Fractional Frequency Transmission

System

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INTRODUCTION
 First proposed in 1994 by Wang Xifan and team.
 A very promising long distance transmission approach.
 Uses fractional frequency to reduce the electrical length of
the ac power line.
 50/3 Hz used in the study.
 Reactance of the system is reduced.
 Transmission capacity of the system increases by several
folds
 Simulation study on magnetic frequency changer
 Experimental installation carried out using 50/3 Hz
electricity using cycloconvertor.
 Cycloconvertor is a new FACTS device.
 Is specially useful for remote hydropower.

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CONVENTIONAL AC TRANSMISSION
SYSTEM
 Has 2 basic parameters –

1. Voltage
 Conventionally voltage levels changed to guarantee
efficiency for different segments of the power system. With
the invention of transformers voltage levels could be
changed easily.
2. Frequency
 In the history of electricity transmission many frequencies
were used such as 25Hz,50/3 and 133Hz.
 50-60 Hz was selected as the standard.
 Changing frequency considered as taboo since to transform
frequency is more difficult than to transform voltage.

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Scope For Selecting Different Frequencies Improving The Electricity Transmission?

 With the recent advances in power electronic

techniques different kinds of large frequency
changers are being developed rapidly. And this
trend may lead to use of different frequencies
for electricity transmission and utilization.

 Lower frequency electricity can be used to

transmit larger power for longer distances.
 Higher frequency electricity can be used more
efficiently to drive the electric tools.

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Factors Limiting Transmission
Capability
 There are three main factors:

 Thermal limit
 Stability limit
 Voltage drop limit

 For long distance ac transmission

 Thermal limitation is not a significant
impediment.

 Its load ability mainly depends on the

-Stability Limit & Voltage Drop Limit.

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PROBLEMS FACED BY THE CONVENTIONAL AC
TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
 Increasing transmission distance.
 Increasing transmission capacity.

Depends mainly on
 Raising the voltage level of transmission lines.
 The highest voltage level at present in operation is 750 KV.
 Further upgrading of voltage level difficult due to material and
environmental issues.

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DIFFERENT APPROACHES FOR IMPROVING POWER
TRANSMISSION
 High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission.
Has no stability limit problem.
However the current converters at two ends of HVDC are very
expensive.
Limited to the point to point transmission ,upto now.
Still difficult to operate a multiterminal HVDC.
 Flexible AC Transmission System(FACTS)
Has been used to improve power system performance.
Has become a very hot research field.
Exploits power electronic techniques to regulate the
parameters of AC transmission and raise the transmission
capacity thereby.
FFTS (Fractional Frequency Transmission System) is a promising
new FACTS device.

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PRINCIPLE OF FFTS
 Stability limit of an ac transmission line can be approximately
evaluated by

In order to
increase the
transmission
 Voltage drop V % can be evaluated by
capability we can
either increase the
Voltage level
or decrease the
reactance of the
transmission line.
 where V is the normal voltage,
Q is the reactive power,
& X is the the reactance of transmission line.
Decreasing reactance X will give rise to better voltage
regulation and improved system stability.
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PRINCIPLE OF FFTS(contd)
 Reactance of a transmission line X is given by
X=2πfL
where f is the power frequency &
L is the inductance of the transmission line.
 Decreasing the electricity frequency can proportionally
increase the transmission capability.
 In conventional ac transmission voltage level changed to improve
transmission.
 FFTS utilizes the principle of using lower power frequency to

Reduce the reactance of transmission

system ,thereby increasing the
transmission capability by several folds.

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ELECTRIC LENGTH & TRANSMISSION
CAPABILITY
 Velocity of electricity transmission ≅light velocity i.e.
300,000 km/s
 Transmission capability Pmax α
 X - reactance
 Electric length is the measurement in terms of the
electromagnetic wave length corresponding to length of
the transmission line
 Electric length α frequency
 X α frequency
α electrical length
transmission capability α 1/ electrical length

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HOW DOES FFTS REDUCE THE ELECTICAL LENGTH OF
TRANSMISSION SYSTEM?
Wave length ʎ=v/f

50 Hz 50/3Hz ʎ
raises to
electricity 50/3 Hz electricity
frequency 3times of
50 Hz
frequency
Electrical
length
Wavelength enlarges
Wavelength=6000 km
●
●
to - 18000 km

reduces
1200 km transmission line corresponds to to one
third for
50/3 Hz
power
frequency
1/5 th of 1/15 th of
wavelength for 50 wavelength for
Hz transmission 50/3 Hz
line transmission line Transmission capability
increases by 3 times
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BASIC STRUCTURE OF FFFTS

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 BASIC STRUCTURE OF FFFTS (Description)

 Hydropower
generator generates
ac power of fractional
frequency.
 Stepped up by a
transformer.
 Transmitted to the
receiving end of
FFTS
transmission line. HYDROPOWER GENERATOR
CONSISTS
●

Fractional ac power
●
TRANSFORMER
OF FOUR

TRANSMISSION LINE
stepped up to
●

BASIC ●
FREQUENCY CHANGER
industrial frequency. UNITS

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FFTS UNITS

 Hydropower generator
 Low rotational speed, hence suitable for generating low
frequency electric power .
 Only change is to reduce the no. of poles.
 Little influence on the cost and efficiency of the
hydropower unit
 Transformer
 Electric power stepped up at lower frequency.
 Core section area and coil turn nos. must be increased.
 More expensive than 50 Hz transformer.
 Transmission line
 Conventional transmission line can be used in FFTS
without any change.

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 Frequency changer
• Key equipment in FFTS.

Saturable core transformer type(ferromagnetic

frequency changer).
 Power electronic ac-ac frequency changer.
 Phase-controlled cycloconvertor.
 TSMC(Two stage matrix convertor).

Ferromagnetic Power electronic type

frequency changer frequency changer
-simpler structure -superior in higher
-lower cost efficiency
-more reliable -more flexible in
operation installation

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 a)STRUCTURE OF FFTS USING MAGNETIC
FREQUENCY CHANGER

50/3 HZ 1200 km 50 Hz
hydropower Plant Transmission Harmonic Frequency power
line filter changer system

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 SIMULATON STUDY
 Simulation done on
1200 km,500kV
transmission line
using 550kV ,600
MW Magnetic
frequency changer
 Highly saturating

laminated steel
core Equivalent Circuit

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RESULTS OF SIMULATION STUDY

 1200 km, 500kV transmission line can transmission line

can transmit upto 1700 MW
 Reversible property of FFTS can be used to inter connect
two 50 Hz power systems
 Efficiency of magnetic frequency changer can reach 95%
and above
 Simpler structure, lower cost, more reliable

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b)AN EPERIMENTAL CONFIGURATION OF FFTS
BASED ON PHASE CONTROLLED CYCLOCONVERTOR

50/3 Hz 50 Hz

133 V 500 V 400 V

A B C D E
50/3 Hz Transmission line Utility grid
generator Cycloconvertor

Synchronizing process
1.Close switch E.
2.Start the prime mover(dc motor). Increase the speed to 500 rev/min
3.Close switch A. Regulate 50/3 Hz generator voltage to 133v.
4.500V Imposed on Transmission line through step up transformer.
5.When synchronizing conditions satisfied cyclconvertor operates.
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EPERIMENTAL CONFIGURATION

 Model generator unit

DC motor as prime mover (500 r/min)
AC generator –generates 50/3 Hz 133v electric power
 Stepped up to 500Vby transformer unit
 Transmitted through 1200 km,500 KV transmission
line
 50/3 Hz converted to 50 Hz power by
cycloconvertor.
 Injected to utility grid through isolating
transformer bank

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CYLOCONVERTOR CIRCUIT

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CYCLOCONVERTOR
 Key apparatus in FFTS
 Two three phase bridge convertors
Connected in antiparallel
Built up by 36 thyristors
p & n –group bridges connect the utility system
through the isolating transformer bank
Both the terminals of cyclconvertor connected with
voltage sources
p & n –group operated in inversion mode

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CYLOCONVERTOR CONTROL CIRCUIT

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CYCLOCONVERTOR CONTROL CIRCUIT

CONSISTS OF THREE PARTS

 Fractional frequency generator

 Synchronizing circuit

 Cycloconvertor control circuit

1.Fraction frequency generator generates 50/3 Hz

reference signal
2. Synchronizing circuit measures and compares
frequencies, magnitudes and phases of voltages and
sends starting impulses to the control circuit of
cycloconvetor

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3. Control circuit
Zero crossing of current at the end of each half
cycle detected
To regulate the control signal either to p or n group
50/3 Hz voltage synthesized by sinusoidal
modulation of a fire angle stored in a digital circuit
in advance.
Successively used to control cycloconvertor
operation

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 FFTS BASED ON CYCLOCONVERTOR

1.Only primary experiments conducted.

2.Experimental results achieved in power systems lab of Xi’an
Jiatong University for1200km/500V transmission line model
50 HZ – Pmax ≅800 MW
50/3 Hz- Pmax ≅ 2000 MW
3.Much work needs to be done such as
-economic feasibility
-analysis of transients
-dynamic stability
-optimal control
-improvement of transmission efficiency
-restraint of harmonics

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CONCLUSIONS
 FFTS can provide good long distance power transmission
solution.
 Especially suitable for developing hydro electricity resources
 Can improve power system performance remarkably
 Reversibility of power transmission.
 Comparing with HVDC, FFTS can save an electronic convertor
terminal
 HVDC only point to point transmission.
 Network like conventional ac system
 Feasibility study for a project from west to east china
underway
 Work like analysis of transient and dynamic stability,
improvement of efficiency restraint of harmonics still needs
to be done

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THANKYOU.

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QUESTIONS ?

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