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Currently, the transmission of electrical energy from bulk power generators all the way to Demand?
household, commercial and industrial consumers is made mostly through high voltage SPONSORED LINKS
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alternating current (AC) transmission and distribution systems, and through a series of Transformer Percent Impedances (%
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AC system is used in the transmission of bulk power, instead of DC (Direct Current), because The Backward Forward Sweep Load
of its ability to transform voltage to various levels using a transformer. The voltage flow for Three-phase Unbalance
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transformation follows the faradays Law which states;
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The em f induced in a circuit is directly proportional to the tim e rate of change of The Advantages of DC Transmission
m agnetic flux through the circuit. over AC Transmission Systems
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Note that, at higher voltage, the current was reduced thus voltage drop and line losses were Transmission System
also reduced. A C/C++ Program and Source Code
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Ability to transform voltage and to flow power in two opposite directions (bidirectional) are the
only major advantages of AC system over DC system. Bus Type of a Bus with Both
Generator and Loads Connected on It
DC transmission system on the other hand has more advantages over AC transmission Gauss Seidel Power Flow Simulation
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system:
Derivation of DC Power Flow
1. Reactance. The Weaknesses of Backward
DC system does not introduce a reactance in the line. This translates to higher power transfer Forward Sweep Load Flow Method for
Electric Distribution Systems by
capability of the line (since only real power is transmitted) and higher capacity utilization of the
Cheng and Shirmohammadi
generators. Voltage drop will also be reduced along the transmission line.
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2. Resistance ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
DC system has lower line resistance than AC systems thus, it will have
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lower line losses. AC system has a so called “skin effect” due to its 60
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(or 50) Hz frequency which introduces higher resistance in the wire.
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3. Power Transmission System and Load Flow
In DC system, the power is just the real component. It means that the transmission system Analysis
operator need not to worry the sufficiency of reactive power to maintain the security and
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stability of the system. Also, as discussed earlier, the absence of reactive power translates to
higher real power transfer capacity of the line and higher capacity utilization of the generators. Privacy Policy

4. Frequency
In DC system, the frequency is zero, thus no frequency variation to monitor. DC generator
connection to the transmission grid will not anymore require synchronization procedures (like
dark lamp method). Also, transient stability during fault clearing and switching is not anymore
a problem. And more importantly, electromagnetic “radiation” and interference are not
anymore a concern.

3. Susceptance
DC system does not introduce susceptance along the line thus removing the effect of
charging current and over voltages in the system. This also translates to higher power
transfer capacity of the line, specially for underground and submarine cables; And cost
savings benefits from the installation of inductive shunt reactors.

4. Analysis
Analysis of AC system always involved complex numbers, while DC is only a real number.
This could simplify system analysis.

Only if DC system can transform voltage into various levels more efficiently than AC system,
DC transmission system will the better choice.
Currently, the transformation of DC voltage into
another level involves 3 steps;
1. DC to AC Rectification
2. AC to AC transformation, and
3. DC to AC Conversion

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Unfortunately, these steps incur additional heavy losses. However, modern technology
converter/inverter has attempted to reduce the amount of this losses. A 1000 MW, 230 KV AC
- 450 KV DC/ 450 KV DC - 230 kV AC converter/inverter, for example, has a combine power
loss of only around 1.6 %.

The use of DC system in the transmission of power will be more economical if the price from
its benefits is higher than the cost incurred from the addition of extra equipments - rectifier
and converter.

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