The course is concerned with the calculation of fault currents in practical electrical power systems. Short-circuit currents are associated with large amounts of very destructive energy and therefore calculations must be made to ensure that the short-circuit ratings of equipment are adequate to cater to these high currents. In addition, an accurate assessment of these currents is also essential for determining the settings of the system protection devices.
The methods of analysis, used throughout the industry, are thoroughly explained in this seminar. A powerful engineering software package that makes complex and repetitive calculations easy to follow and the document is used throughout the seminar to ensure that attention to detail is not compromised and minimum simplifications are made. A considerable portion of the course is devoted to the application of these methods to practical systems, starting from the preparation of the system for analysis through the calculation process, by manual calculation, and by the use of computer analysis to the point of application of the results. The course is illustrated by practical examples of systems including ones as explained in detail in industrial standards that engineers need to be familiar with and able to follow and apply. Finally, industrial software programs are introduced that are capable of modeling complex electrical systems and make power system fault analysis a relatively easy task for engineers provided that one is able to explain and understand the results a computer program gives. This is important as with any computer software-based application where if the input data are wrong, for whatever reason, the results are also wrong and one needs to be able to observe such errors and make engineering judgments for their correction.