DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

Design Document for

Design of Power Capacitors for Power Factor

Improvement in a Power Distribution System
submitted to:

Professor Joseph Picone

ECE 4522: Senior Design II
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762

September 14, 2000

submitted by:

Page J., Parson L., Watson K., Wong C.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stanislaw Grzybowski
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mississippi State University
Box 9571
Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762
email: {jcp2, lbp1, kmw2, csw1}@ece.msstate.edu

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 Executive Summary

In the power distribution industry today, utility companies are trying to come up with a
solution to increase the efficiency of distributed power. One way of achieving this task is by
improving the power factor of a system by adding power factor correction capacitors. Power
factor improvement is a very important aspect of power distribution. Without a good power
factor, there cannot be an efficient means of transporting energy over long distances due to
the losses associated with moving power through a wire. This action has led to multiple
studies on power factor correction. In order to achieve maximum efficiency, we had to
increase our power factor as close to unity as possible. We accomplished this controlled boost
of power factor by installing the proper number of specifically designed high voltage power
capacitors at the substation.

In designing our capacitors, there were certain design constraints that had to be met and
overcome. Our capacitors were designed according to established IEEE standard 18-1992. In
addition, our capacitor bank was built around an average load on a typical substation. This
typical substation is rated at 15kV and during the peak hours of the day, its load of 3MW
draws a total of 2MVAR of reactive power. Using these typical specifications, a bank of forty
(40) capacitors was designed with each capacitor contributing 50kVAR of reactive power.
These forty (40) capacitors were also economically feasible. Another constraint that had to be
overcome was the capacitors' exposure to environmental conditions. Our capacitors are able
to withstand a corrosive environment and a wide variety of weather conditions such as
extreme temperatures and lightning. Upon meeting all of the design constraints, our capacitors
have long lifetime expectancy.

In overcoming the design constraints, several techniques have been incorporated. We

researched the problem thoroughly and took into account the design parameters. We contacted
several manufactures to learn about the construction of capacitors. Certain calculations were
performed to determine the dimensions and the physical construction of the capacitor. Next,
we used simulation tools (SuperHarm, Excel, and PSpice) to prove our design were feasible.
After these appropriate simulations were conducted, we tested the model capacitors in
Mississippi State University's High Voltage Laboratory in order to verify their design
functions and performance. We compared our test results with our design constraints and our
goals were met.

Due to the fact that using capacitors to correct a power factor has been around for many years,
we are not the first to design and build a high voltage power capacitor. However, the
innovativeness of our project comes into play when one considers the careful insulation
process and materials used to extend the capacitors’ life and efficiency.

The future of capacitor design to correct power factor will be based on finding new materials
that provide better insulation between the foil sheets. Today, researchers are trying to employ
new high- tech polymer as the dielectric in capacitors. This will allow for higher voltages and
smaller physical dimensions of the capacitor to be attained.

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Table of Content

Abstract.....................................................................................................................1
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................1
2. Problem.....................................................................................................................2
3. Objectives..................................................................................................................3
3.1 Reduce Voltage Drop and Energy Loss ....................................................3
3.2 Total Reactive Power of 2MVAR With A
Corrected Power Factor of At Least 90% .................................................4
3.3 Increase System Capacity..........................................................................4
4. Approach...................................................................................................................5
4.1 Reduce Voltage Drop ................................................................................6
4.2 Reduce Energy Loss ..................................................................................6
4.3 A Total Reactive Power of 2MVAR.........................................................6
4.4 Corrected Power Factor of At least 90%...................................................9
4.5 Discharge To 50V In Less Than 5 Minutes ..............................................9
5. Test Specification .....................................................................................................12
5.1 Capacitance Test .......................................................................................12
5.2 AC Withstand Test....................................................................................12
5.3 DC Withstand Test....................................................................................12
5.4 Discharge Test ...........................................................................................12
5.5 Impulse Test ..............................................................................................12
5.6 Loss Factor Test ........................................................................................13
6. Test Certification......................................................................................................13
6.1 Simulation Test Results ......................................................................................13
6.2 Actual Test Results .............................................................................................14
6.2.1 Capacitance Test .......................................................................................14
6.2.2 AC Withstand Test....................................................................................14
6.2.3 DC Withstand Test....................................................................................14
6.2.4 Discharge Test ...........................................................................................15
6.2.5 Impulse Test ..............................................................................................15
6.2.6 Loss Factor Test ........................................................................................15

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7. Summary...................................................................................................................15
8. Future Work .............................................................................................................15
9. Acknowledgement ....................................................................................................15
10. Reference...................................................................................................................16

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Abstract

In today’s booming power market, there are tremendous opportunities for companies that can cut
cost by boosting the efficiency of their power system. This project will exploit this “gold token”
by designing a power capacitor bank to maximize a distribution system’s performance. It will
illustrate how adding capacitors to a system improves the system’s efficiency and conserves
energy. In addition, this project will explain how a capacitor is designed, manufactured, and
tested to help predict the life and long-term performance of capacitors.

1. Introduction

Since the beginning of man’s modernization, electrical energy has been used due to the ease of
transmitting electrical energy and converting it to other forms of energy. Over the course of
history, many techniques have been incorporated to make a power distribution system more
efficient. Historically, power systems were over designed with more capacity than needed at the
time. This action allows for overall growth and expansion of a supplied area. For example, if the
load of a city “several years ago” was figured to be 5MW, then a transmission and distribution
system would be installed with a capacity of 10MW or 15MW in order to allow for possible
growth; however, this is not the case today. Due to expense reductions in the current competitive
power market, utility companies are not spending as much money to increase the capacity of the
power transmission and distribution system. With a low operating cost being the key motivator,
many companies are searching for techniques to improve their system capacity without actually
adding bigger, more expensive power lines, transformers, and generators. The answer to their
search is to maximize the efficiency of their current power system. This idea can be
accomplished by installing high voltage capacitors in order to correct their system power factor.

The technology of designing power capacitors for power factor improvement has existed for
more than a century. It had changed very little up until about 25 years ago. The main
advancements that have been made have to do with new dielectrics and insulation materials.
These new materials, allow for greater electrical strength and an overall decrease in the bulky
size of a capacitor. Nonetheless, the purpose of building and installing power capacitors remains
the same, which is to conserve energy and save money.

Power factor is defined as the cosine of the phase displacement angle by which the total current
leads or lags the circuit voltage (Bhouraskar S.N). To improve power factor, the lag between the
total current and total voltage should be as close to zero as possible. In a purely capacitive
circuit, current leads the voltage by 90 degrees, and in a pure inductive circuit, current lags the
voltage by 90 degrees. With these small bits of knowledge, one can deduct that a capacitor is a
good reactive power generator. Therefore, placing a specifically designed capacitor in an
inductive circuit helps to reduce the lag between the current and voltage thus keeping the
“money burning” reactive current off the transmission lines.

Since the current in the system is reduced, more loads can be added to the substation, which
allows for a more cost-effective way to add capacity to a power system rather than constructing
another more expensive transmission and distribution circuit. An additional benefit of adding

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power capacitors is the fact that they raise the voltage level at the substation where they are
installed. Overall, this will help to strengthen the power system and provide better power quality
across the entire network.

2. Problem

Since the beginning of power production, there has been concern about the efficiency of power
transmission and distribution. There are two main issues that drive this concern. The first
concern is economics while the second is power quality. If one can deliver power at a more
efficient rate than his rival, then he will be chosen as the major power supplier simply because he
can offer power at a less expensive price than his rival.

In order to offer power at a premium price, one has to minimize his losses associated with
sending energy through a wire. To minimize the losses incurred when transmitting power, the
overall power system must be made more efficient by minimizing the voltage drop between the
generator and the substation, and decreasing the current present on the power lines. The way to
accomplish this task is by addressing what is known as power factor correction. The power factor
of a system is the ratio of the real power (generated by the "power-producing-current") to the
apparent power (total current present). It expresses how efficiently the AC electrical power is
transmitted and overall used. Inefficiency in a power system translates to wasted power, and as
with any type of business, a utility company certainly does not like to waste its product.

In an energy system, the majority of electrical loads are inductive loads such as induction
motors. These types of loads produce electromagnetic fields in order to operate. Inductive loads
draw two kinds of power from the utility system: real and reactive. The real or active power is
the power that actually performs the work of creating motion, light, or heat while reactive power
produces the electromagnetic fields necessary for the operation of induction motors. The real
power is measured in kilowatts (kW) and the reactive power is measured in kilovolt-ampere-
reactive (kVAR). These two types of power are combined to make up apparent power, which is
the product of the voltage and current magnitudes; hence, it is measured in kilovolt-amperes
(kVA).

If the reactive power needed by a load increases while the real power needed stays the same,
there will be more current drawn through the wires. This increase in current will in turn increase
the voltage drop and power loss in the transmission line. Generally speaking, real power
generates money while reactive power on a distribution system costs money.

In order to produce the reactive power that is required by the inductive loads, power factor
correcting devices known as power capacitors will be designed to function as small reactive
power generators at the substation. A single capacitor alone cannot produce the large amounts of
reactive power required by an energy system; nonetheless, a bank of capacitors can be operated
collectively to supply a relatively endless amount of reactive power. Upon producing this
reactive power, there will be less current present on the overall utility system. This reduction of

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current leads to an increased voltage at the substation; hence, the voltage drop has been
minimized.

Upon correcting the power factor, there can be an efficient means of transporting energy through
the power lines. With this increase in efficiency, a company can realize greater profits and in the
end, provide a better quality product at a less expensive rate than previously. In other words, the
company’s good fortune can be turned into the consumer’s good fortune.

3. Objectives

1. We will reduce voltage drop in transmission lines going to the substation which will in
turn increase the substation voltage by 5% (around 750 volts).

2. We will reduce the current in power lines by 15% in order to reduce the energy lost in
power lines by 30%.

3. We will provide a total of 2MVAR reactive power to the substation for necessary
power factor correction.

4. The voltage rating across the capacitor will be 8.66kV.

5. We will achieve a power factor of at least 90%.

6. We will reduce the cost of transmitting power by 30%.

7. Our capacitor will be enclosed in a stainless steel container with two porcelain
bushings so it can withstand harsh environmental elements.

8. Increase system capacity by 20%.

9. Discharge to less than 50V in under 5 minutes.

10. Low dielectric loss (tan δ) (0.1w/kVAR).

3.1. Reduce Voltage Drop and Energy Loss

When more reactive power is demanded by the loads, the current drawn through the
transmission line increases. This increase in current causes an increase in voltage drop across
the lines and in turn, causes an overall lower substation voltage. In order to solve this
problem, power factor correction capacitors are needed. These capacitors will supply the
necessary reactive power required by the load, which will raise the voltage of the substation.
In addition to reducing the voltage drop, the reactive power supplied by the capacitors will
also reduce the total current in the transmission lines coming to the substation. This reduction
in line current reduces the apparent power that is lost in the trans mission lines; hence, the

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 energy loss has been reduced. Once this energy loss has been reduced, the cost of
transmitting power becomes less expensive since there is a more efficient operating power
system.

3.2. Total Reactive Power of 2MVAR With A Corre cted Power Factor of At Least 90%
In order to correct the power factor from 0.7 to 0.9 or higher on our typical substation,
2MVAR of reactive power is needed. To achieve this large amount, many capacitors will
be operated collectively to form a bank of capacitors. In an average daily usage of a
substation, the 2MVAR of capable reactive power will not be fully utilized all of the time
since the loads present on the system will vary throughout the day. For this reason, the
capacitor bank will be divided into 8 sections with one control switch each section. A
section may be energized only a fraction of time depending on the overall power factor
rating of the system at that time. In order to accomplish this subsection design, there will be
a total of 40 capacitors in the bank supplying 50kVAR each. Therefore, 5 capacitors with
250kVAR will operate on each control switch; hence, requiring eight control switches. If
the power factor is lower than 0.9 on our system, a proper amount of switches will be closed
(introducing 250kVAR into the system from each section energized) until the power factor
is 0.9 or higher. Nonetheless, if the power factor looks as if it might pass 1.0, a proper
amount of switches can be opened to maintain the power factor around 0.95 or slightly
below. With this type of system, the power factor can be "fine-tuned" with the capacitor
bank to produce optimum results throughout the day.

3.3. Increase System Capacity

In today's rapidly expanding world, system capacity is always a concern for utilities
companies. As mentioned in other sections, capacitor use on a power system will reduce
voltage drop, current present on transmission lines, and energy losses. When all of these
reductions are combined, one has to ask what will be the net effect on his power system?
The answer is a much more efficiently operating power system. The next question one
should ask is "how can this more efficient system benefit me or my company?" Well besides
reducing the costs of transmitting power, the system capacity is increased. For example, if a
company is manufacturing "widgets" at a 50% efficiency rate, they will be producing 1 lot
of "widgets" for every 2 lots of raw materials. If this same company could boost their
efficiency to 100% (theoretically of course), they could be producing 2 lots of "widgets" for
every 2 lots of raw materials. This boost in efficiency would allow them to produce twice as
many "widgets" as before in the same amount of time, and most importantly, with the same
amount of raw materials on hand. Although a power system isn't exactly a manufacturing
plant producing "widgets", it does perform the same when considering efficiency boosts. If a
power system's efficiency is increased from 50% to 100%, then the load on the generator
would be approximately decreased by one half. What does this all boil down too? Well if a
generation plant was serving 10,000 customers on the previous less efficient system, then it
could serve 20,000 customers on the 50% more efficient system; hence, providing a 100%
increase in overall system capacity. Of course, these are all theoretical results, but they are
not very far from the "real-world" results. We do not propose to give a 100% increase in
system capacity and double the amount of customers served. However, we do plan to

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 increase the system capacity by 20%, and although there are other factors that determine the
amount of customers that a generation plant can serve, we will drastically improve the
amount of load that a generation plant can supply power too.

4. Approach

Low power factor arises from an inductive load that draws a large amount of reactive power to
produce the magnetic field that it needs to operate. The reactive power needed by the load can be
drawn from the generator but this causes large losses to be incurred on the transmission and
distribution system. To reduce these losses and raise the power factor of the system, reactive
power needs to be injected into the power system fairly close to the load. There are several ways
to generate reactive power in a power system.

A very economical reactive power generator is a passive capacitor bank. When a capacitor is
energized, the voltage across the terminals cannot change instantaneously. When an AC voltage
is placed on the capacitor, the current waveform will be a sine wave like the source voltage but
its phase will be 90 degrees ahead of the voltage waveform. This leading current, when injected
into the power system by the capacitor bank, will offset the lagging current of the inductive load.

The capacitor is charged and discharged two times during the AC voltage cycle. An inductor is
also charged and discharged during the same cycle. The phase shifts between the current and
voltage in inductors and capacitors show that the inductor is charging at the same time that the
capacitor is discharging and vice versa. This relationship shows how the capacitors supply the
reactive power that the inductive circuits need for magnetic fields.

A simple capacitor is built by separating two conducting plates with an insulating material. The
following equation shows that capacitance is a function of the area of the plates, the distance
between the plates, and the permittivity of the insulating material between.

ε oε r S
C= S = surface area
d
d = distance between plates

Power capacitors are constructed by winding aluminum foil and a dielectric material (paper or
plastic) into circular coils. These coils are then connected in series and parallel combination and
stacked together in an insulated container. When designing a capacitor, the number of coils, the
length and the width of the foil, and the thickness of the insulating dielectric material needs to be
determined. Once the size and the number of coils are determined, the size of the required
capacitor container can be calculated. For our design, we will use polypropylene as the insulating
material and aluminum foil as the conductor.

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4.1. Reduce Voltage Drop
Voltage drop across a transmission line is caused by the increasing amount of current that is
drawn by the loads. This means there is a high consumption of reactive power by the loads
especially big motors or generators. When one of these monsters starts, there will be a
significant voltage drop across the transmission line as more and more current is needed. In
order to solve the problem of voltage drop, capacitors are used. Capacitors have been known
to store energy and this energy is reactive. This is a perfect solution because reactive power
can now be supplied to big motors and generators and this eventually decrease the demand
of reactive power from the distribution center or substation. When the problem is being
solved, energy can now be used in the most optimum level due to the addition of capacitors
in the system. These capacitors will be activated once there is a need for reactive power. The
effect can be shown below:

4.2. Reduce Energy Loss

Energy loss in a distribution system is mainly caused by the sudden increase in reactive
power demand by the loads. Energy loss also caused by in the inefficiency of some loads
where the ratio between real power to apparent power is not at the optimum level. This ratio
is denoted as power factor. When power factor is low, for example 40%, this means the load
is using only 40% of the total power supplied, and 20% is loss due to loads’ inefficiency. In
order to compensate the loss, capacitors are used. With capacitors, power factor rating can
be increased thus reduce the loss. The most desired rating for power factor is unity but that
might need some time to achieve. So a power factor of 90% or above is acceptable.

4.3. A Total Reactive Power of 2MVAR

As known, our capacitor bank will provide 2MVAR of reactive power at the substation. The
capacitor bank will include forty (40) capacitors connected in a parallel configuratio n.

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 Therefore, each capacitor in the bank will be rated for 50kVAR. The capacitor bank will be
connected to a 15kV substation. The following formula is used to find the capacitance of
each capacitor in the bank form the rated power and the substation voltage.

Q
C= Q = power of the capacitor
V
2πf ( LL ) 2 f = system frequency (60Hz)
3 VLL = substation line-to-line voltage

Therefore, the capacitance of each capacitor is found to be 1.901µF.

Once the capacitance is known, the size of the foil and dielectric needed to construct the
capacitor can be determined. The thickness of the dielectric, polypropylene, was determined
by taking into account the maximum voltage stress that the paper could withstand. The
maximum voltage stress of the polypropylene is 2000kV/cm. The line to neutral voltage in
the substation is a factor of √3 lower than the line-to- line voltage. This voltage of 8.66kV is
the voltage that will be placed across each capacitor in our bank. If the thickness of the
paper dielectric in the capacitor is chosen to be 0.02mm and the capacitor will have 6 coils
in series then the voltage stress across each coil will be given by the following equation.

VLN VLN = line to neutral Voltage

Voltage Stress = 6
d = thickness of dielectric
d

8.66
= 6
0 .2
kV
= 722
cm

The voltage stress of each coil is conservatively designed to be lower than the breakdown or
maximum stress of the insulating dielectric, in our case, polypropylene. This conservatism is
needed so that transients and other short-term increases in voltage will not cause the voltage
across each coil to exceed the breakdown voltage stress.

When coils are placed in series in the capacitor, the capacitance of each coil will be higher than
the total capacitance by a factor of the number of series coils.

Coils in series
Ccoil = 6(Cap)
= 6(1.901)
= 11.4µF

To reduce the capacitance of the coils in series, more coils can be placed in parallel with the
series coils. The parallel coils will be reduced in capacitance by a factor of the number of coils

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that are placed in parallel. In our design, we will use two (2) coils in parallel to reduce the
capacitance of each series value.

Coils in parallel
Coil Series
Ccoil =
2
11.4 µF
=
2
= 5.7 µF

Based on these calculations, our 50kVAR capacitor will have 12 coils inside it. There will be two
(2) coils in parallel and six (6) coils in series. Each coil will have a capacitance value of 5.7µF.
The following diagram shows how the coils will be connected inside the capacitor.

To find the amount of foil and dielectric required for each coil, the equation that relates
capacitance to area and separation distance is used. The formula for area of foil and dielectric is
determined to be:

Ccoil ( d ) ε r = relative permitivity of polypropylene

A= εo = permitivity of free space
ε rε o

The permitivity of the polypropylene was found to be 2.2. By applying this value to the formula,
the area is found to be 5.884m2 . For our capacitor, the area of foil and dielectric that is needed is
2.942m2 . We will use 5” (12.7cm) wide dielectric and the length needed will be 23.165m per
coil. The following diagram shows how the coils will be wound.

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4.4. Corrected Power Factor of At Least 90%
The current acceptable level of power factor is 90% or above. Power factor is nothing but
the ratio between real power and apparent power. As known, capacitors supply reactive
power. In other words, the supply of reactive power no longer has to be provided by the
distribution center or substation. Instead, the capacitors take over this job.

When this happens, reactive power supplied by the substation will go down; thus decreasing
the apparent power and increasing the power factor as shown in the following equation:

real power
Power Factor =
apparent power

4.5. Discharge To 50V In Less Than 5 Minutes

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering) standard require that capacitors be
able to discharge on their own to less than 50V in under 5 minutes when disconnected from
the voltage source. The internal resistance needed to accomplish this was calculated using
the time constant. An RC circuit will discharge from 90% to 10% in 5 time constants. This
gives time constant of one minute or sixty seconds for our capacitor-resistor combination.
Using the capacitance of our capacitor, the resistance calculated was 15MΩ.

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Figure 4. Whole 2MVAR Capacitor Bank Layout

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Figure 5. Partial Layout Of 2MVAR Capacitor Bank With Dimension Calculation

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5. Test Specification

In order to properly test the capacitor, there were six tests that were performed. The tests
included a capacitance test, a DC withstand test, an AC withstand test, a discharge test, a
lightning impulse test, and a loss factor test. These tests were performed according to IEEE
standard 18-1992.

Requirements SuperHarm PSpice

Voltage Drop •
Energy losses •
Reactive Power •
Power Factor •
Discharge Resistor •
Table 1. A summary of proposed tests to evaluate power factor correction capacitors using simulation
programs like SuperHarm and PSpice.

5.1. Capacitance Test

The capacitance of the capacitor will be measured using a multimeter. The el ads of the
multimeter will be connected to the terminals of the capacitor. The multimeter gave the
capacitance value.

5.2. AC Withstand Test

The two terminals of the capacitor will be connected together and connected to terminal of
the AC voltage source. The other terminal of the AC source will be connected to the case,
which is grounded. The capacitor will be energized at 40kV for 10 seconds.

5.3. DC Withstand Test

A DC power source will be connected between the two terminals of the capacitor. The
capacitor will be energized at 4 times the rated voltage of the capacitor, which is 57.6kV.
The capacitor will be energized for 10 seconds.

5.4. Discharge Test

The will be energized with DC voltage until the capacitor is fully charge. At this point, the
voltage source will be disconnected from the capacitor and a timing instrument will be
initiated. The total time for the capacitor to discharge to under 50V will be recorded.

5.5. Impulse Test

The capacitor will be connected to an impulse generator in the High Voltage Laboratory. An
impulse will be generated according to the 1.2/50µs (see Figure 6 for details) and IEEE
standard 18-1992. The performance of the capacitor will be evaluated and recorded. The

12
 capacitor will be subject to three positive impulses. The capacitor will be tested in wet
condition and at a voltage of 125kV.

5.6. Loss Factor Test

The capacitor will be connected to a transformer arm ratio bridge. This will give a measure
of the power loss of the dielectric.

6. Test Certification

6.1 Simulation Test Results

Before After % Change Desired % Change

Voltage (V) 13.812 14.439 +4.5 +5.0
Current (A) 141.768 108.486 -23.5 -15.0
System Load (kVA) 3931 2713 -20.0 -15.0
Power Loss (kW) 76.7 44.697 -41.7 -30.0
Table 2. Summary of simulated parameter values before and after adding power factor correction
capacitor using SuperHarm.

Power Factor (PF)

Before : 0.70
After : 0.96
Desired PF : 0.90

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 Available system capacity

system capacity (kVA)

2500

2000

1500

1000
0.7 0.8 0.9
power factor

Figure 5. System capacity increased as power factor is being increased from 0.7 to 0.95

Power Losses

80
power loss (kW)

70

60

50

40

30
0.7 0.8 0.9
power factor
Figure 6. Power losses decreased as power factor is being increased from 0.7 to 0.95

6.2 Actual Test Results

6.2.1. Capacitance Test

The capacitance of the capacitor was measured to be 1.989µF.

6.2.2. AC Withstand Test

The capacitor successfully withstands 40kV without any flashover at the bushings or the
internal coils.

6.2.3. DC Withstand Test

The capacitor successfully withstands 57.6kV without any failure at the bushings or the
internal coils.

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6.2.4. Discharge Test
The capacitor successfully discharge to less than 50kV in less than 5 minutes when it was
disconnected from the power source.

6.2.5. Impulse Test

The capacitor successfully withstood the lightning impulse at 125kV, as stated in IEEE
standard 18-1992, without any flashover at the bushings or the internal coils.

6.2.6. Loss Factor Test

The capacitor was tested and the loss factor was determined to be under 0.07w/kVAR or
less than 3.5w per capacitor.

7. Summary

Quality and economics are the two most important factors that must be considered when
designing a product to sale to the public. As long as there is a need for power, there will be a
need for an efficient way to produce and distribute energy to customers. The method to
accomplish is by installing power correction capacitors to improve the power factor rating in a
distribution system. The design of these capacitors must be flawless or they will not perform as
they are designed. With this in mind, there are countless man- hours being spent, even years, to
guarantee this quality. Hopefully, there can be some improvements that will make a capacitor
even more efficient. Indeed, capacitors are favorite in power distribution system and will
continue to remain that way as long as there is a need for quality and an economically feasible
energy supply.

8. Future Work

Capacitors will continue to play an important role in energy conservation especially power factor
correction until the next generation of devices come to existence. In the mean time, capacitors
will continue to serve their purpose and the design of capacitors will continue to get more and
more advanced. In the future, it will not be surprising if capacitors can correct power factor
rating to unity because of advancement in technology and manufacturing ability.

9. Acknowledgement

We wish to acknowledge Dr. Stanislaw Grzybowski and Dr. Joseph Picone of Mississippi State
University for their expertise and continued support of our project. We also wish to acknowledge
the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Mississippi State University for

15
allowing us to conduct tests in their High Voltage Laboratory. Dr. Grzybowski's knowledge in
high voltage engineering and power capacitor contributed to the success of this project. Finally,
we would like to thank Dr. Picone for the proper instruction concerning project management.

10. Refe rence

[1] Grzybowski S., Kordus A., Królikowski C., Seidel S., Zeydler-Zborowski J.,
“Kondensatory w energoelectryce”, Wydawnictwa Naukowo-Techniczne, Warsaw,
1969

[2] Turan Gonen, “Electric Power Distribution System Engineering”, McGraw Hill, 1986

[3] Hunt T.W.; "High Voltage Capacitor Design in Theory and Practice", High Voltage
Technology, Oxford University Press, 1968

[4] Glower J.D., Sarma M., "Power System Analysis and Design", 2nd Edition, PWS
Publishing Co., 1994

[5] Dugan R.C., McGranaghan M.F., Beatty H.W., "Electrical Power System Quality",
McGraw-Hill, 1996

[6] Yamayee Z. A., Bala J. L. Jr., "Electromechanical Energy Devices And Power
Systems", John Wiley & Sons, 1994

[7] Samhwa Capacitor Co. Ltd., “For Power Factor Improvement And Voltage
Regulation”, [catalogue], Korea.

[8] Hivolt Capacitors Limited, “High Voltage Capacitors: PMW”,

http://www.hivoltcapacitors.com/page3.html

[9] Yu Chang Electric Co., Ltd., “Power Capacitors”,

http://manufacture.com.tw/~yuhchang/high.htm

[10] Yu Chang Electric Co., Ltd., “HIGH VOLTAGE POWER CAPACITORS”,

http://manufacture.com.tw/~yuhchang/high1.htm

[11] Yu Chang Electric Co., Ltd., “Calculation Table For Installation Capacitor”,
http://manufacture.com.tw/~yuhchang/after.htm

[12] Commonwealth Sprague, “Three Phase Power Factor Correction Capacitor Cells”,
http://www.comsprague.com/cells.htm

[13] Phaseco, Inc., “Power Factor Correction Systems”,

http://www.phaseco.com/Serv_PFC.html

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[14] Sutton Designs, Inc., “Power Factor”, [newsletter]
http://suttondesigns.com/fnoble/messages/46.html

[15] Arco Electric Products, “Power Factor Correction Capacitors”,

http://www.arco-electric.com/html/PowerFactor.cfm

[16] Arco Electric Products, “What can I do to Improve Power Factor?”

http://www.arco-electric.com/html/pf_Improve.cfm

[17] Arco Electric Products, “Fact and Formulas”,

http://www.arco-electric.com/html/pf_Facts.cfm

[18] Bhouraskar S.N., “LT Power Capacitor: Trends In Technology And Review of
Performance”, http://k2.peakpeak.com/~terryf/tesla/misc/LT_POW_CAP.html

[19] Nicholas Abi-Samra, “Benefits of Power Factor Correction Capacitors”,

UOW Learning and Teaching Research Group,
http://edt.uow.edu.au/pq_clearing/resources/samra/paper1.htm

[20] GVR Electro, “LT Power Capacitors”, http://gvr.webindia.com/ltpow.htm

[21] Central Missouri Electric, “Power Factor”, http://www.cmecinc.com/pf.htm

[22] Reliant Energy HL&P, “Understanding Power Factor”,

http://www.hlp.com/business/SmallBus/powerquality/PQpfanalysis.htm

[23] Bartnikas R., “Engineering Dielectric: Electrical Insulating Liquids”, Volume 2,

American Society for Testing and Materials, 1994

[24] Bloonquist W.C., Craig C.R., Partington R.M., Wilson R.C, “Capacitors for Industry”,
John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1950

[25] Marbury R.E., “Power Capacitors”, 1st edition, McGraw Hill, 1949

[26] Georgiev A.M., “The Electrolytic Capacitor”, Murray Hill Books Inc., 1945

[27] Brotherton M., “Capacitor: Their Use In Electronic Circuit”, 6th printing, D. Van
Nostrand Company Inc., 1946

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