Experiment 1:

USE OF POWER COMPONENTS IN SIMULINK

AND STUDY OF DIFFERENT
FAULTS

Submitted By:
Abdul Ahad
Abdul Wahab
Mian Sajawal Shah

BSEE 2016-2020
Semester 8
Instructor: Dr. Naeem Iqbal
Course: Power System Operation & Control
Date: June 13, 2020

Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences,

Islamabad, Pakistan
Abstract
In this simulation based experiment we have introduced different possible faults in any power
system. In any power system fault may be in phases, phase(s) to ground, in busbars, in generators,
transformers etc. Fault can be defined as any abnormal current which bypasses the normal load. In
this lab we have introduced faults between phases and phase(s) to ground to see the effect on
terminal voltages at load side and current in the system. It is clearly seen that we such fault(s)
occurs current become high and voltage drop across the terminal side at the load.

Objectives
The objectives of this lab are:
• User different components of SIMPOWERSYSTEM
• Observe the fault severity
• Select suitable position for protective and measurement devices

Theory
In any power system there are many faults, like short circuit fault, open circuit fault etc. These
faults may occur in phases, phase to ground, transformer faults, generator faults, bus bar faults,
induction motor faults etc. Electrical networks, machines and equipments are often subjected to
various types of faults while they are in operation. When a fault occurs, the characteristic values
(such as impedance) of the machines may change from existing values to different values till the
fault is cleared. There are eleven types of faults between phase(s) and ground. Some of them will
be introduce here in this lab using MATLAB Simulink and the behavior of the power system will
be observed. The circuit to be simulated is shown below in figure (1)
There are mainly two types of faults in the electrical power system. Those are symmetrical and
unsymmetrical faults.[1]

Symmetrical faults
These are very severe faults and occur infrequently in the power systems. These are also called
balanced faults and are of two types namely line to line to ground (L-L-L-G) and line to line (L-
L-L).
Only 2-5 percent of system faults are symmetrical faults. If these faults occur, the system remains
balanced but results in severe damage to the electrical power system equipment.
Unsymmetrical faults
These are very common and less severe than symmetrical faults. There are mainly three types
namely line to ground (L-G), line to line (L-L), and double line to ground (LL-G) faults.
The line to ground fault (L-G) is the most common fault and 65-70 percent of faults are of this
type. It causes the conductor to make contact with the earth or ground. 15 to 20 percent of faults
are double line to ground and causes the two conductors to make contact with the ground. The line
to line fault occurs when two conductors make contact with each other mainly while swinging of
lines due to winds and 5- 10 percent of the faults are of this type.[1]

Figure 1. Circuit to be Simulated

Procedure
• Open MATLAB
• Open SIMULINK Library or write Simulink in command prompt and press ENTER
• Select new model or press Ctrl+N By using commonly used blocks, Simulink->Sources
• and Simscap ->. SimPowerSystems, draw the above diagram
 • For Three phase source, use values given in following figure (2)

Figure 2. Three phase source

• Make three phase circuit breaker’s initial state as closed and put 100sec as switching time
• In order to configure three phase series load, use following figure (3)

Figure 3. Three Phase Series Load

Task
1. In this task we introduced line to ground fault in only phase A in duration of 3 to 3.5sec and
observed the voltage at load terminal and current through the load. This can be seen from
below figure (4) and figure (5).
 Figure 4. Voltage at Load Terminal

Figure 5. Current in the Load

2. In this task we introduced line to line fault between phase B and C in duration of 2 to 3 sec
and observed the voltage at load terminal and current through the load. This can be seen
from below figure (6) and figure (7).
 Figure 6. Voltage at Load Terminal

Figure 7. Current in the Load

3. In this task we introduced three phase fault between phase A, B and C in duration of 3.5 to
3.8sec and observed the voltage at load terminal and current through the load. This can be
seen figure (8) and figure (9).
Figure 8. Voltage at Load Terminal

Figure 9. Current in the Load

4. In this task we introduced three phase to ground fault in duration of 2.5 to 3.7sec and
observed the voltage at load terminal and current through the load. This can be seen from
below figure (10) and figure (11).

Figure 10. Voltage at Load Terminal

Figure 11. Current in the Load

5. We changed the position of components such that at fault time the current should be
approximately zero and the results are shown in figure (12) and figure (13).

Figure 12. Voltage at Load Terminal

Figure 13. Current in the Load

Discussion
In this lab we have introduced faults between phases and phase(s) to ground. From task.1 form
figure (4) and (5) it is clearly seen that when fault occur between phase A and ground current
increases very much as phase is shorted with ground and at the same instant voltage drops which
is due to I2R losses. This effect can also be seen in other tasks and is shown in above figures (6),
(7), (8), (9), (10), (11). In last task.5 the position of fault is changed. The results are shown in
figure (12) and (13). It is clearly seen from these figures that voltage and current both are very
small at same time because as the position of fault is changed to before the “Three Phase V-I
Measurement” which will short all the phases before the load so current and voltage both will drop.

Conclusion
From this simulation based experiment we have concluded that when phase to ground or intra
phase fault occurs in any power system current increases from its normal value and voltage drops
at the load terminal.

References
[1] https://www.elprocus.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-faults-in-electrical-power-systems/