1184

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 29, NO. 6, NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1993

Harmonics and Transient Overvoltages Due to Capacitor Switching

Adly A. Girgis, Fellow, IEEE, Christopher M. Fallon, Jay C. P. Rubino, and Ray C. Catoe, Member, IEEE Abstract-This paper presents a study of the steady state and transient effects of power factor correction capacitors on the utility and on the customer. In the presence of harmonic producing loads, capacitors used for power factor correction can cause parallel or series resonance problems which tend to increase the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the voltage and current waveforms. The cases studied in this paper consider the addition of a power factor correction capacitor, in the presence of downstream harmonic loads and at the harmonic load site. In both cases the resonance created by the addition of the capacitor caused the harmonic distortion of the voltage and current waveforms to increase. Another problem is transient overvoltages created by switching the capacitor. The overvoltage at the customer bus created by switching the capacitor can be harmful to sensitive electronics equipment. A case study is reported where the operation of semiconductor controlled motor drive is effected by transient overvoltages. The first section of this paper looks at the steady-state concerns associated with the application of power factor correction capacitors in the presence of harmonic loads and unbalance. The latter section of this paper discusses the transient problems associated with the switching of power factor correction capacitors. These transient overvoltages, if large enough, can damage sensitive power electronic devices [5]-[6].Short duration overvoltages that do not damage electronics equipment may still cause the drives protective devices to operate, disconnecting the load from the circuit.
11. HARMONIC AMPLIFICATION DUETO POWER FACTOR CORRECTION CAPACITORS

I. INTRODUCTION
HE increased use of power electronic devices prompts two areas of concern. The first area of concern is the harmonic distortion of the 60 Hz voltage and current waveforms. The second area of concern is the quality of power serving these sensitive electronic devices. Power electronics is the most significant source of harmonic distortion. However, power electronics are not the only source of harmonic distortion, there are other sources such as arcing devices and equipment with saturable ferromagnetic cores [ 11-[4]. The harmonic distortion from sources can be magnified by the application of power factor correction capacitors. For years, capacitors have been used for power factor correction and voltage regulation. However the use of these capacitors may create parallel or series resonance problems increasing the harmonic distortion of the voltage and current waveforms. The second concern is the switching of the power factor correction capacitors. During a capacitor switching, the transient overvoltages produced contain high frequency components.
Paper ICPSD 92-43, approved by the Rural Electric Power Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation at the 1992 Rural Electric Power Conference, New Orleans, LA, May 3-5. This work was supported by the members of the Clemson University Electric Power Research Association, CUEPRA. Manuscript released for publication March 17, 1993. A. A. Girgis is with Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634. C. M. Fallon is with the Duke Power Company, Charlotte, NC 28201. J. C. P. Robino lives in Wyoming, PA 18644. R. C. Catoe is with Jake Rudisill Associates, Inc., Charlotte, NC 28236. IEEE Log Number 9212386.

The harmonics generated by the load may be modeled as current sources at the harmonic frequencies. In general, the harmonics flowing into the system and the harmonics flowing into the capacitor can be obtained from the harmonic sequence components and an equivalent network model. The sequence components for the different harmonics can be obtained as described in reference [7]. System unbalance, which is common on distribution systems, is also a factor in the amplification of harmonics and distortion. A simple example is used to illustrate how the harmonic load interacts with the power system and the capacitor. Fig. 1 represents a simplified equivalent model of the power system and the harmonic load. The harmonic load is modeled as a harmonic current source; the system and the capacitor are modeled as frequency dependent impedances. The sequence system current and the sequence capacitor current at each harmonic is expressed as

where is the system impedance at the harmonic frequency, R(h) jhwL is the impedance of the capacitor at the Zci(wh) harmonic frequency, & is the system harmonic current ISYSih is the capacitor harmonic current ICih h is the harmonic order i = 0 , l or 2 zero, positive and negative sequence components Examining (1) and (2), it can be seen that the harmonic currents will have their greatest magnitude when the denominator, ( z S Y S i ( w h ) + z c i ( W h ) ) , is a minimum. This term will be a minimum when j hwL is equal to &. The value of (h) which satisfies this requirement is the resonant harmonic frequency. Sometimes there is more than one resonant harmonic due to combinations of series and parallel components.
zSuSi(wh)

0093-9994/93$03.00 0 1993 IEEE

GIRGIS et al.: HARMONICS AND TRANSIENT OVERVOLTAGES DUE TO CAPACITOR SWITCHING

1185

TABLE I

4532.8 24.5% 5766.1

81.9%

3406.9

129 %

Fig. I.

Equivalent network model. TABLE II HARMONIC ANALYSIS OF TRANSFORMER AND CAPACITOR CURRENTS Transformer Current Capacitor Current Harmonic RMS RMS Angle Order Current Current (Degrees) Fund. X 4437.1 42.9 2076.5 120.0 2074.2 -120.3 163.2 Y 4215.6 2085.5 -0.2 -15.0 Z 4461.2

2Mo KVA
z= 6.78 %

g k e s )
-98.4 139.4 20.9 -162.4 116.5 -86.0 -162.4 116.5 -86.0 160.8 -150.8 -100.2 -7 1.4 -94.1 -53.6 -67.2 -57.1 -31.2

Fig. 2.

One-line diagram of the industrial load.

5th.

Y Z

77.7% 91.1% 81.5% 2.7% 1.7% 1.4% 2.7% 1.7% 1.4%

0.5% 1.5% 1.0%

125.6% 79.8 132.0% -41.5 125.9% -163.4 11.9% 18.9 13.1% -102.2 12.3% 133.6 11.9% 18.9 13.1% -102.2 12.3% 133.6 7.5% 7.0% 7.1% 3.2% 3.9% 3.7% 2.9% 2.8% 2.1% -106.9 14.9 130.8 114.1 -3.9 -135.0 -14.2 108.3 -136.3

9th. X Y

11th. X Y
Z

13th. X Y

17th. X Y Z
-7OOOI,

0.8% 0.6% 0.5% 0.3% 0.6% 0.4%

, .-,
2
1

,
I3

, . , 8 10
IWK (*SEC)

,
12

,- ,
I1

16

, I8

4
21)

19th. X Y Z

Fig. 3.

Industrial load three-phase currents.

increase in the harmonic distortion of the voltage and current Two examples are used here to illustrate the effect power waveforms. The increase in the harmonic distortion is due to an factor correction capacitors can have on the harmonic dis- amplification of the harmonic components. The amplification tortion of the 60 Hz voltage and current waveforms [8]. In of harmonic components is caused by resonance conditions the first example, it was reported [7] that a delta connected which has been discussed previously. Another problem en1800 kVAR capacitor contributed to cause severe harmonic countered on this circuit is a high degree of unbalance. The distortion at the load site. A diagram of the system is shown unbalanced conditions contributed to the increase of harmonic in Fig. 2. The industrial load consists of four production lines distortion of the voltage and current waveforms. An interesting of induction heating with two single-phase furnaces per line. occurrence in this example is the unsymmetrical amplification The induction furnaces operate at 8500 Hz and are used to of the harmonic components. The spectral contents of the heat 40 ft steel rods which are cut into railroad spikes [7]. current and voltage waveforms before and after the capacitor Problems were created by excess harmonics flowing in the was added to the circuit are given in Table I11 and Table IV, capacitor bank overheating of the capacitor circuit breaker. respectively. The THD of the voltage and current waveforms The increased harmonic currents also caused problems with is given in Table V. Examining these results, it can be seen the 100-A individual capacitor fuses and the 3000-A main line that the effect on the X-phase is more pronounced than on fuse. The capacitor was connected across the load for voltage the other phases. Another observation in this case is the fact regulation and power factor correction; however, the resulting that dominant harmonic frequencies for voltage and current resonance in the system increased the harmonic distortion and are not necessarily the same. decreased the power factor. Actual recorded waveforms for the three-phase load current are shown in Fig. 3. Tables I and 111. EFFECTOF HARMONIC FILTERING I1 describe the RMS currents of the system and the harmonic One possible solution to the steady-state harmonic problem spectrum of the currents, respectively. The second examples illustrates the harmonic problems that created by the use of power factor correction capacitors is a can occur after a capacitor is added to a circuit. In this case harmonic filter. A harmonic filter tuned to the systems domian 1800 kVAR wye-ungrounded capacitor bank is switched nant harmonic frequency can reduce harmonic distortion while on in the presence of downstream harmonic loads. A one line providing voltage regulation and power factor correction. A diagram of the distribution system is shown in Fig. 4. The single-tuned harmonic filter is a shunt RLC element, shown in addition of this capacitor to the distribution circuit caused an Fig. 5 . The L and C elements may be tuned to the resonant

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1186 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 29, NO. 6, NOVEMBEIUDECEMBER 1993

Harmonic
1800 KVAR

TABLE IV HARMONIC ANALYSIS OF VOLTAGE WAVEFORMS After Before Harmonic RMS RMS Angle Order Volrage Fund. X 7344.5 -110.1 7357.6 -110.1 130.3 7359.2 130.1 Y 7333.7 9.8 7262.9 9.9 Z 7268.8 5th. X Y Z 1Oth.X Y Z 11th. X 104.3 108.7 107.8 52.8 51.2 53.1 84.8 74.1 51.3 47.2 45.3 53.9 49.8 54.4 44.3 8.0 102.7 -138.2 152.2 177.9 171.5 -162.4 116.5 -86.0 -162.4 116.5 -86.0 -71.4 -94.1 -53.6 109.9 116.0 118.2 122.1 113.1 58.3 166.8 94.5 71.9 163.2 40.4 69.9 127.2 55.9 30.0 8.14 81.6 -129.5 -121.4 -175.4 -108.6 136.5 76.6 119.3 36.6 -11.5 66.2 -47.9 140.4 -32.7

t Eric
Fig. 4. Simplified one-line diagram of the distribution system. TABLE III
HARMONIC ANALYSIS OF CURRENT WAVEFORMS

Y
Z

12th. X Y

z z

Harmonic Order Fund. X Y

Before. After RMS Angle RMS Angle Current (Degrees Current (Degrees
) )

13th. X Y

148.3 -141.7 156.3 ~. . . 95.3 -22.7 151.9 4.2 1.5 0.8 10.7 10.9 9.6 5.1 0.1 0.3 6.6 0.2 0.5 8.0 2.5 2.2 5.2 0.3 0.2

140.4 148.1 148.0

-136.7 101.6 -24.2 109.8 -8.7 -73.0 152.1 -107.2 41.7 -100.2 -102.2 -85.5 -27.9 0.8 -64.3 -119.9 13.3 170.2 131.9 -134.9 -7.6

2nd. X Y Z 5th.

112.6 11.6 -136.12 3.2 -70.9 1.5 149.9 -83.2 40.8 131.5 -102.8 131.9 -106.8 -158.7 -112.7 81.1 43.4 155.5 -63.5 -124.9 -55.2 13.6 10.8 11.1 6.3 8.7 4.5 16.0 5.1 0.3 18.7 3.0 2.7 15.1 1.94 0.3

HARhfONlC

Y
Z

8th. X Y
Z

TABLE V DISTORTION OF VOLTAGE AND CURRENT WAVEFORMS Before After Phase THD THD IX 7.1% 24.1% IY 7.8% 13.7% IZ 7.2% 8.8% VX 2.4% 5.7% 3.5% VY 2.6% VZ 2.1% 2.9%

10th.

Y
Z

11th.

Y
Z

12th.

Y
Z

i ;
f

i:

Fig. 5.

Single-tuned FUC shunt filter.

harmonic frequency. Determination of the L and C values used in the filter can be found from the following relationships: jhwL = -j hwC -1 h2wL = h21x1, I = IXc I where h is harmonic order to which the filter is tuned.

wc

9U

IV. ASD

T R A N S I E N T

OVERVOLTAGES
Fig. 6.

- eeeu
I

CREATED BY CAPAClTOR SWITCHING

The transient overvoltage of a capacitor switching event frequently causes protection equipment to operate and disconnect the customer load. Adjustable speed drives (ASD) tend to be particularly susceptible to this problem because overvoltage protection thresholds are lower than other customer equipment to protect the semiconductor components [9]. Fig. 6 shows actual data recorded from a capacitor switching event where

Plot of actual recorded data of voltage on the dc bus of an ASD during a capacitor switching event.

the transient overvoltage on the dc bridge of the drive exceeded the trip setting. The drive in this case was a PWM drive serving an industrial load. The drive tripped off-line due to capacitor switching events on the ac system.

GIRGIS et al.: HARMONICS AND TRANSIENT OVERVOLTAGES DUE TO CAPACITOR SWITCHING

1187

Link Inductor

l v v I

gL1400

1
0 0 I 1 0

Fig. 7.

Adjustable speed drive model used in EMTP.

20

40

60

80

Link
Fig. 10.

Inductance

(mH)

DC bridge voltage vs. link inductance.

TABLE VI
DURING CAPACITOR SWITCHING

1.8 W A R Fig. 8. System used in EMTF' simulation.

DC BRIDGE VOLTAGE

C a s e Number
2 3
4

Per Unit Overvoltage 1.70 1.63 1.65 1.72

5% Reactor

DC Voltage
727 732 127 732

C J

0.00

0.01

0.02

0.03

Time

(Seconds)

Fig. 9.

Simulated capacitor switching (ASD) dc voltage.

EMTP simulations were performed to illustrate the effect of capacitor switching on an ASD and how certain parameters effect the transient overvoltage on the ASD dc bridge. The ASD was model in EMTP as a three-phase full wave rectifier. The three-phase full wave rectifier converts three phase ac to DC. The converter in its simplest form consist of six diodes (see Fig. 7). A diode is connect anode (cathode) to cathode (anode) from each ac phase to the positive (negative) dc terminal. (Current flows from anode to cathode.) For a controlled rectifier, the diodes are replaced with thyristors. The dc voltage in a controlled rectifier can be varied by controlling the thyristor gating pulses. The system model used for the EMTP simulations is shown in Fig. 8. The ASD is modeled as a three-phase full wave controlled rectifier with a capacitor across the dc terminals. The inverter or dc to ac converter was not modeled since the major concerns are effects due to changes in the ac system. A plot of the simulated dc bridge voltage during a capacitor switching event is presented in Fig. 9. EMTP is used to simulate capacitor switching operations to determine the peak voltage magnitudes on the dc bridge. Switching occurs when the phase C voltage is at its peak. For the purpose of the simulation the motor was modeled as constant current load. For PWM drives and for these simulations, the rectifier is simply a three-phase converter. The capacitance value used in the simulations is selected to minimize voltage ripple on the dc bridge. This was done to duplicate actual conditions. During

steady-state operation, the current supplied to the rectifier is discontinuous since the capacitor maintains a voltage near the peak of the ac system voltage. A. Effect ofLink Inductance One method that is commonly used to limit the transient overvoltage on the dc bridge during capacitor switching is to place inductance in the link connection between the rectifier and converter. The link inductance was varied with values ranging from .01 to 100 mH to determine its effect on the peak voltage at the dc bridge. A plot of peak transient dc voltage is shown vs. link inductance is shown for several values of link capacitance in Fig. 10. Generally, the addition of inductance will decrease the peak overvoltage. B. Addition o f Reactance on the AC Side Sometimes it may not be practical to vary the link inductance. Often times a reactor is placed in series with the converter ac input terminals. This solution was tested at the PWM drive serving the industrial load. A 5% line reactor was installed at the drive terminals and five capacitor switching tests were performed. The results of these tests are presented in Table VI: the dc bridge voltage as a function of per unit overvoltage as measured at the capacitor bank. In each of these tests, the dc overvoltage was less than the overvoltage threshold of the drive. Before the installation of the line reactor, overvoltages of these magnitudes would have caused the drive to trip. Simulations were performed where inductance was added in front of the drive and varied from .01 to 100 mH with a link capacitor of 1000 uF. The result is plotted in Fig. 11 along with the result obtained by varying the link inductance. For this case, the addition of inductance on the ac side has a greater effect on reducing the peak overvoltage on the dc bridge than addition of link inductance.

V. CONCLUSION
Addition of capacitor for power factor correction may amplify harmonics in the ac power system. Certainly, amplifi-

I
1188

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 29, NO. 6, NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1993

............ .

Reactor on DC side Reactor on AC side

A . -

........_____.__.
20

0)

7M)

Delively, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 427-434,July 1989. [8] M. Z. Lowenstein, Power factor improvement for non-linear loads, presented at the 1991 Ann. Tech. Conf. Textile, Fiber, Film Ind. Committee, Greenville, S. C., May, 1991. [9] M. F. McGranaghan, T. Grebe, G. Hensley, T. Singh, and M. Samotyj, Impact of utility switched capacitors on customer systems: part 11-adjustable speed drive concerns, IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1623-1628, Oct. 1991.

n
Fig. 11.

IO

Inductance

(mH)

Peak dc voltage as a function of reactor position.

Adly A. Girgis (S80-SM81-F92), for a photograph and biography please see page 1175 of this issue.

cation depends on the magnitude of the power factor correction and the system impedance. In the case presented, the power factor would not be improved as the total apparent power increases. The unbalance in harmonics may cause misoperation of ground relays. The amplification of harmonics may cause overheating of transformers and other substation equipment. A possible solution to this problem is to design filters in to the power factor correction. Transient overvoltage on an ASD may be reduced by adding inductance on the ac system side of the drive or on the dc link of the drive. For the case of the PWM drive serving an industrial load, a 5% line reactor was installed and tested. The results showed that this was an effective means of solving nuisance tripping cased by transient overvoltages.
REFERENCES IEEE Working Group on Power System Harmonics, Power system harmonics: an overview, IEEE Trans. Power Apparat. Syst., vol. PAS102, no. 8, pp. 2455-2459,Aug. 1983. J. F. Fuller, E. F. Fuchs, and D. J. Roesler, Influence of harmonics on power distribution system protection, IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 549-557, Apr. 1988. J. Anillaga, D. A. Bradley, and P. S. Bodger, Power System Harmonics. New York Wiley, 1985. S. B. Davan and A. Straughen, Power Semiconductor Devices New York Wiley, 1987. A. Greenwood, Electrical Transients in Power SystemsNew York Wiley,

Christopher 1175 Of the

M. Fallon, for a photograph and biography please see page

Jay C. P. Rubino was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA. He received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1986 from Wilkes College, Wilkes-Barre, PA, and the M.E. degree in electric power engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. He began with the Power Systems Engineering Department of General Electric, Schenectady, NY, in 1987.There he was involved in numerous power system engineering studies encompassing concerns with adjustable-speed drives, power system stability, parameter identification, and power system component modeling. From August 1991 through December 1992,he attended Clemson University, Clemson, SC, affiliated with the Clemson University Research Association.

1991.
T. Grebe, Why power factor correction capacitors may upset adjustable speed drives, Power Quality Mag., pp 14-18, May/June 1991. A. A. Gigis et al., Measurement and characterization of harmonic and high frequency distortion for a large industrial load, IEEE Trans. Power

Ray C. Catoe (M82) received the B.S. degree with honors in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, in 1982. From 1982 to 1992,he was a power quality engineer with Duke Power Company, Charlotte, NC. His major areas of responsibility included specialized testing, training, and resolving power quality problems for large industrial customers. He is presently with Jake Rudisill Associates, Charlotte, NC, as a technical sales engineer. Mr. Catoe is a member of the Power Engineering Society, Eta Kappa Nu, and Tau Beta Pi.