Lecture 12th

Generator Protection (2)

Course Teacher:
Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Aman
Course Code:
EE-523
Venue:
Computer Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering ,
NED University Karachi.
12th Lecture’s Outline
12th Lecture’s Outline
 Abnormal Operating Conditions in Alternator
 Over-speeding
 Unbalance Loading
 Loss of excitation
 Loss of prime mover
 Distance Protection
 Drawback of OCR
 Introduction to Distance Protection and R-X diagram
Abnormal Operating Conditions

Over-speeding
Unbalance Loading
Loss of excitation
Loss of prime mover
Abnormal Operating Conditions
•As pointed out earlier, a generator cannot be considered in isolation because
of a very large number of other equipment connected to it. Even though there is no
electrical fault in the generator, if one of its associated equipment develops a fault,
then it has serious implications for the generator.
•Every auxiliary equipment connected to the generator is a likely source of
trouble. There are a large number of possible faults, as well as combinations of
faults, on these equipment, that threaten the operation of the generator.
Abnormal Operating Conditions
•Instances where there is no direct electrical fault in the generator but one or
more of its associated equipment develop a fault or an abnormality, may lead to an
abnormal operating condition, which may or may not be serious.
•However, all abnormal operating conditions need to be detected as quickly
and as sensitively as possible so that the corrective action can be taken and a
possible shutdown averted or anticipated.
Abnormal Operating Conditions
•In the following sections, we will consider some prominent abnormal
operating conditions that need to be carefully considered while providing
protection to the generator.
•For example:
 Unbalance Loading
 Over-speeding
 Loss of excitation
 Loss of prime mover
Unbalance Loading
Unbalance Loading
•If there is an unbalanced loading of the generator then the stator currents
have a negative sequence component.
•The stator field due to these negative sequence currents, rotates at
synchronous speed but in a direction opposite to the direction of the field structure
on the rotor. Thus, the negative sequence stator armature mmf rotates at a speed
-Ns while the rotor field speed is +Ns. Therefore, there is a relative velocity of
between the two. This causes double frequency currents, of large amplitude, to
be induced in the rotor conductors and iron.
•Recall that the eddy current loss component of iron loss in the rotor is
proportional to f2(Bmax)2 while the hysteresis loss is proportional to f(Bmax)n where
n=1.6 to 2 depending upon the core material.
Unbalance Loading
•Therefore,
both the eddy
current as well as
the hysteresis
losses increase due
to these double
frequency induced
currents in the
rotor. This is
shown in Figure
8.8.
Unbalance Loading
•Thus, if the stator carries unbalanced currents, then it is the rotor, which is
overheated.
•How long the generator can be allowed to run under unbalanced loading,
depends upon the thermal withstand capacity of the machine, which in turn
depends upon the type of cooling system adopted.
Unbalance Loading
•The rate of heat generation is proportional to I22R while the heat energy is
proportional to I22Rt, where t is the time and I is negative sequence current.
•Since the capacity of a particular machine, to safely dissipate energy, is
limited to a certain value k, we can write

•Assuming R to be a constant, and K = k/R, we get the thermal characteristics

of the machine as
Unbalance Loading
•In other words, the time t for which the offending current I can be allowed to
flow should be less than or equal to K/I22.
•Thus, the current-time characteristic can be written as

•This characteristic is similar to that of the inverse time overcurrent relay.

Thus an inverse type of over-current relay, which is fed with the negative sequence
component of stator current, gives protection against unbalanced loading of the
generator.
Unbalance Loading
•The preceding discussion suggests that if we could, somehow, extract the
negative sequence component of the stator current then the protection against
unbalanced loading. can be implemented by applying the inverse-time OC relay as
shown in Figure 8.9.
Over-Speeding
Over-Speeding
•Consider that a turbo-alternator is supplying its rated real electrical power P,
to the grid. Its mechanical input Pm is nearly equal to P, (except for the losses) and
the machine runs at constant synchronous speed Ns.
•Now, consider that due to some fault the generator is tripped and
disconnected from the grid. Thus, P, becomes zero. However, the mechanical
power input Pm cannot be suddenly reduced to zero.
•Therefore, we land up in a situation where the generator has full input
mechanical power but no output electrical power. This would cause the machine to
accelerate to dangerously high speeds, if the mechanical input is not quickly
reduced by the speed-governing mechanism.
Over-Speeding
•The protection against such an eventuality can be provided by sensing the
over-speeding and taking steps such as operating the steam valve so as to stop
steam input to the turbine.
•The speed-governing mechanism or the speed governor of the turbine is
basically responsible for detecting this condition.
•The over-speeding can also be detected either by an over-frequency relay or
by monitoring the output of the tacho-generator mounted on the generator shaft.
Over-Speeding
•The logic of protection against over-speeding is shown in Figure 8.10
Loss of Excitation
Loss of Excitation
•There are several possible causes due to which field excitation may be lost,
namely:
 Loss of field to main exciter
 Accidental tripping of the field circuit breaker
 Short circuit in the field winding
 Poor brush contact in the exciter
 Field circuit breaker latch failure
 Loss of ac supply to the excitation system

•The generator delivers both real as well as reactive power to the grid. The
real power comes from the turbine while the reactive power is due to the field
excitation.
Loss of Excitation
•Consider generator delivering the complex power, S = P e + jQe to the grid.
•Corresponding to real power Pe there is the shaft mechanical power input P m and
corresponding to reactive power Qe there is the field current If as shown in Figure
8.11(a) and (b).
Loss of Excitation
•Now, consider that the field excitation is lost while the mechanical input
remains intact. Since the generator is already synchronized with the grid, it would
attempt to remain synchronized by running as an induction generator. As an
induction generator, the machine speeds up slightly above the synchronous speed
and draws its excitation from the grid. This is shown in Figure 8.11(b).
•Operation as an induction generator necessitates the flow of slip frequency
current in the rotor, the current flowing in the damper winding and also in the slot
wedges and the surface of the solid rotor body.
Loss of Excitation
•Now, there are two possibilities.
•Either the grid is able to meet this reactive power demand fully or meet it
partially. If the grid is able to fully satisfy this demand for reactive power, the
machine continues to deliver active power of P, MW but draws reactive power of
QLOE MVA and there is no risk of instability. However, the generator is not
designed as an induction machine, so abnormal heating of the rotor and
overloading of the stator winding will take place.
•If the grid were able to meet the reactive power demand only partially then
this would be reflected by a fall of the generator terminal voltage. The generator
would be under excited. There are certain limits on the degree to which a
generator can be operated within the under-excited mode. Therefore, the
operation in case of loss of excitation must be quickly detected and checked to
avert any shutdown of the generator.
Loss of Excitation
•The simplest method by which loss of excitation can be detected is to
monitor the field current of the generator. If the field current falls below a
threshold, a loss of field signal can be raised.
•A complicating factor in this protection is the slip frequency current induced
in the event of loss of excitation and running as an induction generator.
•The quantity which changes most when a generator loses field excitation is
the impedance measured at the stator terminals. On loss of excitation, the terminal
voltage begins to decrease and the current begins to increase, resulting in a
decrease of impedance and also a change of power factor.
•Thus, loss of excitation can be unambiguously detected by a mho relay
located at the generator terminals.
Protection Against Loss of Excitation
Using Offset Mho Relay
Protection Against Loss of Excitation Using Offset Mho Relay
•During normal steady-state operation, the impedance seen from the stator
terminals, i.e. the apparent impedance lies in quadrant I, of the R-X plane as
shown in Figure 8.12.
Protection Against Loss of Excitation Using Offset Mho Relay
•After the loss of excitation, the apparent impedance enters quadrant IV. The
exact locus of the apparent impedance and the rate at which it is traced out
depends upon the initial complex power that was being delivered by the generator.
•In order to keep the generator online as long as it is safe, the generator may
not be instantaneously tripped in case of loss of excitation. As soon as loss of
excitation is detected by the relay, an alarm may be sounded and an attempt may
be made to see if excitation can be restored.
Protection Against Loss of Excitation Using Offset Mho Relay
•A mho type distance relay with offset characteristic may be used for
protection against loss of excitation. The offset is by an amount equal to Xd’/2.
The impedance setting of the relay is |Xd| at an angle of -90 degree as shown in
Figure 8.12. In order to give time for change over to the standby exciter by the
control circuitry, the relay operation can be delayed by about 0.5-3 s.
Protection Against Loss of Prime Mover
Loss of Prime Mover
•In case of loss of prime mover, i.e. loss of mechanical input, the machine
continues to remain synchronized with the grid, running as a synchronous motor.
The machine, now, draws a small amount of active power (compared to its rating)
from the grid in order to drive the turbine and meet the losses taking place in the
machine. At the same time, the machine supplies reactive power to the grid since
its excitation is intact.
•This is depicted in Figure 8.13(a) and (b).
Loss of Prime Mover
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Loss of Prime Mover
•Running in this mode is not harmful to the generator, but it is definitely
harmful to a prime mover like a steam turbine.
•Normally, loss of steam supply to the turbine causes loss of prime mover.
•When the machine runs as a motor, there is a churning of trapped steam in
the turbine causing objectionable temperature rise and damage to the blades.
Therefore, the loss of prime mover needs quick detection followed by tripping of
generator.
•When the prime mover is lost, the generator starts drawing real power from
the grid, supplying the reactive power to the grid as before. The real power drawn
from the grid is quite small compared with the generator rating. The generator
draws real power which is just enough to meet the losses and the load put on it by
the turbine. Hence, the magnitude of stator current is smaller than when it was
generating, but the stator current undergoes 180 degree phase shift as shown in
Figure 8.14.
Loss of Prime Mover
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Loss of Prime Mover
•This suggests that if we use a directional relay with an MTA of 180 degree
(using generator phase angle conventions) as shown then it would detect the loss
of prime mover as the current phasor would reverse and enter the trip reason.
•However, the magnitude of this reversed current phasor is quite small
compared to the forward current as the generator draws just enough real power to
meet the losses and drive the turbine.
•Hence, the directional relay for detecting the loss of prime mover needs to
have a high degree of a sensitivity compared to directional relays used for over-
current application.