Electrical Engineering in Japan, Vol. 189, No.

3, 2014
Translated from Denki Gakkai Ronbunshi, Vol. 133-D, No. 1, January 2013, pp. 2936

Line Loss Minimization Control in a Loop Distribution System Using Circulating

Current Compensation and Reactive Current Suppression by a Unified Power Flow
Controller

KAZUHEI YAMADA,1 TAKAHARU TAKESHITA,1 YASUYUKI KUNII,2 and FUKASHI UEDA2

1 Nagoya

Institute of Technology Gokiso, Japan

Electric Power Co., Inc., Japan

2 Chubu

generators, there is a risk that due to reverse power flow,

the voltage in the system will rise above the rated value,
or that the power generated by distributed sources will
fluctuate widely as a result of weather changes, making it
difficult to maintain the voltage at the rated level. One of
the methods proposed to handle these problems consists in
converting the radial system to a loop system and using a
loop controller to control the power flow in the loop [1]. By
using a loop system, it is possible to reduce the difference
between the voltages of two feeders of the radial system and
to balance currents in the two feeders if there is a difference
between them, thus making it possible to suppress overloading of the distribution system and to reduce line losses.
Originally, loop controllers were designed to use the backto-back (BTB) method [2], but because in the BTB method
the converter capacity must be equal to the power capacity
at the loop controller installation point, power converters
become bulky. Therefore, a method using a unified power
flow controller (UPFC) [3, 4] was proposed [5]. A UPFC
consists of a series power converter supplying a voltage
in series to the power distribution system and a current
absorbing shunt power converter connected in parallel to
the power distribution system to maintain the dc voltage of
the series power converter. The capacity of converters in the
UPFC method is 20% lower than the power at the point of
installation of the loop controller, thus making it possible
to reduce the size of the power converter [6].
In this paper, using a simplified model of the loop
distribution system, we provide a theoretical analysis assuming that with the smart grid concept, it is possible to
obtain information on the voltages and currents at all nodes
of the distribution system. This analysis can be applied to
actual distribution systems for the purposes of suppressing
voltage fluctuations and reducing line losses in each node
of the loop distribution system. We then propose a method
of minimizing line losses based on detected currents in

SUMMARY
This paper describes line loss minimization control
using the shunt and series converters of a UPFC (unified
power flow controller) in a loop distribution system. The
line losses in a loop distribution system are caused by
the circulating current flowing in the loop and the mesh
currents flowing to the loads. The authors have previously
proposed a compensation method for circulating current
using a series converter. In this paper, the authors propose
a suppression method for reactive currents using a shunt
converter. In the prototype model of a loop distribution system, a theoretical loss reduction ratio of 92% without line
loss caused by active currents is obtained. Similar line loss
reduction characteristics are obtained in experiments using
the prototype distribution system. C 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 189(3): 3040, 2014; Published
online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).
DOI 10.1002/eej.22552
Key words: unified power flow controller; line loss
minimization; loop distribution system; reactive current
suppression; circulating current compensation.

1.

Introduction

Present-day power distribution systems are designed

in accordance with the concept of radial schemes delivering power from generating facilities to consumers with the
voltage being reduced from the substations to final users at
predetermined steps at every system node. It is important
to reduce power losses in the system while maintaining the
voltage within the limits designed for each node. However,
because of an increasing share of distributed power sources
using natural energy sources such as solar panels and wind

30

2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fig. 2. Model of loop distribution system.

cording to the reference value I2 . The active current Icp
of the input to the shunt power converter is controlled so
that the input dc voltage Vdc of the series power converter
. The reactive
is always equal to the reference voltage Vdc

component Icq of the input current Ic is usually held to zero

so that the input power factor is 1, but in this paper the
reactive current Icq is controlled to minimize line losses by
reducing the reactive currents in the loop system. Figure
1(b) is the equivalent circuit of the UPFC with the series
power converter represented by a voltage source and the
shunt power converter by a current source.

Fig. 1. Configuration and equivalent circuit of UPFC.

all lines forming the loop when a UPFC is used as the
loop controller in a model of the loop distribution system.
First, we derive the total line losses in the loop distribution system generated by the circulating current flowing
in the loop and by mesh currents flowing to the loads.
Since, among all line losses, the losses produced by the
active components of mesh currents are unavoidable for
supplying power to the loads and cannot be reduced, loss
minimization is performed by compensating the circulating
current and reducing the reactive components of the mesh
currents. We previously demonstrated that the circulating
current flowing in the loop can be controlled by the output
voltage of the series power converter of the UPFC and
that line losses caused by the circulating current can be
reduced to zero by compensating them [79]. In this paper,
we present a method of reducing the reactive components of
the mesh currents by controlling the input reactive current
of the UPFC parallel power converter so as to minimize the
line losses produced by the reactive components [10]. The
effectiveness of the proposed method for line loss reduction
in a loop distribution model is verified analytically and
experimentally.

2.

2.2 Model of the loop distribution system

Figure 2 shows the model of the loop distribution system. It consists of a voltage substation source V s and four
lines forming the loop distribution system. At each node,
the user loads (Z L1 to Z L3 ) are connected and a UPFC is
installed in line 2 as the loop controller. The impedance of
each line can be represented in terms of line resistance Ri
and the line reactance X i as follows:
Z i = Ri + j X i

(i 1 4) .

(1)

The positive direction of currents I1 I4 in all lines is

the counterclockwise direction in the loop.
The control by the UPFC is based on the voltage
of node 1, where the UPFC is mounted. The three-phase
voltages at node 1 (v u , v v , v w ) are given by the following
equation, using the effective value of the fundamental V1 f
and the phase angle of the line voltage:

Model of Loop Distribution System and Line

Losses

u

2
V
=
3 1f

w

2.1 Loop controller

Figure 1 shows the configuration and equivalent circuit of the UPFC used as the loop controller. In Fig. 1(a),
the UPFC is connected to line 2 between nodes 1 and 2. The
UPFC consists of a series converter and a shunt converter.
The series converter inserts a voltage V c into the system
through a transformer and controls the line current I2 ac-

cos

cos ( 23) .
cos ( + 23)

(2)

All voltages and currents are converted to complex

coordinates by using the phase angle of the node 1 voltage
V 1 . For example, the input currents of the shunt power
converter (i cu , i cv , i cw ) are converted to the complex current

31

Z loop = Z 1 + Z 2 + Z 3 + Z 4 .

(5)

By using the the mesh currents shown in Fig. 3

( Im1 Im4 ), we can express the circulating current flowing
in the loop ( Iloop ) and the currents in each line (Il ) by the
following equation:
Ii = Imi + Iloop

i=1

By substituting the circulating current from Eq. (7)

into Eq. (6), the mesh currents can be obtained from the
following equations:

by the following equation:

( R +R +R )( I + I )+( R3 +R4 ) IL2 +R4 IL3

Im1 = 2 3 4 L1 Rc

Ic = Icp + j Icq

2
2 )
2(
=
i cu e j + i cv e j( 3 ) + i cw e j(+ 3 ) . (3)
3

loop

The real part Icp of the input current Ic of the shunt

power converter is the effective current and the imaginary
part Icq is the reactive current. All line currents and load
currents of the loop distribution system are converted to
complex coordinates based on the phase angle of the
voltage V 1 . Since at that time, due to the line impedances,
there is a small error between the phase angle of node 1
and the phase angles of other nodes, the real and imaginary
parts of all complex currents do not exactly correspond to
the respective active and reactive currents. Therefore, in this
paper, the real and imaginary parts of the complex currents
are called active and reactive currents, respectively.

Im2 =

R1 ( I L1 + Ic )+( R3 +R4 ) I L2 +R4 I L3

Rloop

Im3 =

R1 ( I L1 + Ic )( R1 +R2 ) I L2 +R4 I L3
Rloop

R ( I + I )+( R1 +R2 ) I L2 +( R1 +R2 +R3 ) I L3

Im4 = 1 L1 c
R

loop

Rloop = R1 + R2 + R3 + R4 .

, (8)

(9)

In addition, by modifying Eq. (7) for the circulating

current by means of Eqs. (6) and (8), the following equation
is obtained:
( 4
)

1
(10)
j X i Ii V c .
Iloop =
Rloop i=1
Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show the circuits formed by
separation of the distribution system shown in Fig. 2 into
the mesh current circuit and the circulating current circuit in
accordance with the superposition principle. Figure 4(a) is
the mesh current circuit derived from Eqs. (8), showing that
the mesh currents can be expressed only by load currents
and line resistances and by the current of the shunt power
converter. The circuit in Fig. 4(a) can be considered as the
distribution system model shown in Fig. 2 in a steady state
with all line currents at fixed values and with the reactance
voltages j X i Ii of all lines treated as voltage sources, excluding the voltage sources of the line reactances and the
output voltage V c of the series power converter. Figure 4(b)
shows the circuit of the circulating current obtained from
Eq. (10) with the circulating current expressed by voltage
sources consisting of the reactance voltages of the lines and
the output voltage of the series power converter.
Using Eqs. (6) and (8), the total line loss P1 can
be separated into the line loss due to the mesh current
(corresponding to the first term on the right side of Eq.
(11)) and the line loss caused by the circulating current

Line losses of loop distribution system

Figure 3 shows a model of the distribution system

illustrated in Fig. 2, whose loads are approximated by constant current sources. The currents of the lines shown in Fig.
3, ( I1 I4 ), can be expressed by using the line impedances
Z L1 Z L4 , the load currents IL1 IL3 , the output voltage
V c of the series power converter of the UPFC, and the input
current Ic of the shunt power converter as follows:
( Z + Z + Z )( I + I )+( Z + Z ) I + Z I +V
I1 = 2 3 4 L1 c Z 3 4 L2 4 L3 c
loop

Z 1 ( I L1 + Ic )+( Z 3 + Z 4 ) I L2 + Z 4 I L3 +V c

I2 =
Z loop

I3 = Z 1 ( I L1 + Ic )( Z 1 + Z 2 ) I L2 +( Z 1 + Z 2 + Z 3 ) I L3 +Vc
Z loop

Z ( I + I )( Z 1 + Z 2 ) I L2 + Z 4 I L3 +V c

I3 = 1 L1 c
Z

(6)

The circulating current can be obtained by solving the loop

voltage equation as follows:
( 4
)

1
(7)
Z i Imi V c .
Iloop =
Z loop

Fig. 3. Loop system model whose loads are

approximated into current sources.

2.3

(i 1 4) .

(4)

loop

32

Fig. 5. Circulating current and reactive components of

mesh currents before control. [Color figure can be viewed
in the online issue, which is available at
wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

means of the output voltage of the UFPC series power

converter. Reduction of the reactive components of the
mesh currents is performed by the input reactive current Icq
of the UPFC shunt power converter, thus minimizing the
line losses caused by the reactive components of the mesh
currents.

Fig. 4. Separation of circuits using superposition

theorem.

3.
(corresponding to the second term on the right side of Eq.
(11)):
Pl =

Ri | Ii |2 =

i=1

i=1

3.1 Compensation of circulating current by

means of series power converter

Ri | Imi + Iloop |2

As noted, the line losses caused by the circulating

current can be reduced to zero by compensation of the circulating current. As can be seen in Fig. 4(b), the circulating
current Iloop can be controlled by the output voltage. As
follows from Eq. (10), to coerce the circulating current to
Iloop = 0, the output voltage of the series power controller
must have the following value in terms of the detected
currents Ii and reactances X i of all lines [8]:

i=1

Ri | Imi |2 + 2

Ri Imi Iloop + Rloop | Iloop |2

i=1

Ri | Imi |2 + Rloop | Iloop |2 .

(11)

i=1

Line Loss Minimization Control by UPFC

Ri Imi = 0.

V c =

i=1

j X i Ii .

(12)

i=1

The line loss P1 given by Eq. (11) consists of the

losses due to the mesh currents and the circulating current;
since these losses can be dealt with separately, the line
losses can be minimized by minimizing these separate
line losses. Since the mesh currents flow to the loads, their
active components cannot be reduced, and the line losses
are minimized by reducing the reactive components of the
line currents. Figure 5 shows the circulating current Iloop
(yellow) and the reactive components of the mesh currents
Imiq (orange) in the model of the distribution system.
The line losses due to the circulating current are reduced
to zero by compensating the circulating current Iloop by

Even if the number of lines in the actual distribution

system is increased, the output voltage of the series power
converter in Eq. (12) can be calculated by detecting the
currents in all lines and summing the reactance voltages in
all lines.
Figure 6 shows the circulating current and the reactive components of the mesh currents in the distribution system model after application of control by the series power
converter according to Eq. (12) to reduce the circulating
current to zero. It can be seen that the circulating current
Iloop becomes zero and only the reactive component of the
mesh current Imiq remains.

33

of each line Iciq due to the reactive current Icq of the shunt
power converter can be obtained as follows:
Ic1q =

Iciq =

Plq =

We now explain the suppression of the reactive components of the mesh currents and the control of the reactive
currents by the shunt power converter for the purpose of
minimizing line losses.
First, in the absence of reduction of reactive currents
by the shunt power converter, the mesh current Imi0 can be
given by the following equation:

2
Ri Imiq
=

Im2q0 =
Im3q0 =

( R2 +R3 +R4 ) I L1q +( R3 +R4 ) I L2q +R4 I L3q

Rloop
R1 I L1q +( R3 +R4 ) I L2q +R4 I L3q
Rloop
R1 I L1q ( R1 +R2 ) I L2q +R4 I L3q

Im4q0 =

Rloop
R1 I L1q +( R1 +R2 ) I L2q +( R1 +R2 +R3 ) I L3q
Rloop

i=1

2
Ri Imiq0
.

Ri (Imiq0 + Iciq )2

i=1

Im1q0

Icp + Im1q0

R=

R2Im2q0 + +R3 Im3q0 + R4 Im4q0

)2

R2 + R3 + R4

R2 Im2q0 + R3 Im3q0 + R4 Im4q0

R2 + R3 + R4

(
)
R1 R2 + R3 + R4
Rloop

)2
, (18)

(19)

The total line losses Plq given by Eq. (18) can be

minimized by reducing the third term on the right side of
this equation to zero by expressing the reactive current Icq
of the shunt power converter in the form of Eq. (20). The
loss reduction compared to the losses before control was
applied is given by the second term on the right side of Eq.
(18).
R2 Im2q0 + R3 Im3q0 + R4 Im4q0
Icp = Im1q0 +
R2 + R3 + R4

(14)

= I L1q

R3 + R4
R4
I L2q
I .
R2 + R3 + R4
R2 + R3 + R4 L3q
(20)

The minimization of the line losses caused by the

reactive currents by means of reactive current Icq of the
shunt power converter can be explained using Eq. (20) as
follows. The reactive current I L1q of load 1 where the power
converter is installed is 100% compensated. The reactive
current I L2q of load 2 installed at a different location is
compensated in proportion to the ratio of the line resistance
R3 + R4 between load 2 and substation 0 to the line resistance R2 + R3 + R4 between the power converter and node
2 of load 2. The degree of compensation of the reactive
current I L3q of load 3 is determined similarly to the degree
of compensation of load 2. In Eq. (20), the reactive current

The total line losses Plq0 due to the reactive components of the mesh currents Imiq0 can be obtained as follows:

Plq0 =

(
+ R

(13)

= Plq0 R

When the reactive components are not reduced, the

reactive components of the mesh currents Imiq0 can be
obtained as follows by substituting Ic = 0 into Eq. (8):
Im1q0 =

(17)

When the reactive components are reduced by the

shunt power converter, the total line losses Plq caused by
the reactive currents can be obtained from Eqs. (14) to (17)
as follows:

i=1

(i 1 4) .

(16)

Imiq = Imiq0 + Iciq (i 1 4).

Suppression of reactive currents by shunt

power converter

Imi0 = Imi p0 + j Imiq0

R1
I
Rloop cp

Therefore, when reduction of the reactive currents

is performed, the reactive components Imiq of the mesh
currents Imi can be expressed as follows:

Fig. 6. Circulating current and reactive components of

mesh currents after control by series converter. [Color
figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available
at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

3.2

.
(i 2 4)

R2 + R3 + R4
Icp
Rloop

(15)

Next, we consider the case in which the reactive

components of the mesh currents are reduced by the shunt
power converter. According to the mesh current circuit
shown in Fig. 4(a), the change in the reactive component

34

Fig. 7. Circulating current and reactive components of

mesh currents under line loss minimization control. [Color
figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available
at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

Fig. 8. Change of reactive current in each line. [Color

figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available
at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

Icq of the shunt power converter is expressed in terms of

the currents of the loads. The currents of the loads can
also be determined by detecting the currents of each line of
the loop as the difference from the currents of the adjacent
lines. For example, the load current in node 2 is found as
IL2 = I2 I3 . In actual distribution systems, even with a
greater number of lines constituting the loop, it is possible
to detect the currents in all lines and to obtain the current
flowing out of the loop from the node under consideration
formed by the load and the branch. Then, control can be
implemented by having the shunt power converter deliver
the reactive current of the node under consideration, whose
value is proportional to the ratio of the resistance between
the shunt power converter and the node in question via the
substation to the resistance between the node in question
and the substation.
Using Eq. (20) for the reactive current Icq and Eqs.
(14) and (16), the reactive currents Imiq in all lines after
minimization of the line losses by reduction of the reactive
currents in accordance with Eq. (17) can be expressed as
follows:
R2 + R3 + R4
Icp = 0
Rloop
(
)
R3 + R4 I L2q + R4 I L3q
R1
= Im2q0
I =
Rloop cp
R2 + R3 + R4

Im1q = Im1q0 +
Im2q

R2 I L2q + R4 I L3q
R1
Icp =
Rloop
R2 + R3 + R4
(
)
R2 I L2q + R2 + R3 I L3q
R1

I =
Rloop cp
R2 + R3 + R4

Im3q = Im2q0
Im4q = Im4q

compensation of the circulating current Iloop by the series

power converter can reduce it to zero and that all reactive
components Imiq are also reduced from the state before the
implementation of the suppression control shown in Fig. 6.
According to Fig. 7, all reactive currents at load 1 located
at the installation point of the shunt power converter are
compensated, and since there is no load in line 1 in the
clockwise rotation from the substation, the reactive current
Imiq in line 1 according to Eq. (21) becomes zero. In the
state of line loss minimization by reduction of the reactive
currents shown in Fig. 7, the reactive current of each load
is supplied from the power source nearest to this load. That
is, load 1 is supplied from shunt power converter Ic , load 2
from shunt power converter Ic and the source, and load 3
from the source.
Figure 8 shows the changes of the reactive components Imi p of the mesh currents before and after reactive
current reduction by the shunt power converter. Since the
positive direction of the current in the loop is the counterclockwise direction and all loads are assumed to have
a lagging power factor, the reactive components Imi p of
the mesh currents before control is the applied flow in
the negative direction in lines 1 and 2 and in the positive
direction in lines 3 and 4. In accordance with Eq. (20), the
reactive components of the mesh currents can be reduced
by controlling the reactive current Icq of the shunt power
converter. The reactive current Icq is divided between line
1 and lines 2, 3, and 4 in the same ratio as the ratio of
resistance R1 to resistances R2 + R3 + R4 , with the current
in line 1 flowing in the positive direction and the currents
in lines 2, 3, and 4 flowing in the negative direction. Thus
the absolute value of the reactive current Im2q of line 2
becomes greater, that of the reactive current Im1q of line
1 becomes zero, and the reactive currents of lines 2 and
3 (Im2q , Im3q ) are reduced. Hence, the total line losses
caused by the reactive components of the mesh currents are
minimized.

(21)
Figure 7 shows the distribution of the circulating current and the reactive components of the mesh currents under
line loss minimization control by the shunt power converter
in accordance with Eq. (21). It can be seen that control by

35

real time and was designed to have a 35 ms time constant for

control of both the compensation of the circulating current
and the reduction of the reactive components of the mesh
currents. For practical reasons, it had to be designed so that
if a time delay occurred in the current detection, the time
constant of the current control could be increased according
to the time delay.

4.2
Fig. 9. Experimental system configuration.

Table 2 lists the theoretical values of the line currents

and line losses as well as the loop controller output voltage
and input current before implementation of UPFC control,
during compensation control of the circulating current by
the series power converter, and during suppression control
of the reactive currents by the shunt power controller. All
current and voltage values have been converted to complex
coordinates based on the receiving voltage at node 1 at the
point of UPFC installation; the values in parentheses are in
pu form.
Assuming that before the implementation of UPFC
control, the input current and output voltage of the UPFC
are equal to zero, let us determine the line currents ILi
and also the line currents Ii in the steady state. Under
these conditions, both the circulating current and the mesh
currents cause line losses; the total line losses are Pl = 93.9
W (0.031 pu).
Next, when the circulating current is reduced to zero
during compensation of the circulating current by the series
power converter, the line currents Il are determined as mesh
currents Imi from Eq. (8), assuming that the load current is
approximated as a current source and has the same value
as before control, and also that the input current of the
shunt power converter Ic is zero. At that time, the output
voltage of the series power converter given by Eq. (12)
is reduced to a value 10% lower than the voltage of the
distribution system to compensate the circulating current.
By implementing circulating current compensation, the total losses due to the active and reactive components can
be reduced to Plp0 = 61.1 W and Plq0 = 13.4 W, respectively. The combined line losses are improved to Pl0 = 74.5
W (0.025 pu) and the loss reduction due to circulating
current compensation is Pl0 = Pl Pl0 = 19.4 W (0.006
pu). The total line losses due to active currents Plp0 are unavoidable losses, and the loss reduction ratio excluding the
losses due to active currents is Pl0 (Pl Plp0 ) 100 =
59%.
In addition, in accordance with Eq. (20), the reduction of the reactive current by the shunt power converter
results in a reactive current Icq = 3.94 A (0.455 pu). Balanced reduction of the reactive currents in all lines can
reduce all line losses due to reactive components to Plqc =
2.6 W (0.001 pu). Control by reduction of the reactive

Table 1. System parameters

Loop distribution system
Power supply Vs
Load1 R L1 , X L1
Load2 R L2 , X L2
Load3 R L3 , X L2
DG Pout
Line1 R1
X1
Line2 R2
X2
Line3 R3
X3
Line4 R4
X4
UPFC
DC link voltage Vdc
Capacitors C
Trans. of series conv.
Trans. of shunt conv.
Input inductor L
Control period Ts

4.
4.1

200 V
40
40
40
288 W
1.17
1.51
0.573
1.13
0.773
2.26
0.410
2.26

Line loss minimization control

60 Hz 3 kVA
24.5 (0.28 pu)
7.54 (0.33 pu)
7.54 (0.33 pu)
(0.10 pu)
(0.088 pu)
(0.113 pu)
(0.043 pu)
(0.085 pu)
(0.055 pu)
(0.170 pu)
(0.031 pu)
(0.170 pu)

120 V
3,000 F
1:5 (system:series)
4:1 (system:shunt)
7.0 mH
204 s

Experimental Results

Configuration of model distribution system

and experimental conditions

Figure 9 shows the configuration of the experimental

system corresponding to the distribution system model in
Fig. 2. The parameters of the experimental distribution system are given in Table 1. The power source was a 200 V, 60
Hz symmetrical three-phase power supply rated at 3 kVA
with the impedances of the loads and lines expressed in the
per unit (pu) system. At node 2, a 288-W distributed generation unit (DG) installed parallel to the load was modeled. It
had a power factor of 1 and its current flowed in the opposite
direction to the system current. A digital signal processor
(TMS320C6713, TI) was used as the UPFC controller. The
controller detected voltages and line currents at all nodes in

36

The experimental results shown in Fig. 10 represent

the values of all line currents, the circulating current Iloop ,
the input current of the shunt power converter Ic , and the
output voltage of the series power converter, detected by
the controller and converted to complex coordinates in
accordance with the phase of the voltage at the point of
connection of the shunt power converter. The period before
T1 is the state before control by the loop controller is applied. In this state, the output voltage of the series power
converter is coerced to zero, the reactive components Icq of
the input current of the shunt power converter are coerced
to zero, and the dc capacitor voltage Vdc is maintained at a
constant value by the active current Icp . The values of the
line currents agree well with the theoretical values before
control given in Table 2.
At time T1 , the series power converter initiates
compensation of the circulating current to Iloop = 0, thus
reducing the line losses due to the circulating current to
zero. Compensation of the circulating current results in a
state in which the active currents in all lines are reduced
to 2.6 A, similar to the theoretical values given in Table
2, and the reactive currents remain almost unchanged. At
that time, the output voltage of the series power converter
is the same as its theoretical value and the voltages Vcp
and Vcq are controlled to values of 8 V and 18 V,
respectively.

Fig. 10. Experimental waveforms. [Color figure can be

viewed in the online issue, which is available at
wileyonlinelibrary.com.]
currents reduces the line losses by Plc = Plq0 Plqc =
10.8 W (0.0036 pu). The loss reduction compared to the
losses before implementation of UPFC control is then equal
to (Pl0 + Plc )(Pl Plp0 ) 100 = 92%, that is, the
lowest possible limit.

Table 2. Theoretical values of line currents and line losses

Before control
Load 1 I1 p , I1q
Load 2 inc. DG I2 p , I1q
Load 3 I3 p , I1q
Load 1 I1 p , I1q
Load 2 I2 p , I1q
Load 3 I3 p , I1q
Load 4 I4 p , I1q
Total line Loss Pl
Control of circulating current compensation
Line 1 I1 p , I1q
Line 2 I2 p , I1q
Line 3 I3 p , I1q
Line 4 I4 p , I1q
Output voltage Vcp , Vcp
Line loss Plp0 , Plq0
Total line loss Pl0
Control of reactive current suppression
Line 1 I1 p , I1q
Line 2 I2 p , I1q
Line 3 I3 p , I1q
Line 4 I4 p , I1q
Input current Icq
Output voltage Vcp , Vcq
Line loss Plpc , Plqc
Total line loss Plc

3.59 A
4.48 A
4.63 A
7.16 A
3.57 A
0.91 A
5.55 A
93.9

2.32 A
2.02 A
1.14 A
2.43 A
0.10 A
1.92 A
3.06 A

(0.414 pu 0.268 pu)

(0.518 pu 0.233 pu)
(0.535 pu 0.132 pu)
(0.826 pu 0.280 pu)
(0.412 pu 0.012 pu)
(0.105 pu 0.222 pu)
(0.640 pu 0.354 pu)
(0.031 pu)

4.57 A
0.98 A
3.50 A
8.14 A
8.08 V
61.1 W
74.5 W

2.34 A
0.02 A
2.00 A
3.14 A
18.33 V
13.4 W

(0.527 pu 0.271 pu)

(0.113 pu 0.002 pu)
(0.404 pu
0.231 pu)
(0.940 pu
0.363 pu)
(0.040 pu
0.092 pu)
(0.020 pu
0.004 pu)
(0.028 pu)

4.57 A
0.98 A
3.50 A
8.14 A

0.00 A
1.62 A
0.40 A
1.55 A
3.94 A
18.33 V
2.6 W

(0.527 pu
0.000 pu)
(0.113 pu 0.187 pu)
(0.940 pu
0.179 pu)
(0.940 pu
0.179 pu)
(0.455 pu)
(0.013 pu
0.092 pu)
(0.020 pu
0.001 pu)
(0.021 pu)

2.57 V
61.1 W
63.8 W

37

The experimental results were obtained by making

power measurements at different points in the system with
digital power meters (4 WT1600 units manufactured by
Yokogawa Electric Co., Ltd.). The losses of the UPFC
power converters and the total line losses are shown in green
and blue, respectively. The measured value of the total line
losses before the application of UPFC control was Pl =
95.8 W and the theoretical value is 93.9 W. The measured
total line losses under compensation of the circulating current (Pl0 ) were 72.2 W and the theoretical value is 74.5 W.
The measured total line losses under reduction of reactive
currents (Plc ) was 62.4 W and the theoretical value is 63.8
W. Thus, all experimental and theoretical values are in good
agreement. During the experiments, losses in power converters were observed. The converter losses before control,
during compensation of the circulating current, and during
suppression of the reactive currents, were 2.9 W, 6.8 W, and
11.9 W, respectively. It is impossible to measure accurately
the total line loss Plpc caused by the active components of
the mesh currents, which corresponds to the theoretically
determined loss reduction ratio of 92% compared to the
losses before UPFC control, but considering that the experimental and theoretical values of the total line losses are
in good agreement, we may assume that the experimental
loss reduction ratio is also consistent with its theoretical
value.

Fig. 11. Comparison of total line loss between

theoretical and experimental results. [Color figure can be
viewed in the online issue, which is available at
wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

At time T2 , control of the reactive current Icq of the

shunt power converter begins to reduce the line losses due
to the reactive currents. The reactive input current of the
shunt power converter is controlled to almost the same
value as the theoretical value given in Table 2 (Icq = 3.9 A),
and although the absolute value of the reactive current in
line 2 is increased, the reactive current in line 1 becomes
I1q = 0 A and the absolute values of the reactive currents
in lines 3 and 4 also become lower. Since all line currents
become lower due to the reduction of the reactive currents,
the output voltage of the series power converter Vcp is
reduced from 8 V to 2.5 V, similar to the theoretical
figure. The output voltage Vcq of the series power converter
is increased from 18 V to 21 V. This happens because as
the input reactive current Icq of the shunt power converter
is increased, the input active current Icp of the shunt power
converter rises from 0 A to 0.5 A.
Figure 11 shows a comparison of the theoretical and
experimental line losses before the application of UPFC
control and after compensation of the circulating current
by the series power converter and reduction of reactive
currents by the shunt power converter.
The theoretical figures are based on the values given
in Table 2, and the line loss unavoidably generated by the
active components of the mesh currents is Plp0 = Plqc =
61.1 W (red) in all cases. The line losses due to the reactive
components of the mesh currents (green) are Plq0 = 13.4
W before the application of UPFC control and during compensation of the circulating current, but when reduction of
the reactive currents is applied, the losses are reduced to
Plqc = 2.6 W. The increase in the line losses due to the
circulating current before the application of UPFC control,
namely, Pl0 (blue), is 19.4 W, as shown earlier.

5.

Conclusions

In this paper we propose a method of line loss minimization control in a loop distribution system and present
a theoretical analysis and experimental verification of line
loss minimization control using a UPFC as the loop controller. First, we point out that there are two types of line
losses in a loop distribution system: losses due to the current
circulating in the loop and losses due to mesh currents flowing only into loads. We also demonstrate that by compensating the circulating current by means of the UPFC, line
losses caused by the circulating current can be reduced to
zero. We have also shown that among the line losses caused
by mesh currents, the line losses due to active currents
cannot be reduced due to the fact that these currents supply
power to the loads, and that in order to minimize the line
losses due to the reactive components of mesh currents, the
input reactive current of the UPFC shunt power converter
can be used. The results of theoretical calculations and
experiments on the minimization of line losses in a model
distribution system are in good agreement, thus attesting to
the effectiveness of the proposed method.
In the future, we plan to investigate the relationship
between the capacity of UPFC power converters and their
locations. We also plan to develop a method of voltage
control in all nodes of loop distribution systems in the loss
reduction state.

38

REFERENCES
7.

1. Kobayashi H. Development trend and subjects of

new distribution network technology. IEEJ Trans PE
2004;124(4):517520. (in Japanese)
2. Okada N, Kurokawa K. Control tests of 6.6 kV-100
kVA BTB type loop power flow controller. IEEJ Trans
PE 2004;125(4):390398. (in Japanese)
3. Gyugyi L. Unified power-flow control concept
for flexible AC transmission systems. IEE Proc-C
1992;139(4).
4. Watanabe Y, Fujita H, Akagi H. Control schemes and
transient characteristics of a high speed phase shifter
for power flow control in power transmission systems.
IEEJ Trans IA 1997;117(11):13271333. (in Japanese)
5. Ueda F, Tsukahara K, Ishibashi C, Yamada Y. Distribution network operation using a 6.6 kV loop controller. Annual Meeting Record IEEJ 2005;7-128:191.
(in Japanese)
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(in Japanese)
Inayoshi N, Sayed MA, Takeshita T, Izohara N, Ueda
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(in Japanese)

AUTHORS (from left to right)

Kazuhei Yamada (student member) received a bachelors degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Nagoya
Institute of Technology in 2010. He completed the M.E. in computer science and engineering at the same institution in 2012
and joined Daikin Kogyo Co., Ltd. His student research dealt with control of power distribution systems.
Takaharu Takeshita (senior member) received a doctoral degree from the Graduate School of Nagoya Institute of
Technology in 1984. In the same year, he became a research associate at Gifu National College of Technology. In 1991, he
moved to Nagoya Institute of Technology, first as an instructor in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,
and then as an associate professor; in 2003 he became a professor (D.Eng.). He is engaged in research on power electronics.
Recognitions: IEEJ Promotion Award (Best Publication) 2002. Member of SICE, the Society of Signal Processing Applications
and Technology of Japan, IEEE.
Yasuyuki Kunii (member) received a bachelors degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Meijo University in
1994 and joined Chubu Electric Power Co., Ltd. He is engaged in research on power quality in power distribution systems.

39

AUTHOR (continued)

Fukashi Ueda (member) completed the M.E. program in electrical engineering at the Graduate School of Chubu University
in 1985 and joined Chubu Electric Power Co., Ltd. In 1993, he entered the doctoral program in electrical engineering at the
Graduate School of Chubu University, completing the course of studies in 1996. He is now affiliated with the Division of
Technology Research and Development of the Institute for Energy Application Technologies, Ltd. He is engaged primarily in
research on power quality in power distribution systems (D.Eng.).

40