Harmonic Filters Overview - Part One

Published: 8 Apr 2 003 By Sam prita Thota, Research Analy st Whatev er is a harm onic filter? What are harm onics? What does it m ean to hav e harm onics in m y sy stem ? Why do I need to filter harm onics? Are there different ty pes of harm onic filters? This article intends to prov ide an ov erv iew on harm onic filters and hopefully answer som e of the questions that y ou m ight hav e on them . Int roduct ion t o Harmonic Filt ers and Harmonics A harm onic filter is used to elim inate the harm onic distortion caused by appliances. Harm onics are currents and v oltages that are continuous m ultiples of the fundam ental frequency of 6 0 Hz such as 1 2 0 Hz (2 nd harm onic) and 3 00 Hz (5th harm onic). Harm onic currents prov ide power that cannot be used and also takes up electrical sy stem capacity . Large quantities of harm onics can lead to m alfunctioning of the sy stem that results in downtim e and increase in operating costs. The second harm onic would hav e a frequency of 1 2 0 Hz; the third harm onic would hav e a frequency of 1 80 Hz and so on. Inside t he Harmonic Filt er The harm onic filter is built using an array of capacitors, inductors, and resistors that deflect harm onic currents to the ground. Each harm onic filter could contain m any such elem ents, each of which is used to deflect harm onics of a specific frequency . The Cause and t he Effect Harm onic distortion is caused by equipm ent that are non-linear loads. These loads use current in a pulsing m anner and at tim es feed harm onic currents back into the wiring. In non-linear loads, the current wav eform is different from the applied v oltage wav eform . This causes them to produce the following: Voltage distortions Excessiv e currents on neutral wires Ov erheating of m otors Microprocessor control problem s Unexplained com puter crashes Exam ples of non-linear, harm onic-causing loads are: Electronic equipm ent such as personal com puters Battery chargers Lighting dim m er controls Fluorescent lights Welders Electronic ballasts Printers Photocopiers Fax m achines Harmonic Filt er Funct ions The v arious functions that a harm onic filter perform s are enum erated as follows: Reduces neutral currents Reduces transform er loading Protects electrical sy stem s Reduces fire hazard Protects the neutral conductor Enhances sy stem protection Minim izes im pact on distribution transform ers Reduces local neutral to ground v oltage Lowers peak phase current/av erage phase current Increases sy stem capacity Decreases sy stem losses Im prov es power factor on non-linear loads Reduces total harm onic distortion Im prov es phase current balance Augm ents phase v oltage balance Reduces three-phase neutral current

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Reprinted with permission from Harmonics Limited

Ty pes of Harmonic Filt ers Harm onic filters can be broadly classified into two basic ty pes: activ e and passiv e.

Activ e Harm onic Filter An activ e harm onic filter is som ething like a boost regulator. The concept used in an activ e filter is the introduction of current com ponents using power electronics to rem ov e the harm onic distortions produced by the non-linear load. Activ e harm onic filters are m ostly used for low-v oltage networks. There are three ty pes of activ e harm onic filters based on the way they are connected to the AC distribution network. i) The series filter is connected in series with the AC distribution network. It serv es to offset harm onic distortions caused by the load as well as that present in the AC sy stem . ii) The parallel filter is connected in parallel with the AC distribution network. Parallel filters are also known as shunt filters and offset the harm onic distortions caused by the non-linear load. iii) The hy brid filter is a com bination of an activ e and a passiv e filter and could be of a series or a parallel configuration. Apart from the abov e classification, activ e harm onic filters can be either 3 -wire or 4 -wire filters. 3-wire filters: Are power units that are large and ty pically used in v ariable speed driv es and other such applications, which hav e a large num ber of non-linear loads. 4-wire filters: Are those that can filter the neutral conductor of the triple-n harm onics. These filters are used to elim inate harm onics that are generated by switch-m ode power supplies and Inform ation Technology equipm ent, ty pically com m ercial applications. Passiv e Harm onic Filter A passiv e harm onic filter is built using an array of capacitors, inductors, and resistors. It can take the form of a sim ple line reactor or m ay use a series of parallel resonant filters to elim inate harm onics. Passiv e harm onic filters are also div ided based on the way they are connected with the load. i) A series filter: Here the filter is placed in series with the load and uses parallel com ponents, i.e., inductors and capacitors are in parallel. This filter is a current rejector. ii) A parallel filter: The filter is placed in parallel with the load and its com ponents are built in series. This filter is a current acceptor. Based on the com ponents used to build the passiv e filter, there are the following ty pes: A Band-pass filter is a com m on passiv e filter that is built using a capacitor connected in series with a resistor. A High-pass filter has a resistor connected in parallel with a reactor. This helps in reducing the q v alue of the filter, which will in turn help reduce the higher frequencies. A High-pass filter when used in combination with a band-pass filter will prov ide a solution for m edium v oltage and sub-transm ission v oltage networks, which hav e m oderate harm onic distortions. A C-type filter is used for com plex loads, cy clo conv erters and electric arc furnaces and is a special v ariation of the high pass filter. This filter will prov ide the load with reactiv e power and av oid form ing parallel resonance circuits with the load. Other dev ices that are used to control harm onics are: A line reactor: Is usually just an inductor, which resists the flow of high frequency harm onics and thus causes harm onic currents to decrease when it is applied. Line reactors serv e to suppress current spikes and lim it peak currents that flow through them , because of their im pedance. These are ty pically used in v ariable frequency , DC, SCR, and rectifier driv es. Feedback electronic filter: Is a com plex dev ice that detects the presence of v oltage and current harm onics and generates counteracting harm onics to rem ov e harm onic distortions. The electronic filter uses feedback m echanism s, and m onitors v oltage and current constantly . It thus effectiv ely reduces harm onics and prov ides v oltage regulation. Select ion of t he Harmonic Filt er

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The selection of a harm onic filter m ust be based on the following: 1 . kVA requirem ents of the load 2 . Harm onic profile of the load current 3 . Harm onic factor of the neutral current 4 . Configuration of the existing or proposed sy stem Qualit y Cert ificat ions Harm onic filters need to be UL listed and CSA certified. This would abide by the requirem ents of the NEMA, ASA, UL and CSA standards. Manufact ure of Harmonic Filt ers They are m anufactured with insulating m aterials that com ply with the CSA winding insulation sy stem class 2 2 0, which is the highest insulation lev el that is recognized in the industry . Windings: can be copper or alum inum Enclosures: Drip-proof, weather-proof, and standard ty pes Harmonic Filt er - Applicat ion Areas Harm onic filters are well suited for three-phase, 4 -wire electrical power distribution sy stem s that supply single phase, non-linear loads. There are v arious application areas for harm onic filters, the m ost im portant being: Adjustable speed driv es Welders and battery charges Com puter equipm ent Consum er electronics The m ajor end-user industries for harm onic filters include: I ndustrial - printers, extruders, m achining, heav y industries: pulp and paper producers, m ining, oil and chem ical refineries, iron and steel, rubber and plastics, glass and cem ent, food processing Utilities - electrical utilities, water treatm ent plants Commercial - data centers, telephone centers, hospitality serv ices Residential - consum er electronics, personal com puters Conclusion High power quality and v oltage stability are necessities for the equipm ent we use today . It is therefore necessary for the power sy stem to be free from harm onics and other electrical disturbances. Hence, harm onic filters play an im portant role in ensuring a 'clean' power supply . Stay tuned to this industry portal for Part Two that inlcudes additional analy sis on the harm onic filter m arket, the key play ers, challenges, trends and m ore. For questions or com m ents on this article, please contact the analy st at st hot a@frost .com

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