Manakula Vinayagar Institute of Technology

(Affiliated to Pondicherry University)

Kalitheerthal Kuppam, Mannadipet Commune, Pondicherry 605107.

EE E88 HVDC TRANSMISSION

UNIT V: MULTI TERMINAL HVDC SYSTEMS

Types of MTDC system Comparison of series and parallel MTDC system HVDC
insulation DC line insulators DC breakers Characteristics and types of DC breakers.

INTRODUCTION:

HVDC transmission systems designed and operated so far are point to point systems
with two terminals converter stations.
A multi-terminal DC system has more than two converter stations, some of them
operating as rectifiers and others as converters.
The simplest way of building a MTDC system for existing two terminal systems is to
introduce tappings.
Parallel operation of converters and bi-poles can also be viewed as multi-terminal
operation.
Unlike in AC systems, the task of extending two terminal systems to multi-terminal
system is trivial.
The complexities of control and protection increase considerably and the use of
HVDC breakers is generally required in the MTDC systems.

TYPES OF MTDC SYSTEMS:

There are two possible types of MTDC systems,

Series
Parallel

SERIES MTDC SYSTEM:

Series arrangement (connected) MTDC system

* This is a natural extension of the two terminal system which is series connected system.

* A three terminal MTDC system is shown in fig. this shows a mono-polar arrangement.

* The s/m is grounded at only one point which may be conveniently chosen.

* If the line insulation is adequate, the grounding point can be shifted based on changes
in the operating conditions.

* Grounding capacitors may be used to improve insulation co-ordination and s/m

performance during transients.

* In a series connected system, the current is set by one converter station and common for
all stations.

* The remaining stations operate at constant angle (extinction or delay) or voltage

control.

* In order to minimize the reactive power requirements and losses in value damper
circuits, the normal operating values of firing angles may be adjusted using tap changer
control.

* At all times, the sum of the voltage a/c the rectifier stations must be longer the sum of
the voltage a/c the inverter station.

* The switching in or out of the bridge is accomplished by de-blocking/block and bypass

in a manner to that in a two terminal system.

* The clearing of the fault in the DC line is also similar. The power reversal at the station
is also done as in a two terminal system, by reversing the DC voltage by converter control.

* The power in a two terminal system is accomplished by adjusting the current while
trying to maintain a constant voltage in the s/m. This is done to minimize the losses.

* However, in a MTDC series system, central control would be required to adjust the
current in response to changing loading conditions.

* The local control power would imply adjusting voltage at the converter station using
angle and tap controls.

* Using one bridge or 12 pulse unit for the voltage control and operating the remaining
bridges at the min or max firing angle can reduce reactive power requirement.

PARALLEL MTDC SYSTEM:

The parallel MTDC s/m can further sub-divided into following two categories,

Radial
Mesh

* The operating philosophy of the constant voltage AC system is extended to DC system.

* The current in all the converter stations except one are adjusted according to the power
requirement.

* One of the terminals operates as a voltage setting terminal at constant angle or voltage.

* An example of 3 terminal radial systems is shown in fig1.

* A radial system is one in which the disconnection of one segment of transmission

would result in interruption of power from one or more converter station.

* In mesh system, the removal of the one link would not result in a disruption, provided
the remaining links are capable of carrying the required power.

* Evidently a mesh system can be more reliable than a radial system. An example of 3
terminal radial system is shown in fig2.

* The power reversal in a parallel MTDC system should involve mechanical switching as
the voltage cannot be reversed.

* Also loss of abridge in one converter station would require either the disconnection of a
bridge in all the stations or disconnection of the affected station.

COMPARISON OF SERIES AND PARALLEL MTDC SYSTEM:

* The advantages and disadvantages of series and parallel MTDC system are given as
follows,

1. HIGH SPEED REVERSAL OF POWER is possible in series s/m without mechanical

switching. This is not possible in parallel s/m.

2. THE VALUE OF VOLTAGE RATING IN ASERIES S/M is related to the POWER

RATING, while the CURRENT RATING IN A PARALLEL S/M is related to the POWER.
 This should imply that for small power ratings of tap, series connection may be cheaper
even though values have to be insulated for full voltage to ground.

The parallel connection has a advantage of the staged development in the converter
stations by adding parallel converters as the power requirements increase.

3. There are INCREASED LOSSES IN THE LINE and the values in SERIES S/M, in
comparison to PARALLEL S/M.

The system operation in series system can be optimized by operating the largest inverter at
rated voltage.

4. INSULATION CO-ORDINATION is a problem in SERIES S/M because the voltage

along the line varies.

5. THE PERMANENT FAULT IN THE LINE section would to complete SHUTDOWN

IN ASERIES CONNECTED S/M, while it would lead to only the shutdown of a converter
station connected to the line section in radial MTDC s/m.

With provisions for fast identifications and clearing of fault in mesh connected s/m, there
is no disruption of power transfer.

6.The reduction in AC VOLTAGES and COMMUTATION FAILURES in AN

INVERTER can lead to OVERLOADING OF CONVERTERS as current is
TRANSFERRED FROM OTHER TERMINALS in a parallel s/m.

The problem is severe if the rating of the inverter is relatively small. Increased value of
smoothing reactor and voltage dependent current limits can reduce the severity. However, the
value rating would increase resulting in increased unit costs.

7. The control and protection in a SERIES MTDC system is a NATURAL EXTENSION

of that in a two terminal system. However, EXTENSION TO PARALLEL S/M is not
STRAIGHT FORWARD.

Increased communication requirements and problems in recovery from communication

failures are associated with parallel system.

* From the relative merits and demerits of series and parallel MTDC s/m described
above, it may be concluded that series connection is appropriate for taps of raring less than
20% of the major inverter terminal. Parallel connection is more versatile and is expected to
be widely used in AC s/m.

* The first application of MTDC s/m is Sardinia-Corsica-Italy link where an existing link
between Sardinia and Italy is tapped at Corsica. This is a 50MW parallel connected tap with
two 100KV six pulse thyristor bridges connected in series.
 * Communication failure at Corsica can result in over currents of T.P.U smoothing
reactors of 2.5H are chosen to limit the over currents due to disturbances in the AC s/m.

APPLICATIONS OF MTDC SYSTEMS:

Apart from tapping of power from existing two terminal systems, there are 3 specific areas of
applications for MTDC systems.

1. BULK POWER TRANSMISSION for several remote generating stations to several

load centers.

* Here each generating plant is connected directly to a rectifier station thereby dispensing
with the AC collector system.

* Similarly, a converter station at each load centre eliminates the need to built additional
AC/DC lines for flexible energy exchange.

* An MTDC system has several advantages over the alternative of point to point system.

* Construction of generation station and two load as shown in fig.

* This is a radial s/m with two rectifiers and two inverter.

* For ensuring the same level of flexibility in energy exchange, three two terminal DC
links will be required in addition to a link connecting the two receiving s/m which could
be DC or AC.

* This would result in extra lines and additional power losses in increased number of
conversion.
*Elimination of AC collector s/m at the remote hydro generating stations can result in better
efficiency in the operation of hydraulic turbines which are free to run at speed independent
of the s/m frequency.

2.REINFORCING OF AN AC N/W WHICH IS HEAVILY LOADED:

*Consider an urban power system which is fed by a distant power station.

*It would be advantageous to arrange the power injection at more than one point so that the
under-lying AC n/w is not overloaded.

*This is easily achieved using a MTDC s/m with one rectifier station.

3. POWER SYSTEMS:
When more than two systems are involved , a MTDC system for inter-connection is more
flexible and economical than employing several two terminal DC links.

DC LINE INSULATORS:

* The insulator strings of a DC line are made up of porcelain or toughened glass as in case of
AC lines.

* The insulator performance is evaluated in terms of critical flashover voltage (CFO) and
critical withstand voltage (CWS).

* The critical flashover voltage is defined as the statistical mean (with 50% probability) of a
data group (usually 20 flashover) on a specific insulator specimen. The analysis assumes
Gaussian distribution

The withstand voltage (CWS) is defined as,

CWS=CF0-3

Where, - standard deviation.

The CWS represents a voltage level with 0.13% probability of flashover.

It is to be noted that the overvoltage should result only flashover and puncture of the
insulators.

* There are special problems with direct voltage stresses on an insulator.

1. Ion migration that takes place in the insulating material, which is function of
temperature.

2. An insulating material should have very little ion insulation even at high ambient
temperature.

3. There can be thermal runaway due to the conduction in a very narrow zone of
dielectric wire result in ageing of dielectric.

4. The current that flows in the insulator body is dependent on the resistivity which is
function of temperature.

5. There is also phenomenon of electrolytic process due to the creepage currents along
the surface of insulators.

6. These currents cause electrode to increase in volume, partly through the deposition of
material and partly as a result of chemical process.

The insulator design must take into account to avoid mechanical failures.
 * The insulator string is subjected to the direct voltage in the addition to transient impulses of
different waveforms.

* The creep age distance of an insulator is determined by the operating direct voltage, while
the string length is determined by the impulse voltage level.

* Increasing the string length influences the height of the towers and their costs.

* As transient overvoltage are smaller with DC lines, there is an economic incentive to make
the ratio of creep age distance to string length as great as possible.

* A major problem with DC insulators is that the accumulation of contamination through

direct voltage stresses is higher than AC lines.

* The connection of dirt particles is also less uniform than with A.C.

* The insulators helps in making the field distribution more uniform and reducing the
accumulation of contamination.

* The insulators are cleaned by heavy rain while the fog or dew, which makes dirt conductive
without removing it can result in flashover.

* At times of unfavorable weather conditions, it may be desirable to operate the DC line at

the lower voltages by converter control or by removing some of the series connected bridges.

* The geometry between the conductor and the tower can be viewed as that of a rod-plane
gap.

* The withstand strength of such gaps is higher with the combination of impulse and indirect
voltage than with pure impulse alone.

* The behavior is shown in fig, where CWS is plotted as a function of gap length.

* The flashover can caused by lightning strokes which usually affect one pole of bipolar line.

* Due to coupling between the two poles, overvoltage can occur in the healthy pole.

* The insulation design must take this into account and prevent consequential fault on the
healthy pole.

INSULATING MATERIAL USED TO DESIGN HVDC:

The equipment insulator should withstand voltage stresses occurring during

continuous normal voltage and occasional over voltages.
The requirement of HVDC insulation is based on the stresses caused by lightning
surges, switching surges and polarity reversal.
 Voltage stresses are on phase to phase, phase to ground insulation and between
different points in the insulating s/m.
In the transmission line insulators of porcelain or toughened glass are used.
Each equipment has internal and external insulation requirements of withstand values,
clearances and creep age distance.
CREEPAGE DISTANCE: shortest distance along the insulator surface between two
ends of insulators.
CLEARANCES: shortest distance along the stretched string between two conductors
of different voltage level.
Recommended value for specific creepage distance and HVDC links insulator is
between 2.3 cm/Kv and 7.0 cm/Kv depending upon the zones of pollution.
The minimum withstand value against power frequency voltages and impulse
voltages are recommended in standard specifications for each equipment and standard
of insulator co-ordination for electrical plants and sub-station.

Description creep age distance in cm/Kv

Agriculture area 2.3

Outskirts for industrial complex
and few kw from sea 4.0
Industrial area & near to sea 5.0
Highly polluted area like dirty industrial area,
power stations etc. 7.0

These standards are published by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), IEC

(International Electro technical Commission)
The specification of equipment and plant are based on these standard
recommendation and additional local requirement (degree of pollution, atmospheric
conditions, type of switching duty etc.).
Each equipment has certain specified insulation level characterized by normal rated
voltage, highest system voltage, temporary overvoltage withstand level, lightning
withstand level, switching impulse withstand level.
The equipment insulation should also have specified minimum internal& external
distances , corona-free performances during fair weather.
The impulse voltage level of a 400kv to ground line is about 1400kv peak.
It should have range of 1.5-2.0 cm/Kv of operating voltage.
For HVDC overload lines, bundled conductors with two or more conductors are
used per pole.
The support insulators are of following,
1. Vertical suspension insulator string
 2. V-shaped suspension insulator string
3. Strain insulator string
For straight run of transmission line, V shaped configuration is preferred as these
insulators have a better washing effects during rains.
Strain insulators are used at dead endsturning points and at regular interval.
The insulator units are either of glass or porcelain. Anti-fog type units are used.

INSULATING MATERIALS:

The majority of insulating material used in practice is solids. They can be broadly
classified into 3 groups.

1. Organic material:
E.g.: Amber, Cotton, Paper, Press board, Rubber, Wax, Wood etc.
2. Inorganic material:
E.g.: Ceramics, Glass, Mica, Asbestos.

SYNTHETIC POLYMER:

1. Thermoplastic: Poly ethylene, Poly propylene, Poly styrene, Poly chcylchloride.

2. Thermosetting: Bakelite, Epoxy resins.

PAPER:

* The kind of paper normally employed for insulation purpose is a special variety known
as tissue paper.
* Thickness and density of paper vary depending on the application.
* Low density paper (0.8 gms/cm^3) is preferred in high frequency capacitors and cables.
* Medium density paper is preferred in power capacitors.
* High density paper is preferred in DC& energy storage capacitors and for insulation of
DC machines.
* Paper is hygroscopic, therefore it has to be dried and impregnated with impregnates
such as mineral oil, chlorinated biphenyl, vegetable oil.

FIBERS:

* Fibers when used for electrical purposes will have the ability to combine strength and
durability with extreme fineness and flexibility.

* Fibers used are both natural and man-made they include Cotton, Jute, Wood, Silk, Rayon,
Nylon, Terylene and Fiberglass.

* Most perfect dried fiber has dielectric constant of 3-8.

* Presence of ionic impurities considerably reduce electrical resistance of fiber.

 * Artificial fibers such as Terylene& fiberglass absorbs very little water and hence have
very high resistance.

MICA:

* Mica is the generic name of class of crystalline mineral silicates of alumina and potash.

* Mica can be split into very thin flat luminal.

* It has got a unique combination of electrical properties such as high dielectric strength,
low dielectric loss, resistance to high temperature and good mechanical strength.

* These have made it possible for it to be used in many electrical apparatus.

* Very pure mica is used for high frequency applications,

* Spotted mica is used in low voltage insulation such as for commutator segments
separators, armature winding, switchgear and in electrical heating and cooling equipment.

* Glass is a thermoplastic inorganic material comprising complex system of oxides (sio2).

* Dielectric constant of glass varies from 3.7-10 and density 2.2-6 gm/cm^3.

* Glass is used as a cover and for internal supports in electric bulbs, electrical valves,
mercury arc switches, x-ray equipment, capacitors and as insulators in telephones.

CERAMICS:

* Ceramics are inorganic materials produced by consolidating minerals into monolithic

bodies by high temperature heat treatment.

* Ceramics can be divided into two groups depending on the dielectric constant.

* Low permittivity ceramics (r<12) are used as insulator.

* High permittivity ceramics (r>12) are used as capacitors and transducers.

E.g.: Titanium oxide, Barium titanate (BaTio3) and Calcium titanate (CaTio3).

PLASTICS:

* Plastics are very widely used as insulating material because of their excellent dielectric
properties.

* Plastics are made by combining large number of small molecules into a few big ones.

* when small molecules link to form the bigger molecules of plastics many different types
of structures result.
POLY-ETHYLENE:

* Poly-ethylene is a thermoplastic material which combines usual electrical properties high

resistance to moisture and chemicals, easy processibility and low cost.

* It got high resistivity and good dielectric properties at high frequencies and therefore is
widely used for power and co-axial cables, telephones cables, multi-conductor control, TV lead
in wires.

POLY VINYL CHLORIDE:

* PVC is used commercially in varies forms. It is available as an unplasticized , tough and

rigid sheet material and can be easily shaped to any required form.

* It is chemically resistant to strong acids and alkalis and is insoluble in water, alcohol and
organic solvents like benzene.

* perating temperature limit of c.

* Dielectric strength, volume resistivity and surface resistivity are relatively high.

* This is a material which is used extensively for wire covering, insulated sleeving and
cable sheathing of natural rubber because of its resistance to action of sunlight, water and
oxygen.

EPOXY RESINS:

* Epoxy resins are thermosetting types of insulating materials. They posses good
dielectric and mechanical properties.

* They can be easily cast into desired shapes even at room temperature.

* They are very versatile and basic properties can be modified either by the selection of
curing agent or by use of modifiers or filters.

* It can be formed into an insulator of an desired shape. It is almost any type of high
voltage application used in insulator, bushing, apparatus.

* It can be also used in electronic components, generator windings and transformers.

* It is used for bonding of diverse material such as porcelain, wood, plastic, metals.

* It is used for bonding of very adhesive used for sealing of high vacuum joints.
DC BREAKERS:

* The development of HVDC C.B has been under way in recent years and recently a 500kv
breaker with current interruption capability up to 4000A has been repeated.

* The main problem of development of dc C.B is that the voltage applied is more or less constant
and there is no probability of getting zero current, which is readily available in case of ac s/m.

* That means, no natural zero current existing in the dc s/m. hence the design of dc C.B is quite
critical as compared to ac C.B, specially in case of high voltage s/m.

* On the other hand high voltage dc s/m is the demand of day for high voltage dc transmission
on account of development of power electronics.

* One of most advanced idea is that to create artificial zeros of current through the contacts of
switch by oscillatory discharge of a capacitor through switch.

* The most important point is that the peak currents of oscillation should be greater than dc to be
interrupted. This is the only of realizing zero point.

Operation suggested:

1. When it is needed to interrupt the current I in the main circuit, the opening mechanism
opens the normally closed contact d and normally open contact b is closed.
2. The capacitor c starts discharging and oscillation of current in the L-C circuit continues
according to the phenomenon of L-C circuit. Hence current zero can be created .
3. Immediately after the above operation. The normally closed contact a can be opened.
The interruption can be made at current zero.

Another idea is to use capacitor and non linear resistance in parallel with the main contact a
as shown in fig.

1. The capacitor is initially uncharged.

2. When the main contact a is open the main current is diverted to the capacitor, as a result
the current to be interrupted by a is small.
3. The non linear resistor R absorbs energy and as a result the voltage across the contact a
is not added to great extend.

It can be concluded that, even with the technical feasibility the cost of dc C.B is excessive.
This automatically enhances the cost of HVDC transmission. This is the major demerit of
application of HVDC C.B.
The breaker is characterized by four variable of interest in its application to the system.

Voltage capability.
Current capability.
Energy capability.
Switching line.
1. Voltage capability:
The voltage capability is related to two parameters
* The voltage during the interruption.
* The steady state operating voltage and transients in the system.
The breaker voltage requirements can be kept low by co-ordination with converter
control and fast isolators. In general, the highest permissible voltage gives the best
performance in terms of lower energy absorption and shorter switching time.
Energy absorbed by the breaker,

Wb= L Id (Vb/Vb-Vd)

And time required to bring the current to zero,

Ti=L Id / (Vb-Vd)

Where, Id is the current in the breaker prior to interruption.

2. Current capability/ interruption capability:

The interruption capability of a breaker does not have to be much above the rated
current in the circuit, because the converter control can be relied on to bring the fault
current down to the rated levels.

3. Energy capability:
The required energy capability of a breaker depends upon many factors such as
the inductance, converter voltage and current, breaker voltage and the duty cycle. In the
HVDC breakers, series connected module are used to give the required voltage and
energy capabilities.

4. Switching line:
The switching time of a breaker includes the following components
* Time required to generate the trip signal.
* Time required to separate the contact in the main breaker.
*Time required to commutate the current to Zc.
 * Time required to commutate current Zc to Rd.
* Time required to bring the DC s/m back to steady state post fault condition.
*The interruption time (Ti).

- while the first component can be kept small say 2ms for station faults, there is no generating the
trip signal much faster than the time taken to reduce the fault current using converter control (30-
50 ms).

- The second component is around 10ms.

- The 3rd and 4th component can be reduced by using charged capacitor in the communication
link.

- There is no real advantage in keeping the total time below 10ms as there is the problem of
restirring of arc in the main breaker.

- The interruption time is related to Vb and Id. The voltage normally around 1.7 P.u. The
reduction in Id reduces Ti in a linear fashion.

- The last component depends on the voltage capability, this components of switching line could
be the order of 100ms due to the time required for the operation of the isolator, the converter
control and the communication delay.

Above analysis shows that there is significant saving time possible by increased voltage
capability while the current capability may be limited to the rated current.

APPLICATIONS OF DC BREAKERS:

1. When the converters feed two parallel DC lines.

2. When parallel connected converters feed the same line.
3. When the current needs to be transferred from the ground return to the metallic return
during the mono-polar operation. The breakers for this application are termed as Metallic
Return Transfer Breakers (MRTB).