FACTA UNIVERSITATIS NIS Series: Electronics and Energetics vol. 11, No.

1 1998, 103-114

CALCULATION OF THERMAL EQUIVALENT SHORT TIME CURRENT Jovan Nahman and Dobrivoje Stojanovi c
Abstract. Simple expressions are derived for calculation of Joule integral and
thermal equivalent short time current for three phase short circuit currents. The approach suggested is based upon actual system parameters and provides fair estimates of short circuit thermal e ects, as shown by the comparative analysis performed for some typical cases. The proposed approach compares successfully to the IEC m, n method in most cases of practical interest while providing more accurate results for remote faults.

For a proper rating of power conductors and equipment the thermal effects of s.c. currents have to be considered. In the majority of cases in practice the three phase s.c. currents have the highest magnitudes and produce the most pronounced thermal stresses. Therefore, the impacts of such faults are usually considered as relevant for thermal sizing. The s.c. current varies in time in a complex manner owing to the transient processes in generating units and network elements 1, 2 . Consequently, an exact determination of current thermal e ects would imply sophisticated and rather laborious calculation which is inappropriate for practice. Practical methods recommended 3, 4 are based upon the presumption of adiabatic heating during short circuits. Constant thermal equivalent current r.m.s. value is introduced and graphs are provided to determine the heating e ects of a.c. and d.c. components of the s.c. current in terms of s.c. duration. The aforementioned graphs are constructed by adopting average values for relevant generating unit and network parameters and they provide reasonably fair results for many practical cases. However, in some cases, for certain system
Manuscript received January 21, 1998. Prof. dr J. Nahman is with Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Bulevar revolucije 73, 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia and prof. dr D. Stojanovi is with Faculty of Electronic c Engineering, Beogradska 14, 18000 Ni, Yugoslavia. s 103

1. Introduction

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parameters and fault locations and duration, this method might remarkably underestimate the thermal impact of s.c. currents, as shown in this paper. The aim of this paper was to provide simple expressions for calculation of the Joule integral and the thermal equivalent current in terms of actual system parameters. The comparative analysis performed in Section 3 has demonstrated good performances of the approach suggested. Under assumption that the heating of current conducting elements during s.c. is practically adiabatic owing to short fault duration, the thermal stresses of these elements are closely related to the Joule integral 3

2. Determination of thermal equivalent current

B = i2 tdt
0

T Zk

1

Instead of B , the thermal equivalent short time current is commonly used 3, 4 r B 2 Ith = T To determine Ith , the following expression is suggested 3,4
k

Ith = I 00 m + n

3

with parameters m and n associated with heat dissipation caused by d.c. and a.c. s.c. current components, respectively. Graphs for these parameters are provided as functions of s.c. duration Tk as well as corresponding, rather complex expressions. The application of the aforementioned graphs for m and n is simple but in some cases to optimistic results are obtained which might lead to the equipment underrating. The graphs and expressions are derived implying some average values of generating unit and network parameters which might considerably di er from actual conditions in certain cases. In order to avoid such situations, we shall derive expressions for B and Ith based upon actual system parameters. The three phase s.c. current owing from the generating unit side to the fault point in radial scheme in Fig. 1 equals

it = ip t , ia t

4

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where

p 00 , Tta it = 2Ip t cos !t , 2I0 e p

5 6

Rated load of the generating unit is presumed in the prefault state.

Figure 1. Sample system

In Eq. 5 the critical instant of fault occurrence is implied yielding the maximum d.c. component. It is taken that the stator and network resistances are small when compared to the resistances of the s.c. scheme. Based upon the aforementioned assumption, we adopt for the radial scheme r I 00 = 1:1 X 00U+ X

I 00 =
0

00 Xd + X r I 0 = 1:15 X 00U+ X
d

Ur

7

Time constants are

00 + X Td00 = Td000 Xd0 + X X

8 9 10

0 Td0 = Td00 Xd + X X +X
d

1 +X Ta = ! Xd + r r
g

00

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Facta Universitatis ser.: Elect. and Energ. vol. 11, No.1 1998
T Zk
0

From Eq. 1 and Eq. 2 it follows

B = ip tdt , 2 ip tia tdt + i2 tdt a

T Zk

T Zk

11

The second term in Eq. 11 is very small when compared to the remaining two terms as the associated integrand is an alternating function of time. Thus, B  Ba + B p 12 where T Z k 2t 002 e, Ta dt Ba = 2I0 0 13 2Tk 
, 00 = Ta I0 2 1 , e Ta and T
2 Bp = 2 Ip t cos2 !tdt

Zk
0

T Zk
0

2 2 Ip tdt + Ip t cos 2!tdt 0

T Zk

14

Using the same arguments as before for Eq. 11, the second term in Eq. 14 can be discarded which leads to
2 Bp  Ip tdt 0

T Zk

15

The exact solution of the integral in Eq. 15 yields a relatively complex expression for Bp which is inappropriate for practical use. However, the calculation of Bp can be considerably simpli ed 5 if

T , k 0 e Td

1

16

is presumed, which is often the case in practice. Namely, faults at the generating unit terminals, associated with lowest Td0 values, are cleared out in

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a very short time. On the other hand, s.c. occurred at the higher voltage side of the step up transformer and analog the outgoing line, having longer clearing times, are associated with increased Td0 owing to the e ects of transformers and lines reactances, as it follows from Eq. 9. If Eq. 16 holds, then

T , k 0 Ip t  I 00 , I 0 e Td + I 0 Bp = I 02Tk +
t

17

After the substitution of Ip t from Eq. 17 into Eq. 15 and integration, the following expression is obtained 18
2

all faults occurred at the higher voltage side and can be ignored Appendix. For s.c. at generating unit terminals, the approximation
t  Td00 yields a fair upper for
t. Based upon the aforesaid, Eq. 18 converts into 20

19 I0 , 1 For typical system parameters, term
t is very low compared to Tk for 2

2Tk  00
Td 1 , e, Td00  + 2 I 00 ,1

T , k 00 Td00 1 , e Td

the a.c. component of the s.c. current. From the Eqs. 2, 12, 13 and 21 it follows

I 02 Tk + Td00 for s.c. at generating unit terminals 21 I 02 Tk otherwise Eq. 21 leads to the conclusion that I 0 is a good thermal equivalent for Bp = Ith = I 0 a + b

22 23

where

1 + Td a=: Tk 1

00

for s.c. at generating unit terminals otherwise

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Facta Universitatis ser.: Elect. and Energ. vol. 11, No.1 1998

b = I0
0

 00 2
I Ta

Tk

2T , k 1 , e Ta

24 25 26

As in the most cases

Tk
Eq. 24 reduces to

3T 2 a

b  I00

 00 2 I Ta

Tk

3. Comparative analysis
In order to check applicability of Eq. 22, the thermal equivalent current has been calculated using various methods for three fault locations indicated in Fig. 1. Two slightly edited real life samples have been analyzed with detailed data quoted in Appendix in Tables 3 and 5. In sample No. 1 the 235 MV A turbogenerator unit is considered, installed in power plant "Kosovo A" in Yugoslavia, which is connected to the 220 kV transmission network. Sample No. 2 considers a 588 MV A turbo unit connected to the 380 kV network. Current Ith has been calculated by applying the exact Park's system model 6 , the m, n model 4 and Eq. 22. In the Park's model the most critical time instant of fault occurrence is presumed in all cases zero prefault voltage value of the phase which current is under consideration and the rated load conditions in the prefault state. Saturated values of generating units reactances are adopted. For this model, the following expression has been used for Ith
v u Zk u T t1 Ith = u T i2 tdt k
0

27

with current it calculated by solving the corresponding di erential equations. Consequently, the results obtained by Park's model encompass the complete transient process and can be used as good reference basis in comparative calculations. The results of the comparative analysis obtained are presented in Figs. 2 and 3.

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Figure 2. Thermal equivalent short time current for various fault locations in terms of fault duration, Park's model,    m; n approach, |- Eq.22 for Sample No 1;

Figure 3. Thermal equivalent short time current for various fault locations in terms of fault duration, for Sample No 2; Park's model,    m; n approach, |- Eq. 22

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Tables 1 and 2 display the errors of the approximate approaches if compared with Park's model. Thermal equivalent current magnitudes determined by the m, n model and by Eq. 22 are denoted by Imn and In , respectively.
Table 1: Results for sample No. 1 Fault 0.4 55.722 57.588 4.35 60.681 8.89 Fault 0.4 30.226 30.015 -0.69 30.485 0.85 Fault 0.4 18.274 15.464 -15.37 18.049 -1.23 location K1 0.5 0.6 52.406 49.471 52.610 49.685 0.38 0.43 57.718 55.287 10.13 11.75 location K2 0.5 0.6 28.593 27.358 28.137 26.385 -1.59 -3.55 29.306 28.460 2.49 4.02 location K3 0.5 0.6 17.778 17.393 14.534 14.046 -18.24 -19.24 17.863 17.737 0.47 1.97

Tk , s Ith, kA Imn, kA , In , kA , Tk , s Ith, kA Imn, kA , In , kA , Tk , s Ith, kA Imn, kA , In , kA ,

0.1 70.803 75.400 6.49 78.333 6.35 0.1 39.742 42.341 6.53 38.874 -2.18 0.1 21.742 21.687 -0.25 20.626 -5.13

0.2 64.462 67.919 5.36 69.495 7.80 0.2 35.276 36.699 4.03 34.798 -1.35 0.2 19.879 18.188 -8.50 18.956 -4.64

0.3 59.514 61.968 4.12 64.416 8.23 0.3 32.254 33.046 2.45 32.200 -0.16 0.3 18.879 16.822 -10.89 18.357 -2.76

0.7 47.083 47.373 0.61 53.256 13.11 0.7 26.356 24.876 -5.61 27.829 5.58 0.7 17.038 13.541 -20.52 17.647 3.57

0.8 45.00 44.66 -0.75 51.54 14.52 0.8 25.51 23.75 -6.89 27.34 7.17 0.8 16.76 13.02 -22.33 17.58 4.90

0.9 43.18 42.96 -0.52 50.07 15.96 0.9 24.80 22.57 -11.51 26.96 8.68 0.9 16.51 12.71 -23.05 17.53 6.14

1.0 41.59 40.87 -1.72 48.81 17.35 1.0 24.19 21.75 -10.06 26.65 10.19 1.0 16.28 12.30 -24.43 17.48 7.35

For faults at location K1 , Eq. 22 matches, in both sample cases, very well with the exact results and m, n method for Tk  0:3s, which time range is of particular interest for practice. For Tk 0:3s, Eq. 22 overestimates Ith introducing errors increasing with Tk . The m, n method behaves better than Eq. 22 for fault durations longer than 0:3s. For faults at location K2 , Eq. 22 provides very good estimates of Ith for the whole Tk range being examined. For short fault duration, Eq. 22 yields more accurate results than the m, n method. For high Tk , the m, n method tends to underestimate Ith .

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K3 , in the entire time Tk range under consideration. This expression provides, in overall, much better results than m, n method which remarkably underestimates Ith in the both sample cases for introducing errors exceeding
20. It is important to note that the slight inaccuracies which might be introduced with Eq. 22 lead to an overestimation of Ith in the most cases, implying a reserve on the safe side.
Table 2: Results for sample No. 2

Very good behavior of Eq. 22 has been established for faults at location

Tk , s Ith, kA Imn, kA , In , kA , Tk , s Ith, kA Imn, kA , In , kA , Tk , s Ith, kA Imn, kA , In , kA ,

0.1 108.62 115.04 5.91 117.29 7.98 0.1 71.061 74.517 4.86 69.518 -2.17 0.1 49.024 49.421 0.81 47.327 -3.46

0.2 98.020 103.98 6.08 104.12 6.22 0.2 63.959 64.689 1.14 63.636 -0.50 0.2 43.342 40.613 -6.29 41.715 -3.75

0.3 90.138 93.829 4.09 96.272 6.80 0.3 58.925 57.207 -2.91 59.314 0.66 0.3 40.172 36.063 -10.23 39.029 -2.84

Fault 0.4 84.162 86.796 3.13 90.486 7.51 Fault 0.4 55.243 53.072 -3.93 56.102 1.55 Fault 0.4 38.198 33.320 -12.77 37.539 -1.72

location K1 0.5 0.6 78.724 74.305 79.698 74.921 1.23 0.83 85.942 82.269 9.16 10.71 location K2 0.5 0.6 52.046 49.572 49.135 46.325 -5.59 -6.55 53.679 51.821 3.13 4.53 location K3 0.5 0.6 36.662 35.473 31.231 29.535 -14.81 -16.73 36.606 35.969 -0.15 1.39

0.7 70.762 71.284 0.73 79.248 11.99 0.7 47.603 43.641 -8.32 50.369 5.81 0.7 34.537 28.160 -18.46 35.508 2.81

0.8 67.61 68.32 1.04 76.73 13.48 0.8 45.95 41.43 -9.82 49.21 7.10 0.8 33.76 26.72 -20.87 35.16 4.12

0.9 64.96 65.68 1.09 74.61 14.85 0.9 44.54 39.44 -11.44 48.28 8.39 0.9 33.12 25.81 -22.06 34.88 5.33

1.0 62.63 62.45 -0.29 72.81 16.25 1.0 43.29 38.41 -11.28 47.51 9.73 1.0 32.50 25.19 -22.51 34.66 6.63

The approach in this paper enables simple calculation of thermal equivalent short time current which is used for thermal rating of conductors and other equipment with respect to s.c. currents. It is shown that the transient s.c. current may be taken as a good equivalent for calculating the thermal e ects of the alternating component of the s.c. current for moderate fault duration.

4. Conclusion

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Facta Universitatis ser.: Elect. and Energ. vol. 11, No.1 1998

Appendix A. Nomenclature
B Ur it ip t, ia t Ip t Ith m, n X rg , r
Pr Tk Ta
Joule integral generating unit rated phase voltage three phase short circuit s.c. current alternating and direct components of s.c. current r.m.s. of alternating component of s.c. current thermal equivalent short time current parameters associated with the heat dissipation due to d.c. and a.c. s.c. current subtransient, transient synchronous and stator leakage reactance network reactance generator stator and external network's resistance transformer rated copper losses s.c. duration subtransient and transient time constants subtransient and transient no load time constants time constants of direct s.c. current component percentage error

Appendix B. Sample system data

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Sr Rated voltages MV A kV=kV 240 242 15.75 600 420 20 z = r + jx =km 0:08 + j 0:40 0:031 + j 0:325

uk  12.7 12
1 km 200 200

Pr kW 950 1300

Table 5: Transmission line data Sample No. 1 2

From Eq. 19 it follows
t

Appendix C. Parameter
t
 00 I 2 00  Td + 2 I 00 I0 , 1 2 I0

, 1 Td00

28

Let us insert I 0 = 1:5 in Eq. 28, which is a good estimate for fault I location K1 . Then, for this location, we obtain
t 1:12Td00  Td00 which yields Eq. 20. 00 For, say I 0  1:2, which is typical for fault locations along the line, we I deduce from Eq. 28
t 0:48Td00 which means that
t is much smaller than Tk for faults under consideration and justi es Eq. 20.

REFERENCES
1. R. Roeper: Short circuit currents in three phase systems. Wiley, New York, 1985. 2. IEC 909 1 Technical report: Short circuit currents calculation in three phase a.c. systems. IEC, 1991. 3. IEC 865 1 Technical report: Short circuit currents calculation of e ects. IEC, 1993.

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Facta Universitatis ser.: Elect. and Energ. vol. 11, No.1 1998
4. VDE 0102: Leitsatze fur die Bemessung von Starkstromanlagen auf mechanische und thermische Kurzchlussfestigheit. Part 1, 1971, and Part 2, 1975. 5. J. Nahman: Short circuit currents and their breaking. in Serbian, ETF Belgrade, 1975. 6. A.P. Bergen: Power system analysis. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1986.