Performance Calculation and Operating Results of Active AC Harmonic Filters

for HVDC Transmission Systems

Th. Westerweller, M. Pereira, H. Huang, G. Wild

SIEMENS AG, Power Transmission and Distribution
High-Voltage Division
Erlangen, Germany

Abstract: The paper proposes a method for calculating the harmonic
performance of AC filter schemes containing active filters for HVDC
transmission systems. This method is based on common industrial
practice, but adapted as necessary. Main differences to methods used
for pure passive arrangements are demonstrated. Operation results
show the effectiveness of an active AC filter.
Keywords: filter, active filter, harmonics, power electronics, HVDC
I. INTRODUCTION
voltage control
In this case the source voltage (U.f) is controlled by the
measured harmonic busbar voltage. This leads to a
minimization of voltage distortions at the busbar.
current control
In this operation mode, harmonic currents flowing into the
connected ac system have to be measured. The voltage source
is then used to minimize these current distortions.

HVDC converters cause harmonic distortions in the

Ii }
connected AC systems. In the past the limitation of these
distortions has mainly been realized by means of passive AC
1,~ Zf passive part
filter elements. The design of these filter elements has been
based on performance and rating calculations in accordance
with agreed procedures. ~ +----------- i
The introduction of active AC filters adds new possibilities
to harmonic distortion management. In contrast to passive
filter schemes which operate at a few frequencies, active filter
can handle a range of frequencies, including non-characteristic —
——
harmonics. Active filters are designed to adapt themselves to
changing system conditions. This provides a better Fig. 1: Principle of the shunt connected active filter.
performance with respect to variations of fundamental
frequency or grid impedance. Normally only a certain number of individual harmonics
However, the existing guidelines for performance need to be controlled by an active filter.
calculations do not regard this new type of filter. The use of
active AC filters requires an adaptation of the conventional The active part is exposed to a current (Iaf) which includes
calculation procedure which is introduced in this document. all individual harmonics and the fundamental frequency
Deviations to the usual methods are described and limitations component. To prevent the active part from being stressed. by
are shown. fundamental frequency currents a bypass circuit is connected
A short description and operation results of an active AC in parallel to the active part. This circuit presents a low
filter are included in this document. Th~e results demonstrate impedance to the fundamental frequency and a high
the effectiveness of active filtering. impedance to harmonics. As fundamental frequency currents
are not considered for performance calculations the bypass
II. ACTIVE AC FILTERS circuit is neglected in the following.

For the purpose of this paper, a shunt connected active
filter for HVDC application is assumed as shown in Fig. 1.
This type of active filter consists of a controllable voltage
source (active part) which is connected via a conventional AC
filter (passive part) to the station busbar. Each phase of the
passive part is equipped with an individual voltage source.
The active part generates a voltage (UJ which is used to
affect the harmonic currents flowing through this filter
element. This voltage may be controlled in two different ways:
The voltage source normally comprises a voltage-sourced
converter. The possible output is limited to the maximum
converter output voltage. Regardless of the generated voltage,
the current following through the voltage source is also limited
by the capability of the converter. Maximum limits for U,f and
I,f can be calculated in dependence on the transformer ratio,
which should be used to optimize these limits.
To come to a more convenient equivalent, the active filter
is simplified as shown in Fig. 2.

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 T Zf
- Ct)nvetkr ~uivalent (Uaf=(),U@d=())
- grid equivalent (U,FO, ~O.=O)
- active filter equivalent (u@d=(), l&n=t))

The final values are derived from the vector sum of the
currents and voltages determined for each subsystem. The grid
impedance may be varied within its specified range to evaluate
>---- worst case scenarios. The following calculation steps apply:
~ ~
A. The converter equivalent (Subsystem 1)
Fig. 2: Simplification of active filter equivalent.

Fig. 4 shows the converter equivalent. It can be seen that

The inner impedance of the active part, mainly the
this equivalent is very similar to the normally used equivalent
transformer inductance (L,f), is added to the passive part
for converter driven distortions.
impedance (Zf) forming total active filter impedance (Zaf).
This impedance is presented to the ac system even when no
11
voltage is generated by the active part. Therefore the
transformer inductance is regarded in the design of the passive
part to insure accurate tuning.
I,fl
HI. CALCULATION OF INDIVIDUAL DISTORTIONS

Any harmonic performance calculation is based on the 1’”” @

u,
determination of individual voltage and current distortions for t
the specified harmonic spectrum.
For this purpose an equivalent circuit has to be established,
representing all components under consideration. For a typical —
— == v
HVDC system, these are:
t3g. 4: Converter equivalent circuit

- HVDC converter(s)
active AC filter(s) Zfto,
=ZafIIZpf (1)
- passive AC filter(s)
grid equivalent (incl. pre-existing distortions, UgnJ z, =Zfiotll
z@d (2)

U, = Z, “Icon (3)
Atler several reductions the equivalent circuit of such a
system may look like as shown in Fig. 3. z,
11 =—-Icon (4)
1“ Zmn,i
Ztid
B. The grid equivalent (Subsystem 2)

Fig. 5 shows the grid equivalent, which is also very similar

to the normally used equivalent for pre-existing distortions.

I
—

== —
—

HVDC active & passive grid

converter(s) AC filter(s) equivalent

Fig. 3 Equivalent circuit for performance calculation

To calculate individual distortions for voltage (UJ and

current (In), as well as active filter currents (I,f), the equivalent — —
is divided into three subsystems by setting two sources to zero Fig. 5: Grid equivalent circuit
at a time:

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 Zftot
=Z,fII 2P, (5) 23=ZpfII z@d (9)

Z2=Zfiot
+Zmd (6) Z3
u3=– Uaf “ (lo)
q=?kumd Zaf+Z3
(7)
z, Z3
13=-zmd. (zaf +Z3)
“ Uaf (11)
12 = –~JJm, (8)
2
Purpose of this equivalent is to compensate distortions
calculated in step C, for a certain number of selected
C. Adding subsystems 1 and 2
harmonics. For the remaining harmonics the source voltage is
set to zero.
Before summing converter and grid harmonics, two main
Depending on the control mode of the active filter, the
aspects have to be considered:
source voltage is calculated according (12) in case of voltage
control and according (13) in case of current control:
- grid impedance used in subsystems
- phase relation of subsystem harmonics

The aim of adding subsystems is not only to get values for

Uaf= Z’fz+z, o (u, +U2) (12)
3
one system variable (e.g. UJ but to derive an image of the
complete system as outlined in Fig. 3. As complete Zaf+Z3
Uaf= .Zm, &+12) (13)
subsystems (incl. all system variables) can only be overlaid if
subsystem parameters match, it is mandatory to use the same
Z3
impedance values, especially for the grid impedance (Z~li~),in
both systems. Using the determined active source voltage (U,f) all
In common practice, converter harmonics are normally variables for subsystem 3 are calculated.
added with pre-exiting distortions using a geometric sum. For
the proposed method this is achieved by adjusting the phase E. Final addition of subsystems 1,2 and 3
angles of converter current (~On)and grid vokage (U@) in that
way, that the phase angle between the resulting subsystem Finally all three subsystems are added up. Assuming no
distortions is 90° (i.e. between U1 and Uz, or between 11 and limitation of the active filter voltage, distortions on controlled
12). That means that separate calculations have to be done to frequencies are limited to zero. It has to be noted that “zero” in
determine voltage and current distortions. this case does not reflect distortions which remain due to
measuring tolerance. Harmonic distortions at non-controlled
D. The active filter equivalent (Subsystem 3) frequencies are mitigated by the passive filter characteristics.
Principle phasor diagrams for voltage and current control
Fig. 6 shows the active filter equivalent. The main mode are shown in Fig. 7.
difference to the preceding subsystems is that the source
rea~ rea14
voltage (U=f) has to be determined first before the subsystem
can be calculated. As described in the previous section it is

P
mandatory to use the same impedance values as in subsystems u, U2
1 and 2.
k, u
\ imag.
~ ‘>’3
\ ,/
V’ 12

voltage control current control

Fig. 7: Phasor diagrams of added equivalents

If voltage control mode is used, the resulting harmonic

voltage distortion for a controlled frequency is zero. The
remaining current distortion is equal to the pre-existing
Fig. 6: Active tilter equivalent circuit. distortion driven over the grid impedance (see Fig. 3 assuming
voltage U.=0).

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 In current control mode the current distortion is eliminated. system impedance is scanned to determine the maximum of
The resulting voltage distortion on the busbar matches the pre- the summed voltage distortions from subsystems 1 and 2.
existing distortion (see Fig. 3 assuming current In=O). Fktally both sets of individual harmonic distortions are
combined.
F. Active Source Limitations
“open circuit” “worst impedance”
After determination of a complete harmonic spectrum, the
total sums of currents I,f flowing through the active part and u,(z@=zw)u2(q&zw) U3(4=ZJ

WV-J
U,(qti=’+ u,(zg.d=+

voltages U,f generated by the active part have to be calculated

and checked.
If these sums exceed the capability of the source, it will z x 7
I

w
limit its output by control action and the controlled harmonics
will not be completely eliminated. In this case, it has to be
checked if the residual harmonic distortion remains below the
specified levels. If this is not the case, the filter design has to
be adapted.

IV. CALCULATION OF PERFORMANCE LIMITS T+

Several performance indicators (such as THD, TIF, IT,
etc.) have been defined to evaluate AC filters for HVDC
systems [1]. Essentially these indicators are based on weighted
sums of individual distortions. With respect to system
I ZW : worst case impedance
I
impedance, normally two cases are considered. One case with
a defined impedance value (e.g. “open circuit” or “fixed
I ~ : vectorial sum of subsystems

~ : combin e a certain number of the highest “worst impedance”

I

circuit”), and another one where the worst case network distortions (incl. active filter impact) with the corresponding
“open circuit” spectrum
impedance (“resonance”) is assumed. For each case, a
consistent set of individual harmonic distortions is calculated.
Fig. 8: Calculation of voltage dktortion limits,
Afterwards a final set of individual harmonics is created by
combining a certain number of harmonics from each
B. Current distortion limits
consistent set. This final set is then used to calculate the
mentioned performance indicators.
Calculation of current distortion limits is very similar to
The procedures to determine final sets of voltage and
the determination of voltage distortion limits. However two
current distortions according to the proposed method is
major differences have to be considered.
explained below.
“fixed circuit” “worst impedance”
A. Voltage distortion limits

Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of the proposed procedure

for the calculation of voltage distortion limits. Two impedance
cases are evaluated. The “open circuit” case and the “worst
impedance” case.
For the “open circuit” case the grid impedance is assumed
to be infinite. This means that there is no grid connected and
therefore no grid equivalent and no pre-existing distortion is
considered. Only converter equivalent (subsystem 1) and
active source equivalent (subsystem 3) are determined and
w
ZI
summed up. It has to be noted that the active source voltage
(U,f) cannot be calculated in subsystem 3 in the case of current
control mode, as the grid current (11+12)is already zero. The In
problem can be solved by using voltage control mode for the
“open circuit” case. This does not introduce any drawback, as I+g. 9: Calculation of current dktortion limits.
differences between the two control modes only appear in case
of pre-existing disturbances from the grid (see Chapter III Step The “open circuit” case is replaced by the “fixed circuit”
E). case (i.e. grid impedance is not assumed as infinite, but as a
The “worst impedance” case is calculated as described in fixed value for each individual harmonic).
Chapter III. For each individual harmonic the whole range of

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 For the “worst impedance” case the grid impedance range
is scanned to determine the maximum of the summed current
distortions from subsystems 1 and 2.
C. Determination of active source stresses
The maximum individual source stresses (U,f, IJ as well
as the resulting total source stresses are calculated similarly to
the above explained procedure for voltage and current
distortions. However for this purpose the “worst impedance”
case has to be established for the worst source voltages and
currents respectively.
V. COMPARISON OF METHODOLOGIES
Finally, a brief comparison between calculation results of
methods previously used for passive filter schemes and those
for active filter schemes proposed in this document shall
outline the main differences. As a reference Fig. 10 shows
block diagrams of common practice methods.
“voltage distortions” “current distortions”
@@@ @@@
d In
XW: geometric sum of magnitudes
Zp : parallel resonance between total filter and grid impedance
Z. : serial resonance between total filter and grid impedance
Fig. 10: Methods of common practice.
A. Calculation of voltage distortion
are
Results for individual distortions in the “open circuit” case
identical. In the “worst impedance” case, a difference
occurs as the methods of common practice combine the worst
case of the converter equivalent (subsystem 1, parallel
resonance) with the worst case of the grid equivalent
(subsystem 2, series resonance). The proposed method uses
the worst case of the summed subsystems 1 and 2, which is
normally neither of the above mentioned resonance cases.
Hc)wever this seems to be a more realistic approach as only
one value for the system impedance is possible at a time.
Another difference with respect to the determined
performance indicators is that according to the proposed
method the pre-existing distortions are added to the “worst
impedance” case prior to the combination with the “open
circuit” case. The result of this is that pre-existing distortions
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will only affect those frequencies of the final set which are
taken from the “worst impedance” case. This difference may
be put into perspective by an increased number of “worst
impedance” distortions used for the final harmonic set.
B. Calculation of current distortions
Individual distortions calculated for the “fixed circuit” case
are identical. Also in the “worst impedance” case no
differences appear as the worst case grid impedance for
subsystems 1 and 2 are the same (series resonance).
The different effect of pre-existing distortions on the
calculated performance limits is similar to those described for
voltage distortions. Again, it may be put into perspective by an
increased number of “worst impedance” distortions used for
the final harmonic set.
VI. FIELD EXPERIENCE
The first active AC filter in an HVDC application was
installed in 1998 by Siemens in the converter station of Tjele
of the utility Eltra, in Denmark, in a joint project to
demonstrate the capabilities of this new equipment and to
develop experience in this field. The HVDC station has two
converters connected to the 150 kV AC network for one pole
of the DC line and a converter connected to the 400 kV AC
network for the other line pole. The power transfer reaches
approximately 500 MW per DC-line pole. The active filter
was installed at the 400 kV switchyard of the substation.
‘KOkV BUS
1
L
ZF2
~
11
From the
otlw phases b
A
+j_~W; ,1
Mein comp.ments
—
(OIK X1foreachphase)
Fig. 11: Single line diagram of the active AC filter.
The single line diagram of the filter is shown in Fig. 11.
Each phase of the active AC filter comprises an IGBT
converter, a fast acting thyristor switch to by-pass and protect
the converter in case of overvoltage or overcttrrent, a
transformer, a low-pass filter (“LP”), a ZnO arrester and
means to bypass the active part and isolate it from the passive
one. A branch comprising an inductor and a capacitor is
341
connected in parallel to each phase of the active part to deviate After correcting the problems detected at the trial operation
the 50 Hz current component, preventing it from flowing in phase, the equipment operates satisfactorily, presenting high
the IGBT converters. The configuration of the active part is availability. No damages have been registered since
the same for each, phase, while the control equipment is commissioning.
common for all three phases. The complete equipment was VII. REFERENCES
assembled in a container-type house with a room for the
medium voltage equipment and a room for the electronic and [1] Cigr6 Working Group 14.30, “Guide To The Specification And
Evahration Of AC Filters For HVDC Systems”
control equipment as well as the local operation unit. Both
rooms are provided with air conditioning. The IGBT
VIII. BIOGRAPHIES
converters are rated for approximately 200 kVA and 700 V
(crest). Thomas Westerweller received is Dipl.-hrg.
The active part was connected in series with one of the Univ. in electrical engineering from the
four 60 Mvar, 12*/24ti damped double-tuned passive filters, Technical University Munich in 1995. hr 1996
which was selected to be the most time in operation. The he joint SfEMENS AG and worked in the high-
voltage division on higf-voltage direct current
control main input is the harmonic voltage at the substation (HVDC) and series compensation (SC) projects.
busbars, which is achieved through the existing capacitive He has been involved in the defivery of
voltage devices and brought digitally directly to the control by main equipment containing active dc filters for
a suitable fibre optics hybrid measurement system (frequency the Tlan-Guang HVDC Project.
His current responsibilities include studies
range up to 3000 Hz). Thus the active filter operate in the
on steady-state and transient system behavior as
above mentioned harmonic voltage control mode. well as equipment design studies for HVDC
systems.

Marcos A. C. Pereira, electrical engineer,

received hls B. SC. degree in 1974 from the
Federal University of Pemambuco, in Recife,
Brazil. Until 1987 he worked for the power
utility Chesf, in Recife, occupying several
charges in the operation and engineering
dkectories, including activities of load
dispatching as well as control and protection.
Afterwards he joined SIEMENS AG in Germany
as a project leader, working mainly for R&D
activities in the areas of HVDC and FACTS.
Marcos Pereira is the secretary of the Cigr6
Working Group 14-28 (active filters).
fig. 12 View of the installation.
~, born 1963, received his
The active filter was designed to mitigate seven harmonics, Dipl.-Irrg. degree and PhD in Electrical
Engineering from University of Braunschweig,
combined in several, operation modes, for instance: Germany, in 1986 and 1992, respectively. He
joined SfEMENS AG in Erlangen, Germany, in
- Mode “C”, with the 5* harmonic alone 1992. Currently he is responsible for the basic
- Mode “D” with simultaneous mitigation of the 23’d, 25ti, design and system studies for HVDC systems.

35ti, 37ti, 47ti’and 49& harmonic

- Mode “E”, a combination of the 5* harmonic and
harmonics of the range from the 23’d to the 49* ones.

The observed effectiveness of the filter can be summarized

as follows. Geor~ Wild received his DipL-Irrg. (FH) degree
In both “C” ancl “D” operation modes, the active filter is in Electrical Engineering from the
Fachhcchschule of UlmfDonau (Germany) in
generally able to fully eliminate the controlled harmonic
1972. After two years of experience in the
voltages at the 400 kV busbars. Measurements show for development center of AEG at Ulm, Mr. Georg
instance reduction of about 30 dBV of the 23rd harmonic, Wild changed to SfEMENS AG. From 1974 up
while reducing simultaneously all other harmonics of the case to 1988 he was involved in the developing of
open and closed loop control systems especially
“D” to values alscl below the sensitivity of the measuring
for HVDC and SVC systems.
equipment. He was responsible for control and
It was observecl that, for some operation conditions, the protection (C&P) systems of SVC projects
ratings of the active filters are reached. This situation occurred between 1988 and 1990, and for C&P systems of
HVDC systems since 1990.
for instance when !jti harmonic currents not produced by the
Since 1998 he is Dkector for Engineering & Design of Control and
HVDC converter but present at the AC network became more Protection and Station Engineering for HVDC applications.
significant. In such cases, the harmonics are not fully Mr. Georg Wild is member of VDE and fEEE and holds 7 international
eliminated, but they are still remarkably reduced. patents.

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