IEEE Guide for

AC Generator Protection

IEEE Power Engineering Society

Sponsored by the
Power System Relaying Committee

IEEE
IEEE Std C37.102™-2006
3 Park Avenue
(Revision of
New York, NY 10016-5997, USA
IEEE Std C37.102-1995)
16 February 2007
 ™
IEEE Std C37.102 -2006(R2012)
(Revision of
IEEE Std C37.102-1995)

IEEE Guide for

AC Generator Protection

Sponsor
Power System Relaying Committee
of the
IEEE Power Engineering Society

5HDIILUPHG 'HFHPEHU 20

Approved 16 November 2006
IEEE-SA Standards Board
The IEEE thanks the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for permission to reproduce
information from its International Standard IEC 60034-3:2005, “Rotating Electrical Machinery, Part
3: Specific requirements for cylindrical rotor synchronous machines.” All such extracts are copyright
of IEC, Geneva, Switzerland. All rights reserved. Further information on the IEC is available from
www.iec.ch. IEC has no responsibility for the placement and context in which the extracts and con-
tents are reproduced by the author, nor is IEC in any way responsible for the content or accuracy
therein.

Abstract: A review of the generally accepted forms of relay protection for the synchronous
generator and its excitation system is presented. This guide is primarily concerned with protection
against faults and abnormal operating conditions for large hydraulic, steam, and combustion turbine
generators.
Keywords: ac generator protection, relay protection, synchronous generator

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

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Copyright © 2007 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

All rights reserved. Published 16 February 2007. Printed in the United States of America.

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Introduction
This introduction is not part of IEEE Std C37.102-2006, IEEE Guide for AC Generator Protection.

IEEE Std C37.102 was initially published in 1987. It was subsequently revised in 1995 and reaffirmed in
2002. The guide is designed for the protection of typical steam, hydraulic, and combustion turbine
generators (CTGs). Schemes that are judged to be good alternative practice for generator protection are
included. New schemes that have gained acceptance and usage have been added to the guide.

In this revision of IEEE Std C37.102-1995, several areas were improved. Among the most notable are the
following additions:
— A new clause (Clause 6) on multifunction generator protection systems (MGPS)
— A new annex (Annex A) on sample calculations for setting of generator protection functions

Notice to users

Errata

Errata, if any, for this and all other standards can be accessed at the following URL: http://
standards.ieee.org/reading/ieee/updates/errata/index.html. Users are encouraged to check this URL for
errata periodically.

Interpretations

Current interpretations can be accessed at the following URL: http://standards.ieee.org/reading/ieee/interp/

index.html.

Patents

Attention is called to the possibility that implementation of this standard may require use of subject matter
covered by patent rights. By publication of this standard, no position is taken with respect to the existence or
validity of any patent rights in connection therewith. The IEEE shall not be responsible for identifying
patents or patent applications for which a license may be required to implement an IEEE standard or for
conducting inquiries into the legal validity or scope of those patents that are brought to its attention.

Participants

The following is a list of participants in the Revision of AC Generator Protection Guide Working Group:

Murty V.V.S. Yalla, Chair

Kevin Stephan, Vice Chair
Munnu Bajpai Everett Fennell Robert Pettigrew
Matt Basler Jonathan Gardell R.Vittal Rebbapragada
Gabriel Benmouyal Wayne Hartmann Michael Reichard
Zeeky Bukhala Patrick Kerrigan Sam N. Sambasivan
Steve Conrad Shoukat Khan Michael Thompson
Terry Crawley Prem Kumar Joe Uchiyama
Albert Darlington Raimo Marttila Sahib Usman
Ratan Das Charles Mozina W. Phil Waudby
Subhash Patel

iv Copyright © 2007 IEEE. All rights reserved.

The following members of the individual balloting committee voted on this standard. Balloters may have
voted for approval, disapproval, or abstention.
William Ackerman Wayne Hartmann Pratap Mysore
Ali Al Awazi Roger Hedding Krste Najdenkoski
Jay Anders Adrienne Hendrickson Brad Nelson
Marcos Andrade Charles Henville Michael Newman
John Appleyard Gary Heuston Nils Nilsson
Stan J. Arnot Robert Hoerauf Greg Nolan
Sabir Azizi-Ghannad Jerry Hohn T. W. Olsen
Munnu Bajpai Edward Horgan Jr. Carlos Peixoto
Michael Baldwin John Horwath Lorraine Padden
George Bartok Dennis Horwitz Subhash Patel
Farouk Baxter James D. Huddleston, III Robert Pettigrew
Thomas Beckwith James Ingleson Iulian Profir
Gabriel Benmouyal David Jackson Madan Rana
Thomas Bishop Joseph Jancauskas R. Vittal
Thomas Blackburn, III Brian Johnson Rebbapragada
Oscar Bolado Gerald Johnson Michael Reichard
Stuart Borlase Reinhard Joho Michael Roberts
Stuart Bouchey James H. Jones Charles Rogers
Steven Brockschink Innocent Kamwa James Ruggieri
Daniel Brosnan Patrick Kerrigan Tarkeshwar Singh
Gustavo Brunello Yuri Khersonsky Daniel Sabin
Jeff Burnworth Geoffrey Klempner Mohindar S. Sachdev
Weijen Chen Joseph L. Koepfinger Sam N. Sambasivan
Simon R. Chano David Kornegay Steven Sano
Simon H. Cheng Edward Krizauskas Robert Schuerger
Keith Chow Prem Kumar Stephen Shull
Terry Conrad James Lau Tarlochan Sidhu
Luis Coronado Quang-Minh Le Chuck Simmons
Terry Crawley Wei-Jen Lee Dave Singleton
John Crouse Boyd Leuenberger James E. Smith
Stephen Dare Blane Leuschner Jerry Smith
Ratan Das Jason Lin Allan St. Peter
R. Daubert Bill Lockley Kevin Stephan
Byron Davenport Lisardo Lourido Peter Stevens
Matthew Davis William Lowe Charles Sufana
Paul Drum Gregory Luri Rick Taylor
Donald Dunn Al Maguire Shanmugan
Ahmed El-Serafi Keith Malmedal Thamilarasan
Walter Elmore William Marsh Michael Thompson
Ahmed Elneweihi Jesus Martinez Demetrios Tziouvaras
Gary Engmann Raimo Marttila Eric Udren
Jorge Fernández-Daher Michael McDonald Gerald Vaughn
Jay Fischer Mark McGranaghan Joe Watson
Carl Fredericks Nigel McQuin W. Phil Waudby
Jonathan Gardell Michael Meisinger Thomas Wiedman
Trilok Garg James Michalec James Wilson
Anthony Giuliante Gary Michel John Yale
Ron Greenthaler Bill Moncrief Murty V.V.S. Yalla
William Griesacker Charles Morse Larry Yonce
Travis Griffith William Moylan Luis Zambrano
Ajit Gwal Charles Mozina Karl Zimmerman
Paul Hamer Brian Mugalian Ahmed Zobaa
Jerry Murphy

Copyright © 2007 IEEE. All rights reserved v

When the IEEE-SA Standards Board approved this standard on 16 November 2006, it had the following
membership:
Steve M. Mills, Chair
Richard H. Hulett, Vice Chair
Don Wright, Past Chair
Judith Gorman, Secretary
Mark D. Bowman William B. Hopf Greg Ratta
Dennis B. Brophy Joseph L. Koepfinger* Robby Robson
William R. Goldbach David J. Law Anne-Marie Sahazizian
Arnold M. Greenspan Daleep C. Mohla Virginia C. Sulzberger
Robert M. Grow T. W. Olsen
Malcolm V. Thaden
Joanna N. Guenin Glenn Parsons
Ronald C. Petersen Richard L. Townsend
Julian Forster*
Mark S. Halpin Tom A. Prevost Walter Weigel
Kenneth S. Hanus Howard L. Wolfman

*Member Emeritus

Also included are the following nonvoting IEEE-SA Standards Board liaisons:

Satish K. Aggarwal, NRC Representative

Richard DeBlasio, DOE Representative
Alan H. Cookson, NIST Representative

Don Messina
IEEE Standards Program Manager, Document Development

Matthew J. Ceglia
IEEE Standards Program Manager, Technical Program Development

vi Copyright © 2007 IEEE. All rights reserved.

Contents
1. Scope.................................................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Description of the guide............................................................................................................... 1

2. Normative references ........................................................................................................................... 2

3. Description of generators, excitation systems, and generating station arrangements.......................... 3

3.1 Generator winding design and arrangements............................................................................... 3

3.2 Generator grounding .................................................................................................................... 4
3.3 Excitation systems ....................................................................................................................... 7
3.4 Generating station arrangements................................................................................................ 10

4. Protection requirements ..................................................................................................................... 14

4.1 Generator stator thermal protection ........................................................................................... 14

4.2 Field thermal protection............................................................................................................. 17
4.3 Generator stator fault protection ................................................................................................ 19
4.4 Generator rotor field protection ................................................................................................. 46
4.5 Generator abnormal operating conditions.................................................................................. 50
4.6 Backup protection ...................................................................................................................... 74
4.7 Generator breaker failure protection.......................................................................................... 79
4.8 Excitation system protection...................................................................................................... 81
4.9 Power transformer protection through mechanical fault detection............................................ 84

5. Other protective considerations ......................................................................................................... 85

5.1 Current transformers .................................................................................................................. 85

5.2 Voltage transformers.................................................................................................................. 86
5.3 Protection during start-up or shutdown...................................................................................... 90
5.4 Inadvertent energizing ............................................................................................................... 94
5.5 Subsynchronous resonance (SSR) ............................................................................................. 97
5.6 Transmission line reclosing near generating stations ................................................................ 98
5.7 Synchronizing ............................................................................................................................ 99

6. Multifunction generator protection systems .................................................................................... 101

6.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 101

6.2 Application on a typical generating unit.................................................................................. 102
6.3 Testing of MGPSs.................................................................................................................... 106

7. Protection specification.................................................................................................................... 107

7.1 Protective arrangements........................................................................................................... 108

7.2 Protective functions ................................................................................................................. 116

Annex A (informative) Sample calculations for settings of generator protection functions ....................... 124

Annex B (informative) Bibliography........................................................................................................... 155

Copyright © 2007 IEEE. All rights reserved vii

Copyright © 2007 IEEE. All rights reserved viii
IEEE Guide for
AC Generator Protection

1. Scope

This application guide for the relay protection of synchronous generators presents a review of the generally
accepted forms of protection for the synchronous generator and its excitation system. It summarizes the use
of relays and devices and serves as a guide for the selection of equipment to obtain adequate protection. The
guide is primarily concerned with protection against faults and abnormal operating conditions for large
hydraulic, steam, and combustion turbine generators. Basing generator protection on machine size is
difficult because the desired protection may be determined more by the importance of the generator to the
power system than by the size of the generator.

The recommendations made pertain to typical synchronous generator installations. However, sufficient
background information relating to protection requirements, applications, and setting philosophy is given to
enable the reader to evaluate the need, to select, and to apply suitable protection for most situations.

The protective functions discussed in this guide may be implemented with a multifunction microprocessor
based protection system (digital system). The protection philosophy, practices, and limits are essentially
identical to those of the implementation using discrete component relays. The algorithms used to perform
some of the protection functions may be different, but should produce equal or better protection. However,
the performance and capability may be superior using the digital systems such as improved frequency
response (bandwidth) and thresholds (pickup settings). Other additional features may be available from
these digital systems that enhance the functionality.

This guide does not purport to detail the protective requirements of all generators in every situation. For
example, standby and emergency-use generators are specifically excluded.

1.1 Description of the guide

Clause 3 presents a brief description of typical generator design and connections, generator grounding
practices, excitation systems design, and generating station arrangements. The intent of this clause is to
present information that affects the protection arrangement and selection of protective relays.

A discussion of auxiliary system transfer and the possible negative impacts of misoperation and faults on
these systems are beyond the scope of this guide.

Copyright © 2007 IEEE. All rights reserved. 1