Considering the tap-changing modifications in protection of EAF transformers

This paper deals with the modeling of EAF feeding system taking into account the tap transition for assessment of a suggested scheme of differential protection. There are several challenges in the implementation of the differential protection in the EAF transformer which reveal the importance of the system modeling. Large current in the secondary side of the transformer, similarity of normal and fault conditions, and frequent tap variation in the transformer during the melting procedure are the most serious concerns. Considering the mechanism of the tap changers, the new tap setting is readjusted in the algorithm to prevent mal-operation of the protection. These challenges can be rectified by suitable modeling of EAF feeding system and an efficient differential protection scheme. To this end, the EAF as an electrical load, the EAFs' transformer, and the mechanism of the tap changing are properly modeled in this work. The proposed model of the EAF is based on real recorded data from EAFs used in a steel company, to fully simulate the nonlinear and time-variant characteristics of this electrical load. The proposed models of the EAFs' transformer and tap changer enable us to simulate different tap variations and internal faults in the system. The performance of the suggested differential protection algorithm is evaluated using plenty of simulations in different conditions of the system.