Ower Sy$te~$ Ha~dbook By F.S. Prabhakara, Robert L. Smith, and
Raj) P. Straqord
hand.book n. Abbr. hdbk. 1. A con- cise manual or reference book
providing specific information or instruction about a subject or
place.
When asked to review the booklndus- t k l and Commercial Power
SyJtems Hand- book, 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 en- gineering bibles
have been the Red Book and Donald L. Beemans Indzlstrial Power
System Handbook, published in the mid- 1950s. 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 Bee- mans handbook
as it includes practices developed since Beemans handbook was
published. (This is only partially true.) They imply the IEEEs Red
Book Stand- ard 14 1, titled Recommended Practice Joi, Electrical
Power Distribution f i r Industrial Pbnts, should complete a
three-book ref- erence set.
Many of the 18 chapters are full of examples and tables of
electrical equip- ment 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 ex-
tends beyond Beemans work. Evidently the authors are experts in
these fields, and the book presents their knowledge in a concise
but inclusive way.
The electric lighting chapter is skill- fully written. It covers
the subject in a smooth-flowing way. It briefly covers all the
major aspects of lighting, starting with l ight sources and
proceeding through quality and the physical and electrical
environment to design and in- stallation, ending with lighting in
the future. Where there is lack of detail, references, books,
standards, and confer- ence papers are cited for additional infor-
mation. This chapter, by itself, will not allow you to design a
lighting installa- tion, but it does guide you, pointing out the
important items and directing you to the detailed references.
The chapter on testing system com- ponents 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 inclu- sion of sample test records will be help- ful
to someone starting a maintenance test program; however, the
frequency of testing is not covered. A total of 44 ref- erences 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 ener- gized conductor. The correct action is
detailed in the paper titled Advances in the Evaluation and
Treatment of Electri- cal and Thermal Injury Emergencies. This
important paper breaks new ground and was presented at the 1994
Petro- leum and Chemical Industrial Commit- tee technical meeting
and at a recent National Fire Protection Association an- nual
meeting.
The final chapter contains references to power system standards,
publications, and nameplates. Addresses and tele- phone and fax
numbers of the organiza-
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 chap- ter.
Of the 18 chapters, five have home- work problems to solve. No
answers are given. Twelve of the chapters include references. One
chapter includes a fur- ther reading section, broken down into
books, consensus standards, and confer- ence papers. Another
chapter has a sum- mary.
Numerous technical papers have been presented over the years on
the books subjects. All chapters should have refer- ences. 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 re- ciprocals, to a
tie breaker being labeled No.
Adequate discussion of the advan- tages 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 state- ments 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 ad- vantages and disadvantages
discussed.
/FEE Industry Applicuiions Muguzine rn September/Octaber
1996
Often only half of a situation is pre- sented. 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 ground- ing 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 misapplica- tion 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 protec- tive devices are required for proper op- eration 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 in-
dustrial plant that lacks adequate engi- neering.
The advantages and disadvantages listed for the different
methods of grounding electrical systems lack the completeness of
General Electrics book- let titled System Grounding for Low-
Voltage Power Systems. This booklet should be blatantly reproduced
in the book. This G.E. GET-3548B is a classic informative document
that should be re- published. 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 wri t ten? How
much knowledge should the reader have?
Many terms are not defined. The authors assume the reader is
familiar
with such terms as islanding, BIL, S.C.R., short circuit
interlevel, equipment phase. In one case they ad- dress the novice,
and are not we all nov- ices 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 chap- ter. 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 be-
fore the book will be of value.
-Donuld W. Zzpse
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