Ower S y $ t e ~ Ha~dbook

$
By F.S. Prabhakara, Robert L. Smith, and
Raj) P. Straqord
hand.book n. Abbr. hdbk. 1. A concise manual or reference book providing
specific information or instruction about
a subject or place.
When asked to review the booklndust k l and Commercial Power SyJtems Handbook, by F.S. Prabhakara, Robert L.
Smith, and Ray P. Stratford, the first
question was how to accomplish the task.
Should the review be a comparison to an
existing book or books, or should the
review exclude all other works? The engineering bibles have been the Red Book
and Donald L. Beemans Indzlstrial Power
System Handbook, published in the mid1950s. Would it be fair to compare it to
Beemans?
The authors answer that question,
stating in the beginning of the book that
their work is to be a companion to Beemans handbook as it includes practices
developed since Beemans handbook was
published. (This is only partially true.)
They imply the IEEEs Red Book Standard 14 1, titled Recommended Practice Joi,
Electrical Power Distribution f i r Industrial
Pbnts, should complete a three-book reference set.
Many of the 18 chapters are full of
examples and tables of electrical equipment data. The chapters on electrical
system studies, electrical power system
detailed design, voltage calculations,
power factor, short-circuit calculations
and equipment ratings, protective device
applications, and overvoltages and surge
voltage protection are well done. The
chapter titled Voltage Fluctuations and
Harmonics is very well written and extends beyond Beemans work. Evidently
the authors are experts in these fields,
and the book presents their knowledge
in a concise but inclusive way.
/FEE Industry Applicuiions Muguzine

rn

The electric lighting chapter is skillfully written. It covers the subject in a

smooth-flowing way. It briefly covers all
the major aspects of lighting, starting
with light sources and proceeding
through quality and the physical and
electrical environment to design and installation, ending with lighting in the
future. Where there is lack of detail,
references, books, standards, and conference papers are cited for additional information. This chapter, by itself, will not
allow you to design a lighting installation, but it does guide you, pointing out
the important items and directing you to
the detailed references.
The chapter on testing system components is a tell-nothing chapter. For
instance, there is a total lack ofdiscussion
on cable testing. Only standards are
cited. Written discussion is needed to
understand the standards and to point
out the differences in options. The inclusion of sample test records will be helpful to someone starting a maintenance
test program; however, the frequency of
testing is not covered. A total of 44 references are cited. The combination ofthis
chapter and the chapter on electrical
maintenance will provide an excellent
checklist of possible solutions to plant
problems.
What appears to be an afterthought
is a chapter on safety. Missing is any
reference to the action that should be
taken should someone contact an energized conductor. The correct action is
detailed in the paper titled Advances in
the Evaluation and Treatment of Electrical and Thermal Injury Emergencies.
This important paper breaks new ground
and was presented at the 1994 Petroleum and Chemical Industrial Committee technical meeting and at a recent
National Fire Protection Association annual meeting.
The final chapter contains references
to power system standards, publications,
and nameplates. Addresses and telephone and fax numbers of the organiza-

September/Octaber 1996

tions are included. A brief comment on

the organizations is included and will be
very helpful to both the novice and the
experienced person. The value of the
book is probably contained in this chapter.
Of the 18 chapters, five have homework problems to solve. No answers are
given. Twelve of the chapters include
references. One chapter includes a further reading section, broken down into
books, consensus standards, and conference papers. Another chapter has a summary.
Numerous technical papers have been
presented over the years on the books
subjects. All chapters should have references. The further reading should be
expanded to all chapters, along with a
summary for each chapter.
The book needs to be re-edited, as
there are many corrections needed. They
range from spelling, 120 degree V reciprocals, to a tie breaker being labeled
No.
Adequate discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of common
practices is lacking in many places. For
instance, throughout the book 2.4 kV is
put forth as the proper voltage for a 5 kV
system. Many would disagree, as there
are many valid arguments for the use of
4.16 kV instead of 2.4 kV.
There are many misleading statements made in the book. The statement
is made numerous times that capacitors
raise the voltage to detrimental levels at
low demand levels. This is not correct.
Using one of the books examples, the
voltage in a 480-volt system went up 1.5
volts when the load dropped. Fred A.
Leinberger, a G.E. field engineer,
pointed out back in the early 1960s that
capacitors placed in parallel, shunt, do
not raise the voltage. The book contains
archaic suggestions such as using lamps
for indication of a phase-to-earth fault on
an ungrounded system, when voltmeters
should be have been offered and the advantages and disadvantages discussed.

Often only half of a situation is presented. The section on high resistance

grounding of an electrical system states
that 277-volt lighting can be taken off
the transformer. An interposing 480 V,
3 ph., 3 wire primary and a secondary of
480 V, 3 ph., 4 wire transformer must be
used for 277 volt lighting. In the chapter
on system and equipment grounding it
appears that some thoughts are mixed up
and misapplied. High resistance grounding is equated with ground fault sensors
that trip breakers. There is no discussion
of ground fault protection (GFP) or
ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI).
Both of these devices have come into use
since Beeman. No discussion is offered on
low voltage power circuit breaker trip
selection. The most common misapplication of having two or more instantaneous
trip devices in series is not covered.
Ground fault protection at the main is
required by the NEC. There are no
guidelines on ground fault protection at
more than the one level.
Beeman discusses in great detail the
objectives, advantages, and disadvan-

tages of the loop distribution system.

Beeman states that three phase protective devices are required for proper operation of a loop system. The extremely
brief presentation by the author will lead
the novice to install the wrong type of
equipment, resulting in the possibility of
a dangerous system, especially in an industrial plant that lacks adequate engineering.
The advantages and disadvantages
listed for the different methods of
grounding electrical systems lack the
completeness of General Electrics booklet titled System Grounding for LowVoltage Power Systems. This booklet
should be blatantly reproduced in the
book. This G.E. GET-3548B is a classic
informative document that should be republished. Should you have a copy, do
not throw it away, but have it entombed
in a lamination.
What level of explanation should a
handbook be written? How much
knowledge should the reader have?
Many terms are not defined. The
authors assume the reader is familiar

SUBSTATION
GROUNDING
ANALYSIS

with such terms as islanding, BIL,

S.C.R., short circuit interlevel,
equipment phase. In one case they address the novice, and are not we all novices when it comes to certain subjects? In.
the next moment the author presents a
table or figure with no explanation.
BIL appears in a table in an early chapter. The index fails to list BIL. Toward
the end of the book BIL is defined, but
not explained. The index needs to be
grossly enlarged and expanded.
How many engineers does it take to
write a book?It appears that the answer
falls between three and the 35 to 40
contributors to the Red Book. The book
despcrately needs to be revised (potential
of 80-plus corrections) or a multi-page
addendum prepared and issued with
each book. The authors have drafted a.
good beginning foundation that needs to
be modified, expanded, and enlarged before the book will be of value.

-Donuld W. Zzpse

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