Simulation of the Distance Relay Using EMTP MODELS

Digital technology has advanced significantly over the years both in terms of software tools and hardware availability. It is now applied extensively throughout many area of electrical engineering including protective relaying in power systems. Digital relays have numerous advantages over traditional analog relays, such as the ability to accomplish what is difficult or impossible using analog relays. Although non real-time simulators like PSCAD/EMTDC are employed to test the algorithms, such simulations are disadvantaged in that they cannot test the relay dynamically. Hence, real-time simulators like RTDS are used. However, the latter requires large space and is very expensive. This paper uses EMTP MODELS to simulate the power system and the distance relay. The distance relay algorithm is implemented and the distance relay is interfaced with a test power system. The distance relay's performance is then assessed interactively under various fault types, fault distances and fault inception angles. The test results show that we can simulate the distance relay effectively and we can examine the operation of the distance relay very closely including its drawbacks/limitations by using EMTP MODELS. Equally important, this approach facilitates any changes that need to be carried out in order to enhance the Distance Relay under test/examination.