Simulation and Experimental Study on Harmonic Optimization of Magnetically Controlled Reactor Based on Multistage Saturated Magnetic Valve Structure

The magnetically controlled reactor adjusts its output capacity based on the principle of magnetic saturation. Due to the iron core working in the saturated region, higher harmonics will be generated in the working current. A large number of harmonics will affect the power quality and safety of the power system. This study derives the expression for the harmonic content of a magnetically controlled reactor with a multistage saturated magnetic valve core structure. The magnetization curves of different iron core structures can be obtained through expressions. This study used different magnetization curves for simulations of magnetically controlled reactors. The suppression effect of the multilevel magnetic valve structure on harmonics was analyzed through simulation results. A prototype of a magnetically controlled reactor with a two-stage magnetic valve structure was manufactured, and dynamic response tests were conducted. The experimental results show that the harmonic content in the working current of the magnetically controlled reactor with a two-stage magnetic valve structure is less than 2%, which is much smaller than the harmonic content of ordinary magnetically controlled reactors in the past. This article verifies the suppression effect of the improved magnetic valve structure on harmonics through experiments.