SHORT CIRCUIT

CALCULATIONS
Sammy E. Dumaya, PEE
IIEE-SQC Technical Seminar 2016
Qatar Bowling Center (QBC),
Doha, State of Qatar
01st April, 2016

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Theme : “IIEE : Soaring High Towards Globalization” :
 Index
I Objective
II Reference Standards
III Purpose of Short Circuit Studies
IV Type of Short Circuit Faults
V Electrical System Grounding
VI Symmetrical & Asymmetrical Faults
VII Method of Short Circuit Calculation
VIII Short Circuit Calculations
IX Electrical Component Sizing

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I. OBJECTIVE

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I. Objective
The objective of this seminar is to uphold the technical
know how of our Filipino Electrical Practitioners in the
State of Qatar to hone their proficiency and professional
competence to be globally competitive.

On completion of this seminar, the participants shall be

able to:
• Explain the significance of Short Circuit
• Explain the Cause and Consequences of Short Circuit
• Classify different types of Faults
• Know the short circuit calculation methods
• Compute currents for Symmetrical & Asymmetrical Faults
• Select suitable ratings of electrical components

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What is Short Circuit ???
A faulty or accidental connection between two points of
different potential in an electric circuit, bypassing the
load and establishing a path of low resistance through
which an excessive current can flow. It can cause damage
to the components if the circuit is not protected.

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II. REFERENCE STANDARDS

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 II. Reference Standards
• IEC 60909 : Short-circuit currents in a 3 Phase AC System
• IEC 60076 : Power Transformers
• IEC 60034 : Rotating Electrical machines
• IEC 60947 : LV Switchgear & Controlgear,
Part 2 : Circuit Breakers
• IEC 62271 : HV Switchgear & Controlgear -
Part 100 : HV Alternating Current C.B.
• IEC 60287 : Electric Cables Calc. of current rating
• IEEE 399 : Recommended Practice for Industrial
& Commercial Power Systems Analysis
• IEEE 141 : Recommended Practice for Electric Power
Distribution for Industrial Plants

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III. PURPOSE OF SHORT CIRCUIT
STUDIES

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III-a. Purpose of Short Circuit Studies

The purpose of Short Circuit Studies can be used to

determine any or all of the following:

• Verify protective device close and latch capability

• Verify protective device interrupting capability
• Protect equipment from large mechanical forces
(maximum fault kA)
• Select the electrical system components to withstand
thermal stresses
• Selecting ratings or settings for relay coordination

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III-b. CAUSES OF SHORT CIRCUIT

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III-b. Causes of Short Circuit

• Over voltages : Caused by Lightning or

Switching surges
• Insulation breakdown : Overloading, high temp.
• Insulation contamination : Salt spray, pollution
• Mechanical causes : Over heating, vibration,
abrasion
• Grounding connectivity : Improper grounding
connection, high resistance
to ground

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III-c. Faults on Equipment & other elements
Faults on Transmission & Distribution Lines:
• Most common : Lines are exposed to elements of nature
• Lightning strokes : Over voltages causes insulators to flash
causing line to ground SC or L-L SC
• High winds : Topple tower, tree falls on line
• Salt spray, dirty insulation : conduction path, insulation failure

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III-d. Faults on Equipment & other elements
Short circuits in other elements:
• Cables
• Circuit breakers
• Generators, motors, transformer, etc
• Overloading for extended periods, deterioration of
insulation, mechanical contribution

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III-e. Consequences of Short Circuits

• Currents of several magnitude larger than normal

operating current
• Thermal damages to equipment
• Windings and Busbar : Mechanical damage due to
high magnet forces caused by high current.

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III-f. Consequences of Short Circuits

ABB Oryx Workshop in

Ras Laffan Industrial City
(RLIC)

Early detection of:

- Motor insulation breakdown
- NDE bearing worn out

Sea Water Pump Motor

4000 kW, 6.6kV
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III-g. Spectrum of Currents

LOAD CURRENT
• Up to 100% of full load
• 115-125% (mild overload)

OVERCURRENT
• Abnormal loading condition (locked-rotor)

FAULT CURRENT
• Fault condition
• 10x the full load current and higher

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III-h. System Components Involved
in Short Circuit Calculations
• Power Utility Company
• Plant Generators
• Transformers
• Reactors
• Feeder Cable Systems
• Synchronous Motors
• Induction Motors
• Protective Devices

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III-i. Elements that Contribute Current
to a Short Circuit

• Power Grid
• Generators
• Synchronous Motors fault
• Induction Motors

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 III-j. Short Circuit Values from Power Grid

TECHNICAL QUERY

PLANT NAME

Source 3Ph Fault 3Ph Fault L-G Fault L-G Fault

Switchboard Voltage
Substation Tag Current (kA) Current (kA) Current (kA) Current (kA) X/R Ratio
Tag no. (kV)
no. Max Min Max Min

RPB-XXX SB-XXX 33

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III-k. Short Circuit Level as per Kahramaa
Regulation

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IV. TYPE OF SHORT CIRCUIT FAULTS

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IV-a. Type of Short Circuit Faults

Three Phase Fault Phase to Phase Fault

2 Phase to Earth Fault 1 Phase to Earth Fault

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IV-b. Fault Current
• IL-G can range in utility systems from a few percent
to possibly 115 % ( if Xo < X1 ) of I3-phase (85% of all
faults).

• In industrial system the situation IL-G > I3-phase is rare.

Typically IL-G = 0.87 * I3-phase.

• In an industrial system, the three-phase fault

condition is frequently the only one considered, since
this type of fault generally results in Maximum fault
current.

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 IV-c. Sources & Models of Fault Current
Synchronous Generators
Synchronous Generators are modeled in three stages.

Synchronous Motors & Condensers

Act as a generator to supply fault current. This current
diminishes as the magnetic field in the machine decays.

Induction Machines
Treated the same as synchronous motors except they do
not contribute to the fault after 2 sec.

Electric Utility Systems

The fault current contribution tends to remain constant.
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IV-d. Sources & Models of Fault Current
½ Cycle Network
This is the network used to calculate momentary short-
circuit current and protective device duties at the ½
cycle after the fault.

1 ½ to 4 Cycle Network
This network is used to calculate the interrupting short-
circuit current and protective device duties 1.5-4 cycles
after the fault.

30-Cycle Network
This is the network used to calculate the steady-state
short-circuit current and settings for over current relays
after 30 cycles.
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IV-e. AC Fault Current (Symmetrical) with:

AC Fault Current without Decay

DC Current Decay

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IV-f. AC Fault Current including the DC Offset

AC Current + Idc (Offset current)

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IV-g. Short Circuit near to Generator
This is a short-circuit condition to which at least one synchronous
machine contributes a prospective initial short-circuit current
which is more than twice the generator’s rated current, or a short-
circuit condition to which synchronous and asynchronous motors
contribute more than 5% of the initial symmetrical short-circuit
current ( I"k) without motors.

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IV-h. Short Circuit far from Generator
This is a short-circuit condition during which the
magnitude of the symmetrical ac component of
available short-circuit current remains essentially
constant.

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IV-i. 3-Phase SC on Synchronous Machine

Where:
o-c = Peak value of Sub-transient SC current
o-b = Peak value of Transient SC current
o-a = Peak value of Steady State SC current
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V. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM GROUNDING

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V-a. System Grounding
In electricity supply systems, a grounding
system is circuitry which connect parts of
the electric circuit with the ground, thus
defining the electric potential of the
conductors relative to the Earth's conductive
surface.

The choice of grounding system it affects the

magnitude and distribution of short circuit
currents through the system, and the effects
it creates on equipment and people in the
proximity of the circuit.

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V-b. System Grounding

There are five (5) types of System grounding:

a) Solidly grounded neutral

b) Ungrounded neutral
c) Resistance grounded neutral
• Low resistance grounding
• High resistance grounding
d) Reactance grounded neutral
e) Grounding transformer

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V-c. System Grounding

SOLIDLY GROUNDED NEUTRAL

C
The solidly grounded system is
the most common system
arrangement and one of the A

most versatile. The most

commonly used configuration B
is the solidly grounded wye,
N
because it will support single
phase loads.

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V-d. System Grounding
UN GROUNDED NEUTRAL

In ungrounded, isolated or
floating neutral system, as in
the IT system, there is no direct
connection of the star point (or
any other point in the network)
and the ground. As a result,
ground fault currents have no
path to be closed and thus
have negligible magnitudes.

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V-e. System Grounding
RESISTANCE EARTHED NEUTRAL
C
Resistance grounding systems
are used in industrial electrical
power distribution facilities to A
limit phase-to-ground fault
currents.
The system basically utilized B
Neutral Grounding Resistor
(NGR).

• High resistance grounding : 5-10A

• Low resistance grounding : 200-400A

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V-f. System Grounding

REACTANCE GROUNDED
NEUTRAL C

Reactance grounding is
commonly used in the A

neutrals of generators. X
Grounding of the generator
neutral through an air core B

reactance is the standard

solution for lowering the
ground fault level.

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V-g. System Grounding

GROUNDING TRANSFORMER

The Zig-Zag transformer is

use to create a neutral
reference for an ungrounded
system. Most instances
involve existing ungrounded
systems which are being
upgraded to high–resistance
grounding.

Zig-Zag grounding
transformer
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VI. SYMMETRICAL AND ASYMMETRICAL
FAULTS

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VI-a. Symmetrical & Asymmetrical Faults
• Symmetrical or Balanced Fault
- Three Phase Fault

• Asymmetrical or Unbalanced Faults

- Phase to Phase Fault
- Two Phase to Ground Fault
- Single Phase to Ground Fault

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VI-b. Short Circuit Phenomenon

One Line Diagram in Power Station

Equivalent Impedance Diagram

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VI-c. Short Circuit Phenomenon

Thevenin’s Equivalent Diagram

Solving equation 1 yields the following expression:

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VI-d. Symmetrical Components

Symmetrical Components

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VI-e. Sequence Networks

Sequence Networks

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VI-f. Asymmetrical Faults

L-G Fault Sequence Network Connections

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VI-g. Asymmetrical Faults

L-L Fault Sequence Network Connections

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VI-h. Asymmetrical Faults

L-L-G Fault Sequence Network Connections

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VI-i. Transformer Zero Sequence Connections

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VII. METHOD OF SHORT CIRCUIT
CALCULATIONS

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VII-a. Per Unit Method (SC Formulas)
KVA BASE
A) I BASE 
3 x KVBASE

KV 2 BASE
B) Z BASE  x 1000
KVA BASE

KVA BASE
C ) Z PU  Z ACTUAL x
KV 2 BASE x1000

I BASE
D) I SC 
Z PU

MVA SC
E ) I SC 
3 xKV 2
2
 KV   KVABASE  NEW 
F ) Z PU  NEW  Z PU OLD x  BASE OLD  x  
 BASE  NEW  
KV KVABASE OLD 

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VIII. SHORT CIRCUIT CALCULATIONS

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VIII-a. Short Circuit Calculations

In short circuit, there is a structural change in

network – addition of an impedance (Zf = fault
impedance, zero for solid short circuit) at the point of
fault.

The change in voltage or current resulting from this

structural network change can be analyzed using
Thevenin’s theorem.

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VIII-b. Thevenin’s Theorem

The changes in network voltages and currents due to

the addition of an impedance between two point of a
network are identical with those voltages and
currents that would be caused by placing an emf,
having a magnitude and polarity equal to the pre-
fault voltage between the nodes, in series with the
impedance with all other voltage sources being
zeroed.

Post fault voltages and currents are computed by

super imposing these changes on pre-fault voltages
and currents.

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VIII-c. Thevenin’s Theorem

Single Line Diagram

Before the Fault After the Fault

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VIII-d. Thevenin’s Theorem

Thevenin’s Equivalent Circuit

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VIII-e. Per Unit Method –
Sequence of Fault Current Calculations

Step 1 : Draw the Single Line Diagram

Step 2 : Select suitable KVA and KV bases
Step 3 : Calculate the base quantities for Current (I)
and Impedance (Z)
Step 4 : Draw the equivalent Impedance Diagram or
Positive Reactance Diagram
Step 5 : Define the Fault locations
Step 6 : Perform Short Circuit Calculations
(with Symmetrical and Asymmetrical faults)

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VIII-f. Short Circuit Calculations

Single Line Diagram

Positive Sequence Reactance Diagram

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VIII-g. Asymmetrical Faults

Single Phase to Ground Fault Vf

I a1 
Z1  Z 2  Z 0

Vf
Two Phase Fault I a1 
Z1  Z 2

Vf
Two Phase to Ground Fault I a1 
Z1  Z 2 Z 0 / ( Z 2  Z 0 )

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 VIII-h. Short Circuit Calculations

• Initial Symmetrical Short Circuit Current (I”k)

c x Un
I "k 
3 x Z "k
• Peak Short Circuit Current (I’k)
c x Un
I 'k 
3 x Z 'k
• Steady State Short Circuit Current (Ik)
c x Un
Ik 
3 x Zk
Where :
C : Voltage Factor (refer to IEC-60909 - Table 1)
Un : Line to Line Voltage (V)
Zk : Short Circuit Impedance (Ohms)
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VIII-i. IEC-60909 : Table 1 Voltage Factor C
Nominal Voltage Factor C for calculating
Per UnitVoltage
Method:
The max. SC The min. SC
current [Cmax] current [Cmin]
LOW VOLTAGE
100V to 1000V
(see IEC 60038, Table I)
a) Voltage tolerance +6% 1.05 0.95
b) Voltage tolerance +10% 1.10 0.95
MEDIUM VOLTAGE
>1 kV to 35 kV 1.10 1.00
(see IEC 60038, Table III)
HIGH VOLTAGE
>35 kV 1.10 1.00
(see IEC 60038, Table IV)

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IX. CIRCUIT BREAKER SIZING

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IX-a. Circuit Breaker (CB) Sizing

From the view point of current under steady state

and short circuit condition, the following factors
shall be considered in selecting circuit breaker size:

• CB Breaking Capacity (Ib)

- The total current when the breaker contacts
open to interrupt the circuit.

• CB Making Capacity (Im)

- The maximum instantaneous current which the
breaker must withstand.

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IX-b. Selection of CB Breaking Capacity (Ib)

The circuit breaker interrupting current depends

on the interruption time of the circuit breakers
and is obtained by multiplying the sub-transient
AC short circuit current (I”k) by the multiplying
factors given in Table 2.

I b  I "k x m
Where :
Ib : CB Breaking Capacity (kA)
I”k : Sub-transient fault current (kA)
m : CB interrupting speed factor

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IX-c. Selection of CB Breaking Capacity (Ib)

Table 2: CB interrupting speed between 2-8 cycles to

take care the relay and CB opening time (IEC).

CB speed Multiplying factor (m)

8 cycles or slower 1.1
5 cycles 1.1
3 cycles 1.2
2 cycles 1.4

For CB’s having short circuit MVA greater than

500MVA the multiplying factors are increased by 0.1.

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IX-d. Selection of CB Making Capacity (Im)

The maximum momentary current is found by

calculating the AC short circuit current using the
sub-transient impedances of the generators and
motors and then multiplying it by the coefficient “n”
factor given in Table 1 as referred from IEC 60947-2.

I m  I "k x n
Where :
Im : CB Making Capacity (kA)
I”k : Sub-transient fault current (kA)
n : Value of coefficient “n”

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IX-e. Selection of CB Making Capacity (Im)

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Thank You..

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