Triplen Harmonics Detector
Shrawani Bawage 1 ,Parth Ambalkar 2 , Tejas Autkar3 , Rajendra R Sawant 4
1,2,3,4 Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavans campus Munshi Nagar, Andheri-West Mumbai-400058
shrawani.bawage@spit.ac.in1 ,parth.ambalkar@spit.ac.in2 ,tejas.autkar@spit.ac.in3 ,rrs1902@gmail.com4
Abstract—Distortions in steady state caused in a signal because
of the presence of components having frequency equal to that
of the fundamental frequency and its integral multiples of the
main signal are called harmonics. Triplen Harmonics are those
harmonics which are thrice the odd multiples of fundamental
frequency that is 3rd , 9th , 15th and so on. [6] Being zero sequence
harmonics, their accumulation results in neutral current. The
components are in-phase , therefore they add up and do not
cancel instead. [7] Triplen harmonics are considered to be
dangerous in a power supply. It may also lead to fire mishaps,
overheating or spark. Correct detection of triplen harmonics
is hence a fundamental task. Further optimising the obtained
results to improve quality of power in the main signal is necessary.
Index terms
Index Terms—Harmonics, Triplen Harmonics, Detection, Dan-
gerous
I. I NTRODUCTION
The invention of non-linear devices has been a boon to man-
kind. But increasing use of these devices leads to formation of
harmonics. [4] Among them, triplen harmonics are considered
to be the most harmful. According to IEEE standards (IEEE
std 519-1992) the percentage of triplen harmonics is required
to be less than 10. The project aims to measure the percentage
of the triplen harmonics and to calculate its root mean squared
value by using clamp meter to detect the signal and then
pass it via the analog filter. In this process, the harmonics
are filtered out. The procedure involves the detection of signal
through the clamp meter(with fitted current transformer) which
acquires the signal from the mains then passes it through
analog filter which is band pass filter designed to separate
the 150hz signal.The output of the bandpass is passed through
AD736 IC which gives the rms value of the signal and then
it is displayed on the LCD screen using ATMEGA328 IC.
Fig. 1. Plot of Triplen Harmonics
II. H ARDWARE A ND S OFTWARE
A. Hardware
• ATmega 328p
• LM741-operational amplifier
• AD 736
B. Software
• MicroSim for simulation of band pass filter
• Eagle for circuit design
• Arduino IDE
III. W ORKING
Firstly, acquiring the signal from neutral wire of the mains
is done using clamp-meter which is fitted with current trans-
former. Next, the output of filter is shifted using a level-
shifter circuit to bring the output voltage in the range of 0-
5 Volts. This is done to meet the specifications of ADC of
ATmega328p. The signal is then passed through the analog
filter. Filter designed here, filters out the third harmonics i.e
150 Hz frequency from the main signal whose fundamental
frequency is 50 Hz.Further the output is passed through the IC
AD736 which calculates the RMS value of the third harmonic
signal. This signal is given as input to ADC pin of Atmega328
which does the further processing and the output is displayed
on 16*2 LCD display panel.
Fig. 2. Block Diagram
For the current tranformer in clamp-meter, the ratio of
Primary to Secondary windings is 1:5000. So if the current
flowing through the neutral wire is 100A, then at the secondary
endpoint, it becomes 20mA. A resistor is connected across
secondary terminals. The final voltage is obtained between 0
to 10V(Vpp-Voltage peak to peak).
A. LEVEL SHIFTER
Level- Shifter is a device used for shifting the voltage level
of a waveform so as to suffice the requirements of ADC
channel of the micro-controller/micro-processor. In our case,
the voltage specification of the Atmega328p is 0 to 5 volts.
Fig. 3. Level Shifter
We have designed the level shifter using opamp LM741.
The input voltage is taken from the clamp meter which lies in
the range 0 to 10 Vpp. The level shifter shifts it to 0 to 5 V.
B. Band Pass Filter
Fig. 4. Band Pass Filter
Analog Band pass filters isolates certain frequencies that
lie within the particular band of frequencies and attenuates or
rejects the frequencies outside that band. It is designed using
Resistor-Inductor-Capacitor(RLC) circuits. [5]
• The bandwidth(∆f) of a band pass filter is defined as fH
- fL , i.e the difference between upper and lower cutoff
frequencies.
• Quality factor is defined as ratio of resonant frequency
(fo) to bandwidth. [5] (Q=fo /(fH - fL )
C. Simulation on MicroSim
Fig. 5. Simulation Circuit
We designed an analog filter as shown in the figure(fig 5). To
simulate the results, we have virtually generated a waveform
containing third harmonics and passed it to the input of the
filter. The filter separates the third harmonics from the main
waveform. The filter is designed using inverting amplifier.
The gain of the amplifier is -1. The feedback of the resistor
is 110k ohm. The supply to the amplifier is +15 V and -15 V.
The inverting terminal is connected with a 55k ohm resistor
and 0.1 uF capacitor. Non-inverting terminal is connected is
connected to 100k resistor and then to ground.
Time domain analysis of the waveform.
Time domain analysis of a signal is study of the waveform as
a function of time.
Fig. 6. Time Domain Analysis
In the figure 6, the green waveform is the virtually generated
square waveform containing third harmonics using MicroSim
software. This waveform is passed as the input through the
filter. The red waveform is the output of the band pass filter.
The filter separates third harmonic(i.e 150 Hz signal) from the
main waveform.
 Fig. 7. Frequency Domain Analysis

Fig. 8. Frequency Domain Analysis

Frequency domain analysis of the waveform. fO = 150Hz

Figure 7 shows the Fourier analysis of the waveform. As
seen from the figure,only 150 Hz signal got filtered out and
rest of the frequencies
√ get attenuated. The amplitude at 150
Hz is 2.63V. So 2 times of 2.63 is 1.859V.
Quality factor of the designed filter. (Refer figure 8)
fH = 155.970 Hz
fl = 144.098 Hz
Q= fO /(fH -fL )
Q= 12.63
D. AD736
AD736(fig. 9) is an IC used for the calculation of RMS. In
our case, the output from the filter is given to AD736 which
calculates the RMS voltage of third harmonic. This is fed as
input to ADC pin of Atmega328p which converts it into digital
form and displays it on LCD. [8]
 current, AC-voltage, DC-voltage the intensity of DC or
AC, phase rotation and idle, apparent and effective power.
[1] There is no such device available in the market which
is dedicated to measuring just third harmonics. Our device
will be inexpensive, so it can be applied on a larger scale
to detect and thus prevent the hazards that are caused
due to Triplen harmonics. This could be useful for all
the utility companies in the country. The product will be
in the form of a cheap, handy clamp meter to measure
the RMS values of the triplen harmonics.
Fig. 9. AD736 • Handy: Being a Clamp Meter, it just requires one to
connect the AC mains to the device. The output will
be visible on the LCD display. Great assistance will be
IV. C ODE A LGORITHM provided to the user who can easily operate and handle
Figure 10 shows the flowchart of the code. We first read the at once without any difficulty, therefore making it easy
signal, sample it, perform the required calculations and then to use without any tough instructions to follow.
display the output on 16 X 2 LCD screen. VI. FUTURE SCOPE
The filtering of third harmonics can be done by digital filter
for more efficient filtering.
VII. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research has been completed under the guidance of Dr
Rajendra R Sawant.
VIII. C ONCLUSION
In this paper we have discussed an approach to detect third
harmonics from the Mains Supply. We have used an analog
filter for filtering out the third harmonics. This is a cheap way
of doing the same.
R EFERENCES
[1] Power Analyser-https://www.pce-instruments.com/english/measuring-
instruments/test-meters/power-quality-analyser-power-analyzer-
kat 40071.htm
[2] Ieeexplore.ieee.org. (1933). The Triple-Harmonic Equivalent Circuit in
Three-Phase Power Transformer Banks - IEEE Journals and Magazine.
[3] ”Third Harmonics in Three-Phase Systems,” D. I. Cone, Elec. WVorld,
April 3, 1920, p. (769) 780.
[4] A Review of Harmonics Detection and Measurement in Power System
- International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887) Volume
143 No.10, June 2016 By Snehal R. Durdhavale, Dnyaneshwar D. Ahire
[5] Alan V Oppenhem, Ronald w. Schafer, John R. Buck - Discrete Time
Signal Processing
[6] Hershey Energy System - Harmonics -
http://www.hersheyenergy.com/harmonics.html
[7] Theodore H. Morgan, Cyril A. Bairost, Gordon S. Kimbalt- ”The Triple-
Harmonic Equivalent Circuit in Three-Phase Power Transformer Banks”
[8] AD736-datasheet-https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-
documentation/data-sheets/AD736.pdf

Fig. 10. Flowchart

V. ADVANTAGES
• Affordability: The existing market solution is The cur-
rent instrument available to measure third harmonics is
the power analyser which costs around INR 3 lakhs.
This power analyzer is a multi-function power analyser
device that measures precisely direct current, alternating