Chapter 5 : Power Line Disurbances

Learning outcome
 suggest solutions to improve power line disturbances
in the electrical systems

Learning contents
 Common power electronics related power line disturbances,
Voltage spikes, Chopped voltage waveform, Harmonics,
Electromagnetic Interference.
 Harmonics Filter

2
 Conclusion
Common Power Disturbances
Voltage Sags
One of the most common power frequency disturbances is voltage sag. By
definition, voltage sag is an event that can last from half of a cycle to several
seconds.

Voltage Sags due to motor starting or Arc furnace.

Voltage sags typically are due to starting on large loads, such as an electric
motor or an arc furnace. Induction motors draw starting currents ranging
between 600 and 800% of their nominal full load currents.

The current starts at the high value and tapers off to the normal running
current in about 2 to 8 sec.

Figure below contains the waveform of the starting current of a 50-hp

induction motor with a rated full-load current of 60 A at 460 VAC.

3
 Conclusion
Common Power Disturbances
Waveform of Starting current

4
 Voltage sag due to starting of induction motor

 The voltage experienced by a load fed

~
from the same bus as the motor is starting:
 Vsag = Zm/(Zs+Zm)
Zs  Zs=V2/Ssc,, Zm=V2/KSmotor
 Where K= ratio between the starting
current and the nominal current
 Smotor = a motor of rated power
M  Ssc = Short-circuit power
Other loads

5
 Example : Suppose that a 5MVA motor is started from a 100MVA,11kV
supply. The starting current is six times the nominal current. Please
calculate the voltage at the busbar during motor starting.

Vsag = Ssc/ (Ssc+KSmotor)

 Vsag = 100MVA/ (100MVA+6X5MVA) X100%

 Vsag = 77%.
 Hence, the voltage at the bus during motor starting = 77% x
11kV =8.47kV.

6
 Operational measures to minimize voltage disturbance

 The starting of large motor causes disturbances to locally connected

loads and to the motor itself. One effect of motor starting is voltage
dip.

 A number of schemes of reducing voltage dip during motor starting,

that is
 Reduction of terminal voltage by using an auto-transformer.
 Reduce of terminal voltage by using a star-delta switch.
 By using the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) to control the motor.

7
 Mitigation Measures On Customer side:
 Specify equipment with ride through capacity
 Properly adjust the settings of the protection for an
equipment.
 Install equipment protection device
 Constant voltage transformer
 Voltage Dip Proof Inverter
 contactor hold-in circuit
 Use a UPS for sensitive/essential load

8
 Case Study: Chiller
Problem

Voltage Dip U/V Chiller

Relay

Improper time delay setting of U/V Relay cannot over

ride the effect of Voltage Dip and causes tripping.
Precaution

Voltage Dip Chiller

U/V
Relay

Choose a suitable time delay to over ride the effect of

9
Voltage Dip.
 Voltage dip mitigation solutions

 Ferroresonant transformer (Constant-voltage transformers)

 Voltage regulator
 UPS
 Voltage dip proofing inverter
Constant Voltage
 Coil lock Voltage Dip Transformer
Proofing Inverter (CVT)
(DPI) (UPS)
$5000/kVA
$6000/kVA $7000/kVA

Coil Lock ($600/unit)

10
VOLTAGE DIP PROOF INVERTER (DPI)

 Provides a voltage ride through solution

for process controls that suffer from
voltage interruptions (including sags) less
than 3 seconds in duration
 No batteries; therefore, no replacement
and maintenance costs or hazardous
waste.
 More reliable; fast (<700µ S) transfer, off-
line system develops little heat & fails to
safety.
 Able to withstand high inrush currents;
no need to oversize as with UPS’s &
CVT’s.

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 VOLTAGE DIP PROOF INVERTER (DPI)

 To determine the size of a

DPI for an application it is
necessary to have data as
below:
 Load voltage
 Load current
 Load power factor
 Uptime required

12
 (Constant-voltage transformers)

 CVTs are especially attractive for constant, low power device.

 CVTs are excited high on their saturation curves, thereby providing an output
voltage which is not significantly affected by input voltage variations.
 As the loading increased, the corresponding ride-through capability is reduced and
when the CVTs is overloaded, the voltage will collapse to zero.
 Typically, you would want a factor of 2.5 times the measured load.

13
 Coil lock
 Literally any device that is
controlled by energizing an ac coil,
when powered through a Coil-Lock
unit will continue to operate as
intended through these power
disturbances.
 Not only does the Coil-Lock
protect the coil circuits from
voltage sags, but also has the ability
to protect coils from lightning and
switching induced transients just
like a surge suppressor.

14
 Coil lock
 The figure shows the typical
unprotected relay or contactor's
capability to ride through voltage sags
down by 15% from its nominally rated
voltage (yellow area in the figure).
 The same relay or contactor, when
protected by the Coil-Lock, will
continue to keep operating with
voltages sags down by 75% from its
nominally rated voltage (green area in
the figure).
 For voltage sags down by greater than
75%, the Coil-Lock de-energizers the
relay or contactor coil to maintain the
safety function for emergency stop
circuits (red area in the figure).

15
 Conclusion
Static Uninterruptible Power Source System

Static uninterruptible power sources (UPSs) are devices that maintain power
to the loads during loss of normal power for a duration that is a function of
the individual UPS system.

All UPS units have an input rectifier to convert the AC voltage into DC
voltage, a battery system to provide power to loads during loss of normal
power, and an inverter which converts the DC voltage of the battery to an AC
voltage suitable for the load being supplied.

Static UPS systems may be broadly classified into offline and online
units.

16
 Conclusion
Static Uninterruptible Power Source System

In the offline units, the loads are normally supplied from the primary electrical
source directly.

The primary electrical source may be utility power or an in-house generator. If

the primary power source fails, the power to the loads is switched to the
batteries and the inverter. The switching is accomplished within half of a cycle
in most UPS units, thereby allowing critical loads to continue to receive power.

During power transfer from the normal power to the batteries, the loads might
be subjected to transients. Once the loads are transferred to the batteries,
the length of time for which the loads would continue to receive power
depends on the capacity of the batteries and the amount of load.

UPS units usually can supply power for 15 to 30 min, at which time the
batteries become depleted to a level insufficient to supply the loads, and the
UPS unit shuts down.

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 Uninterruptible Power Source System (offline UPS)

18
 Conclusion
Static Uninterruptible Power Source System ( Online UPS)

In online UPS units, normal power is rectified into DC power and in turn
inverted to AC power to supply the loads. The loads are continuously
supplied from the DC bus even during times when the normal power is
available. A battery system is also connected to the DC bus of the UPS unit
and kept charged from the normal source.

When normal power fails, the DC bus is supplied from the battery system. No
actual power transfer occurs during this time, as the batteries are already
connected to the DC bus. Online units can be equipped with options such as
manual and static bypass switches to circumvent the UPS and supply power
to the loads directly from the normal source or an alternate source such as a
standby generator.

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 Static Uninterruptible Power Source System ( Online UPS)

The online UPS is the most advanced and most costly UPS. The inverter is
continuously providing clean power from the battery, and the computer
equipment is never receiving power directly from the AC outlet. However,
online units contain cooling fans, which do make noise and may require some
location planning for the home user or small office.

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Harmonics
 What is harmonics ?

Multiples of the fundamental frequency of any

periodical waveform are called Harmonics.

50Hz (Fundamental Frequency)

+
150Hz (Third Harmonic)

250Hz (Fifth Harmonic) Harmonic distortion

Some load equipment does not draw a sinusoidal current

22 from a perfectly sinusoidal voltage source!
 Harmonics vs Transients
 Harmonics are associated with the continuing operation
of load. Harmonics occur in the steady state and are
integer multiples of the fundamental frequency.

 Transient are associated with changes in the system such

as switching a capacitor bank. The natural frequencies
have no relation to the system fundamental frequency.

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 Harmonic Distortion
 Harmonic distortion is caused by non-linear devices in the power
system.

 When both the positive and negative half-cycles of a waveform have

identical shapes, the fourier series contains only odd harmonics.

 In fact, the presence of even harmonics is often a clue that there is

something wrong – either with the load equipment or with the
transducer used to make the measurement. There are notable
exceptions to this such as half-wave rectifiers and arc furnaces when
the arc is random.

24
 What is harmonic ?
 For power networks, 50 Hz (60 Hz) is the
fundamental frequency and 150 Hz (180 Hz), 250 Hz (300 Hz)
etc. are higher order harmonics viz. 3rd & 5th
 Odd Harmonics (5th, 7th… ..)
 Even Harmonics (2nd , 4th … .)
 Triplen (3rd, 9th , 15th ..)
 Inter harmonics (2.5th => 125 Hz)

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 Triplen Harmonics
 Triplen harmonics are the odd multiples of the third harmonic
(h=3,9,15,21……)
 Two typical problems are overloading the neutral and telephone interfence.
 Third-harmonics components are three times the third-harmonic-phase
currents because they naturally coincide in phase and time.
 In the wye-delta transformer, the triplen harmonics current remain trapped in
the delta side when the system is operated in balanced load condition.
 Measuring the current on the delta side of a transformer will not show the
triplens and not give a true idea of the heating the transformer is being subject
to.
 Although fed by a delta-delta connection, the third harmonics show up in the
large magnitudes in the line current when the furnace is operating in an
imbalanced state.

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 Harmonics classification
Order Group Effects

n=1 Fundamental active power

n= 6K+1, k=1,2 + sequence heating

n= 6K-1, K=1,2 - sequence heating &

motor
problems
n = 3n 0 sequence heating &
neutral
27 problems
 Harmonic frequency and Sequences
Harmonic Freq(Hz)) Sequence
order
Fundamental 50 +
3rd 150 0
5th 250 -
7th 350 +
9th 450 0
11th 550 -
13 th 650 +
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 Source of Harmonics
Harmonic Currents flowing
through the system impedance
results in Harmonic Voltage
Distortion at load

VS(t) VL(t) Normal load

Cable
Harmonic
current

Supply Load Side

Side

29 Dirty Load
 Voltage vs Current Distortion
• Nonlinear loads appear to be sources of harmonics
current and injecting the harmonic currents into the
power system.
• For nearly all analyses, it is sufficient to treat these
harmonic-producing loads simply as current sources.
• Voltage distortion is the result of distorted current
passing through the linear, series impedance of the
power delivery system. This results in voltage harmonics
appearing at the load bus.
• The amount of voltage distortion depends on the
impedance and the current.

30
 Where do the harmonics come from?
 All magnetisation non-linearities
 Transformer operating near saturation
 Higher voltage
 No load current
 Inrush current
 Arc Furnaces, ...
 Power electronics, converters, drives...
 Rectifiers
 Inverters
 Cycloconverters

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 Where do the harmonics come from?

 Arc welders
 Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)
 Fluorescent lighting systems

All non linear loads

(current response is not the same as the voltage
source).

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Examples of Harmonic load - Commercial
Load Mode Funda. Current THD-F (%) Dominating Harmonics
Computer with monitor On 0.54A 110% 3rd 58%
Laser printer Print 0.34A 113% 3rd 55%
Idle 0.11 160% 3rd 52%
Fax machine Send 0.16A 120% 3rd 87%
Print 3.74A 6% 3rd 5%
Idle 0.11A 98% 3rd 54%
Photocopier Copy 5.56A 26% 3rd 20%
Idle 0.35A 106% 5th 42%
UPS #1 Server 40A 35% 3rd 25%
UPS #2 PC 4.3A 130% 3rd 89%
Magnetic ballast w/cap On 0.21A 30% 3rd 18%
Electronic ballast #1 On 0.19A 34% 3rd 26%
Electronic ballast #2 On 0.23A 10% 3rd 9%
Sodium Lamp On 0.24A 64% 7th 44%
Compact florescent lamp On 0.1A 136% 3rd 49%
Fan coil On 8.5A 5% 5th 4.8%
Lift Run 39A 36% 5th 28%
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 Typical Harmonic Sources in Office
Switching-mode power supply:
THD 77%, 3rd 65%

34
 Typical Harmonic Sources in Office
Magnetic ballast
THD 22% , 3rd 20%

35
 Typical Harmonic Sources from Industries
DC drive :
THD 36%, 5th harmonics 33%

36
 Typical Harmonic Sources from Industries
Adjustable Speed Drive -ASDs (HVAC system):
THD 45%, 5th 40%

37
 Typical Harmonic Sources from Industries
PWM drive (no choke):
THD 131%, 5th 83%, 7th 78%

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 Typical Harmonic Sources from Industries
Single-phase power supplies
 A distinctive characteristic of switch-mode power supplies is
a very high third-harmonics content in the current.
 Since third-harmonics current components are additive in
the neutral of a three phase system, the increasing application
of switch-mode power supplier causes concern for
overloading of neutral conductors and transformer heating.

39
 Typical Harmonic Sources from Industries
Three-phase power converters –D.C Drives
 Three phase power converters differ from single phase
converter mainly because they do not generate third-
harmonics current.
 The two largest harmonic currents for the six pulse rectifier
are the 5th and the 7th.
 A 12-pulse rectifier can eliminate about 90% of the 5th and
the 7th harmonics.

40
 Impact of operating condition
 The harmonic current distortion in adjustable-speed drives is
not constant.
 For example, Speed increase, percentage of harmonics also
increase.

41
 Problems created by harmonics
 Excessive heating of device
Harmonic Distortion -> Increase of RMS
Power loss = R . I12 + (∑ In2)R -> heating
 Nuisance tripping of circuit breaker
 Increase of RMS ®Thermally
 Increase of peak ®Magnetically
 Blown fuses

42
 Problems created by harmonics

 Motor problems
Additional losses in windings & iron
(RMS increase & skin effect)
 Perturbing torques on shaft
(negative sequences harmonics)

43
 Problems created by harmonics

 Damage to electronic sensitive equipments

 Electronic communications interferences
 Excessive neutral current
(mainly zero-sequence harmonics)
 Excessive harmonic current may lead to overheating (or even
burning) of network components

44
 Problems created by harmonics
 Erratic operation of control and protection relays
 Faulty reading of kWh meters
 Capacitor problems
 Decrease of impedance with frequency
 Resonance problems
 Capacitor overload
 Capacitor problems
Due to its lower impedance, capacitors are even more
susceptible to higher order harmonics. If not designed for
harmonic duty, a capacitor may fail pretty soon

45
 Harmonic Impact on transformer
 There are three effects that result in increased transformer
heating when load current includes harmonic components.
 The increased total rms current results in increased conductor
losses.
 Eddy-current losses. This component of transformer losses
increase with the square of the frequency of the current causing
the eddy currents.
 Core losses

46
 Harmonic Impacts on motors
 Motors can be significantly impacted by the harmonic voltage
distortion. Harmonic voltage distortion at the motor
terminals is translated into harmonic flux within motor.
 Decreased effeciency, along with heating, vibration and high-
pitched noises are symptoms of harmonic voltage
distortation.

47
 Solutions to harmonic problems
• Work with the equipment manufacturer and utilities
• Specify equipment with low harmonics emission
• Properly design of passive filters
• Install active filters

48
 Solutions to harmonic problems
Active Filter

Active
Filter

 Active harmonic filters

 Filtering principle: cancellation of harmonics by equal and opposite
harmonic generation by an active filter device
49
 Active filters

Active filters are relatively new types of devices for

eliminating harmonics. They are based on sophisticated
power electronics and are much more expensive than passive
filters. However, they have the distinct advantage that they
do not resonate with the system.

50
 Active filters
The basic idea is to replace the portion of the sine wave that
is missing in the current in a nonlinear load.
An electronic control monitors the line voltage and/or
current, switching the power electronics very precisely to
track the load current or voltage and force it to be sinusoidal.

51
 Principles for Controlling Harmonics
Passive filters
 Passive filters are made of inductance, capacitance, and
resistance elements
 They are employed either to shunt the harmonic current
off the line or to block their flow between parts of the
system by tuning the elements to create a resonance at a
selected harmonic frequency.

52
 Example 2: Refer to the equivalent circuit as below.
 System line-to-line voltage ( VLL)=13.8 kV
 The offending harmonic current ih of the fifth order, and it has been
measured to be 10 A.
 The size of the capacitor bank is 800 kVar. The determination of filter
components should be based on the maximum system voltage 13.8 kV.

L
Harmonic
VLL ~ Source
C

Shunt Filter
53
  The capacitive reactance can be determined by using the
formula Xch= V2/(Qh), where
 h=harmonic order; and
 Xch=capacitive reactance at harmonic order h
 Capacitive reactance at the fundamental frequency (60Hz):
Xc1=13.8kV2/800 kVar=238.05 Ω
C = 1/(2πf Xc) = 1/(2π60 238.05) =11.14 uF
 Capacitive reactance at the fifth harmonic (300Hz):
Xc5=Xc1/5 = 47.61 Ω

54
  For the filter to be tuned at the fifth harmonic, the capacitive reactance
(Xc5) should be equal to the inductive reactance (XL5), thus
Xc5 = XL5 = 47.61 Ω
 The reactance of the reactor at the fundamental frequency is given by
XL1= XL5/5 = 9.522 Ω
XL1= 2πfL
L = 9.522/2πf = 0.025 H
 The thermal load on the reactor. The filter reactor must be capable of
carrying the total rms current, fundamental plus harmonics without
overheating.
 The peak voltage across the capacitor.

55
  To determine the amount of current that the filter will have to handle,
Ic1=VLL/(XL1-Xc1) =13800/(9.522 -238.05 ) = 60.386A
The total rms current through the reactor is
IL=√(I1)2+(I5)2 = √(60.386)2+(10)2 =61.2A

 The worst-case condition will be assumed for the peak voltage across the
capacitor: the fundamental and harmonic components are in phase with
each other; therefore, the peak voltage across the capacitor is the
arithmetic sum of the peak fundamental and the peak fifth harmonic
voltage.

56
  The fundamental component of the voltage across the
capacitor:
Vc1 = Xc1Ic1 = (238.05)(60.386) = 14373.9 V
Vc5 = Xc5Ic5 = (47.61)(10) = 476.1 V
 The peak voltage across the capacitor:
Vp = √2(Vc1+Vc5) = √2(14373.9+476.1)
 Based on applicable capacitor standards, capacitors should
be capable of withstanding 120% of rated voltage. Thus,
the capacitor should be capable of withstanding
= 1.2 x √2 x (14850) = 25201 V.

57
 Total Harmonic Distortion
 The formula for Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) is:-



 hI 2
I 2  I 3  I 4  ...
2 2 2
h2
%THD  100%  100%
I1 I1

58
 Total Harmonic Distortion
h max
2
 V
For Voltage h=2 h
THD =
V1

2 h max
Rms = V1 x 1+ THD =  V
2

h=1 h
 THD can provide a good idea of how much extra heat will be realized
when a distorted voltage is applied across a resistive load.
 However, it is not a good indicator of the voltage stress within
capacitor because that is related to the peak value of the voltage
waveform.
59
 Existing CLP Supply Rules – Current

Type of Distortion Type of Abnormal Load Operational Limit

Harmonic Current Other Non-linear 1.At 380V/220V

Distortion Equipment with size ‘I’ in Total odd harmonic distortion:
Ampere I < 30A 20%
30A=I<300A 15%
300A=I<600A 12%
600A=I<1500A 8%
I  1500A 5%
total even harmonic distortion:
25% of the odd harmonic
limits

60
 Existing CLP Supply Rules (Voltage)
Type of Distortion Type of Abnormal Load Operational Limit

Harmonic Voltage Electric arc furnace •At 132kV or above

Distortion odd harmonic distortion 1%
total harmonic distortion 1.5%

•At 66kV or 33kV

odd harmonic distortion 2%
total harmonic distortion 3%

•At 11kV
odd harmonic distortion 3%
total harmonic distortion 4%

61
 Maximum allowable THD
 In case of motor circuits using VSDs, group compensation at
the sub-main panel or MCC is allowed, provided that the
maximum allowable 5th harmonic current distortion at the
VSD input terminals during operation within the variable
speed range is < 35%.

62