DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

ENGINEERING
PADMASRI Dr B V RAJU INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY
Narsapur, Medak 502313
Affiliated to J N T U (Hyderabad-72)

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the technical report entitled “PUMPING MODES OF AN

HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER STATION”
has been submitted by B VAMSHI KRISHNA (07211A0255) in partial
fulfillment of the requirements of the award of Degree of Bachelor of Technology in
ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING from Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University, Hyderabad. The results embodied in this project have not
been submitted to any other university or Institution of the award of any Degree or
Diploma.

Project Guide External Examiner Head of the Department

(Signature) (Signature) (Signature)

 TECHNICAL REPORT
ON
“PUMPING MODES OF AN HYDRO ELECTRIC
POWERSTATION”

“Electrical and Electronics Engineering”

BVRIT

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of degree of

Bachelor of Technology in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
by …..
B VAMSHI
KRISHNA (07211A0243)

Report on
“PUMPING MODES OF AN HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER
STATION”

Submitted to
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS
ENGINEERING

“PADMASRI Dr B V RAJU INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY”

Vishnupur
 ABSTRACT
Srisailam Left Bank is the only one pumped storage plant across AP where the synchronous
machine acts as an alternator (in generating mode) and as a Synchronous motor (Pump
mode). In these project different modes of pumping adopted in srisailam left bank hydro
electric station and the importance of pumping in grid system. Also in this project various
consequences that may occur due to the operation of thyristors in SFC mode. The
advantages and dis-advantages of each system is studied in detail. Finally the sequence of
operation in both generating and pumping mode is studied.

1.Introduction:

The chief requirement for hydro electric station is the availability of water in huge quantity
at sufficient head and this requirement can be met by constructing dam across a river or
lake. An artificial storage reservoir is formed by constructing a dam across a river and a
pressure tunnel is taken off from reservoir to the valve house at the starting of the penstock.
But in srisailam left bank does not have a any valve instead only one head race tunnel (HRT)
runs for 350m of 15m diameter of horse shoe type. The HRT will divide in to two PRESUURE
SHAFTS of 12m diameter which will run for 150m. To increase the potential energy of the
water, the pressure shafts are inclined at a gradient of 1:1. Further the each limb of pressure
shafts will terminate in to three penstocks of diameter 6m. Hence total number of penstocks
are 6 (SIX) in number.

1.1Classification of hydro plants:

According to the load supplied, hydro electric stations may be classified in to

i) Base load plants: The plants which can take up the load on the base portion of
load curve of power system are called base load power plants. Such plants
usually of large capacity. Since such plants are kept running practically on the
load that is practically constant, load factor of such plants is therefore high.

ii) Peak load plants: Plants used to supply the peak load of the system corresponding
to the load at the top portion of the load curve are called the peak load plants.
Runoff river plants with pondage can be employed as peak load plants.

iii) Pumped storage plants: This is unique design of peak load plant in which the plant
pumps back all or a portion of its water supply during low load period. The usual
construction is a tail water pond and head water pond connected through a
penstock

1.2Advantages of pumped storage plants:

 The first and foremost advantage is in the flexibility it imparts to the power system

 Units are designed to increase the generation to full output even in one minute or
even less

 The pumped storage plant can be used for storing surplus energy in upper reservoirs
having enough live capacity for seasonal storage.
  Units can be used as spinning reserve in the system enabling finer frequency
regulation.

2.About Srisailam Left Bank Hydro Electric station:

The river Krishna is one of the major river systems in peninsular India and its basin has been
and continues to be the cradle of civilization since ancient times. Srisailam and
Nagarjunasagar dams constructed one below the other on this river form two of the largest
man made lakes with a combined gross storage of over 663 TMCft (18,774 million cubic
meters). Such a system of two large reservoirs in cascade (one below the other) is unique.
This affords development of Hydel Power in the conventional as well as pumped storage
mode.
Srisailam Dam forms the upper reservoir with a gross storage of 263.6345
TMCft (7,465 million cubic meters). This dam has been constructed as part of Srisailam
Hydro Electric Project comprising the dam and a power station on the right bank with an
installation of 7 Nos.Hydel units each of 110 MW. This power station is presently in
operation and contributes about 2900 million units of energy every year, depending on
water availability in the reservoir. Though originally conceived mainly as a Hydro Electric
Project, irrigation projects have since been formulated and taken up for execution to draw
water from Srisailam reservoir and feed parched lands in draught prone districts of
Rayalaseema.

Nagarjunasagar dam, which is about 100 KMs down stream of the river from
Srisailam, forms the lower reservoir with a gross storage of 400 TMCft. Taking advantage of
location of two large reservoirs one below the other, another project namely Srisailam Left
Bank Power Station Project has been formulated for development of peaking power by the
principle of pumped storage operation. Srisailam Left Bank Power Station project is a totally
under ground power station with an installed capacity of 6 Nos. each of 150 MW reversible
type pump turbine motor generating units. This power station will facilitate mopping up of
surplus off-peak thermal power in the system to supply it during peak hours. In addition it
will also generate cheap conventional energy with monsoon surplus flows in the river.
Stabilization of the grid and improving voltage are the additional advantages.

2.1Advantages of Pumped storage Plants:-

 The first and fore most advantage is in the flexibility it imparts to the power
system.

 Units are designed to increase the generation to full-output / capacity even in one
minute or even less.

 The pumped storage plant can be used for storing surplus energy in upper reservoirs
having enough live-capacity for seasonal storage.

 The PLF of Thermal Power Stations can be improved by providing demand to the
power system during night-time by taking pumping power.

 Units can be used as spinning reserves in the system enabling finer frequency
regulation.

 In addition to the above, these units can be operated as synchronous condensers for
supplying reactive power (MVAR) and for meeting the increased Peaking
Demands.
 There are two methods employed in the Srisailam Left Bank Hydro Electric Station for
operating synchronous machine in motoring mode. They are:

1) Back to back method

2) Static frequency convertor system

3.BACK to BACK system:

In the back to back method by operating one machine as a generator we are making
another machine to work as a motor. Under normal situations to start a machine as a
generator we open 20% of the wicked gates in a short period of time and after the machine
attaining synchronous speed we provide excitation. But in back to back mode of operation to
obtain variable frequency variable voltage from the machine we open the wicked gates very
slowly and we increase the excitation very slowly. So another machine which acts as a
motor will attain synchronous speed from zero speed.

4.Static Frequency Convertor system:

In static frequency converter method we will obtain Variable Frequency Variable Voltage
supply from Fixed Frequency Fixed Voltage supply by using thyristor modules. Fixed
Frequency fixed voltage supply first rectified into d.c by using converter circuit and then it is
converted into variable frequency variable voltage supply by using inverter circuit. After the
machine attaining the synchronous speed the static frequency converter equipment will be
disconnected and the machine is directly connected to the supply. Now we can use the
same S.F.C equipment to start another machine as a motor.
5.SINGLE LINE DIAGRAM OF S.F.C.
The general single line diagram of Static Frequency Converter (SFC) is as shown in the
figure.
 Single Line Diagram
13.8 KV BUS
52S

Dyn11
18.5MVA

10KV,10KA
SS

CONVERTER

21 KV
1000A DCR

INVERTER

SS
10KV,10KA
13.8 KV ACR
800 A
52S12

89S11 89S12

U#1 U#2 U#3 U#4 U#5 U#6

The various equipment used in SFC include

a) POWER EQUIPMENT
o Breakers (Source and load breakers)
o Isolation transformer
o DC link reactor
 o AC reactor
b) POWER ELECTRONIC DEVICES
o Rectifier (Converter)
o Inverter
All these equipments are discussed in detail in the chapters to be followed

POWER EQUIPMENT

As mentioned earlier, the various power equipment used in S.F.C. are discussed in this
chapter.

SF6 circuit breaker (Source and load breakers):

Description:

The cubicle is divided into four compartments as follows:

a) Breaker Compartment

b) Bus bar compartment

c) Cable compartment

d) LV compartment

Breaker Compartment:

Breaker compartment is completely enclosed on all sides.

Shutters, which operate with the movement of the draw out truck

Cover the fixed disconnect contacts isolating the breaker

Compartment. This allows the safety of working inside the breaker compartment after the
removal of the draw out truck.

A guide rolls easy and accurate positioning of the module

Truck to enable the proper matching with the fixed disconnecting contacts.

In the compartment, the circuit breaker truck has two operating positions, namely
'Service' and 'Test'. In the 'Service' position both the primary and the secondary disconnects
are engaged. In the test position only the secondary disconnects provided through plug,
socket and engage.

On removal of the plug from the socket, the test position serves as 'disconnected'
position of the module truck with its door closed. A finger contact block mounted at the
bottom of the mobile truck ensures earthing of the truck in 'Service' position and during
withdrawal till the disconnection of the primary disconnects.

Breakers of the same rating are interchangeable in their

Cubicles.

Mechanical Interlocks:
1. Prevent disconnection of the mobile truck from service position because of the
electrodynamics throw off the forces under the short circuit conditions.

2. Prevent insertion and the withdrawal of the mobile truck when the circuit breaker is
closed (no risk of disconnection on load).

3. Forbid access to live parts when the circuit breaker is Withdrawn out of the cubicle. This is
ensured by the safety Shutters, actuated by the movement of the truck. Manual operation of
the shutters is possible in the case of Inspection or maintenance.

Cable Connection Compartment:

This compartment houses bottom fixed disconnecting housings and a set of wound
primary/bar primary current transformers. This compartment provides the required space for
cable box suitable for paper insulated cables, insulated cables, PVC, XLPE cables or epoxy
resin cable termination kits.

Low Voltage Compartment:

This cubicle has a separate low voltage compartment located at front top zone of the
equipment incorporating the auxiliary low voltage equipment such as meters, relays,
indicating lamps, switches etc. All the equipments required for particular feeder are
accommodated on front hinged door of LV compartment.

Bus bar Compartment:

Bus bar compartment is located at the rear top side of the

Cubicle. This compartment is completely separated from other.

Compartments of the cubicle, but in a switchboard it is a running compartment. Bus bars are
mounted on epoxy resin bushings which connect the bus bar to fixed disconnects and also
acts as a support insulator for the bulbar. The bus bars are air insulated with adequate
clearances to the earth and between phases. The bus bars are aluminum/copper flats
depending on the current rating.

The earthing bus bar is mounted on the rear side of this

Compartment. This is connected to fixed earthing contact of the breaker compartment by a

copper flat.

Circuit Breaker Flat:

The moving position is a rigid truck which carries a circuit breaker along with its
operating mechanism and the mobile disconnecting contacts. The truck also supports the
interlocking components, mobile secondary auxiliary contacts (flexible conduit with plug),
and the earthing contacts of the mobile position.

52S and 52S12 are source and load breakers respectively, which are SF6 circuit
breakers.

CONTROL:

The control mechanism is spring type stored energy mechanism, which assures
circuit breaker closing or opening speed independent of the operator. It can be charged
electrically or by an emergency manual control.
 Electrical charging is automatic spring that gets charged on connecting the auxiliary
supply. After every closing operation of the breaker the spring gets changed by the charging
motor. Supply to the motor automatically gets cutoff on full charging at the spring.

OPERATION:

For closing and opening operation of the circuit breaker it is necessary to lock the
circuit breaker in position. For locking the breaker truck the lever should be brought in
position 1. Position 2 indicates the breaker is unlocked.

Electrical Operation:

Connect the auxiliary supply and mechanism is ready for electrical operation.
Closing and opening of the breaker can be carried out by sending electrical signals to closing
coil and tripping coil.

ISOLATION TRANSFORMER:

The isolation transformer is a transformer used in SFC between the breaker and
source bridge (Converter).

The transformer is mainly used for three purposes:

1) It provides isolation between the 13.8KV bus and the static frequency
converter circuit.

2) If any fault occurs on either side of the transformer, the transformer winding acts as a
reactance and it reduces the fault level.

3) Transformer impedance limits short circuit current from rectifier (Converter) during
commutation.

The S.F.C. transformer is a 1:1 turns ratio transformer i.e., it is 13.8

KV/13.8KV transformer. This transformer consists of off circuit tap changer with 5 tap
positions. The details are:

Switch Position 1 -> 6-5, 11-12

Switch Position 2 -> 5-7, 12-10

Switch Position 3 -> 7-4, 10-13

Switch Position 4 -> 4-8, 13-9

Switch Position 5 -> 8-3, 9-14

The cooling mechanism adopted is OFWF (Oil Forced Water Forced) mechanism.
Here pumping the forced oil cools the transformer winding and using forced water due to
head cools the oil.

The hot oil is passed through the heat exchanger and is cooled. The heat exchanger
consists of water pipes in which cool water will be circulating and the oil will be surrounding
the pipes .The heat from the oil will be transferred to the water and the oil will be cooled
.The main condition to be satisfied is oil pressure must be greater than water pressure so
that even if any leakage occurs, oil will go into the water and the water will come into the oil
in order to avoid contamination of oil and hence to maintain the required breakdown
strength of oil.
The schematic diagram of S.F.C. Transformer is as shown:

Buchholz relay:

Buchholz relay is a gas-actuated relay in oil-immersed transformers for protection

against all kinds of faults. It is used to give an alarm in case of incipient (i.e. slowly –
developing) faults in the transformer and to disconnect the transformer from the supply in
the event of severe internal faults. It is usually installed in the pipe connecting the
conservator to the main tank.

Construction:

It takes the form of a domed vessel placed in the connecting pipe between the
main tank and the conservator. The device has two elements. The upper element consists of
a mercury type switch attached to a float .the lower element contains a mercury switch
mounted on a hinged type flap located in the direct path of the flow of oil from the
transformer to the conservator. The upper element closes an alarm circuit during incipient
faults whereas the lower element is arranged to trip the circuit breaker in case of severe
internal faults.

Operation:

1) In case of incipient faults within the transformer, the heat due to fault causes the
decomposition of some transformer oil in the main tank. The products of decomposition
contain more than 70% of hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas being light tries to go into the
conservator and in the process gets entrapped in the upper part of the relay chamber.
 When a predetermined amount of gas gets accumulated, it exerts sufficient
pressure on the float to cause it to tilt and close the contacts of mercury switch attached to
it this completes the alarm circuit to sound an alarm.

2) If a serious fault occurs in the transformer an enormous amount of gas is generated in the
main tank, the oil in the main tank rushes towards the conservator via the buchholz relay
and in doing so tilts the flap to close the contacts of mercury switch; this completes the trip
circuit to open the c.b controlling the transformer.

Winding temperature protection:

If the winding temperature increases to 70 0c then it will give an alarm, if the

temperature increases to 800c it will the trip the source breaker.

Oil temperature protection:

If the temp of oil exceeds 60 0c then an alarm will be given by this protection, if
the temperature reaches to 700c it will trip the breaker.

Pressure relief device:

If the pressure inside the tank exceeds 0.2kg/cm2 then the diaphragm rupture takes
place and oil will flush out in order to reduce the pressure.

Oil level gauge:

Oil level gauge meters are placed to indicate the level of the oil.

Breather:

The breather is mainly used to absorb the moisture content in the air. It consists of silica
gel, which will be originally in blue color and absorbs the moisture, when it absorbs the
moisture it turns into white color. When heated, the moisture content is removed and it
again turns into blue color and it can be reused.

An oil cup is fitted on the bottom of the breather to absorb the dust particle during the
contraction of transformer oil.

Conservator:

Conservator is a tank, which is placed above the transformer to allow for expansion or
contraction of oil in the transformer. A minimum of 50%of the oil level has to be maintained
in the conservator tank.

Electrical faults:

Different types of electrical faults are

1) Over current protection
2) Differential protection
3) Over flux protection
4) Earth fault protection
5) Restricted earth fault protection.
Three current transformers are placed on either side of the transformer for providing over
current, differential and earth fault protection.

Restricted earth fault protection is used only for earth faults in the transformer winding. It
won’t give any response for earth faults outside the transformer.
REACTORS:

Essentially a reactor is an inductor. Physically it is simply a coil of wire that allows a

magnetic field to form around the coil when current flows through it. When energized, it is
an electric magnet with the strength of the field being proportional to the current flowing
and the number of turns. A simple loop of wire is an air core inductor. More loops give a
higher inductance rating.

According AC circuit theory, an inductor has the characteristic of storing energy in

the magnetic field and is reluctant to a change in current. In a DC circuit (such as that of the
DC bus in an AC drive), an inductor simply limits the rate of change of current in the circuit
since current in an inductor wants to continue to flow at the given rate for any instant in
time. That is to say, an instantaneous increase or decrease in applied voltage will result in a
slow increase or decrease in current.

Conversely, if the rate of current in the inductor changes, a corresponding voltage

will be induced. From the equation V=L (di/dt) for an inductor where V is voltage, L is
inductance and (di/dt) is the rate of change of current in amps per second, we can see that a
positive rise in current will cause a voltage to be induced. This induced voltage is opposite in
polarity to the applied voltage and proportional to both the rate of rise of current and the
inductance value. This induced voltage subtracts from the applied voltage thereby limiting
the rate of rise of current. This inductance value is a determining factor of the reactance.
The reactance is part of the total impedance for an AC circuit. Thus we can say that in
addition to limiting the rate of rise in current, a reactor adds impedance to an AC circuit
proportional to both its inductance value and the applied frequency.

In S.F.C. there are two reactors viz… the D.C reactor and the A.C reactor.

D.C REACTOR

The D.C reactor is place in between the two bridges i.e. the converter bridge and the
Inverter bridge. It forms a link in between the two Thyristor bridges and so called as D.C link
reactor. The D.C link reactor smoothes out the D.C power. It acts as a filter in between the
bridges.

A.C REACTOR

The A.C reactor is placed after the Load Bridge (Inverter. It is similar to DC reactor in
construction. In S.F.C. there are three AC reactors, one for each phase. ). The A.C reactor
limits the short circuit current from machine during commutation

POWER ELECTRONIC DEVICES

To understand the operation of these power electronic devices, a brief knowledge of

thyristors is required.

A thyristor can be considered as the heart of the Static Frequency Converter. As such a
detailed study of thyristor is made in the following section prior to actual study of S.F.C.

A thyristor is a solid-state device like a transistor and has characteristics similar to

that of a thyratron tube. It is a four layer, three junction, pnpn semiconductor switching
device. It has three terminals; anode, cathode and gate.

Terminal Characteristics:

A thyristor consists of four layers of alternate p-type and n-type silicon

semiconductors forming three junctions J1, J2 and J3. The threaded portion is for the purpose
of tightening the thyristor to the frame or heat sink with the help of a nut. The terminal
connected to outer p region is called anode (A), the terminal connected to outer n region is
called cathode (K) and that connected to the inner p region is called the gate.

As thyristors are solid-state devices, they are compact, possess high reliability and
have low loss. It is a unidirectional device that blocks current from cathode to anode. Unlike
the diode, the thyristor also blocks the current from anode to cathode until it is triggered
into conduction by a proper gate signal between gate and cathode terminals.
Static V-I Characteristics:
An elementary circuit diagram for obtaining static V-I characteristics of a thyristor is
shown in the following figure.

The typical V-I characteristic reveals that the thyristor has three basic modes of operation
viz… reverse blocking mode, forward blocking mode and forward conduction mode.
Reverse Blocking Mode:

When cathode is made positive with respect to anode with switch ‘s’ open the
junctions j1, j3 are seen to be reverse biased where as junction j2 is forward biased. A small
leakage current of order few milli amp flows. This is reverse blocking mode called the off state
of the thyristor, if reverse voltage increases rapidly at a critical breakdown level called reverse
breakdown level called reverse breakdown level vbr an avalanche occurs at j1and j3 and
reverse current increases rapidly. by this temperature of the junction will increase and cause
thyristor damage. When reverse voltage applied across the thyristor is less than vbr the device
offers high impedance in the reverse direction. The scr in the reverse blocking mode may
therefore be treated as open switch.

Forward Blocking Mode:

When anode is positive with respect to cathode with gate circuit open, thyristor is
said to be forward biased and the junction’s j1, j3 are forward biased but junction j2 is
reverse biased. In this mode a small current called forward leakage current flows. In case
forward voltage increased, then the reverse biased junction j2 will have an avalanche
breakdown at voltage called forward break over voltage vbo. Below this voltage scr offers
high impedance. Therefore a thyristor can be treated as open switch even in the forward
blocking mode.

Forward Conduction Mode:

In this mode anode is made positive with respect to cathode, and the switch in the
gate circuit is closed so that gate current will flow. In this mode thyristor conducts with less
voltage drop across it. So it acts like a closed switch. Voltage drop across the thyristor in on
state is of the order of the 1to 2 volts depending on the rating of the scr.

Thyristor protection:

Reliable operation of a thyristor demands that its specified ratings are not
exceeded. In practice a thyristor may be subjected to over voltages or over currents during scr
turn on, di/dt may be prohibitively large, there may be false triggering of scr by high value of
dv/dt, a spurious signal across gate-cathode terminals may lead to unwanted turn on of a
thyristor, which must be protected against all such abnormal conditions for satisfactory and
reliable operation of scr circuit and the equipment.

A) di/dt protection:

When a thyristor is forward biased and is turned on by a gate pulse conduction

of anode current begins in the immediate neighborhood of the gate cathode junction
thereafter, the current speeds across the whole area of the junction the conduction should
spread over the whole area rapidly. however if rate of rise of anode current is large as
compared to the spread velocity of carriers, local hot spot will be formed near the gate
connection on account of high current density.

This localized heating may destroy the thyristor; therefore the rate of rise of anode current
at the time of turn on must be kept below the specified limiting value. The value of di/dt can
be maintained below acceptable limit by using a small inductor called di/dt inductor in series
with the anode circuit. Typical di/dt limit values of SCR’s are 20-500*10-6a/sec.

The value of L = vs/ (di/dt) max

Local spot heating can also be avoided by ensuring that the conduction spreads over the
whole area as fast as possible. This can be achieved by applying gate current near to the
maximum specified gate current.

B) dv/dt protection:

With forward voltage across the anode and cathode of a thyristor, the two other
junctions are forward biased but the inner junction is reverse biased. This reverse biased
junction j2 has the characteristic of a capacitor due to charges existing across the junction. If
the entire anode to cathode forward voltage va appears across junction j2 and charge is
denoted by ‘q’ then a charging current ‘i’ is given by

i = dq/dt = cjdva/dt+vad/dt (cj)

Since the capacitance of the junction is almost constant

The charging current i=cj dva/dt

If the rate rise of forward voltage is high the charging current ‘i’ will be more. So this
charging current will turn on the thyristor without the gate current. This phenomenon of
turning on a thyristor called dv/dt turn on must be avoided as it leads to the false operation
of thyristors. For controllable operation dva/dt should be kept low below the specified limit.
The typical value of dv/dt is 20-500*10-6v/sec.This false turn on of thyristor can be protected
from Snubber circuit.

A Snubber circuit consists of series combination of R and Cs. It is put in parallel with the SCR.

At
the instant when the switch is closed the capacitor acts as a short circuited with the passage
of time voltage across the capacitor build up at a slow rate so the dv/dt across the thyristor
is less than the maximum dv/dt rating. When the thyristor is triggered by giving gate pulse
the capacitor will discharge across the thyristor. Since the thyristor forward resistance is
low, we put a resistance in series with the capacitor to limit the charging current.

Rs=l/vs (dv/dt) max

Gate protection:

Gate circuit should also be protected against over voltages and over currents.
Overvoltages across the gate circuit can cause the false triggering of the scr. Over current
may raise junction temperature beyond the specified limit leading to its damage. Protection
against over voltages is achieved by connected a zener diode across the gate circuit. A
resistor R2 connected in series with the gate circuit provides protection against over
currents.

Thyristor circuit suffers from spurious or noise firings. Turning on or turning off of a
SCR may induce trigger pulse in a nearby SCR. Sometimes transients in power circuit may
also cause unwanted signal to appear across the gate of a neighboring SCR. This
undesirable trigger pulse may turn on the SCR leading to false operation of main SCR. Gate
protection against them will be done by shielded cables or twisted gate leads, a capacitor
and resistor are also connected across gate to cathode, to bypass the noise signals. The
capacitor should be less than 0.1 *10e-6f and must not deteriorate the wave shape of the
gate pulse. The gate protection circuit is as shown:

SERIES AND PARALLEL OPERATION OF THYRISTORS:

SCR ratings have improved considerably since its introduction in 1957. Presently
voltage ratings of 10 KV and 3KA are available. However for some industrial applications the
demand for voltage and current rating is so high that a single scr cannot fulfill such a
requirement. In such cases SCR’s are connected in series in order to meet the high voltage
demand and in parallel for meeting the high current demand.

For series or parallel-connected SCR’s it should be ensured that each SCR rating is
fully utilized and the system operation is satisfactory. String efficiency is the term that is used
for measuring the degree of utilization of SCR in a string.

String Efficiency = Actual voltage or current rating of the whole string

 [Individual voltage or current [no. Of thyristors

Rating of the thyristor] * in series]

String efficiency is always less than 1.

To improve the string efficiency: -

1) SCR’s of identical equal ratings and identical V-I characteristics are used.
2) Using equalization circuits would minimize unequal voltage/current sharing.
Suppose if we add an extra element in series\parallel with the string the current/
voltage shared by each thyristor will decreases therefore the reliability increases. A measure
of the reliability of the string is given by a factor called Derating factor (DRF) and is given by

DRF = 1- string efficiency

SERIES OPERATION:

When the system voltage is more than the voltage rating of a single thyristor,
SCR’s are connected in series in a string. The SCR’s should have their V-I characteristics as
close as possible. On account of inherent variations in their characteristics the voltage
shared by the SCR’s may not be equal. The series connection of thyristors is as shown:

For the same leakage current Io, thyristor 1 leakage resistance =V1/I0.It is more than the
thyristor 2 leakage current (V2/I0). Vbo1 and Vbo2are the forward break over voltages. The
voltage across each thyristor will not be greater than V1. In this case string efficiency is
given by

String efficiency = (V1+V2)/(2*V1)

So for the SCR’s of identical ratings, voltage shared by each thyristor will not be equal hence
string efficiency is less than 100%.

A uniform voltage distribution in steady state can be achieved by connecting a

shunt resistance R across each SCR > the shunt resistance R is called static equalization
circuit.
 Consider ‘n’ thyristors connected in series. Let SCR1 has maximum leakage current
and each of the remaining SCR’s have the same leakage current and SCR with lower leakage
current blocks more voltage. SCR’s of equal ratings may not have identical dynamic
characteristics. In such a case series voltage connected SCR’s will have unequal voltage
distribution during the transient conditions of turn-on, turn-off and high frequency operation.
When we discuss about the turn-on time, consider two thyristors with turn-on time of one
greater than the other. If we give gate pulses to the SCR’s at the same time SCR1 will
conduct and SCR2 won’t. So the voltage across SCR1 is zero but across SCR2 is Vs. So
unequal voltage distribution will take place.

If we discuss about the turn-off time the recovery voltages of the two thyristors
will be different hence the voltage shared by two thyristors will be different and also for the
high frequency applications which means more frequent turning on and turning off of the
devices the voltage sharing is different.

To make the voltage sharing equal, thyristors are shunted by capacitance.

Because unequal voltage sharing will takes place due to different junction capacitances
called self-capacitance. The shunt capacitor has the effect of removing the inequalities in
thyristors self-capacitances.

During the forward blocking state the capacitor is charged by the supply voltage
and during forward conducting state this voltage will be discharged through thyristor. The
resistance Rs will control the discharging current. And a diode is connected across Rs to
short in forward blocking state. This total circuit is called dynamic equalization circuit.

PARALLEL OPERATION:

When the current required by the load is more than the rated current of a single
thyristor, SCR’s are connected in parallel in a string .The parallel operation and its
characteristics are as shown:
For parallel-connected SCR’s voltage drop Vt across them must be equal. For the same
voltage drop Vt SCR1 shares a rated current I1where as SCR2 carries current I2 much less
than the rated current I1. The total current carried by the unit is I1+I2 and not the rated
current 2I1 as required. Therefore string efficiency is given by (I1+I2)/ (2*I1)

Unequal current sharing will be generally caused by different turn on times for SCR’s and
unequal junction temperature rises.

To operate the thyristors at the same temperature they will be mounted on one
common heat sink. Using reactors will minimize unequal current sharing.

THYRISTOR STACK ARRANGEMENT:

Each thyristor module contains 11 thyristors sandwiched between water-cooled heat sinks.
De-ionized water is circulated through the heat sinks by forced water-cooling system .The
thyristor stacks are assembled under the required amount of the pressure through screw-
jack housing.

Each thyristor device is paralled by a neon lamp and dropping resistor network, to
indicate when the voltage is present across the thyristor cell. This light from neon lamp is
used to detect the shorted cell. The light network is mounted on a small card (MTDA) located
by the side of each thyristor cell.

The MTDA card also contains the gate interface circuit and a circuit for emergency firing of
thyristor if the voltage across the thyristor rises across the certain limit. The thyristor gate
interface circuit routes the gate signal from gating transformer to thyristor gate.

The light signal from all the MTDA cards in a stack is taken through fiber optic
cables to device status acquisition card. The output of DSA card is device healthiness status
which toggles between 0v and 15v depending on the availability of light signal. There are 11
status outputs corresponding to each thyristor cell.

Device status indication (DSI) card provides visual indication of thyristor healthiness on the
front door of thyristor cubicle. It takes input from DSA card and the red LEDs on the display
switches on for device healthiness.

Device healthiness monitoring card (DHM) receives the device status inputs
from all the six DSA cards in a converter and resolves for alarm and fault condition. Failure
of one device in any one stack causes alarm condition and failure of two or more devices in
any stack creates fault condition. Alarm or fault relays on the card operates for their
respective condition and relay contact output is taken to the electronic control for action.

The snubber circuits are of air-cooled type and are positioned at the
back of thyristor modules. The thyristor stack arrangement with protection circuit
is as shown.
CONVERTER (OR) RECTIFIER:

General

In Static Frequency Converter (SFC), the main function is to convert the fixed input power
from supply grid to power of variable voltage and frequency in order to start and accelerate
large synchronous machines synchronously.

The power conversion function is accomplished using thyristor cells built into bridge
circuits. The SFC system consists of line-commutated converter called Source Bridge and a
load commutated converter called Load Bridge. These bridges are interconnected through a
DC line reactor.

In the converter the power system provides the voltage, hence it is called a Line
Commutated Converter. The source bridge is a thyristor bridge circuit that converts the
incoming power to DC power of controlled voltage. By controlling the sequence of firing
(providing the gate signals) of the thyristors, the bridge circuit allows only the ac phase that
is of the same polarity as the desired dc to conduct.

Simultaneously, the time of each thyristor firing is controlled to determine what

portion of sine wave is allowed to conduct, thus controlling the voltage on the dc circuit. The
SFC uses the source bridge to go from 50Hz power at line voltage to variable voltage DC
power.
 At the time the load bridge is following the stator frequency and controlling the
driving torque (current), the Source Bridge is controlling the DC voltage.

SIX-PULSE CONVERTERS:

The three pulse converters have not become popular because of the fact that they require
special types of converter transformer to prevent D.C magnetism. Therefore, a three-phase
converter with higher pulse number is developed to provide large output and least ripple
current. Six-pulse and twelve pulse converters are developed. Six-pulse are widely used in
industrial applications, whereas for transmission lines 12-pulse connections are preferred.

The six-pulse connections have the following advantages over three-pulse converters:

a) Commutation is made very easier.

b) Distortion on the A.C side is reduced due to the reduction in lower-

Order harmonics.

c) Inductance required in series is considerably reduced.

The Six-pulse converters can be realized in the following

Forms:

a. Simple Six-Pulse Converter.

b. Six-pulse mid-point converter with interphase transformers.

c. Six-Pulse bridge-converter (Currently used in SFC at SLBHES)

INVERTER:

Inverters are used to convert the D.C power to A.C power. The output of inverter is variable
voltage and variable frequency. For high output powers thyristors are used as
semiconductor devices in inverters. The output frequency of a thyristor is determined by the
rate at which the semiconductor devices are switched ON or OFF.

The bridge Inverters are popular among various types of

Inverters because they can be easily extended for multi-phase

Operation, pulse width modulation etc. Also the output transformer is not essential in bridge
Inverters.

The load bridge (Inverter) used in SFC is also of similar

Construction as the source bridge (converter), but converts the

DC power to AC power. By controlling the sequence and the

Timing of the firing the Thyristors the power that appears at the

Ac output is a three phase power, although not a smooth sine wave.

The source bridge converts the 50Hz fixed AC power to variable voltage and
frequency power. The load bridge (Inverter) converts the variable DC power to variable AC
power.

Once the machine is started, the firing of load bridge thyristor follows the sequence
to generate three phase AC wave form. In operation the machine tells the controller by
virtue of its stator voltage, what frequency power is required. The load bridge is controlled to
follow the motor frequency with the current to the machine controlled to follow the
frequency of the stator power. The load bridge follows the stator voltage as the speed
changes.

Because the load bridge follows the frequency of the machine stator, the machine
always sees synchronous operation. This completely reduces the thermal, electrical and
mechanical stresses associated with starting.

Commutation is process whereby the changing voltage causes one cell to stop conducting
and another to begin. The load provides the voltage (and energy) to the inverter bridge; i.e.
load commutater Inverter.

Inverters are broadly classified as voltage source inverters and current source
inverters. A voltage source inverter (VSI) has a stiff dc voltage source at its input terminals.
A current source inverter (CSI) is fed with adjustable current from a dc source of high
impedance. In a CSI fed with stiff current source, the load does not affect output current
waves.