Lab-Scale TCR-Based SVC System for Educational and DG Applications

Motivated by the development of power semiconductor technologies, flexible ac transmission systems (FACTS) devices and their penetration in the field of electrical power systems, an educational challenge in complementing theoretical knowledge with practical experience is recognized. In this paper, the design and implementation of a lab-scale hardware and software setup is presented. Three small-scale devices, including a static VAr compensator (SVC) unit, a transmission line model, and a substation, are developed. The SVC unit is validated by obtaining its operating characteristic. The lab setup is presented as a platform to carry out different experiments related to the SVC operation. Safety considerations in the design are discussed. Steady-state and dynamic analysis are presented showing the consistency between theory and practice. The potential use of small SVC units on low-voltage distributed generation schemes is discussed.