Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr.

Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

Three-phase short-circuit current (Isc)

calculation at any point within a LV installation
using impedance method

Calculation of Isc by the impedance method

In a 3-phase installation Isc at any point is given by:

where

V20 (line-to- line voltage) corresponds to the transformer no-load voltage which
is 3 to 5% greater than the on-load voltage across the terminals. For example, in
400 V networks, the line-to-line voltage adopted is V = 420 V and the line -to-
neutral voltage is V /√ 3 = 242.5 V.

Or
V20 = line -to- line voltage of the open circuited secondary windings of the
power supply transformer(s).
ZT = total impedance per phase of the installation upstream of the fault location
(in Ω)

Method of calculating ZT
 Each component of an installation (MV network, transformer, cable,
circuit-breaker, bus bar, and so on...) is characterized by its impedance Z,
comprising an element of resistance (R) and an inductive reactance (X).
 It may be noted that capacitive reactances are not important in short-
circuit current calculations.
 The parameters R, X and Z are expressed in ohms, and are related by the
sides of a right angled triangle, as shown in the impedance diagram of
Figure 1.

Fig.1 Impedance diagram

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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

The method consists in dividing the network into convenient sections, and to
calculate the R and X values for each.
Where sections are connected in series in the network, all the resistive elements
in the section are added arithmetically; likewise for the reactances, to give RT
and XT. The impedance (ZT) for the combined sections concerned is then
calculated from

Any two sections of the network which are connected in parallel, can, if
predominantly both resistive (or both inductive) be combined to give a single
equivalent resistance (or reactance) as follows:
Let R1 and R2 be the two resistances connected in parallel, then the equivalent
resistance R3 will be given by:

or for reactances

It should be noted that the calculation of X3 concerns only separated circuit

without mutual inductance. If the circuits in parallel are close together the value
of X3 will be higher.

Determination of the impedance of each component

1- Network upstream of the MV/LV transformer

The 3-phase short-circuit fault level PSC, in kA or in MVA(i) is given by the

power supply authority concerned, from which an equivalent impedance can be
deduced.

A formula which makes this deduction and at the same time converts the
impedance to an equivalent value at LV is given, as follows:

where

Zs = impedance of the MV voltage network, expressed in milli-ohms

Vo = line-to-line no-load LV voltage, expressed in volts
Psc = MV 3-phase short-circuit fault level, expressed in kVA

 The upstream medium voltage (MV) side resistance Ra is generally found

to be negligible compared with the corresponding Xa, the latter then
being taken as the ohmic value for Za. If more accurate calculations are

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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

necessary, Xa may be taken to be equal to 0.995 Za and Ra equal to 0.1

Xa.
 Table-1 gives values for Ra and Xa corresponding to the most common
MV(ii) short-circuit levels in utility power-supply networks, namely, 250
MVA and 500 MVA.

(i) Short-circuit MVA: EL Isc

where:

 EL = line -to- line nominal system voltage expressed in kV (r.m.s.)

 Isc = 3-phase short-circuit current expressed in kA (r.m.s.)

(ii) up to 36 kV

Table-1The impedance of the MV network referred to the LV side of the

MV/LV transformer.

Psc Vo (V) Ra (mΩ) Xa (mΩ)

250 MVA 420 0.07 0.7
500 MVA 420 0.035 0.351

2- The Transformer (see Table-2)

The impedance Ztr of a transformer, viewed from the LV terminals, is given by

the formula: where:

V20 = open-circuit secondary line-to- line voltage expressed in volts.

Pn = rating of the transformer (in kVA).
Vsc = the short-circuit impedance voltage of the transformer expressed in %.
The transformer windings resistance Rtr can be derived from the total losses as
follows:

in milli-ohms

where
Pcu = total losses in watts
In = nominal full-load current in amps
Rtr = resistance of one phase of the transformer in milli-ohms (the LV and
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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

corresponding MV

winding for one LV phase are included in this resistance value).

For an approximate calculation Rtr may be ignored since X ≈ Z in standard

distribution type transformers.

Table -2 : Resistance, reactance and impedance values for typical distribution

400 V transformers with MV windings ≤20 kV

Rated Oil-immersed Cast-resin

Power Usc Rtr Xtr Ztr Usc (%) Rtr Xtr Ztr
(kVA) (%) (mΩ) (mΩ) (mΩ) (mΩ) (mΩ) (mΩ)
100 4 37.9 59.5 70.6 6 37.0 99.1 105.8
160 4 16.2 41.0 44.1 6 18.6 63.5 66.2
200 4 11.9 33.2 35.3 6 14.1 51.0 52.9
250 4 9.2 26.7 28.2 6 10.7 41.0 42.3
315 4 6.2 21.5 22.4 6 8.0 32.6 33.6
400 4 5.1 16.9 17.6 6 6.1 25.8 26.5
500 4 3.8 13.6 14.1 6 4.6 20.7 21.2
630 4 2.9 10.8 11.2 6 3.5 16.4 16.8
800 6 2.9 12.9 13.2 6 2.6 13.0 13.2
1,000 6 2.3 10.3 10.6 6 1.9 10.4 10.6
1,250 6 1.8 8.3 8.5 6 1.5 8.3 8.5
1,600 6 1.4 6.5 6.6 6 1.1 6.5 6.6
2,000 6 1.1 5.2 5.3 6 0.9 5.2 5.3

3 - Circuit-breakers

In LV circuits, the impedance of circuit-breakers upstream of the fault location

must be taken into account. The reactance value conventionally assumed is 0.15
mΩ per CB, while the resistance is neglected.

4 - Busbars

The resistance of bus bars is generally negligible, so that the impedance is

practically all reactive, and amounts to approximately 0.15 mΩ / meter length
for LV bus bars (doubling the spacing between the bars increases the reactance
by about 10% only).

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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

5 - Circuit conductors

The resistance of a conductor is given by the formula:

where

ρ = the resistivity constant of the conductor material at the normal operating

temperature being:
- 22.5 mΩ.mm2/m for copper
- 36 mΩ.mm2/m for aluminum
L = length of the conductor in m
S = c.s.a. of conductor in mm2

Table - 3: Values of ρ as a function of the temperature, cable insulation and

cable core material, according to IEC60909-0 and Cenelec TR 50480.

20 °C EPR/XLPE 90 °C PVC 70 °C
Copper 18.51 23.6928 22.212
Alu 29.41 37.6448 35.292

L = length of the conductor in m

S = c.s.a. of conductor in mm2

Cable reactance values can be obtained from the manufacturers. For c.s.a. of
less than 50 mm2 reactance may be ignored. In the absence of other information,
a value of 0.08 mΩ / meter may be used (for 50 Hz systems) or 0.096 mΩ/meter
(for 60 Hz systems). For prefabricated bus-trunking and similar pre-wired
ducting systems, the manufacturer should be consulted.

6 - Motors

At the instant of short-circuit, a running motor will act (for a brief period) as a
generator, and feed current into the fault.
In general, this fault-current contribution may be ignored. However, if the total
power of motors running simultaneously is higher than 25% of the total
power of transformers, the influence of motors must be taken into account.
Their total contribution can be estimated from the formula:
Iscm = 3.5 In from each motor i.e. 3.5(m In) for m similar motors operating
concurrently.
The motors concerned will be the 3-phase motors only; single-phase-motor
contribution being insignificant.

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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

7 - Fault-arc resistance

Short-circuit faults generally form an arc which has the properties of a

resistance. The resistance is not stable and its average value is low, but at low
voltage this resistance is sufficient to reduce the fault-current to some extent.
Experience has shown that a reduction of the order of 20% may be expected.
This phenomenon will effectively ease the current-breaking duty of a CB, but
affords no relief for its fault-current making duty.

Example 1: For the installation

Network shown in Fig.2 make

short circuit calculation from

MV take-off point to the final

distribution board. Assume all

cables are XLPE type.

Solution:

The short circuit current

Is given by

1-To calculate the short circuit

current at LV B/B -1,The total

Impedance ZT from point A to

point B must be found .

 Network upstream of
the MV/LV transformer Fig.2
From Table – 1 ,for
short-circuit level of 500MVA.

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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

Ra = 0.035 (mΩ) , Xa = 0.351 (mΩ)

 The Transformer : from table -2 , for 1000kVA rating ,

Rtr = 2.24 (mΩ) , Xtr = 8.10 (mΩ)

 For the single-core cables 5 m copper 4 x 240 mm2/phase :

From Table -3: Let the cable type XLPE , ρ = 23.7 approx.,hence,

L = 5 m and S = 4x240 mm2, therefore ,

(mΩ)

Xc = 0.08 x 5 = 0.40 (mΩ) [ Cable reactance values can be

obtained from the manufacturers. For c.s.a. of less than 50 mm2 reactance
may be ignored. In the absence of other information, a value of 0.08 mΩ /
metre may be used (for 50 Hz systems)]

 For the main circuit breaker: R and X are Not considered in practice.

Now from point A to point B ,

RT1 = Ra + Rtr + Rc = 0.035 + 2.24 + 0.12 = 2.4 (mΩ)

XT1= Xa+ Xtr + Xc = 0.351 + 8.10 + 0.4 = 8.85(mΩ)

2 – Short circuit calculation at point C: Bus bar B/B1,10 m , Not considered in

practice .

For the three-core XLPE cable 100 m , 95 mm2 copper

(mΩ) , Xc2 = 100 x 0.08 = 8 (mΩ)

Hence RT2 = RT1 + Rc2 = 25 + 2.4 = 27.4 (mΩ)

XT2 = XT1 + Xc2 = 8.85 + 8 = 16.85 (mΩ)

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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

3- Short circuit calculation at point D: Bus bar B/B2 , Not considered in practice
.Only the impedance of the three-core cable ,20 m , 10 mm2 copper,

(mΩ)

Xc3 = 20 x 0.08 = 1.6 (mΩ)

Hence RT3 = RT2 + Rc3 = 27.4 + 47.4 = 74.8 (mΩ)

XT3 = XT2 + Xc3 = 16.85 + 1.6 = 18.45 (mΩ)

Summary

Fig.3 gives design table of impedances for different parts of a power-supply

system

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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

Fig. 3: Recapitulation table of impedances for different parts of a power-supply

system

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Electrical Installation Lecture No.19 Dr. Mohammed Tawfeeq Alzuhairi

Symbols for table given in Fig.3:

V20: Phase-to-phase no-load secondary voltage of MV/LV transformer (in

volts).
Psc: 3-phase short-circuit power at MV terminals of the MV/LV transformers
(in kVA).
Pcu: 3-phase total losses of the MV/LV transformer (in watts).
Pn: Rating of the MV/LV transformer (in kVA).
Vsc: Short-circuit impedance voltage of the MV/LV transfomer (in %).
RT : Total resistance. XT: Total reactance
(1) ρ = resistivity at normal temperature of conductors in service

 ρ = 22.5 mΩ x mm2/m for copper

 ρ = 36 mΩ x mm2/m for aluminium

(2) If there are several conductors in parallel per phase, then divide the
resistance of one conductor by the number of conductors. The reactance remains
practically unchanged.

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