Chapter 3: Symmetrical Fault Analysis

3.1.

Introduction

Among the most important tasks, when planning and operating power systems, is the fault
analysis. It is also called short-circuit current calculations (SCCs) or short circuit analysis.
The fault analysis of a power system is required in order to provide information for
the selection of switchgears, circuit breakers, setting of relays and stability of
system operation. A power system is not static but changes during operation
(switching on or off of generators and transmission lines) and during planning
(addition of generators and transmission lines). Thus fault studies need to be
routinely performed by utility engineers.
Faults, i.e. short-circuits, can be minimized in the system through planning and
design, and well-performed maintenance and operation of the system, but
cannot be totally avoided. Protection settings and coordination and
dimensioning of switchgear require accurate and detailed SCCs because
switches and breakers have to be designed to switch off short-circuits in a safe way
and in short time.
[Link], its causes, consequences and preventions?
A fault in a circuit is any failure that interferes with the normal flow of current to
the load. In most faults, a short circuit path forms between two or more phases, or
between one or more phases and the neutral (ground). A short-circuit is an
accidental or intentional low resistance or impedance connection established
between two points in an electric circuit that bypasses part of the circuit. In short
circuit conditions the normal level of current flow is suddenly increased by a factor
of several magnitudes, which is a deadly magnitude. This flow of high current
through the alternate path is known as short circuit current.
Causes of short-circuits and their consequences
Undesired short-circuits or faults can occur for many different reasons. Short circuits
occur in power systems when equipment insulation fails, due to system over
voltages caused by lightening or switching surges, to insulation contamination (salt
spray or pollution), to tree branches touching power lines, animals coming in
contact with two conductors simultaneously or to other mechanical causes. And
sometimes short-circuits can even be caused by humans errors.
The resulting short circuit or fault current is determined by internal emfs of
synchronous machines and by the system impedances between the machine
voltages and the fault. Short circuit currents may be several orders of magnitude
larger than the normal operating currents and, if allowed to persist, it may cause
thermal and mechanical damage to equipment. In the faulty circuit, it may cause
damage to insulation of windings (due to excessive temperature rise), welding of

conductors and fire. Cables and bus bars may also suffer mechanical damage (such
as deformation). Other circuits in the network or in nearby networks are also
affected by the short-circuit situation. Voltage drops occur in other networks during
the time of short circuit and shutdown of a part of a network may include also
healthy parts of the network depending on the design of the whole network. The
degree of damage is dependent on the capacity of the system to drive short circuit
current and the duration it is allowed to flow in a short circuit situation. It is
therefore necessary to remove faulted sections of a power system from service as
soon as possible. Standard EHV protective equipment is designed to clear faults
within 3 cycles (50 ms at 60 Hz). Lower voltage protective equipment operates
more slowly (for example, 5 to 20 cycles).
Short-circuits can cause mechanical oscillations in generators which can lead to
oscillations in the power in the system, causing problems of stability in the
power transfer. In the worst case this can lead to a blackout of the system.
One last area to consider is that the installed equipment must be able to
withstand the thermal and mechanical effects of short-circuit currents.

Prevention of short-circuits
The growing demand of more power results in the construction of new power
stations and transmission lines, making it even more susceptible to short-circuit
occurrence. Currents from separate power stations concentrate near the fault,
resulting in a total short-circuit current that can be many times higher than usual.
In an attempt to have any control over short-circuits, power systems and equipment
are designed carefully, as well as proper installation and maintenance are done to
deliver power to the end users in a safe manner. Unfortunately, even after all these
precautions short-circuit do occur.
Short-circuits must be detected and removed from the system as quickly as
possible. This is achieved through protective circuit devices circuit breakers and
protection relays.

These devices must be able to interrupt high currents instantly and repeatedly
because several faults can occur in quick succession. Once the value of the current
has dropped down to a safe level the devices should turn the system back up. They
should also be able to stop and withstand the maximum short-circuit current that
can flow through the circuit, otherwise, the protective devices would be damaged
and needed to be changed regularly, making it costly and impractical. So, it is very
important to be able to calculate the maximum short-circuit current at any point in
the system in order to select and install the correct devices.
[Link] of Fault Analysis
A fault/short-circuit analysis is probably one of the most crucial calculations of the
electrical design process. This analysis allows designers to find the maximum
available short circuit current at different points in the electrical system. The short
circuit current found is then used to design and specify fault ratings for electrical
components that can withstand the tremendous forces of short circuit without
harming occupants and without damaging equipment. This calculation can also help
identify potential problems and weaknesses in the system and assist in system
planning. To calculate the results correctly it is important to know all the parameters
of a circuit. Especially in short circuit situations the behavior of the circuits are
strange and there is no linearity between the voltage of the system and the
current flowing.
Therefore, the main goal of fault analysis is to determine the magnitudes of the
currents present during the fault. In short, the reasons to analyze faults are:
To set the relays so that they can detect it (The data obtained from fault
calculations serves to determine the settings of relays which control the
circuit breakers).
To make sure that the circuit breakers ratings are such that they are capable
of interrupting the fault currents. We need to appropriately select the size of
breakers.
[Link] places for Short-circuit current calculation
Electrical installations require protection against short circuit current. The
calculation of short-circuit current must be done at each level in the installation in
order to determine the important specifications and standards of the equipment and
conductors required to withstand or break the short circuit current.
Calculation of short-circuit current requires to consider each and every components
in the circuit till the point of the fault. Even the source/sources are taken under
consideration. Short-circuit calculations are done at all the critical points in the
system, which includes:

Service Entrance
Panel Boards

 Motor Control Centers

Transfer Switches
Load Centers
Disconnects
Motor Starters
[Link] of Faults
Faults usually occur in a power system due to insulation failure, flashover, physical
damage or human error. These faults may either be three phases in nature
involving all three phases in a symmetrical manner, or may be asymmetrical where
usually only one or two phases may be involved. Faults may also be caused by
either short-circuits to earth or between live conductors, or may be caused by
broken conductors in one or more phases. Sometimes simultaneous faults may
occur involving both short-circuit and broken-conductor faults (also known as opencircuit faults).Therefore, there are two main types of faults:

Symmetrical faults: system remains balanced; these faults are relatively

rare, but are the easiest to analyze so well consider them first.
Unsymmetrical faults: system is no longer balanced; very common, but
more difficult to analyze.

In a three-phase system various types of faults can occur, which may be

categorized as shunt faults and series faults.
Shunt Faults
The most occurring types of shunt faults are:

1.

Single line-to-ground (SLG)

Line-to-line faults (LL)
Double line-to-ground (DLG) faults
Balanced three phase faults
Single line-to-ground (SLG) (80% of faults): Phase-to-earth is the most
occurring fault. This type of fault occurs when one conductor falls to ground
or contacts the neutral wire. It could also be the result of trees falling on top
of the lines.(See Figure 2-1 (a))
2. Line-to-line faults (LL) or Phase-to-phase (15% of faults): Phase-to-phase fault
is the result of two conductors being short-circuited. For example: a bird could
sit on one line somehow coming in contact with other, or a tree branch could
fall on top of two of the power lines. (See Figure 2-1 (b))

3. Double line-to-ground (DLG) faults or Phase-to-phase-to-earth: This can be a

result of a tree falling on two of the power lines, or other causes such as
flashover between the lines. (See Figure 2-2 a)
4. Balanced three phase faults (only 5% of initial faults): It is the least occurring
fault, this type of fault can only occur by a contact between the three power
lines in various forms (See Figure 2-2 (b))

5. Phase-to-phase-to-phase-to-earth fault: It is also known as the three phase to

ground fault. (See Figure 2-3 (a))

Lighting strokes cause most faults on high-voltage transmission lines

producing a very high transient that greatly exceeds the rated voltage of the
line. This voltage usually causes flashover between the phase and the ground of the
line creating an arc. Once the current starts flowing through the arc, it remains even
after the lighting disappears.
Lightning Strike Event Sequence
1. Lighting hits lines, setting up an ionized path to the ground
Millions lightning strikes per year hits every year!
A single typical stroke might have 25,000 amps, with a rise time of 10

s, dissipated in 200

s.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Multiple strokes can occur in a single flash, causing the lightning to

appear to flicker, with the total event lasting up to a second.
Conduction path is maintained by ionized air after lightning stroke
energy has dissipated, resulting in high fault currents (often > 25,000
amps)
Within one to two cycles (16 ms) relays at both ends of line detect
high currents, signaling circuit breakers to open the line:
Nearby locations see decreased voltages
Circuit breakers open to de-energize line in a one to two cycles:
Breaking tens of thousands of amps of fault current is no small
feat.
With line removed voltages usually return to near normal.
Circuit breakers may reclose after several seconds, trying to restore faulted
line to service.

Series Faults
Series faults can occur along the power lines as the result of an unbalanced series
impedance condition of the lines in the case of one or two broken lines for example.
In practice, a series fault is encountered, for example, when lines (or circuits) are
controlled by circuit breakers (or fuses) or any device that does not open all three
phases; one or two phases of the line (or the circuit) may be open while the other
phases or phase is closed.

Fault Analysis
Fault currents cause equipment damage due to both thermal and mechanical processes. The main
goal of fault analysis is to determine the magnitudes of the currents present during the fault:
we need to determine the maximum current to ensure devices can survive the fault.
we need to determine the maximum current the circuit breakers (CBs) need to interrupt to
correctly size the CBs.
3.2:- TRANSIENT ON A TRANSMISSION LINE (Nature of Short Circuit Currents)
Let us consider the short circuit transient on a transmission line. Certain simplifying assumptions
are made at this stage.
(i) The line is fed from a constant voltage source (the case when the line is fed from a realistic
synchronous machine).
(ii) Short circuit takes place when the line is unloaded
(iii) Line capacitance is negligible and the line can be represented by a lumped RL series circuit

With the above assumptions the line can be represented by the circuit model of Figure. The short
circuit is assumed to take place at t = 0. The parameter controls the instant on the voltage wave
when short circuit occurs it is known from circuit theory that the current after short circuit is
composed of two parts, i.e,

Where
is = steady state current

Waveform of a short circuit current in a transmission line

3.3 Short Circuit of Unloaded Synchronous Machine

Under steady state short circuit conditions, the armature reaction of a synchronous generator
produces demagnetizing flux. In terms of a circuit this

Example: For the radial network shown in Figure a three-phase fault occurs at F.
Determine the fault current and the line voltage at 11 kv bus under fault conditions.

Total impedance between F and 11 kV bus,

Example,

3.3:- Short circuit of a loaded machine

In the previous article on the short circuit of a synchronous machine, it was assumed that the
machine was operating at no load prior to the occurrence of short circuit. The analysis of short
circuit on a loaded synchronous machine is complicated. However, here the methods of
computing short circuit current when short circuit occurs under loaded conditions shall be
presented.

Example

4.1. The selection of Circuit Breakers

4.1.1 AC Circuit Breakers
A circuit breaker is a mechanical switch capable of interrupting fault currents and of
reclosing. When circuit-breaker contacts separate while carrying current an arc forms. The

breaker is designed to extinguish the arc by elongating and cooling it. The fact that ac arc current
naturally passes through zero twice during its 60-Hz cycle aids the arc extinction process.
Circuit breakers are classified as power circuit breakers when they are intended for service in
ac circuits above 1500 V, and as low-voltage circuit breakers in ac circuits up to 1500 V. There
are different types of circuit breakers depending on the mediumair, oil, SF6 gas, or vacuum
in which the arc is elongated. Also, the arc can be elongated either by a magnetic force or by a
blast of air.
Some circuit breakers are equipped with a high-speed automatic reclosing capability. Since
most faults are temporary and self-clearing, reclosing is based on the idea that if a circuit is deenergized for a short time, it is likely that whatever caused the fault has disintegrated and the
ionized arc in the fault has dissipated.
When reclosing breakers are employed in EHV systems, standard practice is to reclose only
once, approximately 15 to 50 cycles (depending on operating voltage) after the breaker
interrupts the fault. If the fault persists and the EHV breaker recloses into it, the breaker reinterrupts the fault current and then locks out, requiring operator re-setting. Multiple-shot
reclosing in EHV systems is not standard practice because transient stability may be
compromised. However, for distribution systems (2.446 kV) where customer outages are of
concern, standard re-closers are equipped for two or more re-closures.
For low-voltage applications, molded case circuit breakers with dual trip capability are
available. There is a magnetic instantaneous trip for large fault currents above a specified
threshold and a thermal trip with time delay for smaller fault currents.
Modern circuit-breaker standards are based on symmetrical interrupting current. It is
usually necessary to calculate only symmetrical fault current at a system location, and then select
a breaker with a symmetrical interrupting capability equal to or above the calculated current. The
breaker has the additional capability to interrupt the asymmetrical (or total) fault current if the dc
offset is not too large.
The maximum asymmetry factor K (=0) is

3 , which occurs at fault inception ( =0). After

fault inception, the dc fault current decays exponentially with time constant T = (L/R) = (X/R),
and the asymmetry factor decreases. Power circuit breakers with a 2-cycle rated intrrupting
capability up to 1.4 times their symmetrical interrupting capability, whereas slower circuit
breakers have a lower asymmetrical interrupting capabiltiy
A simplified method for breaker selection is called the E/X simplified method The maximum
symmetrical short-circuit current at the system location in question is calculated from the prefault voltage and system reactance characteristics, using computer programs. Resistances shunt
admittances, nonrotating impedance loads, and Pre-fault load currents are neglected. Then, if the
X/R ratio at the system location is less than 15, a breaker with a symmetrical interrupting
capability equal to or above the calculated current at the given operating voltage is satisfactory.

However, if X/R is greater than 15, the dc offset may not have decayed to a sufficiently low
value. In this case, a method for correcting the calculated fault current to account for dc and
ac time constants as well as breaker speed can be used. If X/R is unknown, the calculated fault
current should not be greater than 80% of the breaker interrupting capability.

Breakers are identified by nominal-voltage class, such as 69 kV. Among other factors specified
are rated continuous current, rated maximum voltage, voltage range factor K, and rated shortcircuit current at rated maximum kilovolts
Voltage ratings
Rated maximum voltage: Designates the maximum rms line-to-line operating voltage. Is the
highest rms voltage for which the circuit breaker is designed. The breaker should be used in
systems with an operating voltage less than or equal to this rating.
Rated low frequency withstands voltage: The maximum 60/50-Hz rms line to- line voltage that
the circuit breaker can withstand without insulation damage.
Rated impulse withstand voltage: The maximum crest voltage of a voltage pulse with standard
rise and delay times that the breaker insulation can withstand.
Rated voltage range factor K: The range of voltage for which the symmetrical interrupting
capability times the operating voltage is constant.
Current ratings
Rated continuous current: - The maximum 60-Hz rms current that the breaker can carry
continuously while it is in the closed position without overheating.
Rated short-circuit current: The maximum rms symmetrical current that the breaker can safely
interrupt at rated maximum voltage.

Rated momentary current: - The maximum rms asymmetrical current that the breaker can
withstand while in the closed position without damage.
Rated momentary current for standard breakers is 1.6 times the symmetrical interrupting
capability.
Rated interrupting time: The time in cycles on a 60-Hz basis from the instant the trip coil is
energized to the instant the fault current is cleared.
Maximum symmetrical interrupting capability:
In the application of circuit breakers it is important not to exceed the short circuit
capabilities of the breakers.
A breaker is required to have a maximum symmetrical interrupting capability equal to K x
rated short-circuit current.
Between the rated maximum voltage and 1/K times the rated maximum voltage the
symmetrical interrupting capability is defined as the product [rated short-circuit x (rated
maximum voltage/operating voltage)].
Rated interrupting short circuit MVA:
For a three-phase circuit breaker, this is 3 times the rated maximum voltage in kV times the
rated short-circuit in kA. It is more common to work with current and voltage ratings than with
MVA rating.
Table 7-10 shows schedules of the preferred ratings for outdoor circuit breakers