Power

 Quality  and  Harmonics  Analysis  (FIEC05967)  

   General  Aspects  on  Power  

Quality  
Síxifo  Falcones,  PhD.  
FIEC-­‐ESPOL  
 IntroducKon  
•  What  is  Electrical  Power  Quality  (PQ)?  What  
does  it  have  to  do  with  power  delivery  or  the  
behavior  of  a  parKcular  load?  What  are  the  
problems  cause  by  a  bad  PQ?  How  much  does  
it  cost  to  solve  the  problem?  
•  These  are  some  of  the  quesKons  that  need  to  
answered  by  electrical  engineers  and  people  
involved  in  power  distribuKon  and  
consumpKon.  
 IniKal  ConsideraKons  
•  For  a  long  Kme  since  early  stages  of  electrificaKon,  
load  were  linear.  
•  Demand  increased  thus  loads  mulKplied.  
•  Deployment  of  Power  Electronics  raised  interest  in  PQ.  
•  High  power  Power  Electronics  devices  have  been  key  
for  industry    automaKon,  but  are  affecKng  the  power  
system.  
•  New  Power  Electronic  technologies  implement  
measures  to  avoid  PQ  issues;  however,  these  can  be  
costly.  As  a  result,  legacy  technologies  are  sKll  
dominant.    
 PQ  DefiniKon  [1]  
•  “Power  Quality  (PQ)  refers  to  the  measure,  
analysis,  and  improvement  of  bus  voltage,  
usually  a  load  bus  voltage,  to  maintain  that  
voltage  to  be  a  sinusoid  at  rated  voltage  and  
frequency.  It  includes  all  momentary  
phenomena  such  as  spikes,  notches,  and  
outages.”  
 PQ  DefiniKon  [5]  
•  “A  good  Power  Quality  (PQ)  ensures  the  
conKnuous,  safe  and  adequate  operaKon  of  
electric  equipment  and  associated  processes.”  
 PQ  PerspecKves  [2]  
•  The  PQ  problem  can  be  seen  from  three  different  
perspecKves:  
•  The  first  one,  from  the  consumer  side.  This  is  the  
impact  of  disturbances  on  equipment  and  appliances.  
•  The  second  one,  from  vendor  side.  They  have  to  be  
aware  of  disturbances  levels  and  the  frequency  they  
occur  in  order  to  determine  reasonable  tolerances  for  
their  products.  
•  The  third  one  concerns  both  sides  of  the  power  meter.  
How  the  disturbances  caused  by  a  consumer  affect  
other  consumers  connected  to  the  same  distribuKon  
network.  
 PQ  Problems  Causes  [3]  
•  Adjustable-­‐speed  drives,  switching  power  
supplies,  arc  furnaces,  electronic  fluorescent  
lamp  ballasts,  and  other  harmonic-­‐generaKng  
equipment  all  contribute  to  the  harmonic  burden  
the  system  must  accommodate.  
•  UKlity  switching  and  fault  clearing  produce  
disturbances  that  affect  the  quality  of  delivered  
power.  
•  MagneKzing  currents  are  periodic  but  non-­‐
sinusoidal  due  to  the  nature  of  the  B-­‐H  
characterisKcs  of  the  core.  
 PQ  Problems  Effects  [3]  
•  Poor  power  quality  also  affects  the  efficiency  and  operaKon  of  
electric  devices  and  other  equipment  in  factories,  hospitals  and  
offices.  
•  High  harmonic  distorKon  can  negaKvely  impact  a  facility’s  
electric  distribuKon  system,  and  can  generate  excessive  heat  in  
motors,  causing  early  failures.  Heat  also  builds  up  in  wire  
insulaKon  causing  breakdown  and  failure.  
•  Harmonic  voltages  and  currents  can  also  cause  false  tripping  of  
ground  fault  circuit  interrupters  (GFCIs).  These  devices  are  used  
extensively  in  residences  for  local  protecKon  near  appliances.  
False  triggering  of  GFCIs  is  a  nuisance  to  the  end  user.  
•  Poor  power  quality  can  affect  the  accuracy  of  uKlity  metering  
and  protecKve  relays  to  malfuncKon.    
 Cost  Cost
of  PofQ   Disturbances  
PQ Disturbances:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 2004

Momentary:
Understanding the Cost of Power Interruptions to U.S. 30 cycles - 3 seconds
Electricity Consumers, Ernest Orlando Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, 9/2004
 Power  Electronic  Loads  
•  Industrial  level  electronic  loads  that  are  based  on  line  
commutated  semiconductor  devices  may  inject  low  
order  current  harmonics  onto  the  grid.  
•  Modern  electronic  loads  that  use  forced  commutated  
devices  are  able  to  eliminate  the  low  order  harmonics  
and  even  operate  at  unity-­‐power-­‐factor.  ElectromagneKc  
interference  (EMI)  can  be  an  issue.  
•  Some  of  this  modern  electronic  loads  operate  as  
constant-­‐power  loads;  therefore,  Ohm’s  does  not  apply.  
Point  of  Common  Coupling  (PCC)  [3]  
16 Chapter Two

Harmonic
AC source
source Customer #1
Rs jXs VPCC
LOAD
Ih

Customer #2
LOAD

Figure 2.1 Harmonic-generating load causing voltage distortion at the point of

common coupling (PCC). The AC source is modeled as an ideal voltage source in
series with a resistance Rs and a reactance jXs.

Secondly, end-use customers have the responsibility to limit the har-

monic currents their circuits draw from the line.
Shown in Figure 2.1 is a utility system feeder serving two customers.
The utility source has resistance R and line reactance jXs. The resist-
 Line  Commutated  RecKfier  

110/220Vac
@ 60Hz VDC

N1: N2

Transformador Rectificador Filtro Regulador

 Full  Wave  RecKfier  
Diode  Full  Bridge  
Vo

N1 :N2 D1 D2

110Vac R
60Hz

D3 D4

Vo(V)

Vmax

Vprom

t(ms)
8.33 16.67 25 33.33
 Voltage  Filtering  
N1:N2 Vo

110Vac
60Hz C R

Carga Descarga

0 0 0

Vo(V) Vmax + Vmin

Vrpp V prom ≈
Vmax
Vprom
2
Vmin
Vrpp = Vmax − Vmin
t(ms) Vrpp
8.33 16.67 25 33.33 %Vrpp = × 100
V prom
 Transformer  Currents  
ID PK
isec

ipri isec vsec

+ +
Vpri Vsec t(ms)
8.33 16.67 25 33.33
- -

N1: N2
 Uncontrolled  Six-­‐pulse  (Three-­‐phase)  
4 Chapter One

RecKfier  
D1 D3 D5
a
Three-Phase b
service
c IL load
D2 D4 D6

4 Chapter One
(a)

Phase
current

D1 D3 D5
IL
a
Three-Phase b
service
c IL load Electrical
60 120 180 240 300 360 degrees
D2 D4 D6
−IL

(b)

(a) Figure 1.3A three-phase bridge rectifier. (a) The circuit. (b) The ideal
phase current drawn by a three-phase bridge rectifier.

Phase
current adjustable speed drives. The electrical diagram of a three-phase br
Ideal  constant-­‐current  load    
rectifier is shown in Figure 1.3a. Each of the six diodes ideally cond
current for 120 degrees of the 360-degree cycle. The load is shown
IL current source that maintains the load current, IL, at a constant lev
for example, by an ideal inductor. The three-phase voltage source
the waveform of Figure 1.2. The resultant current in one source ph
Electrical is shown in Figure 1.3b. The current is highly distorted, as compa
degrees to a sine wave, and can distort the voltages of the supply system.
60 120 180 240 300 360 As will be discussed in Chapter 4, the square-wave rectifier load
rent is described by the Fourier series as a set of harmonic currents
the case of a three-phase rectifier,3 the components are the fundam
−IL 4
tal, and the 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th (and so on) harmonics. The triplens
eliminated. Each of the harmonic currents is treated independentl
(b) power-quality analysis.
 Uncontrolled  Six-­‐pulse  (Three-­‐phase)  
RecKfier  
•  Harmonics  Sources:  
–  Line  Commutated  RecKfiers  
–  Welders  
–  MagneKc  non-­‐linearity  
•  Problems:  
–  Increment  of  RMS  and  peak  
current  
–  Zero  phase  sequence  
currents  in  neutral  
–  Harmonic  resonance  
Dynamic Loads
 Swell

Typical  Power  Disturbances  [3]    

Long duration variations
8 Chapter One

Interruption Impulsive transient Oscillatory transient

Sag Harmonic distortion

Swell Voltage fluctuations

Figure 1.5 Typic
bances, from [1.2
[© 1997 IEEE,
permission]

Long duration variations Noise

■ Another common power-quality event is “notchin

 Categories  and  CharacterisKcs  of  Power  
Classification of PQ Disturbances
ElectromagneKc  Phenomena  [4]  
general
power
ena based

ectral

f the
IEEE Classification
Categories   of PQ Disturbances
and  CharacterisKcs   of  Power  
ElectromagneKc  Phenomena  [4]  

Source: IEEE Std 1159-1995

 PQ  Goal  
•  The  goal  is  to  establish  the  proper  levels  of  quality  of  the  
distribuKon  power  service,  as  well  as  the  evaluaKon  
procedures  to  be  observed  by  the  uKlity  distribuKon  
company.  
•  Quality  of  product:  Voltage  level,  voltage  disturbances,  
power  factor.  
•  Quality  of  service:  Occurrence  frequency  of  
interrupKons,  duraKon  of  interrupKons.  
 References  
[1]  G.T.  Heydt,  “Electric  Power  Quality.”    
[2]  M.  Madrigal,  “Calidad  de  la  Energía  y  Análisis  
Armónico  en  Sistemas  Eléctrico.”  
[3]  A.  Kusko,  M.  Thompson,  “Power  Quality  in  Electrical  
Systems.”  
[4]  IEEE  Standard  1159,  “IEEE  Recommended  PracKce  
for  Monitoring  Electric  Power  Quality.”  
[5]  H.  S.  Bronceado,  “Uma  Proposta  de  Nomenclatura  
Nacional  de  Termos  e  Definições  Associados  à  
Qualidade  de  Energia  Elétrica.”  II  Seminario  
Brasileiro  sobre  Qualidade  de  Energia  Elétrica,  
Noviembre  de  1997.