1

Chapter 3 Introduction to Power Flow

The Per Unit System
In power system calculations, per unit normalization is always
used. This procedure simplifies the calculations especially if
the problem involves many transformers and voltage levels.
In using the per unit normalization procedure base values for
voltages, currents, impedances and power are selected. Normally
only base values for voltages (V) and complex power (S) are
chosen and the base values for the other quantities are
calculated using standard formulae.
The per unit value of a quantity is defined as
Quantity in per unit =
actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc

The above shows that the per unit value of a quantity is an
indication of the percentage of the quantity relative to the
given base.
Advantages of the Per Unit System
1. Device parameters tend to fall within a narrow range thus
enabling inaccurate values to be easily identified.
2. The method is defined so as to eliminate ideal transformers
as circuit components.
3. The voltage throughout the power system is normally close to
unity.
4. The method is simpler than using actual values.
Disadvantages of the Per Unit System
1. Equivalent circuits become more abstract.
2. Some standard equations need to be modified.


2

Example 1
Calculate the per unit value of a 5 A current is the base is 9 A
Solution
I
pu
is the per unit value of I
I
b
is the base value of I
By definition I
pu
=

actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc


=
5A
9A

= 0.56
This tells us that the current is 56% of the base current.
Furthermore the per unit value is dimension-less i.e it has no
units.

Example 2 (Single phase network)
Given the circuit below, calculate I
b,
V
pu
, Z
pu
, I
pu
and I if V
b
=
100V and Z
b
= 0.01 .




Solution
Given base voltage V
b
= 100 V and base impedance Z
b
= 0.01 .
V=100 V
R=0.01
X=j0.01
3

So using Ohms law base current I
b
= V
b
Z
b

I
b
=
100
0.01

= 10000 A
We now have the base values for voltage, current and impedance
so the corresponding per unit values can be calculated.
V
pu
=

actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc


=
100V
100V

= 1
The total impedance for the circuit is Z = 0.01 + j0.01 .
Z
pu
=

actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc


=
0.01+j0.01H
0.01H

= 1 + j1
Note that to calculate I
pu
, the above relationship cannot be used
since the actual current is not known. We therefore calculate I
pu

using Ohms law:
I
pu
= V
pu
Z
pu

=
1
1+j1

=
10
1.41445

= 0.707-45
0

Once the per unit values of the circuit components are
calculated a per unit impedance circuit or diagram can be drawn
as shown below:



4




I
pu
can also be calculated from the per unit diagram using Ohms
law.
I
pu
= V
pu
Z
pu

=
1
1+j1

= 0.707-45
0


The actual current is calculated using the relationship
I
pu
=

actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc

Actual current I = I
pu
x I
b

= [0.707-45
0
][ 10000 A]
= 7070-45
0
A

We now look at per unit values involving complex power S. Recall
that for a single phase circuit the complex power S was defined
as:
S = VI
*
where I
*
is the complex conjugate of the current I.
V
pu
=1

R
L
1
J1
I
pu
5

Note the base values are real valued qualities and not complex
quantities. The following relationships therefore apply to base
quantities:
S
b
= V
b
I
b

S
b
= P
b
= Q
b
where P and Q are the real and reactive powers.
The following relationships apply to per unit values involving
power
S
pu
= V
pu
I
pu
*

S
pu
= P
pu
+ jQ
pu

P
pu
= P S
b

Q
pu
= Q S
b

Note that per unit values are complex valued quantities as
illustrated in the worked examples above.

Since the impedance of a circuit is Z = R + jX, the following
relationships also apply:
Z
pu
= R
pu
+ jX
pu

Z
b
= R
b
= X
b

R
pu
= R Z
b

X
pu
= X Z
b


Per Unit Three Phase Quantities
Per unit normalization can also be applied to three phase
systems. The normal relationships applicable to three phase
circuits also apply when performing per unit normalization in
three phase circuits. These are:
S
b3

= 3S
b
, where S
b3

is the three phase base complex power and
S
b
is the single phase base complex power.
6

V
bll
= S V
bln
, where V
bll
is the base line to line voltage and V
bln

is the base line to neutral voltage.
It can be shown that the per unit three phase complex power is
the same as the per unit single phase power i.e.
S
pu3
= S
pu

When the circuit has one component such as a transformer, the
nameplate ratings of that component are usually selected as the
base values. When several components are involved, the system
base values will be different from the nameplate rating of the
component. It is then necessary to convert the per unit
impedance of the component from its nameplate rating to the
system base values. The following relationship is applicable
when converting per unit values from one base to another:
Z
pu
new

= Z
pu
old
[
oId basc voItagc vaIuc
ncw basc voItagc vaIuc
]
2
[
ncw basc compIcx powcr
oId basc compIcx powcr vaIuc
]

Example (Single Phase Network)
Three zones of a single phase circuit are identified in the
figure below. The zones are connected by transformers T
1
and T
2

whose ratings are shown. Using base values of 20 kVA and 115V in
zone 3, draw the per unit circuit by determining the per unit
impedances and the per unit source voltage. Then calculate the
load current both in per unit and in amperes if transformer
winding resistances and shunt admittances are neglected.

7


Solution
The following procedure is adopted in solving this problem:
Step 1. Determine S
b
, V
b
and Z
b
for each of the zones
Zone 3:
S
b3
= 20 kVA (given)
V
b3
= 115 V (given)
Z
b3
= V
b3
2
S
b3

= 115
2
20000
=
13225
20000

= 0.66
I
b3
= S
b3
V
b3

=
20000
115

= 173.91 A
Note we have calculated the base current for this zone because
it will be required later to calculate the load current.
Zone 2:
S
b2
= 20 kVA (Equal power on either side of transformer)
8

V
b2
= a
t
V
b3
(Using T2 turns ratio)
= [
460
115
][ 115 V]
= 460 V
Z
b2
= V
b2
2
S
b2

= 460
2
20000
=
211600
20000

= 10.58
Note base current is not calculated in this zone since there are
no calculation of currents in this zone.
Zone 1:
S
b1
= 20 kVA (Equal power on either side of transformer)
V
b1
= a
t
V
b2
(Using T
1
turns ratio)
= [
240
480
][ 460 V]
= 230 V
Z
b1
= V
b1
2
S
b1

= 230
2
20000
=
52900
20000

Z
b1
= 2.645
Step 2. Calculate the per unit values for each component
This is done by looking at the actual values given in the figure
and the base values calculated in step 1.
Z
load pu
=
actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc

= Z
load
Z
b3

=
0.9+]0.2
0.66

9

= 1.36 +j0.3
For transformer T
2
, we are given X
eq
= 0.10 pu on a base rating of
20 kVA. There is no need to convert the per unit value of X
eq
since this rating is based on 20 kVA which is the same value as
the base complex power that we are required to use. Therefore
X
eqT2 pu
= 0.10
X
line pu
=
actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc

= Z
line
Z
b2

=
]2
10.58

= j0.189
For transformer T
1
, we are given X
eq
= 0.10 pu on a base rating of
240V and 30 kVA. This per unit value must therefore be changed
for a base rating 230 V and 20 KVA
X
eqT1 pu
= X
pu
old
[
oId basc voItagc vaIuc
ncw basc voItagc vaIuc
]
2
[
ncw basc compIcx powcr
oId basc compIcx powcr vaIuc
]
= j0.10[
240
230
]
2
[
20
30
]
X
eqT1 pu
= j0.0726
V
s pu
=
actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc

=
2200
230

= 0.9560
0

Step 3: Draw the per unit equivalent circuit using the
calculated per unit values




10




Step 4: Using the per unit equivalent circuit calculate the
required quantities
The total impedance of the circuit is Z
T pu
Z
T pu
= X
eqT1 pu
+ X
line pu
+ X
eqT2 pu
+ Z
load pu

= j0.0726 + j0.189 + j0.1 + 1.36 + j0.3
= 1.36 + j0.6616
= 1.51225.9
0
I
pu
= V
s pu
Z
T pu

=
0.9560
1.51225.9

= 0.6322-25.9
0
I
load
= I
pu
I
b3
(since the load is in zone 3)
= [0.6322-25.9
0
][ 173.91 A]
I
load
= 109.9-25.9
0
A
Note this is worked example 3.4 in the textbook which is
solved using base power of 30kVA and base voltage of 240V. Since
the answers are the same we can conclude that any base values
may be chosen and applying the appropriate transformer turns
ratios we should arrive at the same answer.
V
spu
=0.9560
0
T
1
T
2
line
load
1.36
j0.3
j0.0726 j0.189 j0.1
11


Example (Three Phase Network)
Consider a three phase system with one line diagram as shown in
the figure below. The three phase transformer nameplate ratings
are listed. The transformer reactances are given as percentages
e.g. 10% = 0.1 pu. The transmission line and load impedances are
in actual ohms. The generator terminal voltage is 13.2 kV (line-
line). Find the generator current, the transmission line
current, the load current and the load voltage.




Solution
The following procedure is adopted in solving this problem:
Step 1. Determine S
b
, V
b
, Z
b
and I
b
for each of the zones
Zone 1:
Let S
b1
= 5 MVA (Same as transformer 1 rating)
Let V
b1
= 13.2kV (Same as transformer 1 primary voltage rating)
Z
b1
= V
b1
2
S
b1

12

= [13.2x10
3
]
2
[5x10
6
]
= 34.848
Note S
b1
is three phase base complex power and V
b1
is the base
line to line voltage. So
S
b1
= SV
b1
I
b1

Therefore I
b1
= S
b1
SV
b1

= [5x10
6
] S[13.2x10
3
]
= 218.7 A

Zone 2:
S
b2
= 5 MVA (Equal power on either side of transformer)
V
b2
= V
b1
a
t
(Using T
1
turns ratio)
= [
132
13.2
][ 13.2 kV]
= 132 kV
Z
b2
= V
b2
2
S
b2

= [132x10
3
]
2
[5x10
6
]
= 3484

I
b2
= S
b2
SV
b2

= [5x10
6
] S[132x10
3
]
= 21.87 A

Zone 3:
S
b3
= 5 MVA (Equal power on either side of transformer)
V
b3
= V
b2
a
t
(Using T
2
turns ratio)
13

= [
69
138
][ 132 kV]
= 66 kV
Z
b3
= V
b3
2
S
b3

= [66x10
3
]
2
[5x10
6
]
= 871.2
I
b3
= S
b3
SV
b3

= [5x10
6
] S[66x10
3
]
= 43.7 A

2. Calculate the per unit values for each component
This is done by looking at the actual values given in the figure
and the base values calculated in step 1.
Generator V
G1 pu
=
actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc

=
13.2
13.2

= 10
0


Transformer 1 X
T1 pu
= X
pu
old
[
oId basc voItagc vaIuc
ncw basc voItagc vaIuc
]
2
[
ncw basc compIcx powcr
oId basc compIcx powcr vaIuc
]
= j0.10[
13.2
13.2
]
2
[
5
5
]
= j0.1
Line 1 X
line pu
=
actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc

= Z
line
Z
b2

=
10+]100
3484

14

= 2.87x10
-3
+j28.7x10
-3

Transformer 2 X
T2 pu
= X
pu
old
[
oId basc voItagc vaIuc
ncw basc voItagc vaIuc
]
2
[
ncw basc compIcx powcr
oId basc compIcx powcr vaIuc
]
= j0.08[
138
132
]
2
[
5
10
]
= j0.0437
Load R
load pu
=
actuaI vaIuc
basc vaIuc

=
300
871.2

= 0.344

Step 3: Draw the per unit equivalent circuit using the
calculated per unit values


Step 4: Using the per unit equivalent circuit calculate the
required quantities
The total impedance of the circuit is Z
T pu
Z
T pu
= X
T1 pu
+ X
line pu
+ X
T2 pu
+ Z
load pu

= j0.1 + 2.87x10
-3
+j28.7x10
-3
+ j0.0437 + 0.344
= 0.347 + j0.172
= 0.38726.4
0

V
G1
=10
0
T
1
line T
2
load
J0.1
0.00287 J0.0287 J0.0437
0.344
15

I
pu
= V
G1 pu
Z
T pu

=
10
0.38726.4

= 2.584-26.4
0
Generator current I
G1
= I
pu
I
b1

= [2.584-26.4
0
][ 218.7 A]
= 565-26.4
0
A
Transmission line current I
line
= I
pu
I
b2

= [2.584-26.4
0
][ 21.87 A]
= 56.5-26.4
0
A
Load current I
load
= I
pu
I
b3

= [2.584-26.4
0
][ 43.7 A]
= 112.92-26.4
0
A
To calculate the load voltage, the per unit load voltage is
first calculated:
V
load pu
= I
pu
R
load pu
= [2.584-26.4
0
][ 0.344]
V
load pu
= 0.889-26.4
0
A
Load voltage V
load
= V
load pu
V
b3

= [0.889-26.4
0
][66 kV]
= 58.67-26.4
0
kV