29

UNIT-II: CONVERTER AND HVDC SYSTEM CONTROL

The major advantage of a HVDC link is rapid controllability of transmitted power
through the control of firing angles of the converters. Modern converter controls are not only
fast, but also very reliable and they are used for protection against line and converter faults.

Principles of DC Link Control

The control of power in a DC link can be achieved through the control of current or
voltage. From minimization of loss considerations, we need to maintain constant voltage in the
link and adjust the current to meet the required power.

Consider the steady state equivalent circuit of a two terminal DC link. This is based on
the assumption that all the series connected bridges in both poles of a converter station are
identical and have the same delay angles. Also the number of series connected bridges (nb ) in
both stations (rectifier and inverter) are the same.

The voltage sources Edr and Edi are defined by

Edr = (3√2/π) nb Evr cosαr ------- (1)
Edi = (3√2/π) nb Evi cosγi ------- (2)
 30

where Evr and Evi are the line to line voltages in the valve side windings of the rectifier
and inverter transformer respectively. From the above figure these voltages can be obtained by
N sr E r N si Ei
Evr  , Evi  ---- (3)
N prTr N piTi

where Er and Ei are the AC (line to line) voltages of the converter buses on the rectifier
and inverter side. Tr and Ti are the OFF-nominal tap ratios on the rectifier and inverter side.
Combining equations (1), (2) and (3),
Edr = (Ar Er /Tr) cosαr ---- (4)
Edi = (Ai Ei /Ti) cosγi ---- (5)
where Ar and Ai are constants.
The steady-state current Id in the DC link is obtained as
( E dr  E di )
Id 
Rcr  Rd  Rci
Substituting equations (4) and (5) in the above equation, we get
( Ar E r / Tr ) cos  r  ( Ai Ei / Ti ) cos  i
Id 
Rcr  Rd  Rci
The control variables in the above equation are T r , Ti and αr , βi . However, for
maintaining safe commutation margin, it is convenient to consider γ i as control variable instead
of βi .
As the denominator in the final equation is small, even small changes in the voltage
magnitude Er or Ei can result in large changes in the DC current, the control variables are held
constant. As the voltage changes can be sudden, it is obvious that manual control of converter
angles is not feasible. Hence, direct and fast control of current by varying αr or γr in response to a
feedback signal is essential.
While there is a need to maintain a minimum extinction angle of the inverter to avoid
commutation failure, it is economical to operate the inverter at Constant Extinction Angle (CEA)
which is slightly above the absolute minimum required for the commutation margin. This results
in reduced costs of the inverter stations, reduced converter losses and reactive power
consumption. However, the main drawback of CEA control is the negative resistance
characteristics of the converter which makes it difficult to operate stably when the AC system is
weak (low short-circuit ratios). Constant DC Voltage (CDCV) control or Constant AC Voltage
(CACV) control are the alternatives that could be used at the inverter.
 31

Under normal conditions, the rectifier operates at Constant Current (CC) control and the
inverter at the CEA control.
The power reversal in the link can take place by the reversal of the DC voltage. This is
done by increasing the delay angle at the station initially operating as a rectifier, while reducing
the delay angle at the station initially operating as the inverter. Thus, it is necessary to provide
both CEA and CC controllers at both terminals.
The feedback control of power in a DC link is not desirable because
1) At low DC voltages, the current required is excessive to maintain the required level of
power. This can be counterproductive because of the excessive requirements of the
reactive power, which depresses voltage further.
2) The constant power characteristic contributes to negative damping and degrades dynamic
stability.

Converter Control Characteristics

Basic Characteristics:
The intersection of the two characteristics (point A) determines the mode of operation-
Station I operating as rectifier with constant current control and station II operating at constant
(minimum) extinction angle.
There can be three modes of operation of the link (for the same direction of power flow)
depending on the ceiling voltage of the rectifier which determines the point of intersection of the
two characteristics which are defined below
1) CC at rectifier and CEA at inverter (operating point A) which is the normal mode of
operation.
2) With slight dip in the AC voltage, the point of intersection drifts to C which implies
minimum α at rectifier and minimum γ at the inverter.
3) With lower AC voltage at the rectifier, the mode of operation shifts to point B which
implies CC at the inverter with minimum α at the rectifier.
 32

The characteristic AB has generally more negative slope than characteristic FE because
the slope of AB is due to the combined resistance of (R d + Rcr ) while is the slope of FE is due to
Rci .

The above figure shows the control characteristics for negative current margin I m (or
where the current reference of station II is larger than that of station I). The operating point shifts
now to D which implies power reversal with station I (now acting as inverter) operating with
minimum CEA control while station II operating with CC control.
This shows the importance of maintaining the correct sign of the current margin to avoid
inadvertent power reversal. The maintenance of proper current margin requires adequate
telecommunication channel for rapid transmission of the current or power order.

Voltage Dependent Current Limit:

The low voltage in the DC link is mainly due to the faults in the AC system on the
rectifier or inverter side. The low AC voltage due to faults on the inverter side can result in
 33

persistent commutation failure because of the increase of the overlap angle. In such cases, it is
necessary to reduce the DC current in the link until the conditions that led to the reduced DC
voltage are relieved. Also the reduction of current relieves those valves in the inverter which are
overstressed due to continuous current flow in them.

If the low voltage is due to faults on the rectifier side AC system, the inverter has to
operate at very low power factor causing excessive consumption of reactive power which is also
undesirable. Thus, it becomes useful to modify the control characteristics to include voltage
dependent current limits. The figure above shown shows current error characteristics to stabilize
the mode when operating with DC current between I d1 and Id2 . The characteristic cc| and c|c||
show the limitation of current due to the reduction in voltage.
System Control Hierarchy
The control function required for the HVDC link is performed using the hierarchical
control structure.
 34

The master controller for a bipole is located at one of the terminals and is provided with
the power order (Pref ) from the system controller (from energy control centre). It also has other
information such as AC voltage at the converter bus, DC voltage etc. The master controller
transmits the current order (Iref ) to the pole control units which in turn provide a firing angle
order to the individual valve groups (converters). The valve group or converter control also
oversees valve monitoring and firing logic through the optical interface. It also includes bypass
pair selection logic, commutation failure protection, tap changer control, converter start/stop
sequences, margin switching and valve protection circuits.
The pole control incorporated pole protection, DC line protection and optional converter
paralleling and deparalleling sequences. The master controller which oversees the complete
bipole includes the functions of frequency control, power modulation, AC voltage and reactive
power control and torsional frequency damping control.

The current or extinction angle controller generates a control signal V c which is related to
the firing angle required. The firing angle controller generates gate pulses in response to the
control signal Vc . The selector picks the smaller of the α determined by the current and CEA
controllers.

Firing Angle Control

The operation of CC and CEA controllers is closely linked with the method of generation
of gate pulses for the valves in a converter. The requirements for the firing pulse generation of
HVDC valves are
 35

1. The firing instant for all the valves are determined at ground potential and the firing
signals sent to individual thyristors by light signals through fibre-optic cables. The
required gate power is made available at the potential of individual thyristor.
2. While a single pulse is adequate to turn-on a thyristor, the gate pulse generated must send
a pulse whenever required, if the particular valve is to be kept in a conducting state.
The two basic firing schemes are
1. Individual Phase Control (IPC)
2. Equidistant Pulse Control (EPC)

Individual Phase Control (IPC)

This was used in the early HVDC projects. The main feature of this scheme is that the
firing pulse generation for each phase (or valve) is independent of each other and the firing
pulses are rigidly synchronized with commutation voltages.
There are two ways in which this can be achieved
1. Constant α Control
2. Inverse Cosine Control
Constant α Control
Six timing (commutation) voltages are derived from the converter AC bus via voltage
transformers and the six gate pulses are generated at nominally identical delay times subsequent
to the respective voltage zero crossings. The instant of zero crossing of a particular commutation
voltage corresponds to α = 0o for that valve.

The delays are produced by independent delay circuits and controlled by a common
control voltage V derived from the current controllers.

Inverse Cosine Control

The six timing voltages (obtained as in constant α control) are each phase shifted by 90 o
and added separately to a common control voltage V.
 36

The zero crossing of the sum of the two voltages initiates the firing pulse for the
particular valve is considered. The delay angle α is nominally proportional to the inverse cosine
of the control voltage. It also depends on the AC system voltage amplitude and shape.

The main advantage of this scheme is that the average DC voltage across the bridge
varies linearly with the control voltage Vc .

Drawbacks of IPC Scheme

The major drawback of IPC scheme is the aggravation of the harmonic stability problem
that was encountered particularly in systems with low short circuit ratios (less than 4). The
harmonic instability, unlike instability in control systems, is a problem that is characterized by
magnification of noncharacteristic harmonics in steady-state.
This is mainly due to the fact that any distortion in the system voltage leads to
perturbations in the zero crossings which affect the instants of firing pulses in IPC scheme. This
implies that even when the fundamental frequency voltage components are balanced, the firing
 37

pulses are not equidistant in steady-state. This in turn leads to the generation of noncharacteristic
harmonics (harmonics of order h ≠ np ± 1) in the AC current which can amplify the harmonic
content of the AC voltage at the converter bus. The problem of harmonic instability can be
overcome by the following measures
1. Through the provision of synchronous condensers or additional filters for filtering out
noncharacteristic harmonics.
2. Use of filters in control circuit to filter out noncharacteristic harmonics in the
commutation voltages.
3. The use of firing angle control independent of the zero crossings of the AC voltages. This
is the most attractive solution and leads to the Equidistant Pulse Firing scheme.

Equidistant Pulse Control (EPC)

The firing pulses are generated in steady-state at equal intervals of 1/pf , through a ring
counter. This control scheme uses a phase locked oscillator to generate the firing pulses. Thre are
three variations of the EPC scheme
1. Pulse Frequency Control (PFC)
2. Pulse Period Control
3. Pulse Phase Control (PPC)

Pulse Frequency Control (PFC)

A Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is used, the frequency of which is determined by
the control voltage Vc which is related to the error in the quantity (current, extinction angle or
DC voltage) being regulated. The frequency in steady-state operation is equal to pfo where fo is
the nominal frequency of the AC system. PFC system has an integral characteristic and has to be
used along with a feedback control system for stabilization.
The Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) consists of an integrator, comparator and a
pulse generator.
 38

The output pulses of the generator drive the ring counter and also reset the integrator. The
instant (tn ) of the firing pulse is determined by
tn

 K (V
t n 1
1 c  V1 )dt  V3

where V1 is a bias (constant) voltage and V3 is proportional to the system period.

In steady-state, Vc = 0, and from the above equation, we get
K1 V1 (tn – tn-1 ) = V3
Since, tn – tn-1 = 1/pfo
in steady-state, the gain K1 of the integrator is chosen as
K1 = pfo V3 / V1
The circuit does not incorporate frequency correction (when the system frequency
deviates from fo ). The frequency correction is obtained by deriving V3 as
V3 = V2 / (1+ST1 ) , V2 = K1 V1 (tn-1 – tn-2 )

Pulse Period Control

It is similar to PFC except for the way in which the control voltage V c is handled. The
structure of the controller is the same, however, V c is now summed with V3 instead of V1 . Thus,
the instant tn of the pulse generation is
 39

tn

 K V dt  V
t n 1
1 1 3  Vc

K1 V1 (tn – tn-1 ) = V3 + Vc
With Vc = 0, the interval between consecutive pulses, in steady-state, is exactly equal to
1/pfo .

The frequency correction in this scheme is obtained by either updating V 1 in response to

the system frequency variation or including another integrator in the CC or CEA controller.

Pulse Phase Control (PPC)

An analog circuit is configured to generate firing pulses according to the following equation
tn

 K V dt  V
t n 1
1 1 cn  Vc ( n 1)  V3

where Vcn and Vc(n-1) are the control voltages at the instants t n and tn-1 respectively.
For proportional current control, the steady-state can be reached when the error of V c is
constant.
The major advantages claimed for PPC over PFC are (i) easy inclusion of α limits by
limiting Vc as in IPC and (ii) linearization of control characteristic by including an inverse cosine
function block after the current controller. Limits can also be incorporated into PFC or pulse
period control system.
Drawbacks of EPC Scheme
EPC Scheme has replaced IPC Scheme in modern HVDC projects; it has certain
limitations which are
1. Under balanced voltage conditions, EPC results in less DC voltage compared to IPC.
Unbalance in the voltage results from single phase to ground fault in the AC system
 40

which may persist for over 10 cycles due to stuck breakers. Under such conditions, it is
desirable to maximize DC power transfer in the link which calls for IPC.
2. EPC Scheme also results in higher negative damping contribution to torsional oscillations
when HVDC is the major transmission link from a thermal station.

Current and Extinction Angle Control

The current controller is invariably of feedback type which is of PI type.

The extinction angle controller can be of predictive type or feedback type with IPC
control. The predictive controller is considered to be less prone to commutation failure and was
used in early schemes. The feedback control with PFC type of Equidistant Pulse Control
overcomes the problems associated with IPC.
The extinction angle, as opposed to current, is a discrete variable and it was felt the
feedback control of gamma is slower than the predictive type. The firing pulse generation is
based on the following equation
t n
0= e cj
  n 1
d (t )  2 X c I d

where ecj is the commutation voltage across valve j and t n is the instant of its firing.
In general, the prediction of firing angle is based on the equation
Βj = γref + µj
where µj is the overlap angle of valve j, which is to be predicted based on the current knowledge
of the commutation voltage and DC current.
Under large disturbances such as a sudden dip in the AC voltage, signals derived from the
derivative of voltage or DC current aid the advancing of delay angle for fast recovery from
commutation failures.
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Starting and Stopping of DC Link

Energization and Deenergization of a Bridge:

Consider N series connected bridges at a converter station. If one of the bridges is to be
taken out of service, there is need to not only block, but bypass the bridge. This is because of the
fact that just blocking the pulses does not extinguish the current in the pair of valves that are left
conducting at the time of blocking. The continued conduction of this pair injects AC voltage into
the link which can give rise to current and voltage oscillations due to lightly damped oscillatory
circuit in the link formed by smoothing reactor and the line capacitance. The transformer feeding
the bridge is also subjected to DC magnetization when DC current continues to flow through the
secondary windings.
The bypassing of the bridge can be done with the help of a separate bypass valve or by
activating a bypass pair in the bridge (two valves in the same arm of the bridge). The bypass
valve was used with mercury arc valves where the possibility of arc backs makes it impractical to
use bypass pairs. With thyristor valves, the use of bypass pair is the practice as it saves the cost
of an extra valve.

With the selection of bypass pair 1 and 4, the commutation from valve 2 to4 is there, but
the commutation from valve 3 to valve 5 is prevented. In the case of a predetermined choice of
the bypass path, the time lapse between the blocking command and the current transfer to bypass
path can vary from 600 and 1800 for a rectifier bridge. In the inverter, there is no time lag
involved in the activation of the bypass pair. The voltage waveforms for the rectifier and inverter
during de-energisation are shown below where the overlap is neglected.
 42

The current from bypass pair is shunted to a mechanical switch S 1 . With the aid of the
isolators S, the bridge can be isolated. The isolator pair S and switch S 1 are interlocked such that
one or both are always closed.
The energisation of a blocked bridge is done in two stages. The current is first diverted
from S1 to the bypass pair. For this to happen S1 must generate the required arc voltage and to
minimize this voltage, the circuit inductance must be small. In case the bypass pair fails to take
over the current, S1 must close automatically if the current in that does not become zero after a
predetermined time interval. AC breakers with sufficient arc voltage, but with reduced breaking
capacity are used as switch S1 .
In the second stage of energisation, the current is diverted from the bypass pair. For the
rectifier, this can take place instantaneously neglecting overlap. The voltage waveforms for this
case are shown below.

Start-Up of DC Link:
There are two different start-up procedures depending upon whether the converter firing
controller provides a short gate pulse or long gate pulse. The long gate pulse lasts nearly 120 0 ,
the average conduction period of a valve.
Start-up with long pulse firing:
1. Deblock inverter at about γ = 900
2. Deblock rectifier at α = 850 to establish low direct current
3. Ramp up voltage by inverter control and the current by rectifier control.
 43

Start-up with short pulse firing:

1. Open bypass switch at one terminal
2. Deblock that terminal and load to minimum current in the rectifier mode
3. Open bypass switch at the second terminal and commutate current to the bypass pair
4. Start the second terminal also in the rectifier mode
5. The inverter terminal is put into the inversion mode
6. Ramp up voltage and current.

The voltage is raised before raising the current. This permits the insulation of the line to
be checked before raising the power. The ramping of power avoids stresses on the generator
shaft. The switching surges in the line are also reduced.
The required power ramping rate depends on the strength of the AC system. Weaker
systems require fast restoration of DC power for maintaining transient stability.

Power Control
The current order is obtained as the quantity derived from the power order by dividing it
by the direct voltage. The limits on the current order are modified by the voltage dependent
current order limiter (VDCOL). The objective of VDCOL is to prevent individual thyristors from
carrying full current for long periods during commutation failures.
By providing both converter stations with dividing circuits and transmitting the power
order from the leading station in which the power order is set to the trailing station, the fastest
response to the DC line voltage changes is obtained without undue communication requirement.

The figure below shows the basic power controller used.

 44

When the DC line resistance is large and varies considerably e.g., when
the overhead line is very long and exposed to large temperature variations, the DC line voltage
drop cannot be compensated individually in the two stations. This problem can be solved by
using a current order calculated in one substation only and transmitting its output to the other
substation.
Questions:
1) Write detailed notes on the following
(a) Preductive commutation margin control
(b) Equidistant firing control.
2) (a) Differentiate between the two start-up procedures based upon the pulse.
(b) Describe about starting and stopping of DC link.
3) (a) Explain with neat sketch, constant extinction angle control.
(b) What is meant by current margin between two stations in a HVDC link? Why is the
inverter station, operated as a constant voltage controller under normal conditions?
4) Enumerate the relative merits and demerits of constant current control and constant voltage
control of HVDC link.
5) (a) Explain the necessity of “VDCOL" control in a HVDC link with the help of VI
characteristics..
(b) Explain the procedure of Energization and Deenergization of a converter bridge.
6) (a) Draw the complete converter control characteristics and explain the principle of power
control in a DC link.
(b) Explain Inverse cosine control scheme for firing pulse generations.
7) (a) Explain pulse frequency control scheme for firing pulse generation and discuss its
drawbacks.
(b) Explain clearly the procedure for start up of a DC link.
8) Explain the individual characteristics of a Rectifier and an Inverter with sketches.
9) With block diagram, discuss the principle of operation of a basic power controller.
10) Write short notes on the following:
(a) Constant Alpha control (b) Inverse cosine control.
11) Explain the drawbacks in Individual phase control and equidistant pulse control schemes
used in HVDC projects.