ABB REF545KC133AAAA｜Feeder Terminals｜

Disturbance Recorder

The transient disturbance recorder integrated into the ABB REF 54_ feeder terminals provides high-speed recording of electrical disturbances and system events. It captures both analog waveforms and digital status signals, enabling detailed analysis of faults, protection operations, and power system disturbances.

Recording Capability

The disturbance recorder can record:

16 analog channels
Current waveforms
Voltage waveforms
16 digital channels
Logic signals
Binary status information from protection and control functions
Sampling Frequency

The sampling frequency depends on the rated system frequency:

System Frequency Analog Sampling Rate
50 Hz 2 kHz
60 Hz 2.4 kHz

This high-speed sampling allows accurate capture of transient events such as:

Short circuits
Earth faults
Voltage dips
Switching operations
Protection trips
Circuit breaker operations
Recording Length and Storage Capacity

The user can configure the recording duration according to application requirements.

The available recording capacity depends on:

Number of analog channels selected
Sampling frequency
Recording length

Using fewer analog inputs allows longer recording times, while using more channels reduces the maximum recording duration.

Data Export and Analysis

Recorded disturbance data can be uploaded using the DRCollector Tool.

The tool provides:

Data extraction from the feeder terminal
Conversion into COMTRADE format
Compatibility with disturbance analysis software

The DRCollector Tool is supported by ABB relay configuration and engineering tools:

CAP501
CAP505

COMTRADE-compatible files allow engineers to perform detailed fault analysis using standard power system analysis applications.

Power Quality Functions

The REF 54_ feeder terminals include integrated power quality monitoring functions for evaluating electrical network performance and identifying harmonic distortion problems.

The power quality functions measure:

Harmonic Distortion Measurements
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

The terminal calculates:

Voltage THD
Current THD

THD provides an overall indication of waveform distortion caused by harmonics.

Total Demand Distortion (TDD)

For current measurements, the terminal supports:

Current Total Demand Distortion (TDD)

TDD evaluates harmonic current distortion relative to the demand current level, which is useful for monitoring the impact of nonlinear loads.

Harmonic Analysis

The feeder terminal can measure individual harmonics up to:

13th harmonic

Measured harmonic components provide information about:

Variable frequency drives
Power converters
Industrial nonlinear loads
Resonance conditions
Network power quality issues
Statistical Power Quality Monitoring

The power quality functions generate statistical data for long-term evaluation, including:

Harmonic distortion trends
Long-term THD monitoring
Individual harmonic level statistics

Supported statistical values include:

Short-time average values
Maximum recorded values

These functions help identify gradual deterioration in power quality and support preventive maintenance strategies.