4.

Sources Grady
September 13, 2001
4. Sources

Harmonics are produced by nonlinear loads or devices that draw nonsinusoidal currents. An
example of a nonlinear load is a diode, which permits only one-half of the otherwise sinusoidal
current to flow. Another example is a saturated transformer, whose magnetizing current is
nonsinusoidal. But, by far the most common problem-causing nonlinear loads are large rectifiers
and ASDs.

Nonlinear load current waveshapes always vary somewhat with the applied voltage waveshape.
Typically, the current distortion of a nonlinear load decreases as the applied voltage distortion
increases. Thus, most nonlinear loads have the highest current distortion when the voltage is
nearly sinusoidal and the connected power system is “stiff” (i.e., low impedance).

In most harmonics simulation cases, these waveshape variations are ignored and nonlinear loads
are treated as fixed harmonic current injectors whose harmonic current magnitudes and phase
angles are fixed relative to their fundamental current magnitude and angle. In other words, the
harmonic current spectrum of a nonlinear load is usually assumed to be fixed in system
simulation studies. The fundamental current angle, which is almost always lagging, is adjusted
to yield the desired displacement power factor angle. Harmonics phase angles are adjusted
according to the time shift principle to preserve waveshape appearance.

4.1 Classical Nonlinear Loads

Some harmonic sources are not related to power electronics and have been in existence for many
years. Examples are

• Transformers. For economic reasons, power transformers are designed to operate on or

slightly past the knee of the core material saturation curve. The resulting magnetizing
current is slightly peaked and rich in harmonics. The third harmonic component
dominates. Fortunately, magnetizing current is only a few percent of full-load current.
The magnetizing current for a 25 kVA, 12.5kV/240V transformer is shown in Figure 4.1
(see spectrum in the Appendix). The fundamental current component lags the
fundamental voltage component by 66°. Even though the 1.54Arms magnetizing current
is highly distorted (76.1%), it is relatively small compared to the rated full-load current of
140Arms.

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Amperes
0

-2

-4

-6

Figure 4.1. Magnetizing Current for Single-Phase 25 kVA. 12.5kV/240V Transformer.

THDI = 76.1%.
(courtesy of Dr. Ewald Fuchs, University of Colorado at Boulder)

• Machines. As with transformers, machines operate with peak flux densities beyond the
saturation knee. Unless blocked by a delta transformation, a three-phase synchronous
generator will produce a 30% third harmonic current.

There is considerable variation among single-phase motors in the amount of current

harmonics they inject. Most of them have THDI s in the 10% range, dominated by the 3rd
harmonic. The current waveforms for a refrigerator and residential air conditioner are
shown in Figures 4.2 and 4.3, respectively. The corresponding spectra are given in the
Appendix. The current waveform for a 2HP single-phase motor is shown in Figure 5.5 in
Section 5.

2
Amperes

-2

-4

Figure 4.2. 120V Refrigerator Current.

THDI = 6.3%.

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40
30
20

Amperes
10
0
-10
-20
-30
-40

Figure 4.3. 240V Residential Air Conditioner Current.

THDI = 10.5%.
(courtesy of Mr. Bobby Carroll. TXU Electric)

• Fluorescent Lamps (with Magnetic Ballasts). Fluorescent lamps extinguish and ignite
each half-cycle, but the flicker is hardly perceptable at 50 or 60Hz. Ignition occurs
sometime after the zero crossing of voltage. Once ignited, fluorescent lamps exhibit
negative resistive characteristics. Their current waveforms are slightly skewed, peaked,
and have a characteristic second peak. The dominant harmonics is the 3rd, on the order of
15% - 20% of fundamental. A typical waveform is shown in Figure 4.4, and the
spectrum is given in the Appendix.
0.3
0.2
0.1
Amperes

0
-0.1

-0.2
-0.3

Figure 4.4. 277V Fluorescent Lamp Current (with Magnetic Ballast).

THDI = 18.5%.

• Arc Furnaces. These are not strictly periodic and, therefore, cannot be analyzed
accurately by using Fourier series and harmonics. Actually, these are transient loads for
which flicker is a greater problem than harmonics. Some attempts have been made to
model arc furnaces as harmonic sources using predominant harmonics 3rd and 5th.

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4.2. Power Electronic Loads

Examples of power electronic loads are

• Line Commutated Converters. These are the workhorse circuits of AC/DC converters
above 500HP. The circuit is shown in Figure 4.5. These are sometimes described as six-
pulse converters because they produce six ripple peaks on Vdc per AC cycle. In most
applications, power flows to the DC load. However, if the DC circuit has a source of
power, such as a battery or photovoltaic array, power can flow from DC to AC in the
inverter mode.

The DC choke smooths Idc, and since Idc has low ripple, the converter is often described
as a “current source.”

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September 13, 2001

ia’ waveform. THDI = 30.0%.

i1 Idc
+ Choke
1 3 5
ia ia’
a DC Load
b Vdc or
c Inverter

Transformer
4 6 2
–
Idc

ia with delta-wye or wye-delta transformer. ia with delta-delta or wye-wye transformer.

THDI = 30.0% in both cases.

Figure 4.5: Three-Phase, Six-Pulse Line Commutated Converter

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In order to control power flow, each SCR is fired after its natural forward-bias turn-on
point. This principle is known as phase control, and because of it, the displacement
power factor is poor at medium and low power levels.

The firing order is identified by SCRs 1 through 6 in Figure 4.5. Once fired, each SCR
conducts until it is naturally reverse biased by the circuit. The term “line commutated
converter” refers to the fact that the load actually turns the SCRs off, rather than having
forced-commutated circuits turn them off. Line commutation has the advantages of
simplicity and efficiency.

The idealized AC current ia (t ) waveform for a six-pulse converter equals Idc for 120º,
zero for 60º, and then –Idc for 120º, and zero for another 60º (see Figure 4.5 and the field
measurement shown in Figure 5.1 of Section 5). The Fourier series is approximately

i (t ) = I1 [ sin(1ω1t − 1θ1 ) − sin(5ω1t − 5θ1 ) − sin(7ω1t − 7θ1 )

1 1
5 7
1 1
+ sin(11ω1t − 11θ1 ) + sin(13ω1t − 13θ1 )
11 13
− sin(17ω1t − 17θ1 ) − sin(19ω1t − 19θ1 ) +  ] ,
1 1
17 19

where I1 is the peak fundamental current, and θ1 is the lagging displacement power
factor angle. The magnitudes of the AC current harmonics decrease by the 1/k rule, i.e.
the fifth harmonic is 1/5 of fundamental, the seventh harmonic is 1/7 of fundamental, etc.
The even-ordered harmonics are missing due to half-wave symmetry, and the triple
harmonics are missing because the converter is a three-wire load served by a transformer
with a delta or undgrounded-wye winding.

If the converter transformer has no phase shift (i.e., either wye-wye or delta-delta), then
the current waveshape on the power system side, i.e., ia (t ) , is the same as current ia’ (t )
on the converter side of the transformer. If the transformer is wye-delta or delta-wye,
then the sign of every other pair of harmonics in ia (t ) changes, yielding

ia (t ) = [ I1 sin(1ω1t − 1θ1 ) + sin(5ω1t − 5θ1 ) + sin(7ω1t − 7θ1 )

1 1
5 7
1 1
+ sin(11ω1t − 11θ1 ) + sin(13ω1t − 13θ1 )
11 13
+ sin(17ω1t − 17θ1 ) + sin(19ω1t − 19θ1 ) +  ] .
1 1
17 19

Two or more six-pulse converters can be operated in parallel through phase-shifting

transformers to reduce the harmonic content of the net supply-side current. This principle
is known as phase cancellation. A twelve-pulse converter has two six-pulse converters

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connected in parallel on the AC side and in series on the DC side. One load-side
transformer winding is delta and the other is wye. As a result, half of the harmonic
currents cancel (notably, the 5th and 7th), producing an AC current waveform that is
much more sinusoidal than that of each individual converter alone. Higher pulse orders
(i.e., eighteen pulse, twenty-four pulse, etc.) can also be achieved. The AC current
harmonic multiples produced by a P-pulse converter are

h = PN ± 1, N = 1,2,3, ... ;

P = an integer multiple of 6.

• Voltage-Source Converters. For applications below 500HP, voltage source converters

employing pulse-width modulaters with turn-on/turn-off switches on the motor side are
often the choice for ASDs. Since both power and voltage control is accomplished on the
load side, the SCRs in Figure 4.5 can be replaced with simple diodes. The circuit is
shown in Figure 4.6, and the spectra are given in the Appendix.

The diode bridge and capacitor provide a relatively stiff Vdc source for the PWM drive,
hence the term “voltage source.” Since voltage-source converters do not employ phase
control, their displacement power factors are approximately 1.0.

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ia with high power. THDI = 32.6%. ia with low power. THDI = 67.4%.
(delta-delta or wye-wye) (delta-delta or wye-wye)

i1

+
1 3 5
ia
a DC Load
b or
Vdc
c PWM Inverter

Transformer
Capacitor
4 6 2
–

ia with high power. THDI = 32.6%. ia with low power. THDI = 67.4%.
(delta-wye or wye-delta) (delta-wye or wye-delta)

Figure 4.6: Three-Phase, Six-Pulse Voltage-Source Converter

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Unfortunately, current distortion on the power system side is higher for voltage-source
converters than for line commutated converters, and the current waveshape varies
considerably with load level. Typical waveforms are shown in Figure 4.6. Even though
lower load levels have higher THDI , the harmonic amperes do not vary greatly with load
level because fundamental current is proportional to load level.

The higher current distortion created by these drives is one of the main reasons that
voltage-source inverters are generally not used above 500HP.

• Switched-Mode Power Supplies. These power supplies are the "front-end" of single-
phase 120V loads such as PCs and home entertainment equipment. Typically, they have
a full-wave diode rectifier connected between the AC supply system and a capacitor, and
the capacitor serves as a low-ripple “battery” for the DC load. Unfortunately, low ripple
means that the AC system charges the capacitor for only a fraction of each half-cycle,
yielding an AC waveform that is highly peaked, as shown in Figure 4.7.

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i1

+
1 3
i
DC Load
Or DC/DC
Vdc
Converter

Capacitor
4 2
–

5
Amperes

-5

AC Current for Above Circuit. THDI = 134%.

5
Amperes

-5

AC Current on Delta Side of Delta-Grounded Wye Transformer that Serves Three PCs.
THDI = 94.0%.

Figure 4.7. Single-Phase Switched-Mode Power Supply and Current Waveforms

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4.3. Other Nonlinear Loads

There are many other harmonic sources. Among these are cycloconverters, which directly
convert 60 Hz AC to another frequency, static VAr compensators, which provide a variable
supply of reactive power, and almost any type of "energy saving" or wave-shaping device, such
as motor power factor controllers. Waveforms for three common loads are shown below in
Figures 4.8, 4.9, and 4.10, and the corresponding spectra are given in the Appendix.
25
20
15
10
Amperes

5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25

Figure 4.8. 120V Microwave Oven Current.

THDI = 31.9%.

12
8

4
Amperes

0
-4

-8
-12

Figure 4.9. 120V Vacuum Cleaner Current.

THDI = 25.9%.

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0.2
0.15
0.1

Amperes
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
-0.2

Figure 4.10. 277V Fluorescent Lamp Current (with Electronic Ballast).

THDI = 11.6%.

4.4. Cumulative Harmonics

Voltage distortion and load level affect the current waveshapes of nonlinear loads. Harmonic
magnitudes and phase angles, especially the phase angles of higher-frequency harmonics, are a
function of waveshape and displacement power factor. Thus, the net harmonic currents produced
by ten or more nearby harmonic loads are not strictly additive because there is some naturally-
occuring phase cancellation. If this phase angle diversity is ignored, then system simulations will
predict exaggerated voltage distortion levels.

This net addition, or diversity factor, is unity for the 3rd harmonic, but decreases for higher
harmonics. Research and field measurement verifications have shown that the diversity factors
in Table 4.1 are appropriate in both three-phase and single-phase studies. Even-ordered
harmonics are ignored.

Table 4.1. Current Diversity Factor Multipliers for Large Numbers of Nonlinear Loads

Current Diversity
Harmonic Factor
3 1.0
5 0.9
7 0.9
9 0.6
11 0.6
13 0.6
15 0.5
Higher Odds 0.2
All Evens 0.0

A typical application of Table 4.1 is when ten 100HP voltage-source ASDs are located within a
single facility, and the facility is to be modeled as a single load point on a distribution feeder.
The net ASD is 1000HP, and the net spectrum is the high-power spectrum of Figure 4.6 but with

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magnitudes multiplied by the diversity factors of Table 4.1. The phase angles are unchanged.
The composite waveshape is shown in Figure 4.11.

Figure 4.11. Expected Composite Current Waveshape for Large Numbers of High-Power
Voltage-Source ASDs. THDI = 27.6%.

Similiarly, the composite waveshape for one thousand 100W PCs with the Waveform shown in
Figure 4.7 would be a single 100kW load with the waveshape shown in Figure 4.12.

Figure 4.12. Expected Composite Current Waveshape for Large Numbers of PCs.
THDI = 124%.

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