3/8/2021 Symmetrical Components

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Symmetrical Components
balanced vs unbalanced phasors negative sequence component positive
sequence component symmetrical components zero sequence
component Feb 13, 2020

In power systems, it is a common occurrence that there are unbalanced

voltages and currents on the distribution side of the grid. But these
voltages and currents might be unbalanced anywhere through the grid
in the case of a Fault, most commonly a short circuit fault. The simplest
method to calculate the before mentioned quantities is a method
termed "symmetrical per phase" technique and the concept is known as
Symmetrical Components given by Fortescue's Theorem. It is also known
as the "Three-component method". It can be descried as:

“ An unbalanced system of 'n' phasors can be resolved in

an 'n' system of balanced phasors called the symmetrical

components of the original system.
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What are symmetrical components

and Why do we use them?
Under the unbalanced condition, it is imperative to calculate the
magnitude and phase angles of voltages and currents of each of the
phases of the concerned section of the grid, as the protection system
Relays use these values as the basic parameters for operation. But this
can be quite a tedious and difficult task as the system is quite large and
unbalanced values also tend to make the calculations complex.

The method of symmetrical components simplified the problem of

three-phase unbalanced systems. Symmetrical components, besides, to
be a powerful analytical tool, is also conceptually useful. The symmetrical
components themselves, which are obtained from a transformation of
the ordinary line voltages and currents, are useful. Symmetrical
components have become accepted as one way of describing the
properties of many types of network elements such as transmission lines,
motors, and generators.

Hello there! On a related topic, we previously wrote a blog

about Fault Analysis in Power Systems., If this peaks your interest,
check it out and let us know what you think.

Balanced Three Phase System:

So, what is the balanced set of phasors? Well, its like a spinning wheel
with three arrows. Let's name the three arrows A, B, and C. For 3-phase
balanced set the angle between the phasors is of 120' and has the same
magnitude. The three arrows (phases) are 120' apart. The wheel can
rotate in two possible directions counter-clockwise and clockwise. Now
depending on how the wheel rotates the arrows(Phases) will have the
sequence of ABC or ACB. This is seen by considering a stationary point if
the wheel rotates clockwise first A will pass the point then C and then B.
And when the wheel rotates counterclockwise then A will come first then
B and finally C. These are the angle, magnitude and phase sequence
relation of Balanced set of Phasors.

Balanced vs Unbalanced Phasors:

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There is a major difference in balanced and unbalanced phasors. The

balanced or symmetrical set of phasors are those which have the same
magnitude and are all 120' apart. Whereas the unbalanced or
unsymmetrical set of phasors are those that have at least 1 phase having
1 magnitude not similar to the others or 1 phase being apart at an angle
that is not 120'.

Breakdown of the Symmetrical

Components:
As the name three-component method suggests that the symmetrical
components comprise a set of components that are balanced in nature.

Positive sequence component

Negative sequence component
Zero sequence component

For a symmetrical system, the source(generator) currents are equal in

magnitude and are in phase, with their three phases 120" apart. Also,
the impedances of the three-phase circuits and equipment are of equal
magnitude and phase angle.

Consider an unbalanced current phasor system shown in the figure

below. Suppose that the phasors are represented by Ia,Ib and Ic and their
phase sequence is Ia,Ib,Ic. The phase sequence of the positive component
is Ia,Ib,Ic and the phase sequence of negative components is Ia,Ic,I b.

Positive Sequence Component:

For a the positive sequence the Three phasors are balanced. Meaning
their magnitude is same and they are 120' apart. They have the same
phase sequence as that of the original set of phasors. For this case it is
Ia,Ib,Ic. They are as shown in figure below:

Negative Sequence Component:

For a negative sequence the Three phasors are balanced. Meaning their
magnitude is same and they are 120’ apart. They have the opposite
phase sequence as that of the original set of phasors.For this case it is
Ia,Ic,Ib. They are as shown in figure below:
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Zero Sequence Component:

The zero phase sequence components are the set of three phasors that
are equal in magnitude and at zero phase displacement from each other.
The zero-phase sequence component is as shown in the figure below.

Operator 'a'

As we have seen that in symmetrical component theory the concept of

120º displacement is quite important therefore, we require some
parameter or operator that might cause this 120' rotation. The operator
'a' is thus used. It is defined as under:

The 'a' operator is a unit vector at an angle of 120 o. It can be written as:

a=1∠120∘
a2=1∠240∘
Multiplying by 'a' will have the effect of rotating any phasor by 120˚. And
multiplying by a2 will rotate the phasor by 240˚.

Mathematical Equations:
The unbalanced phase currents in a 3-phase system can be expressed in
terms of symmetrical components as under:

IA = Ia1 + Ia2 + Ia0

IB = Ib1 + Ib2 + Ib0
IC = Ic1 + Ic2+ Ic0
Where,

The subscript 1 represents positive sequence component of each phase.

(Ia1 for phase A)

The subscript 2 shows negative sequence component of each phase.

(Ia2 for phase A)

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And subscript 0 shows the zero-sequence component of each

phase(Ia3 for phase A)

In order to simplify our calculations, we will be using phasor A as our

reference phasor.

Positive Sequence Components:

We will now be using the 'a' operator to relate the positive sequence
components of each phase.

Ia1 = Ia1
Ib1 = (1∠240°) Ia1 = a2 Ia1
Ic1 = (1∠120°) Ia1 = a Ia1
So, it can be seen here that positive sequence components of phase ‘B’
and phase ‘C’ are ‘a2’ and ‘a’ times the positive sequence component of
phase ‘A’. Hence a set of balanced positive sequence currents is
achieved.

Negative sequence Components:

We will now be using the 'a' operator to relate the negative
sequence components of each phase.

Ia2 = Ia2
Ib2 = (1∠120°) Ia2 = a Ia2
Ic2 = (1∠240°) Ia2 = a2 Ia2
It can also be seen here that negative sequence components of phase 'B'
and phase 'C' are 'a' and 'a2' times the negative sequence component of
phase 'A'. Hence a set of balanced negative sequence currents is
achieved.

Zero sequence Components:

It should be noted that zero sequence components for each phase
remain the same.

Ia0 = Ia0
Ib0 = Ia0
Ic0 = Ia0
or

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Ia0 = Ib0 = Ic0

A balanced set of zero sequence components is achieved here.

Simplified Equations:
We can now substitute the symmetrical components of each phase with
their equivalent to the reference phase A to get a set of equations
completely in terms of phase A components.

IA = Ia1 + Ia2 + Ia0

IB = a2 Ia1 + a Ia2 + Ia0
IC = a Ia1 + a 2 Ia2 + Ia0
Hence all our 3 phasors can be represented using symmetrical
components of only phase 'A'.

We can also manipulate these equations to get a set of equations which

will give us the symmetrical components of Phase ‘A’ , Ia1, Ia2, Ia0, in terms
of the other phasers IA, IB, IC.

Hence with these equations, we can convert an unbalanced system into a

balanced set of 3 systems.

Moreover, we can convert symmetrical components into their respective

phasors and vice versa with these equations.

It is also important to note that the same equations apply for Voltages as
well. We just replace 'I' with 'V'.

Where VA ,VB and VC are the phasor voltages, and Va1 , Va2, and Va0 are the
positive, negative and zero sequence Voltages of Phase 'A'.

Importance of symmetrical
components:
We can see those symmetrical components are a way of analyzing
unbalanced phasors which arise due to faults. Converting a set of
unbalanced phasors into sets of balanced components greatly simplifies

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our analysis and is helpful in performing fault calculations, power flow

studies, and stability studies.

Along with phasor values of current and voltage, the zero-sequence and
negative sequence components are also an important input to protective
relays that sense these values to decide the nature and type of the fault.

For example, a zero-sequence component indicates a ground fault, while

unbalanced loading leads to negative components, hence sensing these
components is essential in order to efficiently protect our power system.

Moreover, we can calculate sequence impedances using symmetrical

components, from which we can derive sequence circuits of transmission
lines and transformers and ultimately sequence networks of a complete
power system. This helps us analyze the behavior of our power system
under different types of faults.

Symmetrical components are a powerful tool for the analysis of

unbalanced components in the power system and useful for studying the
behavior of systems during faults. Check out Power System Protection
Fundamentals Course in which we briefly discussed "Principles of
Symmetrical Components".
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