Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Mark G Gernhardt

Laszlo Gyugyi

Michael B Brennen

In a hybrid switched-capacitor controlled-reactor static VAR compensator including a fixed-capacitor, hysteresis on switching-OFF a switchable capacitor of the capacitance bank is performed with a minimal fixed-hysteresis at the entrance of the standby region and with a temporary and variable-hysteresis in relation to any operating point in the standby region whenever maintaining the capacitor OFF is required. Since the fixed-hysteresis operates most often to prevent switching-OFF of the capacitor while the variable-hysteresis will operate less often, the losses at standby are minimized during thyristor-switched capacitor operation through most of this.

VAR generator system with minimal standby losses

In a static VAR generator for providing reactive power compensation to an ac network and including a thyristor-switched capacitor bank having the series combination of a capacitor, a bidirectional thyristor switch having gate drive, and a current limiting inductor with an applied voltage appearing across the combination with a current being conducted therethrough, a damping circuit and method for switching the thyristor switch to achieve damping of oscillatory transients generated by the switching of the capacitor in the network, comprising:

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Herminie, PA, United States of America

Mark G Gernhardt