EE E4- 515- Power Quality and Demand Side Management
Transients-used in the analysis of power system to
denote an event that is undesirable and momentary in
nature.
- “that part of the change in a variable that
disappears during transitions from one
steady state operating condition to another.”
Surge- transient resulting from a lightning stroke for
which a surge arrester is used for protection.
Categories of transient
Impulsive transient- a sudden, non-power frequency
change in the steady-state condition of the voltage,
current, or both that is unidirectional in polarity
(primarily either positive or negative)
- Characterized by their rise and decay times
- Most common example is lightning.
- Can excite the natural frequency of power
system circuits and produce oscillatory
transients.
Oscillatory Transients- a sudden, non-power
frequency change in the steady-state condition of the
voltage, current, or both that includes positive and
negative values.
- Frequency ranges:
o High Frequency transient-result from
a local system response to an
impulsive transient; over 500kHz
o Medium Frequency Transient-result of
a system response to an impulsive
transient;5-500kHz
o Low Frequency Transient-encountered
on utility subtransmission and
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distribution systems and is caused by
many types of events.
- Also generally associated with
ferroresonance and transformer energization
- Categories according to their mode:
o Common Mode-appears between line
or neutral and ground
o Normal Mode- appears between line
and neutral
Long-duration Voltage Variation- encompass root-
mean-square(rms) deviations at power frequencies for
longer than 1 min.
- Caused by load variations on the system and
system switching operations.
- Typically displayed as rms voltage over time
Overvoltage- increase in the rms ac voltage greater
than 110 percent at the power frequency for a
duration longer than 1 min.
- Usually a result of load switching, incorrect
tap setting on transformers
- Was the result because either the system is
too weak for the desired voltage regulation
or voltage controls are inadequate.
Undervoltage-decrease in the rms ac voltage to less
than 90 percent at the power frequency for a duration
longer than 1 min.
- Switching events that are opposite of the
events that cause overvoltages.
- Brownout-used to describe sustained
periods of undervoltage initiated as specific
utility dispatch strategy to reduce power
demand
Sustained Interruptions- when the supply voltage
has been zero for a period of time in excess of 1 min.
- Refers to a specific power system
phenomena and, in general, has no relation
to the usage of the term outage
- Outage-the state of a component in a system
that has failed to function as expected.
- Interruption-absence of voltage for long
periods
 EE E4- 515- Power Quality and Demand Side Management
Short Duration Voltage Variations-caused by fault
conditions, the energization of large loads which
require high starting currents, or intermittent loose
connections in power wiring.
- Fault can cause either temporary voltage
drops(sags), voltage rises(swells), or
complete loss of voltage (interruptions)
Interruption-when the supply voltage or load current
decreases to less than 0.1 pu for a period of time not
exceeding 1min.
- Result of power system faults, equipment
failures, and control malfunctions
- Measured by duration
- Preceded by a voltage sag when these
interruptions are due to faults on the source
system.
- Usually associated with system faults but
can also be caused by energization of heavy
loads or starting of large motors
Sags-decrease to between 0.1 and 0.9 pu in rms
voltage or current at the power frequency for
durations from 0.5 cycle to 1 min.
- Short duration voltage decrease.
- Usually associated with system faults but
can also be caused by energizations of heavy
loads or starting of large motors.
- Power factor decreases when the motor
starts.
- Categories of sags:
o Instanteneous
o Momentary
o Temporary
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Swells- increase to between 1.1 to 1.8 in rms voltage
or current at low frequency for durations from 0.5 to
1 min,
- Occurs from the temporary voltage rise on
the unfaulted phases during SLG fault.
- Characterized by their magnitude (Rms
value) and duration.
Voltage Imbalance- the maximum deviation from
the average of the three phase voltages or currents,
divided by the average of the three-phase voltages or
currents expressed in percent.
- The primary source of voltage unbalances of
less than 2 percent is single-phase loads on a
three-phase circuit.
- -result of blown fuses in one phase of a
three-phase capacitor bank.
Waveform Distortion-steady state deviation to form
an ideal sine wave of power frequency principally
characterized by the spectral content of the deviation.
DC Offset- dc voltage or current in an ac power
system
- Occur as the result of a geomagnetic
disturbance or asymmetry of electronic
power converters.
- Occurs due to inductive nature
- Non-zero offset.
 EE E4- 515- Power Quality and Demand Side Management
Harmonics- sinusoidal voltages that are integer
multiples of the frequency at which the supply system
is designed to operate
- Total Demand Distortion-
- Total Harmonic Distortion -
Interharmonics-voltages or currents having a
frequency components that are not integer multiples
of the frequency at which the supply system is
designed to operate.
- Static frequency converters, cycloconverters,
induction furnaces, and arcing devices,
power line carrier signaling and induce
visual flicker in fluorescent and other arc
lighting as well as computer display devices.
- Result of frequency conversion that varies
with load.
- Interharmonic frequency becomes
coincident with natural frequencies of the
system.
Notching- a periodic voltage disturbance caused by
the normal operation of power electronic devices
when current is commutated from one-phase to
another
- Occurs continuously, it can be characterized
through the harmonic spectrum of the
affected voltage
- Occur when the current commutates
- from one phase to another, the momentary
short circuit between two phases, pulling the
voltage as close to zero as permitted by the
system impedances.
- Glitch
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Noise-unwnted electrical signals with broadband
spectral content lower than 200Hz superimposed
upon the power system voltage or current in phase
conductors, or found on neutral conductors or signal
lines.
- Caused by power electronic deviced, control
circuits, arcing equipment, load with solid
state rectifiers, and switching power
supplies.
- Often exacerbated by improper grounding
that fails to conduct noise away from the
power system
- Consists of any unwanted distortion of the
power signal that cannot be classified as
harmonic distortion or transients.
- The problem can be mitigated by using
filters, isolation transformers, abd line
condiotioners.
Voltage Fluctuations- systematic variations of the
voltage envelope or a series of random voltage
changes, the magnitude of which does not normally
exceed the voltage ranges specified by ANSI C84.1
of 0.9 to 1.1 pu.
- Flicker-loads that can exhibit continuous,
rapid variations in the load current
magnitude can cause voltage variations that
are often referred to as flicker.\
o Derived from the impact of the
voltage fluctuation on lamps such that
they are perceived by the human eye
to flicker
o Undesirable result of fluctuation in
some loads
- Voltage Fluctuation- electromagnetic
phenomenon