2.

Power Frequency Disturbances

2.1. Power Frequency Disturbances

 The term describes events that are slower and longer lasting compared to electrical
transients.
 Power frequency disturbances can last anywhere from one complete cycle to several
seconds or even minutes.
 The effects of power frequency disturbances vary from one piece of equipment to
another and with the age of the equipment.
 Fortunately, because power frequency disturbances are slower and longer lasting
events, they are easily measured using instrumentation that is simple in construction.
2.2. Common Power Frequency Disturbances
Common Power Frequency Disturbances:
 Following three consider as common power frequency disturbances;
1) Voltage sag (US English) or Voltage dip (British English)
2) Voltage swell and
3) Voltage variation
Voltage sag
 A voltage sag is a reduction in the RMS voltage in the range of 0.1 to 0.9 p.u. (retained) for
duration greater than half a mains cycle and less than 1 minute. Often referred to as a
‘sag’.
 Caused by faults, increased load demand and transitional events such as large motor
starting.
 Voltage sags typically are due to starting on large loads, such as an electric motor or an
arc furnace.
4160 V

100 kVA,
5% reactance,
480 V F.L. Sec. Amp. = 120

50 HP, 3-ph,
F.L. Amp. = 60
Figure 2. 1 schematic for example problem

 Figure-2.1 shows a 100 kVA transformer feeding the 50-hp motor. If the transformer has
a leakage reactance of 5%, the voltage sag due to starting this motor is calculated further

Prof. B. D. Kanani, EE Department Power Quality and Management (2180911) 1

2. Power Frequency Disturbances

Phase to Phase Voltage

480 A

-192 A t

-866 A
Figure 2. 2 Motor starting current waveform. A 5-hp motor was started across the line. The motor full load current was 60 A. The
first half cycle peak reached a value of 860 A

 Figure-2.2 contains the waveform of the starting current of 50-hp induction motor with
rated full load current of 60 A at 460 V AC. During the first half of the cycle, the
asymmetrical current attains a peak value of 860 A. When the circuit feeding the motor
has high impedance, appreciable voltage sag can be produced.
From Figure-2.1 and Figure-2.2,
 Full load current of the 100 kVA transformer at 480 V = 120 A
 Voltage drop due to starting inrush = 55×860 ÷ (120×√2)=𝟐𝟓.𝟑%
Voltage Swell
 A voltage swell is an increase in the RMS voltage above the nominal voltage or a sliding
reference voltage. The increase lasts from half a cycle to several seconds.
 Switching off large loads, capacitor banks energizing, and transfer of loads from one
power source to another cause voltage swells.
 For pure resistive load, power factor angle becomes 0°.
Voltage Interruption
 A voltage interruption is a large decrease in RMS voltage to less than a small percentile of
the nominal voltage, or a complete loss of voltage.
 Voltage interruptions may come from accidents like faults and component malfunctions,
or from scheduled downtime.

-V
Figure 2.3 Voltage Swell typical waveform

Prof. B. D. Kanani, EE Department Power Quality and Management (2180911) 2

2. Power Frequency Disturbances

 Short voltage interruptions are typically the result of a malfunction of a switching device
or a deliberate or inadvertent operation of a fuse, circuit breaker, or recloser in response
to faults and disturbances.
 Long interruptions are usually the result of scheduled downtime, where part of an
electrical power system is disconnected in order to perform maintenance or repairs.
Effects of Voltage Change
 A change in voltage causes a decrease or an increase in the amount of energy supplied to
components in an electrical power system, which leads to an amount of energy that is
different from the amount required for normal operations.
 A decrease in energy during a voltage dip can cause equipment to reset or shut down and
cause mechanical devices, such as motors, to stall or overheat.
 An increase in voltage during a voltage swell can cause immediate or long-term
breakdown of components because of overheating.
 Because the voltage level during a voltage interruption rapidly decays to zero, or to
almost zero, no energy is transferred to components in an electrical power system when
there are voltage interruptions.
 A voltage interruption therefore can cause the complete shutdown of equipment and also
can lead to damage.
 A voltage interruption over a large geographical area that lasts for a long term is known
as a blackout.
2.3. Cures for Low-frequency disturbances
 The low-frequency or Power-frequency disturbances are slow phenomena caused by
switching events related to the power frequency.
 Such disturbances are dispersed with time once the incident causing the disturbance is
removed. This allows the power system to return to normal operation.
 The low-frequency disturbances are easily detected or measured but they are not easily
corrected.
 The measures available to deal with low-frequency disturbances are as per following.
ISOLATION TRANSFORMERS
 Isolation transformers, as their name indicates, have primary and secondary windings,
which are separated by an insulating or isolating medium.
 Isolation transformers do not help in curing voltage sags or swells; they merely
transform the voltage from a primary level to a secondary level to enable power transfer
from one winding to other. However, if the problem is due to common mode noise,
isolation transformers help to minimize noise coupling, and shielded isolation
transformers can help to a greater degree.
 Shielded isolation transformers can limit the amount of common mode noise
converted to transverse mode noise.

Prof. B. D. Kanani, EE Department Power Quality and Management (2180911) 3

2. Power Frequency Disturbances

Shield

CPS CSS
Primary Secondary
V1 V2

CPG CSG

Figure 2.4 Common mode noise attenuation by shielded isolation transformer

From figure 2.4, Capacitance between the primary and the shield, and the secondary and the
shield, form a potential divider reducing V2 to a low level.

V1
V2   CPS
CPS  CSS
 The effectiveness with which a transformer limits common mode noise is called
attenuation (A) and is expressed in decibel (dB):
 V1 
A  20log  
V 2 
Where V1 is the common mode noise voltage at the transformer primary and V 2 is the
differential mode noise at the transformer secondary.
 Figure 2.4 shows how common mode noise attenuation is obtained by the use of a
shielded isolation transformer.
 The presence of a shield between the primary and secondary windings reduces the inter-
winding capacitance and thereby reduces noise coupling between the two windings.
VOLTAGE REGULATORS
 Voltage regulators are devices that can maintain a constant voltage for changes in voltage
of predetermined limits above and below the nominal value.
 A switching voltage regulator maintains constant output voltage by switching the taps of
an autotransformer in response to changes in the system voltage, as shown in figure 2.5.
 The electronic switch responds to a signal from the voltage-sensing circuitry and
switches to the tap connection necessary to maintain the output voltage constant. The
switching is typically accomplished within half of a cycle, which is within the ride-through
capability of most sensitive devices.

Prof. B. D. Kanani, EE Department Power Quality and Management (2180911) 4

2. Power Frequency Disturbances

Vin Vout

Voltage
Sensor

Figure 2. 5 Tap-changing voltage regulator

STATIC UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SOURCE SYSTEM (STATIC UPS)

 Static UPSs have no rotating parts, such as motors or generators. These are devices that
maintain power to the loads during loss of normal power for a duration that is a function
of the individual UPS system.
Switch -1

Normal Circuit
AC
AC Power Breaker
Output
Rectifier

Inverter
Switch -2
Battery

Voltage and
Current Sensor

Figure 2. 6 Offline UPS system

 All UPS units have an input rectifier to convert the AC voltage into DC voltage, a battery
system to provide power to loads during loss of normal power, and an inverter which
converts the DC voltage of the battery to an AC voltage suitable for the load being
supplied. Depending on the UPS unit, these three main components are configured
differently.
 Static UPS system may be classified into offline and online units.

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2. Power Frequency Disturbances

 As shown in figure 2.6, in the offline units, the loads are normally supplied from the
primary electrical source directly. The primary electrical source may be utility power or
an in-house generator. If the primary power source fails or falls outside preset
parameters, the power to the loads is switched to the batteries and the inverter.
 The switching is accomplished within half of a cycle in most UPS units, thereby allowing
critical loads to continue to receive power. During power transfer from the normal power
to the batteries, the loads might be subjected to transients.
 Once the loads are transferred to the batteries, the length of time for which the loads
would continue to receive power depends on the capacity of the batteries and the amount
of load.

Static Bypass Switch

Alternate Manual Bypass

Source

Preffered
Source Inverter
Charger
DC Bus
Battery
Bank

Voltage and
Current Sensor

Figure 2. 7 Online UPS system

 As shown in figure 2.7, in online UPS system, normal power is rectified into DC power and
in turn inverted to AC power to supply the loads. The loads are continuously supplied
from the DC bus even during times when the normal power is available.
 A battery system is also connected to the DC bus of the UPS unit and kept charged from
the normal source. When normal power fails, the DC bus is supplied from the battery
system. No actual power transfer occurs during this time, as the batteries are already
connected to the DC bus.
 Online units can be equipped with options such as manual and static bypass switches to
circumvent the UPS and supply power to the loads directly from the normal source or an
alternate source such as a standby generator.

Prof. B. D. Kanani, EE Department Power Quality and Management (2180911) 6

2. Power Frequency Disturbances

 Two important advantages of online UPS units are because: (1) power is normally
supplied from the DC bus, the UPS unit in effect isolates the loads from the source which
keeps power system disturbances and transients from interacting with the loads, and (2)
since power to the loads is not switched during loss of normal power, no switching
transients are produced. As might be expected, online UPS systems cost considerably
more than offline units.
 The output voltage of static UPS units tends to contain waveform distortions higher than
those for normal power derived from the utility or a generator. This is due to the presence
of the inverter in the output section of the UPS system.
ROTARY UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SOURCE SYSTEM (ROTARY UPS)
 Rotary UPS (RUPS) units utilize rotating members to provide uninterrupted power to
loads, as shown in figure 2.8.
Normal Uninterrupted
Power Input Power Output

Diesel Engine AC Motor AC Generator

Figure 2. 8 Rotary UPS system using a diesel engine, AC motor, and AC generator

 In this configuration, an AC induction motor drives an AC generator, which supplies

power to critical loads. The motor operates from normal utility power. A diesel engine
or other type of prime mover is coupled to the same shaft as the motor and the
generator.
 During normal operation, the diesel engine is decoupled from the common shaft by an
electric clutch. If the utility power fails, the prime mover shaft is coupled to the
generator shaft and the generator gets its mechanical power from the prime mover.
 The motor shaft is attached to a flywheel, and the total inertia of the system is sufficient
to maintain power to the loads until the prime mover comes up to full speed.
 Once the normal power returns, the induction motor becomes the primary source of
mechanical power and the prime mover is decoupled from the shaft.
 In a different type of RUPS system, during loss of normal power the AC motor is
supplied from a battery bank by means of an inverter (Figure 2.9).
 The batteries are kept charged by the normal power source. The motor is powered
from the batteries until the batteries become depleted.

Prof. B. D. Kanani, EE Department Power Quality and Management (2180911) 7

 2. Power Frequency Disturbances

 In some applications, standby generators are used to supply the battery bank in case of
loss of normal power. Other combinations are used to provide uninterrupted power to
critical loads, but we will not attempt to review all the available technologies.
Normal Uninterrupted
Power Power to
Input Critical Load

Charger

Inverter AC Generator
AC Motor

Battery Bank

Figure 2. 9 Rotary uninterruptible power source (RUPS) system using a battery bank

2.4. Voltage Tolerance Criteria

 An agency known as the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) has published a
graph that provides guidelines to the voltage tolerance limits within which information
technology equipment should function satisfactorily (Figure 2.10).
ITI (CBEMA) Curve, (revised 2000)
500
Percent of Nominal Voltage (RMS or Peak Equivalent)

400

300
Voltage Tolerance Prohibited
Envelop Applicable to Region
1-Phase 120 V
Equipment
200

140
120 110
100
80 No Interruption in Function Region 90
70
40 No Damage
Region
0
1us 0.001c 0.01c 1c 10c 100c Steady
1ms 3ms 20ms 0.5s 10s State
Duration in Cycles (c) and Seconds (s)

Figure 2. 10 Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) graph providing guidelines as to the voltage tolerance limits within
which information technology equipment should function satisfactorily. (Courtesy of the Information Technology Industry Council,
Washington, D.C.)

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2. Power Frequency Disturbances

 The ordinate (y-axis) represents the voltage as a percentage of the nominal voltage. The
abscissa (x-axis) is the time duration in seconds (or cycles). The graph contains three
regions.
 The area within the graph is the voltage tolerance envelope, in which equipment should
operate satisfactorily. The area above the graph is the prohibited region, in which
equipment damage might result. The area below the graph is the region where the
equipment might not function satisfactorily but no damage to the equipment should
result.
 Several types of events fall within the regions bounded by the ITIC graph, as described
below:
 Steady-state tolerance: The steady-state range describes an RMS voltage that
is either slowly varying or is constant. The subject range is ±10% from the
nominal voltage. Any voltage in this range may be present for an indefinite
period and is a function of the normal loading and losses in the distribution
system.
 Line voltage swell: This region describes a voltage swell having an RMS
amplitude up to 120% of the nominal voltage, with a duration of up to 0.5 sec.
This transient may occur when large loads are removed from the system or
when voltage is applied from sources other than the utility.
 Low-frequency Decaying Ring Wave: This region describes a decaying ring
wave transient that typically results from the connection of power factor
correction capacitors to an AC power distribution system. The frequency of
this transient may vary from 200 Hz to 5 kHz, depending on the resonant
frequency of the AC distribution system. The magnitude of the transient is
expressed as a percentage of the peak 60 Hz nominal (not the RMS). The
transient is assumed to be completely decayed by the end of the half-cycle in
which it occurs. The transient is assumed to occur near the peak of the nominal
voltage waveform. The amplitude of the transient varies from 140% for 200-
Hz ring waves to 200% for 5-kHz ring waves, with a linear increase in
amplitude with frequency.
 High-frequency Impulse Ring Wave: This region describes the transients
that typically occur as the result of lightning strikes. The wave-shapes
applicable to this transient and general test conditions are described in the
ANSI/IEEE C62.41 standard. This region of the curve deals with both
amplitude and duration (energy) rather than RMS amplitude. The intent is to
provide 80 J minimum transient immunity.
 Voltage sags: Two different RMS voltage sags are described. Generally the
transients result from application of heavy loads as well as fault conditions at
various points in the AC power distribution system. Sags to 80% of nominal
are assumed to have a typical duration of up to 10 sec and sags to 70% of
nominal are assumed to have a duration of up to 0.5 sec.

Prof. B. D. Kanani, EE Department Power Quality and Management (2180911) 9

2. Power Frequency Disturbances

 Drop out: Voltage drop out includes both severe RMS voltage sags and
complete interruption of the applied voltage followed by immediate
reapplication of the nominal voltage. The interruption may last up to 20 msec.
The transient typically results from the occurrence and subsequent clearing of
the faults in the distribution system.
 No Damage Region: Events in this region include sags and drop outs that are
more severe than those specified in the preceding paragraphs and
continuously applied voltages that are less than the lower limit of the steady-
state tolerance range. A normal functional state of the information technology
equipment is not expected during these conditions, but no damage to
equipment should result.
 Prohibited Region: This region includes any surge or swell which exceed the
upper limit of the envelope. If information technology equipment is subjected
to such conditions damage might result.
 The ITIC graph applies to 120-V circuits obtained from 120-V, 120/240-V, and 120/208-
V distribution systems. Other nominal voltages and frequencies are not specifically
considered, but their applicability may be determined in each case.

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Prof. B. D. Kanani, EE Department Power Quality and Management (2180911) 10