Volume-4, Issue-2, April-2014, ISSN No.

: 2250-0758
International Journal of Engineering and Management Research
Available at: www.ijemr.net
Page Number: 109-115

A Review on Mid-point Compensation of a Two-machine System Using

STATCOM
Gaurav Tembhurnikar1, Ajit Chaudhari2, Nilesh Wani3, Atul Gajare4, Pankaj Gajare5
1
PG Student, Department of Electrical Engineering, INDIA
2
Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, INDIA
3,4,5
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, INDIA

ABSTRACT
Regarding the power system large wind farms are greatly
affected stability and control issues. So it requires a deep
study to overcome this potential problems and it requires
advanced control and compensating devices to avoid &
recover large disturbances this paper involve the use of Static
Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) for stabilizing the
grid voltage after grid-side disturbances such as a three phase
short circuit fault, temporary trip of a wind turbine and
sudden load changes. These will help to maintain and
regulate the proper voltage. The DC voltage at individual
wind turbine (WT) inverters is also stabilized to facilitate
continuous operation of wind turbines during disturbances.

Keywords - STATCOM, Dynamic Compensator, SVC,

Transient Stability, V-Q Response.

I. INTRODUCTION
Figure 1: Line diagram of STATCOM
STATCOM is basically a voltage source 1.1 Features of STATCOM
converter, VSC that converts a dc voltage at its input • A STATCOM has both turn-on and turn-off
terminals into three-phase ac voltages at fundamental control capability (IGBTs).
frequency of controlled magnitude and phase angle. VSCs
• It generates an output ac voltage from a dc
use pulse width modulation, PWM, technology, which
voltage.
makes it capable of providing high quality ac output
• The ac voltage is controllable both in magnitude
voltage to the grid or even to a passive load (Uzunovic,
and phase angle.
2001). STATCOM provides shunt compensation in a
Flexible Alternating Current Transmission
similar way as SVC but utilizes a voltage source converter
Systems (FACTS) devices, namely STATIC synchronous
rather shunt capacitors and reactors (Machowski, 1997).
Compensator (STATCOM), Static Synchronous Series
The basic principle of operation of a STATCOM is the
Compensator (SSSC) and Unified Power Flow Controller
generation of a controllable AC voltage source behind a
(UPFC), are used to control the power flow through an
transformer leakage reactance by a voltage source
converter connected to a DC capacitor. The voltage electrical transmission line connecting various generators
and loads at its sending and receiving ends. FACTS
difference across the reactance produces active and
devices consist of a solid-state voltage source inverter with
reactive power exchanges between the STATCOM and the
several Gate Turn off (GTO) thyristor switch-based valves
power system (Wang and Li, 2000). The effect of
and a DC link capacitor, a magnetic circuit, and a
stabilizing controls on STATCOM controllers have been
controller. The quality of AC waveforms generated by the
investigated also in several recent reporting (Wang and Li,
FACTS devices depends on the valves and the various
2000), (Wang, 1999).
configuration magnetic circuits. The inverter configuration
used in this paper can be utilized to build a voltage source
inverter.

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 II. SYSTEM MODELLING
2.1 TWO MACHINE SYSTEM WITH MIDPOINT
DYNAMIC COMPENSATOR
For the symmetrical system shown in the figure 2,
the doubling is shown by the increase in the p/δ curve from
a to b in figure 3. Without the compensator, curve a is
given by the equation;
P=
Where E is now the “emf behind transient
reactance” (E’) of the two the generators and X1 is the
total series reactance, equal to the sum of the line and
transformer reactance (which are assumes identical). The
effect of shunt capacitance is ignored. With an ideal
compensator that holds the midpoint voltage constant at
the value ‘E’ the power angle curve b is obtained according
to the equation;
This curve is applicable only if the transient
compensator voltage/current characteristics is flat, if the
compensator responds instantaneously, and if it has
sufficient capacity of current. But actually it is not possible
to get this condition. The small positive slope in the
power-angle curve from b to c , while the limited
capacitive current capability breaks the curve at point D,
the compensator behaving as a fixed capacitor at higher
load angle, curve d.
Figure 2: Two-machine system with midpoint dynamic
compensator
Figure
3:
Transient power/angle curves with & without dynamic
shunt compensation.
2.2 THEORY OF TRANSIENT STABILITY
IMPROVEMENT
We will compare it with the equal area criterion to
match the relative transient stability with and without a
dynamic shunt compensator. First consider a case without
compensation.
Assume that a fault occurs between circuit
breaker a and b in figure 2 and is cleared by a and b circuit
breakers. Curve-1 in figure 3 shows the pre fault transient
power angle curve which has a maximum of
Curves shown are during the fault. A curve 3
result after the faulted line section is removed and differs
from curve 1 is that X l is replaced by 3 . E’ is
assumed constant through the first swing period. If there is
no compensator, the system can, in principle, be pre loaded
to the transient stability power limit P 1 for the prescribed
fault, such that the available decelerating energy A 2 just
balances the accelerating energyA 1. In practice, the power
level would be somewhat less than this, to provide a
stability margin.
Figure 5: Equal area method illustrating increased transient
stability with dynamic shunt compensation
The effect of shunt compensator at midpoint with
rapid response is shown in figure 5 Curve 1,2 and 3 of
figure 3 are replaced by the higher curves 1, 2 and 3,
respectively. During the pre-fault power P 1 and the same
fault duration, the decelerating area available is now larger
and is only partly used up, leaving a margin as indicated in
figure 5. In other language, the transient stability limit is
improved, that is, the power transfer can be improved up to
the point where all of the final margin is used up. In
stability margin due to capacitive current of compensator it
decreases in figure 5 to the right of point D.
III. BASIC CONFIGURATION OF
STATCOM
By using thyristor-controlled reactors (TCR) and
thyristor-switched capacitors (TSC), SVC provides voltage
regulation and dynamic reactive power for VAR absorption
and production respectively. A STATCOM accomplishes
the same effect by using a VSC to synthesize a voltage
waveform of variable magnitude with respect to the system
voltage. The STATCOM branches provides both
production and reactive power absorption capability and
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incase of an SVC requires separate branches for each. The
STATCOM, with the use of PWM, perform faster response
and thereby improves power quality. This is very useful to
flicker from disturbances caused by electric arc furnaces at
steel mills. To increase the power transfer capability by
installing an SVC or STATCOM in transmission networks
and it is limited by post-contingency voltage criteria or
under voltage loss of load probability. Determining the
optimum mix of dynamic and switched compensation is a
challenge. Control systems are designed to keep the
normal operating point within the middle of the SVC or
STATCOM dynamic range. The voltage-sourced converter
(VSC) is the basic electronic part of a STATCOM, which
converts the dc voltage into a frequency, and phase. There
are different methods to realize a voltage sourced converter
for power utility application and it is based on harmonics
and loss considerations, pulse width modulation (PWM) or
multiple converters are used. Inherently, STATCOMs have
a symmetrical rating with respect to inductive and
capacitive reactive power. For example, the rating can be
100 MVAR inductive and 100 MVAR capacitive. For
asymmetric rating, STATCOMs need a complementary
reactive power source. Figure 6 shows Static Synchronous
Compensator (STATCOM) used for midpoint voltage
regulation on a 500-kV transmission line.
Figure 6: Schematic Diagram of STATCOM
Figure7: Phasor diagram for inductive load operation
In the last one decade commercial using of Gate
Turn-Off thyristor (GTO) devices with high power
handling capability, and the advancement of other types of
power-semiconductor devices such as IGBT’s have to led
the development of controllable reactive power sources
utilizing electronic switching converter technology. These
technologies additionally offer considerable advantages
over the existing ones in terms of space reductions and
performance. The GTO thyristor enable the design of
solid-state shunt reactive compensation equipment based
upon switching converter technology. This concept was
used to create a flexible shunt reactive compensation
device named Static Synchronous Compensator
(STATCOM) due to similar operating characteristics to
that of a synchronous compensator but without the
mechanical inertia.
By using of Flexible AC Transmission Systems
(FACTS), it is gives a new family of power electronic
equipment emerging for controlling and optimizing the
performance of power system, e.g. STATCOM, SSSC and
UPFC. The use of voltage-source inverter (VSI) has been
widely accepted as the next generation of reactive power
controllers of power system to replace the conventional
VAR compensation, such as the thyristor-switched
capacitor (TSC) and thyristor controlled reactors (TCR).
A FACT is the acronym for Flexible AC
Transmission Systems and refers to a group of resources
used to overcome certain limitations in the static and
dynamic transmission capacity of electrical networks. The
IEEE defines FACTS as “alternating current transmission
systems incorporating power-electronics-based and other
static controllers to enhance controllability and power
transfer capability.”
Purpose of these systems is to supply the network
as quickly as possible with inductive or capacitive reactive
power that is adapted to its particular requirements and
improving transmission quality and the efficiency of the
power transmission system. The inevitable globalization
and liberalization of energy markets associated with
growing deregulation and privatization are increasingly
resulting in bottlenecks, uncontrolled load flows,
instabilities, and even power transmission failures. Power
supplies are increasingly dependent on distributed power
plants with higher voltage levels, a greater exchange
within meshed systems, and transport to large load centers
over what are often long distances. In future this type of
power transmission must be implemented safely and cost
effectively. Implementing new transmission systems and
components is a long-term strategy for meeting these
challenges. For the short and medium term, modern
transmission technologies can be employed at
comparatively little expense to rectify or minimize
bottlenecks and substantially improve the quality of
supply. It is possible to postpone investing in new plants
and, as a result, to achieve critical advantages over the
competition – especially important in de-regulated energy
markets in which power supply companies are subject to
extreme pricing pressure.
As a world leader in the power transmission and
distribution industry, Siemens has developed a number of
modern, flexible, high-capacity FACTS for efficiently and
reliably regulating voltage, impedance, and phase angle
when transmitting power over high-voltage lines.
From the other side of view, the FACTS principle
is mainly depend on the advanced technologies of power
111
electronic techniques and algorithms into the power
system, to make it electronically controllable. Much of the
research upon which FACTS rests evolved over a period of
many years. Nevertheless, FACTS, an integrated
technology, is a novel concept that was brought to fruition
during the 1980s at the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) for applications of North American army
objectives. FACTS can capitalize on the many ideas taking
place in the area of high-voltage and high-current power
electronics, to improve the control of power flows in
networks during both steady-state and transient conditions.
In the present time of the power network electronically
controllable has initiated a change in the way that power
plant equipment is designed and built as well as the
technology that goes into the planning and operation of
transmission and distribution networks.
These achievements may also enhance the method
energy exchanges are done, as high-speed control of the
path of the energy flow is now feasible. FACTS own a lot
of promising benefits, technical and economical, which get
the benefits of electrical equipment devices, operators, and
research groups around the world. FACTS controllers have
been installed in various regions of the world. The well
different types are: load tap-changers transformer, static
VAR compensators, phase-angle regulators, thyristor-
controlled series compensators, static compensators, inter-
phase power controllers and unified power flow
controllers.
This thesis covers in breadth and depth the
modeling and simulation methods required for a thorough
study of the steady-state and dynamic operation of
electrical power systems with FACTS controllers. The
characteristics of a given power system evolve with time,
as load grows and generation is added. If the transmission
grid capacity is not updated sufficiently the power network
becomes vulnerable to steady state and transient stability
problems, as stability margins will be narrower. The
powerful of the transmission grid to transmit power has
constraint by one or more of the following steady-state and
dynamic limitations: Angular stability, Voltage stability,
Thermal limits, Transient stability, and Dynamic stability.
Mainly restrictions on power exchange can be
controlled by installing new transmission and generation
circuits. Also, FACTS controllers can achieve the same
tasks to be met with no huge changes to system layout.
These limits affect the packages of the power to be
transferred without block out to transmission lines and
electric apparatuses. From the operational point of view,
FACTS technology is concerned with the ability to control,
in an adaptive trend, the directions of the power flows
throughout the network, where before the advent of
FACTS, high-speed control was very limited. FACTS
controllers save a lot of benefits such as reduction of
operation and transmission investment cost, increased
system security and system reliability, maximize power
transfer capabilities, and an overall enhancement of the
quality of the electric energy delivered to customers. In
many practical situations, it is desirable to include
economical and operational considerations into the power
flow formulation, so that optimal solutions, within
constrained solution spaces, can be obtained. The ability to
control the line impedance and the buses voltage
magnitudes and phase angles at both the sending and the
receiving ends of transmission lines, with almost no delay,
has significantly increased the transmission capabilities of
the network while considerably enhancing the security of
the system.
3.1 FACTS PROVIDE
• Easy & rapid voltage regulation,
• increased power transfer over long AC lines,
• damping of active power oscillations, and
• load flow control in meshed systems,
Thereby significantly improving the stability and
performance of existing and future transmission systems.
So by using the FACTS devices, many of large
industries and power sector companies will be able to
better utilize their existing transmission networks,
substantially increase the availability and reliability of
their line networks, and improve both transient and
dynamic network stability while ensuring a better quality
of supply.
i) ASKS OF FACTS DEVICES
• Control voltage under various load conditions.
• Balance reactive power (voltage, transmission
losses).
• Increase the stability of power transmission over
long distances.
• Increase active power stability.
ii) STATCOM FEATURES
• It provides compact and reduced size.
• System voltage support and stabilization by
smooth control over a wide range of operating
conditions.
• Dynamic response following system
contingencies.
• High reliability with modular construction
parallel and converter design.
• Flexibility of reconfiguration to Back To Back
power transmission or UPFC (Unified Power
Flow Controller) and other configurations.
3.2 OPERATION MODE OF THE STATCOM
Active power exchange between the STATCOM
and the EPS can be at minimum extent. This means that
the inverter cannot provide active power to the AC system
form the DC accumulated energy if the output voltage of
the inverter goes before the voltage of the AC system. The
exchange between the inverter and the AC system can be
controlled adjusting the output voltage angle from the
inverter to the voltage angle of the AC system. On the
other hand, the inverter can absorb the active power of the
AC system if its voltage is delayed in respect to the AC
system voltage.
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 Following figure shows the operation mode of • Quicker response time (A STATCOM has a step
STATCOM for on load operation, capacitive operation and response of 8 ms to 30 ms). This helps with
inductive operation. compensation of negative phase current and with the
reduction of voltage flicker.
• Active power control is possible with a STATCOM
(with optional energy storage on dc circuit). This could
further help with system stability control.
• No potential for creating a resonance point. This is
because no capacitor banks or reactors are required to
generate the reactive power for a STATCOM.
• The STATCOM has a smaller installation space due to
no capacitors or reactors required to generate MVAR,
minimal or no filtering, and the availability of high
capacity power semiconductor devices. Designs of
systems of equal dynamic ranges have shown the
STATCOM to be as much as 1/3 the area and 1/5 the
volume of an SVC.
• A modular design of the STATCOM allows for high
availability (i.e., one or more modules of the
STATCOM can be out-of-service without the loss of
the entire compensation system).

Figure 8: Operation mode of STATCOM IV. MODELING OF THE STATCOM

AND ANALYSIS
3.3 V-I CHARACTERISTIC OF A STATCOM
The STATCOM smoothly and continuously
4.1 Operating Principles
controls voltage from V1 to V2. However, if the system
The fundamental phasor diagram of the
voltage exceeds a low-voltage (V1) or high-voltage limit
STATCOM terminal voltage with the voltage at PCC for
(V2), the STATCOM acts as a constant current source by
an inductive load in operation, neglecting the harmonic
controlling the converter voltage (Vi) appropriately. Thus,
content in the STATCOM terminal voltage, is shown in
when operating at its voltage limits, the amount of reactive
figure 7. Ideally, increasing the amplitude of the
power compensation provided by the STATCOM is more
STATCOM terminal voltage Voa above the amplitude of
than the most-common competing FACTS controller,
the utility voltage Vsa causes leading (capacitive) current
namely the Static Var Compensator (SVC). This is because
Ic to be injected into the system at PCC. Iac, the real
at a low voltage limit, the reactive power drops off as the
component of Ic, accounts for the losses in the resistance
square of the voltage for the SVC, where Mvar=f(BV2),
of the inductor coil and the power electronic converter.
but drops off linearly with the STATCOM, where
Ideally, if the system losses can be minimized to zero,
Mvar=f(VI). This makes the reactive power controllability
Ic_a, would become zero, and Ic would be leading at
of the STATCOM superior to that of the SVC, particularly
perfect quadrature. Then, Voa , which is lagging and greater
during times of system distress.
than Vsa , would also be in phase with Vsa. The
STATCOM in such a case operates in capacitive mode
(when the load is inductive).
4.2 Modeling
The modeling is carried out with the following
assumptions:
1. All switches are ideal.
2. The source voltages are balanced.
3. Rs represents the converter losses and the losses
of the coupling inductor.
4. The harmonic contents caused by switching
action are negligible.

Figure 9: V-I characteristic of a STATCOM

In addition the STATCOM has other advantages compared

to an SVC, such as:

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4.3 Analysis of model
i) STATCOM Dynamic Response
Figure 10: V ref signal (dotted lines) along with the
measured positive-sequence voltage vm at the STATCOM
We will now verify the dynamic response of our
model. Open the STATCOM dialog box and select
"Display Control parameters". Verify that the "Mode of
operation" is set to "Voltage regulation" and that "External
control of reference voltage Vref" is selected. Also, the
"droop" parameter should be set to 0.03 and the "Vac
Regulator Gains" to 5 (proportional gain Kp) and 1000
(integral gain Ki). Close the STATCOM dialog block and
open the "Step Vref" block (the red timer block connected
to the "Vref" input of the STATCOM). This block should
be programmed to modify the reference voltage Vref as
follows: Initially Vref is set to 1 pu; at t=0.2 s, Vref is
decreased to 0.97 pu; then at t=0.4 s, Vref is increased to
1.03; and finally at 0.6 s, Vref is set back to 1 pu. Also,
make sure that the fault breaker at bus B1will not operate
during the simulation (the parameters "Switching of phase
A, B and C" should not be selected).
Figure 11: The reactive power Q m absorbed (positive
value) or generated (negative value) by the STATCOM
Run the simulation and look at the
"VQ_STATCOM" scope. The first graph displays the Vref
signal (magenta trace) along with the measured positive-
sequence voltage Vm at the STATCOM bus (yellow trace).
The second graph displays the reactive power Qm (yellow
trace) absorbed (positive value) or generated (negative
value) by the STATCOM. The signal Qref (magenta trace)
is not relevant to our simulation because the STATCOM is
in "Voltage regulation" and not in "Var Control".
Looking at the Qm signal we can determine that
the closed-loop time constant of the system is about 20 ms.
This time constant depends primarily on the power system
strength at bus B2 and on the programmed Vac Regulator
gains of the STATCOM. To see the impact of the regulator
gains, multiply the two gains of the Vac Regulator Gains
by two and rerun the simulation. You should observe a
much faster response with a small overshoot.
Looking at the Vm and Vref signals, you can see
that the STATCOM does not operate as a perfect voltage
regulator ( Vm does not follow exactly the reference
voltage Vref). This is due to the regulator droop (regulating
slope) of 0.03 pu. For a given maximum
capacitive/inductive range, this droop is used to extend the
linear operating range of the STATCOM and also to ensure
automatic load sharing with other voltage compensators (if
any). Set the droop parameter to 0 and the voltage
regulator gains back to 5 (Kp) and 1000 (Ki). If you then
run a simulation, you will see that the measured voltage
Vm now follows perfectly the reference voltage Vref.
ii) Comparison between STATCOM & SVC under fault
condition
Figure 12: Measured voltage Vm on both systems
We will now compare our STATCOM model with
a SVC model having the same rating (+/- 100 MVA). If
you double-click on the "SVC Power System" (the
magenta block), you will see a SVC connected to a power
grid similar to the power grid on which our STATCOM is
connected. A remote fault will be simulated on both
systems using a fault breaker in series with fault
impedance. The value of the fault impedance has been
programmed to produce 30% voltage sag at bus B2.Before
running the simulation; you will first disable the "Step
Vref" block by multiplying the time vector by 100. You
will then program the fault breaker by selecting the
parameters "Switching of phase A, B and C" and verify
that the breaker is programmed (look at the "Transition
times" parameter) to operate at t=0.2 s for a duration of 10
cycles. Check also that the fault breaker inside the "SVC
Power System" has the same parameters. Finally, set the
STATCOM droop back to its original value (0.03 pu).
114
 [3] Reactive power control in electric systems by Timothy
J.E. Miller.
[4] Hingorani, N.G. and L. Gyugyi, 1999. “Understanding
FACTS”, IEEE Press, New York.
[5] Macho ski, J., 1997. “Power System Dynamics and
Stability”, John Wiley & Sons.
[6] Hamad, A.E., 1986. “Analysis of Power System
Stability Enhamsement by Static VAr Compensators”,
IEEE Transactions on power Systems, 1(4): 222-227.
[7] M. Sajedihir, Y. Hoseinpoor , P.Mosadegh Ardabili, T.
Pirazadeh., 2011. “Analysis and Simulation of a
STATCOM for Midpoint Voltage Regulation of
Transmission Lines”, Australian Journal of Basic and
Figure 13: The measured reactive power Qm generated by Applied Sciences, 5(10): 1157-1163.
the SVC and the STATCOM
Run the simulation and look at the "SVC vs
STATCOM" scope. The first graph displays the measured
voltage Vm on both systems (magenta trace for the SVC).
The second graph displays the measured reactive power
Qm generated by the SVC (magenta trace) and the
STATCOM (yellow trace). During the 10-cycle fault, a key
difference between the SVC and the STATCOM can be
observed. The reactive power generated by the SVC is -
0.48 pu and the reactive power generated by the
STATCOM is -0.71 pu. We can then see that the maximum
capacitive power generated by a SVC is proportional to the
square of the system voltage (constant susceptance) while
the maximum capacitive power generated by a STATCOM
decreases linearly with voltage decrease (constant current).
This ability to provide more capacitive power during a
fault is one important advantage of the STATCOM over
the SVC. In addition, the STATCOM will normally exhibit
a faster response than the SVC because with the voltage-
sourced converter, the STATCOM has no delay associated
with the thyristor firing (in the order of 4 ms for a SVC).

V. CONCLUSION
In this Paper, We observed the voltage can be
500 KV transmission Line at Mid-point which can be used
in the industrial lines as well as interconnected power grid
network of transmission Lines. We have compared the
output and performance of SVC and STATCOM with
respect to the analytical and Simulation studies. So, from
the output characteristic of SVC and STATCOM. We can
conclude that both these devices improve the behavior of
power system under the transient voltage condition by
using MATLAB based modeling and simulation.

REFERENCES
[1] Zhou, E.Z., 1993. “Application of static VAR
compensators to Increase Power System Damping”,
IEEE Transactions on power system, 8(2):655-661.
[2] Wang, H.F. and F. Li, 2000. “Design of STATCOM
Multivariable Sampled Regulator”, Int. conf. on
Electric Utility Deregulation and power Tech, City
University, London.

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