Triplen harmonics are the odd multiples of third harmonics. The triplen harmonics orders are 3,9,15,21,. The triplen harmonic frequency is 150Hz,450 Hz,,750Hz etc.
What are Harmonics?
Any nonperiodical waveform has a sinusoidal component and integral multiples of the sinusoidal components. The integral multiples of the sinusoidal component or fundamental components are called harmonics. If the current exactly follows the same waveform as the voltage, the current waveform has only fundamental current, and no harmonics exist.
| Read More: Harmonics in AC circuit |
However, if the current waveform is non-linear to the voltage waveform, the current waveform contains harmonics. The order of harmonics depends on the shape of the current waveform, If the current waveform is symmetrical about the x- axis it does not contain even harmonics and it contains odd harmonics.
The order of harmonics can be categorized as even and odd harmonics. The even harmonic order is 2,4,6, 8, etc., and the odd harmonic order is 3,5,7,9,11, etc. The frequency of harmonics order is;
fn = n x f
Where,
fn = Harmonic frequency
n = Harmonic Order
f = Fundamental frequency
If the fundamental frequency is 50 Hz, the second-order harmonic frequency is 2 x 50 = 100 Hz.
Apart from dividing harmonics into even and odd order, triplen harmonics are another category of harmonic order.
What are Triplen Harmonics?
The odd multiples of third harmonics are triplen harmonics. The order of triplen harmonics orders are 3,9,15,21,.
Triplen Harmonic Sources
Single-phase nonlinear loads, such as computers, printers, or any single-phase electronic equipment, draw nonlinear current from the sinusoidal voltage source and generate substantial third-order harmonics.
Why Triplen Harmonics are Troublesome?
If the single-phase nonlinear loads are connected to the three-phase four-wire system, the triple harmonic current caused by nonlinear loads does not cancel out. Rather, it gets added. If the triplen harmonic current in each phase of the three-phase four-wire system is 1 ampere, the current in the neutral wire will be 3 amperes. Thus, the current flowing in the neutral overheats the conductor.
The third harmonic causes the following adverse effects on the power system.
• Overloading and overheating of neutral conductors (up 173% of phase current).
• Overheating of delta winding in distribution transformers.
• High earth to neutral voltages.
• Distortion of voltage waveform (including ‘flat topping’).
• Poor power factor.