12/30/13 Per-unit system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Per-unit system
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the power systems analysis field of electrical engineering, a per-unit system is the expression of system quantities as fractions of a defined base unit quantity.
Calculations are simplified because quantities expressed as per-unit do not change when they are referred from one side of transformer to the other. This can be a
pronounced advantage in power system analysis where large numbers of transformers may be encountered. Moreover, similar types of apparatus will have the
impedances lying within a narrow numerical range when expressed as a per-unit fraction of the equipment rating, even if the unit size varies widely. Conversion of per-
unit quantities to volts, ohms, or amperes requires a knowledge of the base that the per-unit quantities were referenced to.

The main idea for per unit system is to absorb large difference in absolute values into base relationships. Thus, representations of elements in the system with per unit
values become more uniform.

A per-unit system provides units for; power, voltage, current, impedance, and admittance. Except impedance and admittance, any two of these are independent and can
be arbitrarily selected as base values, usually power and voltage. All quantities are specified as multiples of selected base values. For example, the base power might be
the rated power of a transformer, or perhaps an arbitrarily selected power which makes power quantities in the system more convenient. The base voltage might be the
nominal voltage of a bus. Different types of quantities are labeled with the same symbol (pu); it should be clear from context whether the quantity is a voltage, current,
etc.

Per-unit being used in power flow, short-circuit and motor starting studies, it is important for all power engineers to be familiar with the concept.

Contents
1 Purpose
2 Base quantities
3 Relationship between units
3.1 Single-phase
3.2 Three-phase
4 Example of per-unit
5 Per-unit system formulas
6 References

Purpose
There are several reasons for using a per-unit system:

Similar apparatus (generators, transformers, lines) will have similar per-unit impedances and losses expressed on their own rating, regardless of their absolute size.
Because of this, per-unit data can be checked rapidly for gross errors. A per unit value out of normal range is worth looking into for potential errors.
Use of the constant is reduced in three-phase calculations.
Per-unit quantities are the same on either side of a transformer, independent of voltage level
By normalizing quantities to a common base, both hand and automatic calculations are simplified.
It improves numerical stability of automatic calculation methods

The per-unit system was developed to make manual analysis of power systems easier. Although power-system analysis is now done by computer, results are often
expressed as per-unit values on a convenient system-wide base.

Base quantities
Generally base values of power and voltage are chosen. The base power may be the rating of a single piece of apparatus such as a motor or generator. If a system is
being studied, the base power is usually chosen as a convenient round number such as 10 MVA or 100 MVA. The base voltage is chosen as the nominal rated voltage
of the system. All other base quantities are derived from these two base quantities. Once the base power and the base voltage are chosen, the base current and the base
impedance are determined by the natural laws of electrical circuits. Note the base value should only be magnitudes, while the per-unit values are phasors. The phase
angles of complex power, voltage, current, impedance etc. are not affected by the conversion to per unit values.

By convention, we adopt the following two rules for base quantities:

The value of base power is the same for the entire power system of concern.
The ratio of the voltage bases on either side of a transformer is selected to be the same as the ratio of the transformer voltage ratings.

With these two rules, a per-unit impedance remains unchanged when referred from one side of a transformer to the other. This allows us to eliminate ideal transformer
from a transformer model.

Relationship between units

The relationship between units in a per-unit system depends on whether the system is single-phase or three-phase.

Single-phase

Assuming that the independent base values are power and voltage, we have:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per-unit_system 1/4
12/30/13 Per-unit system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alternatively, the base value for power may be given in terms of reactive or apparent power, in which case we have, respectively,

or

The rest of the units can be derived from power and voltage using the equations , , and (Ohm's law), being
represented by . We have:

Three-phase

Power and voltage are specified in the same way as single-phase systems. However, due to differences in what these terms usually represent in three-phase systems, the
relationships for the derived units are different. Specifically, power is given as total (not per-phase) power, and voltage is line-to-line voltage. In three-phase systems the
equations and also hold. The apparent power S now equals

Example of per-unit
As an example of how per-unit is used, consider a three-phase power transmission system that deals with powers of the order of 500 MW and uses a nominal voltage
of 138 kV for transmission. We arbitrarily select MVA, and use the nominal voltage 138 kV as the base voltage . We then have:

If, for example, the actual voltage at one of the buses is measured to be 136 kV, we have:

Per-unit system formulas

The following tabulation of per-unit system formulas is adapted from Beeman's Industrial Power Systems Handbook.

Equation

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per-unit_system 2/4
12/30/13 Per-unit system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per-unit_system 3/4
12/30/13 Per-unit system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

References
Beeman, Donald (1955). "Short-Circuit-Current Calculating Procedures" (http://books.google.ca/books/about/Industrial_power_systems_handbook.html?
id=zOgiAAAAMAAJ). In Beeman, Donald (ed.). Industrial Power Systems Handbook. McGraw-Hill. pp. see esp. 38–41, 52–55.
Elgerd, Olle I. (2007). "§2.5 Per-Unit Representation of Impedances, Currents, Voltages and Powers"
(http://books.google.ca/books/about/Electric_Energy_Systems_Theory.html?id=AKTi3UxfhlgC&redir_esc=y). Electric Energy Systems Theory: An
Introduction (1971 1st ed.). Tata McGraw-Hill. pp. 35–39. ISBN 978-0070192300.
Yuen, Moon H. (Mar./Apr. 1974). "Short Circuit ABC--Learn It in an Hour, Use It Anywhere, Memorize No Formula". IEEE Trans. on Industry
Applications. IA-10 (2): 261–272. doi:10.1109/TIA.1974.349143 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1109%2FTIA.1974.349143).
William D., Jr, Stevenson, (1975). Elements of power system analysis (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-061285-4.

Weedy, B.M. (1972). Electric power systems (2nd ed.). London ; Toronto: J. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-92445-8.
Glover, J. Duncan; Sarma, Mulukutla; Overbye, Thomas J. (2011). Power System Analysis and Design (http://books.google.ca/books?
id=U77A2C37QesC&dq=power+system+analysis+and+design&source=gbs_navlinks_s). Cengage Learning. pp. 108–116. ISBN 1111425779.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Per-unit_system&oldid=583456834"

Categories: Electrical engineering Electric power Power engineering

This page was last modified on 26 November 2013 at 23:23.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per-unit_system 4/4