Power Quality Lab Manual (EE-801)
Power Quality Lab Manual (EE-801)
Power Quality Lab Manual (EE-801)
Power Quality –
Power quality is the ability of a power grid to supply power to the consumers efficiently and it
also expresses the ability of equipment to consume the power being supplied to it. In technical terms,
power quality is the measure, study and enhancement of sinusoidal waveform at the rated voltage and
frequency.
Power quality can have a big impact on the performance and cost of a power system. So, it is
essential to make sure that the power being consumed by the system is of right quality and the system is
compatible to function with the power delivered to it. Nowadays consumers have become well aware of
power quality, that’s why many governments have revised their policies to force electric utilities for
making sure the power quality according to the designed standards. Also the modern equipment is more
sensitive to any changes in power quality. Manufacturers, utilities and consumers all are concerned about
power quality and this concern is increasing day by day.
Power Quality is “Any power problem manifested in voltage, current, or frequency deviations
those results in failure or misoperation of customer equipments”
Long interruptions –
Description: Total interruption of electrical supply for duration greater than 1 to 2 seconds Causes:
Equipment failure in the power system network, storms and objects (trees, cars, etc) striking lines or
poles, fire, human error, bad coordination or failure of protection devices. Consequences: Stoppage of all
equipment.
Voltage spike –
Description: Very fast variation of the voltage value for durations from a several microseconds to few
milliseconds. These variations may reach thousands of volts, even in low voltage. Causes: Lightning,
switching of lines or power factor correction capacitors, disconnection of heavy loads. Consequences:
Destruction of components (particularly electronic components) and of insulation materials, data
processing errors or data loss, electromagnetic interference.
Voltage swell –
Description: Momentary increase of the voltage, at the power frequency, outside the normal tolerances,
with duration of more than one cycle and typically less than a few seconds. Causes: Start/stop of heavy
loads, badly dimensioned power sources, badly regulated transformers (mainly during off-peak hours).
Consequences: Data loss, flickering of lighting and screens, stoppage or damage of sensitive equipment,
if the voltage values are too high.
Harmonic distortion –
Description: Voltage or current waveforms assume non-sinusoidal shape. The waveform corresponds to
the sum of different sine-waves with different magnitude and phase, having frequencies that are multiples
of power-system frequency. Causes: Classic sources: electric machines working above the knee of the
magnetization curve (magnetic saturation), arc furnaces, welding machines, rectifiers, and DC brush
motors. Modern sources: all non-linear loads, such as power electronics equipment including ASDs,
switched mode power supplies, data processing equipment, high efficiency lighting. Consequences:
Increased probability in occurrence of resonance, neutral overload in 3-phase systems, overheating of all
cables and equipment, loss of efficiency in electric machines, electromagnetic interference with
communication systems, errors in measures when using average reading meters, nuisance tripping of
thermal protections.
Voltage fluctuation –
Description: Oscillation of voltage value, amplitude modulated by a signal with frequency of 0 to 30 Hz.
Causes: Arc furnaces, frequent start/stop of electric motors (for instance elevators), oscillating loads.
Consequences: Most consequences are common to under voltages. The most perceptible consequence is
the flickering of lighting and screens, giving the impression of unsteadiness of visual perception.
Voltage Unbalance –
Description: A voltage variation in a three-phase system in which the three voltage magnitudes or the
phase angle differences between them are not equal. Causes: Large single-phase loads (induction
furnaces, traction loads), incorrect distribution of all single-phase loads by the three phases of the system
(this may be also due to a fault). Consequences: Unbalanced systems imply the existence of a negative
sequence that is harmful to all threephase loads. The most affected loads are three-phase induction
machines.
Experiment – 3
Discuss the Methods of Alleviation Sag
Voltage sags or dips can be alleviated by cooperation of the utility, end-user and the equipment
manufacturer in order to reduce the number and severity of its effects and to reduce the sensitivity of
equipment to such problem.
1. Incorporate voltage sag ride-through capability into the equipment. This is generally the less costly
and best solution. Tips on ensuring voltage sag ride-through are as follows:
Equipment manufacturers should have voltage sag ride-through capability curves available to
their customers, who should begin to demand these types of curves to be made available so that
they can properly evaluate the equipment.
The company procuring new equipment should establish a procedure that rates the importance of
the equipment. If the equipment is critical in nature, the company must make sure that
adequate ride-through capability is included when the equipment is purchased.
Equipment should at least be able to ride through voltage sags with a minimum voltage of 70
percent (ITIC curve). A more ideal ride-through capability for short-duration voltage sags would
be 50 percent, as specified by the semiconductor industry in SEMI F-47.
2. Apply an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system or some other type of power conditioning to the
machine control. This is applicable when the machines themselves can withstand the sag or
interruption, but the controls would automatically shut them down.
3. Backup power supply with the capability to support the load for a brief period.
4. Utility power system improvements to significantly reduce the number of sags and interruptions (e.g.
replacement of relays).
Experiment – 4
Discuss Various FACTS Controllers for Power Quality Improvement
Static Var Compensator (SVC) Static Var Compensator or SVC is a shunt connected FACTS controller
that can adjusts its output to exchange capacitive or inductive currents thereby generating or absorbing
reactive power so as to control power system parameters such as bus voltage. It provides bus bar voltage
stabilization and damping of power system oscillations. SVCs are usually applied by utilities in
transmission applications for many purposes among which is rapid voltage control at weak points in
electrical power system network . SVC is of two types,
Thyristor Controlled Reactor, TCR
Thyristor Switched Capacitor, TSC
Fixed Capacitor Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR) This is a shunt connected thyristor
controlled inductor whose effective reactance can be varied continuously by partial conduction control of
the thyristor value. FC-TCR consists of a capacitor in parallel with a thyristor controlled reactor. It is a
reactive power compensation device capable of providing continuous lagging and leading VARs to the
system. In the figure shown below, Is is the system current, Ir is the reactor current and Ic is the capacitor
current. The function of the capacitor, C is to supply leading VAR to the system whereas the supply of
lagging VAR can be achieved by rating the TCR larger than the capacitor
Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC) This is a capacitance reactance compensator that
comprises of a series capacitor bank shunted by a thyristor controlled reactor that provides a smoothly
variable series capacitive reactance. TCSC consists of a series reactor shunted by a thyristor controlled
reactor to provide a smooth variable series inductive reactance. It is thus an inductive reactance
compensator that combines a thyristor controlled reactor and a capacitor to control capacitive reactance.
The reactor control is achieved by controlling the firing angle of the thyristor.
Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) This is a static synchronous generator operated as
a shunt connected static VAR compensator whose capacitive or inductive output current can be controlled
independent of the a.c system voltage. It is a member of GTO based FACTS family. It is a shunt
connected reactive power compensation device that can regulate bus voltage at the point of common
coupling (PCC). STATCOM can control the electric power system parameters by generating or absorbing
reactive power.
Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) A static synchronous generator operated without
an external electric energy source as a series compensator whose output voltage is in quadriture with, and
controllable independently of, the line current for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the overall
reactive voltage drop across the line and thereby controlling the transmitted electric power. The SSSC
may include transiently rated energy storage or energy absorbing devices to enhance the dynamic
behavior of the power system by additional temporary active power compensation, to increase or decrease
momentarily, the overall active (resistive) voltage drop across the line.
Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) As the name implies, this FACTS device is capable of
controlling all power parameters, namely; voltage, phase angle, impedance, power factor, real and
reactive power. It can therefore be used for the enhancement of real and reactive power flow, steady state
stability as well as dynamic stability among others. A UPFC is made up of two VSCs that are coupled
through a common d.c link that provides bidirectional flow of real power the two outputs, - shunt
STATCOM and series SSSC.
Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) DVR is a series connected FACTS device used for voltage
regulation especially across sensitive loads. A typical DVR consists of a VSC with an energy storage
connected to the d.c link. The VSC is connected in series with the power network by means of a series-
connected injection transformer and coupling filters. DVR is used as a protection device to sensitive
equipments and critical loads against electrical disturbances such as voltage dip.
Experiment – 5
Discuss Harmonics its Causes & Consequences
Harmonics are described by IEEE as sinusoidal voltages or currents having frequencies that are integer
multiples of the fundamental frequency at which the power system is designed to operate. This means that
for a 60-Hz system, the harmonic frequencies are 120 Hz (2nd harmonic), 180 Hz (3rd harmonic) and so
on. Harmonics combine with the fundamental voltage or current producing a non-sinusoidal shape, thus, a
waveform distortion power quality problem. The non-sinusoidal shape corresponds to the sum of different
sine waves with different magnitudes and phase angles, having frequencies that are multiples of the
system frequency.
Harmonic distortion levels can be characterized by the complete harmonic spectrum with
magnitudes and phase angles of each individual harmonic component. It is also common to use the Total
Harmonic Distortion (THD), as a measure of the effective value of harmonic distortion. It has become an
increasing concern for many end-users and for the overall power system because of the growing
application of power electronics equipment. Protection from high levels of harmonics includes isolation
or modification of the source, phase multiplication, pulse width modulator (PWM) and application of
passive or active harmonic filters.
Causes
Harmonics exists due to the nonlinear characteristics loads and devices on the electrical power system.
These devices can be modeled as current sources that inject harmonic currents into the electrical system.
Consequently, voltage distortion is created as these currents produce nonlinear voltage drops across the
system impedance.
Prior to the proliferation of power electronic equipment, harmonics are commonly caused by
electric machines working above the knee of the magnetization curve (magnetic saturation), arc furnaces,
welding machines, rectifiers, and DC brush motors. Today, all non-linear loads, such as power electronics
equipment including Switched Mode Power Supplies (SMPS), Adjustable Speed Drives (ASD), high
efficiency lighting and data processing equipment.
Consequences
Harmonics primarily result to significant overheating of equipment, cables and wires. Other consequences
of having a high harmonic level in the system include the following:
PQ parameters required to be measured are specified in various Standards. Some of the International
Standards on PQ are listed as below:
IEEE Standard 519-2014: IEEE Recommended Practice and Requirements for Harmonic Control
in Electric Power Systems
BS EN 50160:2010: Voltage characteristics of electricity supplied by public electricity networks
IEC 61000-4-30: Testing and measurement techniques – Power quality measurement methods IEC
61000- 4-15: For Flicker
IEEE Standard 1159: IEEE Recommended Practice for Monitoring Electric Power Quality
IEEE Standard 1250: IEEE Guide for Identifying and Improving Voltage Quality in Power
Systems
CIGRE Report 596 - Joint Working Group CIGRE/CIRED C4. 112: Guidelines for Power Quality
Monitoring – Measurement Location, Processing and Presentation of Data
IEC61000-3-6:1998 – Assessment of emission limits for distorting loads in MV and HV power
systems
IEC 61000-3-3:2001 – Limitation of voltage changes, voltage fluctuations and flicker in public low
voltage power systems, for equipment with rated current ≤ 16A per phase
IEC 61000-3-11:2001 –Limitation of voltage changes, voltage fluctuations and flicker in public
low voltage power systems, for equipment with rated current ≤ 75A per phase
IEC 61000-3-12:2005 – Limits of harmonic currents produced by equipment connected to public
low voltage power systems, with input current >16A and
Frequency deviations The main cause of frequency variations is unbalance between generation and the
demand. There were wide variations in system frequency prior to introduction of Availability Based
Tariff (ABT) in India. Due to grid indiscipline by State entities in Indian transmission system, the
frequency was not stable. CERC in exercising its power under the Act has taken number of steps to
improve frequency profile in the grid over the time. The frequency band has been tightened from 0.5 Hz
(49.7-50.2) to 0.15 Hz (49.9-50.05) by amending the Grid Code by CERC.
Harmonics Another important aspect of power quality is Harmonics. Voltage or current
waveforms are normally sinusoidal in shape of fundamental frequency (50 Hz) but get distorted due to
nonlinear loads connected at user end. An important result of the increase of harmonic distortion is the
increase of losses in the network. Harmonics also cause overheating of electrical equipment and cause
interference with communication system. The amount of voltage harmonics often depends upon the
amount of harmonics current drawn by the load, and the 3CEA Grid Standards Regulation 46 Report on
Power Quality of Electricity Supply to Consumers source impedance.
Voltage variations and Flicker Equipment or devices that exhibit continuous, rapid load current
variations (mainly in the reactive component) can cause voltage fluctuations and light flicker.
Overloading conditions in distribution network cause voltage variations resulting in increased losses and
faults in the network. Voltage variations may also cause nuisance tripping and stress electrical and
electronic equipment which leads to their reduced performance. Flicker affects the production
environment by causing personnel fatigue and lower work concentration levels.
Voltage unbalance Voltage unbalance is caused by faulty operation of power factor correction
equipment, unevenly distributed single-phase loads, unidentified single-phase to ground faults, an open
circuit on the system primary, large single-phase loads (induction furnaces, traction loads), etc. The main
effect of voltage unbalance is motor damage from excessive heat.
Voltage dips and swells Voltage sags are caused by system faults, faults in consumer‟s
installation, abrupt switching in of heavy loads, start-up of large motors, etc. It may result into
malfunction of microprocessor-based control systems that may lead to a process stoppage, tripping of
contactors and electromechanical relays etc. On the other hand, voltage swells are caused by the
disconnection of a very large load, switching of large capacitor banks and switching of long transmission
lines etc.
Voltage Transient Transient voltages are short duration oscillatory or impulse over voltages
usually highly damped and with duration of few ms or in microseconds. These are caused by lightning,
arcing, switching or blowing of fuses. Capacitor switching is the most common cause of an oscillatory
transient and Lightning is the most common cause of impulsive transients. Transients affect equipment in
transmission/distribution system badly. At present there is no limits prescribed for voltage transients in
any Standards in India. The International standards prescribe the limits for Mains Signalling voltage.
A voltage interruption is the complete loss of electric voltage or a drop to less than 10% of
nominal voltage. Voltage interruptions may be further defined as instantaneous, momentary, temporary &
sustained. Short duration interruption for a time period less than 0.5 cycle is termed as instantaneous
interruption whereas interruption between 0.5 cycles and 3 seconds is called momentary interruption and
between 3 seconds and 1 min is known as temporary interruption. Long duration or sustained interruption
is complete loss of voltage for a time greater than 1 min.
Experiment – 7
Discuss the Monitoring and Reporting of The Power Quality