COMPARISION OF HVAC & HVDC SYSTEMS

CONVENTIONALLY POWER TRANSMISSION IS EFFECTED

THROUGH HVAC SYSTEMS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

HVAC TRANSMISSION IS HAVING SEVER LIMITATIONS LIKE LINE

LENGTH , UNCONTROLLED POWER FLOW, OVER/LOW
VOLTAGES DURING LIGHTLY / OVER LOADED
CONDITIONS,STABILITY PROBLEMS,FAULT ISOLATION ETC

CONSIDERING THE DISADVANTAGES OF HVAC SYSTEM AND

THE ADVANTAGES OF HVDC TRANSMISSION , POWERGRID HAS
CHOOSEN HVDC TRANSMISSION FOR TRANSFERRING 2000 MW
FROM ER TO SR

HVDC: USE less current

Direct current : Roll
along the line ;
opposing force friction
(electrical resistance )
AC current will
struggle against
inertia in the line
(100times/sec)cuurent inertia
inductance-reactive
power

Better Voltage utilisation rating

DC has Greater Reach

Distance as well as
amount of POWER
determine the choice
of DC over AC

DC

The alternating current in a cable leaks current (charging

movements) in the same manner as a pulsating pressure
would be evened out in an elastic tube.

DIRECT CURRENT CONSERVES FOREST

AND SAVES LAND

Fewer support TOWER, less losses

CONTROLLING or BEING
CONTROLLED

By raising the level in tank ;controlled water flow

CONTROLLING or BEING
CONTROLLED

ZERO IF Vr=VI=10V

HVDC provides increase power

but does not increase the short
circuit POWER

ADVANTAGES OF HVDC OVER HVAC TRANSMISSION

CONTROLLED POWER FLOW IS POSSIBLE

VERY PRECISELY

ASYNCHRONOUS OPERATION POSSIBLE

BETWEEN REGIONS HAVING DIFFERENT

ELECTRICAL PARAMETERS
NO RESTRICTION ON LINE LENGTH AS NO

REACTANCE IN DC LINES

ADVANTAGES OF HVDC OVER HVAC TRANSMISSION

STABILISING HVAC SYSTEMS -DAMPENING OF POWER

SWINGS AND SUB SYNCHRONOUS FREQUENCIES OF
GENERATOR.

FAULTS IN ONE AC SYSTEMS WILL NOT EFFECT THE OTHER

AC SYSTEM.

CABLE TRANSMISSION

ADVANTAGES OF HVDC OVER HVAC TRANSMISSION

CHEAPER THAN HVAC SYSTEM DUE TO LESS TRANSMISSION

LINES & LESS RIGHT OF WAY FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF
POWER TRANSMISSION

COST: AC vs DC Transmission
Line Cost AC

Line Cost DC

Terminal Cost DC

Terminal Cost AC
Break Even Distance

2000 MW HVDC VIS- A- VIS HVAC SYSTEMS

HVDC BIPOLAR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

2 DOUBLE CIRCUIT HVAC TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS

AC

DC

DC

HVDC BIPOLAR LINKS IN INDIA

NR
NR

NER
NER

ER
ER

RIHAND-DELHI

-- 2*750 MW

CHANDRAPUR-PADGE 2* 750 MW
TALCHER-KOLAR
2*1000 MW
ER TO SR
SILERU-BARASORE - 100 MW
EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT
ER SR

SR
SR

HVDC IN INDIA
Bipolar
HVDC LINK

CONNECTING CAPACITY
LINE
REGION
(MW)
LENGTH

Rihand
Dadri

North-North

1500

815

Chandrapur Padghe

West - West

1500

752

Talcher
Kolar

East South

2500

1367

ASYNCHRONOUS LINKS IN INDIA

NR
NR

NER
NER

ER
ER

VINDYACHAL (N-W) 2*250 MW

CHANDRAPUR (W-S) 2*500 MW
VIZAG (E-S)

- 2*500 MW

SASARAM (E-N)

- 1*500 MW

SR
SR

HVDC IN INDIA
Back-to-Back
HVDC LINK CONNECTING CAPACITY
REGION
(MW)
Vindyachal

North West

2 x 250

Chandrapur

West South

2 x 500

Vizag I

East South

500

Sasaram

East North

500

Vizag II

East South

500

BASIC PRINCIPLES
OF
HVDC TRANSMISSION

AC Transmission Principle

HVDC Transmission Principle

6-Pulse Convertor Bridge

Ld

E1

Ls

iA

Ls

iB

V'd
Ls

Vd

iC

Id

2
Id

Voltage and Current of an Ideal

Diode 6 Pulse Converter
Alpha = 0

Overlap = 0

Operation of Converter
Each thyristor conducts for 120
Every 60 one Thyristor from +ve limb and one Thyristor
from ve limb is triggered
Each thyristor will be triggered when voltage across it
becomes positive
Thyristor commutates the current automatically when the
voltage across it becomes ve. Hence, this process is called
natural commutation and the converters are called Line
Commutated converters

Operation of Converter
Triggering can be delayed from this point and this is called firing angle

Output voltage of the converter is controlled by controlling the

Rectifier action
If > 90 negative voltage is available across the bridge Inverter
action
Due to finite transformer inductance, current transfer from one
thyristor valve to the other cannot take place instantly

This delay is called over lap angle and the reactance called
commutating reactance. This also causes additional drop in the voltage

Ideal No-Load Condition

1

Vd

B
2

Effect of Control Angle

1

Vd

B
2

RECTIFIER VOLTAGE

INVERTER VOLTAGE

DC Terminal Voltage
RECTIFICATION

120 180 240 300

60 120 180
0.866 E . 2
LL

E . 2
LL

DC Terminal Voltage
INVERSION

0.866 E . 2
LL

120 180 240 300

60 120 180

E . 2
LL

DC Voltage Verses Firing Angle

1

Vd

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2

alpha

0
-0.2 0

30

60

90

120

150

-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1

Vd=Vac*1.35 *(cos alpha-uk/2)

180

Valve Voltage and Valve

Current
RECTIFICATION
=15
+u

Q
A
120 180

S
240

300
u

u
B

R
0
P

EG J L N
D
H
M
K
C F
60

60

60

60
E . 2
LL

A
120 180

0.866 E . 2
LL

Valve Voltage and Valve

Current
INVERSION
=15

60

60

60

G
u
Q

P
N

F H K

Q
0.866 E . 2
LL

C
AS
R
120 180 240
B

R
60 120 180

E . 2
LL

12-Pulse Convertor Bridge

Commonly Used in HVDC systems

12-Pulse Convertor Bridge

Commonly adopted in all HVDC applications
Two 6 pulse bridges connected in series
30 phase shift between Star and Delta
windings of the converter transformer
Due to this phase shift, 5th and 7th harmonics
are reduced and filtering higher order
harmonics is easier
Higher pulse number than 12 is not
economical

DC VOLTAGE AT = 15

DC VOLTAGE AT = 90

DC VOLTAGE AT = 165

HVDC Link Voltage Profile

RECTIFIER

INVERTER

Vdio R
cos

Vdio I

cos

Id Xc
2
Id E r
Id R L

Id X c
2

IdEr
DC CABLE or O/H LINE

VdR=VdioR cos-Id Xc+Er

2

VdI=VdioI(cos-Id Xc+Er
2

Control of DC Voltage
Rectifier Operation
AC System

Power Flow

Inverter Operation
DC System

AC System

DC System

Power Flow

Id
V1

V3

Id

V5

V1

Phase A

V3

V5

Phase A

Phase B

Phase B

Ud

Phase C

Ud

Phase C
V4

V6

V2

V4

V6

V2

+Ud
Rectifier
Operation
160

0
5

-Ud

30

60

90

120

150

Inverter
Operation

180

Relationship of DC Voltage Ud and Firing

Angle
Rect. Limit
+Ud

Rectifier
Operation
160

0
5

30

60

90

120

150

180

Inverter
Operation
-Ud
Ud

= 0o

= 30o

= 60o

Inv

Limit

Ud

wt

= 90o
Ud

= 120o

= 150o

wt
-Ud

How does HVDC

Operate?

NORMAL POWER DIRECTION

REVERSE POWER OPERATION

Schematic of HVDC

Modes of Operation
Bipolar
Smoothing Reactor
Thyristor
Valves

DC OH Line

Smoothing Reactor
Thyristor
Valves

Current

Converter
Transformer

Converter
Transformer

Current
400 kV
AC Bus
AC Filters,
Reactors

400 kV
AC Bus
AC Filters, shunt
capacitors

Modes of Operation
Monopolar Ground Return
Smoothing Reactor

DC OH Line

Thyristor
Valves

Thyristor
Valves

Converter
Transformer

400 kV
AC Bus
AC Filters,
Reactors

Smoothing Reactor

Current

Converter
Transformer

400 kV
AC Bus
AC Filters

Modes of Operation
Monopolar Metallic Return
Smoothing Reactor

DC OH Line

Thyristor
Valves

Thyristor
Valves

Converter
Transformer

400 kV
AC Bus
AC Filters,
Reactors

Smoothing Reactor

Current

Converter
Transformer

400 kV
AC Bus
AC Filters

TALCHER KOLAR
SCHEMATIC

TALCHER

Electrode
Station
Electrode
Station

KOLAR

+/- 500 KV DC line

1370 KM

400kv System
Blore

Hoody
Cudappah

220kv system

Hosur
Salem
Udumalpet

Kolar

Madras

Chintamani

Sharing of Talcher Power

Tamil Nadu - 636 MW

A.P.
- 499 MW

Karnataka - 466 MW
Kerala

- 330 MW

Pondicherry - 69 MW

3%

17%

32%
23%

25%

T.N.
Karnataka
Pondy

A.P.
Kerala

KOLAR SINGLE LINE DIAGRAM

TACLHER-KOLAR 500 kV HVDC TRANSMISSION SYTEM

Project Highlights

FOR TRANSMITTING 2000 MW OF POWER FROM NTPC TALCHER

STPS -II AND FOR SHARING AMOGEST SOUTHERN STATES THE
2000 MW HVDC BIPOLAR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM IS ENVISAGED

AS
EAST SOUTH INTERCONNECTOR II (ESICON II).
THIS IS THE LARGEST TRANSMISSION SYSTEM TAKEN UP IN

THE COUNTRY SO FAR

THE PROJECT SCHEDULE IS QUITE CHALLENGING
AGAINST THE 50 MONTHS FOR SUCH PROJECTS, THE

PROJECT SCHEDULE IS ONLY 39 MONTHS

SCHEDULED COMPLETION BY JUNE 2003

 Project Highlights
KEY DATES

AWARD OF HVDC TERMINAL STATION PKG 14TH MAR 2000

AWARD OF HVAC PACKAGE

27TH APR 2000

APPROVED PROJECT COST - RS. 3865.61 CR
THIS IS THE FIRST OF SUCH SYSTEM WHERE THE ENTIRE
GENERATION IN ONE REGION IS EARMARKED TO

ANOTHER REGION.

Salient Features
Rectifier

Talcher, Orissa

Inverter

Kolar, Karnataka

Distance

1370 km

Rated Power

2000 MW

Operating Voltage

500 kV DC

Reduced Voltage

400 kV DC

Overload

Long time, 40C

Half an hour
Five Seconds

1.25 pu per pole

1.3 pu per pole
1.47 pu per pole

SYSTEM CAPACITIES
BIPOLAR MODE OF OPERATION

-- 2000 MW

MONO POLAR WITH GROUND RETURN --- 1000 MW

MONO POLAR WITH METALLIC RETURN MODE --- 1000 MW

DEBLOCKS EACH POLE AT P min 100 MW
POWER DEMAND AT DESIRED LEVEL
POWER RAMP RATE --

1 300 MW /MIN

POWER REVERSAL IN OFF MODE

SYSTEM CAPACITIES
OVER LOAD CAPACBILITIES
RATED POWER

-- 2000 MW

LONG TIME OVER LOAD POWER 8/10 HOURS -- 2500 MW

SHORT TIME OVER LOAD 5 SEC- 3210 MW

HARMONIC FILTERS
AT TALCHER
TOTAL FILTERS 14
DT 12/24 FILTERS EACH 120 MVAR - 7 NOS
DT 3/36 FILTERS EACH 97 MVAR - 4 NOS
SHUNT REACTORS
138 MVAR- 2 NOS
SHUNT CAPCITORS
138 MVAR- 1 NOS
DC FILTERS DT 12/24 & DT 12/36 1 No per pole.

AT KOLAR
TOTAL FILTERS 17
DT 12/24 FILTERS EACH 120 MVAR - 8 NOS
DT 3/36 FILTERS EACH 97 MVAR - 4 NOS
SHUNT CAPCITORS
138 MVAR- 5 NOS
DC FILTERS DT 12/24 & DT 12/36 1 each pole

SYSTEM CAPACITIES
MONOPOLAR GROUND RETURN - 1000 MW POWER CAN
BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH THIS MODE WHERE THE
RETURN PATH IS THROUGH THE GROUND WHICH IS
FACILITATED THROUGH A EARTH ELECTRODE STATION
SITUATED AT ABOUT 35 KMS FROM THE TERMINALS AND
CONNECTED BY A DOUBLE CIRCUIT TRANSMISSION LINE.
MONOPOLAR METALLIC RETURN - 1000 MW POWER CAN
BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH THIS MODE WHERE THE
RETURN PATH IS THE TRANSMISSION LINES OF OTHER
POLE.
BALANCED BIPOLAR MODE 2000 MW CAN BE
TRANSMITTED THROUGH THIS MODE WHERE WITH ONE
+VE AND OTHER VE .

TALCHER-KOLAR HVDC & EHVAC SYSTEM

HIGH VOLTAGE DIRECT

CURRENT TRANSMISSION
(HVDC)

History

First commercial application of HVDC between Swedish

mainland and the island of Gotland in 1954.

Underwater link of 90 km and 20 MW.

After the advent of thyristor convertor, New Brunswick

and Quebec 320 MW back-to-back DC interconnection
commissioned in 1972.

With reduced size, cost and improved reliability of power

electronic converters, has made HVDC transmission more
widespread.

In North America, total HVDC transmission capacity in

1987 was 14,000 MW.

Advantages

In a number of applications HVDC is more effective than AC

transmission. Examples include:
Undersea cables, where high capacitance causes additional AC
losses. (e.g. 250 km Baltic Cable between Sweden and Germany)
Long power transmission without intermediate taps, for example,
in remote areas
Power transmission and stabilization between unsynchronized AC
distribution systems
Connecting a remote generating plant to the distribution grid
Reducing line cost: 1) fewer conductors 2) thinner conductors
since HVDC does not suffer from the skin effect
Facilitate power transmission between different countries that use
AC at differing voltages and/or frequencies
Synchronize AC produced by renewable energy sources

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of HVDC are in conversion,

switching and control.

Expensive inverters with limited overload capacity

Higher losses in static inverters at smaller transmission

distances

The cost of the inverters may not be offset by reductions

in line construction cost and lower line loss.

High voltage DC circuit breakers are difficult to build

because some mechanism must be included in the circuit
breaker to force current to zero, otherwise arcing and
contact wear would be too great to allow reliable
switching.

Cost of HVDC Transmission

Costs vary widely depending on power rating, circuit length,

overhead vs. underwater route, land costs, and AC network
improvements required at either terminal.

For example, for an 8 GW, 40 km link laid under the English

Channel, the following are approximate primary equipment
costs for a 2 GW, 500 kV bipolar conventional HVDC link is:

Converter stations ~$170 M

Subsea cable + installation ~$1.5 M/km

So for an 8 GW capacity between England and France in four links,

little change is left from ~$1.2B for the installed works. Add another
$300$450M for the other works depending on additional onshore
works required

HVDC System Configurations and Components

HVDC links can be broadly classified into:

Basic links

Monopolar links
Bipolar links
Homopolar links

Extended links

Back-to-back links
Multiterminal links

Monopolar Links

It uses one conductor

The return path is provided by ground or water
Use of this system is mainly due to cost considerations
A metallic return may be used where earth resistivity is too high
This configuration type is the first step towards a bipolar link

Bipolar Links

It uses two conductors, one positive and the other negative

Each terminal has two converters of equal rated voltage,
connected in series on the DC side
The junctions between the converters is grounded
Currents in the two poles are equal and there is no ground current
If one pole is isolated due to fault, the other pole can operate with
ground and carry half the rated load (or more using overload
capabilities of its converter line)

Homopolar Links

It has two or more conductors all having the same

polarity, usually negative
Since the corona effect in DC transmission lines is
less for negative polarity, homopolar link is usually
operated with negative polarity
The return path for such a system is through ground

Components of HVDC Transmission Systems

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Converters
Smoothing reactors
Harmonic filters
Reactive power supplies
Electrodes
DC lines
AC circuit breakers

Components of HVDC Transmission Systems

Converters

They perform AC/DC and DC/AC conversion

They consist of valve bridges and transformers

Valve bridge consists of high voltage valves connected in a

6-pulse or 12-pulse arrangement

The transformers are ungrounded such that the DC system

will be able to establish its own reference to ground
Smoothing reactors

They are high reactors with inductance as high as 1 H in

series with each pole

They serve the following:

They decrease harmonics in voltages and currents in DC lines

They prevent commutation failures in inverters
Prevent current from being discontinuous for light loads

Harmonic filters

Converters generate harmonics in voltages and currents.

These harmonics may cause overheating of capacitors and
nearby generators and interference with telecommunication
systems

Harmonic filters are used to mitigate these harmonics

Components of HVDC Transmission Systems contd

Reactive power supplies

Under steady state condition conditions, the reactive

power consumed by the converter is about 50% of the
active power transferred

Under transient conditions it could be much higher

Reactive power is, therefore, provided near the converters

For a strong AC power system, this reactive power is

provided by a shunt capacitor
Electrodes

Electrodes are conductors that provide connection to the

earth for neutral. They have large surface to minimize
current densities and surface voltage gradients
DC lines

They may be overhead lines or cables

DC lines are very similar to AC lines

AC circuit breakers

They used to clear faults in the transformer and for taking

the DC link out of service

They are not used for clearing DC faults

DC faults are cleared by converter control more rapidly

Converter Theory and Performance

Multiple Bridge Converters

Two or more bridges are connected in series

to obtain as a high a direct voltage as
required

These bridges are series on the DC side,

parallel on the AC side

A bank of transformers is connected

between the AC source and the bridges

The ratio of the transformers are adjustable

under load

Multiple bridge converters are used in even

numbers and arranged in pairs for 12-pulse
arrangement

Multiple Bridge Converters

Two banks of transformers, one connected in YY and the other Y- are used to supply each pair
of bridges

The three-phase voltage supplied at one bridge is

displaced from the other by 30 degrees

These AC wave shapes for the two bridges add

up to produce a wave shape that is more
sinusoidal than the current waves of each of the
6-pulse bridges

This 12-pulse arrangement effectively eliminates

5th and 7th harmonics on the AC side. This
reduces the cost of harmonic filters

This arrangement also reduces ripple in the DC

voltage

Control of HVDC Systems

Objectives of Control

Efficient and stable operation

Maximum flexibility of power control without
compromising the safety of equipment

Content

Principle of operation of various control systems

Implementation and their performance during normal
and abnormal system conditions

Basic principles of control

Direct current from the rectifier to the
inverter

Power at the rectifier terminal

Power at the inverter terminal

Basic means of control

Internal voltages, Vdorcos and Vdoicos, can used be

controlled to control the voltages at any point on the line
and the current flow (power)

This can be accomplished by:

Controlling firing angles of the rectifier and inverter (for fast

action)
Changing taps on the transformers on the AC side (slow
response)

Power reversal is obtained by reversal of polarity of

direct voltages at both ends

Basis for selection of control

Following considerations influence the

selection of control characteristics:

Prevention of large fluctuation in DC

voltage/current due to variation In AC side voltage

Maintaining direct voltage near rated value

Power factor at the receiving and sending ends

should be as high as possible

Control implementation

Control implementation

Tap changer control

Current limits:

It is used to keep the converter firing angles ( and )

within the desired range
They are sized to allow for minimum and maximum steady
state voltage variation

Maximum short circuit current is limited to 1.2 to 1.3

times normal full load current to avoid thermal damage
to equipment
Minimum current limit is set to avoid ripple in the current
that may cause it to be discontinuous or intermittent

Minimum firing angle limit:

In case of a DC fault, the inverter station may switch to

rectification mode. This would result in reversal of power flow
To prevent this, the a minimum value for firing angle is set

Control implementation

Power control

To transmit a scheduled power, the corresponding

current order is determined by:

Iord=Po/Vd

Bridge/converter unit control

Determines firing angles and

sets their limits

Pole control

It coordinates the conversion

of current order to a firing
angle order, tap changer
control and other protection
sequences

Multiterminal HVDC network

Successful application of two-terminal DC systems led to the

development of multi-terminal networks

There are two possible connection schemes for MTDC systems:

Constant voltage parallel scheme

Constant current series scheme