Static Compensators (Statcom)-part 1

ELL 758 Power Quality

(July-Dec 2024)
Anandarup Das
Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi.
[email protected]
Content
• Compensation using Statcom
• Basic principle
• Circuit diagram
• Steady state phasor diagrams
• Hysteresis switching
• Modeling and control

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Statcom
• A Static Compensator (Statcom) is a device that is used for improving
power quality problems like reactive power, voltage regulation, load
balancing etc.
• Statcoms used in distribution level are called D-Statcom.
• Modern Statcom predominantly use a Voltage Source Converter (VSC) to
improve the power quality issue.

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VSC acting as a Statcom
• The grid connected Statcom with a
L filter is shown, connected to PCC.
• The L-filter is often part of a
transformer.

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DC link in the Statcom

• The VSC can have a battery or capacitor at the DC bus. Older generation
Statcoms have only DC link capacitors (reactive power support).
• Newer generation of Statcoms have battery storage for various grid support
functionalities (both P and Q).
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Equivalent functionality
• The Statcom acts like a controllable current
source, acting as a compensator.
• 𝐼𝑠 = 𝐼𝑙 + 𝐼𝑐

• The VSC can behave as a controllable

compensating current source by forcing an
adjustable current at the output.

• Thus, all the functionalities of a

compensating capacitor can be achieved.

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Internals of a Statcom
• Actual circuit diagram with IGBT switches and an interface filter is shown.
• When capacitors are used in the DC link, then the VSC can only exchange
reactive power.

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Steady state equations
• At steady state, the following equations can be written on a per phase basis
assuming sinusoidal quantities.
• 𝑉𝑎𝑝𝑐𝑐 − 𝑅𝑓 𝐼𝑎𝑐 − 𝑗𝜔𝐿𝑓 𝐼𝑎𝑐 = 𝑉𝑎𝑠
• 𝑉𝑎𝑠 is the fundamental voltage produced by the Statcom VSC. It may be
produced by sinusoidal PWM or square wave operation.
• Now phasor diagrams can be used.

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 Phasor diagram

• Per phase phasor diagram is shown.

• The reactive power exchanged by the Statcom can be adjusted by changing
the magnitude and angle of 𝑉𝑎𝑠 .
• How fast this can be done is determined by the Statcom controller.
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 Phasor diagram

• The Statcom can also behave like a pure inductor i.e., it can absorb reactive
power. The phasor diagram will modify.
• Active power exchanged by the Statcom is zero here.
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 Phasor diagram

• Here a non-ideal Statcom is shown which supplies reactive power and

absorbs small active power for maintaining the losses inside it.

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Power equations
• Active power supplied by PCC is
∗
𝑃𝑎𝑝𝑐𝑐 = 𝑅𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑝𝑐𝑐 𝐼𝑎𝑐 ∗ }
= 𝑅𝑒{(𝑉𝑎𝑠 + 𝑅𝑓 𝐼𝑎𝑐 + 𝑗𝜔𝐿𝑓 𝐼𝑎𝑐 )𝐼𝑎𝑐
2 𝑅
• Simplifying the values: 𝑃𝑎𝑝𝑐𝑐 = 𝑃𝑎𝑠 + 𝐼𝑎𝑐 𝑓
• When 𝑃𝑎𝑠 = 𝑅𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑠 𝐼𝑎𝑐∗ > 0, then converter is absorbing active power.

∗ }
• Reactive power supplied by the PCC is 𝑄𝑎𝑝𝑐𝑐 = 𝐼𝑚{𝑉𝑎𝑝𝑐𝑐 𝐼𝑎𝑐
2 𝜔𝐿
• Substituting the values: 𝑄𝑎𝑝𝑐𝑐 = 𝑄𝑎𝑠 + 𝐼𝑎𝑐 𝑓
∗
• When 𝑄𝑎𝑠 = 𝐼𝑚 𝑉𝑎𝑠 𝐼𝑎𝑐 > 0, then converter is absorbing reactive power.
• The per phase quantities should be multiplied by 3.

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Example
• A 3-phase ideal Statcom (capacitor fed) is connected to the PCC through a
filter. The PCC line voltage is 400 𝑉 while the converter line voltage is
415𝑉, lagging the PCC by 150 . If the compensating current magnitude is 10
A, then find the active and reactive power supplied by the PCC.
400∠15°
• Per phase PCC voltage= = 230.8∠15°
√3
415∠0°
• Per phase converter voltage = = 239.6∠0°
√3
• Per phase current = 10∠90°
• 𝑆𝑝𝑐𝑐 = 3𝑉𝑝𝑐𝑐 𝐼𝑐∗ = 3 × 230.8∠15 × 10∠ − 90° = 1792 − 𝑗6688 VA

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 Example
• A 3-phase ideal Statcom (capacitor fed) is connected to the PCC through a
filter. The PCC line voltage is 400 𝑉 while the converter line voltage is 415𝑉,
lagging the PCC by 150 . If the compensating current magnitude is 10 A, then
what is the filter power loss?
1792
• Active power loss (per phase) in filter = = 597.3 W
3
3×239.6×10−6688 500
• Reactive power loss (per phase) in filter= = = 166.7 VAR
3 3
• Hence, 𝑅𝑓 = 5.97 ohm
• Hence, 𝑋𝑓 = 1.66 ohm
• Note that, 𝐼𝑍𝑓 = −16.6 + 𝑗59.7 = 𝑉𝑝𝑐𝑐 − 𝑉𝑠

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Statcom with battery
• When a battery is present, then a
Statcom can exchange both active
and reactive power.

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4-quadrant operation with battery
• Four quadrant power
operation is possible when a
battery is present.
• Here positive values of 𝑃𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡
and 𝑄𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 indicate the 3-phase
active and reactive power
absorbed by the Statcom.

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Older technologies
• Historically, before VSC based Statcoms came, other technologies existed
(mostly at the transmission level).
• Some of them are
• Thyristor controlled reactor (TCR)
• Fixed capacitor, Thyristor controlled reactor (FC-TCR)

• Mostly they are based on variable impedance type and use thyristors.

• They are all getting replaced by IGBT based Statcom.

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TCR
• In Thyristor controlled reactor (TCR)
the impedance of the reactor (hence
reactive power consumed) is varied
by changing the firing angle of the
thyristors.

• The fundamental current has a non-

linear characteristics with the firing
angle.
• Substantial harmonics are generated.

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TSC
• In Thyristor switched capacitor (TSC)
the capacitor is inserted or removed
from the circuit by switching the
thyristors.

• The inductor is small and used only to

suppress the transients.

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FC-TCR
• With Fixed Capacitor Thyristor
controlled reactor (FC-TCR), the
reactive power is varied by varying
the firing angle of the inductor
branch. The capacitor is fixed in the
circuit.

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FC-TCR

• With several branches in parallel, a smooth control over the reactive

power consumed by the circuit can be obtained.

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Hysteresis control
• The simplest current controller used in the VSC based STATCOM is
hysteresis controller.
• It is a control method of instantaneous current feedback, where
the actual current follows the current reference by forcing it to
follow within a hysteresis band.

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Hysteresis PWM switching
• Let us take a single phase VSC.
• In this switching scheme, the current flowing through a converter is forced
to be inside a band, by continuous switching.
• The DC bus voltage should be higher than the peak of the AC side voltage.

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Hysteresis PWM switching
• The actual current varies inside the hysteresis band due to switching action.

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Unipolar switching scheme
• During turn on of the diagonal switches
(T1 and T3), the current through the
𝑑𝑖
inductor is 𝑉𝑑𝑐 − 𝑣𝑠 = 𝑅𝑖 + 𝐿
𝑑𝑡

• T1 and T2 are turned on now. The

current through the inductor is:
𝑑𝑖
− 𝑣𝑠 = 𝑅𝑖 + 𝐿
𝑑𝑡

• Since 𝑉𝑑𝑐 > 𝑣𝑠 , so the current slope is

positive in the first case, and negative
in the second case.
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Bipolar switching scheme
• During turn on of T1 and T3, the
current through the inductor is
𝑑𝑖
𝑉𝑑𝑐 − 𝑣𝑠 = 𝑅𝑖 + 𝐿
𝑑𝑡

• During turn on of T2 and T4, the

current through the inductor is
𝑑𝑖
− 𝑉𝑑𝑐 − 𝑣𝑠 = 𝑅𝑖 + 𝐿
𝑑𝑡

• Since 𝑉𝑑𝑐 > |𝑣𝑠 |, so the current

slope is positive in the first case, and
negative in the second case.
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Hysteresis switching
• Hysteresis control and the switching action is easy to implement.
• There is automatic current control at the output (sinusoidal).
• However, it causes variable switching frequency action of the switches
which causes larger EMI, conducted and radiated noise. Constant switching
frequency is desirable.
• Higher is the switching frequency, lesser is the need for passives, but higher
are the losses.

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