Essential Calculations of Short Circuit Currents
Every electrical system is expected to function as it is intended by plan, design, and deployment. That is to deliver electricity to users of all kinds ranging from domestic, commercial, or industrial with no or fewer problems. This may not be the case at all times due to unwanted events that occur while the electric system is delivering electricity across the complex and interconnected grid.
What is a Short Circuit?
A short circuit occurs in an electrical system when current flows in an unintended path due to a disturbance or fault. The consequences of this undesirable event (short circuit) may lead to fault current levels capable of endangering human safety/health as well as causing damage to installed equipment. Most electrical equipment or devices are generally expensive, especially those of high voltage classes. Replacing a piece of damaged equipment could take several weeks depending on the type of device and if not in stock, ordering a new one is likely to have issues with lead time or supply chain challenges.
It is therefore important to plan an electrical facility for any eventualities that may disrupt the smooth running of an electrical network.
Purpose of Short Circuit Calculation
The purpose of short circuit calculation is to determine the maximum fault levels at various terminals or buses in the power network. In reality, power systems software packages are used to perform short circuit calculations in an electrical grid. It becomes nearly impossible to do this task by hand calculations due to the complexity of a large network. However, it is also important to know and understand how the software performs this vital study.
This fault level helps in selecting the appropriate equipment short circuit current withstanding rating. Short circuit analysis is relevant to conducting other electrical analyses such as protection coordination and arc flash.
In this post, you will find an exciting document that deals with how to calculate short-circuit currents in various parts of an electrical system.
Some areas covered include:
- Point-to-point calculation procedures.
- Three-phase short circuit calculations
- Single-phase short circuit calculations
- Short circuits available from various transformer sizes
- Conductors and Busways
- Voltage drop calculations – copper and aluminum conductors
You can download this attachment below for future quick reference and guide.
- Title: Short Circuit Current Calculations
- Format : PDF
- File Size: 447 kB
- Number of Pages: 10
- Source: Eaton
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Very useful tips about electricity
Thanks James. Glad it’s helpful