HVDC Power System Harmonic Analysis in the Time and Frequency Domains

Harmonics in HVDC power systems caused by highly non-linear devices affect its performance. Controlling and eliminating such harmonics have been a great concern of power engineers in power system design and operation. The HVDC power system harmonic analysis is, therefore, essential in power system planning, control, and operation. The two main mathematical approaches in power system harmonic study are the time-domain analysis and the frequency-domain solution. The former is suitable for studying phenomena including non- linearity, switching operations, long-time simulations, and control systems. The latter, on the other hand, is appropriate for studying phenomena such as frequency dependence, system equivalents, and frequency response. This paper discusses the time and frequency domain methods in the HVDC power system harmonic analysis. It reviews the sources of HVDC system harmonics. The paper also reveals the advantages and disadvantages of the methods and points out their suitable applications in power network harmonic computations.