RE A CTIVE COMPENSA TION

Shunt-connected reactors and capacitors controlled by thyristors

S. Torseng, Dr. Tech.
Indexing terms: Power systems and plant, Power system protection, Controllers Abstract: Two basic schemes for thyristor-controlled static compensators are described, namely, thyristorswitched capacitors (TSC) and thyristor-controlled reactors (TCR). A more advanced scheme using a combination of TSC and TCR is presented. It is shown that this combination gives a greater degree of flexibility in the designing of a compensator. The paper also briefly describes the control system in a compensator comprising both thyristor-controlled reactors, thyristor-switched capacitors and reactors (TSR). One method to damp power oscillations, using TSC with a certain control strategy, is presented. The problem of unbalanced loads and load balancing methods using TSC and TCR are discussed. It is shown that the combined system (TSC/TCR) generates very low harmonics, because the TSC does not generate any harmonics. Finally, some pictures from the first installations comprising both TSC and TCR are shown.

Introduction

There are many reasons for applying shunt compensation in power networks. Ordinary shunt reactors and shunt capacitors are, to date, extensively used for this purpose. The power network can be utilised more effectively if the reactive shunt power can be controlled in an intelligent way. The development of thyristor valves capable of handling large currents, as well as the technique of using them to switch capacitors in and out and control the current through a reactor, have provided the power-system engineer with a new tool to meet reactive power generation and absorption demands. This new thyristor technique is today used in several compensators for industrial networks. A 60 MVAR compensator comprising thyristor-switched capacitors was installed as far back as 1972, in Sweden, for compensation of arc furnaces. Growing interest is also being" shown in this technique for transmission systems, and a few compensators of this type are now in operation.
2 Thyristor-controlled static compensators

switching of capacitor banks. In the other scheme, a fixed capacitor bank is connected in parallel with a thyristorcontrolled Variable' reactor. In most cases, a combination of these two schemes will be the best solution.
2.1 Thyristor-switched capacitors

Two basic schemes for thyristor-controlled static compensators are now being used to provide a variable reactive power. In one scheme, reactive power is varied by the synchronous

XX
n steps
F ig. 1

Fig. 1 shows the basic scheme of a static compensator of the thyristor-switched capacitor (TSC) type. The shunt-capacitor bank is split up into appropriately small steps, which are individually switched in and out using bidirectional thyristor switches. Each single-phase branch consists of two major parts, the capacitor C and the thyristor switch TY, see Fig. 2. In addition, there is a minor component, the reactor L, the purpose of which is to limit the rate of rise of the current through the thyristors and to prevent resonance with the network. Fig. 2 shows the switching of a capacitor at different capacitor voltages. A capacitor bank is switched in by applying a gate trigger pulse to the thyristor switch, at the peak value of the voltage U. This means that an inrush current will arise if the capacitor is not fully charged. The highest current peak occurs for a discharged capacitor. The series reactor limits the inrush current to a small value. Trigger pulses at the peak values of the voltage keep the capacitor switched in. The capacitor is switched out through the suppression of the gate trigger pulses of the thyristors. This ensures that the thyristor carrying current will block as soon as the current becomes zero, i.e. at the peak voltage. As the capacitors are provided with discharge resistors R, the capacitor in the stand-by state slowly loses its voltage. However, it is immediately ready for a new connection, even if it has not been completely discharged. Static compensators of the TSC type are characterised by having the following properties: (a) stepwise control (b) average delay of one half-cycle (maximum one cycle) in the execution of a command from the regulator, as seen for a single phase (c) very low inrush transients (d) no generation of harmonics (e) low losses at low-compensator reactive-power output. The control system will order the capacitor bank to be switched out when the voltage increases over a certain value. Unlike a breaker switched bank, the TSC can be switched in again immediately, even though the capacitor is charged. Furthermore, the TSC valve can be switched an unlimited number of times without special maintenance. The TSC will
IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. C, No. 6, NOVEMBER 1981

Static compensator of thyristor-switched capacitor type

Paper 1612C ( P l l , P9), presented in original form at the IEE Technical Seminar on Control of Reactive Compensation for AC Power Systems, September 1980 The author is with the Power System Consulting Department, ASEA AB, S-721 83 Vasteras, Sweden

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0143-7046/81/060366 + 08 $01.50/0

not be exposed at all to such high-current transients, on switching, as the breaker-switched capacitor. Therefore, the life of the capacitor cans is expected to be longer than for normal shunt capacitors. Experience so far, in this respect, has been very good. Fig. 3 shows the voltage at a busbar close to arc furnaces, without and with TSC. These recordings have been made at Svenskt Stal AB's Steelworks in Borlange, where a 60 MVAR TSC has been in successful operation since 1972.
2.2 Thyristor-controlled reactors

Fig. 4 shows the basic scheme of a static compensator of the thyristor (phase-angle) controlled reactor type (TCR). In most

cases, the compensator also includes a fixed capacitor. This is not shown on the diagram. Each of the three phase branches includes an inductor L and a bidirectional thyristor switch TY, see Fig. 5. Fig. 5 illustrates the operating principle. The current, and consequently also the fundamental-frequency current component, is controlled by delaying the closing of the thyristor switch with respect to the natural current zero passages. The adjustment of the equivalent impedance, and thus that of the reactor current, can only take place at discrete instants of time, i.e. an adjustment cannot be made more often than once in each half cycle.

A^A^
Ic L

00

Fig. 4

Static compensator of thyristor-controlled reactor type

\y
wj
firing pulses

\y
c

Fig. 5

time Operating principle of thyristor-controlled reactor

-0A5pu

Opu

The technique of controlling the conduction intervals of the thyristor switch generates harmonic current components. Static compensators of the TCR type are characterised by having: (a) continuous control (b) maximum delay of one half cycle in the execution of a command from the regulator, as seen for a single phase (c) practically no transients (d) generation of harmonics
2.3 Combined TSC and TCR system

Fig. 2

Operating principle of a thyristor-switched capacitor

20kv bus voltage I unstabilised

stabilised

Is-/.
0 1 2 3 time, s A 5 6

Fig. 3 Voltage on 20kV busbar feeding arc furnaces without and with static compensator connected to busbar IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. C, No. 6, NOVEMBER 1981

Irrespective of the reactive control range required, any static compensator can be built up from one or both of these devices and, if required, in combination with an ordinary shuntcapacitor bank or shunt reactor, fixed or breaker-switched. The optimum solution is a technical and an economic choice, which strongly depends on the cost evaluation of the losses. In the switched-capacitor scheme the total reactive power is split into an appropriate number of parallel-capacitor banks. The reactive power from the compensator follows the load or terminal voltage variations in a step-like manner. A continuously variable reactive power can be achieved by using a thyristor-controlled reactor in combination with switched capacitor banks. Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a static compensator, with continuous control of the reactive power from 1 p.u. to
367

+ 3 p.u. The losses are very small, especially at no load and at low absorption of reactive power. The harmonic generation will be low, because the controlled reactor is small compared with the total controlled power.

3.1

Voltage control

The most common parameter to be controlled is the voltage. Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of an automatic voltage regulator (AVR). The Figure represents the American electric power (AEP) compensator in Beaver Creek, Kentucky; with the exception of the slope arrangement, which is of different design. The main input to the regulator is the voltage U on the busbar. The voltages in the three phases are fed, via PTs, to a measuring device (MD), where they are converted to a lowvoltage DC signal V. The measuring device contains, basically, a voltage adaptation unit, a six-pulse rectifer and a low-pass filter with a time constant of 1.5 ms to reduce fast transients in the busbar voltage. The voltage response V is fed to the summing junction of the regulator, together with the voltage reference Vref. If the voltage response deviates from the reference, an error signal AV will appear. This signal is fed to an integration amplifier, with an output that will increase or decrease depending on the sign of AV, until AV is zero and V= Vref. The output from

i
Fig. 6 Static compensator of combined TSC and TCR type

reactor

current

^capacitor current |AVR

Fig. 8
I total current

Block diagram of control system

the integrator is the susceptance reference Bref for the compensator, or static VAR system (SVS) as it is also called. Bref is decomposed in the distribution unit into three digital signals ('On' orders for TSC and TSR), and one analogue signal (control signal for TCR), in such a way that the effective susceptance of the SVS will correspond to the susceptance reference. lagging current ' l e a d i n g current In most applications, it is also desirable to have a certain Fig. 7 Operating performance of compensator according to Fig. 6 for slope in the U/I characteristic, to prevent the compensator continuous change in control order from fully lagging to fully leading from reaching the end positions too frequently. This can be current achieved in different ways. One way, which is shown in the Fig. 8, is to measure the SVS current and add a signal Vt in Fig. 7 illustrates the operating performance of the compenthe summing junction of the regulator proportional to this sator according to Fig. 6, for a continuous change in the current. control order from fully lagging to fully leading current. The Vj has different signs for leading and lagging current. It is operation of the controlled reactor is in perfect co-ordination added to the summing junction of the regulator in such a way with the switched-capacitor banks. that it corresponds to a decrease or an increase of the Static compensators of the combined TSC and TCR type reference voltage for leading or lagging current, respectively. are characterised by: The control system also contains a synchronising unit, (a) continuous control which ensures the exact timing of the trigger pulses to the (b) practically no transients thyristors, as well as the sampling of regulator signals. (c) low generation of harmonics It is very important to be able to change both the reference (d) low losses voltage and the slope of the U/I characteristic. From the (e) flexibility in control and operation above, it is clear that these values can easily be changed to suit altered conditions in the network. 3 Control system Fig. 9 shows an example of the U/I characteristics. The The control system in a thyristor-controlled static compenchosen curves both have a slope of 5 per cent. This is changed sator offers excellent possibilities to influence and control by just adjusting the gain in the measuring device (see Fig. 8). various parameters in a power system. Some of these possiFig. 10 shows the behaviour on a voltage change within the bilities are discussed below. control range. This change was caused by the switching in of a
368 IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. C, No. 6, NOVEMBER 1981

100 MVAR reactor to the busbar. It can be seen that the SVS responds by switching in the second capacitor bank (62.5 MVAR) at the same time as the current in the TCR is decreased (37.5 MVAR). It should be noted that the current scales in the three current oscillograms are not the same. The Figure also shows that the total settling time, in this case, was approximately 2 cycles. The notation in Fig. 10 is according to Fig. 8, where phase A denotes the high-voltage side of the transformer and phase a the low-voltage side.
U.p.u.

certain preset value. In this way, the overvoltages in the healthy phases during the fault will be reduced, and there will also be a smoother return to normal voltage after fault clearing. Because the system offers great flexibility, the undervoltage control strategy can be individually designed for each installation, taking its specific features into account.
3.2 Damping of power oscillations

1. 0

1.0

Fig. 9 Example of U/l characteristics for S VS according to Fig. 8 u ref - -90 pu , Uref = 1.05 pu , slope = 5%
U(phaseA)

Bref
4.0 5.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

Stability is one of the basic factors to be considered when one determines the power transfer capability of an AC transmission system. In many cases, the transient stability limit, accounting for both transitory and permanent primary faults on lines and in stations, is the critical factor. This then automatically results in sufficient margins to the steady-state and oscillatory stability limits. However, in large power systems with long transmission distances, and especially systems also containing tie lines, the damping of oscillations, due to disconnection of heavily loaded lines after permanent faults or on tripping of large generating units, may be the determining factor for the power-transfer capability, of certain networks sections. . Thyristor-switched shunt-capacitor banks and thyristorcontrolled shunt reactors will primarily influence the voltage in a local area. This means that loads connected close to such an element and the power transfer between machines, can be changed immediately. Through proper control of the reactive power generated or absorbed by a shunt element, it is possible to improve both the transient stability and the damping of oscillating machines. The capacitor/reactor should be controlled in such a manner that it always introduces damping power in the oscillating machines. This requires an appropriate control signal from the oscillation that is to be damped out. In most cases, line power transfers or busbar voltages can be used. The control system must be able to analyse the signal and order switching at the right oscillation instants. One method is described below. The hypothetical diagram in Fig. 11 illustrates the basic idea, where a simple two-machine network with interconnection is considered. A thyristor-controlied static compensator, comprising thyristor-switched capacitor banks TSC, is installed at busbar B. The control signal is the transfer power When a power swing starts, i.e. the derivative dP/dt is positive and exceeds a certain value, the TSC are switched in one step at a time every 0.04 s. During the following oscillations one or more TSC are disconnected after maximum P is reached and reconnected after minimum P. The number of banks which will be recon-

x10 ms Fig. 10 SVS response to 'large'voltage change

The response time depends on the gain setting in the control system, and also on the network itself. The gain setting must be matched with the short-circuit levels in the network. This can be seen from eqn. 1, which shows the voltage change AU caused by a change of the reactive shunt power AQ. AU U AQ (1)

where Ssc is the short-circuit power (fault level) at the connection point. When setting the gain one must take into account the lowest value of S8C that may exist. Otherwise, voltage instability may occur. The response time will, therefore, be longer for a higher short-circuit power in the network. As is well known, a line-to-earth fault will cause overvoltages in the healthy phases during the fault. Fixed or breaker-switched capacitor banks will further increase the voltage during the fault, thereby aggravating the situation. If undervoltage detection is introduced, an additional signal can be added to the summing junction in the AVR in such a way that Bref is forced to become fully lagging or forced down to zero, when the voltage in one or more phases falls below a
IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. C, No. 6, NOVEMBER 1981

f
TSC TSC TSC out in out Fig. 11

A \

with TSC
v.without TSC

time

Control method for damping of power oscillations 369

nected depends on the magnitude of the oscillation, i.e. the latest peak-to-peak value. This control technique will improve the damping. Studies have shown that the transient stability can be slightly improved also if TSC are used. 3.3 Other control possibilities A thyristor-controlled static compensator can also be used to improve the power factor in distribution systems. This means that the reactive power does not need to be transported over long distances. The current will thus be lower with decreasing losses as a result. Furthermore, this also means that the active power transmission can be increased on existing distribution lines. Because each phase of the SVS can be controlled individually, it is very easy to use the thyristor-controlled compensator to balance the voltage in a system where unbalanced loads occur. Such a load may be, for example, a train. This is discussed in Section 4. It is very easy to make changes in the control system and design it to suit each individual installation. Other control strategies, not mentioned above, can also be used.
4 Balancing of unbalanced loads

Now, if it is desired to connect a certain single-phase load to the network, there must be a certain fault level on the busbar, as described above. If this is not sufficient, the load must be balanced.
4.2 Load balancing

4.1

General

Single-phase loads connected between two phases are relatively common. Typical examples are arc furnaces, electric trains, welding machines, etc. This unbalance causes negative phasesequence voltages in the network. The voltage unbalance is often expressed as the ratio between the negative and the positive phase-sequence voltage, giving
U=

According to the above, it is sometimes necessary to balance a single-phase load. This can be performed with reactors and/or capacitors. The reactive loads shall be connected between the phases so that the generated negative phase-sequence voltage will compensate the negative phase-sequence voltage caused by the single-phase load. Fig. \2a shows a resistive load between two phases (S and T) and the corresponding positive and negative phase-sequence currents. With a capacitor between R and T and a reactor between R and S, the corresponding current components are obtained according to Figs. 12b and c. It is clear from these Figures that if the reactor and the capacitor are equal, and their impedances are equal to \f$R, then the negative phasesequence currents are eliminated, see Fig. \2d. The balanced load in Fig. lid can, of course, be balanced in many different ways by adding or deleting capacitative or inductive load in all three phases symmetrically. It is thus possible to balance the system with only capacitors or only reactors. If only capacitors are used, there will also be a contribution to the phase compensation in the system. If the single-phase load consists not only of active power but also of reactive power, the reactive part can be compensated with a capacitor connected in parallel with the load. Because many loads are varying, it is of great interest to be able to vary and control the balancing reactive elements.
load positive phase sequence currents negative phase sequence currents

\U.\ \U+\

\Z\

\Z\

\Z + ZL\

\ZL\

(2)

if the negative and positive phase-sequence impedance are equal (Z_ = Z+ = Z), where ZL is the load impedance. The above relation can normally also be written as
(3)

where Ssc is the short-circuit power at the connecting point and SL is the rated power of the load. There are several disadvantages with the voltage unbalance. The occurrence of negative phase-sequence current means that the losses in the network are doubled, and that certain phase and phase-to-phase voltages are changed more on load connection than if the load had been balanced on all three phases. There will be an increased and uneven heating of the conductors in the network and of motors and apparatus connected to it. Induction motors are particularly sensitive. In IEC Publication 34-1, 'Rotating electrical machines', it is mentioned in paragraph 12.1 that motors shall be capable of withstanding an unbalance of

\U-\ ..= 0.02

An unbalance of 0.02 is achieved if SL = 0.02 x Ssc. According to British recommendations [6] the following : applies: . SL < 0.013 Ssc SL < 0.01 Ssc for voltages below 33 kV for voltages of 33 kV and above
T R S

These lower factors have been selected, because several independent loads may be accumulated. In addition, harmonics generally occur at the same time and these also increase the losses in induction motors.
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Fig. 12 Balancing of single-phase load Xc = XL = y/3R for a balanced system (d) IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. C, No. 6, NOVEMBER 1981

By using a thyristor-controlled static compensator with individual control of each phase we can balance a varying load. Fig. 13 shows the single-line diagram for a compensator used for this purpose. This compensator is connected to a 132 kV system in South Africa. It belongs to ESCOM, and has been in successful
132kV

T
in : IJ&V j . i s '

... ^^-mm
Fig. 16 ESCOM compensator for balancing of unbalanced loads

5MVAR

5MVAR 5MVAR 5MVAR 5MVAR 5MVAR

Fig. 13

Single-line diagram ofFerrum SVS

The main components are the 20 MVA step-down transformer, the two S MVAR TCR-branches (TCR = thyristor controlled reactor) and the four 5 MVAR TSC-branches (TSC = thyristor switched capacitor) The thyristor valves VI and V2, V3 and V4 and V5 and V6 are located in the same convertor cubicles

operation since May 1979. The single-phase loads, in this case, are trains connected between two phases. The regulator, in this case, is a voltage regulator for singlephase control. The phase-to-phase voltages are measured individually and compared with a reference voltage. Equations for the needed reactive power between the phases, can be calculated as a function of AURS, AUST and AUTR, where = AURS Uref URS etc. This means that it is possible to measure the phase-to-phase voltages during balancing of the single-phase load.
5 Harmonics

1 .0

100 120 140 control angle , deg

Fig. 14

160

180

Harmonic currents generated by TCR fundamental 5 th harmonic 3rd harmonic 7th harmonic

A thyristor-switched capacitor bank (TSC) will not generate any harmonics, because it is not phase angle controlled, but only switched in or out. A thyristor-controlled reactor (TCR) will generate harmonics of odd order, if it is phase angle controlled. Fig. 14 shows the harmonics, in p.u., of the maximum reactor current (90 control angle) against the control angle for the thyristors. The generated harmonics 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th have the following maximum amplitudes: 13.8%, 5%, 2.5%, 1.6%, 1.0% and 0.7%. The harmonics of zero-sequence character, i.e., 3rd, 9th, etc., are eliminated with a delta connection and three-phase symmetrical control. The amplitude of the harmonics is proportional to the size of the reactor. A compensator comprising a TCR (with 6-pulse control) often implies that a filter has to be installed. The need for filters should be studied for each case. Let us look at the compensator in Fig. 8. This has a regulation range from - 125 to + 125 MVAR, i.e. 250 MVAR controlled range. The technique of using both TSC and TCR (ASEA design) means that, in this case, only one fourth (one reactor) of the total regulation range of 250 MVAR is phase angle controlled. Therefore, the harmonic currents generated by this reactor amount to only one fourth of what is generated if no TSC is used, but the whole control is in one 250 MVAR reactor. One way of reducing the harmonics still further, without using filters, is to adopt 12-pulse control, see Fig. 15. This means that the 5th and the 7th harmonics are eliminated too.
6 Installations

TSC

TSC

Fig. 15

Static compensator with 12-pulse control

The first static compensator in the world, using both TSC and TCR, was the ESCOM compensator connected to the ESCOM 132 kV system to balance the voltage, see Section 4. This compensator has single-phase control. All three phases are identical and the regulation range is from 20 MVAR capacitive to 10 MVAR inductive (three-phase power). The SVS comprises two thyristor-controlled reactors, each rated 5 MVAR, and four thyristor-switched capacitors, each rated 5 MVAR. Figs. 16-19 show different views of the ESCOM
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1EEPR0C, Vol. 128, Pt. C, No. 6, NOVEMBER 1981

Fig. 17

ESCOM compensator

Centre: 5 MVAR TSC; right: three-phase stacked damping reactor

Fig. 20 Three-phase stacked water-cooled thyristor valve for AEP {Beaver Creek, Kentucky) This valve controls one 62.5 MVAR TCR (see Fig. 21) Fig. 18 Three single-phase TCR 5/3 MVAR each The reactors are of air core type [ESCOM]

Fig. 21 62.5 MVAR reactor controlled by thyristor valve in Fig. 20 Two stacked reactors are connected in each delta branch. The valve is electrically connected between the two reactors.

Fig. 19 Cubicle housing two three-phase, air-cooled thyristor valves [ESCOM]

372

compensator. The thyristor valves are, in this case, air cooled, owing to the small size of the compensator. Fig. 20 shows a water-cooled thyristor valve in the American electric power (AEP) compensator, situated in Beaver Creek, Kentucky. This valve controls one of the two thyristor-controlled reactors, each rated 62.5 MVAR, see Fig. 21. The compensator also comprises two TSC, each rated 62.5 MVAR. The total thyristor-controlled range is thus 250 MVA. The single-line diagram is as shown in Fig. 8. Both the reactors and the capacitors are connected in delta. A thyristor with a silicon wafer area of 45 cm2 is shown in Fig. 22. Using this thyristor in a valve makes it possible to
IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. C, No. 6, NOVEMBER 1981

A 60 MVAR compensator, comprising thyristor-switched capacitors, has been in successful operation in Sweden since 1972 for compensation of arc furnaces. In transmission systems, there are, so far, only a few static compensators in operation; but several are under manufacture. The combined TSC/TCR compensator offers several technical advantages, such as flexible design and low losses. Service experience from such compensators in transmission systems is reported very good. A static compensator can comprise both thyristor-controlled and breaker-operated reactive-power elements. The control of these breakers is often incorporated in the SVS regulator.
8 References

Fig. 22

Thyristor with silicon wafer area of 45 cm2

handle currents exceeding 3000 A, without parallel connection of thyristors being necessary. A complete thyristor is designed as a stack of discs of suitable material, next to the silicon wafer in order to reduce the thermal expansion.
7 Conclusion

Thyristor-controlled static compensators provide the system engineer with a new tool to meet reactive power generation and absorption demands. It can be used for different applications such as, voltage control, voltage balancing and stability improvement. The compensator can be used with any system voltage, and is normally connected via a transformer. It will be frequently employed in industrial, distribution and transmission systems.

1 ENGBERG, K., FRANK, H., and TORSENG, S.: 'Reactors and capacitors controlled by thyristors for optimum power-system var control'. Paper presented at EPRI seminar on transmission static var systems, Oct. 1978 2 ENGBERG, K. and IVNER, S.: 'Static var systems for voltage control during steady-state and transient conditions'. Paper presented at EPRI/Hydo-Quebec seminar on controlled reactive compensation, Sept. 1979 3 OLWEGARD, A., AHLGREN, L., and FRANK, H.: Thyristorcontrolled shunt capacitors for improving system stability'. CIGRE, Paper 32-20, 1976 4 TORSENG, S.: Thyristor-switched capacitors'. Paper presented at IEE seminar on control of reactive compensation for AC power systems, London, Sept., 1980 5 ENGBERG, K., HERMANSSON, L., and TORSENG, S.: 'Experience and position report on thyristor-controlled capacitors and reactors in transmission systems'. Paper presented at IEEE conference on 'Overvoltages and compensation on integrated AC-DC systems', Winnipeg, Canada, July 1980 6 Engineering Recommendation P16. Electricity Council, London, June 1975

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