Dr Abro

Electrical Engineering Department

UCET, IUB

Dr Abro

Induction Type Overcurrent Relay

(Non-directional)
This type of relay works on the
induction principle& initiate
corrective measures when
current in circuit exceeds the
predetermined value.
The actuating source is a current
in the circuit supplied to the
relay from a CT.
These relays are used on ac
circuits only & can operate for
fault current flow in either
direction.

Dr Abro

Construction:

It consists of a metallic disc which is free to rotate between the

poles of two electromagnets.
The upper electromagnet has a primary & secondary winding.
The primary is connected to the secondary of CT in the line to be
protected& is tapped at intervals.
The tapings are connected to a plug-setting bridge by which the
number of active turns on the relay operating coil can be varied,
thereby giving the desired current-setting.
The secondary winding is energized by induction from primary &
is connected in series with the winding on the lower magnet.
The controlling torque is provided by a spiral spring.
The spindle of the disc carries a moving contact which bridges
two fixed contacts, connected to trip circuit, when the disc
rotates through a pre-set angle. This angle can be adjusted to
any value between 0o to 360o.
By adjusting this angle, the travel of the moving contact can be
adjusted & hence the relay can be given any desired time
setting.
Dr Abro

Operation:
The driving torque on the aluminum disc is set up due to the
induction principle.
This torque is opposed by the restraining torque provided by the
spring.
Under normal operating conditions, restraining torque is greater
than the driving torque produced by the relay coil current.
Therefore the disc remains stationary.
If the current in the protected circuit exceeds the pre-set value, the
driving torque becomes greater than the restraining torque.
Consequently, the disc rotates & the moving contact bridges the
fixed contacts when the disc has rotated through a pre-set angle.
The trip circuit operates the circuit breaker which isolates the faulty
section.

Dr Abro

Induction Type Directional Power Relay

The type of relay operates
when the, power in the
circuit flows, in a specific
direction.
A directional power relay is
so designed that it obtains
its operating torque by the
interaction of magnetic
field derived from both
voltage and current source
of the circuit it protects.
The direction of torque
depends upon the current
relative to voltage.

Dr Abro

Constructional Details:
It consists of an aluminum disc, which is free to rotate in
between the poles of two electromagnet.
The upper electromagnet carries a winding called potential
coil on the central limb, which is connected through a
potential transformer (PT) to the circuit voltage source.
The lower electromagnet has a separate winding called
current coil connected to the secondary of CT. in the line to
be protected.
The current coil is provided with a number of tapings
connected to the plug setting bridge. This permits to have
any desired current setting.
The restraining torque is provided by a spiral spring.
The spindle of the disc carries a moving contact which
bridges two fixed contacts when the disc has rotated
through a preset angle. By adjusting this angle, desired
time setting can be obtained.

Dr Abro

Operation:
The flux 1 due to current in the potential
coil will be nearly 90 lagging behind the
applied voltage V.
The flux 2 due to current coil will be
nearly in phase with the operating current
I, as in the vector diagram.
The interaction of fluxes 1 and 2 with
the eddy currents induced in the disc
produces a driving torque given by:

T 1 2 sin .
But, 1 V, 2 I, and = 90o
T V I sin (90o )
V I cos
Power in the circuit

Dr Abro

 It is clear, that the direction of driving torque on the disc depends

on the direction of power flow in the circuit to which the relay is
associated.
When the power in the circuit flows in the normal direction the
driving torque and the restraining torque help each other to turn
away the moving contact from the fixed contacts. Thus the relay
remains in operative. But with reversal of current in the circuit
the direction of driving torque on the disc reverses.
When the reversed driving torque is large enough, the disc
rotates in reverse direction, and then the moving contact closes
the trip circuit.

Dr Abro

Induction Type Directional

Overcurrent Relay
The directional power relay is
not suitable under short circuit
conditions because as short
circuit occurs the system
voltage falls to a low value
resulting in insufficient torque to
cause relay operations. This
difficulty is overcome in the
directional over current relay,
which is independent of system
voltage and power factor.

Constructional details:

It consists of two relay elements

mounted on a common case viz.
(i) directional element
(ii) non-directional element

Dr Abro

(i) Directional element:

It is essentially a directional power relay, which operates when
power flows in a specific direction.
The potential coil of this element is connected through a potential
transformer (PT) to the system voltage.
The current coil of the element is energized through a CT by the
circuit current. This winding is carried over the upper magnet of
the non-directional element.
The trip contacts (1 and 2) of the directional element are
connected in series with secondary circuit of the over current
element. The latter element cannot start to operate until its
secondary circuit is completed. In other words, the directional
element must first operate (ie. contacts 1 and 2 should close) in
order to operate the over current element.

(ii) Non-directional element:

It is an over current element similar in all respects to a nondirectional over current relay.
The spindle of the disc of this element carries a moving contact
which closes the fixed contact after the operation of directional
element.
Dr Abro

 Plug setting bridge is provided for current setting. The tappings

are provided on the upper magnet of over current element and
are connected to the bridge.

Operation:

Under normal operating conditions, power flows in the normal

direction in the circuit operated by the relay. Therefore,
directional power relay does not operate, thereby keeping the
(lower element) un-energized. However, when a short circuit
occurs, there is a tendency for the current or power to flow in
the reverse direction.
The disc of the upper element rotates to bridge the fixed
contacts 1 and 2. This completes the circuit for over current
element.
The disc of this element rotates and the moving contact
attached to closes the trip circuit. This operates the circuit
breaker which isolates the faulty section.

Dr Abro

 The two relay elements are so arranged that the final

tripping of the current controlled by them is not made till
the following conditions are satisfied:
o Current flows in a direction such as to operate the
directional element.
o Current in the reverse direction exceeds the pre-set
value.
o Excessive current persists for a period corresponding
to the time setting of overcurrent element.

Dr Abro

Distance or Impedance Relays

Distance relays are those in which the operations are
governed by the ratio of applied voltage to current in the
protected circuit. It is also called Impedance relay. In this
the torque produced by a voltage element opposes the
torque produced by a current element. The relay will
operate when the ratio V/I is less than a pre-determined
value.

Dr Abro

 The voltage element of the relay is excited through a P.T. from

the line to be protected.
The current element of the relay excited from a C.T. in series
with the line.
The portion AB of the line is the protected zone. Under normal
condition the impedance of the protected zone is ZL.
The relay closes when the impedance of the protected zone
falls below the pre-determined value ZL.
When a fault occurs at F1 in the protected zone the impedance
Z will be less than ZL and hence relay operates.
If the fault occurs beyond the protected zone (at F2) the
impedance Z will be greater than ZL and the relay does not
Dr Abro
operate.

There are two types of distance relays:

(i)

Definite-distance relay, which operates for fault up to

pre-determined distance from the relay.

(ii)

Time distance relay, in which time operation is

proportional to the distance of fault from the relay.

Dr Abro

DEFINTE-DISTANCE RELAY

Dr Abro

Operation:
Under normal operating conditions, the pull due to the
voltage element is greater than that of the current element.
Therefore, the relay remains open.
When a fault occurs in the protected zone, the applied
voltage to the relay decreases where as the current
increases. The ratio of voltage to current (i.e. impedance)
falls below the pre-determined value. Therefore, the pull of
the current element will exceed that due to the voltage
element & this causes the beam to tilt in a direction to
close the trip contacts.

Dr Abro

The pull of the current element is proportional to I2 & that of

voltage element to V2 . Consequently the relay will operate
when
or
or
or

k1V2
V2/I2
V/I
Z

<
<
<
<

k2I2
k2
k2/k1
k2/k1

These values of the constant k1 & k2 depends upon the ampereturns of the two electromagnets. By providing tapings on the
coils, the setting value of the relay can be changed.

Dr Abro

Time-Distance Impedance Relay:

This type of relay automatically
adjusts its operating time according
to the distance of the relay from the
fault point i.e.
Operating time, T V/I
Z
distance

Construction:

It consists of current driven

induction element similar to the
double-winding type induction
overcurrent relay.
The spindle carrying the disc of
this element is connected by
means of a spiral spring
coupling to a second spindle
which carries the bridging piece
of the relay trip contacts.
Dr Abro

 The bridge is normally held in the open position by an armature

held against the pole face of an electromagnet excited by the
voltage of the circuit to be protected.

Operation:

Under normal load conditions, the pull of the armature is more

than that of the induction element & hence the trip circuit
contacts remain open.
On the occurrence of a short circuit, the disc of induction current
element starts to rotate at a speed depending upon the operating
current.

As the rotation of the disc proceeds, the spiral spring coupling is

wound up till the tension of the spring is sufficient to pull the
armature away from the pole face of the voltage-excited magnet.
Immediately this occurs, the spindle carrying the armature and
bridging piece moves rapidly in response to the tension of the
spring and trip contacts are closed. This opens the CB to isolate
the faulty section.
Dr Abro

 The speed of rotation of the disc is approximately proportional to

the operating current, neglecting the effect of control spring.
Also, the time of operation of the relay is directly proportional to
the pull of the voltage-excited magnet and hence to the line
voltage V at the point where the relay is connected. Therefore
the time of operation of the rely would vary as V/I i.e. as Z or
distance.

Dr Abro

CURRENT DIFFERENTIAL RELAY

Fig: 1

A pair of identical current transformers is fitted on either end of

the section to be protected (alternator winding in this case).
The secondaries of CTs are connected in series in such a way
that they carry the induced currents in the same direction.
The operating coil of over current relay is connected across the
CT secondary circuit.
This differential relay compares the current at the two ends of
the alternator winding.
Dr Abro

Fig: 2

Under normal operating conditions, suppose the alternator

winding carries a normal current of 1000 A. Then the current
in the two secondaries of CTs are equal as in fig: 1.
These currents will merely circulate between the two CTs and
no current will flow through the differential relay. Therefore,
the relay remains inoperative.
If a ground fault occurs on the alternator winding as shown in
fig:1. The two secondary currents will not be equal and the
current flows through the operating coil of the relay, causing
the relay to operate.
The amount of current flow through the relay will depend
upon the way the fault is being fed.
Dr Abro

(i) If some current (500 A in this case) flows out of one side while a
larger current (2000 A) enters the other side as shown in fig:2, then
the difference of the CT secondary currents i.e. 10 2.5 = 7.5 A will
flow through the relay.

Fig: 3

(ii) If current flows to the fault from both sides as shown in fig: 3,
then sum of CT secondary currents i.e. 1O + 5 = 15 A will flow
through the relay.

Dr Abro

Disadvantages:
a) The impedance of the pi1ot cables generally causes a slight
difference between the currents at the two ends of the section to
be protected. If the is very sensitive, then the small differential
current flowing through the relay may cause it to operate even
under no fault conditions.
b) Pilot cable capacitance causes incorrect operation of the relay
when a large current flows.
c) Accurate matching of current transformers cannot be
achieved due to pilot circuit impedance.
The above disadvantages are overcome to a great extent in
biased beam relay.

Dr Abro

BIASED BEAM RELAY:

The biased beam relay is designed
to respond to the differential
current in terms of its fractional
relation to the current flowing
through the protected section.
Its called percentage differential
relay because the ratio of
differential operating current to
average restraining current is a
fixed percentage.

Fig.1: shows the schematic arrangements

of biased beam relay.

Its called bias relay because the

restraining coil is known as biased
coil which produces the bias force.

Dr Abro

 It is essentially an over current balanced beam type relay with

an additional restraining coil. The restraining coil produces a bias
force in the opposite direction to the operating force.
Under normal and through load conditions, the bias force due to
restraining coil is greater than operating force. Therefore, the
relay remains inoperative.
When an internal fault occurs, the operating force exceeds the
bias force. Consequently the trip contacts are closed to open the
circuit breaker.
The bias force can be adjusted by varying the number of turns
on the restraining coil.

Dr Abro

Fig. 2: The equivalent circuit of a biased beam relay

The equivalent circuit of a biased beam relay is shown in fig: 2. The
differential current in operating coil is proportional to i2 i1 and the
equivalent current in the restraining coil is proportional to (i1 + i2)/2
since the operating coil is connected to the mid-point of the
restraining coil.
It is clear that greater the current flowing through the restraining
coil, the higher the value of current required in the operating winding
to trip the relay.
Thus under heavy load, a greater differential current through the
relay operating coil is required for operation, than under light load
conditions
Dr Abro

VOLTAGE DIFFERENTIAL RELAY

In this scheme of protection, two similar current

transformers are connected at either end of the element
to be protected (e.g. an alternator winding) by means of
pilot of wires. The secondaries of current transformers
are connected in series with a relay in such a way that
under normal conditions, their induced e.m.fs are in
opposition.

Dr Abro

Under healthy conditions, equal currents will flow in both primary

windings. Therefore, the secondary voltages of the two transformers
are balanced against each other and no current will flow through the
relay-operating coil. When a fault occurs in the protected zone, the
currents in the two primaries will differ from one another and their
secondary voltages will no longer be in balance. This voltage
difference will cause a current to flow through the operating coil of
the relay, which closes the trip circuit.

Disadvantages:

The voltage balance system suffers from the following drawbacks:

(i) A multi-gap transformer construction is required to achieve the
accurate balance between current transformer pairs.
(ii) The system is suitable for protection of cables of relatively short,
lengths due to the capacitance of pilot wires.
Dr Abro

Translay Sytem:

The translay relay is another type of differential relay. The arrangement

is similar to overcurrent relay but the secondary winding is not closed
on itself. Additionally copper ring or copper shading bands are provided
on the central limb.

Dr Abro

These type of relays are used in the feeder protection and the
scheme is called Translay scheme. In this scheme, two such relays
are employed at the two ends of feeder.
Dr Abro

o The compensating devices, i.e. copper rings are used to

neutralize the effect of pilot wire capacitance currents and
unbalance between two currents transformers.
o Under normal operating conditions, the current at the two ends of
the feeder is same. The primaries of the two relays carry the
same currents inducing the same voltage in the secondaries. As
these two voltages are in opposition, no current flows through the
two secondaries circuits and no torque is exerted on the discs of
both the relays.
o When the fault occurs, the currents at the two ends of the feeder
are different. Hence unequal voltages are induced in the
secondaries. Hence the circulating current flows in the secondary
circuit causing torque to be exerted on the disc of each relay. But
as the secondaries are in opposition, hence torque in one relay
operates so as to close the trip circuit while in other relay the
torque just holds the movement in un-operated position.
o The care is taken that at least one relay operates under the fault
condition.
Dr Abro

Role of copper ring:

Mainly relays may operate because of unbalance in the current

transformers. The copper rings are so adjusted that the torque due to
current induced in the copper ring due to primary winding of relay is
restraining and do not allow the disc to rotate. It is adjusted just to
neutralize the effect of unbalance between current transformers. The
copper rings also neutralize the effect of pilot capacitive currents.
Though the feeder current is same at two ends, the pilot capacitive
currents may allow in the pilots. This current leads the secondary
voltage by 90o. The copper rings are adjusted such that no torque is
exerted on the disc, due to such capacitive pilot currents, by adjusting
the angle between the induced current in the disc and secondary
current to be 90o.

Advantages:

1. Only two pilot wires are required.

2. The cost is very low.
3. The current transformers with normal design can be employed.
4. The capacitive effects of pilot wire currents do not affect the
operation of the relays.
Dr Abro

References:

1. Power System Protection & Switchgear, Badri Ram, D N

Vishvakarma, Tata MicGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd,
2006,ISBN 0-07-462350-8.
2. Switchgear & Protection, Sunail S. Rao, Khana Publishers,
1997.
3. Power System Protection & Switchgear, B Ravindarnath & M
Chandar, New Age Int. Publishers, 2008, ISBN-81-085226758-4.
4. Principles of Power System, V K Mehata & Rohit Mehta, S.
Chand & Company Ltd, 2006, ISBN-81-219-0594-X.
5. A Text Book of Power System Engineering, R K Rajput,
Laxmi Publication, 2006.
6. Switchgear & Power System Protection, Ravidra P. Singh,
PHI Learning Private Ltd, 2009, ISBN-978-81-203-3660-5.
7. http://www.circuitmaniac.com

Dr Abro