Understanding of Harmonics in Power Distribution System

Outline

Power System Harmonics? Why Harmonics are Troublesome? Nonlinear Loads Producing Harmonic Currents Harmonic Distortion? Negative Effects of Sustained Harmonics Evaluation of AC Power System Harmonics? Conclusions

What are Power System Harmonics?

Harmonic: a mathematical definition, generally used when talking about Integral orders of Fundamental frequencies Power system harmonics: currents or voltages with frequencies that are integer multiples (h=0,1,2,N) of the fundamental power frequency [1]

1st harmonic: 60Hz 2nd harmonic: 120Hz 3rd harmonic: 180Hz

Figure: 1 [2]

How are Harmonics Produced ?

Power system harmonics: presenting deviations from a perfect sinusoidal-waveform (voltage or current waveform). The distortion comes from a Nonlinearity caused by saturation, electronic-switching and nonlinear electric loads, Inrush/Temporal/Arc/Converter/Limiter/Threshold Type Loads.

Loads Producing Harmonic Currents

Electronic lighting ballasts/Controls Adjustable speed Motor-Drives Electric Arc Welding Equipment Solid state Industrial Rectifiers Industrial Process Control Systems Uninterruptible Power Supplies ( UPS )systems Saturated Inductors/Transformers LAN/Computer Networks

Current vs. Voltage Harmonics

Harmonic current flowing through the AC Power System impedance result in harmonic voltagedrop at the load bus and along the Feeder!!

Figure: 3 [3]

How to Quantify Harmonic Distortion?

Total Harmonic Distortion-THD: the contribution of all harmonic frequency Currents/Voltages to the fundamental current. [3] The level of THD-for Current or Voltage is directly related to the frequencies and amplitudes of the Offending Quasi-Steady State persistent Harmonics. Individual Distortion Factor-(DF)-h quantify Distortion at h harmonic-order

Calculation of THD

THD: Ratio of the RMS of the harmonic content to the RMS of the Fundamental [3]
(Eq-1)

Current THD-I
(Eq-2)

Voltage THD-V
(Eq-3)

Negative Effects of Harmonics

Overheating and premature failure of distribution transformers [1]

Increasing iron and copper losses or eddy currents due to stray flux losses

Overheating and mechanical oscillations in the motor-load system [1]

Producing rotating magnitude field, which is opposite to the fundamental magnitude field.
Trouble sustained type Harmonics: 3rd, 9th, 15th A 3-phase 4-wire system: single phase harmonic will add rather than cancel on the neutral conductor

Overheating and damage of neutral ground conductors [2]

Malfunction/Mal-Operation of Sensitive Tele-control and Protection Relaying

Harmonics and Series Resonance Circuit

The voltage of upstream AC Network can be also distorted due to series/parallel resonance formed by capacitance of the capacitor bank and System/load inductance : Ca cause high harmonic current circulation through the capacitors [5]

Parallel Resonance can also lead to high voltage distortion.

Figure 5: Series resonance circuit and its equivalent circuit [5]

Measure Equipments of Harmonics

Digital Oscilloscope: Wave shape, THD and Amplitude of each harmonic True RMS Multi-Meter: Giving correct readings for distortion-free sine waves and typically reading low when the current waveform is distorted

Use of Harmonic Meters-Single Phase or three Phase

Figure 6: True RMS Multi-Meter

[3]

Standards for Harmonics Limitation IEEE/IEC

IEEE 519-1992 Standard: Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electrical Power Systems (Current Distortion Limits for 120v-69kv DS)
Table 1: Current Harmonic Limits [4] Ratio Iscc / Iload Harmonic odd numbers (<11) Harmonic odd numbers (>35) THD-i

< 20
20 - 50 50 - 100 >1000

4.0 %
7.0 % 10.0 % 15.0 %

0.3 %
0.5 % 0.7 % 1.4 %

5.0 %
8.0 % 12.0 % 20.0 %

Standard of Harmonics Limitation (contd)

IEEE 519-1992 Standard: Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electrical Power Systems (Voltage Distortion Limits)
Table 2: Voltage Harmonic Limits [4]

Bus Voltage

Voltage Harmonic limit as (%) of Fundamental

THD-v (%)

<= 69Kv
69 - 161Kv >= 161 Kv

3.0
1.5 1.0

5.0
2.5 1.5

Harmonics Filter Types

[6]

Isolating harmonic current to protect electrical equipment from damage due to harmonic voltage distortion Passive Filter-Low cost:

Built-up by combinations of capacitors, inductors (reactors) and resistors most common and available for all voltage levels Inserting negative phase compensating harmonics into the AC-Network, thus eliminating the undesirable harmonics on the AC Power Network. APF-Used only for for low voltage networks

Active Power Filter APF:

Conclusions

The harmonic distortion principally comes from Nonlinear-Type Loads. The application of power electronics is causing increased level of harmonics due to Switching!! Harmonic distortion can cause serious Failure/Damage problems. Harmonics are important aspect of power operation that requires Mitigation!! Over-Sizing and Power Filtering methods are commonly used to limit Overheating Effects of Sustained Harmonics.