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I have a very basic question about three phase system. I am not an electrical engineer hence I might not have a good understanding of the subject. So, please be bit lenient in answering and asking clarifications.

My home receives a 220v (between one phase and neutral) 3 phase connection from grid. From the post comes 4 wires to our home. Each phase is connected to various loads in my house and since not all loads will be switched on, the three phase circuit will be unbalanced.

So, if I draw a very crude schematic diagram with text:

R--------L1---+
              |
Y-----L2---+  |
           |  |
B---L3--+  |  |
        |  |  |
N-------+--+--+

R, Y, B are the three phases, N is the neutral and L1, L2 and L3 are the loads (unequal resistive and inductive combined).

What happens when the connection to neutral fails as shown by the following diagram?

R--------L1---+
              |
Y-----L2---+  |
           |  |
B---L3--+  |  |
        |  |  |
N--  ---+--+--+
    ^
    |
    +------- Neutral disconnection

Some say that the loads L1, L2 and L3 experience high voltages as they will be connected between phases rather than between phase and neutral.

While some say that the entire circuit will self adjust and achieve a balance.

Either way I am not clear. Could you just let me know which version is correct?

Thanks.

I had searched for this Google and could not come up with any suitable answer. Also this question also didn't help.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Well they'll be both at higher voltage and the circuit will self-adjust. \$\endgroup\$
    – AndrejaKo
    Jul 16 '12 at 10:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, if you had given it as an answer instead of a comment, I would have accepted it. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – Narayanan
    Jul 16 '12 at 10:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm writing an answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – AndrejaKo
    Jul 16 '12 at 10:44
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The circuit will both be at higher voltage (well the parts of it) and will self-adjust. The reasoning behind this is pretty simple: First, the phases are out of phase, or to explain it simply, their voltage peaks happen at different times, so while one is at its maximum voltage, the two other phases will be at lower voltage than the one at maximum is, so basically, the load will be at the voltage between phases. Since we don't have the neutral conductor, the current which was going through it will have to go through one of the phases and that's how the circuit will "self-adjust". You can see that from the simulation here.

When the switch is closed, all 3 loads are at the same voltage of 5 V compared to the ground. Once the switch is open, the voltages at the loads will change. So the lightest load will drop the least voltage and the greatest load will drop the most voltage.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Is there any protection device which can be installed to prevent damage to household items. A lot of appliances got damaged in my home because we had a 3 phase connection and the neutral wire of main distributuion line broke and fell on ground. \$\endgroup\$
    – Bot
    Jun 17 '15 at 12:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Bot I'm not aware of any protection devices that could help. Do keep in mind that this doesn't mean that there aren't any. In my country, we usually prevent the problem with correct wiring practices inside of the household. In normal operation, it should be pretty much impossible for the phase line to be connected through a low-impedance load to the neutral line and the 3-phase triangle devices are connected to all phases at the same time, so no damage can happen to them. \$\endgroup\$
    – AndrejaKo
    Jun 19 '15 at 12:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ This leaves devices which are to be connected as a 3-sided star. We usually dimension them so they can survive the loss of neutral. For more specific advice, I'd need real info about what exactly happened. \$\endgroup\$
    – AndrejaKo
    Jun 19 '15 at 12:38
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    \$\begingroup\$ Thank you so much Andreja. Here i had added a question with details of my prob electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/175959/… \$\endgroup\$
    – Bot
    Jun 20 '15 at 15:15
  • \$\begingroup\$ There are over voltage and phase failure relays and shunt trip breakers available, but that is mostly industrial kit, the usual thing for domestic is just to take the view that that sort of problem is what insurance is for. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dan Mills
    Jun 18 '18 at 10:34
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The series will be develop & the max current will flow at load having low wattage hence equipment may be damage a k bansal

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In case of breaking of neutral wire in 3 phase if there is unbalance load, voltage will high in your home where the load is lowest.Thus your equipment got damaged.....Jagat Singh Bisht

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Meaning your incoming voltage supply is 380v at 3 phase with neutral wire because you said that from phase to neutral you'd measure 220v. Example, if you have bulb with voltage rated 220v, you should connect the L1 into the (R) phase and the L2 into the Neutral wire. Very simple, if the Neutral wire open, your bulb will not be glow and there will be no flow of current and so the phase voltage will remain the same.

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In 3 phase circuits the phases may appear balanced but when you will turn on load one phase will start dimming and others will show very high voltage thus resulting in damage to your electrical equipment.

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If the loads are equal on all the three phases then even if the neutral breaks it will not shift. If the loads are unequal then the voltage will also change with respect to the loads.

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