Calculate SCCR

One of the most fundamental calculations made on a power distribution

system is that which yields available short-circuit current. The September –

October 2012 issue of IAEI magazine included an article titled “Going to

Basics, Maximum Fault Current” which spoke to this topic but did not get into

the math. I have received many requests ever since to get into the math. I

trust this article will satisfy inquiring minds with details around calculating

available fault current and provide some equations for the student to

explore.

AVAILABLE SHORT-CIRCUIT CURRENT

Maximum available short-circuit current is an important parameter for every

power distribution system as it provides a data point necessary to ensure

equipment is being applied within its rating and the system is performing to

meet expectations. Available short-circuit current is used in many other

applications as well.

The National Electrical Code demands this data point for enforcement of

such Sections as 110.9, Interrupting Rating; 110.10 Circuit Impedance, Short-

Circuit Current Ratings, and other Characteristics; and 110.24 Available Fault

Current. Whether you are a designer, installer or inspector, you will at some

point in your career be faced with calculating available fault current.

Understanding the math behind this and how calculated short-circuit

currents are used can only broaden knowledge and understanding. It may

also help us realize that a qualified individual should be the one making

these calculations. So for the sake understanding, I offer this article to get

you on your way.

FUNDAMENTALS OF CALCULATING SHORT-CIRCUIT

CURRENT
Everything you need to know about calculating fault currents, you learned in

circuits 101, trigonometry, and basic math classes. Figure 1 illustrates a

simple single-line diagram that very well could be your basic service

entrance for a commercial or industrial installation.

Figure 1.  Single Line Diagram
Figure 2 is the basic circuit diagram of what is represented in Figure 1 and

that would be used to calculate available fault current at any point in the

above simple single line diagram. Engineers will call that which you see in

Figure 2 an impedance diagram as it basically converts each component in

the Figure 1 above into impedance values. For those of you who are up on

circuits 101, what you see below, when all impedances are added together,

is a “Thevanin Equivalent” circuit which includes an impedance and a

voltage source. This basic circuit will be used throughout this article.
Figure 2. Impedance Diagram (Circuit)
Assumptions will have to be made for calculations and to simplify our work

for this document.

The assumptions for the transformer that will be used as part of the example

for this article will include that which follows. This information should be

available when reading the nameplate of the transformer.

Transformer kVA               1500

Primary Voltage                  4,160 V

Secondary Voltage              480 V

% Impedance                       5.75%

The assumption is for the utility available short-circuit current. For this

exercise 50,000 amps will be used. Before a study is conducted, the utility is

contacted to obtain this information. They may provide the available fault

current in one of a few different ways. The most straightforward and

probably most seen data from the utility will be an available fault current in
kA. Some utilities may provide the data as short-circuit MVA instead. This

article will provide equations to accommodate both forms of input but cater

to a utility available short-circuit current of 50 kA.

With regard to conductor impedance, the following calculations will ignore

the resistance of the conductor and only use the reactance. This will do two

things for the sake of this article. First, it will result in a higher fault current

than would be calculated had we taken into consideration both the

resistance and reactance. Second, it will keep the math simple. A final

section of this article will provide analysis results that include the resistance

and reactance of the conductors and the utility. The methods used mirror

those used by such software programs as SKM Systems Analysis A-Fault.

This article will also assume no motor contribution. Maximum available short-

circuit current should include all short-circuit contributors. We are not

including this contribution for this effort for simplicity sake.

BASIC TRANSFORMER CALCULATIONS

The very first step of this process is the calculation of full-load amps (FLA) for

the transformer. Yet another basic calculation that an electrical professional

will have to perform at some point in their career and that some perform

many times a day. The equations for calculating FLA are included below:

FLA Secondary  = kVA

 (√3)×(kVsec)

FLA Secondary = 1500

[(√3)×(0.480)] =1,804 Amps

This 1500 kVA transformer has a secondary FLA of 1,804 amps. This

parameter is necessary to select the secondary conductors for this

transformer. Based on this FLA and the use of Table 310.15(B)(16) from NEC

2014, the conductors used on the secondary of the transformer will be a

quantity of 5-500 MCM conductors per phase.

CALCULATING SHORT-CIRCUIT CURRENT ON

SECONDARY OF MAIN TRANSFORMER
There are two ways to approach calculating the available fault current at the

secondary of a transformer. We can calculate the maximum amount that the

transformer will let through, as if the power generation facility was hooked

directly to the line side of the transformer, or we can calculate the available

fault current considering the provided available fault current from the utility.

The former approach which results in the maximum amount of fault current

that a transformer will let through is referred to as an “infinite bus”

calculation. The circuit of figure 2 can be re-drawn to include zero impedance

for the utility which will reduce the overall impedance of the circuit and so

increase the value of calculated short-circuit current. Figure 3 will yield the

maximum available fault current that a transformer can supply.

Figure 3. Infinite Bus equivalent circuit diagram
 

Figure 3 only includes the impedance of the transformer. The equation to

calculate the maximum available fault current that a transformer can supply

is as follows:

Isc  =  (Transformer kVA) × 100

(√3)×(Secondary kV)×(%Z transformer)

Using the information stated above for the example 1500 kVA transformer

for this example, the maximum available fault current that this specific

transformer will let through is 31,378 amps and is calculated as follows:

Isc =  1500 × 100

(√3)×(0.480)×(5.75)         = 31,378 amps

What this tells us is that the secondary of the transformer cannot see any

more fault current than what we have calculated. There are NO changes on

the utility side that can impact this available fault current to a point where it

would be greater than 31,378 amps. The only way this service would see
more than 31,378 amps would be if we changed the transformer and the

new transformer which would presumably be the same in all other

characteristics, has a different % impedance. Figure 4 is a table that includes

the results of varying the impedance of the subject transformer +/- 20% in

increments of 5% as compared with the 5.75% impedance value used in this

example. This illustrates how a change in transformer impedance will impact

the maximum available fault current that it can let through.

As illustrated in figure 4, changing a transformer and varying its impedance

can have a significant impact on the system. If I were to hazard a guess, I

would say that in most cases, a utility changing the service-entrance

transformer would be recognized by the facility. The challenge would be for

the facility owner or resident employees to understand how that change may

impact their power distribution system. When changes are made, labels like

that included in Section 110.24 of the NEC, should be updated.

Figure 4.  Impact of varying the impedance (+ / – 20%) of a 1500 kVA

transformer
This calculation does not consider the source impedance of the utility and

nor does it include any load-side conductors. Let’s next explore the impact of

adding in the utility available fault current.

CALCULATING SHORT-CIRCUIT CURRENT

INCLUDING UTILITY AVAILABLE FAULT CURRENT
As in most situations, we take conservative shortcuts, conservative on the

side of safety, until situations present themselves that warrant digging into

the details. The above shortcut for calculating fault current is conservative,

in that it did NOT consider the utility available fault current yielding a

maximum value. When considering interrupting and other similar ratings,

devices and equipment that can accommodate this conservative value of

fault current need no further investigation. When new or existing equipment

cannot handle this conservatively high available fault current, further

detailed analysis could be conducted or the equipment could be replaced or

sized appropriately. The following will consider adding utility provided

available fault current. Specifically, 50 kA available from the utility. This will

illustrate that the calculated 31,378 amps could be reduced by doing so.

Below, are two equations that address when kA is available and when Short-

Circuit MVA is available. For this example, we will use the equation below

that assumes the utility has provided you with an available fault current in

kA.
The circuit diagram now looks like that shown in figure 5.

Figure 5.  Circuit diagram that includes both transformer  and utility  source
impedance.
 

The first step required is to convert the utility provided available fault current

information (50 kA) into a source impedance.

When kA is provided by the utility:

%Z Utility =  KVA Transformer  × 100

(Isc Utility) × (√3) × (kV Primary)

When Short-Circuit MVA is provided by the Utility:

%Z Utility =  KVA Transformer

Short – Circuit kVA of Utility System

For a given utility available fault current of 50 kA, the %Z of the utility is

calculated as follows

%Z Utility = 1500 × 100

 (50,000) × (√3) × (4.160) = 0.420

Figure 6 provides utility source impedance values for varying utility available

fault currents for this specific example. As noted above, the transformer kVA

and primary voltage will play a key role in these values.

Figure 6.  Utility source impedance values for various levels of utility available
fault current
 

The equation for calculating the available fault current at the secondary of

the transformer which includes the impedance of the utility is as follows:

Isc = (Transformer KVA) × 100)

(√3) × (Secondary KV) ×  [(%Ztransformer)+(%Z Utility)]

Inserting all of the known variables, the new available fault current is

calculated as follows:

Isc = 1500 × 100

(√3)×(0.480)× [(5.75)+(0.4164)] = 29,259 Amps

If we compare the infinite bus calculation and that which included the source

impedance of the utility (available fault current of 50,000 amps) we see that

the available short-circuit current dropped from 31,378 amps to 29,259

amps, a 6.8% reduction in available fault current (2,119 amps).

The impact of a varying utility available fault current is illustrated in figure 7.

This table shows how the calculated available short-circuit current varies for

changing utility source fault current values. The 50 kA utility available fault

current is used as the value to which changes are compared. It is interesting

to see that increasing the available fault current from the utility, assuming a

starting point of 50 kA, doesn’t have as great of an impact as one would

think. For example, doubling the utility available fault current from 50 kA to

100 kA only increases the transformer secondary available fault current by

3%, or 1,022 amps. For most overcurrent protective device application, this

change should not be significant. I have heard some say we should not label

the service-entrance equipment because the utility could make switching

changes on the line side which would impact the number on the label. Figure

7 is a good example that shows that even if an infinite bus was not used,

changes on the utility side do not have as significant of an impact on the

short-circuit current as one would think.

Figure 7.  Impact of varying utility available fault currents on the power
distribution system
Just to recap where we are in this discussion, the available fault currents are

as in figure  7a.

The next thing we have to consider is the conductor on the secondary of the

transformer. This will reduce the available fault current even further.

CALCULATING – AFTER LENGTH OF CONDUCTOR

Conductors can have a considerable impact on available fault current. Let’s

continue the analysis of this 1500 kVA transformer example adding parallel

500MCM conductors on its load side.

The equivalent circuit has already been provided as part of figure 1. Now

let’s review the impact of conductor length on available fault current. We

need the following equation:

The data needed for this example is retrieved from the National Electrical

Code. From Table 9 of NEC 2014 for a 500 MCM conductor in steel conduit,

the Xl (reactance) is found to be 0.048 Ohms/1000ft. For this example, as

stated earlier, we are only using the reactance value which will result in
slightly higher short-circuit current values and make the math for this

publication more palatable. For a 1500 kVA transformer with 1,804 full load

amps, we will need 5- 500MCM conductors in parallel per phase. The

calculation is made as follows:

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g" alt="Formula 2" />

the equation to calculate the available fault current is as follows:

Putting in all of the known variables, we calculated the ISC as follows:

The same calculation assuming an infinite bus, removing the utility

impedance, is as follows:
To summarize again,

As can be seen here, including more details reduces the available fault

current. In this case the fault current was reduced from 31,378 amps to

26,566 amps, approximately 15.3%.

Figure 8.   Summary of calculations and comparison with other tools to calculate
available fault current.
FINAL CALIBRATION
So we have walked through the calculation of available fault current for

service-entrance equipment. We showed how shortcuts result in

conservative available short-circuit currents which, for the purpose of

evaluating interrupting ratings and / or SCCR ratings, provide a safety factor

for the design. We also showed how reducing available fault currents through

a more detailed analysis can be achieved but takes more effort and

expertise. Let’s look at the above example with an eye on other tools that

may be available.

There are various tools at our disposal when we consider calculating

available fault current. Some are quite expensive and take trained specialists

to use. Those would include such software applications as SKM Systems

Analysis tools. These applications are indeed quite thorough and produce

very detailed reports. There are also tools that are free such as the Eaton

Bussmann FC2 short-circuit calculator. Figure 8 summarizes what we

accomplished above AND provides a comparison with SKM and with the

Bussmann FC2 application. The Bussmann FC2 calculator is free and

available on the web or for any IPHONE or ANDROID via either products App

Store. Visit www.cooperbussmann.com/fc2 for more information. You will

note that the SKM software result leverages both the real and reactive

component of the conductor. The impedance values were taken straight from

Table 9 in NEC 2014 for copper conductors in steel conduit.

Again, none of the examples shown above and included in this article

considers motor contribution. This was an exercise meant to provide some

background to the discussion of short-circuit currents and so simplicity was

our friend. Motor contribution can be very important for these calculations.

From a math and/or system circuit perspective, when you include motor
contribution the impedance is in parallel with the utility source impedance,

transformer impedance and the conductor impedance. This acts to reduce

the overall impedance in the circuit of figure 2 and hence increasing the

calculated short-circuit current. The reset is left to the student. (I’ve always

wanted to say that.)

CLOSING REMARKS
Available fault current is a very important parameter to consider in your

design, installation and inspection. Tools are available on the market that

help calculate available short-circuit current. Leverage these resources to

meet NEC and product application requirements.

As always, keep safety at the top of your list and ensure you and those

around you live to see another day.