Passive Filter

Introduction

A passive harmonic filter is a type of electronic filter used to reduce harmonic distortion

in power systems. Harmonics are unwanted frequencies that result from nonlinear

loads such as variable frequency drives, electronic ballasts, and other types of

equipment that use switching power supplies.

Passive harmonic filters work by providing a path for harmonic currents to flow, which

then reduces the amount of harmonic distortion in the system. They are called "passive"

because they do not require an external power source to operate.

There are different types of passive harmonic filters, but they generally consist of one or

more tuned LC circuits that are connected in series or parallel with the load. The LC

circuit acts as a frequency-selective filter that attenuates the harmonics while allowing

the fundamental frequency to pass through.

Passive harmonic filters are commonly used in industrial and commercial settings

where harmonic distortion can cause problems such as equipment failure, overheating,

and power quality issues. They are also used in renewable energy systems such as wind

turbines and solar inverters to reduce harmonic distortion in the grid.

Passive LC filters are conventionally used to suppress the harmonic distortion in power

system. In general they consist of various shunt branches, which are respectively tuned

to the predominant harmonics. However the passive filter has some limitations. The

potentials of passive filters:

(1) Well designed passive filters can be implemented in large sizes of Mvars of ratings

and provide almost maintenance free service.

(2) These are more economical to implement than the synchronous condensers.

(3) A single installation can serve many purposes, like reactive power compensation

and power factor improvement, reducing THD, voltage support on critical buses in case

of source outage, reducing starting impact and voltage drop of large motors.

The passive harmonic filters are composed of passive elements: inductor and capacitor.

The common types of passive filter harmonic filter include single tuned and double

tuned filters, second order, third order and C type damped filter. The single tuned filter

is the most common shunt filter in use. The general layout of a single tuned passive

shunt filter is shown in Figure. A filter comprises a series of stages each corresponding

to a harmonic order. This can also compensate for the reactive power and thus giving

good reactive power.

Examination of the passive filter reveals the following characteristics.

1. It acts as very low impedance at the frequency for which it is tuned, as such

effectively shunts most harmonic line quantities at that frequency.

2. When the source impedance is inductive, there is a resonance peak, which occurs

at a frequency lower than the frequency for which the filter is tuned.

3. The impedance rises with frequency for frequencies above that at which the

frequency is tuned

Filters are either series connected or shunt connected in the AC system. The concept of

series connected filter is parallel resonating electrical circuit, which offers very high

impedance at tuning frequencies. The high impedance offered by the filter allows very

little harmonics to pass through it. The disadvantage of this type of connection is that all

the filter components are required to be rated for full line current, which makes

installation vary expensive. Most commonly the filters are shunt connected to the AC
system. This type of filters use series resonating electrical circuit offering negligible

impedance compared to the AC system harmonic impedance at tuning frequencies. The

low impedance path, provided by the filters, attract major portion of the harmonics and

allows very small portion of the harmonics to flow into the AC systems. Components in

the shunt connected filter branch are designed for graded insulation levels, which make

component cheaper than those used for series connected filters. Combination of series

and shunt-connected branch is used in the design of Power Line Carrier (PLC) and

Radio Interference (RI) filters. The series connected branch blocks the harmonics and

the shuntconnected branch allows the harmonics to flow in to the ground. The

combination cannot be used for low order harmonics because high blocking impedance

at low order tuning frequency will have significant voltage drop at fundamental

frequency as well, which will reduce the AC bus voltage.

Single tuned filter

A single-tuned filter is an electronic circuit that is designed to pass a specific range of

frequencies while rejecting all others. It is a type of passive filter that uses an LC

(inductor-capacitor) circuit to create a resonant frequency that corresponds to the

desired frequency range.

The single-tuned filter consists of an inductor and a capacitor. The resonant frequency

of the filter is determined by the values of the inductor and capacitor.

At the resonant frequency, the impedance of the LC circuit is at its minimum, and the

filter passes the signal with maximum amplitude. At frequencies above and below the
resonant frequency, the impedance of the LC circuit increases, and the filter attenuates

the signal.

Single-tuned filters are used in a variety of applications, including radio communication,

audio equipment, and power systems. They are often used to select a specific frequency

from a complex signal, or to remove unwanted noise from a signal.

Above figure shows single tuned ideal filter which is commonly used. The tuned

frequency is depends on the designed value of inductor and capacitor for which it

provides low impedance path.

There are several advantages of using a single-tuned filter, including:

1. Selective filtering: A single-tuned filter is designed to pass a specific range of

frequencies while attenuating all others. This allows for selective filtering, which

is useful in applications where a specific frequency range needs to be isolated or

removed.
 2. Simple and low-cost design: Single-tuned filters are relatively simple in design

and require only a few components, making them easy to build and low in cost.

3. Low insertion loss: The insertion loss of a single-tuned filter is generally low,

which means that the filter does not significantly attenuate the signal passing

through it.

4. High-Q factor: Single-tuned filters can have a high Q factor, which is a measure of

how selective the filter is. A high Q factor indicates that the filter is very selective

and can provide a narrow bandwidth.

5. Stable performance: Single-tuned filters are generally stable and have a

predictable response over a range of temperatures and other environmental

conditions.

While single-tuned filters have several advantages, they also have some disadvantages,

including:

1. Limited bandwidth: Single-tuned filters are designed to pass a specific range

of frequencies, and their bandwidth is limited to a narrow range around the

resonant frequency. This can be a disadvantage in applications where a wide

range of frequencies needs to be filtered.

2. Susceptibility to detuning: Single-tuned filters are sensitive to changes in

their components, such as variations in the inductor or capacitor values,

which can cause the resonant frequency to shift. This can lead to detuning of

the filter, resulting in reduced performance or even complete failure.

3. Poor out-of-band rejection: While single-tuned filters are effective at filtering

out-of-band frequencies to some extent, they do not provide a high level of

band signals need to be suppressed.

4. Limited ability to handle high power: Single-tuned filters are passive

components, and their ability to handle high power levels is limited. This can

be a disadvantage in applications where high power levels are present, such

as in RF amplifiers or power electronics.

Overall, while single-tuned filters are useful in many applications, their limited

bandwidth, susceptibility to detuning, poor out-of-band rejection, and limited power

handling capabilities can be disadvantages in certain situations.

FORMULA FOR COMPONENT VALUE CALCULATION: -

Q
C= 2
2 πf V

1
L= 2
C ×( 2 π f r)

Where,

Q = Reactive power to be generated by the filter at fundamental frequency (assumed)

V = voltage level at which filters are to be installed

f = Fundamental frequency

fr = Tuning frequency (assumed)

Power system are designed to operate at a frequencies of 50 or 60 Hz. However, certain

types of non-linear loads produce current and voltages with frequencies that are integer

multiple of the fundamental frequency. These frequency components known as

harmonic pollution and is having adverse effect on the power system network. This is

generally a consumer driven issue, so PQ problem is defined as, “any occurrence

manifested in voltage, current, or frequency deviations that results in damage, upset,

failure, or misoperation of end use equipment.”

Harmonic Distortion Due to increased use of nonlinear loads, one of the PQ issues that

has been gaining continuous attention is the harmonic distortion. The nonlinear loads

control the flow of power by drawing currents only during certain intervals of the

fundamental period. Hence the current supplied by the source becomes non-sinusoidal

and contains higher percentage of harmonic components.

Fig. 2.1 shows that any non-sinusoidal signal can be expressed as sum of pure sinusoids.

The sum of sinusoids is referred to as a Fourier series. By using Fourier analysis, a

periodic distorted waveform can be decomposed into an infinite series containing DC

component, fundamental component (50/60 Hz for power systems) and its integer

multiples called the harmonic components. The harmonic number (h) usually specifies a

harmonic component, which is the ratio of its frequency to the fundamental frequency

[2].

The total harmonic distortion is the most common measurement index of measuring

harmonic distortion [2-3], [10-11]. THD applies to both current and voltage and is
defined as the root-mean-square (rms) value of harmonics divided by the rms value of

the fundamental, and then multiplied by 100% as shown in the following equation:

Where, hk is the rms value of harmonic component k of the quantity h.

Figure: Non-sinusoidal signal expressed as sum of sum of sinusoidal signals

Harmonic Distortion Effects on Power Quality

When a nonlinear load is fed from a sinusoidal supply, non-sinusoid, distorted current

containing harmonics will be drawn from the supply. A voltage drop for each harmonic

will be produced when this harmonic current will pass through the source impedance

resulting in harmonic voltage at the PCC. The amount of voltage distortion depends on

the source impedance and current

network failures, premature motor burnouts, humming in telecommunication lines, and

transformer overheating are only a few of the damages that quality problems may bring

into home and industrial installations. What may seem like minor quality problems may

bring whole factories to a standstill. Table below illustrates various effects of poor PQ

on power system components.

Harmonic distortion in power system can be minimized through three basic approaches

[12]. They are

a. Passive filter

b. Active power filter

c. Hybrid active power filter

Out of these techniques, passive filters and its implementation is discussed here.

Passive Filter

This is the most conventional method of mitigating harmonic components and is the first to come

into picture. It is the simplest method of all to suppress harmonics from power system [2], [12-16].

This type of filter is constructed from simple passive elements (resistor, inductor and capacitor) and

is tuned to eliminate particular frequency component. The single tuned filter is connected in shunt

with the power system and is series tuned to present low impedance to a particular harmonic

current. Hence the harmonic currents will be diverted from its normal path through the filter.

High pass filter is one of the type of passive filter which allow large percentage of harmonics to pass

through it above its corner frequency [2], [14]. It is typically one of the three types as shown in Fig.

below
Resonance problem of first order HPF limits the use of it. However connecting a resistance in series

with the capacitor solves a part of the resonance problem, but at a cost of high power loss, which is

also undesirable. The second order filter is the most effective to use considering both design

complexities and harmonic distortion mitigation capacity. It is having reduced fundamental

frequency loss. The third order filter gives improved performance as compared to the second order

filter, but due to the design complexity and reliability & economic factors, use of third order filter is

limited for low/medium voltage application system.

Though passive filters are simple to design and operate, they do not always respond to dynamics of

power system. The other disadvantages of passive filters are:

(1) size of these type of filters are quite heavy and bulky due to the presence of passive elements.

The harmonics that are to be suppressed are usually of low order [2], [16].

(2) resonance or tuning problem effecting the stability of power system network [12], [16-17].

(3) filtering characteristics gets affected by the frequency variation in power system and tolerances

in components, size of components become unrealizable in a varying frequency environment

(4) fixed compensation (5) noise (6) increased loss [16].

[1] H. Rudnick, J. Dixon and L. Moran, “Active power filters as a solution to power

quality problems indistribution networks,” IEEE Power and Energy Magazine,

Sep/Oct 2003, pp. 32-40

[2] R. C. Dugan, M. F. McGranaghan, S. Santoso and H. W. Beaty, “Electrical Power

Systems Quality,” 2nd ed. USA: McGraw-Hill, 2002

[3] A. Ghosh and G. Ledwich, “Power Quality Enhancement Using Custom Power

Devices,” NewYork, USA: Springer Publisher, c2000

[4] W. E. Kazibwe and M. H. Sendaula, “Electric Power Quality Control Techniques,”

New York, USA: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1993

[5] L. Chen, Y. Xie and Z. Zhang, “Comparision of hybrid active power topologies and

principles,” IEEE Conf. on Elec. Machines and Systems, ICEMS 2008, pp. 2030-2035

[6] M. El-Habrouk, M. K. Darwish,and P. Mehta, “ Active Power Filters: A Review,” IEE

Proc. on Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 147, No. 5, 2000, pp.403-413

[7] S. Fukuda and T. Endoh, “Control Method for a Combined Active Filter System

Employing a Current Source Converter and a High Pass Filter,” IEEE Trans. On

Industry Applications, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 590-597

[8] S. Khositkasame and S. Sangwongwanich, “Design of Harmonic Current Detector

and Stability Analysis of a Hybrid Parallel Active Filter,” Proc. of IEEE Power

Conversion Conference, Nagaoka, Japan, Aug 3-6, 1997, pp. 181-186.

Harmonic Compensation,” Proc. of the IEEE International Conference on Power

Electronics and Drive Systems (PEDS), Singapore Nov. 17-20, 2003, 799-804.

[10] J. C. Balda et al., “Effects of Harmonics on Equipment,” IEEE Trans. on Power

Delivery, Vol. 8, No. 2, 1993, pp. 672-680.

[11] K. C. Umeh, A. Mohamed and R. Mohamed, “Comparing the Harmonic

Characteristics of Typical Single Phase Nonlinear Loads,” Proc. of the IEEE National

Conference on Power and Energy 2003, PECon 2003, Bangi, Malaysia, Dec. 15-16, pp.

383-387.

[12] L. S. Czarnecki, “An Overview of Methods of Harmonic Suppression in

Distribution Systems,” Proc. Of the IEEE Power Engineering Society, Summer

Meeting, Washington, USA, July 16-20, 2000, pp. 800-805.

[13] D. A. Gonzalez and J. C. McCall, “Design of Filters to Reduce Harmonic Distortion

in Industrial Power Systems,” IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications, Vol. 23, 1987,

pp. 504-512.

[14] A. Ludbrook, “Harmonic Filters for Notch Reduction,” IEEE Trans. on Industry

Applications, Vol. 24, 1988, pp. 947-954.

[15] J. K. Phipps, “A Transfer Function Approach to Harmonic Filter Design,” IEEE

Industry Applications Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1997, pp. 68-82.

[16] J. C. Das, “Passive Filters – Potentialities and Limitations,” IEEE Trans. on

Industry Applications, Vol. 40, No. 1, 2004, pp. 232-241.

[17] D. Sutanto, M. Bou-rabee, K. S. Tam and C. S. Chang, “Harmonic Filters for

Industrial Power Systems,” IEE Proc. of International Conference on Advances in

5-8, pp. 594-598