International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)

Volume 3 Issue 5, August 2019 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470

Experimental Research on Power Quality Improvement using

Capacitor Bank for 500 kVA Three-Phase Transformer
Phyu Phyu Win1, Moe Phyu Thel2
1Associate
Professor, 2Lecturer
1,2Department of Electrical Power Engineering, Technological University, Mandalay, Myanmar

How to cite this paper: Phyu Phyu Win | ABSTRACT

Moe Phyu Thel "Experimental Research This research is to improve the power quality for 500kVA three-phase
on Power Quality Improvement using transformer using capacitor bank at Technological University (Mandalay). The
Capacitor Bank for 500 kVA Three-Phase main purpose of installing a capacitor bank is to compensate the reactive
Transformer" power consumption and reduce the line losses for power quality
Published in improvement. The required value of capacitor bank rating for transformer is
International calculated in this paper. And then the results for loss reduction and reactive
Journal of Trend in power compensation are also compared without and with capacitor bank. In
Scientific Research this research, 150 kVAR of capacitor bank is installed to improve the power
and Development factor up to 0.99, to decrease reactive power from 138.47 to 0.75kVAR,
(ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456- IJTSRD26637 apparent power from 169.47kVA to 101.93kVA, and percent loss reduction up
6470, Volume-3 | to 69.14. So, the simple model of reactive power compensation with 150kVAR
Issue-5, August 2019, pp.1202-1207, capacitor bank is helpful for 500 kVA transformer at Technological University
https://doi.org/10.31142/ijtsrd26637 (Mandalay) to reduce reactive power consumption.

Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and KEYWORDS: Power quality; Power factor; Capacitor bank; Reactive power
International Journal of Trend in Scientific compensation; apparent power
Research and Development Journal. This INTRODUCTION
is an Open Access article distributed Power quality has always been a major concern in any electrical power system
under the terms of design. Power Factor (PF) is one of the measures of the overall power quality
the Creative and must be considered in a system that has a large amount of capacitive and
Commons Attribution inductive loads which can cause poor power factor such as leading and lagging
License (CC BY 4.0) power factors. In electrical engineering, power factor is only related to AC
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by circuits. There is no power factor in DC circuits due to zero frequency.
/4.0)
The power factor of a system is composed of two elements, electrical systems design concepts as well as advancements
active power and apparent power. Active power is the useful in power electronic technologies may shift the design
power. Apparent power is the aggregate of active power and philosophy for implementing PF correction.
reactive power. This ratio is also equal to the cosine of the
angle between the voltage and the current of the system. POWER FACTOR CORRECTION TECHNIQUES
When the overall power factor of a generating station’s load If reactive power compensator is supplied near the load, the
is low, the system is inefficient and the cost of electricity line current, power losses can be reduced or minimized and
corresponding high [1]. To overcome this, and at the same voltage regulation can also be improved at the load
time ensure that the generators and cables are not loaded terminals. The reactive power elements which can control
with the wattles current, the supply authorities often the reactive power distribution and flows are [5][6][7]:
impulse penalties for low power factor [2] [3].
1. Synchronous condenser
Depending on load, power factor can be classified as lagging 2. Shunt capacitor
power factor, leading power factor and unity power factor. 3. Series capacitor
Poor PF like lagging power factor and leading power factor
can lead to excessive current requirements and may also 4. Shunt reactor
cause operating issues with electric generators, motors, 5. Static Var compensator
transformers, the generation and the distribution systems. It
6. Saturable transformer
makes the electrical system less efficient, and has the
potential to damage the machines. To accommodate these 7. Tap-staggered transformer
issues, various devices are used to balance the reactive
power being provided or absorbed. Today, the most common Among these types, reactive power compensation can be
way to improve a poor “lagging” PF in any plant due to implemented with the capacitor bank connected in parallel
inductive loads is to install “PF improvement capacitors”[4]. or in series with the load simply and effectively. Moreover,
This method is a time proven means for correction provided two types of capacitor bank can be classified as follow [7]:
at a reasonable cost and with typically good reliability when 1. Fixed type capacitor bank
there were not many non-linear loads. However, modern 2. Automatic type capacitor bank

@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD26637 | Volume – 3 | Issue – 5 | July - August 2019 Page 1202
 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
A. Fixed Type Capacitor Bank (or)
The reactive power supplied by the fixed capacitor bank is Reactive Power = (ApparentPower)2  (Real Power)2 (7)
constant irrespective of any variations in the power factor
and the load of the receivers. These capacitor banks are (or)
switched on either manually by a remote-controlled
contactor. Q= (S) 2  (P) 2 (8)

This type of capacitor bank can be used in the following S= P + j Q (where j is the imaginary unit) (9)
application:
1. Where the load factor is reasonably constant. Capacitor Rating = Multiplying Power Factor  kW Demand
2. Electrical installations with constant load operating 24 (10)
hours a day (or)
3. Reactive compensation of transformers
4. Individual compensation of the motors Capacitor Rating = kVAR – kVAR (11)
5. Where the kVAR rating of the capacitors is less than, or (Uncorrected) (Corrected)
equal to 15% of the supply transformer rating, a fixed
value of compensation is appropriate. 2
6. Size of Fixed Capacitor bank Qc ≤ 15% kVA transformer % Line Current Reduction = 100 1 PresentPowerFactor 
 
 ImprovedPowerFactor (12)
B. Automatic Type Capacitor Bank
The reactive power supplied by the capacitor bank can be 2

adjusted according to variations in the power factor and the % Power Losses = 100  Present Power Factor  (13)
 Improved Power Factor 
load of the receivers. The equipment is applied at points in  
an installation where the active-power or reactive power
variations are relatively large, for example:
% Loss Reduction=100 1   Present Power Factor  
2

1. At the bus bars of a main distribution switch-board,  

  Improved Power Factor  
2. At the terminals of a heavily-loaded feeder cable. (14)

The advantages of automatic power factor correction are as %Voltage improvement

follows [8][9]: = Capacitor kVAR  % Transforme r Reactance
1. Consistently high power factor under fluctuating loads Transforme r kVA (15)
2. Prevention of leading power factor Where,
3. Elimination of power factor penalty
4. Lower energy consumption by reducing losses V = Voltage (V)
5. Continuously sensing and monitoring the load I = Current (A)
6. Ensures easy user interface
7. Automatically switch on/off relevant capacitors steps P = Real Power (kW)
for consistent power factor. S = Apparent Power (kVA)
In this research, automatic type capacitor bank is used for Q = Reactive Power (kVAR)
the proposed area, TU (Mandalay), as it is situated under cos Ø = Power factor
high load fluctuation.
DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION The selected location is Technological University (Mandalay)
The power factor controller can be programmed with many which is located in Mandalay Division. This University is
additional features. To protect the capacitors, the regulators supplied the power from a main transformer (500kVA,
are equipped with an automatic shutdown facility in the 11/0.4 kV). The incoming line is 11 kV transmission line
event of excess voltage or excess harmonics. The regulators from Patheingyi substation.
should have digital display of PF, current, volts, active power,
reactive power and kVAR required to achieve target power kVA rating = 500 kVA
factor. The following equations can be applied for sizing of Number of phase = Three phase
capacitor bank [10][11][12].’
Frequency = 50 Hz
P=S cosø (1)
Transformer reactance = 6 %
For Three Phase, P = 3VIcos ø (2)
S = VI (3) Efficiency = 98.56 %
High voltage = 11 kV
Apparent Power,
Low voltage = 400 V
S = (Real power) 2
+ (Reactive power) 2
(4)
Type of connection = Delta-star
(or)
S = (P) 2 + (Q) 2 (5) The following data are obtained from Technological
University (Mandalay) to design automatic shunt capacitor
Q= 3 V I sin Ø (6) bank for power factor correction. This can be conveniently
done by considering the load as follows:

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
TABLE1. SURVEY OF TU (MANDALAY) LOAD PATTERN = 137.6 kVAR
IN JUNE, 2018 =150kVAR (Around)
Real Reactiv Apparen Power
Time Power e Power t Power Factor Actually, 0.95 power factor is reasonable for application but
(kW) (kVAR) (kVA) (P.F) 0.99 power factor is considered for future load expansion.
1:00 AM 30.55 18.04 36.56 0.85 So, 150kVAR automatic shunt type capacitor bank is
2:00 AM 32.23 20.11 37.72 0.83 installed at the secondary side of the transformer.
3:00 PM 31.45 25.12 40.11 0.81
4:00 PM 45.23 34.04 55.43 0.8 EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
5:00 PM 43.16 40.02 58.01 0.75 To correct entire University's loads, 150kVAR (5 × 30 kVAR)
6:00 AM 71.33 110.34 129.75 0.55 automatic capacitor bank are installed at the secondary side
7:00 AM 75.76 98.11 123.42 0.60 of the transformer. The system maintains the power factor at
8:00 AM 76.3 109.00 131.78 0.58 0.99 with considering the future load demand as that
9:00 AM 97.76 102.10 140.56 0.7 university. It eliminates too much kVAR at light-load periods
and undesirable over-voltages.
10:00 AM 95.78 96.88 136.22 0.7
11:00 AM 97.76 145.70 175.00 0.56
12:00 PM 99.63 108.00 145.11 0.7
1:00 PM 90.67 93.45 130.55 0.69
2:00 PM 100.24 106.90 146.03 0.7
3:00 PM 100.20 106.02 143.77 0.69
4:00 PM 100.08 138.47 169.47 0.55
5:00 PM 43.1 59.00 72.88 0.6
6:00 PM 65.67 100.01 116.99 0.57
7:00 PM 74.22 82.91 110.71 0.68
8:00 PM 73.34 77.79 104.79 0.7
9:00 PM 60.78 62.90 88.90 0.69
10:00 PM 51.42 50.82 73.99 0.7 Fig.2 Connection Diagram of 150kVAR Capacitor Bank
11:00 PM 45.77 45.71 63.66 0.7
12:00 PM 30.15 32.09 43.09 0.7 TU (Mandalay) has variable load conditions and inductive
loads. So, automatic capacitor banks are used for power
factor correction of this university. The following figures
3(a), (b) and (c) are complete installation diagrams of five
numbers of 30 kVAR ( 30kVAR×5=150kVAR) automatic
capacitor bank for power factor correction. Figure 2 shows
the connection diagram of 150kVAR capacitor bank for 500
kVA three-phase transformer for TU (Mandalay).

Fig.1 Load Pattern of TU(Mandalay)

SIZING OF CAPACITOR BANK

The multiplier table can be used for capacitor selection
straight away when the present load, present power factor
and desired power factor are known. To properly selected
capacitor rating required to increase power factor from 0.55
to 0.99, the steps must be followed as stated. (a)
Step 1: Find the present power factor in column
Step 2: Read across to optimum power factor column
Step 3: Multiply that number by kW demand from table 2.

The following data are obtained from 4PM:

Present kW = 100 kW
Present kVA = 169.47 kVA
Present kVAR = 138.47 kVAR
Present power factor = 0.55
Desired power factor = 0.99
Multiplying factor = 1.376 (From table)

Therefore,
Capacitor Rating =Multiplying Factor × kW Demand
= 1.376 × 100 (b)

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C. Experiment 3
When all of 30kVAR (5×30kVAR=150kVAR) automatic
capacitor are on in the experiment 3, the following
experimental and calculation results shown in table 4 are
obtained. Experimental Result for 0.99 of power
improvement is also illustrated in figure 4.

TABLE4. EXPERIMENTAL AND CALCULATION RESULTS

OF EXPERIMENT 3
Experiment Results
Capacitor Bank (kVAR) 150
Power factor 0.99
Qremain(kVAR) 0.75
P (kW) 100

(c) S (kVA) 101.93

Fig.3 Complete Installation Diagram of 150kVAR Calculation Results
capacitor bank for 500 kVA three-phase transformer % Line Current Reduction 19.75
for TU (Mandalay)
% Power Losses 30.86
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS % Loss Reduction 69.14
In the experiment, three types of experiment are tested to
obtain the power factor improvement and these are showed
below.

A. Experiment 1
In the experiment 1, three numbers of 30kVAR (90kVAR)
automatic capacitor are on and the remaining two capacitors
are off. Under this condition, the following experiment
results are obtained. Table 2 shows not only the experiment
but also the calculation results using equations 1 to 15.

TABLE2. EXPERIMENTAL AND CALCULATION RESULTS

OF EXPERIMENT 1
Experiment Results
Capacitor Bank (kVAR) 90
Power factor 0.85 (Penalty PF)
Qremain(kVAR) 49.71
P (kW) 100
S (kVA) 113.17
Calculation Results
% Line Current Reduction 12.47
% Power Losses 41.87
% Loss Reduction 58.13

B. Experiment 2
In the experiment 2, four numbers of 30kVAR (120 kVAR)
Fig. 4 Experimental Result for 0.99 of Power Improvement
automatic capacitor are on and the remaining one capacitors
are off. The experiment and calculation results are shown in
COMPARISON RESULTS FOR WITH AND WITHOUT
table 3.
CAPACITOR BANK
The table below is to illustrate some variables obtained from
TABLE3. EXPERIMENTAL AND CALCULATION RESULTS
power factor changes. Capacitor rating added to improve
OF EXPERIMENT 2
power factor can be determined. Capacitor rating is the
Experiment Results
difference between kVAR ratings of original power factor
Capacitor Bank (kVAR) 120 and desired power factor. From Table 5, 120 kVAR capacitor
Power factor 0.95 bank is needed to improve power factor from 55 % to 95 %.
Qremain(kVAR) 21.05
P (kW) 100 The higher the power factor improves, the less the
S (kVA) 101.93 transformer loading. Consequently, load amperes drop. In
Calculation Results turn, the lower the power factor, the more the transformer
% Line Current Reduction 17.73 loading. Thus, load currents increase. In this paper, load
% Power Losses 33.52 variables with constant load 100 kW at 95 % power factor
% Loss Reduction 66.48 are 101.93 kVA and 21.05 kVAR.

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
TABLE5. COMPARISON RESULTS FOR WITH AND From the figures 5, 6 and 7, the %power lossess, reactive
WITHOUT CAPACITOR BANK power and apparent power are directly proportional to the
Specification
Without
With CB
power factor. The power factor approaches to 1, the net
CB apparent power is nearly equal to real power.
0.85
Power factor 0.55 (Penalty 0.95 0.99 In the international policy, the electricity bill payment
PF)
system is based on the apparent power, S(kVA). By
Capacitor
- 90 120 150 improving the quality of power factor, the consumer based
Bank (kVAR)
Qremain(kVAR) 138.47 49.71 21.05 0.75 on international policy will reduce the electricity bill
P (kW) 100 100.09 103.42 101.14 significantly. The formula including active power, apparent
S (kVA) 169.47 113.17 101.93 101.93 power and power factor is P= S cosϕ. The apparent power is
% Line inversely proportional to the power factor. The magnitude of
Current - 12.47 17.73 19.75 the current flowing through the device is less on the
Reduction electrical devices. So, users can get the better life time of the
% Power
- 41.87 33.52 30.86
electrical devices.
Losses
% Loss In Myanmar, the electricity bill payment system is based on
- 58.13 66.48 69.14
Reduction the real power, P(kW). Although the consumers improve the
power factor quality, the users will not be reduced the
Reactive Power (kVAR) electricity bill significantly. By installing Capacitor Bank, the
150 reactive power, Q(kVAR) and the apparent power, S(kVA),
will be decreased. By improving power factor, it is better for
100 electrical appliances and can improve the lifetime of the
electrical devices.

50 In the consumer’s point of view, the consumers can get more

reliable on the electrical devices. By improving the power
0 factor, the users can achieve the better lifetime on electrical
devices and reduce for the maintenance costs. The less of the
0.55 0.85 0.95 0.99
current flowing through to the electrical devices, the more
Power Factor increased the life time of the equipments.
Fig.5 Reduction of Reactive Power with Power Factor
Improvement
CONCLUSION
Poor PF in any power system operation is not only
ApparentPower (kVA) undesirable, but it can also cause serious issues that lead to
200 additional consumer costs when not corrected properly. In
today’s power systems, common and more traditional
150 methods of applying PF correction by using shunt capacitors
must be reconsidered. More harmonic generating devices
100 are present in modern electrical systems and special
consideration should be taken into account when designing
50 PF correction systems. Factors such as system resonance, PF
penalties in the utility billing, and the flexibility of the PF
0 correction systems greatly influence.
0.55 0.85 0.95 0.99
Power Factor Acknowledgment
Fig.6 Reduction of Apparent Power with Power Factor The author is deeply gratitude to Ministry of Education for
Improvement supporting the research fund to do this experiment at
Technological University (Mandalay). The author would like
to thank to Dr. Yan Aung Oo, Rector, Technological
% Power Losses University (Mandalay), for his kind permission, providing
120
encouragement and giving helpful advices, thoroughly proof-
100 reading this paper and giving useful remarks on it. The
80 author would like to thank to Dr. Yadana Aung, Professor
60 and Head, Department of Electrical Power Engineering,
Technological University (Mandalay), for her helpful advices.
40 The author would like to express grateful thanks to my
20 teachers, Daw Moe Phyu Thel and U Myo Myint Oo, Lecturer,
Department of Electrical Power Engineering, Technological
0
University (Mandalay) for their effective support and
0.55 0.85 0.95 0.99
encouragement.
Power Factor
Fig.7 Reduction of Power Losses Percentage with Power
Factor Improvement

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APPENDIX

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