HVDC Transmission

What is HVDC Transmission? - Types, Advantages,

Disadvantages & Applications
Both electrical science and the practical applications of electricity began with
direct currents and its first practical application was DC Telegraphy powered by
electrochemical batteries. Electrical lighting also began with dc power using
dynamos. The first electrical central station was built by Thomas Alva Edison at
pearl street in new york and it began in the year 1882 with operating dc voltage
at 110 volts.

Nowadays, modern civilization mainly depends on the consumption of electrical

energy for domestic, industrial, commercial, and agricultural applications. For
this purpose, an efficient transmission system is very necessary since the
generating stations are located in remote areas. An efficient transmission system
has to meet the following requirements.

• Bulk power transmission over long distances,

• Low transmission losses.
• Less voltage fluctuations.
• Possibility of power transfer through submarine cables.
• System of interconnection.
Up to the 1980s, ultra high voltage ac (UHV-AC) transmission lines above 765
kV were used for bulk power transmission, and due to the development of
accurate control in thyristor, the HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission
lines are using which are having a distinct superiority over UHV-AC transmission
lines.
What is HVDC Transmission System?

The High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission system uses direct
current for the transmission of power over long distances. The HVDC
transmission system provides efficient and economic transmission of power even
to very long distances that meet the requirements of growing load demands. Due
to its simple constructional feature and less complexity, research and
development authority discovered its usage in modern power transmission.

By comparing ac and dc transmission, it is clear that for transmission of power

over long distances ac is not much suitable, and for generation and utilization of
power, dc is not favorable compared to ac.

Thus, for HVDC transmission it requires terminal equipment for convening ac

into dc at the sending end, and terminal equipment is again required at the
receiving end to invert this dc supply obtained into ac.

Principle of HVDC Transmission System :

The HVDC transmission system mainly consists of converter stations where

conversions from ac to dc (rectifier station) are performed at sending end and at
the receiving end the dc power is inverted into ac power using an inverter station.
Hence, the converter stations are the major component of the HVDC transmission
system.

Also, by changing the role of the rectifier to inverter and inverter to rectifier the
power transfer can be reversed which can be achieved by suitable converter
control. The below shows the schematic diagram of the HVDC transmission
system.
The ac substations at both ends of the HVDC line consist of ac switchgear, bus
bars, current transformers, voltage transformers, etc. The converter transformers
are connected between converter values and ac bus valves which transfers power
from ac to dc or vice-versa.

Smoothing reactors are necessary for converter operation, and for smoothing the
dc current by reducing ripples obtained on the dc line. The electrode line connects
the midpoint of converters with a distant earth electrode.

Types of HVDC Transmission Systems :

The HVDC transmission systems are mainly classified into the following types
on the basis of arrangement of the pole (line) and earth return. They are,

• Monopolar HVDC System - An HVDC system having only one pole

and earth return.
• Bipolar HVDC System - An HVDC system with two poles of opposite
polarity.
 • Homopolar HVDC System - It has two poles of the same polarity and
earth return.
• Back to Back HVDC Coupling System - It has no dc transmission line.
The rectification and inversion are taken place at the same substation
by a back-to-back converter.
• Multi-Terminal HVDC Systems - It has three or more terminal
substations.
Advantages of HVDC Transmission System :

Nowadays HVDC systems are preferred over HVAC systems because of the
following advantages,

• The HVDC transmission requires narrow towers, whereas ac systems

require lattice shape towers, this makes the construction simple and
reduces cost.
• The ground can be used as the return conductor.
• No charging current, since dc operates at unity power factor.
• Due to less corona and radio interference, it results in an economic
choice of the conductor.
• Since there is no skin effect in dc transmission the power losses are
reduced considerably.
• Large or bulk power can be transmitted over long distances.
• Synchronous operation is not required.
• Low short-circuit current on dc line.
• Tie-line power can be easily controlled.
• Power transmission can be also possible between unsynchronised ac
distribution systems (interconnection of ac systems of different
frequencies).
 • Cables can be worked at a high voltage gradient, which makes them
more suitable for undersea cables.
• Power flow through the HVDC line can be quickly controlled.
Disadvantages of HVDC Transmission System :

• It is very difficult to break the dc currents hence it requires a high cost

of dc circuit breakers.
• It is not possible to use transformers to change the voltage levels.
• Due to the generation of harmonics in converters, it requires ac & dc
filters, hence the cost of converting station is increased.
• It requires continuous firing or triggering thyristor valves hence is it is
complex.
• Converters have little overload capability.
• HVDC system is not economical for primary transmission, sub-
transmission, and distribution hence it is not used.
• HVDC substations have an additional loss at converter transformers
and valves. These losses are continuous.
Applications of HVDC Transmission System :

Since HVDC transmission systems have various technical and economic

superiority features as compared to the EHV-AC transmission systems. Hence,
in these modern days, HVDC transmission systems are mainly using in the
following applications.

• Long-distance bulk power HVDC transmission by overhead lines.

• Underground or underwater cables.
• Interconnection of ac systems operating at different frequencies.
• Back-to-back HVDC coupling stations.
• MTDC asynchronous interconnection between 3 or more ac networks.
• Control and stabilization of power flow in ac interconnection of large
interconnected systems.
Component of an HVDC Transmission System

The HVDC system has the following main components.

• Converter Station
• Converter Unit
• Converter Valves
• Converter Transformers
• Filters
• AC filter
• DC filter
• High-frequency filter
• Reactive Power Source
• Smoothing Reactor
• HVDC System Pole
Converter Station

The terminal substations which convert an AC to DC are called rectifier terminal

while the terminal substations which convert DC to AC are called inverter
terminal. Every terminal is designed to work in both the rectifier and inverter
mode. Therefore, each terminal is called converter terminal, or rectifier terminal.
A two-terminal HVDC system has only two terminals and one HVDC line.
Converter Unit

The conversion from AC to DC and vice versa is done in HVDC converter

stations by using three-phase bridge converters. This bridge circuit is also called
Graetz circuit. In HVDC transmission a 12-pulse bridge converter is used. The
converter obtains by connecting two or 6-pulse bridge in series.
Converter Valves

The modern HVDC converters use 12-pulse converter units. The total number of
a valve in each unit is 12. The valve is made up of series connected thyristor
modules.The number of thyristor valve depends on the required voltage across
the valve. The valves are installed in valve halls, and they are cooled by air,
oil,water or freon

.
Converter Transformer

The converter transformer converts the AC networks to DC networks or vice

versa. They have two sets of three phase windings. The AC side winding is
connected to the AC bus bar, and the valve side winding is connected to valve
bridge.These windings are connected in star for one transformer and delta to
another.

The AC side windings of the two, three phase transformer are connected in stars
with their neutrals grounded. The valve side transformer winding is designed to
withstand alternating voltage stress and direct voltage stress from valve bridge.
There are increases in eddy current losses due to the harmonics current. The
magnetisation in the core of the converter transformer is because of the following
reasons.

• The alternating voltage from AC network containing fundamentals and

several harmonics.
• The direct voltage from valve side terminal also has some harmonics.
Filters

The AC and DC harmonics are generated in HVDC converters. The AC

harmonics are injected into the AC system, and the DC harmonics are injected
into DC lines. The harmonics have the following advantages.

1. It causes the interference in telephone lines.

2. Due to the harmonics, the power losses in machines and capacitors are
connected in the system.
3. The harmonics produced resonance in an AC circuit resulting in over
voltages.
4. Instability of converter controls.
The harmonics are minimised by using the AC, DC and high-frequency filters.
The types of filter are explained below in details.

• AC Filters – The AC filters are RLC circuit connected between phase

and earth. They offered low impedances to the harmonic frequencies.
Thus, the AC harmonic currents are passed to earth. Both tuned and
damped filters are used. The AC harmonic filter also provided
a reactive power required for satisfactory operation of converters.
• DC Filters – The DC filter is connected between the pole bus and
neutral bus. It diverts the DC harmonics to earth and prevents them
from entering DC lines. Such a filter does not require reactive power
as DC line does not require DC power.
• High-Frequency Filters – The HVDC converter may produce
electrical noise in the carrier frequency band from 20 kHz to 490 kHz.
They also generate radio interference noise in the megahertz range
frequencies. High-frequency filters are used to minimise noise and
interference with power line carrier communication. Such filters are
placed between the converter transformer and the station AC bus.
Reactive Power Source

Reactive power is required for the operations of the converters. The AC harmonic
filters provide reactive power partly. The additional supply may also be obtained
from shunt capacitors synchronous phase modifiers and static var systems. The
choice depends on the speed of control desired.

Smoothing Reactor

Smoothing reactor is an oil filled oil cooled reactor having a large inductance. It
is connected in series with the converter before the DC filter. It can be located
either on the line side or on the neutral side. Smoothing reactors serve the
following purposes.

1. They smooth the ripples in the direct current.

2. They decrease the harmonic voltage and current in the DC lines.
3. They limit the fault current in the DC line.
4. Consequent commutation failures in inverters are prevented by
smoothing reactors by reducing the rate of rising of the DC line in the
bridge when the direct voltage of another series connected voltage
collapses.
5. Smoothing reactors reduce the steepness of voltage and current surges
from the DC line. Thus, the stresses on the converter valves and valve
surge diverters are reduced.
HVDC System Pole

The HVDC system pole is the part of an HVDC system consisting of all the
equipment in the HVDC substation. It also interconnects the transmission lines
which during normal operating condition exhibit a common direct polarity with
respect to earth. Thus the word pole refers to the path of DC which has the same
polarity with respect to earth. The total pole includes substation pole and
transmission line pole.
Types of HVDC Systems or Links
HVDC link is a connection between two ac grids in order to transmit very high
power at different frequencies. It is also used to solve stability problems in ac
grids. By using HVDC links, the power can be transmitted for longer distances.
Basically, there are five types of HVDC links that are used for power
transmission. They are,

• Monopolar HVDC Transmission System

• Bipolar HVDC Transmission System
• Homopolar HVDC Transmission System
• Back to Back Coupling System
• Multi-Terminal HVDC System.
Monopolar HVDC Transmission System :

An HVDC link that uses only a single conductor is known as a mono-polar link.
Usually, in this type of link, only a single conductor with negative polarity is
used, in order to reduce corona and interference. Earth or water is used as the
return path.

However, a metallic conductor is used as a return path when earth resistivity is

very high. The power and current flows only in one direction. For monopolar
transmission systems, the rated current is from 200A to 1000A. The below figure
represents the mono-polar HVDC link.
Advantages of Mono-polar Link :

• It uses only a single conductor. Hence, the design is very simple.

• It requires less maintenance.
• Because of high charging currents, these links are technically feasible
than HVAC systems.
• It is economical.
Disadvantages of Mono-polar Link :

• When a fault occurs on the conductor the entire transmission system is

shut down.
• These are used only for low-power rating links, like cable transmission.
• It affects the magnetic compasses of ships when it passes over
underwater cables.

Bipolar HVDC Transmission System :

An HVDC link that uses two conductors for transmitting the power and current
is known as bipolar links. Generally, these type of systems uses two conductors.
One with positive polarity and the other with negative polarity. The below figure
represents the bipolar HVDC link.
Under normal conditions, the current in the two poles is the same. Hence, the
ground current is absent. Whenever a fault occurs on these systems then they
automatically switch to the monopolar system by using earth as a return path
conductor i.e., when one pole undergoes fault condition, the other will continue
to supply the load.

A single bipolar high voltage direct current line is equal to two ac transmission
lines. When compared to the monopolar link the voltage is twice between the
poles in this system. The mid-point of the converters are grounded. The voltage
rating is given as ± X KV where X represents voltage with its magnitude.

Advantages of Bipolar HVDC Link :

• The transmission of power between two stations or on the mainline is

continuous.
• The fault on one link does not affect the operation of another link.
• During fault conditions, this link can also be used as the monopolar
link.
• The direction of power flow can be changed by changing the polarities
of the two poles.
 • The voltage in the bipolar link is twice between the poles when
compared to the voltage between the pole and the earth of a monopolar
link.
Disadvantages of Bipolar HVDC Link :

• Corona and radio interference is more when compared with a homo-

polar link.
• The connection of a converter to a pole is complicated.
• It is quite costly when compared to mono-polar links.

Homopolar HVDC Transmission System :

These links also use two conductors but of the same polarity. Usually of negative
polarity. When a fault occurs on the conductor the converters of the healthy pole
are quite enough to feed the remaining conductors. Which are able to supply more
than 50% of the power. In this type of link, the earth is used as a return conductor.
It also acts as a monopolar link during faulty conditions.
Advantages of Homopolar HVDC Link :

• It is comparatively cheaper than a three-phase ac line of the same

ratings.
• Corona and radio interference are greatly reduced with the use of
negative polarity conductors.
• These links can be operated independently under faulty conditions.
• The connection of the converter to the pole is not so complicated as the
bipolar link.
Disadvantages of Homopolar HVDC Link :

• The presence of ground current may have an adverse effect on the

pipelines passing through the nearby areas.
• It has limited applications due to the presence of ground currents.
• The cost of the line increases for higher voltages.

Back to Back HVDC Coupling System :

It has no dc transmission line. Rectification and Inversion are done in the same
substation by a back-to-back converter. The figure below shows the back-to-back
HVDC coupling.
The back-to-back HVDC coupling is mainly used to interconnect two ac networks
operating at different frequencies. It also provides features like improving system
stability, rapid variations in the power exchange, and control over the magnitude
of voltage and frequency independently in two networks.

Multi-Terminal HVDC System :

A multi-terminal HVDC system consists of three or more converter substations

in which some of the converter stations act as the rectifiers and some of them as
the inverters. The substations are either connected in series or parallel according
to the requirements. The below shows the bipolar multi-terminal HVDC system.
Comparison Between HVDC and HVAC
Transmission System

The modern trends have developed Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT)
and gate turn-off thyristors, which made the HVDC system very economical and
easy to maintain. By controlling the firing pulses of thyristors, we can control the
magnitude and direction of power flow effectively.

Since the permissible loading of an HVAC line is limited by transient stability

limit and line reactance to almost one-third of thermal rating of conductors and
absence of such limit in case of HVDC lines. An HVDC system of power
transmission can be effectively used in a power system. Let us see the differences
between high voltage direct current (HVDC) and high voltage alternating current
(HVAC) transmission systems.
Comparison Between HVDC and HVAC System :

HVDC Transmission System HVAC Transmission System

It is economical for transmission of It is economical for transmission of

power above break-even point i.e., power below break-even point i.e., for
for long distances. small distances.

The number of conductors required The number of conductors required

for transmitting power is less. for transmitting power is more.

Does not require any intermediate

substations for reactive power Requires intermediate substations for
compensation. compensation.

Very fast and accurate power flow Power flow control is slow and is very
control is possible. difficult.

Skin effect is absent resulting in Skin effect is present due to which

uniform distribution of current current density is non-uniformly
density across the cross-section of distributed across the cross-section f
the conductor. the conductor.

Corona loss and radio interferences Corona loss and radio interferences
are absent resulting in less are more due to which high insulation
insulation level required for the level is required for the transmission
transmission line. line.

Voltage in the line does not Voltage in the line fluctuates with the
fluctuate with the load. load.
 Does not require a double circuit, in
this systems earth return is used. Always requires a double circuit.

Transmission through underground Limit is imposed on the length of the

or marine is also possible. cable.

Transmission losses are less due to

the absence of flow of reactive Transmission losses are more due to
power. the flow of reactive power.

The fault levels of the two networks Fault levels of two networks get
are unaffected and remain added up and are increased after the
unchanged when interconnected. interconnection.

The cost of right of way is less and The cost of right of way is more and
the cost of supporting towers is less, the cost of supporting tower is more
as this system requires narrow as this system requires lattice-shaped
towers. towers.

DC breakers used in this system are The circuit breakers used in this
of high cost, as it is difficult to break system are of low cost when
dc currents. compared to dc breakers.

Advantages of HVDC Transmission Over HVAC Transmission :

Nowadays HVDC transmission systems are preferred over HVAC transmission

systems due to their distinct superiority. The various advantages of HVDC
transmission systems over HVAC systems on different basics are,

Economics :

• The cost of towers (pylons) is greatly reduced with less Right of Way
(ROW) cost and a simpler structure.
 • The same amount of bulk power can be transmitted using only two
conductors.
• Losses are reduced to two-third of the HVAC link with the use of only
two conductors. Hence, the efficiency of transmission lines is high.
• There is no skin effect and there is less corona loss due to the absence
of frequency, since corona loss ∝ (f + 25).
• No intermediate substations are required between the two ends of the
HVDC link.
Technical Performance :

• The use of an HVDC link improves the dynamic and transient

stabilities in the ac networks with which it is connected or associated.
• The power transmitted between the ends of the link can be fully
controlled.
• The voltage profile remains flat which implies that the voltage remains
unchanged with the distance.
• HVDC link proves to be an ideal means by which asynchronous
operating ac networks can be easily interconnected.
• An HVDC transmission line can transmit the power over long
distances.
Reliability :

• HVDC link is more reliable than the HVAC link.

• This is because the fault level in HVDC link is less than an HVAC link.
• The incorporation of light-activated thyristors in the converter units
has proved to increase the reliability of dc links.
Power Loss :

In the case of a 3-phase ac line, the power is given by,

Pac = 3 Irms2 R ...(1)

In the case of the bipolar HVDC line, the power loss is given by,
Pdc = 2 Id2 R ...(2)
Dividing equation 2 by 1, we get,

Assuming that the current is limited by temperature rise in each case, then I d =
Irms.

Therefore, the losses in the case of the HVDC system reduced by one-third when
compared with a 3-phase 3-wire ac system.

Overvoltages :

Overvoltages are primarily due to switching operations and lightning surges. The
switching operations may involve, load switching, transformer tap changing,
capacitor banks switching, etc. In the case of 3-phase ac lines, the switching
surges are limited to a peak value which is about 2 or 3 times the normal operating
peak voltage. But in the case of HVDC, the switching surges are about 1.7 times
the normal operating peak voltages.

Investment Cost :

In the above figure, Bd is the break-even distance. It can be observed that the cost
incurred on a 3-phase 3-wire transmission system appears to be economical below
the break-even distance Bd (which is around 500km for overhead lines and for
submarine lines it is around 50 km).
While for the transmission lines above Bd, an HVDC transmission system is very
economical. Below the break-even distance, the HVDC line is not preferred as it
raises the cost of the line compared to HVAC.
Modern Trends in DC Transmission
To overcome the losses and faults in AC transmission, HVDC transmission is
preferred. The trends which are being introduced are for the effective
development to reduce the cost of the converters and to improve the performance
of the transmission system.
Power semiconductors and valves: The IGBTs or GTOs employed required
huge amount of current to turn it ON which was a big problem. GTOs are
available at 2500V and 2100A. As the disadvantage of GTOs is the large gate
current needed to turn them OFF, so MCT which can be switched OFF by a small
current is preferred as valves. The power rating of thyristors is also increased by
better cooling methods. Deionized water cooling has now become a standard and
results in reduced losses in cooling.
Converter Control: The development of micro-computer based converter
control equipment has made possible to design systems with completely
redundant converter control with automatic transfer between systems in the case
of a problem. The micro-computer based control also has the flexibility to
implement adaptive control algorithms or even the use of expert systems for fault
diagnosis and protection.
DC Breakers: Parallel rather than series operation of converters is likely as it
allows certain flexibility in the planned growth of a system. The DC breaker
ratings are not likely to exceed the full load ratings as the control intervention is
expected to limit the fault current.
Conversion of existing AC lines: There are some operational problems due to
electromagnetic induction from AC circuits where an experimental project of
converting a single circuit of a double circuit is under process.
Operation with weak AC systems: The strength of AC systems connected to
the terminals of a DC link is measured in terms of Short Circuit Ratio (SCR)
which is defined as
SCR =Short circuit level at the converter bus /Rated DC Power
If SCR is less than 3, the AC system is said to be weak. The conventional constant
extinction angle control may not be suitable for weak AC systems. Constant
reactive current control or AC voltage control may overcome some of the
problems of weak AC systems. The power modulation techniques used to
improve dynamic stability of power systems will have to be modified in the
presence of weak AC systems. Six Pulse Converters The conversion from AC to
DC and vice-versa is done in HVDC converter stations by using three phase
bridge converters. The configuration of the bridge (also called Graetz circuit) is
a six pulse converter and the 12 pulse converter is composed of two bridges in
series supplied from two different (three-phase) transformers with voltages
differing in phase by 30o.