FACTS DEVICES

1. Thyristor-Controlled Phase Shifter (TCPS)

The basic function of a phase shifter is to provide

means to control the power flow in a transmission
line. This can be accomplished by modifying the
voltage phase angle by inserting a variable quadrature
voltage in series with the transmission line. The phase
of the output voltage can be varied relative to that of
the input voltage by simply varying the magnitude of
the series quadrature voltage. The structure of a
thyristor-controlled phase shifter and its phasor
diagram are shown in figure below.
'
v ∆v v
∆v

Tr.#2
Φ

Tr.#1 v ' v
Vdc

Schematic diagram of TCPS

2. Thyristor-Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC)

The basic function of a series capacitor is to provide

means to control the power transfer between areas by
modifying the net series impedance. The structure of a
fixed capacitor/thyristor-controlled reactor (FC/TCR)
TCSC is shown in figure below.

Firing
Angle
Control

XL

XC

Schematic diagram of TCSC

3. Static VAR Compensator (SVC)

Static VAR compensators (SVCs) have been initially

employed to regulate the voltage at the midpoint of a
long transmission line, improve the power factor,
increase the transmission capacity, and enhance
transient stability. The basic configuration of a static
VAR compensator of fixed capacitor and thyristor-
controlled reactor (FC/TCR) type is shown in figure
below.

XL

XC
Firing
Angle
Control

Schematic diagram of SVC

POWER FLOW MODULATION USING FACTS DEVICES

Without FACTS devices, the real power flow in the

transmission line shown below is given by
sin (δ ij )
Vi V j
P=
X ij
where Vi ∠δi and Vj∠δj are the end bus voltages and
δij=δi-δj. The transmission line resistance is neglected
for simplicity.

jX ij
Vi ∠δ i V j ∠δ j

A transmission line without FACTS devices

1 Thyristor-Controlled Phase Shifter

The real power flow through a transmission line with

TCPS, shown in Fig. 3.2, can be described as follows.

sin (δ ij − Φ )
Vi V j
P=
X ij
Hence, the real power flow can be regulated by
controlling the angle Φ.

1.0∠Φ : 1.0

jX ij
Vi ∠δ i V j ∠δ j

A transmission line with TCPS

2 Thyristor-Controlled Series Capacitor

The real power flow through a transmission line with

TCSC can be described as follows.
sin (δ ij )
Vi V j
P=
X ij (1 − k )
where k represents the TCSC compensation level and
it is given by
X CSC
k=
X ij
The equivalent reactance of the TCSC, Xcsc, is given
by
 X C X L (α )
X CSC =
X C − X L (α )
and;
π
X L (α ) = XL for π / 2 ≤ α ≤ π
2π − 2α + sin (2α )
where α is the thyristor firing angle.
Hence, the real power flow can be regulated by
controlling the compensation level k.
jX CSC

jX ij
Vi ∠δ i V j ∠δ j

A transmission line with TCSC

3 Static VAR Compensator

A transmission line with SVC installed at the middle
is shown in Fig. 3.4. The real power flow through a
transmission line can be described as follows.
Vi V m
P=2 sin (δ im )
X ij
where δim=δi-δm. Normally, δim≈δij/2 and Vm≈Vj hence
the real power flow can be rewritten as
sin (δ ij / 2 )
Vi V j
P=2
X ij
The equivalent susceptance of the SVC Bsvc is given
by

− BL (α )
1
Bsvc =
XC
and;
2π − 2α + sin (2α )
BL (α ) = for π / 2 ≤ α ≤ π
πX L
where α is the thyristor firing angle.

jX ij / 2 jX ij / 2
Vi ∠δ i Vm ∠δ m V j ∠δ j

jBSVC

A transmission line with SVC

In normal operation conditions, Vi and Vj are around
1.0 pu. Assuming Xij=1.0 pu, the effect of different
compensation schemes on the real power flows is
shown in the figure below.
3.00
No Compensation
Series Compensation
Shunt Compensation
Phase Angle Control
2.00
Power (pu)

1.00

0.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
Angle (rad)
P-δ curve with and without FACTS devices
compensations