PARALLEL UNIT-CONNECTED GENERATOR MODEL FOR THIRD HARMONIC STATOR GROUND FAULT PROTECTION

Abstract

Conventional ground fault protection schemes can be applied for any generator terminal connection but it covers at most 95% of generator stator length. 100% protection for synchronous generator stator winding can be achieved by a combination of zero sequence and third harmonic protection schemes. The implementation of the third harmonic scheme on any generator is determined by magnitude of third harmonic voltage produced in the generator. The methods of connecting the generator terminal also influence the range of third harmonic voltage at the stator terminal and neutral. An investigation into the compatibility of particular generator configuration with the third harmonic scheme is important to prevent protection mal-operation since the scheme is hampered in performance by certain factors which include grounding method employed and generator terminal connection among others. In this paper, the modelling of parallel unit-connected generators of the second order is presented to study the influence of parallel unit-connected generators on third harmonic stator ground fault protection. Application of mesh analysis method to the circuit models produced ordinary non-linear algebraic equations. The equations were solved using Cramer’s rule. Simulations of the circuit models were performed for no-load, light load and full load conditions using MATLAB/SIMULINK to study the character of third harmonic voltage at stator neutral and terminal when a ground fault occurs to validate the results of the models. Introduction of a ground fault at the neutral point of the single generator showed that the third harmonic voltage decreased towards zero at the neutral but increased towards maximum at the terminal.