Three-phase AC circuits This worksheet and all related les are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

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Questions Question 1 Suppose you need to design a three-phase electric heater to dissipate 15 kW of heat when powered by 480 VAC. Your options are to build a delta-connected heater array or a wye-connected heater array:

Rdelta Rwye Rdelta Rdelta

Rwye

Rwye

Calculate the proper resistance value for each array, to achieve the desired heat output: Rdelta = Rwye = le i01040 Question 2 A three-phase electric motor operating at a line voltage of 4160 volts AC (RMS) draws 27.5 amps of current (RMS) through each of its lines. Calculate the amount of apparent power consumed by this motor. Assuming the motor is 92% ecient and operating at a power factor of 1, calculate its mechanical output power in the unit of horsepower. le i01206

Question 3 Suppose the current through each of the ammeters is 2.81 amps, and the ratio of each current transformer is 100:5. Calculate the horsepower output of this AC motor, assuming a power factor of 1 and an eciency of 88%:

Motor

Shaft T1 T2 T3

100:5 Fuses Contactor

Thermal overload
Reset

100:5 480 VAC 3-phase 100:5

Ammeters

P = le i01045

horsepower

Question 4 This multi-voltage motor has been congured to operate on a power supply voltage of 480 VAC:

Motor winding diagram Motor 2 5 8 3 9 5 7 4 6 9 3 4 8 2 7 6 1 Shaft

480 VAC 3-phase

Calculate the amount of current through each individual winding of this motor, assuming a mechanical power output of 18.3 horsepower at an eciency of 91%. Assume a power factor of 1 (unity). Also, calculate the expected voltage drop between terminals 1 and 4 on the motor while it is running. le i03249

Reset

Question 5 Examine the primary and secondary connections on this three-phase transformer bank, and then determine the line voltage to the customer, assuming 12.5 kV line voltage on the distribution power lines. The schematic diagram shown in the grey box is typical for each of the three transformers:

po

we

r li

ne

insulator crossarm

Fuse

Fuse

Fuse

Schematic diagram 7.2 kV 240/120 V

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

Low-voltage lines to customer

Power pole

le i01041

Question 6 Three step-down transformers have their primary (high-voltage) terminals connected together in a wye condiguration so that the 12.5 kV line voltage energizes each primary winding with 7.2 kV. The secondary terminals on each transformer have been left disconnected:

po

we

r li

ne

insulator crossarm

Fuse

Fuse

Fuse

Schematic diagram 7.2 kV 240/120 V

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

L1 L2 L3 N

Low-voltage lines to customer

Sketch proper wire connections to provide 120/208 VAC to the customer. le i01042

Power pole

Question 7 Calculate the operating current through each of the load resistances shown in this circuit (assuming each three-phase load is balanced):

A Vline = 13.8 kV B C
16.67:1 16.67:1 16.67:1

R1 1240

R2 950

Also, calculate the power dissipated by each load. le i02119

Question 8 Assuming all three alternators are equally sharing the load in this power system, that the primary:secondary turns ratio in the three-phase transformer is 30:1, that the power factor is 1 throughout the system, and that all disconnect switches are closed, calculate the following:

Alternator
(4160 VAC)

Alternator
(4160 VAC)

Alternator
(4160 VAC)

Generator bus Primary Motor bus

35 HP, 93% eff

35 HP, 93% eff

Secondary

10 10 10

Load bus
Line voltage of the generator bus = Line voltage of the load bus = Line current at each alternator = le i01046 volts amps kilowatts volts

Total power transferred in this system with all loads running =

Question 9 A 15 kV three-phase alternator needs to have its windings connected properly to prepare it to send power to a bus shared by other alternators in a power plant:

Three-phase alternator

Rotor

Disconnects

Circuit breaker

Disconnects . . . 15 kV generator bus ... ... ... ... ...

Each phase winding on the alternator is rated at 15 kV. The rotor winding is rated at 220 VDC. Sketch all necessary connections to make this alternator work as intended. le i01043

Question 10 An unbalanced wye-connected load receives power from a balanced 120/208 VAC source:

L1 1k5 120/208 VAC balanced source N 2k3 R2 L2 L3

Calculate the current through each of the three lines (L1, L2, and L3), as well as the current through the neutral conductor: IL1 = IL2 = IL3 = IN = le i01044 amps amps amps amps

R1 0k8 R3

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Question 11 A three-phase step-down transformer supplies 480 VAC to a pair of resistive loads. The secondary winding is corner-grounded on the X2 leg:
Vline = 13.8 kV Primary H1 Vline = 480 V Secondary

X1

H2 H3

X2 X3

M L

Determine the following phase-to-ground voltages in this system while both loads are energized: VG = VH = VJ = VK = VL = VM = VN = volts volts volts volts volts volts volts

Supposing the upper load has a total power dissipation of 8.4 kW and the lower load has a total power dissipation of 3.9 kW, calculate the amount of current through line H2. le i00966

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Question 12 Three-phase AC induction motors respond dierently to the loss of one phase, depending on whether they are internally wye- or delta-connected:

A B C Open fault

Motor

Motor

Which of these two motor designs will fare better in the event of a phase loss such as the open fault in phase C shown above, and why? le i00967

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Answers Answer 1 Perhaps the simplest approach to this problem is to calculate the power dissipation of each resistor inside of each three-resistor array. Since power is a scalar quantity (i.e. it adds directly, not trigonometrically), the 15 kW total heat output of each array means each resistor inside of each array must dissipate 5 kW of power. In the delta-connected heater, each resistor sees full line voltage (480 VAC), therefore the resistance may be calculated as such: R= V2 4802 = = 46.08 P 5000

1 In the wye-connected heater, each resistor sees 3 of the full line voltage (480 VAC), which is 277.1 VAC. Therefore the resistance may be calculated as such:

R= Answer 2 S = 19.815 kVA Pmech = 265.6 HP

277.12 V2 = = 15.36 P 5000

Answer 3 With 100:5 ratios at each CT, the line current to this motor is twenty times the amount of current through each ammeter: (2.81) 100 5 = 56.2 amps

At a line voltage of 480 VAC and a line current of 56.2 amps, the total electrical power in this 3-phase system may be calculated as follows: Ptotal = ( 3)(Iline )(Vline ) Ptotal = ( 3)(56.2)(480) = 46.724 kW At an eciency of 88%, only 88% of this power becomes translated into mechanical horsepower. This equates to 41.117 kW of mechanical power output at the motor shaft. Since we know there are 746 watts to every horsepower, we may convert this kW gure into HP as follows: 41117 W 1 1 HP 746 W = 55.12 HP

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Answer 4 A motor outputting 18.3 HP at an eciency of 91% must consume 20.11 HP worth of electrical power. This is equivalent to 15002 watts. Line current in a 480 volt, 3-phase system at this level of power is equal to: Ptotal = 3Vline Iline

Ptotal Iline = 3Vline 15002 Iline = = 18.04 amps 3(480) Delta-connected elements experience full line voltage, but carry only a fraction of the line current. In this case, the line current of 18.04 amps will be divided by 3 to yield a phase current value of 10.42 amps through each winding inside the motor. The voltage drop between terminals 1 and 4 should be exactly half of the line voltage since the winding between terminals 1 and 4 comprises one-half of a winding pair in that phase of the delta connection. Thus, each half of the winding pair sees one-half of the 480 VAC line voltage, or 240 VAC. Answer 5 The transformer primary windings are connected in a Wye conguration, which means each primary winding receives the 7.2 kV phase voltage. The secondary windings are connected in a Delta conguration, making the secondary line voltage equal to 240 volts.

Primary
7200 V 7200 V 240 V 7200 V

Secondary
240 V

240 V

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Answer 6 What we need here is a wye conguration on the secondary windings of the three transformers, using the center-tap of each to get 120 VAC at each phase. The pictorial diagram shown here is one possible solution, but not the only one:

po

we

r li

ne

insulator crossarm

Fuse

Fuse

Fuse

Schematic diagram 7.2 kV 240/120 V

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

7.2 kV 240/120 V Transformer

L1 L2 L3 N

Low-voltage lines to customer

15

Power pole

Answer 7 In the direct-connected load, each resistor sees each resistor current is equal to: I=
1 3

of the 13.8 kV line voltage (7967.4 volts), therefore,

7967.4 V = = 6.425 amps R 1240 Since each resistor sees 7967.4 volts and carries 6.425 amps, the power for each resistor will be: P = IV = (6.425)(7967.4) = 51.194 kW The power for this load is simply the power of all resistors combined: Ptotal = 153.58 kW The three transformers have their primary windings connected in a Wye conguration, and their secondary windings in a Delta conguration. Thus, each transformer primary sees 7967.4 volts, stepping it down by a 16.67:1 ratio into 477.95 volts. The secondary windings, being Delta-connected, make this 477.95 volt value the line voltage for the load. The load is Delta-connected as well, and so each resistor in that load sees 477.95 volts, giving a resistor current of: V 477.95 = = 0.5031 amps R 950 Since each resistor sees 477.95 volts and carries 0.5031 amp, the power for each resistor will be: I= P = IV = (0.5031)(477.95) = 240.46 W The power for this load is simply the power of all resistors combined: Ptotal = 721.38 W Answer 8 The line voltage at the generator bus is given to us by the alternator rating of 4160 volts. Unless otherwise specied, the voltage or current rating of a three-phase device is always a line quantity. The load bus receives its power through the step-down transformer, with 30:1 ratio between primary and secondary windings. Each primary winding sees the full 4160 VAC of the generator bus, because those 1 windings are in a delta conguration. Thus, each secondary winding will output 30 of that, or 138.67 volts. Since the secondary windings are connected together in a wye conguration, the line voltage at the load bus will be 240.18 volts. The next logical calculation to perform is total power, because we cannot calculate alternator line current until we know how much power theyre sourcing. The two 35 HP motors are easy: 28.075 kW each. Thus, the total motor load is 56.15 kW. Power dissipated by the delta-connected resistor load is the sum of each resistors dissipation (240.18 volts across 10 ohms), which is 3 5768.5 watts, or 17305.6 watts. Since power is a scalar quantity, we know all power dissipations in a system must simply add to make the total. Therefore, the total power in this system is 73.456 kW. If we now treat the three alternators as a single power source (at a line voltage of 4160 volts), the total power dissipation of 73.456 kW equates to a total line current of 10.195 amps. Split evenly among three alternators, the line current for each alternator must be one-third of this, or 3.398 amps.

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Answer 9 This is one possible solution, but not the only one:

Three-phase alternator

220 VDC +

Rotor

Disconnects

Circuit breaker

Disconnects . . . 15 kV generator bus ... ... ... ... ...

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Answer 10 In a 4-wire system such as this, each phase of the load is guaranteed to see the proper (balanced) phase voltage of 120 VAC. Thus, calculating each line current is the same as calculating each phase (resistor) current as follows: IL1 = IL2 = 120 = 0.08 amps 1500

120 = 0.0522 amps 2300

120 = 0.15 amps 800 Neutral conductor current will be the phasor sum of these three phase currents: IL3 = IN = IL1 + IL2 + IL3 Of course, we must remember that each of these three currents is phase-shifted from one another by 120 degrees, so: IN = 0.08 0o + 0.0522 120o + 0.15 240o IN = 0.0873 256o

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Answer 11 VG = 0 volts VH = 480 volts VJ = volts VK = 480 volts VL = 0 volts VM = 480 volts VN = 480 volts The phase-to-ground voltage at point J must be calculated trigonometrically:

G
30o

480 VAC
27 7V AC 27 7V AC

J
12

K
Each interior angle of the triangle GHK is 60o . Angle JGK is 30o . Angle GJK is 120o . Phasor JKs length may be calculated using the Law of Sines, where the ratio of side length to the sine of the opposite angle is constant for any triangle: B A = sin a sin b 480 VJK = sin 120 sin 30 VJK = sin 30 VJK = 0.5 480 sin 120 480 0.866

VJK = 277.13 volts

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48

0V

AC

48 0V AC

277 VAC

Total power in this system is 12.3 kW. The line current at the primary side of the transformer (assuming no power losses in the transformer) may be calculated as follows: Ptotal = 3(Iline )(Vline )

Ptotal Iline = 3(Vline ) Iline = 12300 3(13800)

Iline = 0.5146 amps The grounding of the secondary is irrelevant to calculations of current and power, because that ground connection conducts no current at all and dissipates no power. Answer 12 The delta-connected motor will fare better, because it will still generate a polyphase (truly rotating) magnetic eld, whereas the wye-connected motor will only generate an oscillating magnetic eld. Also, the voltage across each phase winding of the delta-connected motor will remain the same as the line voltage, while the voltage across each phase winding of the wye-connected motor will decrease from what it was previous to the fault. If the motors mechanical loads are suciently light, both motors will continue to rotate. However, the delta-connected motor will have a greater torque capacity in this phase-loss condition than the wye-connected motor due to the fact that its rotating magnetic eld still maintains a denite direction of rotation and also that each of its phase windings receives the same (full) voltage as previously. If these consequences are not clear for you to see, you might wish to apply the problem-solving technique of adding quantitative values to the problem. Assign a line voltage (e.g. 480 VAC) to the incoming threephase power conductors A, B, and C. Then, analyze the voltages at each phase winding of each motor before the fault versus after the fault. You may also calculate the phase angle for each of these winding voltages to see that the delta-connected motor still has three 120o -shifted voltages powering it, while the wye-connected motor only has one voltage (single phase) powering it.

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