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Propagation of harmonics in electrical grids: a review of selected issues

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Abstract

Recent years saw increasing of harmonic distortion at transmission grids caused partly by a growing system undergrounding, leading to resonances at lower frequencies. Presently, the estimation of the harmonic distortion through simulations after significant grid changes is not sufficiently accurate, and the understanding of harmonics propagation is a topic under research. This hinders grid development by system operators, as it is not possible to assess fully the impact of new lines. This paper presents and analyses four harmonic-related phenomena: (1) impact of line asymmetry in long HVAC cables; (2) harmonic peak voltage/current along a line; (3) harmonic propagation between voltage levels; (4) fillter location. The paper summarizes the root causes and consequences of each phenomenon, together with tools and recommendations that can ease the assessment of harmonic propagation.

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source injects the same current magnitude at each harmonic order. Negative voltage indicates a voltage phase-shift, and a change in slope indicates a current phase-shift. Each bar is a measurement 3.75 km apart for a 150 km long OHL

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    F. Faria da Silva

  2. School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Chengxi Liu

  3. L-Engineering, Aalborg, Denmark

    Kaleb Christensen

  4. Energinet, Fredericia, Denmark

    Chris Hansen, Troels Jakobsen, Mads Jensen, Eli Maria Stenseth, Mathilde Sørensen & Morten Vadstrup

  5. Powertech Labs Inc., Surrey, BC, Canada

    Kristian Lund

  6. Netcompany, Århus, Denmark

    Jakob Poulsen

Authors
  1. F. Faria da Silva
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  2. Chengxi Liu
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  3. Kaleb Christensen
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  4. Chris Hansen
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  5. Troels Jakobsen
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  6. Mads Jensen
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  7. Kristian Lund
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  8. Jakob Poulsen
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  9. Eli Maria Stenseth
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  10. Mathilde Sørensen
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  11. Morten Vadstrup
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chengxi Liu.

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da Silva, F.F., Liu, C., Christensen, K. et al. Propagation of harmonics in electrical grids: a review of selected issues. Electr Eng 104, 2819–2826 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-021-01472-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-021-01472-6

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