Asymmetric Compensation of Reactive Power Using Thyristor-Controlled Reactors

Abstract

The thyristor-controlled reactor (TCR) compensator for smooth asymmetric compensation of reactive power in a low-voltage utility grid is proposed in this work. Two different topologies of compensator were investigated: topology based on a single-cored three-phase reactor and topology with separate reactors for every phase. The investigation of the proposed TCR compensator was performed experimentally using a developed experimental test bench for 12 kVAr total reactive power. The obtained results show that employment of separate reactors for every phase allows us to control the reactive power in every phase independently, and that the TCR compensator with three single-phase reactors is suitable for smooth and asymmetric compensation of reactive power in a low-voltage utility grid.

Keywords

• reactive power
• thyristor-controlled reactor
• air-gaped reactor
• low-voltage utility grid
• asymmetric compensation of reactive power
• smooth compensation of reactive power