Applications of saturable-core reactors (SCR) in power systems

The study of the saturable-core reactor (SCR) can be traced back to 1900´s. Although commonly used in electronic circuit applications, SCR has seldom been used in power system applications. In recent years, power engineers have raised interest in exploring applications of SCR in power systems. The SCR is low-cost and durable. Its nature of using the magnetic field as control medium makes it more familiar and, perhaps, more easily accepted by power utilities. In this paper, the basic concept of SCR and some existing or potential applications of SCR in power systems are introduced. A project on the R&D of a SCR-based power flow controller has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and conducted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Waukesha Electric Systems, Inc. since early 2012. Some technical details of the project are presented and some preliminary results are highlighted.