School of Electrical, Electronic

and Computer Engineering

EERI 213
Practical 1:
Wye and Delta Loads

by:
J.M. Crause

24117986

W. Wolmarans

24087459

North-West University Potchefstroom Campus

Lecturer:

Dr. Andre Grobler

August 14, 2014

School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering

Contents
1

Introduction

Theoretical Calculation

Simulation Results

Practical Measurements

10

Results

15

Conclusion

15

1.1 Problem Statement

1.2 Literature review .
1.2.1 Wye loads .
1.2.2 Delta loads

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2.1 Wye Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.2 Delta Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1 Wye Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Delta Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1
1
1
2

2
4
5
8

4.1 Wye Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4.2 Delta Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

References

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List of Figures

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Circuit with Y-connected Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Circuit with
-connected Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Phase and Amplitude Dierence Between Line and Phase voltage in Y -circuit
Similarity Between Phase and Line Currents in Y -circuit . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dierence Between Phase and Line Currents in
-circuit . . . . . . . . . . . .
Similarity Between Phase and Line Voltages in
-circuit . . . . . . . . . . . .
Y load connection graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Y connected load values for g 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Y connected load - line vs. phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Y connected load values - line vs. phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

load - phase current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

connected load - phase current and voltage values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

load - current through line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

load - current through line values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Y load - Phase and line voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2
4
6
7
8
9
10
10
11
12
13
13
14
14
16

List of Tables

Theoretical calculations, simulated values and practical measurements . . . . . 15

List of Acronyms

RMS Root Mean Square

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List of Symbols
V
I
R

t
f

Voltage
Current
Resistance
Phase angle
Time
Frequency

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1
1.1

Introduction
Problem Statement

The main aim of this practical is to investigate the eect of wye and delta load (balanced)
congurations on voltages and currents in phases and between lines in a three phase electrical
circuit.
1.2

Literature review

A three phase electrical power system has advantages over the traditional single phase alternating current, one being that the power transfer to the load is constant. This is ideal in
situations where high currents and voltages are used to power machinery. [1]
Two types of loads exist: Wye and Delta.
1.2.1

Wye loads

The wye load can be congured by connecting three loads, consisting out of resistors, capacitors, inductors or a combination of the components in a three way star conguration. The
node where the three loads are connected can be assumed to be neutral. For now, the load
will be assumed to be balanced, indicating that each of the three loads are equal to the other
two.
The voltage over a phase refers to the voltage over one of the three loads that is connected
in a wye conguration, whereas the line voltage refers to the voltage dierence between to
transmission lines.
Because the load is balanced, the voltages over each phase will be equal, but the voltage phase
angle dierence between each phase voltage will be 120 in a wye connected load. [1]
p
The voltage between two transmission lines is 3 times larger than the phase voltage. The
phase angle dierence between the line voltage and the phase voltage between two transmission
lines and the voltage over a phase, will be 30.[1] Thus,
p
Veline = Vephase1 Vephase2 = 3Vephase 6 30
(1)
The line current (including phase angle) and the current through the connected phase will
be equal, because in a wye connected load, the line does not split when moving from the
transmission line to the phase line.
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1.2.2

Delta loads

The delta load can be congured by connecting the three loads in a triangular formation. This
means that each load has a connection to the remaining two loads. The delta load will also
be assumed to be balanced, indicating that the current phase angle dierence between each
phase is 120.citeGuru
p
With delta loads, the magnitude of the current in the transmission line is 3 times larger
than the phase current in the load. This is due to the transmission line that splits at the node
where the delta load is connected, causing the current to split as well, according to Kirchos
law.[2] The current phase angle dierence between the line current and the phase current will
be 30, assuming that the phase and line used is connected at a common node.[1] Thus,
p
(2)
Ieline = Iephase1 Iephase2 = 3Iephase 6 30
The line voltage and phase voltage will be equal in a delta connected load setup.
2
2.1

Theoretical Calculation
Wye Load

Figure 1: Circuit with Y-connected Load

Fig. 1 shows the circuit diagram for a load that has a wye conguration. All three resistors
are connected to a common grounded node. The value of each resistor is 128
. The sources
V1, V2 and V3 are also connected in wye conguration and is set to a voltage of 44:45V RMS.
All calculations will be in RMS.
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Each alternating source will be set to a value of 44:45V with a phase angle dierence of 120
as mentioned in the literature review. The line voltage can be calculated:
= VeR1 VeR2
(3)


= 44:4556 0 44:4556 120
(4)

(5)
= 76:9986 p 30

6
= 44:455( 3) 0
(6)
p
The above calculation proves that the magnitude of the line to line voltage is 3 times larger
than the magnitude of the voltage over each load or phase voltage. The phase angle dierence
is 30 between the phase voltage and the line voltage, which proves the theory given in the
literature review. Because Vline is used as a reference in the calculation, the angle is calculated
to be negative, indicating that the phase voltage is trailing the line voltage with 30.
Since the load only consists of resistors and not capacitors or inductors, the load will not cause
a change in the phase angle of the phase voltage or phase current. Thus, the phase angle of
each load is identical to the phase angle supplied by the connected source in both voltage and
current.
The current through each load can be calculated:
Veline

Iephase

e
= Vphase
R

(7)

e
= VRR11
456 0
= 44:128
= 0:356 0A

(8)
(9)
(10)

= 0:356 120A

(11)

IeR1

Thus:
IeR2

= 0:356 120A
(12)
Since the transmission line from each source does not split up before connecting to each load, as
shown in gure 1, the current through the line will be identical to the current owing through
IeR2

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the phase that is connected to the specic transmission line. Therefore, Il ine = Iphase in wye
load congurations.
2.2

Delta Load

Figure 2: Circuit with
-connected Load

The circuit in gure 2 shows the conguration of a delta load. The load still consists out of
resistors, each with a value of 128
. The source is connected in wye conguration, with a
common grounded node. Each source has a 120 phase angle dierence.
In a delta load conguration, as seen in gure 2, the line to line voltage is equal to the phase
voltage of the phase that is connected between the transmission lines. Since each phase is
connected between two transmission lines, the voltage between the transmission lines will be
equal to the voltage over the phase. Therefore, Vphase = Vline in the delta load conguration.
The current through each load in delta conguration can be calculated as follows:
Iephase
IeR1

e
= Vphase
R

e
= Vphase
R1

6
77
= 12830
= 0:66 30A

(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)

The current through the transmission line can be calculated:

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Ieline

=
=
=
=

IeR1

IeR2

0:66 30 + 0:66

1:04p6 60A
0:6( 3)6 60

90

(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)

This calculation shows that the magnitude of the line current is 3 times larger than the
magnitude of the phase current. Kirchos law in terms of current states that the net current
at a node in a circuit should be zero [2]. Using this law in step 2 of the calculation, it can be
seen that the phase angle of the line voltage is 60 which is a 30 dierence from the phase
angle of IR1. This proves that there is a 30 phase angle dierence between the phase current
and connected line current in a delta congured load.
3

Simulation Results

The following simulation results can be obtained using a Micro-Cap package.

3.1

Wye Load

The properties of voltage and current of a circuit with a wye connected load (as seen in gure
1) can be seen in the folling graphs.
Figure 3 shows the phase dierence between the loads, which can be calculated by multiplying
the time dierence, shown in the gure as 6:6ms, by the frequency, which is 50Hz, and then
multiplying that by 360, which gives an answer in degrees.




= 360tf
= 360(0:0066)(50)
 120

(21)
(22)
(23)

Which is consistent with the phase voltage in the literature review and the theoretical calculations.
The dierence in amplitude(Vmax) and RMS(VRMS ) voltage can also clearly be seen in gure
3, and the exact dierence can be calculated:
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Figure 3: Phase and Amplitude Dierence Between Line and Phase voltage in Y -circuit
e
= Vpmax2
108p:87
Veline =
2
= 77V
62p:749
Vephase =
2
= 44V
VeRMS

(24)
(25)
(26)
(27)
(28)

and:
Veline

Vephase

p
= 77

44 3

(29)

p
which, again, proves the initial statement that the line to line voltage (Vline) is 3 times bigger
than the phase voltage (Vphase).

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Furthermore it can be seen that the line voltage leads the phase voltage by an angle, , and to
calculate the phase angle of the line voltage with the reference to the phase voltage, the time
at the peaks of both curves are subtracted from one another, and multiplied by the frequency,
f , and 360 .




= 360tf
= 360(0:0066 0:0048)(50)
 30

(30)
(31)
(32)

Which shows that in a circuit with wye connected loads line voltage leads the phase voltage
by 30, and is therefore consistent with the theoretical information discussed earlier.

Figure 4: Similarity Between Phase and Line Currents in Y -circuit

In gure 4 it can be seen that the magnitude of the current is the same regardless whether
phase current (the blue and red curves) or line current (the green curve) is measured. Which
means Vline = Vphase, which agrees with the theoretical calculations and literature review.
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3.2

Delta Load

The following graphs are an indication of the voltages and currents in a delta connected load
(as seen in gure 2).

Figure 5: Dierence Between Phase and Line Currents in
-circuit

There are several things to be noticed in gure 5. Firstly it can be seen that the phase
dierence between the dierent phase currents is 120, since they are equally spaced apart
and 360=3 = 120. Secondly it is evident that the magnitude of the line current is larger than
that of the phase current, and the exact dierence can be calculated as follows:
Ieline

Iephase

474  p3
= 01::8499

(33)

p
This implies Iline = 3Iphase, which is consistent with all the theoretical values.
Thirdly it can be seen that the line current is not in phase with the phase voltages. To
calculate the phase angle, represented by , of the line current with reference to the phase
current, the time at the peaks of both curves are subtracted from one another, and multiplied
by the frequency, f , and 360 in order to get an answer that is in degrees.

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= 360tf
= 360(0:015 0:0132)(50)
 30

(34)
(35)
(36)

Which shows that in a circuit with delta connected loads line voltage trails the phase voltage
by 30, which agrees with the theoretical information discussed earlier.
When considering gure 6 it is apparent that the magnitude of phase voltage and line voltage
of a wye connected load are equal, since:
= Ve1 2
Vephase = Veline
VeR1

(37)
(38)

The phase dierence between the voltages could also be seen as 120 since the curves are
equally spaced apart and 360=3 = 120.

Figure 6: Similarity Between Phase and Line Voltages in
-circuit

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Practical Measurements

For the practical measurement of the circuit values, a TiePie toolkit was used to give accurate
feedback on the circuits currents and voltages. All the gures used in this section was supplied
by TiePie software. All voltages and currents used are in terms of RMS.
4.1

Wye Load

For the wye connected load, the following measurements were retrieved.

Figure 7: Y load connection graph

Figure 8: Y connected load values for g 7

The rst measurements made on the wye connected load, was the line to line voltage and the
current through the phase and transmission line. In Figure 7, the dark blue line and the green
line represents the line to line voltages and the red graph indicates the current.
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The dark blue line and green line are identical to one another in size, indicating that the
amplitude of each line to line voltage is equal to one another and that they have equal RMS
values as well. This is proved by the values supplied by Figure 8. The only dierence between
these graphs, is that each graph peaks at a dierent time. The time dierence between the
dark blue and green graph is about 7 ms. The corresponding phase angle dierence can be
calculated:


= 360tf
= 0:007  50  360
= 126

(39)
(40)
(41)

This answer is roughly equal to 120, proving the fact that the line to line voltages are
separated by a phase angle of 120 in a wye connected conguration.
The current represented by the red graph is equal to 0:341A (Ch4 from gyre 8). This current
is equal throughout the circuit in both transmission lines and phase lines.

Figure 9: Y connected load - line vs. phase

The dark blue graph in g 9 represents the phase voltage of phase 3, the light blue line
represents the voltage of phase 2 and the green line represents the line to line voltage connected
to phase 1. The green graph has a bigger amplitude and a RMS value of 76:7V and the phase
voltages is measured to be around 44:4V RMS, as shown in g.4. Thus:
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Figure 10: Y connected load values - line vs. phase

:7
= 76
(42)
44:4
= 1p:72
(43)
 3
(44)
p
This calculation shows that the measured amplitude of the line to line voltage is 3 times
bigger than the measured amplitude of the phase voltage, proving that the theoretical calculations and the simulated values are accurate.
In gure 9, the green graph is slightly moved to the right of the dark blue graph and red
graph, indicating a phase angle dierence between the measured line to line voltage and the
phase voltages. Using Eq 39 to calculate the phase angle dierence between line 1 and phase
2 voltages:
Ratio

= 360tf
(45)
= 0:005  50  360
(46)

= 90
(47)
Using Eq 39 to calculate the phase angle dierence between line 1 and phase 3 voltages:


= 360tf
(48)
= 0:007  50  360
(49)

= 126
(50)
It is already proven with gure 7 that the phase voltages have a phase angle dierence of 120.
Therefore, to calculate the phase angle dierence between line 1 and phase 1 voltages:


Dif f erence

Practical 1

= 126 90
 30

August 14, 2014

(51)
(52)
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This calculation proves that there is a 30 phase angle dierence between line 1 voltage and
phase 1 voltage and correlates with both the theoretical calculations and the simulation results.
This will also be the case for line 2 and phase 2; line 3 and phase 3 voltages.
4.2

Delta Load

Figure 11:
load - phase current

Figure 12:
connected load - phase current and voltage values

Figure 11 shows the current through line 1 and the line and phase voltages, but this gure
will be discussed with the focus on the phase current. The current through phase 1 is 0:585A
, as shown by gure 12. It is represented by channel 4, which has to be converted to get the
current instead of the voltage as given.
The light blue and dark blue graphs in gure 5, representing a line and a phase voltage
respectively are the same size. This indicates that the phase voltage is equal to the line to
line voltage in a delta load conguration, proving the theoretical predictions and simulated
results.
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Figure 13:
load - current through line

Figure 14:
load - current through line values

Figure 13 is identical to gure 11, except that the red graph shows the current through the
transmission line that is connected to phase 1. The current graph in Fig 7 has a larger
amplitude than the graph in g 5, with an RMS value of 1:002A as indicated in gure 14.
The current graph is also shifted to the right with about 2ms.
Using Figures 12 and 14, the ratio between the RMS values of the line current and the phase
current can be calculated:
Ratio

=
=


1:002
0:585
1p:71
3

(53)
(54)
(55)

p
The ratio is equal to 3 , proving that the results of the theoretical calculations and the
simulation are correct.
The approximate 2ms dierence between graphs in gure 11 and gure 13 can be converted
into degrees:

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=
=
=


360tf
0:002  50  360
36
30

(56)
(57)
(58)
(59)

The calculation shows that the phase angle dierence between the line current and the phase
current is 30, indicating that the theoretical and simulation results are accurate.
5

Results

Table 1: Theoretical calculations, simulated values and practical measurements

Value Theoretical Simulated Practical Error Margin


(line - phase)(V)
30
30
30
0%
p
p
Amplitude dierence (V)
3
3
1; 72
0; 69%
Wye Load

Delta Load

Value Theoretical Simulated Practical Error Margin



(line - phase) (I)
30
30
30
0%
p
p
Amplitude dierence (I)
3
3
1; 71
1; 27%
From the information in table 1, it can be concluded that the calculations, the simulation and
the practical measurements were all done correctly and precisely.
A trend can be seen in these values which have been depicted in the following phaser diagram
(gure 15) which shows the size and phase angle dierence between phase and line current in
a circuit with a wye connected load.
6

Conclusion

The eects of 3 phase power on a load diers as the connection type of the load diers. From
the calculated, simulated and practically measured results a clear and consistent trend can be
seen as to what these eects are.
In a wye connected load the current stays constant, whether it is line current orp phase current
being measured. Whereas the line to line voltage in a wye connected circuit is 3 times bigger
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Figure 15: Y load - Phase and line voltage

than the phase voltage. The phase angle of the line voltage also diers with that of the phase
voltage with 30.
In a delta connected load it is the voltage that stays constant regardless ofp line to line or
phase voltage being measured. But for this connection the line current is 3 times bigger
than the phase current, and the phase angle of the line current is 30 with respect to the
phase current.
References

[1] S. Guru and R. Huiseyin, Electric Machinery and Transformers, 3rd ed. Oxford University
Press, 2001.
[2] J. Nilsson and S. Riedel, Electric Circuits. New Jersey: Pearson, 2011.

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Appendix A: Matlab Code

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clear all
close all
clc
t1 = 0: 0.1 : pi/6;
t2 = (2/3)*pi : 0.1 : (5/6)*pi;
t3 = (4/3)*pi: 0.1 : (3/2)*pi;
vp1 = 77/sqrt(3) ;
x = 77*cos(pi/6);
y = 77*sin(pi/6);
vectarrow([0;0],[x;y])
hold on;
vectarrow([0;0],[vp1;0])
hold on;
vectarrow([0;0],[vp1*cos((2/3)*pi);vp1*sin((2/3)*pi)])
hold on;
vectarrow([0;0],[77*cos((5/6)*pi);77*sin((5/6)*pi)])
hold on;
vectarrow([0;0],[vp1*cos((4/3)*pi);vp1*sin((4/3)*pi)])
hold on;
vectarrow([0;0],[0;(-77)])
hold on;
plot(20*cos(t1), 20*sin(t1));
hold on;
plot(20*cos(t2), 20*sin(t2));
hold on;
plot(20*cos(t3), 20*sin(t3));
title ('Phasor Diagram of Phase Voltage versus Line Voltage');
xlabel ('Re-Axis');
ylabel ('Im-Axis');
hold o;

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