Electric Arc Furnace Modeling and Voltage Flicker Mitigation by DSTATCOM

Abstract

This paper presents simulation studies of an electric arc furnace (EAF) model in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. EAF was modeled as a current source controlled by a non-linear resistance. Voltage flicker, a phenomenon of annoying light intensity fluctuation, caused by EAF, has been a major power quality concern for both power companies and customers. A model was developed for the electric arc furnace and it was applied in the simulation studies of distribution static synchronous compensator (DSTATCOM) for voltage flicker mitigation. The controller for DSTATCOM was designed based on DQ-model for the reactive power management which helps in the mitigation of the flicker. With the validated EAF and STATCOM model, simulations are conducted to study the fast response of the compensator in the distribution systems.