IEEE 519-1992 Guidelines

IEEE 519-1981, “IEEE Guide for Harmonic Control and Reactive

Compensation of Static Power Converters”, originally established levels
of voltage distortion acceptable to the distribution system for individual
non-linear loads. With the rising increase usage of industrial non-linear
loads, such as variable frequency drives, it became necessary to revise the
standard.
The IEEE working groups of the Power Engineering Society and the
Industrial Applications Society prepared recommended guidelines for
power quality that the utility must supply and the industrial user can inject
back onto the power distribution system. The revised standard was issued
on April 12, 1993 and titled “IEEE Recommended Practices and
Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electrical Power Systems”. The
revisions to IEEE 519-1992 establish recommended guidelines for
harmonic voltages on the utility distribution system as well as harmonic
currents within the industrial distribution system. According to the
standard, the industrial system is responsible for controlling the harmonic
currents created in the industrial work-place. Since harmonic currents
reflected through distribution system impedances generate harmonic
voltages on the utility distribution systems, the standard proposes
guidelines based on industrial distribution system design. Table 10.3 from
IEEE 519-1992 defines levels of harmonic currents that an industrial user
can inject onto the utility distribution system

Evaluating System Harmonics

In order to prevent or correct harmonic problems that could occur within
an industrial facility, an evaluation of system harmonics should be
performed if the facility conditions meet one or more of the criteria below
 The application of capacitor banks in systems where 20% or more
of the load includes other harmonic generating equipment.
 The facility has a history of harmonic related problems, including
excessive capacitor fuse operation.
  During the design stage of a facility composed of capacitor banks
and harmonic generating equipment.
 In facilities where restrictive power company requirements limit the
harmonic injection back into their system to very small magnitudes.
 Plant expansions that add significant harmonic generating
equipment operating in conjunction with capacitor banks.
 When coordinating and planning to add an emergency standby
generator as an alternate power source in an industrial facility.
Often, the vendor or supplier of non-linear load equipment, such as
variable frequency drives, can evaluate the effects that the equipment
may have on the distribution system. This usually involves details
related to the distribution system design and impedances, similar to
performing a short circuit study evaluation

Reducing Harmonics
There are many ways to reduce harmonics, ranging from variable
frequency drive designs to the addition of auxiliary equipment. The
primary methods used today to reduce harmonics are:
❏ Power System Design: Harmonics can be reduced by limiting the
non-lin-ear load to 30% of the maximum transformer’s capacity.
However, with power factor correction capacitors installed, resonating
conditions can occur that could potentially limit the percentage of non-
linear loads to 15% of the transformer’s capacity. Use the following
equation to determine if a resonant condition on the distribution could
occur:

hr =
where…
hr = resonant frequency as a multiple of the fundamental
frequency
kVAsc = short circuit current at the point of study
 kVARC = capacitor rating at the system voltage

If hr equals or is closed to a characteristic harmonic, such as the 5th or

7th, there is a possibility that a resonant condition could occur.
❏12-pulse converter front end: In this configuration, the front end of the
bridge rectifier circuit uses twelve diodes instead of six. The advantages
are the elimination of the 5th and 7th harmonics to a higher order where
the 11th and 13th become the predominate harmonics. This will
minimize the magnitude of harmonics, but will not eliminate them. The
disadvantages are cost and construction, which also requires either a
Delta-Delta and Delta-Wye transformer, “Zig-Zag” transformer or an
autotransformer to accomplish the 30° phase shifting necessary for
proper operation. This configuration also affects the overall drive system
efficiency rating because of the voltage drop associated with the
transformer configuration requirement. Figure above of (Non-Linear
Load and Power Supply Modeling ) illustrates the typical elementary
diagram for a 12-pulse converter front end.
❏Delta-Delta and Delta-Wye Transformers: This configuration uses
two separate utility feed transformers with equal non-linear loads. This
shifts the phase relationship to various six-pulse converters through
cancellation techniques, similar to the twelve-pulse configuration.
❏Isolation Transformers: An isolation transformer provides a good
solution in many cases. The advantage is the potential to “voltage
match” by stepping up or stepping down the system voltage, and by
providing a neutral ground reference for nuisance ground faults. This
is the best solution when utilizing AC or DC drives that use SCRs as
bridge rectifiers.
❏Line Reactors: More commonly used for size and cost, the line
reactor is the best solution for harmonic reduction when compared to
an isolation transformer. AC drives that use diode bridge rectifier front
ends are best suit-ed for line reactors. Line reactors (commonly referred
to as inductors) are available in standard impedance ranges from 1.5%,
3%, 5% and 7.5%.
❏Harmonic Trap Filters: Used in applications with a high non-linear
ratio to system to eliminate harmonic currents. Filters are tuned to a
specific harmonic such as the 5th, 7th, 11th, etc. In addition, harmonic
trap filters pro-vide true distortion power factor correction. Filters can be
designed for several non-linear loads or for an individual load, as shown
below:

Typical Twelve-Pulse Front End Converter for AC Drive

 Harmonic Trap Filter
Power system harmonic issues have existed since the early 1900’s. The
earliest discovered issues were third harmonic currents produced by
saturated iron in machines and transformers. Today, there are many
harmonic producing loads, making it increasingly necessary to address
their influence A better understanding of power system harmonic
phenomena can be achieved with the consideration of two concepts: the
nature of non-linear harmonic currents and voltages within the power
system. The ac power system harmonic problems are mainly due
to the substantial increase of non-linear loads due to technological
advances, such as the use of power electronics circuits and devices, in
ac/dc transmission links, or loads in the control of power systems using
power electronic or microprocessor controllers. Such equipment creates
load-generated harmonics throughout devices. the system. In general,
sources of harmonics are divided
into: (a) Domestic loads (b) Industrial loads (c) Control
Power system harmonic issues have existed since the early 1900’s. The
earliest discovered issues were third harmonic currents produced by
saturated iron in machines and transformers. Today, there are many
harmonic producing loads, making it increasingly necessary to address
their influence on power systems.
A better understanding of power system harmonic phenomena can be
achieved with the consideration of two concepts: the nature of non-linear
loads, and the interaction of.

Harmonic sources:

s
There are many sources of power system harmonics. Some examples of
harmonic
producing devices are:
Transformers: Third harmonic currents are present in the magnetizing
current (a small
portion of the transformer full load current). If the transformer saturates
(due to over voltage), the harmonic distortion level of the current
increases substantially.
Fluorescent Lamps: These devices produce a predominantly third order
harmonic current on the order of 20% to 30% of the fundamental current.
Electronic ballasts have slightly different characteristics but exhibit
similar levels of harmonics.
Line Commutated Converters: These devices are common to most
high-power converters, like large adjustable speed drives and High
Voltage DC converters. As implied by its name, these devices rely on the
power system, or line, to turn the thyristors or diodes off after they begin
conducting. Harmonic currents produced by these devices
range from 10% to 30% of load current. Large power rectifiers employing
thyristors or silicone controlled rectifiers (SCRs) to rectify the incoming
ac also produce “notching” when commutating between phases. This
alternate form of waveform distortion consisting of higher frequencies
(8kHz to 10 kHz) can be disruptive to control circuits.

How Variable Frequency Drives Cause Harmonics

All variable frequency drives cause harmonics because of the nature of
the front-end
rectifier design illustrated in Figure 6 for a typical 6-pulse configuration.
This is the standard
elementary power circuit for most pulse width modulated variable
frequency drives.

Effects and Negative Consequences:

The effects of harmonics on circuits are similar to the effects of stress and
high blood
pressure on the human body. High levels of stress or harmonic distortion
can lead to
problems for the utility distribution system, plant distribution system and
any other
exposed equipment. Effects can range from spurious operation of
equipment to a failure
of important plant equipment, such as machines or transformers.
Harmonics can lead to power system inefficiency. Some of the negative
ways that
harmonics may affect plant equipment are listed below:
- Power System Resonance: A power distribution system has a natural
resonant
- Fuses and Circuit Breakers: Due to the increase in the RMS value of
current and higher frequency content, harmonics may have cause false or
spurious operations.
- Transformers: Winding loses are increased due to the higher frequency
current components. This causes additional heating in the transformer
windings. Fully loaded, a standard transformer is only rated to carry 5%
harmonic current distortion.
The use of appropriate “K factor” rated units is recommended for higher
levels of harmonics:
Generators: Regulators, excitation systems, and even governors can be
affected by Non-linear loads. Generators typically have much higher
source impedance than the utility, which limit the amount of harmonic
producing load they can serve.
Harmonic loads also increase winding and rotor temperatures. The
alternator size may need to be increased when serving loads with high
harmonic content.
Motors: Harmonic voltage distortion has a similar impact on motors as
voltage phase imbalance. The higher frequency components cause
additional rotor heating and will shorten motor life.
Drives/Power Supplies: Severe harmonic voltage distortion,
particularly that caused by notching, can disrupt voltage sensing circuits
such as those for timing.
Telephones: