Example To Calculate Short Circuit Current For Circuit Breaker

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Example to calculate short circuit current for circuit breaker
The purpose of this write up is to help the reader estimate the sExample before you
hire the PE to do the official calculation.
All electrical systems are susceptible to short circuits . The short circuit currents can
produce considerable thermal and mechanical stresses in electrical distribution equipment.
Therefore, it’s important to protect personnel and equipment by calculating short-circuit
currents during system upgrade and design. Because these calculations are life-safety
related, they’re mandated by 110.9 of the NEC.
In the example show in Fig 1 our goal is to find the irrupt rating for the two breakers (1600A
and 250A) and also find the withstand rating of the two panels (main and sub panel).
Fig (1)
First will calculate the full load current for the 1MVA transformer
I F.L = P / (1.73 * V L-L ) ; where P is the transformer power rating in VA, V L-L is the line
to line RMS voltage at the secondary side of the transformer
I F.L= 1,000,000/ 1.73*480= 1,202 A ; the I F.L is the full load current of the transformer
Now to find the short circuit rating of point 1 (i.e if we bolt all the three wires of the
secondary side of the transformer how much current we will see at that point)
I S.C. for 3 Ph= I F.L /Z% ; where Isc is the short circuit current , Z% is the transformer
impedance which is usually can be obtained from the local utility company
I S.C. 3 ph for point 1 = 1202 /0.05 = 24,506 A or 24.5 KA (this is the available short circuit
current at point 1)
The short circuit current at point 2 will be lower than point 1 due to the line impedance ( line
impedance for the cables will impose the current)
The calculation below will show the short circuit current at point 2
From the drawing ; cable length =L= 50 ft.
F = (1.73 * L* I S.C. 3 ph) / (C *n*V L-L) ; F for three phase fault ——–[1]
F = (2 * L* I S.C. L-L) / (C *n*V L-L) ; F for line to line fault ——–[2]
F = (2 * L* I S.C. L-N) / (C *n*V L-N) ; F for Line to Neutral fault ——–[3]
In our case we will use for this example equation #1
C= the conductor factor , value can be obtained from table (1) by locating the conductors
size in the proper configuration
n= the number of parallel runs
L= length in ft
Table (1)
These values are equal to one over the impedance per foot based upon resistance and reactance found in IEEE std. 241
F= (1.73 *50 *24,506)/(28,303*5*480)= 0.031206
M= 1/(1+F) =0.969738 ; where M is the multiplier
I S.C. 3 ph for point 2= 24506* M= 24506*0.969738= 23,764 A or 23.7 KA (this is the available
short circuit current at point 2)
Its worth to mention is that the further the main panel from the transformer the lower is the short
circuit current but you will have bigger voltage drop due to the larger line impedance.
The calculation below will show the short circuit current at point 3 (similar to point 2
calculation)
F = (1.73 * L* I S.C. 3 ph at point 2 ) / (C *n*V L-L)
F= (1.73 *100*23,764)/(16673*1*480) = 0.51370
M= 1/(1+F) = 1/1.51370 = 0.6606
I S.C 3 ph for point 3 = 23,764 *0.6606 = 15,699 A or 15.7 KA
I hope you find this example and the short circuit calculation useful. please let me know if
you have any questions
By Saad Thabit|January 29th, 2016|C value, F factor, short circuit current, short circuit current calculation|0
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Example to calculate short circuit current for circuit breaker

First will calculate the full load current for the 1MVA transformer

From the drawing ; cable length =L= 50 ft.

F = (2 * L* I S.C. L-L) / (C nV L-L) ; F for line to line fault ——–[2]

F = (2 * L* I S.C. L-N) / (C nV L-N) ; F for Line to Neutral fault ——–[3]

In our case we will use for this example equation #1

M= 1/(1+F) =0.969738 ; where M is the multiplier

F = (1.73 * L* I S.C. 3 ph at point 2 ) / (C nV L-L)

F= (1.73 10023,764)/(166731480) = 0.51370

M= 1/(1+F) = 1/1.51370 = 0.6606

I S.C 3 ph for point 3 = 23,764 *0.6606 = 15,699 A or 15.7 KA

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About the Author: Saad Thabit

Copyright 2018 DRF Engineering Services | All Rights Reserved.

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