EEE4005 POWER SYSTEM OPERATION AND

CONTROL

Dr M.JANAKI
Associate Professor,
School of Electrical Engineering.

Mobile No: 9444226403

Cabin No: TT344

 Module-IV

Automatic Voltage Control

Voltage and (or) VAR control play a leading role in supplying quality
service to customers. Such a control has to be exercised at all the power
system. i.e. right from the generating point to the consumer terminals.

System Voltage and Reactive Power

the voltage level is influenced largely by the reactive power drop

since the quadrature component

does not materially affect the voltage profile (both the drops are only
small fractions of the bus voltage magnitudes).
 METHODS OF VOLTAGE CONTROL

The different voltage-control methods are:

i. Excitation control
ii. Shunt capacitors
iii. Series capacitors
iv. Tap-changing transformers
v. Boosters
vi. Synchronous condensers
 Reactive Power Generation by Synchronous Machines

Synchronous generators are able to produce both lagging and leading

vars. Over-excitation of a generator field produces vars while under
excited field causes vars to be absorbed. At lagging power factors, the
limit on var generation is imposed by either rotor heating (due to
maximum excitation current limit) or by stator heating (thermal MVA
loading limit of the stator) consideration. Generators are invariably fitted
with automatic voltage regulators which maintain the thermal voltage at
its normal value by adjustment of excitation.
Excitation Control
The function of an exciter is to increase the excitation current for voltage
drop and decrease the same for voltage rise. This method is used only at
the generating station. Due to the voltage drop in the synchronous
reactance of armature, the alternator terminal voltage changes and hence
the load on the supply system also undergoes a change. This can be
maintained constant by changing the field current of the alternator. This
process is called excitation control. By using an automatic or a hand-
operated regulator, the excitation of the alternator can be controlled.
 In modern systems, automatic regulator is preferred. The two
main types of automatic voltage regulators are:

a. Tirril regulator.
b. Brown-Boveri regulator

(a) Tirril automatic regulator: Tirril regulator is a fast-acting

electromagnetical regulator and it gives ± 0.5% regulating deviation
between no-load and full load of an alternator.

Construction: Tirril voltage regulator is a vibrating-type voltage

regulator in which a resistance R is connected in the exciter circuit to
get the required value of voltage by adjusting the proper value of
resistance. Figure shows the main parts of the Tirril voltage regulator.
Differential relay: It is a ‘U’-shaped (horseshoe) relay magnet. It has
two identical windings on both limbs as shown in Fig., which are connected
across the armature of the exciter only when the main contacts are
closed. A capacitor is connected in parallel to the relay for reducing the
spark when the relay contacts are opened.

Excitation system: It consists of a solenoid energized by the voltage

equal to the exciter terminal voltage. The counter-balance force of an
excitation solenoid is provided by three springs, which are acting in
sequence and are shown in Fig.

Main control unit: It is a solenoid excited from an AC supply. The lower

part of this solenoid is connected with a dashpot, which provides damping
to the measuring unit.

Main contacts: These are attached to the levers that are operated by
measuring and excitation solenoids as shown in Fig. The lever on the left
side is controlled by the exciter control magnet and the lever on the right
side is controlled by the main control magnet.
Principle of operation: Under normal operating conditions, i.e., the
system is operating at pre-set load and voltage conditions, the main
contacts are open. The field rheostat is in the circuit. If the load on the
alternator increases, the terminal voltage decreases. When the pre-set
excitation settings of the device is low, the m.m.f developed by the
measuring system or the solenoid is low, causing a disturbance in the
equilibrium and, therefore, main contacts are closed. These results in de-
energization of differential relay and relay contacts are closed. So, the
resistance ‘R’ in the field is short-circuited. When this is out of circuit,
total field current flows through the exciter, and the exciter terminal
voltage increases. Thus, the voltage across the alternator terminals
increases due to the increase in alternator field current.
Due to this increased voltage, the pull of the solenoid exceeds the spring
force and so the main contacts are opened again and the resistance is
inserted in the exciter field. A similar process is repeated if the terminal
voltage is reduced.
(b) Brown-Boveri regulator: This differs from the Tirril regulator. In
this, the resistance of regulator is either gradually varied or varied in
small steps.

(i) Control system: The control system is built on the principle of

induction motor. It consists of two windings A and B on an annular core of
laminated sheet steel. The winding A is excited from two of the generator
terminals through resistances U and U’ while a resistance R is inserted in
the circuit of winding B. The ratio of resistance to reactance of the two
windings are suitably adjusted so as to create a phase difference of
currents in the two windings. Due to the phase difference of currents in
the two windings, rotating magnetic field is set up. This produces
electromagnetic torque on the thin aluminum drum C carried by steel
spindle; the latter being supported at both ends by jewel bearings. The
torque on drum C varies with the terminal voltage of the alternator. The
variable resistance U’ can also vary the torque on the drum. If the
resistance is increased, the torque is decreased and vice versa. Therefore,
the variable resistance U’ provides a means by which the regulator may
be set to operate at the desired voltage.
(ii) Mechanical control torque: The electric torque produced by the
current in the split phase winding is opposed by a combination of two
springs (main spring and auxiliary spring) which produce a constant
mechanical torque irrespective of the position of the drum. Under steady
deflected state, mechanical torque is equal and opposite of the electric
torque.
(iii) Operating system: It consists of a field rheostat with contact
device. The rheostat consists of a pair of resistance elements connected
to the stationary contact blocks CB. These two resistance sectors R are
connected in series with each other and then in series with the field
circuit of the exciter. On the inside surface of the contact blocks roll the
contact sectors CS. When the terminal voltage of the alternator changes,
the electric torque acts on the drum. This causes the contact sectors to
roll over the contact blocks, cutting in or cutting out rheostat resistance in
the exciter field circuit.
(iv) Damping torque: The regulator is made stable by damping
mechanism which consists of an aluminum disc O rotating between two
permanent magnets m. The disc is geared to the rack of an aluminum
sector P and is fastened to the aluminum drum C by means of a flexible
spring S acting as the recall spring. If there is a change in the alternator
voltage, the eddy currents induced in the disc O produce the necessary
damping torque to resist quick response of the moving system.
OPERATION OF BROWN BOVERI REGULATOR

Suppose that resistances U and U’ are so adjusted that terminal voltage

of the alternator is normal at position 1. In this position, the electrical
torque is counterbalanced by the mechanical torque and the moving
system is in equilibrium. It is assumed that electrical torque rotates the
shaft in a clockwise direction.

Now imagine that the terminal voltage of the alternator rises due to
decrease in load on the supply system. The increase in the alternator
voltage will cause an increase in electrical torque which becomes greater
than the mechanical torque. This causes the drum to rotate in clockwise
direction, say to position 3. As a result, more resistance is inserted in the
exciter circuit, thereby decreasing the field current and hence the
terminal voltage of the alternator. Meanwhile, the recall spring S is
tightened and provides a counter torque forcing the contact roller back to
position 2 which is the equilibrium position. The damping system prevents
the oscillations of the system about the equilibrium position.
 Block Schematic of Excitation Control
A typical excitation control system is shown in Fig. The terminal
voltage of the alternator is sampled, rectified and compared with a
reference voltage, the difference is amplified and fed back to the exciter
field winding to change the excitation current.
An excitation system using amplidyne is shown in Fig.
Schematic Diagram of the Amplidyne
The schematic diagram of this can be designed by changing a
separately excited DC generator to amplidyne. It is a special kind of DC
generator where this generator can be converted into an amplidyne.
The primary step is to short the brushes jointly so that resistance can be
removed within the armature circuit. Due to extremely low resistance
within this circuit, a low control-field flux can generate full-load armature
current. The schematic diagram of this is shown below.
(i) Static Excitation System

In the static excitation system, the generator field is fed from a thyristor
network shown in Fig. It is just sufficient to adjust the thyristor firing angle
to vary the excitation level. A major advantage of such a system is that,
when required the field voltage can be varied through a full range of
positive to negative values very rapidly with the ultimate benefit of
generator voltage regulation during transient disturbances. The thyristor
network consists of either 3-phase fully controlled or semi controlled bridge
rectifers. Field suppression resistor dissipates energy in the field circuit
while the field breaker ensures field isolation during generator faults.
A compact AC static excitation scheme is shown in Fig.
 Analysis of Generator Voltage Control
Consider the excitation system shown in Fig. the block diagram
representation is given in the bottom Fig.
The input voltage signal Aer to the generator field, when applied to the
circuit results in the following Kirchoff's voltage equation.
The voltage regulator loop can be represented by the block diagram
shown in Fig.
so that the feed back control loop can be further simplified as in Fig.
Steady State Performance Evaluation
Larger the overall gain of the forward block gain K smaller is the steady
state error. But too large a gain K can cause instability.
Dynamic Response of Voltage Regulation Control
Stability Compensation for Voltage Control
 Methods of Voltage Control:
(a) Injection of Reactive Power

In transmission systems with X >> R, busbar voltages can be

controlled by the injection or absorption of reactive power.

However, controlling network voltage through reactive power flow is

less effective in distribution networks where the higher circuit resistances
lead to the reactive power flows having less effect on voltage and causing
an increase in real power losses. Although reactive power does no real
work, it does lead to an increase in the magnitude of current in the
networks and hence real power losses. Electricity suppliers often penalize
loads with a poor power factor by applying charges based on kVAh (or even
kVArh) in addition to kWh or even basing part of the charge on peak kVA
drawn.
The provision of static capacitors to improve the power factors of
factory loads has been long established.
In general, four methods of injecting reactive power are available,
involving the use of:

1. static shunt capacitors;

2. static series capacitors;

3. synchronous compensators;

4. static VAr compensators and STATCOMs.

Shunt Capacitors and Reactors

Shunt capacitors are used to compensate lagging power factor loads,

whereas reactors are used on circuits that generate VArs such as lightly
loaded cables.

The effect of these shunt devices is to supply or absorb the requisite

reactive power to maintain the magnitude of the voltage. Capacitors are
connected either directly to a busbar or to the tertiary winding of a main
transformer.

Unfortunately, as the voltage reduces, the VArs produced by a shunt

capacitor or absorbed by a reactor fall as the square of the voltage; thus,
when needed most, their effectiveness drops. Also, with light network load
when the voltage is high, the capacitor output is large and the voltage
tends to rise to excessive levels, requiring some capacitors or cable
circuits to be switched out by local overvoltage relays.
Series Capacitors

Capacitors can be connected in series with overhead lines and are then
used to reduce the inductive reactance between the supply point and the
load.

One major drawback is the high overvoltage produced across the capacitor
when a short-circuit current flows through the circuit, and special
protective devices need to be incorporated (e.g. spark gaps) and non-
linear resistors.

The phasor diagram for a line with a series capacitor is shown in Figure
5.6(b). The relative merits between shunt and series capacitors may be
summarized as follows:

1. If the load VAr requirement is small, series capacitors are of little use.
2. With series capacitors the reduction in line current is small; hence if
thermal considerations limit the current, little advantage is obtained and
shunt compensation should be used.
3. If voltage drop is the limiting factor, series capacitors are effective;
also, voltage fluctuations due to arc furnaces, and so on, are evened out.
4. If the total line reactance is high, series capacitors are very effective
in reducing voltage drops and stability is improved.

Both shunt and series capacitors need to be applied with care as they
can both lead to resonance with the inductive reactance of the power
system. Shunt capacitors are benign as long as their network is
connected to the main power system and the voltage is controlled.
However, if a section of network containing both shunt capacitors and
induction generators is isolated then self-excitation of the induction
generators can lead to very high resonant voltages. The use of series
capacitors, although very effective in reducing voltage drop on heavily
loaded circuits, can lead to sub-synchronous resonance with rotating
machines. Capacitors are not commonly used in distribution systems in
the UK, partly because of concerns over resonance.
Synchronous Compensators

A synchronous compensator is a synchronous motor running without a

mechanical load and, depending on the value of excitation, it can absorb
or generate reactive power. As the losses are considerable compared
with static capacitors, the power factor is not zero. When used with a
voltage regulator the compensator can automatically run overexcited at
times of high load and underexcited at light load. A typical connection of
a synchronous compensator is shown in Figure 5.7 and the associated
Volt-VAr output characteristic in Figure 5.8. The compensator is run up
as an induction motor in 2.5 min and then synchronized.

A great advantage is the flexibility of operation for all load conditions.

Although the cost of such installations is high, in some circumstances it
is justified, for example at the receiving-end busbar of a long high-
voltage line where transmission at power factors less than unity cannot
be tolerated. Being a rotating machine, its stored energy is useful for
increasing the inertia of the power system and for riding through
transient disturbances, including voltage sags.
Static VAr Compensators (SVCs) and STATCOMs

Synchronous compensators are rotating machines and so are expensive

and have mechanical losses. Hence they are being superseded
increasingly by power electronic compensators: SVCs and STATCOMs.

SVCs use shunt connected reactors and capacitors controlled by thyristors.

The reactive power is provided by the shunt elements (capacitors and
inductors), but these are controlled by thyristors. The output of the
Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR) is controlled by delaying the switching
on of the thyristor within the 50/60Hz cycle. The thyristor switches off
when the current drops to zero. The firing angle of the thyristor can be
varied within each cycle and hence the VAr absorption by the TCR
controlled.

TCRs may be used with Mechanically or Thyristor Switched Capacitors to

create an SVC to export and import VArs. When a capacitor is connected
to a strong voltage source, very large currents can flow. Hence Thyristor
Switched Capacitors are only operated in integral cycles and the operation
of the thyristors is timed so that they switch when there is no
instantaneous voltage across the capacitor.
A STATCOM (Static Compensator) is also a power electronic device to
provide reactive power but it operates on a different principle. A
STATCOM consists of a Voltage Source Converter (VSC) connected to the
power system through a coupling reactance (L). The VSC uses very large
transistors that can be turned on and off to synthesize a voltage sine
wave of any magnitude and phase. VSTATCOM is a 50/60 Hz sine wave
kept in phase with Vterminal.

If the magnitude of VSTATCOM is greater than that of Vterminal then

reactive power is generated by the STATCOM while if the magnitude of
VSTATCOM is less than that of Vterminal then reactive power is absorbed by
the STATCOM.

A very small phase angle is introduced between VSTATCOM and Vterminal

so that a small amount of real power flows into the STATCOM to charge
the DC capacitor and provide for the losses of the converter.

However, the principle of operation is that the reactive power is provided

by the interaction of the two voltage magnitudes across the reactor. The
DC capacitor is only used to operate the power electronics and control the
ripple current. STATCOMs can be controlled very fast and have a smaller
physical equipment footprint than SVCs.