Comparative analysis of fault discrimination algorithms on sensitivity to high impedance busbar faults

Presently there is not one differential protection characteristic which is self-sufficient to detect all possible busbar faults accurately. Particularly, during close-in external fault, current transformer (CT) saturation creates high operating current which can cause mal-operation of differential relays. As a result, a fault discriminator is necessary to supervise the differential schemes to prevent undesired tripping operation. Most of the existing fault discrimination algorithms have been proven as an efficient external fault detector; however, they suffer from lack of sensitivity to high impedance internal faults. This paper presents a comparative analysis on sensitivity of three existing fault discrimination algorithms including Phase Angle Comparison Algorithm (PACA), Rate of Change of Differential Algorithm (ROCODA), and Alienation Coefficient Algorithm (ACA). Fault simulations were performed using a three-bus test system. The results documented in this paper show that the degree of sensitivity of ROCODA and ACA are similar and much higher than PACA. The comparative analysis presented in this paper can be employed as a useful guideline for selection of an appropriate protection scheme for busbar systems.