The Polyunit Saturable Reactor [includes discussion]

This paper presents the design and mode of operation of a saturable reactor with improved load current wave form. In a following paper data and measurements on already built polyunit reactors will be presented. The polyunit saturable reactor acts as an adjustable linear reactor whose reactance is basically adjustable by a d-c control current. The degree of linearity or harmonic distortion of the current is controllable by design. The reactor can be used as an adjustable reactive-power load, or as a controller for the flow of active or reactive power to a load, which is placed in series or in parallel with the polyunit reactor and suitably connected to a source. Earlier, the use of saturable reactors to control large blocks of power was prevented by the inferior influence of the reactor upon the load current wave form. Hence, the polyunit reactor opens a new field of heavypower control.