1
1
High Voltage DC
(HVDC) Transmission
I - Introduction
The aim of this project is to come up with the
design of a high voltage DC transmission, also
known as HVDC. Transmitting and distributing
electrical energy all started with direct current (DC).
Back in 1882, the first transmission line was built
between Miesbach and Munich in Germany. It was
a 50km long 2- kV DC transmission line and at the
time the only way of conversion between the
consumer voltages and that of the higher DC
transmission voltages were by using rotating DC
machines.
Soon enough, AC technology and systems started
being developed. Voltage conversions in AC
systems is quite easy, all we need is a reliable AC
transformer which allows high power and insulation
levels within one unit. In addition, this device has
low losses and requires little maintenance. The
advantages of AC systems over DC were
irresistible, for that AC systems were introduced at
an early stage in the development of electrical
power systems. Soon, AC conquered over DC and
was judged to be the only feasible technology for
electrical energy generation, transmission and
distribution.
Nevertheless, AC transmission presented a few
disadvantages which compelled engineers to
reconsider having DC technology such as:
- The distance that can be covered
using AC transmission is limited due to
the inductive and capacitive elements
of overhead lines and cables.
- The achievable distance, in terms of
required transmission capacity and
loss evaluation, will be in the range of
40 to 100km. The charging current is
mainly what limits it.
- It is not possible to directly connect
two AC systems with different
1
frequencies.
Hence, for engineers the development of DC
transmission was to be considered as a supplement
to that of AC transmissions. The first commercial
HVDC scheme was built in 1954 connecting the
island of Gotland to the Swedish mainland.
The first paper we explored was an IEEE
Conference Publishing in Poland, written by
Tomasz Drobik [1]. The article delves into the
historical aspects of HVDC, from conflict between
supporters of AC and DC and explores the
differences between both technologies. The article
also covers certain HVDC configurations along
with their advantages and disadvantages.
The second source is a paper written by Owen
Peake for the 3rd Australasian Engineering Heritage
Conference in 2009 [2]. It is entitled The History
of High Voltage Direct Current Transmission and
explores a brief historical aspect about several
HVDC project along with an insight on the future of
this technology.
Our last source was a thesis written by Arunkumar
Muthusamy, from the Electrical Power Engineering
Department in the Chalmers University of
Technology, Sweeden [3]. This was the most
complete source, elaborating different aspect on
how to control HVDC systems. He mainly covers
control for the three different types of HVDC
systems which are overhead lines, cables and back
to back.
Mainly, we are going to try and design an HVDC
transmission link which can be summed up in Fig. 2
below. The specifications and main topologies of
the plants will be discussed in the problem
statement.
Figure 1: HVDC system
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III Quantitative Analysis

To be able to easily manipulate the values of the
II Problem Statement circuit, we will first start by finding the Thevenin
The HVDC system we are planning to design is equivalent circuits values of System A along with
required to meet the following specifications. We the corresponding transformer as seen by converter
have two phase controlled converters that are to be 1 (C1 in Fig. 1) and the Thevenin equivalent circuit
used as DC link between two AC systems as shown values of System B along with its corresponding
in Fig. 1 below. There are two 3-phase transformers transformer as seen by converter 2 (C2 in Fig. 2).
that connect each converter to the systems A and B
and the converters are connected themselves Thevenin equivalent parameters calculations:
through a dc line. Suppose the dc line is 200km 280
XS1 = = 2.65
long and has a resistance of 0.05. Let us consider
2
the following size of the systems given: 275
ZB1 = 151.25
500
XS1 = 0.0175 p.u
2
275 1
ZB1 = ( ) =37.8
2 500
Xt1 = 0.1 37.8=3.78
Xs1 = 0.0175 37.8=0.662
Xc1 = 3.78+0.66=4.44
Xc 1
Lc1 = = 14.1 mH
Figure 2: A dc link connecting two ac systems 1
Vthll = 275/2 = 137.5 kV
System A:
- voltage rating: 275 kV 280
- current rating: 60 kA XS2 = = 3.32

- frequency: 50Hz 230 2
System B: ZB2 = 105.8
500
- voltage rating: 230 kV XS2 = 0.0314 p.u
- current rating: 40 kA
275 2 1
- frequency: 60Hz ZB2 = ( ) =41.33
1.6 500
-
Xt2 = 0.1 37.8=4.13
Our objective is to design this HVDC system by
Xs2 = 0.0314 41.33=1.30
calculating 1 and 2 which are the delay angles of
Xc2 = 4.13+1.30=5.43
the converters. By controlling , transition from
Xc 1
rectifier to inverter mode of operation can be made Lc2 = = 14.4 mH
2
although we know that one converter has to be
Vthll = 230/2 = 115 kV
operated in rectifier mode and the other in inverter
mode. Rectifying and inverting systems usually use
Assuming a constant DC current, below is the
the same devices. At the AC end we have a set of
thyristor converter circuit operating in inverter
transformers which outputs is then connected to a
mode along with its waveforms.
bridge rectifier formed by a number of valves. The
basic configuration uses six valves, connecting each
of the three phase to each of the two DC rails. An
enhancement of this configuration uses 12 valves
(often called twelve-pulse system), in it harmonics
are considerably reduced.
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Figure 3: Inverter circuit and its waveforms

Figure 4: Three-phase thyristor converter

For our system we decided to focus on the

converters 1design to meet the specifications set in
the problem statement section and hence come up
with a robust HVDC system. A typical three-phase
thyristor converter neglecting inductances is shown IV Control Details
in Fig. 3 below.
V Results

VI Conclusion

VII References

[1] K. Ogata, Modern Control Engineering, 5th

Edition. Englewood Cliffs: Pearson Prentice Hall,
2009.