Laboratory implementation of a thyristor controlled series capacitor

In this paper, performance details of a thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC) implemented in a laboratory environment, are presented. The setup is not only simple, but also uses an open-source Linux-based real-time application interface (RTAI) software to realize a phase locked loop (PLL). With this PLL, the performance of the TCSC for the capacitor voltage and the line current reference signals, are compared. With the line current referencing, a non-ideal TCR inductor is found to offer a different fundamental TCSC reactance for a given firing angle command compared to the capacitor voltage referencing. Such a setup gives a better insight into TCSC operation and greatly augments the classroom studies.