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Reactive power
real or imaginary?
No matter how abstract the concept of reactive power is, requiring as it does
the use of 'imaginary' algebra to calculate, it plays a vital role in the stable
operation of power systems.
Faraday disc
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V t I I I I
0
70
4 Addition of vectors
using Pythagoras'
theorem
Real or imaginary?
This concept of 'real' power, which is
unidirectional, and 'reactive' power, which
alternates but does not produce power in a
load, has led t o the concept of 'real' and
'imaginary' power. This analysis of circuits by
calculating waveforms and adding them is
very tedious, and virtually impossible for all
except the simplest of circuits. It was
simplified, however, by the realisation that a
sinusoidally alternating quantity can be
represented by a quantity called a vector, and
that out-of-phase alternating quantities can
be added by adding vectors, as shown in Fig.
4, using Pythagoras' Theorem. Thus the total
current can be calculated very easily.
During the 19th century mathematicians
had developed a sophisticated method for
calculating vectors, based on what is known
as complex variable theory in which 'real'
vectors are represented by numbers, whilst
vectors at 90" t o these are represented by
numbers preceded by the letter i, so a
complex number has the form
A+i5
+
+
Addition of vectors
using complex numbers
+ +
71
6 Theeffectof
different ladder lengths
on the work of a
window cleaner
72
High-voltagetransmission
Sebastian de Ferranti conceived of the first
central power station sited for convenience,
rather than for proximity t o its load. In 1887
he formed the London Electric Supply
Corporation, t o build a new power station at
Deptford, 7 miles from the city centre. He
developed 1 OkV underground cables t o
transmit the power t o the Grosvenor Gallery.
Many events marked the progress of the
project, but imaginary power reared its head
in an unexpected way.
When testing the cables, Ferranti found
that, when he energised the cables at
Deptford to their designed voltage of 1 OkV,
on open circuit, the receiving-end voltage
was 12,5kV! He had inadvertently discovered
the effect which bears his name t o this day,
whereby the charging current flowing into
the cable causes a reactive voltage rise. Even
when fully loaded, the voltage at the
receiving end was 11kV and thus,
accidentally, the standard distribution
network voltage was established!
In June 1909 the first interconnection
between two large power systems was made,
between the Newcastle Electric Supply
Company on Tyneside, and Teeside. The
interconnection over 40 miles laid the
foundation of the present national grid
interconnection, which was first proposed by
Charles Merz in 1916. But interconnection
also increased problems of voltage control.
The Tyneside-Teeside interconnection was
controlled by transformer regulators, which
enabled reactive power flows o n the system
to be adjusted t o produce a stable voltage
profile. The problem of stable operation
between generators operating in parallel had
been met in the very early days of AC power
generation. When two generators were
paralleled there was a tendency for one of
them t o 'grab' all of the reactive power, and
the other t o oscillate wildly. It was found that
by compounding a current signal as well as a
voltage signal in the voltage regulator control
circuits, generators could be made t o share
reactive power. In high-voltage systems, the
reactances of the step-up transformers
performed a similar function, but for
transmission over large distances,
transformer tapchangers were essential t o
ensure a match between sending-end and
receiving-end voltages.
The ability of power systems to grow, with
more generators and loads operating in
parallel, over longer distances, outgrew (for a
POWER ENGINEERING JOURNAL APRIL 1994
UK400kV
transmission neworkin
'Outhem
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Conclusion
I have tried to explain the concept of
reactive power, and to demonstrate that no
matter how abstract the concept is, requiring
the use of 'imaginary' algebra to calculate, it
plays a vital role in the stable operation of
power systems.
Charles Parsons' role in recognising the
need to control reactive power flows via
voltage regulation ought, like his other
achievements, to be fully recognised.
Thecompanieswhich hefounded, and
their successors, continue to this day to
manufacture the exciters, voltage regulators,
transformers, reactors and capacitors which
are so vital t o reactive power control. From
his earliest controllers using rotating
magnets, to the latest equipment using
superconducting technology, reactive power,
although abstract and 'imaginary' in
concept, yet measurable and having
commercial value, has proved to be very 'real'
indeed.
This article is based on the Parsons Memorial
Lecture delivered by the author at Savoy Place,
London, on the 30th November 1993.
0 IEE: 1994
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