electrical adaptation between the thyristor converters and the 400 kV AC systems. Three single phase three winding transformer for each pole are located outside the valve halls and connected to the 400KV AC bus bar via circuit breakers and disconnect switches. Their secondary windings are in wye and delta. The purpose is to get 30 phase shift between the two six pulse bridges to achieve 12- pulse conversion. Further more the transformers are equipped with automatic tap changers to keep the converter no load voltage or firing / extinction angle constant in case of steady state AC system voltage variation. 1.4.3 Smoothing reactor The smoothing reactors are connected in series with each converter with each pole. These smoothing reactors decrease the harmonic voltages and currents in DC line. It Smooth the ripple in the DC current and prevents the current from becoming discontinuous at light loads. It Limits crest current (di/dt) in the rectifier due to a short circuit on DC line and limits current in the bypass valve firing due to the discharge of the shunt capacitances of the dc line 1.4.4 AC Filters AC-DC conversion develops harmonics in the AC a systems. AC side Harmonics are Current harmonics of order (12n 1) where n = 1, 2, 3..Predominant harmonics are 11, 13, 23,25,35,37. Additionally 3rd harmonics will present in AC system. AC filters are required for eliminating these harmonics and also supplies reactive power.

1.4.5 DC Filters DC side Harmonic s are Voltage harmonics of order 12n where n = 1, 2, 3.predominant harmonics are 12, 24, 36. DC filters are required for eliminating these harmonics. This harmonics will create the instability in the converter control, overheating, extra losses in generator and motors and interference in telecommunication channel. The filters are required for elimination of the harmonics on both AC side and Dc side and it also supplies reactive power on AC side. 1.4.6 Valve Cooling System The Valve Cooling System is a single closed loop deionised water system. Heat transfer to the ambient is provided by dry coolers. The Valve Cooling System is for one pole and works independent of other cooling and air conditioning systems. The heat generated by the flow of current in the thyristor modules is taken up by the demonized water flowing in the cooling system. This heat is then dissipated to the surrounding atmosphere with the help of a heat exchanger. The heated water coming from the valve hall is allowed to flow through the radiator fins. Air is sucked through these radiator fins by a fan, so as to remove the heat from the water. spray water (sprinklers) are also used to cool the air if the ambient temperature exceeds above certain temperature.

1.5 Operation of HVDC system:

In a DC transmission power flows from rectifier to Inverter. Power flow can be controlled by varying the DC voltages between the converter stations which can be changed by controlling the delay angles. Converter is a common term used in HVDC which can operate either as a rectifier or Inverter. For delay angles 0-90 the converter acts as rectifier and delay angles between 90-180 converter acts as inverter.

1.5.1 Rectifier Operation: Rectifier Operation

AC System Power Flow DC System
Id
V1 Phase A V3 V5

Inverter Operation
AC System Power Flow DC System
Id
V1 Phase A V3 V5

Phase B

Ud

Phase B

Ud

Phase C V4 V6 V2

Phase C V4 V6 V2

Fig 1.2 rectifier and inverter circuits and power flow 1.5.2 Twelve Pulse bridge converters: In older designs of three-phase bridge converters that used mercury-arc valves, there was a voltage limit for the system that depended on the maximum allowable peak inverse voltage of the valves. This is no longer true with modem thyristor valve bridges since valves can be connected in series to provide any desired voltage. Moreover, current ratings can be increased to the desired level by paralleling thyristors, although this is usually not necessary in modem designs since thyristors of adequate current rating are usually available. The optimum system design depends on the desired power to be transmitted, the cost of the major components, and the anticipated operating conditions of the entire system. The most common arrangement for cascading three-phase bridges is the system shown in Figure 1.3, where one three-phase bridge is supplied by a wye-wye connected transformer and the other by a wye-delta transformation. This gives a 12-pulse bridge, which provides advantages in both cost and space requirements. The 12-pulse design doubles the voltage over that obtained with only a single bridge and eliminates the lower harmonics of the six-pulse design, such that the lowest harmonics requiring filtering are the 11th and 13th on the ac side and the 12th harmonic on the de side. The converter is usually fed from a single three-winding transformer rather than two two-winding banks, which saves one set of transformer circuit breakers.

Fig 1.3 twelve pulse AC-DC Converter 1.5.3 Inverter Operation: For a complete HVDC system to operate it is also necessary to design an inverter, to deliver the DC power back to the ac network at the receiving end of the de transmission line. The valves are unidirectional devices, so it is not possible to reverse the current direction. Therefore, the reversal of power flow through the converter is accomplished by reversing the polarity of the direct voltage. This can be done if the delay angle is greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees. In this case, the angle of interest is called the extinction angle and is measured in the reverse direction from the delay angle. From the previous discussion for the rectifier, it is noted that when the delay angle exceeds 90 degrees the average value of the resulting direct voltage will be negative. Mathematically, we can write the conditions as

0 0 < < 90 0

Rectifier operation

90 0 < < 180 0 Inverter operation

1.6. Basic HVDC Control: The basic concept of HVDC control is to establish the desired current in the line from rectifier to inverter by varying the de voltage at the converters. Then the desired power can be caused to flow according to ohms law. This can be visualized by expanding the equivalent
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circuits developed for rectifier and inverter into the more complete equivalent circuit shown in Figure 1.4, where the equivalent circuit has been extended to include transformer tap changing on both converter stations and the commutating resistances are separated into rectifier and inverter resistances.

Fig.1.4. Basic control circuit of HVDC system Referring to Figure 1.4, the line current can be computed as

= V dor

cos V doi cos( ) Rcr + RL Rci

----------------------

(1)

Where the +Rci in the denominator is used with Cos in the numerator and - Rci in the denominator is used with cos in the numerator. Let us assume that is the controlled angle at the inverter since this angle can be directly controlled, whereas must be controlled indirectly through the control of . The current flowing in the line depends only on the terminal voltages, since the total circuit resistance is constant for any given mode of operation. Therefore, current and power transmitted are controlled by varying the terminal voltages. The internal voltages can be controlled by either of two methods: thyristor control or control of the ac bus voltages. Using thyristor control, the ignition angle can be varied, thereby reducing the internal voltage, or if a given delay is present, the internal voltage can be increased by reducing the delay angle, up to the ideal rectifier voltage, Vdor. A similar observation can be made with respect to the inverter. The ideal rectifier voltage is directly proportional to the applied ac voltage, which is usually controlled by changing the tap position of the converter transformer. Thyristor control is very fast, but tap changing control requires 5 to 6 seconds for each step change.
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Manual control of the HVDC system has practical limits due to the slow human response to sudden changes in the network. For example, a sudden short circuit in the ac network may depress the voltage in the vicinity of the converter station, which would result is a sudden change in de power flow. It would be preferred that the de line flow be immune from these disturbances. This can be accomplished by providing automatic control of the converters. The control characteristics of a typical rectifier and inverter are shown in Figure 1.5, which illustrates the direct voltage and current at some point in the DC system, such as the rectifier end of the system.. The solid lines represent normal operating characteristics. The upper half plane represents positive direct voltage; the condition where Converter #1 is the rectifier and Converter #2 is the inverter, with power flowing from #1 to #2. The bottom half plane is for negative direct voltage, with Converter #2 as the rectifier and Converter #1 as the inverter, with power flowing from #2 to # 1. The solid line ABHM is the normal rectifier operating characteristic with power flowing from #1 to #2. The operating point P gives the value of direct voltage and current at the point represented by the diagram, where Converter #1 is operating in the constant current (CC) mode and Converter #2 operating in the constant extinction angle (CEA) mode. This would be a normal operating condition to transfer power from Converter #1 to Converter #2.

Fig.1.5 Control characteristics of Converters The rectifier CC regulator mode is described by the straight nearly vertical line BH in Figure 1.5. The rectifier current regulator also includes a minimum value of alpha, usually called a.; which results in the horizontal constant portion AB of the rectifier characteristic. Thus, the complete rectifier characteristic is the line ABHM in Figure 1.5. For power transfer from #1 to #2, the inverter employs a constant extinction angle (CEA) regulator, which has a characteristic similar to the line CFE extending from left to right at some fixed distance along the voltage axis. This line usually has a small-negative slope, as illustrated. Since there can be only one value of voltage and of current, that value is given by the intersection of the rectifier and inverter characteristics, represented by the point P in the figure. The rectifier current controller measures the actual current. If this current is smaller than the desired value, the current regulator advances the firing time by decreasing the delay angle. This increases the rectifier internal voltage in proportion to cos, thereby increasing Id and moving the current, and hence the line B H, to the right and closer to the desired value.
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This process continues until the measured current agrees with the current controller set point. The inverter characteristic can be moved vertically in the Vd - Id plane by changing the inverter transformer tap position, thereby varying the ac voltage at the inverter. As the voltage is changed, the CEA regulator restores the desired value of . These changes the internal direct voltage at the inverter in proportion to the ac voltage since cos is constant, and this tends to change the direct current. The current is quickly restored to the set value by the current regulator at the rectifier. Now consider a voltage reduction at the rectifier, which shifts the rectifier characteristic downward from A B to J K in the figure, giving a new operating point at K. The system operates at lower voltage, and with lower current than before, so that the power is considerably reduced in proportion to the voltage reduction. The inverter now changes to constant current regulation and the rectifier to constant ignition angle. If the rectifier voltage is restored to normal, the controls quickly resume the normal system operation in response. However, if the voltage remains at low values, the inverter tap changer will operate to slowly move the operating point back toward its normal value. A voltage reduction at the inverter can be analyzed by considering a lower level of the line CFE, which moves the operating point down to the G in Figure 1.5. Under this condition, the line operates at a lower voltage, but with approximately the same current as before such that the power is reduced in proportion to the reduction in voltage. Should the voltage recover in a short time, the operation is returned to normal. However, if the voltage remains at the low level, the inverter tap changer will operate to either restore the voltage to normal or to the maximum level permitted by the tap-changer range. Another type of system change is caused by a change in the current order of only Converter # 1, which results in the vertical segment moving from B H to B' H', that is, a movement toward a lower current order. The solution for the direct voltage and current now rests at the point R, which results in a negative voltage. This means that the power suddenly flows in the opposite direction, which is called a power reversal. Such a reversal might constitute a very large disturbance to the power system, occurring at two different places at the same time. This is an unwanted type of event and must be avoided. This requires that the current orders at the two converters must be moved together. Power reversals can be eliminated by maintaining a

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minimum a, above 100 for the inverter. The foregoing describes only one type of converter control, which is called the constant current mode of operation. 1.6.1 System control: The master controller for a bi pole is located at one of the terminals and salve controller is located at other end and they may be interchangeable. The master controller is provided with the power order (Pref) from the system controller and also has other information such as AC voltage, DC voltage etc. The DC current is to divide the desired bipolar power (Pref) by the bipolar DC voltage (measured at the rectifier) and the resulting current order is then the control reference for the rectifier current controller. The master controller transmits the current order (Iref) to the pole control which in turn.

Fig.1.6. control circuit for rectifier and inverters provides a firing angle order to the individual valve groups. The valve group controls oversees valve monitoring and firing logic through the optical interface which includes bypass pair selection logic, commutation failure protection, tap changer control, converter start/stop sequences, margin switching and valve protection circuits. The master controller which oversees the complete bi pole operation includes the functions of frequency control, power modulation, AC voltage, reactive power control, pole paralleling sequences, balancing of pole currents, commutation of the power/current order to the remote terminal, transient pole current, and torsional frequency damping control. The firing instants for all the valves are at ground
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potentials and the firing signals which is a single pulse and adequate to turn-on a thyristor, are sent to individual thyristors by light signals through fibre-optic cable. Pole Control system for HVDC is defined in terms of the implemented control hardware and software that carries out all pole and converter related functions. The Pole Control is implemented in the control level, interfacing both with the Operator Control Level and the Process Level. Data with the Operator Control Level is exchanged in local control with the Initiation and Monitoring system of the DC System and in remote control via the Remote Control Interface (RCI). Communication with this level is provided via the Local Area Network (LAN). Measured values and data from the process level are either directly acquired in the pole control or exchanged via the Field bus system with decentralized I/O units. Within the control level data mainly between Valve Base Electronics, the Station Control and the various Protection Systems is exchanged via hard wired connections. For performing the HVDC control function, the high speed programmable controllers are being used.

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CHAPTER-II HVDC PROTECTIONS 2.1 Introduction: The purpose of the HVDC protection system is to promptly remove main circuit equipment from service at short circuits or at abnormal operation that might cause damage or interfere with the Operation of the neighbouring system. It is important that the required functions are reliably designed for all operational conditions. The selected protective systems ensure that all possible faults are detected, selectively acted upon and announced. The DC Protection System ensures correct behaviour during normal operation of the HVDC system, even in case of faults occurring outside of the protected zone. The protective systems are independent of other equipment according to the protection philosophy; therefore, they are physically and electrically separated from the controls hardware. However, there are some functions included in the Pole Control that have to be co-ordinate with the System Protection. 2.2 General Philosophy of HVDC Protection: The philosophy of HVDC protection is similar to that for ac system protection. This philosophy can be summarized as follows; Security against unwanted or unnecessary trips Dependability in actual fault clearing Selectivity; separation of the minimum system around the fault Backup protection to guarantee fault clearing in the event of failure of the primary protective system Redundancy to increase reliability A modem HVDC protective scheme will usually be designed to meet some or all of the following requirements: 1. Any abnormal conditions, including faults, that expose the equipment to a hazard or that present an unacceptable operating condition must be detected by the protective system and the stressed equipment removed from service or otherwise relieved of the stress imposed by the abnormality, Moreover, this action must be controlled, such that the system will continue to operate in the best possible manner under the emergency condition.

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2. All protections must be fully redundant and, where possible, based on different designs or operating principles. 3. It is essential that the removal of equipment from service, in response to a disturbance, be limited to only those items that absolutely must be removed from service and that no sound equipment be involved in this action, in so far as possible. 4. Precautions should be taken to make sure that no protective systems operate unless there exists a genuine disturbance that requires protective action. In other words, false tripping of sound items of equipment must be avoided at all times. 5. All protective systems should have dual and completely independent communication lines to both the ac circuit breakers or to the converter valves, such that any breaker opening or valve blocking actions can take place using either of the two redundant communications paths. 6. The protective system should be designed with overlapping protective zones. Moreover, every fault should be detected by both primary and backup protections, which should be based on different measuring principles and may be designed to operate at different speeds, with the primary system being faster than the backup system. 7. All DC protective systems must be coordinated with all nearby ac protections in order to ensure the best performance of both systems, including the optimum recovery, following the clearing of a disturbance. 8. All protective systems must be arranged such that testing of the protective device scan be permitted without affecting the operation of the HVDC system. The HVDC system is complicated, however, by the extensive array of equipment and the complexity of the controls. Moreover, many HVDC systems have a very high power rating and can present a severe shock to the ac system if the de system should be suddenly removed from service. It is especially important that the bi pole outages be kept to an absolute minimum, due to the severity of these outages on the system external to the HVDC system itself .Therefore, it is important that the HVDC system protections be very secure from improper actions and that no more equipment be removed from service than necessary for any disturbance.

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2.3 Redundancy concept in HVDC protection: The HVDC protection system is divided to two redundant systems A and B, based on an Active Standby concept. Both systems include a complete set of control and protection systems. Each protection system consists of both set1 and set2 protections. As soon as a protection operates a fast change over is executed from the active system to the standby system, to ensure that the protection action is based on a correct external measurement. The concept is equal for both the DC and the AC protections. The main purpose of redundancy concept in HVDC protection is in case of maintenance or fault of one protection system ,the protection should ensured by redundant /back up protection system.The protection systems are uses two different measuring devices and different power supply systems. The main / back-up systems use different algorithms.These both systems are always in service simultaneously provide uninterrupted supervision of the plant. The redundancy in measurement of DC Current is shown in fig.2.1.

Sensor Head Shunt

Pole control System 1

Sensor Head

Pole control System 2

Sensor Head Id Sensor Head common composite insulator and fibre optic cable

Protection System 1

Protection System 2

high voltage level; switchyard

ground level; control building

Fig.2.1.Redudancy concept in measurement of DC current

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2.4 Measurement of HVDC systems: The DC current DC Voltages are measured by optodyne sensors. The Location of optodyne sensors are shown in fig.2.2

Fig.2.2. Location of Optical Sensors in HVDC Measurement system Shunts and voltage dividers provide the analog signals for the electrical-optical signal converters (sensor heads). For each redundant system of Pole Control and DC Protection a separate sensor head provide the value via optical signal. Therefore each system is complete independent up to the measuring point. Each of the redundant control and protection components has their own measuring channel for the values from the DC circuit. This includes optical power supply, signal receiver, sensor heads and optical fibers. In the DC circuit one DC shunt / DC voltage divider is provided per measuring location containing all sensor heads for all connected components. The reliable transmission of electrical measuring signals for protection and control purposes from the high voltage level to ground level is an important aspect of modern HVDC systems. Bridging the potential difference between high voltage and ground level is performed by a fibre optical cable system. The measurement of DC voltages and DC currents are shown in fig.2.3
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Fig.2.3. Measurement of DC current and DC Voltages in DC Side Electrical signal transmission, which is very sensitive to electromagnetic interference, is replaced by fibre optical links. Additionally, the power supply for each sensor head is provided by separate fibre optical links. Electronic boards for signal conversion at ground level are directly integrated into the control and protection systems. DC measuring shunt is of a coaxial type. One side of the shunt has to be connected via flexible and galvanized copper bands. So it is possible to compensate the thermal expansion of the shunt. DC voltage divider measures high voltages in a series circuit of resistors. Across one of these resistors the voltage drop is measured by an Optodyn. 2.5 AC measuring system: The AC current measurement is obtained by the current on the bushing-type current transformers of the converter transformer secondary side. The currents for
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the redundant DC Protection systems are obtained by two separate current transformer cores as 1 A signal. The AC voltage measurement is obtained by voltage on the potential transformer and capacitive voltage tap of the converter transformer primary side as 110V/3 signals. 2.6. General Categories of HVDC Protection: The protection for the HVDC converter station can be separated into the following protection zones are shown in fig. 2.4.

Fig.2.4. various zones of protection in HVDC Zone 1 Converter Protection Zone 2 DC-Bus bar Protection Zone 3 DC-Line Protection Zone 4 Electrode Line Protection Zone 5 Converter Transformer Protection Zone 6 DC-Filter Protection

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CHAPTER-III CONVERTER PROTECTION 3.1 Introduction The converter valves are solid-state thyristor valves in all modem converter designs. These thyristors are the heart of the converter system and have physical limits that must not be exceeded if valve damage is to be avoided. The valves are connected to form a 12-pulse bridge circuit for each pole of the converter station. The valve protection is provided by microprocessor control, but the concept is similar to an analog "zone of protection" system, similar to that found on ac systems. The overview of converter with protection equipments is show in Figure 3.1. Several different types of protections are provided, depending on the hazard being controlled.
IdH IdL

UdL

DCFilter

HSNBS IdN UdN HSGS IdE MRS Idee2 HSNBS MRTB Idee1

Idee4

Fig.3.1. the overview of converter with protection equipment 3.2 Replica of DC Current (Iac): A replica (Iac) of the DC current is calculated by rectifying an combining the three-phase valve Winding AC current measurements from each six pulse bridge. The maximum of the two signals is selected: Iac = MAX [IacY, IacD]. 3.3 Short Circuit Protection (87CSY, 87CSD) A valve short circuit is the most serious fault, due to the valve internal or external insulation breakdown, or the valve short circuited. A rectifier valve must withstand the reverse
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voltage during the non conduction period. If the peak value of the reverse voltage leaps extremely or the water cooling system leaks considerably, the valve insulation may be damaged, thereby causing the short circuit across valve. The protection zone for valve short circuits is the 12-pulse bridge circuit from the wall bushings on the AC side to the DC wall bushings at the neutral bus and at the smoothing reactor terminal. Similar protections are normally provided for each pole. Short circuits across valves are phase-to-phase short circuits that occur within the valve short-circuit protection zone. A valve short circuit results in high AC over current when another valve is fired and completes a line-to-line short circuit path with reverse current flowing through or across the faulty valve. The highest fault current flows when the healthy valve is fired at minimum alpha (5). The amount of over current is lower at the inverter due to the normally greater firing angles. It also detects ground faults that may occur anywhere in the converter If the Short Circuit Protection trips at the Rectifier side, the AC circuit breaker will be opened immediately. Additionally an instantaneous block of the firing pulses will be initiated in the valve base electronics, as will the Emergency Switch off Sequence in the Pole Control, in order to shut down the pole with tripping of the High Speed Neutral Bus Switch. Within the pole control at the Inverter side, the AC circuit breaker will be opened immediately, bypassing is initiated and a pole Block signal will be sent to the Pole Control at the Rectifier side, since only the Rectifier can shut down the faulty pole. The High Speed Neutral Bus Switch is also tripped. This protection covers the zone of thyristor valves and operates on the principle of IacY MIN (IdH , IdN) > for the wye bridge. The same is repeated for the delta bridge with IacD MIN (IdH , IdN). Depending on the fault type and whether the converter is in rectifier or inverter operation there are different backup functions: -DC Differential Protection AC Over current Protection -Bridge Differential Protection -Group Differential Protection

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3.4 AC Over current Protection (50/51C): The protection zone for converter over current protection is the 12-pulse bridge systems of each pole. The objective of the protection is to detect over currents that may cause unusual stress in the converter equipment, particularly the thyristor valves This protection function covers the zone of the complete converter and acts as a back-up function to Short Circuits at the Rectifier and Inverter. It also acts during control failures or short-term overload characteristic failures If this protection function trips it will initiate the Emergency Switch off sequence along with simultaneous AC breaker tripping. It operates on the principle Iac > and has four settings. This protection function must be co-ordinate with the converter over load characteristic and not to trip for commutation failures, DC line faults and AC system faults. Back up protections are over current Protection in the redundant system, Converter Transformer Over current Protection 3.5 Bridge Differential (87CBY, 87CBD): Commutation failure is the inability to transfer current to the valve next in line to conduct. This may occur either because of low voltage or distortion of the voltage waveform. Commutation failures cause no damage to equipment and are usually temporary. Repeated commutation failures can occur, however, and this will require either temporary or permanent pole blocking .A commutation failure is not a fault, but is an indication of the failure of the valve control pulses, or of faults on the ac side. This protection covers the bridge (six-pulse) zone. Generally, it detects valve commutation or firing malfunction within a particular bridge as well as converter DC faults. In 1st stage, the Short time stage which initiates reduction of the current to typically 0.3 x Idref in case of a commutation failure on a six pulse group in order to thermally protect the faulty valve. 2nd stages, depending on the actual AC fundamental voltage two different time delays are implemented: Uac < If the current reduction initiated by the first stage does not lead to an improvement of the situation, the second stage will take action and will initiate a trip command after a further delay. This trip command initiates the emergency switch off sequence in the pole control and initiates the opening of the AC circuit breaker.
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Uac > Short time stage that initiates a trip command. This trip command initiates the emergency switch off sequence in the pole control and initiates opening the AC circuit breaker. It operates on the principle of Iac - IacY > for the wye bridge and Iac - IacD > for the delta bridge. This protection function must be co- ordinate with the AC fault backup clearing time. The Backup protection is fundamental Frequency Protection 3.6. Group Differential Protection (87CG): The protection zone covers the entire converter. This protection function detects valve commutation or firing malfunction as well as converter DC faults at the inverter side. In 1st stage, depending on the actual AC fundamental voltage two different time delays are implemented: Uac < This trip command initiates the emergency switch off sequence in the pole control and initiates opening the AC circuit breaker. Uac > This trip command initiates the emergency switch off sequence in the pole control and initiates opening the AC circuit breaker. In 2nd stage, short time stage which initiates the emergency switch off sequence in the pole control and initiates opening the AC circuit breaker after a short time delay. The principle of operation is similar to the Bridge Differential Protection. It is based on the principle MAX(IdH, IdN) - Iac > . This protection function must be co-ordinated with the AC fault backup clearing time. The protection function is blocked during bypass operation at the rectifier. The back protection is DC Under voltage Protection 3.7. DC Differential Protection (87DCM) The protection zone covers the entire converter. It detects ground faults that may occur anywhere in the converter. The DC Differential Protection initiates the Emergency Switch Off Sequence in the Pole Control and initiates opening of AC circuit breakers with tripping of the High Speed Neutral Bus Switch. The switch must be opened to extinguish possible "spill" current from the healthy pole neutral through the fault to ground. It operates on the detection principle of ABS [IdH - IdN] > . The Backup protection is DC Differential Backup Protection.
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3.8. Open Converter Protection / DC Overvoltage Protection (59/37DC): The protection zone covers the entire pole, including both converters and the DC line. This protection will operate in a situation where the rectifier may try to operate against an open DC line (at either end) or a blocked Inverter this protection will trip. The Emergency Switch off Sequence will be initiated and the AC circuit breaker will be opened. If the voltage of the high voltage side of the DC line (UdL) increases to impermissible values in comparison to the station earth, the second and third stage of the Overvoltage Protection will be carried out. The first stage reacts in case of a high DC voltage UdL in conjunction with a low high voltage DC current IdH. UdH > 1 & IdH < 4, UdH > 2, UdH > 3 This protection is intended to work together with the Rectifier Ud controller of the Pole Control, which should primarily limit the DC voltage. The Open Converter Protection should only become active if the Ud controller fails to limit the overvoltage. This function must be coordinate with the spark over voltage of the high voltage arresters. The Backup protection is Open Converter Protection / DC Overvoltage Protection (59/37DC) within the DC Protection of the other station. 3.9. DC Under voltage Protection (27DC): This protection function works at the rectifier to block the rectifier when telecontrol is not available and the inverter has a bypass pair fired for any reason or to detect high voltage converter faults to neutral or ground. This function initiates the Converter Block. The detection principle is UdL < . The DC Under voltage Protection function must be disabled when Udramp is running (power reversal), or when a force retard is applied, in order to interfere with other protections running at the rectifier. 3.10. AC Valve Winding Ground Fault Supervision (59ACVW) If there is a phase to ground fault on the valve windings while in the BLOCKED status of operation, this protection function will prevent the converter from starting. This protection function will initiate a converter deblock inhibit to prevent the converter from starting. The phase to ground voltages on the converter transformer secondary side is measured separately for the YY and Y-D converter transformer group. In normal operation, as long as the thyristor valves are blocked, the vectorial sum of the three phases of each converter transformer group is zero. In
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case of a ground fault on the valve windings, the neutral point displacement voltage will increase. This situation will be detected by the AC valve winding ground fault protection. This protection function is only enabled during the BLOCKED status of operation. It will be disabled as soon as the converter is deblocked. In the DEBLOCKED status of operation, other protection functions will shut down the converter in case of ground faults at the converter transformer secondary side, such as short circuit protection (87CSY, 87CSD).The Backup protection is AC Valve Winding Ground Fault Supervision in the redundant system. 3.11. Fundamental Frequency Protection (FFP / 81DC): The Fundamental Frequency Protection detects commutation failures (e.g. total loss of converter control power supply, inverter bypass failure or incorrect pulse blocking without DC current Id = 0 when telecommunication is out of service) and single phase faults in the AC system. 1st stage (50Hz/100Hz) Short-time stage initiates reduction of the current to typically 0.3 x Idref in case of inverter commutation failures. 2nd stage (50Hz/100Hz) If the current reduction initiated by the first stage does not lead to an improvement of the situation, the second stage will take action and will initiate a trip command after a further delay. This trip command initiates a permanent recovery which results in a permanent forced retard at the rectifier. After the 50 Hz/100 Hz current is disappeared a converter block is initiated. A 50 Hz component occurs in the DC current if firing pulses fail on the inverter side due to either a sustained system fault or a hardware failure in firing one valve. A 100 Hz component appears in the DC current and voltage on the occurrence of single-phase faults in the AC system. The 50 Hz or 100 Hz signal will be determined from the DC current. IdL (50Hz) > , IdL (100Hz) > . The Fundamental Frequency Protection must be co-ordinated with the AC fault back-up clearing time. This protection is provided as a back-up function to the Bridge Differential and Group Differential Protection of the Converter Protection System.

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3.12 Emergency switch off sequence: The ESOF sequence operates with the highest priority to shutdown the converter as quickly as possible for major faults where a primary protection has operated, and control of the converter Ud and Id is disturbed or lost. It is also used for any situation where AC voltage should be removed from the converter as quickly as possible. The ESOF sequence at the own station carries out the same actions as protection initiated block sequence, except of setting the current reference to minimum. At the rectifier the ESOF sequence is executed as follows: 1) Force retard rectifier (shift firing angle) to 120 and if dc current is about zero switch inverter limit to 163. 2) if the DC current remains zero for 10 ms disable converter controller and valve firing. At the inverter the ESOF sequence is executed as follows: 1) fire bypass pair (reduces DC current immediately to max 50% by rectifier VDCL) 2) disable converter controller and valve firing if DC current was zero for 100 ms

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CHAPTER IV DC BUSBAR PROTECTION

4.1. HV DC Busbar Differential Protection (87HV): This protection covers the zone between the high voltage side of the thyristors and the DC current measuring on the line IdL. This protection will initiate the emergency switch off sequence to shut down the pole and will open the high speed neutral bus switch. To avoid a bypass pair firing being initiated by the pole control at the inverter side a bypass pair firing inhibit signal is created. This is done to avoid a spill current. This function is based on the principle ABS [IdL - IdH] > . The Backup protection is DC Differential Back-Up Protection 4.2. Neutral DC Busbar Differential Protection (87LV): This protection covers DC faults at the neutral busbar. The protection will initiate the Emergency Switch Off sequence in the pole control with opening of the High Speed Neutral Bus Switch. The detection principle is ABS[IdN - IdE] > .The Backup protection is DC Differential Back-Up Protection 4.3. DC Differential Backup Protection (87 DCB): This function is a backup protection function to the protective equipment described above. It is however not selective anymore but detects earth faults on the DC bus bar and pole equipment. A trip by this protection function will initiate the emergency switch off sequence in the pole control and will open the high speed neutral bus switch. This differential protection compares the DC line current IdL with the electrode line current IdE., i.e. ABS [( IdL-IdE )]> .

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CHAPTER V ELECTRODE LINE PROTECTION

5.1. Electrode Bus Differential Protection (87EB): The protection covers DC faults within the electrode line part of the DC yard.In mono polar operation this function will initiate a block pole. In Bipolar operation, no actions will be initiated. The operator must then manually initiate balanced operating condition. This protection operates on the principle of a differential protection scheme. However depending on the DC configuration (Monopolar Ground Return, Bipolar Operation or Monopolar Metallic Return) the differential protection must evaluate different DC current measuring z values. In mono polar ground return operation the electrode bus differential protection evaluates abs[(IdE1-(Idee1+Idee2)-Idee3]> .In metallic return operation the electrode bus differential protection evaluates abs[(IdE1-IdL2-Idee3]> . In bipolar operation the electrode bus differential protection evaluates abs[(IdE1-IdE2)-(Idee1+Idee2)-Idee3]> separately in the DC side protection systems of both poles. In bipolar operation this fault situation can only be detected during pole current unbalanced conditions since under balanced bipolar conditions no current will flow through the electrode line. However, it is possible by manually initiated control action to temporarily unbalance the two pole Idrefs by an amount sufficient enough to allow the differential protection to generate an alarm to inform the operator if a ground fault occurs in this zone during bipolar operation. The Backup protection is Electrode Bus Differential Protection in the other system 5.2. Electrode Current Balance Protection (60EL): This function detects earth faults at the electrode line. In Monopolar Ground Return Operation; it will initiate a block pole. In bipolar Operation: In 1st stage, it will initiate balanced bipolar operation. If this does not lead to an improvement (e.g. telecom not available), after a further time delay Stage 2 will initiate a block pole. During normal operation the two currents in the electrode lines are equal. If one conductor is faulty an unbalance in the currents will occur

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and be detected. abs[Idee1-Idee2]> . The Back protection is Electrode Current Balance Protection of the redundant system 5.3. Open Conductor Electrode Line Protection (60OCEL) This function detects an open circuit in one conductor of the electrode line. The function will initiate an electrode line current reduction. If the fault occurs at the inverter and telecom is not available, the second stage of Electrode Line Over current Protection will protect the healthy conductor. The detection principle is to detect a difference between the two electrode line currents. In case of one open electrode conductor the current through the broken conductor will decrease to zero. The current through the healthy conductor will still persist. Electrode Line Over current Protection 5.4. Electrode Over current Protection (76EL): This function detects over current conditions of the electrode line. If the current in two of the four electrode conductors passes a pre-set value (Idee1> , Idee2> , stage 1) the protection function will initiate alarm to inform the operator and initiate a electrode line current reduction to safe values if possible. A second stage of the Electrode Over current Protection will initiate a converter block after an additional time delay. It is based on principle Idee1 > or Idee2 > . The Backup protection is Electrode Over current Protection of the redundant system 5.5. Electrode Over voltage Protection (Open Electrode Protection (59EL)): This function detects excessive voltages that may occur if the electrode opens (both electrode line conductors), as well as an open return conductor in mono polar metallic return mode. In mono polar operation this function closes the high speed ground switch in the station and operates to block the pole. In bipolar operation this function closes the high speed ground switch in the station and initiates bipolar balance operation. If telecommunication is not available and the fault is at the inverter side the overvoltage protection cannot initiate balanced bipolar mode since only the rectifier is able to balance the two pole currents. Depending on the current Idee 3 through the HSGS, the Station Ground Over current Protection reacts to this situation and initiates an alarm or block of the pole. It is based on UdN > . This protection must be co-ordinated with the spark over voltage of the low voltage arresters at the neutral side. The Back protection is Open Electrode Protection of the redundant system.
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5.6. Station Ground Over current Protection (76SG): This protection function is provided to monitor over currents flowing in the station earth mat.In Bipolar Operation Monopolar Ground Return Operation (Stage 1 and stage 2),if the current flow passes a pre-set value (Idee3>), the first stage will initiate an alarm. If the current flow passes a second higher pre-set value, the second stage will initiate a converter block to shut down the pole. In monopolar Metallic Return Operation (stage 3), if the current flow passes a pre-set value, the protection will initiate a converter block to shut down the pole. This protection stage 3 will only be enabled in metallic return operation. The current Idee3 is measured via a hybrid optical DC current measuring which is connected in series to the High Speed Ground Switch, used for metallic return operation. In case of a ground fault on the metallic return path, a ground current arises and current Idee3 (Idee3>>>) is no longer zero. It is Based on principle Idee3 > . This protection has to be coordinated with the capability of the station ground mat. The Backup protection is station Ground Over current Protection of the redundant system

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CHAPTER-VI DC LINE PROTECTION 6.1. Traveling Wave Protection (WFPDL): The travelling wave protection detects faults on the DC line. The travelling wave protection initiates the DC line recovery sequence in the Pole Control. In case of a ground fault at the DC line, a discharge wave will travel from the fault location to both stations. This condition is detected by the travelling wave protection by evaluating the rate of change in both, the DC-line voltage and the DC-line current. If the rate of change of voltage (change of voltage/scanning time) and the amplitude of the change in voltage (change of voltage/fixed time interval>scanning time) exceed the set limits, the protection system will start the evaluation of the current gradient (di/dt > ). If this also exceeds the limits, the DC line protection trips. The travelling wave protection has to be co- ordinate with the maximum possible transients in case of e.g. AC system faults, or commutation failures. The Backup protections are -Under Voltage Sensing (after du/dt) DC Line Differential Protection DC Under voltage Protection 6.2. Under Voltage Sensing Protection (27(du/dt)): The Under Voltage Sensing Protection detects faults on the DC line. The Under Voltage Sensing Protection serves as a backup function to the Travelling Wave Protection. The Under Voltage Sensing Protection initiates the DC line recovery sequence in the Pole Control. This protection evaluates an under voltage, as well as the rate of change of the DC-line voltage (du/dt > and UdL < ).The Under Voltage Sensing Protection has to be co-ordinated with the maximum possible transients in case of e.g. AC system faults, or commutation failures. 6.3. DC Line Differential Protection (87DCL) The DC Line Differential Protection serves as a backup function for the Travelling Wave Protection and the under voltage Sensing Protection, especially for high impedance line faults. The DC Line Differential Protection initiates DC line recovery sequence in the Pole Control. It compares the DC-line currents from both stations (IdL-IdL other station> ). The necessary currents are transmitted via the telecommunication link between the two converter stations. This
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function will be blocked when Telecom is not available. Every telegram is checked by monitoring the check sum of the data. If the check sum is not correct the last correct telegram will be frozen immediately. After a delay a telecommunication failure signal is initiated. 6.4. DC Line Fault recovery sequence The DC Line Fault Recovery Sequence (DFRS) within the pole control operates together with the DC line protection. The purpose of the DFRS is to restore operation as soon as possible after a DC line fault. When a DC line fault occurred the pole control attempts to restart the power transmission after a de-ionization time. Restart attempt 1 2 3 4 Deionization time(ms) 250 300 350 400 Dc line Voltage(%) 100 100 100 80

Table 6.1 deionization time and associated voltage levels At the rectifier following steps are processed: 1) Disable DC under-voltage protection to prevent rectifier from being blocked. 2) Disable end of current failure detection to prevent inadvertent fault indication. 3) Set DC voltage for the rectifier VDCL to zero to initiate the transient current controls for recovery from AC and DC System Faults. 4) Enable detection for long DC faults which subtracts 20% from the DC voltage for the rectifier VDCL. 5) Increase counter for restart attempts which provides a time constant for the de-ionization time and a block command, both depending on the number of restart attempts 6) Enable detection of unsuccessful restart attempts, which cannot be detected by the DC protection 7) Force retard rectifier (shift firing angle) to 120, and if DC current is about zero switch limit to163 according to the selected de-ionization time which is dependent on the number of restart attempts 8) disable converter controller because force retarding is an open loop action and the controller would move to its limit otherwise.
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9)

Start protection initiated converter block sequence, if the number of DC line faults for

blocking the converter is reached (3FP-SCV.DF70). The converter is still forced retarded; therefore pulses are blocked as soon as the DC current is zero at the rectifier. At the inverter following steps are processed: 1) Set DC voltage for the inverter VDCL to zero to initiate the transient current controls for recovery from AC and DC System Faults. 2) Set extinction actual value to 0 to shift the converter controller in direction of 120. This is ensures that the DC voltage does not exceed the reduced voltage level if restart with reduced voltage is selected. 3) Increase counter for restart attempts which provides a reduced DC voltage command if the number of DC line faults (3) for selection of reduced voltage is reached .This is performed only if automatic reduction is not inhibited by the operator .Setting to reduced voltage operation is done while the rectifier is forced retarded. hence not effecting the DC voltage 4) Enable detection of unsuccessful restart attempts, which cannot be detected by the dc protection due to a bolded DC fault. This type of faults is detected by the pole control if the DC voltage is still below 45% 150 ms after restart. The pole control then creates a line fault signal, which is processed like the line fault signal from DC protection (sent to other station and initiate all described actions).

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CHAPTER VII HIGH SPEED SWITCH PROTECTION

Each high speed switch in the DC circuit is monitored by a High Speed Switch Protection. These protection functions monitor the current through a switch after receiving an opening command. When the current is smaller than a pre-set value after a time-delay the opening of the high speed switch was successful and the current is interrupted. If the current is not interrupted, the high speed switch will be re-closed again. 7.1 High Speed Neutral Bus Switch (HSNBS) Protection: The high speed neutral bus switch will be opened for any ground fault in the zone between the IdN current measuring and the IdL current measurement at the DC line to interrupt spill current from the healthy pole into the fault to the electrode line. If now for any reason the high speed switch fails to commutate the current within a safe time, then the high speed neutral bus switch will be closed to avoid any damage or destruction of the switch. After the re-close command, the Electrode Bus Differential Protection of the healthy pole will initiate a converter block if the healthy pole still detects a ground fault after re-close operation of the switch. It is based on IdN > after open of HSNBS. The Backup protection is high Speed Neutral Busbar Protection in the redundant system 7.2. Metallic Return Transfer Breaker (MRTB) Protection (Talcher Terminal only): If the DC switchyard configuration is changed from mono polar ground return to mono polar metallic return operation there are two protection tasks: MRTB must not open before there is a current flowing through the Metallic Return Switch. MRTB must re-close, when the breaker is not able to interrupt the current. Function 1: The protection function initiates a Metallic Return Transfer Breaker Open Inhibit. Function 2: The protection function initiates a Metallic Return Transfer Breaker Open Inhibit and MRTB Re-close command. Function 3: The protection function initiates a MRTB Re-close command. It is Based on IdL_op < after closing MRS in case of Function 1, Idee4 > after opening MRTB in case of function 2, Idee1 + Idee2 > after opening MRTB in case of function

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3Protection function 1 is blocked when IdE < . The metallic Return Transfer Breaker Protection in the redundant system 7.3 Metallic Return Switch Protection (MRS) (Talcher Terminal only): If the DC switchyard configuration is changed from monopolar metallic return to monopolar ground return operation there are two protection tasks: MRS must not open before there is a current flowing through the Metallic Return Transfer Breaker.MRS must re-close, when the breaker is not able to interrupt the current. Function 1: Inhibit Metallic Return Switch Open, Function 2 Re-close MRS, Inhibit MRS Open It is based on Idee4 < after MRTB closed in case of Function 1, IdL_op > after MRS closed in case of function 2.The Protection function 1 is blocked when IdE < .The Backup protection is metallic Return Switch Protection of the redundant system 7.4. High Speed Ground Switch (HSGS) Protection: The protection function detects if the breaker is not able to interrupt the current when opening. It request High Speed Ground Switch Close. It is based on principle Idee3 > after an open of the HSGS. The Backup protection is High Speed ground Switch Protection of the redundant system.

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CHAPTER VIII CASE STUDIES Case study I: DC line to ground fault occurred in Talcher- Kolar DC transmission line on 15.04.2011 as shown in wave form. The fault current rises to above 3000 KA. Here the rate of change of line Voltage and line current is high. So the travelling wave protection initiated the DC line fault recovery in the pole control. In DC line faults, the rectifier is the main source for supplying fault current. Rectifier is operating as a current Controller. So by changing the rectifier firing angle (), it is possible to reduce current to zero. At this point pole control has forced to drive the rectifier in to inverter region (=120 degrees) as shown in wave form. The current in pole attempts reverse direction. However, the current in the rectifier cannot reverse because of the unidirectional current characteristics of the valves. The current is reduced to zero rapidly (in about 10 ms).This fault clearing process is called forced retard. Residual fault current is still present in the line due to current margin setting at the inverter. So the rectifier has driven into inverter to cancel effect of residual fault current. The firing angle increases to 163 degrees as shown in 163 degrees. The inverter also increase to maximum value for reduced voltage operation at restarting of line. After completion of deionization time, at t=250 ms, the first restart attempted and it is successful. The ,, Vdl and IdH came to normal operation.

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Case study 2: DC line to ground fault occurred in Talcher- Kolar DC transmission line on 20.04.2011 as shown in wave form. Here the rate of change of line Voltage and line current is Low. So the Dc Line differential protection initiated the DC line fault recovery in the pole control after 800 ms. At this point pole control has forced to drive the rectifier in to inverter region (=120 degrees) as shown in wave form. The current is reduced to zero rapidly (in about 10 ms).This fault clearing process is called forced retard. The inverter also increase to maximum value for reduced voltage operation at restarting of line. After completion of deionization time 250 ms, the first restart attempted and it is not successful. After 800 ms second restart attempt is started and so on

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CONCLUSION This project report Study of DC protection in HVDC systems contains the overview of HVDC system which explain the needs, operation and various modes of HVDC transmission. The control concept of HVDC system is very critical since the system is equipped with various control parameters. Since the HVDC link transmits bulk power, the system transient behaviour / response during the faults should be very fast so that the stability of overall grid can be maintained. These controllers have to be coordinated with the various protections of the HVDC system to isolate the fault without loosing the transient stability. Also the loss of equipment /damage will have more financial implications compared with the AC systems. The HVDC system is having various protection schemes and only DC PROTECTION was studied. The emergency switch off sequence and DC line fault recovery were studied. Two case studies about travelling wave protection and DC line differential protection along with DC line fault recovery were explained.

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