Design and implementation of Static VAR Compensator for classroom and research applications in Smart Grid laboratory

Smart Grid laboratory (SGL) has been established at Buffalo State College as a collaborative effort of two academic institutions, University at Buffalo and Buffalo State College (UB-BSC). It is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and serves as a hands-on teaching tool for undergraduates, as well as a research lab for graduate students. This paper discusses the development of a Static VAR Compensator (SVC) for use with the SGL at Buffalo State College. An overview of the UB-BSC SGL is presented first. The SVC circuit and characteristics are discussed in brief. Next, the determination of SVC parameters is discussed, thoroughly. With these parameters, the modes of operation of the SVC have been simulated and the system has been implemented using UB-BSC SGL equipment, the procedures of this experiment are documented. Finally, the hardware results are compared with those of simulated results.