Step by Step Example of A Simple Harmonic Study

(based on a two bus system) by Constantine Hatziadoniu

Problem: Consider the industrial system of Figure 1. The system consists of two buses
IND1 and IND2 connected through a short 3-phase, 4-wire line. The system is supplied
by the utility through a 69kV/13.8 kV transformer. A line-commutated power-converter
is connected on bus IND2. Calculate the harmonic voltage and THD on Buses IND1 and
IND2.

UTIL
69kV
∆
20,000 kVA
Y-g IND1
13.8 kV
PFC

10,000 kW, 0.85 lag

Line

IND2
PFC

3,000 kW, 0.9 lag

5,000 kW, 0.85 lag

Fig. 1 Single line diagram of the example system.

The system data are as follows:

1. Utility: 69 kV, infinite bus.

2. Transformer: 69kV-∆/13.8kV-Y-g, 20,000 kVA,
R=0.5%, X=8%.
3. Line: Short distribution line
3-phase with ground wire:
Total positive sequence R= 0.02 Ω,
Total positive sequence reactance X= 0.06 Ω.
4. Load on IND1: 10,000 kW, 0.85 lag pf.
Of this load, 60% is motive.
5. Load on IND2: 3,000 kW, 0.9 lag pf.
Largely residential and commercial.
6. Converter on IND2: 3-phase line commutated rectifier .
5,000 kW, 0.85 lag pf.
The rectifier produces the full
spectrum of its characteristic orders
at their normal amplitude and phase.
Non-characteristic harmonic orders
are not produced.
7. Power factor correction
capacitors at IND1 and IND2: Provide full compensation of the bus loads.

A. Discussion: The calculations will be done using the p.u. system equivalent. The base
quantities are:
Power base=10,000 kVA
Impedance base (on the 13.8 kV side)=19Ω.

In this simple example, only positive and negative sequence harmonics will be
considered. Thus, we will assume a symmetric and balanced system. Two methods of
solution are presented and compared: Frequency domain using MatLab. Time domain
using ATP. The associated files are available.

B. Load-Flow Study: The purpose of the load flow study is to obtain the fundamental
frequency voltage magnitudes and phase angles. The former are used as basis to calculate
THD. The latter are used to properly describe the phase-angle of the harmonic sources.

The system impedance is expressed in pu on the given basis. The system load-flow data
are shown on Table 1. We assume that the utility voltage is 1 pu. The calculations to
obtain the load-flow data including the pu system impedance are shown in the associated
M-file. The load-flow solution is shown on Table 2. The load flow was solved using
IPFLOW2.1.

Since in this system, only one harmonic source is present, the phase information from the
load-flow solution is not critical. In addition, the system voltage is near 1.0 pu. Therefore
we could have skipped the load-flow and proceeded to the harmonic calculations, using 1
pu as the base voltage for the THD calculation.

Table 1. Branch data.

From To R (pu) X (pu) Charging Element Type
bus bus (pu)
UTIL IND1 0.0025 0.04 0 Transformer
IND1 IND2 0.0011 0.0032 0 Line

Table 2. Bus data.

 Bus P-gen Q-gen P- Q- Shunt V phase
load load
UTIL 1.860 0.152 0 0 0 1.0 0.0

IND1 0 0 1.0 0.62 0.62 0.992 -4.16

IND2 0 0 0.8 0.455 0.455 0.991 -4.3

C. Harmonic Calculations in the Frequency Domain: The positive/negative sequence

equivalent of the system harmonic impedance is shown in Figure 2 (h is the harmonic
index). The system is balanced, therefore, the positive and negative sequence equivalents
are identical. Thus, only one circuit is needed for the harmonic calculations.

The detail calculations are shown here. With reference to Figure 2, each device is
modeled as follows:

UTIL
0.0025

j0.04h
3.2

Transformer

IND1
0.021
2.117

j0.62h
j0.167h
j0.9h

PCF

Motive
Resistive
Part
Part
0.0011
j0.0032h

IND2
2.7

j0.455h
Ich
j1.307h

PCF Resistive
Load Converter

Fig. 2 Harmonic impedance diagram of the example system.

Utility system: The utility system is considered as infinite bus. Thus, it is a sinusoidal
voltage source at fundamental frequency with zero impedance. At frequencies above the
fundamental, the utility system is represented by a short circuit at Bus UTIL.
Transformer: The transformer is represented by a combination of series and parallel
impedance between Buses UTIL and IND1. With reference to Figure 2, the values of
these elements, at the hth harmonic order, are calculated directly from the fundamental-
frequency series-impedance of the transformer:

Transformer series-impedance at fundamental: ZT=RT+jXT=0.0025+j0.04 pu.

Series-resistance in the harmonic equivalent: Rs=RT=0.0025 pu.
Parallel reactance: Xp=hXT=0.04h.
Parallel resistance: Rp=80XT=3.2 pu.

Thus, the equivalent harmonic impedance of the transformer between UTIL and IND1 is
given by (1).

h 2 X T2 R p hX T R 2p
Z Th = R s + +j h >1 (1)
R p2 + h 2 X T2 R p2 + h 2 X T2

Transmission line: With reference to Figure 2, a simple representation is used for the line
harmonic impedance. Since the line is of short length, the charging capacitance is
neglected and only the series impedance is used (2).

Z Lh = R L + jhX L = 0.0011 + j 0.0032h h ≥ 1 (2)

Where, RL and XL are, respectively, the pu series resistance and reactance of the line at fundamental
frequency.

Equation (2) neglects the skin effect. This can be included by modifying the resistive part
of the line impedance according to (3).

 0.646h 2 
R Lh = R L 1 + 2 
(3)
 192 + 0.518h 

Load at IND1: The load of IND1 consists of 60% induction motors and of 40% resistive
load (including coupling transformer reactance).

1. The motive part is represented by a series R-X circuit associated with locked-rotor
impedance of the motor. This part is computed as follows:

Assume 0.8 lag as aggregate power factor for the motors.

Motor real power: PM=0.6PIND1=0.6 pu.
PIND1 is the total load on the bus.
Motor installed power (apparent power): SM=PM/(0.8)=0.75 pu.

Assume a severity factor KI=8. The severity factor is the ratio between the starting and
the rated current of the motor. From that, the combined pu locked-rotor reactance of the
motive part at fundamental frequency is calculated (4):
 V2 1
XM = = = 0.167 pu (4)
K I S M 8S M

In (4) we assume 1 pu operating voltage for the motor.

The pu resistive part of the locked-rotor impedance is found by assuming a quality factor
of 8 for the rotor circuit:
RM=XM/8=0.021 pu.

Thus, the motor harmonic impedance in Figure 2 is given by (5).

Z Mh = 0.021 + j 0.167h (5)

2. The resistive part at IND1 is represented by a series R-X impedance. The impedance
elements are calculated from the power consumption of the load as follows:

Power of resistive load: PR=0.4PIND1=0.4 pu.

Reactive power: QR=QIND1-QM=0.62-0.6SM=0.17 pu.
Installed power of resistive part: SR=0.435 pu at 0.92 lag (φR=23°.03).

The pu value of the fundamental impedance that produces the same power under 1 pu
voltage is:
ZR=1/SR=2.3 pu.
XR/RR=tan(φR)=0.425.
Therefore: RR=2.117 pu, XR=0.9 pu.

The load harmonic impedance at Bus IND1 is:

Z Rh = 2.117 + j 0.9h (6)

Resistive load at IND2: Following the same procedure as with the load at IND1, the pu
harmonic impedance of the load at IND2 is calculated as follows:

Load power and power factor: PR=0.3 pu @ 0.9 lag (φR=25°.84).

Installed power: SR=PR/0.9=0.333.
PU fundamental impedance: ZR=1/SR=3 pu.
XR/RR=tan(25°.84).
RR=2.7 pu, XR=1.307 pu.
The load harmonic impedance is, therefore:

Z R 2 h = 2.7 + j1.307h (7)

Power factor correction capacitors: With reference to Figure 2, the PFCs are represented
by their harmonic susceptance. The capacitor fundamental susceptance is found from the
load flow data, since each capacitor fully compensates for the bus load.
Line commutated converter at IND2: With reference to Figure 2, the power converter is
represented as a harmonic current source ejected from IND2. The converter produces the
characteristic harmonic spectrum. Its fundamental current is found as follows:

Installed power: Sc=Pc/0.85=0.588 pu.

Fundamental current: Ic1=Sc/VIND2=0.594 pu
(from load-flow VIND2=0.991 pu).

The pu harmonic current of the converter is given in the following Table.

Table 3. Harmonic Currents of the line commutated converter.

h 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 25 29
%Ic1 0.2 0.143 0.091 0.077 0.059 0.053 0.043 0.04 0.034
Ich 0.119 0.085 0.054 0.046 0.035 0.031 0.026 0.024 0.020
θh -π 0 -π 0 -π 0 -π 0 -π

Table 3 (continued)
h 31 35 37 41 43 47 49
%Ic1 0.032 0.029 0.027 0.024 0.023 0.021 0.02
Ich 0.019 0.017 0.016 0.014 0.014 0.012 0.012
θh 0 -π 0 -π 0 -π 0

C.1 Method of Calculation. The Nodal admittance matrix is used for the calculation of
the system harmonic voltage. With reference to the circuit topology in Figure 2, at each
frequency of the converter harmonic orders, this matrix is computed according to (8).

 1 1 1 1 1 
 Z + Z + Z + Z + j 0.62h −
Z Lh 
Yh =  Th Lh Mh Rh
 (8)
 1 1 1
− + + j 0.455h 
 Z Lh Z Lh Z R 2 h 

Inverting the nodal admittance matrix we obtain the nodal impedance matrix at each
harmonic order.

Z h = Yh−1 (9)

Subsequently, the harmonic voltage at Bus IND1 (corresponding to row and column 1 of
the matrices) is found using the transfer impedance, Zh(1,2), between Buses 2 and 1
(IND2 and IND1). The harmonic voltage at Bus IND2 (corresponding to row and column
2 of the matrices) is found using the driving point impedance, Zh(2,2), at Bus 2.

V IND1, h = Z h (1, 2) I ch
(10)
V IND 2 , h = Z h (2,2) I ch

Note that the converter current represents an injection at node 2 of the network.
Figure 3 shows the driving point and transfer impedance in (10). As it can be seen from
the figure, the system forms two resonance frequency, one around the 5th harmonic and
one around the 35th harmonic.

Harmonic impedances Z11,Z12

2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2
p.u. ohms

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Harmonic index

Fig. 3 System harmonic impedance.

Figure 4 shows the harmonic voltage at the two system buses. It can be seen from this
figure that the harmonic voltage of both buses at the 5th and the 35th orders is amplified
due to the impedance resonance.

Harmonic Voltage at IND1 and IND2

0.12

0.1

0.08
p.u. kV

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Harmonic index

Fig. 4 System harmonic voltage.

D. EMTP-ATP Time-Domain Modeling. The purpose of the following calculations is to
show how our harmonic problem can be solved using ATP modeling and simulation.
The positive/negative sequence equivalent-circuit used for the ATP simulation is shown
in Figure 5. With reference to this figure, the circuit has identical topology as the circuit
used for the frequency domain calculations.

cos(2πt)

UTIL

0.0025

j0.04
3.2
Transformer

IND1

2.117
j0.62

0.021
j0.9
PCF

j0.167
5.46cos(2πt+87.32)

Resistive Motive
Part Part
0.0011
j0.0032

IND2
2.7

j0.455 ich(t)
0.594cos(2πt-36.09)
j1.307

PCF
Converter
Resistive
Load

Fig. 5 ATP model of the example system (One phase simulation).

The circuit data are expressed in terms of inductance and capacitance. A harmonic
current source is connected at the converter bus. Additional sources of fundamental
frequency are included for the derivation and plotting of the system waveforms. It should
be noted that the inclusion of these fundamental sources is not necessary for this
example, since the circuit is linear. That is, the same response for the harmonic voltage
would be obtained, if these sources were absent. Fundamental frequency sources are
necessary, if accurate system waveforms are desired for demonstration purpose or if the
circuit is non-linear. The calculation of the system data is as follows:

D.1. Calculation of Inductance and Capacitance. This would require converting the
known pu values of the fundamental impedance to corresponding H of F. However, we
have the alternative option of entering inductance and capacitance in pu. PU calculation
of inductance and capacitance uses pu time. Here for convenience, the time base is set to
1/60 Hz. That is 1 pu time is equivalent to 1 fundamental period. The inductance and
capacitance pu calculations are as follows:
 di di di X L' di X L' di '
v (t ) = L = L = fL = XB ⇒ v ' (t ' ) = (11)
dt dt ' t B dt ' 2π dt ' 2π dt '

dv dv B ' dv B ' dv'

i (t ) = C = fC = BB C ⇒ i ' (t ' ) = C (12)
dt dt ' 2π dt ' 2π dt '

Where: tB=1/f is the time base.

t' is the time in pu.
XB, BB are respectively the base of reactance and susceptance.
XL', BC' are respectively the pu fundamental reactance and susceptance of the
inductor and capacitor respectively.

Thus, the pu inductance and capacitance are found from the pu fundamental reactance
and susceptance respectively dividing by 2π. ATP data entry permits further
simplification of these conversions. Setting the options XOPTION=COPTION=1.0 Hz
tells ATP to accept the branch data as pu fundamental reactance or susceptance. This
choice facilitates data entry, since no conversion of any sort is needed (ATP will perform
the conversions from (11) and (12) internally.) Figure 5 shows the pu fundamental
reactance and susceptance of the system as they were entered in the ATP data file. These
values are retrieved directly from the previous frequency domain data.

D.2. Source Modeling. To obtain the accurate waveform of the voltage, the fundamental
as well as the harmonic sources must be described with their correct angle. With
reference to Figure 5, the external utility is modeled as a voltage source at UTIL with
unity amplitude and zero angle. Note that the cos function is used for describing the
sources. This is consistent with the ATP source modeling and also makes the calculation
of harmonic phase angles easier.

The induction motor at Bus IND1 must be properly augmented by a fundamental current
source, because the series R-X representation alone does not account for the motor's full
fundamental current. Equation (13) is the current of the motor drawn at fundamental
frequency as it is calculated from the load flow. Equation (14) is the current of the motor
drawn at fundamental frequency as it is calculated by the circuit representation of the
motor in Figure 5.

I 1 = S M* / V M* ≈ 0.75 ∠ −36.87 / 1∠ 4.16 = 0.75 ∠ − 41.03 puA (13)

I 1' = VM /( R + jX ) + I M = 1∠ − 4.16 /(0.021 + j 0.167) + I M = 5.95 ∠ −87 + I M (14)

Where: IM is the augmented current source. The phase angles are obtained from the load
flow solution and the power factor. Equating (13) and (14) we obtain the value of the
augmented current source in Figure 5.

I M = I 1 − I 1' = 5.46 ∠ 87.32

The converter at Bus IND2 is modeled as a combination of a fundamental and a harmonic
current source. The fundamental current of the converter in Figure 5 is calculated from
the load flow solution, the phase angle of the bus voltage and the power factor of the
converter. The value of the harmonic source is calculated using Table 3. Thus, the phase
angle of the nth harmonic is found according to (15).

ψ n = ψ 1 + nθ n (15)

Where: ψ1 is the phase angle of the fundamental current,

θn is the harmonic angle relative to the fundamental current from Table 3.

Table 4 shows the description of the equivalent harmonic current sources as they are
included in the ATP file. (Note: time is in pu.)

Table 4 Equivalent current sources at IND2.

Harmonic Description
Order
5 0.119cos(5t-0.45)
7 0.085cos(7t+107.37)
11 0.054cos(11t+143)
13 0.046cos(13t-109.17)
17 0.035cos(17t-73.53)
19 0.031cos(19t+34.29)
23 0.026cos(23t+69.93)
25 0.024cos(25t-112.32)
29 0.020cos(29t-146.61)
31 0.019cos(31t-38.70)
35 0.017cos(35t-3.15)
37 0.016cos(37t+104.67)
41 0.014cos(41t+140.31)
43 0.014cos(43t-111.87)
47 0.012cos(47t-76.23)
49 0.012cos(49t+31.59)

Figure-6 shows the waveform of the system voltage. Figure-7 shows the harmonic
content of that voltage.
 System Voltage

1.2

0.6

UTIL
pu kV

0 IND1
0 0.5 1 1.5 IND2

-0.6

-1.2
Time (pu)

Fig. 6 Wave form of harmonic voltage.

V oltage H armonics

0.12

0.1

0.08
p.u. kV

IND1
0.06
IND2

0.04

0.02

0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Harmonic Index

Fig. 7 Harmonic content of system voltage.