Hybrid Compensation System using DSTATCOM and FCTCR for Enhanced Power Quality in AC Grid

Power quality issues pose significant challenges to electrical grids, impacting their reliability and efficiency. Issues such as voltage fluctuations, harmonic distortions, and reactive power imbalance can lead to equipment damage, increased energy consumption, and reduced system lifespan. Various solutions have been proposed to address these challenges, including the use of distribution static synchronous compensators (DSTATCOMs). DSTATCOMs are capable of dynamically compensating for reactive power, voltage fluctuations, and harmonics, thereby improving power quality in AC grids. However, despite their effectiveness, DSTATCOMs suffer from drawbacks such as high cost, and technical complexity. These factors can limit their widespread adoption and implementation in electrical grids, particularly in scenarios where cost and space are constrained. To overcome these limitations, a hybrid compensation system (HCS) integrating a fixed capacitor thyristor-controlled reactor (FCTCR) with DSTATCOM is proposed. In this hybrid configuration FCTCR is utilized to fulfill the reactive power requirements of the load, while DSTATCOM focuses solely on mitigating harmonics. By distributing the compensating tasks between FCTCR and DSTATCOM, the size, cost, and complexity of DSTATCOM are significantly reduced, making it a more attractive solution for enhancing power quality in AC grids. The entire system is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and the performance of the system in improving the power quality is studied. Finally, a quantitative analysis has been done to analyze the improvement in sizing of DSTATCOM when it is combined with FCTCR.