Impact of Distributed Inverter-Based Resources on Incremental Quantities-Based Protection

This paper studies the impact of distributed inverter-based resources (IBR) on time-domain incremental quantities-based relays. One implementation of the incremental quantities for protection is a high-speed sub-cycle directional element. The incremental, also known as superimposed, quantities are fault-generated instantaneous components of voltages and currents. The directional element indicates fault direction based on the transient voltages and currents’ relative polarities. It is essential to ensure that the element does not fail to indicate the correct direction if IBRs fault current responses impact the quantities. IBRs’ fast control response impacts the current quantities by changing both magnitude and angle. This paper characterizes the incremental quantities-based relay response to IBRs’ nonlinear fault currents. A modified IEEE 34-bus distribution with an IBR system is modeled and simulated using the electromagnetic transients program (EMTP-RV) for demonstration.