Performance Analysis of the Harmonic Rejection Capability of a TCLC Shunt Compensator

Harmonic elimination and reactive compensation have been a subject of interest for power engineers for the past many years. Traditional static var compensators like FC-TCR are able to do dynamic reactive power compensation but they generate low order harmonics during its operation, thus deteriorating the system performance. Active compensators with efficient controllers can effectively mitigate harmonics, but they are very costly compared to passive filters. This paper discusses the effectiveness of using a Thyristor Controlled LC (TCLC) compensator for harmonic current elimination in power system. Instantaneous Reactive Power Theory (IRPT) control algorithm is used for obtaining reference currents for the compensator. A three-phase TCLC compensator is simulated in MATLAB Simulink and the performance during dynamic load change is analysed. The results obtained prove that the compensator with IRPT controller is effective in rejecting the harmonics in a power distribution system.