A Static Var Compensator (SVC) has been commissioned by Hitachi Energy for CERN´s Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator.
The SVC was put into operation in 2002. The accelerator is fed directly from the 400 kV European grid via an 18 kV intermediate bus. Due to the sensitive nature of the pulsating power converter load for the SPS magnets, very strict requirements were imposed on the stabilization of the 18 kV accelerator bus voltage as well as mitigation of harmonic distortion.
The SPS accelerator is continuously pulsating with a cycle time of about 14 s. The load mainly consists of 12-pulse thyristor converters for bending and focusing magnets, RF cavities and injection tunnels for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). There is a total power swing from about zero to 230 MW and200 Mvar within two seconds.
The large amplitudes and short rise times of the pulsating power call for rapid reactive power control for voltage stabilization. In addition, strict harmonic filtering is required to eliminate the harmonics generated by the thyristor converters.
| Main data | |
|---|---|
| System | SVC |
| Commissioning year | 2002 |
| Controlled voltage | 18 kV |
| SVC rating | 20 Mvar inductive to 130 Mvar capacitive |
| Control system | Three-phase symmetrical voltage control by means of a closed-loop regulator |
| Thyristor valve | Water cooled, with indirect light triggering |