NOOR MOHAMED.

Harmonics
Harmonic is an electric voltage or current that the cause the power quality problems. Due to high
harmonics the equipment or machines may malfunction to fail to operate. Major source for harmonics
is power electronic equipment like UPS, VFD, medical equipment, Arc furnace, Battery Chargers etc.,
When a sinusoidal waveform is deviated to other waveforms, then it contains a harmonic. It causes the
voltage deviations and creates distortion in the power system, which causes many problems by the loads
it contains of linear loads and non – linear loads.
Figure 1 Harmonics Injection

From the above figure, the fundamental frequency waveform is affected by the third, fifth and seventh
harmonic and it leads to non-sinusoidal waveform. From this point, the lower order harmonic is severe
than the higher order harmonic, because the magnitude of current is higher in the lower order harmonic
especially odd harmonic.
Why odd harmonic is higher than even?
When the even (second) harmonic is present in the system, the positive & negative cycle harmonic
current is compensated each other (considering the half cycle of fundamental current). So, impact of
even harmonics is almost neglected without using any filter and all. When the odd (third) harmonic is
present in the system, the one positive cycle & one negative cycle harmonic current compensate each
other. The balance one cycle of harmonic current will affect the system. In this case, the harmonic filter
is needed to compensate harmonic current component.
Figure 2 Waveform of odd harmonic Figure 3 Waveform of even harmonic

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Linear and Nonlinear loads

In linear load, the relationship between the voltage and current waveforms are sinusoidal and the current
at any time is proportional to the voltage. Examples of linear loads: electric heaters, induction motors,
capacitor banks, etc.
The Non-linear load draws current in abrupt short pulses. These pulses distort the current waveforms,
which in turn generates harmonics that can lead to power problems affecting both the distribution
system equipment and the loads connected to it. Harmonics can cause problems such a distortion of the
mains supply voltage, equipment overheating, nuisance tripping of circuit breakers, and misfiring of
variable speed drives.
Figure 4 Waveform of Linear & Non-linear Loads

Types of Power Factor

a) Displacement power factor:
It is defined as the cosine angle between the fundamental voltage and fundamental current. It
is present in both linear and non-linear loads.
𝑝𝑓𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = cos(𝜃𝑣 − 𝜃𝑖 )

b) Distortion power factor:

It is used to measure how much harmonic distortion of a load current decreases the average
power transferred to the load. It is only present in non-linear loads and it is zero in linear loads.
1
𝑝𝑓𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 =
√(1 + 𝑇𝐻𝐷 2 )

c) True power factor:

It is the product of displacement and distortion power factor.
𝑝𝑓𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒 = displacement pf ∗ distortion pf

Harmonic order depends on number of pulses

The harmonic component is depending on the pulse converter used in the system. In case of power
quality, the lower order harmonic is more dominant compare to higher order harmonic. The harmonic
order of the component is decided by the pulse converter type used in the system.
Harmonic component= nP±1; where, n=0, 1, 2.; P-no of pulses
i.e. if n=1 and P=6; harmonic component= 5,7;
if n=1 and P=12; harmonic component= 11, 13;
By seeing the above example, the 6-pulse converter produce lower order harmonic of 5 & 7 and the 12-
pulse converter is producing higher order harmonic 11 & 13. The higher order harmonic is easily

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neglected by using small filters but eliminating of lower order harmonic is difficult one because it needs
higher capacity of filter. But cost wise the 6-pulse converter is economical compare to 12 pulse
converters (no. of switch requirement is high compare to 6 pulse converter and switching losses also
high). So mostly 6 pulse converters used in the application
Figure 5 Lower order harmonic by using 6-pulse converter

Figure 6 Higher order harmonic by using of 12-pulse converter

From the figure 5 & 6, the lower order harmonic in the 6-pulse converter is distorted the sine wave very
poorly compare to 12-pulse converter. Magnitude of particular harmonic in the system is decided by
the below formula,
Magnitude of harmonic= Fundamental / Harmonic order.
i.e. Magnitude of h5= 1/5=20%; Magnitude of h17= 1/17=5.88%
The above result also confirms, the lower order harmonic is more dominant compare to higher order
harmonic component in the system.
Sequence of harmonics
The above figure represents three sequence components. Those are
i. Positive sequence (R= 0o, Y= -120o, B= 120o)
ii. Negative sequence (R= 0o, Y= -240o, B= 240o)
iii. Zero sequence (R= 0o, Y= 0o, B= 0o)
The harmonic order is also represented by the sequence components. The below table explains how
each harmonic order represented in the sequence components.

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Table 1 Sequence components of harmonics

Order/Phase R in degree Y in degree B in degree Sequence

Fundamental (h1) 0 -120 120 Positive

Harmonic order 2
0 -240 240 Negative
(2*fundamental)
Harmonic order 3
0 -360 or 0 360 or 0 Zero
(3*fundamental)
Harmonic order 4
0 -480 or -120 480 or 120 Positive
(4*fundamental)

Impact of harmonics on power system

Insulation breakdown
Voltage sensitive equipment get affected
False triggering of pulses to static converter
False tripping of protective relays
Voltage or current amplification (series and parallel resonance)
Performance of equipment get reduced
Efficiency of equipment reduced
Noise & interferences
Increased I2R losses & insulation deterioration

When the harmonic study is to be performed?

30 to 50% of total load is a nonlinear load
PCC THD level within the limit- no need & recommendation in case of violation of THD of
limit.
Whenever industries power system has a greater number of nonlinear loads
Usage of very sensitive equipment.
To get better performance and avoid miss operation.
Compulsory for industries to get certification.
Standards
IEC 61000-3-2 limits for harmonic current emissions
IEC Std 61000-4-7, General guide on harmonics and interharmonics measurement and
instrumentation for power supply systems and equipment.
IEC Std 61000-4-30, Power quality measurement methods
IEEE Std 519-2014, Recommended practice and requirements for harmonic control in electric
power systems.
IEEE Std 3002.8-2018, Recommended practice for conducting Harmonic studies and analysis
of industrial and commercial power systems.
Reference:
For harmonic study - https://powerprojects.newzenler.com/courses/harmonic-analysis-edition-2

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