Harmonics and Harmonic
Filtering
Introduction
Harmonics: What are they?
Waveforms of voltage and current
Fourier Series
Definitions
Harmonics: What do they cause?
Harmonics: What generates them?
Harmonics: Where to find them?
Regulations and limits
EN 50160
IEEE 519-2014: Recommended voltage distortion limits
The IEEE 519 standard defines the following harmonic voltage limits:
IEEE 519-2014: Current distortion limits for systems rated 120 V through 69 kV
The IEEE 519 standard defines the following harmonic current limits:
IEEE 519-2014: Current distortion limits for systems rated 69kV through 161 kV
IEEE 519-2014: Current distortion limits for systems rated above161 kV
Harmonic current limits: calculation of Isc and IL
Harmonic current limits: calculation of Isc and IL
Solutions for harmonic reduction
• Passive harmonic filters
Design: Passive harmonic filter (MATLAB help)
➢ The Passive Harmonic Filter suppresses system harmonic currents and decreases voltage distortion by providing low-
impedance paths for the harmonics. At the rated frequency, the passive shunt filters are capacitive and provide reactive
power, which can improve electrical power factor.
➢ To achieve an acceptable distortion, several banks of filters of different types are connected in parallel. The most
commonly used filter types are:
1) Band-pass filters, which are used to filter the lowest order harmonics, such as 5th, 7th, 11th, and 13th order
harmonics. Band-pass filters can be tuned at a single frequency (single-tuned filter) or at two frequencies (double-
tuned filter).
2) High-pass filters, which are used to filter high-order harmonics and cover a wide range of frequencies. A special
type of high-pass filter, the C-type high-pass filter, is used to provide reactive power and avoid parallel
resonances. It also allows filtering of the low-order harmonics (such as 3rd), while keeping zero losses at the
fundamental frequency.
➢ The resistance, inductance, and capacitance values are determined from the filter type and the:
• Reactive power at nominal voltage
• Tuning frequencies
• Quality factor. The quality factor is a measure of the sharpness of the tuning frequency. It is
determined by the resistance value.
Passive filter types
➢ The four types of filters that can be modeled are
• Band-Pass Filter, Single Tuned
• Band-Pass Filter, Double Tuned
• High-Pass Filter, Second-Order
• High-Pass Filter, C-type
➢ The simplest filter type is the single-tuned filter. The following figure gives the definition of the quality
factor Q and formulae for computing the reactive power QC and losses (active power P). The quality factor Q of
the filter is the quality factor of the reactance at the tuning frequency Q = (nXL)/R. The quality factor determines
the bandwidth B, which is a measure of the sharpness of the tuning frequency.
Single tuned filter
Active harmonic filters
Active harmonic filters: Principle of operation
Active harmonic filters: Connection diagram
Active harmonic filters: Sizing
