Subsynchronousresonance

DrMSRMurty

Subsynchronousresonance(SSR)
Resonantfrequenciesbelowthefundamental frequencyarecalledsubsynchronous frequencies. Subsynchronous resonance(SSR),occursdueto interactionbetweenseriescapacitorsandnearby turbinegenerators. Applicationofseriescapacitorsinlongelectricpower transmissionlinesisacosteffectivemethodto increasepowertransferbutuseofseriescapacitors hassometimesbeenlimitedbecauseoftheconcerns forsubsynchronous resonance(SSR).

 Turbinegeneratorshaverotatingshaftsystems comprisedoflargeinertialmassesthatare interconnectedwithshaftsthatactassprings. Theselargemassesandshaftscreatetorsional resonantfrequenciessomeofwhicharealso subsynchronous. Ifthetransmissionlineresonantfrequencyis closetothecomplementarymechanicalsystem frequencyofthegeneratingmachine,thenthe twooscillatorysystemscaninteractwitheach other.

 Insomeoperatingconditions,theinteractioncanresult indamagingshafttorquesonaturbinegenerator shaft. ThisinteractioniscalledSSR,anditoccursbecauseof theinterchangeofenergybetweentheseries capacitorsonthetransmissionlinesandthemass springsystemoftheturbinegeneratorshaft. Thisinterchangeoccursatthesubsynchronous resonancefrequencybymodulatingthe50Hzwave form. TheSSRphenomenonactuallyoccurredatsome generatingplantsresultinginshaftfailures.

Series Compensated transmission line

Xm Xt Xc X line

Electrical resonant frequency (fe) : sqrt(Xc/(Xline+Xt+Xm))x60 Hz.

Receiving System
(very low impedance)

Xc /(Xline+Xt+Xm))= 0.15 for 15 % compensation fe = 23.2 Hz For 50 % compensation : 42.5 Hz The complementary mechanical frequencies for this range of natural electrical frequencies will be 17.5 Hz to 36.8 Hz

SSRandShafttorques
ThereforeSSRproblemsaremorelikelytooccurwithhigh levelsofseriescompensation. Conversely,theSSRproblemmaybeavoidedbykeepingthe seriescompensationlevelslow. ShafttorquesduetoSSRarecausedbytwotypesof interactionmechanisms: SSRinstabilityand SSRtransienttorqueamplification.

SSRInstability
Seriescapacitorcompensationhasatendency toactasanegativedampingontorsional vibrationsofnearbyturbinegeneratorunits. Negativedampingeffect:vibrationwillgrow exponentiallyandleadtodamageonashaft withalongtimeconstantontheorderof manyseconds Rotordamagemayoccur

Transienttorqueamplification
Seriescapacitorsalsohaveatendencyto amplifytheshaftstress: duringmajornetworktransientevents automatichighspeedreclosing Importantonlywhenthegeneratorbecomes nearlyradialonlinesthatareheavily compensatedwithseriescapacitorstorque amplificationbecomes

Solution
Limitingthevoltageacrosstheseriescapacitor withmetaloxidevaristorsorprotectivegaps BlockingtheSSRcurrentfromflowingintoa generator.

SSRMitigationandprotection
InstallingpassiveSSRblockingfilterstoblock thecurrentsatSSRfrequenciesflowing throughthegeneratorstepuptransformer neutralconnectionstoground. Installingsupplementalexcitationdamping controls(SEDCs)toprovidedampingatthe SSRfrequencies. Torsionalrelaysgenerallysufficientwith ProperdesignofTCSC

TorsionalRelay
Monitorsshaftspeedatoneortwolocations, andfiltersthesignalstoisolateindividual torsionalmodes. Foreachmode,anamplitudeversustimetrip curveisusedtotriptheunitoralinethat isolatestheaffectedturbinegeneratorfrom thesourceoftorsionalstimulus. Mostwideusedtechniqueforaddressingrisks duetoSSR

SSRMitigation: Additionalmeasures
Supplementaryexcitationcontrol Staticfilters:inserieswitheachphaseofeach maingenerator Dynamicfilters:usingathyristor cycloconverter Bypassingseriescapacitorswiththeaidoflow setgaps. Amortisseurwindingsonthepolefacesofthe generatorrotors