STATIC VAR COMPENSATOR (SVC) &APPLICATION

DINESH K AP/EEE

VOLTAGE CONTROL

Objective: Static Var Compensators (SVCs) are used primarily in power systems for voltage control System Stabilization

VI Characteristics of the SVC

Dynamic Characteristics

Reference voltage, Vref Linear range of SVC control Slope or Current Droop Overload range Overcurrent Limit

Reference Voltage, Vref

The voltage at the terminals of the SVC during floating condition, that is, when the SVC is neither absorbing nor generating any reactive power. The reference voltage can be varied between the maximum and minimum limits- Vref max and Vref min either by the SVC control system, in case of thyristor controlled compensators, or by the taps of the coupling transformer, in the case of the saturated reactor compensators.

Reference Voltage, Vref

Typical values of Vref max and Vref min are 1.05 pu and 0.95 pu

Linear range of SVC control

This is the control range over which SVC terminal voltage varies linearly with SVC current or reactive power, as the latter is varied over its entire capacitive-to-inductive range.

Slope or current Droop(intentional loss)

The ratio of voltage-magnitude change to current-magnitude change over the linearcontrolled range of the compensator. Thus slope of KSL is given by,
V K SL I The per unit value of the slope is obtained as,

K SL

V (atI r orQr ) V (atI r orQr ) . pu K SL .100 % Vr Vr

Slope or current Droop(intentional loss)

The slope is often expressed as an equivalent reactance : XFL=KSL in pu the slope is usually kept within 110%, with a typical value of 3-5%

Overload Range

When the SVC traverses outside the linearcontrollable range on the inductive side, the SVC enters the overload zone, where it behaves like a fixed inductor.

Overcurrent Limit

To prevent the thyristor valves from being subjected to excessive thermal stresses, the maximum inductive current in the overload range is constrained to a constant value by an additional control action.

Steady state Characteristic

The Steady state VI charactersitic of the SVC is very similar to the dynamic V-I characteristic except for a deadband in voltage.

Voltage control by the SVC

Advantages of the slope in the SVC Dynamic characteristic

Substantially reduces the reactive-power rating of the SVC for achieving nearly the same control objectives. Prevents the SVC from reaching its reactivepower limits too frequently; Facilitates the sharing of reactive power among multiple compensators operating in parallel

1. Reduction of the SVC rating

2. Prevention of frequent operation at reactive-power limits

3. Load Sharing between parallelconnected SVCs