Optimal siting and sizing of multiple active power line conditioners to minimize network THD considering harmonic couplings

Active power line conditioner (APLC) is an advanced shunt active filter that can limit the voltage total harmonic distortion (THDv) of the entire network or a designated area below 5% as recommended by most standards such as the IEEE-519. A research gap in design and implementation of APLCs is the consideration of harmonic couplings, which is an inherent characteristic of most realistic distorted networks. This paper proposes a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm based on smart meter transmitted data for optimal siting and sizing of APLCs that include harmonic couplings of the nonlinear loads. The objective function of the proposed PSO is minimization of cost (associated with APLC size) and network THDv, respectively. For the nonlinear modelling of APLCs, a five-level neutral-point clamped (FL-NPC) inverter equipped with an adaptive hysteresis current control (AHCC) is used. Detailed simulations without and with harmonic couplings are performed in Matlab/Simulink to find the optimal locations and sizes of the APLCs in a 15-bus network with six nonlinear loads.