Designing a Reactor for Use in High Voltage Power Systems and Performing Experimental and Simulation Analysis

Abstract

In recent years, electronic devices such as uninterruptible power supplies, motor drivers, alternating current (AC) voltage regulators with rectifiers, and energy supplied from the electrical network grid are widely used. These devices, which draw AC current from the electrical network, cause non-linear voltage drops in the supply line due to their structural features. In such a case, if no action is taken, other receivers receiving power from the same line will also experience power quality problems. By using suitably designed silica plate core reactors at the input of the frequency converters in the electrical distribution system, the level of harmonic currents drawn from the electrical power distribution system can be reduced to certain rates. The core material, the air-gapped nature of the reactor core, and the sizing of the reactor have a great influence on the harmonic level of the current and its ability to reduce losses in the reactor. In this study, three AC reactors with different core materials and different air gap gaps are designed for a certain voltage value. Parametric analysis of the reactors designed to see the changes in inductance values ​​depending on the load level has been made both theoretically and experimentally and using the Finite Element Method (FEM). As a result of the analysis, the inductance stability, losses, and compliance of the reactors with the standards are presented. The reactor's magnetic circuit is modeled with ANSYS@Maxwell, realizing a solution based on FEM. The magnetic circuit is simulated to see the behavior of the reactor. In addition, real-time verification of the designed AC reactor has been made. The optimum design was obtained by using different core materials and different core air-gaped tested experimentally. The effect of the air gap distance in the core on the magnetic field and inductance value was also obtained.