Harmonic Distortion; Nondistorted Current Waveform - Electro Industries Shark 200 Installation & Operation Manual

1: Three-Phase Power Measurement
where  is the angle between the voltage and the current (see Fig. 1.9).
In applications where the voltage and current are not distorted, the Total Power Factor
will equal the Displacement Power Factor. But if harmonic distortion is present, the
two power factors will not be equal.

1.4: Harmonic Distortion

Harmonic distortion is primarily the result of high concentrations of non-linear loads.
Devices such as computer power supplies, variable speed drives and fluorescent light
ballasts make current demands that do not match the sinusoidal waveform of AC
electricity. As a result, the current waveform feeding these loads is periodic but not
sinusoidal. Figure 1.10 shows a normal, sinusoidal current waveform. This example
has no distortion.
1000
500
0 Time
– 500
– 1000
Figure 1.10: Nondistorted Current Waveform
Figure 1.11 shows a current waveform with a slight amount of harmonic distortion.
The waveform is still periodic and is fluctuating at the normal 60 Hz frequency.
However, the waveform is not a smooth sinusoidal form as seen in Figure 1.10.
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Electro Industries/GaugeTech Doc E149701 1-14
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