Audible Noise Characteristics of Filter Capacitors Used in HVDC Converter Stations

This paper presents a detailed investigation of audible noise characterization of filter capacitors by investigating the noise radiation characteristics and analyzing the effect of voltage frequency, phase angle, and magnitude on a single capacitor unit. First, the noise radiation for capacitor surfaces was characterized theoretically using finite rectangular plate model and experimentally measured in a semianechoic room. Second, voltage frequency impact on the noise distribution was investigated through simulation. The simulation results show that noise directivity increases with increasing frequency. The excitation frequency impact on the radiation ratio and the noise level was characterized through a sweep-frequency experiment. Our investigations show that the noise frequency response below 500 Hz is quite low, while from 500 to 2000 Hz, it is significant and increases slowly. Third, the impact of the voltage phase angle on the noise level was investigated. The results show a noise-level difference of 3.9 dB for different phase angles. Finally, we present the voltage magnitude impact on the noise level. Our theoretical analysis and experimental study show a linear relationship between the sound power level and the logarithm of the voltage magnitude with a slope of 40.