Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering (2022) 47:14695–14710

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-022-06774-w

RESEARCH ARTICLE-ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

The Impact of Electrical Traction Drives on Power System Quality

under Different Loading Conditions
Ammar Mishal Elagab1 · Ibrahim M. El-Amin1

Received: 14 July 2021 / Accepted: 1 March 2022 / Published online: 9 June 2022
© King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2022

Abstract
Modern societies and cities require a fast and reliable transportations system. Electrical tractions or trains are now the
predominant mass transportation throughout the world. However, they impose several power quality problems on the utility
grid. This paper is dedicated to quantifying and assessing the impact of electrical traction on power quality. MATLAB/Simulink
is used to design a dynamic model of the traction system. The model has considered the different dynamic modes, which are
acceleration, cruising and deceleration modes. In order to assess the impact of the electrical traction system on the power
system, two different loading conditions of the train (light and heavy load) are considered. The results showed that the electric
train has affected the power system negatively. This is manifested during the acceleration and deceleration stages of the train’s
journey. The total harmonic distortions of the voltage (THDv) and current (THDi) during these two modes were 8.35% and
9.64%, respectively, and the THDv has not been affected with the loading condition. However, the THDi has been increased
to 21.33%. The THDv and THDi increase as the voltage level decreases. Thus, the maximum distortions in the voltage and
current waves occur at the load (1.06 kV) side which are 15.14% and 32%, respectively, while they reach their minimum
values at the utility grid (110 kV) side to be 8.31% and 21.33%, respectively. These are the values when the train is heavily
loaded. However, both THDv and THDi have the same trend in the light load condition. A corrective action is taken by
designing an active power filter. The individual and total harmonic distortion (THD) is reduced significantly, the power factor
(Pf) has been improved from 0.75 to 0.95, and thereby, the total reactive power consumption and the absorbed current from
the utility side have been reduced by 30% as well. To validate the model, real data for metro system are implemented for the
same model. The results were consistent with the previous ones.

Keywords Electric train · Power quality · Negative sequence components · Harmonics · Dynamic model · Active power filter

1 Introduction
Electric transportation has acquired and maintained a strong
presence in modern transportation societies. It is the preferred
option due to the high performance, low maintenance cost
and lack of greenhouse gas emissions [1]. There are two types
of electric trains: AC and DC. Usually, high-speed electric
trains are fed by AC power supply, while underground trains
are operated with DC supply [2–4]. Generally, the DC train
Life Senior Member, IEEE.
B Ammar Mishal Elagab
ammar.elagab@kfupm.edu.sa
Ibrahim M. El-Amin
imelamin@kfupm.edu.sa
1 Electrical Engineering Department King Fahd, University of
Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
is used for short distances, while the AC train is used for long
distances. In the past, in order to maintain a constant voltage
level throughout the railway track, substations were located
every three or four kilometers. However, nowadays the volt-
age is transmitted at high values and then stepped down to
low rating. Substations could thus be laid every 20 km [5–10].
Electric trains are playing an important role in people’s
life. However, they may have a negative impact on the power
system. They may cause problems in the public utility grid
such as injecting a large negative sequence components
(NSCs), generating undesirable harmonics, reducing the Pf,
causing additional system losses, causing malfunction of pro-
tection relays and measuring instruments and overheating the
rotating machine [11, 12]. The situation is aggravated fur-
ther if DC series motors are used in the electric locomotives.
Series DC motors draw a large amount of current at start-
ing. This is magnified when several locomotives run from

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the same section of the overhead system at the same time
[13–17]. In addition, the electric train is a dynamic load as it
moves at different speeds and changes its position continu-
ously. The power demands for the electric train vary with the
time, and it is influenced by the operating conditions, such
as accelerating, running with a constant speed and braking
when it becomes close to the station. It is also a function of the
railroad profile due to ascent and descent grades, curvature
radius and rolling resistance, as well as the weight of the train
[18–22]. Moreover, the train travels with different speeds in
every section in order to stay within the railway’s tracks.
Thus, the supply current varies continuously with the time
[23, 24]. Harmonics is the one of the most severe problems
that appear in the power system due to integrating an electri-
cal traction load with a utility grid. The level of harmonics
is getting more with the change of the train’s speed during
the journey. In addition, harmonics could be increased due to
the friction at the contact point between the pantograph col-
lector and OCS [25–28]. This paper is dedicated to quantify
and assess the impact of electrical traction on power quality.
In addition, due to the nonlinearity nature of the electrical
traction load, a large amount of reactive power is consumed
and dissipated in particular in the AC traction systems. This
occurs because they are equipped with induction motors.
In addition to that, modern adjustable speed drives (ASDs)
absorb a considerable level of reactive power [29–32]. More-
over, the existence of asymmetrical load in the three-phase
network causes excessive reactive power consumption [33].
The general objective of this paper is to study the impact
of electrical traction on power system through modeling and
simulation. The specific objectives can be summarized as
follows:
• Develop a model for the dynamic load of an electrical
traction including all components and control accessories.
The model must take into consideration accelerating time,
cruising time and deceleration time.
• Simulate and study the operation of the electrical traction
by using the developed model on a power network under
different operating conditions of light and heavy load.
• Adding an active filter scheme to reduce the negative
impact of the electric train and thereby improving power
system quality.
• Test the model with real system data.
The paper is different from the previous ones because most
of the simulation models for the traction systems have not
considered all the expected conditions of the train. These con-
ditions are the acceleration, cruising and deceleration modes.
They have discussed the power quality issues related to the
power electronics elements. They also discussed the volt-
age unbalance problem, which caused by the single-phase
traction motors. Nevertheless, they have neglected the most
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important part, which the dynamic features of the traction
system. This is essential part and has severe negative impact
on power system quality.
2 Modeling of the Traction System
In this paper, SIMULINK/MATLAB software is used to
model the dynamic load of an electric train including all
components and control accessories. The model has taken
into consideration all the stages for a real electrical train
movement, which are accelerating, cruising and decelerat-
ing modes. The model of the train is built based on the basic
dynamic equations of movement.
2.1 Formulation of the Mathematical Description
of the Mechanical System
The planetary gear block represents a set of carrier, ring,
planet and sun gear wheels. A planetary gear set is developed
from planet–planet and ring–planet gears. The ring and sun
coronate with a fixed gear ratio and in opposite directions
with respect to the carrier. To model the planet’s rotational
inertia, the inertia block has been integrated with a planet
connector port.
The planetary gear block imposes two geometric and two
kinetic constraints on the three connected axes and the fourth,
internal wheel (planet) as described in Eqs. (1) and (2).
rc ωc = rs ωs + r p ω p , rc = rs + r p (1)
r R ω R = rc ωc + r p ω p , r R = rc + r p (2)
where rc The teeth number of carrier gear, r R The teeth num-
ber of the ring gear, r S The teeth number of the sun gear, r p
The teeth number of planet gear, ωc The speed of carrier gear,
ω R The speed of ring gear, ω S The speed of sun gear, ω p The
speed of planet gear.
In terms of the ring-to-sun gear ratio, g R S = rrRs , the key
effective kinematic constraint is given by Eq. (3).
(1 + g R S )ωc = ωs + g R S .ω R (3)
The four degrees of freedom are reduced to two indepen-
dent degrees of freedom. The gear ratio is also the ratio of
the number of teeth on each gear and the ratio of the torques
in each axis. Equations ((4) to (11)) describe the dynamics
of the electric train.
NR TR
gRS = = (4)
NS TS
where
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering (2022) 47:14695–14710 14697

g R S The gear ratio, N R The speed of the ring gear, Ns The

speed of the sun gear, TR The torque of the ring gear, TR The
torque of the sun gear.

J R ω̇w = G r Tm − TL (5)

where J R Rotary inertia moment around the wheel axis,

ω̇w Driving wheel angular acceleration, Tm Mechanical gear
ratio, TL Load torque.

TL
M V̇T = − Fext (6)
r

where M Translational body mass per one axle, V̇T Longi- Fig. 1 Simulink model of the electrical train
tudinal traction acceleration, r The radius of a gearbox, Fext
The radius of a gearbox.

V22 + V32 + V42 + V52 + · · · + Vn2
vs = r ω̇w − vb (7) T H Dv = (13)
V1
where vs Slip speed, ω̇w Driving angular acceleration, VT 
Longitudinal train speed. I22 + I32 + I42 + I52 + . . . +I 2n
T H Di = . (14)
I1
1
JR = MRr 2 (8)
4 An accelerator signal has been used to control the time of
the train movement starting with acceleration mode, cruising
where M R Equivalent translational inertia.
mode and deceleration mode.
J = Mr 2 (9)
2.2 Simulink Model
where M Translational body mass.
The MATLAB/Simulink model consists of four main parts as
    shown in Fig. 1. Each part has been represented by a separate
1 JR jR
a= G r Tm − 1 + TL + r Fext . (10) block. Each block has a subsystem.
JR J J
The power management system includes two parts: the
The speed at any time is given by Eq. (11) power supply and the battery systems. It is designed to coor-
dinate the power flow between the source, the traction load
VT (t) = V0 + a ∗ T (11) and the battery system. This can be achieved by specifying
the maximum and minimum values for the power that will
where VT Train speed in km/h, V0 The initial speed is equal be stored in the batteries. In addition, a specific amount of
to zero in the, acceleration mode and has the same, value in torque and speed are determined to the point that the battery
the cruising and the deceleration, mode in km/h, a Acceler- will start to charge and discharge. The relationship between
ation rate in km/h which has, appositive a positive value in the train speed and the torque is controlled by determining
the, accelerating mode and has a negative, value in the decel- the maximum speed and torque of the train.
eration mode, but, equals zero in the cruising mode, T Time The control system block controls the dynamic of the
in an hour. train movement, the train starts by acceleration mode, then it
The traction system is analyzed based on Eqs. (1) to (11). moves with a constant speed, and then it decelerates to a com-
The equations are represented in MATLAB/Simulink. Then, plete stop. This process is accomplished through a group of
the train is connected to a three-phase power supply through gearboxes that are working together to regulate the speed of
two units of a three-phase step-down transformer and DC/DC the train and transfer smoothly between the different dynamic
converter. Equations ((12) to (14)) are used to analyze the modes of the train.
voltage and current waveforms. The converter system block is represented by a three-
phase, 12-pulse, IGBT-based multi-level converter. It is used
√
3 2 to convert the AC current into DC current to feed the
Vdc = Vr .m.s (12) train. Using a three-phase converter helped to overcome the
π

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unbalanced problem, which appeared in the case of using a

single-phase converter.
The control system is designed to control the power flow
between the utility grid and the train. It coordinates the torque
of the train with its speed; this is accomplished by connect-
ing a speed governor. The train runs at a variable speed that
can be controlled with a Simulink throttle signal. The throt-
tle signal directly controls the output torque that the motor
generates and indirectly controls the speed at which the train
runs. If the speed of the train exceeded the specified maxi-
mum speed, the motor does not generate any torque and vice
versa. If the speed decreases below the specified rated speed,
the motor will generate more torque. The throttle signal spec-
ifies the motor torque as a fraction of the maximum torque
possible in a steady state at a fixed motor speed and should lie
between 0 and 1. To prevent the engine’s power and torque Fig. 2 Single-line diagram of the electrical train connected to 110 kV
from becoming negative, the block imposes an upper limit substation
on the maximum train speed itself.
Some physical factors have been ignored in the modeling,
which are the friction between the train and the rail and wind 1.06 kV. A DC/DC converter provides the appropriate voltage
resistance. In addition, I assumed that no curves or slopes in of the brushless DC (BLDC) motor.
the rail and the train are launching in a straight line.

3.1 Light Load Case

3 Simulation Results
After developing the model of the train, it has been connected
to a power supply system to assess the impact of the train
on the power system quality. The train is supplied from the
utility grid side through two-step down transformers. Both
transformers are connected delta to delta to avoid zero-phase
sequence components that might be generated. The output of
the second transformers is connected to a multi-level IGBT-
based rectifier; the train is connected to this rectifier through
a DC/DC converter.
Figure 2 shows a single-line diagram of the traction system
connected to a 110 kV bus system. The power supply system
is represented by 110 kV bus, and two transformers are used
to step down the voltage from 110 to 11 kV and from 11 kV to
In this case, the train is assumed to be loaded by few numbers
of passengers. The voltage and current are measured at the
utility grid side at 110 kV and 11 kV and at the AC side of
the traction load, which is 1.06 kV side. The ratings of the
proposed system components are shown in Table 1.
The total period of the journey is 10 min. The train starts
accelerating at a constant rate for 2 min. Then, the train con-
tinues moving with a constant speed. This stage takes 6 min.
In the last stage, which is taking 2 min, the train decreases
its speed gradually until zero. The speed of the train varies
with time. Figure 3 shows the train speed in km/h versus the
time in seconds.
For the DC side, the output voltage of the secondary side
of the transformer (11/1.06) KV is connected to a 24-pulse,

Table 1 the ratings of traction

system components Component Rated voltage Q (MVAR) S (MVA) P (MW) Current
(KV) (A)

Transformer (1) 110/11 – 100 – –

Transformer (2) 11/1.06 – 100 – –
IGBT-based rectifier 1.06 – – – 68,000
system
DC/DC Converter 1.43/11 – – 75 I/P
system 50,000
O/P
6555
BLDC motor 11 – – 72 –

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Fig. 3 Speed of the train in km/h versus the Time in Seconds
Fig. 4 Applied DC voltage on the train in the light load case
three-phase, IGBT-based AC/DC converter. The output volt-
age of this converter is connected to a DC/DC converter in
order to increase the DC voltage to be compatible with the
rating of the traction load.
The traction load is represented by 12 brushless DC
(BLDC) motors connected in parallel. The rated voltage for
these motors is 11 kV DC, with power ratings of 6 MW for
each motor at full load. Thus, the total power rating of the
traction system at the full load is 72 MW.
The output DC voltage of the rectifier is amplified from
1430 V to 11 kV to be compatible with the rating of the BLDC
motors. This is accomplished by using a DC/DC converter.
Figure 4 shows the converter output DC voltage.
The total DC current absorbed by the train increases with
the speed. The current starts from zero. Then, it increases as
the speed increases. When the train moves with a constant
speed, the current remains constant. Finally, it starts declining
when the train starts decelerating.
Table 2 Short-circuit data and
the distortion limits for the light Voltage level MVA s/c
load case according to the IEEE
standard 519 110 kV 6955
11 kV 4000
1.06 kV 2750
14699
For the light load case, the BLDC motors are working by
50% of their full load values. Therefore, the total absorbed
current from the power supply is approximately half of the
full load current.
In order to assess the impact of electrical traction drives
on power quality, FFT is used to analyze voltage and cur-
rent waves at different locations in the system. The analysis
considered three different dynamic modes for the train: accel-
eration, cruising and deceleration modes.
Before analyzing the voltage and current waves, the IEEE
standard distortion limits are determined. The short-circuit
MVA values at 110 kV, 11 kV and 1.06 kV buses are obtained
from [34]. The short-circuit current can be calculated using
Eq. (15).
M V As/c
Is/c (K A) = √ (15)
3 ∗ V (K V )
where M V As/c Short-circuit MVA at the specific bus in
MVA, V The line–line voltage at the specific bus in KV,
The fundamental frequency is 60 HZ in all cases.
The load current at the PCC when the train is lightly loaded
is measured. It was about 266 A; according to this value, the
maximum limits of the THD in the voltage and current wave-
forms at 110 kV, 11 kV and 1.06 kV sides can be determined
according to the IEEE standard distortion limits.
Table 2 shows the short-circuit data and load current
according to values of the IEEE 519 standard distortion lim-
its.
The FFT has been used to analyze voltage and current
waveforms at 110 kV side, which is representing the PCC in
this case. These waves are analyzed based on the dynamic
operation mode of the train, and the total interval is divided
into three periods, accelerating, cruising and decelerating
period. A snapshot of the current wave when the train accel-
erates is shown in Fig. 5.
The THD of the voltage and current waves can be calcu-
lated from Eqs. (13) and (14). In this case, the THD values
are obtained from the FFT analysis directly.
Figure 6 shows the harmonic spectrum and the total har-
monic distortion (THD)(THD) of the current waveform at
110 kV side when the train operates in the acceleration mode.
It is clear that the dominant harmonics in the current wave-
form at 110 kV side are the 11th and 13th orders. These
Is/c
I cs (K A) I L (A) IL IEEE standard limit (%)
36.5 266 137.2 7.5
210 2660 78.9 12.0
1500 27,603 54.3 12.0
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Fig. 5 Small section of the current wave at 110 kV side in the acceler-
Fig. 8 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at 110 kV
ation mode when the train is lightly loaded
side in the cruising mode when the train is lightly loaded

Fig. 6 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at 110 kV Fig. 9 The voltage wave at 110 kV in the deceleration mode when the
side in the acceleration mode when the train is lightly loaded train is lightly loaded

Fig. 7 The current wave at 110 kV side in the cruising mode when the Fig.10 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at
train is lightly loaded 110 kV side when the train is decelerating with a light load

harmonics are almost representing 10% of the fundamental

harmonic, which exceeds the IEEE standard.
When the speed of the train reaches 100 km/h, the train
starts moving with a constant speed. In this mode, the train
absorbs constant current from the utility side. Figures 7 and
8 show a snapshot of the current waveform at 110 kV side
and the harmonics spectrum, respectively, when the train is
moving with a constant speed.
Fig.11 Small section of the voltage at 110 kV side in the acceleration
Since the THD, in this case, is less than 7.5%, it is within mode when the train is lightly loaded
the IEEE standard distortion limits.
In the last two minutes, the train starts decreasing its speed
gradually, and the current that absorbed from the source Generally, a large amount of harmonics is injected into
decreases accordingly. Figures 9 and 10 show snapshot of the PCC during the acceleration and deceleration modes,
the current at 110 kV side and the harmonics spectrum at whereas few of them are injected when the train is moving
this stage, respectively. with a constant speed.
In the deceleration mode, the THD in the current wave is The voltage of the supply system does not change with
high compared to the THD in the acceleration and cruising time. It always maintains constant magnitude during the three
modes. The 13th harmonic is the dominant one; it is about dynamic modes of the train. Figure 11 shows a small section
16% of the fundamental harmonic. of the voltage in the acceleration mode at the 110 kV side.

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Table 3 THD index in the

voltage and Current waves over Voltage level T H D v % of IEEE standard limit T H D i % of IEEE standard
the full period at the different ( kV) fundamental of T H D v (%) fundamental limit of T H D i
buses when the train is lightly (%)
loaded
110 6.05 2.5 21.21 7.5
11 11.41 5.0 29.01 12.0
1.06 14.09 5.0 32.04 12.0

Table 4 THD index in the voltage wave at the PCC (110 kV side) in the
three dynamic modes of the train with a light load

Dynamic mode T H D v % of T H D i % of
fundamental fundamental

Acceleration 8.35 18.32

Cruising 3.21 7.25
Deceleration 9.64 23.16
Fig. 12 The current at 110 kV side when the traction is heavily loaded
IEEE standard Limit 2.5% 7.50%

The voltage wave at 110 kV side is analyzed with the

FFT. Table 3 shows the THD index in the voltage and current
waves over the full period at 110 kV, 11 kV and 1.06 kV sides,
respectively. The THD values at all buses have exceeded the
IEEE standard limits adversely.
THD in the voltage wave at 110 kV side in the acceleration,
cruising and deceleration modes, when the train operates with Fig. 13 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at
light load, is summarized in Table 4. 110 kV side when the traction is heavily loaded
High amount of harmonics are injected to the PCC when
the train operates in the acceleration and deceleration modes,
whereas low THD occurred when the train moves with a
constant speed.

3.2 Heavy Load Case

In the heavy load condition, the train is assumed to carry large

numbers of passengers. The train has the same dynamic of
the light load case. The total power of the traction system is
72 MW. The absorbed DC current by the traction load when
it is heavily loaded has the same trend of the current in the
light load case. However, the absorbed current by the traction
load, in this case, is very high compared to the previous case,
approximately twice the current in the light load case. The
load current at 110 kV side when the train is heavily loaded is
measured. It reaches up to 525 A; according to this value, the
maximum limit of the THD in the voltage and current wave-
forms at 110 kV, 11 kV and 1.06 kV sides can be determined
according to the IEEE standard distortion limits.
Figure 12 shows the current wave over the full period at
110 kV, which represents the PCC of the system.
Fig. 14 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at
110 kV side when the train is accelerating with a heavy load
The harmonic spectrum for this wave is shown in Fig. 13.
The THD is 21.35% which is much higher than IEEE stan-
dard limits.
Figures 14, 15 and 16 show the harmonic spectrum of the
current wave at 110 kV side in the acceleration, cruising and
deceleration modes, respectively.
It is clear that the THD in the current wave at the PCC is
very high in the deceleration mode. It has a low value when
the train is moving with a constant speed, THD values in the
acceleration and deceleration mode are 18.39% and 29.34%,

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Fig. 15 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at

110 kV side when the train is cruising with a heavy load
Fig. 18 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at 11 kV
side when the traction is heavily loaded

Fig. 16 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at

110 kV side when the train is decelerating with a heavy load
Fig. 19 The current at 1.06 kV side when the traction is heavily loaded

Fig. 17 The current at 11 kV side when the traction is heavily loaded

Fig. 20 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at

respectively, which are very much higher than the limits spec- 1.06 kV side when the traction is heavily loaded
ified by IEEE standards, and the percentage of the individual
current harmonics 11th and 13th is also around 12% in the
acceleration mode and around 16% in the deceleration mode
which are also very much higher than the IEEE standards
limits. These harmonics are less than 6.0% in the cruising
mode.
The current wave at 11 kV side and the harmonic spectrum
for this wave are shown in Figs. 17 and 18, respectively.
From Fig. 18, it is very clear that the 11th, 25th and 37th
harmonics are the dominant, they are almost equal 16%, 14%
Fig. 21 The reactive power consumed by the traction load measured at
and 10% of the fundamental harmonic, respectively. The 110 kV side
13th, 23rd and 35th harmonics are around 10% of the funda-
mental harmonic. Figure 19 shows the current at 1.06 kV side,
and the harmonic spectrum and the THD index are shown in amount of harmonics that are transferred from the traction
Fig. 20. load side to 1.06 kV side and 11 kV side. The voltage waves
From Figs. 18 and 20, the current waveforms at 1.06 kV at the PCC and at the other buses are analyzed at the differ-
side and 11 kV side are highly distorted compared with the ent operating conditions to assess the impact of the traction
current at the PCC in Fig. 13. This occurs due to the high dynamic on power system. Figures 21 and 22 show the active

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Fig. 22 The reactive power consumed by the traction load measured at
110 kV side
and reactive power that consumed by the traction system in
the heavy load case.
In all dynamic mode and at all busses, it is observed that
the 11th, 13th, 23rd and 25th are the dominant among the
other inter harmonics, and there is absence of the trebled
harmonics due to the use of delta–delta transformers which
enables an internal track for these harmonics.
3.3 Active Filter Scheme
The existence of harmonics in power systems and their effects
have led to opulent issues of electric power quality [34]. The
presence of these harmonics could not be ignored because it
causes many problems in power system at different voltage
levels. It is considered one of the most significant sources
of power quality issues, and if it is not reduced, it most
likely causes many problems such as malfunctioning of pro-
tective equipment, measurement errors of revenue meters
and the possibility of occurrence of series and parallel reso-
nance at some harmonic frequencies and other problems [35].
These harmonics appear with high level with the existence of
advance power electronic devices and nonlinear loads such
as the traction and electric drives [36]. In order to reduce the
harmonic penetration in to the system, an active power filter
is installed. Active power filter (APF) system is developed
in MATLAB/Simulink in order to reduce the harmonics and
thereby improve the power quality. It consists of a DC volt-
age source connected to an IGBT-based converter. Figure 23
shows the filter model in MATLAB/Simulink.
The active filter parameters are selected based on the
ratings of the power system components. A trigonometric
carrier wave is used as an input to the PWM to control the
output voltage of the DC source. The frequency of the carrier
wave is 500 kHz. This value is specified base on the voltage
level. From the literature, the frequency of the carrier wave
usually takes a value between 300 to 700 kHz when it con-
nected to a voltage above 10 kV [30].
The ratings of the voltage source and the VSI are shown
in Table 5.
14703
Fig. 23 Active Filter model in MATLA\Simulink
Table 5 Ratings of the active filter components
Component Voltage (KV) P (MW) Current
(A)
Voltage source 1.5 15 –
Inverter 1.5 (DC)/1.06 (AC) – 10,000
(DC)
Many researcher have discussed the optimization of filters
based on different methods and techniques such as C-type
filters based on minimization of voltage harmonic and dis-
tortion for nonlinear load which is discussed in detailed in
[37].
In this paper, a PI controller is adopted to control the
PWM operation. The output current of the inverter is deter-
mined according to a predetermined reference value. The
main aim of this controller is to compare the actual current
that absorbed from the utility side with the reference value in
the PI controller. ‘P’ is represented by the proportion part, and
‘I’ is represented by an integral part. In proportional, part ‘P’
reduces the error, whereas integral part ‘I’ reduces the offset.
‘P’ is a contingent in present error, whereas ‘I’ is contingent
in past error. Therefore, active filter parameters can be set
controlled to the desired value by using a PI controller. In
order to get the values of the PI parameters, particle swarm
optimization (PSO) technique is adopted and the constrained
optimization problem is formulated to find the optimal filter
design that can enhance the power quality performance of the
system [36, 37]. Our objective is to reduce the individual har-
monic distortion to the minimum level, and thereby the THD
will be reduced accordingly. Based on that, the THD of the
voltage and current equations were considered as the objec-
tive functions. A sinusoidal wave with the same magnitude
of the fundamental load current wave and with a frequency
of the fundamental harmonic (60 HZ) is used as a reference
signal. This signal will be compared with the actual current
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Fig. 24 Block diagram of the traction system
wave that absorbed from the utility side by the traction load.
Then, according to the difference between them, an error sig-
nal will be generated. The generated error signal will be used
as an input to the PWM after multiplying by a carrier wave,
which is a trigonometric wave with high frequency. Since
the heavy loading condition is the most common operating
condition for the traction system, the APF scheme is con-
nected to the traction system when it is heavily loaded. This
is the worst case of the operating condition. The filter has
been placed at different buses in order to identify the best
location for the filter. Finally, it is found the best location is
to be placed at the load side.
Figure 24 shows a block diagram for the active filter when
it is connected at 1.06 kV side.
The block diagram in Fig. 24 is implemented in MAT-
LAB/Simulink. The voltage and current waves are measured
and analyzed using FFT to evaluate the performance of the
filter when it is connected at the load side. The voltage
waves at the PCC are analyzed in the three dynamic modes
after connecting the filter at the load side. The THD index
has suppressed significantly at the acceleration, cursing and
deceleration modes as shown in Figs. 25, 26 and 27, respec-
tively.
THD in the current waves has also been reduced less than
the maximum limits of the IEEE distortion limits.
Tables 6 and 7 show the THD indexes in the voltage and
current waves at the three buses, respectively. The THD ratios
are reduced below the allowed limits according to the IEEE
standards.
Before connecting the filter, the power factor at the PCC
was 0.75. After installing the filter at the PCC, the total cur-
rent absorbed from the utility side has been decreased by
30% and the active power remains constant without change,
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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering (2022) 47:14695–14710
Fig. 25 Harmonic spectrum of the voltage wave at 110 kV side in the
acceleration mode after connecting the filter
Fig. 26 Harmonic spectrum of the voltage wave at 110 kV side in the
cruising mode after connecting the filter
Fig. 27 Harmonic spectrum of the voltage wave at 110 kV side in the
deceleration mode after connecting the filter
and this means the power factor has improved from 0.75 to
be 0.95. Thus, the reactive power consumption has reduced
accordingly.
Figures 28 and 29 show the active and reactive power
consumption after connecting the APF at the load side.
From Figs. 28 and 29, the active power that consumed by
the traction load has the same profile after connecting the fil-
ter. However, the reactive power has decreased significantly.
It has reduced from 71 MVAR to 24.5 MW only. This means
less amount of reactive power is needed after connecting the
active filter. This has resulted in improving 91 Pf from 0.70 to
0.94. According to that, the total current absorbed by the trac-
tion system from the utility side has decreased significantly
from 525 to 390 A only.
4 Model Validation
In order to validate the developed electric train model and for
having a more realistic overview of the impact of electrical
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering (2022) 47:14695–14710 14705

Table 6 THD index in the voltage wave at different buses when the train
is heavily loaded

Voltage level T H D v (%inthe f undamental) IEEE

(kV) standard
limit (%)

Before adding After adding the

the filter filter

110 8.31 1.31 2.5 Fig. 29 The reactive power absorbed from the utility grid after connect-
11 12.21 2.84 5.0 ing the active filter at the load side
1.06 15.14 3.01 5.0

Table 7 THD index in the current waves at different buses when the
train is heavily loaded

Voltage level T H D i (%inthe f undamental) IEEE

(kV) standard
limit (%)

Before adding After adding the

the filter filter

110 21.33 3.36 7.5

11 29.65 5.65 12.0
1.06 32.0 7.18 12.0

Fig. 30 Block diagram of the real Middle East metro system connected
to a utility grid

The metro has been operating with a heavy load to assess

Fig. 28 The active power consumed by the traction load after connecting
the active filter at the load side
traction drives on the power system, real data for a metro
in the Middle East are used. The electric utility provided
some data on the electrical power system where the train
will be connected. However, the electric train data have not
provided. Thus, the proposed electric train model that has
been developed in the previous section is used. The real data
of this metro will be tested with the heavy load condition.
Corrective action will be suggested to improve the power
quality of the systems if required. Figure 30 represents a
block diagram of the metro system.
The BLDC motors specification is shown in Table 8.
Figure 31 shows a single-line diagram of the power system
that supplies the metro.
Table 9 shows the data of 380 kV bus and 33 kV bus.
its impact on the utility side. The total load current load at
the 380 kV side is 456 A.
Based on Table X and by using Eq. (15), the model of the
power system is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. The train
is operating with a heavy load. Voltage and current waves are
measured at 380 kV and 33 kV side and thereby subjected
for FFT analysis to evaluate the impact of this train on the
utility network that might occur.
Figures 32 and 33 show a snapshot of the current wave at
380 kV side and its harmonic spectrum, respectively, when
the train is in the acceleration mode.
From Fig. 33, the THD is 14.13%, which is much higher
than the IEEE standard limit. Therefore, corrective action is
needed to reduce the THD for minimum value. Based on the
case of this metro, the active filter will be connected at 33 kV
side. This is shown in Fig. 34; the DC voltage source, in this
case, is 33 kV DC.
The ratings of the active filter components are shown in
Table 10.
After connecting the filter at 33 kV bus, the total harmonic
distortion decreased significantly from 14.13 to 2.98% only.
This is shown in Fig. 35.

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Table 8 Ratings of Riyadh metro

components Component Rated voltage Q (MVAR) S (MVA) P (MW) Current
(KV) (A)

Transformers (1, 2, 3) 380/33 – 100 – –

IGBT-based rectifier 11 – – – 6550
system
BLDC motor 11 – – 72 –

Fig. 32 Small section of the current wave at 380 kV side in the accel-
eration mode

Fig. 31 Single-line diagram of the metro connection to the utility grid

Fig. 33 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at

380 kV side in the acceleration mode

Figure 36 shows a small section of the voltage wave at

380 kV side for the invariable speed mode.
The harmonic spectrum and THD index for this wave are
shown in Fig. 37.
After connecting the active filter, the THD index has
decreased from 8.21% to 1.65% as shown in Fig. 38.
The last stage of traveling is the deceleration mode. In
this stage, the train decelerates its speed until it reaches zero
speed. Figure 39 shows a snapshot of the current wave in the
deceleration mode.
The current wave is highly distorted. The THD index is
16.13% as shown in Fig. 40.
After connecting the active filter, the THD has decreased
below the IEEE standard distortion limits from 16.13 to
3.14% only, as shown in Fig. 41.
The THD at 380 kV side in the acceleration mode, cruising
mode and the deceleration mode before and after connecting
the active filter is summarized in Table 11.
The THD ratios in the voltage and current waveforms
before and after connecting the active filter at 380 kV side
are shown in Table 12.
From Tables 11 and 12, it is clear that the THD has
decreased significantly in the voltage and current waves at the

Table 9 metro power supply

system data Bus No Bus name Voltage (kV) Three-phase SC One-phase SC

(kA) X/R (kA) X/R

9051 Metro—380 380 43.6 23.9 42.9 12.9

90,511 Metro—33 33 20.7 54 20.7 49.8

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Fig. 36 The voltage wave at 380 kV side in the cruising mode

Fig. 34 Block diagram of Riyadh metro when the active filter is con-
nected at 33 kV side

Table 10 The ratings of the active filter components

Component Voltage (KV) P (MW) Current (A)

Fig. 37 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at
Voltage source 35 kV 60 – 380 kV in the cruising mode
Inverter 35 (DC)/33 (AC) – 1700 (DC)

Fig. 38 Harmonic spectrum of the voltage wave at 380 kV side in the

Fig. 35 Harmonic spectrum of the current wave at 380 kV side in the cruising mode after connecting the active filter
acceleration mode after connecting the active filter

PCC and at the load side as well. Also, the individual har-
monics have reduced below the IEEE standards distortion
limits.

5 Conclusion and Future Work

A dynamic load of electric train has been developed in
MATLAB/Simulink software. This model includes all com-
ponents and control accessories. The developed model of the
train model is built by using brushless DC motors (BLDC)
which have become the most suitable due to its valuable
advantage over the conventional DC motors. The developed
model of the train is connected to a power system to study
the impact of such kind of tractions on the utility grids. The
study shows that the loading has not a significant effect in the
Fig. 39 The current wave at 380 kV side in the deceleration mode
impact of the traction on the power system. However, in the
heavy load case, a higher current will be absorbed from the
utility grid. FFT tool in MATLAB has been used to analyze
voltage and current waves at different buses in the system. It
has been found that the current and voltage waves at the train
side are highly affected compared to the voltage and current

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Fig. 40 Harmonic spectrum and THD index of the current wave at
380 kV side in the decelerating mode
Fig. 41 Harmonic spectrum of the current wave at 380 kV side in the
deceleration mode after connecting the active filter
waves at the PCC. The total harmonic distortion (THD) has
the highest value at 1.06 kV side, which is the nearest point
to the traction load, whereas it was relatively low at the PCC.
In addition, voltage and current waves have been analyzed in
the acceleration, cruising and deceleration modes separately.
It has been found that a large amount of harmonics is injected
into the PCC when the train was operating in the acceleration
and deceleration mode. However, THD was very low when
the train moves with invariable speed. Thus, the minimum
ratio of the THD occurred during the cruising mode.
To enhance the power system quality, an active filter has
been designed and integrated with the system at the load side.
The active filter has been controlled by using a PI controller.
The output current of the filter is determined according to the
output signal from a PWM. A negative feedback technique
has been used to control the active power filter operation.
Installing static VAR compensator (SVC) or damped filter
might be more suitable instead of using active power filter,
especially with the high ratings of power system parameters
(P, V and I). I think this is a possible scenario should be
considered in future. Then, a comparison between the output
results that will be obtained from the SVC or damped filter
and the current results could be conducted at different voltage
level and power ratings to determine which is better based
on these different ratings.
A real case of a Middle Eastern metro system has been
considered to validate the proposed model. The train was
assumed to be working with a heavy load. The output results
for this metro were consistent with the achieved ones of the
proposed train model. The active filter has been connected to
the Riyadh metro system at the load side. The active filter has
absorbed the undesirable harmonics, and therefore, individ-
ual and total harmonic distortions have been suppressed and
reduced significantly to be within the allowed IEEE standard
limits.

Table 11 THD index in the

voltage waves at the PCC Dynamic mode T H D v (% of the fundamental) T H D i (% of the fundamental)
(380 kV side) in the three
Before adding filter After adding filter Before adding filter After adding
dynamic modes of the train with
filter
a heavy load

Acceleration 9.31 0.92 14.13 2.98

Cruising 4.61 0.89 8.21 1.65
Deceleration 10.32 1.21 16.13 3.14
IEEE standard 1.5 3.75
limits

Table 12 THD index in the

voltage and current waves at the V (KV) T H D v (%V1 ) IEEE limits of T H D i (%I1 ) IEEE limits
different buses when the train is T H D v (%) of T H D I
Before After Before After (%)
heavily loaded
adding adding adding adding
filter filter filter filter

380 5.31 1.01 1.5 13.41 2.43 3.75

33 17.31 2.01 5.0 29.64 3.12 5.0

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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering (2022) 47:14695–14710
Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the sup-
port and help that have been provided by King Fahd University of
Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
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