REL 316*4 1MRB520050-Uen / Rev.

F ABB Switzerland Ltd

3.5.10. Directional inverse time overcurrent protection

(DirCurrentInv)

A. Application
Directional overcurrent function for
· detecting phase faults on ring lines
· detecting phase faults on double-circuit lines with an infeed at
one end
· backup protection for a distance protection scheme.

B. Features
· directionally sensitive three-phase phase fault protection
· operating characteristics (see Fig. 3.5.10.1) according to
British Standard B.S.142:
c = 0.02: normal inverse
c = 1: very inverse und long time earth fault
c = 2: extremely inverse.
· insensitive to DC component
· insensitive to harmonics
· voltage memory feature for close faults.

C. Inputs and outputs

I. C.t./v.t. inputs
· current
· voltage

II. Binary inputs

· Blocking
· PLC receive

III. Binary outputs

· start
· start R
· start S
· start T
· forwards measurement
· backwards measurement
· tripping

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IV. Measurements
· current amplitude
of the three phase currents (IR, IS, IT)
· active power
A positive measurement indicates the forwards direction
(IR * UST, IS * UTR, IT * URS)
· voltage amplitude
Amplitudes of the phase-to-phase voltages
(UST, UTR, URS).

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D. Directional overcurrent settings - DirCurrentInv

Summary of parameters:
Text Unit Default Min. Max. Step

ParSet4..1 P1 (Select)
Trip B00000000
CurrentInp CT/VT-Addr 0
VoltageInp CT/VT-Addr 0
I-Start IN 1.10 1.00 4.00 0.01
Angle Deg 45 -180 +180 15
c-Setting 1.00 (Select)
k1-Setting s 13.5 0.01 200.00 0.01
t-min s 0.00 0.00 10.00 0.01
IB-Setting IN 1.00 0.04 2.50 0.01
tWait s 0.20 0.02 20.00 0.01
MemDirMode Trip (Select)
MemDuration s 2.00 0.20 60.00 0.01
Receive BinaryAddr T
Ext Block BinaryAddr F
Trip SignalAddr ER
Start SignalAddr
Start R SignalAddr ER
Start S SignalAddr ER
Start T SignalAddr ER
MeasFwd SignalAddr
MeasBwd SignalAddr

Explanation of parameters:
ParSet 4..1
Parameter for determining in which set of parameters a par-
ticular function is active (see Section 5.11.).
Trip
defines the tripping channel activated by the function’s
tripping output (matrix tripping logic).
CurrentInp
defines the c.t. input channel. Only three-phase c.t’s can be
set and the first channel (R phase) of the group of three
selected must be specified.

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VoltageInp
defines the v.t. voltage input channel. Only three-phase v.t’s
can be set and the first channel (R phase) of the group of
three selected must be specified.
I-Start
Pick-up current at which the characteristic becomes effective.
Angle
Characteristic angle.
c-Setting
Setting for the exponential factor determining the operating
characteristic according to BS 142.
k1-Setting
Constant determining the parallel shift of the characteristic.
t-min
Definite minimum operating time, operating characteristic
constant.
IB-Setting
Base current for taking account of differences of rated current
IN.
tWait
Time allowed for the directional decision to be received.
MemDirMode
determines the response of the protection after the time set
for memorising power direction:
· trip
· block.
MemDuration
Time during which the power direction last determined
remains valid.
Receive
Input for the signal from the opposite end of the line:
T: not used
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).
Ext Block
F: not blocked
xx: all binary inputs (or outputs of protection functions).
Trip
Tripping signal.

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Start
Pick-up signal.
Start R
R phase pick-up signal.
Start S
S phase pick-up signal.
Start T
T phase pick-up signal.
MeasFwd
signals measurement in the forwards direction.
MeasBwd
signals measurement in the backwards direction.

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E. Setting instructions
Settings:
Base current IB-Setting
Characteristic enabling current I-Start
Type of characteristic c-Setting
Multiplier k1-Setting
Characteristic angle Angle
Delay Delay
Time allowed for receipt of signal tWait
Response at the end of the
memorised power direction time MemDirMode
Time during which the memorised
direction is valid MemDuration

Base current “IB-Setting”

A tripping current is not set on an IDMT overcurrent function as it
is on a definite time overcurrent function. Instead the position of
the characteristic is chosen such that it is above the load current.
The function, however, has a “base current” setting which is set
to the full load current IB1 of the protected unit. The base current
setting determines the position of the basic characteristic. The
characteristic is enabled when the base current is exceeded by a
preset amount (I-Start). The adjustment of the base current IB to
the load current IB1 of the protected unit instead of its rated
current enables for
IB1 < rated current of prot. unit : more sensitive protection
IB1 > rated current of prot. unit : maximum utilisation of the
thermal capability of the
protected unit.
Example:
Load current of the protected unit IB1 = 800 A
C.t rated current IN1 = 1000 A
IN2 = 5A
Protection rated current IN = 5A
Protection base current
IN2 5A
IB = IB1 = 800 A =4A
IN1 1000 A
Setting
IB 4 A
= = 0 .8 A
IN 5 A

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An alternative is to adjust the position of the IDMT characteristic

to match the rated load of the protected unit and set the base
current to its rated current instead of its load current.

Enabling the characteristic ‘I-Start’

The IDMT characteristic is enabled when the current exceeds
the setting ‘I-Start’. A typical setting for ‘I-Start’ is 1.1 IB.

Choice of characteristic ‘c-Setting’

The constant ‘c-Setting’ determines the shape of the IDMT char-
acteristic. The settings for the standard characteristics according
to B.S. 142 are:
“normal inverse” : c = 0.02
“very inverse” and “long time earth fault” : c = 1.00
“extremely inverse” : c = 2.00.

Fig. 3.5.10.1 Operating characteristic of the directional IDMT

overcurrent function

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Multiplier ‘k1-Setting’
The multiplier ‘k1-Setting’ enables the IDMT characteristic cho-
sen by the setting of parameter c to be shifted without changing
its shape. This is used for grading the operating times of a series
of IDMT relays along a line to achieve discrimination.
For example, in the case of the “very inverse” characteristic, the
constant c = 1 and the factor k1 £ 13.5. The operating time t is
given by the equation

k1
t=
I
-1
IB

Assuming a grading time of 0.5 s at 6 times the base current IB is

required, the factor k1 for each of the relays is given by
k1 = 5 t.
This produces for operating times between 0.5 and 2.5 s the fol-
lowing settings for k1:

t [s] k1 [s]
0.5 2.5
1 5
1.5 7.5
2 10
2.5 12.5

The characteristics according to BS 142 are set as follows:

“normal inverse” : k1 = 0.14 s
“very inverse” : k1 = 13.5 s
“extremely inverse” : k1 = 80 s
“long time earth fault” : k1 = 120 s.

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Characteristic angle
Determining the phase-angle of the current provides an addi-
tional criterion for preserving discrimination compared with non-
directional overcurrent protection. The directional sensitivity is
±180° in relation to the reference voltage. This is illustrated in the
following diagrams. The angles given apply for connection ac-
cording to the connections in Section 12.

y
IR vit
siti
j L n
w
. se
UR IR ax
M
UTR URS

UT US
Restraint: a = 45°
cos (j’- a) = neg. j’

U ST U ST

Operation:
cos (j’- a) = pos.

a) b)
L
HEST 005 001 C

j’ = phase-angle between current and voltage

(positive angle)
a = Characteristic angle
L = Border line between operating and restraint areas

a) Definition of current b) Operating characteristic

and voltage

Fig. 3.5.10.2 Vector diagram for a fault in the forwards direction

on R phase

The function determines the power direction by measuring the

phase-angle of the current in relation to the opposite phase-to-
phase voltage. Which current is compared with which voltage
can be seen from the following table.
Current input Phase-to-neutral voltage Calculated voltage

IR U S , UT UST = US - UT

IS U T , UR UTR = UT - UR

IT UR, US URS = UR - US

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The voltage measurement automatically compensates the group

of connection of the v.t’s. For example, the phase-to-phase val-
ues are calculated for Y-connected v.t’s (v.t. type UTS), while the
input voltages are used directly for delta-connected v.t’s (v.t.
type UTD).

Time allowed for a signal to be received

I
R Start R
I>
Forwards meas.

Forwards meas. R
U
ST j &
³1 & t AUS
³1
Reverse meas. R
j &
Receive
td
I
S Start S
I>

U
TR j &
Forwards meas. S

Reverse meas. S Reverse meas.

j & ³1

I
T Start T
I>
Forwards meas. T

U
RS j & Start
³1

Reverse meas. T
j &

Fig. 3.5.10.3 Block diagram

td = “Delay”
t = “tWait”

Where directional functions are configured in both line terminals,

each can send a signal from its “MeasBwd” output to the “Re-
ceive” input of the function at the opposite end of the line (e.g.
via a PLC channel) when it is measuring a fault in the reverse di-
rection. This signal prevents the respective directional overcur-
rent function from tripping, because the fault cannot be in the
zone between them. The functions therefore have to allow time,
i.e. the “wait time”, for the signal from the opposite line terminal
to be received. If none is received within “tWait”, the circuit-
breakers are tripped at both ends.

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The time set for “Delay” acts in this kind of scheme as a backup
which does not rely on the communication channel. Thus when
the “Receive” input is being used, the setting for “Delay” must be
longer than the setting for “tWait”:
“Delay” > “tWait”.

Response after decay of the memorised voltage

The voltage measured by the protection can quickly decay to
almost zero for a close fault and make determining direction un-
reliable. For this reason, the function includes a voltage memory
feature and for the first 200 milliseconds after the incidence of an
overcurrent, the voltage measured immediately before the fault
is used as reference to determine fault direction.
After this time, the last valid direction is used for an adjustable
period (see next paragraph).
“MemDirMode” provides facility for setting how the protection
must respond after this time or in the event that the circuit-
breaker is closed onto a fault and no voltage could be memo-
rised beforehand. The two possible settings are the protection
can trip or it can block.

Time during which the memorised direction is valid

The “MemDuration” setting determines how long the last valid di-
rection measurement shall be used. The setting should be as
short as possible (200 ms) when the function is being used as
backup for a distance function in an HV power system, because
an actually measured voltage is only available during this time
and therefore it is only possible to detect a reversal of direction
during this time. For longer settings, the last valid power direc-
tion is used instead of the actually memorised voltage.

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