Static Var Compensator (SVC)

Shunt connected variable capacitor and

reactor
Static as there are no moving
components
Controlled by power electronics
Number of possible configurations, typical
Thyristorcontrolled reactor (TCR)
Thyristor-switched capacitor (TSC)

SVC

TCR
Allows continuous control of the reactive

power absorbed
Thyristors in anti parallel connection act as
a bidirectional switch
Delay firing of thyristors to reduce time
that current flows through inductor
Thereby reducing fundamental magnitude of

current and reducing reactive power absorbed

Firing Signals

Firing Angle (), Conduction angle ()

Firing Angle is the delay time
Conduction angle is the time conducting
90< <180
If = 90, then conducts for full cycle, i.e.
=180
If = 180, then there is no conduction,
i.e. =0
+ /2= 180 ()
4

Example
A 3 phase FC-TCR with L=37.887mH,

C=133.7uF is required to absorb reactive

power in the range Q to +Q kVAr
corresponding to conduction angles of 0 &
180 degrees respectively, when connected
to a 690V 3 phase supply.

Find Q
Estimate conduction angle to give zero
reactive power

SVC Firing Circuitry

Recall operation of SVC
Timing of firing angle determines

magnitude of fundamental current by

pulsing thyristors at appropriate time

BL ( )

Sin
Xr

TCR Firing Circuitry

A phase-locked loop or phase lock loop
(PLL) generates a signal that has a fixed
relation to the phase of a "reference"
signal
In this case a sawtooth signal is generated
of set frequency
DC comparison voltage adjusted up and
down to give required positive crossover
point i.e. required firing angle

TCR Firing Circuitry

Total Harmonic Distortion

THD is a measure of the harmonic content
of a waveform. It can be calculated for V
or I.
hmax

THD

2
M
h
h2

M1

It is a measure of the effective value of the

harmonic components of a distorted wave.

RMS
The rms value of the distorted waveform is
not the sum of the individual harmonics
but the square root of the sum of the
squares
hmax

RMS

2
M
h
h2

Relationship between RMS and THD is,

RMS M1 1 THD2

Power and Power Factor

Harmonic distortion complicates the

computation of power and power factor

Apparent Power (S) is product of RMS

voltage and current

P is average rate of delivery of energy
Q is component of S in quadrature with P

Power and Power Factor

At fundamental freq.

P S Cos
Q S Sin
If just the fundamental is considered then
P has its usual form

P V1 I1 Cos1
Cos1 is displacement power factor (DPF)

Power and Power Factor

P V1 I1 Cos1 I1
PF

DPF
S
V1 I
I
I1

If large current distortion I will be small

=> PF small

THD Example
v(t ) Sint 0.3Sin(3t 10 ) 0.1Sin(5t 13 )
i(t ) Sin(t 30 ) 0.2Sin(3t 60 ) 0.05Sin(5t 10 )
n=1

n=3

n=5

|Vh|

0.707

0.212

0.071

|Ih|

0.707

0.141

0.035

Cos

0.866

0.342

0.999

Sin

0.5

0.94

0.052

|Ph|

0.433

0.01

0.0025

|Qh|

0.25

0.0282

0.0001

|Sh|

0.5

0.03

0.0025

THD Example
V
V

2
sin
d
0

(1 Cos 2 )d

1
V
2

SVC
Filters for 5th and 7th and a HPF for higher

order harmonics
Tripplen harmonics circulate in delta only
under balanced conditions
During major disturbances, may get
asymmetrical firing of thyristors
Give rise to DC components
Can saturate trafo and lead to further
harmonics
Sometimes a 3rd harmonic filter is used

Thyristor Switched
Capacitor (TSC)
Allows control of supply of vars in discrete

steps
Use a number of parallel connected
capacitors
Each has thyristor pair bi-directional switch
Controller selects how many capacitors to
switch in

21

TSC
Susceptance is adjusted by controlling # of
capacitors (0,1,2....k)
Stepwise changes in susceptance
Could binary weight the capacitor to
increase the number of steps for a given #
Usually all but one have susceptance B,
the last one has B/2 giving 2k levels

TSC
No harmonics are produced
Under ideal conditions no switching
transients

Integral cycle of conduction through

capacitor

TSC
Ideal transient free switching:
Vco=+-Vpk
dV/dt=0
Reactors connected in series to limit
current