HVDC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE FROM EMC
PERSPECTIVE
R GANESAN*, SISIR K DAS* and K.V.K. SAMPATH**
* SAMEER - Centre for Electromagnetics, Chennai ,**
ABSTRACT
HcI)(: technology o h 5 with mcient tamportation of
hundrea3 of mUon wuUs of electrid power through
conversionfrom (IC to de at the source end and dc to ac at the
load end Irrespestive of system epnfr’guroLiont the converter
generates significant amount of power harmonics and fee&
onio the trmmisstbn gstem System of these kind couples
unwanted electrical noise into cdoclrted telephone circuits.
This paper analyses the generation and coupklng mechanism of
power harmonicsfrom HYDC to telecommunicationsystems and
describes a case srcurj, invohdng Under Ground telqhone cables
running parallel to M D C trammission lines.
INTRODUCTION
With the advent of High voltage I High power solid-state
control rectifiers (thyristors, GTOs), and micro electronic
devices, it has become possible to design and develop
HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) transmission system
as a viable alternative to the widely known 50Hz,HT (High
Tension) power transmission system, to achieve low
transmission loss, high transient stability and.better inter-
state and inter-national power synchronization and linking.
HVDC transmission system adopts line-kequency phase
controlled rectification and inversion technology to control
the dc power output.
From analysis point of view, the transmission lines may be
considered as a simple two wires electrical network, forming
a large loop with earth or solid conductor as current return
path. A system of this nature feeds considerable amount of
harmonic voltage at dc output side and injects harmonic
current into the ac input side. It is not unummon to run
power and signal lines in parallel for considerable distance
due to logistic reasons, like terrain constraints; maintenance
accessibility etc., Under this circumstance, it is likely that
the harmonics in dc side may couple unwanted electrical
noise into the wlocated underground or open wire
telephone systems. This may lead to serious consequences
like voice delpadation and errors in telecomhunication
s i g d h g . In extreme cases, it may lead to hreakdmof
81-900652-0-3/99 Rs. 40.00 0 1999 SEMCEI 11
Presently with AMD,Singapore
telephone terminal equipments. To analyze the E M (Electro
Magnetic Interf&ence) phenomenon, a site survey was
conducted f a HVDC transmission system operating in
three- phase, six- pulse converter configuration. The
observation suggests that the preference of HVDC
transmission system over ac transmission system should
always consider the likelihood of unwanted power
harmonic induction (cross-talk) kom power lines to CO-
located communication lines. Unless adequate care is taken
to suppress the power harmonics to an acceptable limit at the
source end, the HVDC system may tum-out to be a potential
source of E M .
ANALYSIS OF HVDC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
INTERFERENCE
A typical one-line diagram of an HVDC transmission system
for inter connecting two ac systems by an HVDC
transmission line is shown in the Figure 1. Power flow can
be controlled by varying the conduction angle of line
kequency. Assuming that the power flow to be kom system
‘A’ to ‘B’, the system input ac voltage in the range of 69-
230KV is transformed up to the transmission level and then
rectified by means of the converter terminal ‘A’ and
transmitted over the HVDC transmission line. At the
receiving end, the dc voltage is inverted by means of the
converter terminal ‘ B and the voltage is transformed down
to match the ac voltage of system ‘B’. The power received
over the HVDC transmission line is then transmitted over ac
transmission and distribution lines. HVDC converters
generally fall in any one of the following categories:
Star-Star 6-pulse mono-pole rectification
Star-Star,Delta-Starmono-pole 12-pulse rectification
Star-Star,Delta-Starbi-pole 12-pulse rectification.
The converter terminal given in Figure.l amsists of a
positive pole and negative pole. Each pole ccmsists of two 6-
pulse, lime kequency bridge converter connected through Y-
Y and D Y transhmers to yield a 12-pulse umverter
INCEMIC-99 I 1A.3
Ptvceedings of the International Confemnce on Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibifity '99
arrangement on the ac side of the converter. The filters are
riquired to reduce the current harmonics generated by the
converters fkom entering the ac system. On the dc side of
the converter, the ripple in the dc voltage is prevented ern
causing excessive ripple in the dc transmission line current
by means ofsmoothing inductors and dc side filter banks.
----I
\ I II
Figure I Tjpical HVDC Transmissionsystem
Ste Puke ReIated Harmonics
Six pulse rectification and inversion are obtained ffom a
three-phase, twc+way configuration. The fkequency domain
representation ofthe ac current in phase 'a' is
F i F 2. Srjc-puleBridge Waveforms 3 0 input voltage(a)
(star-star) irlput ac cwrent@), (c), (4;
(klta-star) (e)
Three phase input voltage and currentsare shown in Fig. 2
12
Some usem observations can be made fkom the above
equation :
absence oftriple Harmonics
the presence of Harmonics of orders 6k f 1 for integer c
values of k
those harmonics of order 6k + € are of positive sequence
those harmonics of order 6k-1 are of negative sequence
Rotating Hormonics Order
If either the primary or secondary three-phase windings of
the converter transformer is connected in Delta, the
resulting Fourier series for the current in phase 'a' on the
primary side is
42)
This series only d i b fkom that of a star-star connected
transformer by the sequence of rotation harmonic orders 6k
f 1 for odd values ofk.
TweIve Puke ReIated Harmonies
Twelve pulse configuration consists of two six-pulse
converters fed fkom two sets of three phase transformers in
parallel with their fundamental voltage equal and phase
shifted by 30 degrees. A common 12 pulse configuration is
shown in Fig. 3
Figure 3 Twelye-Pulse Converter Confguration.
The resultant ac current is obtained by summing Star-Star
and Delta-Star phase c~rrents.
......(3)
 Ganesan, Dar & Sampath
This series only contains harmonics of order .12k f 1. The
brmonic current of order :6K f 1 (with K odd) i.e. k= 5,7,
17,19 etc., circulate between the two converter transformers
but do not penetrate the ac network.
DC voltuge Harmonics (ripple)
For the three phase bridge configuration the orders of the
harmonic voltages are n = 6k. The DC voltage wave finm
and the repetition intervals are illustrated in figure 4
Figure 4 Six-Pulse Converter GJCvoltage waveforms
The following conclusion may be arrived kom the above
analysis:
as a increases, harmonics increase
12 pulse converter produces harmonics of 11th 13th,
23th, 25th... order with very less amplitude in
comparison with 6-pulse converter
to minimize the inductively coupled harmonics
interference produced in the telephone system and other
control/ communication system channels in parallel
with H W X transmission lines, it is important to
minimize the magnitude of the current harmonics in the
dc transmission lines.
-
EMI COUPLING EFFECTS OF HARMONICS ON
TELEPHONE SYSTEM
Perhaps, the m& obvious consequence of power system
harmonics is the degradation of telephone communication
caused by induced harmonics noise. Due to the large
difference in power levels, small unbalanced audio
kquency components withim the power network may easily
prpduce considerable noise voltage levels, when coupled into
a communication circuit.
13
. HVDC Transmission System Perfomane...
Simple model of a Telephone Circuit :A typical telephone
circuit consists of a twisted pair of wires or UG (Under
Ground) cables with associated terminal equipment and a
simplified model of such a circuit is illustrated in Figure 5.
For safety and practical reasons, telephone circuits are
referenced to earth through the terminal impedances Zll
&ZU. An electromagnetic induced voltage is modeled as
voltage s o u ~ c eVm and electrostatic induced voltage as Vs.
The terminal impedances are generally of high value. In the
absence of an earth return conductor the earth return
circuit is completed by the strong capacitors Csl and Cs2.
Figure 5 Simple Model of Telephone circuit
Factors Responsible for EMZ
The factors that are important to cause EMI in telephone
system'are :
Znfluence of power system; This depends on the source of
audio frequency components within the power system and
the relative magnitude of unbalanced harmonic current and
voltage present in the power circuit in the vicinity of the
telecommunicationcircuit.
Coupling to communication circuits: Noise voltage may be
impressed on telephone circuits in several ways ie. by loop
induction, by longitudinal electromagnetic induction, by
longitudinal electrostatic induction and by conduction.
By Loop induction: Loop induction OCCUTS when a voltage is
induced directly into the metallic loop formed by the two
wires of a telephone circuit. This type of induction
manifests itself directly as a transverse voltage across the
termination of the telephone circuit. It is cancelled out by
regular transpositions of Ariel wires or by use of twisted pair
cables. As these are standard practices in communication
circuits, loop induction is not, generally, a problem.
By Longitudinal EM induction : Longitudinal EM
inductim OCCUTS when w . electromagnetic field is induced
along the conductys of a telephone circuit. The residual
current in a power h e sets up a magnetic field that causes
flux lines to intersect with any neighboring telephone lines
Proceedings of the International Confemnce .on Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility '99
and induces an electromagnetic field longitudinally on it.
This trpe of coupling, illustrated in Figure 6, constitutes
the most common form of noise induction into
communication lines. The residual current 'In' in Figure 6,
returns via earth to 'Vp'. Hence the current loop so formed
has a large cross section area for the over head transmission
lines. Likewise, open wire telephone circuit may have large
cross sectional area. This leads to a longitudinal
electromagnetic induction on telephone circuits given by Vm
= 'M'* 'In' where, 'M' is the mutual impedance between
the power and telephone lines.
1 Noise
V,,, - 1
..--
--==:t ___ ___-
Magnetic
, ".-.,-,_I--
Figure 6 Electromagnetic Induction
The factors influencing the mutual impedance between
power and telephone lines can be summarized as follows.
The noise coupling ;
increases for increasing residual current
increases for increasing common distance run,
increases for increasing frequency
increases for increasing earth resisitivity
decreases for increasing separation between circuits.
By Longitudinal Electrostatic Induction
Longitudinal electrostatic induction occurs when an
electromagnetic field is induced between the cenductors and
earth. The simplest way of visualizing electrostatic induction
is by considering the capacitance in an exposure between a
single power line and single telephone wire as illustrated in
figure 7.
J-
Figure 7 Electrostatic Induction
14
The voltage of the power wire to ground Vr divides over the
capacitance between power and telephone wire capacitance
Cpt and the telephone wire and ground wire or ground in
the ratio of their impedance
.....( 4 )
1
zT ....(5)
bCPT + (1 zT1) + (1 1zT2)
Because of the loading effect of Ztl and Zt2 and the
relative separation, Vs is very small as compared with Vr
and can easily be neutralized by cable screening.
Electrostatic induction is serious only when the residual
voltage Vs is large or when capacitance Cpt is large. This
form of induction is often a problem on long telephone lines
in the neighborhood of very high voltage transmission lines.
By Conductive Coupling :When a power system is in
operation, there is always some level of residual current
flowing hi' the neutral due to out-of-balance components. In
the multiple earthed neutral system, some of this residual
current will return to the transformer by the neutral wire and
some via earth. The earth currents will cause a local rise of
earth potential at the earth electrode. If me end of a
telephone line is earth referenced in the area of influence of
this earth potential , then longitudinal voltage may be
impressed on the line.
SUSCEPTIBIllTy ANALYSIS OF
COMMUNICATION NETWORK
The susceptibility of telephone network to a noisy power line
interference depends largely on the characteristics of
communication system.
The balance ofthe communication circuitry
Shielding effectiveness
Telephone Circuit b h n c e lo earth: If the telephone line
or terminal equipment is not perfectly balanced with respect
to earth, longitudinally induced voltage on that line can be
transformed into transverse voltage which can be heard as
noise on the telephone. The factors that affect the telephone
circuit balance to earth are:
any leakage path to ground though cable insulation
any imbalance in terminal equipment.
Shielding A metallic or conducting earth screen such as
cable sheath that encloses the telephone circuit over the
length of an exposure is effective in reducing the
electrostatic induction. Metallic screen or sheath is only
partially effective in reducing the e&& of electromagnetic
induction. The shielding factor of cable is the fiaction by
which the shield reduces the voltage induced into the core.
A-good shielding factor for a cable can be achieved by
maintaining
 Ganesan, Das & Sampath :HVDC Transmission System Performance:.
a low earth resistance at shield earth termination
by having low resistive shield
-A CASE STUDY -
SlTE SURVEY,OBSERVATIONS AND
REC0MME"S
Site Survey: A field survey was conducted at typical power
house, HVDC converter and project office sites. The HVDC
Transmission system, surveyed, links two power stations
located at a distance of 196 kms. The converter at the
source end is of l O O M W capacity operating at dc voltage of
1OOkV. The converter works on 6- pulse, twc-way mode
with three- phase power input fiom star-star step down
converter transformer(22OkV to 86.6 kv).
Figure 8 Typical HVDC Transmission Site
Converter dc power output is transmitted through positive
and negative over head transmission lines running at a
height of 10 meters with spacing of 5 meters. The return
path for dc current between the power station is supposed to
be through baby towers for a distance of at least 20 k m s
fiom the converter site and then through earth. Due to
technical reasons, these baby towers are not being used. At
the source end, 5", 7" and HPF harmonic filters are
provided to filter out ac harmonics currents. At dc side,
0.45Hreactor is used to suppress dc harmonic voltages.
The power house and the project office are located at a
distance of 7 k m s and connected by 20 pair Under Ground
(UG) shielded telephone cable. Due to terrain constrain,
the HVDC power transmission lines and UG telephone
cables are running in parallel for a distance of more than
two kms. The UG cables are joined at interval of 1.0 km
distance by junction boxes. Out of the 20 pairs of telephone
lines laid out initially, only five pairs are usable and the
remaining pairs were faulty. Among the 5 lines that are now
in actual use, one is used exclusively as an PLCC extension
fiom power house EPAX to site Office. Other 4 lines are
used as extension 6om site office EPABX, one each to
15
HVM: site, substation and store house. The EPABX at
project office serves more than 100 local telephones.
Observations: The UG cables were not terminated properly
at the junction boxes to maintain inner and outer shield
integrity. The insulation of inner multi conductor pairs was
poor. The transmission line that was running parallel to the
UG cable between junction points No.3 to N0.6 forms an
effective loop of 10,000 sq. meters. This could effectively
transfer harmonic noise onto the telephone system. When
UG cables were disconnected at junction point No. 3 or at
No. 6 no noise was heard in the telephones connected to
project site EPABX exchange. This suggests that the UG
cable fiom junction point No.3 to No. 6 acts as effective
pickup antenna and transfer audio noise of the HVDC
converter to EPABX.
Meusurements: All the five pair lines of UG cables were
tested for 50% noise pickup in Common Mode (CM) and
Differential Modes @M). Measurements were taka with
other end of the lines terminated with 600 ohms using 300
MHz I lGHz Digital Storage Oscilloscope @SO) with FFT
facility.
AC power fiequency noise pickup was noticed in the
telephone limes in both Common Mode (CM) and
Differential Mode @M). However this pickup was not
resulting in any audio noise problems at the hand set. More
noise components in the audio fiequency band were
observed in CM in comparison to DM mode, where only the
fundamental fiequency of power firequency was obtained.
Recommendations:
0 Relaying new UG telephone cable maintaining proper
shield termination integrity at the junction boxes.
0 Avoiding parallel run of UG and HVDC power lines.
0 Avoiding multiple grounding of inner shields
0 Measurement of power harmonics at ac and dc output of
HVDC to check the effective filtering of harmonic
filters
0 Adding harmonic filters ,if required, to bring down 5*,
7", 11" and 13" harmonics.
0 Establishing VHF or UHF wireless link as an alternate
to relaying UG cable.
0 Testing and correcting the terminal equipment
imbalance, if any.
a Reducing the influence of power system can be achieved
by physical relocation of either system or by reducing
the harmonics in the power system.
a Reducing coupling is not usually practical except in
case of earth potential rise, where noise incoming fiom
multiple earthed neutral can be reduced.
a Reducing the susceptibility of communication circuits
can be achieved by the use of noise suppression chokes,
noise-neutralizing transformers, shielded cable and
derived circuit.
Proceedings of the International Confeerence on Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility '99

CONCLUSION
The source of power harmonics ern HVDC transmission
system is analyzed and the coupling mechanism of
unwanted electrical noise in telephone lines is identified.
The field survey conducted on power line interference is
described and mitigation techniques for solving this problem
are also presented . Considering the impact of power
harmonics on telephone and other control/cmnmunication
systems, it is concluded that it is essential to establish a
controlling body to monitor the level of harmonics at HVDC
site and along the transmission lines. From the design point
of view, twelvepulse converter produces higher harmonics
but at lower level. Thus six-pulse converter design may be
avoided, though it is cost attractive.

REFERENCE
[11 Ned Mohan, Tore M. Undeland, William P. Robbins
Power Electronics : Converters, Applications and Design,
John Wiley & Sons

[2] Arrillaga, J ;Power System Harmonics, UMI Books on

Demand

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