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Seminar Report Power Quality
Seminar Report Power Quality
Electric power quality, or simply power quality, involves voltage, frequency, and waveform. Good
power quality can be defined as a steady supply voltage that stays within the prescribed range,
steady a.c. frequency close to the rated value, and smooth voltage curve waveform (resembles a
sine wave). In general, it is useful to consider power quality as the compatibility between what
comes out of an electric outlet and the load that is plugged into it.
The term is used to describe electric power that drives an electrical load and the load's ability to
function properly. Without the proper power, an electrical device (or load) may malfunction, fail
prematurely or not operate at all. There are many ways in which electric power can be of poor
quality and many more causes of such poor quality power.
The growing use of microprocessors and electronic equipments has made us to focus on
power supply.
Sometimes equipments and machinery can be damaged or even fails due to bad power
quality.
Voltage provided should be as close as possible to nominal voltage and waveform must be
pure sine wave free from any harmonics and other disturbances.
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DEFINITION
• The IEEE defines POWER QUALITY as the ability of the system or an equipment to
function satisfactorily in its electromagnetic environment without introducing intolerable
electromagnetic disturbances to anything in that environment.
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SCOPE
For economic operation of a power system, the level of power quality should be properly
maintained.
The effects due to over-voltages, also the losses incurred due to under-voltages have to be
seriously dealt.
Also, non-linear loads introduce harmonics in the system which have their own effects
including power factor reduction.
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POWER QUALITY EVENTS
The major problem in the power sector that a need to treatment of quality up-gradation
are termed as power quality events.
Power quality provides the solutions to all these problems in a very efficient and optimizes way.
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POWER QUALITY PROBLEMS:
The most common types of Power Quality problems are presented below along with their
description, causes and consequences:
3. Long interruptions
4. Voltage spike
5. Voltage swell
6. Harmonic distortion
7. Voltage fluctuation
8. Noise
9. Voltage Unbalance
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Description, Causes and Consequences
Description: A decrease of the normal voltage level between 10% and 90% of the nominal
rms voltage at the power frequency, for durations of 0,5 cycle to 1 minute.
Causes: Faults on the transmission or distribution network (most of the times on parallel
feeders). Faults in consumer’s installation. Connection of heavy loads and start-up of large
motors.
Consequences: Malfunction of information technology equipment, namely microprocessor-
based control systems (PCs, PLCs, ASDs, etc) that may lead to a process stoppage. Tripping of
contactors and electromechanical relays. Disconnection and loss of efficiency in electric
rotating machines.
Description: Total interruption of electrical supply for duration from few milliseconds to one
or two seconds.
Causes: Mainly due to the opening and automatic reclosure of protection devices to
decommission a faulty section of the network. The main fault causes are insulation failure,
lightning and insulator flashover.
Consequences: Tripping of protection devices, loss of information and malfunction of data
processing equipment. Stoppage of sensitive equipment, such as ASDs, PCs, PLCs, if they’re
not prepared to deal with this situation.
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3. Long interruptions
Description: Total interruption of electrical supply for duration greater than 1 to 2 seconds
Causes: Equipment failure in the power system network, storms and objects (trees, cars, etc)
striking lines or poles, fire, human error, bad coordination or failure of protection devices.
Consequences: Stoppage of all equipment.
4. Voltage spike
Description: Very fast variation of the voltage value for durations from a several
microseconds to few milliseconds. These variations may reach thousands of volts, even in low
voltage.
Causes: Lightning, switching of lines or power factor correction capacitors, disconnection of
heavy loads.
Consequences: Destruction of components (particularly electronic components) and of
insulation materials, data processing errors or data loss, electromagnetic interference.
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5. Voltage swell
Description: Momentary increase of the voltage, at the power frequency, outside the normal
tolerances, with duration of more than one cycle and typically less than a few seconds.
Causes: Start/stop of heavy loads, badly dimensioned power sources, badly regulated
transformers (mainly during off-peak hours).
Consequences: Data loss, flickering of lighting and screens, stoppage or damage of sensitive
equipment, if the voltage values are too high.
6. Harmonic distortion
7. Voltage fluctuation
8. Noise
FIG.10 NOISE
9. Voltage Unbalance
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IEEE POWER QUALITY STANDARDS
TABLE(1)
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Impacts on environment and society
1. The PQ related issue leads to the economic operation of the power system.
2. Leading to their smooth operation and ensuring a long life for equipments.
3. The elimination of harmonics & other issues lead to the proper operation of the system,
thereby eliminating unwanted vibrations.
4. The power factor is improved; this leads to a heavy savage in the costs of electricity bills.
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Methods for power quality correction
A dynamic voltage restorer(DVR) acts like a voltage source connected in series with load.
The o/p voltage of DVR is kept constant at the load terminals.
b) Noise filter
Noise filter are used to avoid unwanted frequency current or voltage signals(noise) from
reaching sensitive equipment.
Static VAR compensators are the combination of capacitors and reactors to regulates the
voltage quickly.
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Issues & challenges of RES-Grid integration
Renewable energy resources are intermittent in nature hence, it is therefore a challenging task to
integrate renewable energy resources into power grid.
Further, these challenges are classified into technical and non-technical and described below:
(a) Technical issues: the following are the technical issues are described as
(1) Power quality
Harmonics
Frequency and voltage fluctuation
(3) Storage
(4) Protection issues
(5) Optimal placement of RES
(6) Islanding
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Effects of power quality problems
b. Personal Computers
A personal computer is a device designed to be operated by one person at a time for computing
and many general purposes. The malfunction of PCs incorporated in a real-time system because
of voltage disturbances effects more badly than the malfunction of the PC used offline. The
modes of personal computer malfunction under line voltage sag occur as the DC filter capacitor
voltage of the power supply doesn’t go with time. The software problems creates the problems
which include; Lockup,interruption,(blue screen), Blocking of the operating system, No response
to any command from the keyboard (freeze screen), Hardware misoperation can be identified by
automatic restarting of the system,or a permanent black screen.
c. Controllers
A controller is defined as a device which controls, the electric power delivered to the connected
apparatus. Controllers can operate in three means electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical e.g. speed
regulator of a motor-drive system, voltage regulator, the temperature controller of an industrial
furnace.
When line-voltage sag happened, a controller will be unable to recover if the sensitivity of the
relays is less than the percent sag or the logic circuits supplied from the internal switch-mode
power supply.
d. ASDs
Induction motors (and in ASDs) represent a huge part of the three-phase electrical load in
commercial and industrial facilities. They are affected by line voltage sags and interruptions.
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e. AC Contactors and relays
Contactors and relays are made for all operation in a different range of coil voltage and contact
ratings.Now a days, most of the places, the contactor function has been displaced by power-
electronics devices such as GTOs, IGBTs. Whereas the control relay functions have been
displaced by PLCs using digital logic. Whether electromagnetic or solid state, the devices are
impacted by line-voltage sags and
interruptions.
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Conclusion
POWER QUALITY maintenance is an important aspect in the economic operation of a
system.
Proper mitigation devices can be used to maintain the level of power quality as desired.
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REFERENCES
[1] IEEE, “IEEE Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electrical
Power Systems,” IEEE Std. 519-1992, revision of IEEE Std. 519-1981
[2] IEEE, “IEEE Guide for Service to Equipment Sensitive to Momentary Voltage Disturbances,”
IEEE Std.
1250–1995.
[3] IEEE, “IEEE Recommended Practice for Evaluating Electric Power System Compatibility
with Electronic Process Equipment,” IEEE Std. 1346-1998.
[4] IEEE Std 446-1987, “IEEE Recommended Practice for Emergency and Standby Power
Systems for Industrial and Commercial Applications,” (IEEE Orange Book).
[5] IEEE Std 1250-1995, “IEEE Guide for Service to Equipment Sensitive to Momentary Voltage
Disturbances,”
[6] IEEE 100, The Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standard Terms, seventh edition, 2000, p.
234.
[7] Bhim Singh, Kamal Al-Haddad, Ambrish Chandra, A review of active filters for power
quality improvement,IEEE Trans. on industrial electronics, Vol.46, No. 5, pp. 960-971, October
1999.
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