Transient Overvoltages

Sources of transient overvoltages

Capacitor switching
switching a single capacitor
switching back-to-back capacitors
transient magnification
Other methods to improve power factor
- Synchronous condenser
- power electronics device (VSC/STATCOM)

Sources of transient overvoltages

Other switching transients
line energizing
faults
Lightning
Ferroresonance
May be sustained, not transient

Capacitor switching
Substation

Feeder impedance
V

HV system
A
Thevenin
Current
and
voltage
equivalent
measurements

Switched
capacitor

One-line diagram showing location of

switched capacitor and measurement
location on distribution feeder circuit

Capacitor switching
ia Feeder Z
va
HV system
Thevenin
equivalent

Switched
capacitor
Sinusoidal forced response
(AC steady state) plus natural
(transient) response

Capacitor switching

Magnification of capacitor switching

transient by customer capacitor
customers capacitor bank on LV side of
service transformer will see the voltage
transient produced by utility capacitor
switching (on MV or HV system).
if the resonant frequency is close to the
frequency produced by the utility capacitor,
the customers capacitor bank will appear to
magnify the oscillation locally.

Substation

Service transf
Load

HV system
L1
Thevenin
equivalent

L2

capacitor

One-line diagram showing location of

switched capacitor and customer with LV
capacitor which may magnify switching
transient

 This may require customer to install highenergy MOV surge arresters

Customer may install a small inductor
(called a reactor) in series with the
capacitor bank
added advantage of improving harmonic
performance (next chapter)
if a few drives are all that are affected, then
the inductor can be added there

Back to back capacitor switching

Substation
HV Thevenin
equivalent

Service transf

capacitors
Charging one capacitor from the other through
a very small inductance.
Rise time on inrush current waveform is very
high, with high-frequency oscillation.

Lightning
Lightning surge may enter from
strike to HV or MV (primary) line supplying
customer
nearby strike to ground
strike to LV (secondary) line on or near
customer premise
strike to customer building or other structure

Transformer model at high

frequencies
a

G
vAG(t)

Capacitively coupled
impulse due to
Interwinding capacitance
of transformers

G
N

vaG(t)

Transformer model at high

frequencies
A

vaG(t)

t
G

Longer pulses may be conducted

around transformer

Ferroresonance
Nonlinear resonance between unloaded
transformer magnetizing branch and a series
capacitor
May occur when distribution transformers fed
from cables are switched one phase at a time
Especially a problem on ungrounded wye-delta
transformers
May occur any time an unloaded iron-core coil is
in series with a capacitor

Long-duration overvoltage caused

by ferroresonance of transformer

2. Terms and definitions

15

Ferroresonant circuit
I
E

VC

VL

XC = 1/(C)
VL = XL jI = E + XC jI

VL = jL I
= E - VC
VC = [1/(jC)] I
=-j [1/(C)] I
VL

XL jI
E + XC jI
jI

Ferroresonant circuit
VL = XL jI = E + XC jI
VL

slope
=XL

slope = XC

jI

Ferroresonant circuits
A
B
C

A
B
C

Possible effects of ferroresonance

Overvoltage
Audible noise
Overheating
Sustained overvoltage => arrester failure
Flicker due to erratic voltage
Subharmonic voltages (e.g., at 1/3 or 1/2
of normal frequency)
Chaotic response