A Direct Method for Identifying the Optimal Power Factor Correction in Nonsinusoidal Systems

This paper presents a new method employing the Golden Section search algorithm to determining the capacitor value for optimal power factor correction in a nonsinusoidal system. The major attribute of the method is that it, unlike conventional approaches, guarantees convergence to the optimal solution. This accomplishment is a direct result from the improvement in (1) the algorithm in which provisions are made to identify and to avoid capacitor values which would create resonant conditions, and (2) the problem formulation in which the effect of the transmission line impedance on the load voltage is included while calculating the optimal capacitor value. Finally, the contribution of the newly developed method is demonstrated in examples taken from previous publications.