This article explains the concept of differential protection in a clear and progressive way, starting with the basic idea of unit protection, then moving through the Merz-Price configuration, biased differential protection, and finally modern numerical differential relays. Differential Relay Definition: A differential relay is defined as a device that responds to the difference between two or more similar electrical quantities, such as currents or voltages, to detect faults. In power system protection, various types of relays are. Differential current protection, much like a ground-fault interrupter (GFI), measures incoming and exiting current from all three phases, stopping the circuit in case of any imbalance, no matter how long it persists. It works by comparing the current going into the equipment and the current coming out from the equipments.
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