One of the problems caused by an electrical arc furnace (EAF) is voltage fluctuation from the variations of the active and reactive furnace load, which are known as voltage flicker. In this paper, voltage flicker mitigation results by different FACTS devices and energy storage systems (ESS) are presented. The system X/R ratio looking from the point of common coupling, which has a special impact on the effectiveness of active compensation, will be thoroughly discussed. The study has clarified the misunderstanding of how the system X/R ratio should be calculated. The study shows that FACTS with ESS can play a better role than reactive power alone in mitigating EAF voltage flicker.
Electric arc furnace (EAF), voltage flicker mitigation, FACTS devices, energy storage systems
