A Learning Report on Short Circuit Studies from IEEE-399

By
Elango Lakshmanan | LinkedIn
 List of Contents

S.No. Name of the Contents Page No.

1. Introduction to Short Circuits 3
2. How Insulation breakdown Turns in to other 3
Phenomena
3. Is Short Circuit can be Prevented? 3
4. Main Reason for Performing Short Circuit Study 3
5. Types of Faults 3
6. Is 3-Phase fault will create more Damage? 4
7. Which is determining the Short-Circuit Current? 4
8. AC decrement and Rotating Machinery 4
9. DC decrement and System Impedence 5
10. Standards 5
11. Types of Short-circuit current 5
12. Introduction to The International Standard – IEC- 7
60909:1988
13. Difference between the ANSI and IEEE C37 8
standards and IEC-60909
14. Factors affecting accuracy of Short-circuit studies 8

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Introduction to Short Circuits
Electrical power systems are, in general, fairly complex systems composed of a wide range of equipment
devoted to generating, transmitting, and distributing electrical power to various consumption centres.
The very complexity of these systems suggests that failures are unavoidable, no matter how carefully these
systems have been designed. The feasibility of designing and operating a system with zero failure rate is, if not
unrealistic, economically unjustifiable.
How Insulation breakdown Turns in to other Phenomena

− Undesirable current flow patterns

− Appearance of currents of excessive magnitudes that could lead to equipment damage and downtime
− Excessive overvoltage’s, of the transient and/or sustained nature, that compromise the integrity and reliability
of various insulated parts.
− Voltage depressions in the vicinity of the fault that could adversely affect the operation of rotating equipment
− Creation of system conditions that could prove hazardous to personnel
Is Short Circuit can be Prevented?
Short circuits cannot always be prevented, we can only attempt to mitigate and to a certain extent contain their
potentially damaging effects.
If a short circuit occurs, however, mitigating its effects consists of
a) managing the magnitude of the undesirable fault currents, and
b) isolating the smallest possible portion of the system around the area of the mishap in order to retain service
to the rest of the system.
Main Reason for Performing Short Circuit Study

− It is used to verify the adequacy of existing Interrupting equipment.

− It is used to determine the system Protective device settings
− It is used to determine the effects of fault currents on various system components such as cables, lines, buses,
transformers and reactors during the time of fault.
− It is used to assessment the effect that different types of short circuits of varying severity may have on the
overall system Voltage profile.
− Design and Refinement of system layout, Neutral Grounding and Substation Grounding.
When and Where the Study needs
Short-circuit studies can be performed at the planning stage in order to help finalize the system layout,
determine voltage levels, and size cables, transformers, and conductors.
For existing systems, fault studies are necessary in the cases of added generation, installation of extra rotating
loads, system layout modifications, rearrangement of protection equipment, verification of the adequacy of existing
breakers, relocation of already acquired switchgear in order to avoid unnecessary capital expenditures, etc.
Types of Faults:
The great majority of short-circuit studies in industrial and commercial power systems address one or more of
the following four kinds of short circuits:
Shunt Faults:

− Three Phase fault: It will not involve ground, all three Phases shorted together
− Single line to ground fault: Any one phase is shorted to ground,
− Line to line fault: Any two phases shorted together
− Double line to ground fault: any two phases connected together and then to ground
Above faults are also known as “Shunt Faults”.
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Effects of Shunt Faults:

− Increase of current and fall in Voltage and Frequency.

− It will cause Heavy thermal energy – Very severe damage to the insulation of the conductors and equipment’s,
melting / fusing of conductors.
− It will cause Equipment damage due to Excessive magnitude of fault current.
− Arc in the system which result explosion
− Voltage rise in the healthy phases will lead to damage of the insulation and losses the integrity of system.
− Will cause the Generator to out of step (Angular Stability).
Series Faults:

− One line open: Any one of Three phase is open.

− Two lines open: Any two of Three phase is open.
− Unequal impedence: Unbalanced Line impedence discontinuity.
Above faults are known as “Series Faults”.
The term “series faults” is used because the above unbalances are associated with a redistribution of the pre-fault load
current. Series faults are of interest when assessing the effects of snapped overhead phase wires, failures of cable
joints, blown fuses, failure of breakers to open all poles, inadvertent breaker energization across one or two poles and
other situations that result in the flow of unbalanced currents.
Effects of Series Faults:
Increase of Voltage, Frequency and fault current in the faulted phases. It is also called as Doubling Effect.
Is 3-Phase fault will create more Damage?
Three-phase short circuits often turn out to be the most severe of all. It is thus customary to perform only three
phase-fault simulations when seeking maximum possible magnitudes of fault currents.
But exceptions can exist, for instance single line-to-ground short-circuit currents can exceed three-phase
short-circuit current levels when they occur in the area which is close to,

− A solidly grounded Synchronous machine

− Solidly grounded -side of a - transformer
− The grounded side of the - auto transformer
− The grounded -,delta tertiary of three winding transformer
For systems where any one or one more of the above conditions exist, it is need to preform a single line to ground
fault simulation. In fact, medium and high voltage circuit breakers have 15% of higher interrupting capabilities for
single line to ground faults.
Line to line or double line to ground fault studies also require for protective device coordination requirement.
Which is determining the Short-Circuit Current?
The basic fact that determines the magnitude and duration of short circuit currents are,

− The behaviour of the rotating machinery in the system

− The distance between the rotating machinery to the fault location
− The fact that prefault system currents cannot change instantaneously, due to the system inductance.
The first two can be conceptually linked to the ac decrement, while the third, to the dc decrement.
AC decrement and Rotating Machinery:

− It is characterized by the fact that flux trapped in the windings of rotating machinery and it ill not change
instantaneously. It is due to Constant flux theorem.
− The gradual change is function of nature of the magnetic circuits involved. That’s why synchronous machines
under short circuit conditions gives different flux variations compared to Induction Machines.
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 − The flux dynamics will dictate the short circuit current will decay with time until a steady state is reached.
DC decrement and System Impedence:

− It is characterized by the fact that the prefault system current cannot change instantaneously, a significant
unidirectional component may be present in the fault current depending on the exact occurrence of the short
circuit
− This unidirectional current component called as DC offset, and it decays with time exponentially. The rate of
decay is closely related to the system resistances and reactance.
Standards:

− IEC-60909 – Short Circuit Current in Three-Phase AC System

− IEEE-551 – Recommended Practice for Calculation of Short Circuit current for Industrial and Commercial
Power System
− IEEE-3002.3 – Recommended Practice for Calculation of Short Circuit Current for Industrial and Commercial
Power System
− IEEE-C37.010, IEEE-C37.5, IEEE-141, IEEE-241, IEEE-242 - Addressing the fault calculations for Medium
and High Voltage
− IEEE-C37.13, IEEE-141, IEEE-241, IEEE-242 – Addressing fault location for low voltage systems (below
1000V)
Types of Short Circuit Current
Depending on the time frame of interest taken from the interest of fault,
a) First cycle current
b) Interrupting current
c) Time delayed current
First cycle current: It is also called as momentary currents, and those are the currents at ½ cycle after fault initiation:
they relate to the duty circuit breakers face when closing against or withstanding short circuit currents.
Interrupting current: it is also a type of short circuit currents in the time interval from 3 to 5 cycles after fault
initiation. They related to the currents sensed by the interrupting equipment when isolating the fault. So, they are
called as contact-parting current.
Time delayed current: it is also a type of short circuit current that exist beyond 6 cycles (and up to 30 cycle) from the
fault initiation.

Table.1.1. Impedence types required for Short-Circuit Studies

Where,

X” d - is the sub-transient reactance. For induction motors X” d is approximately equal to the locked rotor reactance.

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X’d – is the transient reactance

X d – is the synchronous reactance

X – is the equivalent reactance

R – is the equivalent modified resistance (see table.1.2)
Xs , Rs – is the power company equivalent reactance and resistance
Notes
1. See Table.1.2. for exact values
2. X” d of synchronous machines is the rated voltage (saturated) direct axis sub-transient reactance.
3. X’d of synchronous machines is the rated voltage (saturated) direct axis transient reactance.’
4. For calculation of minimum short circuit current, contribution is neglected. For calculation of maximum short
circuit current values use X’d and R values.

Considering AC and DC Decrement

• In the above classification of short-circuit currents in three duty types, different impedances are used for the
rotating equipment for each of these duties.
• Tables 1.1 and 1.2(a&b) portray the recommended impedances for the system components and for the
different types of analysis and duty currents sought.
• Once the desired duty type has been selected, the appropriate system impedances may be chosen in
accordance with Table 1.2(a&b)

Table.1.2(a). Reactance Values for First Cycle and Interrupting Duty Cycle

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 Table.1.2(b). Reactance Values for First Cycle and Interrupting Duty Cycle

• Based on motor rating according to IEEE-242:1986, the values of 1.2 X” d and 1.67 X” d for induction motor
impedence to be used for the first cycle network based on locked rotor impedence of 0.20 and 0.50 per unit.
• Similarly, the estimate of 3.0 X” d, to be used for the induction motor impedance for interrupting duty
calculations, is based on the assumption of a locked rotor impedance of 0.28 per unit based on the motor
rating, as suggested in IEEE Std 141-1993.
Introduction to The International Standard – IEC-60909:1988
IEC 60909 (1988) is similar to the German VDE 0102-1972 standard and to the Australian AS 3851-1991 standard.
IEC 60909 (1988) recognizes four duty types that result in four calculated fault currents:

− Initial short-circuit currents (I” k)

− Peak short-circuit current (Ip)
− Breaking short-circuit current (Ib)
− Steady-state fault current (Ik)
• The breaking and steady-state currents are conceptually similar to the interrupting and time-delayed currents,
the peak currents are maximum current attained during the first cycle of fault insertion, and are significantly
different form IEEE currents, which are total rms current.
• The initial short-circuit current is defined as the symmetrical rms current that would flow at the fault point if
no changes are introduced in the network impedances.
• The IEC 60909 (1988) provides guidelines for calculating maximum and minimum fault currents. The former
is to be used for breaker rating while the latter for protective device coordination.
• The major governing factors in calculating maximum and minimum fault currents are the prefault voltages at
the fault point and the fact that minimum fault currents are calculated with minimum connected plant.

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AC Decrement in IEC
The phenomenon of ac decrement is addressed by considering the actual contribution of every source,
depending on the voltage at its terminals during the short circuit.
Induction motor ac decrement is modelled differently than synchronous machinery decrement, because an
extra decrement factor representing the more rapid flux decay in induction motors is included. AC decrement is only
modelled when breaking currents are calculated.
DC Decrement in IEC
The phenomenon of dc decrement is addressed in IEC 60909 (1988) by applying the principle of
superposition for the contributing sources in conjunction with giving due regard to the topology of the network and the
relative locations of the contributing sources with respect to the fault position.
In addition, the standard dictates that different calculating procedures be used when the contribution
converges to a fault point via a meshed or radial path. These considerations apply to the calculation of peak and
asymmetrical breaking currents.
Steady-state fault current
Steady-state fault currents are calculated by assuming that the fault currents contain no dc component and that
all induction motor contributions have decayed to zero.
Synchronous motors may also have to be taken into account. Furthermore, provisions are taken not only for
salient and round rotor synchronous machinery but, also for different excitation system settings.
Difference between the ANSI and IEEE C37 standards and IEC-60909:

− AC decrement modeling in IEC 60909 (1988) is fault location-dependent and it quantifies the rotating
machinery’s proximity to the fault. The IEEE standard, on the other hand, recommends universal, system-
wide ac decrement modeling.
− DC decrement for IEC 60909 (1988) does not always rely on a single X/R ratio. In general, more than one
X/R ratio must take into account. Furthermore, the notion of separate X and R networks for obtaining the X/R
ratio(s) at the fault point is not applicable to IEC 60909 (1988).
− Steady-state fault current calculation in IEC 60909 (1988) takes into account synchronous machinery
excitation settings.
Factors affecting accuracy of Short-circuit studies

− System configuration
− System impedence
− Neutral grounding
− Prefault system load and shunt
− Mutual coupling in zero sequence
− Phase shifts in - transformers

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