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Harmonic elimination in induction generator based micro-hydroelectric

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Article · December 2011

DOI: 10.1109/ICEAS.2011.6147117

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 Harmonic Elimination in Induction Generator
Based Micro-Hydroelectric Schemes
K.T.M.U. Hemapala, Member, IEEE, and N. Perera, Member, IEEE

was studied using a test system simulated in

Abstract-- Micro-hydroelectric systems are used in remote
rural areas extensively due to the low cost with lot of
unsatisfactory system performance. This paper presents results
obtained from experiments undertaken on a standalone micro
hydroelectric system in Sri Lanka with solutions to improve the
reliability. The proposed solutions include a hybrid filtering
technique to eliminate the harmonics and a new microcontroller
based Induction Generator Controller (IGC) circuit.
Index Terms-- induction motors, harmonics, micro-hydro,
IGC circuit, detuned filter, active filter
I. INTRODUCTION
PSCAD/EMTDC. A laboratory prototype of the IGC circuit
was also implemented and tested.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section
II gives a brief overview of Micro-Hydroelectric Schemes
with Induction Generators. The field investigations are
discussed in Section III. The methods used to eliminate the
harmonics are discussed in Section IV. Section V presents
the investigations carried out using the test system simulated
in PSCAD/EMTDC. Implementation details of IGC circuit
are discussed in Section VI. Finally, the conclusions are given
in Section- VII.

M ICRO hydro power plants are particularly used as

isolated power supply schemes for village
electrification where utility power is well out of reach. In
II. MICRO-HYDROELECTRIC SCHEMES WITH INDUCTION
GENERATORS
Three phase induction motors are commonly used as a
most cases induction generators are used for generation due generator. Three phase induction generator arrangement in
to their advantages such as low installation, operation and micro-hydro electric schemes is shown in Fig.1.
maintenance cost. In these schemes, no governor controllers
are used and demand balance is achieved by activating a
dummy load which is used to maintain the frequency and the
voltage of the system. Capacitors are used to supply the
excitation to the induction generators. In some schemes,
variable capacitors are used to provide the voltage balance [1-
2].
Although these generator schemes are widely being used
in many micro hydro power plants in Sri Lanka, frequent
failures have been reported in some schemes. Majority of
these cases includes burn or explode of capacitors by
themselves. Sometimes those events have initiated huge fires
causing severe damages to the installation systems. In several
Fig.1. Three phase induction generator arrangement in micro-hydroelectric
occasions IGC device burnings were also reported. As these
schemes
schemes are operated by non-technical people and the
replacement times can go above several weeks due to the lack Three phase generators can also be used to generate a
of knowledge. single phase output. It is commonly being used to get the
In order to overcome these problems, several methods benefit of low cost per kW of three phase generators. Single
have been suggested by the authors based on the results phase output from a three phase induction generator can be
obtained from field investigations. The methods proposed in taken using the “C-2C” connection [3] as shown in Fig. 2. A
this paper include the use of a hybrid filter to eliminate the photograph of a ballast load used in micro-hydro scheme is
harmonics and a new IGC circuit electrically isolated from shown in Fig.3.
the main power circuit. Applicability of the proposed method

K.T.M.U. Hemapala and N. Perera are with Department of Electrical

Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. (e-mail:
udayanga@elect.mrt.ac.lk, nuwan@elect.mrt.ac.lk ).

978-1-4244-7781-4/10/$26.00 ©2010 IEEE


Fig.2. C-2C connection for single phase operation
Fig.3. Ballast load
III. FIELD INVESTIGATIONS
In order to determine the causes of capacitor failures, field
investigations were carried out using a small scale micro-
hydroelectric scheme remotely located in Sri Lanka. A power
analyzer was used to capture the current and voltage
waveforms during different operating conditions such as
normal operations, load variations, etc.. The observations are
summarized below.
A. Observations during Steady State Operation
Fig. 4: Recorded current waveform at steady state
Generator current observed during steady state operation
(recorded by the power analyzer) is shown in Fig. 4. As it
can be seen from Fig.4, significantly high level of harmonics
can be observed.
Table-I shows the magnitudes of the Total Harmonic
Distortions (THDs) in current signals calculated at steady
state. The 5th and 7th harmonics were found to be most
significant and those were generated from the ballast load.
TABLE I: TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION (THD) IN CURRENTS DURING
STEADY STATE OPERATION
THD (%) Ia THD (%) Ib THD (%) Ic
12.0 13.7 5.7
8.5 13.3 8.3
12.2 13.6 6.5
11.7 13.0 6.3
11.8 13.2 6.0
B. Observations during Load Variations
The IGC has been designed in a way that it increases the
current through the ballast load when there is a reduction in
the load current. This results in further increase of the
harmonics in the system. The harmonic levels recorded by the
power analyzer showed significant changes in 5th and 7th
harmonic components during load variations.
C. Observations during Large Transients
Although the IGC continuously monitors the load
variations and controls the current through the ballast load,
terminal voltage may reach above its nominal during large
transients. On the other hand fluctuations in generator speed
leads to initiate harmonic resonances [5] in the system. This
was also evident from the voltage waveforms obtained from
the field.
D. Summary
Harmonics observed in the system was significantly high
even during steady state operations. In addition, sudden
fluctuations in generator speeds tend to initiate harmonic
resonances in the system. Furthermore, temporary over
voltages were also evident from recordings. All these factors
cause to burn capacitors more frequently.
IV. PROPOSED METHOD FOR HARMONIC ELIMINATION
In this Section, methods used to eliminate the harmonics
are discussed. Combination of two harmonic elimination
methods namely detuned filter approach and active filter
approach is used.
A. Proposed Method
Fig. 5: Proposed hybrid harmonic elimination method
Fig.5 showed the arrangement of proposed harmonic
elimination method that uses the combination of a detuned
filter and an active filter.
 B. Detuned Filter system simulated in PSCAD/EMTDC. This scheme closely
represents the actual system used to obtain the field
Use of passive filters to eliminate the harmonics is a well-
measurements. Models required to simulate the passive and
established method [6-7]. Although a high pass filter or a
active filters were also developed. Performance of the scheme
tuned filter can be used to eliminate the harmonics,
was investigated under different scenarios and selected set of
applicability of such filters for induction generator
results are presented below.
applications is not economical. However, the use of detuned
filter is economical as it can be used to provide the reactive
A. Steady State Operation
power support required for induction generator in addition to
harmonic elimination. The basic components of a detuned Source Voltage
500
filter are shown in Fig. 6.

Vt(V)
0

L L L
-500
0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
C C Source Current
5
C

Is(A)
0

Fig. 6: Detuned filter circuit

-5
In this paper, applicability a capacitor bank with 6% 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Ballast Current
detuned reactor was investigated to eliminate the harmonics. 5
The capacitor and reactor ratings were determined based on
the voltage harmonic and current harmonic levels observed in
Ib(A)

0
system during the field investigations.
-5
0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
C. Active Filter
Load Current
5
The use of active filters has several benefits over passive
filters and they are well documented in literature. In this
Il(A)

0
paper, the purpose of using a low power active filter is to
reduce the harmonics that are not eliminated by the detuned -5
filter. Fig. 7 shows the active filter considered in this paper. 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Time (s)
This filter was adopted from the harmonic elimination Fig. 8: Variation of source voltage, source current, ballast current and load
method proposed in [8]. A Pulse with modulation (PWM) current without filters
based control mechanism was used operate the active filter
and more details about this method can be found in [8].

vdc

L Fig. 9: Source current harmonics at steady state

C
Fig. 7: Active filter
V. SIMULATIONS
In order to further investigate the performance of different
harmonic elimination methods discussed above, simulations
were carried out using an induction generator based test
Fig. 8 shows the variation of generator voltage, generator
current, ballast current and load current during the steady
state operation. The harmonics observed in the source
current is also shown in Fig. 9. As it can be seen from Fig. 9,
high level of harmonics can be observed in the system even
during the steady state operation. This was also evident from
field measurements.
 B. Effect of Load Variations
In order to investigate the effect of load variations on the
performance of the scheme, harmonic level of the generator
current was investigated for different loading levels. The
results obtained for this study are shown in Table-II. As it can
be seen from Table-II, the reduction in load current resulted
in an increase in THD level. It is due to the increase in ballast
current to compensate the reduction in load current.

TABLE II: EFFECT OF LOAD VARIATIONS

Fig. 11: Source current harmonics during load disconnection
Load current/ source
current (%) THD (%) D. Effect of Detuned Filter
80 7 Source Voltage
500
60 9

Vt(V)
0
40 13

20 16 -500
0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Source Current
C. Large Transients 5

Is(A)
Source Voltage
0
500
Vt(V)

-5
0 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Ballast Current
-500 5
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37
Ib(A)

Source Current 0
10

-5
Is(A)

0 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24

Load Current
-10 5
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37
Il(A)

Ballast Current 0
5

-5
Ib(A)

0 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24

Time (s)
-5 Fig. 12: Variation of source voltage, source current, ballast current and
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37 load current at steady state with the effect of detuned filter
Load Current
5 In order to investigate the effectiveness of the detuned
filter in reducing harmonics simulations were carried out
under different scenarios. Fig. 12 and Fig.13 show the
Il(A)

0
variation of generator voltage, generator current, ballast
current and load current with the effects of the detuned filter
-5
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37 during steady state operation and load disconnection
Time (s) respectively. Results show a reduction in harmonic levels due
Fig. 10: Variation of source voltage, source current, ballast current and the effect of the detuned filter. As it was not tuned to
load current during load disconnection
eliminate individual harmonics, they were not fully
Simulations were carried out to investigate the system eliminated.
behavior during large transients such as disconnection of
large loads, open circuit situations, etc.. Observations during
a load disconnection are shown in Fig.9. As it can be seen
from Fig.9, sudden disconnection of load, initiates a
temporary overvoltage in the system. The harmonics
observed in the source current during this large transient is
also shown in Fig.11. In this case 3rd harmonic component
was the most significant.
 Source Voltage Source Harmonics
Vt(V) 500 5.0

-500
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37
Source Current 0.0
5
I (A) [1] 2.99078
Is(A)

0 Fig. 15: Source current harmonics at steady state with the effect of both
filters
-5 Source Voltage
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37 500
Ballast Current

Vt(V)
5 0
Ib(A)

0 -500
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37
-5 Source Current
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37 5
Load Current

Is(A)
5 0
Il(A)

0 -5
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37
-5 Ballast Current
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37 5
Time (s)
Ib(A)

Fig. 13: Variation of source voltage, source current, ballast current and 0
load current during load disconnection with the effect of detuned filter

-5
E. Effect of Active Filter 0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37
Load Current
Source Voltage 5
500
Il(A)

0
Vt(V)

0
-5
-500 0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37
0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24 Time (s)
Source Current Fig. 16: Variation of source voltage, source current, ballast current and
5 load current during load disconnection with the effect of both filters
Is(A)

-5
0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Ballast Current
5
Ib(A)

-5
0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Fig. 17: Source current harmonics during load disconnection with the
Load Current effect of both filters
5
In order to verify the applicability of the active filter to
reduce the harmonics above simulations were repeated with
Il(A)

0
effect of active filter. Fig. 14 and Fig.16 show the variation
-5 of generator voltage, generator current, ballast current and
0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24 load current with the effects of both detuned filter and active
Time (s)
filter during steady state operation and load disconnection
Fig. 14: Variation of source voltage, source current, ballast current and
load current at steady state with the effect of both filters transient respectively. The corresponding harmonics levels in
source current are also shown in Figs. 15 and 17. As it can be
 seen from Figs. 14-17, inclusion of active filter resulted in a
significant reduction in harmonics.
As it is evident from the simulation results, the
combination of detuned filter and active filter can be used to
eliminate the harmonics successfully.
VI. PROTOTYPE IMPLEMENTATION
In order to validate the applicability of the proposed
harmonic elimination method, investigations were carried out
to develop a laboratory prototype. A new IGC circuit was
also implemented. Fig. 18 shows the schematic diagram of
the new IGC circuit. The micro-controller 18F452 was used
as the signal processor. Fig. 19 shows a photograph of the
signal processing element. One of the main features in this
implementation is the use of optocouplers to isolate the
control circuit from electrical circuit in contrast to the
existing IGC. The circuit used to drive the triacs is shown in
Fig. 20.
230 V 7.5 V 5V
DC
Step-down Rectifier
transformer & regulator Micro-
controller
Opto- Square
coupler wave
Fig. 18: Block diagram of the IGC circuit
Fig. 19: Signal processing element implemented using 18F452 micro-
controller
Fig. 20: Driver circuit
The performance of the IGC circuit was tested in the
laboratory using a load setup. Results showed correct
operation during load variations. In the future, this research
will focus on field testing of the complete hardware setup
including all filtering elements.
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VII. CONCLUSIONS
Investigations were carried out to develop a harmonic
elimination method for induction generator based a micro-
hydroelectric system. Applicability of two filtering
approaches namely passive detuned filter approach and
active filter approach were investigated. Simulations were
carried out using a test system simulated in
PSCAD/EMTDC. Results obtained in the study showed the
capability of developing an enhanced harmonic elimination
method by combining both detuned filter and active filter. A
prototype of the complete hardware setup is being
implemented for filed testing.
VIII. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of
S.S.B. Udugampala, V. Vijayarajah, N.T.L.W. Vithanawasa,
and W.M.S.C. Weerasinghe for their support in the field
testing and the circuit implementation.
IX. REFERENCES
[1] J. B. Ekanayake, “Induction generators for small hydro schemes", IEE
Power Engineering Journal, vol. 16, no. 2, pp.61 - 67, 2002.
[2] N. Smith, Motors as generators for micro hydro power, ITDG
publishing, Ed. 4, pp. 1-10, 2001.
[3] N.P.A. Smith, "Induction generators for stand-alone micro-hydro
Switching systems," International Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and
signals Energy Systems for Industrial Growth, vol.2, pp.669-673, Jan 1996.
[4] “Harmonic Distortion in the Electric Supply System”, Integral Energy
Power Quality Centre, pp.2-3, March 2000.
[5] S. Perera “Harmonic Resonance and Magnification,” Transactions of
the Integral Energy power Quality Centre, pp. 6-7, Dec. 2001.
[6] J. Balcells, D. Gonzalez, “Harmonics due to resonance in a wind power
plant”, 8th International Conference on Harmonics and Quality of
Power, Athens, Greece, vol.2. pp. 896 – 899, Oct 1998.
[7] D.A. Gonzalez, J.C. McCall, “Design of Filters to Reduce Harmonic
Distortion in Industrial Power Systems”, , IEEE Transactions on
Industry Applications, vol. 1A-23, no. 3, pp. 504-511, May 1987.
[8] H. Fujita and H. Akagi, “A Practical Approach to Harmonic
Compensation in Power Systems - Series Connection of Passive and
Active Filters', IEEE Trans. on Industrial. Applications, vol.27, No.6,
Nov/Dec 1991, pp. 1020-1025.
X. BIOGRAPHIES
K.T.M. Udayanga Hemapala (M’08)
received the B.Sc. (Eng.) degree from University
of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, in 2004 and the PhD
degree from University of Genova, Italy. He is a
Senior Lecturer at University of Moratuwa, Sri
Lanaka. His research interests are in industrial
robotics, distributed generation, power system
control and smart grid.
Nuwan Perera (S’06, M’11) received the
B.Sc. (Eng.) degree from University of
Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, in 2003 and the MSc
degree from University of Manitoba in 2007.
His research interests are in power system
protection, distributed energy resources,
embedded system implementation and smart
grid. He is a registered Professional Engineer in
the province of Manitoba, Canada.