In order to reduce the harmonic content of working current when the magnetically controlled reactor (MCR) compensates for reactive power

a new method of suppressing the harmonic wave of MCR is proposed. The method utilizes the peculiar working mode of MCR by adding harmonic voltage to the low voltage DC control winding to generate specific harmonic flux to offset the nonlinear effects of magnetization curve due to the core of MCR becoming saturated after normal work. Thus the current generated in each branch of the working winding will not contain the corresponding harmonic current and is able to effectively suppress the harmonic generation of the total current till the harmonic content in the total working current is extremely low. At the same time

this design combines the DC control voltage regulation of the MCR control winding and harmonic voltage generation control

achieving a DC control power supply with dual effect. So it has the advantage of low voltage controlling high voltage

small capacity controlling large capacity in terms of DC controlling AC and harmonic suppression. The feasibility and effectiveness of the method is proved by theoretical analysis and experimental simulation. This work is supported by National Key Technology Research and Development Program of China (No. 2007BAA12B03).