IEC 60633:2019

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission - Vocabulary

IEC 60633:2019

Name:IEC 60633:2019   Standard name:High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission - Vocabulary
Standard number:IEC 60633:2019   language:English language
Release Date:24-Apr-2019   technical committee:SC 22F - Power electronics for electrical transmission and distribution systems
Drafting committee:MT 13 - TC 22/SC 22F/MT 13   ICS number:01 - GENERALITIES. TERMINOLOGY. STANDARDIZATION. DOCUMENTATION

IEC 60633
Edition 3.0 2019-04
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
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inside
Terminology for High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission – Vocabulary





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IEC 60633
Edition 3.0 2019-04
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Terminology for High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission – Vocabulary

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 29.200 ISBN 978-2-8322-6878-0

– 2 – IEC 60633:2019 RLV © IEC 2019
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Symbols and abbreviated terms . 5
3.1 Letter symbols . 5
3.2 Subscripts . 6
3.3 Abbreviated terms . 6
4 Graphical symbols . 6
5 General terms related to converter circuits . 7
6 Converter units and valves . 9
7 Converter operating conditions . 13
8 HVDC systems and substations . 17
9 HVDC substation equipment . 20
10 Modes of control . 24
11 Control systems . 25
12 Control functions . 27
Bibliography . 39

Figure 1 – Graphical symbols . 29
Figure 2 – Bridge converter connection . 29
Figure 3 – Example of a converter unit . 30
Figure 4 – Commutation process at rectifier and inverter modes of operation . 31
Figure 5 – Illustrations of commutation in inverter operation . 32
Figure 6 – Typical valve voltage waveforms . 33
Figure 7 – Example of an HVDC substation . 34
Figure 8 – Example of bipolar two-terminal HVDC transmission system . 35
Figure 9 – Example of a multiterminal bipolar HVDC transmission system with parallel
connected HVDC substations . 35
Figure 10 – Example of a multiterminal HVDC transmission system with series
connected HVDC substations . 36
Figure 11 – Simplified steady-state voltage-current characteristic of a two-terminal
HVDC system . 36
Figure 12 – Hierarchical structure of an HVDC control system . 37
Figure 13 – Capacitor commutated converter configurations . 38

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
TERMINOLOGY FOR HIGH-VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT
(HVDC) TRANSMISSION – VOCABULARY

FOREWORD
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– 4 – IEC 60633:2019 RLV © IEC 2019
International Standard IEC 60633 has been prepared by subcommittee 22F: Power electronics
for electrical transmission and distribution systems, of IEC technical committee 22: Power
electronic systems and equipment.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 1998,
Amendment 1:2009 and Amendment 2:2015. This edition constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) 40 terms and definitions have been amended and 31 new terms and definitions have been
added mainly on converter units and valves, converter operating conditions, HVDC
systems and substations and HVDC substation equipment;
b) a new Figure 13 on capacitor commutated converter configurations has been added.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
CDV Report on voting
22F/480/CDV 22F/491A/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to
the specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
IMPORTANT – The “colour inside” logo on the cover page of this publication indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct understanding
of its contents. Users should therefore print this publication using a colour printer.
The contents of the corrigendum of February 2020 have been included in this copy.

TERMINOLOGY FOR HIGH-VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT
(HVDC) TRANSMISSION – VOCABULARY

1 Scope
This document defines terms for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission
systems and for HVDC substations using electronic power converters for the conversion from
AC to DC or vice versa.
This document is applicable to HVDC substations with line commutated converters, most
commonly based on three-phase bridge (double way) connections (see Figure 2) in which
unidirectional electronic valves, for example semiconductor valves, are used. For the thyristor
valves, only the most important definitions are included in this document. A more
comprehensive list of HVDC valve terminology is given in IEC 60700-2.
2 Normative references
The following normative documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text,
constitute provisions of this International Standard. At the time of publication, the editions
indicated were valid. All normative documents are subject to revision, and parties to
agreements based on this International Standard are encouraged to investigate the possibility
of applying the most recent editions of the normative documents indicated below. Members of
IEC and ISO maintain registers of currently valid International Standards.
IEC 60027 (all parts), Letter symbols to be used in electrical technology
IEC 60050-551:1998, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary – Part 551: Power electronics
IEC 60146-1-1:1991, General requirements and line commutated convertors – Part 1-1:
Specifications of basic requirements
IEC 60617-5:1996, Graphical symbols for diagrams – Part 5: Semiconductors and electron
tubes
IEC 60617-6:1996, Graphical symbols for diagrams – Part 6: Production and conversion of
electrical energy
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Symbo
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