U4P2-GCSC(GTO Thyristor

Controlled Series Capacitor)

Dr.K.Ravi
SELECT
VIT UNIVERSITY
VELLORE

GTO Thyristor-Controlled Series

Capacitor (GCSC)
It consists of a fixed
capacitor in parallel with
a GTO thyristor (or
equivalent)
valve (or
switch) that has the
capability to turn on and
off upon command.

Fig. (a) Basic GTO-Controlled Series Capacitor, (b) principle of

turn-off delay angle control, and (c) attainable compensating
voltage waveform

The objective of the GCSC scheme is to control the ac voltage vc across the
capacitor at a given line current i. Evidently, when the GTO valve, sw, is
closed, the voltage across the capacitor is zero, and when the valve is open,
it is maximum. For controlling the capacitor voltage, the closing and
opening of the valve is carried out in each half-cycle in synchronism with
the ac system frequency.
The GTO valve is stipulated to close (through appropriate control
action) whenever the capacitor voltage crosses zero. (Recall that the
thyristor valve of the TCR opens whenever the current crosses zero.)
When the valve sw is opened at the crest of the (constant) line current
( = 0), the resultant capacitor voltage vc will be the same as that
obtained in steady state with a permanently open switch. When the
opening of the valve is delayed by the angle with respect to the crest
of the line current, the capacitor voltage can be expressed with a
defined line current, i(t) = I cos t, as follows:
1 t
1
sin t sin
vC (t ) i (t )dt
C
C

The amplitude of fundamental capacitor voltage can be expressed as a function

of
I
2
1
VCF ( )
(1 sin 2 )
C

where is the amplitude of the line current, C is the capacitance of the GTO
thyristor controlled capacitor, and is the angular frequency of the ac system.

Fundamental component of the series capacitor voltage vs. the turn-off delay angle .

This impedance can be written as

X C ( )

1
2
1
(1 sin 2 )
C

In a practical application the GCSC can be operated either to control the

compensating voltage, VCF(), or the compensating reactance, XC(). In the
voltage compensation mode, the GCSC is to maintain the rated compensating
voltage in face of decreasing line current over a defined interval Imin<= I <=Imax
as illustrated in Figure (a1).
In this compensation mode the capacitive reactance XC, is selected so as to
produce the rated compensating voltage with I= Imin, i.e., VCmax = XC Imin. As
current Imin is increased toward Imax, the turn-off delay angle is increased to
reduce the duration of the capacitor injection and thereby maintain the
compensating voltage with increasing line current.

 In the impedance compensation mode, the

GCSC is to maintain the maximum rated
compensating reactance at any line current up to
the rated maximum. In this compensation mode
the capacitive impedance is chosen so as to
provide the maximum series compensation at
rated current, XC = Vcmax/Imax, that the GCSC can
vary in the 0 <= XC() <= XC range by controlling
the effective capacitor
voltage VCF(), i.e.,
XC() = VCF()/I.

Comparision between TCR and GCSC

TCR

GCSC

The TCR is a switch in series with a the GCSC is a switch in shunt

reactor
with a capacitor
The TCR is supplied from a voltage source the GCSC is supplied from a current
(transmission bus voltage),
source (transmission line current)
The TCR valve is stipulated to close at The GCSC valve is stipulated to close at
current zero
voltage zero
The TCR is controlled by a turn-on
The GCSC is controlled by a turn-off
delay with respect to the crest of the delay with respect to the peak of the line
applied voltage, which defines the current, which defines the blocking
conduction interval of the valve
interval of the valve.
The TCR controls the current in a fixed
inductor from a constant voltage
source, thereby presenting a variable
reactive admittance as the load to this
source

The GCSC controls the voltage developed

by a constant current source across a
fixed capacitor, thereby presenting a
variable reactive impedance to this
source.