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Standard Compliance
ETAP short-circuit calculation per IEC Standards fully complies with the latest IEC documentation as listed below:
IEC 62271-200 2003 High-voltage switchgear and controlgear – Part 200: AC metal-enclosed switchgear and controlgear for
rated voltages above 1 kV and up to and including 52 kV
IEC 62271-203 2003 High-voltage switchgear and controlgear – Part 203: Gas-insulated metal-enclosed switchgear for rated
voltages above 52 kV
IEC 61363-1 1998 Electrical installations of ships and mobile and fixed offshore units – Part 1: Procedures for calculating
short-circuit currents in three-phase a.c.
IEC 60909-0 2001 Short-Circuit Currents in Three-phase a.c. systems - Part 0: Calculation of Currents (including 2002
corrigendum1) for systems up to 500 kV.
IEC 60909-1 2002 Short-circuit currents in three-phase a.c. systems - Part 1: Factors for the calculation of short-circuit
currents according to IEC-60909-0
IEC 60909-2 1992 Electrical equipment - Data for short-circuit current calculations in accordance with IEC 60909 (1988)
IEC 60909-4 2000 Short-circuit currents in three-phase a.c. systems Part 4: Examples for the calculation of short-circuit
currents
IEC 60947-1 2004 Low voltage switchgear and controlgear, Part 1: General rules
IEC 60947-2 2003 Low voltage switchgear and controlgear, Part 2: Circuit breakers
These standards are for short circuit calculation and equipment rating in AC systems operating at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. They cover 3-phase, line-to-ground, line-to-line, and
line-to-line-to-ground faults.
IEC 60909 and the associated standards classify short circuit currents according to their magnitudes (maximum and minimum) and fault distances from the generator
(far and near). Maximum short circuit currents determine equipment ratings, while minimum currents dictate protective device settings. Near-to-generator and far-
from-generator classifications determine whether or not to model the AC component decay in the calculation, respectively.
IEC 61363-1 Standard calculates the short-circuit current as a function of time and displays its instantaneous values using the machine’s subtransient reactance and
time constants. This provides an accurate evaluation of the short-circuit current for sizing protective devices and coordinating relays for isolated systems such as ships
and offshore platforms.
All machines are represented by their internal impedances. Transformer taps can be set at either the nominal position or at an operating position, and different schemes
are available to correct transformer impedance and system voltages if off-nominal tap setting exists. System impedances are assumed to be balanced 3-phase, and the
method of symmetrical components is used for unbalanced fault calculations..
Zero sequence capacitances of transmission lines, cables and shunt admittances can be considered for unbalanced fault calculations (LG and LLG) if the option in the
study case is selected to include branch Y and static load. This means that the capacitances of static loads and branches are considered based on IEC 60909-0 2001. The
basic model used to consider these shunt admittances is shown below:
Calculations consider electrical distance from the fault location to synchronous generators. For a far-from-generator fault, calculations assume that the steady-state
value of the short-circuit current is equal to the initial symmetrical short-circuit current and only the DC component decays to zero. However, for a near-to-generator
fault, calculations count for decaying in both AC and DC components. The equivalent R/X ratios determine the rates of decay of both components, and different values
are recommended for generators and motors near the fault.
Calculations also differ for meshed and unmeshed networks. The factor k, which is used to multiply the initial short-circuit current to get the peak short-circuit current
ip, is defined differently for different system configurations and the methods selected to calculate the R/X ratios.
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Definition of Terms
IEC standards use the following definitions, which are relevant in the calculations and outputs of ETAP.
According to IEC Standard 60909-0, the synchronous motor impedance used in IEC short circuit calculations is calculated in the same way as the synchronous
generator.
Where kVn and kVr are the nominal voltage of the terminal bus and the motor rated voltage respectively, cmax is determined based on machine rated voltage, Xd ” is
machine subtransient reactance (per unit in motor base), and qr is the machine rated power factor angle.
The time delay (Tmin) is the sum of the shortest possible operating time of an instantaneous relay and the shortest opening time of a circuit breaker. Minimum time
delay does not include the adjustable time delays of tripping devices.
Voltage Factor c
This is the factor used to adjust the value of the equivalent voltage source for minimum and maximum current calculations according to the following table:
Voltage Factor c
For Maximum Short-Circuit For Minimum Short-Circuit
Current Calculation Calculation
Nominal Voltage Un cmax cmin
Others < 1001 V 1.1 0.95
Medium voltage: > 1 kV to 35 kV 1.10 1.00
High voltage: > 35 kV to 230 kV 1.10 1.00
ETAP provides three options for you to select the c factors in the Short circuit current group of the Standard page of the study case: Max, User-Defined c Factors, and
Min. If the Max option is selected, the maximum values given in the cmax column will be used in the calculation. If the User-Defined c Factor option is selected, the
user specified c factor values will be used. The user-defined values must be in the range between the values given in the cmax and cmin columns. If the Min option is
selected, the minimum values given in the cmin column will be used in the calculation.
Calculation Methods
Initial Symmetrical Short Circuit Current Calculation
Initial symmetrical short-circuit current (I”k) is calculated using the following formula:
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Method A - Uniform ratio R/X. The value of the k factor is determined from taking the smallest ratio of R/X of all the branches of the network. Only branches
that contain a total of 80 percent of the current at the nominal voltage corresponding to the short circuit location are included. Branches may be a series
combination of several elements.
Method B - R/X ratio at the short circuit location. The value of the k factor is determined by multiplying the k factor by a safety factor of 1.15, which covers
inaccuracies caused after obtaining the R/X ratio from a network reduction with complex impedances.
Method C - Equivalent frequency. The value of the k factor is calculated using a frequency-altered R/X. R/X is calculated at a lower frequency and then
multiplied by a frequency-dependent multiplying factor.
For a near-to-generator fault, Ib is obtained by combining contributions from each individual machine. Ib for different types of machines is calculated using the
following formula:
where µ and q are factors that account for AC decay. They are functions of the ratio of the minimum time delay and the ratio of the machine’s initial short circuit
current to its rated current, as well as real power per pair of poles of asynchronous machines.
IEC Standards allow you to include or exclude AC decay effect from asynchronous machines in the calculation.
Where f is the system frequency, tmin is the minimum delay time of the protective device under concern, and X/R is the system value at the faulted bus.
ETAP plots the dc component of the fault current vs. time. The Idc component is printed in the “Breaking and DC Fault Current (kA)” section of the short-circuit report
for each fault location. The currents in this report are always based on the total bus fault current.
where λ is a function of a generator’s excitation voltage, ratio between its initial symmetrical short circuit current and rated current, other generator parameters, and IrG
is the generator’s rated current.
The steady-state short circuit current calculated is dependent on the option selected for Short circuit current in the study case. If the Max and User-Defined c Factor is
selected, the maximum steady-state current short circuit is reported. If the Min option is selected, the minimum steady-state short circuit current is reported.
This maximum steady-state short circuit current is used to determine minimum device ratings. The minimum steady-state short circuit value is used for relay
coordination purposes in preventing the occurrence of nuisance trips and loading deviations.
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ratio. In ETAP calculations, short circuit contribution in the following cases are considered as from a non-meshed network:
A contributing machine is connected to the faulted bus through a radial network in which the machine is the only source making short-circuit contribution to the
faulted bus.
In all other cases, the short circuit contributions are considered as from a meshed network.
Adjustment of Ib
According to IEC Standard 60909-0, to improve accuracy of Ib calculation for a near-to-generator three-phase short circuit in a meshed network, the breaking current
can be adjusted for decay in Ib from synchronous and induction machines based on Equation (75) of the standard. This adjustment will reduce Ib slightly from Ik”.
In ETAP, this adjustment is implemented according to Equation (75) for each sub-network that has near-to-generator short circuit contributions to the faulted bus. A
sub-network with respect to a given faulted bus includes all elements that are connected together, except through the faulted bus. When a sub-network has multiple
contributions to a faulted bus, the total I adjustment (a phase value) is distributed among all contributions from the sub-network based on the phase ratio of individual
b
Ik” contribution over total Ik” of all the contributions from the sub-network.
Note: A generator can be selected as a unit generator for only one unit transformer.
In short-circuit calculation, the generator and the transformer specified as a pair for a power unit will be modeled as a power unit only when both the generator and the
transformer are energized. If the transformer is not energized, the generator will be modeled as a regular generator. If the generator is not energized, the transformer
will be modeled as a network transformer. The generator and the transformer specified as a pair for a power unit must also be connected either directly or through
branches other than transformers; otherwise, they will be modeled as a regular generator and a network transformer.
Network Bus, Connecting Bus and Auxiliary System Bus for A Power Station Unit
According to IEC Standard 60909-0, the generator and the transformer in a power station unit will be modeled differently depending on the fault location. In ETAP, a
faulted bus can be classified as one of three types with respect to a power station unit: a network bus, a connecting bus, and an auxiliary system bus.
A connecting bus for a power station unit is the bus on the shortest connecting path between the unit generator and the unit transformer. ETAP automatically
determines the connecting path and connecting buses for a power station unit.
An auxiliary bus is a bus that is in the auxiliary system of a power station unit, but not a connecting bus. The auxiliary system includes all the elements that are
connected to the connecting buses without going across the unit transformer.
Network buses are all the rest of the buses that are neither connecting buses nor auxiliary buses.
Note: Bus type designation is with respect to a given power station unit. For the system given below, generator Unit-Gen and transformer Unit-XFMR forms a power
station unit. For this power station unit, Gen-Bus is the connecting bus for the power station unit. Auxiliary system buses include Aux-Bus-1 and Aux-Bus-2. The rest
of the buses are all network buses.
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These calculation preferences affect the selection of calculation methods for Idc, Ib and Ik. One of the most important causes of the inconsistencies in the standard is
the method used to determine the meshed or non-meshed (radial) parts of the systems. This determination is very important since the results are affected considerably
once this determination is made.
Meshed/Non-Meshed Systems
A meshed system can be considered a looped system or one that has multiple source contributions meshed together through the same contributing branch. A non-
meshed system is defined as a radial system or one which has only one contribution passing through a branch towards the faulted bus. The following images illustrate
the concept of meshed and non-meshed as described by IEC standard 60909-0 2001:
IEC 60909-4
IEC 60909-0
The areas enclosed in red color represent the Meshed contributions in this system towards the faulted buses. The areas enclosed in green color represent the non-
meshed (radial) contributions to their connected bus. In other words, the contributions of G2, G1, G3, M3 and M2 are considered to be non-meshed as long as the fault
is placed at the bus to which they are connected. These same contributions could be handled as meshed contributions to faults in other parts of the system.
These engineering calculation preferences can be modified by changing the value of the entry IEC Short Circuit Mesh Determination Method from the ETAP “Options
(Preferences)” menu.
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1. Idc: If the branch contribution is considered to be coming from a non-meshed source, then the R/X of the individual branch is used to determine the value of the
Idc coming into the faulted bus. The equivalent R/X value of the meshed network will be used to determine the value of Idc for the meshed contributions. Please
see section 4.3.1.1 and 4.3.1.2 and 4.4.
2. Ib: If a contribution is non-meshed, then the program will use the method described in section 4.5.2.2 Equations 71 and 72 to determine the contributions of Ib
from different non-meshed components. If the system is meshed, then the program uses a very different approach to determine Ib, it will use section 4.5.2.3
Equations 74 and 75 to determine the value of Ib.
3. Ik: If the contribution or system is considered to be non-meshed, then the program will use the method described in section 4.6.2 Equations 82 and 83. If the
contribution of the system is considered to be meshed, then the program will use the method described in section 4.6.3 Equations 84 and 85 to determine Ik.
Note that the use of these equations may result in the value of Ik being higher than Ib as can be observed in the results published in IEC Standard 60909-4 2000
for Example 4.
From the previous description in items 1-3, it becomes apparent that the determination of meshed and non-meshed parts of the system can have a drastic effect on the
results. The options that ETAP provides are designed to provide choices on how the analysis should be performed.
In the 3-phase Device Duty calculation, ETAP compares the protective device rating against bus short-current duty for the devices that are checked as complying with
IEC Standard and also have device rating entered. In case the short circuit duty is greater than the device duty, ETAP will flag the device as underrated in both one-line
diagram and output reports. The following table lists the device ratings and short circuit duties used for the comparison for MV CB, LV CB, and fuses:
MVCB – The asymmetrical breaking and dc current ratings for MV CB are calculated as follows,
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where tmin is the minimum delay time, and Ib,symm is the AC breaking current provided by the user. Following IEC Standard 62271-100, is equal to 45
milliseconds.
LVCB – The asymmetrical breaking current rating for LVCB is calculated as follows:
where f is the system frequency, tmin is the minimum delay time, and Ib,symm is the breaking current provided by the user. X/R is calculated based on a testing
PF given in IEC Standard 60947-2, Table 11.
Fuse – The asymmetrical breaking current rating for fuse is calculated as follows:
where f is the system frequency, tmin is assumed to be a half cycle, and Ib,symm is the breaking current provided by the user. X/R is calculated based on the
default testing PF of 15 %.
Ith – The thermal equivalent short-circuit current through LVCB and MVCB is calculated based on specifications on IEC 60909-0 2001 Annex A as follows:
These equations represent the Joule Integral and the equivalent short circuit current Ith that ETAP determines in order to compare against the value of I specified on
thr
the Circuit breaker rating page (LV or MV).
2
ETAP compares the Circuit Breaker (CB) rated short-time withstand thermal energy in Mega Joules (calculated as current (Ithr) times the “rated short-time in seconds
2
(Tkr)”) with the calculated thermal equivalent short-circuit energy in MJ (calculated as current (Ith) times either the “rated short-time in seconds (Tkr)” or the “user-
defined short-time in seconds (Tk)”). The comparison of thermal energy values is provided in the summary report. An example of the report is provided in the image
below. As can be observed in the image below the rated thermal energy for CB11 is 192.0 MJ while the short-circuit thermal energy was determined to be 126.0 MJ.
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Based on the equations given in IEC Standard 61363, the SC current includes 3 parts: subtransient, transient, and steady state components. The subtransient and
transient components equal to a magnitude multiplied by an exponential term. The short-circuit current at any given time is the summation of the three components. In
the Short-Circuit Summary Report, the magnitude of the three components are printed under subtransient, transient, and steady state current columns.
The IEC 61363-1 performed by ETAP applies to both meshed and non-meshed systems since it is unrealistic to expect an electrical system to be completely non-
meshed. The same approach is used to determine the contributions from meshed systems as is used for non-meshed systems since there is no other methodology
provided in the guideline to handle the transient short-circuit currents for meshed systems.
As calculation results, ETAP provides short circuit current as function of time up to 0.1 second at 0.001 second time increment. It also presents short circuit current as
function of cycles up to 1 cycle at 0.1 cycle increment. Along with the instantaneous current values, ETAP also furnish calculated AC component, DC component, as
well as top envelope of the current waveform. In the summary page, it also provides the subtransient, transient, and steady-state fault current for each bus.
In addition, ETAP provides options to increase the time of the transient waveform plots, plot all three phases, and also modify the angle at which the fault will initiate.
Note that extending the time beyond the default and previous value of 100 ms falls outside of the scope of the IEC 61363 standard. The plots are assumed to be the
natural decay of the time constants of the electrical system and machinery. Machine control units are not considered for this calculation. Please see the Standard page of
the study case editor for more details.
Short-Circuit Analysis
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