Improvements for Power Systems Performance:
Modeling, Analysis and Benefits of TCSCs
by
Carlos Gama
ONS
pania@ons.org.br
Brazil
Abstract: This paper describes the modeling and investigation of
the performance of a Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor
(TCSC)camed out within the EMTP-ATP program. The TCSC
ccmtrol system was developed using two different languages
supported by EMTP-ATP: Transient Analysis of Control Systems
(TACS)and MODELS language. The modeling task is described
briefly and some details of the use of the MODELS language are
given. The TCSC model is then used to investigate the capability
of the TCSC for improving power system performance with
respect to: subsynchronous resonance phenomena. fault current
limitation, and line current control. Additionally, the innovative
POD structure used in an actual TCSC in the Brazilian North-
South interconnection is discussed along with some test results.
Keywords: TCSC, Modeling, POD. Stability, Subsynchronous
Resonance, Fault Current Limiters, Current Control.
I. INTRODUCTION
When a new device appears. the lack of reliable and easy-
tc-use models for representing it constitutes a drawback to
the widespread use of this technology. The present
modeling of a TCSC for the EMTP-ATP program is
intended to narrow this gap. In fact, the TCSC model was
developed using both TACS (Transient Analysis of Control
Systems) and the MODELS language. The TCSC modeling
for MODELS. which is briefly described in this paper,
providcs a high-level. self-documented code that offers an
easy-to-use. -upgrade, and -maintain model. It should be
noted that this TCSC model was extensively tested and
validated against published TNA simulations collected
from the international literature [ 2 , 5 ] .
The following sections describe the TCSC modeling for the
ATP-MODELS language as well as simulation results that
investigate the TCSC capabilities for improving the power
systems performance as far as subsynchronous resonance
phenomena, and both fault current limitation and line
ciirrent control are concerned. In addition, an innovative
POD for an actual TCSC in operation in the Brazilian
North-South interconnection is explored and some test
results are shown.
11. THE TCSC MODELING
A The MODELS Lmgircige
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Ricardo Ten6rio
CHESF
rtcnorio @chesCgov.br
MODELS is a general technical description language
supported by a simulation solver [3]. It is a high-level,
structured language for algorithms, which allows the
representation of complex physical systems and their
interactions with power systems. It should be noted that
MODELS allows the interface between EMTP-ATP and
outside programs, hesides importingkxporting variables
frodto network.
MODELS is much more powerful than TACS although
slower [4]. The main features of this language can be
summarized as follows: a) capability of creating a model
description and allowing its use in different parts of the
code on instruction from the user; b) capability of
segmenting the model into submodels in order to make the
modeling easier in addition to allowing access to
subroutines written in other languages: c) self-documented
code that allows a clear understanding and serves as a
reference document.
B. Description of the TCSC Mudelirig
A simplified diagram of the TCSC model for the ATP-
EMTP program is shown in Fig. I . A detailed description
of the modeling can be found in 12, 51. The TCSC is
divided into three distinct systems: power circuit;
measurement and control systems: firing and
synchronization systems. The power circuit comprises a
capacitor bank in parallel with a thyristor controlled reactor
and a MOV arrestcr to protect the capacitor. The thyristor
valve includes a snubber circuit. All components were
modeled using regular. built-in EMTP-ATP models.
The measurement and control systems work independently
in each phase. and consist of hand-pass and notch filters. a
current quadratic measurcmcnt dcvice. an active power
measurement device. and a proportional-integral (PI)
controller. A comparison between the measured line
current and the reference current is made. and the error
generated is fed into the PI controller whose main function
is to bring to zero its steady-state error. An open loop
impedance mode is possible in addition to the closed loop
current control mode. In this mode a reactance orcicr is set
and the Firing systcm then provides a suitable Iiring angle
ordcr to the thyristors.
 The TCSC has an additional control loop responsible for
damping power oscillations, i.e. power swing damping
control (PSDC). The PSDC measures the absolute value of
the line active power and feeds this signal into a wash-out
filter and a lead-lag compensator. The output signal is
added to the reactance order in such a way as to modulate
the TCSC reactance in order to damp the power oscillation.
The measurement and control systems were represented in
MODELS using Laplace transfer functions, logical,
algebraic, and integral equations, as well as the powerful
algorithm control statements available in this modeling
language.
The synchronization and firing systems comprise a
linearisation curve, a pulse generating unit and a
synchronization unit that is based on either an individual
firing pulse (IFP, i.e. current zero crossings) or an
equidistant firing pulse (PLL- phase locked loop system).
The synchronization and firing systems were represented in
MODELS through Laplace transfer functions, and
trigonometric, algebraic, and integral equations
There are three special modes of operation: thyristor
switched reactor (TSR), thyristor blocked mode (TBM) and
waiting mode (WTM). These modes of operation are
activated in special circumstances by the operation mode
selector. TSR means that the thyristors are fully
conducting. In this condition the capacitor bank is bypassed
through the TCR, and the TCSC impedance changes
rapidly from a capacitive value to an inductive one.
L r--------'
I c SYN('IIKONISA'I'I0N
SY S'lli
Figure 1 : Structure of the TCSC modelling
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This mode provides the means of limiting the line current
by increasing the line impedance by a value that depends
on the design of the TCSC. The WTM means that the
TCSC waits for a certain time with a fixed firing angle
until another mode of operation is set. The TBM means
that the PI regulator and firing system are blocked, and the
TCSC will operate at 180'. The operation mode selector
was represented in MODELS basically through logical
equations. Figure 2 shows the flowchart of the TCSC
controls in MODELS
A . Detuning SSR Interactions
The term subsynchronous resonance describes the
electromechanical subsynchronous oscillations associated
with turbine-generator shafts and a series capacitor
compensated power system when the oscillatory energy
exchanged tends to grow. For a simple power system such
as that shown in Fig. 3, the natural electrical frequency is
given by equation (2) wheref, is the electrical frequency
corresponding to the synchronous frequency under ideal
conditions): X, is the series capacitor reactance and X, is
the total reactance of the power system. However, complex
power systems have often more than one resonant
frequency and the analysis is then not so simple.
I
. I
M
1463

I "
CURRENT O U A D R A T I C M E A S U R E M E N T
I
4
I' F;L'twu
I order equal to 50 IR. no SSR interaction is observed. Fig. 5
CONTROL SYSTEM
( P I REGULATOR)
w m
I POWER SWING
DAMPING CONTROL
#
MANUAL I AUTOMATIC
OPERATION
4
1 FIRING SYSTEM
I TCSCs.
t
F I R I N G ANGLE
Figure. 3. The TCSC controls structure in MODELS
When the power system has its resonance excited, it causes
oscillating currents at electrical frequency in the stator,
which give rise to rotor currents at subsynchronous N,,=J, -
fr) and supersynchronous (f;,,=fo + fr) frequencies. If the
subsynchronous frequency is near a torsional mode of
oscillation then SSR problems may occur. It should he
noted that there are different ways of identifying
interactions between the turbine-generator shafts and power
systems. These phenomena can be divided into self-
excitation and transient torques [2. 81. The self-excitation
phenomena can be divided further into two types, namely:
induction generator effect and torsional interaction. This
section only deals with torsional interaction involving both
series capacitor and TCSC compensated power systems.
In order to investigate the capability of the TCSC in
detuning SSR torsional interaction, a simulation was
carried out using the IEEE first benchmark system for SSR
studies 171 and a 50 L2 series capacitor. which means a
compensation degree of around 35%. According to (2), the
theoretical resonant frequency excited due. to the short
circuit is 27.7 Hz.
I 2
xll-Io I 4 Al=bOZ
TURBINE (X'd.0 I751
Fig. 3: One-line diagram of the IEEE first benchmark
system
The complementary frequency. i.e. 32.3 Hz, coincides with
the fourth torsional mode of oscillation at 32.3 Hz. As a
result there is a destabilization of this mode of oscillation
which leads to a torsional interaction. From the mechanical
standpoint. Fig. 4 shows the build-up OF the two greatest
0-7803-5935-6/00/$10.00(c) 2000 IEEE
~
I ' mechanical torques on sections 3-4 (torque 3) and 4-5
(torque 4) of the turbine-generator shaft. This simulation
shows a serious SSR interaction. which in the absence of
1 countermeasures, would lead to shaft damage. As can be
seen it is possible to excite SSR problems even with a
I moderate degree of compensation, i.e. 35%.
If a TCSC is placed into the power system with a reactance
shows torques 3 and 4 on the shaft which are slightly
I I damped (note that no mechanical damping was represented
on the shaft). Spectral analysis shows that no resonant
frequency is found below 60 Hz [2]. This demonstrates that
from the network standpoint this TCSC does not behave as
a capacitor, rather it develops inductive-resistive behavior
I 121. Moreover. in [9] it was investigated how to decrease
transient torque on turbine-generator shafts by using
B. TCSC ns a Fault Current Litniter
To perform as a fault current limiter the TCSC has to be
dimensioned to withstand the short circuit current and
develop a high inductive impedance. As a consequence i t is
necessary to change some characteristics of the TCSC,
such as equipment ratings and natural resonant frequency
of its LC circuit, in order to develop a high impedance
when operating in TSR mode, i.e. thyristors fully
conducting.
The power system simulated in this section. seen in Fig. 6,
consists of a 100 km, 230 kV transmission line that feeds
three loads in a ring configuration. All transmission lines in
the ring configuration have a length of 30 km and the loads
can be said to be electrically close to each other. All loads
are considered to have a power factor of 0.85. The loads
are: S 2 = 50 MVA, S.7 = 70 MVA, and S4 = 20 MVA. The
TCSC simulated was rated to vary from -j21 R up to -j52
IR. i.e. virtually a compensation degree of 100%. A surge
arrester (MOV) rated for 33 kV was used for protecting the
capacitor bank against overvoltages. In the TSR mode the
TCSC has an impedance of j49 R which almost doubles the
line impedance in this condition.
3 4 5
In order to detect a fault condition and to place the TCSC
in TSR mode, an overcurrent detector based on line current
amplitude was simulated together with the TCSC modcl
[2]. A three-phase fault was applied to bus 2 (Fig. 6 ) .The
X1=1050 results are shown in Fig. 7, where fault currents are seen
from bus I . The fault was applied at 30 ms and the
overcurrent detectors identified a fault condition at 34.95
ms, 37.90 ms. 36.90 ms respectively for phases A, B, and
C. The pickup values used for these overcurrent detectors
were set to 2000 A rms.
As can be seen from this simulation for phase B
(highlighted by an ellipse in Fig. 7). the TCSC using
detection based on line current amplitude is not able to
limit all peaks of the fault current. The largest current peak
in phase B was increased from 3337 A to 4245 A (an
1464
 increase of 27%). However, the highest current peak in the
three phases was reduced from 5225 A to 4233 A (19%
reduction). If effective limitation of all current peaks is
required, a fault detector based on a predictive strategy
[IO], e.g. rate of rise, should be used. Otherwise a fault
detector based on current amplitude is likely to be
adequate.
0.00 +-g
' -I
Note that the first transmission line is compensated by two
series capacitors of 55 Q and 40 Q, and a TCSC rated for -
j l 5 to -j60 R. The parallel line is a high natural capacity
(HNC) transmission line [ 1 I] that presents a smaller series
reactance around 36% of the 230 kV, conventional
transmission line. This corresponds roughly to a
conventional line with a series compensation degree of
64%. The compensation degree of the 230 kV,
conventional transmission line varies from 66.5% (TCSC at
-jlS Q) to nearly 100% (TCSC at -j60Q). Therefore, with
the TCSC at -jl5 SL, the two transmission lines share
approximately the same power flow but the conventional

+-a
-40.00
I I

0 00 5 00 10.00 line has its impedance dynamically controlled by the TCSC

1 I M E (SI
60.00 7 action.

0.00 In order to investigate the TCSC behavior and its line

current control action subsequent to a transmission line
-60.00 ' I I
I tripping, a three-phase fault was applied at the middle of
0.00 5.00 10.00
TIME (6) the HNC transmission line. The fault was applied at 250 ms
and 100 ms later (at 350 ms) an order was sent to trip the
Fig. 4:Torque build-up with SO R series capacitor HNC line circuit breakers. Figure 14 shows these
simulation results
1.00

-1.00 +--, 4
2
-
0.00 5.00
TIME ( S )
10.00
0

-
1.00

-2
-4

, 1.00 '
0.00
-I '- --'

5 .oo 10.00
Phase B

TlME ( 6 )

Fig. 5 : Torque with TCSC at 50 R

CENl I 2 J

I Zea I
TRANSMlSSlON L I N E

TCSC
2 3 U KV, I O U KH 1 - 1I, .. 4 1 Phase C
n 2
0

I I -2
-4
I

r
s4
-6 1
0.00 0.05 0.1 0 0.15 0.20
Fig. 6: One-line diagram of the power system TIME ( S )

C. TCSC Dynamic Compensator to Control Line Current
The TCSC can dynamically control either line current or
power [ 2 ] . The simulation results shown here deal with line
current control only, although a line power control may be
implemented easily. In order to demonstrate the line
current control feature, a simple power system was
considered. It consists of two network equivalcnts (voltage
behind an impedance) with a short-circuit contribution of
9.2 and 7.3 GVA, interconnected by two 230 kV, 320 km,
parallel transmission lines. Fig. 8 shows a one-line diagram
of the simulated power system.
Fig. 7: Fault currents for phases A, B,and C (thick trace: with
TCSC I thin trace: without TCSC)
The conventional transmission line was being regulated at
800 Arms by the TCSC. During the fault, this line current
decreased slightly as both systems I and I1 were feeding the
faulted parallel HNC line. The TCSC tends to correct the
very sniall line current drop, when the fault is cleared by
the opening of the HNC line breakers. In this occasion, the
network impedance changes and the TCSC line current
tries to increase rapidly, but the TCSC conlroller decreases
its reactance (from roughly -j37 Q to -j25 Q) to bring thc

0-7803-5935-6/00/$10.00 (c)2000 IEEE 1465

 line current back to 800 Arms. This illustrates how a TCSC
can assist power systems by maintaining their scheduled
interchange
TCSC COMPENSATED TRANSMISSION LINE
I 2 3 4
'cc * '.* GVA
HNC IRANSMISSION LINE (230KV, 320 KIA)
- 2
2 1
E
E o
0
0.8 kArms
5 0.5
,-7-"
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
TIME (S)
Fig. 9: Fault currents for phases A, B, and C (thick trace: with
TCSC / thin trace: without TCSC)
D.Power System Stability Enhancement
The application of TCSC for damping power oscillations
has been demonstrated consistently via time domain
simulations in many technical publications [ 141. This
section aims at presenting a brief description of an
innovative structure for a Power Oscillation Damper (POD)
implemented in a TCSC in Brazil. This TCSC has been in
reliable commercial operation for 10 months, providing
damping for a 0.2 Hz inter-area mode. The effectiveness of
such controller will be illustrated by means of system test
results [ 161.
Choosing and manipulation of input signals in order to
provide the correct reference for PODS has always shown
to be a critical task. Traditionally, e.g. in Power system
Stabilizers (PSS), this is accomplished using cascade
connected washout filters and lead-lag links. This
technique exhibits some problems at large disturbances,
e.g. at tripping of generators or lines in either of the
interconnected systems. One problem is related to the
limited available dynamic range of the TCSC and the other
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is caused by the step in the average power in the line,
which appears at the onset of the power oscillation.
A new scheme for deriving the reactance reference for the
Imperatriz TCSC in Brazil was used. It exploits the a priori
rrrr S 6 knowledge of the power swing frequency representing it by
a phasor in a rotating coordinate system. Doing so the
correct phase relationship can be maintained irrespective of
the change in average power and limitations can be applied
on the reference signal without impact on the dynamic
SCC =7 3 OVA
gain.
Based on the knowledge about frequency of oscillation, the
following assumptions are done:
0 The measured active power on the interconnection can
be described as the sum of two contributions.
The first contribution is an average power on the
Middle 01 H N C line
interconnection.
(fault applicalion point) 0 The second contribution is the 0.20 Hz active power
oscillation corresponding to the power oscillation.
-200
Now, if one can separate the two contributions in such a
- 7 ribution trom bus 1 way that as to get the instantaneous phase angle and the
e
amplitude of the power oscillation signal, then it is possible
to get a very good basis for a damping controller In order to
extract the power oscillation contribution, a 0.2 Hz
reference signal is generated. Then using the same type of
.7
lion trom bus 6
technology as in a PLL, four different signals are extract
out of the measured active power:
0 0.2 Hz active power oscillation
E o Average active power flow on the interconnection
-
0
-
= 0 Amplitude of the power oscillation
m
0 Phase angle of the power oscillation
0.3 0.4 0.5
TIME (S) With the above information it's straightforward to generate
a TCSC reactance that adds damping to the system.
According to [15], the desired reactance output of the
TCSC should have a phase angle of -90 O relative to the
active power (90 O lag strategy). The reactance output from
the controller is proportional to the amplitude of the
oscillation and since the signal is centered around zero
there are no problems with saturation at one side of the
controllable range of the main circuit. Note that the active
power is used as the input signal, besides the sign
correction for powerflow direction is included, being this
essential for the proper POD behavior
The controller illustrated in Fig. 10 works with a fixed,
predefined frequency of oscillation. However, this
frequency could be adaptively changed in order to generate
a controller that works in a wider frequency band. One way
of doing this adaptation is to compute the relative angle
between phasor reference signal and the estimated
oscillation signal, If this relative angle increases, then the
actual oscillation liequency is higher than 1hG frequency ol'
the phasor rcference and hence the frequency of the phasor
reference should be increased and vice versa.
Figures I 1 and 12 present system test results. The
disturbance was a trip of generation in the Norlh system
1466
 having the POD disabled (Fig. 11 ) and enabled (Fig. 12).
Note also in Fig. 12 that the TCSC apparent reactance
(Xtcsc) goes into the inductive region (thyristor switched
reactor mode) in such a way as to damp effectively the
power oscillation out.
The TCSC may be designed to develop an inductive
impedance at a range of subsynchronous frequencies.
Therefore, the TCSC is neutral from SSR standpoint within
this range. A properly designed TCSC may enhance power
system stability and avoid risking SSR problems. The
TCSC is able to meet the apparently contradictory
requirement of increasing transmission capacity with a
decrease of the fault levels.

A brief description of the new POD structure using PLL, in

commercial operation in the Brazilian North-South
interconnection since March, 1999, was presented. This
TCSC, which is being used mainly for damping power
oscillations, is neutral to SSR and features the fault current
limitation function.

V. REFERENCES
Hingonni, N. G.; “Flexible AC Transmission ”; IEEE Spectrum, pp
40-45, April, 1993.
Tenbrio, A.R.M.; “A Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor Modcl
for Electromagnetic Transient Studies”; MSc Thesis, University of
Manchester Institute of Science and Technology - UMIST,
Manchester, UK. 1995.
DUM.L.; “MODELS rule book”; Version July 1994.
x,: I Martinez, J.A.; “Educational Use of EMTP MODELS Ibr the Study
of Rotating Machine Transients”; IEEE Transactions on Power
Systems, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp 1392-1398. November, 1993.
Fig. 10: Layout of the Phasor POD Tenbrio, A.R.M.; Jenkins, N; “A TCSC Model for Electroinagnelic
Transient Studies”; Stockholm Power Tech - lntemational
Symposium on Electric Power Engineering, Prnc. of Power
Line Power (MW)
Electronics, pp 130-135, Stockholm, 1995.
Kundur, P.; “Power System Stability and Control”: McGraw-Hill.
1994.
IEEE Subsynchronous Resonance Working Gcoup; “First
Benchmark Model for Computer Simulation of Subsynchronous
1o
-500 :
io 2u 30 40 50 60 70 ac
Resonance”; IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems.
Vol. PAS-96, NO. 5. pp 1565-1572, 1977.
nmels] Anderson, P.M.; Agrawal. B.J.; Van Ness, J.E.; “Subsynchronous
Resonance in Power Systems”; IEEE Press, New Yorl , 1990.
Fig. 11: Trip of 300 MW in Tucurui -POD disabled Tenorio. A.R.M.; Jenkins. N.; “Enhancing Power Systems Dynamics
without Risking SSR Phenomena by Means of TCSCs”; Proc. of .12’Id
Universities’ Power Engineering Conference (UPEC’97). pp 879-
882, Manchester, UK, 1997.
[IO] Tenbrio. A.R.M.. Jenkins, N.; “Investigation of the TCSC as a Fault
Current Limiter”; Proc. of International Conference on Power
Systems Transients (IPST’97). pp 345-350. Seattle, USA, 1997.
[ I I] Alexandrov, G.N.: Nosov. I.M.: “The Increase of Effectiveness of
Transmission Lines and Their Corridor Utilization”; ClGRE session.
paper 38-104, Paris, France, 1996.
[I21 Larsen, E.V.; Clark, K.; Misk Jr, S. A.; Urbancck. J.:
“Characteristics and Rating Considerations of Thiristor Controlled
Series Compensation”. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery. Vol.
9, NO. 2, pp 992-1000, April 1994.
[I31 Clark, K.; Larsen, E.V.; Miller, N.W.; Okamoto, H.; Kurita, A.;
“Modeling and Performance of Multiple Multi-module TCSCs in
ATP”; CERE session, paper 14-307. Paris, France, 1996.
[ 141 C. Gama. R. Tenorio. et. al.. “Brazilian North-South Interconnection
- Application of Thyristor Controlled Series Compensation (TCSC)
to Damp Inter-Area Oscillation Mode”. Cigr6 37 Session, Paris,
1998.
C. Gama, M. Noroozian, ‘Control Strategy for Damping of Power
Swings Using TCSC“. Cigd Symposium, Kuala Lumpur, 1999.
IV. CONCLUSIONS C. Gama. Gunner Ingestrtlm. Lennan Angquist “Brazilian Nonh-
South Interconnection - Control Application and Experience with a
The TCSC model developed for the ATP-EMTP program T C S C FACTS Controllen: Application and Operational
Experience (Panel) - IEEE I999 Suininer Meeting, Eclmonton.
using MODELS language is a reliable, easy-to-use, and Alberta. Canada.
maintain tool for assessing and analyzing TCSC
performance in enhancing power systems.

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