http://nepsi.

com/resources/calculators/per-unit-
impedance-calculator.htm

1. Per Unit PE Exam Practice Problem

Using the Per Unit system and taking into account the transformer
percent impedances, solve for the current in each part of the three-
phase system shown below. Assume both transformers are either
delta – delta or wye – wye connected and that there is no phase shift
between primary and secondary current and voltage.

Step 1: Separate by Voltage Zones

The usefulness of the per unit system is in converting all system
impedances to per unit impedances and re-drawing the circuit without
having to worry about the different voltage levels from each
transformer.
In this example, there are two transformers that divide the system into
three different voltage zones that are created by the stepping up or
stepping down of voltage by each transformer.

The first step is to illustrate this by drawing a straight line through each
transformer:

Step 2: Assign Base Values

The next step is to choose the base values for power and voltage.

The base power will be the same in for each zone, but each zone will
have a different base voltage.

The problem might tell you to use specific values for base power and
voltage. If it does, use them accordingly as the answer choices will
most likely still be in per units and using a different base will change
the resulting per unit system values.
If the problem does not assign the base values for you, then it is
advantageous to pick one of the existing MVA values in the system
such as the apparent power rating of one of the machines.

Similar for voltage, it is advantageous to pick one transformer and use

either the primary or secondary voltage as the base voltage in a
particular zone, and then use the remaining transformer ratios to step
up or down the voltage base for each neighboring zone
accordingly. Why this is advantageous will become clear when we run
the math.

If all transformer ratio’s match, then the secondary voltages of all

upstream transformers are equal to the primary voltage all
downstream transformers and vice versa, then your voltage base in
each zone will be equal to the primary and secondary voltages of each
transformer. That is the case for this example.

For base power, I’ve arbitrary picked T1’s MVA rating for the
system and the voltage ratios of the transformers for the
base voltage in each zone:
Step 3: Calculate Base Impedance for Each Zone
Now that we have the assigned base values for power and voltage,
we’ll need to calculate the base impedance for each zone so that we
can use it to calculate the per unit impedances later on.

The formula for base impedance is:

We can solve for impedance using voltage and power, and if we use
the base voltage and base power in each zone, then the resulting
impedance will be the base impedance for each zone as shown
below:
Step 4: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance for Each
Zone
Now that we have calculated the base impedance for each zone, we
can start calculating the per unit impedances of each system element
using the following formula:

We will start by calculating the per unit line impedance and per unit
load impedance first before we tackle the transformers.

The line per unit impedance and load per unit impedance are
calculated as shown below:

Now that we know the per unit line and load impedances, let’s draw
them on the per unit circuit diagram:
Step 5: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance for
Transformer T1
In order to complete the above diagram, we’ll need to calculate the per
unit impedances of both transformers T1 and T2.

The catch here is that we don’t know either of the transformer

impedances in ohms, we are instead given their percent impedances.

When you are given the percent impedance of a machine such as a

transformer, generator, or motor, the percent impedance is given in
the base ratings of the machine itself.

This means that in order to calculate the percent impedances of the

transformers, we actually need to perform a per unit base change
using the following formula:

In this case, the old base will be the ratings of each transformer, and
the new base will be the new bases we have chosen.

Since we are working with impedances, we will need to plug in the

impedance formula that uses the square of the voltage divided by
power:
In the above formula, S BASE NEW and V BASE NEW will be the
chosen bases of our system and zone, and S BASE OLD and V BASE
OLD will be the transformer voltage and power rating.

Transformers have one power rating, so choosing that is easy.

However, they have two voltages, a primary and secondary.

If we use the transformer’s primary voltage for V we will need to use

the base voltage on the primary side of the transformer for VB in the
formula above.

If we use the transformer’s secondary voltage for V then we will need

to use the base voltage on the secondary side of the transformer for
VB instead.

This will be more clear when we work out the math below.

Let’s base change each transformer’s percent impedance one at a

time starting with transformer T1 using the primary voltage rating as V
and the voltage base on the primary side of the transformer for VB:
Step 6: Calculate the Per Unit Impedance for
Transformer T2
Notice that since we originally chose 45MVA as the base power for
the system, both power terms are equal and cancel. This will not be
true for T2.

Also, notice, that both voltage values are also equal and cancel since
the base voltage in each zone is equal to each transformer’s voltage
ratio.

It is important to be aware that the voltage values in the above

formula will not cancel when the actual voltage in a zone is not equal
to the transformer’s voltage ratios such as when a generator is
connected that supplies a voltage slightly higher or slightly lower than
the primary voltage ratio of the transformer it is connected to, or, when
all transformer ratios do not match as mentioned in the first several
paragraphs.
Notice that since our base power and base voltage for T1 equal the
base values we were changing to, there is no actual change in the
percent impedance.  We started with 5% and ended with 5%.

Last bit of importance is to notice the imaginary “j” term placed in front
of the final per unit impedance value for T1.

Transformers are made up of large inductive coils and their

impedance is mostly reactive.

The PE exam may not remind you of this and it will be up to you
to not only recognize that this is actually a reactive impedance
but to also add the imaginary j term to it.

Let’s move on and calculate the per unit impedance for transformer
T2:

Step 7: Calculate the Per Unit Current and Per

Unit Voltage
Now that we have both per unit impedances let’s fill in the remaining
values in our per unit impedance diagram.

Again, notice that both transformer per unit impedances are reactive
terms and we had to add the “j” multiplier:

Now that we have all impedances converted to per unit values of the
same base, it’s time to calculate the per unit current using Ohm’s law:

However, in order to calculate the per unit current, we will need to

calculate the per unit voltage.

Luckily for us, the voltage on our input bus is equal to the base voltage
selected in that zone which simplifies the math since both terms
cancel:
Step 8: Use Ohm’s Law to Calculate the Per Unit
Current
Since the input voltage is equal to the base voltage in zone 1, the per
unit voltage at the source of our per unit impedance diagram is equal
to 1.

This greatly simplifies solving for the per unit current which will now
equal the inverse of the total series per unit impedance of the system:
The per unit current will be the same value for each voltage zone.

Step 9: Calculate the Base Current in Each Zone

Now that we know the per unit current, we can finally calculate the
actual current in each voltage zone by multiplying by the per unit
current by each base current:
However, this requires us to know what the base current in each
voltage zone is equal to.

We can calculate it using the chosen base power and the chosen
base voltage in each zone as shown below.

Notice the √3 multiplier since it is a three phase system:

Step 10: Calculate the Actual Current in Each
Zone
Now that we have each of the base current values we can complete
the problem and solve for the actual current in each zone in amps:
We can now fill in the current in amps for each zone to the original
system diagram that we started with:

Step 11: Check Your Work Using the Transformer

Ratios
For a quick check of our work, we can use the transformer voltage
ratios to verify our currents are equal in each zone depending on
voltage level.

If we did our work correctly we should get almost the exact same
answer for each current by starting with one and using the transformer
ratios to solve for the rest

Let’s start with current I3 and work our way back to I2 and I1:
Looks good! Everything checks out.

Step 12: The Completed Diagram 

Here is our final answer solving for the individual currents in amps of
the original system using the per unit method: