Low Harmonics

Frequency Convertors
Patrick New, Siemens nv / SA
Product Manager Drive Technologies

For internal use only / © Siemens AG 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Line harmonics
Definition

Electrical loads with non-linear characteristics connected to a line

power supply with sinusoidal voltage source (generator,
transformer) draws a non-sinusoidal current that distorts the
voltage at the line supply connection point - PCC (Point of
Common Coupling).

Harmonics cause a voltage drop at the transformer and

disturb other loads at the PCC
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Line harmonics
Definition

According to Fourier, a non-sinusoidal

signal can be decomposed in a sum of
some of its multiple in frequency called
harmonics

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Line harmonics
International standard

IEEE 519 – 1992

Sets limits for voltage and current harmonics both for the
individual consumer and for the connection point (PCC)

Used in:
 Europe
 USA & Canada
 Many parts of Asia

Isc/ILoad Vk < 11 11< h < 17 17 < h < 23 23 < h < 35 35 < h THD

< 20 >5% 4.0 2.0 1.5 0.6 0.3 5%

20 < 50 5%-2% 7.0 3.5 2.5 1.0 0.5 8%

> 50 <2% 10.0 4.5 4.0 1.5 0.7 12 %

IEEE 519-1992 Maximum Harmonic Current Distortion in Percent of ILoad

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Line harmonics
International standard

EN 61000-2-4
Compatibility Levels for Low-Frequency
Conducted Disturbances in Industrial Plants

EN 61000-2-4 does not define limits for harmonic currents.

Limits are specified only for harmonic voltages and the total
harmonic distortion of the voltage THD(V).

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Line harmonics
6-pulse frequency converter

Line side Converter side

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Line harmonics
6-pulse system

6-pulse rectifier circuits, only generate odd currents and harmonic

voltages that cannot be divided by 3:

h=n*6±1 where n = 1, 2, 3, ...

h = 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 25, 29, 31, 35, 37, 41, ...

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Line harmonics
Improvement of a 6-pulse system

Insertion of a line reactor to improve the waveform

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Line harmonics
Relative short-circuit power on a 6-pulse system

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Line harmonics
12-pulse system

The 30° phase shift in the transformer compensates

h = 5, 7, 17, 19, 29, 31, ... , so that only odd harmonic currents and
voltages that cannot be divided by 3 remain:

h = n * 12 ± 1 where n = 1, 2, 3, ...

h = 11, 13, 23, 25, 35, 37, 47, 49, ...

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Line harmonics
Spectral harmonics representation of a12-pulse system

18-, 24-, 36-pulse systems reduce harmonics generation even

more
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Line harmonics
Active Front End system (AFE)

Main features:
 Actively-pulsed feeding / regenerative supply (4Q)
 Full IGBT inverter, with a constant & controlled DC link voltage
 The clean power filter ensures an almost sinusoidal power
consumption and very few system perturbations
 Power factor compensation (cos φ ≈ 1)

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Clean power frequency converter
Integration of an efficient Line Harmonic Filter (LHF)

SINAMICS SINAMICS G150

LHF compact Clean Power
G150

LCM LHF Power

compact Module

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Integrated line harmonics filter
Design

The filter is made up of a line-side and a converter-side

harmonic absorber:
Line-side Filter
PCC LHF Converter Characteristics Converter-side
Filter
Characteristics
Supply

Supply Line Reactor

Inductance Uk = 2%

1 3 5 7 11 13
Number n of the Harmonic Current

 The converter-side harmonic absorber is tuned to the 5th

current harmonic and filters it almost entirely. The 7th, 11th and
13th harmonics are also noticeably reduced.
 The line-side harmonic absorber is tuned to the non-existent 3rd
harmonic so that the line is only partially filtered.

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Integrated line harmonics filter
Harmonics rejection

100 100
Line-side Converter-side
80 80
Current Current
60 Harmonics 60 Harmonics
(THD(I) = 5% - 7.5%) (THD(I) = 25% - 50%)
40 40

20 Filter 20

0 0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25

Significant reduction of harmonics according to IEEE519

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Customer benefits
Energy savings with Line Harmonics Filter

Power losses (kW) 380...480V

50
40
30
20 G150 Clean
Pow er
10
Avg AFE
0
110 132 160 200 250 315 400 630 900 kW

Energy cost - Savings (€/a)

(0,08€/kWh, 8.000 h/a)

10.000
8.000
6.000
4.000
2.000
0
110 132 160 200 250 315 400 630 900 kW

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Integrated line harmonics filter
Cost reduction

Line G130 / G150

Point of Main
Harmonics with 6-pulse
Common Contactor
Filter rectifier
Coupling (PCC) External, Line-
Line
side Fuse
PCC
LHF Reactor
~
Uk = 2%
~

Integration in the single cabinet = easy installation

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Integrated line harmonics filter
Additional benefits

 Passive components, MTBF ≈ > 75% higher than an AFE

 Higher efficiency compared to active filter technologies
 An additional line reactor is eliminated
 Less motor stress (voltage peaks, insulation, bearing currents)

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Line harmonics reduction systems
Performance overview

Harmonics

6-pulse

12-pulse

18-pulse

G150 Clean
Power

Complexity

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Line harmonics reduction systems
General conditions using passive filters

Used in weak supplies with uk ≥ 5%

 Line harmonics are reduced, however, the level specified by IEEE519 is
not achieved

Used in extremely weak line supplies with uk ≥ 10% (e.g. ships or a UPS)
 The resonance frequency of the filter can be significantly detuned, so that
the basic fundamental of the input voltage increases significantly – and
goes outside the permissible tolerance limits.

cos φ is shifted into the partial load range

 Capacitive reactive power is drawn in the partial load range.
 HOWEVER: Line supplies are generally pre-loaded as a result of
inductive reactive power, which LHF partially compensate

If general conditions prevent the use of an LHF, then an AFE is always a solution!

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Line harmonics reduction systems
Best of breed solution selection scheme

Converter with low line harmonics

No
Energy recovery required Weak supply line, cos φ

Yes

SINAMICS G150 Clean Power SINAMICS S150 w. AFE

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Thank you for your attention!

Siemens nv / SA
Patrick New
Product Manager Drive Technologies
Square Marie Curie, 30
B-1070 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 536 69 34
Mail: patrick.new@siemens.com

For internal use only / © Siemens AG 2010. All Rights Reserved.