Short-circuits – Lecture 11

Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV networks

Prof. Désiré Rasolomampionona,

Prof. dr hab. Jan Machowski

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 Outline of the lecture
•Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks
•Classification of MV networks
•MV networks with isolated neutral points

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks
HV networks operate with solidly earthed neutral points. Currents flowing during
earth-to-line short circuits are quite important in those networks and are comparable to
those occurring during multiple phase short-circuits.

In MV networks neutral points are NOT directly earthed. There are a few types of
earthing methods used in such networks. The classification of MV networks under this
angle is as follows :

a) MV networks with isolated neutral points,

b) MV networks with neutral points earthed through a compensating reactor,
c) MV networks with neutral points earthed through a resistor.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

In such networks both earth-to-line short-circuit currents and electromagnetic

phenomena depend essentially on the neutral point earthing method.

Impedances of the zero sequence circuit are very big or near infinity (breaks) and then
shunt admittances (capacitors) of the circuits play a significant role, which could not
be neglected.

In order to generalise the analysis results the case in which the neutral point is earthed
via an any type of impedance is presented at first.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks
Earth-to-line short-
circuit occurring in a MV
network, the neutral point
of which is earthed
through an impedance
[1].
a) The equivalent circuit
of the analised power
system fragment
b) the symmetrical
component equivalent
circuit TU: transformer
unit:
ET = earthing
transformer

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

NOTE: In the zero-

sequence model of TU
there is a break at the MV
side, because the
winding is delta-
connected. Thus, in the
zero-sequence scheme
there is only ET model.

In direct and inverse

model the ET model is
not present because
there is no source at the
LV side.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

The previous equivalent circuit contains two impedances ( 3Z F , 3Z N ) which are

equivalent to the triple of ZN and ZF .

They results form the derivation of the symmetrical model of the circuit given in
Fig. a). 3ZN results from the derivation of symmetrical model of the feeding
transformer.

The symmetrical circuit is obtained the same way as it was performed for the
elementary circuits presented in previous lectures. There is on important point to be
emphasize here – if an earth-to-line short-circuit occurs at the MV side, a current
equal to the sum of currents in all three phases flows through the impedance ZN.

3I 0 = I L1 + I L2 + I L3

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

Positive and negative sequence components currents do not flow through the
impedance ZN.

This means that in order to consider the impedance connecting the earthing impedance
to the zero sequence circuit, an additional impedance should be connected to the
transformer zero sequence impedance.

The value of this additional impedance is related to the voltage losses of the
impedance ZN in the three phase system.

U N = −( I L1 + I L2 + I L3 ) Z N = −(3I 0 ) Z N = − I 0 (3Z N )

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

U N = −( I L1 + I L2 + I L3 ) Z N = −(3I 0 ) Z N = − I 0 (3Z N )

This voltage UN corresponds to the wye connected neutral point voltage

referred to the earth. In the equivalent circuit, this voltage is represented by
connecting an additional impedance 3ZN to the transformer zero sequence
impedance, through which only the zero sequence current (I0) flows.

In practice short-circuit currents for the system presented before are performed in
a simpler way. The following assumptions can be made:
• The transformer, line series and the power system equivalent
impedances are much smaller than the shunt impedances (high
frequencies).
• The earthing impedance ZN of the neutral point is higher compared
with the transformer, line series and the power system impedances.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

In practice short-circuit
currents for the system
presented before are
performed in a simpler way.
The following assumptions
can be made:

The transformer, line

series and the power
system equivalent
impedances are much
smaller than the
shunt impedances
(high frequencies).

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

In practice short-circuit
currents for the system
presented before are
performed in a simpler way.
The following assumptions
can be made:

The transformer, line

series and the power
system equivalent
impedances are much
smaller than the
shunt impedances
(high frequencies).

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

In practice short-circuit
currents for the system
presented before are
performed in a simpler way.
The following assumptions
can be made:

The transformer, line

series and the power
system equivalent
impedances are much
smaller than the
shunt impedances
(high frequencies).

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks
a) b)
I1 I1

o o
U1 C1 I U1=U1o C 1 II U1 U1=U1o

I2 I2

C2 I U2=0 C 2 II 3Z F U2=0 3Z F

I0 I0

3ZN C0 I U0 C 0 II 3ZN C0 U0

Simplified equivalent symmetrical component circuit for a earth-to-line short-circuit

occurring in a network with neutral point earthed via an impedance a) series impedance
neglected b) shunt connected capacitors [1]

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks
a) b)
The assumptions
presented in the
I1 I1 previous slides make
o o possible the derivation
U1 C1 I U1=U1o C 1 II U1 U1=U1o
of the two equivalent
circuits presented
I2 I2
besides. All series
3Z F
impedances are
C2 I U2=0 C 2 II 3Z F U2=0
replaced by direct
I0 I0
connections of nodes
whereas shunt
3ZN C0 I U0 C 0 II 3ZN C0 U0
branches (capacitors)
are connected
directly to one
another
Simplified equivalent symmetrical component circuit for a earth-to-line short-circuit
occurring in a network with neutral point earthed via an impedance a) series impedance
neglected b) shunt connected capacitors [1]

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

Thanks to the simplifications for the zero sequence circuit presented before,
capacitors C0 = C0I + C0II and the impedance 3ZN are shunt connected.

Only the short-circuit impedance and the zero sequence impedance are present in
the simplified circuit.
1
3Z N
Z C 3Z N jωC0 3Z N
Z0 = = =
Z C + 3Z N 1 1 + jωC0 3Z N
+ 3Z N
jωC0

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

The voltage and current symmetrical components for the obtained circuit are given by the
following expressions :
U 1o
I1 = I 2 = I 0 =
Z 0 + 3Z F

U 1 = U 1o

U2 =0
Z0
U0 =− Z0I0 = − U 1o
Z 0 + 3Z F

The above-presented current and voltages concern the short-circuit point.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
Earth-to-line short-circuits in MV Networks

The output circuit presented in the previous slide allows determine the repartition of
current components through the parallel capacitors (C1I, C2I, C0I and C1II, C2II, C0II ) and
the way how they will flow through the parts I and II of the system.
There are three interesting cases from the point of view of power system analysis:

a) MV networks with isolated neutral points ( Z N = ∞ ),

b) MV networks with neutral points earthed
through a compensating reactor (Z N = jωLN ),
c) MV networks with neutral points earthed through a resistor ( Z N = R N ) .

Simplified circuits for the above-enumerated cases will be described in next slides

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points

The short-circuit zero sequence current flows through the network’s capacitors, whereas
the positive and negative sequence components flow through the transformer and power
system impedances.

Considering again the current and voltages expressions

1
3Z N U 1 = U 1o
Z C 3Z N j ωC 0 3Z N
Z0 = = =
Z C + 3Z N 1 1 + jωC0 3Z N U2 =0
+ 3Z N
j ωC 0
Z0
U0 =− Z0I0 = − U 1o
U 1o Z 0 + 3Z F
I1 = I 2 = I 0 =
Z 0 + 3Z F

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points

The following zero sequence components of voltage and current are derived

Z 0 = 1 / j ωC 0

jωC 0 U 1o
I1 = I 2 = I 0 =
1 + jωC 0 3Z F

1 1
U0 =− I0 = − U 1o
jω C 0 1 + j ωC 0 3 Z F

And then a new form of the zero sequence equivalent circuit is obtained

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
I1 In case of direct earth-to-line short-circuit (ZF = 0)
the following equations are obtained
U1o U1=U1o I 1 = I 2 = I 0 = jωC 0 U 1o

I2 U 1 = U 1o
U2 =0
U2=0 3Z F
U 0 = − U 1o
I0 and in phase components the voltage and currents
are expressed as follows:
C0 U0
I L1 = 3I 0 = jU 1o 3ωC 0
U L1 = U 0 + U 1 + U 2 = 0
( )
Equivalent circuit of the MV network
with isolated neutral point for the case U L2 = U 0 + a 2 U 1 + a U 2 = U 10 a 2 − 1
of earth to phase short-circuit [1] U L3 = U 0 + a U 1 + a 2 U 2 = U 10 (a − 1)

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points

It is usually assumed that the L1 voltage phasor is in quadrature phase with the real axis
which means that :
U 1o = + jE

This assumption leads to the following relationship:

I L1 = − 3ωC0 E

The short-circuit current phasor is then shifted forward by 90o compared with the voltage
and is negative (leading power factor) .

Considering the healthy voltage expressions:

( )
U L2 = U 0 + a 2 U 1 + a U 2 = U 10 a 2 − 1

U L3 = U 0 + a U 1 + a 2 U 2 = U 10 (a − 1)

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points

Replacing the a and a2 operator by their values, we obtain :

( ) 
U L2 = U 1o a 2 − 1 = E  +
3 3
− j  = 3 E e − j60
o

 2 2

 3
U L3 = U 1o (a − 1) = E  −
3 − j120 o
− j  = 3Ee
 2 2
I L2
IL1 E o
L1 I L1 60
L2 IL2 I L3
N
L3 IL3
N UN
IL1
E UL3 UL2

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points

The voltage and current phasors are represented graphically as below. The phase
currents (I2, I3), the phasors of which are represented on the Fig. are the healthy phase
currents of the short-circuited line and do not appear in the above-derived formulas.

I1 is the short-circuit current measured at the short-circuit point, at which the phase L2
and L3 are equal to zero (Earth-to-line short-circuit).

I L2
IL1 E o
L1 I L1 60
L2 IL2 I L3
N
L3 IL3
N UN
IL1
E UL3 UL2

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
I L2
IL1 E o
L1 I L1 60
L2 IL2 I L3
N
L3 IL3
N UN
IL1
E UL3 UL2

Earth to phase short-circuit scheme in case of network with isolated neutral point [1]

One should keep in mind that in case of network with isolated neutral point the Earth-to-
line short-circuit current is capacitive (leading power factor). The value of current at the
short-circuit point depends on the shunt capacitor total value and then does not
depend on the short-circuit location. The healthy phase voltages values are equal to the
interphase voltage values ( 3 E ) and their phasors are shifted each other by 60o.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
I L2
IL1 E o
L1 I L1 60
L2 IL2 I L3
N
L3 IL3
N UN
IL1
E UL3 UL2

Earth to phase short-circuit scheme in case of network with isolated neutral point [1]

The short-circuit current flows in direction of the short-circuit point, then returns to the
transformer secondary windings through the shunt capacitors of the healthy phases and
then through the healthy phases themselves..
The shunt capacitors of a MV line are distributed all along the line and if one will decide
to „measure” the earthing current, it would be different at any point all along the line.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
I L2
IL1 E o
L1 I L1 60
L2 IL2 I L3
N
L3 IL3
N UN
IL1
E UL3 UL2

Earth to phase short-circuit scheme in case of network with isolated neutral point [1]

The highest value would be measured at the short-circuit point and the lowest near
the source (transformer winding).

In contrary, the short-circuit current in healthy phases would increase along the line
length and is the highest near the source.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
IL1
IL2 If the feeding
transformer is
connected to more than
one line, then the short-
E circuit current is
K proportional to the total
IE value of all connected
lines shunt capacitors.
The short-circuit is then
IL2 distributed among all
lines so that its value at
the end of the lines is
equal to zero.
Distribution of the earthing current IE
and the current flowing in the healthy
phase IL2 [1]

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
IL1
IL2 The highest value of
short-circuit current is at
the short-circuit point and
the lowest at the end of
E the lines. The sum of
K currents at the substation
IE busbur nodes of the
healthy lines must be
equal to to the short-
IL2 circuited line current.

Distribution of the earthing current IE

and the current flowing in the healthy
phase IL2 [1]

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
IL1
IL2 The highest value of
short-circuit current is at
the short-circuit point and
the lowest at the end of
E the lines. The sum of
K currents at the substation
IE busbur nodes of the
healthy lines must be
equal to to the short-
IL2 circuited line current.

Distribution of the earthing current IE

and the current flowing in the healthy
phase IL2 [1]

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
a) b)

Distribution of the earthing current IE in case of

(a) two short-circuited lines (b) three lines connected to one generator [1]
The above-presented figure gives a better clarification of this phenomenon. This current
distribution means that the following condition must be fulfilled by the different line
segments c = a + b.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points

Transient state during which frequencies are within the range of a few hundreds Hz
always occurs after the short-circuit.

Shunt capacitors stored energy are unloaded according to a given time constant, so
this phenomenon lasts a while.
The energy from the short-circuited phase is sent to the healthy phases with the same
time constant.

The additional energy loaded to healthy phases makes their voltages increase by
3 time and the energy CU 2 / 2 stored in capacitors must increase.

This energy is generated by the transformer. Transformer inductances and line

capacitors make the process oscillatory as shown in the next Figure.

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points
The dotted line vectors (at the left
t
side) represent the healthy phase u L1
voltages, which are shifted in
respect of each other by 120o.
These vectors are shifted by 30o at
the short-circuit instant, so they are u L2 t
shifted by 60o in total.

The dotted line trajectories (right

side) represent the voltage in Um
u L3 t
case of short-circuit without
oscillating component resulting 3U m
from capacitor charging. 2,7U m

Voltage transient during a direct Earth-to-line short-circuit in case of network with isolated neutral point [1]

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 Earth-to-line short-circuits
MV Networks with isolated neutral points

The solid line trajectories (right side) represent the voltage with transient component
resulting from capacitor loading. In one of the phases the voltage peak value
reaches 2,7 time the value of the phase voltage.

In practice short-circuits occurring in power grids are accompagned by arc. When a

short-circuit fault occurs, an electric arc ignites between the contacts. The arc appears
and the extinghishes by itself. This phenomenon is called persistent arc.

Instantaneous overvoltage occurring during arc-accompanied short-circuits may be

even 3,5 times higher than phase voltage. More examples of short-circuits with arc
curves are given in the reference book.

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 Bibliography
[1] Machowski J, Kacejko P. Zwarcia w systemach
elektroenergetycznych (Power System Short-Circuits – in Polish),
Wydawnictwo Naukowo-Techniczne, Warszawa 2002

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