Unit V

Thyristor-switched series capacitor

(TSSC)
 TSSC
Introduction:
We know that
Thyristor-controlled series capacitor (TCSC), which offers a
continuous control of capacitive or inductive reactance.
But
Thyristor-switched series capacitor (TSSC), which permits a discrete
control of the capacitive reactance
i.e.
The TSSC scheme is quite satisfactory when only stepwise
control of transmission-line reactance is considered
adequate.
A capacitive reactance compensator which consists of a series
capacitor bank shunted by a thyristor switched reactor to provide a
stepwise control of series capacitive reactance.
 TSSC
It consists of a number of capacitors, each shunted by an appropriately
rated bypass valve composed of a string of reverse parallel connected
thyristors, in series
 TSSC
The operating principle of the TSSC is straightforward: the degree of
series compensation is controlled in a step-like manner by increasing
or decreasing the number of series capacitors inserted. A capacitor is
inserted by turning off, and it is bypassed by turning on the
corresponding thyristor valve.
A thyristor valve commutates "naturally," that is, it turns off when the
current crosses zero. Thus a capacitor can be inserted into the line by
the thyristor valve only at the zero crossings of the line current. Since
the insertion takes place at line current zero, a full half-cycle of the
line current will charge the capacitor from zero to maximum and the
successive, opposite polarity half-cycle of the line current will
discharge it from this maximum to zero.
 TSSC
TSSC consists of a series connection of multiple TCSC modules
together with a fixed-series capacitor as shown in fig.

The thyristor pairs operate either in the blocked mode or the bypassed
mode, thus acting as switches that are off or on, respectively. The
inductors L1, L2, . . . , Ln in Fig. are replaced by small current-limiting
inductors for suppressing any transient current flow through the thyristor
valves during switching. With each valve switching, the corresponding
series capacitor is either inserted or removed from the transmission-line
circuit.
 TSSC
Many capacitive-reactance steps are made possible by installing
capacitors of different reactances. One such scheme has n 1
capacitors, each having a reactance of (0.5XC/ n) and one capacitor
of reactance 0.5XC. Appropriate switching can result in the
following combinations of effective reactance

Instead of continuous control of capacitive impedance, this approach of

switching inductors at flring angle of 90 degrees or 180 degrees but
without firing angle control, could reduce cost and losses of the
Controller [Below Figure ]. It is reasonable to arrange one of the
modules to have thyristor control, while others could be thyristor
switched.
 TSSC
Advantages of TSSC over mechanically switched series capacitors:
1. The thyristor switches allow an unlimited number of operations
without any wear. This capability is used to alter the degree of line
compensation more frequently and to achieve a greater control over
the power flow.
2. Exact switching instants (point-of-voltage waveforms) can be selected
with thyristors, which significantly minimizes the switching
transients. In contrast, the switching of mechanical breakers is
unsynchronized.
3. A very rapid speed of response, in which the time between the
initiation of a control signal and a capacitor insertion, or bypass, is
typically less than a half-cycle (8 ms for 60 Hz). Thus, in case a major
tie-line suffers an outage, the power-transfer capability of an alterative
line can be increased rapidly through the TSSC.
4. No generation of harmonics.