Identification and tracking of harmonic sources in a power system using a Kalman filter

In this paper, two problems have been addressed on harmonic sources identification: the optimal locations of a limited number of harmonic meters and the optimal dynamic estimates of harmonic source locations and their injections in unbalanced three-phase power systems. Kalman filtering is used to solve these problems. System error covariance analysis by the Kalman filter associated with a harmonic injection estimate determines the optimal arrangement of limited harmonic meters. Based on the optimally-arranged harmonic metering locations, the Kalman filter then yields the optimal dynamic estimates of harmonic injections with a few noisy harmonic measurements. The method is dynamic and has the capability of identifying, analyzing and tracking each harmonic injection at all buses in unbalanced three-phase power systems. Actual recorded harmonic measurements and simulated data in a power distribution system are provided to prove the efficiency of this approach.