Power System Quality

Lecture Contents
Power frequency disturbance
Transient System definitions
Transient system Model

Power frequency
disturbance
The
term
power
frequency
disturbance describes events that
are slower and longer lasting
compared to electrical transients
Power frequency disturbances can
last anywhere from one complete
cycle to several seconds or even
minutes
3

 While the disturbance can be nothing

more than an inconvenience manifesting
itself as a flickering of lights or bumpy ride
in an elevator, in other instances the
effects can be harmful to electrical
equipment
The
effects
of
power
frequency
disturbances vary from one piece of
equipment to another and with the age of
the equipment
4

 Equipment that is old and has been subjected to

harmful disturbances over a prolonged period is
more susceptible to failure than new equipment
One of the most common power frequency
disturbances is voltage sag
By definition, voltage sag is an event that can
last from half of a cycle to several seconds
Voltage sags typically are due to starting on
large loads, such as an electric motor or an arc
furnace
5

 Induction motors draw starting

currents ranging between 600 and
800% of their nominal full load
currents
The current starts at the high value
and tapers off to the normal running
current in about 2 to 8 sec, based on
the motor design and load inertia
6

Motor-starting current waveform. A 5-hp motor was started across the

line. The
motor full-load current was 60 A. The first half-cycle peak reached a
value of 860 A.

 During the first half of the cycle, the

asymmetrical current attains a peak
value of 860 A
When the circuit feeding the motor
has high impedance, appreciable
voltage sag can be produced
Figure in next slide shows a 100-kVA
transformer feeding the 50-hp motor
just described
8

Schematic diagram

 If the transformer has a leakage

reactance of 5.0%, the voltage sag
due to starting this motor is calculated
as follows:
Full load current of the 100-kVA
transformer at 480 V = 120 A.
Voltage drop due to the starting inrush
= 5.0860(1202) = 25.3%.
10

 If the reactance of the power lines

and the utility transformer feeding
were included in the calculations, the
voltage sag would be worse than the
value indicated
It is not difficult to see that any
device that is sensitive to a voltage
sag of 25% would be affected by the
motor starting event
11

 Arc furnaces are another example of

loads that can produce large voltage
sags in electrical power systems
Arc furnaces operate by imposing a
short circuit in a batch of metal and
then drawing an arc, which produces
temperatures in excess of 10,000C,
which melt the metal batch
Arc furnaces employ large inductors to
stabilize the current due to the arc
12

Arc furnace connection and

resulting current

13

 Tens of thousands of amperes are drawn

during the initial few seconds of the process
Once the arc becomes stable, the current
draw becomes more uniform
Due to the nature of the current drawn by the
arc furnace, which is extremely nonlinear,
large harmonic currents are also produced
Severe voltage sags are common in power
lines that supply large arc furnaces, which
are typically rated in the 30- to 50-MVA range
and higher
14

 Arc furnaces are operated in conjunction

with large capacitor banks and harmonic
filters to improve the power factor and
also to filter the harmonic frequency
currents so they do not unduly affect
other power users sharing the same
power lines
It is not uncommon to see arc furnaces
supplied from dedicated utility power lines
to minimize their impact on other power
users
15

 The presence of large capacitance in an

electrical system can result in voltage
rise due to the leading reactive power
demands of the capacitors, unless they
are adequately canceled by the lagging
reactive power required by the loads
This is why capacitor banks, whether for
power factor correction or harmonic
current filtration, are switched on when
the furnace is brought on line and
switched off when the arc furnace is off
line.
16

 Utility faults are also responsible for voltage

sags. Approximately 70% of the utilityrelated faults occur in overhead power lines
Some common causes of utility faults are
lightning strikes, contact with trees or birds
and animals, and failure of insulators
The utility attempts to clear the fault by
opening and closing the faulted circuit
using reclosure, which can require from 40
to 60 cycles
17

 The power line experiences voltage

sags or total loss of power for the short
duration it takes to clear the fault
Obviously, if the fault persists, the
power outage continues until the
problem is corrected
Subsequent slide shows sag due to
utility fault near refinery
The sag lasted for 21 cycles
18

19

 Depending on the instant at which

the voltage is applied to the motor,
the
current
can
be
highly
asymmetrical
Figure in previous slide contains the
waveform of the starting current of a
50-hp induction motor with a rated
full-load current of 60 A at 460 VAC
20

Definitions
Transient is defined as a subcycle
disturbance in the AC waveform that
is discernible as a sharp discontinuity
of the waveform
The definition states that transients
are subcycle events, lasting less than
one cycle of the AC waveform

21

 Routinely we see transients that span

several cycles
To satisfy the absolute definition, the
transient occurring in the next cycle
is not considered an extension of the
transient in the previous cycle
This approach allows us to isolate the
disturbance on a cycle-bycycle basis
for ease of analysis and treatment
22

 Subcycle transients are some of the most

difficult anomalies to detect and treat
Their occurrence can be random, and they
can vary in degree depending on the
operating environment at the time of
occurrence
Their effect on devices varies depending on
the device itself and its location in an
electrical system
Transients are difficult to detect because of
their short duration
23

 Conventional meters are not able to detect

or measure the transients due to their
limited frequency response or sampling rate
For example, if a transient occurs for 2 msec
and is characterized by a frequency content
of 20 kHz, the measuring instrument must
have a frequency response or sampling rate
of at least 10 times 20 kHz, or 200 kHz, in
order to fairly describe the characteristics of
the transient as higher sampling rates are
required for faster transients
24

 Many different terms are associated with

transients, such as spikes , bumps, power
pulses , impulses , and surges
Appropriate understanding of power transient
is
important
to
understand
as
large
electromagnetic devices such as transformers
and motors are practically resistant to the
effects of transients
Problems arise because of the sensitivity of the
microelectronic devices and circuits that make
up the control elements of the power system
25

 The microprocess controller is the

nerve center of every present-day
manufacturing or commercial facility
Medical electronic instruments used
in healthcare facilities are becoming
more sophisticated and at the same
time increasingly susceptible to
Electrical Transients
26

Transient system Model

Steady-state systems are the opposite of
transient systems
In steady state, the operation of a power
system
is
characterized
by
the
fundamental frequency or by some lowfrequency harmonic of the fundamental
frequency
The three passive parameters of the
system resistance ( R ), inductance ( L ),
and capacitance ( C ) determine how
the steady-state system will respond when
under the influence of an applied voltage
27

 The circuit model of a transient

electrical
system
will
appear
considerably
different
from
the
steady-state model
Passive parameters , L , and C are still
major determinants of the transient
response, but their effect on the
transient can change with the
duration of the transient
28

 In an electrical system, inductance and

capacitance
are
the
energy-storing
elements that contribute to the oscillatory
nature of the transient
Resistance
is
the
energy-dissipating
element that allows the transient to dampen
out and decay to the steady-state condition
Figure in next slide illustrates an electrical
power source feeding a resistiveinductive
load (e.g., a motor) via circuit breaker S and
transformer T
29

Electrical System Model

30

Low frequency representation

of circuit

31

Transient Model of the

circuit

32

Explanation
In the transient model, the capacitance
across the poles of the circuit breaker, the
capacitance of the power lines feeding the
motor, and the capacitance of the source
and the motor windings become significant
Once the transient model is created, some
of the elements may be systematically
eliminated depending on their magnitude,
the transient duration, and the relevance
of a specific element to the problem being
addressed
33

 This brings up some important points to

consider
while
solving
electrical
transient-related problems
First, determine the total transient
model, then remove elements in the
model that are not relevant to the
problem at hand
Also, develop a mathematical model of
the transient circuit, and then derive a
solution for the needed parameter
34

Transient Models and

response
Next slide shows suddenly applied
DC voltage to RC circuit and its
corresponding transient response
The voltage and current response is
the rising and decaying exponential
function as in subsequent slide

35

36

37

 Where RC is the time constant (T) of the

resistancecapacitance
circuit
and
is
expressed in seconds
The time constant is the time it would take
for an exponentially decaying parameter to
reach a value equal to 36.79% of the initial
value
This is explained by noting that the
parameter would be reduced to a value
given by 1/e or 0.3679 of the initial value
38

Application of DC voltage to
an inductor

39

40