ECE 476

Power System Analysis

Lecture 20: Symmetrical Components,
Grounding, Unbalanced Faults

Prof. Tom Overbye

Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
overbye@illinois.edu
Announcements

• Please read Chapters 8 and 9

• HW 8 is 7.6, 7.14, 7.20, 7.29, 8.3; it will be covered
by an in-class quiz on due on Thursday Nov 3 (hence
you will not need to turn it in)
• Chapter 6 Design Project 1 is assigned. It will count as
three regular home works and is due on Dec 3.
– For tower configurations assume a symmetric conductor spacing, with the distance
in feet given by the following formula: (Last two digits of your EIN+150)/10.
Example student A has an UIN of xxx65. Then his/her spacing is (65+150)/10 =
21.50 ft.

• Exam 2 is during class on Tuesday November 15

• Final exam is on Monday December 12, 1:30-4:30pm
1
Problem 7.28
SLACK345

5 pu
0.79 pu RAY345
sla ck

0.78 pu SLACK138
TIM345
0.70 pu RAY138
0.83 pu
TIM138
0.61 pu
0.79 pu
0.64 pu RAY69

0.52 pu TIM69 PAI69

0.56 pu
0.58 pu GROSS69
FERNA69
0.50 pu WOLEN69
MORO138
HISKY69

0.52 pu
0.59 pu BOB138
PETE69
DEMAR69
0.64 pu
HANNAH69

0.50 pu BOB69
UIUC69 0.43 pu
0.00 pu 9 pu
LYNN138
0 pu

0.564 pu BLT138
0.61 pu
0.56 pu AMANDA69
SHIMKO69 0.82 pu
HOMER69
0.24 pu
BLT69
0.32 pu

HALE69 9 pu
0.62 pu

0.61 pu

0.35 pu 0.62 pu PATTEN69

ROGER69
0.64 pu WEBER69
LAUF69
0.68 pu
0 pu
3 pu
0.77 pu JO138 JO345
LAUF138 0.77 pu SAVOY69 2 pu
0.70 pu
0.75 pu BUCKY138

3 pu
0.77 pu SAVOY138

3 pu

0.91 pu
0.84 pu

2
Analysis of Unsymmetric Systems

• Except for the balanced three-phase fault, faults

result in an unbalanced system.
• The most common types of faults are single line-
ground (SLG) and line-line (LL). Other types are
double line-ground (DLG), open conductor, and
balanced three phase.
• System is only unbalanced at point of fault!
• The easiest method to analyze unbalanced system
operation due to faults is through the use of
symmetrical components

3
 Symmetric Components

• The key idea of symmetrical component analysis is to

decompose the system into three sequence networks.
The networks are then coupled only at the point of the
unbalance (i.e., the fault)
• The three sequence networks are known as the
– positive sequence (this is the one we’ve been using)
– negative sequence
– zero sequence
• Presented in paper by Charles .L Fortescue in 1918
(judged as most important power paper of 20th century)
Heydt, G. T.; Venkata, S. S.; Balijepalli, N. (October 24, 2000). "High Impact Papers in Power Engineering,
1900-1999" Proceedings 2000 North American Power Symposium, vol. 1, October 2000. North American Power
Symposium (NAPS). Waterloo, Ontario. 4
Positive Sequence Sets

• The positive sequence sets have three phase

currents/voltages with equal magnitude, with phase
b lagging phase a by 120°, and phase c lagging
phase b by 120°.
• We’ve been studying positive sequence sets

Positive sequence
sets have zero
neutral current

5
Negative Sequence Sets

• The negative sequence sets have three phase

currents/voltages with equal magnitude, with
phase b leading phase a by 120°, and phase c
leading phase b by 120°.
• Negative sequence sets are similar to positive
sequence, except the phase order is reversed

Negative sequence
sets have zero
neutral current

6
Zero Sequence Sets

• Zero sequence sets have three values with equal

magnitude and angle.
• Zero sequence sets have neutral current

7
Sequence Set Representation

• Any arbitrary set of three phasors, say Ia, Ib, Ic can

be represented as a sum of the three sequence sets
I a  I a0  I a  I a
I b  I b0  I b  I b
I c  I c0  I c  I c
where
I a0 , I b0 , I c0 is the zero sequence set
I a , I b , I c is the positive sequence set
I a , I b , I c is the negative sequence set
8
Conversion from Sequence to Phase

Only three of the sequence values are unique,

I0a , I a , I a ; the others are determined as follows:
 1120  2  3  0 3  1
I0a  I0b  I0c (since by definition they are all equal)
I b   2 I a I c   I a I b   I a I c   2 I a

 Ia  1 1  1  1 1 
1  Ia 0

 I   I0 1  I +  2   I      1  2  
  Ia 
 b a   a   a   
 I c  1    2  1  2 
        I a 
9
Conversion Sequence to Phase

Define the symmetrical components transformation

matrix
1 1 1
 
A  1  2

1   2 
 
 Ia   Ia0  I 0

     
Then I  I b  A  I a   A  I   A I s
 
 c 
I      
 I a   I 

10
Conversion Phase to Sequence

By taking the inverse we can convert from the

phase values to the sequence values
I s  A 1I
1 1 1
1 1  2
with A  1   
3
1  2  
 
Sequence sets can be used with voltages as well
as with currents

11
Symmetrical Component Example 1

 I a   100 
Let I   I b   10  Then
   
 I c   10 
1 1 1   100    
1 2
I s  A I  1    10   100
1
3    
1  2    10   0 
 
 100   0 
If I  10   Is   0 
   
10   100
12
Symmetrical Component Example 2

Va   0 
Let V  Vb     
   
Vc     
Then
1 1 1   0   0 
1 2
Vs  A V  1         
1
3    
1  2        6.12 
 

13
Symmetrical Component Example 3

 I 0   100 
  
Let I s   I   10
 
     
 I   
Then
1 1 1   100    
 
I  AI s  1  2
  10    
   
1   2       
 

14
Use of Symmetrical Components

• Consider the following wye-connected load:

I n  I a  Ib  I c
Vag  I a Z y  I n Z n
Vag  ( Z y  Z n ) I a  Z n I b  Z n I c
Vbg  Z n I a  ( Z y  Z n ) I b  Z n I c
Vcg  Z n I a  Z n I b  ( Z y  Z n ) I c
Vag  Z y  Zn Zn Zn   Ia 
    
Vbg    Z n Z y  Zn Z n  Ib
 
V   Z Zn Z y  Z n   I c 
 cg   n
15
Use of Symmetrical Components

Vag  Z y  Zn Zn Zn   Ia 
    
Vbg    Z n Z y  Zn Z n  Ib
 
V   Z Zn Z y  Z n   I c 
 cg   n

V  Z I V  A Vs I  A Is
A Vs  Z A I s  Vs  A 1 Z A I s
 Z y  3Z n 0 0
1  
A ZA   0 Zy 0
 0 0 Z y 

16
Networks are Now Decoupled

V 0   Z y  3Z n 0 0  I 0
    
V    0 Zy 0  I 
     
V   0 0 Z y  I 
 
Systems are decoupled
V 0  ( Z y  3Z n ) I 0 V  Zy I
 
V  Zy I

17
Sequence diagrams for generators

• Key point: generators only produce positive

sequence voltages; therefore only the positive
sequence has a voltage source

During a fault Z+  Z  Xd”. The zero

sequence impedance is usually substantially
smaller. The value of Zn depends on whether
the generator is grounded
18
 Sequence diagrams for Transformers

• The positive and negative sequence diagrams for

transformers are similar to those for transmission
lines.
• The zero sequence network depends upon both
how the transformer is grounded and its type of
connection. The easiest to understand is a double
grounded wye-wye

19
Transformer Sequence Diagrams

20
Grounding

• When studying unbalanced system operation how a

system is grounded can have a major impact on the
fault flows
• Ground current does not come into play during
balanced system analysis (since net current to
ground would be zero).
• Becomes important in the study of unbalanced
systems, such as during most faults.

21
Grounding, cont’d

• Voltages are always defined as a voltage

difference. The ground is used to establish the zero
voltage reference point
– ground need not be the actual ground (e.g., an airplane)
• During balanced system operation we can ignore
the ground since there is no neutral current
• There are two primary reasons for grounding
electrical systems
1. safety
2. protect equipment

22
How good a conductor is dirt?

• There is nothing magical about an earth ground.

All the electrical laws, such as Ohm’s law, still
apply.
• Therefore to determine the resistance of the ground
we can treat it like any other resistive material:
  conductor length
Resistance R 
cross sectional area
  2.65  108 -m for aluminum
  1.68  108 -m for copper
where  is the resistivity
23
How good a conductor is dirt?

  2.65  108 -m for aluminum

  5  1016 -m for quartz (insulator!)
  160 -m for top soil
  900 -m for sand/gravel
  20 -m for salt marsh
What is resistance of a mile long, one inch diameter,
circular wire made out of aluminum ?
2.65  108  1609 
R=  0.083
  0.01282 mile
24
How good a conductor is dirt?

What is resistance of a mile long, one inch diameter,

circular wire made out of topsoil?
160  1609 6 
R=  500  10
  0.0128 2 mile
In order to achieve 0.08  with our dirt wire
mile
we would need a cross sectional area of
160  1609
 3.2  10 m
6 2
(i.e., a radius of about 1000 m)
0.08
But what the ground lacks in  , it makes up for in A!

25
Calculation of grounding resistance

• Because of its large cross sectional area the earth is

actually a pretty good conductor.
• Devices are physically grounded by having a
conductor in physical contact with the ground;
having a fairly large area of contact is important.
• Most of the resistance associated with establishing
an earth ground comes within a short distance of
the grounding point.
• Typical substation grounding resistance is between
0.1 and 1 ohm; fence is also grounded, usually by
connecting it to the substation ground grid.
26
Calculation of grounding R, cont’d

• Example: Calculate the resistance from a

grounding rod out to a radial distance x from the
rod, assuming the rod has a radius of r:
In general we have
x
R
cross sectional area
but now area changes
 dx
dR  with length.
2  length  x
x
 dxˆ  x
R    ln
r
2  length  xˆ 2  length r
27
Calculation of grounding R, cont’d

For example, if r  1.5 inches, length = 10 feet,

and   160   m we get the following values as
a function of x (in meters)
160 x
R  ln
2  3.05 0.038 The actual values will be
x R substantially less since
1m 27.2  we’ve assumed no current
10 m 46.4  flowing downward into
the ground
100 m 65.6 
100 km 83.4 
28
 Stray Voltage

• Stray voltage is a voltage

difference between two objects
that should not have a voltage
difference
• Small voltage differences
often exist between objects
grounded at difference
locations
• It can be a large issue in rural
locations, affecting things
like dairy milk production
Image Source: www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/business/pdf/farm_voltage.pdf