A New Approach for Harmonic Distortion Minimization in Power Systems Supplying Nonlinear Loads

In view of many problems associated with harmonics pollution within industrial firms, the development of new passive and/or hybrid filtering techniques of higher quality, higher efficiency, and lower cost is a necessity for the forthcoming power quality age. This article suggests a hybrid passive filter, which consists of a certain combination of a shunt passive filter (SPF) with a series passive portion as a substitute to overcome the shortcomings of conventional shunt passive filtering techniques. Constrained optimization is used to find the optimal sizing of parameters of the hybrid passive filter in order to reduce both harmonic voltages and harmonic currents in the power system to an acceptable level, as well as to improve the load power factor. The optimal design of the hybrid passive filter and its feasibility are compared with those of the C-type passive filter and the conventional SPF by means of four study cases taken from existing publications. Several simulation results are shown in order to highlight the viability of the proposed filter.