Introduction

Circuit Breakers are quite unique devices in the sense that they are mechanical devices connected to electrical system.
Since the time when first electrical systems were utilized, there is always a need for a mechanism or a device that can
initiate and interrupt the flow of electric current.
In power system, it is often necessary to switch on or off various electrical devices and circuits like generating plants,
transmission line, distribution systems, etc. either in normal operating conditions or under abnormal situations. Originally,
this task is performed by a switch and a fuse connected in series with the electrical circuit.
The main disadvantage of such a setup is that if a fuse is blown, it is often time consuming to replace one and restore the
power supply. The other and main disadvantage is that a fuse cannot interrupt heavy fault currents.
These limitations restricted the usage of switch and fuse combination to small voltage and small capacity circuits. But in
case of high voltage and large current system, a more dependable way than using a switch and fuse is desired.
This is achieved with the help of Circuit Breakers.
What are Circuit Breakers?
Circuit Breakers are mechanical switching devices that can make, carry or break a circuit either manually or automatically
under normal and abnormal circuit conditions. Under normal conditions, a circuit breaker can make, carry or break
currents and under abnormal conditions, it can make or carry for a specific time and break the currents.
The characteristics of a Circuit Breaker are as follows:
 It can make or break a circuit under normal operating conditions either manually or using a remote control.
 Under abnormal or fault conditions, it can break the circuit automatically.
 It can make the circuit under fault conditions either manually or using a remote control.
These characteristics of a Circuit Breaker makes it a very useful device for switching and protection in a power system.
Principle of Operation of Circuit Breakers
The main duty of a Circuit Breaker is to switch ON and OFF the electrical circuits during normal or abnormal operating
conditions, once or several times repeatedly. The operating principle of a circuit breaker is very simple.
A typical circuit breaker consists of a fixed and a moving contact called Electrodes. These contacts are closed under
normal circuit operating conditions.
If the system becomes faulty, the contacts will open automatically and alternatively, these contacts can also be opened
manually whenever desired (for example, during maintenance).
Under faulty system conditions, a simple mechanism will pull the moving contacts away as a result of trip coil getting
energized and essentially opening the circuit.
An important phenomenon that occurs during the opening of the contacts is the Arc Phenomenon. If a fault is detected on
any part of the system, the contacts of the circuit breaker are separated and during this process, an arc is struck between
them. Until the arc discharges, the current in the circuit continues to flow.
The arc not only delays the circuit interruption but also produces a significant amount of heat that could potentially
damage the circuit breaker itself or the entire system. Hence, one of the main challenges in circuit breakers is to
extinguish the arc as quickly as possible.

Arc Phenomenon in Circuit Breakers

During faulty conditions like a short circuit, for example, a significantly large amount of current flows through the contacts
of the circuit breaker before the protective mechanism kicks in and opens the contacts.
The instant when the contacts start to open, the contact area is suddenly reduced and the current density increases due
to the large short circuit current. This leads to a rise in temperature and the heat produced is sufficient to ionize the
medium (air or oil). The ionized medium acts as a conductor and an arc is struck between the contacts.
This arc provides a low resistance path between the contacts (even though they are open) and the large faulty current
continues to flow as long as the arc exists an it defeats the purpose of the circuit breaker.
Reasons for Arc
Before understanding the methods to extinguish arcs, let us try to analyze the factors responsible for the maintaining the
arc between the contacts of the circuit breaker.
The reasons can be confined to the following two:
 Potential Difference between the contacts
 Ionized particles between the contacts
The potential difference between the contacts is sufficient for the arc to exist as the separation between the contacts is
less. Also, the ionized medium i.e. ionized air or oil have a tendency to maintain the arc.
Different Methods of Arc Extinction
Basically, there are two ways in which you can extinguish the arc between the contacts of a circuit breaker. They are:
 High Resistance Method
 Low Resistance Method
High Resistance Method
In the High Resistance method, the resistance of the arc is increased so that the current will become insignificant to
maintain the arc. There are several ways in which you can implement the High Resistance Method.
Some ways to increase the resistance of the arc are:
  Increasing the arc length
 Cooling the arc
 Reducing the area of cross section of the arc
 Splitting the arc
This method is usually implemented in DC Circuit breakers and Low Capacity AC Circuits as it produces enormous
amount of heat during the arc extinction.
Low Resistance Method
In the low resistance method, as the name suggests, the resistance of the arc maintained low until the current becomes
zero and the arc extinguishes naturally. Hence, this method is also known as Current Zero Method.
The low resistance method is often implemented in high power AC circuit breakers as this method prevents restriking of
the arc even when the voltage across the contacts rises.
Another important factor to consider is the ionization of the medium and the tendency of ionized particles to maintain the
arc. If the medium between the contacts is deionized, as quickly as possible, the possibility of restriking can be reduced
significantly.
Deionization of the medium can be achieved by the following ways:
 Increasing the gap between the contacts
 Increasing the pressure
 Cooling the arc
 Gas Blast effect
Classification of Circuit Breakers
There are several ways of classifying different circuit breakers. Some of the common criteria used for classification of
circuit breakers are:
 Intended Voltage Applications
 Location of the installation
 Design Characteristics
 Method and medium used for current interruption (Arc Extinction)
Even though there are several ways to classify circuit breakers, the classification based on the medium and method of
current interruption is most general and significant in the industry as well. For now, we will briefly about all these
classifications and in the later sections, we will discuss the main classification (i.e. based on method of arc extinction)
more thoroughly.
Based on Voltage Class
The first logical classification of circuit breakers is based on the operating voltage intended for the circuit breakers to be
used. There are two types of circuit breakers based on the voltage level. They are:
 Low Voltage Circuit Breakers, which are intended to be used at voltages up to 1000V.
 High Voltage Circuit Breakers, which are intended to be used at voltages greater than 1000V.
Again, high voltage circuit breakers are further divided into 123kV or above and 72.5kV or below.
Based on Type of Installation
Circuit breakers are also classified based on the location of installation i.e. outdoor or indoor installation. These circuit
breakers are usually high voltage circuit breakers. Indoor circuit breakers are designed to be used inside buildings or with
special weather resistant enclosures, usually a metal clad switchgear enclosure.
In fact, the main difference between indoor and outdoor circuit breakers is the packaging structures and enclosures while
the internal structure like current carrying parts, interrupting mechanism and operation are pretty much the same.
Based on Type of External Design
The classification of circuit breakers is also done based on the physical structural design and it is usually done in two
ways. They are:
 Dead Tank Type Circuit Breakers
 Live Tank Type Circuit Breakers
In Dead Tank Type Circuit Breakers, the switching device is placed in a vessel at ground potential and it is surrounded by
interrupters and insulating medium. One the other hand, in a Live Tank Type Circuit Breaker, the vessel containing the
interrupters and insulating medium is at higher potential than ground.
Dead Tank Circuit Breakers are more common in the US while Live Tank Circuit Breakers are frequently used in Europe
and Asia.
Based on Type of Interrupting Medium
The most significant and important classification of circuit breakers is based on the interrupting medium and arc extinction
method. In fact, the current interrupting medium and the arc extinction method have become the main factors in designing
the circuit breakers and also, they dictated the overall design parameters.
Originally, oil and air served as the interrupting medium and continue to be still used even after almost a century since
their first implementation.
There are two newer techniques, one involving vacuum and the other one based on Sulfurhexafluoride (SF 6) gas as the
interrupting medium. These two dominate today’s circuit breaker industry but oil and air circuit breakers are also still in
service.
Different Types of Circuit Breakers
Since the general and most common way of classification of circuit breakers is based on medium used for arc extinction,
we will see different types of circuit breakers based on the same.
Usually, the medium used for extinction of arc is air, oil, Sulfurhexafluoride gas or vacuum. Hence, the different types of
circuit breakers based on these media are:
 Air Magnetic Circuit Breakers
 Air Blast Circuit Breakers
 Oil Circuit Breakers
 Sulfurhexafluoride (SF6) Circuit Breakers
 Vacuum Circuit Breakers
Each type has its advantages and disadvantages and we will take a look as all these different types of circuit breakers in
detail.
Air Magnetic Circuit Breakers
The first circuit breaker is the Air Magnetic Circuit Breaker. It is also called as Arc Chute Circuit Breaker. Usually, it
consists of a number of plates between the contacts and are made up of either metallic or insulated materials.

When the arc is struck, it comes in contact with the series of metal plates. As a result, the main arc is divided into a
number of smaller arcs that across the plates and the voltage drop is usually 30 to 40 volts. In this type of circuit breaker,
the plates are usually metallic.
Another type of arc chute circuit breaker is based on a magnetic low-out assist. This type usually uses insulated arcing
plates and are made of ceramic.
In this type, the arc is first made to travel between the insulating plates to elongate the arc. Then the arc is cooled by
diffusion. When the circuit breaker begins to open and the arc is initiated, the separation between the contacts is
increased. A coil, which is not part of the main conducting circuit, comes into contact with the current.
The magnetic field created by this coil will exert a force on the arc and as a result, the arc tends to move deeper into the
chute.
Air Blast Circuit Breakers
The second ‘air’ based circuit breakers are air blast circuit breakers. In this type, a high-pressure air-blast is used as arc
extinguishing medium. In case of a fault, the air-blast, controlled by a blast valve, will open the contacts and also cools the
arc.
The arc and the arching products are swept into the atmosphere, which rapidly increases the dielectric strength of the
medium. As a result, the restriking of arc is prevented. The arc is extinguished consequently and the flow of current is
completely interrupted.
There are three types of air blast circuit breakers based on the direction of the air-blast in relation to the arc. They are:
 Axial Blast Type
 Cross Blast Type
 Radial Blast Type
In axial-blast circuit breakers, the air-blast flows in the same direction as the arc. The high-pressure air-blast will push the
moving contact away, opening the circuit and also pushes the arc along with it.

The air-blast in cross-blast type circuit breakers is perpendicular to the arc path and in radial-blast type circuit breakers, it
is directed radially.
Advantages
 Risk of fire is eliminated.
 Arcing products are completely removed by the air-blast.
 Significantly faster increase in dielectric strength. Hence, the contact gap can be less, resulting in smaller device.
 Arcing time is very small and the arc energy is also small. Suitable for frequent operations.
 Air-blast is independent to the interrupting current.
Disadvantages
 Arc extinguishing properties of air are inferior.
 Sensitive to variations in restricting voltage.
 Air-blast compressor needs to be maintained.
Oil Circuit Breakers
In Oil Circuit Breakers, an insulating oil is used as the arc extinguishing medium. As the contacts are opened in oil, when
the arc strikes, the surrounding oil is evaporated as hydrogen gas.

The hydrogen gas bubble will surround the arc region. Hydrogen gas, due to its high thermal conductivity, cools the arc
and also deionizes the medium. Also, the gas causes turbulence in the surrounding oil and all the arcing products are
pushed away from the arc.
There are two types of oil circuit breakers. They are:
 Bulk Oil Circuit Breakers
 Low Oil Circuit Breakers
As the name suggests, bulk oil circuit breakers use a significantly large quantity of oil. Further, bulk oil circuit breakers are
again divided into two types.
 Plain Break Oil Circuit Breakers
 Arc Control Oil Circuit Breakers
In Plain Break Oil Circuit Breakers, the contacts are separated in the oil tank and the system for arc control is to increase
the separation of the contacts. When a critical gap between the contacts is reached, the arc extinction occurs.
The lack of control over the arc in plain break oil circuit breakers is overcome in Arc Control Oil Circuit Breakers. The arc
control is implemented in two ways known as:
 Self-blast Oil Circuit Breakers
 Forced-blast Oil Circuit Breakers
In self-blast type breakers, an insulating rigid pressure chamber is used with the contacts and the gases released during
arcing are confined to this chamber or pot. The high pressure developed in the small chamber will force the oil as gas to
go through the arc and subsequently extinguishing it.

There are three type or designs of pressure pots in Self-blast Oil Circuit Breakers. They are:

 Plain Explosion Pot

 Cross Jet Explosion Pot
 Self-compensated Explosion Pot

Coming to Forced-blast Oil Circuit Breakers, a piston cylinder is used to create the necessary oil pressure in contrast to
Self-blast Oil Circuit Breakers, where the pressure is developed by the arc itself.

In all the Bulk Oil Circuit Breakers mentioned above, the oil has two jobs. One is to act as an arc extinguishing medium
and the other is to insulate live circuit from earth. Only a small percentage (10% or less) is actually used for arc extinction
and the majority of the oil is used for insulating purpose.

In Low Oil Circuit Breakers, oil is used for arc extinction and a solid material like porcelain and paper are used for
insulation.

Advantages

 Oil has excellent cooling property and the arc energy converts the oil into gas.
 Acts as insulator between live wires and earth.

Disadvantages

 Oil is inflammable and is a fire hazard.

 Arcing products cannot escape and remain in the oil.

Sulfurhexafluoride (SF6) Circuit Breakers

In Sulfur Hexafluoride circuit breakers, Sulfur Hexafluoride with chemical formula SF 6, is used as the arc extinguishing
medium.
The Sulfurhexafluoride gas is electro-negative in nature i.e. it attracts free electrons. When the circuit contacts are
opened, a high pressure Sulfurhexafluoride gas flows through the chamber as the arc strikes.

Free electrons produced during the arcing are quickly absorbed by the SF 6 gas resulting in immobile negative ions. As the
arc loses its conducting electrons, the insulating strength of the surrounding medium is quickly increased and the arc
completely extinguishes.

Following image shows a simplified construction of SF 6 Circuit Breaker. Both the fixed and moving contacts are placed in
arc chamber, which contains Sulfurhexafluoride gas. When the contacts open, a high pressure SF6 gas from a reservoir
will flow through the chamber’s inlet.

Advantages

 Superior arc extinguishing property.

 Can interrupt larger currents as the dielectric strength of SF 6 gas is almost 3 times greater than air.
 Noise free operation and no exhaust into atmosphere.
 Moisture free operation as the gas filled chamber keeps in interior dry.
 Very low maintenance and requires minimum equipment.
 Suitable for hazardous and hostile conditions like coal mines as the breakers are enclosed and sealed.

Disadvantages

 Sulfurhexafluoride gas is very costly.

 SF6 has to be reconditioned after every operation.
 This high pressure Sulfurhexafluoride gas will absorb all the conducting free electrons and as a result causes the
extinction of the arc.

Vacuum Circuit Breakers

In vacuum circuit breakers or VCB, the arc extinguishing medium is, well Vacuum. It offers superior arc extinguishing
properties than other medium as it has the highest insulating strength.

When the contacts of the circuit breaker in vacuum are opened, an arc is formed due to ionization of the metal vapours of
the contacts. But the arc is quickly extinguished as the vapours rapidly condense.

A typical vacuum circuit breaker is shown in the following image. It consists of a moving contact and a fixed contact and
also an arc shield mounted in a vacuum chamber. The outer insulating body is usually made up of glass or ceramic.
Advantages

 No fire hazards.
 Compact, very reliable and have very long life.
 No gas is generated during or after operation.
 No or very little maintenance.
 VCB can interrupt any fault current.
 Can withstand lightning strikes.
 Low arc energy is released.
 energized. The mmf of the trip coil initiates the mechanical movement of the tripping mechanism
of the circuit breaker and ultimately the circuit breaker is tripped to isolate the fault.
 Functional Requirements of Protection Relay
 Reliability
 The most important requisite of protective relay is reliability. They remain inoperative for a long
time before a fault occurs; but if a fault occurs, the relays must respond instantly and correctly.

 Selectivity
 The relay must be operated in only those conditions for which relays are commissioned in the
electrical power system. There may be some typical condition during fault for which some relays
should not be operated or operated after some definite time delay hence protection relay must be
sufficiently capable to select appropriate condition for which it would be operated.
 Sensitivity
 The relaying equipment must be sufficiently sensitive so that it can be operated reliably when
level of fault condition just crosses the predefined limit.

 Speed
 The protective relays must operate at the required speed. There must be a correct coordination
provided in various power system protection relays in such a way that for fault at one portion of
the system should not disturb other healthy portion. Fault current may flow through a part of
healthy portion since they are electrically connected but relays associated with that healthy
portion should not be operated faster than the relays of faulty portion otherwise undesired
 interruption of healthy system may occur. Again if relay associated with faulty portion is not
operated in proper time due to any defect in it or other reason, then only the next relay associated
with the healthy portion of the system must be operated to isolate the fault. Hence it should
neither be too slow which may result in damage to the equipment nor should it be too fast which
may result in undesired operation.

Overcurrent Relay
Definition: The overcurrent relay is defined as the relay, which operates only when the value of the
current is greater than the relay setting time. It protects the equipment of the power system from the fault
current.

Depending on the time of operation the overcurrent relay is categorized into following types.

 Instantaneous Overcurrent relay

 Inverse time Overcurrent Relay
 Definite Time Overcurrent Relay
 Inverse Definite Time Overcurrent Relay
 Very Inverse Definite Time Overcurrent Relay
 Extremely Inverse Definite Time Overcurrent Relay
 Instantaneous Overcurrent relay

Instantaneous Overcurrent Relay

The relay has no intentional time delay for operation. The contacts of the relay are closed instantly when the
current inside the relay rises beyond the operational value. The time interval between the instant pick-up value
and the closing contacts of the relay is very less.

The most significant advantage of the instantaneous relay is that it has low operating time. It starts operating
instantly when the value of current is more than the relay setting. This relay operates only when the impedance
between the source and the relay is less than that provided in the section.

The most important feature of the relay is their speed of operation. The relay protects the system from earth
fault and also used for protecting the system from circulating current. The instantaneous overcurrent relay is
placed in the outgoing feeder.

Inverse-Time Overcurrent Relay

The relay operates only when the magnitude of their operating current is inversely proportional to the
magnitude of the energize quantities. The operating time of relay decreases with the increases in the current.
The operation of the relay depends on the magnitude of the current

The characteristic curve for the relay is shown in the figure below. The relay will not operate when the value of
current is less than the pick value. The relay is used for the protection of the distribution lines. The inverse time
relay is of three types.
 Inverse Definite Minimum Time Relay

The relay whose operating time is approximately proportional to the fault current is known as the IDMT relay.
The operating time of the relay is maintained by adjusting the time delay setting. The IDMT relay uses the
electromagnetic core because it can easily saturate for the current having larger magnitude than pick up current.
The relay is used for the protection of the distribution line.

Very Inverse Relay

The inverse characteristic of the relay is more than the IDMT. Such type of relay is used in the feeder and on
long transmission lines. The relay is used in the places where there the magnitude of the short-circuit current
fall rapidly because of the large distance from the source. It is used for sensing the fault current which is free
from the fault location.

Extremely Inverse Relay

The characteristic time of the relay is extremely large as compared to the IDMT and the Very inverse relay.
This relay is used for protecting the cable, transformer, etc. The relay can operate instantly when the pickup
value of the current is more than the relay setting time. The relay provides faster operation even under the fault
current. It is used for sensing the overheating of the machines.

The inverse time relay is used in the distribution networks and the power plants. The relay gives the fast
operation in the fault conditions because of their fault time characteristic.
Differential Protection of a Transformer
The transformer is one of the major equipment in power system. It is a static device, totally enclosed and
usually oil immersed, and therefore the fault occurs on them are usually rare. But the effect of even a rare fault
may be very serious for a power transformer. Hence the protection of power transformer against possible fault
is very important.

The fault occurs on the transformer is mainly divided into two type external faults and internal fault. External
fault is cleared by the relay system outside the transformer within the shortest possible time in order to avoid
any danger to the transformer due to these faults. The protection for internal fault in such type of transformer is
to be provided by using differential protection system.

Differential protection schemes are mainly used for protection against phase-to-phase fault and phase to earth
faults.The differential protection used for power transformers is based on Merz-Prize circulating current
principle. Such types of protection are generally used for transformers of rating exceeding 2 MVA.

Connection for Differential Protection for Transformer

The power transformer is star connected on one side and delta connected on the other side. The CTs on the star
connected side are delta-connected and those on delta-connected side are star-connected. The neutral of the
current transformer star connection and power transformer star connections are grounded.

The restraining coil is connected between the secondary winding of the current transformers. Restraining coils
controls the sensitive activity occurs on the system. The operating coil is placed between the tapping point of
the restraining coil and the star point of the current transformer secondary windings.

Working of Differential Protection

System
Normally, the operating coil carries no current as the current are balanced on both the side of the power
transformers. When the internal fault occurs in the power transformer windings the balanced is disturbed and
the operating coils of the differential relay carry current corresponding to the difference of the current among
the two sides of the transformers.Thus, the relay trip the main circuit breakers on both sides of the power
transformers.

Problem Associated with Differenctial Protection System

When the transformer is energizing the transient inrush of magnetizing current is flows in the transformer. This
current is as large as 10 times full load current and its decay respectively.This magnetizing current is flows in
the primary winding of the power transformers due to which it causes a difference in current transformer output
and it makes the differential protection of the transformer to operate falsely.

To overcome this problem the kick fuse is placed across the relay coil. These fuses are of the time-limit type
with an inverse characteristic and do not operate in short duration of the switch in the surge. When the fault
occurs the fuses blow out and the fault current flows through the relay coils and operate the protection system.
This problem can also be overcome by using a relay with an inverse and definite minimum type characteristic
instead of an instantaneous type.

he over-current protection can be given directional feature by adding directional

element in the protection system. Directional over-current protection responds to
over-currents for a particular direction flow. If power flow is in the opposite
direction, the directional over-current protection remains un-operative.

Directional over-current protection comprises over-current relay and power

directional relay- in a single relay casing. The power directional relay does not
measure the power but is arranged to respond to the direction of power flow.

Directional operation of relay is used where the selectivity can be achieved by

directional relaying. The directional relay recognizes the direction in which fault
occurs, relative to the location of the relay. It is set such that it actuates for faults
occurring in one direction only. It does not act for faults occurring in the other
direction. Consider a feeder AC (Fig. 9) passing through sub-section B. The circuit
breaker CB3 is provided with a directional

(Fig. 9) Principle of directional protection

Relay `R' which will trip the breaker CB3 if fault power flow in direction C alone.
Therefore for faults in feeder AB, the circuit breaker CB3 does not
trip unnecessarily. However for faults in feeder BC the circuit-breaker CB3 trips
Because it's protective relaying is set with a directional feature to act in
direction AC
Another interesting example of directional protection is that of reverse power
protection of generator (Fig. 10). If the prime mover fails, the generator continues to
run as a motor and takes power from bus-bars.
 (Fig. 10) Reverse powers protection
against motoring action of a generator
Directional power protection operates in accordance with the direction of power
flow.
Reverse power protection operates when the power direction is reversed in relation
to the normal working direction. Reverse power relay is different in construction
than directional over-current relay.
In directional over-current relay, the directional element does not measure the
magnitude of power. It senses only direction of power flow. However, in Reverse
Power Relays, the directional element measures magnitude and direction of power
flow.

Distance Protection Relay

Distance protection relay is the name given to the protection, whose action depends on the distance of the
feeding point to the fault. The time of operation of such protection is a function of the ratio of voltage and
current, i.e., impedance. This impedance between the relay and the fault depends on the electrical distance
between them. The principal type of distance relays is impedance relays, reactance relays, and the reactance
relays.

Distance protection relay principle differs from other forms of protection because their performance does not
depend on the magnitude of the current or voltage in the protective circuit but it depends on the ratio of these
two quantities. It is a double actuating quantity relay with one of their coil is energized by voltage and the other
coil is energized by the current. The current element produces a positive or pick-up torque while the voltages
element has caused a negative and reset torque.

The relay operates only when the ratio of voltage and current falls below a set value. During the fault the
magnitude of current increases and the voltage at the fault point decreases. The ratio of the current and voltage
is measured at the point of the current and potential transformer. The voltage at potential transformer region
depends on the distance between the PT and the fault.

If the fault is nearer, measured voltage is lesser, and if the fault is farther, measured voltage is more. Hence,
assuming constant fault impedance each value of the ratio of voltage and current measured from relay location
comparable to the distance between the relaying point and fault point along the line. Hence such protection is
called the distance protection or impedance protection.

Distance zone is non-unit protection, i.e., the protection zone is not exact. The distance protection is high-speed
protection and is simply to apply. It can be employed as a primary as well as backup protection. It is very
commonly used in the protection of transmission lines.
 Distance relays are used for both phase fault and ground fault protection, and they provide higher speed for
clearing the fault. It is also independent of changes in the magnitude of the short circuits, current and hence
they are not much affected by the change in the generation capacity and the system configuration. Thus, they
eliminate long clearing times for the fault near the power sources required by overcurrent relay if used for the
purpose.

Application of Distance Protection Relay

Distance protection relay is widely spread employed for the protection of high-voltage AC transmission line
and distribution lines. They have replaced the overcurrent protection because of the following reasons.

 It provides faster protection as compared to overcurrent relay.

 It has a permanent setting without the need for readjustments.
 Direct protection relay has less effect of an amount of generation and fault levels.
 Their fault current magnitude permits the high line loading.

Distance protection schemes are commonly employed for providing the primary or main protection and backup
protection for AC transmission line and distribution line against three phase faults, phase-to-phase faults, and
phase-to-ground faults.

Consider a power system protected by one main protection and one backup protection. The addition of a
second main protection will increase the availability, dependability and performance of the fault-clearing system.

In many countries, the term backup protection designates a form of protection that operates independently of
specified devices in the main protection system. There, the backup protection may duplicate the main
protection or may be intended to operate only if the main protection system fails to operate or is temporarily
out of service.

Technical committees within the IEC have discussed the differences between the main protection and backup
protection for several years. Recently, IEC has reached an international agreement and published the definitions

Requirements for Backup Protection

Backup protection shall operate when the main protection fails. A relay may fail to operate once or twice per 100
demands.

In such a case, the protection system will not operate correctly and the circuit-breaker will not receive a tripping
command. A circuit-breaker, in turn, may fail to open and break less than once per 1 000 demands. Such failures
of a protection relay or a switching device may prevent the proper clearing of the fault.

The requirements for the backup protection are not independent of the requirements for the entire fault- clearing
system. Some protection engineers find it reasonable to apply the single-failure criterion when planning the fault-
clearing system.

Reference [8.13.4] contains the exact wording of the single-failure criterion. This wording comes from the
reliability analysis of nuclear power plants. Protection engineers use an elementary form of the single-failure
criterion that requires that the failure of any one component in a fault-clearing system must not result in failure to
clear a power system fault or abnormality.