Effects of Harmonics on Power Factor

Correction Capacitors
When series resonant conditions occur, the capacitor appears to
be in series with line impedance, as seen from the harmonic
source. This presents a low impedance path to the flow of
harmonic currents. Currents, then, will flow on the system in
ways that were unintended. This can result in interference on
communications circuits that may be nearby, excessive voltage
distortion at the capacitors or conductor heating
Since this combination behaves like a sharply tuned filter, its
resonance at a significant harmonic would result in a very low
impedance path. This would result in a high voltage distortion
on the secondary while the primary distortion would remain
within the limits of IEEE 519.
Capacitors can fail with as little as IO% of fifth harmonic
content and this can take place when there are no other noticeable effects on the system. It has been estimated that 30-40%
of capacitor installations are not fully functional due to excessive
harmonic currents.
In a system that is parallel or series resonant, load has a
significant influence on the harmonic distortion. As the load oil
the system increases, the overall damping, factor of the circuit
increases and the sharpness of the resonance decreases. When
the load decreases. the damping factor decreases and the
sharpness of the resonance increases. The sharpness of the
resonance determines the impedance that is seen by the
harmonic currents. Therefore, harmonic voltage distortion will
be worse on lightly loaded system-ns or when the system load
is mostly motors Resonant conditions and the influence of
load become particularly important when a plant is operating
from on-site generators. The steady state positive sequence
reactance of a generator is much higher than the utility source
impedance mentioned above. As a result, harmonic currents
produce higher harmonic voltages and overall voltage distortion. Additionally, generator regulators and control systems are
sensitive to distortion oil the voltage bus. If the non-linear
load on a plant is a significant percentage of the overall generator load, the generator may not stay online. Furthermore, high
harmonic currents cause heating in the alternator iron which call
lead to premature failure.
Voltage Rise
At many facilities fixed capacitors are used to reduce cost. Fixed
capacitors are those that are permanently, connected to the load
bus and tile voltage may increase due to the

Triple-n Harmonics in 4-Wire Star

Connected System
When the non sinusoidal wavef6rm in question is symmetrical
above and below its average centerline, the harmonic frequencies
will be odd integer multiples of the fundamental source
frequency only, with no even integer multiples. Most nonlinear
loads produce current waveforms like this, and so even-

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numbered harmonics (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, etc.) are
absent or only minimally present in most AC power Systems
All harmonics reduce the efficiency of a power system and
loads connected to it .Triplen harmonics are significant because
the harmonics in each conductor are in phase .Triplen harmonics
can therefore be much more damaging

Burnout of neutral conductor or damage to related

components

Overheating of distributing transformers

Poor phase sharing of harmonics currents

Damage to power factor correction capacitors

(as with non triplen harmonics)

Fig. Harmonics Examples of

Symmetrical Waveforms - Odd Harmonics only
Due to their abundance and significance in three-phase power
systems, the 3rd harmonic and its multiples have their own
special name: triplen harmonics. All triplen harmonics add with
each other in the neutral conductor of a 4-wire Y-connected
load. In power systems containing substantial nonlinear
loading, the triplen harmonic currents may be of great enough
magnitude to cause neutral conductors to overheat. This is very
problematic, as other safety concerns prohibit neutral conductors from having overcurrent protection, and thus there is no
provision for automatic interruption of these high currents.

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39

ELECTRICAL POWER

LESSON 10:
TRIPLE N HARMONICS

ELECTRICAL POWER

The following illustration shows how triplen harmonic currents

created at the load add the neutral conductor. The symbol co
is used to represent angular velocity, and is mathematically
equivalent to 2cof So, o) represents the ftmdamental
frequency, 3o) represents the 3rd harmonic, 5(o represents
the 5th harmonic, and so on:

Fig. Triple N Harmonic

Currents Add in Neutral Conductor
Notes

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