Effect of Nonlinear Load Distributions on Total Harmonic Distortion in a Power System

The increased use of solid state devices at the consumer end has introduced a power quality issue in the form of harmonic distortion due to their nonlinear nature. The magnitude of this harmonic distortion varies with the nonlinear load distribution at various voltage levels of a system. This paper presents a detailed analysis of harmonic distortion in terms of THD for various load combinations in a power system. The trends in THD variations are obtained at various operating conditions. The effect of introducing nonlinear loads at various voltage levels of a system is discussed. The effect of harmonic model of nonlinear load in terms of variation of THD at different buses and the degradation effects of these harmonic distortions are also presented.