Assignment no.

1
Topic:

VAR Compensation equipments/PFI devices

Name: Roll # Batch: Subject: Muhammad Danish Shaikh 101 2009-2010 PSA

Course instructor: Miss Samya Zafar

INTRODUCTION
Electric Power in an AC Network:
Electric power is the rate of electrical energy flow at any point. In other words it can also be defined as the product of the instantaneous voltage and current. If i(t) and v(t) represent the instantaneous sinusoidal current and voltage respectively then the instantaneous power P(t) can be given as; ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) * ( ( ) ( ) ( , ( ( ( ) ) , ) ( ) ) ( ( ( ) ) ( ))-+ ) ( ) ( )

If we consider v as reference i.e. v = 0o and i = then the above equation will become: ( ) ( ) ( ( ) ) ( ) ( )

Where pact(t) is the real or active power absorbed by the electrical components and p reactive(t) is the power oscillating in the power system due to the charging components like inductance and capacitance. This reactive power is in the form of increasing current which causes higher line losses, voltage drops, etc.

Disadvantages of Increased VARs/Lower Power Factor:

Lower power factor causes higher currents to flow in the power system and increases the apparent power of the system. Most of the important industrial loads like induction motors, transformer, arc furnaces, induction heating furnace, welding equipments, etc; require a large magnetizing current and operate at lagging power factor, moreover the transmission lines draw the reactive power as well. The disadvantages of lower power factor are: 1. Larger currents require greater cable size, larger switchgears, circuit breakers, transformers and the generating stations. It increases the capital cost of the system. 2. It makes the selection criteria of the switching devices and the protective equipments complex. 3. Causes higher power losses in the lines, this makes the system inefficient. 4. Causes greater voltage drops in the line which reduces the receiving end voltage.

Compensation Equipments or Power Factor Improvement Devices:

Power factor must be improved and the reactive power flow in the system must be minimized to make the system efficient and to keep the voltages within the permissible limits. Usually following methods are used for this purpose: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Series capacitors or reactors Shunt capacitors or reactors Static VAR compensator(SVC) FACTS controlling devices Active power filters(APF)

Shunt Compensation:
Shunt capacitors are connected in parallel among the lines. They can be installed near the load at the receiving end sub-station, distribution sub-station, switching station or with individual loads to improve the power factor and increase the receiving end voltage. Shunt capacitors provide leading reactive power to compensate a part of or whole of the lagging reactive power at the point of installation. The effect of shunt capacitor on power factor and voltage drop ccan be seen trough through the following diagram;

Before installation of shunt capacitor

After installation

A serious disadvantage of shunt capacitor is that at no-load or at light loads sending and voltage may considerably rise (Ferranti effect) but it can be managed by removing the variable elements from the bank. Shunt capacitors may be connected to tertiary of the transformer or to the bus bar as well. In a three phase circuit capacitors may be connected in delta or in star. The rating of the capacitors are given as:

C =
Where

and

Shunt Reactors are inductive current components connected in long extra high tension
lines. They may be installed at the sending end sub-station or at receiving end sub-station or I the middle of them to eliminate Ferranti effect. They are also connected with tertiary winding of power transformer.

Series Compensation:
The introduction of reactive components is series with the transmission line is called series compensation. Normally, in transmission lines the inductive reactance is dominant, therefore, series capacitors are used to increase the power transfer capability of the transmission line, to improve the power system stability, to compensate the voltage fluctuation, or to manage load over parallel lines. The power transfer over a line is given by:

After inserting a capacitive reactance XC, the power transferred can be given as:
( )

Thus series capacitor increases the real power flow in the transmission line. It also helps to vary the dynamic impedance of transmission line. This helps in division of load over parallel lines in a power system. One more advantage of series capacitors is the reduction of voltage drop in the lines with low power factor and improvement of voltage at the receiving end. For variable load conditions voltage drop can be controlled by switching the suitable capacitor in the line. Series capacitor improves the power factor to a very small extent. Voltage drop before the insertion of series capacitor is given as

(
Voltage drop after installation of series capacitor is given as

During shot circuit conditions the series capacitors are subjects to high voltages due to over current. To protect the capacitors spark gap or surge diverters are connected in parallel with series capacitors. The protective gap is designed to spark at a voltage about four times the normal rated voltage. There is also connected a circuit breaker in the protection circuit

which is normally open and closes only during the faulty condition. The breaker reopens when the current drops to normal value.

MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) is an electronic component whose resistance increases with voltage. It is incorporated in the circuit in such a way that it will shunt the current created by the high voltage away from sensitive components.

Synchronous Phase Modifier or Synchronous Condenser:

Other names given to the synchronous phase modifiers are synchronous condenser, synchronous capacitor and synchronous compensator. It is actually a synchronous motor running without a load under over excited condition. Under over excited condition it has the capability to provide leading VARs. Its output can be varied smoothly through the field excitation. It is a convenient tool to keep the receiving end voltage constant and to improve the power factor. Its greatest disadvantage is high cost and its installation and maintenance is not easy.

Facts:
FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System) is a power industry term for technology that enhances the stability, capacity and flexibility of power transmission networks. FACTS solutions help power companies increase transmission capacity over existing AC power lines, providing fast voltage regulation, active power control and load flow control in meshed power systems. Often, AC transmission systems are thought of as being inflexible". Power flows in AC networks simply follows Ohm's law and ordinarily cannot be made to flow along specific desired paths. As a result, AC networks suffer from parallel-path, or loop flows. The power flows from source to load in inverse proportion to the relative impedance of the transmission paths. Low impedance paths take the largest fraction of flow, but all lines in

the interconnection are a part of the flow path. Thus, utilities not involved in an interchange power transaction can be affected. A fundamental notion behind FACTS is that it is possible to continuously vary the apparent impedance of specific transmission lines so as to force power to flow along a "contract path". With precise control of the impedance of transmission lines using FACTS devices, it is possible to maintain constant power flow along a desired path in the presence of continuous changes of load levels in the external ac network, and to react in a planned way to contingencies.

FACTS can control the power flow along a desired path FACTS make use of high current, high voltage and fast switching power electronic devices (thyristor) to quickly put the capacitors or reactors ON and OFF the line. The new technology is not a single, high-power electronic controller, but rather a collection of controllers, which can be applied individually or collectively in a specific power system to control the direction of power flow, series impedance, shunt Impedance, phase angle and the occurrence of oscillations at different frequencies below rated frequency. This allows the utilization of transmission lines to their thermal limits. Basically, FACTS controllers can be classied as 1. 2. 3. 4. Shunt connected controllers Series connected controllers Combined series-series controllers Combined shunt-series controllers

There are other various types of FACTS controlling devices depending upon the type of semiconductor devices and techniques used in the controller. Some of them are: STATCOM, SVC, UPFC, etc. STATCOM with gate turn off thyristors can also be used as an Active Power Filter to remove harmonics.

APF (Active Power Filter):

Power quality has become major issue for both the electric utility industries and their commercial and industrial customers. Conventionally electrical power can be described as: ( ) ( ) ( ( ) ) ( ) ( )

Where pact(t) is the real or active or useful power and preactive(t) is the power oscillating in the power system due to the charging components like inductor and capacitor. But the advancements in the power electronics and its excessive involvement in power industry have altered these definitions a bit. Now pact(t) is not the total useful power and preactive(t) is also cause by power electronic components. Moreover, non-linear loads like switching circuits, speed control circuits, welding plants, thermal loads, variable frequency drives; motor controls, power invertors, cyclo convertors, high frequency induction furnaces, etc tends to produce harmonics distortion in power lines. These high frequency harmonic components cause greater magnetization and heating losses in the cores of electrical machines and transmission lines. Another disadvantage is distortion power factor. The effects of harmonic distortion are hard to measure while the end results are easy to understand - higher operating costs and lower reliability. APF designs are normally base on p-q Theory. It works upon the idea that only sinusoidal active power should be drawn from the main source while active power due to harmonic components, reactive power and reactive power cause by harmonic components should be supplied by parallel connected capacitor.

The active power filter uses power electronic devices to introduce current components, which cancel the harmonic components of the non-linear loads. The active power filter is connected in parallel with the ac line, and constantly injects currents that precisely correspond to the harmonic components drawn by the load. The result is that the current supplied by the power source remains sinusoidal. This resultant sinusoidal waveform is in phase with the line voltage and it helps in improving the power factor of the system. Active power filters are more advantageous in terms of size, response and sensitivity as compared to traditional solutions that minimize harmonic currents effects. A basic block diagram of APF is given below;

CT
Main source Non-linear load

Vs

Cap

3 phase inverter

IL

Hysteresis PWM converter

IREF
Control Algorithm for compensation currents