USE OF SERIES AND SHUNT CAPACITORS IN TRANSMISSION LINES

Objective
1. To investigate the effect of series capacitors on the limits of power transfer over a transmission line with its terminal voltages fixed. 2. To investigate the effect of shunt capacitors on a transmission line with its terminal voltage fixed.

Apparatus
3 Inductors 1 Wattmeter 1 Capacitor Bank 2 Ammeters 2 Voltmeters 1 Variac Rheostats (0-3 A) (0-150-300 V) (500, 2A) (200 , 3A) (0.15 H, 3A)

Calculations for Series capacitance Series Capacitive Reactance Per Unit Compensation of the Line = Inductive Reactance

Per Unit Compensation of the Line = L = 0.15 mH f = 50 Hz Series Capacitive Reactance Inductive Reactance =

1 (i 2f C ) i 2f L

1 i 2 50 C 10 6

= i 2 50 0.15 47.14i
1 (2 50 C 10 )(2 50 0.15)
6

Per Unit Compensation of the Line =

C (F) 0 6 12 18 24 30

Series Capacitive Reactance 530.51 265.25 176.83 132.62 106.10

Per Unit Compensation of the Line 11.2579 5.6289 3.7526 2.8144 2.2515

Power Received (W) 50 6 16 22 35 38

Plot Power received Vs Series Capacitive Reactance

Series Capacitive Reactance

Power Received (W)

530.51 265.25 176.83 132.62 106.10

6 16 22 35 38

power received
40

35

30

25

Power Received (W)

20

15

10

0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Series Capacitive Reactance

power received

Plot Power Received Vs Per Unit Compensation of the Line.

Per Unit Compensation of the Line

Power Received (W)

11.2579 5.6289 3.7526 2.8144 2.2515

6 16 22 35 38

power received (W)

40

35

30

25

Power Received (W)

20

15

10

0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Per Unit Compensation of the Line power received (W)

Calculations for Shunt Capacitance

Plot Power received Vs Shunt Capacitance

C (F) 6 12 18 24 30

Power Received (W) 60 80 95 100 105

Power Received
120

100

80

C (F)

60

40

20

0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Power Received (W)

Power Received

Discussion (1) Discuss the effects of power factor on the power system. Power factor is the ration between active power and apparent power. AC power is transmitted with the least losses if the current is undistorted and exactly synchronized with the voltage. Light bulbs and resistance heaters draw current exactly synchronized and proportional to the voltage, then the power factor will be unity. But most other loads such as transformers, induction motors, induction generators and high intensity discharge lighting tend to draw current with a time lag or distort it, which makes the power factor less than unity. Since the total power is equal to the vector summation of active power and reactive power, more power is needed in order to compensate the reactive power. So it is not economical since the reactive power doesnt do any effective work. Therefore, it is important that the power factor is nearly kept unity. Keeping the power factor high effects in benefits such as, Lower utility bill Reduced total bill since the power drawn from the system is low when the reactive power is low. Could eliminate the power factor penalty charged by the company.

Increased system capacity and reduced power losses in the electrical system. Increased voltage level in the electrical system and cooler, efficient appliances. o Uncorrected power factor causes power system losses in the distribution system. When power losses increase, there would be voltage drops. Excessive voltage drops can cause overheating and premature failure of motor and other inductive equipment.

(2) Discuss the usefulness of shunt capacitors in improving power factor of load. Inductive loads (sources of reactive power) such as transformers, induction motors, induction generators and high intensity lighting decrease the power factor. In similar way consumers of reactive power such as capacitors, synchronous generators and synchronous motors increase the power factor. So adding one of the consumers of reactive power for a inductive load would increase the power factor. Installing shut capacitors decrease the magnitude of reactive power, thus it increases the power factor of the system. Reactive power caused by inductive loads, acts at a 90-degree angle to active power. Inductance and capacitance react 180 degrees to each other. Capacitors store reactive power (KVARS) and release energy opposing the reactive energy by the inductor. Since both inductor and shut capacitor are present in the circuit it results in continuous alternating

transfer of energy between the two. So when the circuit is balanced, all the energy released by the inductor is absorbed by the shunt capacitor. This phenomenon improves the power factor.

(3) Compare the effect of series and shut capacitance. Shunt connection of capacitors o Capacitors are connected in parallel to the load. o Voltage drop across the shunt capacitor bank is almost same as the system voltage. Series connection of capacitors o Capacitors are connected in series to the load. o Reduces the transfer reactance between supply point and the load and thereby reduces the voltage drop. o Improve the power transfer capability. o Improve voltage regulation. o Improve the load sharing between parallel lines. o The Main disadvantage, why the series connection is not much installed is that if resonance occurs in the transmission line there will be very low impedance and a high current could flow through the transmission line. This would burn out the capacitor bank and also destroy the appliances too.

(4) Discuss any other available methods which are used in place of the above two methods.

Other than installing series or shunt capacitors, installation of Synchronous motors and filters would also improve the power factor.

Synchronous Motor Synchronous motor which is also known as the synchronous compensator is a special motor whose shaft is not attached to any load and spins freely. The purpose of this motor is to adjust electrical conditions on the local power distribution grid. Over-excited synchronous motor has a leading power factor. This makes it useful for power factor correction of industrial loads. In an industrial plant, synchronous motor can be used to supply some of the reactive power required by induction motors. It improves the plant power factor and reduces supply current.