INDUSTRIAL POWER SYSTEM DESIGN

Benigno S. Jimenez

INTRODUCTION

Electric power is so important in any manufacturing process.

The failure of electric power will stop the production. High
investment for the best plant facilities, modern production
machines, highly trained production staff, etc. may all prove futile
when electric power is not available when needed. Among the
common causes of electric power outages are the spurious tripping
of protective devices, and the premature breakdown of equipment.
Other electric power system deficiencies such as the presence of
excessive power harmonics, low power factor, high voltage drop,
low power system MVA, improperly sized devices and equipment
are also among the contributory factor to unplanned expensive
shutdown and costly operation.
As the distribution system in the plant is the vital link that
provides the electric power from the utility supply point to the
machines that keep the production in operation, the electric power
supply system must be at its best condition. It is to be accepted that
the flow of electricity is invisible and full of phenomena; there are
deficiencies in the whole power system that could only be noticed
after the occurrence of a damaging fault.
The Topic: “INDUSTRIAL POWER SYSTEM DESIGN” is very
broad and complex. What I can discuss with you today is the
OVERVIEW that serves as eye opener to the prospective
INDUSTRIAL POWER SYSTEM DESIGNER. I will do so by
gearing towards the Convention Theme: ENGINEERING a SAFE
and BETTER NATION through EXCELLENCE in ELECTRICAL
PROFESSION.
For a maximum period of about 60 minutes, we will focus on
foremost safety aspects in Power System Design

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DISCUSSIONS
SAFETY
It is the responsibility for the power system engineer to keep the
electrical system as safe as possible. Three fundamental ideas help to build
safe power systems:

1. Enclose all live conductors in grounded metal.

2. Protective equipment and switching devices must have
adequate interrupting rating.
3. The design must comply with PEC Art. 1.10.1.16 FLASH
PROTECTION

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 ECONOMICS
Economics is a very important factor in power system designing. It is
opposed by safety and reliability. Economics is not evaluated merely on a
per equipment basis but rather the whole power system installation should
be evaluated as a whole.

RELIABILITY OF SERVICE
Electric power reliability is directly proportional to production. An
hour loss of electric power supply may mean great loss in production. It could
mean also the loss of life in health care facilities.
High service reliability can be obtained in two ways. One is by
providing duplicate power supply; the other is by installing only the high
quality of electric equipment and using the best installation method.

SELECTION OF EQUIPMENT
Select the best equipment available. Ratings must be adequate in
every aspect; proper voltage level, current, interrupting rating
and proper protection.

SAFETY RELATED CHECKLIST in POWER SYSTEM DESIGN

1. Short-circuit protection. Do circuit breakers, fuses, fused switches, and

motor starters have adequate interrupting rating? Do they have a
margin to allow for increases in plant supply?

2. Grounding. Experience has shown that system neutral grounding is

desirable at all voltage levels. Is the system properly grounded at the
neutrals and at machine frames, etc., properly connected to the ground
grid?

3. Overcurrent protection. Are there adequate overcurrent devices

properly set to provide selective tripping in the event of overcurrent
conditions? Are the relays the simplest that will do the job? Is there
adequate backup protection? Do relays, circuit breakers, and fuses
operate selectively? Are all parts of the systems adequately protected
against abnormal conditions?

4. Power factor and harmonics correction. Can the power bill be reduced
through increased power factor? Can you increase voltage and current
carrying capacity by using capacitors? Where should they be installed?
Should they be switched? Will there be problems on harmonics? Can
the power factor be corrected in conjunction with the harmonics?

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 EQUIPMENT GROUNDING

Conductive materials enclosing electrical conductors or

equipment are grounded to limit the voltage to ground on
these materials and bonded to facilitate the operation of
overcurrent devices under ground-fault conditions.

SIZING THE EQUIPMENT GROUNDING

CONDUCTOR

For Solidly Grounded Systems: The size of the grounding

conductor to the grounding electrode shall not be less than
given in Table 1. Where a single equipment grounding
conductor is run with multiple circuits in the same
raceway, it shall be sized for the largest overcurrent device
protecting conductors in the raceway or cable.

TABLE 1: Minimum Size Equipment Conductors for Grounding

Raceway and Equipment
Rating or Setting of Automatic
Overcurrent Device in Circuit Grounding Conductor Size (mm2)
Ahead of Equipment, Not
Exceeding (Amperes) Copper Wire Aluminum or Copper-Clad
Aluminum Wire
15 2 3.5
20 3.5 5.5
30 5.5 8
40 5.5 8
60 5.5 8
100 8 14
200 14 22
300 22 30
400 30 38
600 38 60
800 50 80
1000 60 100
1200 80 125

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1. ANSI / IEEE Std. 242-1986 Excerpts
8.4 Short-Circuit Protection of Cables: A cable must be
protected from overheating due to excessive short-circuit current
flowing in its conductor.
8.4.1.2 Maximum Short-Circuit Currents: Generally, the subtransient
current of a system is used to designate the maximum available short-
circuit current in the cables protected by the instantaneous overcurrent
relays and the medium-voltage switchgear circuit breakers. For cables
protected by fuses, or low-voltage and instantaneous trip circuit breakers,
the asymmetrical current value is used. For delayed tripping of 0.2
second or longer, the rms value of the delayed current over the flow
period of fault current is used.

8.4.2.1 Temperature Rise of Phase Conductors: The thermal equation

of a copper conductor is as shown below;
 234.5  T2 
2
 I SC 
  t  1.18  10 5 log 10  
 A   234.5  T1 
Where:
ISC = Short circuit current in amperes
A = Size of cable in mm2
t = Tripping time of the protective device in second
T2 = Short-circuit current temperature rating of the cable in 0C
T1 = Continuous temperature rating of the cable in 0C

Table 1: Maximum Short-Circuit Temperatures

Continuous Temperature Short-Circuit Current
0
Type of Rating, T1 ( C ) Temperature Rating,
Insulation T2 ( 0C )
PVC 75 200
XLPE 90 250
Thermoplastic 60, 75, 90 150

Table 2: Estimated Clearing Times of Protective Devices

Molded-Case Circuit Breakers (MCCB)

Frame Size
100A 225 ~ 1200A
InstantaneousCycles 1.1 1.5

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Sample Calculation of Safe Size of Grounding Conductor

QUESTION: What must be the minimum size of a THW

insulated grounding conductor that can be safely connected
to a 200AT/250AF MCCB at BUS 2?

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SAMPLE CALCULATION OF ARC FLASH

Given the SLD, determine the Boundary Line and PPE.

Short Circuit Current is already given as calculated by
ETAP.

300 MVAsc
U1
12.55kA

T1
1.5 MVA
DS 13.8/0.48 kV
5 %Z

PCB
2000 A

MCCA 32.81kA
36.
8 k
A
0.48 kV 4.16kA

Lump1
750 kVA

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Relay setting and coordination is also given

Amps X 100 MCCA (Nom. kV=0.48, Plot Ref. kV=0.48)

.5 1 3 5 10 30 50 100 300 500 1K 3K 5K 10K
1K 1K

500
FLA 500

300 300
T1
1.5 MVA (Secondary) 5 %Z
100
Delta-Wye Solid Grd 100
DS T1
50 50 1.5 MVA
30 30 13.8/0.48 kV
5 %Z
10 10
Seconds

5 5

Seconds
3 3
PCB
PCB
Siemens ETU745 (I^2t)
Frame = 2000 Plug = 2000 Amps 2000 A
1 1
LT Pickup = 1 (2000 Amps)
LT Band = 2
.5 .5
ST Pickup = 3 (6000 Amps)
.3 .3
ST Band = 0.1 I2t = OUT

.1 .1 MCCA
.05
Inrush PCB - 3P
.05
0.48 kV
36.842kA @ 0.48kV
.03
(Sym) .03

.01 .01
.5 1 3 5 10 30 50 100 300 500 1K 3K 5K 10K

Amps X 100 MCCA (Nom. kV=0.48, Plot Ref. kV=0.48)

MCC ARC FLASH

Pr oject: POWER SYSTEM DESIGN Date: NOV 17, 2012

Location: 37th IIEE ANNUAL CONVENTION Fault: Phase

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Calculation of Incident Energy and PPE Class

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