Effect of Distributed Generation on Protective Device Coordination in Distribution System

Adly Girgis Fellow, IEEE Sukumar Brahma Student Member, I E E E

Clenison University Electric Power Research Association ECE Department Clenison University lJSA Abstract:

Protection of power system is an extremely important aspect as the quality and scheme of protection decides system reliability, controllability and stability. lhis paper concentrates on the protection of distribution system in the light of recent developments in form of Distributed Generation (DG). Conventional distribution system is radial in nature, characterized by a single source feeding a network of down-stream feeders. Protection system has traditionally been designed assuming the system to be radial. After connecting DG, part of the system may no longer be radial, which means the coordination might not hold. The effect of DG on coordination will depend on size, type and placement of DG. This paper explores the effect of DG on protective device coordination such as fuse-fuse, fuse-recloser and relay-relay. In each case. depending on size and placement of DG, there are some margins in which the coordination may hold and certain cases, where no margin is available. These conditions are identified for each case through coordination graphs.

coordination between relays on main distribution feeder is discussed. In this case too, problems arising due to connection of DG are identified. II. FUSE-FUSE COORDINATION
A fuse has two characteristics, viz., Minimum Melting (MM)

I. INTRODUCTION

and Total Clearing (TC). MM characteristics gives time in which fuse can be damaged for a given value of fault current. TC characteristic gives the fault clearing time of fuse for given value of fault current. Fig. 1 shows how fuse-fuse coordination is traditionally done in a radial distribution system without DG [I]. Fig. 1 (a) shows the two fuses to be coordinated. In order that fuse I and fuse2 be coordinated, for any fault on feederl, fusel should operate before fuse2 is damaged. This would be achieved if TC characteristic of fusel is below the MM characteristics of fuse2 by a safe margin for any fault on feeder 1. Fig. I(b) shows the coordination graphs. It shows the fuses are coordinated for all fault currents within ICnin and If,,,,,. This is called the coordination range. Therefore, as long as the fault current values for faults on feederl are within coordination range, the fuses are coordinated. All coordination graphs are always plotted on log-log scale.

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Figure : I Traditional Fuse-Fuse Coordination Without DG

CURRENT IN AMPERES (b)

Figure 2 Part ofa Large Secondary Distribution System with DG

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Section 2 of this paper discusses fuse-fuse coordination as traditionally done without the presence of DG. Then different possibilities after connection of DG are explored and resulting consequences are identified. Section 3 discusses the philosophy of fuse-recloser coordination and examines the effect of connection of DG on this coordination. In section 4,
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When DG penetrates into the system, values of fault currents flowing in the system for any given fault will be modified. We might also have back-flow in case of fault, i.e.; fault current may also flow from load side to source side. This means that a fuse may see fault currents for a fault in the downstream section and in the upstream section. Let us explore the possible problems in coordination due to this. Fig. 2 shows part of a large secondary distribution network. First, let us assume DG is not connected in the system. In this 0-7803-7107-0/01/$10.0002001 IEEE

case, fuse-pairs FI-F2, F2-F3, F3-F4 and F5-F6 will be coordinated as shown in fig. I (b). Let us suppose DGI, DG2 and DG3 are connected to the system. This will force following changes in the system I. Minimum and maximum fault current values for a fault in section HI will increase from source side due to all upstream DG. (We assume here that DG will contribute to line to ground fault also). F5 and F6, hence, will have greater fault current than before, but will never have upstream fault currents. 2. For a fault in section CD, F3 and F4 will see downstream fault current, while for a fault in section AB, these fuses will see upstream fault current. The value of fault current seen by these fuses for a given fault in section AB or CD will be same. FI-F2 will also experience the same situation for upstream and downstream faults.

For case (3) however, we have a margin. Refer to fig. 3. It shows the characteristics of fuses F2 and F3 without considering DG. Now, for a downstream fault, F2 will see more current (IF?) than F3 ( 1 ~ 3 ) . The difference between IF? and IF3 will be proportional to size and type of DG2 [2]. It can be seen that as long as is more than IF;, the coordination will never be lost, since F2 will always operate before F3 is damaged, which is required for a downstream fault. We assume here that the increased fault currents do not go beyond the fuse curves, in which case, fuses obviously do not coordinate. For upstream fault, fault current through F3 (IF3') will be greater than fault ,current through F2 (IFz). Again, the difference between IF2 and IF3 is proportional to the size and type of DG2. In this case, it can be seen from fig. 3, that if the difference in currents is more than the margin shown F3 will operate before F2 is damaged, i.e., coordination still holds. However, if the difference is less than the margin, F2 will be damaged before F3 operates, i.e., coordination is lost. Thus for a substantial fault current injection from DG, coordination can hold in such conditions.

111. RECLOSER-FUSE COORDINATION

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Figure : 3 Coordination Margin with DG in case o f Different Fault Currents Through Fuses

3. For a fault in section DE, F2 will see more fault current

than F3, while for a fault in section BC, F3 will see more fault current than F2. In first case, fault currents will be downstream, while in the second case, fault currents will be upstream In case of (1) above, the fuse coordination is not likely to be affected if fuses can still coordinate for increased fault currents. This is because fuses still see only downstream faults. The only change in the coordination graph of F5-F6 will be the coordination range, since minimum and maximum fault currents will change. If the increased fault current is so substantial, that the coordination range exceeds the extent of the fuse curves, then, of course, these fuses will no longer coordinate. In case (2), we have a clear conflict. One of the most important features of a protection scheme is to clear only the faulted part of the system. Following this requirement, for a fault in section CD, we want F3 to operate before F4, but for a fault in section AB, we want F4 to operate before F3. Since both fuses see the same fault current for a given upstream or downstream fault, this requirement cannot be fulfilled. This will be true for fuses Fl-F2 also for a fault on section EF and section CD.

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Figure : 4 Distribution System Section with Recloser and Fuse

Fig. 4 shows a distribution line tapped by a load feeder protected with a fuse. Let us assume that DG is not connected yet. The recloser on the main line has to coordinate with this fuse for all faults taking place on the feeder. Different settings are usually employed for phase and ground faults. It should be noted here that for all faults on load feeder, currents in fuse and recloser would be same if DG is not connected. The two devices must coordinate for all values of fault currents on the load feeder. The coordination is shown in fig. 5 [I]. Fig. 5 shows the Minimum Melting (MM) and Total Clearing (TC) characteristics of the fuse. It also shows the "A" (fast) and "B" (slow) characteristics of recloser. The philosophy here is that the fuse should only operate for apermanent fault on the load feeder. For temporary fault, recloser should disconnect the circuit with fast operation and give the fault a chance to clear. Only if the fault is permanent, should the fuse be allowed to open. This way, the load feeder does not get disconnected for every temporary fault. Recloser also provides back up to fuse through slow mode. Since temporary

faults constitute 70% to 80% of faults occurring in distribution system, this arrangement improves the reliability and decreases the maintenance cost. In fig. 5, we see that the fast (A) characteristic of the recloser lies below the MM characteristics of fuse between If,llill and If,,,,,. Therefore, between If,,,i,, and If,,,,, the recloser operates in less time than the time sufficient to damage the fuse. Typical operating sequence of a recloser is F-F-S-S (where F stands for fast and S for slow). There is an interval between each operation when the recloser remains open. If the fault is temporary, it will clear before the recloser closes after the second fast operation (if the 'open' time of recloser is assumed as one second, this time will be more than two seconds). If the fault persists after the recloser closes following the second fast operation, then the fault has to be a permanent one and hence fuse must operate to cut it off. As shown in fig. 2 , the TC curve of the fuse is below "B" curve of recloser between Ifmi,,and If,,=. Therefore, for a permanent fault, fuse will open before recloser operates in slow mode. If the fuse fails to operate, recloser will back it up by operating in slow mode and finally locking out. The coordination curves of recloser and fuse have to be modified to account for heating and cooling effect of fuse [I]. What the protection engineer has to make sure is that the fault level for any type of fault along the load feeder is between lf,,,i,, and If,,,,,, since the coordination described above exists only in that range. This coordination is usually done separately for phase and ground faults.

As mentioned before, maximum and minimum fault currents must lie between If,,,il1 and If,,,,, for coordination to hold. If, after connection of DG, the fault current value for a fault on load feeder exceeds the If,,,,, value shown in fig. 5, coordination is lost, since beyond this value, M M characteristics of fuse lies below recloser fast curve.

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CURRENT IN AMPERES Figure : 6 Coordination Margin in Fuse-Recloser Coordination

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In case the fault currents still lie within the allowed range, we have a margin. This is shown in fig. 6 . 1 ~ is ~the s fault ~ current seen by the fuse and IRECLOSER is the corresponding fault current seen by recloser. Naturally, the disparity between these currents will depend on the size and type of DG and its placement on the main feeder. Larger size, more fault injection capacity and shorter distance of DG from load feeder will result in greater disparity and vice versa. As shown in the figure, if, for a given fault current in fuse (IPusE), the disparity between IFUSE and the corresponding recloser current (IRECLOSER) is more than the margin shown, fuse will be damaged before recloser operates in fast mode, i.e., coordination will be lost. Thus, if DG can inject more fault current, or is connected near the load feeder, chances of coordination being lost are more.
Another point to be taken into account here is that when the recloser closes after the first (and subsequent) open interval, it would be energizing a dead system if DG were not connected to the system. After connection of DG, this assumption is no longer valid. Reclosing will connect two live systems together and if this is done without proper synchronizing, then it might result into severe damage to DG. IV. RELAY-RELAY COORDINATION Fig. 7 (a) shows a main distribution feeder fed through source "S" and protected by inverse overcurrent relays R1, R2 and R3. The coordination between these relays is shown in 7 (b) [I]. The philosophy here is, for maximum fault current in line 3 (which would be for a fault at bus 3), time of operation of relay R2 is made larger than time of operation of R3 at least by a time interval called "Coordination Time Interval (CTI)".

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CURRENT IN AMPERES Figure 5 Coordination between Recloser and Fuse Shown i n Figure 4

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Now let us suppose DG i s connected to the main line as shown in fig. 4 anywhere downstream of recloser (it can be before or after the point of connection of load feeder with main line). This will result into following changes: I ) Maximum and minimum fault currents for a fault on the load feeder will change. 2) For any fault on load feeder, fuse will see more current than the recloser.
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CTI depends on factors like errors in current transformers, potential transformer and relays and on circuit breaker opening time. In case of electromechanical relays, overshoot is also considered. Similarly, relays R2 and RI are coordinated for a maximum fault at bus 2. The nature of inverse relay curves is such that once coordinated for maximum current, they will be coordinated for lower fault currents too. As is clear from fig. 7 (b), R2 will back up R3 and RI will back up R2.
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Figure 9 Coordination of Relays for Downstream faults With DG Bus 3 SectQUS

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Figure : 7 Relay-Relay Coordination Without DG

Now, let us assume DG is connected to the feeder as shown in fig. 8. Depending on placement of DG on the feeder, different possibilities will arise. These are mentioned below.
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Figure : 8 Primary Distribution Feeder Penetrated with DG

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If only DG1 and DG2 are connected, then maximum and minimum current for a fault in line section 3 will change. However, R3 will never sense a back-flow for an upstream fault. This will require R3 and R2 to be coordinated at a different (usually larger) current. Since inverse relays have sufficient tap settings and time settings available, this should not pose any problem. If only DG3 is connected, R2 and R3 will sense downstream current for faults in section 3 and upstream current for faults in section 1. It is important to note here, that for any given fault downstream or upstream, these relays will sense the same fault current. This would create a conflict. Since we wish to clear only the faulted section, we require R3 to operate before R2 for any fault in section 3, but require R2 to operate before R3 for a fault in section 1 . Since these relays sense the same current for either of these faults, it is impossible to achieve coordination with existing scheme.

(b) Figure : IO Margin Available for Relay Coordination to Hold For Upstream Faults With DG

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If DGI, DG2 and DG3 are all connected to the feeder, for a fault in section 3 (or further downstream), R3 will sense the maximum fault current, followed by R2 and R1. For a fault in section I(or for any fault further upstream in case we have more sections upstream), R2 will sense more current than R3. Let us try to set the relays for downstream faults and then try to find in what conditions these settings will remain valid for upstream faults.

Fig. 9 (a) shows the condition described in (3) above. Thickness of arrows is proportional to fault current values for a fault in section 3. It should be noted that the value of maximum fault current and the fault location yielding this

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fault current in a section will depend on size, type and placement of DG in that section. R3 and R2 will have to be coordinated at maximum fault current in section 3 including the line connecting DG to the feeder. Since R2 senses less current (1fRz) than R3 (IfRJ), revised curve for R2 will shift down as shown in fig. 9 (b). Similarly, while coordinating R2 and RI for maximum fault in section 2, curve for RI will also shift down. CTI in fig. 9(b) is same as CTI in section 7(b), only; it is measured between different points due to disparity of fault currents sensed by relays. Now let us see how far the coordination in fig. 9(b) is valid for upstream faults. Fig. lO(a) show the fault currents (again thickness of line proportional to fault current value) for a fault in section 1 (or any further upstream section if such sections exist). R2, now, senses more current than R3. It is required that R2 operate before R3 now. For given fault current IfK2, fig. 10 (b) shows the available margin for coordination to work for upstream fault. If the difference in fault currents sensed by R2(lfR2) and R3(ifR3) is less than the margin shown, R3 will operate before R2, i.e., coordination will be lost. Therefore, coordination holds for larger disparities between currents sensed by R2 and R3, or, if fault injection from DG is more. V. CONCLUSION From the discussion done in previous sections we can draw following conclusions for fuse-fuse coordination and relay-relay coordination, since problems arising in these coordiantions are similar:

Devices downstream of the last DG will never see fault current for an upstream fault. If these devices can handle the increased fault current due to penetration of DG, there won't be any problem coordinating them. 2) If devices see fault currents for upstream faults. there are two possibilities: If they see the same fault current for a fault downstream as well as for a fault upstream, coordination will be lost. If they see difSerent current for a downstream or upstream fault, there is a margin available for coordination to remain valid. If disparity in fault currents seen by devices is more than the margin, coordination holds. Therefore, coordination is likely to hold if DG fault injection is more. 3) For fuse-recloser coordination, there is also a margin available for coordination to remain valid. In this case, if the disparity in fault currents seen by these devices is less than the margin, coordination holds. Therefore, coordination is likely to hold if DG fault injection is less.
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VI. REFERENCES P. M. Anderson, Power System Protection, McGrawHill, IEEE Press, 1999. P. Barker, and R. W. De Mello, "Determining the Impact of Distributed Generation on Power Systems: Part 1 - Radial Power Systems," Presented at IEEE PES summer power meeting, Seattle, WA, July, 2000.

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