EXPERIMENT 5

FAULT ANALYSIS
5.1 AIM
To become familiar with modelling and analysis of power systems under faulted
condition and to compute the fault level, post-fault voltages and currents for different
types of faults, both symmetric and unsymmetric.

5.2. OBJECTIVES
i. To carryout fault analysis for symmetrical and unsymmetrical faults in small
systems using the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit in the sequence and phase domains at
the faulted bus but without the use of software.

ii. To conduct fault analysis on a given system using software available and obtain fault
analysis report with fault level and current at the faulted point and post-fault voltages
and currents in the network for the following faults
(a) Three-phase-to- ground
(b) Line-to-ground
(c) Line-to-Line
(d) Double-line-to-ground

iii. To study the variation in fault levels and currents in the system when it is
interconnected to neighbouring systems

5.3 SOFTWARE REQUIRED

‘FAULT ANALYSIS’ module of AU Powerlab or equivalent.

5.4 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

5.4.1 Introduction
Short circuit studies are performed to determine bus voltages and currents flowing in
different parts the system when it is subjected to a fault. The current flowing immediately
after the fault consists of an a.c component which eventually reaches steady state and a
fast decaying d.c component which decays to zero. Only the a.c component is considered
in the analysis. The analysis is done using phasor technique assuming the system to be
under quasi-steady state and is done for various types of faults such as three-phase-to-
ground, line-to-ground, line-to-line and double-line-to-ground. The results of fault studies
are used to select the circuit breakers, set protective relays and to assess the voltage dips
during fault. It is one of the primary studies to be performed whenever system expansion
is planned.

5-1
5.4.2 Modelling Details
Approximations
The following approximations are usually made in fault analysis:
1. Prefault load currents are neglected.
2. Transformer taps are assumed to be nominal.
3. A symmetric three phase power system is considered.
4. Transmission line shunt capacitance and transformer magnetising impedances are
ignored.
5. Series resistances of transmission lines are neglected.
6. The negative sequence impedance of alternators are assumed to be the same as their
positive sequence impedance.
In the case of symmetrical faults, it is sufficient to determine the currents and voltages in
one phase. Hence the analysis is carried out on per phase basis (using + ve sequence
impedance network). In the case of unsymmetrical faults, the method of symmetrical
components is used.

Sequence Impedances of Power System Components

The sequence impedances of power system components namely generators, transmission
lines and transformers are required for modelling and analysis of unsymmetrical faults.

In the case of overhead transmission lines the positive-and negative-sequence impedances

are the same and the zero sequence impedance depends on ground wire, tower footing
resistance and grounding adopted. In the case of transformers, the positive-and negative-
sequence impedances are the same and the zero sequence impedance depends on
transformer winding connection, method of neutral grounding and transformer type
(shell or core). The positive-, negative-and zero-sequence impedances are different in the
case of rotating equipment like synchronous generator, synchronous motor and induction
motors. Estimation of sequence impedances of the components and assembling of zero-,
positive-and negative-sequence impedance networks are the major steps in
unsymmetrical fault analysis.

Circuit Parameters for Momentary and Interrupting Current Calculations

The momentary or first cycle current is used to evaluate the momentary current carrying
capacity of the circuit breaker. The momentary current is computed using the subtransient
reactances of the utility sources (neighbouring systems), the synchronous generators,
synchronous motors and induction motors. The interrupting fault current is used to
decide interrupting capacity of the circuit breakers. This current is computed using
subtransient reactance for generators and transient reactance for synchronous motors.
Alternatively the reactance of the rotating machine is chosen as per the multiplying
factors listed in Table 5.1.

5-2
Table 5.1 Multipliers for Short Circuit Current Calculations

Type of Rotating Machine First Cycle Interrupting

Generator, hydro generators with 1.0 Xd” 1.5 Xd”
amortisseur windings &
condensers
Synchronous motors 1.0 Xd” 1.5 Xd”
Induction motors
Above 1000 hp at 1800 rpm or 1.0 Xd” 1.5 Xd”
less
Above 250 hp at 3600 rpm 1.0 Xd” 1.5 Xd”
All other, 50 hp and above 1.2 Xd” 3.0 Xd”
Less than 50 hp Neglect Neglect

5.4.3. Short Circuit Computations

Symmetrical Faults
Since the fault is symmetric the analysis is carried out on per phase basis.

A short circuit represents a structural change in the network which is equivalent to the
addition of an impedance (in the case of a symmetric short, three equal impedances) at
the location of fault. The changes in voltages and currents that result from this structural
change can be analysed using Thevenin’s theorem which states:

The changes that occur in the network voltages and currents due to the addition of an
impedance between two network nodes are identical with those voltages and currents that
would be caused by an emf placed in series with the impedance and having a magnitude
and polarity equal to the prefault voltage that existed between the nodes in question and
all other sources being zeroed.

The post-fault voltages and currents in the network are obtained by superposing these
changes on the prefault voltages and currents.

Short circuit calculations in a small power system can be demonstrated using the
following two-bus example.

Example 5.1
For the two-bus system shown in Fig 5.1,determine the fault current at the fault point and
in other elements for a fault at bus 2 with a fault impedance zf . Load current can be
assumed to be neglible. The prefault voltages at all the buses can be assumed to be 1.0
p.u. The sub transient reactance of the generators and positive sequence reactance of
other elements are given. Assume that the resistances of all the elements are neglible.

5-3
 1 2 3 4

G1 G2

.. S

zf

Fig 5.1 Symmetrical Fault on a Two-bus System-Prefault condition

First the “Thevenin’s equivalent network” is formed (Fig 5.2a). The prefault voltage at
bus 2, V02 equals 1.0 p.u. In Fig 5.2a the “Thevenins emf” E Th = V02 = 1.0 is inserted in
series with the short-circuit branch. The reduced Thevenin’s equivalent circuit is given in
Fig 5.2(c) in which the “Thevenins equivalent impedance”Z Th is found to be j0.144p.u. It
should be noted that ZTh is nothing but the driving point impedance at bus 2 which is the
same as the diagonal element Z22 of bus impedance matrix of the network. With reference
to Fig 5.2(c) the fault current is given by

If = ZTh / (ZTh + zf) (5.1)

Assuming “solid fault”, that is z f = 0, the fault current is

If = 1/j0.144 = 6.94 ?-900 per unit

1 2 3 4
j 0.1 j 0.12 j 0.2 j 0.12 j 0.1

-
~ ETh

.+
.
zf

Fig 5.2(a)

5-4
 2
j 0.22 j 0.42

-
~ ETh

.+
.
zf

Fig 5.2(b)

2
ETh
-
~ +
.
j 0.144 . t=0

ZTh
zf If

Fig 5.2 (c)

Fig 5.2 Development of Thevenin’s Equivalent Circuit
(all impedances are in per unit)

This current is the total fault current fed by both the generators. The contribution from
each generator can be computed by noting that the total current divides in inverse
impedance ratio. For example the contribution of generator 1 is

0.42 * 6.94?-900 = 4.55?-900 per unit

0.22+0.42

The contribution of generator 2 = 6.94 ?-900 – 4.55 ?-900

= 2.39 ?-900 per unit

5-5
Post fault currents and voltages can be obtained by superposing the current and voltage
changes caused by ETh upon the prefault state.

Since prefault currents are assumed to be zero, the post fault currents are the same as that
given above.

Post fault voltage at bus 3, Vf3 is

Vf3 = 1.0?0 – 2.39 ?-900 (j0.22) = 0.4742 ?0 per unit.

Short-circuit capacity (SCC)

For a solid fault (zf = 0) at bus q, the fault current magnitude is given by

|Ifq| = |ETh ,q| / XTh,q (5.2)

Equation (5.2) is also applicable to a general n-bus system where ETh,q is given by the
prefault voltage at the qth bus (either taken from prefault load-flow results or assumed to
be 1.0 per unit) and XTh is given by Zqq, the diagonal element of the bus impedance
matrix.

Short circuit capacity (SCC) or fault level of a bus is defined as the product of the
prefault voltage and the post fault current and is given by

SCCq = |ETh,q| . |Ifq| = |ETh,q|2 / XTh,q p.u MVA (5.3)

If the prefault voltages are assumed to be 1.0 p.u, then

SCCq = 1/XTh,q p.u MVA

In Example 5.1, since XTh,2 = 0.144 p.u, the SCC is

SCC2 = 1/0.144 = 6.94 p.u MVA (5.4)

Interconnection with Neighbouring Systems

If a power system A, is interconnected to a neighbouring system B, through, say a tie-
line T12, then for a fault at any of the buses in system A all the generators in system B
also will feed the fault through the tie-line. Instead of representing the complete network
of the system B, the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit of system B can be connected at the tie
bus 2, (Fig 5.3). The Thevenin’s equivalent reactance at bus 2 is given by

XTh,B = 1/SCC2 (5.5)

where SCC2 is the fault level of Bus2.

5-6
Thevenins source ETh,B may be assumed as 1.0 p.u

ETh,B
XTh,B
T12 + -
~
1 2 1
2
B

A A
Equivalent

Fig 5.3 Thevenin’s Equivalent for Neighbouring system

Systematic Computation for Large Scale Systems

The systematic computation procedure to be used for fault analysis of a large power
systems using computer is explained below.

Let us consider a symmetric fault at bus r of an n-bus system. Let us assume that the
prefault currents are negligible.

Step 1
Draw the prefault per phase network of the system (positive sequence network) (Fig 5.4).
Obtain the positive sequence bus impedance matrix Z using Building Algorithm. All the
machine reactances should be included in the Z bus.

1
Transmission
System
: : r

o
Vor
f
z

Fig 5.4 Pre-fault per phase network (with loads neglected)

5-7
The prefault bus voltage vector is given by

V1o

Vo = V2o (5.6)

Vno

Step 2
Obtain the fault current using the Thevenin’s equivalent of the system feeding the fault as
explained below.

Assume fault impedance as zf. The Thevenin’s equivalent of the system feeding the fault
impedance is given in Figure 5.5. The fault current is given by

If = Vro / ( Zrr + zf ) (5.7)

where Zrr is the rrth diagonal element of the Bus Impedance matrix

Zrr r
ZTn
+
Vro If zf
-

Fig 5.5 Thevenin’s Equivalent of the system feeding the fault

Step 3
Obtain the Thevenin’s equivalent network (Fig 5.6) by inserting th e Thevenin’s voltage
source V0r in series with the fault impedance and compute the bus voltages using network
equation as explained below.

5-8
 1
Transmission .
.
System .-
. +

Vro
zf
f
I

Fig5.6. Thevenin Network

The change in bus voltages, VT caused by the fault at bus r is given by

VT = Z If (5.8)
where
Z = Bus impedance matrix of Thevenin’s network including machine reactances
If = bus current injection vector
0

If = If r

Step 4
The post fault bus voltages are given by super position of equations (5.6) and (5.8)

Vf = Vo + VT
Vf = Vo + Z If

Expanding, the above equation and substituting If from equation (5.7) we get the
postfault voltages as

V1f = V1o – Z1r If

……………….
Vrf = Vqo – Zrr If (5.9)
……………….
Vnf = Vno – Znq If
The postfault line currents are given by
Ifij = ( Vfi - Vfj ) / z+ij (5.10)

5-9
Unsymmetrical Faults
The method of fault analysis explained for symmetrical fault can be extended to
unsymmetrical faults. The symbols used in this section represents the following.

1. Super script 0 and f represent prefault and postfault values

2. Positive, negative and zero sequence voltages and currents are indicated by subscripts
+, - and 0 respectively.

3. Phase values of voltages and currents are indicated collectively by subscript p and
individually by the subscripts a, b and c.

4. Subscripts following +, - and 0 represent the bus code.

The step by step procedure is explained below.
Step 1:
Assemble the Thevenin’s equivalent positive, negative and zero sequenc e networks
separately using the sequence impedances of the power system components.

Step 2:
Compute the sequence bus impedance matrices Z+ bus, Z - bus and Z0 bus using the
Building Algorithm.

Step 3:
Select the type, location and mathematical description of the fault. Determine the
sequence fault currents at the faulted bus using the prefault Thevenin equivalents of the
sequence networks as explained below.

Line-To-Ground Fault
Assume that phase ‘a’ of a three phase system is connected to ground through an
impedance zf at bus q. Let the fault current be Ifaq.

q
a a’
q
b b’
q Ifbq = Ifcq = 0
c c’

Ifaq zf

Fig 5.7 Single Line-to-Ground Fault at qth Bus

5-10
The symmetrical component transformation converting sequence components to phase
components is given by

Ip = T Is

Where Ip and Is are phase component and sequence component current vectors
respectively.

The transformation matrix T is given by

T ¨
a2 a 1
a a2 1

The inverse matrix relation is

Is = T-1 Ip

which is given in detailed form as

I+q 1 a a2 Ifaq

I -q =1/3 1 a2 a 0 (5.11)

I0q 1 1 1 0

I+q = I-q = Ioq = 1/3 Ifaq (5.12)

V+q + V-q + V0q = Ifaq zf = 3I0q zf (5.13)

Equations (5.11) and (5.12) imply that the Thevenin’s equivalent of the sequence
networks of the system are to be connected in series as in Fig 5.8

5-11
 + Z+,qq
Vo+q ~ I+q = I-q = Ioq = 1/3Iaf
-

Z-,qq 3zf

Z0,qq

Fig. 5.8 Connection of Sequence Networks for a Single Line-to-Ground Fault

The sequence currents are

Vo+q
I+q =I-q = Ioq = (5.14)
f
(Zo,rr + Z-,rr + Z+,rr + Z )

Similarly the sequence fault currents can be computed for line-to-line and Double-line-to-
ground faults [1]

Step 4: Compute the prefault and postfault sequence bus voltages and line currents
using the formulas derived below.

Prefault Sequence Voltages

Since the fault is assumed to occur when the prefault system is under balanced condition,
all prefault bus voltages contain only positive sequence components.

Vo+1 Vo+1
Vo-1 0
V01 0
. .
. .
Vos = Vo+i = Voi+
Vo-i 0 (5.15)
Vooi 0
Vo+n .
Vo-n .
Vo0n .

5-12
Postfault Voltages
As per the Thevenin theorem the postfault positive sequence bus voltages are given by

Vf+ = Vo+ + Z+ If (5.16)

Since the fault current is injected at qth bus, we have

0
0
-If+q
0 (5.17)
0
0

The positive sequence postfault bus voltages are

Vf+1 = Vo+1 – Z+1q If+q

………………………
Vf+q = Vo+q – Z+qq If+q (5.18)
………………………
Vf+n = Vo+n – Z+nq If+q

Since the prefault negative and zero sequence bus voltages are zero, the postfault
negative sequence voltages are

Vf-1 = -Z-1q If –q
……………….
Vf-q = -Z-qq If –q (5.19)
……………….
Vf-n = -Z-nq If –q

The postfault zero sequence bus voltages are

Vf01 = -Z01qIf0q
………………
Vf0q = -Z0qqIf0q (5.20)
…………… …
Vf0n = -Z0nqIf0q

The sequence currents in the ijth line, can be computed as

Positive sequence current
If+i j = y+ij(Vf+i – Vf+j)

5-13
Negative sequence line current
If-ij = y-ij(Vf-i – Vf-j)

Zero sequence line current

If0ij = yoi,j (Vf0i - Vf0j)

Step 5: The phase voltages and currents are computed from the sequence voltages
and currents using symmetrical component transformation.

Vp = TVs
Ip = TIs
where T is the transformation matrix

5.5. EXERCISES
5.5.1. It is proposed to conduct fault analysis on two alternative configurations of the
4 - bus system given in Fig. 5.9.

2 3
L1
1 4
G1 T1 T2 G2

xn
L2
xn
Case (a)
Case (a)
Case (b)
Case (b)

Fig 5.9 Four Bus System

G1, G2 : 100MVA, 20kV, x+ = x - = xd” = 20%; x 0 = 4%; xn = 5%

T1, T2 : 100MVA, 20kV/345kV ; xleak = 8%
L1, L2 : x+ = x - = 15% ; x0 = 50% on a base of 100MVA

The first configuration, case (a), comprises star-star transformers and the second
configuration, case (b), comprises star-delta transformers.

5-14
 (i) For a three phase to ground (solid) fault at bus 4, determine the fault current
and MVA at faulted bus, post fault bus voltages, fault current distribution in
different elements of the network using Thevenin equivalent circuit. Draw a
single-line diagram showing the above results.

(ii) Check the results obtained in (i) using available fault analysis software.

(iii) The 4-bus system in (i) above is interconnected to a neighbouring system at

tie bus 5, through a tie-line 3-5, whose parameters are the same as that of lines
L1and L2. The fault level at bus 5 in the neighbouring system is 500 MVA.
Recompute the fault current and MVA at faulted bus, post-fault bus voltages
and fault current distribution in different elements of the network using
available software. Compare the results with that obtained in (ii) above.

5.5.2. (i) For the system given in 5.5.1. apply a line-to-ground (solid) fault at bus 4 and
determine the fault current and fault MVA at faulted bus, post-fault
bus voltages and fault current contribution by each generator, both in
sequence and phase domain using the available software.
(ii) Check the fault current at bus 4 computed in (i) above using Thevenin
equivalent and the respective sequence network connection.

5.5.3. Repeat 5.5.2. (i) and (ii) for a line-to-line fault at bus 4.

5.5.4. Repeat 5.5.2. (i) and (ii) for a double line-to-ground fault at bus 4.

5.5.5. Conduct fault analysis on the 14 bus system given in Annexure 5.1 using the
available software and obtain the fault MVA at each one of the buses, the post
fault bus voltages and currents (phase components and sequence components) for
the following faults:

(i) Three phase-to-ground fault.

(ii) Line-to-ground fault
(iii) Line-to-line fault
(iv) Double-line-to-ground fault

5.6 REFERENCE
[1] O.I. Elgerd, “Electric Energy Systems Theory -An Introduction”, Tata -McGraw Hill
Publishing Co Ltd, New Delhi, 2003.

5-15
 Annexure 5.1 Single Line Diagram – 14 Bus System

BUS 12 BUS 4

LINE 7

TRAN 2
BUS 10
LINE 10

LINE 5

LINE 13
TRAN 3
LINE 4

LINE 6
BUS 11

BUS 6 BUS 5
BUS 9

LINE 3
LINE 9

LINE 2
LINE 8

LINE 12
BUS 2
BUS 1
BUS 14
LINE 1

TRAN 1
LINE 14

TRAN 4
BUS 7 BUS 8

LINE 11
BUS 13

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