IEC Short-Circuit Calculation Methods

ETAP provides two short circuit calculation methods based on ANSI/IEEE and IEC Standards. You can select the calculation method from the Short Circuit Study Case
editor. This section describes the IEC Standard method of calculation.

Standard Compliance
ETAP short circuit calculation per IEC Standards fully complies with the latest IEC documentation as listed below:

Standard Pub. Title

Year
IEC 62271-100 2003 High-voltage switchgear and controlgear – Part 100: High-voltage
alternating-current circuit breakers

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 60282-2 1997 High-voltage fuses – Part2: Expulsion fuses

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 corrigendum 1) for
systems up to 500kV.

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 909 (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 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.

General Description of Calculation Methodology

In IEC short-circuit calculations, an equivalent voltage source at the fault location replaces all voltage sources. A voltage factor c is applied to adjust the value of the
equivalent voltage source for minimum and maximum current calculations.

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 i , is
p
defined differently for different system configurations and the methods selected to calculate the R/X ratios.

Definition of Terms
IEC standards use the following definitions, which are relevant in the calculations and outputs of ETAP.

Initial Symmetrical Short circuit current (I” )

k
This is the rms value of the AC symmetrical component of an available short circuit current applicable at the instant of short circuit if the impedance remains at zero time
value.

Peak Short Circuit Current (i )

p
This is the maximum possible instantaneous value of the available short circuit current.

Symmetrical Short Circuit Breaking Current (I )

b
This is the rms value of an integral cycle of the symmetrical AC component of the available short circuit current at the instant of contact separation of the first pole of a
switching device.

Steady-State Short Circuit Current (I )

k
This is the rms value of the short circuit current, which remains after the decay of the transient phenomena.

Subtransient Voltage (E”) of a Synchronous Machine

This is the rms value of the symmetrical internal voltage of a synchronous machine which is active behind the subtransient reactance X ” at the moment of short circuit.
d

Far-From-Generator Short Circuit

This is a short circuit condition during which the magnitude of the symmetrical AC component of available short circuit current remains essentially constant.

Near-To-Generator Short Circuit

This is a short circuit condition to which at least one synchronous machine contributes a prospective initial short circuit current which is more than twice the generator’s
rated current, or a short circuit condition to which synchronous and asynchronous motors contribute more than 5% of the initial symmetrical short circuit current (I”k)
without motors.

Subtransient Reactance (X ”) of a Synchronous Machine

d
This is the effective reactance at the moment of short circuit. For the calculation of short circuit currents, the saturated value of (X ”) is taken.
d

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, c is determined based on machine rated voltage, X ” is
max d
machine subtransient reactance (per unit in motor base), and qr is the machine rated power factor angle.

Minimum Time Delay (T ) of a Circuit Breaker

min
This is the shortest time between the beginning of the short circuit current and the first contact separation of one pole of the switching device.

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
Nominal Voltage Un For Maximum Short-Circuit Current For Minimum Short-Circuit Calculation
Calculation c
min
c
max
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:

where Zk is the equivalent impedance at the fault location.

Peak Short Circuit Current Calculation

Peak short-circuit current (ip) is calculated using the following formula:

Where k is a function of the system R/X ratio at the fault location.

IEC Standards provide three methods for calculating the k factor:

l 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.

l 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.

l 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.

Symmetrical Short Circuit Breaking Current Calculation

For a far-from-generator fault, the symmetrical short circuit breaking current (I ) is equal to the initial symmetrical short circuit current.
b

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.

DC Component of Short Circuit Current Calculation

The DC component of the short circuit current for the minimum delay time of a protective device is calculated based on initial symmetrical short circuit current and system
X/R ratio:

Where f is the system frequency, t is the minimum delay time of the protective device under concern, and X/R is the system value at the faulted bus.
min

ETAP plots the dc component of the fault current vs. time. The I component is printed in the “Breaking and DC Fault Current (kA)” section of the short-circuit report for
dc
each fault location. The currents in this report are always based on the total bus fault current.

Asymmetrical Short Circuit Breaking Current Calculation

The asymmetrical short-circuit breaking current for comparison with circuit breaker rating is calculated as the rms value of symmetrical and DC components of the short-
circuit current.
ETAP plots the asymmetrical breaking current at every bus starting from 0.01 until 0.3 sec. This information can be used for selection of the circuit breaker breaking current
depending on the t value of the device. The I is printed in the “Breaking and DC Fault Current (kA)” section of the short-circuit report for each fault location. The
min basym
currents in this report are always based on the total bus fault current.

Steady-State Short circuit current Calculation

Steady-state short circuit current Ik is a combination of contributions from synchronous generators and power grid. Ik for each synchronous generator is calculated using the
following formula:

where l 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.

Meshed and Non-Meshed Network

According to IEC 60909-0 Standard, short circuit contributions from meshed and non-meshed sources are calculated differently regarding various factors and R/X ratio. In
ETAP calculations, short circuit contribution in the following cases are considered as from a non-meshed network:

l A contributing machine is connected directly to the faulted bus.

l 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 I
b
According to IEC Standard 60909-0, to improve accuracy of I calculation for a near-to-generator three-phase short circuit in a meshed network, the breaking current can be
b
adjusted for decay in I from synchronous and induction machines based on Equation (75) of the standard. This adjustment will reduce I slightly from I ”.
b b k

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 I ” contribution
b k
over total I ” of all the contributions from the sub-network.
k

Modeling of Power Station Unit

According to IEC Standard 60909-0, sections 3.7, 4.2.13, and 4.2.14, the impedance of a power station unit needs to be modeled with special considerations. Depending on
where the fault location is in the system and if the unit transformer has on-load tap-changer, the impedance values of the generator and unit transformer will be adjusted by
different factors.

Designation of A Power Station Unit

To specify a synchronous generator and a two-winding transformer as a power station unit, check the “Unit Transformer for Generator” option in the Tap page of the Two-
Winding Transformer editor and select the generator in the list next to this field as the unit generator. 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 that 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 buses
are all network buses.
IEC Short-Circuit Mesh Determination Method
IEC Standards have published different benchmark sample calculation results based on IEC Standard 60909-0 2001. These calculation examples have been published in IEC
Standard 60909-4 2000 and are described in detail in sections 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1 of IEC 60909-4. These examples appear to have been created mostly for hand-calculation
(except for example 4), and one problem which arises because of these multiple solutions is that they do not establish a single calculation method which produces consistent
results for all four examples for a computer based solution. Because of these inconsistencies in the standard, certain calculation assumptions have been added to ETAP’s
short-circuit program in order for the results to match those published in these four examples.
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:

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.
This entry can take on the value of “0”, “1” or “2”.

IEC Short Circuit Mesh Determination Method = 0

For a faulted bus, ETAP checks if any contributions can be classified as Meshed network contributions. If any contribution to a faulted bus is indeed classified as “Meshed”,
then all contributions to the bus will be treated as if they are coming from a meshed network. If none of the contributions can be classified as meshed, then all the
contributions are treated as coming from non-meshed parts of the system. In Figure 16 above, all buses can be classified as meshed since meshed contributions are part of
every bus faulted bus in the system. In Figure 12, all the contributions would be considered as non-meshed since none of them are considered to be meshed.

IEC Short Circuit Mesh Determination Method = 1

For a faulted bus, meshed or non-meshed contributions are determined based on individual contributions. That is, for non-meshed contributions, ETAP uses individual
branch R/X ratios. For all the meshed network contributions it uses the R/X of the equivalent meshed part of the system. For Figure 16, the program will determine that the
contributions of G1 and G2 are non-meshed for a fault at Bus 4 and 3. The rest of the contributions to these faulted buses will be handled as meshed.

IEC Short Circuit Mesh Determination Method = 2

If a faulted bus is part of a PowerStation unit group (generator, unit transformer and auxiliary load connecting bus), then ETAP will handle this part of the system with the
methodology described for option = 1. If the faulted bus is outside the PowerStation group (network bus), then ETAP will handle the meshed/non-meshed determination as
if option = 0 had been selected.

Impact of the Meshed/Non-Meshed Determination on Ib, Ik and Idc

Once the program has determined the meshed and non-meshed parts of the system, then it makes some decisions based on this for calculating the value of Ib, Idc and Ik as
described throughout IEC standard 60909-0 2001.

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.

Comparison of Device Rating and Short-Circuit Duty

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:

Comparison of Device Rating and Short-Current Duty

*Device capability calculated by ETAP.

Calculation of IEC Device Capability

As Shown in the above table, some of the device capability values are calculated by PowerStation based on capability provided by users and default parameters given in IEC
standards.

l MV CB – The asymmetrical breaking and dc current ratings for MV CB are calculated as follows,

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.

l LV CB – The asymmetrical breaking current rating for LV CB 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.

l 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
PFof 15 %.

l I – The thermal withstand short circuit current capability for LV CB and MVCB is calculated based on specifications on IEC 60909-0 2001 Annex A as follows:
thr
These equations represent the Joule Integral and the equivalent short circuit current I that ETAP determines in order to compare against the value of I specified on the
th thr
Circuit breaker rating page (LV or MV).

ETAP compares the Circuit Breaker (CB) rated short-time withstand current (I ) with the calculated thermal equivalent short-circuit current (I ). The time for Ithr and I
thr th th
is the breaker rated short-time in seconds (T ). The Comparison is reported in the Summary report.
kr

You can select or enter I and T on the Rating page of the circuit breaker editor. For example you can enter 0.5s for T .
thr kr kr

Transient Short-Circuit Calculation

In additional to device duty calculations, ETAP also provides transient short circuit calculation per IEC Standard 61363-1. The transient short circuit calculation presents
fault current waveforms as a function of time, considering a number of factors that affect short circuit current variations at different time after the fault. These factors include
synchronous machine subtransient reactance, transient reactance, reactance, subtransient time constant, transient time constant, and DC time constant. It also considers
decay of short circuit contributions from induction motors. This detailed modeling 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. The calculation can be conducted on both radial and looped system with one or multiply
sources.

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.

Short-Circuit Analysis
ANSI Short-Circuit Toolbar
IEC Short-Circuit Toolbar
GOST Short-Circuit Toolbar
Study Case Editor - SC
- Info Page
- Standard Page
- AF Method Page
- AF FCT Page
- AF Data Page
- Adjustment Page
- Alert Page
Display Options - SC
- Results Page
ANSI/IEEE Calculation Methods
IEC Short-Circuit Calculation Methods
Short-Circuit Required Data
AC-DC Converter Models
Short Circuit Study Output Report
- Crystal Reports
Alert View - SC