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Star circuit

Layout of a star circuit


Connecting the three ends of the load impedances Z
1
, Z
2
and Z
3
(i.e. U1, V1 and W1)
respectively to one of the outer conductors L1, L2 and L3, and the other ends to a common
terminal or star point as shown in the diagram below results in a star circuit (symbol: Y). The
neutral conductor can be connected to the star point as well.
In a star circuit, the current following through any of the phases (i.e. load resistances) is
equal to the current flowing through the corresponding outer conductor.
In a star circuit, the line currents are equal to the phase
currents.
Voltages and currents in the case of a symmetric (balanced) load
If all load impedances are equal, one speaks of a symmetric load. In this case, all phase
voltages are identical, and smaller than the line voltages by the concatenation factor.
In a symmetrically loaded star circuit, all phase voltages are
identical and smaller than the line voltages by a factor of 3.
The symmetry causes the phase voltages' instantaneous values to cancel each other out, so
that no voltage is present between the star point and neutral terminal. Therefore, if the
neutral conductor is connected, no current flows through it (I
N
= 0).
In a symmetrically loaded star circuit, the voltage between
the load's and generator's star points is zero, so that no
current flows through the neutral conductor when it is
connected I
N
.
Star circuit file:///C:/Program Files (x86)/LN/L@BSOFT/BooksENU/1A03/3PC/3p...
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Voltages and currents in the case of an asymmetric (unbalanced) load.
In an asymmetrically loaded circuit, the phase voltages only become identical if the neutral
conductor is connected. Because the asymmetry prevents the phase currents' instantaneous
values from cancelling each other out here, a compensation current I
N
then flows through
the neutral conductor; its amperage depends on the degree of asymmetry. The more varied
the line currents are, the higher the current in the neutral conductor.
When apportioning AC circuits to a three-phase system's
individual phases (outer conductors), efforts should be made
to balance the load to the greatest possible extent.
If the neutral conductor is not connected, the star point is displaced, i.e. a voltage is present
between the load's star point and the neutral conductor. This results in excess or insufficient
voltages for the three-phase system's consumers. In this case, the concatenation factor of
3 no longer applies.
If different voltages occur across a three-phase system's
individual AC loads, this indicates that the neutral conductor
is either interrupted or not connected.
A symmetric star circuit with a line voltage of 400 V contains ohmic load resistors each
rated at 100 ohms. What is the value of the resultant phase currents? Enter the result in
the field provided below.
I = A
Star circuit file:///C:/Program Files (x86)/LN/L@BSOFT/BooksENU/1A03/3PC/3p...
2 of 2 11/26/2013 10:55 AM

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