Getting a Handle on Harmonics

By Rick Hoadley 8/17/2001

When designing a new system, or when expanding the number of adjustable speed drives that exist on a
power system, the designer needs to keep in mind the harmonics each piece of equipment contributes to
the system and how those harmonics interact. This article will look at some of the practical aspects of
getting a handle on the harmonics, with the goal of keeping the total harmonic distortion under the
required limits.

A. A Brief Review

Adjustable speed drives (ASDs) create harmonic currents as they take the three-phase AC sinusoidal
power and convert it to DC power. Whether the converter is made up of diodes, SCRs, or IGBTs with
free-wheeling diodes, they all generate harmonics because they turn on and off, creating a current
waveform that is not sinusoidal1. That’s the first problem. The second problem is to understand how to
measure these current waveforms and analyze them.

Let’s tackle the measurement problem first. We are familiar with the IEEE Std 519-1992 Recommended
Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electrical Power Systems. We also have comparable
IEC standard 61000-3-12 for Electromagnetic Compatibility. In these references, I(THD) is defined as
the square root of the sum of the squares (RSS) of each of the harmonic currents divided by the
fundamental current. This sounds straightforward, but what does it really mean?

An example here will help us. Figure A1 is a diagram of an adjustable speed drive made up of a three-
phase diode bridge for its converter, a DC link choke and capacitors for its filter, and a three-phase IGBT
bridge for its inverter. This is sometimes called a “buffered” drive because the DC link choke helps to
buffer the line currents. The line current waveform for a 100hp, 480V buffered drive connected to a
750kVA transformer is shown in Figure A2. If you were told that the I(THD) of this current were 36.1%,
does that mean that the drive was poorly designed? No! Does it mean that line reactors must be
purchased and installed between the input to the drive and the power feed to the drive? No! Does it mean
that an active harmonic cancellation device needs to be installed? Again, no! The I(THD) number by
itself doesn’t give you the complete picture of what is happening. Let’s dig a little deeper for a better
understanding.

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The mathematician Joseph Fourier (1768-1830), while trying to understand how heat propagates in a solid, discovered that a
periodic waveform of any arbitrary shape can be broken down into the summation of an infinite series of sinusoidal
waveforms. These waveforms would be made up of the fundamental sine wave, with a period equal to the period of the
original waveform in question, and integer frequency multiples (harmonics) of that fundamental waveform. The relative
amplitudes and phase-angles determine the final shape of the composite waveform. This transformation is used to describe non-
sinusoidal waveforms encountered in engineering and in other areas of science in order to understand and analyze them. Today
we have computer tools that can determine the harmonic content of non-sinusoidal waveforms, called an FFT for Fast Fourier
Transform. The FFT is a digital Fourier transformation algorithm developed by Tukey and Cooley in 1965.

1
 Vbus
AC ac + dc
Power M
Line dc _ ac

AC/DC DC DC/AC
Converter Filter Inverter

Figure A1 Adjustable Speed Drive for AC motors

200

150

100
Harmonic Harmonic 50
Harmonic Frequency, Current,
0
Number Hz Arms
0 0 0 -50

1 60 104.17 -100
2 120 0.20 -150
3 180 0.86
-200
4 240 0.10 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015
5 300 31.18
6 360 0.10 Figure A2 Line current waveform
7 420 15.48
8 480 0.05
100
9 540 0.28
90 75hp buffered drive on
10 600 0.06 250kVA xfmr
80
11 660 8.98
12 720 0.07 70

13 780 6.07 60

14 840 0.04 50

15 900 0.22 40

16 960 0.06 30
17 1020 5.32 20
18 1080 0.06 10
19 1140 3.81 0
20 1200 0.04 0 6 12 18 24 30
21 1260 0.19 Figure A3 Harmonic spectrum of line current
22 1320 0.05
23 1380 3.62
24 1440 0.05 100hp drive
25 1500 2.70
26 1560 0.04
on a 750kVA
27 1620 0.17 xfmr
28 1680 0.04 Iharm 37.6
29 1740 2.60 Ifund 104.2
30 1800 0.05 Itotal 110.8
31 1860 2.01
% I(THD) 36.1
Table 1 Harmonic currents
Table 2 Summary of harmonic data

If we were to perform a Fast Fourier Transformation of the current waveform, the spectrum information
generated is Table 1 that shows the rms amplitude of each of the harmonics present in the waveform.
Creating a chart from the data in the table, normalized to the fundamental current, gives us the spectrum
bar chart as shown in Figure A3. What is this telling us? The amplitude of the fundamental (60Hz)
current is 104.17Arms or 100%. The amplitudes of the other major harmonics are the fifth (300Hz) at

2
31.18Arms or 29.9%, the seventh (420Hz) at 15.48Arms or 14.9%, the eleventh (660Hz) at 8.98Arms or
8.6%, the thirteenth (780Hz) at 6.07Arms or 5.8%, and so on.

We can also take the spectrum information and summarize the data as shown in Table 2. For example, if
you were to take the square root of the sum of the squares (RSS) of all the currents, from the fundamental
to the end, you would have calculated the Itotal of the input current, which is 110.8Arms. This is what
would be measured using a true rms current meter clamped to one of the input power lines to the drive.

If you were to take the square root of the sum of the squares (RSS) of all the harmonic currents, from the
second to the end, you would have calculated the harmonic current (Iharm) content of the input current,
which is 37.6Arms. This is saying that out of the total of 110.8A, 37.6A of harmonic current is flowing.
The rest, of course, is the fundamental current (Ifund) that was measured at 104.2Arms. Remember, the
total current is also the square root of the sum of the squares of the harmonic current and the fundamental
current. For this example, Itotal = sqrt(37.6^2 + 104.2^2) = 110.8Arms.

Now, what is the I(THD) of this waveform? It is simply the ratio of the harmonic current to the
fundamental current, or 37.6 / 104.2 = 36.1%. As you can see, having an I(THD) number without
knowing either the Ifund or Itotal is an incomplete picture.
I(THD) vs Iharm/Ifund I(THD) vs Iharm/Itotal
200 200
180 180
160 160
140 140
120
% I(THD)
% I(THD)

120
100 100
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 0 20 40 60 80 100
% Iharm/Ifund % Iharm/Itotal
Figure A4 I(THD) vs Iharm/Ifund Figure A5 I(THD) vs Iharm/Itotal

Figure A4 shows how I(THD) varies with the ratio of Iharm to Ifund. It’s a linear function, and can be
any value from 0 to 1000 or more. In the example above, Iharm is 37.6A, Ifund is 104.2A, so, I(THD) is
36.1%. If, however, Iharm is 10A, and Ifund is only 1A, then you have an I(THD) of 10/1=1000%.
Figure A5 shows how I(THD) varies with the ratio of Iharm to Itotal. This is non-linear, and as the value
of Iharm approaches Itotal, the I(THD) approaches infinity. If you know that the I(THD) is 60%, then
Iharm is 60% of the amplitude of Ifund, or, Iharm is about 50% of Itotal. As a rule of thumb, when
I(THD) is less than or equal to 20%, and you know the Itotal, then Iharm is practically equal to I(THD) *
Itotal. When I(THD) is greater than 40%, you can use Figure A5 to find Iharm.

B. Reducing I(THD) by Increasing Ifund

So, how do you reduce I(THD)? Since I(THD) = Iharm/Ifund, there are two approaches we could take.
First, we can reduce Iharm and keep Ifund the same. Or, we can increase Ifund and keep Iharm the same.
Either method will reduce I(THD).

How can we increase Ifund and keep Iharm the same? This is what happens when other linear loads are
added to the system along with the drive. Suppose we had an additional 500A of fundamental current that

3
was fed by the same line feeding a 100hp drive on a 750kVA transformer. We would then add that
current load to the Ifund of the drive. This would give us an I(THD) of 37.6 / (104.2+500) = 6.2%! This
is a lot less than the 36.1% we had before, and now this system can meet IEEE 519. Here, we were able
to significantly reduce I(THD) without adding any additional filters or line reactors. All we did was to
add in the other linear loads that are on the system. The drive is only one part of the power system. All of
the other pieces of equipment connected to the power system will have an effect on the I(THD) of the
system. This is shown in Figures B1 and B2. Figure B3 shows how the harmonics, relative to the
fundamental current, are reduced. This is summarized in Table 3.

1000 1000
800 800
600 600
400 400
200 200
0 0
-200 -200
-400 -400
-600 -600
-800 -800
-1000 -1000
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015

Figure B1 Iline for a 100hp buffered drive. 500A of Figure B2 Iline for the 100hp buffered drive with the
linear load is shown dotted in. additional 500A of linear load.
100
90 Drive alone
80 Linear load with drive 500A load
70 100hp with 100hp
60 drive drive
50 Iharm 37.6 37.6
40 Ifund 104.2 604.2
30
Itotal 110.8 605.4
20
% I(THD) 36.1 6.2
10
Table 3 Summary of harmonic data
0
0 6 12 18 24 30

Figure B3 Spectrum of drive by itself, and the combination of

the linear load with the drive.

This is the reason for taking I(THD) measurements at the point where the power utility has their power
meter installed, also known as the Point of Common Coupling (PCC), because other customers are
connected to the same point. At this PCC, all of the linear loads, such as heaters, lighting and across-the-
line motors (equipment that draws fundamental current and doesn’t create harmonics), are summed with
the fundamental current from the drives. When the plant is operating at full capacity, this gives us the
maximum harmonic and fundamental currents that will be encountered. Operating conditions should be at
steady state, not during speed changes or other operating transients. We can then see what portion the
harmonic current is with respect to the summed fundamental currents. In most installations, the harmonic
currents will be less than 5% of the fundamental current, giving the plant an I(THD) less than 5%.
Ignoring the additional linear loads and only measuring the current feeding the drive by itself gives a
skewed picture of the magnitude of the harmonic current in the plant. When the harmonic current
measurements are taken when the plant is operating at capacity, over a 15 to 30 minute period of time, it is

4
called the Total Demand Distortion current, or I(TDD). The math for I(TDD) is the same as for I(THD), it
is simply measured at max load over a period of time and is not a snapshot under unloaded conditions.

C. Reducing I(THD) by Decreasing Iharm

Of course, the other way to reduce I(THD) is by decreasing Iharm, the harmonic current created by the
drives. There are several methods available to accomplish this.

1. Decrease Isc/Iload.

This is a measure of how stiff the source feeding the drive is. Isc is the short-circuit current available
from the transformer feeding the drive system (Isc = Irated / %Z of the transformer). Iload is the total
Ifund load the drive is drawing from the transformer. In IEC standards, this ratio is referred to as Rsce.
Isc/Iload will usually range from about 20 to 800. A 100hp, 480V 6-pulse buffered drive typically draws
about 104Arms at full load. An Isc/Iload of 21.0 means that the Isc of the transformer is about 2100A, or
a 100kVA transformer at 5.75%. An Isc/Iload of 523.0 means that the Isc of the transformer is about
52300A, or a 2500kVA transformer at 5.75%. A softer source (with a lower Isc/Iload ratio) causes a
reduction in the harmonic current that the drive creates, lowering the I(THD). A stiffer source causes an
increase in the harmonic current, increasing the I(THD). IEEE 519 takes this into account in their Table
10.3 that allows for higher harmonics with stiffer sources. This example is summarized in Table 4.

Ithd vs Isc/Iload, Buffered Drive 140.00

Ithd vs Isc/Iload, Unbuffered Drive
40.00

35.00 120.00

30.00 100.00
25.00 no line reactor
80.00
20.00 with 3% line reactor
60.00 with 5% line reactor
15.00
no line reactor 40.00
10.00
with 3% line reactor 20.00
5.00
with 5% line reactor
0.00 0.00
0 100 200 300 400 500 0 100 200 300 400 500

Figure C1-1 I(THD) vs Isc/Iload for a buffered drive Figure C1-2 I(THD) vs Isc/Iload for an unbuffered drive

200 200

150 150

100 100

50 50

0 0

-50 -50

-100 -100

-150 -150

-200 -200
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015

Figure C1-3 Iline for 100hp drive on 100kVA xfmr Figure C1-4 Iline for 100hp drive on 2500kVA xfmr

5
 100
90
100kVA 250kVA 2500kVA
80 xfmr xfmr xfmr
Drive on 2500kVA xfmr
70 Drive on 250kVA xfmr Isc/Iload 20.1 50.2 502.0
60 Drive on 100kVA xfmr Iharm 30.3 34.7 39.7
50
Ifund 104.2 104.2 104.2
40
30
Itotal 108.5 109.8 111.5
20 % I(THD) 29.1 33.3 38.1
10 Table 4 Summary of harmonic data
0
0 6 12 18 24 30

Figure C1-5 Spectrum of harmonics as the transformer size is changed

Figure C1-1 shows how the I(THD) varies with the Isc/Iload for three types of drives: a standard buffered
drive, a buffered drive with a 3% line reactor, and a buffered drive with a 5% line reactor. Figure C1-2
shows how the I(THD) varies with the Isc/Iload for an unbuffered drive without any line reactor, with a
3% line reactor, and with a 5% line reactor. Figure C1-3 shows the line current waveform of a 100hp
buffered drive at full load, connected to a 100kva transformer. It has an I(THD) of 29.1%. Figure C1-4
shows the line current for the same drive connected to a 2500kva transformer. Its I(THD) is 38.1%.
Figure C1-5 shows the current spectrum of harmonics as the size of the transformer is changed from
2500kVA to 250kVA to 100kVA.

2. Include a DC Link Choke in the drive.

There is a big difference between the current waveform of an unbuffered drive (without a DC link choke)
to a buffered drive (with a DC link choke). Figure C2-1 shows the line current for a 100hp unbuffered
drive at full load connected to a 750kva transformer. Figure C2-2 shows a 100hp buffered drive at full
load connected to the same transformer. Here we have the same hp drive, with the only difference being
the type of filter network within the drive structure. The I(THD) of the unbuffered drive is 91.9%. The
I(THD) of the buffered drive is less than half at 36.1%. This is summarized in Table 5. Figure C2-3
shows the spectrum of current harmonics between an unbuffered drive and a buffered drive. Please note
the big change in the 5th and 7th harmonic currents. Today, drives without DC link chokes are usually
rated less than 5hp.

300 300

200 200

100 100

0 0

-100 -100

-200 -200

-300 -300
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015

Figure C2-1 Line current of drive without DC link choke Figure C2-2 Line current of drive with DC link choke

6
 100
100hp 100hp
90
80
Unbuffered drive unbuffered buffered
Buffered drive
70 drive drive
60 Iharm 95.8 37.6
50 Ifund 104.2 104.2
40
Itotal 141.5 110.8
30
20
% I(THD) 91.9 36.1
10 Table 5 Summary of harmonic data
0
0 6 12 18 24 30

Figure C2-3 Spectrum of current harmonics

3. Insert a Line Reactor in-line with the drive’s input.

This is just like decreasing the Isc/Iload ratio, but using line reactors instead of transformers. Figure C1-1
shows how much the I(THD) can be reduced by adding line reactors to the drive. For example, the
I(THD) of the 100hp drive without any line reactor on a 750kVA transformer with an Isc/Iload ratio of
150.6 is 36.1%. Adding a 3% line reactor lowers the I(THD) to 28.7%. Changing the line reactor to a 5%
unit lowers the I(THD) further to 26.5%. Figure C3-1 shows the line current for a 100hp buffered drive
with a 3% line reactor. Figure C3-2 shows the same drive with a 5% line reactor. Compare these to
Figure C2-2 of a buffered drive without any additional line reactors. Figure C3-3 shows the change in the
spectrum of current harmonics as the size of the line reactor is changed. This is summarized in Table 6.
200 200

150 150

100 100

50 50

0 0

-50 -50

-100 -100

-150 -150

-200 -200
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015

Figure C3-1 Iline for 100hp drive with 3% line reactor Figure C3-2 Iline for 100hp drive with 5% line reactor

100
90
Drive w/o line reactor
80 Drive with 3% line reactor
70 Drive with 5% line reactor
60
100hp
50 buffered added 3% added 5%
40 drive line reactor line reactor
30 Iharm 37.6 29.9 27.6
20
Ifund 104.2 104.2 104.2
10
0
Itotal 110.8 108.4 107.8
0 6 12 18 24 30 % I(THD) 36.1 28.7 26.5

Figure C3-3 Spectrum of current harmonics Table 6 Summary of harmonic data

7
There is something else that has to be considered in this case, though. A line reactor will cause a large
drop in the DC bus voltage as the load increases. This can have the effect of starving the drive for voltage
when it is trying to provide full load current at full speed. When operating at speeds less than 95% of
rated, there isn’t a problem. But when operating above 95% of full speed, the drive may not be able to
provide the power needed for the motor and load. Figure C3-3 shows the % drop in the DC bus voltage
within the drive (Vbus) with respect to load, for different types of drive configurations. The 100% level is
the typical voltage level seen for a full wave rectified DC bus voltage in a buffered drive, a voltage at
1.35*Vrms of the AC line voltage, 648Vdc for a 480Vac line.
% Vbus vs % Load (Isc/Iload = 47)
102.00

101.00

100.00

99.00

98.00

97.00
unbuffered
unbuffered w ith 5% line reaactor
96.00 buffered
buffered w ith 3% line reactor
95.00 buffered w ith 5% line reactor
1.35*Vac
94.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Figure C3-4 Drop in Vbus as load increases for a drive with line reactors

4. Add a passive filter to the input to the drive

The addition of a passive, tuned filter to a power system always has some risks involved with it.
Principally, the risks are associated with the change that takes place to the system resonances. This can
cause the filter to become the low-impedance sink for all of the harmonics in the power system to which it
is tuned, possibly overloading the filter components. It can also cause voltage oscillations within the
power system leading to component failures.

The designer needs to take into account the other loads and harmonic sources connected to the power
system. There is still the risk that new loads may be added in the future that are not presently accounted
for, altering the results of the original power system calculations.

Another solution would be to add a broadband filter that limits the effect it has on the rest of the system.
These filters are typically a “T” type assembled with three reactors and a capacitor assembly. There are
several unique configurations on how the reactors are made, whether using three separate cores, or a
single core. The filter is tuned primarily to reduce the 5th harmonic. A good review of design
considerations can be found in the reference by Zhou et al.

5. Use a multi-pulse converter for the drive.

Several variations on 12, 18 and 24 pulse converters exist. The key purpose of using a multi-pulse
converter is to reduce the harmonic current created by the converter. Compared to 6 pulse converters, the
reduction in Iharm and I(THD) is significant. Figure C5-1 shows the line current for a 125hp drive with a
12 pulse converter, Figure C5-2 is a 600hp drive with an 18 pulse converter. Figure C5-3 shows the
harmonic spectrum comparison. Besides reducing the total harmonic current and improving the power
factor, another advantage of using a multi-pulse drive over the addition of line reactors is that there is no
drop in DC bus voltage as the load is increased. In fact, the DC bus voltage is a little higher than the

8
nominal bus voltage on a 6-pulse drive, about 680Vdc for a 480V drive. This provides a better voltage
utilization to achieve full power output to the motor. More details on multi-pulse drives will be found in
Section G.

Figure C5-1 Iline for 12 pulse converter on 125hp drive Figure C5-2 Iline for 18 pulse converter on 600hp drive

200 1000

150 800
600
100
400
50 200
0 0

-50 -200
-400
-100
-600
-150 -800
-200 -1000
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0 0.005 0.01 0.015

100
90
6-Pulse drive
80 12-Pulse drive
70 18-Pulse drive 6-pulse 12-pulse 18-pulse
60
50
buffered buffered buffered
40 drive drive drive
30 Iharm 37.6 7.5 6.0
20 Ifund 104.2 104.2 104.2
10
Itotal 110.8 104.5 104.4
0
0 6 12 18 24 30
% I(THD) 36.1 7.2 5.8

Figure C5-3 Spectrum comparison of 6,12,18 pulse drives Table 7 Summary of harmonic data

6. Use an IGBT converter front-end for the drive.

An IGBT converter (also known as a synchronous rectifier, regenerative converter, or voltage source
converter) is like running an inverter in reverse. It has the main advantage of being able to control the
flow of power from the AC power lines to the DC bus, or from the DC bus to the AC power lines. It is
able to control the DC bus voltage at a level higher than the peak of the AC power line voltage since it
operates in a boost converter mode. It can also control the power factor of the power feeding the drive
system. The only drawback is that it does produce harmonics at the carrier frequency (the frequency at
which the IGBTs are turned on and off). This shows up as notches in the voltage feeding the unit,
creating current harmonics as sidebands to the carrier frequency. See Figure C6-1 showing the line
current and line-to-line voltage at the terminals of an IGBT converter. The carrier frequency for this unit
is 2kHz that translates to the 33.3rd harmonic. Adding a tuned filter to the input of the unit greatly reduces
the harmonics generated. See Figure C6-2 for the line current, and C6-3 for the spectrum showing the
reduction of the higher frequency harmonics due to the addition of the filter. Notice that either with or
without the filter, there are insignificant lower frequency harmonics (between the 5th and 19th) present in
the waveform.

9
 1000 1000
800 800
600 600
400 400
200 200
0 0
-200 -200
-400 -400
-600 -600
-800 -800
-1000 -1000
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015

Figure C6-1 Iline and Vline-to-line for IGBT converter Figure C6-2 Iline and Vll for IGBT converter with filter

100
90
RGU w/o filter
80 RGU with filter
70
60
6-pulse Unfiltered Filtered
50 buffered IGBT IGBT
40 drive converter converter
30 Iharm 37.6 8.8 4.6
20
Ifund 104.2 104.2 104.2
10
Itotal 110.8 104.6 104.3
0
0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 % I(THD) 36.1 8.4 4.4

Figure C6-3 Spectrum of unfiltered and filtered IGBT converter Table 8 Summary of harmonic data
line currents
7. Use an active harmonic reduction unit.

This is also an IGBT converter, but is a stand-alone device. It has an internal cap bank that is used to
provide the harmonic current as needed. The unit senses the harmonic currents created by the drive, and
acts as a sink or source for those currents so that the transformer feeding the drive system does not have to
accommodate them. I(THD) can easily be reduced below 5% with such a unit. They typically need to be
sized to 30% of the drive’s full load current rating. An advantage of an active harmonic reduction unit
over tuned passive filters is that the designer does not need to be as concerned with system resonances or
with changes to the equipment added to a power system.

D. Reducing I(THD) by increasing the load on the drive

1. Keep in mind that as the load on a 6-pulse buffered drive changes, the Ifund also changes along
with the Iharm. As an example, please see Figure D1-1. This shows how the I(THD) varies with the load.
As the load increases, the fundamental current increases at a faster rate than the harmonic current, thus
reducing I(THD). This is an area that may cause confusion when measuring the I(THD) of a drive using a
meter, and getting an answer that is higher than expected. As you can see, the I(THD) can become very
large when operating below 50% load. Most harmonic estimation programs assume full load on a drive in
order to include the maximum fundamental current in the calculations, simulating a TDD operating
condition. This is summarized in Table 9. Figure D1-2 provides the same type of information for an
unbuffered drive.

6-Pulse Buffered Drive Currents 75hp 6-Pulse Buffered Drive added to a 500A Linear Load
100 100

90 90 10
l Load Current

80 80
Load Current

70 70
Iharm
Iharm
60 60
Ifund
Ifund
Figure D1-1 I(THD) and currents for a buffered drive Figure D1-2 6-pulse buffered drive added to a 500A linear load

Drive at Drive at Drive at Drive at Drive at

20% load 40% load 60% load 80% load 100% load
Iharm 18.1 22.5 27.3 32.4 37.6
Ifund 20.9 41.8 62.7 82.9 104.2
Itotal 27.6 47.5 68.4 89.0 110.8
% I(THD) 86.6 53.8 43.5 39.1 36.1
Table 9 Summary of harmonic data

Please take note of something else. As the load decreases, the harmonic current also decreases. This is
important to remember when making measurements and only recording the I(THD) number without
considering what is happening to Iharm. Suppose you have a 100hp drive on a system with 500A of linear
load (as was discussed in Section B above). With a 750kVA transformer feeding the system and the drive
operating at full load, the drive may have an I(THD) of 36.1% since Iharm = 37.6A, Ifund = 104.2A.
When the linear load is added in, the transformer secondary sees 6.2% I(THD) since Iharm = 37.6A, Ifund
= 604.2A. Now, if the load on the drive drops to 20%, the I(THD) of the drive becomes 86.6% since
Iharm = 18.1A, Ifund = 20.9A. It sounds like things have become worse! However, we need to keep the
big picture in mind. Again, with the 500A linear load added in, the transformer will actually have an
I(THD) of 3.5% since Iharm = 18.1A, Ifund = 520.9A. The Iharm decreased with the load. When
compared to the Ifund of the drive, the I(THD) increased, but when compared to the total Ifund that
included the linear load, I(THD) decreased! This is charted in Figure D1-2. This is summarized in Table
10.

500A load 500A load 500A load 500A load 500A load
with drive with drive with drive with drive with drive
at 20% at 40% at 60% at 80% at 100%
load load load load load
Iharm 18.1 22.5 27.3 32.4 37.6
Ifund 520.9 541.8 562.7 582.9 604.2
Itotal 521.2 542.3 563.4 583.8 605.4
% I(THD) 3.5 4.2 4.9 5.6 6.2
Table 10 Summary of harmonic data

11
2. Figure D2-1 shows the change in I(THD) along with the variation of Iharm for a 6-pulse
unbuffered drive (without a dc link choke) as the load on the drive changes.
6-Pulse Unbuffered Drive Currents
200
180
% of Total Full Load Current

160
140 Ifund
120 Iharm
100 Itotal
80 Ithd
60
40
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 % Load
Figure D2-1 I(THD) and currents for an unbuffered drive

3. Figure D3-1 shows the same information for an IGBT converter front-end. Please note that for the
IGBT converter, the Iharm does not change as the load changes. Only the Ifund changes, thus affecting
I(THD). Figure D3-2 is for an IGBT converter front-end, with a filter added to the system. The overall
effect is to decrease the Iharm by about half.
RGU Converter Currents RGU with Filter Converter Currents
100 100
90 90
% of Total Full Load Current

% of Total Full Load Current

80 80
70 70
60 Ifund 60 Ifund

50 Iharm Iharm
50
Itotal Itotal
40 40
Ithd Ithd
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 % Load 0 20 40 60 80 100 % Load

Figure D3-1 I(THD) and currents for an IGBT converter Figure D3-2 I(THD) and currents for a filtered IGBT converter

4. Figure D4-1 shows the same information for an 18-pulse drive. Please note that Iharm changes
very little as the load changes until the load drops below 20%.
18-Pulse Drive Currents
100

90
80
% of Total Full Load Current

70

60 Iharm
50 Ifund
40 Itotal
I(THD)
30

20
10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 % Load

Figure D4-1 I(THD) and currents for an 18 pulse drive

12
E. Reducing I(THD) by creating a system of drives

Up to this point, we have only considered the harmonics created by individual drives. What happens
when there are groups of drives connected to a common point in a plant? There are several things to keep
in mind.

1. If the drives are the same type, they can be considered to be one large drive, rated as the sum of the
individual drives and loads.

2. If the drives are different types, the individual harmonics of each type need to be summed. As a
rule of thumb, current harmonics between the 2nd and the 7th can simply be arithmetically summed.
Current harmonics higher than the 7th harmonic can be quadratically summed (square root of the sum of
the squares). Fundamental current is always arithmetically summed.

3. If there are 30 phase shifting transformers feeding different sets of drives, some of the 5th, 7th,
17th, 19th, etc., harmonics will be reduced in amplitude. This is the reason why several users may put half
of the drive load on a delta-delta transformer, and the other half of the drive load on a delta-wye
transformer. The cancellation of the 5th and 7th harmonics isn’t complete, but they are reduced from what
would be seen without the extra transformer. Figure E3-1 shows how the I(THD) and Iharm are affected
when two transformers, each feeding a 100hp drive, have unbalanced loads. The situation given is where
the load on the buffered drive connected to the delta-delta transformer is kept at 100%, and the load on the
buffered drive connected to the delta-wye transformer is varied from 0 to 100%.
Sum of delta and wye xfmrs with loads DC
100
M
90 AC
80
70
60 Iharm
50 Ifund
40 Itotal
30 I(THD)
20 DC
10 M
0 AC
0 20 40 60 80 100

Figure E3-1 I(THD) and currents as sum of primary currents for delta-delta and delta-wye transformers, each feeding a 100hp
drive. Load on one drive is kept at 100%. Load on the other drive is varied from 0 to 100%.

4. Don’t forget that the linear load on the system needs to be a part of the overall harmonic picture
since we have seen how the I(THD) is not just a measure of Iharm, but of the ratio of Iharm to all of the
Ifund at the point of common coupling. This was discussed in sections B and D1.

5. One other area of consideration is the extra heating the transformer will be experiencing due to the
harmonic currents created by the drive(s) along with the peak current the transformer will be expected to
provide. Figure E5-1 shows how the crest factor of the current varies with the Isc/Iload of the transformer
feeding the drive, for four different drive configurations: an unbuffered drive, a buffered drive, a buffered
drive with a 3% line reactor, and a buffered drive with a 5% line reactor. When considering the load on a
transformer, the load current should not exceed 1.414*Irated for the transformer. In addition, transformer
manufacturers use a K-Factor to help determine a multiplier for the additional heating due to eddy current
losses created by the current harmonics. The derating of transformers due to harmonics is not

13
straightforward, and should be discussed with the manufacturer of the distribution transformer you are
using. This is especially important if you have a standard transformer and the drive load on that
transformer is greater than 50% of the transformer rating. The IEEE Std C57.110 has more details on this
topic.
crest factor vs Isc/Iload
2.8
2.6
2.4
unbuffered
2.2
buffered
2 buffered w ith 3% line reactor
1.8 buffered w ith 5% line reactor

1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0 100 200 300 400 500

Figure E5-1 Current crest factor for different drive configurations

F. What else affects I(THD)?

Another area that may create a difference between actual harmonic measurements that are different from
what was expected from a simulation or study is the existence of harmonics in the voltage feeding the
drive system in question.

For example, suppose you have a 12-pulse system using a transformer with a delta primary and two
secondaries – one a delta and the other a wye. Each secondary is feeding a 3-phase diode bridge, placed
in parallel to feed the DC common bus for a drive. See Figure F1. It has been shown that the current
sharing between the bridges is far from ideal. Even with inter-phase transformers (IPTs), one bridge may
be carrying 60% of the load, while the other bridge is at 40% of the load. Later in the day, the 60/40 split
may become a 30/70 split! This is due to the “pre-existing harmonics”. That is, the line voltage feeding
the transformer contains 5th harmonics, causing the unequal split in the loading between the bridges. As
the amount of 5th harmonic changes, the split changes.

We have found that to achieve a lower I(THD) and a lower harmonic current with an even split in the load
among the bridges, four multi-pulse configurations work particularly well.

1. 12-Pulse system with a polygon auto-transformer feeding two bridges in parallel

DC
M
AC

This system, as diagramed above, provides much better current sharing between the bridges and an
I(THD) of about 8%. The auto-transformer configuration is a low-cost multi-pulse solution for several
applications. It has smaller dimensions than an isolation transformer.

14
2. 12-Pulse system with a delta-delta-wye isolation transformer feeding two bridges in series

DC
M
AC

Delta-wye secondaries, each at half voltage, feeding two 3-phase diode bridges in series, is a
configuration that is practically immune to pre-existing harmonics, providing close to a 50/50 split in the
power handled by each bridge and secondary winding. This gives I(THD) numbers less than 7%, as
expected. However, one disadvantage of this is that each bridge needs to handle full rated current (but
half power since the voltage is half). Now the cost of diode bridges is more cost sensitive its current
rating than its voltage rating. This is not a problem with drives less than 200hp since the cost of diode
bridges for smaller drives is not a large percentage of the cost of the drive. For larger drives, the full
current rating of the bridges becomes a bigger issue. On the other hand, medium voltage drives typically
use this method for 12-pulse converters since there is a cost advantage using lower voltage diode
assemblies.

3. 18-Pulse system with a polygon auto-transformer feeding three bridges in parallel

DC
M
AC

A polygon transformer of proprietary design along with the appropriate parallel diode bridge converter,
gives a system with an I(THD) number less than 5% and is affected only slightly by pre-existing
harmonics. This is a great solution for those applications needing very low harmonic currents if the
majority of the load on a system is due to drives.

4. 18-Pulse system with a triple secondary isolation transformer feeding three bridges in series

DC
M
AC

This system is also able to deliver an I(THD) less than 5% with little affect by pre-existing harmonics.
With the isolation transformer style, various system voltages can be accommodated. This has the same
disadvantage as the 12-pulse system using series bridges with full current rating. It is again advantageous
for medium voltage drives.

G. Voltage harmonics

Up to this point, we have only discussed the harmonic currents created by drives under various conditions.
What about the voltage harmonics?
15
Voltage harmonics can be thought of as a secondary effect caused by the current harmonics flowing in a
system. They appear when harmonic currents are present. How can they be calculated? Very simply.
Suppose we have a drive system consisting of a 750kVA, 5.75%, 480V power transformer, 40meters of
cable, a 3% line reactor, and a 100hp 6-pulse buffered drive. What would be the voltage harmonics at the
secondary of the transformer, and at the line side of the 3% line reactors? First, we need to know the line
impedances from the transformer to the drive.
Transformer inductance 46.9uH
Cable inductance 40uH
3% line reactor inductance 300uH

The impedance each inductance introduces to the circuit is simply 2*π*frequency*L. The units are in
Ohms when the frequency is in Hz and the inductance is in Henry. This says that the impedance goes up
as the harmonic frequency goes up. As harmonic currents flow through these impedances, harmonic
voltages are created. As a rule of thumb, the voltage harmonics decrease the closer you are to the
transformer secondary. They also decrease as the kVA of the transformer is increased. So, you can see
that there is an interaction between the current harmonics and the voltage harmonics.

The following chart is saying that on a 480V system, the 5th harmonic voltage created by the 5th harmonic
current will measure 22.8Vrms at the drive terminals, but will have an amplitude of 5.1Vrms at the line
side of the 3% line reactor, and only 2.8Vrms at the transformer terminals. Similar calculations are done
for each of the current harmonics present. The total V(THD) is then calculated by the ratio of the RSS of
the harmonic voltages to the fundamental voltage. This is summarized in Table 11.

Vharm due to
Inductance, Impedance at Impedance at 5th harmonic 5th harmonic Subtotal of
uH 60Hz, Ohms 300Hz, Ohms current, A current, V Vharm, V
46.9 0.0177 0.0884 31.2 2.8 2.8
40 0.0151 0.0754 31.2 2.4 5.1
300 0.1131 0.5655 31.2 17.6 22.8
Table 11 Summary of harmonic voltage data

In our example, we would expect to see the following:

Iharm = 29.3A
Ifund = 104.2A
Itotal = 108.2A
I(THD) = 28.2%
V(THD) at the drive terminals = 10.8%
V(THD) at 3% line reactors = 2.2%
V(THD) at transformer secondary = 1.2%

The distortion in the output voltage from a transformer caused by drives or other equipment is the source
of pre-existing harmonics in a system. This will cause the harmonics created by drives to increase, and
will cause additional heating in other equipment fed by that transformer.

H. How do the costs compare?

16
Each harmonic mitigation method outlined above has a relative cost associated with it. To help get a
handle on the additional costs, here are some guidelines for a 100hp drive system utilizing some of the
different schemes discussed in order to reduce the I(THD) of the drive and drive system.

Item Description Relative Cost

1. Standard 6-pulse, buffered drive 100%

2. Additional cost for 3% line reactor 10%
3. Additional cost for 5% line reactor 12%
4. Additional cost for a passive harmonic filter 30-60%
5. Additional cost for a 12-pulse, parallel bridge converter and transformer 100%
6. Additional cost for a 12-pulse, series bridge converter and transformer 115%
7. Additional cost for an 18-pulse, parallel bridge converter and transformer 110%
8. Additional cost for an 18-pulse, series bridge converter and transformer 125%
9. Additional cost for an active harmonic cancellation unit 110%
10. Additional cost for an IGBT active converter 140-150%

I. How to determine what is needed

As an aid in predicting the harmonics that will be seen in a power system involving drives, there are
several harmonic calculation programs available from drive and magnetics suppliers. Each one has
unique features and different levels of complexity. When using them, be sure you understand the
assumptions behind the calculations. Realize that these programs will get you in the ballpark as an
estimation tool, but can not guarantee the harmonic limits that could be present in a power system.
Simplifications are made, harmonics are usually scaled from a particular size drive, the voltage source is
ideal with respect to balance and no pre-existing harmonics, and so on. These detract from the absolute
accuracy. However, they are a great tool for reasonable estimations and for “what if” scenarios. For
critical installations, the only guarantee is to take field measurements on site, at maximum capacity.

J. Conclusions

We have examined several aspects of harmonics and methods used to reduce the I(THD) of a drive and
drive system. An important aspect of any harmonic study is determining all of the loads on a power
system grid. Ignoring the other loads can easily direct a designer or consultant to a more costly solution.
As seen above, there is a cost associated with each of the mitigation methods, but knowing what is
happening to the amplitudes of the harmonic currents and fundamental currents helps the designer to
determine the most cost effective method to apply to his particular application.

K. Acknowledgments

The writer would like to thank Nick Guskov for help in obtaining waveforms and harmonic spectrum for
the 6-pulse, 12-pulse and 18-pulse drives to verify the results.

17
L. References

ANSI/IEEE Std 519-1992. Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in
Electrical Power Systems.

ANSI/IEEE C57.110-1998. Recommended Practice for Establishing Transformer Capability when

Supplying Non-Sinusoidal Load.

IEC standard 61000-3-12. Electromagnetic Compatibility.

Bedford, B. D., and R. G. Hoft. Principles of Inverter Circuits. New York: John Wiley, 1964.

Schaeffer, J. Rectifier Circuits: Theory and Design. New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1965.

Cooley, J. W. and Tukey, J. W. An algorithm for the machine calculation of complex Fourier series.
Mathematics of Computation, 19, 90, pp. 297-301, 1965.

Pelly, B. R. Thyristor Phase-controlled Converters and Cycloconverters. New York: Wiley-

Interscience, 1971.

Arrillaga, J., D.A. Bradley and P.S. Bodger. Power System Harmonics. New York: Wiley-Interscience,
1985.

Bose, B. K. Modern Power Electronics. New York: IEEE Press, 1992.

Paice, D. A. Power Electronic Converter Harmonics. New York: IEEE Press, 1996.

Zhou, D., N. Guskov, G. Skibinski, W. Maslowski, B. Buchholz. LC Harmonic Filters – Practical Cost
Effective Design Considerations for Adjustable Frequency Drives. PCIM 2000 Prodeedings,
Adams/Intertec International, Ventura, CA, USA, October 2000.

There is a great web site where you are able to play with a series of harmonics to create different shapes of
waveforms, and audibly discover the connection between harmonics and waveshape. It can be found at:
http://www.gac.edu/~huber/fourier/index.html

The simulations used in this paper were created with Simplorer, by Ansoft Corp. A free demo of the
program is available at:
http://www.simplorer.com/english/modeling_index.htm

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