How Does Your Capacitor Work?

Basics

To some extent, a similarity can be drawn between flow of water and

flow of electric current. Water requires a difference in height to cause a
flow. Electricity, like – wise, requires a difference in potential between
to points for the current to flow. We call this difference in potential as
voltage of one point with respect to earth or just a voltage between to
points. Electric current flows in three difference ways.

1. Ohmic Current.

These are thousand of loosely attached electrons in conducting

metals like copper, aluminium, silver, etc. even a small voltage
between to points – say of wire- will drive these electrons from a
higher level to lower level and cause a current flow. We can
measure this current in Amperes (Amps.). In its flow, some
metals will have too many obstacles – which take a higher
voltage to drive and which dissipates heat in the metal – like that
in an electric bulb. This heat is termed as Ohmic Heat.

2. Dielectric Current.

These are a class of materials called "Insulators" which have very few
loose electrons. They present a near perfect wall, blocking flow of loose
electrons, if a voltage is applied across these. Some of these insulators
have free dipoles at the end of their obstacle wall.

These dipoles get charged positively and negatively during each half
cycle of and A. C. supply. A whole array of such dipoles between two
conducting plates under an A. C. voltage carry, positive and negative
charges from one plate to another during each half cycles. This
transformer of charge – also a current – measured in amps, forms
dielectric or capacitive current. It is entirely different from the Ohmic
Current.

3. Inductive Current.

Just as dipoles transfer reactive power under an applied field, magnetic

fields produced by a current flowing through a wire, grow and collapse
twice in each A.C. cycle and transfer energy. They transfer energy from
a high level to lower level. Not only they transfer electrical energy in to
mechanical energy as in an electric motor. These currents can be
termed as Inductive Currents. Without Inductive Currents, we would
not have used electricity to the extent that we use it today. They have
a side effect, they lower the power factor and cause wastage of power
during transmission and distribution.

The very purpose of employing capacitors to produce dielectric

currents is to improve the power factor and reduce losses, while the
inductive currents are doing their useful work.

4. Power Factor Correction.

By the nature of generation, in a A.C. circuit, the capacitor gets

charged as the current flows. When the flow stops, the current is zero
and the capacitor is charged to full voltage. in other terms, the current
leads the voltage.

On other hand, a choke coil which has built up full magnetic field,
starts sending out the current as the field collapses gradually. Here the
voltage leads the current or the current lags behind the voltage.

Both the currents produce static or magnetic fields - but do not do

useful work like heating a bulb. However when they flow through the
wire or a transmission line, they cause power loss. As such, their
magnitudes should be minimum possible. Since both flow of positive
times with respect to voltage, they nullify one another. Then we
produce leading current by using capacitors to cancel out the lagging
currents. This is termed as Power Factor Correction - which finds large
capacitor application.

5. Some Technical Terms.

An ideal dielectric material will be one with an absolute resistance to

passage of free electrons and a large number of dipoles at its
molecular end. There is n such material. Solid, liquid and gas type of
dielectric materials have been used for making capacitors. Some free
electrons are to be found in small quantities in these materials. But the
biggest source of free electrons and ions comes from impurities,
moisture, free air etc. a dielectric material can block effective passage
to free electrons upto its strength limit. Beyond this, some electrons
penetrate the resistance wall and wander through. The ohmic passage
cerates heat and under the continuos attack at higher and higher
voltage levels and heat, more and more ohmic current flows - till a
continuous path is established from one conductive plate to the other -
through the dielectric. In other words, there is a puncture and a short
circuit. Following technical terms are associated with this phenomenon.
 a. The measure of free dipoles or the capacity to carry charged is
termed as the dielectric constant. Paper has a dielectric constant
of 4 to 5 and carries more dipoles than polypropylene with a
dielectric constant of 2.2.
b. The measure of free electrons available for an ohmic flow of
current is called tangent of loss angle or tan delta. Free electrons
can come from a bad dielectric material itself or from the
contaminants accumulated during manufacturing process or due
to imperfect removal or air and moisture during the process or
re-entry of these in service, due to hermetic seal braking down.
The broken down wall of a dielectric with broken molecules also
supplies large number of free electrons.
c. The voltage level upto which a given thickness of insulating
material holds back effectively passage of free electrons is called
the dielectric strength of the material. This 480 - 600 volts D.C.
per micron of polypropylene film as against 180 - 200
volts/micron for paper with oil in it. It becomes lower as we go
from solid to liquid and to gas dielectric. For the presently used
PXE oil it is 70 - 80 volts/micron. For epoxy potting used, it is 10 -
12 volts/micron and for SF-6 gas at atmospheric pressure, it is 8
-10 volts/micron.
d. The voltage level at which the wall is breached and electrons
start flowing in, is called the partial discharge beginning or
inception level. If this level is reduced gradually, there is a point
below which no more dangerous electrons wander through. It is
called as the partial discharge extinction (or put - out) level.

A capacitor or dielectric system may be likened to a medieval fort

under siege. Assume that under steady service conditions, the outside
enemy is maintaining a blockade and a steady pressure. A well chalked
out fort will hold out for ages. The enemy now changes his tactics and
sends wave after wave of soldiers to ram down the gates - just as
voltage surges and harmonic will do to a capacitor. It might break open
the door and a few bands of enemy will rush in - creating hot spots.
Come the night, and surge levels drop down. A good general within,
will brick - up the breach overnight and throw the inside enemy
soldiers in the moat to the mercy of the scavengers there.

He is ready for the next onslaught. Repeated onslaught will eventually

destroy all the defence potential and the fort will vanish in to history.
The on - slaught could be tackled on the outside in difference ways.
Just like the fort, capacitor can have an inner layer of second and even
third layer of defence. For the given cost to build up the fort, and
defend it, one has to select the best of all buildings blocks, use them
wisely, train and discipline the soldiers during formation and above all,
look for the contaminating, inside enemy. It takes a capable general to
organise this.

Some Of The Main Reasons For Failure Of Capacitors?

a. Short falls in Design and Manufacturing :

1. Inadequate - Dielectric Thickness.

- Margins at ends.

- Insulation to body.

2. Ionic impurities in liquid portion, moisture and air incompletely

removed.
3. Defects in welding, in soldering of bushing to material. Other
mechanical

defects.

a. Short falls in transit :

c) Short falls in service conditions :

1. Heavy inrush current during - starting or paralleling.

2. Resonance conditions during starting or during operations.
3. Server voltage fluctuations, high surges, arcing back across
faulty switches and fuses on capacitors, resulting in high
surge voltages, arcing and bus bar shorts in vicinity of the
capacitor.
4. High harmonic magnitudes in supply.
5. Inadequate ventilation, oil leakage, loose connection, burn
out, discharge resistors.
6. Over - correction leading to `leading' power factors arising
mostly due to non - switching of capacitors when not
required
 Self - Healing (MPP) Capacitors

Self - Healing Process :-

In the traditional capacitors, two or more layers of insulating, solid

dielectric were wound between individual layers of thin aluminium foil-
to form a capacitor. Now, no layer can have an absolutely uniform
thickness at every spot, nor can have zero pinholes & conducting
particles - over several Sq. meters of a surface that goes into forming
today’s power capacitors. If a single layer of a solid dielectric were to
be used, it will fail at several points. A second layer can cover the
defects in the first layer - since defects on both of them are likely to
overlap at very few locations. This possibility further increases by a
quantum jump if three layers are used between conducting layers of
aluminium foil.

However one can vacuum deposit a conducting metal of low

evaporation temperature like zinc or aluminium & do away with a
separate thick aluminium foil altogether. When a short occurs across a
defects, the short circuit current can instantly evaporate this deposit &
form aluminium or zinc oxide - both of which are non-conducting. Thus
the area around the defect is isolated & the capacitor can rework. This
process is called Self-Healing. The thickness of the aluminium deposit
has to be accurately controlled so that the film definitely evaporates &
does not require too high a temperature. If it fails to evaporate &
isolate the defective spot, a permanent short circuit will form & the
capacitor will go out of service. This thickness is measured in
resistance per unit area. It is 3-4 Ohms for aluminium & Ohms for zinc.

Advantages of Self Healing Capacitors :

Since all the defects in a single layer of Metallised Polypropylene (MPP)

can be healed at the manufacturing stage only, a single layer capacitor
can be formed quite comfortably at higher dielectric operating voltage
stresses. This gives a capacitor that replaces a thick aluminium foil(5-6
micron) with a thin deposit (0.2 to 0.3 micron) & allows single layer of
thinner polypropylene in place of two or three layers of thicker
polypropylene, the size & the costs go down drastically. It has replaced
the traditional capacitors at a very fast rate.

The Dry Capacitors :

A Metallised film has an edge clearance at one end - usually 2.5 mm

for 440 Volts capacitors. Metallising reaches the edge at other end.
Alternate layers are so formed that the Metallising on one set comes at
one end A & Metallising on following set comes at end B. Round coils
are wound & the ends are sprayed with zinc. A conducting lead is
soldered on to these surfaces. There is a microscopic layer of air
between these layers. The coils are wound tight. They are further
shrunk under heat treatment. This reduces the air thickness between
layers very significantly.

The Short Falls of S-H Capacitors :

a. Moisture getting in between layers oxidises the thin deposits in it

thickness fully.

The oxidising boundary detaches a healthy section of a deposit. This

results in rapid or continuous fall of capacitor current.

This happens mainly in badly & loosely wound capacitors. The coil ends
are normally sealed with an epoxy or the coils are immersed in an
insulating liquid to prevent this.

b) The zinc-spray & the aluminium deposit form a bi- metallic physical
joint- which corrodes aluminium preferentially in the presence of
moisture. This cuts off the entire healthy metallisation below from the
conducting edge, resulting in rapid fall of capacitor current. To prevent
this, the metallisation thickness just at the edge conducting edge is
increased by what is called a heavy edge deposit. Another method that
helps is - to deposit zinc on the lower deposit of aluminium - in what is
called an aluminium -alloy deposit.

c) Consider a large air gap between layers & an irregularity in the form
of a sharp point. As the voltage increases across the dielectric, at same
point there will be electron streamers originating from this sharp point
& cutting through the air path. This is the beginning of a partial
discharge. It will create hot spots & eventually fail the coil. Air has a
breakdown voltage of 4 KV/mm & can easily produce & sustain partial
discharges.

However if the air path is microscopic, air will breakdown and establish
a short circuit path, rather than sustain a partial discharge. This will
increase the leakage current. Leakage current is Ohmic. It makes the
coil hot.

d) The most critical portion of the S - H Capacitor is the edge gap. The
full coil voltage applies across this gap. It is spread on a very thin base
0.2 / 0.3 micron thick as against 5-6 micron thick in traditional
capacitors. The voltage stress is very high- leading to instant or even
sustained partial discharges, should the voltages cross the air gap
strength.

Normally a 2.5 mm gap across a 0.3 micron base can sutain A.C.
voltages upto 440 volts + 10%. This makes these capacitors unsuitable
where there are steady high voltages or sudden & continuous voltage
fluctuations.

Please note that European networks with distribution at 380 volts are
quite comfortable with S-H Capacitors.

A way to over come these defects would be to fill up these gaps with a
suitable oil under vacuum. The oil with breakdown values of 60-80
V/micron increases the gap strength considerably. Japan is carrying out
field trails with S-H Capacitors, filled with SF-6 gas, under pressure, on
networks rated at 3300 & 6600 volts AC.

e) In S-H Capacitor, current flows from one end of the coil to the other
end axially along the cross-section determined by the full length of the
wound foil. By contrast, in a traditional capacitor, it flows circularly
along the length of the winding with a cross-section determined by the
width of the wound foil. This gives a very low self inductance to S-H
coils as compared to traditional coils. These self inductance’s are
inadequate to inherently limit starting or paralleling currents between
two capacitors as compared to traditional capacitors. These
unrestricted current flows, create instant high voltages, puncture a
dielectric & blow up capacitors. Capacitor bursting is more common
with S-H Capacitors than with traditional capacitors.

A choke coil in S-H capacitor takes care of this problem & is a must.

In conclusion one can say that S-H Capacitors are highly economical &
could be used successfully if we understand what their limitations are
& under which circumstances - not to use them.

Madhav S-H Capacitors are not tightly wound. They are dried and
impregnated under high vacuums with capacitor oils. Further each unit
has internal or external choke coil. Besides, we study strictly where
they are being applied.

Where it is advantages to go for MPP Type Capacitors :

1) Distribution lines where voltage and load variations over a 24 hour

period are moderate. Typical example -Mofusil areas with a large
spread of various loads served by substations with automatic on load
tap changes. One can down scale this to suit.
2) Automatically controlled capacitor banks with built - in over voltage,
under voltage, over current & p.f. correction controls & with current
limiting chokes on each step.

3) Rural distribution lines - heavily overloaded and supplying power at

perennially low voltages. To some extent, overloaded zones of other
distribution lines also.

4) And of - course where one's budget for capacitors is rather tight, but
with attention to (1) & (3) above.

Where MPP Capacitors are not to be recommended :

1) On load with widely fluctuating currents such as strip mills, arc

furnaces, workshops with heavy presses and similar impulse type
energy drawing machines, welding machines, etc.

2) Locations where higher incidence of harmonics are expected.

3) Hazardous areas [ oil installation, new power generators or

generator bus ducts] where explosions are not allowed. Generally MPP
Capacitors are more explosion - prone than other types of capacitors.

4) Areas with high short circuit level for distribution networks. (This is
likely to affect self healing).

5) Supply systems with wide daily voltage fluctuations - where the

night time voltages shoot up beyond the guaranteed limits.
 APP and MD Capacitors - L.T.

APP and MD Capacitors:-

This group of capacitors has a distinct feature of having separate

aluminium foil as an electrode. The solid dielectric can be two or more
layers of polypropylene as in APP Capacitors or a combination of
condenser tissue paper and polypropylene as in MD or Mixed Dielectric
Capacitors.

Another distinguishing aspect is the introduction of a suitable oil as a

liquid electric.

The Building Blocks :-

1) The polypropylene Film is specified as BOPP with hazy surface on

one or both the sides. The inherent strength is very high (480 - 600
Volts/micron DC.). The molecules are brittle though. The film is
stretched in both directions during manufacture, thus orienting the
crystals along the line of stretch i.e. biaxially. This improves
impregnation by oil and increases it's strength.

The haziness, about 0.2-0.3 microns average, is actually roughening of

a smooth surface by creating multiple, cross-connecting, microscopic
channels. This helps the impregnating oil to rise through wick action
and gravity and fill up all possible empty cavities.

Very thin films are costly and comparatively failure prone, since the
haziness comes at the cost of overall thickness.

2) Condenser Tissue Paper is actually a mass of thin pulp, rolled to

desired thickness and dried. The fibres or micelle, mesh into one
another. This gives large cavities inside - from which trapped air and
moisture must be meticulously removed and substituted with oil.

The paper molecules are flexible compared to PP molecules. They can

withstand sudden electrical pulses much better and are ideal as
dielectrics on networks which produce all types of surges continuously.
Thus Mixed Dielectric capacitors are suitable for a very rugged and
exacting service. However, losses in paper are high. The voltage
stresses are low. The size and cost of MD capacitors are high.

3) Aluminium foil plays the part of a conducting electrode. It does not

play any part as a dielectric material. Hence its thickness can be
conveniently reduced - the common thickness available today being 5
microns.

The foil edges are cut mechanically. If examined under a microscope

they have irregular and sharp points jutting out as shown. The voltage
stresses on these sharp points rise very high and cause partial
discharges into the edge gap.

This is taken care of by - Folding the edge on itself by a few Mms or

- by laser cutting-which is ideal-but very costly.

4) Oil replaces air and moisture in the voids within the dielectric
portion. It gives strength and increases the life of a capacitors and as
such is a very critical component of the entire system. It itself must be
filtered to very fine degree and degassed. It is reinforced with anti-
oxidants and scavengers. The scavengers lock out acids and broken
chain lengths of oil molecules arising out of partial discharges.

5) Discharge Resistors : Normally externally fitted on L.T. Capacitors,

they discharge the residual voltage from the peak level to 50 volts or
less, within one minute. Burnt out resistors will not perform and
present a risk to human life as well as to capacitors.

These resistors form a sizeable - portion of the total heat loss defined
for a capacitor - although this portion of the loss does not reflect the
dielectric quality.

6) Internal fuses helps to isolate a faulty element and keep the

capacitor going. In L.T. capacitors, the elements in a phase are all in
parallel. Thus isolation of an element may cause phase unbalance - but
no harmful increase in voltage on remaining elements. Quite often, in a
well constructed unit, these fuses become redundant.

Advantages of APP/MD L.T. Capacitors :-

1) Unlike MPP Capacitors (in some cases), there is no deterioration of

output current with passage of time.

2) Losses in APP Capacitors gather around 1.0 to 1.5 Watts/KVAR.

in MD Capacitors gather around 1.5 to 2.0 Watts/KVAR.

in MPP Capacitors gather around 2.0 to 2.5 Watts/KVAR.

3) They are more rugged and can withstand severe voltage surges.
They can also withstand upto certain amount of harmonic loading.

Disadvantages of APP Capacitors :-

1) They are more bulky and heavier than MPP Capacitors.

2. Their costs are in multiples of two and more, than the costs of
equivalent MPP

Capacitors.

3. They are prone to developing oil leakage’s - particularly under

higher temperatures. This reduces their actual life.

4) Replacement of a faulty unit in a bank is clumsy.

"Madhav" Capacitors are manufactured with full quality control at each

stage. The basic blocks are individually tested with full understanding
of the weakness of each constituent. The subassemblies and final
products are tested for compliance with in-house, as well as BIS
Standards. Their field performance over a period of 39 years is
outstanding. (Earlier these were all paper capacitors).

Where it is advantages to go for APP Capacitors :-

1) They are preferable on networks where the voltage fluctuations are

wide and

night time voltages rise considerably.

2) They are preferable in installations where current and voltage

surges are present

due mostly to the nature of machinery used.

3) They are preferable where moderate harmonics are suspected.

4) They are preferable near generators, bus ducts, hazardous areas

etc.

5. They are ideal - when they are not expected to be obsolete in a

short time, where longer trouble - free, least maintenance
operation, is expected and where of-course, the budgeting is
liberal and open-minded.
 HOW WILL YOU DESIGN YOUR CAPACITOR BANK ?

A) KVAR DESIGN :-

1) Carry out a 24 hour load survey. Note down hourly KWs, P.F. and
voltages.

2) Divide this into three sections :

a) No load or light load - but fixed KWs & its P.F.

b) Average load and its P.F.

c) Peak load and its P.F.

3. Design the bank for its, peak load conditions. Hold your desired
p.f. at 0.95.

Work out the capacitor bank KVAR by referring to the tables.

4) If the load is small (less than 50 KWs), then split the bank in two
sections

corresponding to conditions (2a) and (2b).

5. If the load is of medium size and (say up to 200 KWs), then split
the bank in

three sections corresponding to conditions (2a), (2b) and (2c).

6. If the laod is large sized and complex, then split the bank into a
simple sections corresponding to (2a) and combine sections (2b)
and (2c) and rearrange them in a multi - step, automatically
controlled bank.

B) VOLTAGE CHOICE :-

1. Capacitor under A- 2a must be specified at higher range of

voltages. Thus an

energised transformer, with practically no load - except for 4-6 hours in

a day,

eg. (transformers under Garrison Engineers, MES) will require a

capacitor rated
at 500 Volts.

2) Capacitors under A-2b and A-2c fall in two categories :-

a. Category where electrical service is poor and the best voltages

seldom cross

400-405. Specify 415 voltage.

b. Category where loads fluctuate and voltages vary and also where
you suspect harmonics, specify 440 volts.

SPECIFYING 415 VOLTS FOR CAPACITORS MERELY TO GET HIGHER

KVAR, IRRESPECTIVE OF LOAD AND SYSTEM CONDITIONS, IS SHORT-
SIGHTED-LEADING TO SHORT-LIVED CAPACITORS.

C) MODE OF OPERATION :-

1. Capacitors under A-2a should be left on permanently, on a 24

hour basis. An adequately rated switch-fuse is good-enough for
this.

2. Capacitors under A-2b, may be switched on and off, once in

twenty four hour

basis - covering the duration of the average load. These need not be
switched

off during recess-intervals since generally the load conditions on

supply mains

are fairy stable.

3. Capacitors under A-2c serve mainly to reduce the maximum

demand in KVA and may be switched on and off more than once
during the day - probably twice, if the peak load appears twice -
during the day.

4) Capacitors under A-2c might not lead to satisfactory, reliable,

manual operation.

Automatic capacitor control - combining both 2b and 2c is more

desirable.

While the control panel will be on for twenty hour in a day, individual
sections
might come on or go off many times in 24 hours as per load conditions.

D) Design of switches, fuses MCCBS, contractors and also types of

automatic controls and steps KVAR sizes are discussed in our serial on
Automatic Power Factor Control Panels.
 Surge Protection Capacitors

Surges and Protection against surges:

Electrical networks experience surges wherein a voltage or a

current rises rapidly to unsafe values and destroys the dielectric
insulation. These, along with partial discharges which these start,
are blamed for the major portion of failures of electrical
equipment of all types.

As per modern thinking, most of the surges are current – sourced

as against the normal voltage sourced electric power supply. An
amount of let off energy, determines this current which flows to
ground – irrespective of the circuit resistance. If a contact of a
lighting conductor stripe is bad, it creates dangerous voltages –
rather than reducing the current.

This rapid rate of rise of current is responded by a magnetic

circuit (of all types of transformers) with an equally rapidly rising
flux, a back EMF and a very high induced voltage. This voltage
causes breakdowns, flash overs, partial discharges and so on.

This surge has two or three parameters which lead to electrical

break – down –

o Rate of rise of current or voltage.

o Energy contained within a surge which

dictates.

o The current flowing in a surge.

Any capacitor can not be charged to a full surge voltage

instantly. It will take our indefinite amount of current to do so.
Thus, it takes time to get charged. This time slopes down the
almost vertically advancing surge were – though not
substantially. Even a small reduction in di/dt reduces the
magnetically induced voltages from an infinite value to a finite
value and this is how surge capacitors help.

Surge capacitors by themselves are protective on small voltage

spikes – with limited involved energies. They have to be
supplemented with lighting arrestors which can ground large
amounts of surge energies.
 Let us see what is involved in designing and building up a surge
capacitor so that it gives a desired performance.

Typical Calculations:

1. Performance of a 0.25mfd Surge capacitor against an

impulse type surge:

a. We take the following figure for our illustration:

Wave is travelling at a speed of 200KV per microsecond.

The transmission line has a surge impedance of 400 ohms.

The transmission line has a flash over voltage of 180KV.

The surge capacitor rated at 18KV, 0.25mfd is fixed at point A.

Then without the capacitor, the surge will require 0.9

microseconds to reach 180KV.

The current will rise at a rate of 200/400 KA per microsexcondi.e.

500 Amps/ microsecond.

The magnitude of the current at 180KV point will be 450 Amps.

The energy on the wave, in this 0.9 microseconds, will be –

0°
t
I x V x dt = 0°
t
500 x 106 x 200 x 103 x 106 x t2dt

= 0°
t
[10 x 1019 ] [t2]dt

= [10 x 1019 ] [t3/3]0 0.9 x 10-6

= 24.3 Joules.

Under the worst possible conditions of coincidence of surge peak

with system voltage peak, we will have peak voltage on surge
capacitor = 18 x 1.414KV i.e. 25.45KV. Plus voltage peak due to
surge.

Energy stored in the capacitor will be = ½ CV2

= ½ x 0.25 x 10-6 x (182 x 2) x 106 Joules.

= 81 Joules under voltage peak conditions.

 This capacitor will be superimposed with additional joules of 24.3
taking its total to 105.3 joules.

Its voltage will rise momentarily to

105.3 = ½ x 0.25 x 10-6 x [KV]2 x 106

i.e. KV = 29.02 or by a more 3.568KV in 0.9 microseconds.

Thus this rate of rise of voltage has been reduced to 3.568/0.9

KV/microsecond i.e. 3.964 KV/microsecond as against 200
KV/microsecond.

Two things will happen:

1. The voltage will climb up at this rate till the associated lightning
arrestor fires at its rated voltage or
2. The energy in the spikes is so small that the capacitor holds the
system to a safe enough small value.

a. Suppose that the surge energy is very large – say 5000 joules
and we want to restrict the peak voltage build up to 30KV only.

Then 5000 = ½ C [302 – 25.45]2

i.e. C = 39.63mfd i.e. almost 4MVAR, 18KV, per phase.

This is too large.

b. Today’s ZnO type lightning arrestor also slope down a surge

slightly before firing. However, if the speed of surge is high, the
voltage at which they fire also becomes higher and beyond the
safe zone. A surge protection capacitor – in parallel, helps.

1. How is the value of 0.25mfd arrived at?

Let us take another example.

A 13.8KV motor is connected across a bus which has a surge

impedance of 100 ohms and the connected network constants
and circuit breaker parameter can develop a, surge capable of
reaching 120KV peak. [This can be verified at site with a storage
oscilloscope.]

This bus has a lightning arrestor capable of firing at 39KV.

 We want to design a surge capacitor which will clamp the surge
voltage rise down to 28KV peak in one microsecond.

The peak surge current = 120(KV)/100 KA i.e. I = 1200 Amps.

I/C = rate of rise of volatge = 28000 volts/microsecond.

= 1200/C x 10-6

i.e. C = 1200/28000 x 10-6

= 0.043 mfd.

A surge capacitor, standardised at 0.25mfd, is more than

adequate.

Normally, when more than one H.T. motors operate on a common

bus, it is recommended to employ individual surge capacitors
and one group lightning arrestor.

2. Inductance and Resistance in series with a Surge

Capacitor:

Any inductance or resistance will have a high voltage drop

across it on account of a high surge current. Thus, a surge
will charge the system vertically to this voltage drop –
before being sloped down by the surge capacitor. This
vertical rise is detrimental to transformer windings in the
system and defeats to an extent, the very purpose of
employing surge capacitors.

It is essential:

1. To have a specially designed surge capacitor with minimum self

inductance and with minimum internal series resistance &
2. To connect it as nearer to the equipment, to be protected, as
possible,

To keep the connecting links shortest possible and

To have more than adequate, conducting cross section on the

leads.

1. Rated voltage of a Surge capacitor:

 The surge capacitors are normally, single terminal, body
grounded type. If these get connected across a system with
ungrounded neutral, there is a possibility of the line terminal
getting full line voltage – instead of a phase voltage, should one
of the phases get shorted (under a surge). Besides they are
subjected to high rate of charging when they cater to surges. As
such they are rated at the line voltage or slightly higher – even
though normally they will operate at phase voltage.

2. Specific Failure modes:

High speed Circuit Breakers on generator bus ducts and on

industrial arc furnaces have given instances of surge capacitor
failures.

The overall bus capacitances are low in the region of a few

picofarads – which give a natural resonance frequency in
multiples of kilo-hertz. When a 0.25mfd capacitor per phase is
added to this system, it lowers the resonance frequency
substantially. Should this coincide with any harmonic of 50 Hz,
then there will be instant build up of high voltages and capacitor
failures. This will be

prominent with Vacuum Circuit Breakers which are liable to pre-

arcing or restriking. The best remedy for this would be to add
another capacitor in order to detune under away from a
resonance.

On arc furnaces it is recommended to use a R.C. combination,

rather than a surge capacitor. Since the VCB operation is very
frequent, it is desirable to step up the capacitor voltage rating.

The surge impedance figures for H.T. buses, transmission lines

etc, are given in standard Reference Handbooks. Actual surges
can be pictured and held on todays digital storage oscilloscopes.
These, together, can pinpoint the trouble mode, against which
suitable remedial measures can be adopted.

The surge capacitors have fairly high built in safety factor. The
failures are very rare in actual practice.
 How Does Your Capacitor Work?
APFC Panels

A load & therefore its KVAR are in a dynamic state - generally. A

matching KVAR output of a capacitor bank must also be dynamic i.e.
must adjust itself-instantly to its requirement, if one is to obtain a
uniform &'set' p.f. all along. This is best achieved by an automatic
control that switches in & out, segments of a designed capacitor bank.
A control panel serving this purpose is called on APFC panel or
Automatic Power Factor Controlling panel. It controls the load power
factor by sensing various available parameters.

A) Sensing Parameters :-

1. Current - Sensing based APFC :- The current magnitude through a

feeder or bus is sensed and fed to a relay. As this magnitude crosses a
set band-width, the relay operates a power controlling a section of a
capacitor bank. This is the simplest and possibly the cheapest relay. It
has a disadvantage of functioning with no reference to the actual load
power factor - but assuming it.

2. Power Factor Sensing based APFC :- This relay senses the start of the
voltage current wave forms on a given feeder & measures the time
difference between them. It then converts this into a p.f. & compares
this with a set value. Upon finding a difference, it operates the power
contactor. This type of relay is most widely used. It has an advantage
of being able to show the laod p.f. on an indicating meter. It's
disadvantage :- It has no relation to the load magnitude & it's KVAR
requirement. It can lead to severe hunting.

3. KVAR Sensing based APFC :- This relay senses the magnitudes of

both the voltage & current wave forms & also the time or phase
difference between them. It then calculates the load KVAR & compares
these with a possible combination of sections within a capacitor bank
and operates their controlling contractors to add the required capacitor
KVAR to the electrical system. This is the most sensitive relay - capable
of obtaining maximum benefit out of a given capacitor bank.

It's disadvantages :- It is rather hard on the contractors and its related

surge suppression attachments.

B) Sizing of Capacitor Switching Blocks :-

1) Power Factors for the purposes of levying penalties are based on the
monthly consumption’s of KVA-Hrs, KW-Hrs & KVAR-Hrs as recorded on
a tri-vector meter. If the basic purpose of installing capacitors is to stay
safely above the penalty limit, then average power factor correction
based on a 24 hour basis is sufficient and not an elaborate "instant to
instant" p.f. correction. This helps one in setting as wide a band-width
as possible before changing a step. It prevents switching - too often.

It must be noted that KVA-Hrs and KVAR-Hrs do not subtract if

excessive capacitor KVAR are dumped into the system by over
corrections into a leading zone - say part of the time. It records this
also as a low p.f. & subject to penalty. Besides, leading p.f.'s are
unhealthy for capacitors & the system itself.

a) A simple straight forward method of sizing the capacitor blocks

would be to divide them equally into targeted number of steps. Besides
simplicity it has an advantage of standard sizes for replacement of
work out contractors, blown fuses etc. Many a designer favour this.

b) In ambitious method of sizing the blocks, they are designed in a

binary sequence so that a large number of combinations is available
for a given set of contactors etc. If the accessories are chosen properly,
this can be an ideal method though slightly costlier than method (a)
above.

c) Each controls in an APFC Panel adds considerably to overall costs.

It is advisable to keep as much capacitor KVAR out of the APFC control

as possible, for example, the first step i.e. load portion which is
constant on a 24 hour basis, Continuous working industries offer this.

In the second step - divide the remainder in a number of steps. Keep

this number of step as small as possible, by studing the load pattern.
The portion that is likely to be operated often, should be at the fag end.
Large size contactors should at the starting end so that they operate as
few times as possible.

C) Methods of Switching In & Switching Out :-

1) When the bank is controlled in equal steps, as in B(a) above, some

designers prefer a first - in, first - out or FIFO method so that all
contactors and steps have uniform period of operation & can together
last longer.

2) If method B(c) above is followed, then the switching control should

be on the basis of 'First-in, Last-out' or FILO.
3) Method B.(b) above, calls for random switching which requires
careful selection of power contactors or better still, opting out for
thyristor switching - which has yet to prove it's mettle in India.

D) Structural Design of an APFC Panel :-

1) Capacitor bank step (section)

2) Discharge resistance on individual capacitor unit - external.

3) Incoming switch fuse for the bank.

4) Capacitor bank bus bar.

5) Capacitor bank CT's.

6) Ammeter selector switch.

7) Ammeter for bank current.

8) Thermal overload relay or sectional fuses.

9) Automatic control relay & p.f. meter. Time delay relays.

10) Power contactor.

11) Push Button sets.

12) Indicating lamps.

13) Cabinet (capacitor bus bars)

14) Earthing bus bars.

15) Isolating transformer for contactor coils.

16) Heater.

17) Lamp, extra piano type switches & sockets.

18) Cooling fan.

19) Auto-manual change over switch.

E) Rating of Components :-
1) Should an APFC panel develop a 'short' from the main bus to body or
between phases, a heavy current will flow till the back-up protection -
like an HRC fuse, isolates this short.

The system voltage divided by the system impedance up to the point

of a short, gives the short circuit current. This impedance consists main
by of the step down transformer impedance - generally 4% to 6%.
Increasing this value by 10% takes care of impedances of intervening
items like a switch, a bus bar, a C.T. etc. The short circuit current
divided by 165 Amps gives an acceptable conductor cross section,
which can safely hold for a s.c. duration of one second. Generally,
these sections are not unduly large and fall within a current density of
2.5 to 3 Amps/mm2 of the full capacitor bank current rating.

Should the length of this panel be large - then the bus bars must be
laterally & rigidly supported to prevent flexuring under s.c. forces.

2) A capacitor shorted to it's body restricts the s.c. current severely.

Depending on the inside construction and the wall thickness of the
capacitor tank, this unit can withstand the bursting forces till it's
protective system takes over. Thus the double earthing of a panel can
be safely standardised on G.I. strip of 50 x 6 mm2 size.

3) A capacitor at the instance of being switched on, is a dead short

circuit. The inrush current is limited in its peak value by system
inductance’s upto that point, except that the circuit now goes into a
natural resonance. A power contactor, by nature of its construction and
contact material, can withstand a peak current of a given magnitude -
beyond which, the contactor points will weld on to themselves - leading
to capacitor failure.

If a capacitor is being switched on against other steps which are

already on, then the other steps will discharge into this new - comer.
The intervening bus bars have very low inductance’s & these peak
currents are very high - reaching 160 times the rated capacitor current
or more. The capacitor should be able to handle this- without welding.

There are three methods to deal with this :-

a) Use a liberal & proven rating for a known contactor.

b) Use surge suppression choke coils on each capacitor, to

introduce extra inductance & thus limit the peak current.
For panels with 4 steps or more & also for panels using MPP
capacitors, this is essential.
 c) Use a special contactor with auxilliary contacts which
introduce a starting resistance at the begining, then short
it.

4) A discharge resistor on a capacitor reduces the residual voltage on it

- after being switched off to a safe value of 50 volts within less than a
minute and readies it for re-switching should this be required. If this
resistance were to burn out, the re-switching will take place against a
charged unit. This will burn it out. It is highly essential to periodically
check the condition of these externally mounted discharge
resistance’s.

5) Other Items : Main switch fuse is substituted by air-breakers for

large banks. Draw - out type, electrically operated breakers increase
cost of a panel tremoundously.

6) Time Delay Relays : Time Delay Relays with an adjustable one

minute delay should be incorporated - both in APFC or Manual mode to
prevent re-switching of a

contactor within less than one minute of switching it off.

What can go wrong in an APFC Panel.

1) Wrong connections to the Automatic Relay :

The C.T. feeding this relay is the mains CT & not the CT within the
panel itself. The voltage connection to the relay should be from the
same phase from which the current is measured. These relays are
single phase relays.

2) Too narrow a band-width, per step :

The band-width can be set manually. A narrow band width leads to

hunting between steps.

3) Contactor points welding together.

4) Discharge Resistor &/or choke coils burning out.

5) Time Delay Relays being bipassed or not working.

6) Failure of electronic components under the combined on slought of

higher ambient temperature and voltage surges - particularly for
outdoor pole- mounted type of panels.
7) Improper ventilation, Loose cable joints & similar causes commonly
found.

8) Unattended leaks on capacitors

 HARMONICS IN INDIA
by

D. M. TAGARE

Madhav Capacitors Pvt Ltd

A Power Generator rotating at a synchronous speed produces electric voltage which

varies as a perfect sine wave at 50 cycles/second. As this power flows along different
systems to the ultimate apparatus, the perfect sine wave gets distorted. The
distorted wave can be mathematically considered as the basic sine wave with
numerous other sine waves of differing frequencies & amplitudes super imposed
upon it. If this analysed portion has a frequency which is an integral multiple say 'n'
of the fundamental frequency i.e. 50 Hz, then this frequency is called the nth
harmonic & so on. This harmonic has distinct disadvantages & can be segregated to
get rid of its ill effects. The predominant harmonics which occur frequently & are
trouble some are the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 11th & 13th. We also run into the second
harmonic occasionally.

Let us next consider the basic factors which contribute to the generation of these
harmonics. Of the four basic electric components, resistances & capacitors are
passive components i.e. they do not generate e.m.f.s. They modify the outputs of the
applied voltages in phase & applitude. On the other hand, Inductances & Switches
are active components. The magnetic fields associated with inductances influence
the output due to applied voltages to the extent they can produce distortions in
phase, amplitude as well as in frequencies. In other words they can act as harmonic
generators. Under electrical switching, we can group all aparata hich can disrupt an
applied voltage at any instant on the sine wave e.g. Rectifiers, Thyristors, Solid state
switching devices, an arc in an arc furnace which will break-down at any instant,
uncontrolled arcing between contacts & between live points & earth & so on. Thus a
square wave generated by a solid state circuit or a sine wave started & cut off at its
intermediate points, can be analysed as so many harmonic waves superimposed on
one another to give a final output, such as a square wave etc. A sharp rising &
diminishing surge across a line, can be considered as a grouping of very high
frequency sine waves superimposed on one another.

One might conclude that the superimposed group of harmonic sine waves which
produce in practice a distorted, sliced or spiked wave exist only on paper - as a
theoretical explanation. Not quite so. In practice, the effect on various electrical
apparata is, as if a separate harmonic distinctly existed.Consider a capacitor, for
example, subjected to a distorted wave shape with a large proportion of 3rd
harmonic. The output of a capacitor is given by

kVAR = KV2 x 2nfC x 10-3 where C is in Mfd.

For the same voltage, if f becomes 3f, then kVAR 3f is 3kVARf. The losses in a
capacitor are given by KW = kVAR x Tan Delta. Thus for a 3rd harmonic, the losses
will become 3 times. The capacitor will get much hotter if a considerable 3rd
harmonic exists - since it now produces a basic kVAR at 50 Hz plus a high kVAR due
to the 3rd harmonic. Its life will be reduced & it will fail peraturely.
Let us further consider the case of a spike or a surge entering a capacitor. The
capacitor has a very low, limited life against this abuse, since the dielectric cannot
withstand the high rate of dv/dt repeatedly. As we traverse from 50 Hz to very high
frequencies, the capacitor life reduces. This logic should hold good for higher
harmonics as well.

Similarly a HRC Fuse will blow much more frequently if the current contained fairly
large harmonics. One can safely take frequent blowing up of fuses on apparently
healthy capacitors as a sign of existence of large harmonics.

Nowadays computerised controls are being extensively used in steel mills, chemical
plants & almost every industry which can drive economic benefits from these. Many
circuits in these are beased on detecting the start of a voltage/current! wave on the
50 Hz scale. Should a harmonic exist, which at any instant on a 50 Hz sine wave, has
a magnitude equal to or greater than that of the fundamental at that instant, the
actual voltage/current will cross zero & come up again. This will trigger the computer
circuitry falsely & lead to chaos. Thus filtering out all types of harmonics on the
supply lines to computerised controls becomes a high priority.

In a rotating machine the slot insulation is a critical factor due to very limited space
available. Harmonic currents raise the conductor temperatures to uncomfortable
levels for the partition to withstand on a long term basis.

Thus excessive harmonics into or out of a rotating machine will lead to frequent &
permature winding failures. The harmonics must be filtered out.

A summary of other major ill effects due to harmonics is given below :

1) Inductive coupling with unshielded or open telephone carries can make

conversions impossible due to harmonics in the power carrier.

2) Interference with video signals as evidenced by bright light shafts traverse slowly
upwards. Voltage flicker due to operation of induction furnaces makes it impossible to
view TVs.

3) Rotating Discs in a meter or a protective relay are influenced by the magnetic field
produced by the mains currents at 50 Hz. Harmonic can cause phase unbalancing. All
this leads to wrong meter readings/relay operations.

We have to study of two aspects of harmonics :-

1) How & where they are generated in practice &

2) How they are likely to be amplified. These two could be amplified.

Power Transformers are the single biggest contributors to harmonic generation in

India today. The EMF generated in a transformer winding is equal to the line voltage
minus the voltage drop in the primary impedance. On full load, this EMF lies on the
straight portion of the B-H curve due to a sizeable voltage drop across the primary
impedance & consequently a lower EMF. On no load, the voltage drop across the
primary impedance is comparatively low & the EMF being higher, moves further up
across the B-H curve. In a tightly designed transformer, the point lies in the
saturation bend & this generates harmonics. In addition to this, if this transformer on
no load has a few permanently connected capacitors, then the leading current of
capacitors cancells out all the primary impedance voltage drop & the EMF tries to rise
still further. While the voltage rise on secondary is marginal, haronics are produced in
abundance, over loading the capacitors. Further if capacitance cancels out the
transmission line impedance to some extent, then the short circuit MVA level at the
capacitor point rises considerably, leading to instability. A chance surge on the line
will get amplified & will vibrate for a longer period putting the capacitor- as well as
the transformer in jeopardy. By arranging the transformer winding in star delta, the
generation of the 3rd harmonic can be limited - but not of that other harmonis. In
case of single phase transformers with one grounded terminal - as used in the railway
A.C. traction, the situation on harmonics becomes worst.

The harmonic generation due to saturated cores of a transformer is voltage based -

i.e. the harmonic voltages are constant - but not the power or the current amplitudes.
Consequently accurately tuned filter capacitor banks will amplify the harmonics to
uncomfortable levels here. A slight detuning will absorb the harmonics, at the same
time not amplifying those.

The second most trouble- some source of harmonics are the steel-melting Arc-
Furnaces in India. A number of phenomenon are heaped together. First there are the
arcing frequencies. Secondly there are heavy surges when the entire currents are cut-
off for example when a melting mass sinks down suddenly & losses arc contact or
even when the electrode itself breaks or detaches.

Thirdly the transformer core in series with the inductance of the melting mass, gets
saturated & produces harmonics. The spread of these harmonics to some extent
depends on the composition & density of the melting mass as well. Well established
furnace manufacturers have data collected & categorised on harmonic generation
under various conditions & for different furnace designs.

This data is useful in designing the overall capacitor installation as well as the filter
banks for an Industrial Arc Furnace. Here again, the harmonic generation is voltage
based. This together with the presence of a no. of frequencies, leads one to prefer
wide-band filter circuits as against accurately tuned filter circuits.

Although we have not gone in for solid state controlled equipments as extensively as
the western countries have done, these drives are being set up in large sizes & more
quantities now. These include electro-chemical power supplies, adjustable speed
drives-both D.C. & A.C., uninterrupted power supplies & so on. By controlling the
switching actions on a fundamental A.C. sine wave at 50 Hz., they affect the power
factor in two ways :

1) The displacement component of the power factor gives the ratio of controlled
active power to the total supplied apparent power at the 50 Hz. This introduces
harmonics.

2) The distortion component of the power factor arises out of wave shaping of the
voltage & current to be used further. It is associated with the harmonic voltages &
current generated & transmitted backwards into the network.

Harmonic generation arising out of switching actions is mainly current based in that
the maximum harmonic current supply in capacity of the source is limited.
This results in several characterstics :

1) The fixed reactive power requirment is determined by the operating point & can be
predicted. Fixed capacitors can cater to this requirments.

2) The harmonic current requirment for various harmonics can be calculated. This
helps in designing finely tuned filter capacitor banks for various harmonics
accurately. The harmonics are not amplified beyond the capacity of the generating
source. IEEE Specifications 519-1981 discuss the Hamonic Control & Reactive
Compensation of Static Power Convertors in great detail.

The chokes of all varieties used on fluorescent tubes in Industry contribute

perceptibly to voltage distortions. Their effect can distinctly seen on the oscilloscope
voltage waveform - during evening as the lighting load keeps on coming.

We have presently only one HVDC transmission system in India. As these systems
appear, they will have to be fitted with suitable, large filter capacitor banks to avoide
system voltage distortions.

Harmonics can easily be detected with an oscilloscope probes across the ammeter
terminals inside a metering panel. There is no need for opening out any circuits. The
voltage harmonics can be detected by putting the probes across a voltmeter &
adjusting the oscilloscope range. This show the wave shapes & a preliminary idea of
distortions.

Accurate measurments can be made with a calibrated oscilloscope or on a regular

harmonic analyser equipment. These measure the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 11th & 13th
harmonic contents independently.

This brings us to various definitions so that we can define & tackle the harmonic
problems.

The current & voltage parameters are generally measured as percentages of

harmonics RMS to the basic RMS values on a harmonic analyser. These can also be
measured as abolute RMS values. On an oscilloscope these can e measured as peak
values.

The filter bank balances the capacitive & inductive voltage drops at the tuned
frequency. As a result if one measures the input voltage to a filter bank. It will mainly
read the fundamental voltage & lead us no where with respect to the harmonics.
Therefore the starting point has to be the current measurment.

The total current

IF = V (I21 + I2h)I1 = Fundamental RMS current &

Ih = Total harmonic current at the tuned frequency = sum of Ih of all convertors

connected.

Let Xc = 1 = Reactance of the capacitor at the fundamental frequency.

XL = 2"fL = Reactance of the inductor(reactor) at the fundamental frequency.

Then I1 = Vs/Xc=X1 Where Vs = System Voltage at fundamental frequency.

Then Voltage across the capacitor = I1 Xc1 + Ih Xcn = Vc.

& Voltage across the reactor = V1 = I1 Xl1 = Ih Xln

I & H suffices indicating fundamental & harmonic frequenncy values. Then kVAR
rating of the capacitor = Vc x IF x 10-3/phase at the given current IF.

Similarly, the kVAR rating of the series reactor is given by VLIF x 10-3/Phase.

1) As per IS-2834, the above rated kVAR can be upgrated by 135% to comply with the
requirments of overload capacity of a capacitor.

2) Unlike the fixed p.f. improvement capacitors, where IS-2834 standardises voltage
& kVAR ratings on the basic units, this cannot be done w.r.t. capacitors designed for a
filter bank.

3) The filter capacitors cannot be designed accurately at the rated voltages since this
will have a bearing on the nearest dielectric thicknesses, commertially available.
Then if the revised design voltage under the considerations (for a safe volts/micron
stress) is Vd, the kVAR rating of the capacitor will become Vd/Ve2 x kVAR as
calculated (i.e. Ve x IF). The costs will go up if compared on the previously rated kVAR
basis (i.e. Ve x IF).

4) While carrying out the factory testing for thermal stability, one will have to
superimpose the fundamental testing voltage with the designated harmonic at 1.2
times the rated value. This is impractical. Hence the testing voltage at 50 Hz will
have to be so adjusted that it will give the required total kVAR load on capacitors. If
Vt/1.2 is equal to or less than Vd under (3) above, then there is no problem.
Otherwise Vd will have to be upgraded so that Vd = Vt/1.2. This contingency should
not normally arise - uless the high harmonic currents are very large w.r.t. the current
It.

5) The filter bank contributes a kVAR at fundamental frequency to the system. This
value must be deducted from the requirment of the fixed capacitor bank. It is given
by kVAR = I2l (Xcl - Xll) x 10-3.

6) IEEE std.519 lays down the maximum, theoretically possible harmonic

current in the power supply feeding a 6-pulse convertor as below :

Harmonic Order 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 25

Harmonic 0.200 0.1429 0.0909 0.0769 0.0568 0.0526 0.0436 0.0400

Current
magnitude
The convertor, acting as a source of constant current for a given harmonic & given
set of load conditions, establishes a harmonic voltage Vh = 1h x Zc at its terminal.
This voltage has several branches in parallel as shown in the above diagram.

Let us first consider the incoming line to the installation, represented by two
impedance ZTRL & ZTX in series. These are mainly inductive. The voltage V1 will
send a harmonic current Vh(ZTX + ZTRL) into the supply & cause nuisance to other
consumers on the line.

In case the filter impedance Zf(Lf + Cf) tune to this harmonic, its value is almost zero
& Vh will fall to zero - putting out maximum possible current into the filter. In that
case, no harmonic current will flow into ZTX + ZTRL. Let us consider a likely condition
where ZTX + ZTRL resonates with the impedance of the capacitor branch (Zf + Zc) in
a parallel at a certain harmonic. Then very high harmonic currents will circulate
between the two systems, causing serious consequences. This can be prev
 Design and costing of a Harmonic Filter.
Mr. Sachin V. Shelar. ( R & D Engineer )

Madhav Capacitors Pvt. Ltd., Pune.

A harmonic filter essentially consists of a power capacitor, a tuning reactor and

its control gear. It will act in parallel with an untuned basic power factor
improvement capacitor bank.

For the designing purpose we require some data such as load details, existing
power factor, required new power factor, total harmonic distortion, individual
harmonic details etc. This data can be obtained from a harmonic analyser.

First calculate the total KVAR required to improve the power factor to the
desired value. Then distribute the total KVAR into two parts, a normal capacitor
bank (untuned) for power factor correction and a filter bank (tuned) for filtration
purpose. This is explained in detail in the example given below.

We consider a practical example of a rolling mill, circuit diagram is as shown in

Fig. 1.

Fig.1 Line diagram of the load.

Data obtained from harmonic analyser at 30% load :

Load in KW = 606.20.
Power factor = 0.42 lag.

ITHD = 30.47.

5th harmonic current = 39.25 Amp.

Assuming required power factor to be 0.97, we calculate the total KVAR required
to raise the power factor from 0.42 to 0.97.

KVAR required = KW (tan 1- tan 2)

KW = 606.20

Cos 1 = 0.42 tan 1 = 2.16

Cos 2 = 0.97 tan 2 = 0.25

KVAR required = 606.20 (2.16 - 0.25)

= 1157.80 KVAR.

1158 KVAR.

Thus we require 1158 KVAR to raise the power factor to 0.97.

From the readings it can be seen that, ITHD is 30.47 but maximum harmonic
current distortion as recommended by IEEE specifications C-519-1992 is 4.0.

Out of 1158 KVAR to be installed we employ 30% KVAR towards filter duty and
remaining KVAR for power factor correction.

Thus,

Filter KVAR = 30% of 1158.

= 347.4 KVAR.

Filter KVAR 350 KVAR.

Design of filter :

The basic diagram is as shown in Fig. 2.

 Fig. 2 - Basic circuit diagram.

We consider a star connected capacitor bank.

i. Capacitance per phase :

C = 9.21 mfd/Ph.

ii. Capacitive reactance at 50Hz :

XC50 = 345.80  /Ph.

iii. Capacitive reactance at 250Hz :

 XC250 = 69.16  /Ph.

For resonance at 5th harmonic we should have,

XL250 = XC250.

XL250 = 69.16  /Ph.

From above we can write,

XL50 = 13.82  /Ph.

So,

L = 44 mH.

iv. Capacitor current at 50 Hz.

IC50 = 18.37 Amp.

5th harmonic current from the data is ,

I250 = 39.25 Amp.

40 Amp

v. RMS current is given by,

IRMS = 44 Amp.
 Fig. 3 Parameters.

vi. KVAR rating of Reactor :

Voltage across reactor,

VL = VL50 + VL250

VL50 = Voltage drop across reactor due to fundamental

current.

= I50 x XL50

= 18.37 x 13.82

VL50 = 253.87 V.

VL250 = Voltage drop across reactor due to 5th harmonic

current.

= I250 x XL250

= 40 x 69.16

VL250 = 2766.4 V.
 Total voltage across reactor (VL) :

VL = VL50 + VL250

= 253.87 + 2766.40

= 3020.27

VL 3020 V.

KVAR rating of single phase reactor :

= VL x IRMS

= 3020 x 44.

= 132.88 KVAR/Ph.

133 KVAR.

We use 3 such reactors.

vii. KVAR rating of capacitor.

Voltage across capacitor,

VC = VC50 + VC250

VC50 = Phase voltage = = 6350 V.

VC250 = I250 x XC250 = 40 X 69.16.

= 2766.4 V.

VC250 2766 V.

Total voltage across capacitor (VC) :

VC = VC50 + VC250

= 6350 + 2766

VC = 9116 V.
KVAR rating of capacitor :

= VC x IRMS

= 9116 x 44.

= 401.10KVAR/Ph.

401 KVAR.

Costing :

1. Capacitor bank without filter :

Without filter bank circuit diagram.

 Sr. Item Quantity Cost in Rs.
No.

1 11 kV Outdoor VCB. 1 No. 2,10,000

2 Breaker panel. 1 No. 1,80,000

3 3 Phase isolator 1 No. 26,000

4 2.3 KVAR, Gap cored series reactor. 1 No. 1,00,000

1158 KVAR capacitor bank including

5 1 No. 1,70,000
structure and fuses

Total = 6,86,000

2. Capacitor bank with filter :

 With filter bank circuit diagram.

Sr. Cost in Rs.

Item Quantity
No.

1 11 kV Outdoor VCB. 1 No. 2,10,000

2 Breaker panel. 1 No. 1,80,000

3 3 Phase isolator. 2 No. 52,000

4 1.6 KVAR, Gap cored series reactor. 1 No. 85,000

5 808 KVAR main capacitor bank. 1 No. 1,16,000

 6 399 KVAR tuning reactor. 1 No. 5,05,000

1203 KVAR capacitor.

7 1 No. 2,18,000
(Harmonic filter)

Total = 13,66,000

Conclusion :

When normal power factor correction bank is converted into the filter bank the
cost almost becomes twice, but with a load of 2000 KW and 40 amp of 5th
harmonic current at 11 kV it can be justified.

This particular consumer has been trying to maintain his power factor near 0.85
by -

 Employing a LT capacitor bank at 1200 KVAR - 600 Volts across the LT

line supplying thyristors and

 Putting 11 kV capacitor in the other sections of his plant.

He burns and replaces his LT capacitors within 2-3 months and then pays a
heavy penalty until a new set of capacitor is installed.

1. Cost of LT capacitors burnout:

Rs. 4,20,000/-, which includes cost of switchgear, cables, installation etc.

2. Penalty over an average monthly consumption of 600 kW x 18 hrs x 25

days per month at an energy rate of Rs. 31/KVAR. Power factor
maintained by other means 0.75. penalty threshold 0.85.

His monthly electricity bill is Rs. 10,60,000/-. His penalty will come to Rs.
1,06,000/- per month.

3. His losses due to mal operation of microprocessor based equipment's

within his premises, those due to burning out of cables , due to burning
out of motor winding etc. are not included in above.
Reference :

 " Electrical Power Capacitors - Design and Manufacture" by Mr. D. M.

Tagare.
 ENERGY EFFICIENT SYSTEMS ROLE OF
CAPACITORS.
Mr. S. Prabhu. , Mr. Sachin. V. Shelar.

MADHAV CAPACITORS PVT. LTD.

Now a days there is increasing awareness about saving energy, utilising the
available energy efficiently by employing energy efficient devices. Thus, there is
a trend to convert conventional systems to energy efficient systems.

Capacitor, which improves the power factor of the system, forms an integral part
of the energy efficient system.

Industry is rapidly changing over to energy efficient drives, devices these are
listed as below.

1. DC drives.
2. Variable speed AC drives.
3. Energy efficient lamps.
4. UPS.

etc.

Though these devices facilitate the use of energy efficiently they reduce the
power factor of the system, inject harmonics in the system. These problems
further gives rise to another problems and ultimately there is reduction in the
overall efficiency of the system.

Devices and problems caused by them :

1. DC drives :

DC drives are used as they give better efficiency than that of AC drives also the
speed control of DC drive is easy.

AC supply is converted into DC supply using converters. Converters reduces

power factor introduces harmonics.

AC------> Converter------> DC

2. Frequency converters :
These are used to control the speed of AC drives. First AC supply is converted
into DC supply, which is again converted into AC with different frequency. This
also reduces the power factor and introduces harmonics.

AC(50 Hz) ------> DC(Using Converter) ------> AC (Using Inverter) (Variable

frequency)

3. Electronic items :

For accurate and automatic control there is increase in use of electronic controls,
also use of computers has been increased. All these electronic items require
switched mode power supply, which draws current over a part of each half cycle
as shown. This reduces the power factor.

Current wave of a "switch mode" power supply

2. Energy efficient lamps :

These lamps draw an almost instantaneous current over a short

portion of the voltage wave. This reduces the power factor.
 Current Wave of a C.F. Lamp.

All these devices form what is called as nonlinear load, which not
only causes the problem of low power factor but also problem of
harmonics.

A. POWER FACTOR CONTROL :

In an electrical distribution system , low power factor, harmonics

can not be tolerated as it reduces the overall efficiency of the system
and it also affects the working of other devices.

To improve the power factor use of capacitor is essential, where

harmonic level is high only capacitor does not serve the purpose
and use of power factor correction capacitors along with the
harmonic filter becomes essential.

Reactive power compensation is very important as it not only

improves the efficiency of the system but also reduces the penalty
for low power factor

Benefits of high power factor :

o Reduction in load current.

o Reduction in power loss, improvement in efficiency of the system.
o Reduction in KVA rating of equipment's, better utilisation of
equipment's.
o Better voltage profile.
o Less voltage fluctuations.
o Higher stability.

Capacitor itself is an energy efficient product as it has low power

loss, its efficiency as high as 99.9%. In addition to this, capacitors
has low initial cost, flexibility in choosing rating, compact size, easy
installation, less maintenance etc.

To install capacitors in a system we should study the system i.e. we

should have certain data such as load in KW, existing power factor
etc. Now we should decide the new required power factor, then we
can calculate the required KVAR to improve the power factor very
easily with the help of following table.

 Following tables and illustrations will enable you to properly select the
capacitor for your installation.
 Capacitor KVAR for Power Factor Correction.

Ratio of Capacitor KVAR/Existing load in KWS to raise the power factor to

New Power Factor

Existing

Power
0.85 0.90 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1.00
Factor

0.40 1.668 1.805 1.959 1.998 2.037 2.085 2.146 2.288

0.50 1.112 1.248 1.403 1.441 1.481 1.528 1.590 1.732

0.60 0.714 0.849 1.005 1.043 1.083 1.131 1.192 1.334

0.65 0.549 0.685 0.840 0.878 0.918 0.966 1.027 1.169

0.67 0.488 0.624 0.779 0.817 0.857 0.905 0.966 1.108

0.68 0.459 0.595 0.750 0.788 0.828 0.876 0.937 1.079

0.69 0.429 0.565 0.720 0.758 0.798 0.840 0.907 1.049

0.70 0.400 0.536 0.691 0.729 0.769 0.811 0.878 1.020

0.71 0.372 0.508 0.663 0.701 0.741 0.783 0.850 0.992

0.72 0.343 0.479 0.634 0.672 0.712 0.754 0.821 0.963

0.73 0.316 0.452 0.607 0.645 0.685 0.727 0.794 0.936

0.74 0.289 0.425 0.580 0.618 0.658 0.700 0.740 0.909

0.75 0.262 0.398 0.553 0.591 0.631 0.673 0.713 0.882

0.76 0.235 0.371 0.526 0.564 0.604 0.652 0.687 0.855

0.77 0.209 0.345 0.500 0.538 0.578 0.620 0.661 0.829

0.78 0.183 0.319 0.474 0.512 0.552 0.594 0.633 0.808

0.79 0.156 0.292 0.447 0.485 0.525 0.567 0.608 0.776

0.80 0.130 0.266 0.421 0.459 0.499 0.541 0.582 0.750

0.81 0.104 0.240 0.395 0.433 0.473 0.515 0.556 0.724

0.82 0.078 0.214 0.369 0.407 0.447 0.489 0.530 0.698

0.83 0.052 0.118 0.343 0.381 0.421 0.463 0.504 0.672

0.84 0.026 0.162 0.317 0.355 0.395 0.437 0.478 0.645

Illustrative Example. :

1. A Factory has a minimum demand load of 140HP (131 KWS allowing an

overall 80% efficiency) and a power factor of 0.65. This is to be raised to
0.90.
 Then Capacitor KVAR/Load Kws ratio from the above table is 0.685.
Therefore Capacitors required are 131 x 0.685 = 89.735 KVAR.

The Capacitors are rated at 440 volts to allow for high voltages prevailing
on the systems. But they operate let us say at an average of 400 volts.
Therefore an upward revision by 1.21 times is called for. The customer
will require 1.21 x 89.74 = 108.6 KVAR. Choose 110 KVAR, which comes
within standard sizes.

A desirable combination would be 50 : 25 x 2 and 10 KVAR.

General layout of system, only power factor correction.

We should not install more KVAR also we should not install less
KVAR than the required KVAR as both give disadvantages,
secondly we should decide optimum location of capacitors, it is
preferable to install the capacitors as near to the load as possible.
Further if there is wide variation in the load pattern we should go
for automatic power factor control method in which capacitors are
switched ON/OFF according to the load.

A. HARMONICS CONTROL :

Energy efficient devices brings along with it problems of

harmonics. So it is better to carry out harmonic survey and
eliminate them by installing harmonic filters.

Harmonics have many disadvantages such as,

 Increased losses , over heating of equipment's and consequent energy

losses and even failure of rotating machinery, transformers, cables ,
capacitors etc.
 Frequent blowing of HRC fuses.
 Malfunction of electronic /computer controls.
 Interference with telephone, communication and logic circuits.
 Excessive neutral currents etc.

A normal power factor correction bank is divided into two parts. One is
normal power factor correction bank, only for power factor correction
purpose and second is harmonic filter bank, which besides reducing the
harmonics also improves the power factor.

General layout of system along with harmonic filter.

A harmonic filter consists of a tuning reactor in series with the capacitor, it

is connected in parallel with the normal untuned capacitor bank. KVAR
rating of reactor and capacitor is higher as it has to carry normal power
frequency current along with the harmonic current, also the voltages
across them is high.

Now a days there is increasing awareness about the harmonics and its
control. Although, presently there is no legislation to control the level of
harmonics it will be introduced in near future and the consumer which is
generating harmonics beyond specified limits may have to pay penalty.

There are standards like IEEE 519-1992, which recommends limits on the
voltage and current distortion. CBIP has also taken steps in this direction
and has published a guide for limiting voltage harmonics while guide for
limiting current harmonics is in pipe line. Also current distortions limits
are gaining increasing importance over the voltage distortion limits.

Table 1 Current distortion limits for general distribution systems.

(120 volts through 69000 volts)

Maximum harmonic current distortion in percent of IL

Individual harmonic order (odd harmonics)

 ISC / IL <11 11<h<17 17<h<23 23<h<35 35< h TDD

<20 4.0 2.0 1.5 0.6 0.3 5.0

20<50 7.0 3.5 2.5 1.0 0.5 8.0

50<100 10.0 4.5 4.0 1.5 0.7 12.0

100<1000 12.0 5.5 5.0 2.0 1.0 15.0

>1000 15.0 7.0 6.0 2.5 1.4 20.0

Even harmonics are limited 25% of odd harmonic limits above.

(When ISC / IL is say 1000, then a maximum limit of 12 % is allowed for

the 11th harmonics. In other words, presence of 11th harmonics below
12% value does not strictly call for a filter.)

The IEEE standard 519 specifies voltage distortion limits as per the table
below.

Bus voltage at PCC Individual voltage Total voltage

distortion % distortion THD %

69 kV and below 3.0 5.0

69 kV - 161 kV 1.5 2.5

Following example gives general idea and values for harmonic filter.

Data :

 Load in KW : 606.20 KW.

 Power factor : 0.42 lag.
  THD : 30%.
 Required new power factor : 0.97.

By calculation :

KVAR required = 1158 KVAR.

Out of this 30 % are used for harmonic filter.

Thus,

Untuned power factor bank = 808 KVAR.

Tuned harmonic filter = 350 KVAR.

KVAR rating of reactor = 399 KVAR.

KVAR rating of capacitor = 1203 KVAR.

(It can be seen that individual rating of reactor and capacitor is quite high.)

The cost of harmonic filter is many times the normal capacitor bank but the
advantages gained are worth.

Capacitors play very important role in making a system energy efficient. A

energy efficient system has low losses, high efficiency and capacitor helps in
reducing losses and gaining high efficiency. Cost of the capacitor is low, also the
payback period of capacitors is less. Life of capacitors is fairly high
approximately 10 years, it has less maintenance.

In near future all conventional drives will be replaced by energy efficient drives ,
which brings along with it the problems of low power factor and harmonics.
These problems can be easily solved by using capacitors and total system can be
made more energy efficient