Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27

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Electric Power Systems Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/epsr

Detecting and solving the coordination curve intersection problem of

overcurrent relays in subtransmission systems with a new method
Ying Lu a,∗ , Jarm-Long Chung b
a
Department of Computer & Communication Engineering, St. John’s University, 499, Sec. 4, Tam King Road, Tamsui, New Taipei City 25135, Taiwan, ROC
b
Power Supply Department, Taiwan Power Company, No. 242, Sec. 3, Roosevelt Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei 10016, Taiwan, ROC

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study presents a practical and effective method for inspecting and repairing curve intersection sit-
Received 9 February 2012 uations that occur in upstream and downstream coordinated overcurrent relay pairs in subtransmission
Received in revised form 4 August 2012 networks. This type of miscoordination can cause backup relays to trip before their paired primary when
Accepted 15 August 2012
faults occur, resulting in unexpected expansions of blackout areas. The proposed method is based on the
Available online 4 October 2012
IEEE and IEC standard characteristic curve equations of digital overcurrent relays and a customized curve
equation for electromechanical overcurrent relays. Consequently, the proposed method is applicable to
Keywords:
both digital and electromechanical relays. Two subtransmission network cases for the Taiwan Power
Characteristic curve
Overcurrent relay
Company were simulated to validate the proposed method.
Protection coordination © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Subtransmission system

1. Introduction Ref. [8] proposed a sequential quadratic programming method to

optimize all DOCR settings in a non-linear environment. Ref. [9]
Because of their reliability and cost efficiency, directional over- developed a method based on a genetic algorithm (GA) to obtain the
current relays (DOCRs) are some of the most frequently used optimal relay coordination settings. Ref. [1] presented a hybrid GA-
devices for the primary protection of subtransmission and distribu- linear programming method to determine optimal time multiplier
tion systems, and the secondary protection of transmission systems setting (TMS) and plug setting (PS) values that consider different
[1]. However, correct relay coordination settings are difficult to network topologies. Ref. [10] proposed a hybrid GA-NLP approach
achieve in complicated systems considering the desired protection for finding the optimal TMS and PS values of DOCRs that uses the
qualities of selectivity, stability, sensitivity, and speed [2]. Improper advantages of both approaches to acquire the optimal coordination
settings can cause the time–current curves of the upstream and of DOCRs. Specifically, this method used a GA to select initial TMS
downstream protective relays to intersect, potentially causing an and PS values, and a NLP to determine their global optimal values.
undesired sympathy trip in which the upstream relay functions These studies [1,5–10] all obtained satisfactory results using
prior to its paired downstream relay for the associated fault [3], different optimization techniques that consider pre-determined
thereby compounding the level of interruption in an affected area, constraints. However, some of these studies assumed that all over-
as shown in Fig. 1. Subsequently, coordination is lost. current relays are identical, and some used the same characteristic
In recent years, many studies on the protective coordination of equation to represent different overcurrent relays. Although [10]
DOCRs in electrical systems have investigated methods for achiev- concluded that their proposed method can be easily applied to a
ing optimal coordination by using a variety of techniques and system that contains both numerical and electromechanical relays,
methodologies, such as linear, non-linear, and evolutionary pro- the characteristic equation selected for the electromechanical relay
gramming techniques [4]. The optimal coordination problem can in the second study case was an IEC normal inverse curve for
be solved using an objective function and constraints. If an objective digital relays. Therefore, the operating curve for that relay repre-
function and/or constraint(s) are non-linear, the optimal coordina- sented a digital relay, and its curvature was different from that of
tion problem is a non-linear programming (NLP) problem. Several an electromechanical relay’s operating curve. Because new sub-
studies [5–7] have used a linear programming technique to obtain stations have been built to accommodate load growth at various
the optimal solution to DOCR coordination in various applications. times, numerous brands and types of overcurrent relays servic-
ing subtransmission systems have resulted in the coexistence of
electromechanical and digital overcurrent relays within a single
∗ Corresponding author. system. Therefore, miscoordination, such as curve intersection, has
E-mail address: yinglu@mail.sju.edu.tw (Y. Lu). been observed in many operating subtransmission systems, even

0378-7796/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsr.2012.08.009
20 Y. Lu, J.-L. Chung / Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27

Time Primary Relay intersection inspection method shown in Section 2 with the inter-
section elimination technique presented in Section 3 to identify and
eliminate coordination curve intersections. Finally, two cases are
simulated and discussed in Section 5, followed by the conclusion
in Section 6.

Backup Relay 2. Derivation of the intersection inspection equation

To coordinate the overcurrent relays in a subtransmission net-

work, the settings of all the relays in the system must be determined
Distance to where all of the backup/primary relay pairs operate in the pre-
defined manner [8]. Two settings must be set for each DOCR of
Bus A Bus B Bus C a system, including the time dial setting (TD) and pickup current
If
setting (IN ). The standard inverse characteristic equations for dig-
ital and electromechanical overcurrent relays [11–15] involve the
fault point major variables of relay operating time (t), TD, and multiples of
DOCRB DOCRP pickup current (M), which is the ratio of the current seen by the
relay to its pickup current setting (i.e., M = i/IN ). These characteristic
Fig. 1. Coordination curve intersection that occurred in the primary relay and its
equations were used to derive the proposed intersection inspection
associated backup. equation.
To simplify the derivation of the proposed equation and the
explanation of the technique for solving the curve intersection
when effective optimization techniques or well-trained protection problem, the general function forms (1) and (2) were defined
engineers determine the DOCR coordination settings. to represent the standard inverse characteristic equation for the
Currently, few studies have examined the detection of curve discussed problem. Eq. (1) was used to derive the intersection
intersection problems for coordinating the overcurrent relay pro- inspection equation, and Eq. (2) was for the intersection elimination
tection of subtransmission systems that result from the mentioned technique.
situation. This study proposes a practical and effective method for
inspecting and solving curve intersection problems in coordinated t = f (M, TD) (1)
upstream and downstream overcurrent relay pairs in subtransmis- TD = g(t, M) (2)
sion networks. This novel approach provides a turnkey solution,
that is, the intersection inspection and elimination procedures The IEEE standard inverse expression of digital overcurrent
are implemented in the same program. Therefore, non-selective relays [11,12], the IEC standard inverse equation of digital over-
coordination situations are identified immediately and resolved current relays [13,14], and the customized inverse curve formula
when the required target system data are entered, showing a for electromechanical overcurrent relays [15] can be expressed as
significant improvement over the traditional trial-and-error man- (3) and (4), (5) and (6), and (7) and (8), respectively, in the form of
ual calculation method. Furthermore, no additional software is function f and function g.
required to create coordination curve diagrams using this approach.  A

For demonstration purpose, this study used the ASPEN One- f (M, TD) = TD × +B (3)
MP − 1
Liner software package to produce coordination curve diagrams
t
that identified intersections, provided processing snapshots of the g(t, M) = (4)
proposed intersection inspection and elimination approach, and ((A/(M P − 1)) + B)
showed the outcome following adjustment. A × TD
f (M, TD) = (5)
The proposed approach can be used as an auxiliary tool or a (M P − 1)
stand-alone utility program. When optimization techniques pre-
sented in [1,5–10] are applied to obtain the optimal coordination t × (M P − 1)
g(t, M) = (6)
settings for systems that have coexisting electromechanical and A
digital overcurrent relays, the proposed approach can be used as an
 A

f (M, TD) = TD × +B +K (7)
auxiliary tool to identify curve intersections for the optimal sett- MP − 1
ings prior to being set to the associated field relays. For example, [5]
t−K
used the optimization technique to substantially reduce the num- g(t, M) = (8)
((A/(M P − 1)) + B)
ber of original system relays that require resetting when the system
structure is altered (i.e., the addition of branches); [6] used the opti- where TD, time dial setting; M, multiples of pickup current; t, relay
mization technique to solve potential selectivity problems caused operating time; A, B, P, and K, constants.
by dynamic changes in network topology (e.g., the relay located Because the inverse characteristic curve is a continuous mono-
at the remote end opens first). The proposed method can assist in tone decreasing function on log–log coordinates, only one crossing
determining whether coordination curve intersections exist for the point exists if an intersection occurs between the curves of a pri-
attained optimal coordination settings. Furthermore, the proposed mary relay and its associated backup relay. Consequently, only a
method is a dedicated utility that checks the designated coordina- single fault current value is required to inspect the curve intersec-
tion settings of overcurrent relays in subtransmission systems for tion of a coordinated relay pair. Eq. (9) calculates the fault current
curve intersections, and eliminates them when detected. value used to inspect the curve intersection. In (9), MB is the mul-
This study is organized as follows. Section 2 shows the deriva- tiple of pickup current of the backup DOCR in a coordinated relay
tion of the proposed intersection inspection equation based on pair and is used to determine the fault current value of ICK to find
standard inverse curve equation characteristics. Section 3 shows the intersection between ICK and IF (i.e., the close-in fault current
the technique for solving the curve intersection problem. Sec- of the primary relay in that coordination pair). Because the curves
tion 4 interprets the proposed novel approach by combining the in the characteristic curve diagrams published by manufacturers
 Y. Lu, J.-L. Chung / Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27 21

where MB , multiple of pickup current of backup DOCR, which is

1.6; MP , multiple of pickup current of primary DOCR; TDB , time dial
setting of backup DOCR; TDP , time dial setting of primary DOCR;
Δ T< 0
T, difference of relay operating time between backup relay and
primary relay at ICK .
Time in seconds

Using the proposed intersection inspection method, the curve

intersection of a coordinated DOCR pair can be easily determined.
This method can be applied not only to the digital and electrome-
TDB chanical relays mentioned, but also to other DOCRs, representing
their characteristic formula as (1), similar to [16].

3. The intersection elimination technique

TDP
To solve the curve intersections that occur in the coordinated
ICK IF
overcurrent relay pairs in subtransmission systems, the proposed
Fault current in amperes
intersection elimination technique primarily requires the adjust-
Fig. 2. Intersection in a coordinated relay pair. ment of the settings of the backup DOCR involved in the intersection
without affecting the original operating time of the backup relay
and the CTI that was initially specified in the system. This tech-
typically start from approximately M = 1.5, the value 1.6 (with 0.1 nique complies with the normal coordination constraints [2,10]
difference from the margin value of 1.5) was selected for MB , there- given below (12)–(15).
fore enabling the detection of the intersection appearing between
ICK (calculated from MB = 1.6) and IF , as shown in Fig. 2.
(1) Bounds on the time dial setting (TD) of each DOCR
ICK = INB × CTB × MB (9) TDmin ≤ TD ≤ TDmax (12)
where ICK , fault current value for checking curve intersection; INB , where TDmin is the lower limit of TD and TDmax is the upper
pickup current setting of backup DOCR; CTB , CT ratio of backup limit of TD.
DOCR; MB , multiple of pickup current of backup DOCR, which was (2) Bounds on the pickup current setting (IN ) of each DOCR
chosen to be 1.6.
After obtaining the fault current value ICK from (9), the multiple IN min ≤ IN ≤ IN max (13)
of pickup current of the primary DOCR can be computed from (10). where INmin is the lower limit of IN and INmax is the upper limit
ICK of IN .
MP = (10) (3) Recommended range of the multiples of pickup current
INP × CTP

where MP , multiple of pickup current of primary DOCR; INP , pickup Mmin ≤ M ≤ Mmax (14)
current setting of primary DOCR; CTP , CT ratio of primary DOCR. where Mmin is the recommended lower limit of M and Mmax is
Substituting the multiples of pickup current of MB (=1.6), MP the recommended upper limit of M. The normal range recom-
obtained from (10), and the given time dial settings of TDB and mended by the standard BS 142 is 2–20 [14].
TDP into (11) yielded the difference of the relay operating times (4) Selectivity constraint
between the backup relay and the primary relay at the specified
fault current (ICK ) associated with MB = 1.6. Based on this operating TB ≥ TP + CTI (15)
time difference T, the curve intersection was identified. As shown
where TB is the operating time of the backup DOCR, TP is the
in Fig. 2, T < 0 indicates that an intersection situation has been
operating time of the primary DOCR, and CTI is the coordination
detected. Conversely, T > 0 means that no intersection exists, as
time interval specified between a primary DOCR and its backup
shown in Fig. 3.
DOCR, which is typically between 0.2 s and 0.5 s [17].
T = f (MB , TDB ) − f (MP , TDP ) (11)
The proposed intersection elimination technique is briefly
explained below.

Step 1: Locate the fixed point on the curve of the backup relay.
ΔT > 0
The close-in fault current (IF ) of the primary relay in a coordi-
nation pair with a curve intersection was computed and used as
the reference fault current to locate the fixed point on the origi-
Time in seconds

nal curve of the backup relay, as shown in Fig. 4. Corresponding

to the fixed point, the operating time (TB ) of the backup relay was
obtained and remained unchanged during the curve intersection
elimination process.
TDB
Step 2: Calculate the new multiple of pickup current.
Based on the reference fault current and the pickup current
setting of the backup relay entered for the adjustment, the new
TDP multiple of pickup current of the backup relay was acquired from
(16).
ICK Step 3: Compute the new time dial setting.
Fault current in amperes
With the operating time of the backup relay remaining constant,
Fig. 3. No intersection in a coordinated relay pair. (2) can be expressed as (17) and (18) for the before-adjustment
22 Y. Lu, J.-L. Chung / Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27

Start
Time in seconds

Compute fault current ICK

associated with MB=1.6 from (9)
and then compute MP from (10)

Obtain operating time difference

Fixed Point
Δ T between backup and primary
relays from (11)
TB TD B
CTI
TP TDB1
Δ T>0?
TD P Yes

IF No
Fault current in amperes
Adjust the settings of backup
Fig. 4. An example to illustrate the intersection elimination technique.
relay with (16) and (19)

and post-adjustment cases, respectively. Therefore, (19) is derived

from (17) and (18) to compute the new time dial setting of the
backup relay. By substituting the previous and new multiples Stop
of pickup current, and the prior time dial setting of the backup
relay, into (19), the new time dial setting of the backup relay Fig. 5. Flow chart of the proposed approach for each coordinated DOCR pair.
was obtained. The curve associated with the new time dial set-
ting (TDB1 ) is shown in Fig. 4. The new curve deviated from the
initial crossing point, and the adjustment did not alter the orig- obtain the multiple of pickup current (MP ) of the primary DOCR
inal operating time (TB ) of the backup relay and the CTI because from (10) for the designated relay pair.
the new curve passed through the fixed point (Fig. 4). Thereafter, Step 2: Substituting the multiples of pickup current of MB (=1.6)
Steps 2 and 3 were repeated until the intersection was eliminated. and MP acquired from Step 1, as well as the given time dial settings
of TDB and TDP into (11) yielded the difference of relay operating
IF time (T) between the backup relay and the primary relay at the
MB = (16)
INB × CTB fault current (ICK ) associated with MB = 1.6.
Step 3: If the operating time difference (T) was greater than zero,
where MB , multiple of pickup current of backup DOCR; INB , pickup
this indicated that there was no curve intersection and the pro-
current setting of backup DOCR; CTB , CT ratio of backup DOCR; IF ,
cess was terminated. If the curve intersection was detected, the
reference fault current.
adjustment had to be performed in the next step.
TDB = g(T, MB ) (17) Step 4: The close-in fault current (IF ) of the primary relay and the
new incremented pickup current setting (INB ) of the backup relay
TDB1 = g(T, MB1 ) (18) for adjustment were used to compute the new multiple of pickup
current of the backup relay from (16). Thereafter, by substituting
g(T, MB1 ) the old and new multiples of pickup current, the old time dial set-
TDB1 = × TDB (19)
g(T, MB ) ting, and the constant operating time of the backup relay into (19),
the new time dial setting of the backup relay was obtained. Next,
where MB , old multiple of pickup current of backup DOCR; MB1 ,
the process returned to Step 1 to check whether the intersection
new multiple of pickup current of backup DOCR; TDB , previous
had been resolved following the adjustment.
time dial setting of backup DOCR; TDB1 , new time dial setting of
backup DOCR; T, operating time of backup DOCR.
Normal coordination constraints were considered when adjus-
ting the settings of the backup relay. In addition, the incrementally
4. Proposed intersection inspection and elimination adjusted amount of the pickup current setting used in each adjust-
approach ment was 0.5 A for the digital phase directional overcurrent relays
and 0.2 A for the digital ground directional overcurrent relays. For
The proposed intersection inspection and elimination method the electromechanical overcurrent relays, because the tap range
consisted of two procedures: one to detect the curve intersection provided by the manufacturers only contained pre-determined tap
for each coordinated DOCR pair using the intersection inspection values that could be selected within that range, the step width of the
method presented in Section 2, and the second to adjust the time pickup current setting for each adjustment could not be constant, in
dial setting of the backup DOCR involved in the intersection using contrast to the digital relays. Only the next tap mark with a higher
the intersection elimination method presented in Section 3. Fig. 5 pickup current on the tap plate could be used for the subsequent
shows a flowchart of the proposed approach, illustrating the pro- adjustment.
cess of solving the intersection problem for each pre-determined As shown in Fig. 5, the proposed approach is an all-in-one solu-
DOCR coordination pair. The following steps describe the approach tion for curve intersection detection and elimination because it
in detail. provides all the necessary actions: inspecting the curve-crossing
situation at the start of the process, managing the discovered
Step 1: The fault current (ICK ) of the backup DOCR with a multiple intersections, and judging whether intersections are eliminated.
of pickup current (MB ) of 1.6 was calculated from (9) and used to Therefore, when the required data of the target system are entered,
 Y. Lu, J.-L. Chung / Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27 23

ICK(0) , ICK(1) , and ICK(2) all refer to MB = 1.6, their values were differ-
ent because of the varying pickup current settings (INB ) that were
applied to (9) to calculate these fault currents.
With the proposed approach, the original CTI and the operating
Δ T<0 time of the backup relay remained unchanged because the adjusted
Time in seconds

Δ T<0 curves of the backup relay all passed through the fixed point. In
Δ T>0 addition, none of the existing overcurrent relays had to be removed
or replaced with an advanced relay, nor was any modification to the
firmware of the relays necessary.

Fixed Point
5. Case simulation and discussion
TB TD B
CTI Two cases of subtransmission networks for the Taiwan Power
TDB1
TP Company were simulated to validate the proposed approach. The
TDB2
first case study was a multi-loop subtransmission system that had
TD P
six buses. The backup overcurrent relay involved in the intersection
ICK(0) I CK(1) I CK(2) IF was a digital relay. The second case study was a single-loop sub-
Fault current in amperes transmission network with seven buses. The backup overcurrent
relay that was adjusted for the intersection was an electrome-
Fig. 6. An example to illustrate the proposed approach. chanical relay. Simulations of protective coordination for both the
three-phase short-circuit and single-phase ground faults were con-
the curve intersection problem can be identified and immediately ducted in the two cases. However, because of limited space, the
resolved by a program implementing the proposed approach. Fur- protective coordination for the three-phase short-circuit fault is
thermore, no additional software tool for creating coordination shown in case study 1 and the protective coordination for the
curve diagrams is required in this approach. single-phase ground fault is shown in case study 2.
Fig. 6 shows an example demonstrating the process of the pro-
posed intersection inspection and elimination approach. In Fig. 6, 5.1. Case study 1
TDP and TDB represent the original coordination curves of the
primary and the backup relays, respectively. The operating time Fig. 7 shows the multi-loop subtransmission system that had
difference (T) of the relay pair derived from the fault current ICK(0) six buses, referred to in the simulation as BusA, BusB, BusC, BusD,
associated with MB = 1.6 was less than zero, indicating that the two BusE, and BusF. All of the buses had a voltage rank of 69 kV.
curves intersected. Therefore, the time dial setting of the backup The rated current was 1200 A and the CT ratio was 1200/5. The
relay required adjustment to resolve this intersection. Following source impedances of BusA were Z1 = 0.00260 + j0.03528 p.u. and
the first adjustment, the curve of the backup relay with the time Z0 = 0.14353 + j0.65428 p.u. Additional relevant data concerning the
dial setting of TDB1 was obtained. By computing the operating time DOCRs are shown in Fig. 7. The DOCRs used in the protective
difference between this curve and curve TDP using check current coordination included electromechanical phase inverse directional
ICK(1) , it was determined that the intersection still existed because overcurrent relays CR-8, electromechanical ground inverse direc-
T < 0. Therefore, the adjustment had to be continued. TDB2 was tional overcurrent relays CRP-8 [18], and digital overcurrent relays
the new curve of the backup relay acquired from the second adjust- SPAJ140C [14], all of which were manufactured by the ABB Com-
ment. The operating time difference between this curve and curve pany.
TDP with check current ICK(2) became greater than zero. Therefore, For the protective coordination for the three-phase short-circuit
the intersection was eliminated and the process stopped. Although fault, the intersections were found in two zones: BusB#610 →

Bus A Bus B Bus C Bus D

920 920 610 610 620 640

1200/5 1200/5
69kV system

1200/5 1200/5 1200/5 1200/5

CR-8:5/2 CR-8:5/0.5 SPAJ140C:5/0.18 CR-8:5/0.75 CR-8:5/1.25 CR-8:5/1.75
CRP-8:1/2 CRP-8:0.5/0.5 SPAJ140C:1/0.21 CRP-8:1/1 CRP-8:1/1.5 CRP-8:½.25

930 930
1200/5 1200/5
G CR-8:5/2
CRP-8:1/2
CR-8:5/0.5
CRP-8:0.5/0.5 Bus E

670 670 630 630

1200/5 1200/5 1200/5 1200/5
CR-8:5/2.25 CR-8:5/0.5 CR-8:5/3 CR-8:5/0.75
CRP-8:1/2 CRP-8:0.5/0.5 CRP-8:1/3.5 CRP-8:1/1

Bus F

680 610 620 610

1200/5 1200/5 1200/5 1200/5
SPAJ140C:5/0.34 CR-8:5/0.5 CR-8:5/3 CR-8:5/1.25
SPAJ140C:1/0.38 CRP-8:1/0.5 CRP-8:1/3.5 CRP-8:1/1.25

Fig. 7. Multi-loop subtransmission network with 6 buses in the Taiwan Power Company.
24 Y. Lu, J.-L. Chung / Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27

Fig. 8. Coordination curve diagram with the original relay settings. Fig. 9. Coordination curve diagram showing the adjustments of backup relay
B#610:67.

BusC#620 → BusD#630 and BusA#680 → BusF#620. However, Table 1 lists the data related to curve intersection detec-
because of their similarity, only the miscoordination of the tion and the relay setting adjustments on the coordination relay
BusB#610 → BusC#620 → BusD#630 section is discussed. A com- pair of backup relay B#610(67:SPAJ140C) and primary relay
mercial ASPEN OneLiner [19] was used to produce the coordination C#620(67:CR-8) for the proposed approach. The right-hand side of
curve diagrams for demonstration purposes. Table 1 shows information regarding curve intersection detection,
The isolation of the phase-to-phase or three-phase short-circuit and the left-hand side shows information on the setting adjust-
faults of the transmission lines was facilitated by phase overcur- ments of backup relay B#610:67. The settings of B#610:67 were
rent relays that provided faster tripping for the heavy short-circuit initially specified as a pickup current setting (INB ) of 5, a time dial
faults. Generally, because the three-phase short-circuit fault gener- setting (TDB ) of 0.18, and a derived multiple of pickup current (MB )
ates a maximum fault current, it should be considered when setting of 4.66. The computed operating time difference (T) between the
the protective relays for coordination. relay pair was −2.65, as shown in the first data row (No. 0) in Table 1.
Fig. 8 shows the coordination curve diagram of the DOCRs along Therefore, a curve intersection was detected and had to be resolved.
the BusB#610 → BusC#620 → BusD#630 section. Curve 1 was the Column “No.” in the table indicates the ordinal numbers of
coordination curve of the BusD#630:67 relay, Curve 2 was the coor- adjustment. For example, No. 1 means the first adjustment, No. 2
dination curve of the BusC#620:67 relay, and Curve 3 was the the second adjustment, and so on. Following several adjustments,
coordination curve of the BusB#610:67 relay. With all of the tap each with an incrementally adjusted amount of pickup current set-
values set to 5 A, Curve 3 intersected with Curve 2 at the point ting of 0.5 A, T became greater than zero at the fourth adjustment
corresponding to the fault current of 3300 A because inconsistent with INB = 7 and TDB = 0.14. Therefore, the intersection was elimi-
time–current characteristics existed among the various types of nated.
employed relays. Therefore, if a three-phase short-circuit close-in Fig. 9 shows the result of these adjustments and, for better
fault occurred on BusC#620:67, the upstream BusB#610:67 relay presentation, only two of the adjusted curves associated with the
activated before the BusC#620:67 relay as the fault current was less pickup current settings of 6 A and 7 A corresponding to backup relay
than 3300 A, causing a blackout in the entire BusC section. B#610:67. Curve 4 had a pickup current setting of 7 A on the backup
relay and no longer intersected with its primary relay C#620:67.
The multiple of pickup current of the curve was 3.33, which was
Table 1 acceptable according to the standard BS 142 [14]. Fig. 10 shows the
Intersection check and setting adjustment for the B#610(67:SPAJ140C) and
revised coordination curve diagram with the pickup current and
C#620(67:CR-8) pair.
time dial settings of backup relay B#610:67 adjusted to be 7 A and
Adjust settings of backup relay Check curve intersection (MBck = 1.6) 0.14, respectively. As shown in Fig. 10, the curve intersection was
No. INB TDB MB ICK MPck T eliminated by using the proposed method.
0 5.0 0.18 4.66 1920 1.60 −2.65
1 5.5 0.17 4.24 2112 1.76 −1.08 5.2. Case study 2
2 6.0 0.16 3.88 2304 1.92 −0.55
3 6.5 0.15 3.58 2496 2.08 −0.08 Fig. 11 shows the single-loop subtransmission system with
4 7.0 0.14 3.33 2688 2.24 0.11
seven buses that had a voltage rank of 69 kV. The rated current was
 Y. Lu, J.-L. Chung / Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27 25

Fig. 10. Revised coordination curve diagram for the three-phase short-circuit fault Fig. 12. Coordination curve diagram with the original relay settings.
case.

1200 A and the CT ratio was 1200/5. The source impedances of BusA
were Z1 = 0.00229 + j0.02946 p.u. and Z0 = 0.13895 + j0.64157 p.u. Curve 6 was the coordination curve of the BusG#610:67N relay,
Additional relevant data concerning the DOCRs are shown in Fig. 11. Curve 5 was the coordination curve of the BusF#610:67N relay, and
The DOCRs used in the protective coordination included elec- so on. Curve 7 intersected Curve 6 at the point corresponding to the
tromechanical phase inverse directional overcurrent relays CR-8, single-phase ground fault current of 890 A because inconsistent
electromechanical ground inverse directional overcurrent relays time–current characteristics existed among the various types of
CRP-8 [18], and digital overcurrent relays SPAJ140C [14], all of relays.
which were manufactured by the ABB Company. The electrome- Table 2 presents the data related to curve intersection detec-
chanical phase inverse directional overcurrent relays IBC51 and tion and the relay setting adjustments for the coordination
electromechanical ground inverse directional overcurrent relays relay pair of backup relay A#610(67N:IBCG51) and primary relay
IBCG51 manufactured by GE Co. were also included [20,21]. G#610(67N:CRP-8) for the single-phase ground faults for the pro-
Fig. 12 shows the coordination curve diagram of the posed approach. As shown in Table 2, the settings of A#610:67N
DOCRs clockwise along the route of BusB#610 → BusC#610 → were initially specified as a pickup current setting (INB ) of 0.8, a time
BusD#620 → BusE#620 → BusF#610 → BusG#610 → BusA#610. dial setting (TDB ) of 7.5, and a derived multiple of pickup current
Curve 7 was the coordination curve of the BusA#610:67N relay, (MB ) of 16.25, and the computed operating time difference (T)

Bus B Bus C Bus D Bus E

Bus A
1200/5 1200/5 1200/5 1200/5
69 kV system

CR-8:4/0.5 CR-8:4/1.25 CR-8:4/2.5 CR-8:4/4.0

CRP-8:0.5/0.5 CRP-8:0.5/0.75 CRP-8:0.5/2.0 CRP-8:0.5/3.5
620 610 620 610 620 620 610 620
1200/5 1200/5 1200/5 1200/5
SPAJ140C:6/0.63 CR-8:5/6.75 CR-8:4/5.75 CR-8:4/4.25
SPAJ140C:0.8/0.56 CRP-8:0.8/5.5 CRP-8:0.6/4.5 CRP-8:0.5/3.25
G
Bus G Bus F
1200/5 1200/5 1200/5
CR-8:4/0.5 CR-8:4/1.5 CR-8:4/2.75
CRP-8:0.5/0.5 CRP-8:0.5/1.0 CRP-8:0.5/1.75
610 620 610 620 610 610
1200/5 1200/5 1200/5
IBC51:6/7.25 CR-8:5/6.5 CR-8:4/5.5
IBCG51:0.8/7.5 CRP-8:0.8/6.25 CRP-8:0.6/5.0

Fig. 11. Single-loop subtransmission network with 7 buses in the Taiwan Power Company.
26 Y. Lu, J.-L. Chung / Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27

Table 2
Intersection check and setting adjustment for the A#610(67N:IBCG51) and
G#610(67N:CRP-8) pair.

Adjust settings of backup relay Check curve intersection (MBck = 1.6)

No. INB TDB MB ICK MPck T

0 0.8 7.5 16.25 307 1.6 −18.16

1 1.0 7.0 13.0 384 2.0 −5.76
2 1.2 6.5 10.83 461 2.4 −1.47
3 1.5 6.0 8.67 576 3.0 1.04

between the relay pair was −18.16. Therefore, a curve intersection

was detected and had to be addressed.
Because IBCG51 was an electromechanical relay, the available
tap values were the eleven fixed selections of 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 1.0,
1.2, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 4.0. For instance, only 1.0 can be chosen as
the next tap value higher than 0.8.
Following three consecutive adjustments with pickup cur-
rent settings of 1.0, 1.2, and 1.5, T became greater than zero
(1.04), indicating that the intersection was eliminated. Fig. 13
shows the results of these adjustments. Curve 5, corresponding to
backup relay A#610:67N with a pickup current setting of 1.5 A, no
longer intersected with the coordination curve of its primary relay
G#610:67N. Fig. 14 shows a diagram of the coordination curves
following adjustment, where Curve 7 was the coordination curve
of backup relay A#610:67N with a pickup current and a time dial
setting of 1.5 A and 6.0, respectively. The intersection was removed
with the proposed approach.
Normal inverse overcurrent relays are generally used to protect
Fig. 14. Coordination curve diagram following the adjustment for the single-phase
subtransmission systems. The normal inverse coordination curves ground fault case.
of a backup/primary relay pair have only one intersection if an inter-
section occurs. Therefore, the proposed approach only requires one
fault current ICK (i.e., associated with M = 1.6) to determine whether of the primary relay because that range includes nearly all of the
an intersection exists within the range of ICK and the maximum fault potential fault currents. Therefore, a simple, efficient, and effective
current produced by the three-phase short-circuit close-in fault method for detecting harmful curve intersections has been pro-
posed. Intersections located at positions corresponding to the fault
currents over the maximum fault current can be ignored because
they do not appear in the mentioned relay pair’s protection zone.
One limitation of the proposed approach is its inability to detect
intersections at positions that correspond to fault currents less than
the fault current ICK . However, faults in this area are rare.
For network topology changes, including the change of system
structure resulting from the addition of branches [5] and the tran-
sient change of the network topology discussed in [6], new relay
settings can be recalculated for changes using the optimization
techniques proposed in [5,6]. Thereafter, they can be entered into
the proposed method to identify and solve curve intersections.
The flexibility of the proposed method regarding network topology
changes will be our next topic in future research.
In solving the intersection, the proposed approach complies
with the normal coordination constraints, such as bounds on the
time dial setting, bounds on the pickup current setting, coordina-
tion criteria, and relay characteristics. The original CTI remained
unaltered and the recommended range of 2–20 multiples of pickup
current was met following adjustment. Because of the combi-
nation of the intersection inspection and elimination methods,
the proposed approach exhibited an impressive performance. The
proposed approach was also applied to subtransmission systems
operating at the Taiwan Power Company and showed satisfactory
results for detecting and eliminating coordination curve intersec-
tion problems in overcurrent relays.

6. Conclusions

Fig. 13. Coordination curve diagram showing the adjustments of backup relay
This paper proposes a practical and effective approach for
A#610:67N. detecting and solving the coordination curve intersection problem
 Y. Lu, J.-L. Chung / Electric Power Systems Research 95 (2013) 19–27 27

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Acknowledgments
[11] IEEE Std C37.112-1996, IEEE Standard Inverse-Time Characteristic Equations
for Overcurrent Relays.
The authors would like to thank Wen-Shiow Kao, the Presi- [12] IEEE PSRC Committee, IEEE standard inverse-time characteristic equations for
dent of Taoyuan Innovation Institute of Technology, for his useful overcurrent relays, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery 14 (3) (1999) 868–872.
[13] IEC Publication 255-3 (1989-05), Single Input Energizing Quality Measuring
advice that contributed to the original version of this document. Relays with Dependent or Independent.
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