Generic Protection Model for Generator

Background
The NERC Plant-level Control and Protection Modeling Task Force (PCPMTF)1 taskforce recommend that commercial
software vendors adopt a model that can monitor and provide warnings of potential unit tripping due to synchronous
generators encroaching on possible trip-zones of their protection systems.

Currently, a simple “generic” model of this nature exists in one commercial software tool (GE PSLF) called GP1/GP2
that can be expanded upon to facilitate adoption by all software platforms. This model has a basic representation of
over- and under-voltage protections, over- and under-frequency protections, reverse power protection, and stator-
and field-over-current protections. This model can be used to monitor generator models and warn the user if a
generator appears to be entering regions of operation that may initiate a trip. The model can also be set to trip the
generating unit. The PCPMTF task force recommended the development of an expanded version of this model, to be
called GP3, to include the following:

 Over- and under-voltage protections,

 Over- and under-frequency protections,
 Reverse power protection,
 Field-over-current protections,
 Voltage Restrained Time Overcurrent relay,
 Loss of field protection,
 Turbine power/load unbalance protection, and
 V/Hz protection.

It is emphasized once more that the intent of this model is primarily to be used as a high-level screening tool (i.e. all
functions in alarm mode) to draw the attention of a planner to potential issues that might exist with respect to a unit
tripping on protection. Thus, subsequent analysis may be needed to look more closely at the actual protection
settings of some specific units for a given study. As such, this model is high-level “emulation” of the most typical
protective functions. It does not exactly represent any particular protective relay or function, nor is it a
comprehensive representation of all possible protective functions at a synchronous power plant.

Also, it should be noted that this model does not include any of the typical limiter controls in most excitation systems,
such as the over-excitation limiter (OEL), the under-excitation limiter (UEL) and the volts/hertz limiter. Needless-to-
say, such limiter models may exist in commercial software tools and can be used. Also, clearly the intent and purpose
of such limiters is to prevent the unit from encroaching trip-zones of the protective functions modeled here, such as
the field overcurrent protection, and the V/Hz protection. Thus, if the OEL, UEL and V/Hz limiter are modeled, the
protective functions in this model should be properly coordinated to avoid improper response.

A few other pertinent points are important to be made here:

1 [Link]
 1. Modern digital generator protection packages, used on synchronous generators, can incorporate many
functions from those mentioned above, to unbalanced overcurrent protection (46), out-of-step protection
(78), breaker failure protection (50BF), and many more2. It is not possible to model all these various functions
in a positive-sequence stability program, for various reasons. As an example, the unbalanced overcurrent
protection function, simply cannot be modeled in positive-sequence simulations tools, where only the
balanced conditions are modeled.

2. The protection functions proposed here for modeling, were judged by the PCPMTF, as being the most
important for large-scale power system simulation studies. It must be understood that the simple generic
model presented here is not all-inclusive and is not a representation of any specific generator protection
system. It is a generic model intended to provide high-level monitoring for synchronous generators in order
to indicate when generator protection might be likely to operate. Furthermore, there are many other
potential layers of protection, which may lead under certain severe conditions, to a plant tripping, such as
protection of auxiliary load. This model does not capture such protective devices. Therefore, the model is
intended simply to be a tool for warning planners as to the potential for protection action at a plant and thus
the need for more detailed analysis or review of the actual protection settings at a plant, if deemed necessary.

3. It should be noted that although the actual protective functions are standard across relays3, how they are
implemented exactly by each vendor, and at each site, can vary. For example, many implementations of V/Hz
protection have more than one setting, where a larger setting is associated with a definite time delay for
tripping, while a lower setting is used together with an inverse-time setting. Again, in the simple “generic”
model proposed here, it is not possible to capture all such variations and possible settings. Thus, the
functions are modeled in their simplest for, e.g. definite time V/Hz, etc.

GP3 Model Description

This document is a simple specification for the proposed GP3 “generic” synchronous generator protection model,
which is an expanded version of the existing GP1/GP2 models. This model can only be applied to synchronous
generators. The model is to contain the following functions and features:

 Over- and under-voltage protections – a simple function to detect over/under voltage with a definite time
delay for tripping,
 Over- and under-frequency protections – a simple function to detect over/under frequency with a definite
time delay for tripping,
 Reverse power protection,
 Field-over-current protections,
 Voltage Restrained Time Overcurrent relay,

2 For a detailed account of generator protection functions see the following references:
 IEEE Tutorial on the Protection of Synchronous Generators, 2011 ([Link]
[Link]/pes/product/tutorials/PESTP1001?source=IBP)
 [Link]
ot%20Coordination%20Technical%20Reference%[Link]
3 C37.2-2008 - IEEE Standard Electrical Power System Device Function Numbers, Acronyms, and Contact Designations

[Link]

Generic Protection Model for Generator 2

  Loss of field protection,
 Turbine power/load unbalance protection, and
 V/Hz protection.

In addition, the model should have the following capabilities:

 to actually trip the generator model if one of the protection criteria are met, or alarm only without tripping
the generator model,
 to be able to apply the model to (i) a single generator, or (ii) all generators in an area, or (iii) all generators
in a zone, or (iv) all generators in the entire case,
 when the generator is tripped (or an alarm is generated without a trip), the model should write out to the
simulation log-file the following information:
o time of the trip/alarm
o reason for the trip/alarm, e.g.
 generator at bus 99999, with id 1, over-voltage protection picked up at time XXXX seconds
since terminal voltage of 1.2 pu exceeded the over-voltage protection setting of 1.1
 generator at bus 99999, with id 1, tripped (or [alarm only]) at time YYYY seconds since over-
voltage protection timed out.

With the above in mind, below is the definition for the implementation of these protection functions proposed by
the PCPMTF, for the so-called GP3 model. Table 1 shows the list of parameters for the model. The first two
parameters, flag1 and flag2 are self-explanatory. With the exception of the power/load unbalance function, the loss-
of-field function, voltage-restraint inverse-time over-current trip function and the over-excitation trip function, all
other features of this model are identical to the existing GP1/GP2 models in GE PSLF, as recommended in the PCPMTF
document. The difference in the over-excitation trip function is that it has now been made into a simple definite time
trip setting, rather than a “generic” inverse time trip. This is because, most over-excitation limiters (OELs) on
synchronous generators tend to be inverse-time, or have several pickup points (e.g. an inverse-time setting and a
hard definite-time setpoint at a higher level), and may not even have a trip setting. So, a simpler definite time model
is likely adequate.

To fully define the model the following is provided:

1. V/Hz – in actual relay equipment the calculation is typically based on terminal voltage and frequency. To
avoid complications with calculating terminal frequency, for modeling purposes, this can be implemented as
follows:
If (Vt/>vhz for tvhz seconds, then alarm (or trip) the unit, where Vt is the generator terminal
voltage, and  is the generator speed. If V/Hz returns below the trip point prior to the relaying timing
out, the timer is reset.

2. Over/Under-voltage – this is modeled by a simple, single, definite time setting. Actual real equipment may
have multiple settings. The logic for the model is as follows:
If Vt<vuv for tuv seconds, then alarm (or trip) the unit, where Vt is the generator terminal voltage.
If Vt>vov for tov seconds, then alarm (or trip) the unit.
If Vt returns above (below) the trip point prior to the relaying timing out, the timer is reset.

Generic Protection Model for Generator 3

 3. Reverse Power – the logic for this function is as follows:
If Pgen<pmtr for tpmtr seconds, then alarm (or trip) the unit, where Pgen is the generator terminal
electrical power. If Pgen returns above the trip point prior to the relaying timing out, the timer is
reset.
4. Loss-of-field – the most common LOF relay is the offset mho relay with two zones. This is shown in Figure 2.
The most typical values for the settings are shown in Table 1. Thus, this relay can be modeled as follows:
First the generator apparent impedance (on generator MVA base) is calculated at every time step,
i.e. Zgen = Vt/It (complex values) = Rgen + jXgen
If Zgen enters Zone 1 (i.e. Rgen2 + (Xgen – Xoff + Xz1/2)2 < (Xz1/2)2) for tz1 seconds, then alarm (or trip)
the unit. If Zgen exits Zone 1 before the relay times out, then reset the timer.
If Zgen enters Zone 2 (i.e. Rgen2 + (Xgen – Xoff + Xz2/2)2 < (Xz2/2)2) for tz2 seconds, then alarm (or trip)
the unit. If Zgen exits Zone 2 before the relay times out, then reset the timer.
If the model is instantiated on a single generator, then the user may specify the values for Xz1, Xz2 and Xzoff.
If either Xz1 or Xz2 is entered as “zero”, then the model will use the default values of Xz1 = 1 pu, Xz2 = Xd
(read from the generator dynamics model) and Xoff = -X’d/2 (X’d read from the generator model), all on the
generator MVA base. If the model is instantiated to be effective at the Zone/Area/All-units level, then the
values of Xz1, Xz2 and Xzoff are internally set to the default values, i.e. Xz1 = 1 pu, Xz2 = Xd (read from the
generator dynamics model) and Xoff = -X’d/2 (X’d read from the generator model), all on the generator MVA
base. This model must be used in conjunction with the higher order generator dynamic models, e.g. GENROU,
GENROE, etc. which include Xd and X’d. If the GP3 model is instantiated on a unit using a GENCLS a warning
message should be displayed indicating to the user that the GP3 model has ben disabled and is being
neglected, unless the user employees are more appropriate generator model.

5. Over-excitation – the over-excitation protection is modeled with a simple definite time model. That is:
If Ifd>ifoc for tfoc seconds, then alarm (or trip) the unit, where Ifd is the generator field current. If
the field current returns below the trip point prior to the relaying timing out, the timer is reset.

6. Power/Load Unbalance – the power/load unbalance protection typically resides in the turbine controls and
is used on large steam-turbines. Typically, actual power/load unbalance protection works by measuring the
electrical load of the generator from the generator terminal PT/CTs and the power being developed by the
turbine from the combined pressure signals from the turbine stages. For simplicity, in this generic model the
electrical load is taken to be the generator power (Pgen) and the power developed by the turbine is taken
directly from the turbine-governor model output (Pmech). The protection logic is then:
If (Pmech – Pgen) > delp for tdelp seconds, then alarm (or trip) the unit. If the (Pmech – Pgen) goes
back below delp before the relay times out, then rest the timer.

7. Over/Under-frequency – this is modeled by a simple, single, definite time setting. Actual real equipment
may have multiple settings. The logic for the model is as follows:
If >fof for tof seconds, then alarm (or trip) the unit, where  is the generator speed. Speed is used
instead of calculated frequency, to avoid problems with frequency calculation in positive-sequence
stability programs.
If <fuf for tuf seconds, then alarm (or trip) the unit.
If  returns below (above) the trip point prior to the relay timing out, the timer is reset.
If Vt < 0.7 this relay function is disabled, until voltage comes back up above 0.75 pu.

Generic Protection Model for Generator 4

 8. Voltage Restrained Time Overcurrent– this relay is modeled with a simple, and generic, voltage-restraint
time-overcurrent relay model. It is slightly different to the existing feature in the GP1/GP2 models in GE PSLF,
in that the model proposed here is based on the IEEE standard characteristic of an inverse-time overcurrent
relay4, rather than being completely generic. IEEE C37.112 provides the following equations for the relay trip
time:
𝑘𝑜𝑐
𝑇𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝 = ( |𝐼𝑡| 𝑝𝑜𝑐 + 𝑏𝑜𝑐) (1)
( ) −1
𝑖𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑢𝑝
The optional reset rate of the relay timer, which is included here, is given by the equation
𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑐
𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 = ⌈𝐼𝑡⌉ 2 (2)
( ) −1
𝑖𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑢𝑝
Here |It| is the magnitude of the stator-current in pu. The relay then operates under the following premise:

Trip = 0 (internal variable of the model)

𝑡 1
𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑝 = ∫𝑜 𝑇(𝐼𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 (3)
where
𝑇𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝 (𝐼𝑡) if |𝐼𝑡| > 𝑖𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑢𝑝
𝑇(𝐼𝑡) = { 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 if |𝐼𝑡| < 𝑖𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑢𝑝
−𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑐 if |𝐼𝑡| = 𝑖𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑢𝑝

Thus, Trip is continuously integrated from time 0 to time t in the simulation, and the relay alarms (trips) the
unit, if and when Trip = 1. The pickup current ipickup, is determined as shown in Figure 2, based on the user
input parameter ioc, and a hardcoded voltage-restraint function. The voltage restraint function proposed
here is again slightly different to the existing GP1/GP2 models in GE PSLF, but it is based on what is
implemented in many relays.

4 C37.112-1996 - IEEE Standard Inverse-Time Characteristic Equations for Overcurrent Relays

Generic Protection Model for Generator 5

Table 1: Parameters of GPS (all [pu] quantities should be on the generator MVA base)
Parameter Description Typical Range/Value Units
flag1 0 – alarm only; 1 – trip generator 0 – typically use to alarm only and not trip generator N/A
model
flag2 1 – monitor generator; 2 – monitor all N/A N/A
generators in area; 3 – monitor all
generators in zone; 4 – monitor all
generators in the entire case
vhz V/Hz trip setting 1.1 – 1.20 [pu]
tvhz Definite time trip for V/Hz 2–6 [s]
vuv Under-voltage trip setting 0.8 – 0.89 [pu]
tvuv Definite time trip for UV 1 – hundreds [s]
vov Over-voltage trip setting 1.1 – 1.2 [pu]
tvov Definite time trip for OV Fraction of a second - 2 [s]
pmtr Reverse power trip setting -0.005 to -0.08 (larger values on GTs; smaller for STs)5 [pu]
tpmtr Definite time trip on reverse power 10 – 20 [s]
Xz1 Loss-of-field Zone 1 impedance6 1 [pu]
Xz2 Loss-of-field Zone 2 impedance Xd [pu]
Xoff Loss-of-field impedance off-set -X’d/2 [pu]
tz1 Definite time trip for Zone 1 of LOF 0.05 – 0.1 [s]
tz2 Definite time trip for Zone 2 of LOF 0.5 - 1 [s]
ioc Stator Over-current trip pickup setting 1.05 – 1.2 [pu]
koc Time factor for over-current trip N/A (moderately inverse = 0.0515) [s]
boc Timer coefficient for over-current trip N/A (moderately inverse = 0.114) [s]
poc Exponent for inverse-time 0.02 - 2 N/A
troc Reset time for over-current relay 4 – 29 [s]
fof Over-frequency trip setting 1.02 – 1.05 [pu]
tof Definite time trip for OF 1–2 [s]
fuf Under-frequency trip setting 0.96 – 0.98 [pu]
tuf Definite time trip for UF 1–2 [s]
delp Delta power Imbalance for 0.3 – 0.4 (used only typically for large STs) [pu]
Power/Load Unbalance Relay
tdelp Definite time trip for Power/Load 1–2 [s]
Unbalance
ifoc Over-excitation trip setting N/A [pu]
tfoc Definite time trip for over-excitation N/A [s]

5 The reverse power settings for various types of generation equipment can be quite different. This should be taken into consideration, when
setting the values for the reverse power relay, or interpreting the results is a blanket value is used to model the protective device over an entire
area or zone.
6 Typical settings for LOF relay are from WG J-5 of PSRC report, “Coordination of Generator Protection with Generator Excitation Control and

Generator Capability”, Proceedings of the IEEE PES GEM 2007.

Generic Protection Model for Generator 6

 X

Xoff

Xz1
Zone 1
Xz2

Zone 2

Figure 1: X-R diagram showing the characteristics of the offset-mho type loss-of-field relay.

1.0
ioc
Gain (multiplier)

× ipickup

0.25

Vt (pu)
0.25 1.0
Figure 2: Hardcoded voltage-restraint function in the inverse-time over-current relay.

Generic Protection Model for Generator 7