Expt. No:8 Date:10.4.

22
Name: Avinash V Reg no. 21BEC1676

POWER FACTOR IMPROVEMENT IN SINGLE PHASE AC SYSTEM

AIM: To calculate the capacitor value required to improve the Power Factor (PF) of given single
phase AC system.

SIMULATION SOFTWARE USED: LTspice

THEORY:

The majority of the loads present in the industry are motors, lights and computers. The
current drawn by these loads are made up of real and reactive components. Loads such as a heater
require the supply of only the real component of current. Some loads, such as an induction motor,
require both real and reactive currents.

The real current is that component that is converted by the equipment into useful work such
as production of heat through a heater element. The unit of measurement of this current is ampere
(A) and of power (voltage x real current) is watts (W).

The reactive current is that component that is required to produce the flux necessary for the
functioning of induction devices. The current is measured in ampere (A) and the reactive power
(voltage x reactive current) in VARs.

The total current is the algebraic sum of the real and reactive current, measured in amperes.
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 = √(𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡)2 + (𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡)2

The relation between the real, reactive, and total current is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

The power factor may be expressed as the ratio of the real current to the total current in a circuit.
Alternatively, the power factor is the ratio of kW to total kVA:
𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑘𝑊 𝐴𝐵
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = = =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑘𝑉𝐴 𝐴𝐶
The angle is called the power factor angle. This is the angle included between the total current
and the real current. The cosine of this angle (cos) is the power factor.
The concept of lagging PF:
The inductive load and its phasor diagram are shown in Figure 2. From the Figure 2, it is
clear that both Watts and VARs are delivered from the source. The power factor angle in this case
is negative, and therefore the power factor is lagging.

Figure 2. Inductive load and its phasor diagram

The Concept of Leading Power Factor:

Consider a capacitive load and its phasor diagram as shown in Figure 3. In this circuit, the
watts are delivered from the source. The reactive power (VARs) is delivered from the load to the
source. The power factor angle in this case is positive, and therefore the power factor is leading.

Figure 3. Capacitive load and its phasor diagram

Many utilities prefer a power factor of the order of 0.95. Since industrial equipment such
as an induction motor operates at a much lower power factor, the overall power factor of the
industrial load is low. In order to improve the power factor, capacitors are used. The shunt
capacitors provide kVAR at leading power factor and hence the overall power factor is improved.
PROCEDURE

1. Open LTspice. Go to File menu and click on New Schematic.

2. Go to Edit menu and click on component. Select voltage source and place it in the work
area.
F9
3. Right click on the voltage source block(V1) and click on advanced option. The following
window appears, select SINE and fill the appropriate fields as shown below.

4. Similarly place the Resistor and Inductor in the work area either from the edit menu or
from the tool bar present below the menu bar. Assign value to Resistor and Inductor by right
clicking on it. Connect the components using wire and construct a circuit as shown below.

5. Run the circuit and display both source voltage and current waveforms on the same
window. Click on I(V1) get cursor and place it on the zero crossing to obtain the time difference
between voltage and current waveforms as shown below.
6. Follow the procedure given in calculation section to calculate the PF of uncompensated
system and capacitor value required to improve the PF. Place the capacitor across the series
combination on RL branch as shown below.

7. Run the circuit and verify the improvement in the PF value by following the steps given in
calculation section.
CALCULATION:

RL Circuit:

PF calculation of RL circuit from the observed reading:

The steps for calculating the PF of the RL circuit are as follows:

The time difference between voltage and current waveform = 2.4 ms (approx.)

Angular displacement between voltage and current waveform,  = ωt radians

 = ωt

 = 2πft

 = 2x3.14x50x2.4x10-3 radians

 = 0.7536 radians

 = 0.7536x(180/π) degrees

 = 43.2 degrees

Power factor of the RL circuit from the observed reading, cos= cos43.2 = 0.728 lagging
Actual PF of the RL circuit:

Inductive Reactance XL=2πfL, Ω

XL= 2x3.14x50x150x10-3 = 47.1 Ω

R= 50 Ω

𝑍𝑅𝐿 = √𝑅2 + 𝑋 2 = 68.𝐿 69Ω; ZRL=50+j47.1 Ω; ZRL=68.6943.289°

Impedance Triangle

Power triangle

Angular displacement between voltage and current waveform ∅ = tan−1 𝑋𝐿

( )
𝑅

∅ = tan−1 47.1
( )
50

∅ = 43.28 𝑑𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑠 cos ∅ = 0.728

𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔
(or)

𝑉 230
𝐼= = = 3.348 𝐴
𝑍𝑅𝐿 68.69

True Power (P) = VIcos=230x3.348x0.728=560.58 W

Apparent Power(S)= VI=230x3.348=770.04 VA

Power Factor=True Power/Apparent Power=560.58/770.04=0.728 lagging

PF verification of the RL circuit

PF of the RL Circuit Observed Actual

cos= 0.728 lagging cos ∅ = 0.728 𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔

From the above table it is clear that, the PF of RL circuit is low and to improve the PF it is
necessary to include capacitor across the series combination of RL elements.

PF improvement:

Calculation of the capacitor value required to improve the PF

From the above power triangle

𝑉2
Apparent Power 𝑆 =
𝑍

2302
𝑆=
√𝑅2 + 𝑋𝐿2

2302
𝑆=
√502 + 47.12

𝑆 = 770.12 𝑉𝐴
𝑉2 2302 = 100.195 Ω
𝑋 𝐶= =
𝑄 𝑉𝐼𝑠𝑖𝑛∅

1
𝐶= = 31.785 μF
2𝜋𝑓𝑋𝑐

(or)
 230∠0 230∠0
𝐼𝑅𝐿 = = = 3.34∠ − 43.289 𝐴 = 2.4312 − 𝑗2.29 𝐴 68.69∠43.289
𝑍𝑅𝐿

2.4312 A=Real Current; 2.29A = Reactive current

𝑉 230
𝑋 = = = 100.43 Ω; C=31.71μF
𝐶 𝐼𝐶 2.29

Alternate way of calculating Capacitor value required:

1 1 1
= +
𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑍𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑍𝑐

1 1 1 1 𝑅 − 𝑗𝜔
− = = =
𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑍𝑐 𝑍𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑅 + 𝑗𝜔 (𝑅 + 𝑗𝜔)(𝑅 − 𝑗𝜔)

1 1 1 𝑅 𝜔𝐿
− = = −𝑗
𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑍𝑐 𝑍𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 (𝑅2 + 𝜔2𝐿2) (𝑅2 + 𝜔2𝐿2)

Equating imaginary components

1 𝜔𝐿
− = −𝑗
𝑍𝑐 (𝑅2 + 𝜔 2 𝐿2 )
𝜔𝐿
𝑗𝜔𝐶 = 𝑗
(𝑅2 + 𝜔2𝐿2)

𝐿
𝐶=
(𝑅2 + 𝜔2𝐿2)

𝐶 = 31.79𝜇𝐹
PF of compensated system:
𝑍𝑅𝐿∗𝑍𝐶
Total impedance of the system 𝑍 =
𝑍𝑅𝐿+𝑍𝐶

Z=94.36+j0.231; Z=94.360.1407

Impedance angle =0.1407

Cos (0.1407) = 0.99

SIMULATION RESULTS:

Before PF improvement:

cos ∅ = 0.728

After PF improvement:

cos ∅ = 0.99
Experiment:

Design a capacitor to improve the power factor of the given circuit and verify the results in
simulation.

Simulation diagram:

Without Capacitor:
After adding capacitor:

Theoretical calculations:
Power factor of the compensated system calculation:
Simulation results:

t=2.85 ms

 = ωt

 = 2πft

 = 2x3.14x50x2.85x10-3 radians

 = 0.8949 radians

 = 0.8949x(180/π) degrees

 = 51.48 degrees

Ac analysis:
--- AC Analysis ---

frequency: 50 Hz
V(n001): mag: 250 phase: 0° voltage
V(n002): mag: 195.619 phase: 38.5117° voltage
I(L1): mag: 2.07558 phase: -51.4877° device_current
I(R1): mag: 2.07558 phase: -51.4877° device_current
I(V1): mag: 2.07558 phase: 128.512° device_current

Phase angle=180-128.512
=51.48(Degrees)
Power factor=cos(51.48)
Power factor=0.622
 After adding capacitor
---AC Analysis ---

frequency: 50 Hz
V(n001): mag: 250 phase: 0° voltage
V(n002): mag: 195.619 phase: 38.5117° voltage
I(C1): mag: 1.61792 phase: 90° device_current
I(L1): mag: 2.07558 phase: -51.4877° device_current
I(R1): mag: 2.07558 phase: -51.4877° device_current
I(V1): mag: 1.29244 phase: 179.727° device_current

Phase angle=180-179.727
Phase angle=0.273=0.3(approx)
Power factor=cos(0.273)=cos(0.3)
Power factor=0.999
Inference:

PF of the RL Circuit without Actual Observed

capacitor
cos(51.48) cos(51.48)
0.622 0.622

PF of the RL Circuit with Actual Observed

capacitor
cos(0.3) cos(0.314)
0.999 0.999

Result:
The power factor for the given circuit is improved by adding a capacitor of suitable capacitance and it
has been verified manually and simulated in LTspice.