2020 IEEE Region 10 Symposium (TENSYMP), 5-7 June 2020, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Performance Analysis of the Overcurrent Protection

for the Renewable Distributed Generation
Dominated Microgrids
*Md Asif Uddin Khan, Qiteng Hong, Adam Dyśko and Campbell Booth
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow, United Kingdom
*Email: [email protected]

Abstract— This paper aims to present a study of the technical challenges, and protection is one of the major
conventional protection scheme i.e. overcurrent (OC) problems for its successful operation [6].
protection’s malfunctioning in the microgrids dominated by
inverter interfaced distributed generator (IIDG) under a range The fault current level in microgrids is expected to be high
of scenarios by injecting faults at different locations of the during the grid-connected mode of operation assuming system
network. Due to low cost and inherent back-up protection, is connected with several conventional synchronous
overcurrent scheme is considered to be the main protection for generators, but during islanded operation, the fault current is
the distribution networks and microgrids. However, the significantly low. Moreover, due to the thermal overcurrent
integration of IIDG in large number might introduce several capacity of power electronics-based inverters, the fault current
protection challenges for microgrids. Existing literature contribution from IIDGs is limited to 1.5 times the rated value
discusses the protection issues that might arise in microgrids due [7]. Furthermore, the fault behaviours of these IIDGs are very
to addition of distributed generation, but those challenges are different from conventional generation [8]. Hence, it has been
not practically studied. Hence, in this paper, several fault cases assumed that the conventional overcurrent scheme with
are simulated by changing fault positions and using different inverse definite minimum time (IDMT) characteristics may
combinations of IIDGs in the network so that protection not be suitable enough for the protection of microgrid or future
challenges can be fully explored and performance of the distribution network [9, 10]. However, this assumption is not
overcurrent relays in the IIDG dominated microgrids can be
practically demonstrated in the literature. Thus, this paper will
analysed under those simulated cases.
analyse the performance of the overcurrent protection scheme
Keywords—microgrids, fault, overcurrent relay, inverter with different realistic situations that may arise in the system
interfaced distributed generation (IIDG). due to the large integration of IIDGs.
The rest of the paper is organized in the following way:
I. INTRODUCTION
section II will present the developed microgrid model along
Power system protection ensures reliable power supply with the design of the overcurrent relays that are used for the
and safety of the power system’s equipment, personnel and study and simulations, section III will discuss some future
public. Overcurrent relays that continuously measure current scenarios and simulation results to analyse the performance of
magnitude are responsible to detect faults in the distribution the overcurrent relay, and finally, section IV will conclude the
lines. The scheme is designed for the conventional strong paper.
power system, dominated by large synchronous generation
and based on the assumption that during a fault, a large current II. SIMULATION MODEL OF MICROGRID AND OVERCURRENT
will flow. However, targeting reduction (or even elimination) RELAY
of carbon emission and addressing the environmental To understand the protection challenges and to observe the
concerns, a large number of renewable generation (wind, performance of the overcurrent scheme on the microgrid, a
solar, etc.) are integrating with the distribution level, close to simple and realistic model of a microgrid is designed in the
the loads [1]. These sources require inverters to interface with Simulink, MATLAB and is shown in the Fig. 1. From the
ac network and hence are known as inverter interfaced figure, it can be seen that there are three buses and each bus
distributed generators (IIDGs). can contain IIDG and load. The connections of each IIDG in
Microgrids are the new architecture of power generation the buses are flexible i.e. they can be connected or
and delivery system that can effectively manage the disconnected from the network based on the simulation cases
integration of IIDGs (or small-scale DGs) and loads as a small which will be discussed later in section III. A controllable
controllable subsystem of the distribution network which can switch at the point of interconnection (POI) can enable
operate as an individual (islanded mode) system or in parallel connection of an 11 kV distribution grid.
with the grid (grid-connected mode) [2]. While the traditional
distribution network is radial in nature (unidirectional power
flow from generation to load), microgrids are active
(bidirectional power flow) i.e. net export/import during grid-
connected mode and power balancing/sharing during islanded
mode are possible. The ability of the microgrids to operate in
both modes, islanded mode and grid-connected mode, ensures
the resilience of power system and availability of the power
supply [3-5]. Nevertheless, microgrid suffers from different
Fig. 1. Designed microgrid to test the overcurrent relay.

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 Different control strategies can be used to control the configuration shown in Fig. 1 are calculated and are presented
IIDGs in the microgrid [11]. However, in this study during the in TABLE II.
grid-connected mode, only PQ (real and reactive power)
0.14
control strategy is used (e.g. all the IIDGs in Fig. 1 is (1)
. 1
controlled by PQ controller) but during the islanded mode,
only IIDG1 (shown in Fig. 1) works as grid forming generator
i.e. only IIDG1 uses V/F (voltage and frequency) controller
and rest of the IIDGs are PQ controlled. The detailed models
of these controllers are discussed in [12]. Fig. 2 shows the
connection of the IIDG to the microgrid. As can be seen from
this figure, a fixed dc voltage source is used before the power
electronics-based IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor)

Operating Time (s)

inverter for the simplification of the study and an LC filter is
used to remove higher-order harmonics. Line parameters are
set, based on [13] and other details of the line and IIDGs are
presented in TABLE I.

Fig. 3. IDMT characteristics of all three overcurrent relays used for the
simulations.

TABLE II. SETTINGS OF THE RELAYS USED FOR THE SIMULATIONS

Relays CT Ratio PS TMS

R1 20 400% 0.34
Fig. 2. Connection of each IIDG unit to the microgrid. R2 10 350% 0.22
R3 10 200% 0.05
TABLE I. LINE AND SYSTEM PARAMETERS FOR THE SIMULATIONS
III. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF OVERCURRENT RELAY
Simulation
Parameters
Description and value Some of the simulation cases imitating future network
Line impedance 0.543 0.395 Ω/
scenarios including renewable-based distributed generators
are explained in this section. Furthermore, the detailed
Line between POI and Bus 1, 0.5 ,
Line between Bus 1 and Bus 2, 1.8 ,
explanations of the protection challenges are also provided.
Line length
Line between Bus 2 and Bus 3, 2 and A. Scenario #1: Variation of Grid Fault Level
Line after Bus 3, 1
IIDG rating 500 (for each generator) Due to the decommissioning of the large synchronous
Reference value of
300 , generation, e.g. nuclear power plants, the grid fault level is
100 and expected to decrease. Therefore, in this scenario, the fault
IIDGs
50 current level from the grid is decreased form 250 MVA to 2
LC filter 2 and 72 MVA, so that weak power system’s effect on microgrid
300 ,
200 ,
protection (i.e. operation time of the overcurrent relays in the
Load rating 100 and network) can be analysed. TABLE III presents the operating
50 ; time (OT) of the relays after faults at different locations of the
650 network with decreasing grid fault level.
TABLE III. OPERATING TIME (OT) OF THE RELAYS DURING
The overcurrent relays, R1, R2 and R3 are installed at the DIFFERENT FAULTS WITH VARIATION OF GRID FAULT LEVEL
end of Bus 1, Bus 2 and Bus 3 respectively as can be seen from
Fig. 1. The operating characteristics of the relays are IDMT Fault After Bus 3 Fault Between Bus Fault
Grid (F3) 2 and Bus 3 (F2) Before Bus
and the operating time of each relay can be calculated by (1),
Fault 2 (F1)
where TMS is time multiple setting and PSM is plug setting Level
multiplier (ratio of the secondary current of the line and PS- OT of OT of R2 OT of OT of R1
(MVA) OT of R1 (s)
R3 (s) (s) R2 (s) (s)
Plug Setting). The characteristic curves of all three IDMT
overcurrent relays are shown in Fig. 3. From the characteristic 250 0.07 0.37 0.32 0.62 0.49
graph of Fig. 3, it can be seen that for a fault after bus 3 (fault 225 0.07 0.37 0.33 0.62 0.50
200 0.07 0.37 0.33 0.62 0.51
current is around 1.9 kA), relay R3 works as a primary
150 0.07 0.38 0.33 0.64 0.53
protection relay (around 0.07 s) while relay R2 works as back-
100 0.08 0.38 0.35 0.67 0.57
up protection (around 0.37 s, if necessary) and maintain a
50 0.08 0.41 0.38 0.75 0.68
coordination interval of 0.3 s. Similarly, for a fault between
25 0.09 0.46 0.44 0.90 0.85
bus 2 and bus 3, the fault current is around 3.3 kA and R2 is 20 0.09 0.49 0.46 0.97 0.92
the primary protection, operating around 0.32 s and R1 is the 10 0.11 0.59 0.58 1.31 1.26
back-up, operating around 0.62 s. Assuming the grid fault 5 0.14 0.79 0.77 2.08 2.01
level is 250 MVA, the settings of each relay for the network 2 0.21 1.45 1.43 9.83 9.21

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 A significant change in the operating time of the relays However, according to the settings of the relays, as shown
can be observed while the grid fault level is less than 50 in TABLE II, the operating times of R1, R2, and R3 are
MVA. Furthermore, for 10 MVA grid fault level, R2 operates respectively 0.49 s, 1.45 s and 0.21 s; while the fault current
around 0.58 s for fault, F2 (Fault between Bus 2 and Bus 3), contribution from IIDG has not been limited. As mentioned
which is significantly high. Generally, undervoltage earlier, for fault, F1, only relay R1 and R2 should isolate the
protection (if the voltage is less than 50% of the nominal faulted section but from simulation, it has been observed that
value during a fault) of the generators is activated around 0.5 R3 is operating faster than R2, which is sympathetic tripping
s. Therefore, it is expected that the line protection of the of relay R3. Furthermore, it has also been observed that while
network must operate before 0.5 s. However, from the fault current contribution of the IIDG is limited to 30 A, relay
simulation results, it has been observed that there is a R2 does not operate and relay R3 operates around 1.39 s.
possibility of slow operation for R2 for fault, F2 while the grid
fault level is 10 MVA or while power system is weak. Therefore, from this simulation, it can be concluded that
due to the addition of IIDG (with and without fault current
Similar results are also observed for the relay R1 for fault, limiter), there is a possibility of protection blinding and
F1 (fault between Bus 1 and Bus 2). From TABLE III, it can miscoordination of the relays. The remedy of this situation
be seen that OT of R1 is relatively high because of the high could be, the use of directional overcurrent protection where
TMS (the value is set in this way to maintain coordination the relays will detect the direction of fault current and settings
between the relays). To solve this issue instantaneous will be different based on direction. Again, the directional
property is used with IDMT. The IDMT characteristic with overcurrent relays could be expensive compared to non-
instantaneous property for the relay, R1 for fault, F1 is shown directional overcurrent relays.
in Fig. 4. However, during 10 MVA, the maximum fault
current for fault, F1 is around 0.51 kA and from Fig. 4 it can The second example is shown in Fig. 6, where IIDG is
be seen that OT for R1 is still higher than 0.5 s. connected to Bus 1 and fault is between Bus 2 and Bus 3 (F2).
In this case, relay, R2 should clear the fault and R1 should
IDMT Characteristic of R1 with Instantanous Property operate as a back-up (if necessary). However, from the
5
4 R1 Characteristic
simulation, it has been observed that the relay, R1 operates
3 Operating point during 10 MVA faster (with instantaneous property operates around 0.1 s)
2
than relay R2, which is operating around 0.31 s. The operating
points of the relay R1 with and without IIDG are shown in
Fig. 7. The green point indicates the operating point while
1
IIDG is not connected and R1 works as back-up protection for
relay R2. The red point indicates the operation for R1 while
0.5 IIDG is connected, which is in the instantaneous part. As a
0.4
0.3
result, R1 is operating faster than R2 for fault F2, which is the
miscoordination between the relays R1 and R2. However, this
0.2
challenge largely depends on the capacity of the connected
IIDG and might not be an issue for the small-scaled IIDG with
0.1 limited fault current.
0.07
0.1 0.5 1 1.9 3.3 8.3 12
Fault Current (kA)

Fig. 4. IDMT characteristic of R1 with the instantaneous property.

Thus, based on the simulation results for this case, it can

be concluded that the overcurrent protection for microgrid
will operate slowly for the weak grid system (even might not
operate while grid fault level is less than 1 MVA), where, grid
fault level is less than 10 MVA (which can be an expected Fig. 6 Miscoordination of relay R1 due to fault F2 with the instantaneous
fault level due to decommissioning of large power plants). property.

B. Scenario #2: Miscoordination of the Relays IDMT Characteristic of R1 with Instantanous Property
5
Two examples of miscoordination of the relays due to 4 R1 Characteristic
3 Operating point without IIDG
variation of fault locations and/or IIDGs locations are Operating point with IIDG
explained with simulations in this section. The first example is 2
presented in Fig. 5, where one IIDG is connected at Bus 3 and
fault is in between Bus 1 and Bus 2 (fault, F1). In this case, the
Operating Time (s)

1
relay at Bus 1, R1 should operate to isolate the faulty section
from the grid and to disconnect the fault current supply from
the IIDG, the relay at Bus 2, R2 should operate. 0.5
0.4
0.3

0.2

0.1

0.07
0.1 0.5 1 1.9 3.3 8.3 12
Fault Current (kA)
Fig. 5. Example of miscoordiantion of the relays. Fig. 7. Characteristics of relay R1 with and without IIDG.

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C. Scenario #3: Islanded Network In this case, due to fault, F1, both IIDGs will contribute
One of the biggest advantages of the microgrid is its fault current towards the fault. Now, relay, R1 might detect the
autonomous operation while the grid is disconnected. fault depending on the fault current contribution from IIDG1
Islanding of the network can be two types; (1) intentional and settings of the relay (although there is less possibility for
islanding and (2) unintentional islanding. Unintentional that as described earlier). However, there is no relay in the
islanding takes place when the grid is disconnected from the network which can isolate the fault current contribution from
network but connected DG(s) does not recognise the grid IIDG2 towards the faulted section unless the IIDG’s internal
disconnection and continues to supply power to local loads. protection detects the fault and activate. Again, disconnection
This situation can be very dangerous for the following reasons of IIDG2 can disrupt the power supply to the rest of the
[10]. consumers and loads, which is not preferable.

• Transient over-voltage surge might be created in the IV. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
islanded network. Different simulation cases are demonstrated in this paper
• During maintenance, there is a risk of life for the to illustrate the protection challenges in the microgrid and to
maintenance crews. analyse the performance of the overcurrent relays with large
integration of renewable-based generation. It can be concluded
• Electromechanical torques generated by DGs during from the simulation results as discussed in this paper that
islanded mode might cause damage to the connected under a range of future scenarios, the conventional overcurrent
electrical loads, which eventually might cause health relays might not provide proper protection to the microgrids
hazards for the consumers. and active distribution networks. Even in the worst-case
scenario, the protection might not detect the fault especially
Intentional islanding in the microgrids is achieved by during the islanded mode of operation. Therefore, as part of
maintaining three conditions- (1) standard limit of frequency future work for this research, an active protection scheme will
and voltage, (2) stability and (3) ensuring proper protection be designed which will be reliable and will not depend on the
during the islanded mode. fault current magnitude to detect and locate the fault.
In this simulation, the grid has been disconnected and to
maintain stability, and voltage and frequency standard, a grid REFERENCES
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Fig. 8. Microgrid protection challenge due to bidirectional power flow.

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