(9.4.1.2) Protection of a 3-ph.

Transmission Line :
The figure (9.1) shows the application of the Merz-Price
differential protection to the protection of 3-phase transmission
lines .

(9.4.2) Beard Hunter System :

The most serious disadvantage of the Merz-Price system is
the possibility of operation of the relay by heavy through
currents due to the capacitance between pilot wires . This
difficulty is overcome by the beard hunter system . This employs
a special pilot cable in which each conductor is surrounded by
a metallic screen or sheath , which is split at its mid point to
form two conductors of equal lengths .

(9.4.3) The Biased Beam Relay :

A very important disadvantage in simple balance systems
is due to the inequalities of the C.T.s . Thus , an external fault
may lead to large currents which may produce e.mfs in the C.t.s
secondary which are unequal resulting in the operation of the
relay . This disadvantage is overcome by the use of biased beam
relays .
The biased beam relay is a circulating current method but with
an additional restraining coil which carries both circulating
currents i1 , i2 . Thus if the main current is large , there is a

comparatively large restraining force which cannot be

overcome by an error in the C.T.s .
The relay operates when the ratio of the difference (i1 - i1) to the
currents I1 - i2 exceeds a certain minimum value which is
adjustable by varying the number of turns of the restraining coil
(R.C.) .
Hence the relay operates according to the percentage
differential ratio
i1 - i2
-------------------------------------- 100
the circulating current
In the present project , the Merz-Price protection will be used
for both transmission line and transformer differential
protection .

(9.5) Overcurrent Protection :

Overcurrent protection comprises several types including :
1. Simple over-current protection
2. Graded type over-current protection :
In these systems each relay is assigned a certain time
setting . The most important types of graded type over-current
protection are following :
a) Radial feeder protection :
In the protection of radial feeders in series , relays are adjusted
to have a decreasing time setting with the increase of distance
from the source . The time to clear a fault (clearing time) is the
2

sum of the times occupied in operating the relays , energizing

the tripping coils , moving the circuit-breakers parts and
extinguish the arc in the circuit-breaker.
b) Protection of ring main :
The ring main system is an interconnection between a series
of stations by means of which provision is made for alternative
routes of power supply without the necessity for running feeders
in parallel . If there is no reversal or power in any section under
normal operating conditions, then a series of directional relays
with graded time lags can be sued . The grading being in
clockwise and in anti-clockwise direction , as shown in figure .
Each substation is protected by 2 relays , the one with the
lower time setting being directional and operates only for fault
currents in the direction of arrow . With a fault on any feeder
section , this section only is isolated and all loads will still be
supplied without any interruption of service .
3. Leakage Protection :
As shown in figure (9.2.b) , 3 current transformers are used
for protection against earth leakage . The 3 current
transformers are star connected at both ends, the two star
points being connected through the leakage relay R. If there is
no earth fault on the line , the instantaneous sum of the three
currents is zero and no current will pass in the relay. In case of
an earth fault on the system , the summation of the three

currents will not be zero and a current will pass throughout the
relay R to energize the tripping coil circuit .
This method can also be applied to a 3-core cable , as shown in
figure.
4. Combined Leakage And Over-Current Protection :
The earth leakage relay (E.L.R.) protects against earth faults,
since it operates with the resultant current which is zero except
when there is a fault to earth . As shown in figure , leakage