390
1, JANUARY 2005
Evaluation of Line Voltage Drop in Presence
of Unbalance, Harmonics, and Interharmonics:
Theory and Applications
Sonia Leva, Member, IEEE, Adriano P. Morando, and Dario Zaninelli, Senior Member, IEEE
Abstract—This paper deals with the line voltage drop calcula-
tion in presence of disturbances in the electric network, like un-
balance, harmonic, and interharmonic components. The Park ap-
proach permits to define a calculation expression with a structure
very close to the classical one typically employed in case of bal-
anced systems and also permits to underline the role of the imag-
inary power that quantifies in one term only the effects of distur-
bances on the voltage drop. In order to text the effectiveness of the
proposed methodology, two applications on real industrial plants
are presented in the second part of the paper. The comparison with
the classical theory and calculation made by using commercial soft-
ware gives rise to interesting comments and discussion on the pro-
posed approach.
Index Terms—Harmonics, interharmonics, park transforma-
tion, unbalance, voltage drop, zero-sequence components.
I. INTRODUCTION
T HE VOLTAGE drop is one of the most important quan-
tities in the characterization of transmission and distribu-
tion electric power systems. In fact it represents in a certain way
the indicator of the effectiveness of the connection between the
loads and the generation centres. The voltage drop control is also
an essential task both for the stability and the economy of the
power system and its calculation, even with the introduction of
simplified procedures and approximations, is fundamental for
power system analysis [1].
The voltage drop calculation, in case of ac sinusoidal systems,
had rise with the phasor algebra, then, it was extended from the
single-phase case to the three-phase balanced systems. After-
wards, the formulation of the symmetrical component’s theory,
starting by Stokvis [2], posed the problem of an extension to
dissymmetrical sinusoidal case. Nowadays, the presence of har-
monics and interharmonics in power systems points out the need
of a new formulation of voltage drop expression [3], that gener-
alizes the former phasorial one but, in same time, takes into the
account the contributions (instantaneous and average) of har-
monics, interharmonics, and unbalances.
In fact, in presence of unbalances or/and distortions the ac-
curacy of the voltage drop calculation becomes burden and the
Manuscript received April 11, 2003; revised October 2, 2003. Paper no.
TPWRD-00170-2003.
The authors are with the Electrical Engineering Department of the
Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy (e-mail: sonia.leva@polimi.it;
adriano.morando@polimi.it; dario.zaninelli@polimi.it).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2004.837830
0885-8977/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO.
Fig. 1. Three-phase line with physical symmetry.
introduction of some simplifying hypotheses can bring to wrong
results neglecting some disturbance’s contributions.
In a previous paper the Authors introduced the Park transfor-
mation for taking into account the simultaneous contributions
of harmonic and negative sequence components in the voltage
drop [4]. In particular, the analysis in terms of the Park vector
confirms the single-phase nature of the Park variables and high-
lights the role of the Park imaginary power. This last quantity
appears to be a generalization of the reactive power concept to
any operating condition as far as the voltage drop is considered
[5].
The theoretical approach presented in [4] did not consider
the simultaneous presence of interharmonics and zero-sequence
instantaneous components. These latter are very important for
taking into account phenomena related to interharmonic com-
ponents (i.e., flicker) and in case of low voltage three-phase
four-wire distribution systems where unbalances or third order
harmonics are present in the network.
Considering in this way the most common steady-state dis-
turbances present in power systems, the present paper permits
to carry out compatible models for representing the distribu-
tion systems in any possible perturbation due to disturbances
or faults.
The results obtained taking as reference to real industrial
plant show the role of the instantaneous power components
(real and imaginary by Park and real by zero-sequence) on
the line voltage drop and permit a formalism very close to the
one used for single-phase equivalent systems in the case of
balanced and non polluted circuits.
II. PROPOSED APPROACH
In the most general case, the time-domain equations for a
three-phase distribution line (see Fig. 1) are differential equa-
tions. For the purposes of this work, they can be more clearly
written in term of Heaviside operator [6], [7] , so the
LEVA et al.: EVALUATION OF LINE VOLTAGE DROP IN PRESENCE OF UNBALANCE, HARMONICS, AND INTERHARMONICS
Fig. 2. Park representation of a two-port network for three-phase short line.
line impedance vector z, written in terms of this operator, be-
comes . Therefore, the time-domain equations for the line
in Fig. 1 are:
(1)
By applying the Park transformation (see Appendix), the fol-
lowing relationships can be obtained:
1) Park Vector:
(2)
These equations are the Park equations describing the two-port
network shown in Fig. 2(a). They differ from those describing
a single-phase line under sinusoidal conditions because of the
presence of the dynamic term .
2) Zero-Sequence Component:
(3)
These equations describe the two-port network shown in
Fig. 2(b).
By applying Park transformation, it is possible to extend the
classical definitions adopted for the sinusoidal case to the non-
sinusoidal three-phase one by substituting the sinusoidal phase
quantities with the instantaneous Park quantities. Considering
the rms three-phase instantaneous voltage the relevant per unit
three-phase voltage drop, expressed in term of Park quantities
(see Appendix), can be written as
(4)
Representing the difference between rms output and input in-
stantaneous voltages by using Taylor Series approximation [5],
we obtain
(5)
391
Dividing the contribution due to the Park vector and the one
associated to the zero-sequence, the (5) becomes
(6)
The voltage drop in a four-wire three-phase distribution line is
composed by two terms. The first one depends on the instanta-
neous positive and negative sequences through the Park vector;
the second one represents the contribution of the instantaneous
zero-sequence.
With reference to Fig. 2, it follows:
(7)
By applying to the first term of (6) the geometrical approach
typical of the sinusoidal case in terms of Park vector [4], [5],
and observing that , the following ex-
pression is obtained:
(8)
This result can be extended to the second term of (6), taking into
account the usual value of the ratio between the impedance of
the distribution system and that of the load. This is in accordance
with the results obtained by the Authors in different examples
and applications [4], [5]. Then, we have
(9)
On the point of view of energy flow, it is possible to affirm that
the voltage drop expressed by (6) depends on the real and
imaginary power in terms of Park vectors, and depends
on the power as concerns the instantaneous zero-sequence
component. The result confirms once again the important role
played by the imaginary power where, considering a four-wire
system, the contribution due to the zero-sequence power
must be added.
Equations (6), (8), (9) allow the voltage drop calculation in
presence of zero-sequence components in the power line. In this
way it is possible to take into account harmonics, interharmonics
and all sequence components that can occur in case of distribu-
tion lines with earth conductor.
Equations (6), (8), (9) are valid under any conditions. They
can be applied to many systems operation, as for example the
presence of static converters and nonlinear loads, and at steady
state or transient conditions.
392 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005

III. EFFECT OF HARMONICS AND UNBALANCES ON THE Applying (11) to the formula (6), it is possible to obtain for
VOLTAGE DROP the two different terms (8), (9) respectively:
The definition of the role performed by harmonics and
sequence components present in the network becomes very
important on the application point of view. Equations (6), (8),
(9) can be reconsidered in order to clarify the dependence of
, and on the harmonic (12)
and sequence components.
The first term of (6), represented as in (8), is already deeply
The unbalanced sinusoidal case is of particular interest. In
investigated in [4] with the only difference of the zero-sequence
these conditions the presence of contributions associated to
voltage contribution at the denominator. Instead, the
positive-, negative- and zero-sequence components brings to
second term of (6), represented as in (9), concerns the contri-
the following:
bution of the zero-sequence component and will be developed
in the following.
Under the hypothesis of periodic steady-state, it is convenient
to apply the Fourier series analysis. In this way, for each har- (13)
monic it is possible to use the theory related to sinusoidal system
and counter-rotating vectors. This procedure brings to the fol- Equation (13) represents a generalization of the voltage drop
lowing expressions shown in (10), at the bottom of the page. The classical expression typically used in case of positive sequence
results obtained can be discussed as follows: component only. In fact, the reactive power associated to pos-
— the formal unification of the effects associated to har- itive-, negative- and zero-sequence components ( , and
monics and sequence components on the voltage drop, , respectively) appears.
already shown in [4] for the instantaneous positive and
negative sequences, extends to the zero sequence one IV. EFFECT OF INTERHARMONICS ON THE VOLTAGE DROP
due to the presence of the earth conductor; It is particularly interesting the case in which interharmonics
— also the zero sequence contribution to the voltage drop are present in the power systems. In this case the general formu-
presents a pulsating component, giving evidence of lations (6), (8), (9) are still valid. Also the equations developed
zero-sequence component additional contribution with concerning the periodic conditions are valid when frequency,
respect to the sinusoidal, positive sequence, balanced harmonic order and time period are referred to the basic quan-
three-phase case. tities (i.e., the ones associated to the basic frequency of the cor-
respondent waveform) instead of the network frequency (50 or
A. Voltage Drop Average Value 60 Hz).
Starting from the above general expression (6) of the voltage In this case the Park quantities become:
drop in time domain, it is possible to evaluate the following
average value with reference to the interval

(11)

This calculation is justified by the importance of the voltage rms

value on the load supply and distribution system operation. (14)

(10)
LEVA et al.: EVALUATION OF LINE VOLTAGE DROP IN PRESENCE OF UNBALANCE, HARMONICS, AND INTERHARMONICS
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of railway motor drive system of the train ETR470.
TABLE I
NOMINAL DATA OF THE RAILWAY MOTOR DRIVE SYSTEM OF TRAIN ETR470
where
• is the Fourier’s basic frequency (it is the greatest
common divisor of all the frequencies components in the
signal);
• is the harmonic order referred to ;
• is the period associated to the basic frequency.
Furthermore, the relation between these latter quantities and the
ones related to the network frequency is
(15)
V. STUDIED CASES
Two industrial applications are here considered for testing the
above reported theory.
Case 1: This selected system refers to a three-phase motor
drive used for traction purpose. The schematic diagram of this
DC supplied railway system is reported in Fig. 3 while the rel-
evant nominal data are summarized in Table I. This data refer
to the high-speed train ETR470 in operation in some European
countries. The calculation of the voltage drop is very important
in this case because the motor torque depends on the squared
rms voltage applied to the stator winding. The knowledge of
the voltage drop permits to determine the control strategy of the
drive. The application of the above reported theory to the eval-
uation of the line voltage drop is made in the case of a steady
state operation condition when the train runs at 100 km/h with
a six step motor voltage supply impressed by the inverter drive.
In particular, the presented method that relates the voltage drop
to the imaginary Park power permits to introduce control action
that can compensate the voltage drop during the motor drive op-
eration.
Fig. 4(a) shows the voltage drop waveforms evaluated
by means of the usual definition (4) by the proposed re-
lationship (5), (8), (9) and with the classical formulation
393
Fig. 4. Case 1. (a) Voltage drop waveform. The solid line represents the voltage
drop given by (4), the dashed line represents the voltage drop given by the
proposed relationship (8), the dotted line represents the classical voltage drop
and the point-dashed line represents the voltage drop given by a commercial
software. (b) Imaginary power waveform.
. In addition Fig. 4(a) reports as
comparison the voltage drop evaluated by means of a
simulation performed with commercial software for harmonic
analysis [8]. The p.u. voltage drop valuated as mean value of
the proposed formula (8) is 0.0158, while the p.u. voltage drop
calculated with the classical formulation is 0.0155 and the one
resulting from the commercial software is 0.0160.
Fig. 4(b) shows the imaginary Park power waveform.
Comments on the results will be report at the end of the sec-
tion together with those relevant to case 2.
Case 2: The second power plant considered is to industrial
power system reported in Fig. 5. The electric supply is provided
at 132 kV busbar (A) with a short circuit level of 4115 MVA.
Two kV transformers, and , connect through the
bars the busbar B supplying a MV distribution network. Useful
data concerning transformers, bars and the two feeders,
and , are reported in Table II.
A three phase static controlled converter , with 2.5 MW
demand and power factor of 0.7, is supplied from busbar B. A
power factor correction device rated 1.92 MVAr is also
connected at the same busbar. From , a 1 MW rated three-
394 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005

Fig. 5. Layout of the industrial system taken for the case 2.

TABLE II
DATA OF THE INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM CONSIDERED IN THE CASE 2

Fig. 6. Case 2. (a) Voltage drop waveform. The solid line represents the voltage
TABLE III drop given by (4), the dashed line represents the voltage drop given by the
SUBHARMONIC AND INTERHARMONIC CURRENTS PRODUCED BY proposed relationship (8), the dotted line represents the classical voltage drop
INDUCTION MOTORS and the point-dashed line represents the voltage drop given by a commercial
software. (b) Imaginary power waveform.

(5), (8), (9) and with the classical formulation . In addition

Figs. 6(a), 4(a) reports as comparison the voltage drop
evaluated by means of a simulation performed with commercial
software for harmonic analysis [8]. The p.u. voltage drop valu-
ated as mean value of the proposed formula (8) is 0.0074, while
the p.u. voltage drop calculated with the classical formulation
is 0.0075 and the one resulting from the commercial software
is 0.0074. These values are very low in consideration to the fact
phase rectifier equipped with 5th and 7th har- that power plant presents reactive power and harmonic compen-
monic current tuned arm filters is supplied. At busbar two sation devices (see Fig. 5). In any case the proposed method of
large induction motors, and , respectively 1 MW and 0.4 evaluation shows that the instantaneous voltage drop can reach
MW rated, as well as a 0.48 kVAr power factor correc- highest values, up to 0.012.
tion equipment, are connected. Table III summarizes the sub- Fig. 6(b) shows the imaginary Park power waveform.
harmonic and interharmonic currents produced by the motors Comments on the Results: The simulation processes on the
and and flowing in the line . above described real cases of existing power systems give rise
Fig. 4(a) shows the voltage drop waveforms evaluated by to the following comments and discussion.
means of the usual definition (4) by the proposed relationship The diagrams reported in Figs. 4, and 6 show that:
LEVA et al.: EVALUATION OF LINE VOLTAGE DROP IN PRESENCE OF UNBALANCE, HARMONICS, AND INTERHARMONICS
1) The comparison of the diagrams in Figs. 4(a) and 6(a)
proves that the proposed algorithm, based on the Park ap-
proach, is correct, since the voltage drop diagram is the
same as that computed using (4). Then, the proposed for-
mula (8) can be used for directly evaluating the correct
value of the voltage drop in case of unbalanced and dis-
torted systems.
2) The exam of the diagrams in Figs. 4(a) and 6(a) confirms
the implication typical of classical theory: the classical
voltage drop is close to the mean value of the Park voltage
drop if the system is linear and the zero-sequence compo-
nent is nil.
3) The diagrams of the Park imaginary power show that this
quantity has fairly the same waveform as the instanta-
neous voltage drop, and hence give evidence of the role
of this quantity that is completely disregarded by the clas-
sical theory.
Furthermore a comparison is made with the results obtained by
means of commercial software on power system harmonics [8].
The simulation with this software brings to the point-dashed
lines in Figs. 4(a) and 6(a). These results are very close to the
mean value of voltage drop as seen by Park approach, but they
do not consider the voltage drop time variation.
In the end, the investigation performed on the two cases
shows that:
— as regards the line design, where the mean value of the
voltage drop is taken as reference parameter, the pro-
posed method for evaluating the voltage drop confirms
the validity of the classical theory and of the commer-
cial simulation tool;
— as regards the dynamic control for power compensa-
tion and stability regulation, the proposed method is
the only one that can simply identify the instantaneous
voltage drop variation with formula that recall in some
way the classical formulation.
VI. CONCLUSION
In the present paper the problem of voltage drop calculation
in three-phase, four-wire distribution lines is pointed out and
deeply investigated with reference to dynamic state, in which
unbalances, harmonics and interharmonics are taken into
account. The use of Park transformation permits the expres-
sion—in a separate form and generalizing the results of the
classical theory—of the contribution due to the three different
instantaneous sequences. In particular, the positive, negative,
and zero-sequence components are associated in terms of power
quality and energy flow to the classical Park power.
After the presentation of the theoretical development of the
proposed method, the paper presents the application to real cases
of industrial plants, where a comparison is also made both with
the classical voltage drop formulation and the one of the most
common commercial software on power system harmonics. The
results of these applications and comparisons validate this new
approach based on Park theory and show its strength in case of
power systems dynamic studies.
395
The proposed transformation does not consider the coupling
between the sequences due to the physical asymmetries present
in the real life on transmission lines or feeders.
APPENDIX
PARK TRANSFORMATION APPROACH
If the following Park transformation [2], [3] is employed:
(A.1)
Equation (1) can be expressed by means of variables.
Then, the Park vectors are defined as
(A.2)
where . The zero-sequence component is expressed
as
(A.3)
The formal time-domain generalization of the rms three-phase
value under sinusoidal condition can be written in the following
form:
(A.4)
that is invariant with the axis choice. The axis can be fixed,
, or rotating at speed .
REFERENCES
[1] B. Weedy, Electric Power Systems, 3rd ed, New York: Wiley, 1990.
[2] L. G. Stokvis and C. Lavanchy, “Diagramme de la chute de tension
dans un conducteur de ligne triphasée de tension moyenne. Cas général
d’un système déséquilibré géométriquement et électriquement,” Revue
Gènèrale de l’Electricité, vol. 13, pp. 3–5, 1923.
[3] J. Arrilaga, D. A. Bradley, and P. S. Bodger, Power System Har-
monics. New York: Wiley, 1985, p. 116.
[4] S. Leva, A. P. Morando, and D. Zaninelli, “A new formulation of line
voltage drop in unbalanced and distorted systems,” in Proc. IEEE Int.
Conf. Harmonics Quality of Power, vol. 2, Orlando, FL, Oct. 1–4, 2000,
pp. 751–756.
[5] A. Ferrero, S. Leva, and A. P. Morando, “About the role of the park
imaginary power on the three-phase line voltage drop,” ETEP Eur. Trans.
Electr. Power 10, no. 5, pp. 287–296, 2000.
[6] K. Kupfmuller, Einführung in die theoretische Elektrotecnik, Heidel-
berg, Germany: Springer Verlag, 1968, p. 623.
[7] K. Simonyi, Foundations of Electrical Engineering. Oxford, U.K.:
Pergamon, 1963, p. 385.
[8] Harmflow+, Harmonic Simulation and Analysis Tools, Feb. 1995.
EPRI/Electrotek, version 2.0, Knoxville, TN.
396 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005

Sonia Leva (M’01) received the M.S. and Ph.D. de-
grees in electrical engineering from the Politecnico
di Milano,” Milano, Italy, in 1997 and 2001, respec-
tively.
Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Eletrotec-
nica in the Electrical Engineering Department at the
Politecnico di Milano. Her research interests include
electromagnetic compatibility, power quality, and the
foundation of electromagnetic theory of electric net-
work.
Dario Zaninelli (SM’96) received the Ph.D. degree
in electrical engineering from the Politecnico di Mi-
lano, Milano, Italy, in 1989.
Currently, he is Professor in the Electrical Engi-
neering Department of the Politecnico di Milano. His
areas of research include power system harmonics
and power system analysis.
Dr. Zaninelli is a member of AEI and of the Italian
National Research Council (C.N.R.) Group of Elec-
trical Power Systems.

Adriano Paolo Morando received the M.S. degree

in electrical engineering from the Politecnico di Mi-
lano, Milano, Italy.
Currently, he is Associate Professor of Elettrotec-
nica in the Electrical Engineering Department of
the Politecnico di Milano. From 1984 to 1989,
he was with ASEA Brown Boveri, Milano, Italy,
where he was concerned with ac drives for electrical
traction. His current research interests include
electromagnetic compatibility, the power quality,
and the foundation of electromagnetic (EM) theory
of electric networks.