CALCULATION OF SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENTS FOR SIZING ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

T. F. Laskowski L. N. Hannett T. E. Kostyniak C. G. Pounds

Senior Member Senior Member Senior Member Member
Power Technologies, Inc. The Dow Chemical Company
1482 Erie Boulevard Texas Operations
Schenectady, dew York 12305 Freeport, Texas 77541

Kevwordq - Short circuit, calculation of short For both induction and synchronous motors, the current
circuit currents, ANSI/IEEE C37.010-1979, dynamic is going into the motor resulting in a Thevenin voltage
simulation, breaker duty. which is smaller in magnitude. Short circuit currents
calculated near generators by the standards can be
Abstract - Selection of electrical equipment is lower than actual currents and those near motors can
influenced by the expected mangitudes of the short be larger than the actual currents.
circuit currents to which they will be exposed. The The standards were developed when computational
widely-used application guides ANSI/IEEE C37.010-1979 tools were quite limited. Today computer technology
and C37.5-1979 for ac high voltage circuit breakers as has provided machines with practically unlimited memory
well as the IEC standard used in Europe recommend address space and very fast computation speeds which
procedures for determining circuit breaker duty. These can be used in an office environment. Taking advantage
procedures utilize approximate calculations of fault of the present computer technology, a new procedure has
currents. been developed to calculate short circuit currents,
This paper presents a new method of more This procedure includes modeling the ac decrement based
accurately approximating fault currents. Calculation on the rotor circuit of each source and the dc
of short circuit currents by the new method and by the decrement based on the approximate X/R ratio at the
ANSI method are compared for an industrial system. fault location. This calculation gives an excellent
approximation to the short circuit current without
resorting to a complete three phase dynamic simulation.
Results from this method are compared with those
INTRODUCTION obtained from the standard and from a dynamic
simulation run using an electromagnetics transient
The principal function of a circuit breaker i s to program.
carry load current while being able to interrupt short
circuit currents without being damaged. The magnitude
of the short circuit current depends on what sources Calculation of AC Decrements
are on-line in the system, which transmission lines are
in service, and the fault location. Most studies are The alternating current component results from
concerned with the largest possible short circuit decaying machine internal flux linkages behind constant
currents to determine the duty required of the subtransient impedances. The derivation of how the
breakers. For an industrial plant which includes many alternating current can be approximated with acceptable
motors, the proper selection of breakers is important accuracy for several cycles after fault application is
since overrated breakers will have an economic impact shown in Appendix A. The decaying generator fluxes are
on the design of the plant, while underrated breakers modeled for machines by the, following equations:
will result in failures with loss in terms of
replacement of breakers and interrupted plant
production.
For most cases, the most severe fault is
recognized to be a three phase fault which consists of +(&-&)e -t/T"dz]
an ac component and a unidirectional dc component. The
ANSI/IEEE method requires two sets of calculations to
determine the duty within a half cycle o f fault
initiation (close and latch duty), and at the time of
the interruption (contact parting). To account for the
ac decrement, multiplying factors are used for the
Thevenin source impedance of each source in the system.
For the dc decrement calculations of fault current, the
X/R ratio is calculated by solving the R network
independently from the X network. All calculations
are based on the network operating before the fault at
flat conditions, i.e. no load current flowing through
the sources. For the close and latch duty, the short
circuit current obtained from the E/X calculation is
normally multiplied by 1.6 to obtain the total RMS of +(&-&)e -t/T"q2]
the current. For interrupting duty a multiplying
factor is obtained from tables for various breakers
using the X/R ratios. Guidance in using these tables
i s provided by articles which have been written after
the publication of the standards. [2l
It may be observed that the treatment of sources
in these standards is not realistic. Usually the
sources are carrying load. A Thevenin equivalent model e
of a source would consist of a voltage which does not &qmLe
change at fault initiation and which is located behind where
some impedance. For a generator carrying lagging power
factor load, this voltage will be larger in magnitude
than In the case of no load which the standards assume.
For generators absorbing vars, this voltage i s smaller.
88CH2565-0/88/0000-1460$01.000 1988 IEEE
 ~
TI
T;z = Lq+Le qo
L"+L TI1
T& = L;I+Le qo
and Le i s the external system impedance.
The constants Ld, L a d , L1Id, Lq, LSq, L1Iq, TIdo,
T1ldO, Tilq0, TIqo (rated saturated values) are known
for all machines and are inputs to the program. Proper
selection of these parameters will also allow the user
to model induction motors. In this procedure $"do and
$", as well as ida and iqo are calculated based on the
initial pre-fault-conditions in the network. The user
gives the program steady state load flow data for his
network configuration. Immediately upon fault
selection, the network i s solved and a single computer
loop calculates Le as seen at each machine by taking
the imaginary component of the voltage divided by the
current at the terminals of each machine. The user
then enters the fault duty time in which he is
interested, (for example, one-half cycle (close and
latch), three cycles (5 cycle breaker contact parting)
or thirty cycles (for overcurrent relay studies), new
fluxes are calculated, and the network re-solved.
Calculation of DC Decrements
The dc component in each phase arises from the
fact that the armature flux linkages cannot change
instantly; hence the armature current in each phase
must start from its initial value. The first major
part of the calculation i s to determine the value of
the initial dc current in each line. Assuming that the
worst case condition is of interest, the program sets
the value of dc offset current in each branch
connected to the faulted bus equal to the magnitude of
the difference between the ac current flowing before
the fault and instantaneous ac current after the fault
(see Appendix B). This results in higher currents on
branches where current was initially flowing away from
the bus.
The program automatically calculates the Thevenln
impedance looking out from each branch and reduces
exponentially the dc current flowing in each branch
based on its X/R ratio. The program also reduces the
total dc fault current based on the X/R ratio of the
system looking out from the fault. The program then
calculates the total initial and decremented dc fault
current by summation of the branch dc fault currents
connected to the faulted bus.
Alternatively, the program sets the total dc
offset current to the total instantaneous ac current.
This value i s correct since there i s no initial current
flowing to ground. Because of the desire to set worst
case conditions based on loading conditions the
individual dc offset currents will not always sum to
the total dc fault current. The method of calculating
total dc by summation of individual branches will give
a slightly higher value o f dc fault current when the
X/R ratios of the branch vary widely.
Calculation of Faults on a Samole Svstenl
Calculations of fault currents for a typical
industrial system using ANSI method and a dynamic
simulation are presented in Reference t31. The dynamic
simulation was performed using a computer pro ram
similar to EMTP which i s presented I n Reference f41.
1461
The electrical system is shown in Figure 1 and data for
the machines are listed in Tables 1, 2, and 3.
Short circuit currents at the fault were
calculated by using the proposed method with a
modification that the subtransient flux for
electrically remote units was not changed. These units
were identified by a time equal to O+ fault
calculation. If the unitls O+ current i s greater than
the rated current then the fluxes were changed using
equations 1 and 2; otherwise the flux remained
constant.
The results from the proposed method are presented
in Tables 4, 5, and 6 for faults at one-half cycle,
three cycles and thirty cycles, respectively. The
results of the ANSI calculation and the dynamic
simulation are also presented in those tables for
comparison.
The fault current results at time equal to one-
half cycle from the three methods of calculation are
presented in Table 4. The values of the dc and ac
components can only be estimated from the dynamic
simulation results since the dc component i s changing
rapidly. The peak value of current at one-half cycle
can be easily obtained and this quantity was used to
compare the results of the three methods. The ANSI
results compared with the dynamic simulation are on an
average 10% greater than those obtained from the
dynamic simulation. Most of the results from the
proposed method are within 2% except for one case which
was within 6% of the corresponding result from the
dynaml c simulation.
The results for the fault at three cycles are
listed in Table 5. The total rms calculated from the
ANSI and proposed calculations are compared with those
from the dynamic simulation in this table. The ANSI
results are generally 10% larger than the simulation
results for the buses whose voltages are 2.4 kV and
above. Fault currents at three of the buses are less
than 10% and at five buses they are above 20%. For the
lower voltages the percent error improves since the
machines are more remote and fault currents are
primarily dependent on the impedances of the step down
transformers. The rms values of the fault currents
obtained from the proposed methods are generally within
5% of those obtained from the dynamic simulation with a
few exceptions of which the largest i s 6.2%. The
results from Table 5 reveal that there i s a difference
in fault current rms values calculated by the ANSI
method and the proposed method. This is due to
properly attributing the flux decay within machines.
At thirty cycles the fault currents obtained trom
the three methods differ greatly at buses where
voltages are 2.4 kV and above. Neither the ANSI method
nor the proposed method include inertia dynamics. The
plots of fault currents [31 reveal that the synchronous
machine falls out of step and the short circuit
currents are modulated by a component oscillating at
slip frequency of the machine. Note that in the dynamic
simulations, excitation system and governor effects
were ignored to get results to be comparable between
methods. Representing these effects would most likely
result in the machine not falling out-of-step. The two
methods produce better results at low voltage buses,
i.e. Buses 14-22.
CONCLUSIO NS
1. A method to calculate short circuit currents with
more accurate treatment to account for ac and dc
decrement i s proposed.
2. Fault currents were calculated for a sample system
using the ANSI method, the proposed method, and
running a dynamic simulation.
2a) The ANSI method was found to be more
conservative compared to the dynamic
simulation with 10% difference for close and
latch duty and about 20% difference for
 GENrl UJ29MVA

INTERRUPTING CAPABILITY (MAX. SYM RMS)

CLOSE & LATCH C A P A B W
1.6 TIMES INT. CA?.)

Q 13.8 KV 750 MVAm 36KAm Y K A O J C Y C L E NC

n

0.0491 + 0.0409 +
j 0.0231 Q j 0.0391
Q

4-POLE 6-FQLE

CPOLE IO-POLE

N m CABLE IMPEDEANCESARE IN OHMS

TRANSFORMER IMPEDENCES ARE IN PER CENT
ALL 13.8.4.16.1: 2.4 KV BREAKERS
ARE 5 CYCLE BREAKERS (3 CYCLE " T A C T
PARTING TIME)

c
LlGHls LIGHYS

Figure 1, System one line diagram

interrupt duty for buses whose voltage i s

above 2.4 kV. A 10% difference for interrupt
duty was found for lower voltage buses.
2b) The proposed method was mostly within 5% of
the simulated results.
2c) For longer duration faults, i.e. 30 cycles,
the three methods vary greatly since inertial
effects are not included in the ANSI and (A.5)
proposed methods. To obtain an accurate
short circuit current for this time frame
would require running dynamic simulations. (A.6)

APPENDIX A
The machine i s represented in the system by the
subtransient voltage behind the subtransient reactance.
Derivation of the Machine's Subtransient Flux as With the fault we can represent the circuit as
Function of Time Durinq A Three Phase Short Circuit
4: (t = ( L:+Le) id (t (A.7)
Assume a three phase fault applied some distance from a
synchronous machine. The external inductance is L
Then the short circuit current for the direct axis ise
. Substituting equation (1) for id(t) in equation (7).
yields

ld(t) = - EI EI e-t/Tdz
- Ld+L,
+

Ld +Le LA+Le

+ % -k e-t/Tl;z (A.1)
L;+Le LA+Le
1462
From equations (2) and ( 3 ) Substituting equations B.l and 8.2 for ibefore and
(A.9) iafter in equation 8.4 gives

idc = I1 COS (wT + 61) - 12 COS (WT + 62) (8.5)

Expanding the trigonometric terms and collecting like
(A.10) terms of WT give
Substitute equations (9) and (10) into equation (8) and idc = (I1 COS 61 - I2 COS 62) COS WT
collect like terms o f $Itdo and ido
-(I1 sin 61 - '2 sin 62) sin WT
$l;(t) do (Llg+L
Ed e$81 +' [ Ld+Le ( +-A)
Ld+Le
(8.6)
e-t/Tiz The expression 8.6 can be rewritten in the forms o f D
cos (wT + D) with
D Ii2 +: 1 - 211 12 COS (61 - 62) (8.7)

and

The value for D I s the largest dc offset that

achieved in a branch.
References
APPENDIX B 1. "Applicatlon Gulde for AC High-Voltage Circuii
Derivation of DC Comoonent from Phasing Breakers Rated on a Symmetrical Current Basis,
American National Standard C37.010-1972, (New
Before the fault, the current I s York, NY: The Institute o f Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc. 1979).
'before = I1 cos (wt + 61) (B*l) 2. W.C. Huening, "Integratlon of New American
The fundamental component of the current during the National Standard for Power Circult Breaker
fault is Application," JEEE Transactions on Industrv and
General Amlicatlons, Vol. IGA-5 No. 5, Sept./Oct.
1969.
'after = 12 COS (& + 62)
-
(8.2)
At the instant the fault occurs in the system, the 3. ?.R. Dunki-Jacobs, B.P. Lam, and R.P. Stratford,
instantaneous value of current does not change due to A Comparison of ANSI Based and Dynamically
the inductances in the system, and a dc component is Rigorous Short-circuit Current Calculation
introduced such that Procedure," IEEE-IAS Paper iPCIC-87-3.
4. J.M. Undrill, L.N. Hannett, B.K. Johnson, L.M.
ibefore lafter + idc Q any value of T (8.3)
= Leuzinger. and M. Pereina, "Studies of
when the fault is applied. By subtracting iafter, we Subsynchronous Oscillation in- Itaipu" Series
have a term for the dc component Compensated Transmission Alternatives, Paper
Presented at Fourth National Conference on
Production and Transmission o f Electrical Energy
idc = ibefore - iafter (8.4) at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sept. 18-24, 1977.

1463
 Table 1. Synchronous Machine Data on Machine Base

Synchronous Generator Data Synchronous Motor Data

kVA 23529 9357 hp 6000 3000 2000 2000 500 150

kV 13.8 4.16 kV 13.20 4.00 4.00 2.30 2.30 0.460
POLES 2 2 POLES 6 6 4 6 10 12
PF 0.850 0.800 PF 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 1.oo 0.80
RI 0.003 0.007 kVA 5800 2890 1940 1949 392 154
R2 @25C (I-n) 0.003 0.003 A 253.7 417.0 280.0 489.0 98.4 193.0
Xd 1.484 1.335 Ra 0.0065 0.008 1 0.0106 0.0102 0.0171 0.0179
X'd 0.154 0.137 Xd 2.8060 1S690 1.9260 3.0270 1.3200 1.4970
Tdo 5.115 3.569 X'd 0.3760 0.3630 0.2820 0.3850 0.3470 0.3170
X"d 0.102 0.096 T'do 4.2640 3.1460 2.9260 3.9860 1.1970 1.2300
T"do 0.023 0.021 X"d 0.2300 0.2330 0.1760 0.2010 0.1970 0.1960
xq 1.399 1.259 rdo 0.5722 0.0195 0.0135 0.0159 0.0220 0.2604
X'q 0.396 0.485 xq 1.4290 1.0010 1.1400 1.8460 0.8740 0.9490
X"q 0.099 0.090 X'q 1.4290 1.0010 1.1400 1.8460 0.8740 0.9499
XI 0.114 0.107 x"q 0.2060 0.2930 0.2370 0.2400 0.2210 0.2170
x2 0.097 0.088 XI 0.1540 0.1 160 0.0970 0. IO50 0.1080 0.1130
Conn. WYE WYE Td 0.5710 0.7280 0.4290 0.5070 0.3150 0.2600
Td3 0.532 0.362 T"d 0.3500 0.0125 0.0084 0.0083 0.0125 0.1610
T"d 0.015 0.015 r q 0.0210 0.0140 0.0106 0.0094 0.01 50 0.0085
T"q 0.015 0.015 T23 0.0890 0.0860 0.051 1 0.0568 0.0325 0.0310
Ta3 0.194 0.106 In (A) 140.0 60.0 40.0 33.5 23.5 13.4
SCR 0.730 0.830 Ffl 454.0 139.0 96.5 106.0 35.5 26.6
Rf (DC Ohms) 1.010 1.469 Rf ( 1 0 5 0 0.1680 0.6860 0.9840 0.9200 2.6200 4.2300
If 200 136

BUS # 2 11.12 BUS# 4 12 11 8 9 15

Table 2.. Induction Motor Data for ANSI Calculations

Bus I HP I Poles I kV 1 kVA X/R*

3 5000 13.2 4275 .166 26.32 0.0135 0.3553

12 2000 4.0 1767 .I85 15.66 0.0618 0.9680
11 1000 4.0 877.8 .I72 10.63 0.1693 1.7996
8 1000 2.3 877.8 .I72 10.63 0.1693 1.7996
8 1000 2.3 834.6 .178 20.00 0.0979 1.9587
9 300 2.3 277.7 .155 8.35 0.6141 5.1261
15 100 .46 92.4 .170 8.00 2.1121 16.8970
17 75 .46 70.8 .I57 7.00 2.9094 20.3657
17 40 .48 41.4 .I66 5.00 7.3650 36.8245
16 <50 .48 1000 .I67 6.00 0.2783 1.6700
19 <25 .48 200 .167 4.00 2.0875 8.3500
20 <10 .208 150 .167 3.00 3.5207 10.5620

*X xs
- radians; values for motors 100 hp or smaller are assumed

Table 3. Induction Motor Data for Dynamic Calculations

1
I
HP Poles kV kVA A RI* R, XI X, X,*
--
io00 4 13.2 4275. 187. .0059 .0042 .I35 .075 .166 4.161 .0690
!OOO 6 4.0 1767. 256. .0106 .0112 .140 .lo9 .185 3.820 .1148
IO00 6 4.0 877.8 127. .0159 .0125 .140 .082 .I72 3.860 .0175
1000 6 2.3 877.8 220. .0159 .0125 .I40 .082 .I72 3.860 .0175
1000 2 2.3 834.6 214. .0085 .0078 .141 .087 .178 6.204 .0469
9 300 4 2.3 277.7 69.7 .0185 .0103 .082 .134 .155 2.919 .0036
100 4 .46 92.4 116. .0267 .0126 .099 .175 .I70 3.738 .oooo
17 75 4 .46 70.8 88.9 .0246 .0114 .I05 .205 .I57 3.734 .oooo
17 40 4 .46 41.4 52.0 .0279 .0156 .099 .179 .166 2.396 .oooo
I I I I I

*For calculation of various time constants and X/R ratio per NEMA
standard MGI-1.58 (1980)
1464
 Table 4. Fault Currents a t One-Half Cycle

Proposed
Short

ANSI ieparate R+X) ANSI

- NSI ODOSe
Asym
raulted Bus Mult- Peak
Bus kV Fact Ka Ka *loo%
1 j8 1.310 13.68 14.4 6.08
2 13.8 1.632 77.189 13.5 .66
3 13.8 1.341 56.466
~
11.12 -2.3
4 13.8 1.382 59.49 11.17 -1.15
5 13.8 1.259 56.62 10.03 -.43
6 13.8 1.259 56.62 10.03 -.43
7 13.8 1.467 66.25 12.21 -.17
8 2.4 1.479 84.04 11.15 1.98
9 2.4 1.139 43.671 11.32 .408
10 4.16 1.598 1125.92 8.33 .07
11 4.16 1.622 35.211 57.120 94.76 8.61 .53
12 4.16 1.624 35.763 58.08 96.34 10.29 .48
13 4.16 1.144 25.07 28.67 49.38 .63 -2.43
14 .48 14.086 2.23
15 .48 25.104 50.57 51.42 1.68
16 .48 22.624 47.23 47.71 1.02
17 .48 15.825 26.40 26.68 1.06
18 .48 17.434 30.99 31.74 2.42
19 .48 3.551 8.366 8.490 1.48
20 .201 11.103 22.83 22.75 -.35
.201 3.75 8.09 8.075 -.19
21
22
- .20r 4.198 6.19 6.20 I I .16 I

Table 5. Fault Currents a t Three Cycles

I
1 I
Proposed Short C i r c u i t
ANSI (Separate R+X) Dynamic Simulation Calculation Comparison o f RMS Currents
I
raulted
Bus
Bus
kV Fact Ka-RMS
AC+DC
Ka-RMS 1 DC
Ka
AC
Ka-RMS
DC+AC
Ka-RMS Ka
DC+AC
Ka-RCIS *loo%

I DC

1 I
1 138 6.393 .594 5.673 5.969 5.99 12.08 5.01
2 13.8 1.0% 27.234 30.07 18.28 19.76 26.85 16.72 20.28 26.3 11.99 -2.05
3
4
13.8
13.8
1.00
1.00
23.39
24.01
23.39
24.01
2.72
3.57
17.60
17.96
17.81 1.54
18.31
5.704 2.10
536
17.63
18.05
17.69 31.33 - .67
18.17 31.33 -.76
5
6
7
8
9
13.8
13.8
13.8
2.4
2.4
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
24.87
24.87
25.49
30.413
20.417
24.87
24.87
25.49
30.413
20.417
1.83 I
1.83
7.28
9.63
1 18.43
18.43
18.79
25.19
18.52 1.33
18.52 1.33
20.16 4.87
26.97 8.99
17.56 25
18.50
18.50
19.06
25.73
17.09
18.56
18.56
19.68
27.26
17.09
34.29
34.29
26.44
12.77
.22
.22
-2.38
1.08
16.27 -2.68
10
11
12
13
14
4.16
4.16
4.16
4.16
.48
1.026
1.07
1.07
1.00 I
I 45.42
33.04
33.886
23.89
12.795
46.58
35.37
36.25
23.89
12.795 :% I
23.65
18.G
15.747
43.92 25.57
33.26 24.03
35.26 24.99
18.95 269
15.753 .379
33.93
23.48
23.43
17.78
16.21
42.48
33.60
34.26
17.78
6.06
6.34
2.81
26.07
-3.28
1.02
-2.84
-6.17
16.22 -18.78 2.96
15 .48 21.52 21.52 2.027 18.813 18.922 1.8% 19.94 20.03 13.73 5.86
16 .48 18.288 18.288 2.199 17.884 18.019 2.027 18.76 18.87 1.49 4.72
17 .48 12.804 12.804 .658 11.342 11.361 .605 11.775 11.79 12.70 3.78
18 .48 15.649 15.649 .087 14.211 14.211 .035 14.646 14.646 10.12 3.06
19 .48 2.676 2.676
.. .651 3.019 3.089 -622 3.163 3.223 -13.37

1
1.9
20 208 9.448 9.448 .512 10.353 10.366 .457 10.488 10.498 -8.86 1.27
21 208 3.270 3.270
22 .
208 3.984 3.984
279
.003 I 3.353
4.076
3.354 242
4.0761 0
3.317
4.320
3.326
4.32
-2.50
-2.26
-.83
5.99

1465
 Table 6. Fault Currents at 30 Cycles

Proposed
ANSI Dynamic Short Circuit
Separate R+X) Simulation Calculation Comparison 0' ?MS Currents
ANSI -1 PrODOSed -1
Fau 1 ted Bus Simulation Si mu 1 at ion
Bus kV Ka-RMS Ka-RMS *loo% *loo%

1 .38 6.203 4.654 5.772 33.3 24.0

2 13.8 20.671 11 .lll 15.43 86.04 38.87
3 13.8 18.231 8.744 13.386 108.5 53.09
4 13.8 18.631 7.238 13.721 157.4 89.57
5 13.8 19.286 7.742 14.052 149.1 81.50
6 13.8 19.286 7.742 14.052 149.1 81.50
7 13.8 19.626 7.579 14.449 158.95 90.65
8 2.4 23.831 23.946 21.687 -.48 -9.43
9 2.4 16.797 15.262 14.262 10.06 -6.55
10 4.16 35.556 17.665 22.858 101.28 29.40
11 4.16 24.628 16.596 14.944 48.40 -9.95
12 4.16 24.628 15.864 15.206 55.24 -4.15
13 4.16 19.072 13.529 11.872 40.97 -12.25
14 .481 12.590 15.156 15.560 -16.93 2.67
15 .48l 18.152 17.754 18.078 2.24 1.82
16 .481 18.152 16.614 16.845 9.26 1.39
17 .481 10.881 10.343 10.324 5.20 -.18
18 .48l 13.782 13.028 13.082 5.79 -414
19 .481 2.667 2.830 2.809 -5.76 -.74
20 .201 9.400 9.950 9.855 -5.53 -.95
21 .201 3.265 2.902 2.777 12.51 -4.31
22 .201 3.977 3.863 4.320 2.95 11.83

1466