The Journal of Engineering

The 14th IET International Conference on AC and DC Power

Transmission (ACDC 2018)

Analysis for DC transmission line harmonics eISSN 2051-3305

Received on 23rd August 2018
Accepted on 19th September 2018
originated from AC transformer inrush current E-First on 10th December 2018
doi: 10.1049/joe.2018.8523
and improved method for DC harmonic www.ietdl.org

protection
Wenbin Cao1 , Xinaggen Yin1, Xuanwei Qi1, Yuxue Wang2, Wei Liu2, Yuanlin Pan1
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan,

People's Republic of China

2Power dispatching control center of Guangdong power grid, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China

E-mail: 1019097704@qq.com

Abstract: Large-scale electricity has fed into Central and Southern China through DC transmission lines. Any one of the DC
transmission lines suddenly outage will result in a large proportion of power-shortage. Recently, there are many DC harmonic
protection misoperations caused by AC disturbance, resulting in DC transmission line exit operation. Therefore, it is necessary
to analyse the effect of AC disturbance on DC harmonics and study methods for DC harmonic protections. In this study, based
on the theory of switching function, the harmonics interaction in AC–DC systems is studied. The cause of DC line harmonic
protection misoperation during unusual AC disturbances, such as inrush current and short circuit, is revealed. The DC line 50 Hz
harmonic protection misoperates frequently due to inrush current on site. Taking it for example, an improved method using the
second harmonic voltage in AC system bus is proposed. In this method, the 50 Hz harmonics generated by inrush current can
be accurately identified by judging the correlation between the AC harmonic voltage and the DC line harmonic current. By
automatically adjusting the threshold value of protection, the misoperation can be prevented effectively without affecting the
original protection performance. The simulation results verify the correctness of the method.

1 Introduction DC harmonic protection is a typical protection involving AC–

In this century, DC transmission technology has been rapidly
developed in the world [1]. Especially in China, with a large
number of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and ultra high-
voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission projects put into
operation, AC–DC hybrid power grid has been gradually forming
[2]. However, the increasingly complex power grid structure and
parameters bring new issue that is the coordination of AC and DC
system protection and control, which seriously affect the safety of
the grid. If a single fault occurred in the power grid cannot be cut
in time, it will cause a complex accident process of the linkage in
AC–DC systems. The emergency shutdown of DC system will
cause huge loss of power in AC receiving-end grid, which is a
serious threat to the safe and stable operation of the AC–DC hybrid
grid [3–5]. Therefore, it is necessary to study the interaction
mechanism of AC–DC system and its impact on the protection.
In actual operation, there have been many DC harmonic
protection–misprotections caused by the energised transformer
inrush current in the rectifier side, which may cause DC bipolar
block and other serious consequences [6–9]. When the transformer
is energised, the inrush current will cause the AC bus voltage
distortion in rectifier side. The distorted voltage contains abundant
second harmonics. The transfer process of harmonics in AC–DC
system is very complex, and the harmonics generated by AC side
faults or other processes of AC–DC hybrid power grid will be
transferred to the DC side, which will cause the misoperation of
harmonic protection. In Hu et al. [10–12], the transfer mechanism
of AC and DC harmonics in HVDC transmission system under
unbalanced state is deduced using switching function theory, and
then the equations of voltage harmonics transfer from AC to DC
system and current harmonics from DC to AC side are obtained.
However, it failed to analyse the complete transfer process. The
complete transfer process is as follows: the harmonic voltage is
transferred from the AC side to DC side, which will generate
harmonic current, then, the generated harmonic current on the
equivalent impedance is transferred back to the AC side.
DC system. Furthermore, 50 Hz harmonic protection is the backup
protection to bridge differential protection and commutation failure
protection [13]. It can quickly detect continuous commutation
failure or trigger system failure. However, when the disturbances
occur to the AC system and the AC protection cannot operate in
time, DC harmonic protection may misoperate. For this
misoperation, Chong et al. [8] proposed blocking positive-
sequence second harmonic voltage to prevent the misoperation
during the magnetising inrush current. By detecting the content of
positive-sequence, second harmonic of the AC system to
distinguish whether the converter valve is pulsed or the AC system
has a positive-sequence second harmonic. This method can
effectively avoid the misoperation of the harmonic protection
during the inrush current. However, the criterion of blocking the
positive-sequence second harmonic directly may lead to the failure
of operation in some cases. Tian and Liu [7] proposed installing an
AC filter which is capable of filtering the second harmonic to
suppress the influence of the second harmonic on the DC system
caused by the distortion of the AC bus voltage. However, the
method needs to add primary equipment which will increase the
cost. It is not conducive to engineering.
In this paper, based on the theory of switching function, the
transfer and interaction mechanism of harmonics in AC–DC
systems is analysed. Based on a HVDC project in Central China,
the correctness of the analysis results is verified by digital
simulation. The cause of DC harmonic protection misoperation
during unusual transient process in AC system, such as inrush
current and short circuit fault, is revealed. Based on the
clarification of the harmonic transfer mechanism in AC–DC
systems, a new method using the second harmonic voltage in AC
bus is proposed to solve the problem of DC 50 Hz harmonic
protection misoperation during AC inrush current. In this method,
the 50 Hz harmonics generated by inrush current can be accurately
identified by judging the correlation between the AC harmonic
voltage and the DC line harmonic current. By automatically
adjusting the threshold value of protection, the misoperation can be

J. Eng., 2019, Vol. 2019 Iss. 16, pp. 1056-1061 1056

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prevented effectively without affecting the original protection
performance. The simulation results verify the correctness of the
method.

2 Analysis of AC–DC system harmonic transfer

through the converter
Fig. 1  Equivalent impedance of the AC system
When the transformer nearby the rectifier station is energised, the
magnetising inrush current will produce the distortion in the AC
bus voltage. Especially when the AC system at the sending end is
weak, the voltage distortion factor can reach up to 30% [6]. The
distorted voltage contains abundant second harmonics.
The switching function theory [10, 14] is often used to analyse
the converter impact on harmonic transfer. The theory believes that
the converter is considered as a non-linear modulation switching
circuit to connect the AC–DC system. By modulating the switching Fig. 2  Calculating circuit for the equivalent impedance
function, the voltage or current in AC and DC sides can be flexibly
∞
converted to each other. 6 3 N2
π N1 m∑
+
Based switching function theory, the converter voltage and um_dc = Um_accos ωm − ω1 t + α+
=1 (4)
current can be expressed as (1):
−
+Um_accos (ωm + ω1)t + α−
udc = uaSua + ubSub + ucSuc
ia = idc ⋅ Sia where, um_dc is the harmonic voltage in DC side, N1 and N2 are the
(1) winding turns in AC side and valve side of converter transformer,
ib = idc ⋅ Sib respectively.
ic = idc ⋅ Sic Also, by using the switching function theory, the relation
between harmonic current in DC side and AC side of 12-pluse
For 12-pluse converter, Sua, Sub, Suc can be expressed as (2): converter is shown in (5) and (6).

4 3 + 2 3 N2
Sua = cos ω1t im_ac = I cos ωm + ω1 t + α (5)
π π N1 m_dc

4 3 2π 2 3 N2
Sub = cos ω1t − (2) −
im_ac = I cos ωm + ω1 t + α (6)
π 3 π N1 m_dc
4 3 2π
Suc = cos ω1t − where, Im_dc and α are the amplitude and phase of harmonic current
π 3
in DC side, ωm is the angular frequency of harmonic current in DC
where, ω1 is angular frequency under power frequency. +
side, im_ac −
and im_ac i － are the positive- and negative-sequence
Assuming there is there-phase unbalanced voltage in AC side, it current in AC side, ω1 is the angular frequency under power
can be decomposed into positive-sequence and zero-sequence frequency, N1 and N2 are the winding turns in AC side and valve
components, which are shown in (3).
side of converter transformer, respectively.
∞ ∞ By analysing (5) and (6), mth-degree harmonic current will
ua = ∑ Um_accos(ωmt + α ) + ∑ Um_accos(ωmt + α )
+ + 0 0 produce (m − 1)th-degree negative harmonic current and (m + 1)th-
degree positive-sequence harmonic current.
m=1 m=1
∞
+ ∑ Um_accos(ωmt + α )
− −
3 Analytical calculation and simulation
m=1 comparison for transfer process of AC second
∞ ∞
2π harmonic in AC–DC system
ub = ∑ Um_accos ωmt + α
+ +
−
3
+ ∑ Um_ac
0
cos(ωmt + α0)
m=1 m=1 3.1 Calculation of AC system harmonic equivalent
∞
(3) impedance
2π
+ ∑ Um_accos ωmt + α
− −
+
3 The harmonic equivalent impedance of AC system Zac is shown in
m=1
Fig. 1, the equivalent impedance converted from AC system to DC
∞ ∞
2π system.
uc = ∑ Um_accos ωmt + α
+ +
+
3
+ ∑ Um_ac
0
cos(ωmt + α0) Assuming that the harmonic current im_ac of which frequency is
m=1 m=1
∞
ωm flows through the DC system in Fig. 1:
2π
+ ∑ Um_accos ωmt + α
− −
−
3 im_dc = Im_dccos(ωmt + α)
m=1 (7)
+
where, Um_ac 0
, Um_ac −
, and Um_ac are the amplitude of positive-, According to (5) and (6), the time-domain expression of harmonic
zero-, and negative-sequence harmonic voltage in AC side, α ＋, α0, current im_ac can be derived, of which the positive-sequence current
and α － are the phase of positive-, zero-, and negative-sequence angular frequency is ωm + ω1 and the negative sequence current
harmonic voltage in AC side, ωm is the angular frequency of angular frequency is ωm − ω1.
harmonic voltage, which often is m times of ω1. When the system frequency is ω, set the converter transformer
Substituting (3) and (2) into (1), the harmonic voltage impedance as ZT(ω) and the equivalent impedance of AC system as
relationship between 12-phase converter AC side and DC side is ZS(ω). Considering that there does not exist harmonic voltage
shown in (4). By analysing (4), it can be found that mth-degree source which has another angular frequency in the AC side, the
positive-sequence harmonic in AC side will produce (m − 1)th- circuit in Fig. 1 can be transformed as Fig. 2:
degree harmonic voltage in DC side, and mth-degree negative From Fig. 2, in the AC side of converter, the harmonic voltage
harmonic voltage will produce (m + 1)th-degree harmonic voltage. um_ac caused by im_ac is shown as (8) and (9):

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 + 2 3 N2
um_ac = I cos ωm + ω1 t + α + γ +
π N1 m_dc (8)
× 0.5ZT ωm + ω1 + ZS ωm + ω1

− 2 3 N2
um_ac = I cos ωm − ω1 t + α + γ −
π N1 m_dc (9)
× 0.5ZT ωm − ω1 + ZS ωm − ω1
+ −
where, um_ac and um_ac are the AC system positive- and negative-
sequence harmonic voltage caused by positive- and negative-
sequence harmonic current, respectively, γ+ is the impedance angle
to 0.5ZT(ωm + ω1) + ZS(ωm + ω1) and γ－ is impedance to 0.5ZT(ωm 
− ω1) + ZS(ωm − ω1).
+
According to (8), the angular frequency of um_ac is ωm + ω1.
+
Then, it can be concluded from (4) that um_ac will produce Fig. 3  Equivalent circuit of the DC transmission system during inrush
harmonic voltage of which angular frequency is ωm in DC side. In current
− −
the same way, the angular frequency of um_ac is ωm − ω1 and um_ac (a) Wiring diagram of DC transmission system, (b) 50 Hz harmonic DC equivalent
will produce harmonic voltage of which angular frequency is ωm in circuit
DC side too. In conclusion, the DC side harmonic voltage um_dc
can be expressed as follows: into 50 Hz harmonic equivalent impedance in DC side, which is
′
noted as ZS_rec ′ . In the same way, the converter
+ 0.5ZT_rec
36 N2 2 transformer internal impedance ZT_inv in inverter side and AC
um_dc = Im_dccos(ωmt + α + γ +) system internal impedance ZS_inv in inverter side can be converted
π2 N1
into 50 Hz harmonic equivalent impedance in DC side, which is
× 0.5ZT ωm + ω1 + ZS ωm + ω1 ′
noted as ZS_inv ′ .
+ 0.5ZT_inv
(10)
36 N2 2 The concrete calculation process is as follows:
+ Im_dccos(ωmt + α + γ −)
π2 N1
6 3 N2_rec
× 0.5ZT ωm − ω1 + ZS ωm − ω1 U̇ dc_50Hz = U̇ (12)
π N1_rec ac_100Hz +
Transferring the time domain expression of DC side harmonic
current and voltage in (7) and (10) into phasor expression, the (see (13) and (14)) (see (14)) where, U̇ ac_100Hz + is the positive-
harmonic equivalent impedance of AC system Zac can be expressed sequence 100 Hz harmonic voltage of AC bus in rectifier side
as follows: produced by transformer magnetising inrush current, N1_rec and
N2_rec represent the AC side and converter valve side winding turns
U̇ m_dc 36 N2 2 of rectifier station converter transformer, respectively, NT_rec(ω)
Zac = 0.5ZT ωm + ω1 + ZS ωm + ω1 and NS_rec(ω) represent the equivalent impedance of converter
I˙m_dc π 2 N1 (11)
transformer and AC system of rectifier side when the angular
+0.5ZT ωm − ω1 + ZS ωm − ω1 frequency is ω, N1_inv and N2_inv represent the AC side and
converter valve side winding turns in inverter station converter
3.2 Analytic calculation of AC side positive-sequence second transformer, respectively, ZT_inv(ω) and Zs_inv(ω) represent the
harmonic transferring process equivalent impedance of converter transformer and AC system of
During the transformer energisation nearby the rectification station, inverter side when the angular frequency is ω. As U̇ ac_100Hz + will
the AC bus of converter station will produce positive-sequence transfer into 50 Hz harmonic voltage, ωm = ω1 = 100π rad/s.
second harmonic voltage. As is shown in Fig. 3a, assuming that the As the DC transmission line is too long, the influence of
AC bus in rectifier side is superimposed a harmonic voltage source distributed capacitive current to ground cannot be neglected [15].
U̇ ac_100Hz + , combined with the analysis of converter influence to Therefore, as shown in Fig. 3b, we can take two-port network to
harmonic transfer and the calculation of AC system harmonic analyse the distributed parameter characteristics of DC
equivalent impedance, the AC system can be converted in the DC transmission line. The whole loop equivalent impedance Zeq(l) is as
side, which is shown as Fig. 3b. follows:
In Fig. 3b, the positive-sequence second harmonic voltage of
the AC bus of the rectifier station is passed through the inverter Z2 + Zctanh(γl)
Zeq(l) = Z′S_rec + 0.5Z′T_rec + jωLP + Zc
and then converted to 50 Hz harmonic voltage, which can be Zc + Z2tanh(γl) (15)
equivalently substituted as source U̇ dc_50Hz and the conversion Z2 = jωLP + (Z′S_inv + 0.5Z′T_inv)
equation is shown in (4). According to (11), the converter
transformer internal impedance ZT_rec in rectifier side and AC
system internal impedance ZS_rec in rectifier side can be converted

2
36 N2_rec
Z′S_rec + 0.5Z′T_rec = [0.5ZT_rec(ωm + ω1)
π N1_rec
2
(13)
+ZS_rec(ωm + ω1) + 0.5ZT_rec(ωm − ω1) + ZS_rec(ωm − ω1)]

2
36 N2_inv
Z′S_inv + 0.5Z′T_inv = [0.5ZT_inv(ωm + ω1)
π N1_inv
2
(14)
+ZS_inv(ωm + ω1) + 0.5ZT_inv(ωm − ω1) + ZS_inv(ωm − ω1)]
1058 J. Eng., 2019, Vol. 2019 Iss. 16, pp. 1056-1061
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where, Z2 is the load connected at the terminal of transmission line,
Zc is the characteristic impedance of DC transmission line, γ is the
transmission coefficient.
The DC line current I˙rec and voltage U̇ rec in rectifier side are
(see (16))

U̇ rec = U̇ dc_50Hz − I˙rec[(ZS_rec

′ ′ ) + jωLP]
+ 0.5ZT_rec (17)

According to transmission line equation, we can deduce DC line

current I˙inv and voltage U̇ inv in the inverter side.

U̇ rec
I˙inv = I˙reccosh(γl) − sinh(γl) (18)
Zc

U̇ inv = U̇ reccosh(γl) − ZcI˙recsinh(γl) (19)

3.3 Analytic calculation of AC side positive-sequence second

harmonic transferring process
Building digital transient simulation model of the HVDC project in
Central China, we can verify the accuracy of the above-mentioned
analytic calculation of the harmonic transfer mechanism in AC–DC
hybrid power grid.
In the model, add positive-sequence second harmonic voltage
with different amplitude on converter station AC bus in rectifier
side. The voltage and current on both sides of DC transmission line
can be obtained from simulation to compare with analytic
calculation result. The comparison diagram is shown in Fig. 4.
It can be seen from Fig. 4 that the simulation results
approximately agree with the analytic calculation result. Moreover,
there is a good linear relation between AC bus second harmonic
and DC line harmonic. As we use a 50 Hz harmonic DC equivalent
circuit to simplify the actual DC transmission system, the influence
of AC filter and DC filter is not in consideration, which cause the
error between the calculation result and the simulation result. In
addition, by comparing (b) and (d), it can be found that the 50 Hz
harmonic current on the rectification side is amplified when
conducted to the inverter side through the long-distance DC
transmission line, indicating that the 50 Hz harmonic protection on
the inverter side is more likely to misoperate. The actual 50 Hz
harmonic protection misoperation [6, 16] also shows that the
magnetising inrush of energised transformer in rectifier side often
leads to the DC harmonic protection misoperation in inverter side.
4 Method to improve the DC 50 Hz harmonic
protections
According to the harmonic transfer mechanism of the converter,
the positive-sequence second harmonics of the AC side will
produce 50 Hz harmonics on the DC side. The DC 50 Hz harmonic
protection may misoperate when the magnetising inrush current
has large amplitude and decay slowly. In this article, a method
against the misoperation for 50 Hz harmonic protection is proposed
based on theoretical basis. Digital simulation is carried out to
verify the feasibility of the method.
The analysis shows that there is good linear correlation between
positive-sequence second harmonic of AC bus and 50 Hz harmonic
of DC line. Therefore, the performance of DC 50 Hz harmonic
protection could be improved by introducing the amplitude
Uac_100Hz + of positive-sequence second harmonic in AC bus of
rectifier station. When a transformer is energised, the magnetising
inrush current decays slowly and Uac_100Hz + generated by the
magnetising inrush current decays slowly. As a result, whether
there is inrush current generated or not can be judged by the
attenuation of Uac_100Hz + . Then the correlation between Uac_100Hz +
and 50 Hz harmonic in DC line current can be detected and
whether the DC 50 Hz harmonic is generated by transformer inrush
Fig. 4  Equivalent circuit of the DC transmission system during
magnetising inrush current
(a) 50 Hz harmonic current I˙rec in DC line nearby the rectifier station, (b) 50 Hz
harmonic voltage U̇ rec in DC line nearby the rectifier station, (c) 50 Hz harmonic
current I˙inv in DC line nearby the inverter station, (d) 50 Hz harmonic voltage U̇ inv in
DC line nearby the inverter station
current can be judged. Thereby, appropriate measures to prevent
the potential misoperation of DC 50 Hz harmonic protection can be
taken.
Based on the above analysis, an anti-misoperation method for
DC 50 Hz harmonic is proposed. The method uses AC harmonic
voltage to make up the new criterion. The specific implementation
methods include the following five steps.
Step 1: execute the normal function of 50 Hz harmonic protection
The operation criterion of normal 50 Hz harmonic protection is
shown (20):
IdCN_50 > Id_set (20)
where, IdCN_50 is the amplitude of 50 Hz harmonic in DC current;
Id_set is the restraint current and it is 0.0333 times the rate current.
Detect the value at every sample time Ts. Once the criterion is
satisfied and last for 0.5 s, the protection operates.
The Step 2 is executed at every sample interval and set flag = 0.
Step 2: Judge whether the rectifier bus generates the positive-
sequence second harmonic voltage
Measure the three-phase voltage of the AC bus in the rectifier
station and calculate the positive-sequence second harmonic
amplitude of the measured voltage, which is referred to as
Uac_100 Hz + . When (21) is satisfied, it means positive-sequence
second harmonic voltage begin to occur. If flag = 0 this moment,
turn to Step 3 and set flag = 1; and start timing from 0, timing result
recorded as t; start counting from 1, counting result recorded as n,
add 1 to it every other sampling point. When (21) is satisfied and
flag = 1, turn to Step 3 directly and keep on timing and counting.
When (21) is not satisfied, return to Step 1.
Uac_100 Hz + > Uset (21)
where, Uac_100 Hz + is the amplitude of positive-sequence second
harmonic voltage of AC bus in rectifier station; Uset is a setting
value and usually 0.05 times the rate voltage (25 kV).
Step 3: Judge whether the inrush current is generated.
The inrush current decays slowly after transformer switching-
on. So whether the magnetising inrush current is generated or not
can be judged by the attenuation of Uac_100 Hz + .

U̇ dc_50Hz
I˙rec = (16)
Z′S_rec + 0.5Z′T_rec + jωLP + Zc Z2 + Zctanh(γl) / Zc + Z2tanh(γl)
J. Eng., 2019, Vol. 2019 Iss. 16, pp. 1056-1061 1059
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 The paper takes α to represent the attenuation of Uac_100 Hz + , as
shown in (22). When α < 1, it is in an attenuation state. So
attenuation state of Uac_100Hz + can be determined according to the
criterion shown in (23) and judge whether the magnetising inrush
current is generated or not. When (23) is satisfied, turn to Step 4.
Otherwise, return to Step 2.
int(n/N) × N
α= ∑ ∑ Uac_ 100 HZ + (k)
Fig. 5  Electrical connection diagram of transformer energisation nearby
k = int(n/N) × N − 4 × N + 1
int(n/N) × N − 4 × N (22) rectifier station
∑ Uac_100 HZ + (k)
k = int(n/N) × N − 8 × N + 1

where, N is the number of sampling points each cycle; n represents

the number of the sampling point; function int(x) represents the
rounding operation. Uac_100HZ + (k) represents the number k of
sampling point after turning to step 3

α αset&&t tset1 (23)

where, αset is the setting value (αset < 1). It is set as 0.97. tset1 is the
time delay and it is set 0.2 s.
Step 4: Judge whether the DC 50 Hz harmonic is generated by the
magnetising inrush current.
Measure the 50 Hz harmonic current on the rectifier and
inverter side. The coefficients βrec and βinv are used to characterise
the correlation between the DC 50 Hz harmonic current and Fig. 6  Simulation results when the magnetising inrush current occurs
Uac_100HZ + (k) on the rectifier and inverter side. The specific nearby the rectifier station
(a) Three-phase voltage of AC bus in rectifier station during magnetising inrush
algorithm is shown in (24) and (25).
current, (b)Positive-sequence second harmonic voltage of AC bus in rectifier station,
(c) 50 Hz harmonic current of DC line in rectifier station, (d) The comparison between
Uac_100 Hz+ and Iinv_50 Hz
βrec
n
Uac_100Hz + (k) Irec_50Hz + (k) 2 Irec_50Hz > Id_set2 (28)
= ∑ −
Uac_100Hz + (n − N + 1) Irec_50Hz + (n − N + 1)
k =n−N+1 When (27) is satisfied, adjust the DC 50 Hz harmonic protection
(24) criterion in inverter side to

Iinv_50Hz > Id_set2 (29)

βinv
n 2
Uac_100Hz + (k) Iinv_50Hz + (k)
= ∑ −
Uac_100Hz + (n − N + 1) Iinv_50Hz + (n − N + 1)
k =n−N+1
(25)
where, Irec_50Hz and Iinv_50Hz represent the amplitude of DC 50 Hz
harmonic current on the rectifier and inverter side.
The closer βrec and βinv are to zero, the more synchronised the
attenuation of Uac_100Hz + with the DC 50 Hz harmonic current.
Compare βrec and βinv with the setting value βset, when the (26) is
satisfied, it could be judged that the 50 Hz harmonic current on the
rectifier side is generated by the inrush current. Then, turn to Step
5. Similarly, when (27) is satisfied, it is judged that the 50 Hz
harmonic current on the inverter side is generated by the
magnetising inrush current.
βrec < βset&&tset2
βinv < βset&&tset2
where, tset2 is the time delay and it is set 0.2 s according to
engineering experience. βset is the set value to determine the degree
of similarity of the waveform and it is set as 0.01 according to
engineering experience.
Step 5: Adjust the harmonic protection action criterion to prevent
misoperation.
Judging that the DC line 50 Hz harmonic current is generated
by the magnetising inrush current, then raise the threshold value of
action to prevent misoperation.
When (26) is satisfied, adjust the DC 50 Hz harmonic
protection criterion in rectifier side to
where, Id_set2 is the modified action current and it is set 0.06 times
the rate current according to engineering experience. When
Uac_100Hz + < Uset, return to Step 1.
5 Simulation verification
The paper uses the digital transient simulation model of the HVDC
project in Central China to verify the validity of the proposed
method. Simulation model and the diagram of electrical quantity
measurement are shown as Fig. 5. The measure point of Uac_100 Hz
+ is on AC bus in rectifier side of pole I. The measure point of
Iinv_50 Hz is on DC line in inverter side of pole I. The reference
direction is indicated by an arrow in Fig. 5.
At 0 s, transformer A is energised nearby the AC bus of rectifier
station. The magnetising inrush current occurs at AC system. The
AC bus voltage produces a large degree of distortion and the
(26) positive-sequence second harmonic voltage Uac_100Hz + which
decays slowly, as shown in Figs. 6a and b. The DC 50 Hz
(27) harmonic current Iinv_50Hz is larger than the original setting value
(0.0333 times the rate DC current) and lasts for 1.2 s. The DC
harmonic protection may misoperate, as shown in Fig. 6c.
The scaled amplitude of Uac_100 Hz + and Iinv_50 Hz, is shown in
Fig. 6d. The analysis shows that the two curves are much
consistent which indicate that the attenuation of Uac_100 Hz + and
Iinv_50 Hz is much synchronised.
The following describes the operation performance of the
improved harmonic protection. At 0 s, Uac_100 Hz + > Uset, as shown
in Fig. 6. So the criterion is satisfied and the flag changes from 0 to
1 at this time. Start timing as t and start counting as n. Add 1 every
sampling time. Then turn to Step 3.

1060 J. Eng., 2019, Vol. 2019 Iss. 16, pp. 1056-1061

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Fig. 7  Attenuation α of Uac_100 Hz+; βinv between Iinv_50 Hz and
Uac_100 Hz+
Fig. 8  Operation performance of improved 50 Hz harmonic protection
nearby the inverter station
Voltage decay rate α calculated in Step 3 is shown in Fig. 7. α
sustained less than αset(αset = 0.97). When t > 0.2S, Uac_100 Hz +
begin to come into the attenuation state, turn to Step 4.
In Step 4, the relative coefficient βinv between Iinv_50 Hz and
Uac_100 Hz+ is shown in Fig. 7. It can be seen that the value βinv is
far less than the setting value 0.01, which shows a high correlation
between Iinv_50 Hz and Uac_100 Hz+, so to determine that the 50 Hz
harmonic current on the inverter side is due to the inrush current on
the rectifier side. Then turn to Step 5.
In Step 5, the 50 Hz harmonic protection changed to (29), as
shown in Fig. 8. The analysis shows that the lasting time of which
50 Hz harmonic current larger than the setting value is <0.5 s and
the protection will not misoperate. At 1.34 s, Uac_100 Hz+ is <25 kV.
Exit the improved 50 Hz harmonic protection criterion and restore
the original 50 Hz harmonic protection action characteristics, as
shown in Fig. 8.
From the above analysis, it can be seen the proposed method
can effectively prevent the misoperation of the DC line harmonic
protection during transformer inrush current.
6 Conclusion
In this paper, focusing on the mechanism of harmonic transfer and
the DC 50 Hz harmonic protection misoperation due to
magnetising inrush current, related researches are carried out. The
following main conclusions are obtained:
i. Using the switching function theory, the mechanism of
harmonics transfer through converter is analysed. The
harmonic equivalent impedance is obtained. DC equivalent
circuit for harmonic transfer is built. Based on AC positive-
sequence second harmonic, the harmonic transfer in the AC–
DC system is analysed in detail. The expression of DC 50 Hz
harmonic voltage and current on rectifier and inverter sides are
obtained. The interaction between the AC and DC systems is
revealed, and the influence of the AC inrush current on the DC
harmonics is explained.
ii. The electromagnetic transient model of AC–DC hybrid power
grid is built. In the simulation model, the AC bus of rectifier
J. Eng., 2019, Vol. 2019 Iss. 16, pp. 1056-1061
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(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/)
side is superimposed on the positive-sequence second
harmonic voltage of different amplitudes. Comparing the
simulated DC voltage and current values with the theoretical
calculation, it is uncovered that there is a good linear
relationship between the second harmonic and the DC line
harmonic. In addition, it has been found that the DC long-
distance transmission lines amplify the harmonic current.
When the AC bus of rectified side generates the positive-
sequence second harmonic voltage, the DC 50 Hz harmonic
protection of the inverter side is more likely to misoperate,
which is consistent with the site fault.
iii. Aiming at the shortcomings of the common DC 50 Hz
harmonic protection, an improved method is proposed to
prevent the protection from misoperation caused by inrush
current in AC bus. In this method, the 50 Hz harmonics
generated by inrush current can be accurately identified by
judging the correlation between the AC harmonic voltage and
the DC line harmonic current. By automatically adjusting the
threshold value of protection, the misoperation can be
prevented effectively without affecting the original protection
performance. The simulations results verify its feasibility.
7 Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Key Research and
Development Plan of China (2016YFB0900600) and Guangdong
Power Grid Science & Technology Project (GDKJXM20162461).
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