Lecture 5

Unbalanced Three-
Phase Systems
(Part II)
MILLMAN’S METHOD OF SOLVING UNBALANCED LOAD

One method of solving an unbalanced three-wire star-connected

load by star-delta conversion is described in Lecture 4. But this
method is laborious and involved lengthy calculations. By using
Millman’s theorem, we can solve this type of problem in a much
easier way.
MILLMAN’S METHOD OF SOLVING UNBALANCED LOAD

Consider a number of impedances Z 1 , Z 2 , Z 3 , …, Z n which

terminate at common point N’ (see figure below). The other ends
of the impedances are connected to voltage sources numbered
as , , V 1, …V 2 V.3Let N V
ben any other point in the
network.
N’

I1 I2 I3 I4 In

Z1 Z2 Z3  Zi  Zn

V1 V2 V3 Vi Vn

N
MILLMAN’S METHOD OF SOLVING UNBALANCED LOAD

Application of Ohm’s law to the circuit leads to the following

equations:

V 1  V N 'N
I !Z 1 
Z1 N’

I1 I2 I3 I4 In
V 2  V N 'N
I Z2 
Z2 Z1 Z2 Z3  Zi  Zn

V 3  V N 'N V1 V2 V3 Vi Vn
I Z3 
Z3 N



V n  V N 'N
I Zn 
Zn
MILLMAN’S METHOD OF SOLVING UNBALANCED LOAD

Next, by applying Kirchhoff’s current law to the currents at node N’,

we obtain the node equation

V1  V N ' N V2  V N ' N V3  V N ' N V  VN 'N

   n 0
Z1 Z2 Z3 Zn

Solving this equation for VN’N, we get

V1 V 2 V3 Vn n
Vi
 
Z1 Z 2 Z 3

Zn

i 1 Z i
VN 'N  
1 1 1 1 1 n
1
  
Z N Z1 Z 2 Z 3

Zn

i 1 Z i
In terms of admittances, we can write
n

V 1Y 1  V 2 Y 2  V 3 Y 3    V n Y n
V
i 1
i Yi
VN 'N   n
Y1 Y 2 Y 3 Y n
Y i 1
i

where Yi =1/Zi. Thus, knowing the voltage the voltage drops V1, V2,
V3,…Vn and corresponding currents I1, I2, I3, …In, can be easily
determined.
N’

I1 I2 I3 I4 In

Y1 Y2 Y3  Yi  Yn

V1 V2 V3 Vi Vn

N
In words, Millman’s theorem states that:

If any number of admittances Y1, Y2, Y3, ...Yn meet at a

common point N’, and the voltages from another point N to
the free ends of these admittances are V1, V2, V3, ...Vn then
the voltage between points N’ and N is:
n

V 1Y 1  V 2 Y 2  V 3 Y 3    V n Y n
V
i 1
i Yi
VN 'N   n
Y1 Y 2 Y 3 Y n
Y i 1
i
The previous relationships enable us to formulate a method for the
analysis of unbalanced three-phase systems. The method consists
of three steps as follows:
(i) Determine VN’N
( ii ) Calculate the currents IR, IY, IB, and IN.
( iii ) Find the phase and line voltages using Kirchhoff’s and
Ohm’s laws.
Application Of Millman’s Theorem To The Unbalanced 4-Wire
Y-Connected System

Consider an unbalanced wye (Y) load connected to a balanced

three-phase supply, as shown in the figure below. The system
contains conducting wires each of impedance ZL connecting the
source to the load, and a neutral wire of impedance connecting N
and N’. We wish to determine the phase voltages and their
corresponding phase currents.
ZL
IR

VRN ZR

IN ZL
VBN
N N’

IY ZL ZY ZB
VYN

IB ZL
To better see how we can apply Millman's Theorem to the solution of
this circuit, let us reconstruct the circuit into a circuit of parallel
branches consisting of a voltage source and a series resistance
(impedance), similar to the configuration shown in the earlier figure.
The reconstructed circuit is shown below.

N’

IR IY IB IN

ZR ZY ZB

VN’N
ZL ZL ZL ZL

VRN VYN VBN

N
Using the node N as the datum, we express the currents IR,
IY and IB in terms of phase voltages VRN, VYN, VBN and node
voltage VN’N
Hence, we obtain the node equation
V RN  V N ' N
IR 
ZL ZR V N ' N V RN  V N ' N VYN  V N ' N V BN  V N ' N
    0
ZL ZL ZR Z L  ZY ZL ZB
V YN  V N ' N
IY 
Z L  ZY Solving this equation for VN’N, we have
V BN  V N ' N
IB  V RN V YN V BN
ZL ZB  
VN 'N  Z L  Z R Z L  ZY Z L  Z B
0  V N 'N V N 'N 1 1 1 1
IN     
ZL ZL Z L  Z R Z L  ZY Z L  Z B Z L
In terms of admittances, we have
' ' '
V RN Y  V YN Y  V BN Y
R Y B
V N 'N  ' ' '
Y  Y  Y  YL
R Y B

where
' 1 ' 1
Y 
R Y  Y
ZL ZR Z L  ZY

' 1 1
Y 
B YL 
ZL ZB Z L  ZY
 Worked Example

An unbalanced four-wire, star-connected load has a balanced

voltage of 400 V, the loads are

Z R  4  j8  ZY  3  j 4  Z B  15  j 20  

The conducting wires connecting the source to the load, each has an
impedance ZL = (0.09 + j0.16) Ω

Calculate the (i) line currents, and (ii) current in the neutral wire.