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http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/acceptable-levels-of-distortion-in-the-mains-supply-system
Acceptable levels of distortion in the mains supply system (on photo: Fluke Power Quality Analyser; credit: Eaton)
The impedance between the ideal generator and the main busbar is usually referred to as the source
impedance Zs of the supply system.
Additional impedance, usually comprising cables, busbars, transformer, etc exists between the main busbar and the
converter busbar and is the cable impedance Zc, as shown in Figure 1 below.
The flow of current to a variable speed motor is controlled by the converter. The current is non-sinusoidal due to the
non-linearity of the converter and the generation of harmonic currents. The flow of distorted current through the power
distribution and supply system produces a distorted volt drop across the source and distribution impedances in series.
Other equipment, such as electric motors or even other consumers can be connected to the main busbar.
Consequently, this busbar is referred to as the point of common coupling (PCC).
The voltage at the PCC will be distorted to an extent depending on the magnitude of the distorted current, the
magnitude of the impedances and the ratio between them.
The source impedance can easily be calculated from the system fault level and this is commonly used as the criteria
for the permissible size of converter load. A high fault level means a low source impedance and vice versa. If the
source impedance is low, then the voltage distortion will be low.
The distribution impedance must be calculated from the design details of the distribution system.
A high distribution impedance will tend to reduce the voltage at the point of common coupling but increase it at the
converter connection terminals. This voltage distortion can cause interference with the electronic trigger circuits of the
converter and give rise to other problems if it becomes too high.
If the magnitude and the frequency of each harmonic current is known, a simple application of Ohms
law will give the magnitude of each harmonic voltage and the sum of them will give the total distorted
voltage.
Where:
VT = Total harmonic voltage distortion
IT = Total harmonic current distortion
V1 = Fundamental voltage at 50 Hz
I1 = Fundamental current at 50 Hz
Vn = nth harmonic voltage
In = nth harmonic current
The acceptable levels of harmonics in industrial power supply networks are clearly defined in Table 1 of the Australian
standard AS 2279-1991 Part 2 : disturbances in mains supply networks.
Briefly, limits are set for the level of total harmonic voltage distortion, which are acceptable at the point of common
coupling (PCC).
The application of these standards requires the prior calculation of harmonic distortion at all points in the system
before the converter equipment can be connected and, under certain circumstances, actual measurements of
harmonic voltage to confirm the level of distortion.
Reference // Practical Variable Speed Drives and Power Electronics Malcolm Barnes CPEng, BSc(ElecEng), MSEE,
Automated Control Systems, Perth, Australia (Get this book from Amazon)