MEAUREMENT OF HARMONICS IN POWER SYSTEM USING LabVIEW BASED VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT

Abstract

With the extensive use of non-linear devices in the electric power systems, it has become an important engineering practice to develop a model for harmonic measurement and analysis in order to find the right conditions to design and operate power apparatuses that can reliably operate in harmonics environment..A system can still function satisfactorily in the presence of limited amount of harmonics. However, the increasing use of non-linear loads in industry is keeping harmonic distortion on the rise. The rising harmonic distortion in electric power system can result in communication interference, overheating of power apparatus and the malfunction of solid-state devices. Harmonic measurements in electric power systems are essential to achieve three objectives. Firstly, for the identification of the sources and characteristics (magnitude, frequency and location) of the harmonics. Secondly, for the design of a filtering system to reduce the harmonic impacts to the electric power system. Thirdly, to ensure that total harmonic distortion after compensation is in compliance with the regulatory requirements such, as IEEE standards. In the present thesis, graphical programming of LabVIEW software has been utilized to develop a universal virtual harmonic analyzer to detect the harmonic components of a power wave and also to calculate its total harmonic distortion (THD).The power spectrum plots help us to visualize the percent of total power being carried by different harmonic levels. Thus, we can have the picture of the amount of energy being utilized by power waves.