1

Adaptive Coordination Schemes to

Reduce Fault Energy in Distribution Feeders
Using Wireless Protection Sensors
Kei Hao and David Keckalo, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

Abstract—Many utilities with overhead distribution lines make A solution to reduce fault duration, at least at specific areas,
tradeoffs when designing protection schemes. Ideally, the system is to sacrifice selectivity to speed up tripping. Although this is
minimizes fault energy by limiting fault duration in high-risk a solution that is only acceptable under certain circumstances,
environments, yet maximizes power quality and availability in
urban areas. this paper shows that it is possible to speed up tripping without
This paper describes how these contrasting goals are achieved sacrificing selectivity in other areas through the use of wireless
using wireless protection sensors to identify the faulted line section protection sensors (WPSs). It describes how WPSs can reduce
and instantly transmit fault messages to a recloser control. With fault duration by identifying a faulted line segment in high-risk
this real-time information, the protection logic adapts its response areas and communicating the information to a relay or recloser
for the faulted section, dynamically applying fast overcurrent control with minimal latency. With real-time knowledge of
elements with a truncated reclosing sequence to reduce fault
where a fault is occurring, the relay logic can adaptively enable
energy in high-risk sections, using standard schemes elsewhere.
a fast time-overcurrent curve and/or change the reclosing
I. INTRODUCTION sequence that coordinates with downstream devices. Therefore,
by adaptively changing the tripping speed, the feeder protection
Today’s distribution protection systems sacrifice speed for reduces the fault energy released, reducing hazard levels and
selectivity to provide reasonable service continuity and limit the minimizing the negative impact of faults in high-risk areas.
number of affected customers. The tradeoff uses time delays to
establish selectivity when many protection devices (such as II. DISTRIBUTION PROTECTION SCHEMES AND EQUIPMENT
protective relays, reclosers, and fuses) in series detect the same
fault current. To ensure selectivity, the upstream device A typical radial distribution system is shown in Fig. 1. In this
(backup) must include an intentional coordination delay to example, two distribution feeders emanate from circuit
allow any downstream device enough time to clear a fault. The breakers attached to the substation bus (only one feeder is
time-overcurrent curve of the backup device is set slower than drawn in detail). Each feeder breaker is controlled by a
the downstream protection devices, including some margin. protective relay that trips during overcurrent conditions caused
When faults occur in the immediate zone downstream of a by downstream faults, which protects the conductors and
device, that device becomes the primary protection. However, substation equipment from fault damage and isolates the faulted
the coordination delay designed for the backup role is still in line from the rest of the distribution bus. Usually, the feeder
service, leading to long fault-clearing times. main line is a three-phase circuit with lateral branches that tap
When a fault occurs on a distribution feeder, the high current off the main line. The branches can be one-, two-, or three-
level can result in equipment damage and expose bystanders to phase circuits. Utilities often install pole-mounted reclosers
an arc-flash burn hazard at the fault location. The energy (with accompanying recloser controls), sectionalizers, and
released is proportional to the amount of time the fault persists fuses along the distribution feeder to interrupt faults on
and the square of the fault current. While fault magnitude downstream segments of the feeder and isolate the faulted
generally cannot be controlled on a multi-grounded system, the segment. It is common practice to use fuses on the laterals to
fault duration can be managed. The energy released can cause isolate faulted branches of the feeder.
severe consequences if the protection system does not clear the
fault quickly, especially in high-risk environments. Therefore,
reducing fault-clearing time on a distribution feeder is a critical
path to reducing the energy released during a fault.
The main incentive for speeding up protection schemes in
distribution feeders is public safety. A fault or downed
conductor poses a hazard through direct or indirect electrical
contact and is an ignition source for wildfires. The potential for
injury and property damage increases when faulted conductors
are not quickly de-energized. Other benefits include reducing
stress on the distribution feeder and equipment, and improving Fig. 1. Typical Overhead Distribution System
power quality and reliability.
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Ideally, for a radial system, the feeder breaker relay, recloser 1) Reclosers
controls, sectionalizers, and fuses are fully coordinated to A recloser is a type of circuit breaker, mated with a recloser
achieve reasonable service continuity and reduce the number of control, that automatically trips and recloses a preset number of
affected customers. Coordinating all of these elements is times to clear temporary faults or isolate permanent faults [2].
difficult because the available fault current varies over the Two types of operations are typically available with recloser
length of the feeder, and there are multiple protection devices installations: nearly instantaneous (fast curve) and time-delay
in series. The example feeder in Fig. 1 is protected by one (delay curve) trip operations. Reclosers can be set for different
breaker relay, one recloser, and five fuses. To achieve trip operation sequences, such as
coordination, it is necessary to divide the feeder into various • Two fast curve trip operations, followed by two delay
protective zones. For safety, the protective zones must overlap curve trip operations (shown in the Fig. 3 example).
so that no part of the feeder is unprotected. • One fast curve trip operation, followed by three delay
Each protective zone has a protection device responsible for curve trip operations.
clearing faults within it. Faults outside a protective zone must • Three fast curve trip operations, followed by one delay
be cleared by downstream protection devices. If a protection curve trip operation.
device fails to clear a fault inside its protective zone, the backup Fig. 3 shows a typical sequence of recloser operations.
(upstream zone) device clears the fault. For this principle to
work, the backup device must have an intentional delay to allow
the downstream device to clear the fault. The selected
time-overcurrent curve of the upstream device must be above
the downstream device curve, including a time margin. Fig. 2
shows the time-overcurrent curves for the Fig. 1 example.

Fig. 3. Typical Recloser Operation Sequence (not to scale)

2) Sectionalizers
A sectionalizer is a device that automatically isolates a
faulted line segment when an upstream breaker or recloser has
interrupted the fault current. Sectionalizers have no capacity to
interrupt fault current and must be used with a backup
device [1]. The sectionalizer counts the number of interruptions
caused by the backup automatic interrupting device and opens
Fig. 2. Time-Overcurrent Coordination Among the Feeder Relay, Recloser during the recloser-open interval after a preset number of
Control, and Fuse F4
tripping operations of the backup device [2].
A. Types of Faults The operation modes of a sectionalizer are as follows [2]:
1) Temporary Faults • If a fault is cleared while the reclosing device is open,
Approximately 80 percent of the total number of overhead and the sectionalizer has not reached its preset count,
line faults are temporary. Temporary faults usually occur when the sectionalizer counter resets to its normal position
phase conductors momentarily contact other phase conductors when it detects load current after the circuit is
or ground due to trees, birds, rodents, high wind, lightning, successfully reclosed.
flashover, and other causes. • If a fault persists (beyond the sectionalizer) when the
circuit is reclosed, the fault current counter in the
2) Permanent Faults sectionalizer again prepares to count the next opening
Permanent faults require crews to repair them. Permanent
of the reclosing device.
faults on an overhead distribution system are usually
• With the sectionalizer set to trip during the reclose
sectionalized by fuses. While overhead faults are usually
interval following the second-to-last tripping operation
temporary, underground faults are usually permanent.
of the reclosing device, the sectionalizer opens before
B. Distribution Protection Equipment the reclosing device closes the last time. Thus, the
Distribution protection uses a variety of equipment. The type reclosing device recloses successfully because the
of equipment depends on the system element that is being sectionalizer is open, isolating the faulted line section
protected and the system voltage level [1]. However, the most and avoiding lockout.
commonly used devices for distribution system protection
outside the substation are reclosers, sectionalizers, and fuses.
 3

3) Fuses When determining curve coordination between devices, these

A fuse is an overcurrent device with a circuit-opening additional criteria must be taken into account (example
fusible member (i.e., fuse link) that is directly heated and numbers may differ between recloser classes):
destroyed by the passage of overcurrent through it when in an • Separation of the curves by less than 2 cycles always
overload or short-circuit condition. Therefore, the purpose of a results in simultaneous operation.
fuse is to clear a permanent fault by removing the defective • Separation of the curves by between 2 and 12 cycles
segment of a line or equipment from the system [2]. could result in simultaneous operation.
A fuse is designed to blow within a specific time for a given • Separation of greater than 12 cycles ensures
value of fault current. The time-current characteristics of a fuse nonsimultaneous operation.
are represented by two curves: b) Electronically Controlled Reclosers
• The minimum melting curve is a plot of the minimum Two reclosers in series can be coordinated more closely. The
time versus current required to start melting the fuse downstream recloser must be faster than the upstream recloser.
link. The clearance time of the downstream recloser, including its
• The total clearing curve is a plot of the maximum time tolerance, should be lower than the upstream recloser response
versus current required to completely melt the fuse time, not including its tolerance.
link and extinguish the arc.
2) Recloser-to-Sectionalizer Coordination
C. Coordination of Distribution Protection Devices Since sectionalizers do not have time-current operating
Coordination is the process of selecting overcurrent characteristics, their coordination does not require an analysis
protection devices with certain time-current settings and of time-current curves.
appropriately arranging them in series along a distribution The coordination is based on the number of operations of the
circuit to clear faults from the lines and apparatus according to backup recloser. The operation can be any combination of fast
a preset sequence of operation. When two protection devices or delay curve trip operations. The sectionalizer should be set
installed in series are designed to execute a specified operation for one trip operation less than the total number of trip
sequence, they are considered coordinated or selective [2]. operations for the recloser. If a permanent fault occurs beyond
The following basic criteria typically apply when the sectionalizer, the sectionalizer opens and isolates the fault
coordinating time-current devices in distribution systems [1]: after the second-to-last operation of the recloser. For example,
• The primary protection device clears a permanent or the sectionalizer opens on the third operation if the recloser is
temporary fault before the backup protection operates. programmed for two fast and two delay curve trip operations.
• If the primary protection is a fuse and the backup If two sectionalizers are installed in series, the farthest
protection is a recloser, in a fuse-saving scheme the sectionalizer should be adjusted for a smaller count. A fault
fast curve of the recloser control operates for a fault beyond the last sectionalizer results in the operation of the
beyond the fuse (with the recloser ideally clearing the recloser and the start of the counters in all the sectionalizers.
fault before the fuse starts melting). The recloser then 3) Recloser-to-Fuse Coordination
closes to test the fault. If the fault persists, this To protect against permanent faults, fuses are usually
sequence can repeat if the recloser control is installed on overhead feeder taps and laterals. The use of
configured for additional fast curve operations. reclosers as backup protection against temporary faults
• After any fuse-saving fast curve operation(s), the eliminates many unnecessary outages that occur when only
recloser reverts to its backup role and uses a delayed using fuses. In a fuse-saving scheme, the recloser is set to trip
curve, which allows for a fuse to eventually operate if for a temporary fault before any of the fuses can blow and then
the fault is permanent. If no fuse blows, the recloser reclose the circuit. However, if the fault is permanent, it is
trips. If the recloser is configured with additional cleared by the correct fuse before the recloser delay curve trip
delay curves, it closes again and either trips again (if operation, following one or two fast curve trip operations [2].
the fault persists) or remains closed if the fault has The criteria for determining recloser-fuse coordination
abated. depends on the relative position of the devices, i.e., whether the
• An outage caused by a permanent fault is restricted to fuse is on the source or load side of the recloser [1]. When
the smallest part of the system for the shortest time considering source-side fuses, any substation primary-side
possible. transformer fuses should be included in the analysis.
a) Source-Side Fuse
1) Recloser-to-Recloser Coordination
When the fuse is on the source side, all recloser operations
Coordination between reclosers depends on the type of
should be faster than the minimum melting curve of the fuse.
reclosers. There are essentially two types of reclosers: hydraulic
The pre-fault thermal fuse loading should be included in the
and electronically controlled.
evaluation.
a) Hydraulic Reclosers
In hydraulic reclosers, a current coil and its piston or
mechanism opens the high-voltage contact. The operating
speed of these devices is affected by ambient temperature.
 4

b) Load-Side Fuse Faults involving ground or vegetation provide a heating

When the fuse is on the load side, the following procedure effect around the point of contact, potentially igniting
for coordination is used: combustible material. Arcing faults between conductors do not
• To account for fuse heating from fault current and fuse provide a direct heating source (as in a ground contact), but they
cooling during a recloser-open interval, the minimum can generate a fireball that damages the conductor by pitting the
melting time of the fuse must be greater than the fast material, launching molten pieces of conductor into the air, and
curve of the recloser scaled by a multiplying factor sending out sparks that can fall to the ground and act as an
[1]. ignition source [5].
• The maximum clearing time of the fuse must be
A. Math Review and Simplification
shorter than the delay curve of the recloser without
any multiplying factor. The recloser should have at Equation (1) shows the Ohm’s law derivation for power (P)
least two or more delay curve trip operations to produced when voltage (V) is applied across a resistance (R).
prevent loss of service if the recloser trip overlaps a When the current (I) through R can be directly measured, there
fuse operation. is no need to separately consider V.
On an overhead distribution system, a fault may be P = VI
permanent, such as a tree lying across the line that requires V = IR (1)
repair. However, an estimated 80 to 90 percent of overhead 2
P=I R
faults are temporary [3], such as an animal contact event, where
repair is not needed because the fault is interrupted quickly and Equation (2) defines energy as a function of I and time (T).
the animal falls away from the equipment. In contrast, This derivation is suitable when I is expressed as a root-mean-
practically all faults are permanent on an underground square (rms) magnitude.
distribution system. Utilities generally apply one of two fuse E PT
= = I 2 RT (2)
coordination methods on a feeder with recloser-to-fuse
Using (2) for distribution system fault energy calculations is
coordination: a fuse-saving scheme or a fuse-blowing
suitable when the modeled fault current is provided as an rms
(trip-saving) scheme. Reference [4] provides a summary of the
quantity and the fault duration is more than a few cycles.
advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of each scheme.
To determine the energy for short duration faults, where T is
4) Fuse-to-Fuse Coordination less than 2 cycles, (3) factors in the time-varying nature of the
The main criterion for fuse-to-fuse coordination is that the instantaneous current (i). This detailed calculation includes the
maximum clearing time for a primary fuse not exceed effect of transient dc offset that may be present in the first
75 percent of the minimum melting time of the backup fuse. cycles of a fault.
This ensures that the primary fuse interrupts and clears the fault T
before the backup fuse is affected. The factor of 75 percent ET = R ∫ i 2 dt (3)
t=0
compensates for effects such as load current, ambient
temperature, and fatigue in the fuse caused by the heating of Considering that a fuse is the only equipment capable of
fault currents [1]. interrupting fault current in less than one cycle, the fastest relay
or recloser control and associated interrupting mechanism
III. FAULT ENERGY requires more than one cycle to interrupt a fault; and
considering that dc transients are short-lived at the fault levels
When a short circuit occurs in an electric distribution
on distribution systems, the simpler (2) is used in this paper for
system, the resulting currents can be very high and introduce a
coordination and fault energy improvement examples.
significant amount of energy in the immediate vicinity of the
fault. This paper focuses on overhead distribution systems, B. Fault Resistance Treated as a Constant
where faults generally occur between conductors and between The value of R is difficult to quantify. For ground faults, R
a conductor and ground. Vegetation and structures may be can be affected by arc length, moisture, temperature, surface
involved in either fault type. characteristics, and subterranean structures. The value of R can
Some events start as one kind of fault and then evolve into also change because of heating during a fault event. To
another. For example, in a storm a tree may be blown onto an maintain the focus of this paper, R = 1 is used, allowing the
overhead feeder and initially cause a ground fault through the complexity of resistance to be ignored.
tree, and then a phase-to-phase fault can occur as the conductors Removing R from consideration, current and time remain.
are pressed together and make contact. Equation (4) expresses a unitless, normalized fault energy.
All components of the distribution power system that carry
the short-circuit current are subject to both thermal and E F = I2 T (4)
mechanical stresses due to the fault current flow. This paper Systems that use reclosing can cause more than one instance
focuses on the fault energy at the point near the fault itself. At of fault energy. The heating effect of multiple fault current
the fault location, arcing and burning can occur, damaging appearances during a reclose sequence must be considered.
equipment and creating a safety hazard.
 5

Equation (5) expresses total fault energy (EFT), including from devices, such as midline reclosers and fuses. Although the main
an initial fault (TF1) and two reclose attempts (TF2 and TF3). line can have branches, it is best represented as a straight line,
as shown in Fig. 4. In this discussion, the main-line sections are
E FT = I 2 TF1 + I 2 TF2 + I 2 TF3 = I 2 ( TF1 + TF2 + TF3 ) (5)
called “in zone” and nonmain-line sections “out of zone.”
The final summation term is the fault dwell time, which is This example uses a fuse-blowing scheme for the feeder
the sum of each fault duration in the reclose sequence. If a fuse main line, so the feeder breaker only trips for main-line faults.
blows and interrupts fault current during any of the fault The feeder breaker must also trip as backup protection for out-
instances, the fault duration is cut short and there are no of-zone faults not interrupted by a downstream device, usually
subsequent fault instances because the backup device does not in the case of miscoordination events.
trip. Fault dwell time is a convenient way to compare the
performance of schemes with different reclosing strategies.
There is a cooling effect between faults in a reclose
sequence, which depends on the reclosing relay open interval
time settings. This cooling effect does not lower the total fault
energy, but it can reduce the temperature level at the fault site.
This paper ignores the cooling effect and uses (5) directly when
Fig. 4. Reference Feeder: In Zone (Main Line) and Taps
reclosing is considered.
1) Out-of-Zone Faults
C. Controlling Fault Energy
To provide security during out-of-zone faults, the standard
According to (5), fault energy can be reduced by reducing protection element is a time-overcurrent (51) element. Fig. 5
fault current and/or fault dwell time. shows the time-current characteristics for a typical substation
1) By Limiting the Fault Current relay, fuse, and field recloser. The feeder relay curve must be
The energy released in a fault depends mostly on the amount chosen to allow enough time for the slowest interruption of any
of arcing current, which is proportional to the square of current possible out-of-zone fault, including a margin. The slowest
magnitude. Reducing the fault current is a good goal. device is usually the largest fuse tapped off the main line, which
Current-limiting (CL) devices and noncurrent-limiting is the longest out-of-zone line section (i.e., a location with the
breakers, along with protective relays, can reduce the energy lowest fault duty). The recloser (R) time-overcurrent element in
released by reducing “let-through” fault current. CL techniques Fig. 4 must also trip and interrupt fault current before the feeder
include using higher impedance transformers, high-resistance relay can respond.
grounding, and devices such as reactors and CL fuses.
2) By Limiting the Fault Dwell Time
Often, the fault current magnitude cannot be economically
controlled, so the fault dwell time is the controllable variable.
This paper studies a solidly grounded system with
noncurrent-limiting fuses, circuit breakers, and reclosers.
According to (5), fault energy is directly proportional to fault
dwell time. The lowest possible duration for a single fault is
determined by the interrupting device. Expulsion fuses can
interrupt fault current as fast as 0.8 cycles (≈13 ms at 60 Hz).
Reclosers are available with interruption times from 1 to
3 cycles (17 to 50 ms) and circuit breakers from 3 to 5 cycles
(50 to 83 ms). Actual fault duration is usually longer, depending
on fuse characteristics and coordination principles. In a
coordinated scheme, both a fuse and an inverse-time
Fig. 5. Feeder Relay and Fuse Time-Overcurrent Coordination
overcurrent element in a relay provide a slower trip response at
low fault current levels and a faster response at higher levels. Fig. 6 shows out-of-zone fault F1-1 protected by the 100T
This paper explores changes that can minimize fault dwell fuse (F1). A 6 kA fault will cause the fuse to blow in about
time through changes in the protection scheme, recognizing that 35 ms, long before the feeder protection times out at 88 ms.
fault energy reduction can affect electric service availability. This timing is shown in Fig. 7a.
Once an out-of-zone fault causes the fuse to blow, the feeder
IV. SPEEDING UP FEEDER PROTECTION FOR THE MAIN LINE relay time-overcurrent element drops out and then resets. Other
than a voltage dip caused by the fault itself, customers outside
A. Reference Case
the faulted zone do not experience an outage. The same
In this example, the feeder main line represents the coordination principle applies to faults beyond the field
conductor protected solely by the substation breaker and recloser, where the feeder breaker should not trip except as a
intentionally excludes line sections downstream of protection backup.
 6

In a traditional scheme, the relay arms the same

time-overcurrent curve after breaker reclosure. If the fault is
still present, the relay trips the breaker another time and locks
out the reclosing relay. The whole feeder is de-energized until
a crew can repair the line. Using the F1-2 example, the fault
duration of the second fault is also 142 ms. The dwell time for
a permanent fault as used in (5) is 17 cycles (283 ms at 60 Hz),
which accounts for the initial fault and the reclose attempt. This
timing is shown in Fig. 7c.
3) Problems With a Traditional Fuse-Blowing Scheme
Fig. 6. In-Zone and Out-of-Zone Faults Reference Feeder Locations The relay can only distinguish whether the faulted line
segment is in zone after waiting for a fuse to isolate an
out-of-zone fault. Fig. 6 shows two examples of in-zone faults:
at positions F1-2 and F2-2. Once the feeder relay trips, useful
information is gained about the fault: it must be in zone.
In a standard fuse-saving scheme, the relay uses the same
time-overcurrent characteristic after the reclose attempt. If the
fault is temporary, there will be no overcurrent pickup after
reclosing, and the relay will reset. This timing is shown in
Fig. 7b. However, if the fault is permanent, the relay applies the
same curve as the initial fault and trips after the same delay.
This is wasteful because there is no fuse present, and there is no
reason to wait for one to blow. Fig. 7c shows the second fault
with the same duration as the first fault. Table I shows the fault
dwell time and normalized fault energy for the traditional
scheme at the four fault points identified in Fig. 6.
Following the argument of this example, a second reclose
attempt is ineffective for permanent faults. This extra line test
causes unnecessary fault current exposure and no improvement
to feeder availability [6].
B. Improvement 1: Shortening the Second Fault Duration
An easy improvement is to use a definite time-overcurrent
element that trips quickly after a reclose attempt. The time
delay could be set to a few cycles to test the line and provide
immunity to short duration inrush current. Fig. 8 (top) shows a
Fig. 7. Fault Dwell Time Comparison for Traditional Schemes (a) (b) (c) vs. relay logic implementation.
Improved Schemes (d) (e) (f)

2) In-Zone Faults
For a main-line fault, the feeder relay operates on the same
time-overcurrent curve, but in this case the element times out
because no other device clears the fault.
Fig. 6 shows an in-zone fault (F1-2) not protected by a fuse.
A 6 kA fault causes the feeder relay to trip after 88 ms, and the
breaker interrupts the current 3 cycles later, for a total fault
duration of 142 ms. Fig. 7b (first half) shows the timing.
The resulting feeder breaker trip causes a complete feeder
outage. This is a successful operation. However, the cause of
the fault may have abated, and the crew may find nothing to
repair. In this case, the protection scheme effectively converted
a temporary fault into a permanent outage.
Because main-line faults can be temporary, the feeder
protection is frequently configured to perform one reclose
attempt after an overcurrent trip event. If the fault does not
reappear after reclosure, power returns for all customers
(second half of Fig. 7b). This strategy reduces the number of
permanent outages for the whole feeder. Fig. 8. Relay Logic Implementation for Improvements 1 and 2
 7

By arming a 50 ms definite-time overcurrent element

(horizontal line in Fig. 9) for the breaker reclosure, the duration
of the second fault is shortened, thus reducing fault energy for
in-zone faults such as F1-2. Fig. 7d shows the faster tripping
response using Improvement 1. The traditional scheme
response is shown in Fig. 7c.
Using this definite-time overcurrent element during the
reclose attempt reduces fault dwell time (and fault energy
exposure) for permanent in-zone faults. Table II shows the fault
dwell time and normalized fault energy for the fuse-blowing
scheme with Improvement 1 at the four faults at points
identified in Fig. 6.

Fig. 9. Improvements 1 and 2 for In-Zone Faults

TABLE I
TRADITIONAL FUSE-BLOWING SCHEME

Fault Relay Action Relay Action Total Fault Total Fault Proportional
Fuse
Position Description (first fault (second fault Dwell Time Dwell Time Fault
Action
(Fig. 6) detection) detection) (cycles)* (ms)† Energy‡
Out-of-zone fault with F1 blows
F1-1 None NA 2.5 42 1.50
high current (6 kA) in 35 ms
Temporary in-zone fault
F1-2 None Trips after 88 ms NA 8.5 142 5.10
with high current (6 kA)
Permanent in-zone fault
F1-2 None Trips after 88 ms Trips after 88 ms 17 283 10.20
with high current (6 kA)
Out-of-zone fault with F2 blows
F2-1 None NA 14 233 0.93
low current (2 kA) in 230 ms
Temporary in-zone fault
F2-2 None Trips after 312 ms NA 22 367 1.47
with low current (2 kA)
Permanent in-zone fault
F2-2 None Trips after 312 ms Trips after 312 ms 44 733 2.93
with low current (2 kA)
*
Fault dwell times are rounded to the next half cycle.
†
Calculated for a 60 Hz system.
‡
A smaller value is better.
TABLE II
IMPROVEMENT 1: SPEED-UP TRIP AFTER A RECLOSE OPERATION

Fault Relay Action Relay Action Total Fault Total Fault Proportional
Fuse
Position Description (first fault (second fault Dwell Time Dwell Time Fault
Action
(Fig. 6) detection) detection) (cycles)* (ms)† Energy‡
Out-of-zone fault with F1 blows
F1-1 None NA 2.5 42 1.50
high current (6 kA) in 35 ms
Temporary in-zone fault
F1-2 None Trips after 88 ms NA 8.5 142 5.10
with high current (6 kA)
Permanent in-zone fault
F1-2 None Trips after 88 ms Trips after 50 ms 14.5 242 8.70
with high current (6 kA)
Out-of-zone fault with F2 blows
F2-1 None NA 14 233 0.93
low current (2 kA) in 230 ms
Temporary in-zone fault
F2-2 None Trips after 312 ms NA 22 367 1.47
with low current (2 kA)
Permanent in-zone fault
F2-2 None Trips after 312 ms Trips after 50 ms 28 467 1.87
with low current (2 kA)
*
Fault dwell times are rounded to the next half cycle.
†
Calculated for a 60 Hz system.
‡
A smaller value is better.
 8

C. Improvement 2: Using WPSs to Speed Up Tripping for • The field recloser (R) is also considered out of zone.
Main-Line Faults When the WPS3 installation detects a fault, it sends
If the faulted segment can be determined in real time, the the status signal to the wireless receiver, as shown in
feeder relay can accelerate tripping for all main-line faults. Fig. 12. The feeder breaker blocks the fast curve to
WPSs can provide this real-time faulted segment indication. allow the recloser to operate without tripping the
The improvement requires installing a WPS just before the entire feeder. Backup protection is still available via
fuses at the start of the major out-of-zone line sections (with the the standard time-overcurrent element. Feeder breaker
largest fuse ratings), installing a companion wireless fault reclosing is blocked in this case.
receiver and antenna at the substation and connecting it to the • When a fault is not identified as out of zone, the feeder
feeder relay via high-speed serial communications, as shown in relay does not receive a WPS fault indication and does
Fig. 10. Additionally, all other tap or service fuses connected to not block the fast time-overcurrent element that is
the main-line section should be specified with a lower rating coordinated with all minor tap fuses and service fuses.
than the major fuses (≤40T). − If any fuse blows before the relay overcurrent
element time out, the breaker remains closed.
− If a fuse blows after the relay overcurrent element
times out, the breaker trips too. In this case, the
fuse likely miscoordinated and operated before
the feeder breaker could interrupt fault current.
− In any case, if the feeder breaker trips, the relay
arms a definite-time overcurrent element (added
in Improvement 1) and issues a reclose after the
open interval time.
− If no fault current appears after reclosing, service
is restored for all customers, except those beyond
any open fuses (Fig. 7e).
Fig. 10. WPS1 Detects Out-of-Zone Faults
− If the fault current reappears, the relay trips the
breaker after the short delay (50 ms in the earlier
The relay settings are modified to include a fast curve example) and locks out reclosing (Fig. 7f).
(51 fast) that coordinates with the smaller tap 40T fuses. This • The trip speed-up logic can be disabled by operator
fast element is blocked only when a fault is determined to be control, as shown in the middle part of Fig. 8.
out of zone, which includes the two major taps and the line past • Additional logic (not shown) automatically disables
the field recloser (R). The delay curve is unconditionally in the trip speed-up scheme (Improvement 2) by
service. Fig. 9 shows the resulting time-current coordination monitoring the link quality of the WPS. This mitigates
graph. a situation where an out-of-zone fault occurs without
With modest logic programming, the feeder relay can detect WPS fault indication and the feeder breaker trips
out-of-zone faults as they occur and block the fast curve. The before the faulted tap fuse (100T) blows.
Improvement 2 relay logic is shown at the bottom of Fig. 8. The performance of the fuse-blowing scheme with both
The WPS identification from each of the locations shown in Improvement 1 and 2 is shown in Table III.
Fig. 10, Fig. 11, and Fig. 12 can alter the protection response,
as outlined in the following:
• When a fault is identified as out of zone, one of the
WPS1 or WPS2 installations sends a fault-detected
signal back to the wireless receiver, as shown in
Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. When the feeder relay receives
this fault-detected signal, it blocks the fast element
and uses its standard time-overcurrent element.
− The expectation is that the identified out-of-zone
section fuse will blow (Fig. 7a) and the breaker
will remain closed.
− If the fuse does not blow (due to miscoordination
or equipment failure), the feeder relay standard
time-overcurrent element times out, commands a Fig. 11. WPS2 Detects Out-of-Zone Faults
trip, and blocks reclosing (left part of Fig. 7b), as
indicated at the top of Fig. 8.
 9

Total fault dwell time for each scheme is listed in Table I,

Table II, and Table III. Table IV provides a comparison of the
fault dwell time and fault energy results from Table I, Table II,
and Table III and includes a percentage reduction of
proportional fault energy.
The total fault dwell time entries for relay operations in
Table I through Table IV include a breaker clearing time of
3 cycles (50 ms at 60 Hz). The fuse-blowing times do not
require any additional factors.
Overcurrent element settings and assumptions used in the
example calculations are as follows:
• The standard feeder time-overcurrent curve is a U.S.
Fig. 12. WPS3 Detects Out-of-Zone Faults Beyond Recloser R very inverse curve (U3) with 600 A pickup and a time
The WPS fault indication (for an out-of-zone determination) dial setting of 0.65. The curve coordinates with a 100T
must be received quickly enough to successfully block a fuse-clearing characteristic and field recloser curves.
fast-responding element. The signal must be received and • The definite-time overcurrent element has a 1,000 A
processed by the relay logic before the fast time-overcurrent pickup and a delay setting of 50 ms.
curve can time out. Using 6 kA as the highest fault level, the • The fast feeder time-overcurrent curve is an
Table III first fault detection value for 6 kA is 62 ms, which is International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
approximately 3.75 cycles. The system described in Section VI short-time inverse curve (C5) with 600 A pickup and a
operates in approximately one cycle, which is an adequate time dial setting of 0.12. This curve coordinates with a
separation in this example. 40T fuse-clearing characteristic.
This analysis should be performed on any system adopting • The circuit breaker interrupting time is 3 cycles.
Improvement 2 (speeding up tripping for main-line faults). If Proportional fault energy is for comparison purposes, as
there is a tight margin between the WPS indication and fast described in Section III and (5).
curve timeout, a minimum response time can be added to the Fault energy is reduced by up to 36 percent with
fast time-overcurrent element to increase the margin. Improvement 1 (speed-up trip after a reclose operation) and up
to 63 percent with both Improvements 1 and 2 (speed-up
D. Performance Comparison of the Traditional Scheme With
tripping for main-line faults).
Improvement 1, and Improvements 1 and 2 Together
The original scheme and the two improvements are
compared at two high-current fault locations (6 kA) and two
low-current fault locations (2 kA).

TABLE III
BOTH IMPROVEMENTS 1 AND 2 (SPEED-UP TRIP AFTER RECLOSING AND SPEED-UP TRIP FOR MAIN-LINE FAULTS)

Fault Relay Action Relay Action Total Fault Total Fault Proportional
Fuse
Position Description WPS (first fault (second fault Dwell Time Dwell Time Fault
Action
(Fig. 6) detection) detection) (cycles)* (ms)† Energy‡
Out-of-zone fault with 1 F1 blows
F1-1 None NA 2.5 42 1.50
high current (6 kA) (fault) in 35 ms
Temporary in-zone fault Trips after
F1-2 None None NA 7 117 4.20
with high current (6 kA) 62 ms
Permanent in-zone fault Trips after Trips after
F1-2 None None 13 217 7.80
with high current (6 kA) 62 ms 50 ms
Out-of-zone fault with 2 F2 blows
F2-1 None NA 14 233 0.93
low current (2 kA) (fault) in 230 ms
Temporary in-zone fault Trips after
F2-2 None None NA 10.5 175 0.70
with low current (2 kA) 122 ms
Permanent in-zone fault Trips after Trips after
F2-2 None None 16.5 275 1.10
with low current (2 kA) 122 ms 50 ms
*
Fault dwell times are rounded to the next half cycle.
†
Calculated for a 60 Hz system.
‡
A smaller value is better.
 10

TABLE IV
COMPARISON OF TOTAL FAULT DWELL TIME AND PROPORTIONAL FAULT ENERGY RESULTS

Table I Table II Fault Table III

Traditional Scheme Improvement 1 Improvements 1 and 2 Fault Energy
Fault Energy
Reduction
Position Total Fault Normalized Total Fault Normalized Reduction Total Fault Normalized Compared to
(Fig. 6) Dwell Time Fault Dwell Time Fault Compared Dwell Time Fault Table I‡
(ms)* Energy† (ms)* Energy† to Table I‡ (ms)* Energy†

F1-1 42 1.50 42 1.50 0% 42 1.50 0%

F1-2
142 5.10 142 5.10 0% 117 4.20 18%
temporary
F1-2
283 10.20 242 8.70 15% 217 7.80 24%
permanent

F2-1 233 0.93 233 0.93 0% 233 0.93 0%

F2-2
367 1.47 367 1.47 0% 175 0.70 52%
temporary
F2-2
733 2.93 467 1.87 36% 275 1.10 63%
permanent
*
Calculated for a 60 Hz system.
†
A smaller value is better.
‡
A larger value is better.

V. MITIGATING FAULT ENERGY IN HIGH-RISK ZONES example system, these uncertainties are summarized as follows:
A. High-Risk Zone Applications • For conditional actions that would increase risk, using
the WPS signals in a permissive role is a safe
A high-risk zone is a zone that requires specific protection
approach. For example, if using the WPS fault
schemes to mitigate the impact of the zone hazards. For declaration signal to enable reclosing, reclosing would
example, a utility operating a feeder in a high-risk wildfire zone remain in the disabled state in case of a missing WPS
may require the feeder relay or recloser(s) to trip quickly for signal.
any detected fault and suspend reclosing in the dry seasons to
• For conditional actions that would decrease risk, using
reduce the risk of wildfire.
the WPS signals in a blocking role is a safe approach.
As shown in Section III, disabling reclosing reduces fault
For example, if using the WPS fault declaration as a
dwell time, as do the additional trip speed-up improvements
blocking signal for a fast time-overcurrent element,
explored in Section IV.B. The trip speed-up and reclose
the fast element would remain enabled in case of a
blocking schemes can be applied to high-risk zones, either
missed WPS signal, which is a safe outcome.
seasonally or permanently.
• With careful evaluation and scheme design, it may be
However, there are drawbacks to operating a feeder with
possible to use WPSs in a blocking or permissive
hair-trigger protection and no reclosing; almost every fault
scheme in contrast to the previous two bullets.
event causes a permanent feeder outage. These outages require
The last examples in this section are applications of a
time-consuming line patrols to find and correct the cause of the
blocking function for a reclosing scheme and its rationale.
fault. After a temporary fault that does not blow a fuse, there
may be nothing for the repair crew to find. Reducing the outage C. High-Risk Zone Application Examples
zone and patrol area footprint reduces the outage duration.
1) Reducing Dwell Time When an Entire Distribution
B. Fail-Safe Requirement Feeder Is Inside a High-Risk Zone
One requirement for any new scheme using WPSs is to The feeder in Fig. 13 is protected by a substation feeder relay
“do no harm” to the original scheme [4]. The imperfect nature that uses a fuse-blowing scheme covering the entire feeder (as
of radio communications must be acknowledged. The chances discussed in Section IV.B). The relay is equipped with both fast
of a false positive (incorrect fault declaration) are very small, and delay time-overcurrent elements (51). When the feeder
while a false negative (missing fault declaration) is greater and relay detects a fault, both relay elements (51 fast and 51 delay)
depends on factors mostly related to the radio signal path, are picked up. The 51 delay curve is always enabled in the trip
interfering signals, and environmental conditions. For the logic.
 11

The previous example operates an entire feeder as a

high-risk zone. While maximizing safety, this strategy exposes
all customers on the feeder to outages because reclosing is not
allowed. If the remote line is not in a high-risk area, a more
conventional protection approach is preferred.
This approach is performed by installing WPSs at the
boundary of the high-risk and remote zones, as shown in
Fig. 15. By default, the feeder operates with reclosing disabled
and a 51 delay characteristic that coordinates with 100T fuses.

Fig. 13. Entire Distribution Feeder Is Inside a High-Risk Zone

In this example, every major feeder tap uses a fuse (F1, F2,
or F3) for protection, and each tap also has a WPS (1, 2, and 3)
to indicate if a fault has occurred on the tap. These major tap
fuses must be coordinated with the feeder relay delay curve so
the fuse blows before the feeder relay trips. Fuses downstream
(not shown) of the major tap fuses coordinate with the tap fuse.
Minor taps and services do not have WPSs installed and are
equipped with fuses with lower ratings that coordinate with the
relay fast curve. By default, the relay fast curve is enabled,
Fig. 15. Distribution Feeder With Two Risk Level Zones
allowing a minor tap fuse or service fuse to blow without
tripping the breaker. If the fault is on the main line and not The relay is also equipped with a 51 fast time-overcurrent
protected by a fuse, the breaker trips on the fast curve (and does element, which allows time for a smaller tap (e.g., 40T) or
not reclose). service fuse to blow in the remote line section, similar to Fig. 9.
A fault on a major tap activates the associated WPS and The wireless receiver sends the relay a WPS4 fault
wirelessly sends the fault-detected signal to the feeder relay via indication when a remote zone fault occurs. The protection
the wireless receiver. The relay protection logic uses the WPS logic uses this information to enable reclosing and enable the
fault signal to block the fast element from asserting the trip 51 fast element. The resulting behavior allows for faster trip
logic. With the fast curve disabled, the relay continues timing responses for remote zone faults (not cleared by a fuse) and
on the delay curve until the fault is cleared by a fuse (F1, F2, reclosing after a remote zone trip.
F3, or a downstream fuse along the tap). If no fuse interrupts If the relay does not receive a remote fault indication from
the fault, the relay trips on its delay curve (and does not the WPS, the 51 delay element is still in service and reclosing
reclose). This latter case is an unexpected miscoordination; is inactive. This behavior is no worse than before the change,
most likely, the tap fuse is incorrectly sized. Fig. 14 shows the satisfying the three principles [4]. Fig. 16 shows a simplified
simplified logic implementation. logic implementation.
The speed-up function of Fig. 14, with a WPS installation
on each major tap, could be combined with Fig. 16, but it is
omitted for clarity.

Fig. 14. Trip Speed-Up Logic for an Entire Feeder High-Risk Zone

2) Allowing Reclosing Only in the Normal-Risk Zone of

a Feeder Fig. 16. Conditional Fast Trip and Reclosing Logic for Feeder With Two
Risk Level Zones
The feeder is divided into two zones, with the high-risk zone
on the source side and a normal-risk remote zone.
 12

3) High-Risk Zone With Sectionalizers

a) Layout
The distribution feeder depicted in Fig. 17 is separated into
three segments. The source zone (left) is protected by a
substation recloser (R1), and this zone extends to R2.
A high-risk zone is bounded by R2 on the source side and
Fuse E on the remote (right) side.

Fig. 18. Using WPSs to Provide a Reclose Block Signal to R1

Fig. 19 shows a logic implementation that blocks R1

reclosing for faults beyond R2 (WPS W fault indication
received) or when the WPS W link status is down. The
30-minute dropout delay provides extended R1 reclose
blocking while performing R2 backup protection, even if R2
Fig. 17. Feeder With a High-Risk Zone Protected by R2 seasonal reclosing is unintentionally left enabled. In this
If the feeder protection has already been configured to example, the WPS W fault pickup setting should be set between
minimize fault energy (Section IV.B), during critical the R2 and R1 51 pickup levels to ensure reclose blocking is
environmental conditions, the utility selects a fast-tripping initiated only for faults that R1 can detect to avoid nuisance
scheme with no reclosing to minimize fault energy in the blocking for distant, lower current faults.
high-risk zone (logic not shown). Thus, R2 trips for any fault, This reclose blocking scheme is secure for a single
even if a fuse is melting. The simultaneous fuse and recloser contingency failure. Protection system designers should follow
operations successfully reduce fault energy, but all customers best practices and evaluate the suitability of the scheme. A
beyond R2 unnecessarily suffer an outage after the fault. double contingency R2 failure coincident with a missed
During standard environmental conditions, the utility could WPS W fault indication could cause undesirable R1 reclosure.
enable a fuse-blowing scheme at R2, allowing larger fuses to
blow before R2 can trip. However, managing a seasonal change
is inconvenient for systems that do not have remote
configuration capability.
If R1 is properly coordinated with R2, customers in the
Fig. 19. Protection Logic for R1 Reclose Blocking Logic in Source Zone
source zone will not experience a service interruption for faults
beyond R2 because R1 will not trip. However, R1 must not be c) Improvement 2: Allowing Low-Risk Reclosing
permitted to reclose because it provides backup protection for for Major Taps in High-Risk and Remote Zones
R2 and the high-risk zone. The result is that all customers on Minimizing fault energy in the high-risk zone by using a
the feeder will suffer an outage for any fault that trips R1, nonreclose policy compromises system availability when a
including source-zone faults. main-line fault is temporary. In Fig. 18, any fault that causes R2
The probability of R2 failure is low, but the nonreclose to trip results in a permanent outage. During the high-risk
requirement at R1 degrades service availability by converting season, the fast time-overcurrent elements may not allow time
any unfused main-line fault in the source zone into a permanent for a major tap fuse to blow (e.g., Fuse N and Fuse S) or remote
feeder outage, but this tradeoff is necessary in extreme zone Fuse E. The responding crew may need to patrol the entire
conditions. Rethinking the scheme and using sectionalizers R2 outage zone if the original fault was beyond one of the intact
alongside WPSs can reduce the scheme impact on system fuses.
availability without increasing fault energy. The improved system shown in Fig. 20 replaces Fuse N,
b) Improvement 1: Allowing R1 Reclosing in the Fuse S, and Fuse E with electronic sectionalizers Sect N,
Source Zone While Providing Backup to the Sect S, and Sect E in series with WPS N, WPS S, and WPS E.
High-Risk Zone All sectionalizers three-phase trip. Both Sect N and Sect S are
The additional equipment in Fig. 18 allows conditional configured for one count to operate, and Sect E is configured
reclosing of R1. By installing WPS W at the start of the for two counts. Finally, a wireless receiver is connected to R2
high-risk zone and a wireless receiver connected to R1, the and the control logic modified to block reclosing by default,
reclosing function of R1 can be enabled by default and blocked only unblocking in specific conditions.
when WPS W indicates a fault.
 13

Fig. 21. Protection Logic Enabling Reclosing for WPS-Identified Faults

Beyond a Sectionalizer

Fig. 20. Installing WPSs to Enable R2 Safe Reclosing for Certain Tap Faults VI. WPS DESCRIPTION
The extra equipment allows the following two major A. WPS System
protection improvements and fail-safe case: The WPS system has high-speed wireless communication
• The faults on the N or S taps that cause R2 to trip will capabilities to send fault information at protection speeds. The
also cause Sect N or Sect S to open. The companion WPS system consists of WPSs mounted on an overhead line, a
WPS N or WPS S will send a fault-detected signal to wireless receiver, and a protection device (such as a recloser
the wireless receiver. With this available faulted control or relay), as shown in Fig. 22. When a fault occurs, the
segment information, R2 may execute one reclose WPSs that detect the fault immediately send fault status to the
operation without risk of energizing a second fault receiver. The receiver sends the received fault status at a high
because a sectionalizer has already isolated the faulted speed to the recloser control.
line. The rest of the high-risk zone and remote zone
customers have continued service. The open
sectionalizer provides the patrol crew a clear
indication of where the fault was.
• Faults in the remote zone cause WPS E to send a
fault-detected signal to R2. If no fuse operates to
interrupt the fault, R2 trips and is permitted to reclose
due to WPS E fault identification. If the fault current
reappears after reclosing, R2 trips a second time and
Sect E opens. R2 may reclose once more. Because the
remote zone is isolated by WPS E, R2 stays closed,
restoring service to customers in the high-risk zone.
• By default, reclosing is blocked and only enabled if
R2 trips and the fault is detected by WPS N, WPS S, Fig. 22. WPS Systems on Adjacent Feeders
or WPS E. This fail-safe behavior provides a
nonreclose state in cases of failed WPS signal A WPS system typically includes multiple sensors. The
reception. recloser control or relay can receive the fault information from
• The protection planner must evaluate the reliability of a sensor in less than a cycle. The communication between the
the sectionalizers used in this scheme and ensure the collector and recloser control uses a high-speed serial
sectionalizer fault pickup level is set below the WPS communications protocol. To monitor WPS system health, the
fault pickup level. WPS periodically sends a heartbeat signal to the collector.
Fig. 21 outlines a logic implementation for R2 that provides In this paper, a three-phase WPS installation is shown as a
reclose initiate supervision for one reclose attempt if any simple circle with a single label. For the examples discussed,
WPS N, WPS S, or WPS E fault signal is present for an initial the fault indication from a WPS installation does not require
trip operation. A second reclose initiation is allowed when the faulted phase information. The intelligent electronic device
WPS E fault signal is present for a second trip operation. (IED) logic monitors a single fault status bit per three-phase
WPS location.
 14

B. WPS and Receiver Settings The WPS system provides a protection IED (relay or
WPSs require some configuration before installation. The recloser control) with faulted segment information fast enough
protection behavior is defined by a fault detection overcurrent to change the response during a fault condition. In the high fault
pickup threshold, which needs to be set according to the current system example, fault energy is calculated at selected
specific feeder and substation characteristics. When the current fault locations, and the performance of traditional and improved
detected exceeds these setting values, the sensor communicates protection strategies are compared. Some fault energy values
the fault signal to the receiver via high-speed wireless link [4]. were not improved, but others were much improved. The best
The overcurrent pickup should be calculated based on the fault energy reduction was 63 percent. The examples are
system protection scheme and other protective relays in the designed to have minimal impact on (and in some cases
system. In general, the overcurrent pickup should be set as low improve) system availability.
as possible (to maximize sensitivity) while allowing an ample The proposed schemes are presented for fail-safe operation
security margin above the peak steady-state load. The IED logic or considered as solutions for single-contingency applications.
(relay or recloser control) should be designed to ignore cases
where the WPS picks up transiently for inrush or switching VIII. REFERENCES
conditions or during steady-state load conditions. [1] J. M. Gers and E. J. Holmes, Protection of Electricity Distribution
The wireless system requires unique sensor identifiers and Networks, 3rd ed., The Institution of Electrical Engineering and
Technology, London, United Kingdom, 2011.
network settings to ensure the wireless receiver recognizes
[2] T. Gönen, Electric Power Distribution Engineering, 3rd ed., CRC Press,
messages from the WPS and to allow more than one system to Boca Raton, FL, 2014.
be used in the same substation without conflict. Fig. 22 shows [3] J. L. Blackburn and T. J. Domin, Protective Relaying: Principles and
an example of a system that comprises two WPS systems Applications, 4th ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2014.
installed in the same substation. These systems are expected to [4] J. Fowler, S. V. Achanta, K. Hao, and D. Keckalo, “Apply a Wireless
operate independently. Because the radio frequency Line Sensor System to Enhance Distribution Protection Schemes,”
proceedings of the 43rd Annual Western Protective Relay Conference,
communications between these systems cannot be isolated from
Spokane, WA, October 2016.
each other, the equipment of each network requires a network [5] J. Blair, G. Hataway, and T. Mattson, “Solutions to Common
identifier to allow co-located operation. Distribution Protection Challenges,” proceedings of the 69th Annual
In the example in Fig. 22, one system has a network ID of 1, Conference for Protective Relay Engineers, College Station, TX,
and the second system has a network ID of 2. Note that the April 2016.
wireless sensor and the receiver on the same network must be [6] “Auto Reclosing of Power Lines and Types of Faults,”
StudyElectrical.Com, February 2020. Available: https://
set to have the same network ID. Finally, the serial studyelectrical.com/2019/02/auto-reclosing-of-power-lines.html.
communications interface ports of the wireless receiver require
bits per second (bps) and addressing settings that are IX. BIOGRAPHIES
compatible with the peer device, whether it is a logic processor
Kei Hao, P.E., received his PhD. in electrical engineering from the University
or another IED. of Wisconsin–Madison, his MSEE from the University of Wisconsin–
Milwaukee, and his BSEE from La Universidad de la República, Uruguay. He
VII. CONCLUSION joined Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. in 2010 as an automation and
protection engineer. He is presently a development lead engineer in research
Traditional North American overhead distribution feeder and development. He has experience in control and automation systems,
protection schemes sacrifice speed for selectivity, and they wireless communications systems, and power system automation and
protection. He is a member of the IEEE and a registered professional engineer
provide a reasonable service continuity while limiting the in the state of California.
number of affected customers. Although the same fuse-curve-
based protection strategies have been in service for years, the David Keckalo received his BS degree from the University of British Columbia
long fault-clearing times and multiple reclosing attempts make in 1987. He joined Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) in 1998
and is a development lead engineer in research and development for distribution
them less suitable for environments sensitive to fault energy. In controls and sensors. Previously, he worked on the design and development of
these situations, one solution is to permanently disable many of SEL’s protective relay products, including product literature. Prior to
reclosing. While this does reduce fault energy, it can lead to SEL, David held various positions at BC Hydro, concluding 10 years of service
as a senior distribution engineer. He holds one U.S. patent, is a registered
unnecessary outages for certain fault locations and fault professional engineer in British Columbia, and is an IEEE member.
behavior.
This paper discusses a simple way to compare fault energy
between these two proposals by defining fault dwell time.
Adjusting the settings in existing protection designs can reduce
exposure to fault energy, sometimes at the cost of system
availability, generally accepting more outages to reduce fault
energy.
This paper demonstrates fault energy reduction techniques
that minimize this usual tradeoff and may not require a large
equipment investment. This paper shows how to add
© 2020 by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
technologies such as WPSs and electronic sectionalizers to the All rights reserved.
protection toolkit. 20200610 • TP6941-01