Time-Domain Distance Protection Scheme

Prabin Adhikari Sukumar Brahma

Holcombe Department of ECE Holcombe Department of ECE
Clemson University Clemson University
Clemson, USA Clemson, USA
prabina@[Link] sbrahma@[Link]

Abstract—The increasing integration of inverter-based re- use generalized differential equations based on physics of
sources (IBRs) into the transmission network impacts traditional faults, making them source-agnostic and not reliant on specific
phasor-based distance relays designed for synchronous gener- source controls, models or fault response. Additionally, they
ators (SGs), leading to frequent misoperations. Source-agnostic
protection schemes address this issue by operating independently are immune to other known issues with legacy relays like
of the source type and controls. This paper proposes a com- susceptibility to decaying dc offset in fault currents and load
prehensive time-domain distance protection scheme featuring encroachment. However, these relays primarily focus on main
both main and backup functions, using source-agnostic distance protection without a comprehensive backup strategy. Effective
2024 56th North American Power Symposium (NAPS) | 979-8-3315-2103-5/24/$31.00 ©2024 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/NAPS61145.2024.10741823

and directional relays. The proposed protection scheme reliably distance protection must provide backup for dependability, in
detects and isolates faults within the protected zone and securely
restrains from operating for faults outside the protected zone. The addition to providing selectivity by accurately detecting and
effectiveness of the proposed scheme is validated using PSCAD isolating faults within designated zones, and providing security
simulations, demonstrating its high selectivity, dependability, and by restraining from operating for faults outside these zones.
security. The time-domain distance protection scheme proposed in
Index Terms—Directional relay, distance protection, distance
this paper offers exactly these features through main and
relay, protection coordination.
backup protection functions. The main protection uses a
I. I NTRODUCTION double-ended fault location method using source-agnostic dis-
tance relays formulated in [9], ensuring accurate fault detection
Conventional distance protection schemes are designed for
and isolation within the protected section. In addition, the
synchronous generators (SGs). With the increasing penetra-
backup protection uses single-ended distance and directional
tion of inverter-based resources (IBRs), traditional distance
features (directional feature is taken form [10]) to reliably
protection schemes face significant challenges. Unlike SGs,
operate when the main protection fails. Extensive PSCAD
IBRs exhibit controlled, low-amplitude fault currents, which
simulations validate the scheme’s high selectivity through
are influenced by proprietary control schemes. This difference
precise coordination, dependability through consistent fault
often leads to misoperations in phasor-domain based distance
detection and trip signal generation, and security through
relays, leading to incorrect fault detection and unintended
effective blocking mechanisms to prevent incorrect operations.
tripping [1], [2]. Furthermore, the limited negative sequence
The paper is organized as follows: Section II details the
current contribution from IBRs complicates effective fault
main protection scheme formulation. Section III covers the
detection, direction determination and fault type classification
backup protection scheme, including blocking and delay mech-
in distance relays, highlighting the need for more adaptive
anisms. The simulation test system is detailed in Section IV.
protection schemes [3].
Results are discussed in Section V, and Section VI highlights
Published literature presents several approaches to address
significant findings and potential future work.
the impacts of IBRs on distance protection. Many studies
focus on manipulating inverter controls to achieve desired fault
responses [4], [5]. But, these solutions are impractical due to II. F ORMULATION OF T HE M AIN P ROTECTION S CHEME
proprietary inverter control schemes. Other proposed solutions A single phase model of a three phase transmission line
are either system dependent [1] or IBR model-dependent [6]. is shown in Fig. 1 with distance relays R12 at Bus 1 (fed by
Phasor-based solutions, such as the one proposed in [7], are source S1 ) and R21 at Bus 2 (fed by source S2 ). These relays,
fraught with risk of failure due to the loss of polarizing detailed in our previous work [9], are source-agnostic time-
quantity in presence of IBRs [8], which are known to rapidly domain distance relays. They measure time-domain voltages
change their output voltages. and currents: vs1 (t), is1 (t) at Bus 1 and vs2 (t), is2 (t) at
In response, authors of this paper have proposed two Bus 2. The transmission line is represented by a ‘Hybrid Pi’
novel time-domain relays: a source agnostic distance relay circuit, with distributed resistance and inductance, and lumped
[9] and a source-agnostic directional relay [10]. These relays capacitance at both ends.
This work was funded by Clemson University Electric Power Research Consider a balanced fault on the line at a distance x from
Association (CUEPRA). Bus 1. If r and l are the resistance and inductance of the line

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 vs1 x L-x vs2 TABLE I
Bus 1 is1 i2 is2 Bus 2 R ELAY E LEMENTS FOR M AIN P ROTECTION F UNCTION AND T HEIR FAULT
i1 r l vf r l
S1 S2 L OCATIONS
ic2
ic1
R12 Fault C/2 R21 Relay Units Fault location (x)
C/2
vsa1 − vsa2 + Aa2 L
Transmission Line AG xa =
Ground Aa1 + Aa2
Communication Channel vsb1 − vsb2 + Ab2 L
BG xb =
Relays Ab1 + Ab2
Fig. 1. A two bus power system with transmission line fed by two sources. vsc1 − vsc2 + Ac2 L
CG xc =
Ac1 + Ac2
per unit length, Kirchoff’s voltage law (KVL) between Bus 1 vsab1 − vsab2 + Aab2 L
AB xab =
Aab1 + Aab2
and the fault point can be given by: Phase
vsbc1 − vsbc2 + Abc2 L
  BC xbc =
di1 Relays Abc1 + Abc2
vs1 = vf + ri1 + l x = vf + A1 x (1) vsca1 − vsca2 + Aca2 L
dt CA xca =
Aca1 + Aca2
where, A1 represents the per unit voltage drop along the line.
Similarly, KVL from Bus 2 to the fault point yields:
A. Fault Detection
vs2 = vf + A2 (L − x) (2)
Single ended distance to fault calculations formulated in
where L is the total length of the line. Subtracting (2) from [9] are used for fault detection. Let the single ended distance
(1), the distance to fault from Bus 1, x, can be expressed as: measurement by relay R12 be denoted by y. Assuming neg-
ligible fault resistance (vf = 0), the distance to the fault can
vs1 − vs2 + A2 L be calculated using only single-ended measurements by relay
x= . (3)
A1 + A2 R12 from (1) as:
This allows us to locate any fault irrespective of the fault vs1
y= =x (6)
resistance. The quantities vs1 and vs2 are measured at by the A1
relays and the quantities A1 and A2 are calculated by each This single-ended method provides a constant distance to the
relay. Fault location computation requires 1 MHz sampling and fault for bolted faults. However, for resistive faults, the value of
time synchronization between Bus 1 and Bus 2, features that y varies over time. This variation is periodic with a frequency
are standard in legacy relays like traveling wave (TW)-based of 120 Hz, allowing fault detection using the phasor magnitude
relays [11]. Advances in protective relaying technology make of the 120 Hz component of y [10].
high-resolution sampling, absolute time synchronization, high- The magnitudes of 120 Hz component of single-ended
speed communication, and high computational capabilities distance measurements by the AG element of the relay R12
feasible [12]. Thus, computing fault location using this method (ya ) during AG faults in the transmission line 1-2 shown in
for main protection is practical and achievable. the test system of Fig. 4 with varying fault resistances are
The fault location formulation in (3) can be extended shown in Fig. 2. The 120 Hz component magnitude reduces
to include unbalanced faults in three phase balanced and significantly (by more than 50% of the pre-fault value) even
unbalanced lines. This involves considering mutual coupling for high resistance faults. This signature is consistent across
between the phases and defining six relay elements: three all fault types and locations. Thus, an effective fault detection
ground elements (AG, BG, CG) and three phase elements (AB, mechanism is achieved by setting a threshold (80% of the pre-
BC, CA), similar to [9]. Each relay unit has its own inputs and fault value is used in this work) on the 120 Hz component of
calculates the location using its own expression. For the AG single-ended distance calculations. A fault is detected when
element of relay R12 , (3) can be modified using the values of any of the six relay units experience a reduction in the 120
vs and A corresponding to phase a as: Hz component of y beyond 0.8 pu of the pre-fault value.

vsa1 − vsa2 + Aa2 L

xa = . (4) 1000
Aa1 + Aa2
Similarly, the distance to fault calculated by the BC element 500
of relay R12 is:
0
vsbc1 − vsbc2 + Abc2 L 0.98 0.99 1 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05
xbc = . (5)
Abc1 + Abc2
Where, vsbc = vsb - vsc and Abc = Ab - Ac for both Bus Fig. 2. Phasor magnitudes of 120 Hz component of ya during AG faults with
varying fault resitances.
1 (vsbc1 , Abc1 ) and Bus 2 (vsbc2 , Abc2 ) quantities. Table I
summarizes all six relay elements along with their expressions.

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 Filtered vs1(t) y(t) DFT A. Blocking of Backup Protection Function
vs1(t), is1(t)
Calculation 120 Hz FLT_DET
A1(t) Component (Fault Detect Status) Even after fault detection, it is crucial to block the backup
1- Faulted
Filter Calculation 0.8 pu 0 - Unfaulted function (triggering the BKUP BLK signal) in specific sce-
Filtered is1(t) narios:
Enable 1) For Reverse Faults: The backup protection function
Filtered vs1(t)
Fault Location MN_TRIP must ensure that the fault is in the next line section. The
Algorithm FLT_LOC
time-domain directional feature outlined in [10] selectively
Filtered vs2(t)
A2(t) operates the backup function for forward faults and blocks
Communicated from
it for reverse faults. This source-agnostic directional feature
the remote end reliably distinguishes forward and reverse faults, irrespective
of fault resistance, without requiring polarization. Thus, with
Fig. 3. Block diagram for the main protection function. directional awareness (FLT DIR signal input), the backup
function is blocked for reverse faults. For example, FLT DIR
= 1 for R12 and FLT DIR = 0 for R21 for faults in line 2-3.
B. Main Protection Logic 2) When Main Protection Operates: In Fig. 4, if circuit
Once a fault is detected, the local relay requests synchronous breakers B23 and B32 clear the fault, the backup relay R12
measurements from the remote relay for fault location. To gen- needs to be blocked. After the fault is cleared, the voltage
erate a trip signal, three fault location readings are used, taken at Bus 2 rises. The time-domain voltages at Bus 2 can be
30◦ (electrically) apart after fault detection. The algorithm calculated by R12 using only Bus 1 measurements as:
checks for mathematical instability by ensuring A1 + A2 ̸= 0; vs2 = vs1 + A1 L12 (7)
it avoids the samples that do not meet this requirement. Fault
locations x1 , x2 , and x3 are calculated for each distance where, A1 is calculated as depicted in (1) and L12 is the
element using the expressions in Table I. Fault is located total length of the line 1-2. Fault detection by the backup
once the algorithm ensures these values are positive, within relay triggers the voltage-based backup blocking logic. If the
the line length, and consistent with an error tolerance of 1% phase voltage at Bus 2 rises above a threshold (set to 0.95
(this tolerance value is chosen based on the simulation studies pu in this work), the backup function is blocked by triggering
on the system used in this paper). Detection of a fault and BKUP BLK V.
consistent fault location within the line length trigger a trip 3) When Fault is in the Main Protection Zone of the Backup
signal. Relay: If a fault is in line 1-2, both main and backup functions
detect it. The main protection relays R12 and R21 generate a
The block diagram of the main protection function is shown
trip signal (MN TRIP) before the backup time delay (to be
in Fig. 3. Once a fault is detected, the fault location algorithm
discussed in next section), blocking the backup function if the
is enabled, and the FLT LOC signal is generated if the
main trip signal is already generated.
calculated distance is positive, within the line length, and
consistent (within a set error tolerance). If the fault persists, B. Delaying the Operation of Backup Relay
the relay generates a trip signal (MN TRIP) using the main After a fault is detected, the backup function starts a
protection function. timer. If it exceeds the backup time delay (TD BKUP), the
backup protection function generates a trip signal, provided
III. BACKUP P ROTECTION S CHEME the fault persists and backup is not blocked. The time delay
TD BKUP should be set to provide sufficient time for the
To illustrate the backup protection scheme, consider a three- main protection and breaker operations. Main protection takes
bus power system as shown in Fig. 4. Relays R12 and R21 less than 1.5 cycles (from simulation results in this paper);
protect line 1-2, while relays R23 and R32 protect line 2- we conservatively take the main protection operating time as
3. For a fault on line 2-3, Relays R23 and R32 provide the 2 cycles.
main protection while the relay R12 provides the backup After the main protection sends the trip signal, the circuit
protection using single ended measurements at Bus 1. The breaker takes time to clear the fault. Breaker interrupting time
backup scheme should be able to detect the fault, ensure that includes opening and arcing times, typically around 1.5 -
the fault is in the next line section (in forward direction), allow 2 cycles [13]. Conservatively, we choose 3 cycles. We add
time for the main protection to operate, block its operation if 2 cycles for backup blocking schemes and 2 more cycles
the main protection operates and trip if the main protection for communication delays. Thus, the backup relay should
fails. allow 2 cycles for main protection operation, 3 cycles for
The block diagram for the backup protection function is breaker interruption, 2 cycles for backup blocking schemes,
shown in Fig. 5. Even for faults in the next section, relay R12 and 2 cycles for communication delays, totaling 9 cycles.
will see a drop in the 120 Hz component and detect fault using Conventional distance relays use 15-30 cycles for Zone-2
the same logic as the main protection (see section II-A). Fault backup protection [14], [15]. A 9-cycle delay ensures fast
detection by the backup relay triggers the FLT DET signal. backup protection without interfering with main protection.

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 1 2 3 75
B12 B21 B23 B32 1
60
R12 45
F2 R21 R23 F1 R32 SS2 0.5
SS1 Load 30
MN_TRIP
15
0
IBR 0.99 1 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05

Fig. 4. A 230 kV transmission system with distance protection in presence

Fig. 6. Operation of main protection function of relay R23 for an AG fault
of an IBR.
on the line 2-3.
FLT_DET

vs1(t), is1(t) Voltage Based BKUP_BLK_V

Backup BKUP_BLK enabling the fault location algorithm, but rapid changes in
FLT_DET
Blocking
Enable
distance calculations prevent the MN TRIP signal from being
FLT_DIR triggered, ensuring that its backup function remains active until
MN_TRIP BKUP_TRIP
the main protection of line 2-3 (R23 and R32 ) clears the fault.
Enable
This shows the secure restraint of the proposed main protection
Timer
TD_BKUP
scheme for fault outside the protected line.

Fig. 5. Block diagram for the backup protection function. 106

2
1
IV. S IMULATION T EST S YSTEM 0
-2
The test system for the proposed distance protection scheme 0.5 MN_TRIP
-4
is shown in Fig. 4. It consists of a three-bus 230 kV trans-
0 -6
mission system with two synchronous sources (SS1 and SS2 ) 0.98 0.99 1 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05
rated at 230 kV, 100 MVA, connected to Bus 1 and Bus 3 and
a 100 MVA inverter connected to Bus 2 via a 15 kV/230 kV
Fig. 7. Operation of main protection function of relay R12 for an AG fault
transformer. Transmission lines 1-2 and 2-3 are each 150 km on the line 2-3.
long, protected by relays R12 , R21 , R23 and R32 .
Transmission lines are modeled as transposed lines follow- Relay R23 ’s main protection is also tested for extreme cases:
ing the recommendation in [16] using distributed line model (a) a bolted 3-phase fault at 1% of the line length (1.5 km)
(even line charging capacitance is distributed). Synchronous from Bus 2, and (b) a BC fault at 99% of the line length (148.5
sources are modeled as Thevenin equivalent voltage sources. km) from Bus 2 with 50 Ω resistance (Fig. 8). The operations
The IBR is a grid-following inverter model, operating at rated of relay R23 for these fault cases are summarized in Fig. 8.
load and unity power factor in steady state. The inverter imple- In both scenarios, the main protection accurately located the
ments dynamic reactive current injection, negative sequence faults within 0.5% error and generated trip signals within a
current blocking and a current limit of 1.1 pu of its rating. cycle.
The system is modeled using PSCAD/EMTDC simulation The main protection is also tested for all four types of faults
evironment. Detailed modeling of lines, synchronous sources, (AG, BC, BCG and ABCG) with all possible fault resistance
and inverters is provided in [9] and [10]. at three different locations (1%, 50% and 99% of the line
length) on the line 2-3. Ground faults are simulated with
V. R ESULTS
resistances up to 150 Ω, and line-line faults up to 100 Ω, based
A. Operation of Main Protection on recommendations in [17] for a 230 kV system. Relay R23
As a base case, consider the fault F1 in Fig. 4 as an AG fault consistently located faults within 0.5% error and generated trip
with fault resistance (Rf ) of 10 Ω on line 2-3 at a distance signals within 1.5 cycles of fault initiation, demonstrating the
of 75 km from bus 2. The operation of main protection is dependable operation of the proposed main protection scheme
summarized in Fig. 6. Fault starts at t = 1 s, and is detected for all faults within the protected line and secure restraint for
by the main protection (relay R23 ) once the 120 Hz component faults outside the protection zone.
of distance calculation by the AG element |ya (120Hz)| drops
below the threshold of 0.8 pu. This triggers the FLT DET B. Consideration for Communication Latency in Main Pro-
signal, which enables the fault location algorithm (see Fig. tection
3). The fault location is then calculated as 74.9 km (less than Once the main protection function detects fault, the relay
0.1% error), and a trip signal (MN TRIP) is generated within R23 asks for synchronized set of samples from the relay R32 .
less than a cycle of fault initiation. This blocks the backup It is important to note here that fault location does not require
function of relay R23 (see Fig. 5) by triggering MN TRIP. continuous communication of voltage and current samples at 1
The performance of the main protection function of relay MHz, rather a set of time-stamped samples(vsa2 , vsb2 , vsc2 ,
R12 for fault F1 is shown in Fig. 7. Relay R12 detects the fault, Aa2 , Ab2 , Ac2 ) from the other end. These sets, 30 degrees

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 6 protection (Relays R23 and R32 ). The operation of backup
1
relay R12 for the base case with fault F1 is shown in Fig.
4
9. The backup relay detects the fault when |ya | drops below
0.5 MN_TRIP
2 0.8 pu. After 1.5 cycles, the relay confirms the fault is in
forward direction (FLT DIR HIGH), unblocking the backup
0 0
0.98 0.99 1 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 tripping function as the BKUP BLK signal goes LOW. The
main function of R12 does not activate (MN TRIP remains
(a) LOW) as depicted in Fig. 7, and the calculated voltage at
150
Bus 2 remains around 0.5 pu (voltage based backup blocking
1 is not triggered). The relay waits for 9 cycles (TD BKUP)
100 before generating a backup trip signal (BKUP TRIP).
MN_TRIP
0.5 The tests for the operation of backup protection is repeated
50
for all types of faults at three different locations on line 2-
0 0 3 with all possible fault resistance for fault F1 by disabling
0.98 0.99 1 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05
the main protection. The backup function operated reliably,
(b)
generating a trip signal 9 cycles after fault detection, even
Fig. 8. Operation of main protection function of R23 for fault F1 (a) 3-phase with infeed from an IBR.
fault at 1% of the line length and (b) BC fault at 99% of the line length.
1.5 1.5

apart, are sent in a data packet. The main protection uses 1 1

these synchronized samples to determine the fault location and
0.5 0.5
generate the trip signal.
Communication delay includes propagation, transmit, and 0 0
queue delays. Propagation delay is the time it takes for a signal 1 1.05 1.1 1.15 1.2
to travel through the medium. Transmit delay depends on the
data size and bandwidth and queue delay occurs when packets Fig. 9. Operation of backup function of R12 for AG fault on line 2-3.
wait due to network congestion. For the 150 km line 2-3 in
Fig. 4, various communication technologies are assessed for D. Blocking of Backup Protection Function
communication latency in table II. Using a PMU data frame (<
For fault F1 on line 2-3, relay R12 provides backup protec-
1 KB [18]) as reference, even the slowest technology, power
tion while relay R21 restrains its backup function due to the
line carrier (PLC), resulted in a total latency of 17 ms (one
fault’s reverse direction. As shown in Fig. 10, R21 detects the
AC cycle). Faster technologies like fiber optic, routinely used
fault but keeps FLT DIR at LOW, indicating a reverse fault.
for protection applications [12], offer much lower latency.
The backup blocking signal (BKUP BLK) remains at HIGH,
PLC is preferred due to its existing infrastructure in many
blocking the backup protection, and preventing the backup trip
protection schemes and its cost-effectiveness. Since the main
(BKUP TRIP remains LOW).
protection operates within 1.5 AC cycles, even with PLC, the
trip signal can be generated within 3 cycles. Faster communi- 1.5 1.5
cation technologies ensure that relay operating time remains
unaffected by communication latency, demonstrating that the 1 1
proposed protection scheme is implementable with existing
communication channels. 0.5 0.5

TABLE II
0 0
1 1.05 1.1 1.15 1.2
C OMMUNICATION LATENCY FOR DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES

Propagation
Technology Bandwidth Transmit Total Fig. 10. Operation of backup function of R21 for AG fault on line 2-3.
(150 km Line)
Power Line
500 Kbps 0.75 ms 16.4 ms 17 ms As previously discussed, the voltage-based backup blocking
Carrier
scheme prevents backup operation if the main protection clears
Fiber Optic 100 Mbps 0.75 ms 82 µs 1 ms
WiMAX the fault. When breakers B23 and B32 clear a fault on line 2-
100 Mbps 0.5 ms 82 µs 1 ms
(microwave) 3, the voltage at Bus 2 rises. This is demonstrated in Fig.
LTE-Advanced 100 Mbps 0.5 ms 82 µs 1 ms 11, where relay R12 measures the phase a voltage (|Va |) at
Bus 2 during AG faults with varying resistances. The fault is
initiated at t = 1 s and cleared at t = 1.05 s by opening the
C. Operation of Backup Protection Scheme circuit breakers. After fault clearance, |Va | rises above the 0.95
To demonstrate the operation of backup protection, we pu threshold within 1.5 cycles (considering the slowest rise
consider a fault F1 on line 2-3 that is not cleared by the main for the maximum fault resistance considered), indicating main

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 protection operation. This supports the use of a 2-cycle waiting distance and directional features to provide reliable operation
period for backup blocking schemes within the TD BKUP when the main protection fails. Extensive PSCAD simulations
delay. validate the scheme’s high selectivity, dependability, and se-
curity, confirming its ability to accurately isolate faults within
1.5 the protected section, detect faults consistently, and prevent
Voltage Threshold incorrect operations. Moreover, the study demonstrates that
1
the communication requirements for this scheme can be met
0.5 using standard communication channels utilized in legacy
Fault Initiation protection systems. These findings underscore the potential of
Breaker Opens
the proposed protection scheme for improved protection in
1 1.02 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.08
modern power systems compared with the legacy relays.

Fig. 11. Magnitudes of phase a voltage at the main bus, calculated by the
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