Supervising zone‐3 operation of the distance relay using synchronised phasor measurements

Abstract

The study presents a new protection scheme to enhance the zone-3 operation of the distance relay. The proposed scheme develops an index based on the rate of change of active power and angle derived from synchronised phasor measurement units (PMUs). It is found that it clearly distinguishes faults from several stressed conditions those are likely to occur, and takes necessary action. The proposed scheme is developed and validated for a modified Western System Coordinating Council 9-bus, 3-machine system and New England 39-bus system with different fault scenarios on a MATLAB/Simulink platform. Further to test the robustness, the proposed method is tested on a real-time digital simulator platform using phasors received from gigabit transceiver network PMUs. Extensive performance testing for faulted as well as stressed conditions such as stable power swing, load encroachment and voltage stressed conditions indicate that the proposed scheme is highly reliable in enhancing the zone-3 operation of distance relay.