534 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 34, NO.
3, MAY/JUNE 1998
Instrumentation, Measurement Techniques, and
Analytical Tools in Power Quality Studies
Ronald H. Simpson, Senior Member, IEEE
AbstractThe proper choice of instrumentation, measurement
techniques, and analytical tools is vital to the successful imple-
mentation of any power quality study. Whether the desired result
is the determination of harmonic distortion levels, a harmonic
filter design, or transient waveform analysis, the proper choice
of instrument, measurement technique, and analytical tools can
make the difference between a well-engineered solution to a
complex problem and an expensive failure. This paper reviews
the points of consideration for power quality instrumentation,
a description of appropriate measurement techniques, and a
discussion of analytical methods.
Index Terms Harmonic distortion, instrumentation, power
quality.
I. DEFINITIONS
D IPS and impulses are transient voltage waveforms su-
perimposed on the nominal waveform with duration
generally measured in subcycles.
Harmonic distortion is distortion occurring in a sinusoidal
voltage or current waveform which is modeled as a sum-
mation of sinusoidal waveforms at integral multiples of the
fundamental frequency.
Distortion factor or total harmonic distortion (THD) is the
square root of the sum of the squares of the amplitudes of all
harmonics divided by the square of the fundamental expressed
as a percent:
THD
Sags and surges are generally measured as variations to the
rms value of voltage and are characterized by longer time
intervals which are usually measured in duration of cycles or
even seconds.
II. INTRODUCTION
Power quality concerns for industrial power distribution
systems generally fall into two categories. The one which
has received most of the attention in the industrial technical
literature is the problem of harmonic distortion and harmonic
filter design. However, a second area of concern is in the area
Paper PID 9723, presented at the 1997 IEEE Pulp and Paper Industry
Conference, Cincinnati, OH, June 1420, and approved for publication in
the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS by the Pulp and Paper
Industry Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society. Manuscript
released for publication September 2, 1997.
The author is with GE Company, Duluth, GA 30096 USA.
Publisher Item Identifier S 0093-9994(98)03623-8.
00939994/98$10.00 1998 IEEE
of short- and long-term transient phenomenon, such as voltage
dips, impulses, sags, and surges.
Dips and impulses are transient voltage waveforms super-
imposed on the nominal waveform with duration generally
measured in subcycles. In contrast, longer term variations in
voltage, such as sags and surges, are generally measured as
variations to the rms value of voltage and are characterized by
longer time intervals, which are usually measured in duration
of cycles or even seconds.
It should be noted, however, that in certain types of phenom-
ena, the distinction between harmonic distortion and transient
phenomena becomes less clear [1]. Specifically, transformer
energization current is normally considered to be a transient
phenomenon. However, transformer energization currents are
rich in second and third harmonics and have been known to
precipitate the failure of installed harmonic filter capacitor
banks with parallel resonance near one of these frequencies.
In addition, the third harmonic component of the energizing
current has been known to cause the trip of ground overcurrent
relays in situations where long third harmonic energizing
currents resulted from wye-grounded primary windings, weak
sources (high impedance), and resultant long energization
times. An example of this type of phenomenon is discussed
later in this paper.
The abilities of various instruments to adequately measure
disturbances falling into either of the two main categories
of harmonic distortion or transient phenomena is dependent
on the manufacturers specifications for that instrument. The
vital components of the specification of an instrument concern
sampling rates, type and amount of information captured to
characterize an event, analog input circuitry design, probe
accuracy, and analytical methods employed by the measuring
device to determine harmonic content and other aspects of the
captured data.
Correct application of the measuring instrument is required
in order to obtain meaningful results in the form of useful
data for further analysis. Limitations inherent in available
instrument transformers and possible alternatives to these
devices should be considered in light of the desired result. The
ease with which the instrument and associated software allows
scanning and inspection of the measured data base greatly
impacts the amount of work required to obtain useful data for
analysis in some cases. In addition, the ability of the instrument
to provide harmonic and transient data as sample points from
a waveform or harmonic amplitudes and phase angles in an
ASCII text file greatly impacts the ease or accuracy of further
analysis in some cases.
SIMPSON: POWER QUALITY STUDIES
Analytical techniques employed in evaluating the collected
data are a key element in determining the source of system
problems or disturbances. The characterization of a disturbance
event in sufficient detail to allow effective analysis is essential
to the successful mediation of the problem. Completely erro-
neous conclusions can result from inadequate modeling of the
event in the analytical phase of the study.
III. INSTRUMENTATION
Until relatively recently, instrumentation vendors generally
provided two separate and distinct types of power distribution
system monitors. The first type is the power demand analyzer.
This type is used to determine such things as kilovoltampere,
kilowatt, and kilovar demand; power factor; voltage sags and
swells; and harmonic distortion of the voltage and current
waveforms. The second type of monitor usually offered for
power system metering was the transient waveform analyzer
or disturbance analyzer. This device generally looks at dips,
impulses, waveshape faults, and noise and, in later models,
also contains harmonic distortion measurements.
A. Spectrum Analyzers
Due to the lack of availability of industrial power monitor-
ing instrumentation in the early period of harmonic distortion
studies, a spectrum analyzer or dynamic signal analyzer was
often used to gather harmonic distortion information. These
devices were designed for laboratory or desktop applications
and had both good and bad qualities with respect to their
ability to gather meaningful data in an industrial environment.
The strength of these instruments is that they provide a
spectrum which contains both integer and noninteger multiples
of the fundamental frequency which might be present in the
waveform. As a result of this advantage, the dynamic signal
analyzer has the ability to detect problems indiscernible to
later instruments used to take these measurements.
Virtually all of the instruments designed to take measure-
ments of harmonic distortion in industrial plants provide only
integer multiples of the fundamental waveform. In the vast
majority of cases, this is sufficient for the purpose. However,
there are certain cases where noninteger multiples of the fun-
damental can be present in the spectrum of the current and/or
voltage waveform. One such case is in the area of arc furnaces.
When the molten metal level in the crucible is low, these
devices will produce noninteger multiples of the fundamental,
although usually of substantially lower magnitude than the
integer harmonics.
In addition to arc furnaces, noninteger multiples of the
fundamental frequency can also be produced by reflection
from ac variable-frequency-drive inverters. The reflection is
back across the dc link to the converter and into the ac
power system [2]. These frequencies are actually integer
multiples of the fundamental inverter running frequency of
the load-commutated synchronous motor drive examined in
[2]. The resulting noninteger frequencies appear as sideband
pairs according to the following equation:
(1)
535
where is the frequency of the sideband harmonic, is
the inverter running frequency, and is the ac system base
frequency.
The previously mentioned spectrum analyzer or dynamic
signal analyzer which has been used by the author is on
the low end of the spectrum analyzer offerings and has the
capability of providing spectrum analysis up to 100 kHz. This
device employs a swept-tuned superheterodyne receiver which
operates as a frequency-selective, peak responding voltmeter
calibrated to display the rms value of a sinewave [3]. The
instrument does not perform a fast Fourier transform (FFT), as
virtually all the commercially available industrial instruments
do.
This device will only gather data on one phase at a time
in a three-phase system. In addition, this device provides only
magnitude information concerning the harmonic frequencies
and does not supply relative phase angle. As will be discussed
later in this paper, this limitation precludes the use of this in-
strument as a primary power quality tool for the measurement
of harmonic distortion. Referencing all current phase-angle
information relative to a common vector (conventionally the
A-phase voltage) is critical to the proper analysis of harmonic
current distortion with respect to harmonic filter design and
assessment of responsibility for limitation of harmonic dis-
tortion levels at points of common coupling with respect to
IEEE Std. 519 [5].
The dynamic signal analyzer also does not record surges,
sags, or power demand. Its sole advantage turns out to be
the ability to detect and record noninteger harmonics (a
contradiction in terms, since harmonics are defined as integer
multiples of the fundamental frequency) [2], as stated above
and in (1).
The instrument has the capability of measuring noninteger
harmonics with a 7.5-Hz resolution over a 3-kHz span (400
lines/span or 0.25% resolution). None of the industrial power
quality instruments come close to this level of resolution, since
they all provide only multiples of the fundamental. This is a
60-Hz resolution, or about 1/10th as good as the spectrum
analyzer for the 3-kHz span.
In addition to the other limitations, the input voltage limit to
the dynamic signal analyzer is very small, typically 42-V peak.
This is due to the fact that the dynamic signal analyzers were
designed for desktop use in electronic circuitry applications.
This limitation requires that the user supply a voltage divider
network to lower the instrument transformer secondary voltage
or the system low-voltage bus voltage to within the 42-V peak
(30-V rms) limit.
A current probe which will provide a linear conversion
of measured current to a voltage input for the instrument
is required for industrial applications. The manufacturer did
not supply industrial probes for this instrument, due to the
intended desktop electronic circuit application. Probes had to
be purchased from other vendors or designed and constructed
by the user.
B. Instrument Probes
With all of the instruments designed specifically for power
quality measurements, the manufacturer of the instrument
536 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 34, NO. 3, MAY/JUNE 1998
TABLE I
COMPARISON OF INTELLIGENT AND NONINTELLIGENT CURRENT PROBES
supplies both current and voltage probes. Some manufactur-
ers will provide so-called intelligent current probes. These
intelligent current probes are said by the manufacturers to
compensate for individual current probe characteristics and,
in combination with environmental probes, compensate for
ambient temperature.
Table I compares some specifications by two manufacturers
for their respective instruments current probes. One manufac-
turer uses the intelligent current probes and one does not.
The intelligent current probes generally yield 0.5%1.0%
better accuracy than the nonintelligent probes, dependent on
rated current range. However, the manufacturer of Brand Y can
supply 1.0% accuracy probes on request if desired or needed.
However, the stated accuracy for the nonintelligent probes
seems adequate for most applications. The recommended con-
servative nature of harmonic filter design and the uncertainties
associated with harmonic distortion measurements in general
far exceed the 2.0% inaccuracy in the measured current data.
One great disadvantage of the intelligent probes is that
they typically cannot be calibrated with the instrument with
which they are used, although they can be calibrated with
other instruments offered by the vendor. On three occasions,
when the author has rented an instrument which employs the
intelligent probes, the intelligent probes were found to be
out of calibration.
The out of calibration condition of the current probes
was discovered only after the author was in the field at the
customers site ready to take measurements. Although the
author can easily produce a test waveform to test the 5-A
probes in the office with a test circuit fed by a wall outlet,
no such waveform can be produced for the 40-A, 150-A, or
higher ampere-rated probes.
In cases where the higher ampere-rated probes were found
to be out of calibration, the instrument either had to be returned
to the rental agency for recalibration, thereby losing at least
one days time, or incomplete measurements were taken.
The harmonic distortion which is in the industrial sys-
tem changes with the future addition of nonlinear loads.
The harmonic distortion which is present on the utility line
changes with nonlinear load additions to other industrial and
commercial facilities on the system. Since most utilities are
not presently enforcing the limitations on harmonic distortion
at the point of common coupling, as designated by IEEE
Std. 519, it is quite possible to have a harmonic filter in
the industrial plant fail or be overloaded as a result of a
neighboring industrial plants harmonic pollution. One such
case history is reviewed in this paper.
It would, therefore, seem foolhardy to design a harmonic
filter that could only handle the present levels of harmonic
distortion in the industrial plant system without some safety
margin for future increases, which are sure to come.
C. Harmonic Filter Design Guidelines
As a result of the general unpredictability of increases in
harmonic distortion with time, it would be inadvisable to
specify the harmonic voltage capability of a harmonic filter
capacitor bank, or the harmonic current rating of the tuning
reactor, based on present values of in-plant current harmonic
distortion only. A healthy safety margin of 1.52 the existing
current harmonic distortion level is advisable and practical for
most cases.
Certain critical aspects of the design, such as the voltage
rating of the capacitor banks relative to the system nominal
voltage and system voltage regulation, will determine how
much safety margin can be obtained.
As a general rule of thumb, the harmonic current rating
of the tuning reactor should be based on either predictions
based on known distortion characteristics of the present load
plus anticipated system expansions, or an extrapolation of the
measured harmonic current distortion profile from the known
existing level. These harmonic profiles should be adjusted to a
level which is equivalent to the voltage rating of the capacitors.
The 10% overvoltage capability of the capacitor bank, as
specified in ANSI Std. 18, should be incorporated in the
extrapolation and resultant specification of the tuning reactor,
thereby creating a design wherein the components are specified
and rated to the same level of harmonic current distortion.
However, it is inadvisable to utilize the 10% overvoltage
rating of the capacitors, as specified in ANSI Std. 18, for the
initial duty of the harmonic filter. This overvoltage capability
should be used as a safety margin where possible.
D. Sample Rates
The rise-time threshold that a particular instrument can
record is determined by the Nyquist Criteria, which states
that the highest frequency information that can be obtained
with a given sample rate is one-half the sample rate [3]. With
a 1.85-MHz sample rate, the highest frequency component that
can be detected is approximately 900 kHz. The inverse of this
number equates to a 1.1- s period.
Any recorded disturbance of a duration equal to or greater
than 1.1 s will be recorded, but the rate of rise (rise time) and
the associated frequency content will be lost if the rise time
is less than 1.1 s. However, few of the transient waveforms
encountered in industrial plants will have rise times faster than
this threshold. One exception to this is converter SCR firing
transients.
IEEE Std. 1100 (the Emerald Book) [8] provides a table
of frequency spectra of five common, standard surge voltage
waveforms specified in ANSI C62.41 [9]. Figs. 415 from this
standard and the associated discussion shows that most of the
commonly utilized surge spectra have relatively large voltage
or current components between dc and 100 kHz.
The exception to this rule is the electrically fast transient
(EFT) waveform, which has significant spectral content over
SIMPSON: POWER QUALITY STUDIES
100 kHz. This test waveform has 5 1.5-ns rise time, with
50 15-ns duration burst of 5 1-kHz pulses.
It is vitally important to have an instrument which will
characterize high-frequency (fast rise time) waveforms to the
extent that such things as rise time, polarity of the first peak
of the impulse, and general wave shape can be determined.
A good characterization of a transient phenomenon with
some indication of frequency content can mean the difference
between a successful power quality study and a failure.
Several distinct types of transient over voltage phenom-
ena can be distinguished if sample rates of approximately 2
MHz or higher are used. With a 2-MHz or higher sample
rate, it is possible to distinguish lightning surges, inductive
impedance switching, surge suppresser clipping, electronic
load pickup, gas discharge surge arrester operation, switch or
contact bounce, loose wiring, static discharge, and capacitor
switching events which can have transients with characteristic
frequencies up to 10 kHz.
The sampling rate for all of the devices specifically designed
for power quality measurements is comparable when taking
measurements of power demand, harmonics, surges, and sags.
The sampling rate of all of the instruments when performing
these type measurements varies from 5 to 8 kHz.
This would result in a minimum 2.5-kHz and a maximum
4-kHz frequency capture. The resulting rise time capture is
from 400 to 250 s rise time. However, it is not possible
to characterize many transient disturbances (as opposed to
power quality or power demand measurements) with sufficient
detail to determine the source with this low sample rate. A
sample rate over 1 MHz is required for some types of transient
measurements.
E. Harmonic Distortion Data
The best power quality instruments will generate an ASCII
text file which can be used for harmonic analysis for any
waveform captured by the instrument. The ASCII text file
will generally be in one of two forms. One file is in the
form of sample points from the recorded waveform. In order
to do harmonic analysis with the sample points, the user
must perform an FFT on the sampled data and generate a
suitable harmonic vector file. Some vendors software will
automatically supply 1024 points from the captured waveform
to satisfy the FFT criteria that the number of points must be
a power of 2.
A second type of ASCII text file is a file containing
harmonic number, magnitude, and phase angle which could
be used directly in harmonic current flow analysis. However,
at least one vendor provides this data in a picture format which
cannot be directly used for analysis. The data contained in the
picture must be entered by hand into an ASCII text file for
analysis. This introduces time delays, increases the probability
of errors, and increases the cost of the analysis.
All of the most popular power quality instruments take har-
monic measurements to at least the thirty-third harmonic. This
is sufficient for the vast majority of applications. Most instru-
ments measure and store trending information at user-defined
intervals on power quantities such as watts, vars, power factor,
and harmonic distortion. With the leading instruments, the
537
harmonic distortion information can be exported in ASCII text
format or Excel Spreadsheet format. The harmonic information
includes harmonic order, amplitude (typically rms), and phase
angle in the exported formats, aiding additional analysis.
F. Software
Windows-compatible analysis software packages are avail-
able for some instruments, either from a separate company or
from the instrument vendor. The software program reads the
recorded data files generated by the instrument and analyzes,
categorizes, and summarizes all desired data. The presentation
of the analysis is in final report form, which includes possible
sources of the voltage transients and typical solutions. A
harmonic spectrum is also given by some instruments for the
initial voltage and current waveforms seen by the instrument
upon installation, or any other waveform recorded by the
instrument.
In one instrument, impulses are stored in a disk partition
which holds 6000 impulses. Impulses are assigned a quality
number which is derived by multiplying the peak voltage by
the duration of the first excursion. This quality number
grades the impulse and ranks them by grade. When the
partition eventually fills, incoming impulses are compared to
the smallest previously recorded impulse. The larger of the two
impulses under comparison is then recorded and the smaller
one is discarded.
The peak voltage and time of occurrence of the discarded
waveform is saved, however. This insures that only the worst
case impulses are stored graphically. Waveshape faults are
detected by comparing the total harmonic distortion from one
cycle to the next and grading them in similar fashion to the
impulses. RMS faults are graded by comparison of rms values.
G. Impulse Recordings
The limitation of at least one instrument for transient
waveform recording is in the way that it measures and records
impulses. This instrument uses a sample-and-hold circuit uti-
lizing stored charge on a capacitor to determine the magnitude
of the impulse waveform. No details on rise time or frequency
content is available. In addition, no characteristics of the wave-
form which might help determine the source of a given impulse
or transient are provided. As a result, this instrument may not
provide the detailed information on transient waveforms that
is needed to define the source of the problem.
In another instrument, a 250-kbyte circular buffer can hold
over 300 impulses of 100- s duration. It takes a maximum
of 2 s to write impulse data from the buffer to memory,
during which time the buffer can accept no other impulse data.
This results in a 2- s recovery time between impulses. If the
duration and peak voltage information of successive impulses
are the same, algorithms within the instrument will command
the logic to stop impulse capture until the impulses change.
Most instruments employed to take measurements of transients
will typically fill the memory with repetitive impulses before
any other impulses can be recorded.
Most instruments require some threshold setting to specify
the minimum impulse which will trigger the capture circuit
538 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 34, NO. 3, MAY/JUNE 1998
of the instrument. In at least one instrument, however, no
threshold settings are required to trigger the disturbance or
event recordings. The default threshold is 5%7% change of
amplitude. The digital signal processor (DSP) filters the in-
coming signal and sends it to the appropriate circuit, dependent
on whether the frequency content is greater than or less than
4 kHz. A 10-b 4-MHz AD converter converts the analog
signal to a digital signal with 12-V resolution. The thresholds
are set at the third least significant bit for impulse recordings
on the phase conductors, which is 48-V peak. Display range
settings are unnecessary due to the 10-b AD converter that
is used.
H. Controllers
For the newest models on the market, the instrument is set
up, and data is downloaded from the instrument, using a sep-
arate controller. The minimum requirement for the controller
is a standard portable 486DXS PC with 4-Mbyte RAM and
120-Mbyte hard disk. External voltage and current connections
are made to the monitor with one fan-out connector. Reverse
polarity and phase rotation of the probes can be accomplished
with software without having to reconnect the instrument. This
can be very important in applications where the instrument is
being connected to an energized circuit and exposure to these
circuits needs to be minimized.
In addition, the setup and analysis software from the leading
vendors are Windows-based software packages, which are
fairly easy to learn for experienced Windows users. The soft-
ware is supplied free of charge by one instrument vendor. The
author has generated ASCII files from disturbance recordings
made by the author and performed FFT calculations using
these files. An example of this type of analysis appears later
in this paper.
It is possible to perform FFTs over multiple cycles using
ASCII data point files generated by this software if the
waveform amplitude does not vary significantly. This, in turn,
allows a harmonic spectrum to be generated which contains
noninteger frequencies below the fundamental, although not of
sufficient resolution to compare to the dynamic signal analyzer.
The captured transient disturbance data is plotted with re-
spect to the Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers As-
sociation (CBEMA) standard envelope in the best instruments.
This envelope was incorporated into the CBEMA guideline
after its inclusion in IEEE Std. 446 (Orange Book) [4].
Work is currently under way to include short-time voltage
disturbances in ANSI C84.1 [6]. The short-time disturbances
were removed from ANSI C84.1 in 1982. However, some
instruments still allow the choice of plotting disturbances with
respect to this ANSI standard envelope.
IV. MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
A. Harmonic Distortion
All of the best industrial power quality instruments will
provide adequate measurements of harmonic distortion of the
voltage and current waveforms in an industrial facility if
integer harmonics only need to be measured. These devices
will provide data on integer harmonics of the voltage and
current with phase-angle information for all three phases and
neutral (if present).
However, as previously stated, in addition to the industrial
power quality instruments, the dynamic signal analyzer should
be used in those situations where so-called noninteger har-
monics are suspected to be present at critical frequencies.
Critical frequencies would include the parallel resonance of
existing or planned harmonic filter banks or capacitor banks.
In order to adequately model a harmonic distortion problem,
all feeders in a given substation should be measured for
harmonic content. This is normally done at the medium-
voltage substations, since capacitor banks and harmonic filters
are most often applied at the medium-voltage level. The
amplitude and phase-angle information for both current and
voltage harmonics on all three phases and neutral (if present
in low-voltage system measurements) should be measured.
The measurements should be taken as closely together
in time as possible. In general, at least in process industry
applications, it is usually not necessary to rent or buy multiple
power quality instruments in order to provide simultaneous
readings on more than one feeder of a substation.
However, the readings should be taken at a time when the
substation is at or near the peak load, if possible. The error
introduced by noncoincidental measurements of the various
feeders is usually small enough to have little effect on the
resulting analysis for most industrial sites. The error introduced
by noncoincidental measurements can be calculated, as will
be demonstrated later.
Standard instrument transformers provided with medium-
voltage switchgear will generally provide sufficiently good
frequency response for the frequencies of interest in harmonic
analysis (usually less than or equal to 3 kHz). Current trans-
formers normally supplied with this equipment will provide
accuracy to within 3% for input currents up to 10 kHz.
IEEE Std. 519 [5] states that voltage transformers normally
supplied with this equipment will provide accuracy to within
3% for input voltages up to 5 kHz. Shielded conductors are
recommended for the current probes.
B. Transient Waveforms
In contrast to harmonic measurements, standard instrument
transformers may not be adequate for the measurement of
transient waveforms. This is due to the much higher frequency
content found in this type of phenomenon as compared to the
relatively low frequencies associated with harmonic distortion.
The distributed capacitance of instrument transformers, as well
as power transformers, will shunt an increasing amount of
the waveform energy through the parasitic capacitance of the
transformer as the frequencies of the waveform increase.
Fig. 1 shows that the distributed capacitance of the trans-
former forms a capacitive voltage divider which shunts the
inductive coupling circuit. From this drawing, it can be seen
that the ratio of secondary to primary voltage is dependent on
the frequency of the impressed waveform, with energy from
the higher frequencies being shunted by the capacitive circuit
and energy from the lower frequencies being inductively
coupled per (2).
SIMPSON: POWER QUALITY STUDIES
Fig. 1. Capacitive coupling circuit of transformer.
Fig. 2. Phase A current spectrum for main circuit breaker.
Recordings of transient-type phenomena with high-
frequency components (approximately >10 kHz1 MHz)
made with the use of:
transformer inductive coupling ratio:
transformer capacitive coupling ratio:
(2)
instrument transformers will not provide a fully accurate rep-
resentation of the transient waveform. Some of the frequency
(rise time) and amplitude information will be sacrificed.
Therefore, if detailed information on rate of rise or ampli-
tude must be obtained in order to evaluate specifications for
medium-voltage surge suppressive devices or medium-voltage
insulation ratings, a capacitor/resistor voltage divider should be
considered for direct connection to the medium-voltage bus.
If the failure of electronic components is being investigated,
the transient measurements should be taken in the low-voltage
circuit where the failures occur. At this point in the system,
the energy loss in the transient waveform is due to parasitic
539
capacitance in the system overhead line, cable, power trans-
formers, instrumentation transformers, and instrument probes.
These losses are experienced by the circuit being measured,
as well as the instrument taking the measurements. However,
the instrument has an additional significant loss of accuracy
in the probes.
In certain cases, the ability of electronic components or
surge-suppressive devices to withstand the high-frequency
transients generated by converters or drives may be in ques-
tion. None of the commercially available power quality in-
struments can model in detail the high-frequency transients
generated by converters.
The so-called ring and notching transients generated by con-
verters have rise times down to the nanosecond range. These
transients are periodic and can, therefore, be measured with
a high-frequency spectrum analyzer or storage oscilloscope
(gigahertz range). However, although these type transients are
periodic, the amplitude of the transient may vary by as much
as a 2 : 1 ratio from one cycle to the next.
V. ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES
A. Harmonic Current Vector Summation
As previously stated, relative phase-angle information is
vital to the proper modeling of harmonic distortion phe-
nomena. The following example demonstrates the importance
of this type of information in determining the source of
harmonic distortion. This, in turn, allows the engineer to
assign responsibility for compliance with IEEE Std. 519 [5]
restrictions on the point of common coupling (PCC) between
utilities and industrial plants.
The data picture in Fig. 2 gives the current harmonic
distortion to the fiftieth harmonic. The main circuit breaker for
a substation with seven feeders was metered. The instrument
was programmed to provide harmonic data in rms amps of
primary current. This was done in order to collect data in a
form which could be directly used by a harmonic analysis
program without multiplying by instrument transformer ratios.
The THD number is in amps and not percent, which can be
confusing, since the definition of THD [5] is in percent as
follows:
THD (3)
The harmonic currents measured for the example substation
for the main circuit breaker and circuit breakers A1A7 are
listed in Fig. 3. Only the significant harmonics are listed
( , odd harmonics). Circuit Breaker A1 is the
feeder which serves the fifth and seventh harmonic filters
installed in this substation. The harmonic current amplitudes
have been rounded off to the nearest amp by the instruments
software.
The harmonic analysis program written to analyze the
harmonic data is written in symbolic processor software.
This software does computations in radians. Therefore, the
harmonic data was converted from degrees to radians. The
phasor representation of the recorded harmonic currents is
540 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 34, NO. 3, MAY/JUNE 1998

MAINA READPRN(MAINA) CBA1 READPRN(CBA1) CBA2 READPRIN(CBA2)

MAINA CBA1 CBA2

CBA3 READPRN(CBA3) CBA4 READPRN(CBA4) CBA5 READPRIN(CBA5)

CBA3 CBA4 CBA5

CBA6 READPRN(CBA6) CBA7 READPRN(CBA4)

CBA6 CBA7

Fig. 3. Recordings of harmonic current vectors.

calculated in (4)(7): The sum of all the feeder currents is shown in

LOADA12 CBA1 CBA1 LOADA LOADA12 LOADa34

LOADA567 (7)
CBA2 CBA2
(4) Fig. 4 is a plot of the fundamental component of the sum
LOADA34 CBA3 CBA3 of all the feeder currents [Load(A )] and the current through
the main [CABMAN( )]. Note that for the fundamental
CBA4 CBA4 due to the default origin of matrices in this software package
being 0. Also note that the error in the summation appears
(5) very small, since the sum of all the feeder load currents is
LOADA567 CBA5 CBA5 very nearly equal to the main current.
Fig. 5 is a plot of the fifth harmonic vectors from each
CBA6 CBA6 feeder and the main. Note that the fifth harmonic current
injected into the substation from the feeders is characterized by
CBA7 CBA7 wide variation in the relative phase angle. This property of the
(6) captured fifth harmonic data will result in the fifth harmonic
SIMPSON: POWER QUALITY STUDIES 541

Fig. 4. The fundamental.

component being largely canceled out when the vector sum of which is the error in the harmonic measurements due to the
the feeder fifth harmonic currents is calculated in (7). noncoincidental nature of the measurements and the accuracy
The current from the main circuit breaker is of the CTs at various loadings. Equation (13) checks the
calculation:
CBMAINA MAINA MAINA
CHECK LOADA1 LOADA CBMAINA
(8)
ERROR CHECK (13)
where and .
An instrument which measures only harmonic amplitude Note that if harmonic amplitude only information were gath-
would not allow this type of analysis to be implemented. ered on the feeders, the arithmetic sum would be
The harmonic current from Circuit Breaker A2 is
LOADA2 CBA2 CBA2
(9) SUM CBA2 CBA3 CBA4 CBA5
CBA6 CBA7 SUM (14)
The fifth harmonic current into the harmonic filters is
while the magnitude of the vector sum is
LOADA1 CBA1 CBA1
(10) LOADA

Summing the fifth harmonic currents to show the three main

The current in (9) is needed in (11) to calculate the total fifth
components, a comparison can be made between the fifth har-
harmonic current of the feeders without Circuit Breaker A1,
monic injected by the utility (MAINA), the total fifth harmonic
which is the harmonic filters feeder. Circuit Breaker A1 and A2
were added together in the previous intermediate summations. injected by the example substation load (LOADA), and the
fifth harmonic current into the harmonic filter (LOADA1). As
Equation (11) is the sum of all the feeder fifth harmonic
can be seen from Fig. 5, the fifth harmonic current injected by
currents:
the example sub load only partially cancels the fifth harmonic
LOADA LOADA2 LOADA34 LOADA567 current being injected by the Utility 69-kV line.
LOADA (11) As can be seen from the plot in Fig. 6, the major component
of the fifth harmonic which flows into the harmonic filter
injected into the sub (LOADA1) is coming from the utility tie (CBMAINA). The
sum of the injected harmonic currents from the loads in the
ERROR LOADA LOADA1 CBMAINA example sub (LOADA) is small due to cancellation between
(12) the feeder sources.
542 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 34, NO. 3, MAY/JUNE 1998
Fig. 5. The fifth harmonic currents.
Although the apparent intent of IEEE Std. 519 is to regulate
the pollution of the common electrical carrier by industrial
plants, in this case, the industrial user is being polluted by the
common electrical carrier.
VI. ANALYTICAL TOOLS
A. Determination of Harmonic Spectrum FFT
The method used by a particular instrument to determine
the frequency spectrum of a waveform can have a dramatic
effect on the accuracy of the analysis of that waveform. The
following example demonstrates the necessity of knowing
what to expect from a certain waveform in the way of
frequency content by visual inspection of the time-domain
recording of that waveform.
The recording in Fig. 7 was taken by an instrument which
provides the harmonic spectrum data from an FFT in the form
of a picture. The recording was made of a drive converter with
low commutation reactance, high firing angle, and low angle
of overlap.
This instrument produced a time-domain recording of the
voltage and current and a frequency-domain calculation for
each by utilizing an FFT. Inspection of the frequency-domain
calculation (FFT) for the current waveform in Fig. 7 shows
that the spectrum which resulted from the calculation does
not match the time-domain recording. In particular, the large
values shown for the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth har-
monics indicate the presence of a type of asymmetry in the
time-domain recording which is not present, i.e., half-wave
asymmetry.
Half-wave asymmetry is present in a waveform if the
positive half cycle, when shifted 180 , is not the mirror image
of the negative half cycle. In the frequency spectrum of the
waveform, half-wave asymmetry is indicated by the presence
of even harmonics.
The most common occurrence of half-wave asymmetry
producing even harmonics in power systems is probably the
presence of the second harmonic in transformer magnetizing
current. This harmonic is so prevalent in transformer magnetiz-
ing current that it is used as restraint current for the operation
of transformer differential relays (87T) to prevent operation of
these relays during transformer energization.
Following the standard rule of thumb which requires a
sample rate of twice the highest frequency to be measured,
the instrument used in the above measurement has a 7-
kHz sample rate, which, in theory, should be sufficient to
measure frequency content up to 3.5 kHz. The stated frequency
bandwidth for the FFT is to the fiftieth harmonic, or 3 kHz.
However, the instruments measurement is spread out over
eight cycles, rather than one cycle. This measurement tech-
nique results in valid frequency content if the signal being
measured does not change appreciably in the eight cycles
over which the sample is taken. However, due to the duty
cycle of the drives in this application, the signal does change
dramatically over the eight cycles of the sample, resulting in
an erroneous FFT.
SIMPSON: POWER QUALITY STUDIES 543

Fig. 6. Sum of the fifth harmonics.

TABLE II
FFT OF WAVEFORM SHOWN IN FIG. 7
1 100 29 0.17
5 52.89 31 0.68
7 23.31 35 0.38
11 7.42 37 0.24
13 7.04 41 0.44
17 1.92 43 0.01
19 3.06 47 0.43
23 0.39 49 0.16
25 1.47

spectrum from [2] was used in the analysis and is shown in

Fig. 7. Frequency- and time-domain recordings for a converter with low
commutation reactance.
The correct FFT for this waveform can be found in [2] and
is shown in Table II. Reference [2] gives a frequency spectrum
by FFT for a waveform similar to the recorded waveform. This
Table II. Notice the great difference between the FFT of the
instrument based on eight cycles of the current waveform and
the FFT [2] based on one cycle.
If there is significant decay in a waveform over the first
few cycles of a recording, an FFT may still be calculated if
the vendors software supplies data points for any waveform
of interest. One vendors software will provide 1024 points for
any captured waveform or any portion of a captured waveform.
The number 1024 is a power of 2 and, therefore, can be used
by a spreadsheet program or a math calculation program to
calculate an FFT.
The current waveform in Fig. 8 was recorded during ener-
gization of a distribution transformer with wye-ground/wye-
ground primarysecondary windings.
In Fig. 8, the first 31 cycles of transformer energization
current is displayed. Note that the current decays from an
amplitude of about 5.45 A at the first cycle (218 A primary),
to about 2.31 A at 30 cycles (92.6 A primary). The transformer
full-load current rating at the primary voltage is 115 A. The
extraordinarily long duration of the transformer magnetizing
544
Fig. 8. Transformer magnetizing current.
Fig. 9. Antiferroresonance transformer design with five-leg core.
current is believed to be the result of the relatively low voltage
(161-V peak, 113-V rms secondary, or 0.91 pu) and the five-
leg core design of the transformer.
The impedance of the source in this system (a diesel
generator) is probably about 10 the impedance of the typical
distribution system in which this transformer is normally
applied. This transformer probably sees a worst case of about
1% voltage drop in its normal application.
The 9% voltage drop seen here results in magnetizing
current at about 1.5 transformer rating. The ANSI benchmark
for transformer magnetizing current for a unit of this size is
812 rated current [7]. In addition, the low voltage coupled
with the large amount of iron in the five-leg core of the
antiferroresonance transformer design, as shown in Fig. 9,
results in magnetizing currents up to 60 cycles. The ANSI
benchmark is six cycles [7].
Even though the waveform decays significantly over the
magnetizing current event shown in Fig. 8, an FFT of the
waveform is still possible. This instruments software allows
the user to obtain 1024 sample points for any waveform or part
of a waveform which is stored in the instrument. A sample was
taken over one cycle of the transformer magnetizing current
and is shown in Fig. 10. Then, 1024 points were obtained for
an FFT calculation.
Note in Fig. 11 that the third harmonic component of
this waveform is about 22% of the fundamental. This third
harmonic current will circulate in the power system in the
same way as zero-sequence current and will be seen by
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 34, NO. 3, MAY/JUNE 1998
ground relays as ground-fault current. The component of the
third harmonic current on each conductor will sum in phase at
the neutral to equal 66% of the fundamental. This is the value
seen by ground overcurrent relays.
The pickup of the phase overcurrent relay was set at 240
A primary, which is above the 218 A of fundamental current
seen on transformer magnetizing current. However, the ground
overcurrent relay is set to a pickup of 60 A, well below the
A of third harmonic current circulating
initially in the ground loop. This resulted in a tripout of ground
overcurrent relays on transformer energization currents.
The ability to analyze the waveform by taking sample
data over one cycle was critical in the analysis and solution
of the problem. The solution was to replace the ground
overcurrent relays with relays which had a third harmonic
filter to desensitize the relay to third harmonic distortion in
the current waveform.
B. Application of Kirchoffs Current Law
The following example demonstrates the necessity of ade-
quate measurements being taken in order to perform accurate
analysis. In particular, this example demonstrates the need
to determine not only the amplitude and phase angle of
the fundamental and all harmonic components of the current
waveform, but also the need to take these measurements in all
conductors on the same phase of a circuit in some cases.
A complaint was received from a customer that he believed
that the saturable core transformer (SCT) which provided
energy to the field converter for his in-house generator was
over heating. The customer believed that the overheating was
the result of unbalanced currents in the SCT. Furthermore, the
customer believed that the unbalance in the SCT currents was
the result of a faulty design.
The customer had taken measurements of the current in
one of the three conductors in each of the three phases
of the secondary delta winding of the SCT (see Fig. 12).
The customer had taken the measurements with a hand held
ammeter, and the amplitude of the three phase currents was
substantially different.
SIMPSON: POWER QUALITY STUDIES 545

Fig. 10. One cycle of transformer magnetizing current.

Fig. 11. The current FFT spectrum.

Fig. 12. Measured currents in SCT.

Since the length of the conductors connecting the secondary

windings of the SCT was less than 5 ft, it was assumed that
the current on the unmeasured two conductors of the same
phase would be the same as that on the measured conductor.
It was not believed that 5 ft of conductor was long enough
for unbalances in the geometry of the conductors to produce
substantial negative-sequence components in the currents. This
would seem to be an especially appropriate assumption in light
of the low voltage of the SCT secondary circuit, which was
about 250-V ac.
The initial measurements in the SCT circuit by the power
system engineer utilizing a power quality instrument seemed
to verify the complaint by the customer. The power system
engineer also initially only measured one of the three con-
ductors in each phase of the SCT delta winding. The initial
measurement is shown by the following (see Fig. 13):
150 A at 136 ; Fig. 13. Measured currents on one of three conductors per phase.
104 A at 170 ;
31 A at 231 .
Note that the polarity of has been reversed, since the was the result of uneven saturation of the SCT iron core. Since
polarity of the current probe connection was reversed during the saturable core transformer operates on the principle of
the measurement. saturating the iron to regulate voltage, this seemed reasonable.
Initially, the power system engineer believed that the unbal- In addition, large third harmonic components in the current
ance in the phase currents inside the delta winding of the SCT waveforms confirmed severe saturation.
546 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 34, NO. 3, MAY/JUNE 1998

Fig. 16. Sum of the currents on three conductors of phase C A.

Fig. 14. Sum of the currents on three conductors on phase A B .
of the voltage and current waveform spectrums. Repeated
reconnections of the current and voltage probes finally resulted
in an unchanging spectrum after about 2 h attempting these
measurements.
The second instrument brought to the site on the second visit
succeeded in taking the desired measurements immediately.
The vast difference in ability to analyze the waveforms was
dependent on the way in which the FFT was implemented
by each instruments software or firmware package and the
algorithms which each instrument used to determine whether
it was reading a good signal.
The efficiency and reliability of the second instrument in
obtaining measurements allowed these measurements to be
taken on all three conductors of each phase during the second
site visit. Following are the readings taken on the second visit.
For the leg:

Fig. 15. Sum of the currents on three conductors on phase B C .

However, after consulting with a colleague about this prob-

(see Fig. 14).
lem, it was pointed out that the sum of the fundamental and
all harmonic currents measured in this circuit did not equal
zero, as required by Kirchoffs law. For the leg:
Further investigation into this unique problem resulted in a
different conclusion. The power system engineer went back to
the site with two power quality instruments. In addition to the
instrument which he had on the first visit, he carried a second
instrument which he considered more reliable. (see Fig. 15).
The instrument which was used on the first site visit took
about 2 h to get a reading of the current and voltage waveforms For the leg:
in the three phases. The large amount of harmonic distortion in
these waveforms, plus the large unbalance between the three
phases, resulted in a system measurement which confused the
first instrument.
The first instrument which had been brought to the site on
the first visit would not settle down to a single measurement (see Fig. 16).
SIMPSON: POWER QUALITY STUDIES 547

Fig. 17. Total current in all conductors of the SCT delta inside and outside the delta.

Each of the three current probes was also connected to one of

the three conductors in phase of the SCT secondary circuit,
in order to determine the total current in that leg by performing
the vector sum of the three conductor currents. The measured
currents are as follows:

The total current on phase of the SCT secondary circuit was

Fig. 18. SCT currents.

Each of the three current probes was also connected to one of

A plot of the total current on each of the three phases is shown the three conductors in phase of the SCT secondary circuit,
in Fig. 17 and shown in the proper location in the circuit in order to determine the total current in that leg by performing
graphically in Fig. 18. the vector sum of the three conductor currents. The measured
Each of the three current probes were also connected to currents are as follows:
one of the three conductors in phase of the SCT secondary
circuit outside the delta, in order to determine the total current
in that leg by performing the vector sum of the three conductor
currents. The measured currents are as follows:

The total current on phase of the SCT secondary circuit was

The total current on phase of the SCT secondary circuit was Note that, in all cases, the currents outside the SCT in
the secondary circuit followed the usual assumption that the
magnitude and angle of the current on each of the three
548 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 34, NO. 3, MAY/JUNE 1998
conductors of each phase was approximately equal. The polar
form is
of the phasor
The total current on all three legs of the delta circuit and
all three legs of the secondary circuit of the SCT is plotted in
Fig. 17 and placed in the proper respective location in Fig. 18.
Note that the vector for M is plotted with negative polarity,
due to the measurement being taken with negative polarity.
Inspection of Fig. 17 shows the phase rotation is negative
sequence, indicating that phases and were reversed during
the measurements.
VII. CONCLUSION
The proper choice of instrumentation, measurement tech-
niques, and analytical tools is vital to the successful implemen-
tation of any power quality study. Whether the desired result
is the determination of harmonic distortion levels, a harmonic
filter design, or transient waveform analysis, the proper choice
of instrument, measurement technique, and analytical tools can
make the difference between a well-engineered solution to a
complex problem and an expensive failure.
This paper has reviewed the points of consideration for
power quality instrumentation and described appropriate mea-
surement techniques. In addition, analytical tools have been
discussed which are appropriate for certain applications.
REFERENCES
[1] J. F. Witte, F. P. DeCesarno, and S. R. Mendis, Damaging long-
term overvoltages on industrial capacitor banks due to transformer
energization inrush currents, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 30, pp.
11071115, July/Aug. 1994.
[2] D. Rice, A detailed analysis of six-pulse converter harmonic currents,
IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 30, pp. 294304, Mar./Apr. 1994.
[3] D. Roddy and J. Coolen, Electronic Communications, 2nd ed. Reston,
VA: Reston, 1981, pp. 358, 539.
[4] IEEE Recommended Practice for Emergency and Standby Power Systems
for Industrial and Commercial Applications, IEEE Std. 446, 1987.
[5] Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in
Electric Power Systems, IEEE Std. 519, Oct. 1991, sec. 9.5, p. 97.
[6] ANSI Standard for Electric Power Systems and Equipment-Voltage Rat-
ings (60 Hz), ANSI Standard C84.1-1989.
[7] IEEE Recommended Practice for Protection and Coordination of Indus-
trial and Commercial Power Systems, IEEE Std. 242-1986.
[8] IEEE Recommended Practice for Powering and Grounding Sensitive
Electronic Equipment, IEEE Std. 1100-1992.
[9] IEEE Recommended Practice on Surge Voltages in Low-Voltage AC
Power Circuits (ANSI), IEEE Std. C62.41-1991.
Ronald H. Simpson (M83SM90) received the
B.E.E. degree from Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, in 1977.
He was Superintendent of Operations with Lock-
hart Power Company, Lockhart, SC, from March
1977 to December 1979. From December 1979 to
January 1982, he was a Power Systems Engineer
with GE Company Installation and Service En-
gineering, Charlotte, NC. From January 1982 to
December 1983, he served as a Project Electrical
Engineer with ITE Electrical Products, Tucker, GA.
Since December 1983, he has been a Senior Power Systems Engineer with
GE Company, Duluth, GA. He is the author of several technical papers which
have been published in journals and conference proceedings.
Mr. Simpson is a Senior Member of the IEEE Industry Applications Society
(IAS) and is presently serving as Treasurer of the Pulp and Paper Industry
Committee. He received the IAS Third Prize Paper Award in 1986. He also
received the Meritorious Service Award from the Pulp and Paper Industry
Committee in June 1992. He received the Super Star All Star Award from GE
Installation and Service Engineering in December 1989 and the Professional
and Social Activities Award from GE Industrial and Power Systems in
February 1994.