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174
I EEE "axi ons on Power Systems, vo1.6, No.1, February 1991
A MULTI PHASE HARMONI C LOAD FLOW SOLUTION TECHNI QUE
Wenyuan Xu J ose R. Marti Hermann W. Dommel
Student M.IEEE Member, I EEE Fellow, I EEE
Department of Electrical Engineering
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada, V6T 1W5
ABSTRACT: The operation of nonlinear devices under un-
balanced conditions may cause harmonic problems in power sys-
tems. A multiphase harmonic load flow solution technique for
analyzing such problems is described in this paper. The harmonic
load flows are obtained from iterations between the Norton equiv-
alent circuits of the nonlinear elements and the linear network
solutions at harmonic frequencies. Harmonics generated by static
compensators with thyristor-controlled reactors under unbalanced
conditions are used to illustrate the method. The inclusion of the
control characteristics of the static compensator and comparisons
with field test results are described in a companion paper.
KEYWORDS: network unbalances, harmonics, harmonic
load flow, multiphase solution, static compensator.
The voltage and current waveforms in power systems are fre-
quently distorted by harmonics. This distortion can cause various
problems, ranging from capacitor failure to communications in-
terference [l]. The propagation of these harmonics through the
network must be assessed so that harmonic counter-measures can
be properly designed. Harmonic load flow programs are an im-
portant tool for such harmonic propagation studies. The work on
harmonic load flow solution techniques was pioneered by Heydt et
al [l]. Their well-known HARMFLO program can be used to an-
alyze harmonic load flows caused by rectifiers, HVDC converters,
and other nonlinear devices [2,3]. Similar techniques are described
in [4, 51.
There are also many harmonic problems related to the unbal-
anced operation of power systems. With unbalanced conditions,
the generation and propagation of harmonics are more compli-
cated. For example, extra so-called non-characteristic harmonics
may be produced. I t is important to evaluate the effects of these
harmonics since no filters are generally installed to alleviate them.
In view of the fact that there is always some degree of unbalance
and that the harmonics are more sensitive to unbalances than the
fundamental frequency component, unbalanced harmonic analysis
has received more attention recently. Unbalance effects have been
induded in the three-phase frequency scan technique proposed by
Densem, Bodger and Arrillaga [5] and in the computation of non-
characteristic harmonics from rectifiers [ 6] .
90 W! 098-4 FWRS A paper recommended and approved
by the IEEE Power System Engineering Committee of
the IEEX Power Engineering Society f or preaentati on
at the IEEE/PES 1990 Winter Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia,
February 4 - 8, 1990. Manuscript aubmitted
August 31, 1989; made avai l abl e f or pri nti ng
November 17, 1989.
In this paper, a multiphase harmonic load flow (MHLF)
technique is described which solves the network at fundamental
and harmonic frequencies in ,the presence of nonlinear elements
and unbalances. I t is based on the harmonic iteration scheme
which has been used earlier to compute harmonics from HVDC
converters, transformer saturation and thyristor-controlled reac- ,
tors [7, 8, 91. The harmonics caused by static compensators with
thyristor-controlled reactors under balanced and unbalanced con-
ditions are used to illustrate the method. This technique was
primarily developed as an improved initialiaation procedure for
EMTP simulations, but it is also a useful tool by itself for multi-
phase harmonic load flow analysis with unbalanced conditions.
The multiphase harmonic load flow technique is simple in
concept. Besides static compensators, other harmonic-producing
nonlinearities with or without control specifications can be in-
cluded. In order to keep the explanation of the method simple,
only static compensator operation with known conduction angles
is considered in this paper. The inclusion of the control charac-
teristics of the static compensator and case study results as well
as field test comparisons are presented in a companion paper [lo].
2. PRINCIPLE OF HARMONIC ITERATION
To explain the principle of harmonic iteration, a static com-
pensator with thyristor-controlled reactors (TCR) will be used as
the source of harmonics. This device is essentially a reactor in se-
ries with anti-parallel thyristor valves, as shown in Figure 1. The
valves conduct on alternate half-cycles of the supply frequency, for
durations which depend on their firing angles a, thereby creating
adjustable reactive power generation or consumption [ll]. The
operating range goes from no conduction at a =180" to full con-
duction at a =90". The duration of conduction is defined by the
conduction angle
D =2(180 - a).
If Q is less than 180, harmonic currents are generated, aa shown
in Figure 1.
2.1 Harmonic Norton Equivalent Circuit
of Thyristor-Controlled Reactor
To compute the harmonic currents with the harmonic itera-
tion scheme, an equivalent linear model of the TCR shall be de-
rived first. In general, the voltages appearing across this element
will be distorted with harmonics,
n
i (t) = (Vh(COs(hWt +$h). (1)
h=1
With the valve fired at t f , the current through the reactor during
one half of a cycle is determined by
0885-8950/91/02004174$01.00 (D 1991 IEEE
- A
4
175
the Norton equivalent circuit are easily found fromEq. ( 7) , after
I[, has been obtained fromthe Fourier analysis of Eq. (3). This
relationship is symbolically expressed as
Note that there is no coupling among the equivalent circuits of the
different harmonic frequencies. They are also independent of any
network unbalances.
2.2 Harmonically-Decoupled Network Solutions
Figure1: Thyristor-controlled reactor and waveforms.
or
n
CIv,,((hwL)-l[sin(hwt +(bh) - .+hwtf +dhj],
t f 5 t I t e ; (3)
1 h=l
i ( t ) =
0, 0 <t <t f and t , <t <T/ 2;
where t f is the instant of firing, t, that of extinction, L the induc-
tance of the TCR, and T the period at fundamental frequency. For
the second half cycle, the current will reverse in sign (Figure 1).
To obtain the current phasors as a function of the voltage phasors,
Fourier analysis is required. Since the closed-formFourier analy-
sis of Eq. (3) is complicated due to discontinuous conduction, the
distorted current is generated point-by-point from the given volt-
age with Eq. (3) and then analyzed with discrete Fourier analysis.
This produces the harmonic content expressed by
n
iharmonce(t) = (Ihlcos(hwt +o h ) , (4)
h= I
which was used as a current source model in [9] to represent the
harmonic effects of the TCR. I t is better to model the TCR as
a Norton equivalent circuit, however. It can be shown that the
equivalent inductance of a TCR for a purely sinusoidal voltage at
fundamental frequency is [Il l :
Le, =nL(u - sina)-1
( 5 )
This equivalent inductance represents the TCR very well at funda-
mental frequency, and reasonably well at other frequencies. The
differences between the current absorbed in jhwL,, and the ac-
tual current from Eq. (4) become the parallel current sources in
the Norton equivalent circuit representation of Figure 2, with
YLeq = (jhwLJ' (6)
1 h - q = (jhwLeq)-'Vh - I h ( 7 )
where vh =IVh(e36h and I h =IIhleJeh.
For given voltages at the TCR teriuinal, current sources of
4
Figure2: TCR equivalent model for multiphase
harmonic load flow analysis.
With the nonlinear TCR represented as a Norton equivalent
circuit at harmonic frequencies, the node voltages of the entire
network can easily be found by solving a system of multiphase
node equations
[Yh-net~oork][Vh-nehuork] =[Ih-network], h =1, * 7 n7 (9)
at each frequency. The nonlinear TCR effects are represented
in these equations as currents in the vector [Ih-nehuork]. Once
the node voltages have been obtained, improved values for the
equivalent current sources can then be calculated from Eq. ( 8) ,
which in turn is used to compute improved voltages. This is the
process of harmonic iteration. I t is continued until the changes in
the equivalent current sources are sufficiently small.
This iterative process constitutes the basic idea of the mul-
tiphase harmonic load flow technique. To include the load flow
constraint options of HARMFLO and sinular programs, Eq. (9)
at h =1 must be modified into multiphase load flow equations, as
described next.
3. MULTIPHASE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY
LOAD FLOW SOLUTIQNS
The multiphase load flow solution must be able to handle
unbalanced conditions. Unbalanced load flow analysis was first
introduced by El-Abiad and Tarsi two decades ago 1121. Since
then, much progress has been made [13, 141. An excellent sum-
mary of the state-of-the-art of three-phase load flow analysis can
be found in [13].
3.1 Modelling of Network Components
In contrast to most existing techniques, the load flow con-
straints for each power system component are expressed as branch
equations here, instead of constraints on node quantities. ' Since
branches can be connected in any way by the user, this provides
greater flexibility.
3.1.1 Three-phase Synchronous Machines
The response of a synchronous machine is different for pos-
itive, negative, or zero sequence current injections. This must be
taken into account in unbalanced load flow studies. Reference [12]
has developed such a model (Figure 3(a)), with the branch equa-
tions
where
=[Ygl([Vkl - [Vml - [El) (10)
[V,] =[Vk-a Vk - b Vk-=IT, voltages on side k,
[V,] =[V,,-, Vm-b Vm_,.IT, voltages on side m,
[ l km] =[Ikm-@ 1km-b Ikm-eIT, currents from side k to side ni,
[E] =[Ep .'Ep uE,IT, internal voltages,
[Yglmutual =( y o - w 3 ,
, 'I ,
176
Subscripts p, n, and o indicate positive, negative, and zero se-
quence components, respectively. For the negative sequence reac-
tance, jw(L&' +L: ) / 2 can be used. The zero sequence reactance
is jwL,. For the resistance, the armature resistance can be used,
though this is not quite correct because the negative sequence re-
sistance can Le an order of magnitude larger.
0 a
k m
0 9
I
0 0
k m
0 0
0 0
k m
0 9
k m
0 e
(a) three-phase synchronous machine.
(b) individual branch load. (c) three-phase static load.
(d) voltage source. (e) current source.
Figure 3: Branch models for multiphase harmonic load
The machine internal voltage Ep is unknown and must be
adjusted to satisfy the machine load flow constraints for terminal
voltage and power output.
flow studies.
Slack machine. The specified constraints are the magnitude
and the phase angle of the positive sequence voltage at the
machine terminals.
- [ v m l ) =V#peei f i edr (11)
where [TI =(1/3)[1 a Q.'].
Machines with these constraints correspond to the slack
nodes in conventional load flow studies. Under unbalanced
conditions, the negative and zero sequence voltages will be
nonzero because the network sees the machine as admit-
tances Y, and Yo in negative and zero sequence represen-
tations.
PV machine. The specified constraints are the three-phase
active power output and the magnitude of the positive se-
quence voltage at the machine terminals.
where superscript denotes conjugate transposed.
PQ machine. The specified constraints are the three-phase
active and the three-phase reactive power output.
G([Ikm], [ v k ] , [ v m ] ) =Fs pcer f i ed (15)
This equation and Eq. (10) for branch currents jointly define the
three-phase machine model.
3.1.2 Multiphase Loads
Loads are usually represented as constant power consump-
tion in single-phase (positive sequence) load flow programs. For
unbalanced load flow analysis, the different response to positive,
ncgative and zero sequence voltages and currents must be mod-
elled, in addition to the power constraints. I n view of the variety of
load characteristics, four basic types of load models are proposed.
Type 1. Constant impedance load with known [Z] or [Y] branch-
matrix representation.
Type 2. Load with constant active and reactive power specified
as a single-phase branch (Figure 3(b)). I t is defined as:
This load corresponds to the traditional PQ representation.
However, it is defined as a branch between two nodes, rather
than from node to ground as in single-phase load flow pro-
grams. This allows large flexibility in the type of connection,
as for example phase-to-phase loads in delta systems.
Type 3. Static load (Figure 3(c)). In this type of load, i t is
assumed that the positive and negative sequence impedances
are equal and that. the ratio of the positive to zero sequence
impedance is available. In effect, it assumes that the load
impedances are balanced for the three phases. The total
active and reactive power is specified, but the positive and
zero sequence impedances are not explicitly known. Using
symmetrical components, the branch equations for this type
of load in phase quantities can be expressed as
where y is an unknown admittance and [ K] is a known con-
stant symmetric matrix determined from the positive to zero
sequence impedance ratio. The unknown admittance must
be adjusted to fulfill Eq. (18).
Type 4. Rotating machine load with unequal negative and pos-
itive sequence impedances, as in the case of induction mo-
tors. For this load, i t is assumed that both the negative
and zero sequence admittances are known. The positive se-
quence admittance is not known and is to be determined
from the three-phase active and reactive power consump-
tion. With symmetrical components, this type of load can
be represented as
I k m- p =G ( v k - p - v m - p ) (19)
I k m - n Y n ( V k - n - v m - n ) (20)
I k m- o =K ( V k - 0 - v m - 0 ) (21)
In stead of using Yp as an unknown, it is better to model the
load as an internal voltage E, behind the negative sequence
admittance Y,. E,, then becomes the unknown variable and
Eq. (19) can be rewritten as
I k m- p =y n ( v k - p - V m - p - E p ) , (22)
_I. .
177
Collecting all the related equations tbgether, the multiphase
load flow problem can be formulated as:
Transforniing Eqs. (20), (21) and (22) into the phase domain
and including the built-in load flow constraints, this load
model can be defined as:
[Ikm] =[%I([vkl -i Vm1 - (23 1
- [Ikm]H([Vk] - [vml) =( p +jQ)speezf*ed.
(24)
where
[E] =[E, u'E, uE,]',
P;lmutual =(ro - ro)/3,
[Yglsclf =(K +2ro)/3,
Note that with the introduction of E,, this type of load has
the same structure as the PQ synchronous machine. I t can
then be siinply treated as a PQ machine with negative power
geiiFrat ion
By specifying the load flow cpnstraints at the branch level,
the loads can be arbitrary connected between nodes or from node
to ground. Loads can also be connected to the same node.
3.1.3 Voltage and current. sources
Voltage and current sources are again represented as branches.
The voltage source (Figure 3(d)) is defined as
Vk - vm =Espeeifted.
(25)
A current source between two nodes (Figure 3(e)) is defined as
currents leaving two nodes,
I k =Ispeeified,
&n =-Ispceified*
3.1.4 Other Network Components
Overhead transmission lines, underground cables, transform-
ers, react,ors and capacitors can all be modelled as coupled .rr
circuits. Details are well-documented in references [13] and [15].
There are no load flow constraints associated with these compo-
nents.
3.2 Formula.tion and Solution of the Load Flow Equations
With all network components described at the branch level
in the form of Norton equivalent circuits, it becomes easy to write
the nodal equations for the entire network. The branch adnlittance
niatrix of each component enters the larger network adiiiittance
matrix according to well-known building rules [15], while the cur-
rent sources between sides k and menter as currents with a posi-
tive sign on side k, and with a negative sign on side m. With load
flow constraints, these currents in [L] are unknown, and must be
iteratively adjusted. As a result, the network equation is formed
as
[ Y P I +[Is] t [Iu] =0, (26)
whcre
[Y] is the network node admittance matrix constructed
from the branch admittance matrices without load flow
constraints,
[VI is the node voltage vector,
[Is] is the vector of current sources leaving each node,
[I,,] is the vector of unknown currents (associated with
1o;itl flow constraints) leaving each node.
The general form of these equations can be written as
and [ Iv] is the vector of currents from voltage sources,
( 1 ~ 4 is the vector of single-phase PQ load currents,
[Ifif] is the vector of machine currents,
[IL3] is the vector of static load currents,
[Ep] is the vector of machine internal voltages,
[ y] is the vector of static load parameter y.
Equation (34) is a set of nonlinear algebraic equations, which
must be solved iteratively. Experience has shown that the Newton-
Raphson method is probably the best method for conventional
load flow studies [16]. I t has al so been chosen for the solution
of Eq. (34). Rectangular coordinates are used here to separate
the complex variables and equations into real form. Besides its
simplicity, the rectangular representation has other advantages.
For example, if there are no PV and PQ constraints, the J acobian
matrix becomes constant. The solution is then equivalent to the
direct solution of the linear problem [ Y] [ V] =[I].
With the Newton-Raphson method, the system of linear
equations
is solved in each iteration step, and the variables are then updated
[J,][Axt] =- [ AF( z c l ) ] (35)
with
[.;+I] =[zi] +[Azi],
where i is the iteration number,
[J;] the J acobian matrix,
[ AF ( z ; ) ] the residual vector.
With Eqs. (27) t,o (33), Eq. (35) becomes
178
The procedure for obtaining the submatrices in this J aco-
bian matrix is the same as in conventional load flow techniques.
Once the J acobian matrix is obtained, Eq. (35) is solved by Gauss
elimination with sparsity techniques. The largest component i n
the residual vector is used to test for convergence.
3.3 Initialization
Choosing an initial guess [z,] for the iterations is more com-
plicated in the multiphase case. The traditional initialization tech-
nique, which uses 1.0 per-unit node voltage magnitudes with re-
spective 120" phase shifts among phases a, b, and c, becomes un-
reliable if there are phase shifting effects through wye-delta trans-
former connections. Since the convergence of the Newton-Raphson
method is sensitive to the initial guess, a special initialization pro-
cedure is used before entering the iteration loop.
The procedure is based on the observation that the load flow
equations become linear if there are no PV or PQ constraints. To
approximate the network this way, the components with PQ and
PV constraints are modified as follows:
1. Machines with PV and PQ constraints and rotating machine
loads are represent,ed as admittance matrices of very small
ruagnitude. This approximates open-circuit conditions.
2. Other loads are represented as known admittances y whose
values are determined from
for the single-phase PQ loads, and
for three-phase static loads. The voltage magnitude (VI is
estimated to be equal to the user-supplied rated voltage of
the load.
With these approximations, the load flow solution becomes
linear. Rather than writing a separate algorithm for this initial-
ization, the normal Newton-Raphson algorithm is used with zero
initial values, and the linear estimate [ CL ] is obtained in one iter-
at,ion. This becomes the starting point for the following load flow
iterations.
4. MULTIPHASE HARMONIC SOLUTIONS
To solve the network at the harmonic frequencies, it is first
necessary to define how the machines and loads respond to har-
monics.
4.1 Harmonic Response of Network Components
1. Machines. As a first approximation, i t is assumed that
machines do not produce harmonics. For harmonic frequencies,
they can t,hen be modelled as known admittance matrices, as sug-
gested in reference [17]:
where h is the harmonic order, and XI-, and XI-,, are the nega-
tive and zero sequence reactances of the machine at fundamental
frequency, respectively. The internal voltage is zero for h, >1. A
similar model is used for rotating machine loads.
For more accurat,e representations, it must be realized that
machines act as frequency converters. For example, a negative
sequence current at fundamental frequency induces second har-
monics in the rotor circuits, which in turn induce third harmonic
voltages in the stator. This can be taken into account with the
method suggested by Semlyen, Eggleston, a.nd Arrillaga [18].
2. Loads. The behaviour of loads under the combined effects
of unbalanced and harmonic conditions is usually not well known.
Using the load modelling techniques of reference [19], a multiphase
load can be modelled as a combination of lumped R,L,C elements.
If the test data needed for this representation is not available, the
recommendations of reference [17] can be used. This reference sug-
gests that the harmonic characteristics of a load can be modelled
as
Z l w d - h =(Ra +j x # ) / / j X p , (39)
where
Using these approximations, the single-phase PQ load is replaced
by &,,,d-h, and the static load is represented as
where T h is the user-supplied positive to zero sequence impedance
ratio of the load at the given frequency. These sequence parame-
ters are then transformed into phase quantities.
3. Transnussion lines. Transmission lines are represented as
exact multiphase A equivalent circuits calculated at the considered
harmonic frequency [15].
4.2 Solution Techniaue
With the various system components represented at each
harmonic frequency, the problem formulation is the same as that
of Eq. (34). However, since the machines and loads are represented
as constant impedances at harmonic frequencies, the problem be-
comes linear and iterations are not required.
5. GENERAL FORMULATION OF THE MULTIPHASE
HARMONIC LOAD FLOW TECHNIQUE
Based on Sections 3 and 4, a general purpose program was
written for the solution of the network with load flow constraints at
fundamental and harmonic frequencies. The three solution stages,
initialization, load flow, and frequency scan are all done by the
Newton-Raphson solution module, with or without iterations. The
harmonic iteration of Section 2 for static compensators was added
by using the Norton equivalent circuits of Figure 2. The general
form of the multiphase harmonic load flow (MHLF) technique can
then be described with Figure 4.
The initialization is very simple: At harmonic frequencies,
the equivalent currents Ih--eq representing the effects of nonlinear
elements are set to zero. For the fundamental frequency load flow
solut,ion, the PV and PQ components are modified into known Y
matrices. With these simplifications, the approximate node volt-
ages without harmonic distortion ( h =1) are obtained in one
iteration. Because the voltage harmonics are relatively small com-
pared with the fundamental frequency components, using these
node voltages as initial conditions is quite reliable.
As shown in the flow chart, the MHLF technique consists
of two basic parts. The first part is the construction of harmonic
179
Thus the size of the J acobian matrix is reduced considerably
and the computational burden is only linearly proportional
to the total number of harmonics. Thirdly, the technique
has good convergence behaviour [lo].
Norton equivalent circuits for the nonlinear elements (a TCR is
used as an example). The second part performs the network so-
lutions at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies. These two
parts are interfaced through the process of harmonic iteration.
I inuut data 1
I iteration-0 I
set initial TCR model by letting 0
Call "WORK-SOLUTI ON
h>n
+hsn
setupcomponent models for harmonic h
Call NETWORK-SOLUTION
compute new TCR Norton equivalent
NETWOFUC-SOLUTION is a subroutine
whose function is to form F( [ xl ) =0 equation
and to solve it by Newton-Raphson method.
Figure4: How chart of the MHLF technique.
(A TCR is used as an example of nonlinear element.)
The main characteristics of the MHLF technique can be sum-
marized as follows:
1. The MHLF technique is a multiphase program. I t can be
used either for single-phase or for three-phase harmonic load
flow studies. Unbalanced operating conditions can be con-
sidered in the study.
2. Harmonics from other nonlinear elements can be analyzed
with the technique. The linear equivalent circuit models for
nonlinear elements not included internally in the program
can be supplied by the user externally in the form of a sub-
routine. The MHLF program has been structured to make
such interfaces easy.
3. The MHLF technique is computationally efficient. First of
all, its initialization is simple and reliable. Secondly, because
the Norton equivalent circuits are harmonically-decoupled,
the network solutions are performed one frequency at a time.
6. PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR
STATIC COMPENSATOR ANALYSIS
A practical static compensator, such as the one shown in Fig-
ure 5 [ll], is more complicated than the simple TCR unit of Figure
1. First of all, there is the delta connection of the TCR's. This
connection is used to filter the zero sequence harmonics (e.g. 3rd,
9th). With the multiphase representation and the Norton equiva-
lent circuits, the modelling of delta connection is straightforward,
and the circulation of the zero sequence harmonic currents is auto-
matically taken into account. When the operating conditions are
unbalanced, the non-characteristic harmonics in the delta connec-
tion are automatically obtained.
8 T @I T T T IQ T T T 8 T
. . .
TCR TSC filters filters TSC "CR
(a) Static compensator stxucturc (single-phase diagram)
(b) Tmdel t a connection
Figure 5: '"he structure of a practical static compensator.
The second complication is the three-winding transformer
connection. The phase shifting effects of the connection are crit-
ical for the cancellation of the 5th and 7th harmonics generated
by the TCR's at the two secondary windings. With the multi-
phase modelling of transformers, the phase shift is automatically
included [15]. Since the voltage ratio can also be included in the
transformer model, the load flow analysis can be performed in
either per-unit or physical quantities.
180
7. CONCLUSIONS
A multiphase harmonic load flow (MHLF) technique has
been developed for the harmonic analysis of static compensators
and other nonlinear devices under balanced or unbalanced condi-
tions. This technique incorporates the harmonic iteration scheme
into the multiphase framework. The MHLF technique consists of
two major parts. The first part constructs harmonic Norton equiv-
alent circuits for the nonlinear elements. The second part performs
linear network solutions at fundamental and harmonic frequencies.
User-supplied modules for particular nonlinear elements can also
be easily interfaced with the program.
The paper describes the development of the Norton equiv-
alent circuit for the TCR with a known conduction angle as an
example of nonlinear elements modelling and the extension of this
modelling to multiphase network solutions at fundamental and
harmonic frequencies. The inclusion of the control characteristics
of static compensators into the MHLF solution and the results of
cas? studies are described in a companion paper [lo].
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The financial assistance of the System Engineering Division
of B.C. Hydro and Power Authority is gratefully acknowledged.
The authors are also indebted to TransAlta Utilities Corporation,
Calgary, Alberta and to B.C. Hydro and Power Authority, Van-
couver, B.C. for providing data and field test measurements.
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wenyuan Xu (St.M85) was born in China in 1962. He received
a B.Eng. degree from Xian J iaotong University, Xian, China in
1982 and a M.Sc. degree from the University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, Canada in 1985. At present, he is a Ph.D. candidate
at the University of British Columbia.
Jose R. Marti (M71) was born in Spain in 1948. He received
a M.E. degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1974 and
a Ph.D. degree i n Electrical Engineering from the University of
British Columbia in 1981.
From 1970 to 1972 he worked for industry. In 1974-77 and 1981-84
he taught power system analysis at Central University of Venezuela.
Since 1984 he has been with the University of British Columbia.
Hermann W. Dommel was born in Germany in 1933. He re-
ceived the Dip1.-Ing. and Dr.-Ing. degrees in electrical engineer-
ing from the Technical University, Munich, Germany, in 1959 and
1962 respectively. From 1959 to 1966 he was with the Technical
University, Munich, and from 1966 to 1973 with Bonneville Power
Administration, Portland, Oregon. Since J uly 1973 he has been
with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Dr. Dommel is a Fellow of IEEE and a registered professional
engineer in British Columbia, Canada.
Discussion
AdamSemlyen (University of Toronto): I would like to commend the
authors for their novel approach in solving the multiphase load flow
problem. Using a harmonic domain Norton equivalent for therepresenta-
tion of nonlinear elements has made it possibleto includethemin a
Newton-Raphson solution of thewholesystem. Theapproach permits to
solveeven such difficult problems as encountered with a set of star con-
nected nonlinear branches with isolated neutral.
In the approach of the paper, the Norton equivalent circuits are con-
sidered to beharmonically decoupled. Consequently, theload flow solu-
tion has been performed sequentially, for one harmonic at a time, a
significant saving compared to a fully coupled approach. In general,
however, thelinearized representation of a nonlinear element in the har-
monic domainA may couplethe individual harmonics with each other.
This appears clearly fromequation (17a) of reference[A]
i =Yhrmv+iN
which corresponds to a harmonic domain Norton equivalent with i andv
being vectors of theharmonic components of currents andvoltages and
iNtheNorton current vector. The matrix Y,-, in theaboveequation (the
Norton admittancematrix) is generally full. I wonder, therefore, what are
the assumptions or procedures which permit to use the decoupled
approach of the paper without loss of accuracy in thesolution? Is the
TCR a harmonically truly decoupled device?
In order to illustrate that thecoupling between harmonics can be
significant, consider the following extremely simpleexample. Let
i =w+$
betheequation of a nonlinear reactor and
w=l+f1cosOt (b)
theinput (flux linkage) of basefrequency only. Direct substitution yields
3 1
4 4
i = - y: )~osot + -y1:cos3ot
With ~1 =w1 be +Awl eqn.(c) becomes
i =i h e +Ai
where
3 1
i h e =(VI +- ~ : ) ~ ~ c o s o ~ + - - w : ~ , c o s ~ ~ ~ 4 4 (e)
and
9 3
4 4
Ai =(1 +-w?)brAwIcosor +-w: ~ e A~ 1 c o s 0 3 0 t
(0
With w1 he =1 eqn.(f) becomes
Ai =3.258y11coswr +0.75Ay11coso30t (9
This equation shows that thesamebasefrequency incremental input Ay1
produces a third harmonic output of 23% (0.75D.25) of the base
frequency output. The resulting coupling is thus not insignificant,
[A] A. Semlyen and N. Rajakovic, "Harmonic Domain Modeling of
Lamiited Iron Core", IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, Vo1.4,
N0.1, January 1989, p ~ . 382-390.
Manuscript received February 5, 1990.
E. Acha (OCEPS Group, University of Durham, U.K.): I
would like to congratulate the authors for this timely and most
interesting paper. In particular, I would like to address the
newly developed TCR model, which is simple and yet compre-
hensive.
TCRs are nonlinear components and their harmonic in-
teraction with the power network is reached by iteration. This
is especially true for cases in which harmonic voltage magnifi-
cations occur due to resonant conditions. One possible mod-
elling approach is to represent each TCR branch as a voltage-
181
dependent set of harmonic current sources, or better still, as a
harmonic Norton equivalent [A]. Then, the three phase TCR
model is assembled.
In this paper the authors are presenting a model, which
represents each TCR branch as a voltage dependent set of
harmonic current sources paralleled by a linear admittance.
The linear admittance is based on fundamental frequency volt-
age and current considerations. This is amenable to a Norton
equivalent at each harmonic frequency; as opposed to the har-
monic Norton equivalent obtained in the harmonic domain.
The former does not exhibit cross-couplings between harmon-
ics, and standard factorization techniques will apply when solv-
ing the network. The latter exhibits cross-couplings between
harmonics and more specialized inversion techniques will be
required [B].
The authors have moved from the current source repre-
sentation to the Norton equivalent representation of the TCR.
Presumably, because of better convergence characteristics. Have
the authors found this improvement to be significant? If so,
then, the principle presented in this paper should also be ap-
plicable to other non-linear components, i.e. magnetic non-
linearities and electric arcs.
The rationale behind this surmise is given below. Har-
monic domain linearization lends itself to a Newton-type it-
erative solution, where the J acobian matrix contains all the
harmonics and the cross-couplings between harmonics. The
J acobian matrix corresponds to the admittance matrix of the
harmonic Norton equivalent. During full conduction state,
the TCR behaves linearly, and the admittance matrix of the
harmonic Norton equivalent becomes diagonal, i.e. no cross-
couplings between harmonics exist. In this condition, the Nor-
ton equivalent presented by the authors and the harmonic do-
main Norton equivalent will coincide. Clearly, this is not the
case at other conduction states, however, a close numerical cor-
respondance will exist if the cross-couplings between harmonics
are neglected and the J acobian matrix is evaluated during the
first iteration only and then, kept constant until convergence
is achieved. The J acobian matrix is diagonally dominant and
the harmonic admittance of the entire network is even more
diagonally dominant. Thus, it is quite likely that the Norton
equivalent representation of this paper will exhibit very good
convergence characteristics even in cases of harmonic voltage
magnification.
I t has been found that for some non-linearities, such as
iron cores, the number of iterations taken to reach convergence
is the same, whether the J acobian is evaluated at each iterative
step or it remains constant after having been evaluated during
the first iteration. For some other non-linearities, such as lam-
inated iron cores, this is not the case. Nevertheless, the effects
of neglecting cross-couplings between harmonics should be in-
vestigated for the case of iron cores, particularly, multi-legged
transformers.
The authors must be congratulated for a most valuable
paper.
[A] L.J . Bohman and R.H. Lasseter.fHarmonic Interac-
182
tions in Thyristor Controlled Reactor Circuits, I EEE Trans-
actions on Power Delivery, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 1919-1926, J uly
1989.
[B] A. Medina, J . Arrillaga and E. Acha.(Sparsity-Oriented
Hybrid Formulation of Linear Multiports and its Application
to Harmonic Analysis, To be presented at the IEEE PES Win-
ter Meeting, Atlanta, GA, Feb 4-8, 1990.
Manuscript received February 20, 1990.
Wenyuan Xu, Jose Marti and Hermann W. Dommel: Wewould like to
thank all the discussers for their interest in the paper and for their valuable
comments. Wehopethat the following comments will help to clarify some
of the raised issues.
Professor Semlyen:
Professor Semlyen is correct in pointing out the harmonic coupling
nature of nonlinear devices. The harmonic Norton equivalent curcuit for
theTCR presented in the paper includes the coupling effects in the formof
an iteratively adjusted harmonic current source The systemis
solved for one harmonic frequency at a time. The solution is then
compared with the characteristic of each nonlinear element and corrections
are added to the elements harmonic current source.
Dr. Acha:
Weobserved significant improvement of theconvergence rate by mov-
ing from a current source model to a Norton equivalent model. The
improvement is due to a more accurate estimation of the fundamental
frequency voltage at the TCR terminal. We completely agree with Dr.
Achas harmonic-domain linearization analysis. According to our numer-
ous test runs, it is very likely that convergence can befurther improved if
the diagonal elements of the harmonic-domain Jacobian matrix are as
the equivalent admittances in the harmonic iteration schemewith nonlinear
inductors has been presented in reference (I). In general, wehavefound
that the convergence rate is inversely affected by the degrees of saturation
and network harmonic voltage resonances.
Reference
m W. Xu, A Multiphase Harmonic Load Flow Technique, Ph.D.
Dissertation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada, February. 1990.
Manuscript receivedApril 12,1990.