Principal Investigators: Dr. Herb Ginn, Dr. Charles Brice
Time-variance of load parameters causes load currents to lose their periodicity with respect to the supply voltage. Switching operations in power systems, arc furnaces and spot welders are examples of loads that draw non-periodic currents. Non-periodicity contributes to a decline in the energy transmission effectiveness and creates negative effects similar to harmonic distortion. However, compensation of non-periodic currents is much more difficult than for harmonic compensation due to the time varying spectra. This project is a pilot study that will investigate properties of non-periodic currents and compensation approaches using the arc-furnace and cycloconverter as test cases. Based on the non-periodic current properties we will investigate the cost effectiveness of non-periodic current compensators for use in power systems considering recent advances in power electronics in conjunction with powerful digital control platforms. The objective of the compensator is to provide a means to remove or reduce the negative impact of non-periodic currents in a three-phase system on the source side of the compensator. Successful completion of this scoping project will lead to understanding of compensation methods and their impact/benefits for non-periodic currents in distribution systems.
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