Chapter 2

THREE PHASE CIRCUITS: POWER

DEFINITIONS AND VARIOUS
COMPONENTS
(Lectures 9-18)
2.1 Three-phase Sinusoidal Balanced System
Usage of three-phase voltage supply is very common for generation, transmission and distribution
of bulk electrical power. Almost all industrial loads are supplied by three-phase power supply for
its advantages over single phase systems such as cost and efciency for same amount of power
usage. In principle, any number of phases can be used in polyphase electric system, however
three-phase system is simpler and giving all advantages of polyphase system. In previous section,
we have seen that instantaneous active power has a constant term V Icos as well pulsating term
V I cos(2t ). The pulsating term does not contribute to any real power and thus increases the
VA rating of the system.
In the following section, we shall study the various three-phase circuits such as balanced, un-
balanced, balanced and unbalanced harmonics and discuss their properties in details [1][5].
2.1.1 Balanced Three-phase Circuits
A balanced three-phase system is shown in Fig. 2.1 below.
Three-phase balanced system is expressed using following voltages and currents.
v
a
(t) =

2V sin(t)
v
b
(t) =

2V sin(t 120

) (2.1)
v
c
(t) =

2V sin(t + 120

)
27
a
b
c
a
b
c
Fig. 2.1 A three-phase balanced circuit
and
i
a
(t) =

2I sin(t )
i
b
(t) =

2I sin(t 120

) (2.2)
i
c
(t) =

2I sin(t + 120

)
In (2.1) and (2.2) subscripts a, b and c are used to denote three phases which are balanced. Balanced
three-phase means that the voltage or current magnitude (V or I) are same for all three phases and
they have a phase shift of 120
o
and 120
o
. The currents are assumed to have degree lag with
their respective phase voltages. The balanced three phase system has certain interesting properties.
These will be discussed in the following section.
2.1.2 Three Phase Instantaneous Active Power
Three phase instantaneous active power in three phase system is given by,
p
3
(t) = p(t) = v
a
(t)i
a
(t) + v
b
(t)i
b
(t) + v
c
(t)i
c
(t)
= p
a
+ p
b
+ p
c
(2.3)
In above equation, p
a
(t), p
b
(t) and p
c
(t) are expressed similar to single phase system done previ-
ously. These are given below.
p
a
(t) = V I cos {1 cos 2t} V I sin sin 2t
p
b
(t) = V I cos {1 cos 2(t 120
o
)} V I sin sin 2(t 120
o
) (2.4)
p
c
(t) = V I cos {1 cos 2(t + 120
o
)} V I sin sin 2(t + 120
o
)
Adding three phase instantaneous powers given in (2.4), we get the three-phase instantaneous
power as below.
p(t) = 3 V I cos V I cos {cos 2t + cos 2(t 120
o
) + cos 2(t + 120
o
)}
V I sin {sin 2t + sin 2(t 120
o
) + sin 2(t + 120
o
)} (2.5)
Summation of terms in curly brackets is always equal to zero. Hence,
28
p
3
(t) = p(t) = 3V I cos . (2.6)
This is quite interesting result. It indicates for balanced three-phase system, the total instantaeous
power is equal to the real power or average active power (P), which is constant. This is the reason
we use 3-phase system. It does not involve the pulsating or oscillating components of power as in
case of single phase systems. Thus it ensures less VA rating for same amount of power transfer.
Here, total three-phase reactive power can be dened as sum of maximum value of p
reactive
(t)
terms in (2.4). Thus,
Q = Q
a
+ Q
b
+ Q
c
= 3V I sin . (2.7)
Is there any attempt to dene instantaneous reactive power q(t) similar to p(t) such that Q is
average value of that termq(t)?. H. Akagi et al. published paper [6], in which authors dened term
instantaneous reactive power. The denition was facilitated through 0 transformation. Briey
it is described in the next subsection.
2.1.3 Three Phase Instantatneous Reactive Power
H. Akagi et.al. [6] attempted to dene instantaneous reactive power(q(t)) using 0 transforma-
tion. This transformation is described below.
The abc coordinates and their equivalent 0 coordinates are shown in the Fig. 2.2 below.
a
v
b
v
c
v
j
60
o
-
c
/2
-
b
/2
-j
c
j
b

O
Fig. 2.2 A abc to 0 transformation
Resolving a, b, c quantities along the axis we have,
v

=
_
2
3
(v
a

v
b
2

v
c
2
) (2.8)
v

=
_
2
3

3
2
(v
b
v
c
) (2.9)
29
Here,
_
2
3
is a scaling factor, which ensures power invariant transformation. Along with that, we
dene zero sequence voltage as,
v
0
=
_
2
3
_
1
2
(v
a
+ v
b
+ v
c
) (2.10)
Based on Eqns.(4.60)-(2.10) we can write the above equations as follows.
_
_
v
0
(t)
v

(t)
v

(t)
_
_
=
_
2
3
_
_
1

2
1

2
1

2
1
1
2
1
2
0

3
2

3
2
_
_
_
_
v
a
(t)
v
b
(t)
v
c
(t)
_
_
(2.11)
_
_
v
0
v

_
_
= [A
o
]
_
_
v
a
v
b
v
c
_
_
The above is known as Clarke-Concordia transformation. Thus, v
a
, v
b
and v
c
can also be expressed
in terms of v
0
, v

and v

by pre-multiplying (2.11) by matrix [A

0
]
1
, we have
_
_
v
a
v
b
v
c
_
_
= [A
0
]
1
_
_
v
0
v

_
_
It will be interesting to learn that
[A
0
]
1
= [A
abc
] =
_
_
_
2
3
_
_
1

2
1

2
1

2
1
1
2
1
2
0

3
2

3
2
_
_
_
_
1
[A
0
]
1
=
_
_
_
_
2
3
_

_
1

2
1 0
1

2
1
2

3
2
1

2
1
2

3
2
_

_
_
_
_
= [A
0
]
T
= [A
abc
] (2.12)
Similarly, we can write down instantaneous symmetrical transformation for currents, which is
given below.
_
_
i
0
i

_
_
=
_
2
3
_
_
1

2
1

2
1

2
1
1
2
1
2
0

3
2

3
2
_
_
_
_
i
a
i
b
i
c
_
_
(2.13)
Now based on 0 transformation, the instantaneous active and reactive powers are dened as
follows. The three-phase instantaneous power p
(t)
is expressed as the dot product of 0 compo-
nents of voltage and currents such as given below.
30
p(t) = v

+ v

+ v
0
i
0
=
2
3
_
_
v
a

v
b
2

v
c
2
_
_
i
a

i
b
2

i
c
2
_
+

3
2
(v
b
v
c
)

3
2
(i
b
i
c
)
+
1

3
(v
a
+ v
b
+ v
c
)
1

3
(i
a
+ i
b
+ i
c
)
_
= v
a
i
a
+ v
b
i
b
+ v
c
i
c
(2.14)
Nowwhat about instantaneous reactive power? Is there any concept dening instantaneous reactive
power? In 1983-84,authors H.akagi have attempted to dene instantaneous reactive power using
stationary 0 frame, as illustrated below. In [6], the instantaneous reactive power q(t) is denes
as the cross product of two mutual perpendicular quantities, such as given below.
q(t) = v

+ v

q(t) = v

=
2
3
_
_
v
a

v
b
2

v
c
2
_

3
2
(i
b
i
c
)

3
2
(v
b
v
c
)
_
i
a

i
b
2

i
c
2
_
_
=
2
3

3
2
_
(v
b
+ v
c
) i
a
+
_
v
a

v
b
2

v
c
2
+
v
b
2

v
c
2
_
i
b
+
_
v
a
+
v
b
2
+
v
c
2
+
v
b
2

v
c
2
_
i
c
_
=
1

3
[(v
b
v
c
) i
a
+ (v
c
v
a
) i
b
+ (v
a
v
b
) i
c
]
= [v
bc
i
a
+ v
ca
i
b
+ v
ab
i
c
] /

3 (2.15)
This is also equal to the following.
q(t) =
1

3
_
(i
b
i
c
) v
a
+
_

i
b
2
+
i
c
2
i
a
+
i
b
2
+
i
c
2
_
v
b
+
_

i
b
2
+
i
c
2
+ i
a

i
b
2

i
c
2
_
v
c
_
=
1

3
[(i
b
i
c
) v
a
+ (i
c
i
a
) v
b
+ (i
a
i
b
) v
c
] (2.16)
2.1.4 Power Invariance in abc and 0 Coordinates
As a check for power invariance, we shall compute the energy content of voltage signals in two
transformations. The energy associated with the abc0 system is given by (v
2
a
+ v
2
b
+ v
2
c
) and the
energy associated with the 0 components is given by
_
v
2
0
+ v
2

+ v
2

_
. The two energies must
be equal to ensure power invariance in two transformations. It is proved below. Using, (2.11) and
31
squares of the respective components, we have the following.
v
2

=
_
_
2
3
_
v
a

v
b
2

v
c
2
_
_
2
v
2

=
2
3
_
v
2
a
+
v
2
b
4
+
v
2
c
4

2v
a
v
b
2
+
2v
b
v
c
4

2v
a
v
c
2
_
=
2
3
v
2
a
+
v
2
b
6
+
v
2
c
6

2v
a
v
b
3
+
v
b
v
c
3

2v
a
v
c
3
(2.17)
Similary we can nd out square of v

term as given below.

v
2

=
_

3
2
_
2
3
(v
b
v
c
)
_
2
=
1
2
_
v
2
b
+ v
2
c
2v
b
v
c
_
=
v
2
b
2
+
v
2
c
2
v
b
v
c
(2.18)
Adding (2.17) and (2.18), we nd that,
v
2

+ v
2

=
2
3
_
v
2
a
+ v
2
b
+ v
2
c
v
c
v
b
v
b
v
c
v
c
v
a
_
=
_
v
2
a
+ v
2
b
+ v
2
c
_

_
v
2
a
3
+
v
2
b
3
+
v
2
c
3
+
2v
a
v
b
3
+
2v
b
v
c
3
+
2v
a
v
c
3
_
=
_
v
2
a
+ v
2
b
+ v
2
c
_

1
3
(v
a
+ v
b
+ v
c
)
2
=
_
v
2
a
+ v
2
b
+ v
2
c
_

_
1

3
(v
a
+ v
b
+ v
c
)
_
2
(2.19)
Since v
0
=
1

3
(v
a
+ v
b
+ v
c
), the above equation, (2.19) can be written as,
v
2

+ v
2

+ v
2
0
= v
2
a
+ v
2
b
+ v
2
c
. (2.20)
From the above it is implies that the energy associated with the two systems remain same instant to
instant basis. In general the instantaneous power p(t) remain same in both transformations. This
is proved below.
32
Using (2.14), following can be written.
p(t) = v

+ v

+ v
o
i
o
p(t) =
_
_
v
0
v

_
_
T
_
_
i
0
i

_
_
=
_
_
[A
abc
]
_
_
v
a
v
b
v
c
_
_
_
_
T
_
_
[A
abc
]
_
_
i
a
i
b
i
c
_
_
_
_
=
_
_
v
a
v
b
v
c
_
_
T
[A
abc
]
T
[A
abc
]
_
_
i
a
i
b
i
c
_
_
=
_
_
v
a
v
b
v
c
_
_
T
[A
abc
]
1
[A
abc
]
_
_
i
a
i
b
i
c
_
_
=
_
v
a
v
b
v
c

_
_
i
a
i
b
i
c
_
_
= v
a
i
a
+ v
b
i
b
+ v
c
i
c
(2.21)
In the above, the following property of matrices of from (2.12), is used.
[A
abc
]
T
[A
abc
] = [A
abc
]
1
[A
abc
] = I (2.22)
In above, I is identity matrix.
2.2 Instantaneous Active and Reactive Powers for Three-phase Circuits
In the previous section instantaneous active and reactive powers were dened using 0 trans-
formation. In this section we shall study these powers for various three-phase circuits such as
three-phase balanced, three-phase unbalanced, balanced three-phase with harmonics and unbal-
anced three-phase with harmonics. Each case will be considered and analyzed.
2.2.1 Three-Phase Balance System
For three-phase balanced system, three-phase voltages have been expressed by equation (2.1). For
these phase voltages, the line to line voltages are given as below.
v
ab
=

2V sin (t + 30

)
v
bc
=

2V sin(t 90

)
v
ca
=

2V sin (t + 150

) (2.23)
33
0
o
a
V V
b
V
b
V
3
3
0
o
a
b
V
V

c
V
Fig. 2.3 Relationship between line-to-line and phase voltage
The above relationship between phase and line to line voltages is also illustrated in Fig. 2.3. For
the above three-phase system, the instantaneous power p(t) can be expressed using (2.21) and it is
equal to,
p(t) = v
a
i
a
+ v
b
i
b
+ v
c
i
c
= v

+ v

+ v
0
i
0
= 3 V I cos (2.24)
The instantaneous reactive power q(t) is as following.
q(t) =
1

3
[

2V sin (t 90
o
)

2I sin (t )
+

2V sin (t + 150
o
)

2I sin (t 120
o
)
+

2V sin (t + 30
o
)

2I sin (t + 120

)]
= V I [cos (90

) cos (2t 90
o
)
+cos (90
o
) cos (2t 30
o
)
+cos (90
o
) cos (2t + 150
o
)]
= V I [3 sin cos (2t + 30
o
) cos (2t + 30
o
+ 120
o
)
cos (2t + 30
o
120
o
)]
= V I [3 sin 0]
q(t) = 3V I sin (2.25)
The above value of instantaneous reactive power is same as dened by Budeanus [1] and is given
in equation (2.7). Thus, instantaneous reactive power given in (2.15) matches with the conven-
tional denition of reactive power dened in (2.7). However the time varying part of second terms
of each phase in (2.4) has no relevance with the denition given in (2.15).
Another interpretation of line to line voltages in (2.15) is that the voltages v
ab
, v
bc
and v
ca
have
34
90
o
phase shift with respect to voltages v
c
, v
a
and v
b
respectively. These are expressed as below.
v
ab
=

3v
c
90
o
v
bc
=

3v
a
90
o
(2.26)
v
ca
=

3v
b
90
o
In above equation, v
c
90
o
implies that v
c
90
o
lags v
c
by 90
o
. Analyzing each term in
(2.15) contributes to,
v
bc
i
a
=

3v
a
90

. i
a
=

2V sin (t 90

) .

2I sin (t )
=

3V I 2 sin (t 90

) . sin (t )
=

3V I [cos (90

) cos (2t 90

)]
=

3V I [sin cos {90

+ (2t )}]
=

3V I [sin + sin (2t )]

=

3V I [sin + sin 2t cos cos 2t sin ]

v
bc
i
a
/

3 = V I [sin (1 cos 2t) + cos sin 2t]

Similarly,
v
ca
i
b
/

3 = V I
_
sin
_
1 cos
_
2
_
t
2
3
____
+V I cos . sin 2
_
t
2
3
_
v
ab
i
c
/

3 = V I
_
sin
_
1 cos
_
2
_
t +
2
3
____
+V I cos . sin 2
_
t +
2
3
_
(2.27)
Thus, we see that the role of the coefcients of sin and cos have reversed. Now if we take
average value of (2.27), it is not equal to zero but V I sin in each phase. Thus three-phase reactive
power will be 3V I sin . The maximum value of second term in (2.27) represents active average
power i.e., V I cos . However, this is not normally convention about the notation of the powers.
But, important contribution of this denition is that average reactive power could be dened as the
average value of terms in (2.27).
2.2.2 Three-Phase Unbalance System
Three-phase unbalance system is not uncommon in power system. Three-phase unbalance may
result from single-phasing, faults, different loads in three phases. To study three-phase system
with fundamental unbalance, the voltages and currents are expressed as following.
v
a
=

2V
a
sin (t
va
)
v
b
=

2V
b
sin (t 120
o

vb
) (2.28)
v
c
=

2V
c
sin (t + 120
o

vc
)
35
and,
i
a
=

2I
a
sin (t
ia
)
i
b
=

2I
b
sin (t 120
o

ib
) (2.29)
i
c
=

2I
c
sin (t + 120
o

ic
)
For the above system, the three-phase instantaneous power is given by,
p
3
(t) = p(t) = v
a
i
a
+ v
b
i
b
+ v
c
i
c
=

2V
a
sin (t
va
) sin (t
ia
)
+

2V
b
sin (t 120
o

vb
)

2I
b
sin (t 120
o

ib
) (2.30)
+

2V
c
sin (t + 120
o

vc
)

2I
c
sin (t + 120
o

ic
)
Simplifying above expression we get,
p
3
(t) = V
a
I
a
cos
a
{1 cos (2t 2
va
)}
. .
p
a,active
V
a
I
a
sin
a
sin (2t 2
va
)
. .
p
a,reactive
+V
b
I
b
cos
b
[1 cos {2 (t 120

) 2
vb
}]
V
b
I
b
sin
b
sin {2 (t 120

) 2
vb
}
+V
c
I
c
cos
c
[1 cos {2 (t + 120

) 2
vc
}]
V
c
I
c
sin
c
sin {2 (t + 120

) 2
vc
} (2.31)
where
a
= (
ia

va
)
Therefore,
p
3
(t) = p
a,active
+ p
b,active
+ p
c,active
+ p
a,reactive
+ p
b,reactive
+ p
c,reactive
= p
a
+ p
b
+ p
c
+ p
a
+ p
b
+ p
c
(2.32)
where,
p
a
= P
a
= V
a
I
a
cos
a
p
b
= P
b
= V
b
I
b
cos
b
(2.33)
p
c
= P
c
= V
c
I
c
cos
c
and
p
a
= V
a
I
a
cos (2 t
a
2
va
)
p
b
= V
b
I
b
cos (2 t 240
o

b
2
vb
) (2.34)
p
c
= V
c
I
c
cos (2t + 240
c
2
vc
)
Also it is noted that,
p
a
+ p
b
+ p
c
= v
a
i
a
+ v
b
i
b
+ v
c
i
c
= P (2.35)
36
and,
p
a
+ p
b
+ p
c
= V
a
I
a
cos(2t
va

ib
)
V
b
I
b
cos {2(t 120)
vb

ib
}
V
c
I
c
cos {2(t + 120)
vc

ic
}
= 0
This implies that, we no longer get advantage of getting constant power, 3V I cos from interaction
of three-phase voltages and currents. Now, let us analyze three phase instantaneous reactive power
q(t) as per denition given in (2.15).
q(t) =
1

3
(v
b
v
c
)i
a
+ (v
c
v
a
)i
b
+ (v
a
v
b
)i
c
=
2

3
_
{V
b
sin(t 120
o

vb
) V
c
sin(t + 120
o

vc
)} I
a
sin(t
ia
)
+{V
c
sin(t + 120
o

vc
) V
a
sin(t
va
)}

2I
b
sin(t 120
o

ib
) (2.36)
+{V
a
sin(t 120
o

va
) V
b
sin(t 120
o

vb
)}

2I
c
sin(t + 120
o

ic
)
_
From the above,

3 q(t) =
_
V
b
I
a
{cos(
ia
120
o

vb
) cos(2t 120
o

ia

vb
)}
V
c
I
a
{cos(
ia
+ 120
o

vc
) cos(2t + 120
o

ia

vc
)}
+V
c
I
b
{cos(
ib
+ 240
o

vc
) cos(2t
ib

vc
)} (2.37)
V
a
I
b
{cos(
ib
120
o

va
) cos(2t 120
o

va

ib
)}
+V
a
I
c
{cos(
ic
120
o

va
) cos(2t + 120
o

va

ic
)}
V
b
I
c
{cos(
ic
240
o

vb
) cos(2t
ic

vb
)}
_
Now looking this expression,we can say that
1
T
_
T
0
q(t)dt =
1

3
_
V
b
I
a
cos(
ia

vb
120
o
)
V
c
I
a
cos(
ia

vc
+ 120
o
)
+V
c
I
b
cos(
ib
+ 240
o

vc
)
V
a
I
b
cos(
ib
120
o

va
)
+V
a
I
c
cos(
ic
120
o

va
)
V
b
I
c
cos(
ic
240
o

vb
)
_
= q
a
(t) + q
b
(t) + q
c
(t)
= V
a
I
a
sin
a
+ V
b
I
b
sin
b
+ V
c
I
c
sin
c
(2.38)
Hence the denition of instantaneous reactive power does not match to that dened by Budeanues
reactive power [1] for three-phase unbalanced circuit. If only voltages or currents are distorted, the
37
above holds true as given below. Let us consider that only currents are unbalanced, then
v
a
(t) =

2V sin(t)
v
b
(t) =

2V sin(t 120

) (2.39)
v
c
(t) =

2V sin(t + 120

)
and
i
a
(t) =

2I
a
sin(t
a
)
i
b
(t) =

2I
b
sin(t 120
o

b
) (2.40)
i
c
(t) =

2I
c
sin(t + 120
o

c
)
And the instantaneous reactive power is given by,
q(t) =
1

3
[v
bc
i
a
+ v
ca
i
b
+ v
ab
i
c
]
=
1

3
[

3 v
a
/2 i
a
+

3 v
b
/2 i
b
+

3 v
c
/2 i
c
]
= [

2V sin(t /2)

2I
a
sin(t
ia
)
+

2V sin(t 120
o
/2)

2I
b
sin(t 120
o

ib
)
+

2V sin(t + 120
o
+ /2)

2I
c
sin(t + 120
o

ic
)]
= [V I
a
cos(/2
ia
) cos {/2 (2t
ia
)}
+V I
b
cos(/2
ib
) cos(2t 240
o
/2
ib
)
+V I
c
cos(/2
ic
) cos(2t + 240
o
/2
ic
)]
= [(V I
a
sin
ia
+ V I
b
sin
ib
+ V I
c
sin
ic
)
+V I
a
sin(2t
ia
) + V I
b
sin(2t 240
o

ib
) + V I
c
sin(2t + 240
o

ic
)]
Thus,
Q =
1
T
_
T
0
q(t)dt = (V I
a
sin
ia
+ V I
b
sin
ib
+ V I
c
sin
ic
) (2.41)
Which is similar to Budeanus reactive power.
The oscillating term of q(t) which is equal to q(t) is given below.
q(t) = V I
a
sin(2t
ia
) + V I
b
sin(2t 240
o

ib
) + V I
c
sin(2t + 240
o

ic
) (2.42)
which is not similar to what is being dened as reactive component of power in (2.4).
2.3 Symmetrical components
In the previous section, the fundamental unbalance in three phase voltage and currents have been
considered. Ideal power systems are not designed for unbalance quantities as it makes power sys-
tem components over rated and inefcient. Thus, to understand unbalance three-phase systems,
38
a concept of symmetrical components introduced by C. L. Fortescue, will be discussed. In 1918,
C. L Fortescue, wrote a paper [7] presenting that an unbalanced system of n-related phasors can
be resolved into n system of balanced phasors, called the symmetrical components of the original
phasors. The n phasors of each set of components are equal in length and the angles. Although,
the method is applicable to any unbalanced polyphase system, we shall discuss about three phase
systems.
For the discussion of symmetrical components, a complex operator denoted as a is dened as,
a = 1120
o
= e
j2/3
= cos 2/3 + j sin 2/3
= 1/2 + j

3/2
a
2
= 1240
o
= 1 120
o
= e
j4/3
= e
j2/3
= cos 4/3 + j sin 4/3
= 1/2 j

3/2
a
3
= 1360
o
= e
j2
= 1
Also note an interesting property relating a, a
2
and a
3
,
a + a
2
+ a
3
= 0. (2.43)
3
1
o
a o
2
1 120
o
a
1 120
o
a
o
Fig. 2.4 Phasor representation of a, a
2
and a
3
These quantities i.e., a, a
2
and a
3
= 1 also represent three phasors which are shifted by 120
o
from each other. This is shown in Fig. 2.4.
Knowing the above and using Fortescue theorem, three unbalanced phasor of a three phase un-
balanced system can be resolved into three balanced system phasors.
1. Positive sequence components are composed of three phasors, equal in magnitude, phase shift
39
of 120
o
and 120
o
between phases with phase sequence same to that of the original phasors.
2. Negative sequence components consist of three phasors equal in magnitude, phase shift of
120
o
and 120
o
between phases with phase sequence opposite to that of the original phasors.
3. Zero sequence components consist of three phasors equal in magnitude with zero phase shift
from each other.
These are denoted as following.
Positive sequence components: V
a+
, V
b+
, V
c+
Negative sequence components: V
a
, V
b
, V
c
Zero sequence components: V
a0
, V
b0
, V
c0
Thus, we can write,
V
a
= V
a+
+ V
a
+ V
a0
V
b
= V
b+
+ V
b
+ V
b0
(2.44)
V
c
= V
c+
+ V
c
+ V
c0
Graphically, these are represented in Fig. 2.5. Thus if we add the sequence components of each
phase vectorially, we shall get V
a
, V
b
and V
s
as per (2.44). This is illustrated in Fig. 2.6.
Va
Vc
Vb
Vb
Va
Vc
0 Va
0 Vb
0 Vc
(a) (b)
(c)
Fig. 2.5 Sequence components (a) positive sequence (b) negative sequence (c) zero sequence
Now knowing all these preliminaries, we can proceed as following. Let V
a+
be a reference phasor,
therefore V
b+
and V
c+
can be written as,
V
b+
= a
2
V
a+
= V
a+
120

V
c+
= aV
a+
= V
a+
120

(2.45)
Similarly V
b
and V
c
can be expressed in terms of V
a
as following.
40
Va
Va
Va
0 Va
Vc
Vc
0 Vc
Vc
Vb
Vb
Vb
0 Vb
o
Fig. 2.6 Unbalanced phasors as vector sum of positive, negative and zero sequence phasors
V
b
= aV
a
= V
a
120

V
c
= a
2
V
a
= V
a
120

(2.46)
The zero sequence components have same magnitude and phase angle and therefore these are
expressed as,
V
b0
= V
c0
= V
a0
(2.47)
Using (2.45), (2.46) and (2.47) we have,
V
a
= V
a0
+ V
a+
+ V
a
(2.48)
V
b
= V
b0
+ V
b+
+ V
b
= V
a0
+ a
2
V
a+
+ a V
a
(2.49)
V
c
= V
c0
+ V
c+
+ V
c
= V
a0
+ a V
a+
+ a
2
V
a
(2.50)
Equations (2.48)-(2.50) can be written in matrix form as given below.
_
_
V
a
V
b
V
c
_
_
=
_
_
1 1 1
1 a
2
a
1 a a
2
_
_
_
_
V
a0
V
a+
V
a
_
_
(2.51)
41
Premultipling by inverse of matrix [A
sabc
] =
_
_
1 1 1
1 a
2
a
1 a a
2
_
_
, the symmetrical components are
expressed as given below.
_
_
V
a0
V
a+
V
a
_
_
=
1
3
_
_
1 1 1
1 a a
2
1 a
2
a
_
_
_
_
V
a
V
b
V
c
_
_
(2.52)
= [A
012
]
_
_
V
a
V
b
V
c
_
_
The symmetrical transformation matrices A
012
and A
sabc
are related by the following expression.
[A
012
] = [A
sabc
]
1
= [A
sabc
]

(2.53)
From (2.52), the symmetrical components can therefore be expressed as the following.
V
a0
=
1
3
(V
a
+ V
b
+ V
c
)
V
a+
=
1
3
(V
a
+ aV
b
+ a
2
V
c
) (2.54)
V
a
=
1
3
(V
a
+ a
2
V
b
+ aV
c
)
The other component i.e., V
b0
, V
c0
, V
b+
, V
c+
, V
b
, V
c
can be found from V
a0
, V
a+
, V
a+
. It
should be noted that quantity V
a0
does not exist if sum of unbalanced phasors is zero. Since sum
of line to line voltage phasors i.e., V
ab
+V
bc
+V
ca
= (V
a
V
b
)+(V
b
V
c
)+(V
c
V
a
) is always
zero, hence zero sequence voltage components are never present in the line voltage, regardless of
amount of unbalance. The sum of the three phase voltages, i.e., V
a
+ V
b
+ V
c
is not necessarily
zero and hence zero sequence voltage exists.
Similarly sequence components can be written for currents. Denoting three phase currents by
I
a
, I
b
, and I
c
respectively, the sequence components in matrix form are given below.
_
_
I
a0
I
a+
I
a
_
_
=
1
3
_
_
1 1 1
1 a a
2
1 a
2
a
_
_
_
_
I
a
I
b
I
c
_
_
(2.55)
Thus,
I
a0
=
1
3
(I
a
+ I
b
+ I
c
)
I
a+
=
1
3
(I
a
+ aI
b
+ a
2
I
c
)
42
I
a
=
1
3
(I
a
+ a
2
I
b
+ aI
c
)
In three-phase, 4-wire system, the sum of line currents is equal to the neutral current (I
n
). thus,
I
n
= I
a
+ I
b
+ I
c
= 3I
a0
(2.56)
This current ows in the fourth wire called neutral wire. Again if neutral wire is absent, then zero
sequence current is always equal to zero irrespective of unbalance in phase currents. This is illus-
trated below.
a
b
c
a
b
c
(a)
a
b
c
a
b
c
(b)
Fig. 2.7 Various three phase systems (a) Three-phase three-wire system (b) Three-phase four-wire system
In 2.7(b), i
n
may or may not be zero. However neutral voltage (V
Nn
) between the system and
load neutral is always equal to zero. In 2.7(a), there is no neutral current due to the absence of the
neutral wire. But in this conguration the neutral voltage, V
Nn
, may or may not be equal to zero
depending upon the unbalance in the system.
Example 2.1 Consider a balanced 3 system with following phase voltages.
V
a
= 1000
o
V
b
= 100 120
o
V
c
= 100120
o
Using (2.54), it can be easily seen that the zero and negative sequence components are equal to
zero, indicating that there is no unbalance in voltages. However the converse may not apply.
Now consider the following phase voltages. Compute the sequence components and show that the
energy associated with the voltage components in both system remain constant.
V
a
= 1000
o
V
b
= 150 100
o
V
c
= 75100
o
43
Solution Using (2.54), sequence components are computed. These are:
V
a0
=
1
3
(V
a
+ V
b
+ V
c
)
= 31.91 50.48
o
V
V
a+
=
1
3
(V
a
+ aV
b
+ a
2
V
c
)
= 104.164.7
o
V
V
a
=
1
3
(V
a
+ a
2
V
b
+ aV
c
)
= 28.96146.33
o
V
If you nd energy content of two frames that is abc and 012 system, it is found to be constant.
E
abc
= k [V
2
a
+ V
2
b
+ V
2
c
] = 381.25 k
E
0+
= 3 k [V
2
a0
+ V
2
a+
+ V
2
a
] = 381.25 k
Thus, E
abc
= E
0+
with k as some constant of proportionality.
The invariance of power can be further shown by following proof.
S
v
= P + jQ = [ V
a
V
b
V
c
]
_
_
I
a
I
b
I
c
_
_

=
_
_
V
a
V
b
V
c
_
_
T
_
_
I
a
I
b
I
c
_
_

=
_
_
[A
sabc
]
_
_
V
a0
V
a+
V
a
_
_
_
_
T
_
_
[A
sabc
]
_
_
I
a0
I
a+
I
a
_
_
_
_

=
_
_
V
a0
V
a+
V
a
_
_
T
[A
sabc
]
T
[A
sabc
]

_
_
I
a0
I
a+
I
a
_
_

(2.57)
The term S
v
is referred as vector or geometric apparent power. The difference between will be
given in the following. The transformation matrix [A
sabc
] has following properties.
[A
sabc
]
T
[A
sabc
]

= 3 [I] (2.58)
44
The matrix, [I], is identity matrix. Using (2.58), (2.57) can be written as the following.
S
v
= P + jQ =
_
_
V
a0
V
a+
V
a
_
_
T
3[I]
_
_
I
a0
I
a+
I
a
_
_

= 3
_
_
V
a0
V
a+
V
a
_
_
T
_
_
I
a0
I
a+
I
a
_
_

S
v
= P + jQ = V
a
I

a
+ V
b
I

b
+ V
c
I

c
= 3 [V
a0
I

a0
+ V
a+
I

a+
+ V
a
I

a
] (2.59)
Equation (2.59) indicates that power invariance holds true in both abc and 012 components. But,
this is true on phasor basis. Would it be true on the time basis? In this context, concept of instanta-
neous symmetrical components will be discussed in the latter section. The equation (2.59) further
implies that,
S
v
= P + jQ = 3 [ (V
a0
I
a0
cos
a0
+ V
a+
I
a+
cos
a+
+ V
a
I
a
cos
a
)
+j(V
a0
I
a0
sin
a0
+ V
a+
I
a+
sin
a+
+ V
a
I
a
sin
a
) ] (2.60)
The power terms in (2.60) accordingly form positive sequence, negative sequence and zero se-
quence powers denoted as following. The positive sequence power is given as,
P
+
= V
a+
I
a+
cos
a+
+ V
b+
I
b+
cos
b+
+ V
c+
I
c+
cos
c+
= 3V
a+
I
a+
cos
a+
. (2.61)
Negative sequence power is expressed as,
P

= 3V
a
I
a
cos
a
. (2.62)
The zero sequence power is
P
0
= 3V
a0
I
a0
cos
a0
. (2.63)
Similarly, sequence reactive power are denoted by the following expressions.
Q
+
= 3V
a+
I
a+
sin
a+
Q

= 3V
a
I
a
sin
a
Q
0
= 3V
a0
I
a0
sin
a0
(2.64)
Thus, following holds true for active and reactive powers.
P = P
a
+ P
b
+ P
c
= P
0
+ P
1
+ P
2
Q = Q
a
+ Q
b
+ Q
c
= Q
0
+ Q
1
+ Q
2
(2.65)
45
Here, positive sequence, negative sequence and zero sequence apparent powers are denoted as the
following.
S
+
= |S
+
| =
_
P
+
2
+ Q
+
2
= 3V
a+
I
a+
S

= |S
+
| =
_
P

2
+ Q

2
= 3V
a
I
a
S
0
= |S
+
| =
_
P
0
2
+ Q
0
2
= 3V
a0
I
a0
(2.66)
The scalar value of vector apparent power (S
v
) is given as following.
S
v
= |S
a
+ S
b
+ S
c
| = |S
0
+ S
+
+ S

|
= |(P
a
+ P
b
+ P
c
) + j(Q
a
+ Q
b
+ Q
c
)| (2.67)
=
_
P
2
+ Q
2
Similarly, arithematic apparent power (S
A
) is dened as the algebraic sum of each phase or se-
quence apparent power, i.e.,
S
A
= |S
a
| +|S
b
| +|S
c
|
= |P
a
+ jQ
a
| +|P
b
+ jQ
b
| +|P
c
+ jQ
c
| (2.68)
=
_
P
2
a
+ Q
2
a
+
_
P
2
b
+ Q
2
b
+
_
P
2
c
+ Q
2
c
In terms of sequence components apparent power,
S
A
= |S
0
| +|S
+
| +|S

|
= |P
0
+ jQ
0
| +|P
+
+ jQ
+
| +|P

+ jQ

| (2.69)
=
_
P
0
2
+ Q
0
2
+
_
P
+
2
+ Q
+
2
+
_
P

2
+ Q

2
Based on these two denitions of the apparent powers, the power factors are dened as the follow-
ing.
Vector apparent power = pf
v
=
P
S
v
(2.70)
Arithematic apparent power = pf
A
=
P
S
A
(2.71)
46
Example 2.2 Consider a 3-phase 4 wire system supplying resistive load, shown in Fig. 2.8
below. Determine power consumed by the load and feeder losses.
'
a
'
c
'
n
a
b
c
n
V
a
V
b
V
c
R
I
a
I
n
I
b
I
c
r j x
r j x
r j x
r j x
'
Fig. 2.8 A three-phase unbalanced load
Power dissipated by the load =
(

3V )
2
R
=
3V
2
R
The current owing in the line =

3V
R
= |
V
a
V
b
R
|
and I
b
= I
a
Therefore losses in the feeder =
_

3V
R
_
2
r +
_

3V
R
_
2
r
= 2
_
r
R
_
_
3 V
2
R
_
Now, consider another example of a 3 phase system supplying 3-phase load, consisting of three
resistors (R) in star as shown in the Fig. 2.9. Let us nd out above parameters.
Power supplied to load = 3
_
V
R
_
2
R =
3V
2
R
Losses in the feeder = 3
_
V
R
_
2
r =
_
r
R
_
_
3 V
2
R
_
Thus, it is interesting to see that power dissipated in the unbalanced system is twice the power loss
in balanced circuit. This leads to conclusion that power factor in phases would become less than
unity, while for balanced circuit, the power factor is unity. Power analysis of unbalanced circuit
shown in Fig. 2.8 is given below.
47
'
a
'
c
'
n
a
b
c
n
V
a
R
I
a
r j x
r j x
r j x
r j x
R
R
'
b
V
b
V
c
I
b
I
c
I
n
Fig. 2.9 A three-phase balanced load
The current in phase-a, I
a
=
V
a
V
b
R
=
V
ab
R
=

3 V
a
R
30

The current in phase-b, I

b
= I
a
=

3 V
R
(30 180)
o
=

3 V
R
150
o
The current in phase-c and neutral are zero, I
c
= I
n
= 0
The phase voltages are: V
a
= V 0
o
, V
b
= V 120
o
, V
c
= V 120
o
.
The phase active and reactive and apparent powers are as following.
P
a
= V
a
I
a
cos
a
= V I cos 30

3
2
V I
Q
a
= V
a
I
a
sin
a
= V I sin 30

=
1
2
V I
S
a
= V
a
I
a
= V I
P
b
= V
b
I
b
cos
b
= V I cos(30)

3
2
V I
Q
b
= V
b
I
b
sin
b
= V I sin(30)

=
1
2
V I
S
b
= V
b
I
b
= V I
P
c
= Q
c
= S
c
= 0
Thus total active power P = P
a
+ P
b
+ P
c
= 2

3
2
V I =

3 V I
=

3 V

3 V
R
P =
3 V
2
R
Total reactive power Q = Q
a
+ Q
b
+ Q
c
= 0
48
The vector apparent power, S
v
=
_
P
2
+ Q
2
= 3 V
2
/R = P
The arithmetic apparent power, S
A
= S
a
+ S
b
+ S
c
= 2 V I = (2/

3) P
From the values of S
v
and S
A
, it implies that,
pf
v
=
P
S
v
=
P
P
= 1
pf
A
=
P
S
A
=
P
(2/

3) P
=

3
2
= 0.866
This difference between the arthmetic and vector power factors will be more due to the unbalances
in the load.
For balance load S
A
= S
V
, therefore, pf
A
= pf
V
= 1.0. Thus for three-phase electrical cir-
cuits, the following holds true.
pf
A
pf
V
(2.72)
2.3.1 Effective Apparent Power
For unbalanced three-phase circuits, their is one more denition of apparent power, which is known
as effective apparent power. The concept assumes that a virtual balanced circuit that has the same
power output and losses as the actual unbalanced circuit. This equivalence leads to the denition
of effective line current I
e
and effective line to neutral voltage V
e
.
The equivalent three-phase unbalanced and balanced circuits with same power output and losses
are shown in Fig. 2.10. From these gures, to maintain same losses,
'
a
'
c
'
n
n
V
a
a
R
I
a
r j x
r j x
r j x
r j x
'
b
V
b
V
c
I
b
I
c
I
n
V
n
b
R
c
R
'
a
'
c
'
n
V
ea
I
ea
r j x
r j x
r j x
r j x
'
b
e
R
e
R
e
R
I
eb
I
ec
I 0
n

n
V
eb
V
ec
(a) (b)
Fig. 2.10 (a) Three-phase with unbalanced voltage and currents (b) Effective equivalent three-phase system
rI
2
a
+ rI
2
b
+ rI
2
c
+ rI
2
n
= 3rI
2
e
The above equation implies the effective rms current in each phase is given as following.
I
e
=
_
(I
2
a
+ I
2
b
+ I
2
c
+ I
2
n
)
3
(2.73)
49
For the original circuit shown in Fig. 2.8, the effective current I
e
is computed using above equation
and is given below.
I
e
=
_
(I
2
a
+ I
2
b
)
3
since, I
c
= 0and I
n
= 0
=
_
2 I
2
a
3
=

2 (

3V/R)
2
3
=

2V
R
To account same power output in circuits shown above, the following identity is used with R
e
= R
in Fig. 2.10.
V
2
a
R
+
V
2
b
R
+
V
2
c
R
+
V
2
ab
+ V
2
bc
+ V
2
ca
3R
=
3V
2
e
R
+
9V
2
e
3R
(2.74)
From (2.74), the effective rms value of voltage is expressed as,
V
e
=
_
1
18
{3 (V
2
a
+ V
2
b
+ V
2
c
) + V
2
ab
+ V
2
bc
+ V
2
ca
} (2.75)
Assuming, 3 (V
2
a
+ V
2
b
+ V
2
c
) V
2
ab
+ V
2
bc
+ V
2
ca
, equation (2.75) can be written as,
V
e
=
_
V
2
a
+ V
2
b
+ V
2
c
3
= V (2.76)
Therefore, the effective apparent power (S
e
), using the values of V
e
and I
e
, is given by,
S
e
= 3 V
e
I
e
=
3

2 V
2
R
Thus the effective power factor based on the denition of effective apparent power (S
e
), for the
circuit shown in Fig. 2.8 is given by,
pf
e
=
P
S e
=
3 V
2
/R
3

2 V
2
/R
=
1

2
= 0.707
Thus, we observe that,
S
V
S
A
S
e
,
pf
e
(0.707) pf
A
(0.866) pf
V
(1.0).
When the system is balanced,
V
a
= V
b
= V
c
= V
en
= V
e
,
I
a
= I
b
= I
c
= I
e
,
I
n
= 0,
and S
V
= S
A
= S
e
.
50
2.3.2 Positive Sequence Powers and Unbalance Power
The unbalance power S
u
can be expressed in terms of fundamental positive sequence powers P
+
,
Q
+
and S
+
as given below.
S
u
=
_
S
2
e
S
+
2
(2.77)
where S
+
= 3 V
+
I
+
and S
+
2
= P
+
2
+ Q
+
2
.
2.4 Three-phase Non-sinusoidal Balanced System
A three-phase nonsinusoidal system is represented by following set of equaitons.
v
a
(t) =

2V
1
sin(wt
1
) +

n=2
V
n
sin(nwt
n
)
v
b
(t) =

2V
1
sin(wt 120

1
) +

n=2
V
n
sin(n(wt 120

)
n
) (2.78)
v
c
(t) =

2V
1
sin(wt + 120

1
) +

n=2
V
n
sin(n(wt + 120

)
n
)
Similarly, the line currents can be expressed as,
i
a
(t) =

2I
1
sin(wt
1
) +

n=2
I
n
sin(nwt
n
)
i
b
(t) =

2I
1
sin(wt 120

1
) +

n=2
I
n
sin(n(wt 120

)
n
) (2.79)
i
c
(t) =

2I
1
sin(wt + 120

1
) +

n=2
I
n
sin(n(wt + 120

)
n
)
In this case,
S
a
= S
b
= S
c
,
P
a
= P
b
= P
c
, (2.80)
Q
a
= Q
b
= Q
c
,
D
a
= D
b
= D
c
.
In above the terms D
a
, D
b
and D
c
are known as distortion powers in phase-a, b, c respectively. The
denition of The distortion power, D, is given in Section 1.4.5. The above equation suggests that
such a system has potential to produce signicant additional power loss in neutral wire and ground
path.
51
2.4.1 Neutral Current
The neutral current for three-phase balanced system with harmonics can be given by the following
equation.
i
n
= i
a
+ i
b
+ i
c
=

2 [ I
a1
sin (wt
1
) + I
a2
sin (2wt
2
) + I
a3
sin (3wt
3
)
+I
a1
sin (wt 120
o

1
) + I
a2
sin (2wt 240
o

2
) + I
a3
sin (3wt 360
o

3
)
+I
a1
sin (wt + 120
o

1
) + I
a2
sin (2wt + 240
o

2
) + I
a3
sin (3wt + 360
o

3
)
+I
a4
sin (4wt
4
) + I
a5
sin (5wt
5
) + I
a6
sin (6wt
6
)
+I
a4
sin (wt 4 120
o

4
) + I
a5
sin (5wt 5 120
o

5
) + I
a6
sin (6wt 6 120
o

6
)
+I
a4
sin (wt + 4 120
o

4
) + I
a5
sin (5wt + 5 120
o

5
) + I
a6
sin (6wt + 6 120
o

6
)
(2.81)
+I
a7
sin (7wt
7
) + I
a8
sin (8wt
8
) + I
a9
sin (9wt
9
)
+I
a7
sin (7wt 7 120
o

7
) + I
a8
sin (8wt 8 120
o

8
) + I
a9
sin (9wt 9 120
o

9
)
+I
a7
sin (7wt + 7 120
o

7
) + I
a8
sin (8wt + 8 120
o

8
) + I
a9
sin (9wt + 9 120
o

9
) ]
From the above equation, we observe that, the triplen harmonics are added up in the neutral current.
All other harmonics except triplen harmonics do not contribute to the neutral current, due to their
balanced nature. Therefore the neutral current is given by,
i
n
= i
a
+ i
b
+ i
c
=

n=3,6,..
3

2I
n
sin(nwt
n
). (2.82)
The RMS value of the current in neutral wire is therefore given by,
I
n
= 3
_

n=3,6,..
I
2
n
_
1/2
. (2.83)
Due to dominant triplen harmonics in electrical loads such as UPS, rectiers and other power
electronic based loads, the current rating of the neutral wire may be comparable to the phase wires.
It is worth to mention here that all harmonics in three-phase balanced systems can be catego-
rized in three groups i.e., (3n + 1), (3n + 2) and 3n (for n = 1, 2, 3, ...) called positive, nega-
tive and zero sequence harmonics respectively. This means that balanced fundamental, 4th, 7th
10th,... form positive sequence only. Balanced 2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th,... form negative sequence only
and the balanced triplen harmonics i.e. 3rd, 6th, 9th,... form zero sequence only. But in case of
unbalanced three-phase systems with harmonics, (3n + 1) harmonics may start forming negative
and zero sequence components. Similarly, (3n + 2) may start forming positive and zero sequence
components and 3n may start forming positive and negative sequence components.
2.4.2 Line to Line Voltage
For the three-phase balanced system with harmonics, the line-to-line voltages are denoted as v
ab
,
v
bc
and v
ca
. Let us consider, line-to-line voltage between phases a and b. It is given as following.
52
v
ab
(t) = v
a
(t) v
b
(t)
=

n=1

2V
n
sin(nt
n
)

n=1

2V
n
sin(n(t 120
o
)
n
)
=

n=1

2V
n
sin(nt
n
)

n=1

2V
n
sin((nt
n
) n 120
o
)
=

n=1

2V
n
[sin(nt
n
) sin(nt
n
) cos(n 120
o
)
+ cos(nt
n
) sin(n 120
o
)]
=

n=3,6,9...

2V
n
[sin(nt
n
) sin(nt
n
) (1/2)
+ cos(nt
n
) (

3/2)
_
=

n=3,6,9...
V
n
_
(3/2) sin(nt
n
) + (

3/2) cos(nt
n
)
_
=

n=3,6,9...
V
n
_
(

3/2) sin(nt
n
) + (1/2) cos(nt
n
)
_
(2.84)
Let

3/2 = r
n
cos
n
and 1/2 = r
n
sin
n
. This impliles r
n
= 1 and
n
= 30
o
. Using this,
equation (2.84) can be written as follows.
v
ab
(t) =

n=3,6,9...
V
n
[sin(nt
n
30
o
)] . (2.85)
In equations (2.84) and (2.85), v
ab
= 0 for n = 3, 6, 9, . . . and for n = 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, . . ., the sign
of 1/2 or sign of 30
0
changes alternatively. Thus it is observed that triplen harmonics are missing
in the line to line voltages, inspite of their presence in phase voltages for balanced three-phase
system with harmonics. Thus the following identity hold true for this system,
V
LL

3 V
Ln
(2.86)
Above equation further implies that,

3 V
LL
I 3 V
Ln
I. (2.87)
In above equation, I refers the rms value of the phase current. For above case, I
a
= I
b
= I
c
= I
and I
n
= 3

n=3,6,9...
I
n
2
. Therefore, effective rms current, I
e
is given by the following.
53
I
e
=

3 I
2
+ 3

n=3,6,9...
I
n
2
3
=

_
I
2
+

n=3,6,9...
I
n
2
(2.88)
I
2.4.3 Apparent Power with Budeanu Resolution: Balanced Distortion Case
The apparent power is given as,
S = 3V
ln
I =
_
P
2
+ Q
2
B
+ D
2
B
=
_
P
2
+ Q
2
+ D
2
(2.89)
where,
P = P
1
+ P
H
= P
1
+ P
2
+ P
3
+ ....
= 3V
1
I
1
cos
1
+ 3

n=1
V
n
I
n
cos
n
(2.90)
where,
n
=
n

n
. Similarly,
Q = Q
B
= Q
B1
+ Q
BH
= Q
1
+ Q
H
(2.91)
Where Q in (2.89) is called as Budeanus reactive power (VAr) or simply reactive power which is
detailed below.
Q = Q
1
+ Q
H
= Q
1
+ Q
2
+ Q
3
+ ....
= 3V
1
I
1
sin
1
+ 3

n=1
V
n
I
n
sin
n
(2.92)
2.4.4 Effective Apparent Power for Balanced Non-sinusoidal System
The effective apparent power S
e
for the above system is given by,
S
e
= 3V
e
I
e
(2.93)
For a three-phase, three-wire balanced system, the effective apparent power is found after cal-
culating effective voltage and current as given below.
V
e
=
_
(V
2
ab
+ V
2
bc
+ V
2
ca
)/9
= V
ll
/

3 (2.94)
54
I
e
=
_
(I
2
a
+ I
2
b
+ I
2
c
)/3
= I (2.95)
Therefore
S
e
= S =

3V
ll
I (2.96)
For a four-wire system, V
e
is same is given (2.94) and I
e
is given by (2.88). Therefore, the
effective apparent power is given below.

3V
ll
I 3 V
ln
I
e
(2.97)
The above implies that,
S
e
S
A
. (2.98)
Therefore, it can be further concluded that,
pf
e
(= P/S
e
) pf
A
(= P/S
A
). (2.99)
2.5 Unbalanced and Non-sinusoidal Three-phase System
In this system, we shall consider most general case i.e., three-phase systemwith voltage and current
quantities which are unbalanced and non-sinusoidal. These voltages and currents are expressed as
following.
v
a
(t) =

n=1

2V
an
sin(nt
an
)
v
b
(t) =

n=1

2V
bn
sin {n(t 120
o
)
bn
} (2.100)
v
c
(t) =

n=1

2V
cn
sin {n(t + 120
o
)
cn
}
Similarly, currents can be expressed as,
i
a
(t) =

n=1

2I
an
sin(nt
an
)
i
b
(t) =

n=1

2I
bn
sin {n(t 120
o
)
bn
} (2.101)
i
c
(t) =

n=1

2I
cn
sin {n(t + 120
o
)
cn
}
55
For the above voltages and currents in three-phase system, instantaneous power is given as follow-
ing.
p(t) = v
a
(t)i
a
(t) + v
b
(t)i
b
(t) + v
c
(t)i
c
(t)
= p
a
(t) + p
b
(t) + p
c
(t)
=
_

n=1

2V
an
sin(nt
an
)
__

n=1

2I
an
sin(nt
an
)
_
(2.102)
+
_

n=1

2V
bn
sin {n(t 120
o
)
bn
}
__

n=1

2I
bn
sin {n(t 120
o
)
bn
}
_
+
_

n=1

2V
cn
sin {n(t + 120
o
)
cn
}
__

n=1

2I
cn
sin {n(t + 120
o
)
cn
}
_
In (2.102), each phase power can be found using expressions derived in Section 1.4 of Unit 1. The
direct result is written as following.
p
a
(t) =

n=1
V
an
I
an
cos
an
{1 cos(2nt 2
an
)}

n=1
V
an
I
an
sin
an
cos(2nt 2
an
)
+
_

n=1

2V
an
sin(nt
an
)
__

m=1, m=n

2I
am
sin(mt
am
)
_
=

n=1
P
an
{1 cos(2nt 2
an
)}

n=1
Q
an
cos(2nt 2
an
)
+
_

n=1

2V
an
sin(nt
an
)
__

m=1, m=n

2I
am
sin(mt
am
)
_
(2.103)
In the above equation,
an
= (
an

an
). Similarly, for phases b and c, the instantaneous
power is expressed as below.
p
b
(t) =

n=1
P
bn
[1 cos {2n(t 120
o
) 2
bn
}]

n=1
Q
bn
cos {2n(t 120
o
) 2
bn
}
+
_

n=1

2V
bn
sin {n(t 120
o
)
bn
}
__

m=1, m=n

2I
bm
sin {m(t 120
o
)
bm
}
_
(2.104)
56
and
p
c
(t) =

n=1
P
cn
[1 cos {2n(t + 120
o
) 2
cn
}]

n=1
Q
cn
cos {2n(t + 120
o
) 2
cn
}
+
_

n=1

2V
cn
sin {n(t + 120
o
)
cn
}
__

m=1, m=n

2I
cm
sin {m(t + 120
o
)
cm
}
_
(2.105)
From equations (2.103), (2.104) and (2.105), the real powers in three phases are given as follows.
P
a
=

n=1
V
an
I
an
cos
an
P
b
=

n=1
V
bn
I
bn
cos
bn
(2.106)
P
c
=

n=1
V
cn
I
cn
cos
cn
Similarly, the reactive powers in three phases are given as following.
Q
a
=

n=1
V
an
I
an
sin
an
Q
b
=

n=1
V
bn
I
bn
sin
bn
(2.107)
Q
c
=

n=1
V
cn
I
cn
sin
cn
Therefore, the total active and reactive powers are computed by summing the phase powers using
equations (2.106) and (2.107), which are given below.
P = P
a
+ P
b
+ P
c
=

n=1
(V
an
I
an
cos
an
+ V
bn
I
bn
cos
bn
+ V
cn
I
cn
cos
cn
)
= V
a1
I
a1
cos
a1
+ V
b1
I
b1
cos
b1
+ V
c1
I
c1
cos
c1
+

n=2
(V
an
I
an
cos
an
+ V
bn
I
bn
cos
bn
+ V
cn
I
cn
cos
cn
)
= P
a1
+ P
b1
+ P
c1
+

n=2
(P
an
+ P
bn
+ P
cn
)
= P
1
+ P
H
(2.108)
57
and,
Q = Q
a
+ Q
b
+ Q
c
=

n=1
(V
an
I
an
sin
an
+ V
bn
I
bn
sin
bn
+ V
cn
I
cn
sin
cn
)
= V
a1
I
a1
sin
a1
+ V
b1
I
b1
sin
b1
+ V
c1
I
c1
sin
c1
+

n=2
(V
an
I
an
sin
an
+ V
bn
I
bn
sin
bn
+ V
cn
I
cn
sin
cn
)
= Q
a1
+ Q
b1
+ Q
c1
+

n=2
(Q
an
+ Q
bn
+ Q
cn
)
= Q
1
+ Q
H
(2.109)
2.5.1 Arithmetic and Vector Apparent Power with Budeanus Resolution
Using Budeanus resolution, the arithmetic apparent power for phase-a, b and c are expressed as
following.
S
a
=
_
P
2
a
+ Q
2
a
+ D
2
a
S
b
=
_
P
2
b
+ Q
2
b
+ D
2
b
(2.110)
S
c
=
_
P
2
c
+ Q
2
c
+ D
2
c
The three-phase arithmetic apparent power is arithmetic sumof S
a
, S
b
and S
c
in the above equation.
This is given below.
S
A
= S
a
+ S
b
+ S
c
(2.111)
The three-phase vector apparent power is given as following.
S
v
=
_
P
2
+ Q
2
+ D
2
(2.112)
Where P and Qare given in (2.108) and (2.109) respectively. The total distortion power D is given
as following.
D = D
a
+ D
b
+ D
c
(2.113)
Based on above denitions of the apparent powers, the arithmetic and vector power factors are
given below.
pf
A
=
P
S
A
pf
v
=
P
S
v
(2.114)
From equations (2.111), (2.112) and (2.114), it can be inferred that
S
A
S
v
pf
A
pf
v
(2.115)
58
2.5.2 Effective Apparent Power
Effective apparent power (S
e
=3V
e
I
e
) for the three-phase unbalanced systems with harmonics can
be found by computing V
e
and I
e
as following. The effective rms current (I
e
) can be resolved into
two parts i.e., effective fundamental and effective harmonic components as given below.
I
e
=
_
I
2
e1
+ I
2
eH
(2.116)
Similarly,
V
e
=
_
V
2
e1
+ V
2
eH
(2.117)
For three-phase four-wire system,
I
e
=
_
I
2
a
+ I
2
b
+ I
2
c
+ I
2
n
3
(2.118)
=
_
I
2
a1
+ I
2
a2
+ ... + I
2
b1
+ I
2
b2
+ ... + I
2
c1
+ I
2
c2
+ ... + I
2
n1
+ I
2
n2
+ ...
3
=
_
I
2
a1
+ I
2
b1
+ I
2
c1
+ I
2
n1
+ ... + I
2
a2
+ I
2
b2
+ I
2
c2
+ I
2
n2
+ ...
3
=
_
I
2
a1
+ I
2
b1
+ I
2
c1
+ I
2
n1
3
+
I
2
a2
+ I
2
a3
+ ... + I
2
b2
+ I
2
b3
+ ... + I
2
c2
+ I
2
c3
+ ... + I
2
n2
+ I
2
n3
...
3
I
e
=
_
I
2
e1
+ I
2
eH
In the above equation,
I
e1
=
_
I
2
a1
+ I
2
b1
+ I
2
c1
+ I
2
n1
3
I
eH
=
_
I
2
aH
+ I
2
bH
+ I
2
cH
+ I
2
nH
3
(2.119)
Similarly, the effective rms voltage V
e
is given as following.
V
e
=
_
1
18
[3(V
2
a
+ V
2
b
+ V
2
c
) + (V
2
ab
+ V
2
bc
+ V
2
ca
)]
=
_
V
2
e1
+ V
2
eH
(2.120)
Where
V
e1
=
_
1
18
[3(V
2
a1
+ V
2
b1
+ V
2
c1
) + (V
2
ab1
+ V
2
bc1
+ V
2
ca1
)]
V
eH
=
_
1
18
[3(V
2
aH
+ V
2
bH
+ V
2
cH
) + (V
2
abH
+ V
2
bcH
+ V
2
caH
)] (2.121)
For three-phase three-wire system, I
n
= 0 = I
n1
= I
nH
.
59
I
e1
=
_
I
2
a1
+ I
2
b1
+ I
2
c1
3
I
eH
=
_
I
2
aH
+ I
2
bH
+ I
2
cH
3
(2.122)
Similarly
V
e1
=
_
V
2
ab1
+ V
2
bc1
+ V
2
ca1
9
V
eH
=
_
V
2
abH
+ V
2
bcH
+ V
2
caH
9
(2.123)
The expression for effective apparent power S
e
is given as following.
S
e
= 3 V
e
I
e
= 3
_
V
2
e1
+ V
2
eH
_
I
2
e1
+ I
2
eH
=
_
9 V
2
e1
I
2
e1
+ (9V
2
e1
I
2
eH
+ 9V
2
eH
I
2
e1
+ 9V
2
eH
I
2
eH
)
=
_
S
2
e1
+ S
2
eN
(2.124)
In the above equation,
S
e1
= 3 V
e1
I
e1
(2.125)
S
eN
=
_
S
2
e
S
2
e1
=
_
D
2
eV
+ D
2
eI
+ S
2
eH
= 3
_
I
2
e1
V
2
eH
+ V
2
e1
I
2
eH
+ V
2
eH
I
2
eH
(2.126)
In equation (2.126), distortion powers D
eI
, D
eV
and harmonic apparent power S
eH
are given as
following.
D
eI
= 3V
e1
I
eH
D
eV
= 3V
eH
I
e1
(2.127)
S
eH
= 3V
eH
I
eH
By dening above effective voltage and current quantities, the effective total harmonic distortion
(THD
e
) are expressed below.
THD
eV
=
V
eH
V
e1
THD
eI
=
I
eH
I
e1
(2.128)
Substituting V
eH
and I
eH
in (2.126),
S
eN
= S
e1
_
THD
2
e1
+ THD
2
eV
+ THD
2
eI
THD
2
eV
. (2.129)
60
In above equation,
D
eI
= S
e1
THD
I
D
eV
= S
e1
THD
V
(2.130)
S
eH
= S
e1
(THD
I
)(THD
V
).
Using (2.124) and (2.129), the effective apparent power is given as below.
S
e
=
_
S
2
e1
+ S
2
eN
= S
e1
_
1 + THD
2
eV
+ THD
2
eI
+ THD
2
eV
THD
2
eI
(2.131)
Based on above equation, the effective power factor is therefore given as,
pf
e
=
P
S
e
=
P
1
+ P
H
S
e1
_
1 + THD
2
eV
+ THD
2
eI
+ THD
2
eV
THD
2
eI
=
(1 + P
H
/P
1
)
_
1 + THD
2
eV
+ THD
2
eI
+ THD
2
eV
THD
2
eI
P
1
S
e1
=
(1 + P
H
/P
1
)
_
1 + THD
2
eV
+ THD
2
eI
+ THD
2
eV
THD
2
eI
pf
e1
(2.132)
Practically, the THDs in voltage are far less than those of currents THDs, therefore THD
eV
<<
THD
eI
. Using this practical constraint and assuming P
H
<< P
1
, the above equation can be
simplied to,
pf
e

pf
e1
_
1 + THD
2
eI
(2.133)
In the above context, their is another useful term to denote unbalance of the system. This is
dened as fundamental unbalanced power and is given below.
S
U1
=
_
S
2
e1
(S
+
1
)
2
(2.134)
Where, S
+
1
is fundamental positive sequence apparent power, which is given below.
S
+
1
=
_
(P
+
1
)
2
+ (Q
+
1
)
2
(2.135)
In above, P
+
1
= 3V
+
1
I
+
1
cos
+
1
and Q
+
1
= 3V
+
1
I
+
1
sin
+
1
. Fundamental positive sequence power
factor can thus be expressed as a ratio of P
+
1
and S
+
1
as given below.
P
+
f1
=
P
+
1
S
+
1
(2.136)
Example 2.3 Consider the following three-phase system. It is given that voltages V
a
, V
b
and V
c
are balanced sinusoids with rms value of 220 V. The feeder impedance is r
f
+jx
f
= 0.02+j0.1 .
The unbalanced load parameters are: R
L
= 12 and X
L
= 13 . Compute the following.
a. The currents in each phase, i.e., I
a
, I
b
and I
c
and neutral current, I
n
.
61
f f
r jx
a
v
b
v
c
v
n
v
a
V
b
V
c
V
n
V
L
X
L
R
a
I
b
I
c
I
L
O
A
D
n
I
Fig. 2.11 An unbalanced three-phase circuit
b. Losses in the system.
c. The active and reactive powers in each phase and total three-phase active and reactive powers.
d. Arithmetic, vector and effective apparent powers and power factors based on them.
Solution:
a. Computation of currents
v
a
(t) = 220

2 sin (t)
v
b
(t) = 220

2 sin (t 120

)
v
c
(t) = 220

2 sin (t + 120

)
v
ab
(t) = 220

6 sin (t + 30

)
Therefore,
I
a
=
220

330
1390

= 29.3160

A
I
b
= I
a
= 29.31160

= 29.31120

A
I
c
=
220120

12
= 18.33120

A.
Thus, the instantaneous expressions of phase currents can be given as following.
i
a
(t) = 41.45 sin (t 60

)
i
b
(t) = i
a
(t) = 41.45 sin (t 60

) = 41.45 sin (t + 120

)
i
c
(t) = 25.93 sin (t + 120

)
b. Computation of losses
62
The losses occur due to resistance of the feeder impedance. These are computed as below.
Losses = r
f
(I
2
a
+ I
2
b
+ I
2
c
+ I
2
n
)
= 0.02 (29.31
2
+ 29.31
2
+ 18.33
2
+ 18.33
2
) = 47.80 W
c. Computation of various powers
Phase-a active and reactive power:
S
a
= V
a
I

a
= 2200

29.3160

= 3224.21 + j5584.49
implies that, P
a
= 3224.1 W, Q
a
= 5584.30 VAr
Similarly,
S
b
= V
b
I

b
= 220120

29.3160

= 3224.21 + j5584.49
implies that, P
b
= 3224.1 W, Q
b
= 5584.30 VAr
For phase-c,
S
c
= V
c
I

c
= 220120

18.33120

= 4032.6 + j0
implies that, P
c
= 4032.6 W, Q
c
= 0 VAr
Total three-phase active and reactive powers are given by,
P
3phase
= P
a
+ P
b
+ P
c
= 3224.1 3224.1 + 4032.6 = 4032.6 W
Q
3phase
= Q
a
+ Q
b
+ Q
c
= 5584.30 + 5584.30 + 0 = 11168.60 VAr.
d. Various apparent powers and power factors
The arithmetic, vector and effective apparent powers are computed as below.
S
A
= |S
a
| +|S
b
| +|S
c
|
= 6448.12 + 6448.12 + 4032.6 = 16928.84 VA
S
v
= |S
a
+ S
b
+ S
c
|
= |4032.6 + j11168.6| = |11874.3270.14| = 11874.32 VA
S
e
= 3V
e
I
e
= 3 220
_
I
2
a
+ I
2
b
+ I
2
c
+ I
2
n
3
= 3 220
_
29.31
2
+ 29.31
2
+ 18.33
2
+ 18.33
2
3
= 3 220 28.22
= 18629.19 VA
63
Based on the above apparent powers, the arithmetic, vector and effective apparent power factors
are computed as below.
pf
A
=
P
3phase
S
A
=
4032.6
16928.84
= 0.2382
pf
v
=
P
3phase
S
v
=
4032.6
11874.32
= 0.3396
pf
e
=
P
3phase
S
e
=
4032.6
18629.19
= 0.2165
In the above computation, the effective voltage and current are found as given in the following.
V
e
=
_
V
2
a
+ V
2
b
+ V
2
c
3
= 220 V
I
e
=
_
I
2
a
+ I
2
b
+ I
2
c
+ I
2
n
3
= 28.226 A
Example 2.4 A 3-phase, 3-wire system is shown in Fig. 2.12. The 3-phase voltages are balanced
sinusoids with RMS value of 230 V. The 3-phase loads connected in star are given as following.
Z
a
= 5 + j12 , Z
b
= 6 + j8 and Z
c
= 12 j5 .
Compute the following.
a. Line currents, i.e., I
la
, I
lb
and I
lc
and their instantaneous expressions.
b. Load active and reactive powers and power factor of each phase.
c. Compute various apparent powers and power factors based on them.
N
a
c b
Z
la
I
lb
I
lc
I
sa
V
sc
V
sb
V
Fig. 2.12 A star connected three-phase unbalanced load
Solution:
a. Computation of currents
64
Given that Z
a
= 5 + j 12 , Z
b
= 6 + j 8 , Z
c
= 12 j 5 .
V
sa
= 2300

V
V
sb
= 230120

V
V
sc
= 230120

V
V
nN
=
1
1
Za
+
1
Z
b
+
1
Zc
_
V
sa
Z
a
+
V
sb
Z
b
+
V
sc
Z
c
_
=
1
1
5+j12
+
1
6+j8
+
1
12j5
_
2300

5 + j12
+
230120

6 + 8j
+
230120

12 j5
_
=
1
0.201337.09

31.23164.50

= 94.22 j123.18 = 155.09127.41

V
Now the line currents are computed as below.
I
al
=
V
sa
V
nN
Z
a
=
2300

155.09127.41

5 + j12
= 26.6746.56

A
I
bl
=
V
sb
V
nN
Z
b
=
230120

155.09127.41

6 + j8
= 7.88158.43

A
I
cl
=
V
sc
V
nN
Z
c
=
230120

155.09127.41

12 j5
= 24.85116.3

A
Thus, the instantaneous expressions of line currents can be given as following.
i
al
(t) = 37.72 sin (t 46.56

)
i
bl
(t) = 11.14 sin (t 158.43

)
i
cl
(t) = 35.14 sin (t + 116.3

)
b. Computation of load active and reactive powers
S
a
= V
a
I

a
= 2300

26.6746.56

= 4218.03 + j4456.8
S
b
= V
b
I

b
= 230120

7.88158.43

= 1419.82 + j1126.06
S
c
= V
c
I

c
= 230120

24.85116.3

= 5703.43 + j368.11
implies that,
P
a
= 4218.03 W, Q
a
= 4456.8 VAr
P
b
= 1419.82 W, Q
b
= 1126.06 VAr
P
c
= 5703.43 W, Q
c
= 368.11 VAr
65
Total three-phase active and reactive powers are given by,
P
3phase
= P
a
+ P
b
+ P
c
= 4218.03 + 1419.82 + 5703.43 = 11341.29 W
Q
3phase
= Q
a
+ Q
b
+ Q
c
= 4456.8 + 1126.06 + 368.11 = 5950.99 VAr.
The power factors for phases a, b and c are given as follows.
pf
a
=
P
a
|S
a
|
=
4218.03

4218.03
2
+ 4456.8
2
=
4218.03
6136.3
= 0.6873 (lag)
pf
b
=
P
b
|S
b
|
=
1419.82
1419.82
2
+ 1126.06
2
=
1419.82
1812.16
= 0.7835 (lag)
pf
c
=
P
c
|S
c
|
=
5703.43
5703.43
2
+ 368.11
2
=
5703.43
5715.30
= 0.9979 (lag)
c. Computation of various apparent powers and power factors
The arithmetic, vector and effective apparent powers are computed as below.
S
A
= |S
a
| +|S
b
| +|S
c
|
= 6136.3 + 1812.16 + 5715.30 = 13663.82 VA
S
v
= |S
a
+ S
b
+ S
c
|
= |11341.29 + j5909.92| = 12807.78 VA
S
e
= 3V
e
I
e
= 3 230
_
I
2
la
+ I
2
lb
+ I
2
lc
+ I
2
ln
3
= 3 220
_
26.67
2
+ 7.88
2
+ 24.85
2
+ 0
2
3
= 3 230 21.53
= 14859.7 VA
The arithmetic, vector and effective apparent power factors are computed as below.
pf
A
=
P
3phase
S
A
=
11341.29
13663.82
= 0.8300
pf
v
=
P
3phase
S
v
=
11341.29
12807.78
= 0.8855
pf
e
=
P
3phase
S
e
=
11341.29
14859.7
= 0.7632
References
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tities under sinusoidal, nonsinusoidal, balanced, or unbalanced conditions, 2000.
66
[2] E. Watanabe, R. Stephan, and M. Aredes, New concepts of instantaneous active and reactive
powers in electrical systems with generic loads, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 8,
no. 2, pp. 697703, 1993.
[3] T. Furuhashi, S. Okuma, and Y. Uchikawa, A study on the theory of instantaneous reactive
power, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 8690, 1990.
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three-phase systems under nonsinusoidal conditions, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation
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67