Waveform Distortion Caused by High Power Adjustable Speed Drives Part 11: Probabilistic Analysis

D. Castaldo, F. De Rosa, R. Langella, A. Sollazzo, A. Testa

Abstract
Waveformdistortion caused by high power adjustable speed drives is considered in a probabilistic scenario. In a companion paper, two high computational eflciency drive models, one using the Line Commutated Inverter and the other the Pulse Width Modulated Inverter, have been proposed. These models are used inside a simulation procedure for the probabilistic analysis of waveform distortion on both the supply and motor sides of the two kinds of drives considered. The results obtained considering both mechanical and supply voltage variability are presented and commented.

1 Introduction
High power adjustable speed drives (ASDs) are well known to be generators of harmonic and interharmonic distortion of currents and voltages in both supply system and supplied motors. This happens for both the most popular solutions using the Line Commutated Inverter (LCI) and the Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) Inverter. On the supply side, the problem is the reduction of quality of electrical energy due to individual harmonic components, total harmonic distortion and waveform peak variation caused in voltages, for all the other loads supplied. On the motor side, the main problems are the increased mechanical, thermal, vibration and electrical stresses, caused on the motor by the voltage distortion; especially in the case of ASDs with P W M inverters, the peak voltage increments can be very remarkable and, consequently, the insulation is highly stressed. When the consequences of distortion cannot be accepted, filters have to be installed on the supply or the supplied side, or on both. Moreover, sometimes it is necessary to derate the main components (f.i. supply transformer and/or motors) [ 1-51. The limits on the voltage and current distortion in the Standards are defined on the basis of probabilistic approaches [6], [7]. In fact, current distortion depends on a large number of quantities such as those related to mechanical load, supplying system conditions and the other load behaviours. As these quantities vary in time, the current component frequencies, amplitudes and phase angles, and then the peak value vary. Consequently the distorted voltages vary in time, so it becomes useful to represent all the involved quantities in terms of random variables. Provisional analyses to forecast the Standard limit compliance must be based on probabilistic models and it is necessary to use simulation tools. Among these, the well known Monte Carlo Method [8], whose main advantage lies in the possibility of simulating a wide
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variety of random supply and load characteristics, is one of the most attractive solutions. The main problem is the computational burden due to the high number of solutions required to ensure the simulation accuracy. In part I of this paper, two high efficiency models of ASDs have been proposed to cope with this problem. In this part of the paper, a simulation procedure is proposed to perform probabilistic analyses of the waveform distortion caused by ASDs, also taking into account the characteristics of the industrial plant in which they operate.

2 Simulation procedure
2.1 Description
The strong correlation existing among all quantities affecting the waveform distortion, in particular those related to time, makes the probabilistic modelling very difficult to handle. A possible simulation procedure, able to take into account these correlations in a comprehensive way, is the Monte Carlo simulation. The simulation procedure can be implemented according to the flux diagram of Fig. 1. The random generation of the input quantity values of both the supplying and motor sides, has to be done according to proper probability density functions (pdf) which, in general, are multivariate pdf with a large number of variates. The pdf of the supplying side quantities, in particular the fundamental and the other voltage frequency components (amplitudes and arguments) for each system phase, can be derived from measurements or hypothesized according to proper scenarios. The pdf of the load demand can be obtained starting from the forecasted working conditions of the specific mechanical load considered. Experience on similar studies is also useful in certain cases.
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2.2 Two remarkable applications

Input data random generation Control system

.c

ASD ,Modelling!

Distortion evaluation

4
Output statistics

&
Fig. 1. Flux diagram of the simulation procedure

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Deterministic models of the ASD can be used to obtain the waveforms of the electrical quantities of interest. For the high power ASDs using LCI or PWM inverters, proper models of the control system and of the conversion system have been proposed in Part I. The control models permit to represent the operating conditions setting-stage and are able to take into account the variations of supplying system parameters, in particular fundamental supplying voltage. The proposed models are characterized by high computational efficiency, but, in principle, any kind of different models can be included in the simulation procedure. Concerning distortion evaluation, it results useful (and necessary for the subsequent statistical treatment) to sacrifice the frequency resolution during D l T analysis and details about the single components present in the result storage stage. Both goals are obtained f. i. following the IEC standard [9], which fixes the frequency resolution to 5 Hz and groups all interharmonic components between two adjacent harmonics in a single index that is the r.m.s. value of all the components included. It is worthwhile noting that also the storage and the statistic treatment of output quantities is a serious problem due to the need of using jpdf. In fact, in general, for the purpose of harmonic penetration studies and for application in evaluations related to waveform peak values, it is necessary to preserve all the information about phase angles and correlations among different quantities. For some applications, the interest of the analysis is restricted to single output variation causes and/or simplificationsare possible for output data. This is the case of some compatibility previsions, in which it is possible to take advantage of the use of marginal pdfs for both input and output data. In these cases, the simulation procedure may result simplified or degenerate in a deterministic procedure applied to a certain number of cases, with the use of proper weighting factors to properly combine the deterministic results in a statistic.
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Two applications of the simulation procedure proposed are here considered. The former deals with the impact of ASDs on the industrial plants in which they operate in terms of injection of harmonic and interharmonic currents into the supplying system. The IEC and IEEE standards [6], [7] define compatibility levels generally based on statistic figures such as 95 % or 99.9 % percentiles of the amplitude variations of disturbances registered over defined periods of observation. The latter is related to ASDs' voltage distortion impact on the asynchronous motors they feed, causing a reduction of their useful life due to increased insulation, mechanical, thermal and vibration stresses. A correct design of the motors is based on the evaluation of their expected useful life. Concerning the stress components which determine the useful life, the effects of low frequency individual components (interharmonics) or distortion cumulated effects on peak value seem particularly important [ 5 ] , [lo]. For both applications, a comprehensive probabilistic modelling is necessary because the knowledge of the probability density function, and not of single figures alone, is needed to asses distortion levels. The statistical figures needed for compatibility tests are very easy to evaluate starting from pdf. A more difficult and complex problem is the useful life evaluation because it must be solved, in general, using complex electro-thermal models. A simplified model is reported in the Appendix.

3 Numerical experiments
The simulation procedure has been carried out applied to two different types of ASDs, depicted in Fig. 2 and fully referred in 1131, [141. The generation of the input parameter values, both for the motor and supply side, presents some critical aspects related to the conversion system behaviour. Referring to the supplying side parameters, the main problem is constituted by the amplitude variation of voltages at the fundamental frequency whose effects are very relevant. Referring to the motor side quantities, speed in particular, creates very critical problems in terms of signal

AC Power supply

o-+-m++--

-*-

Rectifier

DC Link

Inverter

AC Load

Fig. 2. a) Scheme of LCI asynchronous motor drive; b) Scheme of PWM asynchronous motor drive

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The absence of a statistical correlation between U,, andf, is assumed for the sake of simplicity even if other studies of the authors [ 181 have demonstrated how correlations can be important in the most general case. Once assumed this hypothesis, for each of the output frequencies, the supplying voltage randomness can be taken into account by running, in a Monte Car10 procedure, the simplified models for a very large number of voltage determinations. In the following, two cases are considered. The former refers to a scenario in which only output drive frequency variations are considered. The latter considers also the supplying voltage amplitude variations and gives an idea of their consequences. The results obtained for each of the applications discussed in section 2.2 are reported.

Output drive frequency,f, +

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Fig. 3. Pdf of output drive frequencies

periodicity assessment.The signals fundamental period depends on the motor speed and results as the inverse of the Fourier fundamental frequency, that is to say the maximum common devisor among all the frequencies contained in the signal [15], [16]. In principle, very small Fourier frequency could occur; this means that the signals of interest should be calculated and analyzed for a very long period. From an engineering point of view, it is not necessary to take into account too small working condition variations. Hence, the authors experience suggests that output frequencies can be approximated by partitioning the range of interest with a frequency resolution of 0.5 Hz. This resolution does not turn out to be too critical for the analysis of the conversion system and, at the same time, is accurate enough to take into account the working condition variability. The output frequency, f , , has been considered as being variable from 17.5 to 50 Hz. The output power and voltage have been considered to be proportional to the output frequency. Fig. 3 shows the pdf of the output frequency, referring to realistic conditions in which some main speeds are more frequent [ 171. Furthermore, the fundamental supplying voltage, U , , ,is modeled in a Gaussian scenario. In particular, the majority of determinations(99.75 %) falls in the interval (Uacn +5 %), assuming, for the sake of simplicity, phase symmetry and the same mean value, Uac, (nominal rms value), for all the working conditions. The pdf of the supply voltage is partitioned by introducing a proper number of classes, as shown in Fig. 4, and, to each of these classes, the supplying voltage value and probability are associated.
r.rn.s. voltage for LCI case study + 5900 6000 6100 V

3.1 Input current distortion

For the sake of brevity, only some IEC groups [9] have been selected. The choice of the main harmonic group C5 (5* harmonic) and its nearest interharmonics groups C4, (between 4thand 5th harmonics) and C5,5 (between 5h and 6thharmonics).

3.1.1 Variable frequency, constant supply voltage Fig. 5 shows the relative and cumulative frequency histograms obtained for the PWM (a, b, c) and the LCI (d, e, f) drives. In particular, it can be observed that: - in all the figures, the histograms present a great dispersion of values; - the 95 % percentile is close to the maximum value for all the histograms except the case of Fig. 5f where it assumes a low value; - the harmonic maximum values are greater for the PWM than for the LCI drive, while the contrary happens for interharmonics, and these considerations apply also for the other groups not represented in Fig. 5; - Fig. 5c and Fig. 5f show how the 95 % percentile is greater for the PWM than for the LCI drive in spite of the previous considerations about the maximum values; - Fig. 5b and Fig. 5c evidence a bimodal behaviour, while Fig. 5e and Fig. 5f show a mono-modal behaviour; - in Fig. 5c and Fig. 5e the highest probability values are associated to the worst case. Fig. 6 shows the histograms of the Total Interharmonic Distortion factor, TID [ 171, obtained for the PWM and LCI drives. Comparing the results, it is evident how the 95 % percentile in Fig. 6a is sensibly lower than the 95 % percentile in Fig. 6b. This confirms in quantitative terms the well-known fact that the P W M drive interharmonk distortion is lower than that of the LCI drive. 3.1.2 Variable frequency, variable supply voltage

5700

6300

2315

2450 2500 2550 V r.m.s. voltage for PWM case study 4

2625

Fig. 4. Partitioning of the Gaussian pdf of the supplying voltages

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The histograms for groups C4,5,C5, C5,5 are shown in Fig. 7. Comparing the results of Fig. 7a, Fig. 7b, Fig. 7c with those in Fig. 5a, Fig. 5b, Fig. 5c, it can be observed that:
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Fig. 5. Relative and cumulative frequency histograms for variable mechanical conditions and constant supplying voltage. a) C4,5,b) C5, c) C5,5for the PWM drive; d) C4,5,e) C5, f ) C5,5 for the LCI drive

Fig. 6. TID relative and cumulative frequency histograms. a) PWM drive, b) LCI drive

- the histogram shape is quite similar; - slight variations affect the maximum values; - the probability of the worst case in Fig. 7a and Fig. 7c is lower than the probability in Fig. 5a and Fig. 5c; the same happens for the 95 % percentile values.
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Comparing the results of Fig. 7d, Fig. 7e, Fig. 7f with those in Fig. 5d, Fig. 5e, Fig. 5f, it can be observed that: - a l lthe histogramshapes present appreciablechanges; - in particular, Fig. 7e shows an evident bimodal behaviour (differently from Fig. 5e);
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Fig. 7. Relative and cumulative frequency histograms for variable mechanical conditions and variable supplying voltage. a) C4 5, b) C5, c) C5,5for the PWM drive; d) C&, e) C5, f) C5,5for the LCI drive

- the probabilities of the worst cases in Fig. 7d, Fig. 7e, Fig. 7f are lower than those in Fig. 5d, Fig. 5e, Fig. 5f; - the 95 % percentiles in Fig. 7d, Fig. 7e, Fig. 7f present different (greater or lower) values both for harmonic and interharmonic groups. The aforementioned considerations demonstrate

that supplying voltage variations bring about relevant variations in estimating probabilistic parameters. Finally, Fig. 8 shows the histograms of the TID. Comparing the results in Fig. 8a with those in Fig. 6a does not evidence noticeable variations. Different considerations can be developed comparing the results in Fig. 8b with those in Fig. 6b: a more pronounced modal

Fig. 8. TID relative and cumulative frequency histograms. a) PWM drive; b) LCI drive ETEP Vol. 13, No. 6 , NovemberlDecember 2003 359

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Fig. 9. PWM drive: a) variable frequency-constant supply voltage; b) variable frequency-variable supply voltage

value and a 10 % decrease on the 95 % percentile are appreciated in the LCI drive case.

and, then, to express kp as:

U
kp = P ui = ( " . U ~ M A X100]L, Sf
(2)
where the quantity in brackets is the random variable in Fig. 9. For each Sfchoice, the relative frequencies of the corresponding kp values can be obtained by dividing the x axis values of Fig. 9 by a factor equal to Sp The results obtained for different choices of Sfare reported in Tab. 1. The corresponding U i and E[$] are also reported. E[L]/L, are estimated with reference to Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b by using both the eq. (A3) and its simplified expression of eq. (A4). The following considerations can be made: - a choice of Sfin the interval between 93 % and 94 % would give nominal values for the expected life; - the increased value of the standard deviation of Fig. 9b produces little reduction of the expected life (about 1 %); - the simplification introduced by eq. (A4) has negligible effects on the results in each case (about 1 %) as expected due to the low value of the standard deviation. Fig. 10 shows the LCI drive relative and cumulative frequency histograms of the peak value of the distorted voltages as a percentage of 6978 V, which was the maximum observed peak value. By comparing Fig. 10a and Fig. lob, the effects of the voltage variability on the histogram shapes are perceptible but, in this case, with smaller consequences on both the standard deviations and the mean values. Tab. 2 is the equivalent of Tab. 1 for the LCI drive. The following considerations can be made: - a choice of Sfin the interval between 84 % and 85 % would give nominal values for the expected life;
E[L]/L,Fig. 9a E[L]/L,Fig. 9b
By eq. (A3) 0.872 0.962 1.059 By eq. (A4) 0.882 0.972 1.071

3.2 Output voltage distortion

For both the cases of variable frequency-constant supply voltage and variable frequency-variable supply voltage, statistics of harmonic and interharmonic voltages were obtained, including the statistic of the peak value. Fig. 9 shows, for the PWh4 drive, the relative and cumulative frequency histograms of the peak value of the distorted voltages as a percentage of 2449 V, which turned out to be the maximum observed peak value. By comparing Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b, the effects of the voltage variability on the histogram shapes are evident, with great effects on the standard deviations and lower effects on the mean values. Voltage variability reflects itself on the variance of the PWM output peak voltage. Different possibilities are available to use the results of Fig. 9 for insulation sizing or testing. Here, reference is made to the insulation voltage, Ui,representing the nominal peak voltage considered for sizing and being different from the Uplnof eq. (A2) where U i refers to the more general case in which the amount of the distortion is of the same order of quantity of U as it is typical for the motors driven by modem ASdGhere it is not possible to refer to the fundamental voltage peak value Upln. Considenng that Ui could not be, for economic reasons, the maximum possible value of Up, iYp~AX, it is useful to consider a size factor, Sf, representmg the percentage of the maximum peak voltage to be considered for sizing:

Sf [%I
92 93 94

u, [VI
2253 2278 2302

"*I
Fig. 9a 1.014 1.003 0.992

Fig. 9b 1.014 1.003 0.992

By eq. (A31 0.88 1 0.971 1.070

By eq. (A4) 0.882 0.972 1.071

Tab. 1. PWM drive: motor life variation for different Sfvalues

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Fig. 10. LCI drive: a) variable frequency-constant supply voltage; b) variable frequency-variable supply voltage

Sf [%I
83 84 85

ui [Vl
5792 5862 5932

EFpI
Fig. 10a 0.924
0.9 13 0.902

E[L]/L,Fig. 10a Fig. 10b 0.924

0.9 13 0.902

E[L]/L,Fig. 10b
By eq. (A3) 0.887
0.988 1.099

By eq. (A3) 0.888

0.989
1.100

By eq. (A4) 2.033

2.264 2.5 18

By eq. (A4) 2.026

2.257 2.5 10

Tab. 2. LCI drive: motor life variation for different Sfvalues

- the eq. (A4) is applied outside its validity conditions; so, the simplification introduced has very negative effects on results in each case (more than 100 %) as expected due to the high value of the standard deviation. It is interesting to note the different results in terms of Sfvalues which give nominal useful lives, obtained for the PWM (93-94 %) and LCI (84-85 %) drives. This is the consequence of the different shapes of the pdfs, which are more evident in the small black histograms in the same scale reported in the top left side of Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. Furthermore, if U i values are assumed equal to U ],.,MAX, Sfwould be equal to 61 % for the PWM and 9 ! f % for the LCI drive. So, the useful life of the PWM driven motor would be reduced to ridiculous values and the useful life of the LCI increased to anti-economical non-useful great values. It is important to underline that the effected motor life estimations have not included the effects of the voltage spikes produced by commutation.

both mechanical and supply voltage variability conditions have been presented and commented. The paper demonstrates the usefulness of the probabilistic modelling based on simulation and on the use of high computational efficiency ASD models. It is possible to obtain complete statistics of the main quantities of interest: - absorbed harmonic and interharmonic currents for the application of compatibility tests as requested by standards; - output voltages for motor side component sizing purposes.

5 Appendix
A simplified expression of the electro-thermal life model of MVLV components insulation, referring to the life in nominal operating temperature and neglecting further warming up due to harmonics, is [ 5 ] :

L ( k p ) = L(kp,On) =

4 Conclusion
Waveform distortion caused by high power Adjustable Speed Drives has been considered in a probabilistic scenario. Reference is made to two high computational efficiency models of ASDs, proposed in a companion paper, one using the Pulse Width Modulated Inverter and the other the Line Commutated Inverter. They have been used inside a simulation procedure for the probabilistic analysis of waveform distortion on both the supply and motor sides of the two types of ASDs considered. The results obtained by considering
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[Loexp(-Bcgn)] kpnp = Lnkpnp,

(All

where L is the insulation life, Lo its value at nominal sinusoidal voltage and reference temperature, $ the peak factor defined in the following, np and B model parameters, ce = (l/Oo - l/On) the conventional thermal stress, On the nominal absolute temperature, and Oo the reference temperature. The peak factor is defined as:
I.

(A2)

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where U is the peak value of the distorted voltage, and Uplnis tie nominal peak value of the fundamental voltage. The useful life can be estimated starting from the monitoring of the voltage over a certain period, Tp, and, then, assuming that the pattern of the voltage is almost the same during the future life of the components. The expected relative value of the component useful life is [Ill:

6.2 Abbreviations ASD TID LCI PWM Adjustable Speed Drive Total Interharmonic Distortion factor Line Commutated Inverter Pulse Width Inverter

References
[l] Bonnett, A.H.: Analysis of the impact of Pulse-Width Modulated Inverter Voltage Waveforms on AC Induction Motors. IEEE Trans on Industry Applications, Vo1.32 (1996), no. 2, pp. 386-392 [2] Toliyat,H.A.; Swash, G.; Abur, A.: Simulation of Voltage Stress on the Inverter Fed Induction Motor Winding Supplied through Feeder Cable. Int. Conf. IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, New OrleansAJSA, 1997 [3] Finlayson, Pi?: Output Filter for PWM Drives With Induction Motors. IEEE Industry Applications Magazine, Vol. 4 (1 998), Issue 1, pp. 46-52 [4] Mecker, S.L.: Considerations in Derating Induction Motors for Applications on Variable Frequency Drives. Int. Conf. IEEE Pulp and Paper Industry, Portland/ USA, 1992 [ 5 ] Caramia, II; Carpinelli, G.; Verde, II; Mauanti, G.; Cavallini, A.; Montanari, G.C.: An Approach to Life Estimation of Electrical plant Components in the Presence of Harmonic Distortion. 9" Int. Conf. on Harmonic and Quality of Power (ICHQP), OrlandoAJSA, 2000 [6] IEC 61000-3-6, Electromagnetic compatibility, assessment of emission limits for distorting loads in MV and HV power systems [7] JEEE Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electrical Power Systems, IEEE Standard 519-1992.1993 [8] Rubinstein, R.Y: Simulation and the Monte Car10 method. New YorkAJSA: John Wiley and Sons, 1981 [9] IEC standard draft 61000-4-7: General guide on harmonics and interharmonics measurements, for power supply systems and equipment connected thereto, 2000 [lo] Policarpo, J.; de Abreu, G.; Emanuel, A.E.: Induction motors loss of life due to voltage imbalance and harmonic: a preliminary study. 9" Int. Conf. on Harmonic and Quality of Power (ICHQP), OrlandoAJSA, 2000 [ I l l Gallo, D.; Lungella, R.; Testa, A.: On the Effects on MVLV Component Expected Life of Slow Voltage Variations and Harmonic Distortion. loth Int. Conf. on Harmonic and Quality of Power (ICHQP), Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, 2002 [12] Caramia, II; Carpinelli, G.; Russo, A.; Varilone, l?; Verde, l?: An Integrated Probabilistic Harmonic Index. Int. Conf. JEEE Winter Power Meeting, New York/ USA, 2002 [13] Carbone, R.; De Rosa, E ; Lungella, R.; Testa, A.: A New Approach to Model ACDCIAC Conversion Systems. Int. Conf. IEEE Summer Power Meeting, Vancouver/Canada, 200 1 [14] Carbone, R.; De Rosa, E ; Lungella, R.; Sollauo, A.; Testa, A.: Modelling of AC/DC/AC Conversion Systems with P W Inverter. Int. Conf. IEEE Summer Power Meeting, ChicagoAJSA, 2002 [15] Carbone, R.; Menniti, D.; Morrison, R.E.; Delaney, E.; Testa, A.: Harmonic and Interharmonic Distortion in Current Source Type Inverter Drives. IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 10 (1995), no. 3, pp. 1576-1583 [16] Carbone, R.; Menniti, D.; Morrison, R.E.; Testa, A.: Harmonic and Interharmonic Distortion Modelling in Multiconverter System. IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 10 (1995), no. 3, pp. 1685-1692 ETEP Vol. 13, No. 6, NovemberDecember 2003

In [12], assuming that the standard deviation, akp, is sufficiently small (f.i. < 5 %), it was considered that:

Starting from the statistics of the drive output voltages it is possible to obtain the statistics of kp.

6 List of symbols and abbreviations

6.1 Symbols

harmonic group of order i interharmonic group Ci,5max maximum value of interharmonic group co conventional thermal stress expected value of peak factor E[kp] expected value of insulation life E[L] Fourier fundamental frequency, that is the fF maximum common divisor among all the frequencies contained in a signal fo output frequency peak factor kP L insulation life insulation life at nominal sinusoidal voltage L O and reference temperature nominal value of insulation life Ln np and B model parameters 00 reference temperature en nominal absolute temperature Sf size factor standard deviation of peak factor 0kp considered monitoring interval TP Uac fundamental supplying voltage U , , , nominal rms value of fundamental supplying voltage ui insulation voltage equal to the nominal peak voltage considered for sizing peak value of the distorted voltage U P Upln nominal peak value of the fundamental voltage UplnMAX maximum value of nominal peak value of the fundamental voltage UpMAX maximum value of the peak value of the distorted voltage
Ci Ci,5
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[ 171 Carbone, R.; Lungella, R.; Testa, A.: Simplified Prob-

abilistic modelling of AC/DC/AC Power Converter Interharmonic Distortion. 6h Int. Conf. on Probabilistic Methods Applied to Power Systems (PMAPS), Madeira/Portugal, 2000 [ 181 Castaldo, D.; Lungella, R.; Testa, A.: Probabilistic Aspects of Harmonic Impedances. Int. Conf. IEEE Winter Power Meeting, New YorWSA, 2002
Manuscript received on March 5, 2003

The authors
Daniele Castaldo (1972) was born in CercolaDtaly. He received the degree in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Naples, in 1998. He is working towards the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Energy Conversion at the Second University of Naples, Aversdtaly. He is a student member of IEEE Power Engineering Society. (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dellinformazione, Seconda Universith degli Studi di Napoli, Via Roma, 29 - 81031 - Aversa (CE)/Italy, Phone: +3908 15010239, Fax: ++3908 15037042, E-Mail: daniele.castaldo@ieee.org) Francesco De Rosa (1974) was born in CapuaDtaly. He received the degree in Electronic Engineering from the Second University of Naples, in 2000. He is working towards the Ph.D. in Electrical Energy Conversion at the Second University of Naples, Aversd Italy. He is a student member of IEEE Power Engineering Society. (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dellinformazione, Seconda Universith degli Studi di Napoli, Via Roma, 29 - 81031 - Aversa (CE)/Italy, Phone: +3908 15010239, Fax: ++3908 15037042, E-Mail: francesco.derosa@ieee.org)

Roberto Langella (1972) was born in Napleshtaly. He received the degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Naples, in 1996, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Energy Conversion from the Second University of Naples, in 2000. He is currently assistant professor in Electrical Power Systems at Second University of Naples, Aversdtaly. He is a member of IEEE Power Engineering Society. (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dellinforrnazione, Seconda Universith degli Studi di Napoli, Via Roma, 29 - 8 1031 - Aversa (CE)/Italy, Phone: +390815010239, Fax: ++390815037042, E-Mail: roberto.langella@ieee.org) Adolfo Sollazzo (1975) was born in CapuaDtaly. He received the degree in Electronic Engineering from the Second University of Naples, in 2001. He is working towards the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Energy Conversion at the Second University of Naples, Aversdtaly. (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dellinformazione, Seconda Universith degli Studi di Napoli, Via Roma, 29 - 81031 - Aversa (CE)/ Italy, Phone: +390815010239, Fax: ++390815037042, E-Mail: adolfo.sollazzo@unina2.it) Alfred0 Testa (1950) was born in Naples/Italy. He received the degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Naples, in 1975. He is a Professor in Electrical Power Systems at the Second University of Naples, Aversdtaly. He is engaged in researches on electrical power systems reliability and harmonic analysis. He is a member of IEEE Power Engineering Society and of AEI (the Italian Institute of Electrical Engineers). (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dellinforrnazione, Seconda Universith degli Studi di Napoli, Via Roma, 29 - 81031 - Aversa (CE)/Italy, Phone: +390815010239, Fax: ++3908 15037042, E-Mail: alfredo. testa @ ieee.org)

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