Filters for Power Factor Correction in the Presence of Non-Linear Loads

Salvador Acevedo Member, IEEE Armando R. Llamas Member, IEEE Jess A. Baez Member, IEEE Jorge A. de los Reyes Member, IEEE

Department of Electrical Engineering Instituto Tecnolgico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Monterrey Tech) Monterrey, MEXICO 64849 Abstract- This paper presents a practical example of how harmonic amplification can be avoided by an appropriate design of detuned filters. The authors summarize the advantages of using harmonic filters over the use of capacitors for power factor correction. The different problems originated by harmonics and how filters prevent them are reviewed, and a comparison between tuned and detuned filters is also presented. Keywords: detuned filters, power quality, power factor, harmonics. factor improvement without the resonance amplification described above, reactors were connected in series with the capacitor banks. This series LC combination is known as a detuned filter or rejection filter. In this application the filters were tuned to the 3.8 harmonic. By installing the filters described here, the low power factor penalty was eliminated. The return time of the investment for this case was approximately 12 months. Installing detuned filters in circuits with non-linear loads is a practical way to increase the power factor at a reasonable cost and helps to improve the power quality by reducing the harmonic distortion to levels that comply with Standard IEEE-519-1992 [3]. As an introduction to the subject of filters in industrial power systems this paper also states the advantages of using filters when correcting the power factor and includes a comparison between tuned and detuned filters. II. ADVANTAGES OF USING FILTERS FOR POWER FACTOR CORRECTION A harmonic filter used for power factor correction has a twofold purpose: At the fundamental frequency it supplies the reactive power required to increase the displacement power factor. At frequencies above the tuned-frequency, the filter behaves as a low impedance providing a path to ground for higher order harmonics produced by a non-linear load. Installation of series connected filters has notorious advantages over the installation of capacitor banks as described in this section. A series connected filter consists of a reactor in series with a capacitor and this is the type of filter analyzed thorough this paper.

I. INTRODUCTION Non-linear loads in electrical systems such as power electronic converters and arc furnaces produce voltage and current distortion [1]-[2]. Distortion is typically quantified by obtaining the signals harmonic content. If arisen harmonics flow to other parts of the electric power system they may cause overheating, low power factor and resonance. Common consequences of these problems are reduction of the overall efficiency and sometimes equipment destruction. There are several practices utilized to eliminate or reduce the harmonic flow to acceptable levels [3]-[4]. Power factor correction when non-linear loads introduces an additional problem. There is a resonance frequency at which the Thvenin impedance matches the capacitor bank reactance. If this resonance frequency is close to a harmonic generated by the non-linear load, there will be harmonic amplification originating overvoltages and overcurrents of this frequency that may cause the capacitor bank destruction [5]-[6]. This paper presents a practical situation where the power factor was increased from 71% to 91% in a plant where two 2.5 MVA transformers feed three-phase rectifiers. To accomplish the power

Some of the most important advantages of using filters for power factor correction are: A. Parallel resonance is avoided. The use of capacitor banks for power factor correction causes a resonance frequency. Those harmonics produced by a non-linear load that are close to the resonance frequency are amplified. This harmonic amplification reduces the power factor and may cause a significant distortion of the supply voltage. Voltage distortion interferes with the proper operation of sensitive equipment. When connecting tuned filters, the frequency response is shifted in a specific manner. Harmonic attenuation is pursued at those frequencies injected by the non-linear load. There is also a range of frequencies where there is harmonic amplification. However, by an appropriate selection of the tuning frequency, the amplification zone is limited to frequencies not generated by the non-linear load. Figure 1 shows the frequency response for the capacitor bank and for the filter. The range of frequencies were there is current amplification "Is/Ih" corresponds to those values where this amplification is greater than the unity. Although amplification is also found in the frequency response that includes the filter, the range of frequencies at which this amplification exists are not expected to arise.
Amplified harmonics with capacitor bank alone

B. Series resonance is avoided. Let us name "fs " to the resonance frequency of the series combination of the Thvenin impedance at the capacitor bank terminals (Ls) and the capacitor (C). If the supply voltage (V) is distorted and contains a harmonic that matches or is close to "fs a low impedance path to ground at this harmonic appears and a very high current of this frequency flows from the system utility to the capacitor. This current will increase the voltage distortion as shown in Figure 2. Insertion of a reactor in series with the capacitor bank shifts the resonance frequency so that nonlinear load harmonics are not amplified thus eliminating the problem. Figure 2c shows a filter tuned to a frequency that does not exist in the supply voltage V.

V Ia Ia V

(a)

(b)

5 4.5 4 3.5 Is / Ih 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 2 4 6 harmonic (h) 8 10 No filter Filter & system response Capacitor bank & systemresponse

V Ia V

Ia

Attenuated harmonics with filter

(c)
Figure 2. Effect of the filter in the distortion reduction (a) without capacitor bank (b) with capacitor bank (c ) with filter.

Figure 1. Harmonic amplification when connecting capacitor banks and filters.

C. Capacitor switching effects are attenuated Inrush currents in capacitor banks and voltage spikes are dramatically reduced when using reactors in series with the capacitors. Figure 3 shows how the current can be limited when a second capacitor bank is connected in parallel with an already energized bank with and without the series reactor. Figure 4 shows the effects on the capacitor voltages.
Capacitor inrush current without series reactor

As shown in Figure 5, series connected reactors also prevent transient overvoltages in low-voltage side capacitor banks that are originated when connecting capacitor banks on the high-voltage side of a transformer. This problem is more likely to exist when the resonance frequency of both capacitors is similar [7]. Figure 6a shows the transient overvoltage on the secondary-side capacitor when connecting a capacitor on the transformer primary side. Figure 6b shows how the transient overvoltage has been reduced due to the presence of the series reactor.

CFE
Capacitor inrush current with series reactor

Figure 3. Inrush crrent reduction in capacitor bank when connecting a reactor in series.

Capacitor voltage spikes at energization Voltage spikes of a second capacitor bank at energization

(a)
CFE

Capacitor bank voltages with series reactor

(b) Figure 5. Transient overvoltage on a secondary-side capacitor when connecting a capacitor on the transformer primary (a) without series reactor (b) with series reactor.

Figure 4. Capacitor voltage spikes elimination when connecting a reactor in series.

III. TUNED AND DETUNED FILTERS COMPARISON There are two types of LC series filters that are commonly used for power factor correction purposes: Tuned or absorption filters Detuned or rejection filters Both types absorb harmonic distortion and avoid harmonic currents to flow to other equipment or the rest of the power system [8]. Tuned filters absorb more distortion and that is why these are named absorption filters. However, detuned filters also absorb an important amount of distortion as will be explained in this section and therefore the authors do not completely agree with the term rejection filters. In the remainder of this paper rejection filters will be referred to as detuned filters. The inductive reactance of a series filter is given by:

The amplification factor, adapted from [9], is given by:

2 MVAr h 2 Is f h a= = 1+ Ih MVAsc h 2 h 2 f

(2)

where: Is

is the hth-frequency current flowing to the electric utility Ih is the hth-frequency current generated by the non-linear load hf is the harmonic at which the filter is tuned MVAsc is the short-circuit apparent power at the filter location.

XL =
where: XL XC hf kVLL MVAr

XC

2 kVLL = 2 h2 MVAr hf f

(1)

For the case study that will be presented in the next section, the frequency response of the amplification factors when comparing a 4.7-tuned filter vs. a 3.8-detuned filter are plotted in Figure 6. At the fifth harmonic, the tuned filter has a better behaviour than the detuned filter. However, for proper operation, the capacitor bank must be rated to a higher voltage than the voltage level required for detuned filters. Because tuned filters absorb more harmonics, they also carry higher harmonic currents than the detuned filters counterpart. These features make tuned filters more expensive.
3 2.5 Is / Ih - 3.8 2 Is / Ih 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 h Is / Ih - 4.7

is the inductive reactance in is the capacitive reactance in is the harmonic at which the filter is tuned is the line-to-line voltage is the capacitor bank reactive power.

A tuned filter is tuned to a frequency slightly below the filtered harmonic. On the other hand, a detuned filter is tuned to a frequency far below the filtered harmonic. Non-linear loads in industry typically contain a high fifth harmonic. Table 1 gives an example of how to tune both filter types using the fifth harmonic as the tuning frequency.
Table 1. Tuning harmonics for both types of filters. Tuned filter Detuned filer 4.7 3.8

Figure 6. Amplification factor comparison for a tuned filter vs. a detuned filter.

IV. CASE STUDY This section presents the results of installing detuned filters in an industrial plant with a significant amount of non-linear loads. Waveform and Fourier Spectrum measurements before and after installing the filters are presented together with EMTP type simulations.

The amplification factor is the ratio of the current of a particular harmonic h flowing to the power utility with respect to the current of the same harmonic h generated by a non-linear load.

A. System Description Figure 7 shows the one-line diagram of an industrial plant where 3.8-detuned filters for power factor correction where installed. There are two 2.5 MVA transformers supplying electric energy to controlled rectifiers. Each transformer has a 9% series impedance (XL). Two additional transformers feed the rest of the plant where the loads are mainly linear. The power factor of each of the non-linear loads is 71.4% and the combined power factor for the entire plant is 80%. A reactive power injection of 700 kVAr is required at each of the 2.5 MVA transformers to increase the power factor to 90%. Field measurements during normal operation reported a current harmonic distortion of 23% being the fifth harmonic the highest in magnitude. 13.8 kV
Non-linear load 2.5 MVA
13.8 kV

Without power factor correction

Is
480V

Ih Non-linear load

With Capacitors
13.8 kV

Is
480V

Ih

Capacitor bank

2.5 MVA

13.8kV

Is
480V

With Filters

Linear loads 480 V 480 V

Ih
Filter

...

...

Non-linear load

Non-linear loads
Figure 7. One-line diagram of the case study system.

Figure 8. Simplified equivalent circuit for each case.

B. Frequency response analysis The simplified circuit of Figure 8 is used here to quantify the voltage distortion at the load terminals for each of the cases presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Cases under analysis. Without power factor correction (original configuration) Case II. With capacitor bank for power factor correction Case III. With filter for power factor correction (LC series detuned filter) Case I.

Field measurements before attempting to increase the power factor provided the voltage and current waveforms and the corresponding normalized Fourier Spectrum shown in Figure 9. The largest existing harmonic is the 5th harmonic and the total current harmonic distortion is 23% whereas the total voltage harmonic distortion is 6.6%. Fundamental components have been omitted in Figure 9b and their values are 100%. As stated previously, whenever there is a capacitor bank connected in parallel, there is a resonance frequency. For Case II, the resonance frequency harmonic h is:

h=

XC = 5.56 XL + XS

(3)

where: XC is the capacitor bank reactance XL is the feeding transformer reactance XS is the Thvenin reactance for the system utility

Since the load current has a very high 5th harmonic and this harmonic is close to the resonance frequency, there would be a considerable 5th harmonic current amplification and a consequent voltage distortion. The solution presented as a result of this project consists of the installation of 3.8-detuned filters. The tuning of this filter not only avoids 5th harmonic amplification but prevents part of it from flowing to the rest of the system. Higher order harmonics are also attenuated.
amperes
4000 3000

volts
500 400

The frequency response for each of the three cases simulated with MicroTran [10] is shown in Figure 10. MicroTran is the EMTP version developed at the University of British Columbia. From Figure 10 one can conclude that there is no harmonic amplification for Case I because there is no resonance (there is no capacitance) and the current amplification equals 1. For Case II the current amplification is 3.76 at 300 Hz. Note the closeness between the 5th harmonic (300 Hz) and the 333.6 Hz resonance frequency. Finally, the installation of a three-phase reactor in series with the capacitor bank (Case III) constituting a 3.8-detuned filter produces a zero at the tuned frequency (228 Hz). As can be appreciated from Figure 10, frequencies above the tuned frequency are attenuated. The frequency response for Case III also presents current amplification at the subresonance frequency of 180 Hz. However, when using threephase rectifiers, 3rd harmonic is rather small.
(Is/Ih)
8 7 6 5

300 2000

current

200

1000

100

3.76 @ 300 Hz Case II

-1000

-100

voltage
-2000 -3000

-200

-300

Case III
3 2 1 0

-400

-4000

-500

Case I

(a)
25 %

current
20

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Frequency (Hz)

15

Figure 10. Frequency response for each case presented in Table 2.

10

voltage
5

C. Solution and results. The detuned filters installed at the site under study were designed at the Monterrey Tech's Power Quality Laboratories as one of the research activities of the Electrical Engineering Graduate Program. These filters where connected on the low voltage side of each of the 2.5 MVA transformers of Figure 7. Voltage and current measurements once the filters were connected are shown in Figure 11.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

harmonic (h) (b) Figure 9. Non-linear load voltage and current measurements. (a) Waveforms. (b) Normalized Fourier Spectrum.

amperes
3000

volts
450

V. CONCLUSIONS Installation of detuned filters under the influence of harmonics is a practical and economical way to improve the power factor. The reduction in the total harmonic distortion, prevention of capacitor failures, and better operation efficiency in the system justify the cost of installing reactors. Not only harmonic resonance related problems are avoided when using series reactors but also transient overvoltages and inrush currents are limited to safe levels. An industrial practical case where the power factor was increased from 71% to 91% after installing detuned filters has been presented. The filters were designed as part of the research activities of the Electrical Engineering Graduate Program at Monterrey Tech. Similar solutions to the study case presented here have been developed for several industries with an effective power factor increase and power quality improvement. VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY

2000

300

1000

voltage

150

-1000

-150

current
-2000 -300

-3000

-450

(a)
16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 %

current

voltage

[1]

harmonic (h) (b) Figure 11. Voltage and current waveforms and Fourier Spectrum with the detuned filter connected.

[2]

A reduction in 5th harmonic for the current from 23.2% to 14.5% can be observed when comparing Figure 9 with Figure 11. For the voltage, 5th harmonic decreased from 4.3% to 2.15%. Higher order harmonics were also reduced. Table 3 presents a comparison of the voltage and current distortion and the overall power factor before and after installing the filters.
Table 3. Comparison of system performance before and after installing filters. Quantity THDi THDv PF
where: THDi THDv PF

[3]

[4]

[5]

Original Configuration (Case I) 23.2% 6.6% 71%

With filters (Case III) 15.3% 4.63% 91%

[6]

is the total current harmonic distortion is the total voltage harmonic distortion is the overall plant power factor

[7]

R. C. Dugan, D. T. Rizy, "Electric Power System Harmonics," Design Guide, McGraw-Edison Power Systems - Division of Cooper Industries., September 1987. J. R. Linders, "Electric Wave Distortions: Their Hidden Costs and Containment," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. IA-15, No. 5, pp. 458-471, Sept/Oct. 1979. J. F. Hibbard, Michael Z. Lowenstein, "Meeting IEEE 519-1992 Harmonic Limits," TCI Power Quality Solutions. IEEE Recommended Practice for Electric Power Distribution for Industrial Plants. IEEE Std. 141-1993. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. J. de los Reyes, A. Llamas, "Armnicas de Sintona y de Resonancia Paralelo," Memorias de la Reunin de Verano de Potencia 97 del IEEE, Acapulco, Mxico, 1997. G. Lemieux, "Power System Harmonic Resonance," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 483-488, May/June 1990. R. C. Dugan, M. T. McGranahan, H. W. Beaty, Electrical Power System Quality, Mc-

[8]

Graw Hill, 1996. NEPSI, Harmonic Filter Bank Tuning, http://nepsi.com/nepsihome/tune_new.htm, 1998. [9] S. M. Peeran, C. Cascadden, "Application, Design and Specification of Harmonic Filters for Variable Frequency Drives," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 31, July/August 1995 . [10] MicroTran Power Systems Analysis Corporation, MicroTran Reference Manual, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 1997.

(1983) and obtained the M. Eng. degree (1985) from "Instituto Tecnolgico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey" (Monterrey Tech). In 1992 he received the Ph. D. degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He has worked for the Department of Electrical Engineering at Monterrey Tech since 1993. He is currently a well recognized power quality researcher and consultant in Mxico. Jess A. Baez was born in Monterrey, Mxico. He graduated as a Mechanical and Electrical Engineer (1987) from "Instituto Tecnolgico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey" (Monterrey Tech) where he also received the M. Eng. and M. A. Sc. degrees in 1990 and 1995, respectively. He currently works as an associate professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Monterrey Tech. His main research interests are in the power quality area. Jorge A. de los Reyes was born in La Piedad, Michoacn, Mxico. He graduated as a Mechanical and Electrical Engineer (1993) from "Instituto Tecnolgico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey" (Monterrey Tech). He received the M. A. Sc. degree from Monterrey Tech in 1996. He currently is an independent consultant in the power quality area and also teaches as a seasonal lecturer at Monterrey Tech.

VII. BIOGRAPHIES Salvador Acevedo was born in Oaxaca, Mxico. He graduated as an Electrical Engineer (1985) from the "Instituto Tecnolgico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey" (Monterrey Tech) where he also obtained the M. Eng. (1987) and M. A. Sc. (1993) degrees. He received the Ph. D. degree from the University of British Columbia in 1998. He currently works at Monterrey Tech as an associate professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering where he was Head of the Department from 1991 to 1994. Armando R. Llamas was born in Mxico City, Mxico. He graduated as an Electrical Engineer