If all three legs of the system are balanced then zero amps will flow all the way up to 100 amps if only one leg of the three phase system is used. The neutral in a wye three phase system carries only the unbalanced current. This is why in services for a three phase four wire system you are allowed to reduce the size of the neutral conductor.
Floating neutral in 3 phase supply is undesirable as if the same thing occurs then there will be bad effect for all single phase equipment which we are using as phase to neutral voltage will exceed from its normal value and it will harm the equipments.
Neutral current is the vector sum of the phase currents. You should be able to add up the phase currents from their polar quantities.
When the system is in balance, with three equal phase currents, there is no current in the neutral 4th wire and it is not needed. However if the load is unbalanced, the neutral is needed to maintain the star point at zero volts.So for example a street of houses fed by a 3-phase supply needs a neutral because the houses draw unequal currents from the different phase lines, although a large enough collection of houses would tend to balance itself out.If a three-pase system has equal currents the current in the neutral is zero. If two phases draw equal current but the third has no load, there is an equal current in the neutral, and if one phase draws current but the other two have no load, there is again an equal current in the neutral.ANOTHER ANSWERA three-phase, four-wire, system comprises three line conductors and a neutral conductor. If the load supplied by this system is balanced (i.e. the loads connected between each line and neutral are identical in all respects), then no current will flow in the neutral conductor regardless of its impedance. If the load is unbalanced, then a neutral current will flow in the neutral conductor. In other words, the impedance of the neutral conductor plays no part in whether or not there is a neutral current.
A connection can be taken between phase lines, or between one phase and neutral. Both methods give a single-phase supply. Between phases the voltage is sqrt(3) times more than between one phase and neutral. In each case the load gives an unbalanced current on the 3-phase system but the idea is to average out the unbalances over a group of single-phase loads.
415V 3 phase is the line to line voltage. The line to neutral of this supply is 230V single phase. Therefore you use one of the phases and the neutral.
In a single-phase circuit like a house fed from 4-wire three phase in the street, the current flows in the live and neutral wires. The neutral currents from a street of houses are expected to cancel each other so that the overall current in the neutral leaving the transformer is small.
How much current equipments are drawing from three phases (combined or individual) is called three phase load and how much supply we are getting from source is called three phase supply. Ex. In INDIA single phase supply is 220 volt ac with neutral. So in three phase supply all RYB phases should be 220 volts ac with neutral individually. If we calculate with phase to phase than it shoulb be 415 volts ac.
The current carried by the neutral of a three phase four wire system is the un balanced current. If the three phase system was completely balanced on all three phases there would be no need for a neutral, eg a three phase motor. This neutral current will be less that the phase current so a reduction in the neutral size is allowed.
100amps
Floating neutral in 3 phase supply is undesirable as if the same thing occurs then there will be bad effect for all single phase equipment which we are using as phase to neutral voltage will exceed from its normal value and it will harm the equipments.
In a balanced three-phase system, the current in the neutral wire should ideally be minimal as the three phase conductors carry equal and opposite currents that cancel out in the neutral wire. However, if the loads are unbalanced, the neutral wire may have higher current due to the uneven distribution of power among the phases. This can happen when loads on each phase are different or when single-phase loads are connected between a phase and neutral, leading to increased neutral current.
The limit or range of the neutral current in an unbalanced three phase system is the third harmonic in single phase non-linear load current is the major contributor to neutral current.
Neutral current is the vector sum of the phase currents. You should be able to add up the phase currents from their polar quantities.
If there is a voltage differential from phase to phase, and a conductance (inverse of resistance) between them, then current (amperes) flows. This is no different than phase to neutral, i.e. voltage across conductance generates current, (I = EC, or I = E/A) except that neutral current is zero in a true phase to phase connection.Note that phase angle is always relative. In phase to neutral, it is relative to (typically) neutral; while in phase to phase, it is relative to the other phase. By Fourier Analysis, the difference between two phases of the same frequency, but of different phase angles, is still a sine (or cosine) wave. Also, by Kirchoff's Current Law, (implied, and I will (sort of) not repeat it here), current entering from one phase and equally leaving via another phase will not reflect at all in the neutral conductor.The simple answer is that connecting phase to phase is a short circuit, just like connecting phase to neutral.CommentThere is no such thing as 'phase to phase' or 'phase to neutral'. The correct terms are 'line to line' and 'line to neutral'.
When the system is in balance, with three equal phase currents, there is no current in the neutral 4th wire and it is not needed. However if the load is unbalanced, the neutral is needed to maintain the star point at zero volts.So for example a street of houses fed by a 3-phase supply needs a neutral because the houses draw unequal currents from the different phase lines, although a large enough collection of houses would tend to balance itself out.If a three-pase system has equal currents the current in the neutral is zero. If two phases draw equal current but the third has no load, there is an equal current in the neutral, and if one phase draws current but the other two have no load, there is again an equal current in the neutral.ANOTHER ANSWERA three-phase, four-wire, system comprises three line conductors and a neutral conductor. If the load supplied by this system is balanced (i.e. the loads connected between each line and neutral are identical in all respects), then no current will flow in the neutral conductor regardless of its impedance. If the load is unbalanced, then a neutral current will flow in the neutral conductor. In other words, the impedance of the neutral conductor plays no part in whether or not there is a neutral current.
A smaller neutral wire in a three phase system can be used because it does not carry the full line current. It carries the unbalanced current of all three leg loads. This is one reason that three phase loads on a distribution panel should be equalized as much as possible to reduce the current on the neutral.
A connection can be taken between phase lines, or between one phase and neutral. Both methods give a single-phase supply. Between phases the voltage is sqrt(3) times more than between one phase and neutral. In each case the load gives an unbalanced current on the 3-phase system but the idea is to average out the unbalances over a group of single-phase loads.