Alternative methodology to calculate the directional characteristic settings of directional overcurrent relays in transmission and distribution networks

Abstract

When addressing the problem of calculating the settings for directional overcurrent elements, the focus is usually the determination of the pickup, time dial and operating characteristic, in order to ensure proper selectivity with adjacent protection elements, thus limiting the problem related to the settings calculation of the direction determination characteristic to the application of typical settings and general guidelines, which cannot provide a reliable measure of the suitability of such settings. The present article describes in detail an alternative methodology for determining these settings, based on a characterization of the power system where the directional protection is to be applied, through the performance of a detailed short-circuit sensitivity analysis. From this, an optimization problem is formulated and solved to obtain the main settings shaping the direction determination characteristic, and then, a series of variables are used to measure the performance of the obtained settings, and even to improve it. The obtained results show the advantages of the application of the proposed methodology over the traditional methodology, based on typical settings and general guidelines, pointing out the risks of using the later.