Paper accepted for presentation at 2003 IEEE Bologna Power Tech Conference, June 23th-26th, Bologna, Italy
Cost-Effective Power Quality Improvement for
Industrial Plants
Massimo Bongiorno, Student Member, IEEE, Ambra Sannino, Member, IEEE, and Luigi Dusonchet
 • the Static Series Compensator (SSC) or Dynamic Voltage
Abstract - Disturbances in the voltage supply, especially voltage
dips and short interruptions, can cause tripping of sensitive
electronic equipment and cause production stops in many
industries. This paper proposes a power-electronics based device,
obtained by a combination of a Static Transfer Switch (STS) in
series with a Static Series Compensator (SSC) for protection of
large industrial distribution systems against voltage dips and
short interruptions in a cost-effective way. The hybrid
compensator is modeled and simulated with different types of dips
using the simulation tool PSCAD/EMTDC. Design of the device
and control strategies are discussed. An economic evaluation of
the device is carried out.
Index Terms - power quality, voltage sags (dips), power
electronics, custom power.
I. INTRODUCTION
Since some years, novel power electronic controllers, called
Custom Power devices, have been introduced to improve the
quality of power distribution in industrial plants [1]. Different
types of industries have been reporting production stops due to
short-duration voltage disturbances, like short interruptions
and voltage dips. Among the most sensitive industries are
paper mills [2], semiconductors facilities [3] and other
industries with fully automated production, where the
sensitivity of electronic equipment to voltage disturbances can
cause problems to the whole facility. Loss of revenues due to
power quality disturbances can be high and therefore solutions
for mitigation are needed. The economics related to these
solutions play an important role: the cost of the interruption
must be reasonable compared to the loss due to production
stops, leading to a payback time of one or two years.
To mitigate the effect of voltage dips and short interruptions
in the supply voltage, two devices are receiving particular
attention:
The work of Massimo Bongiorno was supported by the Foundation
“Blanceflor Boncompagni-Ludovisi, neé Bildt”, Stockholm, Sweden. The
work of Ambra Sannino was supported by a Marie Curie Fellowship of the
European Community programme IHP under contract number HPMF-CT-
2000-00922. The work of Luigi Dusonchet was supported by MIUR, the
Italian Board of Education and University Research.
Massimo Bongiorno and Ambra Sannino are with the Department of
Electric Power Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE - 41296,
Gothenburg, Sweden (e-mail: massimo.bongiorno@ieee.org,
ambra.sannino@ieee.org). Luigi Dusonchet is with the Department of Electric
Engineering, University of Palermo, I-90128 Palermo, Italy (e-mail:
dusonchet@diepa.unipa.it).
0-7803-7967-5/03/$17.00 ©2003 IEEE
Restorer (DVR), shown to the right in Fig.1, usually designed
to mitigate voltage dips with magnitude lower than 50% [4].
This is based on a Voltage Source Converter (VSC) that
generates a compensation voltage, which is then injected in the
distribution feeder by means of a series-injection transformer.
Normally, an LC-filter between the VSC and the transformer is
also present to remove high-order harmonic components from
the converter output voltage. An energy storage device
connected to the dc-link of the VSC provides the necessary
active power for the compensation.
• the Static Transfer Switch (STS), shown to the left in Fig.1,
is able to limit the duration of interruptions and voltage dips to
less than one half-cycle in most cases [5], by transferring the
load from the affected line to a back-up feeder. This high
speed of response is obtained by using two static switches,
constituted each by two antiparallel thyristors, to perform the
transfer of the load.
Some installations already in service have proven to provide
satisfactory plant protection [6][7]. However, the cost of
power electronics components has not been decreasing as fast
as anticipated and the cost of these devices is still a limit to
their widespread introduction. Moreover, these devices present
some limitations: the SSC is not suitable to compensate for
interruptions of the supply voltage and the range of dips that it
can mitigate depends on the size of the energy storage. On the
other hand, the STS cannot mitigate dips that affect both
feeders.
STS
alternative
source
SSC
injection
transformer
load
vssc,abc(t)
primary
source filter
Voltage Source
vsts,abc(t) Converter
energy storage
Fig.1. Hybrid compensator (single phase scheme) based on a combination of
STS and SSC.
 In this paper, a hybrid device that provides cost-effective
mitigation of voltage dips and short interruptions will be
proposed. The device will be tested via simulations with
voltage dips due to faults in different points in the power
system. Design of the device and control strategies will be
discussed. Finally, an economic evaluation will be carried out.
II. HYBRID COMPENSATOR
The proposed device is obtained by a combination of an
STS in series with an SSC, as shown in Fig.1. In this way, total
protection can be obtained against both interruptions and
voltage dips. The STS takes care of interruptions and voltage
dips originated by faults in the distribution system, which are
long and deep [8] and would deplete the energy storage of the
SSC. The SSC will instead compensate for the voltage dips
originated by faults in the transmission systems, which the STS
cannot handle. Note, however, that dips originated in the
transmission system are normally short and shallow [8].
Hence, the size of the energy storage of the SSC can be greatly
reduced, with a consequent reduction of the cost of the device.
Moreover, it is further possible to reduce the size of the
energy storage considering that its design also depends on the
duration of the dip.
B. Control system
In Fig.3 the block scheme of the controller of the STS is
shown. The detection of the voltage disturbance is based on
Park’s transformation. When a fault in the system is detected,
the control system provides to transfer the load from the
preferred to the alternative source by using the transfer
algorithm reported in [11].
For the control system of the SSC, the Double Vector
Control (DVC) technique proposed in [10] has been used. As
shown in the block-scheme of Fig.4, this controller uses the
reference voltage of the filter capacitor (obtained subtracting
the grid voltage from the desired load voltage) in order to
regulate the load voltage. The inputs of the controller are:
• the voltage downstream of the STS v ssc,abc (k) ;
• the load current i ssc,abc (k) ;

A. Design of the system • the converter output current i i,abc (k) ;

The system has been sized for medium voltage applications. • the voltage across the filter capacitor v c,abc (k) .
Nothing changes as compared to the traditional design of the The controlled variables are the converter output current and
STS, because the load current is the same. The most important the capacitor voltage. This controller is also based on Park’s
factor for the design of the proposed device is the magnitude transformation and is constituted by two loops: a voltage-
and the duration of the transmission-related dips to be control loop, used to determine the reference current of the
expected at the common point. Normally the SSC is designed filter inductor, and a current-control loop, which gives the
to inject in the grid a maximum voltage of 50% of the rated reference voltages for the PWM modulator. A sequence
voltage for 500 ms [6]. This should be enough to bring the detection technique, which is not shown in the figure for
voltage back to at least 90% of the rated value for the majority clarity, has been implemented to allow for mitigation of
of the faults in the power system. unsymmetrical dips.
Using the hybrid compensator, the requirement on the
design of the SSC is to mitigate only dips due to faults in the (ab)
transmission system that, as said before, are usually short and vsts,abc(k) abc vs (k) (dq) fault firing
ab vs (k) signal transfer pulses
shallow. Assumed that generally these dips are not deeper than ab
dq + - algorithm
70% and have a maximum duration of 100 ms [9], the size of angle (dq)
detection vref (k)
the SSC can be reduced (Fig.2). Here, the SSC is designed for q(k)
30% voltage injection. The size of all components (series
Fig.3. Block-scheme of the control system of the STS.
transformer, converter, filter and energy storage), which
depends on the injected voltage, is reduced proportionally.
voltage [%]
*(dq)
angle q(k) vL (k)
energy to be provided detection
(ab) (dq) *(dq)
vs (k) vs (k) vc (k) *(dq)
by the SSC
+
vssc,abc(k) abc
ab -
ii (k)
dq Voltage
ab Controller
q(k)
100% issc,abc(k) abc
(ab)
is (k) ab
(dq)
is (k)
Vinj,max ab dq

q(k)
70% (ab) (dq)
vc,abc(k) abc vc (k) ab vc (k)
ab dq
*(dq)
q(k) ii (k)
(ab) (dq)
ii,abc(k) abc ii (k) ab ii (k) Current *(dq)
ab dq Controller vc (k)

*(dq)
v (k)

time [s] to the VSC

*
vabc (k) abc
*(ab)
v (k) dq q(k)
100 ms PWM
ab ab

Fig.2. Expected maximum voltage dip due to transmission system faults. Fig.4. Block-scheme of the SSC controller.
Vinj,max is the maximum voltage that the SSC can inject in the grid.
 0.5
a
0.4
III. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS c
0.3
The hybrid device has been tested with dips due to faults in
b
different locations in the power system. The rated voltage is 0.2

11 kV. The load is resistive-inductive with rated power of 0.1

7.56 MVA and power factor 0.8. The simulations presented

voltage [pu]
here have been carried out with the software PSCAD/EMTDC. 0

−0.1

A. Transmission system faults −0.2

In Fig.5 the supply voltage is affected by an unbalanced −0.3

voltage dip, which occurs after 128 ms and lasts for 80 ms.
The magnitude of the lowest voltage is 67% (phase a) and the −0.4

other two phases only drop by 15% and 10% (phase b and −0.5
phase c respectively). This shallow dip, recorded at 11 kV with 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.16 0.17
time [s]
0.18 0.19 0.2 0.21

a power quality monitor, can have been caused by a

transmission system fault. The actual dip recording was used Fig.6. Reference voltages for the PWM modulator.
as input in the simulation presented here.
This fault is applied to both primary and alternative sources, 1
a b c
and therefore the switching operation of the STS is not 0.8
allowed. In this case, the SSC has to compensate for the load
voltage by injecting the necessary voltage (with correct 0.6

magnitude and phase) in the grid. In Fig.6, the reference 0.4

voltages for the PWM modulator are reported.
0.2
As shown, the reference voltages are never zero, even when
voltage [pu]

there is no dip, because the control system compensates for the 0

voltage drop due to the circulation of the load current on the −0.2
filter reactor and on the series-injection transformer.
−0.4
The controller of the device works properly and the load
voltages are perfectly compensated and equal to 1 pu, as −0.6

shown in Fig.7. −0.8

−1

0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.16 0.17 0.18 0.19 0.2 0.21
time [s]

b c
0.8 Fig.7. Load voltages.
a
0.6
B. Distribution system faults
0.4
The second set of results is obtained by simulating a dip due
0.2
to a fault in the distribution system. In this case, the STS
should operate to switch over the alternative source and
voltage [pu]

0 transfer the load. Depending on the system configuration and

on the dip type, the load transfer can take up to one period,
−0.2
due to low power factor of the load, high phase displacement
−0.4 between preferred and alternative source [11], high percentage
of motor load in the power system [12][13]. The load will thus
−0.6
be affected by the dip for a duration equal to the necessary
−0.8 transfer time. In this case, the SSC can be used to inject
voltage in the grid and partially cover the voltage dip due to
0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.16 0.17 0.18 0.19 0.2 0.21 the transfer delay.
time [s]
If the dip is due to a fault in the distribution system far from
Fig.5. Supply voltages during an unbalanced fault in the transmission system. the location of the sensitive load, it should not be very deep
and the SSC might be able to inject the necessary voltage to
fully compensate for it. But if the dip is due to a fault in the
local distribution system, its magnitude can be very low and
therefore an SSC with lower rating then 50% will not be able
1
to restore the voltage to 1 pu. An example in which the dip c b
magnitude is 30% and the SSC rating is 30% is shown in 0.8

Fig.8. a
0.6

voltage [%] 0.4

0.2

voltage [pu]
0

100% −0.2

−0.4

−0.6
60%
covered by −0.8

the SSC
−1
0.08 0.085 0.09 0.095 0.1 0.105 0.11 0.115 0.12 0.125
30% time [s]

Fig.10. Load voltage during the load transfer by the STS.

C. Series compensation strategies

time [s]
transfer interval
Fig.8. Voltage dip during load transfer by the STS.
An unbalanced voltage dip due to an unsymmetrical three-
phase fault in the distribution system has been simulated: the
fault occurs at 100 ms and lasts for 250 ms. During the dip the
voltage of phase a goes down to 0.35 pu, while the other two
phases are affected by a drop of 0.1 pu. The power factor of
the load has been set to 0.1. Due to the low power factor of the
load, the STS takes 4.8 ms (at 50 Hz) to transfer the load to the
alternative source, as shown by the voltages at the input of the
SSC in Fig.9. The load voltage, shown in Fig.10, is still
affected by a dip, but due to the presence of the series
compensator it is partially mitigated. However, the load
voltage is affected by an overvoltage when the transfer to the
alternative source is completed.
c b
0.8
It has been shown that, due to the reduced rating of the SSC,
the device can be unable to restore the voltage of the load to
1 pu for a dip due to a fault in the distribution system, during
the time necessary for the STS to complete the transfer. This is
also shown by the phasor diagram in Fig.11. The phasor Vinj in
Fig.11 represents the voltage injected with the controller
currently implemented. The phasor Vload,pre indicates the load
voltage in the pre-fault conditions, Vload,comp is the
compensated load voltage, Vdip is the phasor of the supply
voltage during the dip, Ψ is the phase-angle jump associated to
the dip.
There is the possibility of implementing different control
strategies depending on the requirements of the load. If Vinj is
the maximum voltage that the device can inject in the grid,
each radius of the circle called “compensation region” in
Fig.11 is suitable for compensation. However, none of these
phasors allows achieving perfect compensation of the dip
(1.0 pu with the same phase as the pre-fault voltage).
Vload,pre

Ψ Vload,comp
0.6

Vdip
0.4
a Vinj
0.2
compensation
voltage [pu]

0
region
−0.2
Fig.11. Phasor diagram of the principle of the series compensation.
−0.4
An alternative is to inject the necessary voltage to restore the
−0.6 phase of the load voltage, neglecting its magnitude. From
Fig.12 it is clear that this kind of compensation is possible
−0.8
only if the compensation region intersects the direction of the
0.1 0.105 0.11 0.115 0.12 0.125
load voltage in the pre-fault conditions. This compensation
0.08 0.085 0.09 0.095
time [s] technique is called here Constant Phase Injection (CPI). This
kind of injection technique is suitable for those loads that
Fig.9. Input voltages to the SSC.
require constant phase angle of the voltage for correct To limit the impact of the dips on the most sensitive loads, it
operation like, for example, thyristor rectifiers [14]. can be important to identify and adopt the most suitable
strategy for the requirements of the load.

Vload,comp Vload,pre
Ψ IV. ECONOMIC EVALUATION
Vdip Vinj The proposed hybrid device is likely to cost more of each of
two devices separately, but will also be more effective.
compensation Assume for example that for a facility, 62% of process
region disruptions are due to short interruptions and voltage dips
caused by faults on the distribution system and the rest are due
Fig.12. Voltage injection using Constant Phase Injection. to dips caused by faults on the transmission system [9]. Based
on the number of dips per year and the effectiveness of the two
If the load is sensitive only to the magnitude of the voltage, solutions (STS and SSC), one could decide to install one of the
a solution is to inject a voltage that has the same phase of the two devices. This may depend very much on the cost of the
dip voltage (Fig.13). The load voltage will thus be affected by process disruption.
a phase-angle jump equal to the phase-angle jump of the
Assume that the cost of the STS for 10 MVA load is
voltage dip, but its amplitude will be maximized (possibly up
600 000 USD [15], including losses and maintenance
to 1 pu). This kind of compensation technique is called here
calculated on the expected lifetime of the equipment. The cost
Maximum Amplitude Injection (MAI).
of the SSC, according to [15], is 300 USD/kVA, when it is
Ψ Vload,pre sized for 50% voltage injection and 500 ms dip duration. For
the whole facility rated 10 MVA, the total cost of the second
solution would thus amount to 3 000 000 USD (again
Vdip including losses and maintenance calculated on the expected
lifetime of the equipment).
Vload,comp Vinj Solution 1: Assume that the STS can save the plant from
compensation
shutdown in 60 % of the total power quality events during one
region year. If the cost of the STS is CSTS, the cost of a production
interruption is Cint and their number nint, and the pay-back time
Fig.13. Voltage injection using Maximum Amplitude Injection. for the investment is denoted as Tpayback,
Finally, if the circle with radius equal to the amplitude of the 0.6 ⋅ Cint ⋅ nint ⋅ Tpayback = CSTS
pre-fault load voltage intersects the compensation region, it is
in principle possible to restore the load voltage to 1 pu and to With CSTS=600 000 USD and Cint =100 000 $
reduce its phase angle jump. This control strategy, shown in
Fig.14, is called here Amplitude Restoration Injection (ARI). 600000
nint ⋅Tpayback = = 10
0.6 × 100000
Vload,pre
i.e. with 10 interruptions a year the investment would pay back
Ψ within one year or, which is the same, if a payback time of e.g.
two years is accepted, the balance is reached for 5
Vload,comp interruptions a year in average.
Solution 2: assume the SSC to be able to compensate for
75 % of the power quality events causing process disruption
Vdip during one year. It is in fact reasonable to assume that a SSC
with 50 % voltage injection capability would be able to
Vinj compensate not only for the transmission-related dips, but also
for part of the distribution-related ones. If the cost of the SSC
compensation is CSSC, then
region 0.75 ⋅ Cint ⋅ nint ⋅ Tpayback = CSSC
Fig.14. Voltage injection using Amplitude Restoration Injection.
Assuming CSSC=3 000 000 USD, Cint =100 000 $ yields
It is clear from Fig.14 that this is possible when the voltage 3000000
dip is shallow and the phase-angle jump associated to the nint ⋅Tpayback = = 40
0.75 × 100000
event is big.
i.e. with 40 interruptions a year the investment would pay back
within one year. On the other hand, if a payback time of e.g.
two years is accepted, the balance is reached for 20
interruptions a year in average.
With 10 interruptions a year, the payback time is 1 year for
the STS and 4 for the SSC.
Solution 3: Assume that by reducing the voltage injection of
the SSC down to 30 % and by combining it with the STS,
100 % coverage of the critical power quality events for the
plant is reached. Moreover, assume that the cost of the SSC
varies proportionally with the voltage injection: this is
reasonable because when reducing the maximum injected
voltage we reduce the size of both the converter and the
injection transformer. With the same symbols used before:
30
Cint ⋅ nint ⋅ Tpayback = CSTS + CSSC
50
and with the same values used before we have
600000 + 1800000
nint ⋅Tpayback = = 24
100000
Moreover, if the SSC compensates for short dips, the size of
the storage can also be reduced. Assume that the duration is
reduced down to 100 ms and that the cost also reduces
proportionally, i.e.
30 100
Cint ⋅ nint ⋅ Tpayback = CSTS + CSSC
50 500
With the same values as before
600000 + 360000
nint ⋅Tpayback = = 9 .6
100000
which now becomes the most economical solution. However,
one has to keep in mind that the most economical solution
must be found on a case-by-case base, depending on the cost
of the process disruption and the statistical distribution of
events that the load can be subjected to.
V. CONCLUSIONS
This paper has proposed a hybrid compensator for
protection of large industrial distribution systems against
voltage dips and short interruptions. The device is based on the
combination of a Static Series Compensator (STS) in series
with a Static Series Compensator (SSC). This configuration
takes advantage of the different operating characteristics of the
two devices, and results in total coverage of critical power
quality events. Design and control strategies for the device
have been discussed. It has been demonstrated that, depending
on the statistical distribution of events leading to disruption of
the process and on the cost of plant outages, this solution can
prove more cost-effective than the application of just one of
the two devices.
VI. REFERENCES
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no.6, June 1995, pp.41-48.
[2] A. Campbell, R. McHattie, “Backfilling the sinewave. A dynamic
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VII. BIOGRAPHIES
Massimo Bongiorno (S’ 02) received the M.Sc. degree from the
University of Palermo, Italy, in April 2002.
From September to December 2001 he was a Guest Researcher at the
Department of Electric Power Engineering of Chalmers University of
Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, where he is currently a PhD student since
September 2002. His interests include applications of power electronic in
power systems and power quality.
Ambra Sannino (S’ 99, M’ 01) received the M. Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from
the University of Palermo, Italy in April 1997 and February 2001,
respectively.
She has been working as a trainee at ABB Corporate Research Center,
Heidelberg, Germany from April to September 1998. From August 1999 to
September 2000 she was a guest researcher at the Department of Electric
Power Engineering of Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg,
Sweden, where she is currently working as Assistant Professor. Her interests
include applications of power electronics in power systems and power quality.
Luigi Dusonchet received the Doctor’ s degree in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Palermo, Italy, in 1975. Since 1978 to 1990 he has
been Associate Professor and now he is Full Professor of Industrial Electrical
Systems at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Palermo. His main
research interests are in the following fields: simulation of electrical power
system; transmission over long distances; mixed three-phase/six-phase power
system analysis; optimization methods in electrical distribution system’ s
design and operation; distribution automation; applications of power
electronics in power systems and power quality.