Power Quality

Code: EE-5050
Venue: Room 37
Time & Day: 9:00am-11:00am &
2:00pm-3:00pm (Sunday)

Instructor: Dr. Muhammad Omer Khan

Email: omerkhan@riphahfsd.edu.pk;
momerkhan3@gmail.com
 Recommended and reference Books
• Electrical Power Systems Quality by Dugan, McGranaghan, Santoso,
Beaty, McGraw Hill, 2nd Edition.

• Power quality by C. Sankaran

• Power quality problems and mitigation techniques by Bhim Singh,

Ambrish Chandra, Kamal Al-Haddad.

• Power Quality in Electrical Systems by Alexander Kusko, Marc T.

Thompson, McGraw Hill, 1st Edition.

• Electric Power Quality by Surajit Chattopadhyay, Madhuchhanda

Mitra, Samarjit Sengupta, Springers Edition
 Evaluation Criteria:
• Mid term: 30%
• Final term: 50%
• Assignments & Quizes: 10%
• Presentation & Attendance: 10%
 What is Power Quality?
• Definition :
• IEEE (Standard IEEE1100) defines power
quality as “the concept of powering and
grounding sensitive electronic equipment in a
manner suitable for the equipment.”
 What is Power Quality?
• By C. Sankaran
• A simpler and perhaps more concise definition
might state:
• “Power quality is a set of electrical boundaries
that allows a piece of equipment to function in its
intended manner without significant loss of
performance or life expectancy.”
• This definition embraces two things that we
demand from an electrical device: performance
and life expectancy.
 What is Power Quality?
• by Dugan
• Electric Power Quality is a term that refers to maintaining
the near sinusoidal waveform of power distribution bus
voltages and currents at rated magnitude and frequency.
• Electric Power Quality describes the variation of voltage,
current and frequency in a power system.
• The sophistication of electrical appliances with the
development of electronics has added to the demand of
quality power at the consumer premises.
• To ensure uninterrupted and quality power has thus
become a point of competition for the power producers.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Bonding — Intentional electrical-interconnecting of
conductive parts to ensure common electrical potential
between the bonded parts. Bonding is done primarily
for two reasons. Conductive parts, when bonded using
low impedance connections, would tend to be at the
same electrical potential, meaning that the voltage
difference between the bonded parts would be
minimal or negligible. Bonding also ensures that any
fault current likely imposed on a metal part will be
safely conducted to ground or other grid systems
serving as ground.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Capacitance — Property of a circuit element
characterized by an insulating medium contained
between two conductive parts. The unit of capacitance
is a farad (F), named for the English scientist Michael
Faraday. Capacitance values are more commonly
expressed in microfarad (µF), which is 10–6 of a farad.
Capacitance is one means by which energy or electrical
noise can couple from one electrical circuit to another.
Capacitance between two conductive parts can be
made infinitesimally small but may not be completely
eliminated.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Coupling — Process by which energy or
electrical noise in one circuit can be
transferred to another circuit that may or may
not be electrically connected to it.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Crest factor — Ratio
between the peak value and
the root mean square (RMS)
value of a periodic waveform.
Figure 1.1 indicates the crest
factor of two periodic
waveforms. Crest factor is
one indication of the
distortion of a periodic
waveform from its ideal
characteristics.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Distortion — Qualitative
term indicating the
deviation of a periodic
wave from its ideal
waveform characteristics.
Figure 1.2 contains an ideal
sinusoidal wave along with
a distorted wave. The
distortion introduced in a
wave can create waveform
deformity as well as phase
shift.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Distortion factor — Ratio of the RMS of the harmonic
content of a periodic wave to the RMS of the fundamental
content of the wave, expressed as a percent. This is also
known as the total harmonic distortion (THD)

• Flicker — Variation of input voltage sufficient in duration to

allow visual observation of a change in electric light source
intensity. Quantitatively, flicker may be expressed as the
change in voltage over nominal expressed as a percent.
For example, if the voltage at a 120-V circuit increases to
125 V and then drops to 117 V, the flicker, f, is calculated as
f = 100 × (125 – 117)/120 = 6.66%.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Form factor — Ratio between the RMS value and
the average value of a periodic waveform. Form
factor is another indicator of the deviation of
periodic waveform from the ideal characteristics.
For example, the average value of a pure
sinusoidal wave averaged over a cycle is 0.637
times the peak value. The RMS value of the
sinusoidal wave is 0.707 times the peak value.
The form factor, FF, is calculated as FF =
0.707/0.637 = 1.11.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Frequency — Number of complete cycles of a
periodic wave in a unit time, usually 1 sec. The
frequency of electrical quantities such as voltage
and current is expressed in hertz (Hz).
• Ground electrode — Conductor or a body of
conductors in close contact with earth for the
purpose of providing a connection with the
ground.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Ground grid — System of interconnected bare conductors
arranged in a pattern over a specified area and buried
below the surface of the earth.
• Ground loop — Potentially detrimental (un-wanted and
damaging) loop formed when two or more points in an
electrical system that are nominally at ground potential are
connected by a conducting path such that either or both
points are not at the same ground potential.
• Ground ring — Ring encircling the building or structure in
direct contact with the earth. This ring should be at a depth
below the surface of the earth of not less than 2.5 ft and
should consist of at least 20 ft of bare copper conductor not
smaller than #2 AWG.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Grounding — Conducting connection by which an electrical circuit
or equipment is connected to the earth or to some conducting body
of relatively large extent that serves in place of the earth. In Figure
1.3, two conductive bodies are bonded and connected to ground.
Grounding of metallic noncurrent-carrying parts of equipment is
done primarily for safety reasons.
Grounding the metal frame of equipment protects any person
coming into contact with the equipment frame from electrical
shock in case of a fault between an energized conductor and the
frame. Grounding the equipment frame also ensures prompt
passage of fault current to the ground electrode or ground plane; a
protective device would operate to clear the fault and isolate the
faulty equipment from the electrical power source.
Power Quality Terminology
 Power Quality Terminology
• Harmonic — Sinusoidal component of a periodic
wave having a frequency that is an integral
multiple of the fundamental frequency. If the
fundamental frequency is 60 Hz, then the second
harmonic is a sinusoidal wave of 120 Hz, the fifth
harmonic is a sinusoidal wave of 300 Hz, and so
on
Harmonic distortion — Quantitative
representation of the distortion from a pure
sinusoidal waveform.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Impulse — Traditionally used to indicate a short duration
overvoltage event with certain rise and fall characteristics.
Standards have moved toward including the term impulse in the
category of transients.
• Inrush — Large current that a load draws when initially turned on.
• Interruption — Complete loss of voltage or current for a time
period.
• Isolation — Means by which energized electrical circuits are
uncoupled from each other. Two-winding transformers with primary
and secondary windings are one example of isolation between
circuits. In actuality, some coupling still exists in a two-winding
transformer due to capacitance between the primary and the
secondary windings.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Inductance — Inductance is the relationship between the magnetic lines
of flux (Ø) linking a circuit due to the current (I) producing the flux. If I is
the current in a wire that produces a magnetic flux of Ø lines, then the self
inductance of the wire, L, is equal to Ø/I. Mutual inductance (M) is the
relationship between the magnetic flux Ø2 linking an adjacent circuit 2 due
to current I 1 in circuit 1. This can be stated as M = Ø2/I1. Figure 1.4 points
out the two inductances.
• The unit of inductance is the henry [H], named for the American scientist
Joseph Henry. The practical unit of inductance is the millihenry [mH],
which is equal to 10–3 H.
• Self inductance of a circuit is important for determining the characteristics
of impulse voltage transients and waveform notches.
• In power quality studies, we also are concerned with the mutual
inductance as it relates to how current in one circuit can induce noise and
disturbance in an adjacent circuit.
Power Quality Terminology
 Power Quality Terminology
• Linear loads — Electrical load which in steady-state
operation presents essentially constant impedance to
the power source throughout the cycle of applied
voltage. A purely linear load has only the fundamental
component of the current present.
• Nonlinear load — Electrical load that draws currents
discontinuously or whose impedance varies during each
cycle of the input AC voltage waveform. Figure 1.6 shows
the waveform of a nonlinear current drawn by
fluorescent lighting loads.
Power Quality Terminology
 Power Quality Terminology
• Noise — Electrical noise
is unwanted electrical
signals that produce
undesirable effects in
the circuits of control
systems in which they
occur. Figure 1.5 shows
an example of noise in a
480-V power wiring due
to switching resonance.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Notch — Disturbance of the normal power voltage waveform lasting less
than a half cycle; the disturbance is initially of opposite polarity than the
waveform and, thus, subtracts from the waveform. Figure 1.7 shows notch
and noise produced by the operation of a converter in a variable speed
drive.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Periodic — A voltage or current is periodic if the value of
the function at time t is equal to the value at time t + T, where
T is the period of the function. In this book, function refers to
a periodic time-varying quantity such as AC voltage or current.
Figure 1.8 is a periodic current waveform.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Power disturbance — Any deviation from the nominal
value of the input AC characteristics.
• Power factor (displacement) — Ratio between the
active power (watts) of the fundamental wave to the
apparent power (voltamperes) of the fundamental
wave. For a pure sinusoidal waveform, only the
fundamental component exists. The power factor,
therefore, is the cosine of the displacement angle
between the voltage and the current waveforms; see
Figure 1.9.
Power Quality Terminology
 Power Quality Terminology
• Power factor (total) — Ratio of the total active
power (watts) to the total apparent power
(voltamperes) of the composite wave, including
all harmonic frequency components. Due to
harmonic frequency components, the total power
factor is less than the displacement power factor,
as the presence of harmonics tends to increase
the displacement between the composite voltage
and current waveforms.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Recovery time — Interval required for output
voltage or current to return to a value within
specifications after step load or line changes.
• Ride through — Measure of the ability of
control devices to sustain operation when
subjected to partial or total loss of power of a
specified duration.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Sag — RMS reduction in the AC voltage at power frequency
from half of a cycle to a few seconds’ duration. Figure 1.10
shows a sag lasting for 4 cycles.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Surge — Electrical transient characterized by a sharp increase
in voltage or current.
• Swell — RMS increase in AC voltage at power frequency from
half of a cycle to a few seconds’ duration. Figure 1.11 shows a
swell of 2.5 cycles.
 Power Quality Terminology
• Transient — Sub-cycle disturbance in the AC waveform evidenced
by a sharp, brief discontinuity of the waveform. This may be of
either polarity and may be additive or subtractive from the nominal
waveform. Transients occur when there is a sudden change in the
voltage or the current in a power system. Transients are short-
duration events, the characteristics of which are predominantly
determined by the resistance, inductance, and capacitance of the
power system network at the point of interest. The primary
characteristics that define a transient are the peak amplitude, the
rise time, the fall time, and the frequency of oscillation. Figure 1.12
shows a transient voltage waveform at the output of a power
transformer as the result of switching-in of a motor containing
power factor correction capacitors.
Power Quality Terminology
Power Quality concerns
 Power Quality concerns
• Power frequency disturbances are low-
frequency phenomena that result in voltage
sags or swells. These may be source or load
generated due to faults or switching
operations in a power system. The end results
are the same as far as the susceptibility of
electrical equipment is concerned.
 Power Quality concerns
• Power system transients are fast, short-
duration events that produce distortions such
as notching, ringing, and impulse. The
mechanisms by which transient energy is
propagated in power lines, transferred to
other electrical circuits, and eventually
dissipated are different from the factors that
affect power frequency disturbances.
 Power Quality concerns
• Power system harmonics are low-frequency
phenomena characterized by waveform
distortion, which introduces harmonic frequency
components. Voltage and current harmonics have
undesirable effects on power system operation
and power system components. In some
instances, interaction between the harmonics
and the power system parameters (R–L–C) can
cause harmonics to multiply with severe
consequences.
 Power Quality concerns
• The subject of grounding and bonding is one of the more critical issues in
power quality studies. Grounding is done for three reasons.
• The fundamental objective of grounding is safety, and nothing that is done
in an electrical system should compromise the safety of people who work
in the environment;
• The second objective of grounding and bonding is to provide a low-
impedance path for the flow of fault current in case of a ground fault so
that the protective device could isolate the faulted circuit from the power
source.
• The third use of grounding is to create a ground reference plane for
sensitive electrical equipment. This is known as the signal reference
ground (SRG). The configuration of the SRG may vary from user to user
and from facility to facility. The SRG cannot be an isolated entity. It must
be bonded to the safety ground of the facility to create a total ground
system.
 Power Quality concerns
• Electromagnetic interference (EMI) refers to
the interaction between electric and magnetic
fields and sensitive electronic circuits and
devices. EMI is predominantly a high-
frequency phenomenon. The mechanism of
coupling EMI to sensitive devices is different
from that for power frequency disturbances
and electrical transients. The mitigation of the
effects of EMI requires special techniques.
 Power Quality concerns
• Radio frequency interference (RFI) is the
interaction between conducted or radiated
radio frequency fields and sensitive data and
communication equipment. It is convenient to
include RFI in the category of EMI, but the two
phenomena are distinct.
 Power Quality concerns
• Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a very familiar
and unpleasant occurrence. In our day-to-day
lives, ESD is an uncomfortable nuisance we are
subjected to when we open the door of a car
or the refrigerated case in the supermarket.
But, at high levels, ESD is harmful to electronic
equipment, causing malfunction and damage.
 Power Quality concerns
• Power factor is included for the sake of completing the
power quality discussion.
In some cases, low power factor is responsible for
equipment damage due to component overload. For
the most part, power factor is an economic issue in the
operation of a power system. As utilities are
increasingly faced with power demands that exceed
generation capability, the penalty for low power factor
is expected to increase.
An understanding of the power factor and how to
remedy low power factor conditions is not any less
important than understanding other factors that
determine the health of a power system.