Reacive power:

problems and solutions

What is reactive power
 Due to the presence of reactive
components like capacitance
,inductance in the system ,the
current changes phase with the
sinsoidally alternating voltage
 Reactive power(q) refers to the
max. instantaneous power
absorbed by the reactive
component
Q = VI sinØ
 Reactive power does no work.
Need of reactive power
 Reactive power flow is a salient feature of an
electrical power system.
 Reactive power is mandatory for the operation of
different load types either static or rotating
 For example,in rotating load as induction motor
,the reactive power is essential for producing the
revolving magnetic field.
 Voltage control in a system is important for proper
operation to prevent damage such as overheating of
generators and motors ,to reduce transmission
losses and to maintain the ability of the system to
prevent voltage collapse
Problems of reactive power
 Excess power dissipates in the form of heat as the
reactive current flows through resistive
components like transformers
 It increases drawn current for the same load
level,which inturn increases the losses,
maintenance and cost of the power operation
system.
 Reactive doesn’t travel long , so source and
destination should be near
 Reactive power controls voltage so insufficient
reactive power leading to voltage collapse .
 Reactive power and performance indices
Reactive power is elementary for some load to function ;therefore the
majority of loads are functioning at lag power factor which is less
than unity.
 Fig shows the variation
Of The power factor of a load
With the drawn reactive power
Either inductive/capacitive

 It reveals that load power

is heavily dependent on
drawn reactive power and
vice versa

 For in adequate design

the load results in flowing large
reactive power and hence
degrading the power factor
Reactive power and performance
indices (cont’d)

•Reactive power flow , as mentioned, could result

in uneconomic operation of the power system .,as
it increases the current magnitude and hence
copper and reactive losses in the transmission and
distribution networks . Fig 1
•The fig 1 shows that current magnitude and
losses increase s for non zero reactive power
despite inductive or capacitive .

•Fig 2 shows how could the flow of the reactive

power impacts the efficiency .the figure shows
the efficiency is reduced under the flow of the
reactive power despite its sign .
Fig 2
Reactive power compensating techniques

Some of the different compensating techniques

used recently are:

 fixed capacitor/inductor a primitive technique

 statcom
 Sssc solid state based circuits that
 Upfc manipulate dc voltage and dc
current to synthezize the
compensated voltage/current

These schemes are evolved from traditional solid -state

topologies svc
 Simple compensation technique
inserting fixed capacitor / inductor

 capacitor used for heavy load operating points to

produce sufficient reactive power for
boosting voltage profile at load buses .

 inductor used for light load operating point to limit

the voltage within the presumable
regulation

the capacitor / inductor is inserted in the system

via mechanical switch .
•the reactive power produced from reactive
elements capacitor/inductor is obtained
from the primitive equation

q = v²∕x
•Q is either inductive/capacitive depending on
x
•The capacitive reactance powers produced via
fixed capacitor elements are shown in the fig.
•The fig shows that pumped reactive power
increases almost linearly with capacitor value

this implies application bulky and

costly capacitor for compensating
large loads
Svc topologies
 Svc for shunt operation is composed from 2 main topologies:

 tcr for generating inductive reactive power.

 tsc for generating capacitive reactive power

 they can run as on a device producing variable

reactive power.
 In svc, the reactive passive elements are
interfaced to the common coupling point via self
commutated solid-state device.
 tcr
 Inductance interfaced via a pair
of anti-parallel thyristors
 There are two mode
conduction: discontinuous and
continuous current
 Inductor current is continuous
if the firing angle Ø of the
thyristor is greater that 90 and
less than 180 degree .
tsr
 Capacitance interfaced via a
pair of anti parallel thyristors
 Thyristors are controlled such
that current through the
thyristor is function in thyristor
firing angle Ø
 Capacitor current is continuous
if the firing angle Ø is between
0-180 degree.
This reveals that a small inductor is This reveals that reactive power
sufficient to produce the required diminshes at high firing angles
reactive power .capacitive reactive power is inversly
proportional with capacitance value.
Svc has the ability to generate and/or absorb reactive power
accordingly to the load level and power factor.svc is composed
of tcr & tsc.

Svc for a voltage below a 1 pu operates as tsr while for higher

voltage level that 1 pu ,it acts as tcr
 Advantages of svc
 High efficiency
 Reduced volumetric dimension
 Relatively fast responces compared with synchronous
condenser
 Adaptive operation , svc could provide continuous
compensation compared with fixed reactive elements
.svc could act as source /sink for reactive power
according to control stratergy
 Automation , as svc are mainly solid state devices , they
could be controlled via intelligent systems as
microprocessor and micro controller
statcom
 It is the recent configuration of svc.
It utilises high sufficient frequencies such that it produces
highquality output voltage and current

 The main objective is to produce instantaneous +/- reactive

power according to the load requirement and operating point

 Fig shows a power system where statcom is attached at a

point of common coupling.it is usually interfaced via a
transformer

 It consisits of voltage
source converter attached
to large dc capacitor which
convertsDC to AC
 Statcom is modeled as a variable current source,which
generates current component that eliminates the reactive
component of the load current.
 The supply pumps only the active power and reactive
power required to compensate transmission line
inductive drop
conclusion
 The reactive power is mandatory for operating a power system
as different types of loads require power to function
 Circulation of the reactive power influences the operation of
different power system components and subsystems Such as
transmission lines and cables .
 Moreover ,significant voltage drop is produced due to the
flow reactive power , which could result in voltage stability.
 Different compensation techniques are developed and
adopted in the power system .
 Statcom enjoys the advantages of fast response robustness
and reliability.it produces continuous reactive power .
Main objectives of my project

 Proving a comprehensive highlighting for

conventional and recent techniques for
compensating reactive power
 Analysing the static/dynamic performanace
of different reactive power compensator as
simple straight forward approach