Improved production and extended plant lifetime in a textile factory

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 drive-controlled motors. Poor power quality may damage the system and cause production failure. It’s been studied, that the losses caused by power quality are significantly high, around 15% of the annual net profit of the textile industry.

Challenges in the customer’s textile plant

Most of the production machines at the textile factory are equipped with low-voltage 6-pulse Variable Frequency Drives (VFD), which are one of the key contributors to high harmonic distortions. Close to 90% of the overall factory loads consist of Variable Frequency Drives and other non-linear 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, the lifetime of capacitor banks was significantly reduced, and overheating of the transformer and cables of the factory was also recorded.

Our Merus^® Solution

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 its 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 the 5^th, 7^th, and 9^th orders.

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 Harmonic Filter was configured to selectable mode. In this mode, it is possible to flexibly choose which harmonics are to be canceled and how much.

Results after installation

With Merus^® A2-series Active Harmonic Filter, the harmonic cancellation response created by IGBT-based power electronics technology proved very effective and brought elevated harmonic distortion levels below the maximum limits specified by IEEE 519 power quality standard. High individual harmonics are now negligible as well.

Plant operations now run smoothly, without unexpected downtimes. Lifetime for electronic cards was restored to normal levels, creating a positive impact on production. The transformer and cables are no longer heating up excessively and other plant components are expected to meet their lifetime expectations.