Protection & Coordination Software

Protective Device Coordination & Selectivity

Protection & Coordination / Selectivity Analysis

ETAP Star™ overcurrent device protection and coordination evaluation software provides an intuitive and logical approach to Time-Current Characteristic curve selectivity analysis.
Coordination curves for protective devices from a one-line diagram

ETAP Star offers insight into troubleshooting false trips, relay mis-operation, and mis-coordination.

Protective Device Coordination Software Key Features

  • AC & DC Overcurrent protective device coordination / selectivity
  • Integrated database and embedded analysis capabilities
  • Graphically adjustable device settings via TCC view
  • Equipment damage curve plotting
  • Sequence-of-operation fault analysis
  • Zone Selective Interlock (ZSI) scheme simulation & evaluation
  • Verified & Validated protective device library
  • Enables coordination engineers to easily and efficiently perform an overcurrent protective device coordination study
  • Provide an accurate and realistic operating characteristic, time including state of protective devices
  • Offers insight into troubleshooting false trips, relay mis-operation, and mis-coordination
  • Aids coordination engineers and planners to quickly realize possible design issues and make informed decisions
Coordination curves for protective devices of selected elements from the one-line diagram

Capabilities

  • AC & DC overcurrent device coordination analysis
  • ANSI & IEC coordination & protection standards
  • Relay & Breaker device coordination analysis
  • Phase & Ground overcurrent coordination evaluation modes
  • Graphically adjustable device settings & tools
  • Comprehensive verified & validated protective device libraries
  • One-line diagram integration
  • Automatic detection of protection zones
  • Protection & coordination zone viewer
  • Automated rule-based design *
  • Intelligent alert view for troubleshooting
  • Detailed device setting reports
  • Embedded short circuit analysis
  • Virtual animation of sequence-of-operation playback
  • Multi-axis time current curves
  • Adjustable magnifying-glass zoom view
  • Minimum Time Area (to evaluate coordination above established thresholds) 
  • Time difference calculator
  • Relay Settings Groups - Up to six settings groups with labels
  • Modeling of multi-function & multi-level relays
  • Embedded motor acceleration analysis
  • Normalized plots shifted based on fault contributions
  • Find Min Time Difference in Normalized View 
  • Flexible user-definable display & plot options
  • Extensive equipment damage curve modeling & plotting
  • Generator decrement curve
  • Motor Line & Terminal acceleration curve  
  • Distribution panel circuit breaker & fuse plotting
  • Professional time-current characteristic plots
  • Comprehensive device settings reports with filtering & sorting options
  • Visible/Invisible Curves from right-click menu 
* Requires the addition of Star Auto-Evaluation module

Device Settings Report

ETAP Star Device Settings Report Manager provides comprehensive and customizable device setting reports in Crystal Reports® format or Microsoft Excel® format.

The report manager allows you to preview and print the protective device setting in different formats including the PDF.

The Excel Device Settings Report provides tabular format with advanced reporting capabilities

  • Comparison of revision data such as existing versus suggested settings
  • Sorting and filtering options such as device settings report based on substation / bus IDs.
Protective Device Settings Report in Excel

 

Plot Options

ETAP Star Protective Device Coordination software provides a Plot Options tool with all the necessary options to customize the display of the Time Current Characteristic Curve. Using Plot Options, it is possible to customize the display of the current and time axes, legend, grid, curve plotting colors and properties, and more. By setting default Plot Options a custom layout can be created without having to repeat the process for each TCC Curve.

Videos

Protection & Coordination Studies with ETAP Star

Protection & Coordination Studies with ETAP Star

ETAP Star™ is an easy-to-use, interactive, and powerful platform for overcurrent protection and coordination studies. Supported with 100+ thousands of verified and validated protective device and equipment library models from manufacturers across the world, simulation and analysis of any network are at your fingertips. Learn about the intuitive and efficient approach for the creation of Time-Current Characteristic Curves and the program’s artificial intelligence (AI) for protection and coordination or selectivity analysis.

A Comprehensive Approach to Protective Device Coordination

A Comprehensive Approach to Protective Device Coordination

The design, sizing, and regulation of the protection system are still one of the major challenges for the integrity and continuity of operation of the power system despite the continuous technology evolution.  Protection system shall be capable to continuously monitor the power system, operate quickly and selectively under hundreds of transitory conditions for any type of fault without false trips with the objective to minimize outages, improve safety, and maximize service continuity. This presentation covers a real case study for an expansion of a brownfield industrial installation with new equipment that prompted the need for modification of existing protective device settings thus, requiring revision and re-validation of the coordination studies. The case study will demonstrate how ETAP software features and capabilities were utilized to verify the new / recommended settings to address the protection & coordination objectives and arc flash hazard impact.

ABB FCL Application Engineering for IS-Limiters

ABB FCL Application Engineering for IS-Limiters

This presentation will feature covert ABB Fault Current Limiter (FCL) application engineering for Is-limiters. We will explain the fault current limiter technology by using the well-known ABB FCL Is-limiter. The FCL technology will be introduced, how it clears a short-circuit fault current compared to a standard circuit breaker, and the major components of an FCL. The theory of the application engineering process and the calculation of the tripping value for an FCL will be introduced. Based on an actual customer project, it will be shown how ETAP has facilitated the complex FCL application engineering, and examples will be provided of how the real tripping value for a fault current limiter is determined. The session will conclude with an overview of how etap can already be used today for an FCL application engineering and what will be enhanced in the future.

Protection & Selectivity in Industrial Facilities

Protection & Selectivity in Industrial Facilities

PETRONAS RAPID project is the largest oil & gas refinery and petrochemical plant in Malaysia which is powered by a 1200MW utilities plant and connected to a 275kV Grid supply. The integrated ETAP model for the RAPID complex reached up to 5000 buses that consist of various distribution voltages from 400V up to 275kV. Protection Coordination evaluation study for the RAPID complex was performed using “PD Sequence-of-Operation” to identify abnormal relay behavior, which may not be observed in the conventional TCC curve. When simulating earth fault at 275kV system, there is sympathetic relay operation at all 275kV healthy feeders due to circulating earth fault current. The circulating earth fault current is more than 1pu, which will potentially cause a broader outage to the RAPID complex. Further analysis has been performed by the author and academician experts to ascertain the root cause of the circulating earth fault current. This presentation will discuss the root cause of sympathetic relay operation during 275kV earth fault simulations and the recommended solutions to mitigate the sympathetic operation. This will help engineering design firms and plant operators clearly understand the protection relay behavior during faults by utilizing ETAP special features.

Star™ Auto-Evaluation: Automated Protection & Coordination Design

Star™ Auto-Evaluation: Automated Protection & Coordination Design

This presentation will highlight how Star Auto-Evaluation software can improve your system design, safety, reliability and operation. Validate protective device settings for equipment protection, identify mis-coordination and fix zone selectivity issues, apply industry rules for system protection & coordination and significantly increase efficiency, accuracy, and design consistency.

ETAP Star - Making a User Curve - Part 1

ETAP Star - Making a User Curve - Part 1

There are cases when a user needs to draw specific curves onto a Star TCC presentation which is not included in the ETAP Star standard library. Applying ETAP "User Curve" is the solution for that.

ETAP Star - Making a User Curve - Part 2

ETAP Star - Making a User Curve - Part 2

There are cases when a user needs to draw specific curves onto a Star TCC presentation which is not included in the ETAP Star standard library. Applying ETAP "User Curve" is the solution for that.

Literature

White Papers