Filters for Power Factor Correction in the Presence of Non-Linear Loads
Salvador Acevedo Armando R. Llamas
Member, IEEE Member, IEEE
Department of Electrical Engineering
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Monterrey Tech)
Monterrey, MEXICO 64849
Abstract- This paper presents a practical example
of how harmonic amplification can be avoided by
an appropriate design of detuned filters. The
authors summarize the advantages of using
harmonic filters over the use of capacitors for
power factor correction. The different problems
originated by harmonics and how filters prevent
them are reviewed, and a comparison between
tuned and detuned filters is also presented.
Keywords: detuned filters, power quality, power
factor, harmonics.
I. INTRODUCTION
Non-linear loads in electrical systems such as
power electronic converters and arc furnaces
produce voltage and current distortion [1]-[2].
Distortion is typically quantified by obtaining the
signals harmonic content. If arisen harmonics flow
to other parts of the electric power system they
may cause overheating, low power factor and
resonance. Common consequences of these
problems are reduction of the overall efficiency
and sometimes equipment destruction. There are
several practices utilized to eliminate or reduce the
harmonic flow to acceptable levels [3]-[4].
Power factor correction when non-linear loads
introduces an additional problem. There is a
resonance frequency at which the Thévenin
impedance matches the capacitor bank reactance.
If this resonance frequency is close to a harmonic
generated by the non-linear load, there will be
harmonic amplification originating overvoltages
and overcurrents of this frequency that may cause
the capacitor bank destruction [5]-[6].
This paper presents a practical situation where
the power factor was increased from 71% to 91%
in a plant where two 2.5 MVA transformers feed
three-phase rectifiers. To accomplish the power
Jesús A. Baez Jorge A. de los Reyes
Member, IEEE Member, IEEE
factor improvement without the resonance
amplification described above, reactors were
connected in series with the capacitor banks. This
series LC combination is known as a detuned filter
or rejection filter. In this application the filters
were tuned to the 3.8 harmonic.
By installing the filters described here, the low
power factor penalty was eliminated. The return
time of the investment for this case was
approximately 12 months. Installing detuned filters
in circuits with non-linear loads is a practical way
to increase the power factor at a reasonable cost
and helps to improve the power quality by
reducing the harmonic distortion to levels that
comply with Standard IEEE-519-1992 [3].
As an introduction to the subject of filters in
industrial power systems this paper also states the
advantages of using filters when correcting the
power factor and includes a comparison between
tuned and detuned filters.
II. ADVANTAGES OF USING FILTERS FOR
POWER FACTOR CORRECTION
A harmonic filter used for power factor
correction has a twofold purpose:
• At the fundamental frequency it supplies the
reactive power required to increase the
displacement power factor.
• At frequencies above the tuned-frequency, the
filter behaves as a low impedance providing a
path to ground for higher order harmonics
produced by a non-linear load.
Installation of series connected filters has
notorious advantages over the installation of
capacitor banks as described in this section. A
series connected filter consists of a reactor in series
with a capacitor and this is the type of filter
analyzed thorough this paper.
 Some of the most important advantages of using
filters for power factor correction are:
A. Parallel resonance is avoided.
The use of capacitor banks for power factor
correction causes a resonance frequency. Those
harmonics produced by a non-linear load that are
close to the resonance frequency are amplified.
This harmonic amplification reduces the power
factor and may cause a significant distortion of the
supply voltage. Voltage distortion interferes with
the proper operation of sensitive equipment.
When connecting tuned filters, the frequency
response is shifted in a specific manner. Harmonic
attenuation is pursued at those frequencies injected
by the non-linear load. There is also a range of
frequencies where there is harmonic amplification.
However, by an appropriate selection of the tuning
frequency, the amplification zone is limited to
frequencies not generated by the non-linear load.
Figure 1 shows the frequency response for the
capacitor bank and for the filter. The range of
frequencies were there is current amplification
"Is/Ih" corresponds to those values where this
amplification is greater than the unity. Although
amplification is also found in the frequency
response that includes the filter, the range of
frequencies at which this amplification exists are
not expected to arise.
B. Series resonance is avoided.
Let us name "fs " to the resonance frequency of
the series combination of the Thévenin impedance
at the capacitor bank terminals (Ls) and the
capacitor (C).
If the supply voltage (V) is distorted and contains
a harmonic that matches or is close to "fs a low
impedance path to ground at this harmonic appears
and a very high current of this frequency flows
from the system utility to the capacitor. This
current will increase the voltage distortion as
shown in Figure 2.
Insertion of a reactor in series with the capacitor
bank shifts the resonance frequency so that non-
linear load harmonics are not amplified thus
eliminating the problem. Figure 2c shows a filter
tuned to a frequency that does not exist in the
supply voltage V.
V V
Ia
Ia
V

Amplified harmonics with capacitor bank alone

(a) (b)

5
4.5 Filter & system Capacitor bank
response & systemresponse
4
3.5 V
3 Ia
Is / Ih

2.5
V
2
No filter
1.5
1
0.5
0 Ia
0 2 4 6 8 10
harmonic (h)

Attenuated harmonics with filter (c)

Figure 1. Harmonic amplification when connecting
capacitor banks and filters. Figure 2. Effect of the filter in the distortion
reduction (a) without capacitor bank (b) with
capacitor bank (c ) with filter.
C. Capacitor switching effects are attenuated
Inrush currents in capacitor banks and voltage
spikes are dramatically reduced when using
reactors in series with the capacitors. Figure 3
shows how the current can be limited when a
second capacitor bank is connected in parallel with
an already energized bank with and without the
series reactor. Figure 4 shows the effects on the
capacitor voltages.
Capacitor inrush current
without series reactor
Capacitor inrush current
with series reactor
Figure 3. Inrush crrent reduction in capacitor bank
when connecting a reactor in series.
Capacitor voltage spikes at energization
Voltage spikes of a second
capacitor bank at energization
Capacitor bank voltages with series reactor
Figure 4. Capacitor voltage spikes elimination when
connecting a reactor in series.
As shown in Figure 5, series connected reactors
also prevent transient overvoltages in low-voltage
side capacitor banks that are originated when
connecting capacitor banks on the high-voltage
side of a transformer. This problem is more likely
to exist when the resonance frequency of both
capacitors is similar [7]. Figure 6a shows the
transient overvoltage on the secondary-side
capacitor when connecting a capacitor on the
transformer primary side. Figure 6b shows how the
transient overvoltage has been reduced due to the
presence of the series reactor.
CFE
(a)
CFE
(b)
Figure 5. Transient overvoltage on a secondary-side
capacitor when connecting a capacitor on the
transformer primary
(a) without series reactor (b) with series reactor.
 III. TUNED AND DETUNED FILTERS The amplification factor, adapted from [9], is
COMPARISON given by:
−1
 MVAr × h 2f × h 2 
There are two types of LC series filters that are Is  
a= = 1+
( )
(2)
commonly used for power factor correction
Ih  MVAsc × h 2 − h 2f 
purposes:  
• Tuned or absorption filters where:
• Detuned or rejection filters Is is the hth-frequency current flowing to the
electric utility
Both types absorb harmonic distortion and avoid Ih is the hth-frequency current generated by the
harmonic currents to flow to other equipment or non-linear load
the rest of the power system [8]. Tuned filters hf is the harmonic at which the filter is tuned
absorb more distortion and that is why these are MVAsc is the short-circuit apparent power at the
named absorption filters. However, detuned filters filter location.
also absorb an important amount of distortion as
For the case study that will be presented in the
will be explained in this section and therefore the
next section, the frequency response of the
authors do not completely agree with the term
amplification factors when comparing a 4.7-tuned
rejection filters. In the remainder of this paper
filter vs. a 3.8-detuned filter are plotted in Figure 6.
rejection filters will be referred to as detuned
At the fifth harmonic, the tuned filter has a better
filters.
behaviour than the detuned filter. However, for
The inductive reactance of a series filter is given
proper operation, the capacitor bank must be rated
by:
to a higher voltage than the voltage level required
2
XC kVLL for detuned filters. Because tuned filters absorb
XL = = (1) more harmonics, they also carry higher harmonic
h 2f h f2 × MVAr currents than the detuned filters counterpart. These
features make tuned filters more expensive.
where:
XL is the inductive reactance in Ω 3
XC is the capacitive reactance in Ω
hf is the harmonic at which the filter is tuned 2.5
Is / Ih - 3.8
kVLL is the line-to-line voltage
2 Is / Ih - 4.7
MVAr is the capacitor bank reactive power.
Is / Ih

1.5
A tuned filter is tuned to a frequency slightly
1
below the filtered harmonic. On the other hand, a
detuned filter is tuned to a frequency far below the 0.5
filtered harmonic. Non-linear loads in industry
0
typically contain a high fifth harmonic. Table 1 h
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
gives an example of how to tune both filter types
using the fifth harmonic as the tuning frequency.
Figure 6. Amplification factor comparison for a
tuned filter vs. a detuned filter.
Table 1. Tuning harmonics for both types of filters.
Tuned filter 4.7 IV. CASE STUDY
Detuned filer 3.8
This section presents the results of installing
detuned filters in an industrial plant with a
The amplification factor is the ratio of the significant amount of non-linear loads. Waveform
current of a particular harmonic h flowing to the and Fourier Spectrum measurements before and
power utility with respect to the current of the after installing the filters are presented together
same harmonic h generated by a non-linear load. with EMTP type simulations.
A. System Description
Without power
Figure 7 shows the one-line diagram of an factor correction
13.8 kV
industrial plant where 3.8-detuned filters for power
factor correction where installed. There are two 2.5 Is
MVA transformers supplying electric energy to 480V
controlled rectifiers. Each transformer has a 9%
series impedance (XL). Two additional
transformers feed the rest of the plant where the Ih
loads are mainly linear.
The power factor of each of the non-linear loads Non-linear load
is 71.4% and the combined power factor for the
entire plant is 80%. A reactive power injection of With Capacitors
700 kVAr is required at each of the 2.5 MVA 13.8 kV
transformers to increase the power factor to 90%.
Field measurements during normal operation Is
reported a current harmonic distortion of 23% 480V
being the fifth harmonic the highest in magnitude.

Ih
13.8 kV
Non-linear load
Capacitor
bank
2.5 MVA

2.5 MVA

13.8kV With Filters

Is

480V

Linear loads
Ih
480 V 480 V Filter
Non-linear load
... ...
Non-linear loads Figure 8. Simplified equivalent circuit for each case.

Figure 7. One-line diagram of the case study system.

B. Frequency response analysis
The simplified circuit of Figure 8 is used here to
quantify the voltage distortion at the load terminals
for each of the cases presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Cases under analysis.
Case I. Without power factor correction
(original configuration)
Case II. With capacitor bank for power
factor correction
Case III. With filter for power factor
correction (LC series detuned filter)
Field measurements before attempting to
increase the power factor provided the voltage and
current waveforms and the corresponding
normalized Fourier Spectrum shown in Figure 9.
The largest existing harmonic is the 5th harmonic
and the total current harmonic distortion is 23%
whereas the total voltage harmonic distortion is
6.6%. Fundamental components have been omitted
in Figure 9b and their values are 100%.
As stated previously, whenever there is a
capacitor bank connected in parallel, there is a
resonance frequency. For Case II, the resonance
frequency harmonic h is:
 XC (3) The frequency response for each of the three
h= = 5.56
XL + XS cases simulated with MicroTran® [10] is shown in
where: Figure 10. MicroTran is the EMTP version
XC is the capacitor bank reactance developed at the University of British Columbia.
XL is the feeding transformer reactance From Figure 10 one can conclude that there is no
XS is the Thévenin reactance for the system utility harmonic amplification for Case I because there is
no resonance (there is no capacitance) and the
Since the load current has a very high 5th current amplification equals 1.
harmonic and this harmonic is close to the For Case II the current amplification is 3.76 at
resonance frequency, there would be a 300 Hz. Note the closeness between the 5th
considerable 5th harmonic current amplification harmonic (300 Hz) and the 333.6 Hz resonance
and a consequent voltage distortion. frequency.
The solution presented as a result of this project Finally, the installation of a three-phase reactor
consists of the installation of 3.8-detuned filters. in series with the capacitor bank (Case III)
The tuning of this filter not only avoids 5th constituting a 3.8-detuned filter produces a zero at
harmonic amplification but prevents part of it from the tuned frequency (228 Hz). As can be
flowing to the rest of the system. Higher order appreciated from Figure 10, frequencies above the
harmonics are also attenuated. tuned frequency are attenuated.
The frequency response for Case III also presents
amperes volts current amplification at the subresonance
4000 500
frequency of 180 Hz. However, when using three-
3000
400
phase rectifiers, 3rd harmonic is rather small.
300
2000
(Is/Ih)
current 200
8

1000
100 7

0 0 3.76 @ 300 Hz
6
Case II
-100
-1000
5
voltage -200
-2000
4
-300
Case III
-3000
-400 3

-4000 -500
2 Case I
(a)
1
%
25
current 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Frequency (Hz)
20

Figure 10. Frequency response for each case

15 presented in Table 2.

10
C. Solution and results.
voltage
5 The detuned filters installed at the site under
study were designed at the Monterrey Tech's
0 Power Quality Laboratories as one of the research
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
activities of the Electrical Engineering Graduate
harmonic (h) Program. These filters where connected on the low
(b) voltage side of each of the 2.5 MVA transformers
Figure 9. Non-linear load voltage and current of Figure 7. Voltage and current measurements
measurements. (a) Waveforms. (b) Normalized once the filters were connected are shown in
Fourier Spectrum. Figure 11.
amperes volts V. CONCLUSIONS
3000 450

Installation of detuned filters under the influence

2000 300
of harmonics is a practical and economical way to
1000
voltage 150
improve the power factor. The reduction in the
total harmonic distortion, prevention of capacitor
0 0
failures, and better operation efficiency in the
system justify the cost of installing reactors. Not
-1000 -150 only harmonic resonance related problems are
current avoided when using series reactors but also
-2000 -300
transient overvoltages and inrush currents are
limited to safe levels.
-3000 -450
An industrial practical case where the power
(a) factor was increased from 71% to 91% after
%
16 installing detuned filters has been presented. The
14
current filters were designed as part of the research
activities of the Electrical Engineering Graduate
12
Program at Monterrey Tech. Similar solutions to
10 the study case presented here have been developed
8 for several industries with an effective power
factor increase and power quality improvement.
6
voltage
4

2
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
[1] R. C. Dugan, D. T. Rizy, "Electric Power
System Harmonics," Design Guide,
harmonic (h)
McGraw-Edison Power Systems - Division
(b)
of Cooper Industries., September 1987.
Figure 11. Voltage and current waveforms and [2] J. R. Linders, "Electric Wave Distortions:
Fourier Spectrum with the detuned filter connected. Their Hidden Costs and Containment," IEEE
A reduction in 5th harmonic for the current Transactions on Industry Applications, vol.
from 23.2% to 14.5% can be observed when IA-15, No. 5, pp. 458-471, Sept/Oct. 1979.
comparing Figure 9 with Figure 11. For the [3] J. F. Hibbard, Michael Z. Lowenstein,
voltage, 5th harmonic decreased from 4.3% to "Meeting IEEE 519-1992 Harmonic Limits,"
2.15%. Higher order harmonics were also reduced. TCI Power Quality Solutions.
Table 3 presents a comparison of the voltage and [4] IEEE Recommended Practice for Electric
current distortion and the overall power factor Power Distribution for Industrial Plants.
before and after installing the filters. IEEE Std. 141-1993. The Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Table 3. Comparison of system performance before [5] J. de los Reyes, A. Llamas, "Armónicas de
and after installing filters.
Sintonía y de Resonancia Paralelo,"
Quantity Original Configuration With filters Memorias de la Reunión de Verano de
(Case I) (Case III) Potencia 97 del IEEE, Acapulco, México,
THDi 23.2% 15.3% 1997.
THDv 6.6% 4.63% [6] G. Lemieux, "Power System Harmonic
PF 71% 91% Resonance," IEEE Transactions on Industry
where: Applications, vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 483-488,
THDi is the total current harmonic distortion May/June 1990.
THDv is the total voltage harmonic distortion [7] R. C. Dugan, M. T. McGranahan, H. W.
PF is the overall plant power factor
Beaty, Electrical Power System Quality, Mc-
 Graw Hill, 1996.
[8] NEPSI, Harmonic Filter Bank Tuning,
http://nepsi.com/nepsihome/tune_new.htm,
1998.
[9] S. M. Peeran, C. Cascadden, "Application,
Design and Specification of Harmonic
Filters for Variable Frequency Drives," IEEE
Transactions on Industry Applications, vol.
31, July/August 1995 .
[10] MicroTran Power Systems Analysis
Corporation, MicroTran® Reference
Manual, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 1997.
VII. BIOGRAPHIES
Salvador Acevedo was born in Oaxaca, México.
He graduated as an Electrical Engineer (1985)
from the "Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey" (Monterrey Tech) where
he also obtained the M. Eng. (1987) and M. A. Sc.
(1993) degrees. He received the Ph. D. degree
from the University of British Columbia in 1998.
He currently works at Monterrey Tech as an
associate professor of the Department of Electrical
Engineering where he was Head of the Department
from 1991 to 1994.
Armando R. Llamas was born in México City,
México. He graduated as an Electrical Engineer
(1983) and obtained the M. Eng. degree (1985)
from "Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey" (Monterrey Tech). In
1992 he received the Ph. D. degree from Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University. He has
worked for the Department of Electrical
Engineering at Monterrey Tech since 1993. He is
currently a well recognized power quality
researcher and consultant in México.
Jesús A. Baez was born in Monterrey, México. He
graduated as a Mechanical and Electrical Engineer
(1987) from "Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey" (Monterrey Tech) where
he also received the M. Eng. and M. A. Sc. degrees
in 1990 and 1995, respectively. He currently works
as an associate professor of the Department of
Electrical Engineering at Monterrey Tech. His
main research interests are in the power quality
area.
Jorge A. de los Reyes was born in La Piedad,
Michoacán, México. He graduated as a Mechanical
and Electrical Engineer (1993) from "Instituto
Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de
Monterrey" (Monterrey Tech). He received the M.
A. Sc. degree from Monterrey Tech in 1996. He
currently is an independent consultant in the power
quality area and also teaches as a seasonal lecturer
at Monterrey Tech.