The answer is yes! Protection studies, like fault studies, are a legal requirement in the UK, and are necessary to show that a fault will be cleared in an acceptable time that does not pose a risk to personnel or equipment. What is also forgotten is that it is often a requirement of a company insurers that a protection study is in place, to ensure protection of people and assets.
As power engineers, it should be an obvious requirement, but it is surprising how often our engineers have been to sites and found relays / LV trip units left on default settings – or set with the pickup and time setting to maximum to ‘prevent nuisance tripping’.
A protection coordination study does not need to be overly complex and for a simple LV systems or an HV RMU, they can be very simple – but some demonstration of settings and coordination is always required.
The majority of protection studies consider simple coordination of over current and earth fault elements from the DNO supply point to the largest LV feeder on the system. This can be done on simple packages, or included as part of a complex simulation model – where faults can be injected into the network and the relay sequence of operations identified to check faults are cleared and in what time.
The key thing in protection coordination settings is understanding the system constraints, the utility setting limits and what compromises you need to make. No system, apart from those in text books will grade perfectly and it is case of finding the best compromises in settings to ensure faults are cleared quickly and as much of the network is kept intact as possible
Other common applications including use of directional protection for meshed networks and defining and setting differential protection schemes for transformers and cables, such as REF, translay and Solkor and busbar protection. Setting of generators is where things get really interesting though 😁.
Protection design and setting is one of the most complex (and interesting areas) in power systems. So if you think you might need a protection study doing – please get in touch and we would be happy to help.
– IDMT Overcurrent and earth fault coordination
– Loss of Mains / G99 settings
– Directional Protection
– Differential Protection
– Generator Protection
– Distance Protection
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- Generation
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Aurora works across a wide range of traditional power generation systems, from small CHP units up to large industrial power generation facilities. We have extensive experience in considering synchronous generators fault contribution into the network, as well as considering issues such as dynamic response and transient stability of synchronous generators.
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- Renewables & Energy Storage
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Aurora provides a range of services to the Renewables and Battery Energy Storage Systems industries, and can provide advice on analysis on greenfield developments or integration into existing brownfield industrial facilities. We specialise in providing grid simulation and G99 compliance studies to support renewable connections to the UK network, and other European networks.
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Aurora has extensive experience in the transmission and distribution sector, dealing with private 11kV and 33kV networks, iDNOs and DNOs and National Grid, for a variety of different design and analysis applications.
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Aurora has extensive experience in the Oil & Gas industry, and has undertaken a wide range of design activities, concept studies and simulation studies to support many large international EPC companies and service companies.
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Aurora works in light and heavy industry providing a range of services to help plant owners analyse and understand their networks, identify weak spots, providing guidance on system loadings, fault levels, earthing, protection coordination and arc flash.
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Aurora has worked on a number of large data centres, providing a range of services to support existing specialist companies in this area, such as system analysis for fault levels, harmonic analysis, protection coordination and arc flash analysis.
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Aurora works in Building Services industry to support multiple M&E contractors in development of the HV aspects of their design, or integration of renewable technologies like roof top solar. Services include system analysis for fault levels, harmonic analysis, protection coordination and arc flash analysis.
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Aurora has extensive experience in the water industry and has worked fs, identify weak spots, providing guidance on system loadings, fault levels, protection coordination, motor starting earthing and arc flash. We also have extensive experience in helping water companies integrating renewalbe power and battery storge technologies into their sites.
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Load flow, fault analysis, P28/2 voltage disturbance including flicker and transformer inrush, G5.5 Harmonics, G99 Grid studies, protection coordination, arc flash, dynamic and transient studies and electromagnetic transients.
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Concept selection, contingency analysis, switchgear and transformer specification, SLD preparation, cable sizing, UPS sizing, substation layouts, protection scheme design, wiring modifications for EPC and M&E companies.
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Earth potential rise (EPR) calculations and touch and step voltage calculations with either CDEGS or XGSLab, earthing layouts, soil resistivity testing, fall of potential tests, earthing inspections and resistance testing.
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Concept development and decarbonisation strategies, preparations of G99 and National Grid connection applications, review of ICP and vendor proposals, due diligence checks and client representative and failure investigations.
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