electrodes and the reduction of the voltage flicker.
Focusing on the second one, this is mainly obtained
Design Tools of DC EAF Power Supply
Systems for Optimum Reduction of Flicker
and Interharmonic Disturbances
P. Bordignon, M. Perna
Ansaldo Sistemi Industriali S.p.A.
Power Electronic Operation
V. le Sarca 336, 20126 Milano, Italy
39-02-6445-4256
P. Mattavelli
Q. Department of Electrical Engineering
Q. University of Padova
V. Gradenigo 6/a 35131 Padova, Italy
39-04-9827-7525
F. D’Amico
IPSCO Steel Inc.
1770 Zachary Avenue
Muscatine, IA 52761
319-381-5400
SUMMARY
Ansaldo utilizes simulation and analytical tools for
analysis and system design to prevent harmonic
interaction and to optimize the design of the entire
power supply system in terms of cost, losses and
performance. The results and measurements taken in a
DC EAF installation in the U.S. show that the whole
system, through adopted provisions, is able to match
the desired specification in terms of flicker, harmonics,
interharmonics, voltage unbalances and power factor.
INTRODUCTION
The application of thyristor controlled rectifiers to
supply DC arc furnaces has been rapidly growing
thanks to some fundamental advantages, which DC arc
furnaces feature compared to traditional AC furnaces,
among which are lower consumption of carbon
through control of the DC arc current, which is
maintained almost at a constant value even when short-
circuits of the arc occur, while for AC arc furnaces this
current is limited only by the transformers, the supply
impedance and possibly the anti-flicker inductances. For
this reason, the flicker generated by a DC arc furnace is,
at least during the melting down phase at maximum
power, typically much less than that generated by an
AC arc furnace of identical nominal power.
On the other hand, the current-controlled high power
rectification used in such systems may potentially
produce a wide spectrum of current harmonics and
interharmonics. Therefore, a proper design of the whole
plant is generally needed in order to minimize the
amount of non-characteristic harmonics and
interharmonics, which may strongly deteriorate the
quality of the power supply voltage. Indeed, the high
level of interharmonic currents may arise mainly due to
the AC/DC harmonic interaction caused by the
resonances between the supply impedance, TCRs, and
the harmonic and reactive compensation system. The
current-control regulator and the synchronization
scheme also play a key role in the amplification of such
disturbances.
Methods to effectively analyze the aforementioned
interaction primarily come from HVDC system studies 1-
10
. Some techniques use a frequency domain approach
and solve a set of steady-state equations with the aid of
an iterative procedure for each frequency 8. We feel that
these techniques are not useful from the industrial point
of view, since cumbersome calculations are usually
required. Others use time domain simulations
(employing, for example, the Alternative Transient
Program (ATP), practically the PC version of EMTP),
where a set of differential equations, related to a detailed
representation of the entire system, are solved using
numerical integration. We feel, instead, that this tool is
quite useful for design purposes since it enables even
complex industrial systems to be represented. In fact,
using a detailed modeling of each single part of an
industrial plant, behavior (close to reality) can be
achieved. With this approach, it is possible to obtain a
comprehensive calculation of the harmonics in the
practical converter operation including firing angle
errors, influence of commutation overlap and DC ripple,
saturation of converter transformer, characteristic AC
and DC system impedances, negative unbalance
Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico
ISS Technical Paper, Page 1 of 10
voltages, effects of control action, etc… . Although the
results are accurate, this approach does not give a
complete insight into the mechanisms of harmonic
amplification and flicker generation, as needed for the
optimization of the system design.
To better understand the overall dynamic response
of the whole system, a transfer function approach can
be used 10-14. In this way, it is possible, under different
degrees of approximation, to analytically derive all the
transfer functions of interest like, for example, those
relating the firing angle and DC current, and the DC and
the AC side impedances under open and closed loop
conditions. This approach, although less accurate than
the previous one, can be effectively applied for system
design regarding both interharmonic and flicker
suppression when the calculation of all the transfer
functions of interest are performed including most of the
aspects of the actual system operation. Among many
interesting relations and focusing just on the
interharmonic issue, the transfer function between the
firing angle and the DC current, using different
synchronization schemes and filters, is highlighted in
this paper, showing that the current-control parameters,
damping of harmonic filters, and the synchronization
scheme must be properly designed to avoid
amplification of the interharmonic disturbances. These
results have been effectively applied to optimize the
design of the damping of the harmonic filters, the
current regulator parameters and the filters for the
synchronization of the firing scheme in terms of
interharmonics and flicker suppression, thyristor
stresses and system losses.
The paper is organized as follows: In section II we
describe the IPSCO Steel Inc.’s plant, where
measurements reported in this paper were obtained;
Section III describes the interaction between the
harmonic filters and the system impedance; Section IV
deals with the use of the time domain simulations for
system representation, while Section V describes how
the frequency domain can be useful for the design of
proper provisions.
II. PLANT DESCRIPTION
The DC EAF installation being the object of this
paper, is a part of a new steel plant, built by IPSCO and
located in Montpelier, Iowa. This location is served by
Central Iowa Power Cooperative.
The whole plant can be supplied by two different
feeding networks, as shown in Fig. 1; when the plant is
fed by 345 kV power supply through a Walcott
substation (Point of Common Coupling, PCC), the short-
circuit power, at the plant high voltage bus-bar, is about
6400 MVA (7700 MVA at PCC); instead, when the
power system is supplied at 161 kV through Substation
56 (PCC), the high voltage bus-bar short-circuit power is
about 2300 MVA (5600 at PCC). Indeed, the different
characteristics of the power supply system, strongly
determines the system performance in terms of flicker
and interharmonic disturbances.
For each feeding network there are two step-down
transformers with two different rated power and
secondary voltage levels, which are 70 MVA, 13.8 kV
and 170 MVA, 34.5 kV respectively. In fact, the
electrical system of the plant is composed of two
different bus-bars; one of these, at 34.5 kV, feeds the
steel making facilities such as the DC furnace, ladle
metallurgical furnace (LMF), and Steckel Mill with
cycloconverter drives; the other one, at 13.8 kV, feeds
various loads as the Rolling Mill and auxiliaries with
squirrel cage motors, AC/DC and AC/AC (DC/AC)
(voltage source inverter) drives.
The DC arc furnace employs four AC/DC thyristor
converters fed by two MV/LV transformers (34.5 kV/766
V) rated at 140 MVA; each of these transformers has
two secondary windings, in delta and star connection,
providing 12-pulse operation for the thyristor
converters.
Ansaldo supplied all HV and MV electrical
equipment, power converters and drives both for the
melt shop and rolling mill as well as the complete
automation of the plant. The whole system was
designed in order to have the best electrical and
production performances and to match the Central Iowa
Power Cooperative’s constraints in terms of power
Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico
ISS Technical Paper, Page 2 of 10
 To Walcott To 56
345 kV Substation 161 kV Substation

6400MVA 2300MVA

70MVA 70MVA

13.8 kV

170MVA 170MVA

34.5 kV

60 Mvar
SVC system
2x70 MVA

180 Mvar
SVC system
LF

M
EAF 2 Cycloconverter
2x 10 MW

quality. In fact, the customer is responsible for the
following contract specifications and demands, among
which the most important is reviewed in the following:
n unity average power factor, which is measured
and monitored at the 345 kV and 161 kV
dispatching substations on a 15 minute
interval; the compensation equipment has to
ensure a maximum reactive power fluctuation of
± 4 Mvar at the boundary of the high voltage
lines
n voltage fluctuation < 0.30 at substation 56 on
the 161 kV level and < 0.25 at the Walcott
Substation on a 345 kV level
n voltage imbalance
n total Current Harmonic Distortion according to
IEEE 519 (1992)
In order to guarantee PCC performance criteria, two
Static Var compensators have been considered by
Ansaldo in the final design; one at the 34.5 kV bus,
rated at 180 MVA and the other at the 13.8 kV bus rated
at 60 MVA. On each bus-bar, the whole installed
reactive power is properly shared on different power
filter circuits tuned to suitable frequencies; the
equipment performs harmonic current and fixed
capacitive reactive power compensation. Instead,
variable reactive power compensation, voltage drop
elimination, power factor and voltage fluctuation
improvement are performed by Thyrister Controlled
Reactors (TCRs), which ensure, at any time, the sum of
the reactive power of the connected loads and that of
the TCRs is equal to the total reactive power of the filter
circuits.
III. INTERACTION BETWEEN THE HARMONIC
FILTERS AND POWER SYSTEM IMPEDANCES
Harmonic filters perform harmonic current
compensation providing a low impedance path for the
harmonics to which they are tuned. Complementary to
this desired effect, the total impedance seen by the
power converters shows also some peak values, which

Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico

ISS Technical Paper, Page 3 of 10
 50
[Ω]
Supply through Walcott Substation
40
30
Supply through
Substation 56
20
10
0
0 60 120 180 240
frequency [Hz]
Fig. 2 Upstream impedance seen by the thyristor converters referred to 34.5 kV (undamped filter conditions).
The dotted line and the continuous line represent the supply through Substation 56 and through the
Walcott Substation, respectively.
correspond to the parallel resonances between the
supply impedance and the filter impedances. The
frequencies and the peak values of the anti-resonant
conditions are determined by the harmonic filter and the
supply characteristics, as shown in Fig. 2, where the
frequency response of the upstream impedance seen at
the 34.5 kV bus is highlighted in the two possible
supply conditions of IPSCO’s DC EAF.
The presence of parallel resonances potentially
gives some trouble in the DC EAF operation since a
high level of interharmonic currents can possibly be
generated due to AC/DC harmonic interaction between
the total supply impedance and rectifier converter
operation arising due to the aforementioned resonances.
Indeed, even small currents injected at those
frequencies produce large voltage distortion, which may
cause firing angle errors and amplify the harmonic
disturbances. It is worth noting that such phenomenon
is strongly influenced by the harmonic filter and supply
characteristics, current regulator parameters and
synchronization scheme. Thus, the modification of
harmonic filter design, using the straightforward
solution of either adding damping resistors or changing
the shape of the harmonic impedance, is not the
appropriate solution unless an oversizing of the
damping resistors is used at the cost of increased
losses. Indeed, a proper optimization can be achieved
300 360 420 480 540 600
only if special provisions are taken jointly with other
important parameters of the DC EAF supply system.
In the next sections we show some tools both in the
time-domain and in the frequency-domain, which help to
understand such phenomenon and to optimize the
system design in terms of interharmonic and flicker
attenuation.
IV. TIME-DOMAIN SIMULATION AS A TOOL FOR
DESIGN PURPOSES
In order to analyze the aforementioned problems and
to design suitable provisions, which can be used to
prevent the harmonic interaction and to optimize the
design of the entire power supply system in terms of
cost, losses, and performances, ATP time-domain
simulations seem to be the most viable tool since they
allow the most important part of the industrial plant to
be modeled in detail. While power system components
are directly available in the ATP library, the control
scheme both for the thyristor converters and for the
TCRs are implemented via means of the TACS
(Transient Analysis of Control Systems) models. The
level of detail of the ATP DC EAF model is, of course,
directly related to the purpose of the analysis and the
design. For example, for flicker analysis, the control of
Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico
ISS Technical Paper, Page 4 of 10
the electrode height can be disregarded, since it gives a
minor effect at the relevant frequencies, while, for the
same purposes, all of the control details for the TCR
(reactive power transducer, TCR synchronization…)
have to be considered.
Fig. 3 (a) and Fig. 4 (a) show that the line currents have,
beyond the fundamental value, a high level of
interharmonics at about 30 Hz and 150 Hz, which
corresponds to one parallel resonance seen by the DC
EAF when supplied through the Walcott substation.

Fig. 3 shows the potential problem that may arise [dBA] 0

fundamental component (60Hz)
with an improper synchronization scheme or with an
improper design of the harmonic filters and/or of -10
≅ ( 150Hz)
interharmonic component
current regulator parameters.
-20 ≅ ( 30 Hz)
interharmonic component
[A]

1500 -30

1000
-40
500
-50
0

-500 -60
0 100 200 300 400

-1000 frequency [Hz]

(a)
-1500
[dbA] 0
dc component
1.40 1.42 1.44 1.46 1.48 1.50
-10
time [s]
(a) -20
characteristic harmonic ( 360 Hz)

[kA] 36.5 -30

interharmonics≅( 90 Hz)
-40
36.0 ±
sideband interharmonic (360Hz 90Hz )
-50

3.55 -60

3.50 -70

-80
34.5 0 100 200 300 400
time [s]
34.0 (b)

Fig. 4. ATP Simulations Without Corrective Provisions

1.40 1.42 1.44 1.46 1.48 1.50 (a) line current spectrum [pu] at the secondary
time [s] of the 345/34.5kV transformer;
(b) (b) dc current spectrum [pu] of a thyristor
rectifier
Fig. 3 ATP Simulations Without Corrective Provisions
(a) Line current at the secondary of the Corresponding to these disturbances, the DC current
345/34.5 kV transformer has a non-negligible interharmonic component at about
(b) DC current of a thyristor rectifier 90 Hz, whose modulation through the thyristor rectifier
causes the 150 Hz (90 Hz + 60 Hz) and the 30 Hz (90 Hz -
60 Hz) AC current interharmonics.

Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico

ISS Technical Paper, Page 5 of 10
 This system behavior is totally unacceptable and have completely disappeared and the spectra of the DC
immediate provisions have to be taken in advance to and AC currents, not reported here, shows that all of the
prevent such a problem; ATP simulations can be interharmonic components have a negligible value.
effectively used to design suitable provisions. Just as
an example, we show in Fig. 5, the same quantities More comprehensive studies can also be performed
reported in Fig. 3, but with some suitable modifications, in order to optimize system response in terms of flicker.
in current regulation parameters, synchronization This can be done, for example, by applying a sinusoidal
scheme and damping of harmonic filters. perturbation to the arc parameters at the typical flicker
frequencies (1-30 Hz) and analyzing the voltage drop
and/or the reactive power variation at the PCC. With
[A] this approach, the control parameters (reactive power
1500 transducers, open loop and closed loop reactive power
controls, current control parameters, etc…) of the TCRs
1000 and of the thyristor rectifiers, which feed the DC EAF,
can be tuned to the particular configuration of the
500
IPSCO Steel plant. As a simple example, Fig. 6 shows
0 the variation of the instantaneous reactive power,
directly related to the voltage fluctuation, due to a 10 Hz
-500 sinusoidal modulation of the arc voltage measured at
-1000 the primary of the MV/LV DC EAF transformer (trace a)
(i.e. variation of the reactive power of the load) and at
-1500 the primary of the HV/MV transformer of the plant (trace
b) (i.e. variation of the reactive power of the
1.40 1.42 1.44 1.46 1.48 1.50 compensated load). The effects of the TCR
time [s] compensation are clearly evident.
(a)
[MVAr]

a)
[kA] 36.5 20

36.0
10

3.55 b)
0

3.50
-10

34.5
-20
34.0
-30
1.2 1.25 1.3 1.35 1.4 1.45 1.5
1.4 1.42 1.44 1.46 1.48 1.50
time [s]
time [s]
(b) Fig. 6. Variation of the instantaneous reactive power
Fig. 5. ATP Simulations with Corrective Provisions due to a 10Hz sinusoidal modulation of the arc
(a) line current at the secondary of the voltage calculated with ATP at the primary of
345/34.5kV transformer the MV/LV DC EAF transformer (trace a) and
(b) dc current of a thyristor rectifier at the primary of the HV/MV transformer of the
plant (trace b).
V. FREQUENCY-DOMAIN ANALYSIS
It is worth noting, that the interharmonic disturbances

Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico

ISS Technical Paper, Page 6 of 10
 One of the major problems when dealing with a time-
domain problem, is that a complete insight of the system
behavior is still missing and system optimization can
only be achieved based on experience without the
support of an appropriate analytical tool. In order to
better understand the dynamic DC EAF behavior, the
transfer function approach in the frequency-domain can
be used 10-14. Using this approach, it is possible to
analytically derive, under different degrees of
approximation, all of the transfer functions of interest
like, for example, that relating the firing angle and the DC
current, and the DC and the AC side impedances under
open and closed loop conditions, including most of the
aspects of the system’s actual operation, such as the
firing angle modulation, converter control and
commutation period variations, etc… .
Without dealing with the analytical derivation, which
is beyond the scope of this paper, we recall that the
harmonic transfer in AC/DC converters can be
calculated through the modulation theory; basically, as
shown in 15,16, the converter can be seen as a modulator
and the harmonic transfer can be obtained using the
relations between the AC voltage and the DC voltage,
and between the AC current and DC current can be
derived using the switching functions 15,16, related to the
thyristor conduction state. Consequently, the three
port network analysis, proposed by 12, shows that
among a multitude of non-characteristic frequencies,
only three frequencies are the most significant,
consisting of a positive and a negative sequence
frequency on the AC side, separated by twice the
fundamental frequency and a single frequency on the
DC side, centered between the two AC side frequencies.
As shown in Figs. 3 & 4, if the AC current is modulated
at 150 Hz (parallel resonance for the IPSCO plant when
supplied by the (Walcott substation). There is also a
modulation of the DC current at 90 Hz (150 Hz - 60 Hz)
and a modulation of the AC current also at 30 Hz
(negative sequence), whose effects are less evident due
to the lower system impedance.
As an example of the potential of this analysis, Fig. 7
shows the module and the phase of the transfer
function between the firing angle and the DC currents
obtained using the aforementioned analysis. It is worth
noting that both module and phase strongly differ from
the classical design approach especially at the
frequencies corresponding to the resonance peaks of
the AC system impedance. More importantly, Fig. 8
shows that an improper conditioning of the
synchronizing voltage is potentially able to strongly
amplify such problems given time, to a significant
increase to interharmonic disturbances, which may even
cause the DC EAF to shut down. This analytical tool
has been effectively verified with the detailed time
domain ATP simulations under open-loop conditions
referring a different DC EAF installation at 50 Hz; for
that case, we have used a small perturbation of the firing
angle around its working point at different frequencies
and calculated the corresponding modulation of the DC
current. Symbols “o” correspond to each ATP
simulation. Fig. 8 shows that the s-domain model is
accurately verified.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
This paper has presented some simulation and
analytical tools, which Ansaldo has found useful for the
analysis and design of DC EAF power supply systems
in order to achieve the optimum reduction of
interharmonic and flicker disturbances. One set of tools
regards the use of time-domain simulations (employing,
for example, the Alternative Transient Program (ATP)),
through which close to reality behavior can then be
reproduced. The results are accurate, but without a
complete insight into the mechanisms of harmonic
amplification and flicker generation, as needed for the
optimization of the system design. Instead, another
useful tool, which is complementary to time-domain
simulations, is the transfer function approach in the
frequency domain, which allows the analysis of the DC
EAF dynamic behavior and of the interharmonic
amplification taking into account the line impedance,
resonances introduced by harmonic filters, current
regulator parameters, and the thyristor synchronization.
Based on this analysis, suitable provisions have been
tuned to the particular configuration of IPSCO’s plant.
The results and measurements taken at IPSCO’s
plant site, not reported here, show the effectiveness of
the adopted provisions.
Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico
ISS Technical Paper, Page 7 of 10
[dBA] Improper conditioning of the synchronizing voltage

90 Improved synchronizing scheme

85

80
Classical design

75

70

65

60

55
10 f [Hz] 100 180

[degree]
150
Classical design

100

50

Improved synchronizing scheme

-50
Improper conditioning of the synchronizing voltage

-100

-150

10 f [Hz] 100 180

Fig. 7. Bode diagram of the transfer function between firing angle and dc current; solid line refers to an improved
synchronization scheme, dotted line to an inappropriate conditioning of the synchronization voltage and dashed line to
the classical design approach. All diagrams refer to an undamped harmonic filter condition.

Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico

ISS Technical Paper, Page 8 of 10
 module [dBA]

90

85

80

75

70

65

60

10 100 150
frequency [Hz]

phase [degree]

150

100

50

-50

10 100 150
frequency [Hz]

Fig. 8. Bode diagram of the transfer function between firing angle and dc current; solid line refers to the frequency domain
model, while each symbol “o” refers to results obtained with ATP simulations. Results obtained in a 50Hz DC EAF
installation.

Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico

ISS Technical Paper, Page 9 of 10
 REFERENCES Waveform Distortion: A Frequency Domain
Analysis”, IEE Proceedings Pt.C,, Vol. 142, No. 1,
1. K.R. Padiyar, “HVDC Power Transmission January 1995, pp. 88-96.
Systems”, John Wiley & Sons, pp. 230-237. 14. A.R. Wood, J. Arrilaga, “The Frequency Dependent
2. E.W. Kimbark, “Direct Current Transmission”, Impedance of an HVDC Converter”, IEEE
Wiley-Interscence, 1971, pp. 318-386. Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 10, No. 3, July
3. J.D. Ainsworth, “Harmonic Instability Between 1995, pp. 1635-1641.
Controlled Static Converters and AC Networks”, 15. M. Sakui, H. Fujita, M. Shiota, “ A method for
IEE Proceedings, Vol. 114, No. 7, July 1967, pp. 949- Calculating Harmonic Currents of a Three-Phase
957. Bridge Uncontrolled Rectifier with DC Filter”, IEEE
4. R. Yacamini, J.C. De Oliveira, “Instability in HVDC Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Vol. 36, No.
Schemes at Low Order Integer Harmonics”, IEE 3, August 1989, pp. 434-440.
Proceedings, Vol. 127, No. 3, May 1980. 16. L. Hu, R. Yacamini, “Harmonic Transfer Through
5. J. Reeve, P.C.S. Krishnayya, “Unusual Current Converters and HVDC Links”, IEEE Transactions
Harmonics Arising from High-Voltage DC on Power Electronics, Vol. 7, No. 3, July 1992, pp.
Transmission”, IEEE Transactions, Vol. PAS-87, 514-525.
No. 3, March 1968, pp. 883-893.
6. N. Kaul, R. Mathur, “Solution to the Problem of
Low Order Harmonic Resonance from HVDC
Converters”, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems ,
Vol. 5, No. 4, November 1990, pp. 1160-1167.
7. A.R. Wood, J. Arrilaga, “Composed Resonance: A
Circuit Approach to the Waveform Distortion of an
HVDC Converter”, IEEE Transactions on Power
Delivery, Vol. 10, No.4, October 1995, pp. 1882-1888.
8. R. Yacamini, J.C. De Oliveira, “Comprehensive
Calculation of Converter Harmonics with System
Impedances and Control Representation”, IEE
Proceedings, Vol. 133, No.2, March 1986, pp. 95-102.
9. M. Grozbach, “Harmonic Line Current Generation
by Asymmetric Controlled AC/DC Converters”,
Part 1: Analytical Approaches and Basic
Mechanism. Part II: Influence of Commutation and
DC Ripple, IEEE International Conference on
Harmonics in Power Systems , 1994, pp. 55-68.
10. E.V. Persson, “Calculation of Transfer Functions in
Grid-Controlled Converter Systems”, IEE
Proceedings, Vol. 117, No.5, May/June 1970, pp.
989-997.
11. J.P. Sucena-Paiva, L.L.Freris, “Stability of a DC
Transmission Link Between Weak AC Systems”,
IEE Proceedings, Vol. 121, No. 6, June 1974, pp. 508-
515.
12. E.V. Larsen, D.H. Baker, J.C. McIver, “Low-Order
Harmonic Interactions on AC/DC Systems”, IEEE
Transactions, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1989, pp. 493-
501.
13. A.R. Wood, J. Arrilaga, “HVDC Converter

Bordignon, Perna, Mattavelli, D’Amico

ISS Technical Paper, Page 10 of 10