Fault calculations are one of the most common types of calculation carried out during the design and

analysis of
electrical systems. These calculations involve determining the current flowing through circuit elements during
abnormal conditions short circuits and earth faults.

Contents [hide]

1. Types of Fault
i. Standards
ii. Three Phase Faults
iii. Phase to Phase Faults
iv. Earth Faults
2. Use of Tables
3. Basic Fault Calculations
i. Per Unit Fault Calculations
ii. Symmetrical Components
iii. IEC 60909 - Short-circuit currents in three-phase a.c. systems
iv. Motor Contributions
4. Related Notes

Types of Fault
Symbol Definition
- voltage factor (IEC 60909)
LV, Isc max = 1.1, Isc min = 0.95
MV, LV, Isc max = 1.1, Isc min = 1
- steady state fault

- initial symmetrical fault current

k or k3 - 3-phase fault
k1 - phase to earth (or phase to neutral)
fault
k2 phase to phase fault
k2E or kE2E phase to phase to earth
fault
- rated current of any motor

- nominal voltage

- nominal line to neutral voltage

- nominal line to line voltage

- system voltage

circuit impedance
A fault is an abnormal or unintended connection of live elements of a system to each other or to earth. The
impedance of such connections are often very low, resulting in large currents flowing. The energy contained in fault
currents can quickly heat components, creates excessive forces and can result in devastating explosions of
equipment.

Typically we deal with three types of fault:

1. Three Phase Faults

2. Phase to Phase Faults
3. Earth Faults
Typically highest fault current is given by a three phase fault (although there are exceptions).

Standards
IEC 60909 'Short Circuit Currents in Three Phase Systems' describes an internationally accepted method for the
calculation of fault currents. IEC 60781 is an adaption of the 60909 standard and applies only to low voltage
systems.

IEC 60909 Fault Current In applying these standards, two levels of fault based on voltage factor are typically
calculated

the maximum current which causes the maximum thermal and electromagnetic effects on equipment (used to
determine the equipment rating)
the minimum current (which may be used for the the setting of protective devices)
The standards also idealise the fault, enabling each stage to be analysed and understood. The image (click for a
larger version), shows this waveform.
Depending on the position within the cycle at which the fault forms, a dc offset will be present, decaying overtime to
zero. This creates an initial symmetrical short circuit I''k, which will decay over time to the steady state short circuit I k.

Three Phase Faults

Three Phase Fault In a three phase fault, all three phases (L1, L2 and L3) are shorted together.
To find the fault current at any point in the network, a sum is made of the impedances in the network between the
source of supply (including the source impedance) and the point at which the fault is occurs.

To find the fault current Ik, the nominal applied voltage, U0 is divided by the summed impedance Z.

Phase to Phase Faults

Phase to Phase Fault In a phase to phase fault (L1 to L2 for example), two phases are connected together.
The fault current is again, the nominal applied voltage divided by the summed impedance.

Earth Faults
Earth Fault In an earth fault, one phase is directly connected to earth (L1 to earth for example).
To find the value of earth fault current at any point in a network, a sum is made of the earth fault impedances in the
network between the source of supply (including source impedance) and the return path impedances.

Use of Tables
Often if it is required to look up a quick ball park figure, it is adequate to use tables. This is particularly the case for
low voltage systems. In other cases, actual equipment parameters may not available and it is necessary to resort to
typical values. The 'Notes' section of the site contains a selection of tables, which will help in these instances:

Low Voltage Fault Tables

Fault Calculations - Typical Equipment Parameters

Basic Fault Calculations

Fault Type Calculation
3-phase fault

phase-phase fault

phase-earth fault

One of the simplest ways to look at fault calculations is by the application of Ohms law. Knowing the impedance of
the fault and the voltage across enables the fault current to be calculated:
Per Unit Fault Calculations
In systems with varying voltage level, per unit calculations enable faults levels to be determined by normalising the
system to a common base. This method of calculating fault levels is known as the per unit method or per unit
system.

To find out more about this per unit calculations, refer to our note:

Fault Calculation - Per Unit System

Symmetrical Components
For unbalance conditions the calculation of fault currents is more complex. One method of dealing with this is by the
use of symmetrical components. In symmetrical components, the unbalance system is broken down in to three
separate symmetrical systems, each of which are easily solved.

To find out more about symmetrical components, refer to our note:

Fault Calculation - Symmetrical Components

IEC 60909 - Short-circuit currents in three-phase a.c. systems

Often when performing short circuit calculations, it is necessary to carry these out against a reference standard. By
using a reference standard, calculations are consistent, can be justified and are provided with an audit trail.

IEC 60909 is the international standard for the calculation of short circuit currents. The document specifies a
standardised method for the development of short circuit calculations, as well as providing guidance on equipment
data.

To find out more about how the standard works, refer to our note:

Fault Calculation - IEC 60909 - note coming soon

Motor Contributions
During fault conditions motors operate a generators (until the rotation reduces) and will contribution current to the
fault. When taking motor contributions into considerations, the IEC 60909 standard gives guidance on how to do this.

To simplify calculations, the contribution of motors to the fault can be disregarded if:
Fault Calculation - Per Unit System
By Steven McFadyen on March 27th, 2013

Symbol Definition
- per unit method current base

- per unit method power base

- per unit method voltage base

- per unit method admittance base

- per unit method impedance base

- percentage impedance

- per unit impedance

- actual impedance

- per unit base impedance

Per unit fault calculations is a method whereby system impedances and quantities are normalised across different
voltage levels to a common base. By removing the impact of varying voltages, the necessary calculations are
simplified.

To use the per unit method, we normalise all the system impedances (and admittances) within the network under
consideration to a common base. These normalised impedances are know as per unit impedances. Any per unit
impedance will have the same value on both the primary and secondary of a transformer and is independent of
voltage level.

A network of per unit impedances can then be solved using standard network analysis (see the example). From this
fault level can be readily determined.

In applying the per unit method, the first step is to select an arbitrary voltage (Vbase) and power (Pbase) base.
Tip: while the base power and voltage be any value, typically it would make
sense to select values related to the system under construction (for example 11
kV and 20 MVA may be appropriate for a distribution type system)
Contents [hide]

1. Per Unit Method

i. Three Phase Fault Example
2. Related Notes

Per Unit Method

Having selected a base power and voltage, the base per unit values of impedance, admittance and current can be
calculated from:

Per Unit Single Phase Three Phase

Dividing a system element by its per-unit base value gives the per-unit value of the element, for example

Some times per-unit values are available for a given base kV, but the problem being solved is using a different
base. In this instance it is possible to convert the unit:
Fault calculation problems typically deal wit power sources, generators, transformers and system impedances. Per-
unit values for these elements can be quickly derived from:

Element Per-Unit Value

Source impedance

Generators

Transformers

Impedances

, where V is in kV

Example - calculating per unit values

Consider a system of source impedance 4.48 connected to a 20 MVA transformer (11/0.4 kV) at 6%
impedance. We want to find the fault level at the transformer secondary.

Selecting Pbase as 20 MVA and Vbase as 11 kV and using the above equations:

and
 the Line-Neutral voltage on the secondary of the transformer is 0.4/3 =
0.230 kV, giving:

Three Phase Fault Example

Three Phase Fault Example

Per unit analysis can be used to calculate system three phase fault levels and the current distributions. To gain a
better understanding, it is worth running through the typical steps required to solve a fault calculation problem.

Given the system single line diagram, construct and simplify the per unit impedance diagram.

The fault level at the point under consideration is given by:

Where Zpu, is the total impedance between the source and the fault.

Fault flow through parallel branches is given by the ratio of impedances. As illustrated this can enable fault flows to
be found through each branch.

Having calculated the fault flow in each branch, it is then relatively simple to find the current distribution using:

where: