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Abstract
This paper introduces the terminology and various issues related to ‘power quality’. The interest in power quality is explained in
the context of a number of much wider developments in power engineering: deregulation of the electricity industry, increased
customer-demands, and the integration of renewable energy sources. After an introduction of the different terminology two power
quality disturbances are discussed in detail: voltage dips and harmonic distortion. For each of these two disturbances, a number of
other issues are briefly discussed, which are characterisation, origin, mitigation, and the need for future research.
# 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
the network (company) and the customer. This may be that power quality remains in most cases as a part of the
for example a domestic customer and the public low- phrase ‘bad power quality’. A power quality disturbance
voltage distribution network, an individual plant and is only seen as an issue when it causes problems, either
the industrial medium-voltage distribution network, a for the customer or for the network operator. Voltage
power station and a transmission network, or a trans- dips and harmonics are seen as a power quality issue by
mission network and a distribution network. The term many; but voltage and frequency variations are not seen
power quality is certainly not restricted to the interac- as a power quality issue because the latter were
tion between the power grid and end-user equipment. incorporated in the design of power systems many years
The term electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) has in ago.
this context a more restricted meaning: it applies only to
the interaction between equipment and its electromag-
netic environment (e.g. the power system). Strictly
3. Harmonic distortion
speaking it would thus only apply to low-voltage
networks but the terminology is also being applied to
The term harmonics refers to the decomposition of a
higher voltage levels. Note that in the international
non-sinusoidal but periodic signal into a sum of
(IEC) standards power quality is treated as a subset of
sinusoidal components:
EMC.
Power quality disturbances (i.e. deviations of voltage X
and/or current from the ideal) come in two types, based f (t) Ah cos(2phf0 8 h )
h1
on the way a characteristic of voltage or current is
measured: with Ah and 8h amplitude and phase angle for harmonic
order h, f0 /1/T and T the period. For a power system
. Variations are small deviations of voltage or current operating at 50 Hz, any non-sinusoidal voltage or
characteristics from its nominal or ideal value, e.g. current can be decomposed into a fundamental (50
the variation of voltage r.m.s. value and frequency Hz) component plus a number of harmonic components
from their nominal values, or the harmonic distortion with frequencies that are a multiple integer of 50 Hz.
of voltage and current. Variations are disturbances The latter are called harmonic components. The 150-Hz
that are measured at any moment in time. Harmonic component (h /3) is referred to as the third harmonic,
distortion will be discussed as an example of a power etc.
quality variation. A more appropriate term would be ‘waveform
. Events are larger deviations that only occur occa- distortion’ where one could distinguish between:
sionally, e.g. voltage interruptions or load switching
currents. Events are disturbances that start and end . Harmonic distortion is distortion where the waveform
with a threshold crossing. Voltage dips will be treated is non-sinusoidal but periodic with a period equal to
below as an example. the period of the power system frequency (50 or 60
Hz). Most of the literature on waveform distortion
The difference between variations and events is not only considers this harmonic distortion, which is an
always obvious, and related to the way in which the acceptable approximation in many cases. However
disturbance is measured. The best way of distinguishing most power quality studies consider more or less
between the two is as follows: variations can be exceptional situations, so that we cannot limit
measured at any moment in time; events require waiting ourselves to harmonic distortion only.
for a voltage or current characteristic to exceed a pre- . The presence of a dc component can be seen as a
defined threshold. As the setting of a threshold is always special case of harmonic distortion, but is often
somewhat arbitrary there is no clear border between treated separately due to difference in measurement
variations and events. Still the distinction between them techniques and consequences.
remains useful and it is in fact done (implicitly of . Interharmonic distortion is mathematically the same
explicitly) in almost any power quality study. However, as harmonic distortion. The difference with harmonic
note that here also there is no consistency in terminol- distortion is that the period is a multiple of the period
ogy. For example, measurements of the r.m.s. voltage of the power system frequency. For example, a 50 Hz
can be the basis for a variation (when 10-min averages signal with a 180 Hz interharmonic component has a
are continuously recorded) but also for an event period of 100 ms (5 cycles of 50 Hz, 18 cycles of 180
(starting and ending when the r.m.s. voltage dips below Hz). Mathematically, a frequency component at an
90% of the nominal voltage). irrational multiple of the power system frequency
The definitions of power quality events and variations would lead to a non-periodic signal, but that case
as given here are much wider than the general inter- does not need to be considered in practice. Inter-
pretation of power quality. This has to do with the fact harmonic distortion is discussed in more detail in [1].
8 M.H.J. Bollen / Electric Power Systems Research 66 (2003) 5 /14
. Subharmonic components are components with a between the harmonic lines. In this case there are no
frequency less than the power system frequency. clear interharmonic components present, instead there is
They can be considered as interharmonic distortion, a significant amount of noise, especially below 100 Hz.
but are often treated separately because their con- Part of this noise is the cause of light flicker. Note that
sequences are different from those of higher fre- according to the IEC standard for measurement of
quency components. harmonic distortion (IEC 61000-4-7) all spectral content
. Voltage flicker , or more accurately, voltage fluctua- in between integer harmonics is counted as interharmo-
tions leading to light flicker , are mathematically nic distortion even if the term noise would be more
another special case of interharmonic distortion. appropriate.
The special interest in this type of disturbance is
again due to the consequences. Even very small
3.1. Origin of waveform distortion
fluctuations in the r.m.s. voltage with frequencies
between 1 and 15 Hz lead to light-intensity variation
Harmonic distortion is due to the presence of non-
for which our eyes are very sensitive.
linear elements in the power system (i.e. either in the
. Noise , are all non-periodic frequency components.
network or in the loads). The main distortion is due to
The power system is not a static entity but it changes power-electronic loads like computers, televisions, en-
all the time, so that strictly applying the above defini- ergy-saving lamps. Such loads can be found in increas-
tions would imply that everything is noise. To distin- ing numbers with domestic and commercial customers
guish between the different types of distortion is indeed leading to an increasing level of distortion in the
network. An example of the non-sinusoidal current
not always possible. A way of distinguishing would be
due to a normal computer is shown in Fig. 4. This
by taking the spectrum of the signal over a reasonable
waveform is typical for many loads at home and in the
number of cycles, e.g. 50 cycles (1 s). Harmonics and
office.
interharmonics show up as sharp lines in the spectrum
Also adjustable-speed drives and arc furnaces are
whereas noise is seen as a continuous spectrum. Light
famous for the distortion they cause. But these loads are
flicker cannot be observed directly from the spectrum,
mainly found with large industrial customers where
although the presence of frequency components within mitigation methods are applied to limit the resulting
10 Hz of the fundamental component is a good voltage distortion. Therefore the resulting voltage dis-
indication. For the analysis of light flicker, the flicker- tortion is mainly determined by small non-linear loads
meter algorithm has been developed. and not by the large ones, although large non-linear
Fig. 3 shows the spectrum of a current signal contain- loads sometimes cause local problems. The daily varia-
ing several types of waveform distortion. The spectrum tion of the harmonic distortion shows clearly the pattern
was obtained by applying a discrete Fourier transform of domestic load, mainly televisions. This pattern is
to a 20-s window of the measured current to an arc visible round the globe as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, where
furnace. The harmonic distortion shows up as the each figure shows the 5th harmonic and the THD
spectral lines at integer multiples of 50 Hz. The spectral obtained as averages over 10-min intervals.
components close to the spectral lines are due to time Interharmonic distortion is much more related to
variations in the amplitude of these harmonics. Inter- industrial loads, so is the noise component of waveform
harmonic distortion shows up as spectral lines in distortion.
Capacitor banks are often incorrectly mentioned as a
source of harmonic distortion. They are not a cause of
Fig. 3. Spectrum of a signal with different types of waveform Fig. 4. Example of voltage at the terminals of a computer (sine wave)
distortion. (Current in A, Frequency in Hz.) and the resulting non-sinusoidal current.
M.H.J. Bollen / Electric Power Systems Research 66 (2003) 5 /14 9
3.3. Consequences
A high crest factor (harmonic overvoltage) on the voltage distortion. Reduced emission is seen by many as
other hand may cause faster ageing of the insulation. the preferred long-term solution of the harmonic
The main effect of harmonic current distortion is distortion problem. One may however wonder if this is
overheating of series components like transformers indeed the cheapest solution. As the number of concrete
and cables. The heating is proportional to the r.m.s. problems due to harmonic distortion remains relatively
current; whereas, the transported energy is related to the small, keeping the distortion at its current level or even
fundamental component. For a given active power, the allowing a further increase may be a cheaper overall
heating increases with increasing current distortion. The solution.
effect, however, is more severe than would follow from An important component in addressing harmonic
this reasoning as the resistance of transformers increases problems is in defining limits to harmonic voltage and
with frequency. The higher order harmonics thus current distortion. The limits on harmonic voltage
produce more heating per Ampere than the fundamental distortion as mentioned in various national and inter-
component. Heavily distorted current waveforms re- national standards are mainly a formalisation of the
quire a de-rating of transformers. The effect is also already existing distortion. For harmonic current limits,
present for cables and lines, but to a lesser extent. IEC and IEEE use two principally different approaches.
The rating of power-electronic series components like The IEC standards set limits to the amount of emission
UPS and static transfer switch is determined mainly by of individual equipment, whereas the IEEE harmonic
the peak value of the current, not so much by its r.m.s. standard limits the emission per customer. Under the
value. A current with a high crest factor (as is very IEEE standard the responsibility lies with the customer
common with electronic load) will require a significant who may decide to install filters instead of buying better
derating. equipment. Under the IEC standards the responsibility
Third harmonic currents lead to a large sum current lies with the manufacturers of polluting equipment. The
through the neutral conductor. This current may cause difference can be traced back to the aim of the
overheating if the neutral conductor is designed not to documents: the IEEE standard aimed at regulating the
carry any significant current and is not equipped with connection of large industrial customers, whereas the
overload protection. Many single-phase loads cause a IEC document mainly aims at small customers that do
large third harmonic current which could lead to neutral not have the means to choose between mitigation
overload. The problem is especially present in low- options.
voltage installations with large amounts of computers or
energy-saving lighting. 3.5. Future research directions
4. Voltage dips
the application voltages. An additional problem is the events per year for different remaining voltage and
large inrush current that occurs when the voltage duration. There is an ongoing discussion about how
recovers after the dip (i.e. upon fault clearing). This to group remaining voltage and duration into bins.
recovery inrush may lead to damage in the rectifier Examples are the Unipede disdip table, IEC 61000-2-
components. For three-phase rectifiers, also the unba- 8 and IEEE Std. 493 and 1346.
lance of the currents through the rectifier and the ripple . The opposite principle ‘keep it simple’ , results in a
in the d.c. voltage are of concern. An example of the d.c. small number of indices, ideally just one index. The
bus voltage behind a three-phase diode rectifier is shown commonly-used SARFI indices belong to this school
in Fig. 9. The simulated event is a drop in the voltage as well as several proposals to quantify supply
between two phases to 50% of its pre-event value. The performance by just one number.
effect of voltage dip on adjustable-speed drives is
discussed in more detail in [4]. Important in the discussion on voltage-dip indices is
to consider that they can be obtained by measurements
as well as by simulations. Measurement (power quality
4.2. Characterisation and indices monitoring) is a good way of assessing the performance
of a site or system, in the end measurement is the only
To be able to characterise voltage dip events some exact method. But measurements have limited predictive
kind of processing of the sampled voltage waveforms is value due to the large year-to-year and site-to-site
needed. This is defined rather well in the standard differences. To predict voltage-dip performance a large
document IEC 61000-4-30, where remaining voltage and number of monitors are needed for a long period of
duration are defined as the two main characteristics to time. Stochastic prediction methods are much more
quantify a voltage dip. Both are obtained from the r.m.s. suitable for performance prediction, e.g. for comparing
voltage as a function of time (see Fig. 8). The different mitigation methods.
characterisation of three-phase measurements remains
a point of discussion. The current practice (using the
worst channel) is not very satisfactory. The character- 4.3. Mitigation methods
isation of three-phase measurements is discussed in
more detail in [5]. What has to be mitigated here is the tripping of
Having defined the characteristics of a single event, it equipment due to voltage dips. This can be done in a
becomes possible to describe the performance of a site number of ways:
and even of a whole network. For processing of event . Reducing the number of faults . There are several well-
indices into site and system-indices, there exist two known methods for this like tree-trimming, animal
different schools of thought which for the time being guards, and shielding wires, but also replacing over-
have shown incompatible. head lines by underground cables. As most of the
. The principle ‘don’t throw away too much informa- severe dips are due to faults, this will directly affect
tion’ , typically results in a table with the number of the dip frequency.
. Faster fault clearing . This requires improved protec-
tion techniques. Much gain can be obtained in
distribution networks, but at transmission level the
fault-clearing time is already very short. Further
improvement at transmission level would require
the development of a new generation of circuit
breakers and relays.
. Improved network design and operation . The network
can be changed such that a fault will not lead to a
severe dip at a certain location. This has been a
common practice in the design of industrial power
systems, but not in the public supply. Possible
options are to remove long overhead feeders from
busses supplying sensitive customers, and connecting
on-site generators at strategic locations. Also the use
of very fast transfer switches can be seen as a
network-based solution.
Fig. 9. Voltage at the d.c. bus of a three-phase adjustable-speed drive
. Mitigation equipment at the interface . The most
before and during a voltage dip. Solid curve: large capacitor; dashed commonly-used method of mitigating voltage dips
curve: small capacitor. is connecting a UPS or a constant-voltage transfor-
M.H.J. Bollen / Electric Power Systems Research 66 (2003) 5 /14 13
mer between the system and the sensitive load. For Fundamental research is also needed on stochastic
large loads the static series compensator of DVR prediction methods, including a large number of com-
(dynamic voltage restorer) is a possible solution. parisons with monitoring results to find the limitations
Power-electronic solutions are discussed in more of stochastic prediction.
detail in [6]. Most of the work on consequences of voltage dips has
. Improved end-user equipment . Making the equipment been directed towards adjustable-speed drives. With the
immune against all voltage dips would also solve the increase in embedded (renewable) generation more work
problem, but it is for most equipment not (yet) should be done on the effect of voltage dips on
feasible. Methods of improving equipment behaviour generation, especially on inverter-based interfaces.
will be discussed in more detail in [4].
Acknowledgements
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