ROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
1.5 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
EE8017 HIGH VOLTAGE DC TRANSMISSION
ROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Short circuit level at the converter bus
SCR =
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.
EE8017 HIGH VOLTAGE DC TRANSMISSION
