Microprocessor-based capacitor bank control and protection system

The hardware configuration and the software specifications of a microprocessor-based capacitor bank control and protection system are presented. The system monitors the bus voltages and reactive power flows to determine the shunt capacitor bank breaker switching actions. Once the capacitor bank is switched on, the apparent phase impedances and the zero-sequence current through the capacitor bank are monitored to detect blown fuses in the individual capacitor cans. The results indicate that the system can maintain the voltages and the power flows within the specified limits and can detect the loss of a single can in the capacitor bank.<>