DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

EE8017-HIGH VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT TRANSMISSION

Unit-1
INTRODUCTION

COMPARISION OF AC AND DC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

Two modes : AC and DC Transmission.

Factors:
1. Economics of Power Transmission.
2. Technical performance.
3. Reliability.
(i) Economics of Power Transmission:
Economics = (Investment Cost + Operation Cost)
Investment Cost Right way of cost, Towers, Conductors, insulators and Terminal
equipments.
Operation Cost  Cost of Losses.
A. DC Line:
Two Conductors used (+ve, -ve). Power Pdc = 2 Vp x I.
• Less ROW, Simple &Cheaper Towers, less Conductors & Insulators cost,
Less Power loss (Two Conductors only).
• No Skin effect, Less Corona Loss, Less Dielectric Loss.
• Size of conductors is economic.
• No need of compensation.
• Terminal Equipment Cost is high ( Converters and Filters)
•
B. AC line:
3 Same size Conductors are used.
P ac =3/2 (Vp x I) CosØ
Vp - peak voltage of conductors,
I- effective Current rating of conductors.

• Distance is < Break even Distance AC Transmission is Economic (Less Distance).

• Distance is > Break even Distance DC Transmission is Economic (Long Distance).
• Break even Distance is 500 to 800 Km.
(ii) Technical Performance:
In DC lines Controllability of Power is Fast than AC lines (By Converters).
Advantages:
1. Full Control over power Transmitted.
2. Fast Control limits the Fault currents in DC Lines.
3. No need of DC breakers in two terminals.

Stability Limits:
• AC Transmission – Power depends the Voltage Phase at two ends.
• Distance increase  Phase Angle.
• Power Transmission Limited by transient and Steady State Stability.
 Ac Transmission- Affected by Distance increased.
 Dc Transmission- Not Affected by Distance increased. (Only Current Carrying
Capacity of Conductors ).

Voltage Control:
Ac Transmission:
• Voltage Control is Complicated by Line Charging Currents and Inductive Voltage
Drops.
• AC Voltage is Flat for Fixed level of power (P=Pn).
• It Depends on surge impedance loading and Line loading.
Midpoint Voltage (V) is increase  Line Loading> SIL (P<Pn).
Midpoint Voltage (V) is Decrease  Line Loading< SIL (P<Pn).
• Capacitive Control is used instead of inductive Control to reduce the reactive power
Control.
DC Transmission:
• No Need of reactive Power Control.
• No charging Current Problems.

Line Compensation:
• Ac lines – Needs shunt and series Compensators to overcome stability and Line
charging Problems.
• Series C and shunt L used for compensation.
• SVC (Static Var compensator) used in high Power transfer. It needs in regular
intervals in AC lines.
AC Interconnection Problems:
• Two Power Systems connected by AC ties.
• Automatic control is coordinated both systems in power(P) and Frequency(F).
Problems:
• Large Power oscillations leads Tripping frequently.
• Increase in fault levels.
• Problem of one system affects the second.
• In DC lines we can overcome these problems by asynchronous ties.
 5. Reliability:
• DC- GOOD compare than AC.
• It is done by improvement of thyristor converters (Advanced switches).
Disadvantages of DC Transmission:
• High cost breakers needs.
• No usage of transformer for voltage level change.
• Generation of AC and DC harmonics Leads AC and DC Filter usage. It increases the
equipment cost.

COMPONENTS OF HVDC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

Converter Station:
 Conversion of AC - DC (Converter Station) and DC – AC (Inverter Station).
 Point to Point Transmission needs two Converter Stations.
Converter Unit:

• 12 pulse Converter (two 3Ø Converters Connected in series).

• Valves packages(SCR) (Single ,Double, Quadri). It is used to switching the AC
Voltage.
• Converter is fed by Converter Transformers (star and delta).
• Valves are protected by Snubber Circuit, Protecting firing, gpless surge arresters).

Converter Transformers:
1. 3Ø ,two winding.
2. 1Ø ,three winding.
3. 1Ø ,two winding.

• Valve side windings are Star and Delta connected (to reduce Starting current) with
neutral not grounded.
• Other side is connected with neutral ground.
• Leakage reactance of the transformer is selected to limit short circuit current via Valves.
Filters:
AC Filters Creates a low impedance path for AC harmonics currents.
DC Filters used to filter the DC harmonics currents.
High Frequency Filters (RF)used to filtering high frequency currents in AC Side.
Reactive Power Source:
• Converter Station needs Reactive power, it is depends on Active power loading.
• Reactive power requirement provided by AC filters, SVC, Shunt Capacitors.
Smoothing Reactor:
• Large series reactor is used on DC side to smooth DC current and protection.
• Linear Reactor connected in Line side, neutral side, intermediate side.
DC Switchgear:
• It is disconnection switches used for production purpose (DC breakers).

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HVDC SYSTEM

Homopolar Links:
• Two or more conductors with Same polarity (-Ve) with ground.

Monopolar link Has one conductor with –Ve Polarity and Ground.

Bipolar Link:
• Has two conductors (One +Ve and one –Ve)
• Two sets of converters connected in serious in DC side.
• Zero ground current (both poles operate at equal currents).
THE DIFFERENT OPERATING PROBLEMS IN HVDC TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS.

1. Converter transformers:

Turn failure, DC brush failures, and communication failures.

2. Flash over performance of HVDC converter station insulators

It takes place at wall brushings, capacitive voltage dividers and voltage transformers.
3. Valve Hall Fires

It is due to valve failures. In 1989, a converter in HVDC station was totally destroyed due to
fire, caused by leakage in cooling system.
4. Problems of ground return

This problem causes power losses in mono polar operation. it is occurred in metallic
transformers.
Restriction on the ground current flow in mono polar operation avoids this problem.

MODERN TRENDS IN HVDC TECHNOLOGY

1. Power semiconductor and valves
2. Converter control
3. DC breakers
4. Conversion of existing AC lines
5. Operation with weak AC system
6. Active DC filter
7. CCC
8. UHVDC transmission

THE PLANNING FOR HVDC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

• The system planner must consider dc alternative in transmission expansion.

The factors to be considered are

(I) Cost
(II) Technical performance
(III) Reliability
• Generally last two factors are considered as constraints to be met and the minimum cost
option is selected among various alternatives that meet the specifications on technical
performance and reliability.
• The considerations in the planning for dc depends on the application. Two applications
can be considered.
1. Long distance bulk power transmission.
• The dc and ac alternatives for the same level of system security and reliability are likely
to have the same power carrying capability.
2. interconnection between two adjacent systems.
• ac interconnection posses several problems in certain cases.
• for the same level of system security( reliability ), the capacity of ac interconnection will
be much more than that for dc.
• The choice for dc interconnection will be based on the following considerations.
• The interruption of power in a dc system link can occur due to:
(a) dc line faults
(b) ac system faults
The following aspects require a detailed study of the system interactions:
• Var requirements of converter stations and voltage stability.
 • Dynamic over voltages.
• Harmonic generation and design of filters.
• Damping of low frequency and sub synchronous torsion oscillations.
3. Choice of voltage level

A SINGLE LINE DIAGRAM OF A VSC BASED HVDC CONVERTER STATION

• VSC based HVDC links are also applied for power transfer from offshore wind power plants
and supply to offshore platforms( in addition to asynchronous and cable transmission).
• The series reactor is used to isolate the injected voltage by the VSC from the converter bus(on
the secondary side of the converter transformer) and limit the current harmonics.
• PWM ensures the current contains predominantly higher frequency components which are
effectively eliminated by the action of series reactor and high pass AC filter.
• The separate series connected RI and PLC filters can be used to eliminate very high
frequencies.
• Over voltage limiter(chopper) is required for fast discharge of the DC capacitor if the DC
voltage exceeds the maximum DC bus voltage for deblocked converter.

MTDC SYSTEMS
 Bulk power transmission from several remote generating station to several load centers.
 Mtdc systems provide more flexible and economical than employing several two terminal
dc links.
 Reinforcing of an ac network which is heavily loaded. Power injection at more than one
point will be protected overloaded.
The types of MTDC systems in detail.
(i) Series MTDC systems
(ii) Parallel MTDC systems
(a) Radial Parallel MTDC
(b) Mesh parallel MTDC
1. High speed reversal of power is possible in series systems without mechanical switching.
This is not possible in parallel system.
2. The valve voltage rating in a series system is related to the power rating, while the current
rating in a parallel connected system is related to power.
3. There are increased losses in the line and valves in series systems, in comparison to parallel
systems.
 The reliability of DC transmission system is quite good on exhaustive record of existing
HVDC lines in the world in available from which the reliability statistics can be computed the
development of LTT is expected to improve reliability Because of elimination of high voltage
pulse transformers and Auxiliary supplies for turning on the devices.
 UNIT -2 ANALYSIS OF HVDC CONVERTERS

GRAEATZ CIRCUIT WITHOUT OVERLAP

Line commutated converter:

It is a bridge converter (Greatz bridge).

Star Delta Transformers feeds the converter.
1. Galvanic separation between AC and DC Side.
2.Voltage transformation between AC and DC Side.
3. OLTC- Applied voltage can change.
4. Auto transformers can’t suit for objective.

6 pulse converter

• LCC – SCR Switches.

VSC – IGBT switches.
• Ac side- 3Ø AC Voltage source.
• DC side – DC Current source.
• S1, S2... S6 SWITCHES (SCR) are used in given rating.
• SCR- A, K, G.

• SCR- ON by Gate (A +ve and K –ve)

• SCR – OFF by Reversing Voltage.
• Current flow is A to K only.
• S1,S3,S5 - CURRENT CARRYING TOWARDS “P”
• S2,S4,S6 - CURRENT CARRYING FROM“N”
• Overlap- Neglected- but it is present due to Inductance of Transformer.
ANALYSIS 3 & 4 VALVE CONDUCTION MODE OF CONVERTER USING GRAETZ
CIRCUIT.
• Mode 1: Two and three valve conduction mode (u<60)
• Mode2: Three valve conduction mode (u=60)
• Mode3: Three and four valve conduction mode (60< u<=120)

Fig: Timing diagram

Mode 1: Two and three valve conduction mode (u<60)

Fig: Three valve conduction

Rectifier:

Fig: Current waveform

Average voltage Vdc:
 Fig: Equivalent circuit of bridge converter

Inverter:
Average voltage Vdi:

THE CHOICE OF CONVERTER CONFIGURATION FOR ANY PULSE NUMBER.

1. Pulse number
• The number of pulsations ( cycle of ripple ) per cycle of alternating voltage.
• The conversion from ac to dc involves switching sequentially different sinusoidal voltages
on to the dc circuit.
• The output voltage of the converter consists of a dc component and a ripple whose
frequency is determined by the pulse number.
hdc= np
hac= np ± 1
2. Valve and switches
• It can be treated as switch which can be turned on at any instant, provided the voltage
across it is positive.
• A diode is an uncontrolled switch which will turn on immediately after the voltage
becomes positive where as thyristors switching can be delayed by an angle.
• The opening of the switch (both for diode and thyristor) occurs at the current zero.

3. Converter configuration
• The configuration for given pulse number is selected in such a way that both the valve
and transformer utilization are maximized.
• converter configuration can be defined as basic commutation group and the number of
groups connected in series and parallel.
4. Valve rating
• The valve rating is specified in terms of PIV. The ratio of PIV to the average dc voltages
is an index of the valve utilization.

5. Peak inverse voltage

• If q is even,
• If q is odd,

6. Utilization factor
The ratio of PIV to the average DC voltage is known as utilization factor.
For q is even

7. Transformer rating

The current rating of a valve is given by

P =6, S=2, q=3, r=1 to find transformer utilization factor

VOLTAGE SOURCE CONVERTER TOPOLOGIES

Overlap is the phenomenon due to the effect of source inductance on the a.c. side. The current
commutation is delayed due to the source inductance which is normally the leakage reactance of
a transformer. The waveforms with commutation period, denoted by μ during which both the
outgoing diode and incoming diode are conducting. This period is also known as “overlap”
period. Or
The commutation period, when outgoing and incoming thyristors are conducting, is also known
as the overlap period. The angular period both devices share conduction is known as the
commutation angle / overlap angle.

1. The supply voltages are sinusoidal and balanced

2. The losses in the switches are ignored and the switches are assumed to be ideal
3. The inductance and resistance are the parameters of the series reactor connected between the
supply and the VSC.

 DC current is constant (i.e. the smoothing reactor is infinite),

 Valves are ideal switches,
 AC system is infinitely strong (i.e. the 3 phase emf are balanced and perfectly sinusoidal).
ANALYSIS OF 12 PULSE CONVERTER WITH BRIDGE RECTIFIER.
Bridge used in dynamic simulation.
 All the values in a bridge have identical characteristics
 A value offers infinite impedance in the reverse direction
 The grading and damping circuits across the values are ignored

 The current id is assumed to be continuous and non zero.

 L/R of each phase of the converter transformer in the same.

Mode I : 4 and 5 valve conduction 0 <u < 30º

Mode 2: 5 and 6 valve conduction; 30º < u < 60º
Mode 3: 6 valve conduction 0 < α < 30º, u = 60º
Mode 4 : 6 and 7 valve conduction 60º< u <90º
Mode 5: 7 and 8 valve conduction, 90º<u<120º

• Two transformers in primary (star).

• Phase current is sum of currents flowing in two primary windings.

• Bridge 1 turns ratio1:1

• Bridge 2 turns ratio1:√3
• Both are feeding supply to converter section.
• AC voltages applied (ideal) are eA, eB, eC.

• From above eqn we know bridge 2 voltages are lagging 30deg from bridge 1 voltages.

• So 12 intervals in this converter with 30 deg duration per cycle. 4 valves (2 bridge 1
valves, 2 bridge 2 valves) conduct per interval.
• S-star connected, D-Delta connected.
 UNIT 3 CONVERTER AND HVDC SYSTEM CONTROL

FIRING ANGLE CONTROL

The operation of Constant CURRENT (CC) and Constant Extinction Angle(CEA) controllers is
closely linked with method of generation of gate pulses for the values in a converter.
 Electrically triggered thyristors (ETT) or Light triggered thyristors(LTT) switches are used
for valves.
Two basic firing angle control schemes,
1. individual phase control.(IPC)
2. Equidistant phase control.(EPC)

Individual phase control.(IPC)

• The main feature of this scheme is that the firing pulse generation for each phase is
independent of each other and the firing pulses are rigidly synchronized with the
commutation voltages.
It can be achieved by two ways
1. Constant α control
2. Inverse cosine Control
Constant α control
• In this scheme six timing commutation voltages are derived from the converter AC bus via
voltage transformers.
• the six gate pulses are generated at nominally identical delay times subsequent to the
respective voltage zero crossings.
• The delay are produced by independent delay circuits and controlled by a common control
voltage derived from the current/extinction angle controllers.
Inverse cosine control
 Several variations of this, but in one common arrangement, six timing voltages, are phase
shifted by 90º and added separately to a common control voltage VC
 The zero crossing of the sum of the two voltages initiates the firing pulse for the particular
value considered.
 The delay angle α is normally proportional to the inverse cosine of the control voltage.

T
he average DC voltage across the bridge varies linearly with control voltage VC is the main
advantage
Equidistant pulse control(EPC)
The firing angle are generated in steady state at equal intervals through a ring counter.
Three variations of the EPC scheme
• Pulse Frequency Control
• Pulse period control
• Pulse Phase control
Pulse Frequency Control
 A voltage controlled oscillator is used, the frequency of which is determined by the control
voltage which is related to the error in the quantity being required. The frequency in steady
state operation is equal to pf0.

Pulse period control

The control voltage Vc is handled. The structure of the controller is the same as that VC is now
summed with V3 instead of V1.

Pulse phase control(PPC)

The major advantages claimed for PPC over PFC are
 Easy inclusion of α limits by limiting Vc as in IPC.
 Linearization of control characteristics by including an inverse cosine function block after the
current controller.
Draw backs of EPC scheme
 Under unbalance voltage conditions, EPC results in less DC voltage compared to IPC.
Pulse period control
Thus the instant tn of the pulse generation

CONVERTER CONTROL CHARACTERISTICS

Characteristics drawn between Vdc and Idc for two stations (REC,INV)
• Intersection of two characteristics is point “A”, determines the mode of operation.
• Station I operating as REC with constant CC
• Station II operating constant minimum excitation angle (CEA)
• Three modes of operations depends the voltage Ceiling of rectifier. It determines the
intersection point of two characteristics.

1. Operating point A CC at REC, CEA at INV it is normal operation mode.

2. Operating point C Slight dip in AC Voltage αmin at REC, γmin at INV.
3. Operating point B CC at INV, αmin at REC (Reverse to point A).
• The negative slope of ab is greater than fe. Because Slope of ab is due to (Rd+Rcr). Slpoe
fe only by Rci.
• Current reference of station I > Current reference of station II (Normal operation).
Control of negative current margine (Im)
1. Operating point D power reversalStation I-INV with CEA controlstation II – CC
2. Here Current reference of station II > Current reference of station I (power reversal
operation).
3. z so we have to maintain current margine to required value by telecommunication
between stations.
4. If failure in telecommunication power reversal occurred. It is
avoid by maintain delay angle of INV (100 -110 Deg) to avoid
transition of INV to REC mode.
Modification in control characteristics
To avoid the power reversal modify the control characteristics by two methods.
1. Mode stabilization
2. Voltage dependent current limit.

Mode stabilization
• The slope of fe > slope of ab creates three operating points A,A’,A’’  leads to
instability operation.
To avoid this INV characteristics to be modified in two ways.
1. Give positive slope between Id1 to Id2it is achived by γ control of INV.
• To maintain constant Vdc with minimum CEA of INV.

Voltage dependent current limit

• Due to the faults in Rectifier side AC system, the INV operate with low PF and high
Reactive power consumption. It is unwanted.
• so we have to modify the characteristics with voltage dependent current limit. Operate
the current in between Id1 and Id2.
• In REC side , Due to voltage reduction CC’ and C’C’’ are the limitation of current. DC
current also reduced from Id to Id’ linearly and maintain the id’ below Vd2.
• Similarly INV characteristics also follow the REC Characteristics to maintain the margin
current except for hd”. It is due to lower limit imposed on the delay angle of INV.
THE PRINCIPLES OF DC LINK CONTROL

 The control of power in a DC link can be achieved through the control of current (or)
voltage from minimization of loss considerations, it is important to maintain constant
voltage in the link and adjust the current to meet the required power.
 This strategy is also helpful for voltage regulation in the system from the considerations
of the optimal utilization of the insulation.
 It is to be noted that voltage drop along a DC line is small compared to the AC line,
mainly because of the absence of the reactive voltage drop.
 Steady state equivalent circuit
 Current control at the rectifier station under normal conditions
 Increased γ also implies higher losses in the valve snubber circuits

Constant Extinction angle (CEA)

Main drawback of CEA control
 Negative resistance characteristics of the converter which makes in difficult to operate
stably when the AC system is weak.
 Constant DC voltage control (or) constant AC voltage control are the alternatives that
could be used as the inverter.
Current margin
Feedback control of power in a DC link is not desirable for the following reasons.
1. At low DC voltage the current required is excessive to maintain the required level of
power. This can be counter productive because of the excessive requirements on the reactive
power which depresses the voltage further.
2. The constant power characteristics contributes to negative damping and degree dynamic
stability

SYSTEM CONTROL HIERARCHY

• Control functions required for the HVDC link are performed using hierarchy control
structure.
• Master controller for a bipole is located at one of the terminals and is provided with Pref
from system control (energy source).It also has other information such as AC voltage at
the converter bus, DC voltages, etc.
• Master controller transmits the current order(Iref) to the pole units which in turn provide
a firing angle order to the each valve groups.
• Converter groups are in monitoring with firing logic through the optical interface.
 • It includes bypass pair selection logic, communication failure protection, tap changer
control, converter start and stop sequences, margin switching, and valve protection
circuits.
• The pole control also incorporates pole protection, DC line protection and optional
converter paralleling and deparalleing sequences.
• The master controller which oversees the complete bipole includes the functions of
frequency control, power modulation, AC voltage and reactive power control and
torsional frequency damping control.

STARTING AND STOPPING OF DC LINK

Energization And De-Energization Of A Bridge

Consider N series connected bridges at a converter station. If one of the bridges is to taken out of
service, there is need to not only block, but bypass the bridge.

This is because of the fact that blocking the pulses does not extinguish the current in the pair of
the valves that are left conducting at the time of blocking.

The continues conduction of this pair inject the AC voltage into the link which can give rise to
current and voltage oscillations due to lightly damped oscillatory circuit in the link formed by
smoothing reactor and the line capacitance.

The transformer feeding the bridge is also subjected to DC magnetization when DC current
continues to flow through the secondary windings. The bypassing of the bridge can be done with
the help of separate bypass valves or by activating a bypass pair in the bridge.

The valves 2 and 3 are assumed to be conducting initially when the blocking command s given.
With the selection of bypass pair 1 and 4, the commutation from valve 2 to 4 is in the usual
manner, but the bypass path, the time lapse between the blocking command and the current
transfer to the bypass path can vary from 60 to 180 for a rectifier bridge.

In the inverter, there is no time lag involved in the activation of the bypass pair. The current from
the bypass pair is shunted to a mechanical switch S1. With the aid of the isolators S the bridge
can be isolated. The isolated pair S and switch S1 are interlocked.
The energization of a blocked bridge is done in two stages. The current is first diverted from S1
to the bypass pair.

In case the bypass pair fails to take the current, switch S1 must close automatically if the current
in that does not becomes zero. AC breakers with sufficient arc voltage, but with reduced
breaking capacity are used as switch S1.

In second state of energization. The current is diverted from the bypass pair. For the rectifier, this
take place instantaneously neglecting overlap. However, for the inverter, the transition requires
some time lag.

To avoid operation at high delay or extinction angles, the de-energization of a bridge at the
rectifier station is accompanied by de-energization of a bridge at the inverter station.

START UP DC LINK

There are two different start up procedure depending upon whether the converter firing
controller provides a short gate pulse. The long gate pulse last near the 120deg, the average
conduction period of valve.

START UP WITH LONG PULSE FIRING

In this case, the current extinction during the start up is not a problem, the starting consequences
in this case is as follows:

 De-block inverter at above ᵞ=90deg.

 De-block rectifier at α=85deg, to establish the low direct current.
 Ramp up voltage and current.

START UP WITH SHORT PULSE FIRING

In this case, in the problem of current extinction during startup is present as the value with
forward bias is not put into conduction when the current in that falls below the holding current.
The stating sequences is a follows:

 Open the bypass switch at one terminal.

 De-block the terminal and load to minimum current in the rectifier mode.
 Open bypass switch at the second terminal.
 Start the second terminal also in the rectifier mode.
 The inverter terminal is put into the inversion mode.
 Ramp up voltage and current.
Permissible ramping rate may vary from 2 to 10 per unit. Implying a startup time of 100 to 500
m/s.
 Energization

De-Energization

HIGHER LEVEL CONTROLLERS

Frequency and Power/Frequency control
The frequency control can be used in the case of
(i) Isolated load
(ii) Isolated generation
• The objective is to improve the damping and reduce the wear of the generator and governor
system.
• The nuclear power stations are very sensitive to output power and frequency fluctuations.
• The frequency variations both during steady state and transient conditions can be minimized.
Stabilization of AC Ties
• When a DC tie is connected to a system with weak AC ties to neighboring systems, DC link
power can be varied quickly and automatically to balance the load flows and maintain
stability if one of the AC tie trips.
• A DC tie used in parallel with an AC tie can be employed to damp the low frequency inter
area oscillations in the AC tie.
Emergency control
• In general, with suitable control, a disturbance originating in either system can be share in a
predetermined manner and the oscillations occurring in the two systems can be damped
simultaneously.
• Substantial damping can be achieved with a very small amount of DC power modulation.
Reactive power control
• In weak AC systems it is used to reduce the dynamic over voltages.
• In inverters the fast reactive power control can help in allowing the injection of increased
power at time of need to improve the stability of the receiving end AC system.
Sub synchronous damping control
• A radial HVDC link connected to a thermal generating station can contribute to the negative
damping of the torsional oscillations at synchronous frequency due to interconnections with
the current controller.
• The power modulation controller is designed to damp low frequency rotor oscillations, can
aggravate the problem.
VSC based HVDC

Three Level of Control

Control hierarchy and system control

The control hierarchy in a VSC based HVDC link is similar to that in LCC based HVDC
link except for major differences. For example, a VSC uses self-commutated devices such as
IGBTs and there is no problem of commutation failures caused by dips in the AC voltage. It has
two major advantages-1) An inverter can feed passive loads in which case the inverter controls
the magnitude and the frequency of the AC voltage across the passive load. 2) The power control
in a nominal HVDC link does not require fast telecommunication.
The converter control may perform the following functions:
 Balancing currents among parallel connected converters
 Protection of series connected converters.
 Provide negative sequence control to minimise effects of unbalance.
 Control and limit the DC capacitor voltage
 Control DC voltage unbalance for multi-level converters.
VSC based HVDC link does not require fast telecommunication except under following
conditions.
 When damping of low frequency electromechanical oscillations is required at the
converter not controlling the power.
 When fast power control is required between converters in a multiterminal configuration.

THE BLOCK DIAGRAM OF VSC CONTROLLER.

A VSC used in a HVDC link injects a controllable voltage at the AC terminals given by

Where
They are two level converters are
1. m ( normalized modulation index)
2. α (phase angle) are control variables used to control power and reactive power.

Converter.
Where,

• The reactive power injected by the converter is a function of V, the bus voltage
magnitude.
• Line commutated thyristors based converter can only draw reactive power depending on
the power flow through the converter.

m= , = -tan-1

Design of current controllers.

The variables ip and ir are related to the D-Q variables by

iQ + jiD= (ip-jir)ej
L +(R+j0)=V-E
Where
I= iQ + jiD, V= VQ + jVD, E= EQ + jED
We get
L +jLI’+ (R+j0) I’=Vs0-mkVdcej
Where I’=ip - jir

Where X= 0+

up=Vs – ep- ir

ur=-er + ip

up = Gc(s)( ur = Gc(s)(
The PI controller time constant Tccan be chosen to control the poles introduced by the
current flow in the inductive circuit.
ip= , ir=
The value of Ti can be chosen to provide a specified response time for the current
controllers.
THE POWER CONTROL.
 The current order is obtained as the quantity derived from the power order by dividing it by
the direct voltage. The limits on the current order are modified by the voltage dependent
current order limiter (VDCOL).

 The objective of VDCOL is to prevent individual thyristors from carrying full current for
long periods during commutation failures. However, sufficient time delay is given to prevent
the action of VDCOL during normal AC system faults which reduce DC power.

 The transfer functions are given as

(s)= , (s)=

Converter station

By providing both converter stations with dividing circuits and transmitting the power order
from the leading station in which the power orders is set to the trailing station.

To get equal calculated current orders in the two stations, the measured DC line voltage must be
referred to the same point on the DC line by compensation for DC line voltage drop. This is done
by adding the term to the measured voltage

.
DC Line resistance

Power order

 The power order and the corresponding rate of change of order are set with thumb wheels by
the operator in one of the stations, the lead station, which may be the inverter or rectifier
station.

 The order setting may also be transmitted there by a remote control link from the energy
control centre.

The order setting unit which is a digital unit based on integrated logic circuitry is intended
mainly for performing power stepping and synchronization of order stepping in the two stations
with the help of the communication link. The order setting unit in the trail station accepts a
power order from the telecommunication system and has a supervisory function for the power
order transmission.
 UNIT IV REACTIVE POWER & HARMONICS CONTROL

REACTIVE POWER REQUIREMENTS IN STEADY STATE

A DC link is operated with current control at the rectifier and the minimum extinction angle
control at the inverter under normal conditions. The equation for the reactive power is expressed
in per unit quantities.

is rated line to line voltage

Average DC voltage across a converter bridge is given by

The power and reactive power is given as

= cos
= sin

The rated DC power is less than 1 p.u. as rated voltage is less than DC base voltage. The two are
related by

Where

Alternate Control Strategies:

The region of operation of a converter bridge is bounded by the limits on the DC current and
firing angle. Neglecting the minimum current limit the operating region in plane is drawn
for a constant AC voltage.

This region is bounded by

(1) minimum characteristics
(2) minimum characteristics
(3) Constant DC current.
V=

The power expression is given by P=VEB sin

Substituting V value in P equation we get
P= =
The maximum power for is given by

(i)
(ii)
(iii)
The modified maximum power expression is given as
The reactive power characteristics of converter station is modified either by
(1) choice of reactive power sources or
(2) Adjusting the converter control characteristics.
(i) Constant reactive power characteristics(ab, a’b)
(ii) Constant leading power factor characteristics (ac, a’c)
Characteristics of alternate reactive power control
By providing a reactive power source of 2 and operating the converter along the characteristic
ac or a’c, the power factor angle is changed from .
The expression for the DC current and voltage for the two characteristics are given by
(i)

(ii)
(iii)

THE SOURCES OF REACTIVE POWER

The reactive power requirements of the converter are met by one of the following sources
1. AC system 2. AC filters 3. Shunt capacitor 4. Synchronous condenser 5. Static Var
Compensator (SVC) or STATCOM. These are shunt connected facts controllers.
It requires adjustable reactive power sources which can provide variable reactive power. It
contrast, the synchronous condensers, SVC and STATCOM provide continuous control of the
reactive power. The passive AC filter is provided at the converter bus to filtering the AC current
harmonics appears as capacitors.
The advantages of the synchronous condenser are as follows,
1. The availability of the voltage source for commutation at the inverters to the AC system is
temporarily interrupted. It increase fault level in SCR. When the load supplied by inverter is
passive is synchronous condenser is essential for the voltage source.
2. Better voltage regulation during a transients due to the maintains of the flux linkages in the
rotor windings. The effect of the armature reaction is counteracted during a transient by induced
current.
There are also disadvantages of synchronous condenser:
1. High maintances and cost
2. Fixed capacitors, TCR, TSC – TCR combination is required.
The STATCOM based on the VSC is advanced type of SVC compare to synchronous
condenser.

STATCOM
The VSC consist of either GTO thyristors switches or IGBT switches which have a much higher
speed and operate up to 2khz.

The losses in the converter are neglected. L and R are the inductance and resistance of the reactor
between the VSC and converter bus.

 M and α are the control variables of the converter that affect the magnitude and phase angle
of the voltage injected by the converter.
 The magnitude is normally controlled by PWM.
  The control of α affects the power flow that supplies the losses in the STATCOM; whereas
the
control of m the reactive power output.
 In converters with GTO switches, m is normally kept constant and only α is varied to control
the reactive power by varying the magnitude of dc voltage.
 By increasing α, the reactive current drawn is increased.
Control characteristics of a STATCOM
 The STATCOM performed satisfactory as its equivalent circuit is similar to that of a
synchronous condenser and the reactive current can be held constant ever at lower voltages.

SVC

The Static var compensator were initially used for load compensation where the objective is to
dynamically control the reactive power demand of large fluctuating loads such as rolling mills.

 They were subsequently used for voltage control applications in transmission systems,
where by maintaining voltage support at specified locations, it is possible to provide
increased power transfer capability, control of dynamic overvoltage and improve voltage
stability.
 By using auxiliary control signals, it is also possible to damp low frequency and sub
synchronous oscillations.
 In HVDC converter stations, the provision of SVC mainly helps to have fast control of
reactive power flow, thereby controlling voltage fluctuations and also to overcome the
problem of voltage instability.
 SVC is a variable impedance device made up of FC and TCR in parallel. While TSC
provides discrete control over the capacitor susceptance.
 TCR provides continuous control of inductive susceptance, while FC or TSC does not
inject harmonics, TCR injects harmonics.
Thyristors controlled reactor:
By controlling the firing angle of the back to back connected thyristors, the current in the reactor
can be controlled.
For α=90, the current is maximum, while for α=180, the current is zero.
The fundamental component of the inductor current is given by
I1=σ – sin σ/ᴨ.Xl . V
σ =2(ᴨ-α)
 I1 =B (σ) V

Where B (σ) =σ-sin σ/ᴨ.XL

The harmonic component of the current corresponding to harmonic of order ‘h’ is given by

Ih = (4/ᴨ) (V/XL)[sin[(h+1)α]/2(h+1) +sin[(h-1)α/2(h-1)] – cosα sin[hα]/h]

Typical control system for a TCR

Where the control signals are obtained from the voltage and the reactor current. The controller is
usually an integral controller with variable gain to avoid the problems of control instability.

The auxiliary signal Vs

may be derived from the
bus frequency, line
reactive power or other
locally measured
quantities.

Control characteristics of a VSC

 The control range is AB which shows a positive slope which can be adjusted from the gain in
the current feedback path.
 The harmonics injected by TCR into the system can be considerably reduced either with
twelve pulse arrangement (or) with additional filters tuned to 5th and 7th harmonics.
CRITERIA FOR DESIGN OF AC FILTER
SINGLE TUNED FILTER & DOUBLE TUNED FILTER
THE CHARACTERISTICS AND NON-CHARACTERISTICS HARMONICS IN HVDC
CONVERTER SYSTEM

 GENERATION OF HARMONICS:
 CHARACTERISTICS HARMONICS.
DC VOLTAGE HARMONICS

Where
 UNIT-V POWER FLOW ANALYSIS IN AC/DC SYSTEMS
INCLUSION OF CONSTRAINTS

The published literature on MTDC power flow does not discuss procedures for systematically
taking care of the various constraints.
 Only constrain violation of tap ratio ‘a’ is considered.
 It is said that if the limits on ‘a’ are violated on any terminal.
 The DC voltage has to be rescheduled and the DC and AC power flow have to be performed
iteratively until feasible solution is obtained.

The use of constraints

 The importance is given to the tap limits (both upper and lower) and the minimum limit on
ϴ.
 The use of sensitivity in AC power flow analysis is well known.
 The sensitivity information is used to enforce limits on different variables in the process of
AC power flow analysis.
 It is used for handling different limits in AC-MTDC power flow analysis

The procedures followed by Vd terminal having tap violation needs to be reduced

 Enter with system specifications and the initial conditions are obtained from I by assuming to
be equal to Vdspec at VST.
 Solve the DC control equations for I using only Wdc. This establishes the DC voltages,
currents, powers and
 αVcosθ product at all the terminals.
 Using Wdc and Pd calculate Qd at all the converter buses.
 Knowing the real and reactive power loadings at all the buses, AC power flow can be
performed.

THE POWER FLOW ANALYSIS WITH VSC BASED HVDC SYSTEM

 The interface bus with the AC network is the bus connected to the primary winding of the
transformer.
 The control variables for the VSC are the modulation index and the control angle.
 Line commutated converter the injected voltage.
for a three level converter
 Modulation index m lies in the range

 In a multiterminal system with ‘n’ terminals one of the terminals is selected as VST
where Vd is specified.
 The voltages at the DC buses of the VSC are unknown quantities to be computed from
the following equations.
CASE STUDY OF DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM

 This test system was obtained by adding to the IEEE 30 bus test system, a 5 terminal DC network
with two rectifiers (C1,C5) and three inverters (C2,C3,C4). The AC system parameters for this
system are same as that IEEE 30 bus system.
 Using the values of Pd and Qd at the respective converter buses as loads, fast decoupled power
flow of stott and Alsac is performed to get the Ac voltage magnitudes. The voltages at the
respective buses are in table below. Since “αV”is already known, the value of tap is calculated.
 The minimum value of θ is taken as 15 deg for inverter and 7 deg for rectifier. The minimum and
maximum tap limits are chosen as 0.9 and 1.1.

REMOVAL OF TAP VIOLATION:

A) Adjusting of θ alone.

B) Adjusting of Vd alone.
C) Adjusting both Vd and θ.

CASE STUDY OF POWER FLOW ANALYSIS UNDER DYNAMIC CONDITION

 AC-DC systems in steady state when the system is operating under equilibrium conditions
which is represented by a point in the dynamic.
 A disturbance followed by control actions results in the system leaving a stable equilibrium
point and entering another stable equilibrium point.
 The transition may be accompanied by oscillations that are damped as the system settles to a
new steady state.
 The transient or dynamic conditions may last for few seconds which is too short for the
OLTC to act.
 Hence the control variable at a converter is only the firing or extinction angle and the off
nominal tap ratio remains constant at the initial value.
 In solving the DC network and control equations, there are no major differences expect the
fact that we have now only one set of specifications.

CASE STUDY OF ON LINE POWER FLOW ANALYSIS FOR SECURITY CONTROL

• Operation of large power system - sudden tripping of large generators

• Spinning reserve-redistribution of power flow in AC network - overloading of one or
more lines
• Static security-overload in AC lines by control methods
• Anticipate potential problems
• Generation rescheduling
• Redistribute power flow
• Generators-minimise fuel cost
• Rescheduling-Increase the cost
• Advantage-Fast controllability of power
• Linear AC power flow model-Contingency analysis and control
• Linear AC power flow solution=P- iteration(FDLF)
• It is reliable and computationally efficient
• As the model is linear, Superposition theorem can be applied
Problem Formulation
Consider AC/DC power system
AC-’n’ buses and ‘nl’ lines
DC-’m’ terminals
The linear AC power flow is based on the following assumptios:
• All the bus voltage magnitudes are assumed to be equal to 1p.u
• Line resistances are neglected. Only the reactances are considered
• Difference in the bus angles are assumed to be small.

DC SYSTEM MODEL

a) Basic model of the converter

1) The AC voltage is sinusoidal and is of fixed frequency. The three phase voltages and currents
are balanced.
2) All the harmonics of voltage and current produced by the converter are filtered out and do not
appear in the AC systems.
3) The converter transformers have zero resistances and magnetizing currents. Only the leakage
reactance’s are considered.
4) The values of the converter are ideal and have no voltage drops while conducting.
5) Only average DC voltage and currents are considered and the harmonics are ignored.
6) In a bipolar DC link, the two poles are balanced
7) The magnitude of the AC current injected by the converter is directly proportional to the DC
current and independent of the firing angle or the overlap angle.
b) DC network equation
DC network by the bus resistance matrix formed by treating the VST as the reference terminal.
This can be cumbersome if VST can change. Modelling the converters by its Norton’s equivalent
enables the DC network equations to be expressed with ground as reference node. The DC lines
and smoothing reactors are modelled as resistive networks.
Where [G] is a ‘n’ x ‘n’ conductance matrix for a ‘n’ terminal MTDC system.

c) DC control equations
The DC network equations based on the bus resistance matrix are used to form the following
controller equations:

Where the state vector Xdc is the vector of current sources I. At the VST, Vd is specified and is
given by

Where, Rij is the element of the bus resistance matrix corresponding to the ith row and jth
column. At the remaining terminals, Pd or Id is specified.

Where is the vector of first set of specifications and ‘I’ is the vector of all current sources. A
non-linear vector equation and can be solved by Newton’s method.
The second set of control specifications involves specifying either ө. Qdj is a function of Ij and өj
as,

CONVERTER EQUATIONS

The average DC voltage in (Vd) (pole to ground) at a converter terminal is given by

The DC current leaving a terminal is assumed to be positive. Hence is positive for a

rectifier and negative for an inverter. The commutation resistance is negative for an inverter
(with CEA control) and positive for a rectifier.
The power (Pd) and the reactive power (Qd) supplied to a converter terminal are given by

Where p= number of poles (1 or 2)

ɸ= power factor angle defined from

 The expression for cos ɸ follows from the approximate relation (based on assumption)

Where IAC is the rms AC current phase.

FLEXIBLE PER UNIT SYSTEM

It is convenient to express the DC system equations in per unit, as is common with AC systems.
In general, for MTDC systems, we choose a common base power (not necessarily coinciding
with the rating of a particular terminal).
The base quantities for other variable given by

Note that we have defined the base AC current at any terminal ‘j’, as √3 times the base line
current. This simplifies the equations and retains the base impedance as identical to the base
impedance per phase. Thus, it is convenient to define Iaj given by
,

=
Where subscript ‘j’ refers to the jth terminal.

The positive sign applies to rectifiers and the negative sign indicates to inverters.

The current source is proportional to the product aV cosө. The subscript is dropped for
convenience` it is to be noted that for rectifier is normally chosen as extinction angle in which
case Rc is negative. However if ө is chosen as the angle of advance β.

= tan

The power factor at jth terminal is given by