Triplex harmonics:

 Harmonics are a major cause of power supply pollution lowering the power factor and
increasing electrical losses.
 The effect of harmonic results in premature equipment failure and also cause of
requirement of equipment of high rating.
 The voltage distortion produced in the system is the major issue with the harmonics
distribution.
 The electronics equipment used in the system usually generate harmonics more than one.
 A part from the distinction between Odd (symmetrical) and Even (asymmetrical)
Harmonics, they can be classified according its phase rotation with the fundamental:
 Positive sequence harmonics (4th, 7th, 10th,...): they do have the same phase rotation
than the fundamental, and circulate between phases.
 Negative sequence harmonics (2nd, 5th, 8th,…): they have the opposite phase rotation
than the fundamental, and circulate between phases.
 Zero sequence harmonics (3rd, 6th, 9th, …), also known as Triplen harmonics: these
harmonics are on phase with the fundamental, and circulate between phases and neutral.
 They do not cancel and add up directly in the Neutral conductor. For that reason, in the
presence of significant components of such harmonics in a 3-phase installation, Neutral
conductor will need to be oversized (compared to phase conductors) to carry out these
extra-current.
 For example, in the presence of around 10 Amps 3rd order harmonic in each of the
3 phases, will mean an extra current of around 30 Amps in Neutral conductor (at 150Hz
in a 50Hz installation), like in Fig.1. If no triplen harmonics were present, Neutral current
will carry no current.
 In all types of harmonics, the triplex harmonics are more severe. These harmonics
produced bigger problem to engineers because they poses more distortion in voltage.
 The effect of triplex harmonics come with overheating in wires, overheating in
transformer units & also may become the cause of end user equipment failure.
 Triplex harmonics overheat the neutral conductor of 4 wire system. The neutral have
generally no fundamental frequency or even harmonics but there may be existence of odd
harmonics in system neutral conductor & when there is system consist of triplex
harmonics it is become additive.
Fig.1 Effects of triplen harmonics addition into Neutral conductor, derived from
three-phase distorted currents
 Even under balanced load condition, on the account of triplex frequency, neutral current
magnitude reaches up to 1.75 times of average phase current.
 Among all types of nonlinear loads which affect the system most are power converters.
 Triplex harmonics do not flow out of a wye-delta transformers. The fact is that triplex
harmonic currents can flow through wye-delta transformers. The amount that flows
depends on the phase angle and magnitude of the currents in each of the three phases. For
example, 100% of the third harmonic current would pass through the transformer if they
were equal in magnitude and displaced 120o from each other.
 This flow of current would be just like a balanced three-phase 50 Hertz current as shown
in Fig 2.

Fig. 2 - Out-of-Phase Third Harmonic Current Flow

(Displaced by 120 degrees)

 The third harmonic current in the wye legs of a transformer will circulate in the delta
winding to balance the amp-turns. Fig. 3 shows this condition.

Fig. 3 - In-of-Phase Third Harmonic Current Flow

(Displaced by 0 degrees)
 The triplex harmonics will be reduced because they will generally circulate in the
transformer delta winding and in the transformer wye-connected neutral back to the drive.
 In most three phase systems the third harmonic current produced are closer to being in-
phase, but with a slight unbalanced in magnitude and phase angle.
 Therefore, most of the third harmonic current will flow in the transformer neutral and the
remaining through the transformer.