International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7 (2.

13) (2018) 381-384

International Journal of Engineering & Technology

Website: [Link]/[Link]/IJET

Research Paper

Harmonic Meter Design Using Arduino

Azmi Rizki Lubis1, A Antoni2, Bonar Harahap3, Gunawan Tarigan4, Jupriah Sarifah4
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
2
Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
3
Department of Industry Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
4
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
*Corresponding author E-mail: [Link]@[Link]

Abstract

This paper discusses the measurement of harmonic content using arduino which is simulated with proteus software. The components
used in this meter harmonic circuit are resistor, capacitor, LCD, microcontroller atmega 328P. Microcontroller works based on voltage
source (TR1) and current source (TR2) on proteus software. The voltage and current delivered to the microcontroller will be read and
executed according to the program on the microcontroller. The program used in this arduino microcontroller is the C language program.
The results obtained from this study Arduino successfully measure the harmonic content and display the measurement results on the
LCD.

Keywords: Harmonic Measurement, Arduino, Power Quality

1. Introduction
Over the last century, the use of electrical energy has increased tunes. Estimation of electrical power might be done to quantify
exponentially. To overcome this emerging problem then the way electrical parameters of a framework[10]. Contingent on the ne-
that can be taken is to reduce the use of electrical energy in the cessity of precision, time and the idea of the circuit there is a deci-
household sector. This resulted in the need for accurate methods sion for strategy and instrument to be utilized as a part of any
of measuring the use of electrical energy so as to reduce economic given instance of estimation [11]. In the current power utility set
losses[1]. The use of non-linear loads in industrial systems contin- up, shoppers are given utilization data just once per month with
ues to evolve which will create new problems of harmonic distor- their bill [12]. The period of time between refreshes about power
tion[2]. Harmonic distortion is something that is often encountered use is extremely ache for a purchaser to watch a changed conduct's
in power systems, computers, and controlled motor speed settings. impact on control utilization[13], [14].
In telecommunication applications, the use of the harmonic meter A harmonic meter design using arduino introduced in this paper.
is used to determine at the moment when the original frequency is This paper assist the user to construct homemade Arduino based
transmitted and then divided into several deviant frequencies. The harmonic meter. The connection diagram is explained in detail.
use of harmonic meters is very important for conducting power For verification, the harmonic meter is tested in Proteus software.
quality analysis on electrical power systems and for determining
the cause of the problems that arise[3]. 2. Harmonic Analysis
Electrical energy is needed by the end user, therefore quality and
continuity are inseparable and important things when operating
with widely used electronic equipment. Most industrial and busi- A. Fourier Series
ness consumers use power electronics equipment that requires a The trigonometric series for the periodic function 𝑥(𝑡) can be
large supply of electrical energy[4]. Increased use of power elec- expressed by the following equation[15]:
tronics equipment has been of particular concern as it produces 2𝜋𝑛𝑡 2𝜋𝑛𝑡
large harmonic content. So that required reactive power compen- 𝑓(𝑡) = ∑∞
𝑛=1 (𝑎𝑛 cos ( 𝑇
) + 𝑏𝑛 sin ( 𝑇
) + 𝑎0 ) (1)
sation on electrical equipment with high sensitivity to avoid dis-
turbance and loss of power[5]. Methods to reduce harmonic con- Equation 1 above is a description of the frequency domain of the
tent with APF have been proposed in the early 1970s[6]. periodic function. Component𝑎0 is the average value of the func-
Power is a critical electrical amount and everything in our reality tion 𝑓(𝑡), while 𝑐𝑛 and𝑑𝑛 are the square component series coeffi-
today relies upon having the ability to keep them running. It is cients of the nth [Link] find the corresponding nthharmonic
obligatory for a power specialist to know how much the measure vector the following equation 2 can be used:
of energy a power plant produces and furthermore the utilization
by the client over a time of time [7], [8]. It helps in estimation of 𝐶𝑛 ∠𝜙𝑛 = 𝑝𝑛 + 𝑗𝑞𝑛
transmission misfortunes between the age circulation and convey-
ance purchaser contraption[9]. This estimation helps in control with magnitude
burglary recognition and thus diminishes the transmission misfor-
Copyright © 2018 Azmi Rizki Lubis. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
382 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

stant magnitude 𝐴⁄2, and a phase angle f, which is time varying

𝐶𝑛 = √𝑝𝑛2 + 𝑞𝑛2 according to this formula.

And to find phase angle can be used : 𝜙 = 2𝜋𝑓𝑇 + 𝜃

𝑞𝑛 Where θ is the initial phase angle when 𝑡 = 0.A second vector

𝜙𝑛 = tan−1 ( )
𝑝𝑛 𝐴⁄2𝑒 −𝑗𝜙 (𝑋(−𝑓𝑛 )) with magnitude 𝐴⁄2 and phase angle −𝜃 will
rotate in the opposite direction to𝐴⁄2𝑒 +𝑗𝜙 (𝑋(𝑓𝑛 )). The negative
With the coefficients𝑎0 , 𝑐𝑛 , and 𝑑𝑛 are respectively frequency is obtained from the level of negative phase angle
change. Along the real axis is always the sum of two vectors, the
1 𝑇
𝑎0 = 𝑇 ∫0 𝑓(𝑡)𝑑𝑡 magnitude oscillates between A and -A according to this formula.
𝐴 𝐴
The fundamental f value for a period is from 0 to T 𝑒 𝑗𝜙 + 𝑒 −𝑗𝜙 = 𝐴 cos 𝜙
2 2

𝑇
2 And finally two half-amplitudes of contra-rotating vector can be
𝑝𝑛 = ∫ 𝑓(𝑡) cos 𝑛𝜔𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇 0 represented by each harmonic component of a real-valued signal
as shown in Error! Reference source not found., such that.
2 𝑇
𝑞𝑛 = ∫0 𝑓(𝑡) sin 𝑛𝜔𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇 𝑋(𝑓𝑛 ) = 𝑋 × (−𝑓𝑛 )
Where n is the harmonic order.
Where 𝑋 × (−𝑓𝑛 )is the complex conjugate of 𝑋(𝑓𝑛 ).
Based on the Fourier series above we get the odd harmonic fre-
quency waveform forming a multiple of fundamental frequencies
like the third, fifth, seventh, and so on. In a network of alternating
current systems 𝑎0 will not appear, and if the waveform is perfect
or sinusoidal then the existing order is 1st order, ordinary harmonic
amplitudes are expressed by:

𝐶ℎ = √𝑝𝑛2 + 𝑞𝑛2

Where n ≥ 1 for the value of C as a function n is often described in

a bar chart and is known as the "Harmonic Spectrum". The Har-
monic spectrum is the distribution of all the amplitudes of the
harmonic component as its harmonic order function and is illus-
trated using a histogram. Fig 1 below shows an example of a har-
monic spectrum. It can be said that the spectrum is the ratio of
current and harmonic frequency voltage to the current and the
basic frequency voltage.

Fig 2: Contra-rotating vector pair producing a varying amplitude (pulsat-

ing) vector

3. Results and Discussion

This study designs a harmonic meter circuit to measure the third
harmonic distortion content using an arduino microcontroller sim-
ulated using proteus software. The circuit performs measurements
based on current and voltage sources represented by CT and PT.
The harmonic distortion measurement is performed based on the
third harmonic amplitude ratios to the base frequency.
Fig 1: Harmonic Spectrum
A. Measures of Harmonic Distortion
B. Fourier Series in Electrical Circuits The Fourier series contains the harmonic distortion signals of
To get steady state response of the circuit to excitation non- current and voltage periodically expressed by the following equa-
sinusoidal periodic is required the use of Fourier series, AC phasor tion[16]:
analysis and superposition principle. The necessary step are : (1)
express the excitation in the Fourier series, (2) transform the se- 𝑖(𝑡) = ∑∞
ℎ=1 𝐼ℎ cos(ℎ𝜔0 𝑡 + 𝜑ℎ )
quence from the time insight form into frequency insights, (3) find
response DC and AC component in Fourier series, (4) sum up B. Current Individual Harmonic Distortion (IHDi)
each response in a superposition. Current individual harmonic distortion (IHDi) is the ration be-
tween the r.m.s. value of individual harmonics and the r.m.s. value
C. Complex Form of the Fourier Series of the fundamentals. The formula is as follows:
The geometric interpretation of the relationship between the wave-
forms in the time domain and the frequency in the plane of the 𝐼
𝐼𝐻𝐷𝑖 = √ 𝐼ℎ × 100%
complex can be represented frequency components as rotating 1

vectors. A uniformly rotating vector 𝐴⁄2𝑒 𝑗𝜙 (𝑋(𝑓𝑛 )) has a con-

 International Journal of Engineering & Technology 383

Where 𝐼ℎ is nth harmonic current, 𝐼1 is the fundamental current

and ℎ is harmonic order.

C. Total Harmonic Distortion

In the electric power system to see harmonic distortion in its fun-
damental component is termed THD or Total Harmonic Distor-
[Link] is a voltage waveform corresponding to the harmonic
index defined by the root mean square (r.m.s.) of the harmonic
expressed in the percentage of the fundamental component, i.e.

∑𝑛 2
2 𝑉𝑛
𝑇𝐻𝐷 = √ 𝑉1
× 100%

Where 𝑉𝑛 is the nthharmonic at a single frequency voltage, 𝑉1 is

the fundamental r.m.s voltage and 𝑁is the harmonic order. most of
the harmonic distortion content measurement ranges from 25 to 50.
THD values can be characterized as current distortion levels when
low base load currents are low. for a small load the total harmonic
distortion greater than the input current is not important, since the
harmonic current distortion is relatively small although it is Fig 2: Discrete time- and frequency-domain function
relatively higher than its fundamental frequency.
Or in a condensed form
D. Discrete Fourier Transform
Fourier analysis is a very efficient method for analysis and synthe- [𝑋(𝑓𝑘 ) = 1/𝑁[𝑊 𝑘𝑛 ][𝑥(𝑡𝑛 )]]
sis signal. The method is very closely suited for use on digital
computers or for implementation in digital hardware. Discrete In this equation, [𝑋(𝑓𝑘 )] is a vector of N components represented
Fourier Transform is used for finite signal duration. The tested by the frequency domain function, while [𝑥(𝑡𝑛 )] vector of com-
capacity is the situation where the frequency domain spectrum, as ponent N samples is represented by time domain function. To
well as the time of the work area, can be obtained separately sec- calculate the total elaborate product 𝑁 2 required a frequency com-
tions that are compatible with Fourier expressed by the following ponent N of sample N which is implemented in the above form.
equation: Each element in the matrix [𝑊 𝑘𝑛 ]represents the unit vector with
−𝑗2𝜋𝑘𝑛⁄𝑁 clockwise rotation 2𝑛𝜋/𝑁(𝑛 = 0,1,2, … , (𝑁 − 1)) introduced
𝑋(𝑓𝑘 ) = 1⁄𝑁 ∑𝑁−1
𝑛=0 𝑥(𝑡𝑛 )𝑒 between consecutive components. All these values are the same
depending on the value of N.
And

𝑥(𝑡𝑛 ) = ∑𝑁−1
𝑘=0 𝑋(𝑓𝑘 )𝑒
𝑗2𝜋𝑘𝑛⁄𝑁 4. Simulation Result
Frequency domain spectrum and time domain functions are de- Current harmonic measurements are simulated by using proteus
picted in Fig 2, with total N samples per period. The discrete Fou- software, harmonic meter circuit which is simulated using arduino
rier transform form is a precise digital calculation to evaluate nu- microcontroller. The meter harmonic circuit works based on simu-
merically. Consider equation (13) rewritten as: lated voltage and current supply with transformer 1 (TR1) re-
placement component to supply voltage and transformer 2 (TR2)
𝑋(𝑓𝑘 ) = 1⁄𝑁 ∑𝑁−1
𝑛=0 𝑥(𝑡𝑛 )𝑊
𝑘𝑛 to supply the current. Arduino microcontroller is programmed to
display the 3rdorder individual harmonic current, voltage, current
where 𝑊 = 𝑒 −𝑗2𝑝⁄𝑁 .The matrix equation for all frequency com- and power factor then displayed in Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).
ponents in equation (9) is as follows : Output TR1 is connected to a 470k ohm resistor component as an
𝑋(𝑓0 ) 1 1 . . . 1 . . 1 𝑥(𝑡0) analog input voltage used as a bias voltage regulator. In addition
𝑋(𝑓1 ) 1 𝑊. . .𝑊 𝑘 . .𝑊 𝑁−1 𝑥(𝑡1 ) there are two resistor components respectively worth 100k and
. . . . . 10k as a voltage divider of 2.5 volts DC to arduino and 10uf ca-
. . . . . pacitor components to pass the high frequency components by
1
. = . . . . . reducing the impedance. The TR2 output is connected to two.
𝑋(𝑓𝑘 ) 𝑁 1
2
𝑊 𝑘 . . .𝑊 𝑘 . .𝑊𝑘(𝑁−1) 𝑥(𝑡𝑘 )
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
𝑋(𝑓𝑁−1 ) 1 𝑊 𝑁−1 . . . 𝑊 (𝑁−1)𝑘 . .𝑊 (𝑁−1)
2
𝑥(𝑡𝑁−1 )

Fig 4: Harmonic Meter Circuit

384 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

470k ohm resistor components as a current analogue input used as [12] A. K. Sawhney and P. Sawhney, A Course in Electrical and
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[15] J. Arrillaga and N. R. Watson, Power System Harmonics. Wiley,
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[16] G. J. Wakileh, Power Systems Harmonics: Fundamentals, Analysis
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Fig 5: Simulation Result

5. Conclusion
From the research that has been done then arduino managed to
show the measurement of harmonic content of 3rd order current,
voltage, current and power factor displayed by LCD. The pro-
gramming language used is C language, this programming lan-
guage tends to be widely used by programmers because of its
more practical use. For the next research it is advisable to design a
series of harmonic meters using wireless.

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