A PAPER ON

MAGNETICALLY CONTROLLED REACTORS TO ENHANCE TRANSMISSION CAPABILITY& SAVE ENERGY

BY SMD.SANAULLA IV B.Tech(EEE) MADINA ENGINEERING COLLEGE

ABSTRACT
The reactive power problem will become intensified in the future with the increasing use of EHV overhead lines and high-voltage cable in densely populated areas. Generators alone, with their under excited limitations during light load periods, may not have sufficient capability to control voltages in some systems in which substantial amounts of high-voltage cable are used. Turbine generators with automatic voltage regulators, however, can be operated successfully in the under excited region to minimize the problem of excessive system capacitive reactive loading. Although shunt reactors are an effective solution, economics may suggest other methods. Nevertheless, shunt reactors are helpful in controlling voltage during a system start-up. The proposed technique is to have a glance at the magnetically controlled Reactors. These magnetically controlled reactors (MCRs) are proving to be more efficient and reliable and more cost effective than other reactive power control devices. Magnetically Controlled Reactors Enhance Transmission Capability & Save Energy. Especially in Compact Increased Surge-Impedance-Loading Power Lines

1. Benefits of Controllable Reactors AC distribution grids usually do not require shunt reactors, but do require capacitor banks (i.e. capacitive shunt compensation). These capacitor banks need to be controlled because of changing load conditions. Yet the manual or thyristor switching operations typically used for capacitor bank control are not really efficient and wear out both switching equipment and power transformers. And they do not actually meet reactive power load and voltage control requirements efficiently, since the step control they provide does not really fit the load smoothly. Intrinsic line capacitance in long AC grids of 400 kV or higher must be compensated to decrease reactive load losses, which can quickly become unacceptably large because they are proportional to the square of line voltage. Compensation must also ease the Ferranti effect under dynamic load conditions. Usually this is accomplished with shunt reactors, and some of these need to be controlled as well. In 500 kV grids the optimum ratio of controllable to non-controllable shunt reactors in a power transmission grid is about 1:3, in order to dampen all significant voltage surges and to improve power stability limits. With compensation at this level, higher voltage can be transmitted even through extended power lines. This also saves energy. In extreme cases, power transmission losses can be decreased by about 30% in this way. In US grids, where power transmission loss is about 4%, power transmission savings would be 1 to 2 percent. Flexible control of reactive power and voltage in both lower and higher voltage grids is usually realized by static var compensators (SVCs) or more sophisticated static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs), or by controllable reactors apart from SVCs. SVCs employ controllable reactors along with capacitor banks to control reactive power load, to dampen voltage surges and to decrease power transmission loss by decreasing reactive current circulation. STATCOMs do not use controllable reactors, but thyristors only. But when controllable shunt reactors are used, whether by themselves or within SVCs, the most common are thyristorcontrolled reactors (TCRs). 2. A New Type of Controlled Reactor Another type of shunt reactor, however, whose principle of operation is extremely high saturation of the magnetic core. These magnetically controlled reactors (MCRs) are proving to be more efficient and reliable and more cost effective than other reactive power control devices. As is well known, TCRs require a high-rated thyristor system, and this is the main cause of their unreliability. Magnetic reactor control is based on low-power magnetic biasing, and does not require such high-rated thyristors. Further inefficiencies are eliminated by the fact that, for the same

reason, MCRs also do not require step-down transformers to decrease grid voltage to rated thyristor voltage, which must be less than 35 kV. 2.1. Advantages of the MCR MCRs are as reliable and simple to operate and maintain as ordinary transformers. TCRs, on the other hand, require special handling, specialized personnel, and more electrical filters. In more than 20 years field operation of what is now 40 installations, no MCR has ever needed replacement, because their closed, compensated magnetic systems do not suffer mechanical damage under dynamic regimes. The typical lifetime of a TCR is about 10 years because their open, non-compensated magnetic system suffers such damage. MCRs can sustain 50% overload for 20 minutes and 100% overload for 20 seconds. Compare TCRs, which can sustain 50% overload for 20 seconds and 100% overload for 3 seconds. The overvoltage limitation of an MCR is 2.3 times rated voltage. By contrast, TCRs have an overvoltage limitation of 1.8 times rated voltage. The current-distortion coefficient of the MCR, without filters, is less than 3%. With TCRs, the same coefficient is 5.8%. Thus, fewer filters are required with MCRs. MCRs require no specialized (chemical) operation and maintenance substation personnel to oversee the thyristor cooling system. TCRs, on the other hand, do require such workers because a sophisticated water cooling system is required. MCRs require about 10 sq. ft / Mvar of the substation open space. TCRs require about 100 sq. ft / Mvar. MCRs have a low external magnetic field because of the closed magnetic circuit of the reactor phases, and require no electromagnetic shielding. TCRs require significant shielding because of their open magnetic circuit of the reactor phases. MCRs experience about half the internal power loss of TCRs: 0.05% kW per kvar of rated reactive power (rkvar) in standby no-load mode, and 0.5% kW per rkvar in rated reactive power load mode. TCRs are about double this. MCRs can be designed to respond like TCRs, in as little as 0.02 second. But the price of an MCR is related to response time and thus, although MCRs of the shortest response time would cost about the same as equivalent TCRs approximately $20/kvar for more typical grid requirements of 1 second, they cost only half as much as TCRs, or about $10-11/kvar (ex works price). MCRs cost half as much as TCRs to install, operate, and maintain. More important than this cost differential, though, is the sheer reliability of this new technology. 3. Practical approach of MCRs

In Russia, at Permenergos 80 MVA Kudymkar substation, which was equipped with capacitor banks, power fluctuations required over 800 manual switching events per year, serious capital outlay for labor, and rapid depreciation of attached switching and transformer equipment. An MCR was installed in 1999. The system immediately stabilized, and only twelve manual switching events have been necessary per year since then. The substation saved 7.3 GW-hours over the first year, and construction of a new power line, which had been planned, has become unnecessary for at least 10 more years. The utility has saved well in excess of $25M and in just two short years, has all but recovered the cost of installing the MCR. 3.1. MCRs and Compact High Surge-Impedance-Loading Power Lines One important application of MCRs is their use with compact high surge-impedance-loading (HSIL) power lines. Transmission capability in AC overhead lines is limited by inductive impedance. Inductive impedance can be compensated with series capacitors, but such compensation is costly and creates difficulties for system operation. Lowering the inductive impedance in HSIL long distance transmission lines decreases the power angle between the line terminals and improves steady state stability limits without series capacitive compensation. When the power load becomes lower than the surgeimpedance loading of the line, long-line reactive power and voltage can most efficiently be managed by means of controllable electric shunt reactors, 6] of which the most reliable, cost effective and energy-saving type is the MCR. 4.Transparencies : 1. Steep dependence of differential magnetic permeability of MCR core on magnetic field strength facilitates very effective control of MCR inductance. 2. Principles of operation, schematic of a shunt MCR, and example of transient process in an MCR. 3. General schematics of 6-35 kV Arc-Quenching MCRs, MCRs for Distribution substations, and MCRs for 100-500 kV grids. 4. Field experience with MCR-based SVC: 32c/25i Mvar, 110 kV at Kudymkar Substation in Northeastern European Russia (PermEnergo). 5. Magnetically Controlled Reactor MCR 25/110, 3-Phase, 110kV, 25MVA. 6. Arc-Quenching Magnetically Controlled Reactor (AQMCR) 190 kvar, 11/33 kV.

4.1. Transparency 1: Steep dependence of differential magnetic permeability of MCR core on magnetic field strength facilitates very effective control of MCR inductance. In any transformer steel, magnetic-flux density B in teslas (T) is quasi-piecewise-linear dependent on magnetic field strength H, in amperes per meter (A/m). The differential magnetic permeability of the MCR core steel is very steeply dependent on H (H) = B (H) / dH. An increase of H from 5 A/m to 25 kA/m results in a decrease of of about 10,000 times to the constant value 0, (permeability of vacuum). does not change at higher values of H (saturation). This facilitates very effective control of MCR inductance. Increasing direct current in the MCR control winding increases H. This increase of H decreases as described above. Decreasing decreases MCR inductance. Decrease of MCR inductance decreases shunt MCR reactance, and decreasing reactance increases the reactive power consumed by shunt MCR. Thus current in the MCR control winding switches the MCR on and off. 4.2.Transparency 2: Principles of operation, schematic, and example of transient process in an MCR. 1. Principles of Operation Changes of inductance in magnetically controlled reactors (MCRs) are achieved through controlled changes of magnetic field strength in the magnetic core. Control is realized only by changes in the unidirectional component of the magnetic field strength. Such changes move the magnetic core of the MCR into saturation. The period in which the core is saturated is finally the principal parameter of the control. The MCRs consumed power is regulated within 0.01 to 1.00 of its rated power. For different types of MCR, short-term 40% overloading during periods of up to 20 minutes is allowed. Long term 20% overloading is allowed without time limitations. 2. General schematic of an MCR 1. Reactor phases 2. Thyristor converter with matching transformer 3. Control and safety system 4. CT is current transformer 5. VT is voltage transformer 6. U is network voltage 7. X is load

3.2. Whats the bottom line? Results shows that there is extreme reliability and considerable cost and energy savings with MCRs. Todays energy and energy policies positively demand MCR technology. A pilot installation of an MCR in the US would show that it this technology is the most reliable, direct, efficient, and simple path to enhanced transmission capability and to significant savings in both power and cost. References 1. ELBulk Transmission System Loss Analysis: EPRI Reports EL-6814-V1 & 6814- V2,1990. 2 .A.M. Bryantsev, M.D. Galperin, G.A. Evdokunin, A.G. Dolgopolov, Magnetically Controlled Reactor Shrinks Power Quality Costs: Official Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Power Quality 2000 Conference and Exhibit, Boston, 2000: Adams/Intertec, Ventura, CA (2000), pp. 810816. 3. G.N. Alexandrov, C.P.R. Gabaglia, Iu.A. Gerasimov, P.C.V. Esmeraldo, G.N. Evdokunin: A Proposed Design For The New Furnas 500 kV Transmission Lines The High Surge Impedance Loading Line. Paper PE-288-PWRD-0-111996, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, PWRD, Jan/ Feb, vol.14, N1, 1997, p. 278-286. Luiz A.S. Pilotto, High Surge Impedance Loading Lines Hsil In The Presentation Enhancement Of Transmission Capability. Paper delivered at the NSF/EPRI Workshop on Urgent Opportunities for Transmission System Enhancement, Palo Alto, October 2001. G.N. Alexandrov, G.N. Evdokunin, A.A. Ragozin, Yu.G. Seleznev: Provision Of Parallel Operations Of Power Systems Connected By Extra-Long AC Transmission Lines With Controlled Shunt Reactors. Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on the World Energy System, Budapest, Hungary, October 1994, Budapest, Perspectives in Energy,1994-1995,vol.3,p341-345. G.A.Evdokunin, A.A. Ragozin: Steady-State Stability Modes Analysis For Long Distance Transmission Lines With Controlled Shunt Reactors. Electrichestvo, 8,1996, p. 2-10.

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