7SR210 & 7SR220 Description of Operation
Unrestricted  ©2018 Siemens Protection Devices Limited Page 57 of 94
Section 4: Control & Logic Functions
4.1  Auto-Reclose (79)
4.1.1 Overview
A high proportion of faults on an Overhead Line (OHL) network are transient. These faults can be cleared and the
network  restored  quickly by  using  Instantaneous  (Fast)  Protection  trips  followed  by  an  automated sequence  of
Circuit  Breaker  (CB) re-closures  after  the line  has  been  dead for  a  short time.  This  ‘deadtime’  allows the  fault
current arc to fully extinguish.
Typically this auto reclose (AR) sequence of Instantaneous Trip(s) and Reclose Delays (Dead times) followed by
Delayed  Trip(s)  provide  the  automatic  optimum  method  of  clearing  all  types  of  fault  i.e.  both  Transient  and
Permanent,  as  quickly as  possible  and  achieving the  desired  outcome  of  keeping  as  much  of the Network  in-
service as possible.
The AR function, therefore, has to: -
Control the type of Protection trip applied at each stage of a sequence
Control the Auto Reclose of the Circuit Breaker to provide the necessary network Dead times, to allow
time for Arc extinction
Co-ordinate its Protection and Auto Reclose sequence with other fault clearing devices.
A typical sequence would be – 2 INST+1Delayed+HighSet Trips with 1 sec & 10 sec dead times.
The Auto Reclose feature may be switched in and out of service by a number of methods, these are:
79 Autoreclose ENABLE/DISABLE (AUTORECLOSE CONFIG menu)
A keypad change from the CONTROL MODE
Via the data communications channel(s),
From a 79 OUT binary input. Note the 79 OUT binary input has priority over the 79 IN binary input - if
both are raised the auto-reclose will be Out of Service.
Knowledge  of  the CB  position status  is integral to the auto-reclose  functionality.  CB  auxiliary switches must  be
connected  to CB  Closed  and CB  Open  binary  inputs.  A  circuit  breaker’s  service  status  is  determined  by  its
position i.e. from the binary inputs programmed CB Open and CB Closed. The circuit breaker is defined as being
in service when it is closed. The circuit memory functionality prevents autoreclosing when the line is de-energised,
or normally open.
AR is started by a valid protection operation that is internally mapped to trip in the 79 Autoreclose protection menu
or an external trip received via a binary input 79 Ext Trip, while the associated circuit breaker is in service.
The  transition from  AR  started  to  deadtime  initiation  takes place when  the  CB  has  opened  and  the  protection
pickups have reset  and the trip relay has reset. If any of these do not occur within the 79 Sequence Fail Timer
setting the  relay will  Lockout.  This  prevents the  AR being  primed indefinitely. 79 Sequence  Fail  Timer  can be
switched to 0 (= OFF).
Once an AR sequence has been initiated, up to 4 reclose operations can be attempted before the AR is locked-
out. The relay is programmed to initiate a number of AR attempts, the number is determined by 79 Num Shots.
Each reclosure (shot) is preceded by a time delay - 79 Elem  Deadtime n - giving transient faults time to clear.
Separate dead-time settings are provided for each of the 4 recloses and for each of the four fault types – P/F, E/F,
SEF and External.
Once a CB has reclosed and remained closed for a specified time period (the Reclaim time), the AR sequence is
re-initialised  and a  Successful  Close  output  issued. A  single,  common Reclaim time  is  used (Reclaim  Timer).
When an auto-reclose sequence does not result in a successful reclosure the relay goes to the lockout state.