340

MODELLING OF FACTS DEVICES

A R M Tenbrio J B Ekanayake N Jenkins UMIST, U.K.

INTRODUCTION
A variety of FACTS devices are now being proposed as a means of increasing the capability and flexibility of the power system. The planning and design stage of the implementation of this new technology will require reliable and easy-to-use models to represent the FACTS devices and associated networks. The type of modelling needed will depend on the studies being undertaken but will include detailed electro-magnetic transient simulations as well as simpler representations. In this paper digital and physical models for the Advanced Static VAr Compensator (ASVC) and a digital model for the Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC) are presented. The detailed models included representations of the power electronic switching circuits, the control systems and the power system network.

c
'dc

Figure 1: The power cmmt of the ASVC

Description of the models Physical model. A three phase, 215 V, 4 kVAr hardware model of the ASVC shown in Figure 1 was constructed [Ekanayake (3)]. For the small scale physical model IGBTs were used as switching devices. Two switching strategies were used to minimize the harmonic distortion: fundamental frequency modulation (FFM) and selective harmonic elimination modulation (SHEM). The firing angle for the FFM technique was selected as 15" to minimize the total harmonic voltage distortion. The firing angles of the SHEM technique were selected to eliminate 5th, 7th and 11th harmonics in the ASVC output voltage. The angles for this case were found to be 14", 24.5" and 30.3" respectively, A PLL based firing signal generator was implemented to obtain correct firing signals both for FFM and SHEM operation. A manual VAr demand signal was used to obtain varying amount of reactive power. A closed loop digital control system was also implemented to control a test busbar voltage.
EMTDC model. EMTDC is an electromagnetic transient simulation program with a graphical interface [Manitoba HVDC Centre (4)]. This program permits the researcher to take into account the electronic structure of the ASVC with its controls as well as the power network. This package also has Fourier analysis tools which can be used to determine the harmonic spectrum of any waveform. In the EMTDC package, the switching elements are modelled as variable resistors.

MODELLING OF AN ASVC
The ability of an ASVC to generate and supply varying amounts of reactive power has already been demonstrated [Guygui et a1 (l)]. However before widespread application of these circuits, comprehensive studies using physical and digital models need to be carried out to investigate the performance of the ASVCs under varying system conditions.

Principle of operation
A three-level three phase ASVC circuit shown in Figure 1 was considered for this study [Ekanayake and Jenkins ( 2 ) ] . The inverter is connected to the supply via a single transformer and the leakage reactance of that transformer is represented by X. If the fundamental of the inverter output voltage (V,) is in phase with the system voltage, the line current into or out of the ASVC is always 90" to the network voltage due to the reactive coupling. If the fundamental of the voltage V, is higher than the ac system voltage, reactive power is generated by the ASVC. On the other hand, when the ASVC output voltage is less than the system voltage, reactive power is absorbed by the ASVC. If the switching devices of the inverter are operated to obtain the fundamental of the voltage V, slightly leading or lagging the system voltage, by an angle 6, net real power flows between the system and the ASVC. This in turn decreases or increases the capacitor voltage and thus varies the ASVC output.

'AC and DC Power Transmission', 29 April-3 May 1996. Conference Publication No. 423,O IEE, 1996

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The three-level inverter based three phase ASVC was modelled using this packa.ge. A PLL locked to the system frequency was used to obtain the phase angle 6 , which controls the reactive power transfer between the ASVC and the system. The firing signals corresponding to both FFM and SHEM mode of operatiion were obtained using the PLL output and the EMTDC discrete logic components. To study the performance of the ASVC, a VAr demand signal was incorporated in the PLL. This signal was changed manually or by using a PI controller depending on the type of the studies carried out.

2 0 v : 5Irts

2V : 5mri

B
B
1A : 5ms

From experimental results

Mathematical model. ?'he three-level inverter in the ASVC circuit can be represented by switching functions K(t) which relate ac quantities to the dc quantities [3]. The ASVC ac side voltages and current can be written as:

Where

v,'
L 'e

[vaXv,,
'dc21

vex]

i'

[i, i, iC]
'dc21
136.1
161.185

= ['del

.I 'de = [idcl

Time(ms)

186.27

If the ac system is considered to be balanced and represented by a vector V, and the connection between the ASVC and the ac system is represented by an equivalent inductance L and an equivalent resistance R, then:
L-W)
+

From EMTDC model

R i(t)

V,(t)

'V,(t)

dt For the ASVC de quantities:

(3)

(4)

The simultaneous differential equations (l), (2), (3) and (4) were used as the mathematical model. The fourth order Runge-Kutta method given in the MATLAB program was used to solve these equations.

Validation of the models

To validate the models described in the previous section, the waveforms of the ASVC current, dc side capacitor voltage and capacitor voltage ripple were obtained both analytically and experimentally. The waveforms corresponding to C = 220pF and L = 56.8mH fcir FFM operation obtained with the three models are shovvn in Figure 2. Similar sets of waveforms for SHEM operation are shown in Figure 3. Substantial agreement between the analytical and experimental results can be seen from those figures. The discrepancies between these results are mainly due to errors
in estimating the resistance and the inductance associated

Operation of the ASVC on a weak network

To study the operation of the ASVC on a weak network, it was connected to the simple circuit shown in Figure 4. The ASVC w s used to stabilize the test busbar voltage using the a PLZ, based control circuit described earlier. The ASVC and the power system were modelled using the EMTDC package. The test busbar voltage, the ASVC ac side current and the dc capacitor voltages were obtained using this model
when connecting a -1 M V A r inductive load and a +1 MVAr

with the physical model.

capacitive load, and are shown in Figure 5. As uncharged capacitors were connected to the network, a high transient voltage was experienced when connecting them.

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500mV : 5ms
ASVC cunent (A)
150,

1W

20V : 5ms

50

0 50
1W
,

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

7 1

IA:5?

dc capacitor voltages (kVl

0

"del

"&I

From experimental results

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

I ,

35 5

Test busbar voltage without the ASVC (Pu)

112

*oL---=-l
B
743 798

33 5

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

1 ,

108
i 04

-.
1

I
768.838

Time(ms) .

793 878

From EMTDC model

Figure 5: The operation of the ASVC on the network shown in Figure 4. MODELLING OF A TCSC

"
at

____-

Figure 3 : For lagging mode of operation with SHEM

1 5 % 4MVA
SOMVA X/R=4

TCSCs are able to respond to high frequency electromagnetic oscillations. For this reason, the development of a TCSC model for electromagnetic transient studies is fundamental to the widespread use of this technology and to quantify and understand the benefits of TCSC compensated power systems. Electromechanical models cannot ensure that a TCSC will perform well at high frequencies, as in these circumstances, the phasor approach used in these studies is not valid. Therefore, an electromagnetic transient analysis must be undertaken to ensure that a TCSC and other fast acting devices will operate in a compatible manner. Principle and modes of operation

Vdcl
Vdc2

A single-module TCSC consists essentially of a capacitor in

parallel with a thyristor controlled reactor (TCR). There are

1U3.3 kV

n
'Test

lSOOpF

fundamentally three modes of operation: thyristor blocked mode (TBM), thyristor fully conducting or thyristor switched reactor (TSR) , and thyristor operating in phase controlled mode (TPC). Figure 6 shows a one-line diagram of a TCSC.

Busbar
f

lMVAr Load

Figure 4: The simple network used to test the ASVC

In the TBM no firing pulse is issued and the TCSC behaves as a capacitor alone. The line current passes through the capacitor and no current circulates in the TCR. In the TSR the thyristor valve is continuously fired, so most of the line

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CT

I/ C

r-ih
Parameter Setting

I 5
Figure 6: One-line diagram of a TCSC current flows through the thyristors and the TCSC presents a net inductive impedance. In the TPC the thyristors operate with phase control of the firing pulses and partial thyristor conduction is established. Through phase angle control it is possible to control the thyristor current. Depending on the magnitude of the thyristor current the TCSC may present either a capacitive or inductive net reactance. The TCSC operation with a low level of thyristor conduction results in a net capacitive reactance which is greater than that of the capacitor alone. Conversely, the TCSC operation with a high level of thyristor conduction results in a reversed circulating current and a net inductive reactance greater than the reactor alone.

SYKHK1"ISATIlMI

SYFIWl

I I

Description of the TCSC model

The TCSC model was developed for use in the EMTP-ATP program. In order to model the TCSC, its circuits were grouped into three systems: power circuit; measurement and control systems; firing and :synchronisation systems. Figure 7 shows the functional one-line diagram of the TCSC model. The interaction between the TCSC control system and the power system was modelled through Transient Analysis of Control System - TACSIEMTP. Moreover, the TCSC controls were developed using the EMTP data modularisation (EDM) feature which allows the controls to be divided into templates. These templates are kept in an EDM library and are useld in a structure similar to the subroutines of high-level computational languages.

Measurement and control systems. The measurement system comprises a band-bass filter (tuned to the fundamental, i.e. 60 Hz:), a device based on quadratic measurement and two notch filters (2nd and 4th harmonics) in cascade. The quadratic measurement converts a sinusoidal signal (line current) into a dc one. The control system consists of a PI (proportional-integral) regulator as the main controller whose objective is to keep at zero the steady-state, line current error. The measurement and control systems work independently on each phase.
The operation mode selector, seen in Figure 7, is able to act either automatically or manually, This selector can operate the TCSC in two main modes: closed loop current control (CLCC) and open loop impedance control (OLIC). In addition to these two modes of operation, there are three special strategies of operation that are activated in special circumstances, as follows,: TSR; TBM and WTM (waiting mode). The TSR mode is activated when the line current is high (high capacitor voltage), e.g. during short circuits. The TBM is used for iniatilisatiion of the TCSC model, while the WTM provides for the 'TCSC a fixed firing angle until another mode is set. The operation mode selector was modelled by logic gates.
Firing and synchronisadion systems. The firing system-

Power circuit. This circuit consists of a capacitor bank in parallel with a TCR and a MOV arrester to protect the capacitor against overvoltag,e.In turn the TCR is composed of the reactors themselves together with a thyristor valve and snubber circuit.
The power circuit components were represented in the EMTJ? through the conventional, built-in EMTP models. The capacitor and reactor were represented by their capacitance and inductance respectively. The MOV arrester was represented by an exponential, gapless surge arrester type 92. Thyristor valves were represented as ideal AC switches (i.e. type 11 TACS controlled switches) in series
with a small resistance that accounts for part of the losses in

conduction. This thyristor representation underestimates the losses, but this is assumed as a reasonable approximation. The inclusion of the snubber circuit, properly dimensioned,

consists of a linearisation curve and a pulse generating unit. The linearisation curve is :necessarydue to the non-linearity

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in the process of thyristor firing [Tenorio ( 5 ) ] . The linearisation curve was modelled by a TACS device 56. The pulse generating unit is based on a sawtooth generator that adjusts its frequency to follow the line current zerocrossings. This also includes a feature called unconditional fire which is used for firing the thyristors continuously. The unconditionalfirfiring can serve to put the TCSC in TSR mode or to provide protective firing. The synchronisation system works based on line current zero-crossings or alternatively is based on a phase locked loop system (PLL). The synchronisation based on line current zero-crossings detects the line current from the measurement system, and this signal is fed into synchronisation filters (low-pass), which provide a phase shift of 90". Therefore, in steady-state the synchronisation signal is in phase with the capacitor voltage. The synchronisation based on a PLL is required for more accurate studies when the presence of harmonics and subharmonics may perturb the synchronisation based on line current zero-crossings, e.g. subsynchronous resonance (SSR) studies.

are reflected into 32 Hz rotor oscillations (60 Hz-28 Hz), which nearly coincide with the fourth torsional mode of oscillation of the shaft at 32.3 Hz (7). As a result, there is a destabilisation of this mode of oscillation which causes mechanical torque buildup as seen in figure 9 (a). In the absence of countermeasures the shaft would be damaged. Figure 9 (b) shows the same simulation, but a TCSC (rated for 15 - 60 Q) with a reactance order equal to 50 Q (OLIC) replacing the series capacitor. As can be seen, no SSR interaction is observed and the mechanical torques are slightly damped. This is a consequence of this TCSC presenting an inductive impedance at SSR frequencies [ (5), (6) I.
1414A

Validation of the TCSC model

The TCSC model for the EMTP was extensively tested and several comparisons against real-time TNA simulations were carried out (5). Figure 8 shows a comparison between EMTP simulation and published TNA simulation [Hedin et al. ( 6 ) ] . A current reference step change of 200 A was applied resulting in the current regulator changing the demanded line current from 700 A to 900 A rms. A good agreement between those simulations were achieved. Both systems present a slightly underdamped response with a rise time around 150 ms.

TNA simulation (6)

Laa,

LINECURREM

Illustrating an SSR case

With the objective of investigating the advantages of TCSCs

over conventional series capacitors, an SSR case, using the first benchmark model for computer simulation of subsynchronous oscillations [IEEE Subsynchronous Resonance Task Force (7)], was simulated. The IEEE first benchmark system consists of a single 892.4 MVA synchronous machine connected to an infinite busbar via a 500 kV, series compensated transmission line. Neither mechanical damping in the turbine-generator shaft, armature resistance in the generator model, governor action nor automatic voltage regulator action were considered. Hence, any damping observed in torsional oscillation is due to the power system. Figure 9 (a) shows the torsional interaction on the turbinegenerator shaft (consisting of 6 sections) when a 50 n series capacitor is connected in series with the 500 kV transmission line (compensation degree approximately 35%) and a three-phase short circuit is applied to the transmission line, adjacent to the series capacitor, and then removed after 75 ms. This causes subsynchronous oscillations around 28 Hz in the network. These oscillations

l r ~ c n CAPAClTOR

VOLTAGE

lag-

-a-

ACTUAL LINE CURRENT (RMS)

4, m

Lmrl

EMTP simulation Figure 8: Comparison between EMTP and TNA simulations

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Full details of all the models are given in (3) and (5) which are in the public domain.
1111

\ :

REFERENCES
1. Guygyi L., Hingorani N.G., Nanney P.R. and Tai N., Advanced Static VAr compensator using gate turn-off thyristors for utility applications, CIGRE 23-203, 1990. 2. Ekanayake J.B. and Jeinkins N., A three-level Advanced Static VAr compenmtor, Paper No 95 SM 416-8PWRD, IEEEVPES Summer meeting, July 23-27, 1995, Portland, OR, USA. 3. Ekanayake J.B., Aninvestigation of an Advanced Static VAr compensator, IhD thesis, UMIST, Manchester, 1995.

-100 In4 2O
0

10

-2 0

4
t

(4

- time (S)

10

4. Manitoba HVDC Research Centre, EMTDC: Electromagnetic Transients Program Including dc systems, 1994.

. 5. Tenorio A.R.M., 4 Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor Model for Electromagnetic Transient Studies, MSc Thesis, UMIST, Manchester, 1995.
6. Hedin R.A., Henn, V. et al., Advanced Series Compensation (ASC) - Transient network analyzer studies compared with digital simulation studies,= FACTS Conference, I3oston, May 18-20, 1992.
0

10

(b)

te(S)

Figure 9: SSR interaction - Series capacitor vs TCSC CONCLUSIONS A physical model, a digital model and a mathematical model for the ASVC and a digital model for the TCSC have been presented in this paper. The EMTDC based digital model and the mathematical model of the ASVC have been validated using the results obtained from the physical model. The TCSC model based on EMTP program has also been validated against published TNA simulations. These models provide a means of studying and better understanding the ASVC and the TCSC capabilities for improving power system performance. Each type of model has its own advantages and drawbacks. Small-scale physical models; provide an important means of validating the digital and mathematical models. However, they are labourious to build and, as is well known, tend to be overdamped. The mathematical model of the ASVC worked well but required considerable computing time as the switching function was evaluated from Fourier Series at each time-step. Digital sirriulations were carried out using EMTP-ATP and EMTDC.

7 . IEEE Subsynchronous Resonance Task Force, First benchmark model for computer simulation of subsynchronous resonances, IEEE Transaction on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol PAS-96, No 5, pp 1565-1572, 1977.