Per Unit Example – How to, Tips, Tricks,

and What to Watch Out for on the

Electrical PE Exam
There is a lot of confusion surrounding the per unit system, and
rightfully so.  If you’ve never used it before, it is easy to become
confused with all of the individual pieces that make the system work.

To help clear things up, here is an in-depth break down on an example

question that is similar to what you can expect to see on the NCEES
Electrical Power PE Exam.

Related Per Unit Articles:

Electrical PE Review – Base Changing Percent Impedance and Per Unit Impedance

Electrical PE Review – Calculating Base Impedance with Three Phase vs Single Phase
Values

What’s in this article? – Per Unit Example – How To, Tips, Tricks, and What to
Watch Out for on the Electrical PE Exam:
Click below to jump to any section.

1. Per Unit PE Exam Practice Problem

2. Step 1: Separate by Voltage Zones
3. Step 2: Assign Base Values
4. Step 3: Calculate Base Impedance for Each Zone
5. Step 4: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance for Each Zone
6. Step 5: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance for Transformer T1
7. Step 6: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance for Transformer T2
8. Step 7: Calculate the Per Unit Current and Per Unit Voltage
9. Step 8: Use Ohm’s Law to Calculate the Per Unit Current
10. Step 9: Calculate the Base Current in Each Zone
11. Step 10: Calculate the Actual Current in Each Zone
12. Step 11: Check Your Work Using the Transformer Ratios
13. Step 12: The Completed Diagram 
1. Per Unit PE Exam Practice Problem
Using the Per Unit system and taking into account the transformer percent impedances,
solve for the current in each part of the three-phase system shown below. Assume both
transformers are either delta – delta or wye – wye connected and that there is no phase
shift between primary and secondary current and voltage.

Step 1: Separate by Voltage Zones

The usefulness of the per unit system is in converting all system impedances to per unit
impedances and re-drawing the circuit without having to worry about the different
voltage levels from each transformer.

In this example, there are two transformers that divide the system into three different
voltage zones that are created by the stepping up or stepping down of voltage by each
transformer.

The first step is to illustrate this by drawing a straight line through each transformer:

 
Step 2: Assign Base Values
The next step is to choose the base values for power and voltage.

The base power will be the same in for each zone, but each zone will have a different
base voltage.

The problem might tell you to use specific values for base power and voltage. If it does,
use them accordingly as the answer choices will most likely still be in per units and
using a different base will change the resulting per unit system values.

If the problem does not assign the base values for you, then it is advantageous to pick
one of the existing MVA values in the system such as the apparent power rating of one
of the machines.

Similar for voltage, it is advantageous to pick one transformer and use either the
primary or secondary voltage as the base voltage in a particular zone, and then use the
remaining transformer ratios to step up or down the voltage base for each neighboring
zone accordingly. Why this is advantageous will become clear when we run the math.

If all transformer ratio’s match, then the secondary voltages of all upstream transformers
are equal to the primary voltage all downstream transformers and vice versa, then your
voltage base in each zone will be equal to the primary and secondary voltages of each
transformer. That is the case for this example.

For base power, I’ve arbitrary picked T1’s MVA rating for the system and the
voltage ratios of the transformers for the base voltage in each zone:
 

Step 3: Calculate Base Impedance for

Each Zone
Now that we have the assigned base values for power and voltage, we’ll need to
calculate the base impedance for each zone so that we can use it to calculate the per
unit impedances later on.

The formula for base impedance is:

We can solve for impedance using voltage and power, and if we use the base voltage
and base power in each zone, then the resulting impedance will be the base impedance
for each zone as shown below:

 
Step 4: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance
for Each Zone
Now that we have calculated the base impedance for each zone, we can start
calculating the per unit impedances of each system element using the following formula:

We will start by calculating the per unit line impedance and per unit load impedance first
before we tackle the transformers.

The line per unit impedance and load per unit impedance are calculated as shown
below:

 
 

Now that we know the per unit line and load impedances, let’s draw them on the per unit
circuit diagram:

Step 5: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance

for Transformer T1
In order to complete the above diagram, we’ll need to calculate the per unit impedances
of both transformers T1 and T2.

The catch here is that we don’t know either of the transformer impedances in ohms, we
are instead given their percent impedances.

When you are given the percent impedance of a machine such as a transformer,
generator, or motor, the percent impedance is given in the base ratings of the machine
itself.

This means that in order to calculate the percent impedances of the transformers, we
actually need to perform a per unit base change using the following formula:
 

In this case, the old base will be the ratings of each transformer, and the new base will
be the new bases we have chosen.

Since we are working with impedances, we will need to plug in the impedance formula
that uses the square of the voltage divided by power:

In the above formula, S BASE NEW and V BASE NEW will be the chosen bases of our
system and zone, and S BASE OLD and V BASE OLD will be the transformer voltage
and power rating.

Transformers have one power rating, so choosing that is easy. However, they have two
voltages, a primary and secondary.

If we use the transformer’s primary voltage for V we will need to use the base voltage
on the primary side of the transformer for VB in the formula above.

If we use the transformer’s secondary voltage for V then we will need to use the base
voltage on the secondary side of the transformer for VB instead.

This will be more clear when we work out the math below.

Let’s base change each transformer’s percent impedance one at a time starting with
transformer T1 using the primary voltage rating as V and the voltage base on the
primary side of the transformer for VB:

 
Step 6: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance
for Transformer T2
Notice that since we originally chose 45MVA as the base power for the system, both
power terms are equal and cancel. This will not be true for T2.

Also, notice, that both voltage values are also equal and cancel since the base voltage
in each zone is equal to each transformer’s voltage ratio.

It is important to be aware that the voltage values in the above formula will not
cancel when the actual voltage in a zone is not equal to the transformer’s voltage ratios
such as when a generator is connected that supplies a voltage slightly higher or slightly
lower than the primary voltage ratio of the transformer it is connected to, or, when all
transformer ratios do not match as mentioned in the first several paragraphs.

Notice that since our base power and base voltage for T1 equal the base values we
were changing to, there is no actual change in the percent impedance.  We started with
5% and ended with 5%.

Last bit of importance is to notice the imaginary “j” term placed in front of the final per
unit impedance value for T1.

Transformers are made up of large inductive coils and their impedance is mostly
reactive.

The PE exam may not remind you of this and it will be up to you to not only
recognize that this is actually a reactive impedance but to also add the imaginary
j term to it.

Let’s move on and calculate the per unit impedance for transformer T2:
 

Step 7: Calculate the Per Unit Current

and Per Unit Voltage
Now that we have both per unit impedances let’s fill in the remaining values in our per
unit impedance diagram.

Again, notice that both transformer per unit impedances are reactive terms and we had
to add the “j” multiplier:

Now that we have all impedances converted to per unit values of the same base, it’s
time to calculate the per unit current using Ohm’s law:
However, in order to calculate the per unit impedance, we will need to calculate the per
unit voltage.

Luckily for us, the voltage on our input bus is equal to the base voltage selected in that
zone which simplifies the math since both terms cancel:

Step 8: Use Ohm’s Law to Calculate the

Per Unit Current
Since the input voltage is equal to the base voltage in zone 1, the per unit voltage at the
source of our per unit impedance diagram is equal to 1.

This greatly simplifies solving for the per unit current which will now equal the inverse of
the total series per unit impedance of the system:
 The per unit current will be the same value for each voltage zone.

Step 9: Calculate the Base Current in

Each Zone
Now that we know the per unit current, we can finally calculate the actual current in
each voltage zone by multiplying by the per unit current by each base current:

However, this requires us to know what the base current in each voltage zone is equal
to.
We can calculate it using the chosen base power and the chosen base voltage in each
zone as shown below.

Notice the √3 multiplier since it is a three phase system:

Step 10: Calculate the Actual Current in

Each Zone
Now that we have each of the base current values we can complete the problem and
solve for the actual current in each zone in amps:

 
We can now fill in the current in amps for each zone to the original system diagram that
we started with:

Step 11: Check Your Work Using the

Transformer Ratios
For a quick check of our work, we can use the transformer voltage ratios to verify our
currents are equal in each zone depending on voltage level.

If we did our work correctly we should get almost the exact same answer for each
current by starting with one and using the transformer ratios to solve for the rest

Let’s start with current I3 and work our way back to I2 and I1:
Step 12: The Completed Diagram 
Here is our final answer solving for the individual currents in amps of the original system
using the per unit method:

Hope you enjoyed this exercise using the per unit system.

Base Changing Percent Impedance and

Per Unit Impedance
Part 1 of 2 – Deriving the Per Unit Impedance and Percent Impedance
Base Change Formulas
*Related Content – Are you new to the per unit system or not familiar with dividing a
one-line diagram into different “voltage zones” created by each transformer? It may be
helpful to work your way through our worked out example on the per unit system prior to
diving into the base changing formulas discussed below: Per Unit Example – How To,
Tips, Tricks, and What to Watch Out for on the Electrical Pe Exam.

Regardless of how far along you are in studying for the electrical PE exam, chances are
you are already familiar with expressing a value in the per unit system by dividing the
value by its base value:

For example: 150 amps expressed in the per unit system with a base value of 200 amps
is a per unit current of 0.75:

Ipu = I/Ib

Ipu = 150A/200A

Ipu = 0.75

Similarly, it’s not too much work to base change a per unit value to a new base by
multiplying the old per unit value by the old base, then dividing by the new base:

For example: the same 0.75 pu of current expressed in the previous base of 200 amps
will be equal to 0.6 pu when expressed in a new base of 250 amps:

Ipu new = Ipu old (Ib old/Ib new)

Ipu new =0.75(200A/250A)

Ipu new = 0.6 pu

 
What happens when we try to apply this same method of base changing
to per unit impedance values and percent impedance values?

Have you ever noticed that the formulas used in reference books and most practice
exams for base changing per unit impedance and percent impedance values seem
to have the old base and new base on the wrong side of the faction?

For example, the most common per unit impedance and percent impedance base
change formula you typically see is the old per unit impedance (or old percent
impedance) multiplied by the new power base then divided by the old power base:

Why does the per unit impedance and percent impedance base change formula have
the new power base on the top of the fraction and the old power base on the bottom of
the fraction instead?

The other formula for per unit impedance and percent impedance base changing you
may have come across in a reference book or practice exam has the square of the old
voltage base to the new voltage base ratio like this:

Where does this formula come from?

In the Part 1 video of base changing per unit impedance embedded at the top of this
article, we answer each of these questions and show how all three of these formulas
are actually the same during the special condition which exists when the old and new
voltage bases are equal, even though the old and new power base values in the formula
seem to be in the wrong places. We also show where the formula with the square of the
old voltage base to the new voltage base ratio comes from.

Part 2 of 2 – A Worked Out Example Practice Problem of Base Changing

a Generator Percent Impedance

In the Part 2 video of base changing per unit impedance embedded directly above,
we go over a worked-out example of base changing the 5.9% impedance of the
generator in the one-line diagram shown below using the ratings of transformer T2 as
the new system base values:

We base change the generator percent impedance using the longer worked out per unit
base change formula in order to show that since the old and new voltage bases are
equal, the voltage terms in the base change formula cancel, leaving us with the “short
cut” percent impedance base change formula that requires the power bases.

We also show how to recognize when the old and new voltage bases are equal, so that
you know when it is safe to use the shortened base change formula in order to stay out
of trouble or to prevent you from attempting to use this formula when this is not the
case.

Remember, you can only use the shortened formula when the old and new voltage
bases are equal. If they are not equal, you’ll have to use the longer form of the
formula in order to get an accurate answer.

*Related Content – Are you new to the per unit system or not familiar with dividing a
one line diagram into different “voltage zones” created by each transformer? I
recommend grabbing a pencil and paper and working your way through our worked out
example on the per unit system: Per Unit Example – How To, Tips, Tricks, and What to
Watch Out for on the Electrical Pe Exam.

Did you enjoy this article? Leave a comment below to let me know if you
learned something new.
Base Impedance – Do We Use Single
Phase or Three Phase Values to
Calculate?

Imagine you come across a three phase system with per unit impedances and
you need to calculate the actual value in ohms:

No sweat, right?

You know that actual values are simply found by multiplying per unit values by their
base values.
So you start to calculate the base impedance value by writing down power formulas and
ohms law but then remember we are dealing with a three phase system. You come to
following mental cross road.

Do we:

 Use phase voltage?

 Line voltage?
 Single phase power?
 Three phase power?
 …What about the square root of three?

I bet everyone reading this has run into this situation at some point or another.

When you are calculating impedance (or base impedance), you can actually use single
phase or three phase values like this:

Both formulas will result with the correct value in ohms.

So the question is – how is that possible and where did the square root of three go?

Let’s take a look and see how we can derive the solution.

We’ll start with a single phase circuit and work only with magnitudes for the sake of
simplicity. On the PE exam or a practice problem, you will most likely need to work with
complex values (both magnitude AND angle).
For extra practice, I encourage you to try repeating this exercise on your own
using the complex polar values for each variable, being extra careful with the
current conjugate.

Ready? Here is our single phase diagram:

To start, let’s solve Ohm’s law for current (I), substitute it into the single phase apparent
power formula (II), and then solve for impedance (III):

That explains how we solve for impedance using single phase values in a single phase
circuit.

Now let’s take that same equation and substitute three phase values and see what
happens.
We’ll start with the formula that calculates the magnitude of phase voltage from line
voltage (I), followed by the formula that calculates single phase apparent power from
three phase apparent power (II), then we will substitute both formulas into the
impedance formula we arrived at above (III):

 
The square root of three on the top of the fraction gets canceled out with the three on
the bottom of the fraction after being squared.

This means that to find impedance for a three phase circuit, we can use line voltage and
three phase apparent power, OR, we can use phase voltage and single phase power.
Both will result in the same value in ohms for impedance:

And the last step, if we want to find base impedance, all we have to do is use the base
values for both voltage and apparent power:

And of course, this applies to a load whether it is wye or delta connected: