Fault current DC decrement and system impedances

Short circuit currents cleared by circuit breakers must consider this unidirectional component,
especially for shorter interrupting periods. Same DC component is important when verifying
the capability of a circuit breaker to reclose against or withstand fault currents. Fault currents
containing high current DC offsets, usually present no zero crossings in the first several cycles
right after fault introduction and are especially burdensome to the circuit breakers of large
generators.
Fault current DC decrement is also impacted by the fact that because the current existing in
the system before the fault, cannot change instantaneously, a considerable unidirectional
component may exist in the fault current which actually depends on the exact occurrence of
the short circuit. This unidirectional component of the fault current is often referred to as DC
current offset as it reduces with time exponentially. The rate of decay is related to the system
total reactance and resistance. Although this decay is quick, the DC current component could
last enough time to be detected by the protective relay equipment, particularly when fast fault
clearing is very needed to maintain system stability or prevent the damaging effects of the
fault currents.
Modelling requirements of the power system
Fault currents have dynamic aspect that is necessary to associate calculated short circuit
currents to a specific moment in time from the onset of the short circuit. AC current decrement
assessment is used to properly determine the symmetrical RMS values of the short circuit
currents, while DC decrement calculations provide the necessary DC current component of
the fault current, hence affording a correct approximation of the total short circuit current. The
total fault current, must be used for breaker and switchgear sizing and in some specific
scenarios for protective relay device coordination. Electrical system topology conditions are
evenly significant because the system arrangement and electrical closeness of the rotating
machinery to the fault location will influence the total order of magnitude of the fault current.
It is
therefore essential to come up with an electrical system model as a whole and examine it in
an accurate and computationally convenient manner.
Modern power systems are usually compromised of multiple generators and motors. They
are interlinked using other equipment like transformers, overhead lines and cables. Also there
is usually one or more locations at which a local, smaller power system is connected to a
larger electrical grid. These locations are referred to as “point of common coupling”. The main
goal of the short-circuit study is to calculate the short-circuit currents and voltages at various
locations throughout the system.
Representation of the three-phase vs. symmetrical components
It is a customary practice for conventional three-phase electrical systems to be interpreted on
a single-phase basis. Mentioned simplification, successfully applied for power flow and
transient stability studies, leans on the assumption that the electrical system is equally
balanced or can be accepted to be so for practical purposes. However, electrical system
modelling, on a single-phase basis is insufficient for examining processes that take into
account serious system imbalances. From the short-circuit analysis point of view, three-phase
fault lends itself to single-phase analysis, because the fault is balanced and asks for all three
phases, presuming a balanced three-phase electrical system. Other short circuit current
conditions will bring in imbalances that need the analysis of the remaining unaffected two
phases. There are two options to address this problem:
- Representation using symmetrical components. Analysis using symmetrical
components is a method that, instead of asking for assessment of the imbalanced
electrical system, provides provision for the creation of three electrical subsystems:
the positive, the negative, and the zero-sequence sys-tems that are correctly
connected at the short circuit point which depends on the type of the electrical system
imbalance. Once fault currents and voltages are modelled anywhere in the network,
they can be obtained by properly aggregating findings of the analysis of the three-
sequence networks.
- Representation of the system using all three-phases. If the system is represented on a three-
phase basis, the identity of all three phases is retained. The advantage of this approach is
that any kind of short circuit current imbalance can be promptly assessed, including
coincidental faults. Moreover, the short circuit current condition is defined with bigger
flexibility, especially for arcing faults. The main disadvantages of the technique are:

o If the computer program is used, it can be data-intensive.

o It is not convenient for manual calculations, even for small electrical systems.

The distinguishable advantage of the approach that uses symmetrical components is

that it gives provision for representing imbalanced short circuit conditions, while it still
holds the conceptual simplicity of the single-phase assessment. Additional significant
advantage of the symmetrical components technique is that impedances of the system
equipment can be measured in the symmetrical components reference frame.
This reduction is true only if the system is balanced in all three phases (excluding fault
location which becomes the connection point of the sequence networks), the premise
that can be entertained without bringing in considerable modelling errors for most
electrical systems.
The main weakness of the method is that for complex short circuit current conditions, it may
bring in more problems than it resolves. The method of symmetrical components continues
the favoured analytical tool for short circuit current analysis for hand and computer-based
assessments.
Impedances of the electrical system and analysis of symmetrical components
Theory of the symmetrical components prescribes that for a three-phase electrical system, it
needs to be established for the assessment of imbalanced short circuit current conditions.
The first part is the positive sequence system, that is determined
by a balanced set of voltages and currents of equal magnitude, following the phase sequence
of a, b, and c.
The second part is the negative sequence system, that is similar to the positive sequence
system, but is determined by a balanced set of voltages and currents with a reverse phase
sequence of a, c, and b.
Lastly, the zero sequence system is defined by a group of voltages and currents that are in
phase with each other and not displaced by 120 degrees, as it is the case with the other two
systems. Electrical connectivity of the zero sequence system can be different from the
positive and negative sequence systems. This is due to the fact that it is influenced by the
power transformer winding connections and system neutral grounding; components that are
not important when ascertaining the topology of the positive and the negative sequence
networks.

Three-phase fault analysis for the balanced systems requires only the positive sequence
system components impedances Z1 = (R1 + jX1). For calculation of the line-to-line faults,
negative sequence impedances Z2 = (R2 + jX2) are required. For all faults involving connection
to the ground, such as line-to-ground and double line-to-ground faults, the zero sequence
system impedances Z0 = (R0 + jX0) are required in addition to the positive and negative
systems. System neutral grounding equipment components such as grounding resistors or
reactors and grounding transformers constitute an inherent part of the impedance data for
the zero sequence system.

Fault current AC decrement conditions prescribe that rotating electrical equipment

impedances differ from the onset of the short circuit. This is applicable only to positive
sequence impedances that range from sub-transient through transient to steady-state values.
The negative and zero sequence impedances for the rotating electrical equipment are
considered unaltered. The same is valid for the electrical impedances of the static system
components.
Electrical system equipment components such as transformers, overhead lines, cables, bus
bars, and static loads, under balanced system conditions can be
considered as static and have the same impedances that are used for calculating positive
and negative sequence currents. In principle, same components present different electrical
impedances for determining the flow of zero sequence currents. Rotating electrical equipment
like electrical synchronous generators and motors have different electrical impedances for all
three phase sequence networks. The positive sequence electrical impedances are usually
used for balanced power flow calculations. Sequence impedances must be calculated,
measured, specified by the manufacturers of the equipment, or estimated based on the
standard engineering practice. The zero sequence electrical impedance may not exist for
particular rotating equipment which depends on the machine grounding system.
Quasi-steady-state short circuit current assessment
Quasi-steady-state short circuit current assessment relates to methods that interpret the
system at steady state. Phasor vectors are used to present voltages across the system,
currents, and electrical impedances at basic, fundamental frequency. Electrical system
modelling and the resulting calculation methods are based on the premise that the electrical
system and its associated electrical components can be comprised of linear models. Keeping
electrical system linearity greatly simplifies the calculations. Moreover, linear algebra and the
numerical advancements in matrix calculations make it possible to enforce practical computer
solutions for large electrical systems. These methods have been preferred by the many
industry standards.
Time domain short circuit current analysis – Calculation methods
Time-domain short circuit current assessment refers to methods that give provision for the
computation of the fault currents as a function of time from the instant of the fault origin. For
large electric power systems, which consist of numerous electrical machines and generators
that jointly contribute to the total fault current, the contributions of many electrical machines
will have to be considered concurrently. Electrical machine models were formulated that let
predictions of significant accuracy be made with respect to behaviour of any electrical
machine for a short circuit current occurrence either at or beyond its terminals. These models
are complex
because they represent in detail not only the electrical machine itself but also nonlinear
controllers including excitation systems and their related stabilization electronic equipment
with associated nonlinearities. It can therefore be noted that the computational necessities
could be colossal, because the task is cut down to simultaneously solving a huge number of
differential equations. Despite its underlying power, the usage of time-domain short circuit
current analysis is not widespread and is only utilized for special calculations because it is
data and time intensive (required data can be at least as requiring as transient stability
studies) and it asks for a special software.
Industry standards for short circuit current calculations
Certain analytical techniques are defined by industry standards that adhere to specific
guidelines and are specifically accommodated to address the problems of AC and DC current
decay in practical multi-machine systems that are in conformity with established, practices
accepted by the power industry. They are also associated to and accord with adopted,
existing switchgear rating structures. Typical industry standards are:
- International standard, IEC 60909

- North American ANSI

The analytical and calculation framework in the analytical processes prescribed by the
aforementioned standards stays algebraic and linear, and the computations are kept
easily managed by hand for small systems. The extent of the information base
necessities for computerized solutions is kept to a necessary maximum for the
solutions to be acceptably precise. This type of analyses presents the best
compromise between solution accuracy and simplicity of the simulation. The vast
majority of commercial fault analysis programs fall under this category.
IEC 60909 - International standard
Standard IEC 60909 (published in 1988) distinguishes four duty types resulting in
four different calculated short circuit currents:
"
- The initial short-circuit current I k

- The peak short-circuit current Ip

- The breaking short-circuit current Ib

- The steady-state fault current Ik

Although, the breaking and steady-state short circuit currents are in principal similar to the
interrupting and time-delayed short circuit currents, respectively, the peak short circuit
currents are the maximum fault currents reached during the first cycle from a beginning of a
fault’s and are importantly different from the first-cycle fault currents described in IEEE
standards, which are total asymmetrical RMS short circuit currents. The initial short-circuit
current is determined as the symmetrical RMS short circuit current would inflow to the point
of the fault if there are no changes in network impedances.

AC current decrement is addressed by considering contribution from every generation

source, which depends on the voltage at generator terminals during the short circuit. AC
decrement of induction motor is represented in a different way from synchronous machines
decrement, because an extra decrement factor that represents the more rapid flux decay is
included in induction motors. AC decrement is considered and modelled only when breaking
currents are calculated.
DC current decrement is addressed in IEC 60909, by using the principle of superposition for
the contributing electrical sources in conjunction with topology of the network and the
locations of the contributing sources with respect to the location of the fault. Standard IEC
60909 prescribes that different calculation steps need to be used when the contribution
converges to a fault location via a meshed or radial path. These conditions are applicable to
the calculation of peak and asymmetrical breaking short circuit currents.
Standard IEC 60909 gives calculation methodology of the maximum and minimum short
circuit currents. Maximum short circuit currents are used for sizing circuit breakers while
minimum short circuit currents are used for setting protective relays. The main factor for the
calculation of the short circuit currents is pre-fault voltage at
the point of the fault and the number of generators in service.
Short circuit currents calculated for the steady state take into account the fact that the short
circuit currents do not contain DC component and that all short circuit current contributions
from induction motors have decayed to zero. Synchronous motors also have to be taken into
account. Provisions are taken for salient and round rotor synchronous machines and for
different excitation system settings.
Loading conditions before the fault are considered with due attention in IEC 60909. In
order to account for system loads leading to higher voltages before the fault, the
standard advocates that voltages before the fault at the fault location point can be
different from 1.00 per unit. This means that a load flow solution is not required in order
to calculate short circuit currents. IEC 60909 suggests impedance correction factors
for the generators. These correction factors can also be applicable to their step up
transformers.
ANSI standards – North American standard
IEEE standards covering short circuit current calculations for low voltage electrical systems
(below 1000 V), are:
- IEEE Standard 242-1986
- IEEE Standard 241-1990
- IEEE Standard C37.13-1990
- IEEE Standard 141-1993

IEEE standards dealing with short circuit current calculations for medium and high voltage
electrical networks are:
- IEEE Standard 141-1993
- IEEE Standard C37.5-1979
- IEEE Standard 241-1990

- IEEE Standard 242-1986.

- IEEE Standard C37.010-1979

 Three types of fault currents are determined, depending on the time frame of interest
considered from the origin of the fault, as first-cycle fault currents, also called
momentary fault currents, are the currents at 1/2 cycle after fault initiation. These
currents pertain to the duty circuit breakers face when “closing against” or withstanding
fault currents. These currents usually contain DC offset and are computed on the
assumption of no AC decay in the contributing sources. Bearing in mind that low
voltage circuit breakers operate in the first cycle, their breaking ratings are compared
to these currents.
Differences between the IEEE C37 and IEC 60909

There are numerous and significant differences between IEEE C37 and IEC 60909 short
circuit calculation standards. System modelling and computational techniques are different in
the two standards. Because of this results obtained by IEEE and IEC standards can be
different, with IEC 60909 generally providing higher short circuit current values. The essential
differences between IEEE and IEC short circuit calculation standards can be summarized as
follows:
- Short circuit DC current decrement described in IEC 60909 does not always rely on a single
X/R ratio. Generally, more than one X/R ratio has to be taken into account. In addition, the
notion of separate X and R networks for obtaining the X/R ratio at the location of the fault is
not applicable to IEC 60909.
- Short circuit AC current decrement considered by IEC 60909 depends on the fault location
and the standard quantifies rotating machinery’s proximity to the fault. IEEE standard
recommends system-wide modelling of the AC decrement.
- Steady-state short circuit current calculation in IEC 60909 considers excitation settings of
the synchronous machines.

Considering these important differences, numerical simulations performed using IEEE

C37 standards cannot be used to account for the computational requirements of IEC
60909 and vice versa.
 Calculated short-circuit currents and interrupting equipment
Previously discussed calculation procedures are used to perform fault calculations on
industrial and commercial power systems that are comprised of several voltage levels
including low, medium and high voltage systems. Fault currents that appear in the first cycles
of the faults are usually used to determine interrupting requirements of low voltage fuses and
breakers. These fault currents are used for the calculation of the:

- First cycle currents

- Time delayed currents

- Interrupting currents

Currents that are the result of short circuit current calculations are used for medium
and high voltage systems since they operate with a time delay that is introduced by
protective relaying and operating requirements. Since IEEE Standard C37.13-1990
has adopted the symmetrical rating structure and calculates symmetrical RMS, fault
currents and X/R ratio can be considered as sufficient in the case calculated X/R ratio
is less than the X/R ratio of the test circuit of the circuit breaker. This procedure is
suitable for calculations in systems with a low voltage fuse and circuit breakers as
defined by IEEE Standard C37.13-1990.
IEEE Standard C37.010-1979 and IEEE Standard C37.5-1979 contain coefficients that can
be applied to symmetrical RMS short circuit currents in order to get asymmetrical RMS
currents. IEEE Standard C37.5-1979 defines them as total asymmetrical short circuit currents
while IEEE Standard C37.010-1979 describes fault currents that are compared against circuit
breaker interrupting capabilities. The above mentioned coefficients are obtained from curves
normalized against the circuit breaker contact opening time. In order to be in line with IEC
standards, ANSI C37.06-1987 introduced peak fault current to the preferred ratings as an
alternative to total asymmetrical currents.

It is important to mention that distinction needs to be made between ratings of

medium and high voltage circuit breakers. Circuits breakers that are described in IEEE
Standard C37.5-1979 and that are based on the older rating structure, are assessed on the
total asymmetrical short circuit current, or total fault MVA, and short circuit current calculations
are bounded by minimum parting time. The newer circuit breaker rating structure that was
introduced by IEEE Standard C37.0101979, defines breakers on their symmetrical basis. The
symmetrical short circuit currents calculated using this method can be sufficient since certain
degree of asymmetry is included in the rating structure of the breaker depending on the actual
operational conditions and overall system X/R ratio.

Remote contribution is defined in IEEE Standard C37.010-1979, IEEE Standard C37.5-

1979, IEEE Standard 141-1993 and IEEE Standard 242-1986 as the current is produced by
a generator that:
- Has a per unit X"d that is 1.5 times less than the per unit external reactance on a common
MVA base, and

- Is located two or more transformations away from the point of the fault.

Generally, it needs to be pointed out that the most important step in the calculations of the
total fault currents for the medium and high voltage circuit breakers is deciding which part
of the total short circuit current comes from “local” and “remote” sources in order to obtain
a meaningful estimate of the circuit breaker interrupting requirements. This distinction is
reasoned by the fact that currents from remote sources introduce slower AC current decay
or do not introduce it comparing to short circuit currents from the local sources.

Factors that affect short-circuit studies results

The accuracy of the calculated short circuit currents depends on the modelling accuracy, system
configuration and equipment impedances. Other factors include modelling of the electrical
machines, generators, grounding point of the system, other system components and different
operating conditions.