IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-99, No.

5 Sept/Oct 1980 1795

CHARACTERISTICS OF STATIC, THYRISTOR-CONTROLLED SHUNT COMPENSATORS

FOR POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM APPLICATIONS

Laszlo Gyugyi and Edgar R. Taylor, Jr.

Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

ABSTRACT with the generated VAR output in an opposite or complemen-

The operating and performance characteristics of two tary manner [4]. Thus, the transmission system planner has
now a unique opportunity to use the type of static compen-
basic types of static, thyristor-controlled shunt compensa- sator that provides the operating and performance character-
tors, one with a fixed capacitor bank and the other with
synchronously switchable capacitor banks, are presented with istics best suited for the application under consideration.
regard to power transmission system applications. The oper- 2. FIXED CAPACITOR, THYRISTOR-CONTROLLED
ating principles, and the similarities and differences between REACTOR TYPE VAR COMPENSATOR
the performance of the two schemes are discussed in the
areas of steady-state voltage versus VAR characteristic, A fixed capacitor, thyristor-controlled reactor type
behavior under small and large system disturbances, harmonic VAR compensator is shown in its elementary form in Figure
generation, and loss versus output VAR characteristic. l(a). The current in the reactor, and thereby the total com-
pensating current, is varied by firing (or delay or conduction)
1. INTRODUCTION angle control, as illustrated in Figure l(b) [5]. Thus, the FC-
The static VAR compensator (SVC) is used in utility i(a= iC + 3lfa
applications to support the voltage of transmission lines it:) 3FUND(a) la)
ic i~~~FUNDa
during disturbances of both loads and generation. This vol-
tage support is achieved by the rapid control of the SVC
reactance and thus its reactive power (VAR) output. Thereby,
the reactive current flow is controlled in the transmission Thyr istor
Switch
lines. The primary objectives of dynamic VAR compensation '1 2 a'3 '4 -O
are to increase the transient stability limit of the ac power 'FUND is lagging FUND 0 FUND_is leading
system, to decrease terminal voltage fluctuation during load (a)
variations and, at times, to limit overvoltages following large Figure 1 - Basic fixed-capacitor, thyristor-controlled reactor type compensator
disturbances. The application objectives have a definite and associated waveforms llwL >wC, = X F)
bearing on the desirable characteristics for the static VAR
compensator. In general, utility applications require careful TCR type compensator may be considered to consist of
evaluation in the following areas: (1) performance under small essentially a variable reactor (controlled by delay angle c) in
system disturbances (e.g., moderate load fluctuation), which parallel with a fixed capacitor. (In practice, the fixed capac-
produce small enough voltage variation to operate the com- itor is usually substituted by a filter network that has the
pensator within its linear range, (2) performance under large required capacitive impedance at the fundamental frequency
system disturbances (e.g., faults, loss of generation or trans- but it exhibits a low impedance at selected frequencies to
mission, and load rejection), which result in voltage excur- absorb the dominant harmonics). The reactive output power
sions that are outside of the normal (linear) operating range (VAR) versus applied terminal voltage steady-state charac-
of the compensator, (3) harmonic generation, and (4) loss teristic obtainable with this arrangement at the fundamental
versus output VAR characteristic. frequency is shown in Figure 2 [61. As may be seen in this
Heretofore, static, solid-state VAR compensators as
used for transmission line compensation usually employed
thyristor-controlled reactors in conjunction with a fixed or
conventionally switched capacitor [1, 2, 3] (fixed capacitor,
thyristor-controlled reactor - FC-TCR - scheme). This
scheme was originally developed for industrial applications,
such as arc furnace "flicker" control. Recently, a new type of
VAR compensator has been developed for utility applications
that employs thyristor-switched capacitors in conjunction
with thyristor-controlled reactors (thyristor-switched capac-
itor, thyristor-controlled reactor - TSC-TCR - scheme).
Although the two schemes provide comparable performance
in their normal linear operating range (compensating for
small system disturbances), their behaviors under large system
disturbances are significantly different, and their losses vary
Figure 2- The steady-state reactive power versus terminal voltage characteristics of a static VAR compensator.
BC = reactive part of the admittance of capacitor C
BL ( ) = reactive part of the equivalent admittance of reactor L at firing angle a
figure, the steady state relationship between the output VARs
and the applied voltage can be linear over the voltage band of
regulation. The slope of the VAR versus voltage characteris-
F 80 236-0 A paper recommended and approved by the tic in the regulation interval is determined by the control of
IEEE Power System Engineering Committee of the IEEE the firing angle. Outside of the regulation interval the
Power Engineering Scciety for presentation at the IEEE steady-state output VAR versus voltage characteristic of the
PES Winter Meeting, New York, NY, February 3-8, 1980. compensator is the same as that of a capacitor (low voltage)
Manuscript submitted August 20, 1979; made available or an inductor (high voltage).
for printing November 30, 1979.
0018-9510/80/0900-1795$00.75© 1980 IEEE
1796
signal. The VAR demand signal determined the magnitude of
2.1 Operating Performance Under Small Disturbances the current in the thyristor-controlled reactor. With the
Disturbances in the ae power system are termed small voltage regulator loop open, the added square wave signal
when the resultant terminal voltage excursions stay within modulated the current in the thyristor-controlled reactor,
the linear operating range (regulation interval) of the com- which in turn caused a similar square wave modulation (dis-
pensator (e.g., AV ' AVh+ AV in Figure 2). The compensator is turbance) in the envelope of the terminal voltage. This "open
operated essentially as a terminal voltage regulator, func- loop" type operation is illustrated by the oscillograms in
tionally illustrated in Figure 3. In this case, the power sys- Figure 4(a), which show the modulated reactor current iL,
and the envelope of the terminal voltage, VT. For clarity, the
zero level of v is displaced in the oscillograms and less than
one per cent of the positive peaks of the terminal voltage is
°I |I V
01ST M~~~~~~~easuremen
R f shown. With normal, closed regulator loop, the control devel-
IvS ops an error signal, il,aem, to counter-modulate the current
Regulatr VREF in the thyristor-controled reactor so as to establish a steady
VAR output and thereby a non-fluctuating terminal voltage,
L ______J L __enerat_______ J as shown by the oscillograms at (b) in Figure 4. It can be
Power System Static Var Compiesator observed that the response time of the compensator with the
Ftgure 3- Functional blocK diagram of thie FC-TCR type compensator particular control setting is about 17 milliseconds (one cycle
operating as a terminal voltage regulator. at 60 Hz).
tem may be represented by a resultant voltage source vS, in Generally, the FC-TCR type compensator can respond
series with a resultant source reactance (source resistance to a step-like terminal voltage change within one to three
being neglected) XS. The source voltage is comprised of the cycles depending on the character of the power system impe-
nominal generation voltage, vo, in series with a voltage dance and the gain of the control. This response is superior
disturbance, vDIST. The voltage disturbance, vDIST, repre- to that achievable by rotating synchronous compensators, and
sents variations in the terminal voltage, VT, caused by presently the best attainable economically with high power
changes in load and generation in the power system. The solid-state control equipment.
compensator, as described in Figure 3, consists of a fixed 2.2 Operating Performance Under Large Disturbances
capacitor in parallel with a thyristor-controlled reactor (FC-
TCR). The reactive current output of the compensator, either Disturbances in the ac power system are termed large
capacitive or inductive, produces an "in-phase" voltage drop when the resultant terminal voltage excursions extend outside
across the source reactance, X . This "in-phase" voltage of the linear range (regulation interval) of the compensator
increases (capacitive current) or decreases (inductive current) (e.g., |AV > AVh+ LV. in Figure 2). Such disturbances are often
the terminal voltage, vT. The current in the reactor, and characterized by rapid voltage change (i.e., high frequency
thus the VAR output provided, is closed-loop-controlled by the content).
SVC voltage regulator. That is, the measured terminal As is shown below, for large disturbances the response
voltage is compared to a reference to obtain an error signal, of the FC-TCR type compensator is inseparably tied to the
which is then amplified and converted to a firing angle signal fact that the SVC power circuit includes the "permanently"
that generates the firing pulse for the tliyristor switch[5]. connected (uncontrolled) capacitor.
The variation of the firing angle causes a variation in the SVC At voltage levels below the regulation band, where the
reactance, changing the terminal voltage vT, thus com- thyristor switch is fully "open", the SVC degenerates into the
pleting the closed loop. fixed capacitor. As the steady-state characteristic implies,
The performance of an FC-TCR type compensator its VAR output is proportional to the square of the applied
under small system disturbances is illustrated by the oscil- voltage.
lograms in Figure 4. These- oscillograms show some of the At voltage levels above the regulation band, where the
thyristor switch is fully "closed", the SVC acts in the steady-
state as an uncontrolled reactor, absorbing VARs in propor-
tion to the square of the applied voltage. Since the thyristor
switch at these voltagre levels is fullv "closed", theinductive
comDen-
sator is actuaUY a parallel LC circuit exhibiting an
admittance only below its natural resonant frequency. By
design, this resonant frequency is usually close to the power
vT system frequency. Thus, the admittance presented by the
compensator to the ac power system at frequencies above the
natural resonant frequency is capacitive.
The admittance versus frequency characteristic given
iL in Figure 5 for a typical FC-TCR type compensator illus-
B= Bc -B L

L dem
B~~~~~ ~~~ 1.C =
XC-S

BC = aC / %1)=C -
3"
_
VT
/// / / _= Bc- f,.' f
z3
I 'fund
Figure 4- Waveforms illustrating the dynamic pertormance of the 40 MVAR thyristor-contolIled
reactor type compensator installation in Hibbing. Minnesota.
iL = thyristor-controlled reactor current
iLdem = reactor current demand signal developed by the control
VT = terminal voltage (peaks thereof are shownl
results of the response time measurements made on the 40
MVAR FC-TCR type compensator at the Shannon substation
of the MP&L (Minnesota Power and Light) power system [1]. l <

In these measurements, the ingenious technique [7 ] of using

the compensator both to generate and control the voltage
disturbance was used. The disturbance was produced by Figu re S - The admittance versus f requency chiaracteri stic of the FC-TCR type compensator.
adding in the control a low frequency (about 2 Hz) square BC = reactive part of the admiftance of capacitor C
wave signal of appropriate amplitude to the VAR demand BL 10 i = reactive part of the equivalent admittance of reactor L at firng angleo
 1797
trates more generally the fact that the admittance presented disturbances in the power system excite this series LC circuit
to the power system at higher frequencies associated with into oscillation at its resonant frequency (or frequencies, if
transient response is capacitive and essentially independent an LC filter network is used in place of the fixed capacitor),
of the firing (delay) angle a. which may result in terminal voltage transients of significant
It follows from above that the FC-TCR type compen- magnitudes.
sator can be considered essentially as a capacitor (or a pas- Typical transient behavior of an FC-TCR type compen-
sive LC filter network) during large system disturbances. sator under different large disturbances (fault and fault
This capacitor forms a series LC circuit with the ac system clearing, fault and fault clearing with load rejection) is
(and coupling or step-down transformer) impedance. Major illustrated by the waveforms in Figures 6 and 7. These wave-

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. 2. 4. 6. 8. 20. 12. 14. 16. 18. 20. 22. 0. 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. 12. 14. 16. 18. 20. 22.

ta) MVA5(NMVAR,=25 fbi MVA S IMVAR C = 12. 5

Figure 6- Waveforms illustrating the transient behavior of the fixed-capacitor, controlled- reactor type compensator during fault and following fault clearing.

.&A-KIA A. A A
7r
N_vy V",Vvvvv
T-A-/-- -T--
V-Y
VI I v

___- -- -

--
VV ----------
It

llTll 1AI\ A6lvlflllil9LA\lY

T
8 - -
- -
- -- -

-- - - --- - - -
-o X-------------ns AF1
878,-A-AP/Z__Ir.kvTtr.-t-t. V.
tSE-V-v-vv vv5 V ,Yvv -l
uv
-
W
--
iv v Lv v-v Sqvv
--
v vld
-~ --
It (V lvi 111\1 w p y IV tit A 14 1 IV v I
MU

.r
-

KAAMA.h.
W-W-Ull
I a z
.5I~~~~~~~~~- -t M ti'4,1 o'4
L vP iv-
"
AP\

- - - - - -- -- - - -
-
- - -
4 -
W-
- - -- --------- - - - - - - -- -
- - - - - - - - - - -
IVv 3
- - - - - - -
yyM vv v v--
z,U, W
F f9 W'W_a_W wY F
T FIL2

- -----------------W
------------- - - - - -
sJ \- \
.V! *

2. 2. 4. 6. 0. 10. 12. 14. 16. 18. 20. 22. 2. 2. 4. 6. 4. 12. 12. 14. 16. 18. 20. 22.

fat MVAS/MVARC=25 fbi MVA 5 /MVAR =12. 5

Figure 7 - Waveforms if lustrating me transient behavior of the fixed-capacitor, controllfed - reactor type compensator when fault clearing is associated with load rejection.
VT1 'T2' VT3 = terminal (f-ni voltages TFILI' FIL2' FI = currents drawn by the filter network
I1 2. I3 = line currents IL1 IL2 If3 = currents drawn by the controlled) reactors

forms were obtained by computer simulation. A detailed output when the ac power system was subjected to large
computer model was used consisting of a simple three-phase disturbances. In Figures 6(a) and 7(a), the total inductive
ac system (constant voltage, constant velocity, generator plus impedance represents a short circuit capacity of 25 times the
an inductive impedance) terminated in a compensator com- rating of the compensator (MVAs/MVARc = 25), and in
prising an LC filter network and a thyristor-controlled reac- Figures 6(b) and 7(b) 12.5 times that of the compensator
tor. In order to make the results independent of the SVC (MVAs/MVARc = 12.5).
control, the thyristor switches were kept fully "on" (since Figure 6 illustrates the transient behavior of the ac
control tends to aggravate the transient behavior by initiating power system with the compensator when a three-phase fault
erratic firings because of possible problems with voltage (short circuit) is applied and cleared. The fault is applied at
measurements, signal processing, and synchronous timing the mid-point of the inductive power system impedance.
under large terminal voltage disturbances). This represents Figure 7 illustrates a case, for the same power system
the "best case" with regard to transient overvoltage genera- impedances, in which the fault clearing is associated with
tion. The results of the simulation thus obtained pertain to a simulated load rejection that results in a voltage increase to
special experimental case in which the compensator was set 1.7 p.u.
to provide zero reactive power output and to maintain this It can be observed in the figures that the application
1798
of a fault starts, as expected, an oscillation between the thyristors conducting the "positive" and "negative" current
filter network and that part of the system to the fault loca- half cycles can result in the generation of direct and even
tion impedance that shunts the terminals of the compensator. harmonic currents. This (which is really an internal SVC
During the fault, high harmonic currents circulate between control problem) can be avoided by various methods; for
the filter network and2the shunting system impedance. The example, careful matching of the "positive" and "negative"
energy trapped (1/2 LI ) in the thyristor-controlled reactors firing channels, or forcing (with an appropriate auxiliary
at the time of the fault, also causes circulating currents feedback loop) identity of the "positive" and "negative"
decaying at slow rate as determined by the losses in the ampere-seconds.
circuit. At fault clearing, the ac power system voltage The magnitudes of the harmonics internally generated
recovery is a step-like change for the filter network similar
to that which would be encountered during initial energiza- by the thyristor-controlled reactors can be reduced by two
tion of the SVC. This results in a new oscillatory process methods.
involving now the total power system impedance. The magni- One method, particularly advantageous for compensa-
tude of the voltage transient at fault clearing can be very tors of relatively high rating, employs a number, n, of reactor
large depending on the power system impedance and the banks, each with 1/n the total rating, instead of a single large
actual time instant of clearing. This is particularly so if the bank. The reactor banks are sequentially controlled, that is,
fault clearing is associated with high overvoltage caused, for only one of the n reactors is delay (conduction) angle
example, by load rejection as illustrated in Figure 7. controlled, and each of the remaining (n-1) reactors is either
From the above it can be concluded that the behavior fully "on" or fully "off", depending on total reactive output
and response of the FC-TCR type compensator (indeed, of power required, as illustrated for four reactor banks in Figure
any type of eompensator that employs a fixed capacitor) 9. In this way, the amplitude of every harmonic is reduced by
under large disturbances is uncontrollable at least during the the factor, n, with respect to the maximum rated fundamen-
first few cycles following the disturbance. The resulting tal current.
voltage transients are essentially determined by the fixed L ttal
capacitor (or the LC filter network), and the power system
impedance. This can lead to overvoltage and resonance IL demand P. U.
(including ferroresonace) problems in the power system, and
may cause timing, voltage measurement, and other difficul- 1,0

ties in the SVC control. The "stiffness" (short circuit capac- 0. 75 OW 2W

ity) and character (frequency dependence) of the power

system impedance influence significantly the response and
behavior of the compensator subjected to large disturbances,
and careful evaluation for each individual application should
be made.
2.3 Harmonic Generation
Discontinuous current conduction of the thyristor- \I
"10L \\,JV'
I/

controlled reactor generates harmonic currents. The ampli-

tude of the harmonic currents produced is a function of the
firing angle, a, as shown in Figure 8. Under balanced three-
phase operation the triplen harmonic currents (3rd, 9th, etc.)
circulate in the delta connected reactors and do not enter the
power system.

t3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A\U
1
iL4A :
'E 1 70
vuDSae 0

E a
1112iLtotalWUW
scale

6FO3O1 Balanced System

CD

E Figure 9- Waveforms illustrating the method of controlling the reactor banks

sequentially to achieve harmonic reduction.

Delay Anqle a Another method employs the so-called twelve-pulse

Figure 8 The amplitudes of the harmonic currents. expressed as per cents of the maximum fundamental
-
arrangement. In this, two identical delta connected thyris-
current, versus delay (firing) angle a, for the thyristor-controlled reactor. tor-controlled reactor banks are used, one operated from the
wye connected secondary windings, the other from the delta
In a practical system perfectly balanced conditions connected windings of a supply transformer. (Other types of
rarely exist. Unbalanced SVC operation can be caused by transformer connections providing the required sets of phase-
unbalanced network voltages and impedances, tolerances in shifted voltages can, of course, be also used). Because of the
the thyristor-controlled reactors and inaccuracies in the 30 degree phase shift between the related voltages of the two
delay (firing) angles. Effects on the canonical harmonics transformer windings, the 5th, 7th, 17th, 19th, in general the
(5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, etc.) of the SVC normally are neg- harmonic currents of order 6(2k-1)-1 and 6(2k-1)+1 , k = 1,
ligible. Although the triplen harmonics are no longer 2..., cancel, providing a nearly sinusoidal output current, at
completely contained in the delta connected circuit, all delay angles as illustrated by the current waveforms in
experience shows that under typical practical operating Figure 10.
conditions, the third harmonic current entering the ac power Further harmonic cancellation is theoretically possible
system is usually less than 0.5% (and the 9th, 15th, etc. are by operating three, four, or more delta connected (thyristor-
negligibly small). controlled) reactor banks (basic six-pulse circuit groups) from
Differences in the delay (firing) angles of the appropriately phase-shifted voltages. In this so- called 18-,
 1799
_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~VAR DEM

II ,3j;:~,)ij'; 1L31Y
L23Y
L31Y/j A3k L " 1,'\ "I 12Y

3Z3
'hI'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L1
Y:! C t CtE) |L

Figure10- Telve-pulse aranqement o th'LZ reactors and associated waveforms under balanced conditions.

<~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'I 1'"f
'
"42~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2

'I'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I
/

L23A 2/

Fi gu re 10 - TwelIve- nulIse a rran ement of thyvri sto r-controI leed reacto rs and a ssoci ated wa vefo rms u nde r ba lasnced condifti ons.

24-, etc., pulse circuit arrangements, however, it is in prac- sation, where the average VAR output requirements is rela-
tice presently too difficult to meet the requirements for tively high and thus the loss characteristic of the FC-TCR
phase accuracy and circuit symmetry to achieve enough type compensator does not result in undue economic penalty).
harmonic reduction to warrant the increased complexity.
It should be noted that the first method (n sequentially
controlled reactor banks) reduces all of the harmonics inter-
nally generated. Thus, this method is applicable to unbal-
anced systems with single-phase control [5]. The second
method (12-pulse arrangement) cancels groups of internally
generated harmonic currents (which are present in the indi-
vidual reactor banks) in the output, but the effectiveness of
the harmonic cancellation is dependent on circuit balance and
control accuracy.
Harmonic attenuation may also be accomplished by
filtering. This method is commonly used since the thyristor-
controlled reactor is normally parallel with a fixed capacitor,
which thus "naturally" provides a shunt path for the harmon-
ics. Depending on the capacitance value and the power
system impedance at the various harmonics, this "natural"
filtering may be adequate in some applications. However,
concern with possible resonances in the power system, loaded
by the capacitor of one or several compensators, and the
resultant amplification of the pertinent harmonics, usually
make it necessary to substitute or complement the fixed
capacitor with an LC or LCR filter network. This filter
network normally consists of a number of series LC tuned
filter branches shunting the terminals of the compensator. Figure 1t - VAR output versus VAR demand characteristic of the FC-TCR type compensator.
Special considerations for network resonances in the design of
an SVC power filter are discussed in reference [83.
2.4 Loss Characteristic
1.4
The loss versus VAR output characteristic of the FC-
TCR type compensator is inherently determined by the basic 1.3-
circuit arrangement and its operating principle. The constant
capacitive VAR output (VARq) of the fixed capacitor is 1.2-

opposed by the variable inductive VAR output (VAR ) of the

thyristor-controlled reactor resulting in the total VAi output 1 .-
(VARTotal) that is equal to the reactive power demanded
(VARDle nd) for the compensation, as illustrated schemati-
cally inm gure 11. Thus, at zero VAR demand, the capacitive
and inductive VARs perfectly cancel. This, of course, means
that the total current of the capacitor bank is circulated
through the reactor bank via the thyristor switch, resulting in
appreciable standby (no load) losses. These losses decrease
with increasing capacitive VAR output (reduced current in
the reactor bank and the thyristor switch) and, conversely,
increase with increasing inductive output, as shown in Figure .4 .3 .2 .1 0 v.4
a .o
12. This type of loss characteristic is usually economically d.
uc.v .VA
Inductive .u. .C .1
VAR Output
- .2 .3 .-
t Capacitive
.6
p
v VVAR Output
.7 I 1.0 P.U.

disadvantageous where the application of a transmission

system is primarily for dynamic compensation and the aver- Figure 12- Relationship between per unit VAR output and normalized losses for the FC-TCR type compensator.
age VAR output required may normally be low. (This is in
contrast to industrial applications, e.g., arc furnace compen-
1800

3. THYRISTOR-SWITCHED CAPACITOR, THYRISTOR- ensure that resonances with the power system impedance do
CONTROLLED REACTOR TYPE COMPENSATOR not take place at the major harmonic frequencies (see, for
The thyristor-switched capacitor, thyristor-controlled example, LI through L4 in Figure 15).
reactor (TSC-TCR) type "hybrid" compensator has been It is to be noted that this type of compensator can
developed specifically for utility applications with the inten- inherently provide inductive VARs from zero to maximum
tion of overcoming the two major shortcomings (behavior value determined by the rating of the reactor bank. In this
under large disturbances and loss characteristic) of the com- case, all capacitor banks are of course switched out, and the
pensators employing a fixed capacitor. reactor bank is delay angle controlled in the usual manner.
The TSC-TCR scheme is shown conceptually for single- The switching of a capacitor bank can be accomplished
phase compensation in Figure 13. It consists in general of a without appreciable transients if the thyristor switch is fired
at the instants of time when the capacitor voltage and the ac
power system voltage are equal. At this time, the voltage
across the thyristor switch is, of course, zero. The capacitor

sw 2 3sw Ls;- bank can be disconnected, with the maximum of half a cycle
delay, by blocking the firing pulses to the thyristors.
The operation of the TSC-TCR type compensator is
illustrated for four capacitor banks by the oscillograms shown
in Figure 14, which were taken from a laboratory model
Finure 13- Basic thyristor-switched capacitor, thyristor-controlled reactor type compensator. representing a typical high power transmission line compen-
sator, such as shown functionally in Figure 15. These oscil-
thyristor-controlled reactor bank (or banks) and n capacitor lograms show that the TSC-TCR type compensator is capable
banks, each in series with a solid-state switch. The number of of providing smoothly varying reactive output current (VARs),
banks, n, is determined from practical considerations that in response to a VAR demand signal (produced by the SVC
include the operating voltage level, maximum compensation control to reduce the small, artifically introduced, cyclic
requirement, current rating of the solid-state switches, etc. modulation of the ac terminal voltage). This is achieved by
The solid-state switch in series with the reactor bank is operating the controUed reactor bank in perfect sympathy
composed of a reverse-parallel- connected thyristor pair (in a with the switched capacitor banks.
practical system, of course, many such thyristor pairs would From the basic operating principles described and
be connected in series to provide enough voltage rating) and, performance demonstrated above, it follows that the charac-
as discussed earlier, it is capable of continuously controlling teristic of TSC-TCR type compensator in the linear operating
the current in the reactor from zero to maximum rated range is the same as that of the fixed capacitor type compen-
value. Each solid-state switch in series with a capacitor bank sator (Figure 2).
is composed either of a reverse-parallel-connected thyristor
pair (similar to that used in the reactor bank), or it may be
composed of a thyristor in reverse-parallel with a diode. This
latter arrangement is less complex and expensive, and there-
fore may be preferred in some practical applications. How- VARdem
ever, the solid-state switch composed of reverse-parallel-
connected thyristor pairs offers greater operating flexibility iT iC L
in allowing the complete disconnection of the capacitor banks
from the ac system, a feature that may justify the added
expense in utility applications.
The operation of the static compensator shown in
Figure 13 can be explained in the following way. ic
The total capacitive output range is divided into n
operating intervals where n is the number of capacitor banks
used. In the first operating interval, the output of the com-
pensator is controllable in the zero to VARm x/n range, iL
VARmax being the total rating provided by aft capacitor Figure 14- Wavetorms illustrating the operation of the thyristor-switched capacitor, thyristor-
banks.aIn this interval, one capacitor bank is switched in, controlled reactor type compensator tor oDntinuously varying VAR demand caused by a 2Hz cyclic
and, at the same time, the current in the thyristor-controlled disturbance in the terminal voltage.
reactor bank is adjusted so that the sum between the VAR VARdem = VAR demand signal developed by the control
output of the capacitor bank (positive) and that of the reactor iT = output current ot the compensator
bank (negative) equals the compensation requirement. iC = current provided by the switched-capacitor banks
In the second, third, fourth,...,and nth operating inter- iL = current provided by the controlled-reactor banks
vals, the output of the compensator is controUable in the
VAR max/n to 2 VAR x/n, 2 VAR In to 3/VAR Ian, J
VAR max/n to 4 V mXa/n'.. anm?x
(n-1) VAR
VARmax range, respectively, by switching in theman
to
second,
third, fourth,..., and nth capacitor banks, and using the thy- 9p LhLe
ristor-controlled- reactor bank to absorb the surplus capaci-
tive VARs. Err
Ver canos GownuZZLJ
Signal~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~rasro ml) CoUnS.
InlUtlc
This scheme could be considered as a conventional
controlled-reactor scheme (with fixed capacitor) in which the
rating of the reactor bank is kept relatively small (nearly 1/n
times the maximum output), and the value of the capacitor
bank is changed in discrete steps so as to keep the operation
of the reactor bank within its normal control range.
To ensure that the switching conditions at the end
points of the intervals are not indeterminate, the rating of
the reactor bank has to be somewhat larger in practice than Figure 15 - FunctionalI block diagram ot a T5C-TCR type coDmpen sator.
that of one capacitor bank in order to provide enough overlap
between the "switching in" and "switching out" VAR values.
Also, in practical systems it may be necessary to connect a 3.1 Operating Performance UnderSmall Disturbances
relatively small reactor in series with each capacitor bank to The performance and response time of the TSC-TCR
reduce possible surge current in the solid-state switch and type compensator for small voltage disturbances in the power
 1801
system is similar to that of its counterpart employing a fixed bance withiR its linear control range in one to three cycles,
capacitor (Figure 1). The compensator again functions as a depending on the character of the power system impedance
terminal voltage regulator. As described in section 2.1, the and the gain of the control.
VAR output is closed-loop-controlled to reduce the error
between the terminal voltage and the reference (see Figures
3 and 15).
The performance of the TSC-TCR type compensator lal
under small system disturbances is illustrated by the oscillo-
grams shown in Figures 16 and 17. These oscillograms were
taken from the previously mentioned laboratory model of a
high power transmission line compensator (Figure 15). In the
case shown in Figure 16, the magnitude of the ac terminal

VARdem VARdem

iT C L
(bl

Ic VT

i,- Figure 17 - Oscillograms illustrating the performance of the thyristor switched-capacitor,

thyristor-controlled reactor type compensator for square-wave disturbance in the terminal voltage.
Figure 16- Waveforms illustrating the performance of the thyristor-switched capacitor. thyristor- VARdem = VAR demand signal developed by the control
controlled reactor type compensator tor a 7 Hz cyclic disturbance in the terminal voltage.
VT = terminal voltage peaks thereof are shown
(Symbols same as in Figure 14)
3.2 Operating Performance Under Large Disturbances
voltage was varied cyclically, within the linear range of the The significant new feature of the TSC-TCR type
compensator, at a relatively high rate (about 7 Hz). The compensator is the capability to control both the capacitive
oscillograms show variation between an inductive and a and inductive VAR outputs rapidly and independently. This
capacitor VAR output which was required to keep the ampli- capability can be used to maximum advantage in devising
tude of the terminal voltage constant at the desired (refer- control strategies to provide optimum performance during
ence) value. large disturbances (e.g., fault and load rejection) in the power
The oscillograms shown in Figure 17 show the response system. Since the capacitor bank can be switched in and out
of the compensator to a step disturbance in the ac terminal rapidly, without appreciable disturbance to the power system,
voltage. At (a), the top 15 percent of the terminal voltage the oscillatory charge/discharge process can be avoided, and
(zero level displaced) is shown with a 5 percent peak-to-peak thus the transients caused by the compensator can be mini-
square wave variation (caused by a periodically switched mized. In this way, the output can be utilized to improve
heavy load). The compensator is disconnected. At (b), the system stability, or provide voltage support as well as over-
compensator is connected; the top trace shows the VAR voltage restraint.
demand signal developed in the control, and the bottom trace Typical performance attainable with TSC-TCR type
shows the compensated ac terminal voltage. As can be compensator under large system disturbances is illustrated by
observed, the nominal ac voltage level is re-established the oscillographic recordings shown in Figures 18 and 19.
within a cycle after the disturbance. These recordings were taken at the Hydro-Quebec Institute of
From the results shown by the above oscillograms, and Research (IREQ) from the previously mentioned compensator
from other tests and measurements, it has been established model (Figure 15) operated with the TNA (transient network
that the response time of the TSC-TCR type compensator for analyzer) simulation of the 735 kV Hydro-Quebec transmis-
small terminal voltage changes is practically identical to that sion system between James Bay and Montreal FP,10]. Such
attainable by its counterpart which employs a fixed capac- transmission system can exhibit resonant "poles" (high impe-
itor. That is, the compensator can respond to a step distur- dances) near and above 60 Hz. The effect of these reso-

PU U 9T PH A MAx:
1 .280 PU U HT PI A
1. 333
0.9
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PU(600nMA) I WT PW _X
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Pu V BT PH A AX PU U 9T PtIA
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'IN: -0.8489
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0 .0 0.6 1.2 1.8 2.4 3.0 C 0.0 0.6 1.2 1.8 2.4
(a) X102 MILLISEC. (bl X102 MILLISEC.
Flgure 18- Recorded waveforms illustrating the performance of the thyristor-switched capacitor, thyrintDr-controlled reactor type compensator during fault and following fault clearing.
1802

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Pu 8BT P54 A MAX: 1.838
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PU,600MA) I CONO TOT ON
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1.1 1.0
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0.0 0.6 I1. 1.8 2 .43 ,0 0.4) 0.6 1.2 1.8 2.4 3.0
( a) X10d MILLISEC. (b) X102 MILLISEC.
Figure 19 - Recorded waveforms illustrating the performance of the thyristor-switched capacitor, thyristor-controlled reactor type compensator when fault clearing is associated with load rejection.
V HT PH A = Phase A voltage at the high voltage IHVI bus I COND TOT PH A = Current in phase A provided by the switched-capacitor banks
I HT PH A = Output current of the compensator in phase A at the HV bus I IND TOT PH A = Current in phase A provided by the controlled-reactor banks
I BT PH A = Phase A voltage at the secondary of the step-down transformer

nances can be observed in the recordings of the SVC terminal manner, regardless of the action of the thyristor-controlled
voltage after each disturbance. reactor, whenever the terminal voltage goes through a rapid
The recordings in Figures 18(a) and (b) show the opera- change due to fault clearing and load rejection. This oscil-
tion of the compensator under the condition of a three-phase latory interaction results in transient terminal voltages,
ground fault followed by fault clearing. In both cases, the aggravating the overvoltage condition in the transmission
compensator was supplying high capacitive VAR output prior network. For example, it has been calculated that the
to the fault. As the terminal voltage (V HT on the high maximum overvoltage at the HV bus (V HT PH A) seen in
voltage terminal, V BT on the secondary of the step-down Figures 19(a) and (b) would have been at least 0.35 p.u. and
transformer of the compensator) collapsed during the fault, 0.4 p.u. larger, respectively, had the capacitor banks of the
the SVC control followed the pre-selected strategy of compensator been connected. To obtain a more precise
switching out the capacitor banks to stop the oscillation comparison between the performance of the TSC-TCR and
between the capacitor banks and the power system through FC-TCR type compensators, when high overvoltage is caused
the impedance of the step- down transformer. As may be by fault clearing and subsequent load rejection, the particular
seen, the capacitor current (I COND) ceased flowing, and the computer run shown in Figure 7(b) was repeated with
current (I HT) drawn by the SVC from the power system thyristor-switched capacitor bank simulation. The result is
became essentially zero for the duration of the fault. Follow- shown by the waveforms in Figure 20. It can be seen that the
ing fault clearing, the terminal voltage recovered to a value
higher than the nominal value. Thus, the control continued to
keep the capacitor banks disconnected and increased the
current (I IND) in the thyristor-controlled reactors, helping to
minimize overvoltage. Subsequently, stabilization of the
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~T
terminal voltage required capacitive VAR support [sooner in I~ ~ ~ 44 & 8 ,4484 44 8 4~414

case (a), later in case (b)N The required number of capacitor --F
/,4:V VI-_VI VI ' WV
-- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- -- -- -- - --
-

banks were then switched in by the control in an organized I V AI V = _

manner, with a minimum of transient disturbance, while A -V- v VV V uW'V V V7VreV

'R

maintaining the current regulation in the thyristor-controlled

reactors to provide the actual VAR output demanded.
Figures 19(a) and (b) illustrate the case in which
clearing of a fault at some electrical distance was
JL
- -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - --
-3
accompanied by load rejection, resulting in a prolonged
voltage increase of about 1.6 p.u. The capacitor banks were
again disconnected by the control as the terminal voltage fell FIL2
IFIL3

below a set level. Since the fault clearing was associated

with load rejection, the terminal voltage recovery was high
(about 2 p.u. in the first cycle, 1.6 p.u. after voltage \ L
stabilization). With this high terminal voltage, the SVC
control kept the capacitor banks switched out and brought the 0. 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. 12. 14. 16, 18. 20. 22. 24.

reactor banks into full conduction, without apparent delay, to

restrain the overvoltage on the terminal. Since the capacitor Figure 20 - Waveforms illustrating the behavior of the thyristor-switched capacitor, thyristor-
banks were disconnected, the SVC could immediately present controlled reactor type compensator under the same system conditions used to produce Figure 7 (b).
a purely inductive load on the network terminal to effect
voltage reduction. ac network voltages are free of the high frequency transients
The recordings in Figure 19 demonstrate that the TSC- characterizing the waveforms of Figure 7, and the maximum
TCR type compensator can be controlled to function as a overvoltage is below 1.7 p.u., some 0.5 p.u. less than observed
"pure" thyristor-switched reactor bank under overvoltage in Figure 7. Although the simulations which produced both
conditions. This results in a performance under such con- Figures 7 and 20 incorporated a rather simple ac power
ditions that is cearly superior to that obtainable with a system with an inductive impedance, the qualitative
compensator employing a fixed ("permanently" connected) conclusion with regard to the performance of the FC-TCR
capacitor bank. and TSC-TCR type compensators under applied overvoltage is
As discussed in Section 2.2, a fixed capacitor bank generally valid. That is, the FC-TCR type compensator
inevitabl,y interacts with the ac system in an oscillatory transiently increases the overvoltage stress on the
 1803
transmission system (because of the oscillatory interaction
between this SVC's capacitor bank and the ac network), while 1.4
the TSC-TCR type compensator reduces it (because that SVC
is able to present a purely inductive load to the ac network).
1.3

1.2
3.3 Harmonic Generation 1.1

Since the TSC-TCR type compensator employs delay- "I 1.0

angle-controlled reactor banks, the theoretical considerations 'T 9

for harmonic generation and attenuation are the same as E 8

those described in Section 2.3 There is, however, a signifi-
cant practical difference in that the rating of the reactor in .6
this compensator is typically about one fourth of that needed
in the compensator employing a fixed capacitor for the same
capacitive and inductive output ratings. (For example, if the .4

maximum output ratings of the compensator are 1 p.u. capac-

itive and 1/3 p.u. inductive, the rating of the capacitor bank
is 1 p.u., and that of the reactor bank is 1/3 p.u. for the
switched capacitor scheme, whereas for the fixed capacitor 4 0 3 4 .e 5. .7 9 1.u P.u.
scheme the rating of the capacitor bank remains 1 p.u. but Inductive VAR Output Capacitive VAR Output
that of the reactor bank becomes 1 1/3 p.u.). The relatively
low rating of the thyristor-controlled reactor, as compared to
the capacitive rating of the compensator, ensures that the Figure 22- Relationship between per unit VAR output and normalized losses for the
TSC-TCR type compensator (with four capacitor banks).
internal harmonic generation is inherently low. Therefore, the
need for special circuit arrangements or filtering may be
lessened, unless resonant harmonic amplification is
anticipated. 4. CONCLUSIONS
3.4 Loss Characteristic The paper presents two types of static solid-state VAR
As described previously, in the TSC-TCR scheme, in compensators currently being considered for utility applica-
which n switched capacitor banks are used in conjunction with tions. One type uses a fixed capacitor bank, the other one
a single controlled reactor, the rating of the reactor can be employs thyristor-switched capacitor banks, in conjunction
as low as that of one capacitor bank and still provide continu- with a thyristor-controlled reactor bank. Comparison is made
ously variable output in the total capacitive VAR range of the between the operating behavior and performance of the two
compensator. As shown schematically in Figure 21, the compensators with regard to steady-state voltage versus VAR
capacitive VAR output (VAR ) is increased in a step-like output characteristic, response to small and large system
manner to approximate the VNR demand with a net capaci- disturbances, harmonic generation, and loss versus VAR
tive VAR surplus, and only relatively small inductive VAR output characteristic.
output (VARL) is needed to cancel the surplus capacitive The steady-state characteristic and the response of
VARs. The loss versus VAR output characteristic of the TSC- the compensators to small voltage disturbances, when they
TCR type compensator is a consequence of this basic operat- operate in their linear range, are practically identical.
ing principle. The losses at zero VAR output are inherently The operating behavior and attainable performance of
low (they can be made negligible by setting the steady state the switched capacitor type compensator is superior under
no load VAR output slightly inductive), and they increase, on large system disturbances (fault, load rejection). This is
the average, in proportion with the VAR output as mlustrated because the capacitor banks can be switched in and out
in Figure 22. 'his type of loss characteristic is generally rapidly, and in an organized manner, by the thyristor
advantageous in those utility applications where the compen- switches, as the terminal voltage conditions dictate. In this
sator is used for dynamic compensation and is not required to way, the prolonged oscillatory discharge and recharge process
maintain high average VAR output for the normally function- of the capacitor banks and the consequent (often severe)
ing power system. terminal voltage transients, which are inevitably associated
with the fixed (uncontrolled) capacitor type compensator
when subjected to large terminal voltage excursions, can be
avoided.
The internal harmonic generation in the switched
capacitor type compensator of the same rating is inherently
less because the necessary rating of the thyristor-controlled
reactor is significantly lower than that required in its coun-
terpart employing a fixed capacitor. The same techniques
(special circuit arrangements with appropriate controls and
filtering) are applicable for harmonic reduction, if required,
in both compensators.
The loss versus VAR output characteristics of the two
compensators are complementary. The fixed capacitor type
has high losses at zero VAR output, which decrease as the
VAR output increases. The switched capacitor type has low
(practically zero) loss at zero VAR output, and the losses
increase, on the average, in proportion with the VAR output.
Since in utility applications, where the dynamic character-
istics of the compensator are primarily used to improve
transient stability, support voltage and restrain overvoltage,
the average VAR output may be normally low, and therefore
the switched capacitor type compensator can have a signifi-
cant economic advantage in loss evaluation over its fixed'
capacitor type counterpart.
Figure 21 - VAR output versus VAR demand characteristic of the TSC-TCR type compensator.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to express their appreciation to the
technical staff of Hydro-Quebec and IREQ for their coopera-
1804
tion and assistance during the test and evaluation of the TSC- [6] "Modeling of Static Shunt VAR Systems (SVS) for
TCR type compensator model described, and for providing the
oscillographic recordings. Thanks are also due to Messrs. M. System Analysis" by Working Group 01 of Study
Committee No. 31, CIGRE. Electra No. 51, March
B. Brennen, M. Sarkozi, and P. E. Pityk of the Westinghouse 1977.
R&D Center for their significant contributions to the success
of these tests. [7] Brennen, M. B., Cooper, R., Lordeon, W. J., 'Transmis-
REFERENCES
sion Static VAR Generator Installation, Description and
Performance Results", EPRI Seminar on Static VAR
[1] Cronin, J., Ostrowski, G., Lordeon, W. J., Gyugyi, L., Compensators, Oct. 24, 1978, Special EPRI Report, EL-
"Transmission Voltage Support with Static VAR Genera- 1047-SR.
tors", Paper A 78-103-3, presented at the IEEE PES 1978 [8] Gyugyi, L., Otto, R. A., "tStatic Shunt Compensation
Winter Power Meeting. for Voltage Flicker Reduction and Power Factor
[2] Hauth, R. L., Humann, T., Newell, R. J., "Application of Correction", Proceedings of the American Power
a Static VAR System to Regulate System Voltage in Conference, 1976.
Western Nebraska, IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and [ 9] Elsliger, R., Hotte, Y., Roy, J. C., "Optimization of
Systems, Vol. PAS-97, No. 5, Sept./Oct., 1978. Hydro-Quebec's 735 kV Dynamic-Shunt-Compensated
[3] Schweickardt, H. W., Romegialli, G., Reichert, K.,
System Using Static Compensators on a Large Scale",
Paper A 78-107-5, presented at the IEEE PES 1978
"Closed Loop Control of Static VAR sources (SVC) on Winter Power Meeting.
EHV Transmission Lines", Paper A 78 135-6, presented
at the IEEE PES 1978 Winter Power Meeting. [ 10] Czech, P., McGillis, D., "Hydro-Quebec's Experience in
Planning, Designing and Implementating Static Compen-
[4] Gyugyi, L., Matty, W. P., "Static VAR Generator with sation Systems", EPRI Seminar on Static VAR
Minimum No-Load Losses for Transmission Line Compensators, Oct. 24, 1978, Special EPRI Report, EL-
Compensation", Proceedings of the American Power 1047-SR.
Conference. 1979.
[51 Gyugyi, L., Otto, R. A., Putman, T. H., "Principles and
Applications of Static, Thyristor-Controlled Shunt Com-
pensators", IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and
Systems, Vol. PAS -97, No. 5, Sept./Oct., 1978.

Laszlo Gyugyi was born in Tamasi, Hungary on January of Engineers in planning the rebuilding of electric utilities of
16, 1933. He received his basic technical education at the South Korea.
University of Technology, Budapest, further studied mathe- Following graduation, he came to Westinghouse
matics at the University of London and electrical engineering Electric Corporation first as a Graduate Student, and later as
both at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he a District Engineer Trainee with engineering assignments in
received an M.S.E.E.(1967), and at the University of Salford, several of the power apparatus divisions. As an Advanced
England, where he received a Ph.D. (1970). Development Engineer in Electric Utility Headquarters
He began his career at the Epsylon Research and Department after 1956, his work was directed toward the
Development Co., Ltd., England in 1958, then joined the study of power system switching surges and other transients
Westinghouse Research Laboratories in 1963, where he is now involving non-linear phenomena. In 1960, he became a
Manager of the Solid-State Power Controls Section. In his Transmission Engineer associated with various EHV field
position he has been responsible for the research and devel- investigations concerned with radio influence, audible noise
opment of a varietv of solid-state power control and conver- and corona-loss performance of EHV transmission lines.
sion equipment, including Static VAR Compensation systems These included the Leadville EHV High-Altitude Project and
for both industrial and utility applications. the Apple Grove 775 kV Project.
Dr. Gyugyi is co-author of the book "Static Power In 1961, he became Project Engineer for the Apple
Frequency Changers" (Wiley, 1976), and author of the section Grove 775 kV Project. In 1967, he was appointed Manager,
"Power Frequency Changers" both in the Electronics Transmission Lines and Terminals, responsible for application
Engineer's Handbook and the Electrical Engineer's Handbook studies of transmission terminal equipment. In 1971, he was
(McGraw Hill, 1975 and 1978, respectively). He has written appointed to his present assignment as Advisory Engineer,
many technical papers, holder of 34 patents and is a Fellow in Transmission & Distribution Systems Engineering.
the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He has instructed in Westinghouse Advanced Schools
Edgar R. Taylor, Jr. (F '74), was born on March 14, and at Carnegie-Mellon University. *He is a member of
1929 in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Cornell Univer- CIGRE, a Life Member of Tau Beta Pi and of Eta Kappa Nu, a
sity, graduating with the five-year degree of BEE (Power Registered Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania, and a
Option) in 1952. He served in the Signal Corps of the U.S. Fellow of the IEEE.
Army, receiving the Bronze Star for his work with the Corps