Improved production economics in textile factory with Merus™ A2-Active Harmonic Filters
The textile industry retains a record of the lowest efficiency in energy utilization and is one of the major energy-consuming industries. One of the main issues in the industry is power cuts due to high technology machines including electronic control cards and driver-controlled motors. Poor power quality may damage the system and cause production failure. It’s been studied, that the losses caused by electrical power quality are significantly high, around 15% of the annual net profit of the textile industry. How could the power quality and energy efficiency of the textile industry be improved? With our modular Merus™ Active Filter, you can improve power quality and thus energy efficiency in a wide variety of applications.
Challenge in the customers textile plant
Most of the production machines at the textile factory are equipped with low voltage 6-pulse variable speed drives, which are one of the key contributors to high harmonic distortions. Close to 90% of the overall factory loads consist of Variable speed drives (VSDs) and other non-linear loads. Other non-linear loads in the factory include office loads such as lighting, computers, etc.
These non-linear loads created harmonic distortions which clearly exceeded allowable limits. Voltage harmonic distortions were approximately 8% and current harmonic distortions were well over 10%. Impacts were immediate when electronic cards started to burn more frequently. Moreover, lifetime of capacitor banks was significantly reduced, and overheating of transformer and cables of the factory were also recorded.
The solution we found for the customer
In order to properly size the solution, it was mandatory to perform a power quality audit. This was carried out by Merus Power along with the local partner, to determine current and voltage harmonic distortion levels. The audit confirmed harmonic levels exceeding IEEE 519 levels at the factory. It was also noted that certain individual harmonics were quite high, such as 5th, 7th and 9th order.
Merus™ A2-series Active Harmonic Filter was delivered on time and installation went smoothly. It was installed after the transformer, parallel to the loads to be compensated. As per customer requirements, Merus™ Active Filter was configured
to the selectable mode. In this mode, it is possible to flexibly choose which harmonic are to be cancelled and how much.
Results and customer benefits
- Significant reduction in downtime and maintenance cost of the plant
- Harmonic distortions well within global specified limits
- Reduced losses in transformers and cables
- Maximized productivity
- Extended plant lifetime
With Merus™ A2-series Active Harmonic Filters, the harmonic cancellation response created by IGBT-based power electronic technology, proved very effective and brought elevated harmonic distortion levels below maximum limits specified by IEEE 519. Individual harmonics which were also quite high earlier, are now negligible.
Plant operations have now run smoothly, without unexpected downtimes. Lifetime for electronic cards was restored to normal levels, creating positive impact on the production economics. Transformer and cables are no longer heating up excessively and other plant components are expected to meet their lifetime expectations.
Contact us to design solutions that fit for your purposes. Our products are modular and easy to scale for very different needs.