The 11-kV busbars of a power station are in two sections inter-connect...
Problem Statement
The 11-kV busbars of a power station are in two sections inter-connected through a current limiting reactor X. Each section of the busbars is fed from two 11 kV, 25 MVA generators each having sub-transient reactance of 18% on its rating. The MVA rating of the circuit breaker is 500. Find the reactance of the reactor to prevent the circuit breaker from being overloaded if a symmetrical 3-phase fault occurs at one of the outgoing feeders.
Solution
Step 1: Find the maximum short circuit current
The maximum short circuit current is given by the formula:
$I_{SC}=2\times\frac{MVA}{\sqrt{3}\times V_{L-L}\times Z\%}$
where,
MVA = 25 (rated MVA of each generator)
V_{L-L} = 11 kV (line to line voltage)
Z\% = 18% (sub-transient reactance)
Substituting these values, we get:
$I_{SC}=2\times\frac{25}{\sqrt{3}\times 11\times Z\%}$
$I_{SC}=2\times\frac{25}{\sqrt{3}\times 11\times 0.18}$
$I_{SC}=2549.17\text{ A}$
Step 2: Find the fault current
Since it is a symmetrical 3-phase fault, the fault current is given by:
$I_{f}=\frac{\sqrt{3}\times V_{L-L}}{Z_{eq}}$
where,
Z_{eq} = Z + X (reactance of the limiting reactor X)
Substituting the given values, we get:
$I_{f}=\frac{\sqrt{3}\times 11}{Z+X}$
Step 3: Find the maximum value of X
To prevent the circuit breaker from being overloaded, the fault current must not exceed the rated current of the circuit breaker. Therefore, we have:
$I_{f}\leq\frac{500}{\sqrt{3}\times 11}$
Substituting the values and solving for X, we get:
$X\geq Z\times\left(\frac{\sqrt{3}\times 11}{500}-1\right)$
$X\geq 0.22Z\%$
$X\geq 0.22\times 0.18$
$X\geq 0.0396$
Therefore, the reactance of the reactor X must be greater than or equal to 0.0396 pu to prevent the circuit breaker from being overloaded if a symmetrical 3-phase fault occurs at one of the outgoing feeders.
Explanation
The given problem requires us to find the reactance of the current limiting reactor X to prevent the circuit breaker from being overloaded if a symmetrical 3-phase fault occurs at one of the outgoing feeders. To solve this problem, we first need to calculate the maximum short circuit current that can occur in the system. This is done using the formula for short circuit current. Once we know the maximum short circuit current, we can calculate the fault current that