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jim phillips

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It has been said that we only use 10 percent of our brain. Here is some information to
Short Circuit help you fill the other 90 percent. Brainfiller.comtm

The X/R Ratio

Jim Phillips, P.E.
Background incorrect short circuit calculation leads to a mis-application of
Short circuit calculations are actually just an elaborate overcurrent protection. The diagrams below illustrates a
version of Ohm’s Law. One of the key components in the comparison of adding impedances including magnitude and
calculation process is to determine the total impedance of angle vs. adding the magnitudes only. The diagram on the
the circuit from the utility/source, through the transmission right compares the total impedance using angles and the
system, transformers, conductors, down to the point in total impedance of just adding the magnitudes of a conductor
question such as a panel or switchboard location. The and source.
impedances of the various circuit elements, have both
resistance and reactance and is often referred to as the
“complex impedance” or “polar notation”. A complex
impedance value can be represented graphically by plotting to
r
du
the resistance along the horizontal axis and the reactance Co
n
Z
along the vertical axis as illustrated below. The total
magnitude of the impedance is the hypotenuse of the
l
ta
To

resulting triangle. The X/R ratio is the amount of reactance X

Z

Z Source
divided by the amount of resistance R which also happens to
be the Tangent of an angle created by reactance and
resistance in a circuit. Magnitude and Angle
ce

Tan-1 X/R = Θ
n

or
eda
X - Reactance

ut
nd

Sin Θ * Z = X
Co
Im p

Cos Θ * Z = R
Z-

ce

l
ur

ta

Z = SqrtΘ(R2 + X2)
To
So

Z
Z

R - Resistance Magnitude Only

When calculating short circuit currents, there are usually
many impedances that must be added together. Last month
we determined how to calculate the equivalent source
impedance and add it to a transformer’s impedance. I kept it
simple by adding only the magnitudes. i.e. we added 5.75%
of the transformer and 0.97% of the source and ignored the
angles and individual X and R components. However, each
of these impedances has a specific amount of reactance and
resistance and an X/R ratio (even when calculated as a
percent value).
The problem with adding only the magnitudes of impedances
is the total impedance will be artificially high leading to a
lower (and incorrect) calculated short circuit current. This
has the potential of creating a dangerous condition if an
Source of X/R Data
Let’s take the following example where we want to add the
source impedance of 0.97% and an X/R ratio of 15 to the
transformer impedance of 5.75% and an X/R ratio of 7.
Before we begin, where did these X/R ratios come from?
Quite often the X/R ratios are difficult to obtain.
The transformer X/R ratio is usually not available unless you
have good test data obtained when the transformer was
originally built and tested. In the absence of actual test data,
a good source of “reasonable” X/R data is from IEEE Std.
242 – IEEE Recommended Practice for Protection and
Coordination of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems.
This book contains a table of suggested X/R ratios based on
transformer kVA size and voltage. The values are based on

For more information about T2G Technical Training Group’s Copyright © 2005 T2G Technical Training Group
programs, contact us at 800-874-8883 or www.t2ginc.com You can contact Jim Phillips, P.E. at: jim@jimphillipspe.com
 T2G
jim phillips
technical training group
It has been said that we only use 10 percent of our brain. Here is some information to
Short Circuit help you fill the other 90 percent.
The X/R Ratio
Jim Phillips, P.E.
ANSI C57 which is the predominant standard for
transformers. According to IEEE Std. 242, a 1500 kVA
transformer with a secondary voltage < 600 Volts and a
primary voltage of up to 15,000 Volts, the suggested X/R
ratio is 7.0. This means that there is 7 times more reactance
than resistance in the transformer impedance.
The source X/R ratio can be even more elusive. Many utility
companies can provide short circuit currents, impedances
and X/R ratios and this makes the calculation effort easier.
However, many utilities might only provide the short circuit
current. Last month our problem stated the source short
circuit current (from the utility) was 6,740 Amps at 13.2 kV
and no X/R ratio was provided. How should we handle the
source X/R ratio when it is not provided? A very common
assumption is to use an X/R ratio of between 12 and 15.
-1
The inverse tangent (Tan ) of 15 is 86.1859 degrees which
is almost 90 degrees. This is generally considered a
conservative assumption since adding an impedance with a
steep angle to an impedance with a shallow angle will yield
an overall impedance with a smaller magnitude.
Example Calculation
In another article we calculated a short circuit current of
26,845 Amps. This month we will revisit that example and
include the X/R and angles. The new short circuit current
Θ In most cases, however, there is usually a greater difference
results will be slightly higher. The main formulas for this
example are:
Θ = Arctan X/R
X = Sin θ * Z
R = Cos θ * Z or X / (X/R)
Source R and X
%Z = 0.97 and X/R = 15
Arctan 15.00 = 86.1859°
X = Sin 86.1859 * 0.97% = 0.9978 * 0.97% = 0.9679%
R = Cos 86.1859 * 0.97% = 0.0665 * 0.97% = 0.0645%
Transformer R and X
%Z = 5.75 and X/R = 7
Arctan 7.00 = 81.8699°
X = Sin 81.8699* 5.75 % = 0.9899 * 5.75 % = 5.6919%
R = Cos 81.8699* 5.75 % = 0.1414 * 5.75 % = 0.8131%
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Total Resistance R of the Source and Transformer
Rtotal = 0.0645% + 0.8131%
Rtotal = 0.8776%
Total Reactance X of the Source and Transformer
Xtotal = 0.9679% + 5.6919%
Xtotal = 6.6598%
Total Impedance Z of the Source and Transformer
2 2
Ztotal = Sqrt ( Rtotal + Ztotal )
2 2
Ztotal = Sqrt ( 0.8776% + 6.6598% )
Ztotal = 6.7174%
In another article we only added the magnitudes of the
impedances and the result was:
6.72% = 0.97% + 5.75%
Breaking the impedance into R and X components, the
correct impedance is 6.7174%. This is so close the original
6.72% from last month, you might think this isn’t really worth
the extra effort. For the case where the X/R ratios give
angles that are close, there is little difference between the
two methods such as our case where we have an X/R of 15
which is 86.1859° and 7 which is 81.8699°.
in angles such as when factoring in smaller transformers and
low voltage conductor. It is quite often the case that adding
an impedance of a high X/R and angle with an impedance of
a low X/R and angle can introduce serious error and lead to
artificially low calculated short circuit values. This is a
potentially dangerous situation so factor in the X/R ratio!
The X/R ratio is also used to determine how much
asymmetry there is in a short circuit waveform which is
important in conducting short circuit tests.
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Copyright © 2005 T2G Technical Training Group
You can contact Jim Phillips, P.E. at: jim@jimphillipspe.com