Comparison Between LCC and VSC

International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET)
Volume 2 Issue 7 pp 445-449 October 2013 www.ijsret.org ISSN 2278 0882
COMPARISON BETWEEN LCC AND VSC

Snigdha Sharma (Electrical Department, SIT, Meerut)
Abstract
Both Line commutated converters and Voltage source converters are used to improve the stability of HVDC transmission system, yet VSC is considered better than LCC in all respects. Previously Line commutated converters were used with thyristor or mercury arc valves but now voltage source converters came into existence with IGBT valves. In this paper, we will review the difference between LCC and VSC. This paper goes through the introduction of LCC and VSC, their analysis and control characteristics, advantages of VSC over LCC.
Keywords: Graetz Bridge, LCC,VSC.

1. Introduction Commutation is the transfer of dc current from one valve to another in the same row. Line commutated converter uses external circuit for commutation while voltage source converter is self commutated converter. The Advantages of VSC over LCC are: A VSC permits independent control over both active and reactive power outputs. In LCC, the reactive power is a function of active power drawn or supplied while in VSC a converter station can supply or absorb reactive power from the system and can help in regulating bus voltage. Unlike in LCC, VSC does not require voltage source for satisfactory operation i.e. it is used to supply passive loads. There are no problems of commutation failures in VSC. Harmonic filtering required is much simpler in VSC as PWM is used to shift frequency spectrum of the converter output. Fast communication between the terminals is not required for control purposes. The power reversal in the link does not require voltage reversal.
which the converter is connected in order to effect the commutation from one switching device to its neighbor. Line-commutated converters use switching devices that are either uncontrolled such as diodes or that can only be turned on (not off) by control action, such as thyristors. In a line-commutated converter, the DC current does not change direction; it flows through a large inductance and can be considered almost constant. On the AC side, the converter behaves approximately as a current source, injecting both grid-frequency and harmonic currents into the AC network. For this reason, a line-commutated converter for HVDC is also considered as a currentsource converter. Because the direction of current cannot be varied, reversal of the direction of power flow is achieved by reversing the polarity of DC voltage at both stations.
2.1 Limitations of LCC

Although HVDC converters can, in principle, be constructed from diodes, such converters can only be used in rectification mode and the lack of controllability of the DC voltage is a serious disadvantage. limitation of a LC converter is its dependence on an adequate stiff ac voltage source for commutation purposes. Power systems are subject to disturbances, voltage regulation difficulties and harmonic pollution which cause commutation problems for such converters. As a result, LC converters have difficulties to feed into weak ac systems and may take prohibitively long times to recover from disturbances. Furthermore, the ability of the LC converter to control reactive power is limited.
2.2 Analysis of graetz bridge

The basic LCC configuration for HVDC uses a threephase Graetz bridge or six-pulse bridge, containing six electronic switches, each connecting one of the three phases to one of the two DC terminals A complete switching element is usually referred to as a valve, irrespective of its construction. Normally, two valves in the bridge are conducting at any time: one on the top row and one on the bottom row. The two conducting valves connect two of the three AC phase voltages, in series, to the DC terminals. Thus, the DC output voltage
2. Line commutated converter (LCC):

The term line-commutated indicates that the conversion process relies on the line voltage of the AC system to
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Volume 2 Issue 7 pp 445-449 October 2013 at any given instant is given by the series combination of two AC phase voltages. Because of the unavoidable inductance in the AC supply, the transition from one pair of conducting valves to the next does not happen instantly. Rather, there is a short overlap period when two valves on the same row of the bridge are conducting simultaneously. For example, if valves V1 and V2 are initially conducting and then valve V3 is turned on, conduction passes from V1 to V3 but for a short period both of these valves conduct simultaneously. During this period, the DC output voltage is given by the average of the voltages of phases 1 and 2, minus the voltage of phase 3. The overlap angle in an HVDC converter increases with the load current, but is typically around 20 at full load. www.ijsret.org ISSN 2278 0882
ebA(t) = 2 ELL sinwt and ebc(t) = 2 ELL sinwt+600) Average dc voltage, Vd = (32 / )ELL With Overlap: Average dc voltage, Vd = 32/ (ELL cos)
2.3 LCC Bridge characteristics

Rectifier: First mode: two and three valve conduction mode (u<600) Second mode: three valve conduction mode (u=600) Third mode: three and four valve conduction mode (600<u<1200) For mode 1 and 3 we have respectively, Vd = Vd/Vd0 = cos Id/2Is Vd/Vd0 = cos Id/2Is
Fig. Graetz Bridge
Fig. Converter Vd - Id characteristics Inverter: In inverter operation, it is necessary to maintain a certain minimum margin angle . Mode 1: (a) = 0 = The characteristics are defined by: Vd = cos 0 - Id (b) u = 600 - 0 = constant Characteristics are elliptical (c ) 600- 0<u<600 Characteristics are linear, Vd = cos (0+300) - Id Mode 2: u> 600 Characteristics are linear, Vd =3cos 0 - 3 Id
Fig. Dc Voltage waveform with delay angle of 450 Without Overlap:
The expressions for voltages are:

ea(t) = (2/3) ELL sin(wt+1500) eb(t) = (2/3) ELL sin(wt+300) ec(t) = (2/3) ELL sin(wt-900)
3. Voltage source converter

VSC is a six pulse converter consisting of six power semiconductor switching devices and anti parallel diodes. The anti-parallel free wheeling diode is IJSRET @ 2013

Volume 2 Issue 7 pp 445-449 October 2013 integrated in the same semiconductor package to ensure current capability in the reverse direction and to prevent the application of reverse voltage. From a direct voltage source, the VSC generates a set of controllable three phase output voltages at the frequency of the system voltage. PWM is used to control the firing of semiconductor switching devices, generating an average sine wave. PWM also helps in mitigate the amount of harmonics. www.ijsret.org ISSN 2278 0882
Fig. Control Characteristics 3.1.2 Modified Characteristics
Fig. Two level VSC There are several VSC topologies currently in use in actual power system operation. Common aims of these topologies are: To minimize switching losses of the semiconductor inside the VSC To produce high quality sinusoidal voltage waveform with minimum or no filtering requirements. The different topologies that can be used are: two level, three level and modular multi level converter.
The power reversal could be obtained by increase the current order of the inverter higher than rectifier. In case of dc line fault, it is recommended that both converters should operate as inverter to make the fault current in dc line to zero as fast as possible. If there is no minimum alpha limit at inverter, it could also operate as rectifier by reduced alpha cause feeding of dc fault.
3.1 Control characteristics

3.1.1 Constant current Characteristics It can be seen from the figure that higher dc voltage at minimum alpha and increasing of alpha decreases the dc voltage. The direct current is determined based on the current order, which could be selected between minimum current capability and the rated current of valves. The maximum current carrying capacity of valves would be determined for a transient time period to limit valve stress. Fig. Modified Control Characteristics
3.2 Analysis of VSC

A VSC based HVDC converter is similar to static compensator (STATCOM), a shunt connected Facts controller. It can be viewed as two STATCOMS, at two terminals that are interconnected by a dc link. A back to back VSC based HVDC link can be operated as two parallel STATCOMS when their dc capacitors are not
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Volume 2 Issue 7 pp 445-449 October 2013 connected. Following assumptions are made in the analysis: The supply voltages are sinusoidal and balanced i.e. contains only fundamental frequency, positive sequences components. The losses in the switches are ignored and the switches are assumed to be ideal. The inductance L and the resistance R are the parameters of the series reactor connected between the supply and the VSC or represent the leakage reactance and the ohmic losses of the interfacing transformer. www.ijsret.org ISSN 2278 0882 (7)
idc(t) = Sa(t) ia(t)+ Sb(t) ib(t)+ Sc(t) ic(t)
The switching functions in steady state are related by Sa(wt) = Sb(wt+1200) = Sc(wt+2400) (8) Substituting equations 5 and 7 in 1 and 4 makes the system time varying. If switching functions are approximated by their fundamental frequency components only, we obtain for a two level converter. ea = m Vdc (2/) sin(w0t++) eb = m Vdc (2/) sin(w0t++-2/3) ec = m Vdc (2/) sin(w0t++-4/3) Where m is the modulation index. In deriving the above equations we have assumed that injected voltages lead the source voltages by angle which can be controlled. is the angle of source voltage whose line to line magnitude is Vs. We can express va(t) as Va(t) = (3/2) Vs sin(w0t+ ) (12) (9) (10) (11)
Fig. A six pulse VSC circuit The VSC is described by the following differential equations: Ldia/dt + Ria = Va - ea (1) Ldib/dt + Rib = Vb eb (2) Ldic/dt + Ric = Vc ec (3) CdVc/dt + GVdc = idc (4) Where ea, eb and ec are the output voltages of the VSC. All the voltages are with reference to the source neutral n. We can express the voltages injected by the VSC as ea(t) = Sa(t) Vdc(t) eb(t) = Sb(t) Vdc(t) ec(t) = Sc(t) Vdc(t) (5) Where Sa , Sb and Sc are the switching functions. Without any modulation they are periodic in steady state. From the principle of energy conservation, we get Vdc(t) idc(t) = ea(t) ia(t)+ eb(t) ib(t)+ ec(t) ic(t) (6) From the above equations we can derive
The expressions for Vb(t) and Vc(t) are obtained from the fact that the source voltages are balanced and contain only positive sequence components. The system frequency is assumed to be w0 and a constant. Equation in d-q Frame: The voltages and current in the AC circuit can be transformed to a synchronously rotating reference frame by Krons transformation defined by fabc=Ckfdq0 (13) fabc can be voltage or current vector defined by fabc=[fa fb fc]t Similarly fdq0=[fd fq f0]t Ck is the transformation matrix defined by Ck = (3/2) 1/2 Cos(w0t-2 /3) (14) Cos(w0t+2 /3) Cosw 0t sin(w0t-2 /3) sin(w0t+2 /3) sinw0t 1/2 1/2
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Volume 2 Issue 7 pp 445-449 October 2013 The subscript 0 indicates zero sequence variable. Ck is orthogonal matrix with the property, [Ck]-1 = [Ck]t (15) The advantage of the above is that the transformation is power invariant. We can derive Vaia+ Vbib+ Vcic = Vdid+ Vqiq+ V0i0 (16) By applying Krons transformation, we can derive the circuit equations in D-Q variables. These are given below: Ldid/dt + Rid + w0Liq = Vd mk sin(+ ) Vdc (17) Ldiq/dt + Riq - w0Lid = Vq mk cos(+ ) Vdc (18) CdVc/dt + G Vdc = mk [sin(+ )id + cos(+ )iq] (19) Where k= 6/ for two level converter, m is modulation index that can vary from 0 to 1. The zero sequence current is zero as ia+ ib+ ic =0. www.ijsret.org ISSN 2278 0882
[5] Voltage sourced converter (VSC) valves for highvoltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission Electrical testing, IEC 62501:2009, Annex A. [6] Kimbark, E.W., Direct current transmission, volume 1, Wiley Interscience, 1971, p 75.
4.
Conclusion
From the analysis of voltage source converter and line commutated converter, we can see that voltage source converter is better than LCC in many respects. LCC is cheaper in comparison to VSC but since it consumes reactive power it is mostly exposed to commutation failures. The VSCs fast dynamic response has made it available for low short circuit ratio. Both have certain merits and demerits but their use in HVDC can improve the overall performance of the system.
References
[1] HVDC power transmission system; KR Padiyar; New age publishers. [2] Selection for dynamic performance for classic HVDC in PSSE; ABB Power system; Wenkan huang [3] HVDC transmission Skagerrak 4; Norwegian University of science and technology; Carl Olav Larsson [4] High Voltage Direct Current Transmission Proven Technology for Power Exchange, Siemens publication.
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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET)

Volume 2 Issue 7 pp 445-449 October 2013 www.ijsret.org ISSN 2278 0882