CONTENTS

STATIC VAR COMPENSATORS

SVCs are used for
Types of SVC and Controllers
SVC Control Characteristics
Modelling of SVC

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STATIC VAR COMPENSATORS

If the system has to operate close to stability limits in

steady state, (with minimum margins), fast control of
reactive power is essential.
In recent years, thyristor controlled static var
compensators are being used for fast reactive power
control.

SVCs are used for

1.
2.

Increasing power transfer in long lines

Stability improvement (both steady state and transient)
with fast acting voltage regulation
3.
Damping of low frequency oscillations (corresponding
to electromechanical modes)
4.
Damping of subsynchronous frequency oscillations
(due to torsional modes)
5.
Control of dynamic over voltages
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Types of SVC and Controllers

Three basic types of SVCs
1.
Variable impedance type
2.
Current source type
3.
Voltage source type

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SVC Control Characteristics

The voltage is measured at the high voltage side of the

transformer (or network bus) feeding the SVC and the
current is the reactive current, considered to be positive
when SVC is inductive (absorbing reactive power).
In the control range, the SVC voltage is not maintained
constant. The slope of the control characteristics is
positive (3 to 5%) and helps in (a) stable parallel operation
of more than one SVC connected at the same or
neighbouring buses and (b) prevent SVC hitting the limits
too frequently.

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ES

Capacitive

Inductive

ISVC

Figure 1. Steady state control characteristics of variable impedance SVC

The reference voltage of the SVC is chosen such that, under

normal operating conditions, SVC delivers close to zero
reactive power so that the full control range of SVC is
available for use whenever there is a transient.
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Figure 2: Equivalent circuit for SVC in control range

It is to be noted that when the SVC hits the capacitive limit, it

behaves like a fixed capacitor. Similarly, when it hits the
inductive limit, it behaves as a fixed inductor. In the control
range, the SVC can be modelled as a nonlinear voltage source
Es in series with a fictitious, fixed inductor Xs.
The phase angle of the voltage source is same as that of the
bus voltage Vs.
The value of the inductor is related to the slope of the
control characteristic.

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Modelling of SVC
For steady state analysis, it is adequate to model the steady state control
characteristics of SVC. Even for transient stability studies, where low
frequency phenomena are of interest, and AC network transients are
neglected, steady state representation of SVC may be adequate as a first
approximation. However to model the damping contribution of SVC, it is
necessary to consider the dynamics of SVC controller.
The output of SVC is a time-varying susceptance Bsvc. The inclusion of
this in the network results in a time varying admittance matrix which can be
problematic.
This equivalent has to be updated at every time step when SVC current
is to be calculated.

Figure 3: Model
of SVC controller
REFERENCES :
[ 1 ] K.R. Padiyar : Power System Dynamics : Stability and Control , 2nd edition, BS
Publications, 2002.
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CONCLUSIONS

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THANK YOU

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