HVDC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

Dr. B. R. Parekh Department of Electrical Engineering Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya Vallabh Vidyanagar - 388120
brp_bvm@yahoo.co.in

The History
1880s: DC network 1890s: AC transmission 1889: Thury HVDC system in Italy (630 kW, 14 kV DC, 120 km) 1941: Elbe-Project in Berlin - 60 MW, 200 kV, 115 km buried cable link (incomplete) 1951: Moscow-Kashira project (shut down ) 1954: world's first HVDC transmission link using mercury-arc valve between Sweden & Gotland -20 MW, 200 A and 100 Kv.

The History

1961: 160 MW HVDC transmission link across the English Channel (shut down in 1984) 1964: Volgograd-Donbass project, Russia 750 MW, 400 kV 1970: Pacific Intertie, USA - largest mercury arc valve - 1600 MW at 400 kV (ABB & GE) 1967: one mercury arc valve in Gotland HVDC link was replaced with thyristor 1970s & 80s: several HVDC projects using thyristor

The History

1989: first Indian project - Sileru-Barsoor - 400 MW, 200 kV, 196 km 1991: the first multiterminal scheme - Quebec - New England project - 1100 km, 450 kV, 2000 MW 1992: the second Indian project - Rihand, 814 km, 500 kV, 1500 MW 1997: the first IGBT scheme in Sweden - 10 km, 180 kV, 3 MW (VSC HVDC) The largest of all HVDC schemes to date is the 6300-MW Itaipu HVDC link in Brazil

Thury HVDC system

It was developed by the Swiss engineer Rene Thury. It used series-connected motor-generator sets to increase voltage. Each set was insulated from ground and driven by insulated shafts from a prime mover. The line was operated in constant current mode, with up to 5000 volts on each machine. Some machines had double commutators to reduce the voltage on each commutator. Thury systems up to 100 kV operated until 1930s, but high maintenance and high energy loss of rotating machinery denied a commercial success

The mercury-arc valve

The mercury-arc valve was the workhorse of DC transmission for a long time since the end of the 1920s. Unlike the electrical machines mercury-arc valve design was empirical. As a result, attempts to increase its voltage rating failed. The problem was however solved in 1929 The grid controlled mercury arc valves became available for power transmission during the period 1920 to 1940

The Thyristor based HVDC

In the spring of 1967, one of the mercury-arc valves used in the Gotland HVDC link was replaced with a thyristor valve Semiconductors have been used in all subsequent HVDC links Initially, thyristor valve converter stations were either air-cooled (indoor) or oil-cooled (outdoor) Today, all HVDC valves are water-cooled Bulk transmission is likely to rely on thyristor technology for more years to come since it is reliable, and has low cost and low losses

The Thyristor based HVDC

Thyristor based HVDC depends on the correct functioning of the AC system It requires a minimum Short Circuit Power from the connected AC grid. It cannot feed power into a network which lacks generation completely or which has little or very remote generation A common measure of the adequacy of this is the Short Circuit Ratio (SCR) that relates the Short Circuit Power to the Rated Power of the HVDC transmission SCR should be at least 2.53.0. Thyristor based HVDC does not transmit reactive power

HVDC lines & B/B Links in India

D-R : Delhi Rihand (1500 MW, 500 kV), P-C : Padgha Chandrapur (1500 MW, 500 kV) S-B : Sileru Barasur (400 MW, 200 kV) K-T : Kolar Talcher (2000 MW, 500 kV) V : Vindhyachal (500 MW C : Chandrapur (1000 MW)

Sa : Sararam (500 MW) G : Gajuvaka (500 MW)

HVDC - The Basic Scheme

The Components
Converter Transformers Steps up AC voltage and provides isolation Series Converters Converts AC to DC or DC to AC Smoothing Reactor Reduce harmonics and transients on DC side AC Filter and DC Filter Reduce harmonics Shunt Capacitors Reactive power generation Control System Performance control

CONVERTER TRANSFORMER DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Insulation has to withstand

AC voltage,
Short time over voltage, Superimposed DC voltage, and, Polarity reversal AC voltage stress distribution is inversely proportional to dielectric constant, but, DC voltage stress distribution is proportional to resistivity

CONVERTER TRANSFORMER DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Stress distribution under polarity reversal is capacitive in the beginning, but gradually becomes resistive. Initially oil gets stressed more than the solid.

But resistivity of solid being much more, the solid insulation gets stressed much. Partial discharges under DC stress in oil, in cellulose and at oil-cellulose interface weaken the insulation strength

CONVERTER TRANSFORMER DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Harmonic content is much higher than that of conventional transformer It causes: Additional winding loss High leakage flux Stray flux that causes eddy loss in winding, tank and steel structure These losses create local hot spot Asymmetry in valve firing leads to DC magnetising component (excessive loss in core due to presence of DC)

CONVERTER TRANSFORMER DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Arcing under AC and DC conditions are different DC withstand voltage of bushing is less than onethird of AC On load tap changer should have much wider range Tolerance on impedance of transformer decides the design and cost of converter. Accepted tolerance is 2-3% against a conventional 10%

CONVERTER TRANSFORMER DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Tests: Long duration DC voltage test (60 minutes) Short duration DC voltage test (2 minutes ) Polarity reversal test Switching impulse test Lightning impulse test

HVDC Converters
Since transmission voltage is higher than breakdown voltage of semiconductor, HVDC converters are built using large numbers of semiconductors in series The string is commonly referred to as a 'valve' Rectifier and inverter machinery are not different Converter transformers, are often three physically separate single-phase transformers, to isolate the station from the AC supply, to provide a local earth, and to ensure the correct eventual DC voltage

HVDC Converters

The basic configuration uses six valves, a 3 phase bridge connection

But, with a phase change only at every sixty degrees, considerable harmonics remain on the DC side.
Use of 12 valves (twelve-pulse system) instead, can reduce current harmonics on AC side voltage ripples on DC side This is accomplished by connecting one 6-pulse converter through a Y-Y transformer and another through a -Y transformer

dc-side voltage waveforms as a function of a Vd repeats at six times the line frequency

Conclusions
Thyristor converters provides controlled transfer of power between the line frequency ac and adjustable-magnitude dc By controlling a, transition from rectifier to inverter mode of operation can be made and vice versa Thyristor converters are mostly used at high-power levels Thyristor converters inject large harmonics into the utility system

A 12 pulse Bipole Scheme

HVDC Converters

The two 6-pulse converters are connected in parallel on the AC side, and in series on the DC side (for high voltage DC) With twelve valves there is a phase change at every 30 degrees, producing 12 ripples in one cycle Pure DC is produced with the help of smoothing reactor and DC filter

The number of harmonics present in 12 pulse scheme is just half of that in a 6 pulse scheme

HVDC Converters

Fourier analysis gives AC current harmonics as: h = 6k 1 for 6 pulse operation, and, h = 12k 1 for 12 pulse operation where h is the order of harmonics, and, k is an integer Order of DC voltage harmonics, h = 12k

HVDC Converters

DC Voltage per pole in a 12 pulse system, Vd = Vd1 + Vd2

Vd1 Vd2

3 2

VLL cos a

3Ls

Id

VLL = RMS line voltage applied to each of the 6 pulse converters, and, Ls = per phase leakage inductance of transformer ref to converter side For a > 90, the valve operates as an inverter, sending power from DC to AC side

The Itaipu HVDC Transmission 2 parallel bipoles

HVDC Converters

VAR Demand
Line frequency, line voltage-commutated converters operate at lagging power factor AC phase control introduces a phase shift between current and voltage Commutation process introduces a further displacement (when current commutates from one phase to another there is line to line short circuit through transformer impedance and it absorbs reactive power) For optimum power transfer, Q and Id should be minimised - to accomplish these, a should be small in the RECTIFIER MODE (10 - 20)

HVDC Converters

Active and reactive powers in the RECTIFIER MODE of a 6 pulse converter are:

P Vd1 I d 1.35 VLL I d cos a

Q 1.35 VLL I d sin a
For a 12 pulse converter P and Q per pole will be double of these Q is normally 50% 60% of P

HVDC Converters

In INVERTER MODE P and Q will flow in opposite directions

P 1.35 VLL I d cos Q 1.35 VLL I d sin

180 a u

a is delay angle, is extinction angle and u is overlap angle

should be as small as possible to minimise Q and Id

Converter Configurations
Monopole and earth return
one of the terminals of the rectifier is connected to ground and the other to a transmission line. The earthed terminal may or may not be connected to the corresponding connection at the inverting station by means of a second conductor If no metallic conductor is installed, current flows in the earth between the earth electrodes at the two stations, and causes: Electrochemical corrosion of pipelines Water pollution A net magnetic field due to unbalanced current Modern monopolar systems carry typically 1500 MW by overhead lines or 600 MW by underground cables

Converter Configurations

Bipolar
A pair of conductors is used, each at a high potential with respect to ground, in opposite polarity. Since these conductors must be insulated for the full voltage, transmission line cost is higher than a monopole with a return conductor. Bipolar systems may carry as much as 3000 MW at 800 kV

Converter Configurations

Back to back
In a back to back system there are no overhead lines or cables separating the rectifier and the inverter. So the DC current can be kept high and the DC voltage low, which favours a compact design HVDC back-to-back stations are used for coupling of electricity mains of different frequency (as in Japan) coupling two networks of the same nominal frequency but no fixed phase relationship different frequency and phase number

Converter Configurations

Systems with transmission lines

The most common configuration - Two stations connected by means of a dedicated HVDC line. There are Multi-terminal HVDC links, connecting more than two points The configuration of multiple terminals can be series, parallel, or hybrid. Parallel configuration is used for large capacity stations, and series for lower capacity stations The largest multi-terminal HVDC system in the world is the 2000 MW Quebec - New England Transmission system opened in 1992. In 2003 it is converted into 5 terminal HVDC system.

HVDC Drawbacks
Converters are expensive Overload capacity is not high VAR compensation at terminals (thyristor schemes) At smaller transmission distances hvdc losses are higher than those of ac lines For small distances cost of converters may not be offset by reductions in line construction cost In contrast to ac systems, realizing multiterminal systems is complex Expanding existing schemes to multiterminal systems is also difficult

HVDC Drawbacks

Controlling power flow in a multiterminal dc system requires good communication between all the terminals; power flow must be actively regulated by the control system instead of by the inherent properties of the transmission line Construction of new lines needs fresh right of way which is a difficult issue Emergence of FACTS has partially eclipsed hvdc schemes. FACTS devices have a an edge over HVDC since the former can be retrofitted into existing lines

Applications & Advantages

Submarine cables
high C causes additional AC losses in cables, but It has minimal effect for DC the charge and discharge current of C causes additional I2R power losses while carrying AC Dielectric losses are extra Submarine FMI (Flat Mass Impregnated) cable

Applications & Advantages

Long lines for bulk power transmission without intermediate 'taps'

connects remote power plant to the distribution grid reduces Corona loss : space charge formation helps HVDC to have half the loss per unit length of HVAC carrying the same amount of power for a given power rating the DC voltage is lower than the peak AC voltage voltage determines insulation thickness and conductor spacing thus HVDC can carry more power per conductor, which can lower costs HVDC lines have better electromagnetic compatibility when compared to HVAC

Applications & Advantages

Interconnections of power systems operating at different frequencies Capacity addition of existing lines when extra wires are difficult or expensive to install

 Tie line connecting unsynchronised AC distribution systems

Applications & Advantages

prevents cascading failures from propagating from one line to another, yet allowing power import or export damps out power oscillations and increases system stability margin sends required amount of power in any desired direction no transfer of disturbance from one side to the other if required the two regions can operate at different frequencies HVDC tie line helps optimum power flow through each of the two transmission lines fast control actions in electronic HVDC scheme enhances stability in power system

The recent developments

Capacitor commutated converters, Continuously tuned AC filters, Active DC filters, Air-insulated outdoor HVDC valves Voltage source converter using IGBT 800 kV as transmission voltage
the most cost effective alternative for long distance bulk power transmission total losses are 50 % higher for the 600 kV

Capacitor Commutated Converter

CCC HVDC converter consumes less reactive power as the converter includes a series capacitor

Chandrapur-Padghe HVDC transmission project showing Active Filter connection

View of Second 1 x 500 MW HVDC Block