Development and Field Testing of an Adaptive Power Factor Controller

The Adaptive Power Factor Controller (APFC) is a device that switches capacitors electronically to achieve almost unity power factor at the point of installation. It was designed and developed at the University of Washington (UW), and is being tested at the R&D facility of the Southern Californi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIEEE transactions on energy conversion Vol. EC-2; no. 4; pp. 520 - 525
Main Authors El-Sharkawi, M. A., Venkata, S. S., Vadari, S. V., Chen, M. L., Butler, N. G., Yinger, R. W.
Format Journal Article Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, NY IEEE 01.12.1987
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Subjects
Adaptive control
Applied sciences
Capacitors
Disturbances. Regulation. Protection
Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering
Electrical power engineering
Exact sciences and technology
Induction generators
Induction motors
Power networks and lines
Programmable control
Reactive power
Research and development
Switches
Testing
Wind energy
Design
Power factor regulation
Reactive current compensation
Electrical network
Test
Adaptive control
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Summary:The Adaptive Power Factor Controller (APFC) is a device that switches capacitors electronically to achieve almost unity power factor at the point of installation. It was designed and developed at the University of Washington (UW), and is being tested at the R&D facility of the Southern California Edison Company (SCE). It is particularly intended for loads with dynamically varying reactive power demands such as induction generators in wind power stations, or cyclically changing loads such as induction motors in process industries. It is also ideally suited for improving the power factor profile of a distribution line. The purposes of this paper are two-fold: to explain the most recent design of the 50-kVAR APFC and to report the results of the field testing program on the device after it was installed at the terminals of a 50-kW three-phase induction generator located at the Dever Wind R&D site of SCE.
ISSN:0885-8969
1558-0059
DOI:10.1109/TEC.1987.4765887