(CIGRE Green Books) A-FACTS Equipment Design and Testing (2018) PDF

FACTS Equipment Design and Testing
Hubert Bilodeau, Bruno Bisewski, Manfredo Lima, Xu Shukai, Bo Lei,

and Ben Mehraban
Contents
1 Project Management During Planning and Design Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1 Duties of the Owner’s Implementation Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Vendor’s Project Management Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Contracting Strategies and Contract Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 Contract Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.5 Project Implementation Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
H. Bilodeau (*)
Retired from Hydro-Québec, Montreal, QC, Canada
e-mail: hbilo@ieee.org
B. Bisewski
RBJ Engineering Corp, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
e-mail: bisewski@rbjengineering.com
M. Lima
Transmission Planning and Studies Department, Chesf, Recife, Brazil
Pernambuco University, Recife, Brazil
e-mail: manfredo@chesf.gov.br
X. Shukai
HVDC and Power Electronics Department, EPRI of China Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou,
China
e-mail: xusk@csg.cn
B. Lei
Energy Storage and Power Electronics, HVDC and Power Electronics Department, EPRI of China
Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou, China
e-mail: straight__b@163.com
B. Mehraban
American Electric Power, Columbus, OH, USA
e-mail: bmehraban@aep.com
# Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 1

S. Nilsson, B. Andersen (eds.), Flexible AC Transmission Systems,
CIGRE Green Books, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71926-9_21-1
2 H. Bilodeau et al.
2 FACTS Equipment Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2.1 General Testing Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.2 Primary Equipment Factory Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 Control and Protection Equipment Factory Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4 Discrete Protection System Tests (Not Embedded in Control System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.5 Cooling System Factory Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.6 Site Testing and Commissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.7 Performance Monitoring Period: Reliability and Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 Example of FST/FAT Tests for the Ceará Mirim SVC in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1 Ceará Mirim SVC Main Circuit Component Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.2 Ceará Mirim SVC Closed-Loop Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.3 Ceará Mirim SVC Additional Control Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.4 Degraded Modes of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.5 Coordination Between Electrically Close SVCs to Avoid Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.6 Real-Time Hardware-In-The-Loop (HIL) Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.7 Step Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.8 Performance Under Strong Disturbance Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Abstract
This chapter covers the period from project conception to completion of factory
testing, primarily from the viewpoint of the client/purchaser (owner) of the
FACTS system. It includes discussion of:
• Owner’s planning and project development

• Project management (owner and vendor)
• Technical review of contractor’s studies and design documents
• Primary equipment testing – type tests, batch tests, and routine tests
• Control system tests – factory system tests (FST) and factory acceptance tests
(FAT)
• Operating, maintenance, and fault-finding manuals
• Factory testing of control and protection
1 Project Management During Planning and Design Phases
A typical sequence of project stages from initial concept to commercial operation

would include the following phases and related activities:
(a) Project development and pre-award phase

• Planning studies to define project need and location
• Ratings
• Overall functional performance objectives
(b) Specification, evaluation, and award phase
• Detailed performance and equipment requirements
• Environmental requirements
FACTS Equipment Design and Testing 3
• Codes and standards

• Limits of supply and interfaces
• Contract conditions
• Bidding documents
• Evaluation and award
(c) Project implementation phase
• Design studies, calculations, drawings, and documentation
• Construction
• Main circuit and control equipment testing
• Site equipment installation
• Commissioning and site performance verification
(d) Commercial operation phase
At each stage of the project, different groups or personnel within the owner’s
organization may be involved in the project to provide input and guidance and make
decisions concerning technical and commercial aspects of the project.
It is assumed that the owner would assign a project sponsor to oversee the entire
acquisition process from initial planning to commercial operation. At each phase of
the project, the project sponsor would set up or configure the management and
engineering team with distinct areas of responsibility so as to carry out the required
activities within that project phase and ensure a smooth handoff to the team
performing the next phase of the project.
In setting up the teams, the project sponsor may draw on expertise within the
following groups:
• Project management
• Legal and finance groups
• Network planning
• System development and performance group
• Engineering and technical design
• Environmental and regulatory approvals group
• Network operations group
• Asset management and maintenance group
If the owner’s organization requires outside assistance in any area, the project
sponsor would identify the needs and make arrangements to obtain the required
assistance at each stage of the project.
1.1 Duties of the Owner’s Implementation Team
The project management group performs an integrative function tying together all of
the other activities. This group will lead the implementation of the project by
managing the planning process and leading the stakeholder consultations as
required. The project management group will also determine the contracting
strategy, scope, interfaces, and limits of supply in the constituent contracts forming
the complete project. The group will manage internal resources and specialist outside
resources in addition to managing the contract and overall project schedule after the
vendor has been selected. Feasibility studies to investigate any environmental
constraints that may be necessary as part of the footprint planning are also managed
by this group.
The legal and finance groups would provide the project manager with legal
financial advice to efficiently manage the procurement process and to choose the
best procurement strategy that ensures value for money for the owner. These groups
will also provide the contractual and commercial conditions of contract and will also
obtain financial approval and arrange project funding if required.
The function of the network planning group is to perform the studies that first
identify the need for an SVC or FACTS controller. The planning group would
establish the general characteristics and evaluate the required and allowed opera-
tional parameters from a system performance perspective and identify a suitable
node and transmission voltage level for integration of the FACTS controller into the
AC system. The technical design task should provide a list of functional require-
ments that will constitute the inputs for the engineering design. It is expected that the
network planning group would define the following:
• Steady state and short-time ratings for both supply and absorption (and energy
storage if applicable)
• Required speed of response for transients
• Reliability requirements and consequence of outages
• Location and voltage of the interconnection
• Date when the facility would be required
A specialized system development and performance group would normally

perform more detailed technical performance studies and investigations to fully
define the conditions under which the FACTS controller would be required to
operate. These activities would be aimed at defining AC system characteristics at
the point of coupling:
• Power quality requirements (such as voltage change on switching)

• Response and recovery time requirements
• Technology selection
• Low-voltage ride-through requirements
• Equipment high-voltage withstand requirements
• Overvoltage limiting requirements
• Maximum and minimum short circuit levels
• Maximum and minimum steady state and short-time system voltage and
frequency
• System unbalance and negative sequence component
• System harmonic impedance, pre-existing harmonic levels, and harmonic perfor-
mance requirements
• Value of losses
• Daily or annual load/output characteristics of the FACTS controller
The engineering and technical design group would review the data provided by
the planning and system performance groups and ensure that the new FACTS
controller can be successfully incorporated into the selected substation location. Its
tasks would be to develop the preliminary equipment design and specification by
translating functional requirements into equipment design while taking into account
one-line drawings, site access, site layouts and constraints, environmental require-
ments, applicable codes and standards, civil design, protection, performance require-
ments, operator control, interfaces, reliability, major spares and redundancy,
construction, and commissioning and maintenance.
The engineering design group would compile data such as site and environmental
conditions, equipment specifications, maintenance and spares requirements, inter-
faces and limits of supply, etc.
To the extent that these are known, the studies, reports, drawings, and other
documentation required by the owner would be specified in detail in the contract
documents so that there is a common understanding of the requirements. The final
contingent of studies and reports to be prepared would be discussed and agreed
during the bid evaluation and contract award period.
Operational planning and strategies–securing outages for maintenance and con-
struction, Control/SCADA requirements and cybersecurity requirements are under
the responsibility of the network operations team. Their involvement still continues
beyond commissioning.
The asset management group and maintenance group should be involved in final
acceptance of the equipment. It is critical to engage this group early in order to
ensure that the FACTS controller will meet the required standards and service
specifications and meet all maintenance requirements. The asset management
group may define preferred vendors for certain components (i.e., batteries, test
switches) in order to standardize certain equipment across the owner’s complete
system (fleet management). It also needs to be satisfied that the equipment will meet
the long-term performance goals.
After the planning specification has been completed, further data and require-
ments need to be compiled to define requirements such as site and environmental
conditions, equipment specifications, maintenance and spares requirements, inter-
faces and limits of supply, etc.
A typical owner project team structure and workflow for a FACTS project is
shown in Fig. 1.
1.2 Vendor’s Project Management Structure
The vendor’s project team is for the most part a matter of its internal concern.
However, the owner will have interest in the following key personnel that will
interface with the owner’s implementation team:
6
Owner’s Project Team

Planning Consents
Project Mangement and Stakeholder Feasibility Study
Contract and Schedule
Consultation
Issues being considered:
Interface, Standards, etc.
General
Network Planning SVC Installation/
characteristics and
and System Outage Equipment Design
From System Perspective allowed technical
Development Planning
parameters
Functional
Technical Design
Requirements
Review
Engineering Design Best Strategy

Procurement Commissioning
Operational Applied
Planning and
Issues being considered: Securing outages for
Construction and Commissioning, Control/SCADA
Strategies
requirements, Cyber Security, etc.
Network Operations
Financial and Legal
and Commercial
Requirements
Finance and Legal

Obtain
Financial Approval
Define Preferred vendors for some equipment

Asset Management Final Acceptance of Equipment
Fig. 1 General owner’s team structure and workflow for a FACTS project
H. Bilodeau et al.
• Overall project manager

• Lead technical designer for main circuit design
• Lead technical designer for control and protection
• Site managers
• Lead personnel of major subcontractors
The bidding documents would generally require that the bidder provides CVs and
references for all key personnel so they can be considered in the evaluation. Key
personnel will be required to attend pre-award meetings. Change of key personnel by
the vendor generally requires the owner’s agreement.
1.3 Contracting Strategies and Contract Packaging
When the limits of supply have been defined, the owner’s project management team
can define the contracts needed to implement the project and related equipment.
Often there are parts of the equipment such as the AC switches and circuit breakers
that could be designed and procured by the owners engineering team, and these
would be identified as being outside of the main vendor contract. However, the
vendor would be asked to identify in his bid if there are any special requirements for
this category of equipment.
For most of the other equipment, there could be implications on rating or
performance, and therefore, to ensure that design responsibility will not be disputed,
the owner realistically has only two practical contracting options:
(a) Turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract – in this

type of contract, the vendor is assigned design responsibility for the whole
design as this represents the lowest risk for the owner. In practice, most owners
do not opt for arms-length turnkey contracts and will have their own engineers
and specialists review the design with the option to require changes before the
design is finalized. This ensures that the owner’s requirements would be accom-
modated in the project but requires that the owner spend more time in specifi-
cation and bid evaluation to avoid the potential for contract extras. However, this
process may also lead to contract modifications and price adjustments.
(b) Engineering and procurement and testing contract (EPT) – in this type of
contract, the owner would assume responsibility for certain aspects of the design
and supply such as civil works and building and would handle construction and
equipment installation. The vendor would provide the design and supply of main
circuit equipment, control and protection equipment, and cooling equipment as
well as providing installation supervision, commissioning, performance guaran-
tees, and warranty. This type of contract can be advantageous if the owner has its
own work force.
Other options are theoretically possible, such as contracting for design or man-
ufacture only (to another’s design) or using the owner’s engineering staff to procure
selected items of equipment such as the coupling transformer, but these are not
recommended in practice as they would require the owner to assume design respon-
sibility for virtually the whole design. For most owners, this would represent an
unacceptable risk of project delay and also potential for failure to achieve desired
performance.
1.3.1 Bidding, Bid Evaluation, and Award

Bidding is typically done in three ways:
(a) One stage bidding – technical and commercial bid is submitted at the same time.
(b) Two stage bidding – technical bid is submitted in the first stage; commercial bid
is submitted after technical bid evaluation is closed.
(c) Three stage bidding – the technical bid is submitted in two stages to align
technical solutions. Commercial bid is submitted when the second stage of
technical bid evaluation is closed.
All of the above approaches are valid and have been successfully applied for
procurement of FACTS controllers. Generally, two stage bidding and three stage
bidding require more time and effort to implement but tend to result in better defined
solutions as there would be more possibility to adopt ideas and suggestions by
vendors before freezing the configuration.
A complete set of bidding documents typically consists of the following:
(a) Instructions to bidders

(b) Technical specifications
(c) Technical bid data request
(d) Proposed contractual conditions
(e) Special conditions of contract
(f) Contractual and commercial bid data request
Depending on the owner’s level of knowledge and experience, the information

requested in the bid data request documents may be quite extensive. In order to
sufficiently progress the design to a point where the cost of the project can be
adequately estimated and to provide sufficient information to adequately estimate
the cost, the bidder must perform engineering studies and design during the bidding
period. Any reports prepared during the bid would be included in the proposal to
support and summarize the rating and features of the proposed FACTS
configuration.
As the bid period is normally very short, the owner should make every effort to
provide timely responses to queries from the bidders. The owner should avoid
making large addenda or major changes during the bidding period unless absolutely
necessary. In view of the effort involved in preparation of a detailed bid response, it
is not uncommon for bidders to request an extension of the bidding period. Owners
should consider this when developing a bid schedule.
To ensure that the bidders understand the bid evaluation process, a set of
evaluation criteria and description of the process should be defined by the owner.
Generally, the evaluation criteria would be included together with other instructions
in the instructions to bidders. The evaluation criteria would also include a disclaimer
cautioning that the owner reserves the right to make adjustments in evaluation
criteria at his sole discretion.
Cigré has described an approach for establishing a ranking system that could be
used in a technical bid evaluation (Cigré TB 663 2016). However, the owner would
normally develop his own rating or ranking criteria to ensure that the outcome of the
bidding process will correspond with his project objectives.
The bidders will be required to perform a set of studies to demonstrate that the
FACTS controller meets the specified requirements. Although at this stage, the
studies are considered by the owner to be preliminary and for evaluation purposes
only, it should be kept in mind that the pricing is based on the documented design
and assumptions. If the later final studies deviate significantly from the initial design,
cost adjustment might need to be considered.
Typically, during the bid review process, a meeting would be arranged with each
of the bidders to clarify technical and contractual or commercial questions. Before
the meeting, the originally submitted bids would be reviewed by the owner, and a set
of questions and requests for clarifications would be sent to the bidders. During the
meetings, both bidders and owner would have their experts discuss these open
questions. After the meetings, the bidders may be asked to finalize their technical
and commercial bids to adjust them in conformance to the discussions during the
meetings.
On receipt of the final bid clarifications, the bid evaluation can be completed, and
negotiations would begin with the selected bidder or bidders. Further meetings
would take place during the negotiation period, and any remaining questions or
changes in scope and contractual conditions would be agreed together with any
required changes in schedule and or price.
1.4 Contract Preparation
Finalization of contract documents would take place after the bid negotiations have
been completed. There are two primary methods of contract preparation:
(a) Conforming of the bidding documents – modification of the bid specification and
contractual conditions to conform to the finally agreed scope, schedule, and
prices agreed during the bid evaluation and negotiations. Normally selected
portions of the vendor’s bid submission would be included in the contract as
well. All back-and-forth discussions prior to finalization would be eliminated in
the interests of clarity.
(b) Compilation of the time sequential history of changes which the parties have
agreed in bid evaluation and contract negotiations. The final contract would
consist of the complete record of documents, minutes of meetings, and
correspondence exchanged through the whole period which would encapsulate

the final agreement and also the intervening non-finalized discussions.
Most owners and vendors prefer the method of conforming of the technical
specification as it normally results in an easier contract to interpret and administer,
although it requires more effort to modify and compile the contract documents.
Regardless of which method is adopted, the order of precedence of the contract
documents must be stated in the contract to avoid later difficulty in reconciliation of
any differences in content or interpretation among the constituent documents.
1.5 Project Implementation Phase
Once the contract has been signed and the project has been awarded, a kickoff
meeting would typically take place. The main goals of this meeting are to establish
lines of communication between team members, reporting requirements, and sched-
ule of meetings. In the owner’s organization, the team may be the same as the team in
the pre-bid and planning stage.
Preliminary discussions on project scheduling and milestones will also take place.
If the owner is aware of constraints on delivery times due to local climate conditions
affecting site access, this should be indicated. A typical project schedule is indicated
in Fig. 2.
In carrying out the equipment design, the vendor would perform the contractually
required studies plus additional studies as required for his purposes, perform calcu-
lations, and produce reports and drawings to demonstrate that the equipment meets
the requirements of the project.
Design review meetings between the owner and vendor would be held during this
period to discuss preliminary study results and final report study results as summa-
rized in the following section. Interfaces and especially interface with owner’s
protection and SCADA systems should be addressed during this stage. This includes
in-depth discussions about controls, protection, electrical interlocking, key
interlocking, and the respective control points and alarms “points” I/O list.
A conceptual work flow assuming the owner is engaging consultant personnel for
design review is shown in Fig. 3. If the owner has his own personnel, the consultant’s
role would be filled by the owner’s engineers and experts. The work flow indicates
that several reviews and revisions may occur before a final design is achieved.
Depending on the nature of the comments, a substantial effort may be needed on
part of both the owner and vendor to maintain the schedule.
The schedule for equipment procurement and manufacturing should be carefully
monitored by both the vendor and owner to avoid delays in the overall project
schedule. It is imperative that orders are placed for long lead items like interface
coupling transformers as early as possible.
FACTS equipment must be factory tested before being delivered to site. The
testing of all FACTS-related primary equipment consists of routine tests and type
tests. The factory tests of the control and protection system would consist of
Fig. 2 Typical project schedule

Owner
Review
Initial Submittal Consultant

Consultant
of Document Compiles
Review
from Contractor Comments
Owner
Review
Contractor
Consultant
Re-submittal of Satisfactory Approve
Review Yes
Document
No
Meeting
With Contractor Comments to
to Discuss Contractor
Comments
Optional
Fig. 3 Conceptual work flow diagram for design review phase
functional and dynamic performance testing. More details are given in the next
section.
A site management team reporting to the project manager is responsible for the
installation, pre-commissioning, and commissioning. Pre-commissioning and
commissioning tests include individual equipment tests and subsystem tests.
Commissioning tests are conducted with the FACTS operating as “complete system”
and connected to the owner’s power system.
This step typically requires a significant amount of vendor-owner interaction and
coordination since tests may require specific system configurations (i.e., transmis-
sion lines opened, remote capacitors switched) or specific system loading conditions
(i.e., heavily loaded system in mid-day hours or light loaded system in the evening
hours).
Training is performed as per the directives given in the specification. Efforts
should be made to conduct operator training before commissioning starts and
sometimes earlier. Equipment and maintenance training can occur during the factory
test or witness test period. It can also be deferred until after commissioning. A
session can also be planned a few months after commissioning once more field
experience has been acquired.
Several aspects of the design need to be reviewed before the start of manufactur-
ing. Technical documentation related to equipment design, studies, and engineering
requested from the vendor shall demonstrate that the equipment meets system
performance and specified criteria. The reviews of this technical documentation
can be carried out remotely based on reports and drawings sent by electronically
or other means, by telephone or video conference, or by a face-to-face meeting.
Face-to-face meetings are recommended for important and complex aspects of the
design. Reviews must be properly documented in the form of minutes or review
reports to ensure that identified issues can be resolved. These technical reports cover
several design aspects of system, electrical, control and protection, mechanical, and
station design. The test and inspection program is an essential document to be agreed
upon before tests described in the next section are performed. The documentation
should be received well before the review meetings to allow sufficient time for
review.
Technical reports covering various categories of the design can be summarized as
follows:
• System design
– Component ratings studies (main data) and tolerances
– Switching devices rating
– System dynamic performance studies (from digital program)
– Harmonic performance and filter ratings including resonance and harmonic
instability
• Electrical design
– Insulation coordination and overvoltage studies
– Electromagnetic transients
– Power line carrier and radio interference
• Control and protection
– Control functional specification and strategies
– Protection coordination and settings
– Control equipment hardware design
– Control communication
– SCADA and data exchange
– Interfaces
• Mechanical design
– Cooling system
• Station design
– Substation design (layout, bus bar design, electrical clearances, etc.)
– Grounding study
– Short circuit calculation and transient
– Station services, auxiliary power, load calculation, coordination, and settings
• Test and inspection program
After the design review, the vendor should update the relevant documents and
submit them to the owner for final approval/acceptance.
2 FACTS Equipment Testing
2.1 General Testing Requirements
Factory tests are carried out to validate the manufacturing quality of equipment and
components including switching devices, primary equipment components, control
and protection systems, operator interface and monitoring, communications, cooling
systems, and auxiliary supply components.
Factory tests fall into the following recognized categories as defined in interna-
tional standards (e.g., IEEE Standard 1031; IEC 61954 and IEC 62927) and in some
cases national standards:
• Type tests
• Special tests defined by the owner or designer for a particular application or duty
• Routine tests
• Batch tests
Primary equipment testing consists primarily of type tests and routine tests in
accordance with applicable standards. Type tests are performed to demonstrate
fitness for the required duty. Type tests can be classified into a number of major
categories, some of which may not be mentioned in the main standard applicable to
the equipment:
• Dry and wet dielectric withstand tests

• Operational tests and environmental tests
• Mechanical strength and short circuit withstand tests
• Material compatibility tests
• Accelerated aging tests
• Flammability tests
Dielectric tests are carried out to verify the high-voltage withstand capability of
the components of the equipment or component. Operational tests are carried out to
verify the turn-on (if applicable), turn-off (if applicable), and current and thermal
withstand related capabilities of the components. Environmental tests are carried out
to demonstrate the capability of the equipment to operate within conditions similar to
the expected conditions at the project site. These may include:
• Dry or damp heat tests for control and protection equipment

• Extreme cold test (circuit breakers)
• Ice breaking capability (disconnect switches)
• Insulator contamination and heavy rain withstand tests (outdoor equipment)
• Seismic withstand tests
• Flammability tests
• Audible sound tests
Routine (or production) tests are factory tests performed by the manufacturer on
all equipment to demonstrate the integrity of the manufacturing process. Routine
tests are largely defined in applicable standards, but the manufacturer may include
additional tests at his discretion or for monitoring of internal processes.
The manufacturer’s internal routine tests would generally include materials
testing on receipt. This testing is to verify the quality of materials received from
his sub-vendors and may include basic functional checks, dimensional checks,
material purity or cleanliness checks, go/no-go withstand tests, partial discharge
tests, and pressure tests as applicable.
Batch tests are a type of routine test performed on certain categories of equipment
in which there is a high parts count such as capacitors, metal oxide varistors (MOV)
blocks, thyristors, insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT), freewheeling diodes,
etc. Batch tests are performed on a subset of the total manufactured items. Batch tests
may be particularly applicable if the manufacturing process is naturally performed as
a series of batch runs. Test levels and acceptance criteria in batch tests may be more
severe than in routine tests.
The factory test of the control and protection systems would be classified as an
operational test and requires specific consideration since this equipment could have a
large impact on the reliability performance of the FACTS controller. Reliability and
availability is of significant interest to both the owner and contractor and is fre-
quently the subject of contractual guarantees. In addition to applicable industry
standard sub-component type tests, the testing would also include demonstration
of the integrity of the control and protection hardware and software, tests of dynamic
and steady-state performance, as well as test to prove the functionality of interfaces.
The owner’s engineering group and equipment specialists would be responsible
for defining the required tests and conducting design reviews and inspections. The
owner’s team may require that a certain quality control standard such as ISO 9001 be
followed for the project as a whole of for particular items of equipment. In preparing
the specification, the owner’s engineering group would compile and list all of the
required tests, applicable standards, and special tests if needed. Some frequently
overlooked aspects regarding testing that should be considered when preparing a
specification are:
• A standard may not exist for a given piece of equipment, or the standard may be
under development or revision at the time.
• More than one standard may be applicable to a given piece of equipment for
different tests. This could include multiple IEC standards or a combination of IEC
standards, local country standards, and IEEE Standards.
• Many standards include clauses where there needs to be discussion and agree-
ment between owner and vendor on test levels and acceptance or pass/fail criteria.
• The owner and vendor may have differences in interpretation as to the require-
ment of a standard.
To the extent possible, these questions should be addressed in the specification

and formally covered in the contract.
The owner’s requirement for new type tests for primary equipment, as opposed to
accepting recent type test reports on similar equipment, should be stated in the
technical specification as this would affect the overall project schedule and price.
New type tests may not be required on items of equipment that are of same
design, insulation class, and comparable rating to the contract equipment. Existing
type test reports may be accepted if the equipment tested was identical to the
equipment offered; the equipment is to be under the same or lower stresses than
the equipment already tested provided the relevant equipment standards have not
changed. To facilitate the review as to whether existing type tests are applicable to
the contract equipment, the vendors would need to provide a comprehensive report
describing the past tests and demonstrating that the stress levels tested are compa-
rable or higher to those needed for the contract equipment.
The owner must also ensure that his representatives be allowed to witness any or
all routine tests and all type tests performed as part of the contract. The owner should
understand that insisting on a large number of new type tests would require a large
commitment in personnel time, cost, and effort to witness and review all of the tests.
This could affect project cost and schedule but would also represent a training
opportunity for his personnel.
2.2 Primary Equipment Factory Testing
2.2.1 Power Electronic Switching Device Modules

Type testing of a power electronic valve design for SVC and FACTS is a lengthy and
costly process due to the number and complexity of tests required. The application of
stress levels significantly higher than typical in-service conditions means that there is
a risk of test failures that would require time and effort to resolve and retest.
Consequently, most vendors prefer not to perform new type tests for converters if
the converter design is similar to previously tested designs and the voltage, current,
or thermal stress levels for the specified design are lower than for designs that have
been previously tested.
Many owners however prefer that the power electronic valves be fully type tested
for their project on the basis that a converter valve is a system of many components
where small changes in component design, component placement, or
sub-component vendor may affect the withstand, performance, or reliability.
Another factor to consider is that the standards are frequently revised to incorporate
new information and experience and thus a test in lieu based on a previous version of
the standard may be less complete or less onerous.
The requirement to carry out new tests can become the subject of lengthy
discussions between the vendor and the owner. Therefore, it is appropriate that the
owner requires that the vendor quote the type testing of the power converter valves
as a separately priced optional extra to the contract. In this way, it gives the vendor
the opportunity to make his case for forgoing new tests while giving the owner the
option to insist on new tests should he consider that the technical risk warrants the
additional cost, which would be transparent in this case. The decision to perform
new tests should be taken at the bid negotiation stage so that the cost and schedule
impacts can be incorporated in the contract. This requires that the vendor submit his
prospective type test information together with the bid and that the owner consider it
during the evaluation.
Different standards for testing power electronic valves may be applicable
depending on the technology of the converters (current commutated or gate turn-
off). The following standards are available for different technologies and topologies
of equipment:
• IEC 61954 defines type, production, and optional tests on thyristor valves used in
thyristor-controlled reactors (TCR), thyristor-switched reactors (TSR), and
thyristor-switched capacitors (TSC) for power system applications forming part
of static VAR compensators (SVC) and thyristor-controlled series capacitors
(TCSC). The requirements of the standard apply both to single valve units (one
phase) and to multiple valve units (several phases).
• IEC 62927-2017 applies to self-commutated valves, for use in voltage-sourced
converter (VSC) for static synchronous compensator (STATCOM). It is limited to
electrical type and routine production tests. The tests described in this document
are based on air-insulated valves. For other types of valve insulation, the test
requirements and acceptance criteria must be agreed between the purchaser and
the vendor.
• IEC 61800-3-2017-adjustable speed electrical power drive systems part 3 EMC
requirements and specific test methods (for STATCOMs comprised of PWM
drive system modules).
• IEC 60146-1-1-2009-Semiconductor converters – General requirements and line
commutated converters – Part 1-1: Specification of basic requirements and test
requirements for complete convertor equipment and assemblies of standard
design.
• IEC 60146-1-2-2009 Application guide giving additional information on test
conditions and components for special design.
As a general rule, the latest version of the standards that are available for the
specific equipment or configuration should be used unless the equipment under test
has been specified for specific compatibility with earlier versions of the standard.
Converters based on forced commutated semiconductors may have basic prop-
erties such as very low input impedance which make it impossible to directly adopt
test methods for electrical withstand tests applicable to valves with high input
impedance such as static VAR compensator (SVC) valves (Sheng et al. 2016).
If a directly applicable standard does not exist for a given technology or topology
of FACTS converter, it may be necessary to specify tests based on applicable
portions of a number of similar standards. The final list of tests, test procedures,
and acceptance criteria would, in this case, be a matter for discussion and agreement
between the vendor and owner. Optimally, this special test procedure would be
finalized during contract negotiations to avoid later cost and schedule implications.
2.2.2 Interface Transformers

Not all FACTS controllers require an interface transformer, but for those controllers
that require an interface transformer, the tests of these power transformers used to
interface the FACTS controller to the AC system would depend on its function and
stresses in the respective scheme. If the interface transformer is not exposed to any
DC voltage offset during operation, then it can be considered to be an AC power
transformer. In such case the test procedures would be similar to conventional
transformers, in accordance with IEC and IEEE Standards (IEC 60076 or IEEE
C57 12.90).
There are several considerations which may distinguish an interface transformer
from a standard power transformer as follows:
• The secondary winding must be designed to operate over an extended range of

voltage. This may include requirements for short-time overvoltage withstand in
excess of the AC system voltage range or a requirement for degraded mode
operation without the controllable reactive device such as a thyristor-controlled
reactor (TCR) in operation. In the case of a SVC interface transformer, the voltage
range at the secondary can be significantly greater than would be considered
normal for a distribution transformer, and therefore neither the design nor the tests
would be adequately covered by the transformer standards.
• As an example, consider the case where the transformer has a natural impedance
of 10% on the SVC output base and the AC system requirement includes
continuous operation at 10% AC system voltage variation and a requirement
for degraded mode operation without the TCR. If the TCR is not in service, the
transformer must be rated for the full output of the fixed capacitors connected at
the secondary bus.
• The transformer may be subjected to significant harmonic loading especially in
the case of resonance.
2.2.3 DC Capacitors
All DC capacitors must be tested according to the relevant standard. There is no
standard applicable for dry type self-healing VSC DC capacitors with a high
operating voltage. IEC 61071 (2007) is the most applicable, but it is limited to
operating voltage up to 10 kV in practice. The limit was acknowledged in a previous
revision, IEC 61071-1 (1991), but not in present revision IEC 61071 (2007).
However, design and test factors are not adopted for a higher voltage, and thus the
limit still must be considered applicable. In view of this, the following test procedure
has demonstrated to be proficient for dry type self-healing DC capacitors used as
energy storage in VSC transmissions.
A. Routine tests
1. Capacitance measurement and tan δ measurement
As per IEC 61071 clause 5.3
2. Voltage test between terminals
As per IEC 61071, clause 5.5.2
The capacitance shall be measured before and after the test and the values
corrected to the same dielectric temperature.
3. AC voltage test between terminals and case
As per IEC 61071 clause 5.6.1
4. Measurements of grading resistor
The resistance of the grading resistor shall be measured according to IEC
61071, clause 5.7. The resistance of the grading resistor(s) shall be verified
by measuring the voltage decay of a capacitor unit. Expected time at which
the voltage decay should be measured is in the range of R*C seconds, where
C is the unit capacitance and R the grading resistor resistance. The terminal
voltage following the R*C function shall not deviate more than 1%.
5. Sealing test
As per IEC 61071, clause 5.8. The capacitor units shall be visually inspected.
B. Type tests
1. Thermal stability test as per IEC 61071 clause 5.10
2. Surge discharge test as per IEC 61071 clause 5.9
3. AC voltage test between terminals and case as per IEC 61071 clause 5.6.2
4. (Only applicable for capacitors with metallic container and with terminals
insulated from container)
Voltage test between terminals as per IEC 61071, clause 5.5.3, states that the
capacitance shall be measured before and after the test and the values corrected to the
same dielectric temperature. The test shall be performed on at minimum 6 units.
Failure of one single unit is permitted. Self-healing breakdown is permitted, but no
puncture or flashover.
2.2.4 Phase Reactor

Two-level or three-level VSC converters may be tested in accordance with section
8 of IEC 60076-6. However, a few additions and modifications are required to reflect
the stresses by the specific nature of the converter voltage.
A. Routine tests
• Measurement of winding resistance.
• Measurement of impedance.
• Measurement of losses.
• Lightning impulse voltage test. The type test on the phase reactor must be in
accordance with IEC 60076-6 section 8.
• Test of the tightness of the liquid cooling circuit for reactors with directly
liquid cooled winding (if any).
B. Type tests
Measurement of losses is performed at fundamental frequency and at all signif-

icant harmonic frequencies. Since an air-core reactor is a linear device with regard to
the current magnitude, the losses may be measured at any current level and corrected
to the rated harmonic current. As the eddy losses vary with frequency the losses have
to be measured at the fundamental and all harmonic frequencies of the current

spectrum;
Temperature rise test is conducted at loss equivalent AC current. The loss
equivalent current is derived from the loss measurement at fundamental frequency
and harmonic frequencies using a specific formula.
2.2.5 Other Equipment

Other equipment such as isolating transformers, grounding banks, auxiliary trans-
formers, instrument transformers, measuring devices, AC breakers, AC capacitors,
disconnectors, arresters, etc. should be type tested according to the associated
standards which are specific to conventional equipment.
2.2.6 Environmental Testing

Environmental testing is considered for assessing the ability of electrical and elec-
tronic equipment to operate under severe climatic and electromagnetic conditions.
A series of standards governed by IEC 60068 prescribes the appropriate test
procedures for measurements and testing the equipment under extreme dry/wet heat
and cold environment. The standard consists of three parts: General and Guidance
(IEC60068-1), Tests ((IEC60068-2) and Supporting Documentation and Guidance
(IEC60068-3).
The electromagnetic radiated and conducted noise generated during the operation
of switching devices and circuit breakers can disrupt the low power electronics. The
equipment must also be designed to remain in operation when subjected to electrical
fast transient/bursts on supply, signal, control, and earth ports. These tests are
covered in the series 61000-4 of IEC standards. The industrial environment in
which each equipment to be tested is being subjected must be stated in the specifi-
cation. This will determine the test criteria corresponding to the level or class
established for the equipment. The following standards are those typically referred
for type testing electronic equipment associated to FACTS installation.
IEC61000-4-2 Electrostatic discharge test

IEC61000-4-3 Radiated electromagnetic field immunity test
IEC61000-4-4 Electrical fast transient/burst
IEC61000-4-5 Surge immunity test
IEC61000-4-6 Conducted disturbances immunity test
IEC61000-4-8 Power frequency magnetic test
IEC61000-4-9 Pulse magnetic field
IEC61000-4-10 Damped oscillatory magnetic field
IEC61000-4-16 Immunity to conducted common mode disturbance
IEC60255-22-1 HF disturbance test with damped oscillatory wave (1 MHz burst)
IEC61000-4-12 Oscillatory waves (ring waves)
IEC60255-4-11 Voltage interruptions
IEC60255-21-1, 2 Resistance to vibration and shocks
The equipment is also routinely tested in the factory for dielectric and impulse test
voltage according to IEC 60255-5.
2.3 Control and Protection Equipment Factory Testing
Factory testing of the control and protection systems is performed by the vendor in
the factory prior to shipment to site to verify the hardware and software integrity.
These tests provide final demonstration of the static and dynamic performance
specified by the owner and adjusted and reaffirmed during the design review stage.
The tests are also known as “hardware in the loop” tests as the actual control
hardware and software or sometimes an exact replica (if the actual controls have
already been shipped) would be tested together with a digital model of the AC
system.
These tests consist of two sequential stages as follows:
(a) Factory system tests (FST) which are internal tests by vendor. These tests are
comprehensive and are aimed at ensuring that all equipment and software are
functional, wiring is correct, transducers, output relays, and all interfaces,
interlocking, protections, and communications systems are working. The empha-
sis at this stage is to ensure completeness and functionality. Finally, the perfor-
mance of the system is tested with a set of cases in which external signals or
disturbances are applied to the control systems and the response is compared
with the requirement. Any deficiencies noted are corrected to the extent possible.
(b) Factory acceptance tests (FAT) – this is generally a repeat of all or portion of FST
witnessed by owner with emphasis on the performance aspects rather than
functionality.
2.3.1 Factory System Tests (FST)

Different approaches have been used to verify FACTS controller dynamic perfor-
mance. Typically, dynamic performances of the installation are first validated on a
digital program which requires an exact model representation of the control system
and the related strategies. The dynamic performance study being subjected to the
design review process provides a tool to confirm system performance prior to
manufacturing of the real control system. A test program must be agreed upon to
demonstrate the performance. A final verification of the system with the actual
control and protection hardware and software is then performed at the factory by
running the real control systems connected to a real-time simulator.
For the factory system tests (FST), the real-time simulator accurately represents
the steady-state, dynamic, and transient behavior of the power electronic controllers,
including valve protective functions. A network equivalent together with the FACTS
model must be modeled on the real-time simulator. Functional performance tests
may be done using a reduced network model. Dynamic performance studies could
also be conducted partly or totally on a real-time digital simulator as opposed to
being conducted first on a digital program provided the manufacturing schedule
permits it. However, some tests requiring specific configurations for which real-time
modeling may not be available must then rely on digital programs to validate the
performance.
Prior to commencing the FST with the real control systems, the list of proposed
tests must be agreed upon with the objective to demonstrate the proper functioning
of all control, protection, monitoring, and other systems. The objective, a description
of the test methodology, the appropriate control parameters and settings, signals and
variables to be recorded, and success criteria must be stated clearly for each test
listed in the program. Static and dynamic tests should aim at demonstrating the
response of each specific function. These tests must include all system events that
will test the dynamic performance of the FACTS thoroughly. The test program will
include some or all tests prescribed for the dynamic performance study conducted on
a digital program. The test program would also include a component that is similar to
the one that will be repeated at site during commissioning.
However, since the concept of risk is virtually nonexistent on a simulator, these
tests should be carried out under normal operating conditions and also under more
severe conditions for equipment, network, and control systems. Even simulated
system faults can be included in these tests. The operating conditions of the
FACTS equipment and of the grids must be within the limits described in the
appropriate section of the specification. The representation of the AC network and
the components must be provided by the owner.
2.3.2 Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT)

The factory acceptance tests (FAT) may consist of a repeat of all or portion of the
FST witnessed by the owner. Some utilities may choose to purchase an exact replica
of the control system (with or without redundancy if applicable) to carry out
additional functional tests deemed necessary on their own real-time simulator in
addition to validation of commissioning procedures and training. The final dynamic
performance tests may be performed on an EMT-type model which will include an
extended AC system, provided that the EMT model of the FACTS is accurate and
has been benchmarked against the real-time simulator tests.
Some of the tests that must be carried out for typical FACTS equipment are listed
in Table 1; it is non-exhaustive, and the vendor must add any additional tests deemed
necessary.
2.3.3 Testing Setup
AC Network Representation
The network representation of the AC system used for design studies of the SVC or
FACTS controller normally represents a very small subset of the system. This
approach is helpful to reduce setup time and to avoid lengthy and laborious testing
and debugging of the system model. The system models are normally defined by the
owner and included in the technical specification. The owner is in the best position to
define equivalent system models as he will be most familiar with the system
configurations, system protections, and short circuit levels. The owner will know
Table 1 Summary of typical tests

Applicable to
Test category Test description STATCOM SVC UPFC
Basic function test Start-up test x x x
of control and Shutdown test x x
protection test Trip tests x x
Regular control and protection tests x x
Sampling zero drift and measurement x x
accuracy check
Manual intervention test x x
Mode function Manual reactive power control test x x
control and Constant reactive power control test x x x
switching tests Constant voltage control test x x x
Transient voltage control test x x
System transient voltage comparison x x
with and without STATCOM applied
Response time test x x x
Voltage control performance test x x
Voltage variation-based start-up x x
criterion check in dynamic voltage
control mode
Dynamic voltage control performance x x
test
Control parameters variation influence x x x
check on system performance
System control Constant voltage control mode switch x x
strategy check Transient voltage control mode switch x x
Zero reactive power control x x x
Constant control mode switch
Local control/remote control switch x x x
Anti-misoperation Anti-misoperation strategy for constant x x
strategy check reactive power control
Anti-misoperation strategy for constant x x
voltage control
Anti-misoperation strategy for target x x
busbar selection
Anti-misoperation strategy for abnormal x x x
communication
Redundancy protection of controller x x x
Anti-misoperation strategy for x x
overvoltage control on the low-voltage
side
(continued)
Table 1 (continued)
Applicable to
Test category Test description STATCOM SVC UPFC
Control and Subsystem (inter-triangle) overcurrent x x
protection strategy protection
check Overvoltage control protection on the x x
low-voltage side
Undervoltage control protection on the x x
low-voltage side
Abnormal input signal x x x
Hardware failure protection x x x
Synchronization loss protection x x
Synchronous phase sequence protection x x x
Frequency protection x x x
Power failure protection x x x
System halt protection x x x
Anti-interference protection for x x x
equipment
Fault simulations System response test in occurrence of x x
three-phase unbalanced fault
Transient single-phase fault x x x
Transient two-phase fault
Transient three-phase fault
Permanent single-phase fault x x x
Permanent two-phase fault
Permanent three-phase fault
Multi-type fault delayed clearing x x x
Breaker fail, etc.
System trip x x x
Interaction tests Tests to verify that there will not be any x x
interactions with other devices in the AC
system
Degraded mode Test to ensure transition to degraded x x
tests mode for trip of some LV bus
equipment. Also transition to normal
mode on restoration of the equipment
Black start tests Tests to verify capability to start in dead x
AC system conditions
the location of sensitive loads, dynamic swings, and other facilities that could
interact with the new FACTS controller. Typically, two network equivalents may
be defined for dynamic studies using three-phase digital real-time simulators and
also non-real-time simulation platforms. The network model for functional checking
on the real-time simulator may be smaller than the network defined for dynamic
performance studies.
Local Load
Including
Dynamic Load
Branch1
P1+jQ1
M PM1+jQM1
Branch2 Branch3
Bus 1 Local Bus 4
Bus 3 Capacitors
C1
Facts
C2
Device
PCC
Bus 2
Fig. 4 Simple network model for bidding and production tests
Important characteristics of the network equivalents include the ability to match

maximum typical and minimum short circuit levels under which the FACTS con-
troller will be required to operate together with the ability to match the low-order
harmonic characteristics of the system. The network equivalents may include:
(a) Simple network model – this is an equivalent consisting of one to three buses
used for real-time dynamic testing and control development as shown in Fig. 4.
This equivalent may be used for simulations of the dynamic performance during
the bid period. The use of three buses rather than a single bus allows the
simulation of faults that are some distance away from the FACTS controller as
well as reduction in short circuit strength by clearing one branch when the fault is
cleared.
(b) Detailed network model – a larger equivalent consisting of between 10 and

50 buses which would allow actual outages of nearby lines and circuits and
monitoring of voltages at critical load buses. It would also allow for simulation
of interaction with other voltage control buses. When truncating the system at
the boundaries of the retained system, it is necessary to model the mutual
impedances between the retained buses so that realistic voltages would be
obtained within the network when lines are taken out of service during the
studies. The network modeled should be large enough to include critical nearby
buses where performance needs to be met and should also include nearby
controllers whose performance could be affected by the new FACTS controllers
so that interaction studies can be performed. A typical example is shown in
Fig. 13.
Larger system models (usually full system models as defined by the local
transmission system operator) are normally provided to the contractor by the
owner for use in single-phase network simulation programs such as PSSE.
Controls and Protection Setup

The actual FACTS system controls or an exact replica of the controls should be used.
Replica controls are controls implemented using exact hardware and software
duplicates of the actual controls. Replica controls may be used in the event that,
due to schedule or other reasons, the actual control systems manufactured for the
project cannot be used.
Digital and Analog Signal Interface

The interface between the FACTS controls and other systems may be provided by
discrete logic or direct connection of analog signals. This may include:
• TFR signals
• Discrete relay trips
• Switch status
The TFR could be connected if desired, but the status of the switches and other
digital signals would be simulated.
The hardware of the cooling system controls is not normally included in the FST
and FAT of the FACTS control systems because the interface is normally simple,
consisting of limited number of digital and analogue signals such as:
• Start and stop of pumps

• Trip of the converter due to total pump failure or leakage detected
• Inlet and outlet temperatures of the cooling fluid at the semiconductor valves
• Coolant flow rate
These interface signals would be simulated or monitored in the factory tests in

sufficient detail to check the response of the affected FACTS system controls and
protections. Similar functional tests need to be repeated in the field when the actual
hardware of the FACTS controls and cooling controls are interconnected.
Electronic Interfaces
Electronic interfaces would be provided as follows:
• FACTS controls to valve base electronics (VBE)

• VBE to FACTS valves
• FACTS controls to high-speed acquisition to interface to the network interface in
the RTDS
The valve base electronics (VBE) or firing controls (FC) would be the actual
contract hardware, while the valve would generally be represented by a small low
power device or devices in the same configuration as the actual semiconductor
converter valves.
Human Machine Interface and SCADA Interfaces

The human machine interface (HMI) would be the actual interfaces and hardware to
be delivered under the contract. The custom software for the project would be
installed on the HMI. Control points, analog control settings, and alarm lists
would be the same as the final design values. All communications links and
interfaces would be configured and installed as in the actual system. Supervisory
control and data acquisition (SCADA) interfaces to remote control locations would
also be included in the test setup.
2.3.4 Hardware and Software Integration Test (Functional)

Hardware and software integration tests are required to verify the integrity of the
hardware implementation and the basic functionalities.
The first step always consists of a visual check of all components included in the
control cabinet including wiring and terminals. The appropriate software is down-
loaded to processors, input/output (I/O)-cards, etc. Bus communications for all
connected circuit boards are then checked. These tests are usually performed with
the control system connected to a digital simulator similar to the arrangement shown
in Fig. 5. The diagram does not show redundant systems in the interest of
maintaining clarity.
A simple three bus-AC network representation is sufficient for these validations.
However, some of the preliminary verification of the scaling of all digital inputs and
outputs, the scaling and offset of all analog inputs and outputs, the dynamic range
and linearity and the appropriate scaling of all current and voltage measurement can
be conducted independently without a connection to a simulator.
The test program can be divided into two parts to verify the communication
between the controller and the gateway and between the gateway and the SCADA or
remote system. Other types of interfaces that can be checked without the need of a
simulator include the interface between the control system and the switching device:
• Measurement quantities
• Verify I/0 range and linearity
• Control system internal faults (power supply, I/O, watchdog, etc.)
• Redundant system changeover (if any)
• Validation of software functions
• Check of interlocking
• Communication from/to (HMI – control system-redundant system-switching
device interface and electronics)
Control system faults of specific components are verified with the operation of
internal supervision. It includes the loss of power supply, of all I/O, and internal
faults detected by the watchdog. The redundant system changeover if applicable
would be verified under various contingencies.
After the integrity has been validated, testing can continue with the validation of
the control system functionalities under static and dynamic conditions.
RTU/
SCADA and HMI
Gateway
Workstation HMI Server
FACTS Control Racks Communication
Fast Loop Control

Regulator
FACTS Controls
Protections
Thermal Models
Slow Loop Control VBE

Switchgear Control Phase A
Sequencing
Phase B
Fast Analog General Field Phase C

Data Acquisition I/O
RTDS
Transient Switch Cooling Valve Model

Fault Status Control
Recorder and
Discrete
Relays
AC Network Status, Alarms and Events
Fig. 5 Typical setup for FST and FAT of control and protection systems
2.3.5 Verification of Steady-State Operating Characteristics

Static tests are those performed to verify the basic characteristics, the open-loop
control command, and various functionalities:
• Control characteristics in different control modes (VxI, VxQ, etc.)

• Control sequences (start-up, shutdown, emergency stop)
• Black starting (if applicable), etc.
• Operation modes – parallel mode, degraded modes, and manual mode

• HMI control points, events, and alarms (local-remote)
• Control system internal faults and loss of transducer signals
• Protective functions implemented in the control systems
Control Characteristics
It is recommended to first verify the FACTS controller’s main data and that all
operation points are met according to the specification taking into account compo-
nent tolerances. First the control references are verified. For shunt compensation it
simply consists in verifying that the control reference (V, I, Q) follows the
corresponding measured entities, while the control is in a blocked state. Verification
of operation in manual mode could be done prior to this.
The control characteristics such as the VxI or VxQ curves similar to those shown
in Fig. 6 are then validated with the specified slope values and voltage references by
ramping the system voltage slowly, while the FACTS control is in the automatic
voltage control mode. Parameters should be set to achieve the best linearity over the
whole range of the FACTS system’s operation. The relationship between the control
signal and the actual signal seen from the point of coupling must be calibrated.
Minor adjustments may be required at site. The switching points of different branch
elements must be observed carefully. Current or voltage limits by control action
(if applicable and if the response of these functions permits) are confirmed in
accordance with the technical report.
All specified operating modes should be verified such as parallel modes of
operation or degraded modes and the automatic reclosing function (if applicable).
Control Mode
All control modes should be tested to confirm functionality and performance (volt-
age control, reactive power control, current control, etc.). These tests are to verify
that the output of reactive power or of real power is in accordance with the control
characteristic under the respective control mode and that the desired control objec-
tive such as AC voltage or reactive output can be achieved. It should also be verified
that the output is also unaffected when the control mode is transferred from one
mode to the other, for example, from automatic to manual and vice versa.
Sequence Control
The sequence control consists of direct control commands performing a sequential
logic for operations as start-up, shutdown, and emergency stop. The objective of
these tests is to check if the start-up and shutdown logic of the FACTS controller is
done correctly considering the different status of the cooling system and the various
interlocking with breakers, disconnect switches, and operating modes. Various status
of the cooling system can be simulated for this test in the factory. It is important to
confirm that the desired output of reactive power during start-up (typically at
minimum or zero Mvar) has been reached with minimum disturbance.
For VSC-based FACTS controllers, it is important to test the sequence for
pre-charge of the DC capacitor voltages (on simulator model). Depending on the
30
1.3 H 1.3
TCR Blocked
Full Capacitve 1.2
1.2
1.1 G I 1.1 G
C F C F
B 10
1.0 E B 1.0 E
A D A D
0.9
0 9 0.9
09
0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7
0.6 0.6
0.5
Voltage at PCC (pu)
0.5
Voltage at PCC (pu)

0.4 0.4
Current Limit Current Limit
0.3 Transient Overload 0.3 Transient Overload
Specified Continuous 0.2 Specified Continuous

0.2 Operating Region
Operating Region
0.1 0.1
Capacitive Inductive Capacitive Inductive
1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0

SVC Current (pu) STATCOM Current (pu)
Fig. 6 Typical voltage/current characteristics of SVC and STATCOM operating mode

H. Bilodeau et al.
application, the black start sequence, normal starts and stops, degraded mode start
and stop, automatic reclosing, or any other special sequences should be included in
the test program. The shutdown sequence must be achieved without endangering the
equipment and with all the appropriate protective actions but without generating any
DC offset which could prevent or delay the opening of the main breaker. Priority
should be given first to testing the emergency shutdown to ensure that the system can
be stopped rapidly.
Operator Controls Interface (HMI) Factory Testing of Alarms and Events

The communication interface between the various workstations as operator or
engineer and the control system and the event recorder has been previously verified.
The remaining tests consist in the validation of all events and alarms, local and
remote on the HMI, or the owner’s remote system with the proper time distribution
and synchronization. The level of priorities is validated.
Control and Protective Functions

All control and protective functions embedded in control systems are then validated
depending on the type of FACTS technology. Some of these functions are summa-
rized in Table 2.
2.3.6 Dynamic Performance Tests

The dynamic performance tests are intended to demonstrate that the dynamic
performance and response of the FACTS control and protection systems are in
accordance with the specifications when subject to different contingencies and
events. The most representative tests for validating the dynamic performance are
described in this section.
Step Response
The step response test is a mean to characterize the closed-loop control system of
shunt compensation devices. The objective is to quantify the dynamic behavior
under small disturbances. The system response is a function of the gain of the
regulator, the control slope, and the network impedance at the FACTS point of
common coupling. Step response is normally performed on a simple network model
and can also be repeated on a more complex AC system model. Two approaches can
be used for this test during the FST and FAT tests:
(a) Injection of an external stepped signal into the controller at the reference input or
at the feedback summing junction
This method consists in varying the control reference in a step smaller than
0.05 pu and observing the output of the regulator. This approach makes it easier to
compare the resulting output with the expected theoretical result. For this test, one
typically sets the voltage controller to an initial reactive power output (preferably
other than 0.0 pu output). The injection could be programmed internally into the
application software and made available to the engineer’s interface.
Table 2 Typical control and protection functions

Note SVC STATCOM TCSC Description
Control
functions
Gain supervision x x
Gain x x
optimization
Secondary x x
voltage limiter
Primary voltage x x
limiter
Current limiter x x
TCR current x
limiter
Loss x
minimization
TCR DC current x
control
Bypassing x
Insertion x
(automatic or
manual) and
reinsertion
Lockout x
Temporary block x
insertion
Operation of x
disconnect
switches
Low line current x
Strategies
Undervoltage x x
Overvoltage x x
Protective
functions and
actions
Capacitor x
overvoltage
(TSC)
Valve x
overvoltage
DC capacitor x
overvoltage
TSC overcurrent Prevent valve from being blocked
after a very high surge current,
caused by thyristor misfiring
Subharmonic x
resonance (SSR)
(continued)
Table 2 (continued)
SSR mitigation Avoids power system SSR
conditions
Power oscillation x x
damping
Harmonic Limits exposure of the power
current system to possibleinteractions
protection with TCSC-generated harmonics
Capacitor 1 x
unbalance
Platform fault 1 x
Varistor failure 1 x
Bypass switch 1 x
failure
Pole 1 x
disagreement
Thyristor 1 x
redundancy
Thyristor failure 1 x
Thyristor reactor 1 x
failure
Controllable 1 x
subsegment
failure
Cooling system 1 x
Bypass gap 1 x
failure
Protection and 1 x
control system
failure
Current and 1 x
voltage sensor
failures
Capacitor 2 x
overload
Varistor fault 2 x
energy
Varistor over 2 x
temperature
Bypass gap 2 x
protections
Valve 2 x
overcurrent
Valve 2 x
overvoltage
(continued)
Table 2 (continued)
Valve junction 2 x
temperature
(calculated)
Valve reactor 2 x
overload
Supervisory
functions
Valve x x
temperature
monitoring
Trigger pulse x x
Synchronization x x
Note 1: Against
equipment
failure
Note 2: Against
overstress from
system condition
Fig. 7 STATCOM response to 2% steps in reference voltage
(b) Varying the AC system voltage at the point of coupling in a step
This method is representative of a system voltage fluctuation.

It is always advisable to first proceed with an open-loop test (i.e., no feedback
from the network) to first characterize the control regulator independently from the
network short circuit level or equivalent impedance. The slope and regulator gain
settings can be confirmed by comparing SVC response to the expected theoretical

value. This test consists in fixing the measured voltage response at the input of the
regulator to a constant (1 pu). By proceeding at different operating points, it can be
easily determined, for instance, if the gain is constant over the complete range or if a
strategy had been used to reduce the gain at some specific switching points (e.g.,
TSC switching). An example of a step response demonstration for a STATCOM
responding to 2% step changes in reference voltage (up-down-up) is given in Fig. 7.
The response time is about 30 ms without overshoot, and, because a slope of zero is
used, there is no steady-state voltage error other than introduced by measuring
tolerances.
Then, one can proceed with a closed-loop step response at different settings of the
regulator gain factor and slope for various network impedance values. A preliminary
parameter setting for the regulator gain can be determined. At this stage any
computer models of the FACTS controller should be benchmarked against the actual
controls to ensure that the same performance is observed in the models.
Fault Recovery Response

Various types and duration of AC faults (single, three-phase, single or two-phase
with loss of circuits), external transformer, and shunt reactor energization can be
performed with different network considerations and more complex AC system
model.
Figure 8 illustrates FAT results on a real-time simulator of a three-phase fault
result of a 35 kV/200 Mvar STATCOMs in 500 kV substations installed by China
Southern Power Grid (Hong Rao et al. 2016).
Tests of Interaction with Other FACTS Systems

When fast-acting controllers are located in close proximity to one another, there is a
possibility of interaction between the controllers, leading to degradation of perfor-
mance of both controllers, hunting, operation at a limit, or control instability. An
example of coordination between electrically close SVCs to avoid interaction is
given in Section. 3.5.
Tests of DC Overvoltage Limiting Controls

Under certain fault conditions for a PWM three-level STATCOM, step changes in
STATCOM output at fault clearing and the DC capacitors can become overcharged
potentially leading to a trip. The test is performed to verify that the DC voltage be
limited by control action.
Typical results from a FAT test are shown in Fig. 9. As the STATCOM continues
to conduct current during the fault interval the DC voltage drops throughout the fault
and then there is a sharp increase in DC voltage at fault clearing. The DC voltage
overshoot does not come close to the trip level (6 kV in this case) in part because the
voltage of the capacitors has dropped as it tried to support the AC bus voltage during
the fault.
Fig. 8 HVDC power recovery with and without STATCOM

Fig. 9 Variation in STATCOM DC capacitor voltage during and after a three-phase fault
Overvoltage and Undervoltage Ride-Through Tests

These tests are performed to demonstrate the capability to ride through the over- and
undervoltage profile specified and to confirm the various control actions according to
the specified strategies. Overvoltage profile can be applied by modifying the source
voltage under different conditions and contingencies. The voltage variation can be
applied with an over- or under-frequency profile at the same time of the overvoltage
sequence.
The undervoltage can be applied with a similar approach or by applying a single-
or three-phase fault followed by an overvoltage profile. The voltage level as limited
by control action can also be verified under these conditions.
In the case of a long three-phase fault, the DC capacitor of a STATCOM can drop
very low unless the STATCOM is blocked. However immediate blocking is not
desirable since the STATCOM will not provide support during the fault. Hence it is
necessary to block after a time that corresponds to a reasonably long fault (e.g.,
backup clearing time up to 0.5 s) and then wait for the long fault to clear before
resuming. Even after blocking the DC capacitor, voltage would continue to decline
due to the bleed resistors. In the case that very long ride-through duration is
specified, the DC capacitor size may be governed by the ride-through requirement.
The variation in DC capacitor voltage during a three-phase fault is shown in Fig. 10.
The DC capacitor voltage falls rapidly at first, while the STATCOM is trying to
support the AC voltage, but after some time the STATCOM is blocked, and the
voltage declines much more slowly due to the discharge resistors. A successful
restart is achieved for this fault which is slightly shorter than the maximum specified
3-second ride-through requirement.
Fig. 10 Variation of
STATCOM DC capacitor
voltage during 3-s ride-
through test
2.4 Discrete Protection System Tests (Not Embedded in Control

System)
Injection tests of protection system not embedded in control system as normally

performed for conventional equipment are required to confirm settings and trip
functionality. However, protection trips must be coordinated with control system
actions especially those regarding the undervoltage and overvoltage strategies.
2.5 Cooling System Factory Tests
The hardware and software of the cooling systems would be subjected to an

independent set of factory tests separate from the FACTS main control system
factory tests.
2.6 Site Testing and Commissioning
Some of the FAT tests may be repeated during site testing and commissioning.
2.7 Performance Monitoring Period: Reliability and Reporting
Audible noise, filter performance, control system performance, and control stability
could be monitored closely during a trial operation which may overlap with the
commissioning period. However, after the start of commercial operation and during
the warranty period, design aspects that are the subject of special performance
interest and which may have contractual guarantee levels in the special conditions of
contract would be monitored. Failure to meet the guaranteed values may require the
contractor to perform remedial work and or to pay liquidated damage amounts. Items
that may be covered by special guarantee clauses in the special conditions may
include:
• Failure to achieve required ratings

• Failure rates of power semiconductor devices, modules, or capacitors larger than
guaranteed values
• Failure to achieve guaranteed reliability and availability targets
• Failure to achieve audible sound targets
3 Example of FST/FAT Tests for the Ceará Mirim SVC in Brazil
3.1 Ceará Mirim SVC Main Circuit Component Design
The SVC equipment installed on Ceará Mirim a city located in the Northeast of
Brazil is designed to supply the specified nominal reactive power values (75 Mvar
inductive to 150 Mvar capacitive) for any voltage value at PCC in the range of
230 kV 5%. The indicated reactive power values are based on 0.95 pu voltage at
the point of common coupling (PCC).
The Ceará Mirim SVC is composed of the elements described below:
• 230/15 kV, 150 MVA step-down transformer, three single-phase units, grounded
star-delta connection, with one spare unit
• Two thyristor-controlled reactors (TCR) of 51.077 Mvar each, delta connection
• Two thyristor-switched capacitors (TSC) of 61.423 Mvar each, delta connection
• Two 13.577 Mvar capacitive filters tuned to the fifth and seventh harmonics,
ungrounded star connection
Each TCR consists of three single-phase air-core reactors, divided into two half-
coils and three water/glycol-cooled single-phase thyristor valves, using 125 mm
electrically triggered thyristors.
Each TSC consists of three single-phase capacitor banks, three single-phase
inrush current limiters, and three water/glycol-cooled single-phase thyristor valves,
using 125 mm electrically triggered thyristors. Metal oxide varistors are used to limit
overvoltages in TSC thyristor valves.
3.2 Ceará Mirim SVC Closed-Loop Control System
The SVC closed-loop control system provides a coordinated operation among TCRs
and TSCs currently available through the determination of SVC current order, to
match the existing electrical system requirements. Thereafter, a TCR current order
AnBnCn 3 An MAF RmsAn RmsAn

X2 (2”Halfperiod)
X
0.333
Bn RmsBn + 3phRmsMeas
X2 MAF X +
(2”Halfperiod) +
RmsBn
Cn MAF RmsCn RmsCn

X2 X
(2”Halfperiod)
Fig. 11 SVC main controller input signal generation
Fig. 12 SVC closed-loop control system final stage
value and a TSC switching requirement are determined. A typical SVC for power
system application has two operation modes, the voltage control mode, where the
SVC varies the current injected into PCC to keep its terminal voltage at the value
defined by the operator, and the manual control mode, where this equipment operates
as a fixed current manually adjusted by the operator. A signal conditioning is
required to convert AC currents and voltages measured at PCC into RMS signals.
As shown in Fig. 11, the system control voltage is obtained from the mean value of
the phase to ground RMS values of the AC voltages measured at high-voltage
busbar, to select positive sequence voltage values, and to remove negative sequence
ones.
These signals are squared and applied to MAF-PLL (moving average filter phase-
locked loop) filters. At this step, the negative and zero sequence components and the
harmonics are removed, owning to the squared calculation of these signals produc-
ing a DC signal.
As shown in Fig. 12, the set of gains described below is applied to the signal
VERROR. SCL gain corrects the error signal, calculated as the difference between
signal 3phRmsMeas and the reference voltage set by the operator, based on the
dynamic short circuit level measured at SVC high-voltage PCC, providing that the
performance parameters related to SVC step response should be achieved as follows,

in compliance with industry standards and practices.
• Maximum percent overshoot (MPO) of 30%

• Maximum rise time (Tr) of 33 ms
• Maximum settling time (Ts) of 100 ms
The gain optimization (GO) algorithm is based on the scheduled application of a

small disturbance at SVC output signal and in the measurement of the relationship
between voltage and reactive power errors corresponding to this disturbance, the
so-called gain test. Based on SVC output signal magnitude and polarity measured
during gain test application, SCL gain value will be increased or reduced.
The second control loop, called Gain Controller (GC), aims to preserve SVC
stable operation if oscillations are detected in its output signal by reducing KGC gain
value from its normal value set to 1.0 until such oscillations are satisfactorily
damped. SVC main control loop is typically based on a proportional-integral
(PI) controller action, with parameters adjustable through the values of SCL and
KGC gains. This controller is bypassed if SVC terminal voltage (230 kV) falls below
a value defined by studies, forcing this equipment to operate with 0 Mvar output,
constituting the so-called Undervoltage Blocking Scheme to be described in the next
sections. As shown in Fig. 12, the required SVC current (ISVC) is then distributed
among the values corresponding to the available controllable elements (TCR and
TSC) and harmonic filters. The TSC current is determined based on the switching
limits defined for these elements, which have a discrete control strategy (ON/OFF).
The TCR current is continuously varied between its maximum and minimum limits,
based on the thyristor firing angle value defined by SVC closed-loop control system.
These elements are responsible for the continuous control of the reactive power
injected by the SVC into the power grid. The equipment control system can be
specified as two fully redundant control units, producing a 100% redundancy level.
3.3 Ceará Mirim SVC Additional Control Loops
(a) Undervoltage blocking scheme
This scheme forces the SVC to operate at 0 Mvar if its terminal voltage drops down a
pre-set value for a time interval also predetermined, which corresponds to block two
TSCs and a TCR, the remaining TCR being used to compensate the filters
susceptance, resulting in 0 Mvar at the high-voltage point of common coupling
(PCC). Consider that the SVC used in this description has two TCRs, two TSCs, and
two single-tuned filters connected at its low-voltage busbar. This function aims to
prevent the SVC operation at strongly capacitive points, generally associated with
electrically close faults, thereby possibly contributing to increase the overvoltages
associated to fault clearing. Detection of this scheme operation level is achieved
using the mean RMS values of the three phases of the high-voltage busbar voltage
for balanced three-phase faults and the minimum RMS value of this voltage for
unbalanced faults. The SVC is released to voltage control mode when this signal
reaches a value higher than the blocking level plus a hysteresis defined during the
system design stage. This way, undervoltage blocking scheme is able to operate for
local and remote and balanced and unbalanced faults. The aforementioned blocking
and unblocking levels can be modified based on short circuit level (SCL) measured
at PCC. It is up to the customer to activate this logic or not. In order to ensure that the
thyristor valve trip is always safely carried out, the SVC has also a low-voltage
undervoltage blocking scheme that blocks TCRs and TSCs if one of the phase-to-
phase RMS voltages falls below a value previously defined by design. After a time,
interval defined by the manufacturer (e.g., 2 s), if the low-voltage busbar voltages do
not recover to values greater than 0.3 pu, for example, an SVC shutdown sequence
will be initiated.
3.4 Degraded Modes of Operation
The SVC used as an example for this description (Ceará Mirim SVC) offers the
possibility of automatic operation in degraded modes if some elements at its
low-voltage bus are unavailable, producing a high degree of flexibility and avail-
ability to the equipment operation. A valid degraded mode corresponds to a config-
uration where, although the reactive output power limits are reduced, it is possible to
continuously vary SVC output power while keeping SVC harmonic levels below the
specified limits. In this manner, a valid degraded mode requires the presence of at
least one TCR and two filters or one TCR, one TSC, and one filter. Thirteen valid
degraded modes are available in this case. The selection of valid degraded modes is
performed automatically by the SVC control system based on the status of its various
elements, via its high-voltage busbar bay and low-voltage busbar-motorized inter-
rupters. In case of an invalid degraded mode is produced, the SVC automatic
reclosing function is blocked. The automatic reclosing function can be activated or
deactivated via the human machine interface (HMI).
3.5 Coordination Between Electrically Close SVCs to Avoid

Interaction
As shown in Fig. 13, used as an example for this description, the Extremoz SVC
( 75 Mvar to +150 Mvar, 230 kV) was represented in RTDS studies based on
information provided by Chesf, a Brazilian transmission utility, which owns this
equipment. The Extremoz SVC represents an independently controlled susceptance
installed electrically close to the SVC in test, Ceará Mirim SVC, whose presence
makes it difficult to determine the voltage/reactive power sensitivity coefficient at
Ceará Mirim 230 kV busbar, especially during this equipment gain test.
~ ~ ~ ~
JOAO JOAO CEARÂ CEARÂ JOAO JOAO
CÂMARA III CÂMARA III MIRIM MIRIM CÂMARA II CÂMARA II
TR1 TR3 TR5
E LINE 1 LINE 5
TR2 TR4 TR6
SC2 SC1
U. DOS VENTOS U. DOS VENTOS

TR7
GARANHUNS LINE 6
EQV1 GARANHUNS C. GRANDE III
CE TR8 E
EV LINE 2 LINE 3
SR1
LOAD 1 LINE 4
U. DOS VENTOS
SR3 TR9
E
C. GRANDE III
TR11
TOUROS TOUROS CGE REDUTO
TR12 SR2 TR10
LINE 7 LINE 17 E
EXTREMOZ
LINE 8
CE
LINE 9
E LOAD 2
NATAL III NATAL III LEGENDA
EQV2 500 kV 69,0 kV
LINE 10 LINE 12
LOAD 3 230 kV 34,5 kV
EV
138 kV 13,8 kV
LINE 11 LINE 13
E Geração Eólica
CE Comp. Estático
C. GRANDE BD
LINE 14 CGD-BD
~ Geração Térmica
LOAD 4 EQV3 EV Equivalente
LINE 15 EV
LINE 16
Fig. 13 Electrical network representation in RTDS for the studied case
If the Extremoz SVC operates in manual mode, the Ceará Mirim SVC Gain
Optimizer behaves satisfactorily. However, in scenarios where the Extremoz SVC
operates in automatic mode, the Ceará Mirim SVC performance may be affected.
This effect was identified during Ceará Mirim SVC step response tests after the
activation of its Gain Optimizer and becomes more critical in system configurations
with reduced SCL (Lima et al. 2012). This influence is expected, due to the electric
proximity between Extremoz and Ceará Mirim SVCs (about 30 km in the
studied case).
When there are two SVCs operating electrically close to one another, the gains of
their closed-loop control systems must be adjusted considering the dynamics of the
power grid and the influence of the neighboring SVC to meet the specification
requirements (Lima et al. 2012, 2014). Thus, measurements of power grid voltage
sensitivity and reactive power should be made to allow the definition of adequate
gains
As noted above, this process is implemented by the Gain Optimizer (GO) control
loop. The sensitivity coefficients of the electrical power grid measurements are based
on the injection by the SVC of a short duration pulse to modify the susceptance and
measurement of the associated change of voltage or reactive power. However, if a
second SVC operates electrically close to the one whose GO is active, the apparent
power network response will be masked by the response of the second SVC. As a
result, the measurement made during the gain test will be inaccurate, thus producing
an incorrect gain adjustment. A strategy to address this issue is based on the
implementation of a control scheme and a fast telecommunication link between
the electrically close SVCs that inhibits the main control loop of the SVC that is not
performing its gain test at that instant (passive SVC), forcing this equipment to
operate in manual mode for a very short time by applying a small dead band on its
main controller.
If a major disturbance is applied in the electric power grid at this time, the dead
band is deactivated, and the passive SVC immediately resumes operation in voltage
control mode, without waiting for the gain test performed by the active SVC to be
completed. In this case, the gain test should be rescheduled.
The main features of this scheme are distributed algorithm, interface between the
hardwired SVCs for the essential signals, and additional information transmitted via
DNP3 protocol. Due to the 30 km of electric distance between the Ceará Mirim and
Extremoz SVCs, it was possible to consider the same short circuit levels for both
equipment 230 kV busbars. This way, the active SVC (Ceará Mirim), when
performing its gain test, informs the passive SVC (Extremoz) the short circuit
level resulting from this test. Extremoz SVC then uses this value to determine its
gain value. Even considering that Extremoz and Ceará Mirim SVCs were supplied
by different manufacturers, the approach here described can be implemented without
sharing any specific gain calculation strategies of each SVC, safeguarding the
confidentiality and intellectual property aspects associated with each project.
3.6 Real-Time Hardware-In-The-Loop (HIL) Tests
(b) Preliminary tests
The initial testing stage was carried out considering a simplified modeling for the
electric power grid, using Thévenin equivalent sources that correspond to the
maximum and minimum short circuit levels defined in the design stage. Figure 13
shows a single-line diagram of the network corresponding to the maximum short
circuit level studied. The following values were considered for the three-phase short
circuit level of Ceará Mirim 230 kV busbar used as example in the presented case:
(a) Minimum level of 1966 MVA corresponding to the operation with minimum
generation, degraded network
Table 3 Ceará Mirim SVC step response

Case SVC Slope VREF1 VREF2 Ts Tr PO VREF3 Ts Tr PO
# SCL ETD (%) (pu) (pu) (ms) (ms) (%) (pu) (ms) (ms) (%)
1 Low Off 2 0.9761 0.9957 87 19 0.28 0.9761 79 29 0.17
2 High Off 2 0.9761 0.9957 75 25 0.13 0.9761 78 30 0.17
3 Low Off 2 0.9761 0.9957 90 20 0.29 0.9761 97 24 0.30
4 High Off 0 0.9850 0.9957 169 26 0.15 0.9850 121 32 0.26
5 Low Off 0 0.9850 0.9957 117 21 0.19 0.9850 157 23 0.26
6 Low Off 2 0.980 1.004 56 25 0.26 0.980 90 22 0.37
7 Low On 2 0.980 1.004 128 17 0.54 0.980 134 19 0.47
8 Low On 2 0.980 1.020 1800 23 2.94 0.980 127 11 1.14
9 High Off 2 1.000 1.0152 60 24 0.10 1.000 89 23 0.10
10 High On 2 1.000 1.0152 99 20 0.24 1.000 80 22 0.24
11 High On 2 1.000 1.0261 132 24 0.86 1.000 57 17 0.16
(b) Maximum level of 4902 MVA corresponding to the operation with maximum
generation, normal configuration
The tests were initiated by verifying the performance of functions associated to

SVC protection and open-loop operation such as start-up, shutdown, transition
between control modes, transition between redundant control systems, slope change,
and automatic reclosing, changing the short circuit level between the maximum and
minimum values abovementioned here when required by the tests. In addition, the
protection functions associated to the closed-loop control system were tested,
especially:
• Undervoltage blocking scheme at high-voltage and low-voltage busbars

• SVC output susceptance monitoring
• Transition from manual control mode to voltage control mode and vice versa
• SVC emergency shutdown
Then, voltage x current and voltage x reactive power characteristic curves related
to SVC high-voltage busbar were plotted. In conclusion, gain optimization (GO) and
gain control (GC) functions described below were tested, as well as the functionality
of the joint operation scheme between the Extremoz and Ceará Mirim SVCs
described previously.
3.7 Step Response
During the step response tests, the Ceará Mirim SVC presented compliance with the
specified performance parameters for the range of short circuit levels calculated at
PCC defined during design stage. The step response tests were performed by varying
the values of slope, step magnitude, and initial reference voltage for Ceará Mirim
SVC. For Extremoz SVC, a 5% slope was used.
Step response tests were carried out for the Ceará Mirim SVC considering a
complete representation of the electrical power grid, for minimum (1966 MVA-SCL
low) and maximum (4902MVA-SCL high) short circuit levels at SVC PCC, con-
sidering the Extremoz SVC ( 75 to 150 Mvar, 230 kV) shown in Fig. 13 connected
in automatic (ON) and disconnected (OFF). Table 3 presents the most relevant
results of these tests.
Violations are observed in the settling time (Ts) values with Extremoz SVC in
automatic mode (Cases 7, 8, and 11). There were no violations in the other perfor-
mance parameters (percent overshoot and rise time) in all tests performed. The step
response test is based on the approximation by a second-order system of the
equivalent system formed by the electric power grid and one SVC for small
disturbances application. This approach, however, should not be valid when we
have the presence of two or more SVCs. In this case the criteria here presented
regarding the performance parameters specification should not be valid. For the tests
with 0% slope (Cases 4 and 5), violations for settling time value were also observed.
Since the Ceará Mirim SVC operation with 0% slope is not recommended by the
manufacturer due to the Gain Optimizer (GO) presence, such violations were
considered not relevant for the tests results evaluation (Lima et al. 2014).
Based on these considerations, the specified performance parameters for the
Ceará Mirim SVC achieved during the step response tests were reported. The indices
1, 2, and 3 indicated in Table 3 correspond to the signal values recorded before the
step, after applying the step and after its removal.
3.8 Performance Under Strong Disturbance Conditions
The Ceará Mirim SVC response during the occurrence of the disturbances in the
electric power grid here identified as “strong disturbances” and listed below was
analyzed during the RTDS tests, for transmission system configurations
corresponding to minimum and maximum short circuit levels and complete network,
considering the Extremoz SVC in automatic mode. Slopes of 2% for the Ceará
Mirim SVC and 5% for the Extremoz SVC were adopted:
• 230/69 kV, 150 MVA transformer energization at the Extremoz substation

• 500/230 kV, 450 MVA autotransformer energization at the Ceará Mirim
substation
• Single-phase, two-phase to ground, and three-phase to ground faults application
in Extremoz-Ceará Mirim, João Câmara II-Ceará Mirim, Extremoz-Natal III,
Extremoz-Campina Grande III, and Campina Grande BD-Campina Grande III
230 kV transmission lines, cleared in 100 ms with fault line opening, considering
Ceará Mirim SVC undervoltage blocking scheme activated and deactivated,
changing the fault terminal application
Table 4 Ceará Mirim SVC 230 kV undervoltage blocking scheme settings

SCL Block (pu) Release (pu) Block delay (ms) Release delay (ms)
Low 0.6 0.65 5.0 10.0
High 0.5 0.55 5.0 10.0
40
S1) VLVA
20 S1) VLVB
S1) VLVC
0
–20
–40
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
400
S1) 230B
200 S1) 230C
S1) 230A
0
–200
–400
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
4000
Gainlag
3000
2000
1000
0
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
Time (second)
Fig. 14 3F-G fault Extremoz – Ceará Mirim 230 kV TL, high short circuit level at PCC. 15 kV and
230 kV voltages; Ceará Mirim SVC gain
• Single-phase, two-phase to ground, and three-phase to ground faults application

in João Câmara III-Ceará Mirim, Ceará Mirim-Campina Grande III, and
Garanhuns-Campina Grande III 500 kV transmission lines, cleared in 100 ms
with fault line opening, considering the Ceará Mirim SVC undervoltage blocking
scheme activated and deactivated, changing the fault terminal application
• 150 Mvar/500 kV busbar shunt reactors switching in Ceará Mirim and Campina
Grande III substations
In the above listed simulations, 230 kV undervoltage blocking scheme settings for
Ceará Mirim SVC indicated in Table 4 were used.
Figures 14 and 15 show selected signals corresponding to a three-phase to ground
fault in Extremoz-Ceará Mirim 230 kV transmission line, RTDS simulation, Ceará
Mirim terminal, and maximum short circuit level, cleared in 100 ms with line
opening. The Extremoz SVC operates in automatic mode with a fixed gain value.
Just after the fault application, the Ceará Mirim SVC moves to its capacitive limit,
switching in both TSCs. However, the voltage sag associated to the fault leads to the
operation of its 230 kV undervoltage blocking scheme, forcing this equipment to
operate at 0 Mvar through the blocking of these elements.
During the fault application time interval, one can see the DC-trapped current
flowing into TCR1 that arises when the voltage at 15 kV busbar drops down to zero
4
IT CR1AB
2 IT CR1BC
IT CR1CA
0
–2
–4
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
4
IT CR2AB
2 IT CR2BC
IT CR2CA
0
–2
–4
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
2
ISVCA
1 ISVCC
ISVCB
0
–1
–2
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
2
Isvcordlag
1 ITCRordLag
–1
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
Time (second)
Fig. 15 3F-G fault Extremoz – Ceará Mirim 230 kV TL, high short circuit level at PCC. Ceará
Mirim SVC TCR and 230 kV currents. Ceará Mirim SVC total and TCR current orders
and the integral of the voltage applied to this element becomes momentarily con-
stant, giving rise to the circulation of a continuous component of current through the
reactors. This component disappears shortly after fault clearing and voltage recovery
at 230 kV busbar. At the fault clearing, both TCR currents are increased, leading the
Ceará Mirim SVC to operate at medium inductive points.
Significant overvoltages are not observed at Ceará Mirim 230 kV busbar, even
considering the line opening by the protection. The short circuit level at Ceará Mirim
230 kV reduction due to the line in fault switching off causes oscillations in the
output signal of this equipment, leading to the Gain Controller (GC) operation (close
to t = 1.4 s), which reduces the SVC gain until desired damping of these oscillations
is achieved. The Extremoz SVC operates satisfactorily during and after fault clear-
ing. No adverse interactions are observed between the SVCs. Based on these results,
one can say that with the Ceará Mirim and Extremoz SVCs contribution, a stable
steady state after fault clearing is obtained.
References
Cigré TB 663: Guidelines for the Procurement and Testing of STATCOMS, August 2016
IEC 60068: Standards for Environmental Testing
IEC 60068-1: General and Guidance
IEC 60068-2: Tests
IEC 60068-3: Supporting Documentation and Guidance
IEC 60076-1: Power Transformers – Part 1: General
IEC 60076-6: Power Transformers – Part 6: Reactors
IEC 61071-2007: Capacitors for Power Electronics – Edition 1.0
IEC 61071-1-1991: Power Electronic Capacitors – Part 1: General
IEC 61800-3-2017: Adjustable Speed Electrical Power Drive Systems – Part 3: EMC Requirements
and Specific Test Methods
IEC 61954 -2011/AMD2-2017 Amendment 2: Static Var Compensators (SVC) – Testing of
Thyristor Valves
IEC 62927-2017: Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) Valves for Static Synchronous Compensator
(STATCOM) – Electrical testing
IEC/TR 60146-1-2-2011: Semiconductor Converters General Requirements and Line Commutated
Converters Application Guide
IEC60255: Electrical Relays
IEC61000: Family of IEC Standards on EMC
IEEE C57 12.90: Standard Test Code for Liquid-Immersed Distribution, Power and Regulating
Transformers
IEEE Std. 1031-2011: IEEE Guide for the Functional Specification of Transmission Static VAR
Compensators (ANSI)
ISO 9001:2015: Quality Management Systems – Requirements
Lima, M., Alves, F., Oliveira, M., Eliasson, P., E., Aberg, M., Bauer, J.: Static Var Compensators
Performance Evaluation Studies for Systems with Strong Presence of Fixed Series Capacitors:
The Example of Tucuruí – Manaus 500kV Interconnection, XII Symposium of Specialists in
Electric Operational and Expansion Planning (SEPOPE), Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil, May 2012,
Procedures in DVD
Lima, M.C., Eliasson, P.-E., Brisby, C.: “Considerations Regarding Electrically Close Static Var
Compensators Joint Operation and Performance”, XIII Symposium of Specialists in Electric
Operational and Expansion Planning (SEPOPE), Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, Procedures in DVD,
18–21 May 2014
Rao, H., Xu, S., Zhao, Y., et al.: Research and application of multiple STATCOMs to improve the
stability of AC/DC power systems in China southern grid. IET Gener. Transm. Distrib. 10(13),
3111–3118 (2016)
Sheng, B., Danielsson, C., et al.: Electrical Test of STATCOM Valves B4.210, Cigré (2016)
Hubert Bilodeau Senior Control Engineer, HVDC and FACTS,

Retired from Hydro-Québec
Hubert Bilodeau graduated from École Polytechnique, Université de

Montréal in 1975. After graduation, he joined General Electric in Peter-
borough, Canada, and worked as a designer of static excitation and DC
Rectifier equipment. In 1981, he joined BBC Brown Boveri Co. in
Montreal as a technical coordinator for the HVDC/SVC Châteauguay
project. At the end of the project, he joined the parent company in
Switzerland. From 1989 until retirement in 2017, he worked with Hydro-Quebec in Montreal as a
control specialist for static compensator, series compensation, and HVDC. He is a registered profes-
sional in the province of Quebec and Ontario and senior member of IEEE Power Engineering Society.
He has chaired the IEEE High Voltage Power Electronics Stations Subcommittee of the Substations
Committee from 2000 to 2005 and chaired the Working Group (WG) I4 on static VAR compensators
from 1997 to 2011.?
Bruno Bisewski Electrical Engineer, RBJ Engineering Corporation
Bruno Bisewski was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1953 and

received a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from the University
of Manitoba in 1975. He joined Teshmont Consultants Inc. in 1976,
where he worked in for 33 years in various capacities up to vice
president. In 2008 he left to found RBJ Engineering.
Mr. Bisewski is a specialist with many years of experience in all
aspects of the electrical power transmission industry including project management, system studies,
specification and design, calculation of electrical effects, design review, cost estimates, equipment
testing, and commissioning of EHV-AC and HVDC transmission systems. He has provided
engineering services, including preparation and review of specifications, tender evaluation, system
studies, design review, witnessing of equipment tests, and commissioning of HVDC converter
equipment and system tests to a large number of HVDC transmission projects in many countries
including the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, and China.?
Manfredo Lima Senior Engineer, Electrical Engineering Practice,

Chesf (Recife, Brazil), Adjunct Professor, Pernambuco University
(Recife, Brazil)
Manfredo Lima was born in Recife, Brazil, in 1957 and received a

BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from Pernambuco Federal
University (UFPE) in 1979, an MSc degree in Electrical Engineering
from the same University in 1997, and a PhD degree in Mechanical
Engineering with emphasis on automation systems from Paraíba
Federal University (UFPB) in 2005. He joined Chesf in 1978, where develops projects in the
areas of power electronics, FACTS devices, power quality, control systems, electromagnetic
transients, and HVDC transmission. In 1992 he joined Pernambuco University (UPE) where
develops research activities. At present he is the Chesf representative on Cigré Brazil SC B4
Power electronics and HVDC Links and is a founding member of the Brazilian Electric Power
Quality Society (SBQEE).
Shukai Xu Senior Engineer, HVDC and Power Electronics, Deputy

Director of HVDC and Power Electronics Department of EPRI of China
Southern Power Grid and Deputy Executive Director of State Key Lab-
oratory of HVDC Transmission Technology of China
Shukai Xu received his bachelor degree and PhD degree from Tsinghua
University, Beijing, China, both in Electrical Engineering, in 2002 and
2007, respectively. After graduation, he joined EPRI of China Southern
Power Grid (CSG) in Guangzhou, China, and worked as an engineer of
DC De-icing, STATCOM, HVDC, and VSC-HVDC system. From 2011
to 2013, he worked on the 35 kV/200 Mvar STATCOMs for power
system application which were installed in four 500 kV substations of load center in CSG to
enhance regional power system stability. As the technical director, he studied the application of
VSC-MTDC technology, including the system design, integration, control strategies, etc., and
finally developed the world’s first VSC-MTDC project in 2013 – Nao’ao VSC-MTDC. He also
developed a back-to-back VSC-HVDC project in the 500 kV backbone network of CSG, which is
rated at 350 kV/1000 MW and was put into operation in 2016. At present, he is studying the
ultrahigh VSC technology and LCC-VSC-HVDC technology, which can be applied into the three-
terminal 800 kV/8000 MW–3000 MW-5000 MW Wudongde HVDC project in CSG.
He was a member of CIGRE B4.53 and now is an IEEE member.?
Bo Lei Engineer, Energy Storage and Power Electronics, Researcher of

HVDC and Power Electronics department of EPRI of China Southern
Power Grid and Secretary of HVDC and Power Electronics Technical Com-
mittee of Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering.
Bo Lei received his Bachelor degree and Master degree from Hunan University,
Changsha, China, both in Electrical Engineering, in 2011 and 2014 respectively.
After graduation, he joined EPRI of China Southern Power Grid (CSG) in
Guangzhou, China and worked as an engineer of MW-level Energy Storage, Power Electronic
equipment, HVDC and VSC-HVDC system. From 2014 to 2015, he worked on the 10 kV/2 MW
transformer-free Battery Energy Storage System which was directly connected to 10 kV bus in a
distribubtion network of CSG to provide load shifting service and enhance network reliability. As the
core member, he has drafted IEEE P2030.2.1 for guide of battery energy storage application in electric
power system and joined maintenance work of IEC 60919 for LCC-HVDC control and protection from
2015 to 2017. He has also joined the work of several Chinese standards on FACTS and HVDC
applications. At present, he is working on the system design of 25MWh-level second-use battery
energy storage system and the ultra-high VSC technology and LCC-VSC-HVDC technology, the latter
would be applied into the three-terminal 800 kV/8000 MW–3000 MW-5000 MW Wudongde HVDC
project in CSG.?
Ben Mehraban Staff Engineer, American Electric Power (Columbus,

Ohio)
Ben Mehraban received his BSEE and MSEE degrees in electrical

engineering from the University of Missouri and his MBA degree from
Ohio University. He has more than 35 years of experience in engineer-
ing, design, construction, maintenance, and commissioning of EHV,
GIS, FACTS, and HVDC projects. He joined AEP in 1980, where he
was responsible for implementation of technology projects (FACTS
controllers, HVDC, Superconductivity, etc. many of which were first
of their kind), conducting equipment studies, and interfacing R&D with EPRI, CEATI, universities,
and technology manufacturers. He has authored and published numerous IEEE and CIGRE papers
and is a senior member of IEEEE, member of several IEEE Working Groups and past chair of the
HVDC-FACTS Subcommittee. He is currently the chair of WG I5 on “Guide for Specification of
Transmission STATCOM Systems.” He is also a member of CIGRE.?

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FACTS Equipment Design and Testing

Hubert Bilodeau, Bruno Bisewski, Manfredo Lima, Xu Shukai, Bo Lei,

# Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 1

2 FACTS Equipment Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

• Owner’s planning and project development

1 Project Management During Planning and Design Phases

A typical sequence of project stages from initial concept to commercial operation

(a) Project development and pre-award phase

• Codes and standards

1.1 Duties of the Owner’s Implementation Team

A specialized system development and performance group would normally

• Power quality requirements (such as voltage change on switching)

1.2 Vendor’s Project Management Structure

Owner’s Project Team

Engineering Design Best Strategy

Finance and Legal

Define Preferred vendors for some equipment

• Overall project manager

1.3 Contracting Strategies and Contract Packaging

(a) Turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract – in this

1.3.1 Bidding, Bid Evaluation, and Award

(a) Instructions to bidders

Depending on the owner’s level of knowledge and experience, the information

1.4 Contract Preparation

correspondence exchanged through the whole period which would encapsulate

1.5 Project Implementation Phase

Fig. 2 Typical project schedule

Initial Submittal Consultant

Fig. 3 Conceptual work ﬂow diagram for design review phase

2 FACTS Equipment Testing

2.1 General Testing Requirements

• Dry and wet dielectric withstand tests

• Dry or damp heat tests for control and protection equipment

To the extent possible, these questions should be addressed in the speciﬁcation

2.2 Primary Equipment Factory Testing

2.2.1 Power Electronic Switching Device Modules

2.2.2 Interface Transformers

• The secondary winding must be designed to operate over an extended range of

2.2.4 Phase Reactor

Measurement of losses is performed at fundamental frequency and at all signif-

to be measured at the fundamental and all harmonic frequencies of the current

2.2.5 Other Equipment

2.2.6 Environmental Testing

IEC61000-4-2 Electrostatic discharge test

2.3 Control and Protection Equipment Factory Testing

2.3.1 Factory System Tests (FST)

2.3.2 Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT)

2.3.3 Testing Setup

Table 1 Summary of typical tests

Fig. 4 Simple network model for bidding and production tests

Important characteristics of the network equivalents include the ability to match

(b) Detailed network model – a larger equivalent consisting of between 10 and

Controls and Protection Setup

Digital and Analog Signal Interface

• Start and stop of pumps

These interface signals would be simulated or monitored in the factory tests in

• FACTS controls to valve base electronics (VBE)

Human Machine Interface and SCADA Interfaces

2.3.4 Hardware and Software Integration Test (Functional)