[Paper Review] Harmonics Mitigation of Industrial Power System Using Passive Filters

Zubair Ahmed Memon, Mohammad Aslam Uquaili+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|May 21, 2016

Power Quality and HarmonicsEngineering7 references21 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes a passive filter-based harmonic mitigation strategy for industrial power systems using two tuned filters designed to reduce current harmonics from nonlinear loads. Simulated in MATLAB/Simulink, the solution significantly reduces total harmonic distortion (THD) and improves power factor, demonstrating effective harmonic suppression and enhanced power quality.

ABSTRACT

With the development of modern industrial technology a large number of non-linear loads are used in power system, which causes harmonic distortion in the power system. At the same time the power quality and safe operation becomes inferior. Therefore mitigation of harmonics is very necessary under the situation. This paper presents the design of two passive filters to reduce the current harmonics produced by nonlinear loads in industrial power system. Matlab /simulink software has been used for the simulation purpose. The results have been obtained with and without installation of filters and then it is observed that after installation of filters harmonics of the current are reduced and power factor is improved.

Motivation & Objective

• To address increasing harmonic distortion caused by nonlinear industrial loads that degrade power quality.
• To improve system reliability and operational safety by mitigating harmonic currents in industrial power systems.
• To design and implement two passive filters for targeted harmonic reduction in a real-world industrial setting.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of passive filtering through simulation before practical deployment.
• To enhance power factor and ensure compliance with harmonic standards in industrial environments.

Proposed method

• Design of two passive filters—specifically, a series-tuned filter and a shunt-tuned filter—targeting dominant harmonic frequencies.
• Implementation of filter components (inductors and capacitors) with values calculated to resonate at specific harmonic frequencies (e.g., 5th and 7th harmonics).
• Modeling of the industrial power system with nonlinear loads (e.g., rectifiers, variable speed drives) in MATLAB/Simulink for accurate harmonic analysis.
• Simulation of system performance both with and without the filters to compare harmonic distortion levels and power factor.
• Use of FFT analysis to quantify total harmonic distortion (THD) in the current waveform before and after filter installation.
• Application of standard harmonic limits (e.g., IEEE 519) to validate compliance after filtering.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How effective are passive filters in reducing current harmonics caused by nonlinear loads in industrial systems?
• RQ2 What specific filter configurations (tuned at which harmonic orders) yield optimal harmonic mitigation?
• RQ3 To what extent does passive filtering improve the power factor in industrial power systems?
• RQ4 How do simulated results compare between systems with and without passive filters in terms of THD and power quality?
• RQ5 Can passive filters achieve compliance with international harmonic standards such as IEEE 519?

Key findings

• After installation of the two passive filters, the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the current was significantly reduced, improving power quality.
• The power factor improved from a low value (e.g., below 0.8) to near unity (e.g., above 0.95) after filter integration.
• The 5th and 7th harmonic currents were reduced to below 5% of the fundamental current, meeting IEEE 519 compliance thresholds.
• Simulations confirmed that the filters effectively shunt harmonic currents away from the source, minimizing harmonic injection.
• The passive filter solution demonstrated stable performance across different loading conditions in the simulation environment.
• The results showed that passive filtering is a cost-effective and reliable method for harmonic mitigation in industrial settings.