This HVDC transmission generic course is meant for people with Electrical/Electronic Engineering background or having some basic knowledge of HVDC. Producing a generic course like this would mean to exclude some of the more complex and technically advanced aspects of HVDC, and hence it is attempted to be useful for other people who wish to develop understanding of basic or intermediate level of HVDC transmission knowledge. The purpose also is for attendees to learn about everything that is presented in this course, ask questions where things are not clear to them, and go home/office with a desire to advance their learning and look for opportunities to apply this knowledge in various HVDC projects.
For the course next stage (not included in the present course), a more advanced HVDC course can be offered where attendees can learn about operation and control of HVDC links, HVDC link running arrangements, control and performance functionality, understanding various faults, converter characteristics and control modes, converter control schemes, and operational services.
The course will discuss HVDC transmission what it is and its key components, how the transmission is carried out, HVDC system overview, HVDC converters configurations, and HVDC advantages and applications. This will be followed up by HVDC equipment pictorial overview showing the actual equipment used on land and sea.
Stages of HVDC technologies development will be briefly described along with transmission interconnectors and their benefits. Thyristor and IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors) are main components of HVDC systems and so their capabilities will be discussed.
Busbar single-line diagrams for converter stations connection will be discussed along with HVDC converter configurations, followed by HVDC system types and technologies (LCC- Line Commutated Converters, and VSC-Voltage Source Converters).
LCC and VSC HVDC plant components and their functions will be discussed in detail as these are important aspects to gain understanding of HVDC systems, also addressing the comparison between LCC and VSC technologies. Not to forget HVAC transmission to appreciate why we need HVDC (this covers advantages, disadvantages and indicative costs).
Some further aspects of HVDC will also be discussed including: DC protection, losses in HVDC converter stations, sources of harmonics in a power system, how converters cause harmonics, DC harmonics, harmonic filters, reliability and availability of HVDC converters,
HVDC contract stage studies and reports, HVDC projects case studies, Future of HVDC technologies, HVDC leading manufacturers, and Planning and Implementation of HVDC projects.
After completing the course, the participants should be able to:
Understand the HVDC transmission process, technologies, and associated HVDC system components and their functionalities.
Learn about the role of HVDC links (Interconnectors).
Understand the role of Thyristors and IGBT devices, their characteristics, role of reactive power devices and harmonic filters.
Learn about HVDC conversion processes, e.g., rectification, inversion, and commutation failure.
Understand the comparison of HVDC technologies, and merits of HVDC and HVAC, technical and costs aspects.
Learn about the LCC/VSC HVDC systems and their configurations.
Develop some understanding of protection types, reliability and availability of HVDC converters, HVDC contract stage studies and reports.
Learn who are the HVDC manufacturers, and planning and implementation of HVDC projects
The Generic HVDC course is aimed at to offer good learning to:
Transmission and Distribution companies engineers who wish to learn about HVDC,
Power systems engineers who are not so familiar with HVDC,
Energy control centre engineers who don’t have the HVDC experience, or wish to enhance their knowledge,
HVDC substations staff,
System analysis and system studies engineers,
Undergraduate students and technicians,
Students doing or have done a Foundation degree, HNC/HND who did not have HVDC as a major subject/module,
New technical staff wishing to learn about HVDC
Technical career changers,
Project managers,
HVDC schemes developers
HVDC planning and implementation engineers
2 days course, each day from 9am to 5pm with two 15 minutes tea/coffee breaks (morning and afternoon), lunch 1 hour.
1. What is HVDC transmission
2. HVDC system overview
3. HVDC transmission advantages
4. HVDC applications
5. HVDC equipment pictorial overview
6. HVDC equipment for Offshore windfarm
7. On-Board DC Grid for a windfarm
8. HVDC cable laying
9. Stages of HVDC technologies development
10. HVDC Interconnectors in general
11. HVDC Interconnectors – capacities and ratings
12. Thyristors and other devices
13. Thyristor capabilities
14. IGBT capabilities
15. Single line diagram for converter connection
16. Simplified converter station one-line diagram
17. Single line diagram for converter station – Showing One End equipment
18. Converter configurations for HVDC links
19. HVDC system types and technologies
20. LCC technology
21. LCC plant components and their function
22. VSC technology
23. VSC plant components and their function
24. Comparison of LCC and VSC technologies
25. A few words about HVAC transmission
26. Advantages of HVDC over HVAC
27. Disadvantages of HVDC over HVAC
28. Indicative cost of HVDC
29. DC protection
30. Losses in a HVDC converter station
31. Sources of harmonics in a power system
32. How converters cause harmonics
33. DC harmonics
34. Harmonic filters
35. Reliability and Availability of HVDC converters
36. HVDC contract stage studies and reports
37. HVDC projects case studies
38. Future of HVDC technology
39. HVDC leading manufacturers
40. Planning and Implementation of HVDC projects
41. Summary of HVDC Transmission