1

Harmonic Losses and Stresses of Nonlinear Three-Phase Distribution Transformers Serving Plug-In Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Paul S. Moses, Student Member, Mohammad A. S. Masoum, Senior Member, IEEE and Keyue M. Smedley, Fellow, IEEE
AbstractThis paper investigates the impacts of Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) charging stations on the performance of three-phase three-leg distribution transformers. PEV charging stations are sizeable nonlinear loads because of their large rating ac-dc power conversion electronics. The resulting current harmonics can cause abnormal operation in transformers such as additional losses, reduced efficiency, temperature rise as well as premature insulation and windings failure. This could significantly impact the reliability, security, efficiency and economy of newly developing smart grids due to possible transformer outages and loss of transformer life. In order to accurately investigate these problems, a highly detailed nonlinear three-phase three-leg transformer model is implemented for this study. The model considers core nonlinearities such as saturation, hysteresis and eddy current effects as well core flux interactions and couplings in asymmetric multi-leg core structures. The impact of diode rectifier based charging stations on losses (fundamental and harmonics) and waveform distortions in power transformers is studied. Index TermsHarmonics, nonlinear transformer model, plugin electric vehicles, power quality and smart grids.

(PEVs) are growing in popularity due to increasing governmental regulations on industries and public opinion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move toward more sustainable technologies. Therefore, many automotive companies have already started to expand their production to capitalize on the growing electric vehicle market. PEVs offer numerous advantages over conventional fuelbased vehicles such as; more efficient motors, low emissions, less reliance on fossil fuels, energy storage for grid surplus and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability for supporting grid during peak times. PEVs can come in many variants [1, 2] such as all-Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and PlugIn/Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs/PHEVs) which combine battery powered electric motor propulsion (for short intercity
P. S. Moses and M. A. S. Masoum and are with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia (paul.s.moses@gmail.com; m.masoum@curtin.edu.au). K. M. Smedley is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Irvine (UCI), Irvine, CA 92697 USA (smedley@uci.edu).

I. INTRODUCTION
LUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES

driving) with conventional fuel based internal combustion engines (for long range cruising). The latter hybrid PEV type is currently the most popular. PEVs are anticipated to be charged in public or corporate car parks, electric charging stations, or at a customers premises. Therefore, in order to support PEVs in the near future, an electric vehicle network complete with charging stations and infrastructure to support residential PEV charging is necessary. This will be an important function of newly developing smart grids proposed to modernize century old distribution system design for future energy requirements. Smart grids aim to improve security, reliability and efficiency of power systems [3-7]. In order to do this, a smart grid infrastructure consisting of a sophisticated bidirectional communications network with smart meters and sensors will be deployed for real-time monitoring and control of distribution and consumer assets (e.g., smart appliances). This will greatly enhance the capabilities of conventional distribution grids to perform actions such as automated selfhealing, reconfiguration and load control [8]. It seems most likely that power transformers in their present form will continue to be in service in power systems for many decades to come due to its widespread use, lack of more efficient energy conversion technology and inherent high reliability in its simplicity. This is unlikely to change in the wake of smart grids and therefore one must accept transformers as important fixture in future smart grids. Therefore, the impacts of typical smart grid operations such as PEV charging with charging stations must be assessed for transformer health and performance considerations. Charging stations are expected to be located in residential and light commercial areas. Due to their high ratings for rapidly charging PEVs in short times, distribution systems may experience stresses from sudden surges in power demand. Limited studies have already been performed to investigate some of these problems [9]. However, the impact of harmonic distortion and losses in distribution transformers serving charging stations has not been investigated. This paper studies the impacts of PEV charging station activity on transformer performance in a smart grid using a highly detailed nonlinear transformer model. The PEV nonlinearities, loading patterns and transformer losses (winding and core loss) over a 24 hour period are investigated.

978-1-61284-220-2/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

2 II. NONLINEAR MODEL OF DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER A nonlinear model of an asymmetric three-phase three-leg transformer for (non)sinusoidal operating conditions is implemented for this study. The model is modified from references [10, 11] and employs the duality principle which is based on the simultaneous solution of electric and magnetic equivalent circuits of three-phase three-leg transformer cores. The nodal circuit equations are solved in time domain using iterative numerical techniques such as the Newton-Raphson method. The electric circuit governs the electrical connections of the source, load and the transformer. For three-phase transformers, the magnetic circuit is necessary to represent the multiple flux paths, nonlinear reluctances and magnetomotive forces within multi-legged iron core structures [12]. Furthermore, the transformer three-leg core has an asymmetric structure because the center leg has a shorter flux path. This model takes this into consideration with individual magnetization nonlinear models for each core-leg. This allows the asymmetric magnetizing behavior of the core to be considered. A. Electric Equivalent Circuit The electric circuit of Fig. 1 can be simulated by most software packages such as PSIM, EMTP-RV or PSPICE. This paper implements the model in PSPICE. The governing electric circuit relationships assuming wye/wye connections are as follows di p , x (t ) d p , x (t )
v p , x (t ) = R p , x i p , x (t ) + L p , x vs , x (t ) = Rs , x is , x (t ) + Ls , x dt dis , x (t ) dt + + dt ds , x (t ) dt

reluctances of the core are reduced to three reluctance parameters which can be easily measured. This magnetic circuit is programmed into PSPICE as an electrical circuit using the magnetic-electric duality principle. The following equation must hold true for the assumed magnetic circuit

a + b + c + 0 = 0

(2)

where a , b and c are leg fluxes and 0 is the zerosequence flux path through air or tank structures. The nonlinear saturation behaviour for each leg in Fig. 2 are implemented in PSPICE as flux sources dependent on their own MMF drops [11]. Nonlinear saturation characteristics for each leg can be individually fitted to measured magnetizing characteristic by adjusting and parameters. The measurement procedure to obtain the magnetic circuit parameters of an asymmetric threeleg transformer is described in [13]. The zero-sequence open circuit test determines the linear air or tank path reluctance 0 . The i hysteresis loops for each limb can be obtained by individually exciting each phase at a time and integrating the corresponding induced voltages.
i pm, a
R p, a i p, a L p, a ic , a

e p, a

es , a
Ls, a is , a R s, a

Rc, a

i pm, b
R p, b

e p, b

es , b
Ls , b is , b Rs , b

i p, b L p, b ic , b

Rc , b

(x = a, b, c )

(1)
R p, c
i p, c L p, c ic, c

i pm, c

e p, c

es , c
Ls , c is , c R s, c

where the primary and secondary parameters for voltages, currents and flux linkage terms are respectively vp,x, vs,x, ip,x, is,x, p,x and s,x and x denotes the corresponding phase. Rp,x, Rs,x, Lp,x and Ls,x are the respective primary and secondary winding resistances and leakage flux inductances. By invoking Faradays Law, the induced primary and secondary are computed by the time derivative of the magnetic leg fluxes obtained from the magnetic circuit which drives a controlled voltage source. Core-loss resistance Rcore in parallel with the induced primary voltage approximates hysteresis and eddy current losses. Skin effects are usually negligible at these frequencies and therefore winding resistances and leakage fluxes are modeled with linear resistances and inductances. In this paper, the electric circuit parameters, winding resistances, core loss resistances and leakage inductances are estimated from three-phase open-circuit and short-circuit tests. B. Magnetic Equivalent Circuit The circuit of Fig. 2 is an approximation of the equivalent circuit developed in [10]. In this model, the seven nonlinear

Rc , c

Fig. 1. Three-phase (star/star) electric equivalent circuit

fa f fb

fc
f

Fp, a = N p iex,a

Fp, b = N p iex,b
Fs , b = N s i s ,b

Fp, c = N p iex,c
Fs , c = N s is ,c

Fs , a = N s i s,a

Fig. 2. Three-phase (three-leg) magnetic equivalent circuit

3 III. MODELING OF PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND CHARGING STATIONS In addition to the nonlinear modeling of transformers, the nonlinearities and load characteristics of PEV charging stations needs to be determined. Therefore, this section describes the PEV charging station configuration, PEV ratings and load modeling approach necessary for the analysis. A. Plug-In Electric Vehicles Typical PEV battery capacities presently range from a few kWhs to over 50 kWh [14-17]. In order to charge these batteries in a time period similar to filling the tank of a fuel based car, it is expected that most PEVs will have multiple charging modes allowing slow to rapid charging. Lithium-ion titanate batteries are showing promise with their lightweight, energy dense and rapid recharge capability. With a suitable battery charger, it may be possible to recharge these batteries in approximately 10 minutes with 95% of full charge. For example, the newly released Mitsubishi iMiev [14] PEV offers home charging from 15A 240 V (Australia) power supply. The battery charger itself is built into the PEV. However, for rapid charging, which is the focus of this paper, a special external rapid power battery charger is required. The iMiev offers the quick charge facility using a special socket supplied from a rapid charge unit such as those to be installed in charging stations. These rapid charging units will be rated significantly higher than the domestic PEV charging circuits. In this paper, each rapid charging units is assumed to be rated at 250 kW for each PEV which is consistent with PEV chargers currently being prototyped [9]. Therefore, at a maximum charging station capacity of 8, this would equate to 2 MW of demand which corresponds with the maximum capacity of the distribution transformer.
TABLE I RECENTLY RELEASED PEVS ON THE MARKET AND THEIR BATTERY CAPACITIES Recent PEV Models Tesla Roadster Nissan Leaf[16] GM Chevrolet Volt [17] Mitsubishi i-MiEV[14]
[15]

common dc bus is assumed to supply up to 8 rapid charger units. Therefore, the maximum number of PEVs arriving at the charging station is limited to 8 PEVs, akin to a conventional fuel station. Furthermore, in reality, the rapid charger units will be of similar dimensions to conventional fuel pumps. In the modeling, the rapid charger units are lumped together as a single variable resistive load connected to a three-phase rectifier circuit supplied by the nonlinear transformer. By varying the dc-side resistance, the power level corresponding to the number of PEVs being charged can be varied. Since the full power electronics of the rectifier unit is implemented together with transformer nonlinearities, a realistic current harmonic injection is achieved to accurately determine the impact on transformer operation (e.g., losses and distortions).
Main 25 kV Distribution Bus 25kV/ 575V 2 MVA Nonlinear Three-Phase Three-Leg Transformer (Figs. 1-2)

2 MVA Three-Phase AC-DC Rectification Unit Rapid Charger Units Pmax = 250 kW

charger

PEV Charging Station (Maximum Capacity: 8 PEVs)

Plug-In Electric Vehicle

Fig. 3. Plug-In Electric Vehicle charging station serviced by a nonlinear three-phase three-leg distribution transformer and three-phase rectifier.

Battery Capacity [kWh] 54 24 16 16

B. Nonlinear Charging Station Model In order for PEVs to be a viable option and achieve long distance driving similar to conventional fuel-based vehicles, rapid charge PEV service stations, or charging stations, will need to be installed at various locations around the network. The design of charging stations is still in its infancy with very few practical systems currently in operation. In this paper, it is assumed that the charging station is supplied from a step-down 25 kV/575 V mains distribution transformer rated at 2 MVA (Fig. 3). A large power dioderectification unit with the same rating is assumed to convert ac power into dc power necessary for battery charging. A

C. Assumed Load Profiles Since PEV charging stations are relatively new, predicting future daily loading patterns can be quite challenging. However, it is reasonable to assume that PEV charging station activity will follow statistics similar to the arrival and departure behavior of cars at conventional fuel stations. Based on this premise, the load curve of Fig. 4 is derived. This load curve, like conventional fuel stations, features two surges in activity. The first peak occurs in the morning hours when drivers fill their cars up to drive to work. The second peak corresponds to drivers choosing to fill their cars up after returning from work. This load curve will be used to simulate different power levels and usage patterns to determine the impact on transformer performance over a 24 hour period.

Rectified DC output

vsa vsc

vsb

vpc

vpa

vpb

Fig. 4. Daily load curve and PEV charging activity for a charging station. The morning and evening peaks correspond to surge in demand for PEV charging before and after work.

Fig. 5. Full load (i.e., maximum PEV capacity) transformer primary and secondary voltage waveforms and output voltage of rectification unit supplying charging station. Note the degradation in the transformer secondary voltage waveform due to nonlinear charging station loads. All values are shown in per-unit of rated peak voltage quantities.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Based on the detailed nonlinear transformer modeling and the PEV charging station system described in Sections II and III, simulation results depicting transformer behavior and daily operational performance are presented. A. Power Quality Impacts on Transformer Electromagnetic transient simulations are performed in time-domain to determine the steady-state behavior of transformers subjected to large PEV charging station loads. Figs. 5-7 depict the transformer waveforms under nonsinusoidal conditions presented by charging station rectifiers. As expected, the secondary voltage waveform of the transformer exhibits noticeable distortion with notching effects due to line commutation from the rectifier (Fig. 5). The THD of the secondary voltage waveform is approximately 3.8%. Fig. 6 demonstrates the transformer primary and secondary current waveforms when full fundamental load current is delivered to the charging station under peak charging activity. The THD of the current waveform is approximately 24%. This represents worst case unfiltered and peak loading currents that can be imposed on the distribution transformer by the charging station. B. Impact on Transformer Losses The nonlinear transformer model was used to compute the total fundamental and harmonic losses in the windings and iron-core structure under different loading levels of the charging station. The computed transformer losses at different times of the day are presented in Tables II and III considering sinusoidal and nonsinusoidal operation of the charging station.
isa isb isc

ipa

ipb

ipc

Fig. 6. Full load (i.e., maximum PEV capacity) transformer primary and secondary current waveforms. All values are shown in per-unit of rated peak current quantities.
0.002 pu (for ic)

ica

icb

icc imc

ima

imb

Fig. 7. Transformer magnetizing and core-loss currents under full charging station loading conditions. Note that the waveforms are not identical amongst phases due to asymmetry of the core structure. Also note the degradation in core-loss current waveforms which exhibits notching due to the rectification action. All values are shown in per-unit of rated peak current quantities.

5
TABLE II TRANSFORMER FUNDAMENTAL AND HARMONIC LOSSES BASED ON NONLINEAR
MODEL ASSUMING IDEAL SINUSOIDAL OPERATION OF CHARGING STATIONS

TABLE III TRANSFORMER FUNDAMENTAL AND HARMONIC LOSSES BASED ON NONLINEAR MODEL CONSIDERING NONSINUSOIDAL OPERATION OF CHARGING STATIONS Time 0100h-0200h 0200h-0300h 0300h-0400h 0400h-0500h 0500h-0600h 0600h-0700h 0700h-0800h 0800h-0900h 0900h-1000h 1000h-1100h 1100h-1200h 1200h-1300h 1300h-1400h 1400h-1500h 1500h-1600h 1600h-1700h 1700h-1800h 1800h-1900h 1900h-2000h 2000h-2100h 2100h-2200h 2200h-2300h 2300h-0000h 0000h-0100h Pdemand [%] 15 15.5 16 16.5 20 50 100* 80 30 20 16 15 14.5 15.5 20 50 80 100* 80 40 25 16 15.5 15 Pwinding loss [W] 457.198 482.754 515.779 549.689 810.456 4953.2 19610 12570 1790.8 810.456 515.779 457.198 425.882 482.754 810.456 4953.2 12570 19610 12570 3164.6 1250 515.779 482.754 457.198 Pcore-loss [W] 3986.2 3985.9 3985.9 3985.8 3985.5 3980.7 3970.2 3974.6 3983.7 3985.5 3985.9 3986.2 3986 3985.9 3985.5 3980.7 3974.6 3970.2 3974.6 3982.9 3984.7 3985.9 3985.9 3986.2 Ptotal-loss [W] 4443.398 4468.654 4501.679 4535.489 4795.956 8933.9 23580.2 16544.6 5774.5 4795.956 4501.679 4443.398 4411.882 4468.654 4795.956 8933.9 16544.6 23580.2 16544.6 7147.5 5234.7 4501.679 4468.654 4443.398

Time 0100h-0200h 0200h-0300h 0300h-0400h 0400h-0500h 0500h-0600h 0600h-0700h 0700h-0800h 0800h-0900h 0900h-1000h 1000h-1100h 1100h-1200h 1200h-1300h 1300h-1400h 1400h-1500h 1500h-1600h 1600h-1700h 1700h-1800h 1800h-1900h 1900h-2000h 2000h-2100h 2100h-2200h 2200h-2300h 2300h-0000h 0000h-0100h

Pdemand [%] 15 15.5 16 16.5 20 50 100* 80 30 20 16 15 14.5 15.5 20 50 80 100* 80 40 25 16 15.5 15

Pwinding loss [W] 419.1 447.0 475.8 505.5 739.0 4572.0 18220.0 11675.0 1652.5 739.0 475.8 419.1 392.1 447.0 739.0 4572.0 11675.0 18220.0 11675.0 2930.3 1150.2 475.8 447.0 419.1

Pcore-loss [W] 3986.8 3986.8 3986.7 3986.7 3986.4 3983.8 3978.3 3980.7 3985.6 3986.4 3986.7 3986.8 3986.8 3986.8 3986.4 3983.8 3980.7 3978.3 3980.7 3984.7 3986.0 3986.7 3986.8 3986.8

Ptotal-loss [W] 4405.9 4433.8 4462.5 4492.2 4725.4 8555.8 22198.3 15655.7 5638.1 4725.4 4462.5 4405.9 4378.9 4433.8 4725.4 8555.8 15655.7 22198.3 15655.7 6915.0 5136.2 4462.5 4433.8 4405.9

*) 100% power level corresponds to rated transformer loading (assuming fundamental current component is at 1 pu)

*) 100% power level corresponds to rated transformer loading (assuming fundamental current component is at 1 pu)

Simulations results indicate a significant increase in transformer losses under nonsinusoidal conditions, especially due to winding losses. The losses at rated loading increase by over 6% compared to rated operation without harmonics. These additional losses can lead to increased temperature rise in transformers and cause premature failure in the winding conductors and insulation. Furthermore, the cost of energy being wasted through fundamental and harmonic losses can become substantial and impact the economy and efficiency of developing smart grids.

V. CONCLUSION The aim of this paper was to investigate an important function charging stations in smart grids, and determine the impact on the performance of a distribution transformer. A detailed nonlinear electromagnetic model of three-phase three-leg transformer is implemented for this study. The nonlinearities of the charging station power conversion are considered in the analysis as well as daily load variations.

The following main conclusions are made: The operation of PEV charging stations based on a diode rectifier can have a significant impact on the power quality of supply from a distribution transformer. The secondary voltage waveform of the transformer is shown to have some degradation and distortion due to the rectification action necessary for PEV charging. The effects of sinusoidal and nonsinusoidal currents drawn by the charging station via a diode rectifier were shown to significantly increase the fundamental and harmonic losses dissipated in the transformer. This can lead to serious temperature rise and thermal stresses which could cause premature winding and insulation failure. Based on these results, the need for derating of the transformer is apparent in order to overcome the detrimental effects of temperature rise and additional losses from current harmonics injected by charging stations. Alternatively, active rectifier may replace the diode rectifier to draw sinusoidal unity power factor line current [18-19] or a power quality compensation device (e.g., active filters) may need to be installed in parallel to the charging station to cancel the harmonics from the diode rectifier.

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Paul S. Moses (S'09) received his B.Eng. (1st Class Hons.) and B.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics in 2006 from Curtin University, Perth, Australia. He received the W J Smith Memorial Prize for Best Electrical Engineering Honors Thesis and the Don Watts Prize from the Faculty of Engineering for the most innovative research project. He was awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship in 2009 and is presently working towards a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering at Curtin University. Since 2007, he has also been working as a research scientist for the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) in the Department of Defence, Australia, and is presently part of their Maritime Platforms Division, Propulsion and Energy Systems Group. His research interests include nonlinear electromagnetic phenomena, power quality and protection. Mohammad A. S. Masoum (SM'05) received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1983, 1985, and 1991, respectively, from the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. Dr. Masoum's research interests include optimization, power quality and stability of power systems/electric machines and distributed generation. He is the co-author of Power Quality in Power Systems and Electrical Machines (New York: Academic, 2008). Currently, he is an Associate Professor and the Discipline Leader for Electrical Power Engineering at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Curtin University, Perth, Australia and a senior member of IEEE. Keyue Ma Smedley (S87M90SM97F08) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 1982 and 1985, respectively, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, in 1987 and 1991, respectively. She was employed at the Superconducting Super Collide from 1990 to 1992, where she was responsible for the design and specification of ac-dc converters for all accelerator rings. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California at the Irvine (UCI). She is also the Director of the UCI Power Electronics Laboratory. Her research activities include high efficiency dc-dc converters, high-fidelity class-D power amplifiers, active and passive soft switching techniques, single-phase and three-phase PFC rectifiers, active power filters, grid-connected inverters for alternative energy sources, VAR on demand for modern grid, motor drive, fault current limiters for utility, solar and wind power conversion, etc. She has authored or coauthored more than 100 technical articles and holds ten US/international patents. Dr. Smedley is the recipient of UCI Innovation Award 2005.

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