Short circuit currents calculated online

A novel online short-circuit calculator aims to satisfy the need for a convenient, comprehensive method of calculating three phase distribution system short circuit currents.

Determining available short circuit current or MVA values is one of the most important aspects of designing power distribution systems.

Short circuits and their effects must be considered in selecting electrical equipment, circuit protection devices, carrying out arc flash analysis.

ArcAd has developed an online short-circuit calculator in effort to satisfy the need for a convenient, comprehensive method of calculating three phase distribution system short circuit currents.

The calculator allows the designer to quickly obtain potential short circuit current at each bus in a radial electric power distribution system.

As opposed to popular single-line short-circuit procedures, the new calculator process both one- and multibranch- three-phase power distribution systems.

The calculator allows motors and generators to be placed anywhere in the network.

The contribution from each motor and the utility source is vectorally added at every point where they intersect.

This provides an extremely accurate analysis of the maximum short circuit MVA to which any node can be subject.

By performing short circuit MVA analysis for positive, negative and zero sequences, unsymmetrical fault currents can be resolved.

The calculator procedure is based on MVA method for solving industrial power system short circuits.

To use the calculator, log onto the ArcAd website, where you can add components one by one to build up a radial electrical distribution system.

The components can be a power source, transformers, bus ducts, cables, motors and generators, or "special" components whereby users can define their own X and R values for a non-standard device.

Short circuit MVA values contributed both by source and the system equipment are calculated for each portion of the system.

Registered site users have the advantage of being able to save their circuit diagrams online.

This is practical for systems with multiple scenarios of interconnections where the system goes through ongoing changes over a period of time.

Users can continue their analyses without having to re-enter their data from the beginning.

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