Relays and Relay Testing! Experts Explain
Relaying technology has seen significant changes over the years, evolving from electromechanically to static… to numerical and then to intelligent electronic devices (IEDS).;
This relay evolution has been driven by advancements in electronic and digital technologies, offering improved reliability and efficiency in power system protection and control applications.
However, this transition and advancement create multiple challenges and issues when testing critical protection applications within the power systems, as an engineer… you help to look after!
Relay testing equipment must keep up with these advances
Customised automated pre-defined protection testing? When relay testing (protection testing/commissioning) is an engineer’s daily task the struggle lies with repetitive test procedures; following the 'Test Sheet' tasks can be both error-prone and time-consuming.
In the world of relay testing... another worrying factor is protection logics; these need to align with the needs of substation.
These protection logics need to be tested and verified with various methods, using different tools such as ramping, power modules, state sequencers etc.
Megger's SMRT along with powerful Relay Testing Management software (RTMS) help engineers and their managers create and customise their own testing tasks as pre-defined automated testing templates.
RTMS relay testing software provides the required combination of tools and procedures to create powerful relay testing templates.
It is a complete and dynamic approach which enables customisation and automation of relay testing… all based on the requirements of the power systems/substation.
Advantages to automated pre-defined relay protection testing?
Standardised automated test routines along with internal relay libraries, plus the flexibility of creating customised test routines with semi or fully automatic testing, can significantly reduce the time and effort by up to 75% compared to conventional manual testing!
Additionally built-in reporting features will help standardise required test result documentation.
In summary using the above test equipment and accompanying software will results in significant time-saving and error reduction with repetitive relay testing.
VIEW ALL RELAY TESTING TEST EQUIPMENT
What is the difference between a Sverker and a SMRT Relay Tester?
Distribution systems are protected by increasingly complex relays which require testing. Since the 1970s the Sverker series of relay testers has been class leaders, being small, light and simple to operate. Over the years more features have been added to enable the testing of more complex relays resulting in the variable phase shift and frequency features of the Sverker 780. Now new technology pushes the boundaries even further with the SMRT1, a revolutionary new concept in automatic relay testing, which makes high power complex testing available in a very small, extraordinarily light package.
The automatic single phase relay test set
Weighing in at only 4 kg the Megger SMRT1 is an amazingly powerful relay test set. With a single current and voltage generators, the current channel outputs 60 A at 300 VA while the voltage channel outputs up to 300 V at 150 VA or can be converted to a current channel outputting 15 A maximum.
Should you want more channels the instrument can be daisy chained together to give more channels or more power. Three SMRT1 connected together will make a fully automatic 3-phase set. All this power can be controlled with STVI manual controller or by use of a laptop and RTMS relay testing software using an Ethernet connection.