Improved power quality in Turkish textile spinning factory

“We are very satisfied with Merus^® Active Harmonic Filters. After installing the Merus^® Solution, the overall power quality significantly improved in our facility and we noticed a major reduction in electronic cards burning and overheating of the transformer.” – Energy Manager – Balsuyu Textile Mills

Challenges in the customer’s textile factory

Balsuyu textile plant manufactures yarn with a production capacity of 45-50 tons/day. Balsuyu textile plant is part of a bigger Balsuyu group, which also carries out activities in metal, energy, and several other sectors. Spinning processes at the textile factory were fed by a single transformer, sized at 2500 VA. A large number of AC drives with small ratings were feeding all the spinning machines, such as carding, ring frame, auto cone, and simplex. The factory was experiencing failure of Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) and Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) modules, overheating of the transformers, and burning of the electronic cards.

A power quality audit at the site was recommended and carried out by Merus Power’s local partner, ST Tekno. The audit revealed an extremely distorted waveform. The average Total Current Harmonic Distortion (THDi%) was recorded at approx. 37% whereas the maximum THDi% was touching approx. 50%. Total Voltage Harmonic Distortion (THDv%) was also reaching 10%.

Our Merus^® Solution

Safe operation of the electrical equipment, which operated with such poor power quality, cannot be guaranteed and explains the issues faced by the customer. Merus Power’s technical team reviewed the power quality report shared by ST Tekno and sized a Merus^® Active Harmonic Filtering solution to bring both the voltage and the current distortions under desired limits.

A compact Merus^® A2-series Active Harmonic Filtering module with IP20 protection was shipped from the factory and was integrated into a cabinet by ST Tekno locally. The solution was installed parallel to the loads in a closed-loop configuration. Merus^® Active Harmonic Filtering solution was commissioned in a selectable harmonic mitigation mode which was configured via the HMI.

Results after installation

After commissioning the Merus^® Active Harmonic Filtering solution, post-commissioning measurements were carried out by ST Tekno to validate the performance of the solution. These measurements confirmed excellent performance, with total current harmonic distortions minimized to under 5%. Voltage harmonics were also brought below the desired limits.

By feeding the electrical equipment with pure sinusoidal waveform, the problems associated with poor power quality such as the burning of electronic cards, the reduced life of electrical equipment, and the overheating of transformers were successfully solved.