This Master of Science thesis was written based on the shipbuilder Kockums AB feasibility study regarding the development of an All- Electric Ship for the Swedish Navy. The thesis was aiming at addressing voltage stability issues in a dc system fed by PWM rectifiers operating in parallel when supplying constant power loads. A basic computer model was developed for investigating the influence from various parameters on the system. It was shown that the voltage stability is dependent upon the ability to store energy in large capacitors. It was also shown that a voltage droop must be implemented maintaining load sharing within acceptable limits. Different cases of operation were modelled, faults were discussed, and the principal behaviour of the system during a short-circuit was investigated. It was shown that the short-circuit current is much more limited in this type of system in comparison to an ac system. It was concluded that more research and development regarding the components of the system must be performed.

Les travaux de cette thèse portent sur l’investigation d’approches de commande permettant d’aborder la stabilisation des réseaux électriques continus.En effet les interactions entre les différents éléments du réseau : sources, filtres et charges peuvent conduire à son instabilité. Ces interactions peuvent simplement être mises en évidence au moyen d’un cas d’étude de réseau contenant des charges à puissance constante (CPLs). Pour pallier les problèmes induits par les interconnexion de ces éléments, différentes approches de commande ont été évaluées afin d’assurer la stabilité et maintenir les performances du réseau dans tout son domaine de fonctionnement. La première approche concerne la synthèse par la méthode « backstepping », qui nécessite de reformuler le modèle du réseau sous une structure cascade. Toutefois, selon le moyen d’action disponible, cette approche peut se révéler difficile à mettre en œuvre lorsque plusieurs charges à puissance sont présentes. La deuxième approche fondée sur les méthodes de passivité synthétisant une commande par « injection d’amortissement ». Cette commande permet d’ajouter un amortisseur virtuel aux filtres d’entrée des charges afin de compenser l’effet d’impédance négative introduit par la CPL. Enfin, pour proposer une solution intégrée permettant de mieux répondre à la problématique de la stabilisation du réseau, une approche fondée sur une représentation sous forme multimodèle du système a été étudiée. Cette méthode permet aussi d’envisager la synthèse d’un observateur lorsque l’ensemble du vecteur d’état n’est pas mesuré. Afin de valider et de comparer les performances des différentes méthodes de commande, un réseau électrique DC type caractérisé par deux charges de nature différente et d’un organe de stockage réversible, a été défini où le seul actionneur considéré est l’organe de stockage utilisé ici dans un contexte de stabilisation. / This work investigates control approachs for the stabilization of DC electrical networks. Interactions between different elements of a network i.e, sources, filters and loads may lead to instability. These interactions may be identified by styding a network containing constant power loads (CPLs). To address the problems caused by the interconnection of these elements, different control methods could be evaluated to ensure the stability and maintain network performances throughout its operating range. The first approach uses « backstepping »method, which requiers cascade structure models. However, according to available control input, this approach may be difficult to implement when multiple power loads are present. The second approach is based on passivity theory using « damping injection » control. This control law adds a virtual damper to the input filter loads in order to compensate the negative impedance effect introduced by the CPL. Finally, in order to provide an integrated solution for the problem of network stabilization, an approach based on multiple model representation of the system was investigated. This method also allows to consider the design of an observer when the entire state vector is not measured. To validate and compare the performance of different control methods, a DC electrical network characterized by two loads of different natures and a reversible storage device was defined. The storage device is the only control input considered for the stabilization.

A DC power distribution system (PDS) of a transport aircraft was modeled and analyzed using MATLAB/Simulink software. The multi-level modeling concept was used as a modeling approach, which assumes modeling subsystem of the PDS at three different levels of complexity. The subsystem models were implemented in Simulink and combined into the whole PDS model according to certain interconnection rules. Effective modeling of different scenarios of operation was achieved by mixing subsystem models of different levels in one PDS model. Linearized models were obtained from the nonlinear PDS model for stability analysis and control design. The PDS model was used to examine the system stability and the DC bus power quality under bidirectional power flow conditions. Small-signal analysis techniques were employed to study stability issues resulting from subsystem interactions. The DC bus stability diagram was proposed for predicting stability of the PDS with different types of loads without performing an actual stability test based on regular stability analysis tools. Certain PDS configurations and operational scenarios leading to instability were identified. An analysis of energy transfer in the PDS showed that a large energy storage capacitor in the input filter of a flight control actuator is effective for reduction of the DC bus voltage disturbances produced by regenerative action of the actuator. However, energy storage capacitors do not provide energy savings in the PDS and do not increase its overall efficiency. / Master of Science

Ce mémoire est consacré à l'étude du phénomène d'instabilité pouvant apparaître sur les bus continus des réseaux DC. En effet, l'interaction entre les différents sous-systèmes électriques (source, charge, filtre) composant le réseau DC peut conduire, sous certaines conditions, à l'instabilité du système. A partir de la modélisation des charges sous forme de "Charge à Puissance Constante" (notée CPL), des méthodes d'études permettant l'analyse de la stabilité "petit-signal" et "grand-signal" des systèmes électriques sont présentées. Celles-ci permettent de mettre en évidence le fait qu'un réseau DC ne peut pas fournir n'importe quelle puissance à ses charges sans devenir instable. Ces puissances limites dépendent à la fois de la structure du réseau et des valeurs de ses éléments passifs et de sa tension de bus. Afin de pouvoir augmenter l'amortissement/les marges de stabilité du système, des méthodes de stabilisation sont présentées dans ce mémoire. Elles proposent d'adapter les commandes des charges de manière à assurer sa stabilité. Ceci se fait grâce à l'addition d'un signal stabilisant sur la référence de chaque charge. Ce signal n'est visible que durant les régimes transitoires de la charge afin de ne pas modifier le point de fonctionnement demandé. Néanmoins, plus on voudra stabiliser une charge et plus son signal stabilisant sera important. Un bon compromis doit donc être trouvé afin d'assurer la stabilité du système sans altérer les performances dynamiques des charges. Deux approches différentes sont proposées afin de générer ces commandes stabilisantes. La première se base sur la mise en place d'un stabilisateur centralisé. Deux méthodes centralisées sont alors proposées : la première s'appuie sur la théorie des multimodèles de Takagi-Sugeno alors que la seconde s'appuie sur la théorie de Lyapunov. Cette dernière permettra d'orienter les efforts de stabilisation sur les charges souhaitées pour par exemple, les diriger principalement vers les organes de récupération d'énergie. La seconde approche se base sur la mise en place d'un système de stabilisation multi-agent. Celui-ci présente une structure décentralisée où chaque agent correspond à un bloc de stabilisation. Ceux-ci vont compenser localement les impacts déstabilisants de leur charge respective et leurs actions combinées permettront d'assurer la stabilité du système. De plus, on propose d'utiliser un algorithme d'optimisation sous contraintes qui permettra de donner un dimensionnement du système minimisant les efforts de stabilisation tout en considérant des cas de défaut tels que la perte de l'un des agents ou la reconfiguration du réseau / This thesis is devoted to the analysis of the instability phenomenon that may appear on the DC bus of DC microgrids. Indeed, interaction between the different electrical subsystems of the grid (source, load, filters) can lead, under certain conditions, to the system instability. From the "Constant Power Load" (CPL) hypothesis for the loads, this thesis presents studying methods for "small-signal" and "large-signal" stability analysis of electrical systems. This highlights that a DC microgrid cannot power the loads more than a maximum limit without becoming unstable. This power limitation depends on the structure of the grid, the value of its passive components, and its bus voltage. In order to improve the microgrid stability, stabilization methods are presented in this thesis. They propose to adapt the loads control to ensure the system stability. This is achieved by the addition of a stabilizing signal to the reference of each load. This signal is only visible during the load power transient mode to not change the requested operating point. However, a good trade-off must be found to ensure system stability without affecting the dynamic performance of its loads. Two approaches are investigated to generate the stabilizing commands. The first one is based on the establishment of a centralized stabilization block. Two centralized methods have been developed: the first one is based on the Takagi-Sugeno theory while the second is based on the Lyapunov theory. This latest permits to guide the stabilizing effort on the desired loads. For example, stabilizing effort can be oriented on the energy storage device. The second approach is based on the establishment of a multi-agent stabilizing system. It consists of a decentralized structure in which each agent corresponds to a stabilization block. These will locally compensate the destabilizing impact of their respective load on the microgrid, and their combined actions ensure the system stability. To design the system, the use of a constrained optimization algorithm is proposed. This permits to minimize stabilization efforts while considering faulty events such as the failure of one of the agents or a reconfiguration of the microgrid

Voltage instability is a major concern in operation of power systems and it is well known that voltage instability and collapse have led to blackout or abnormally low voltages in a significant part of the power system. Consequently, tracking the proximity of the power system to an insecure voltage condition has become an important element of any protection and control scheme. The expected time until instability is a critical aspect. There are a few energy management systems including voltage stability analysis function in the real-time environment of control centres, these are based on assumptions (such as off-line models of the system loads) that may lead the system to an insecure operation and/or poor utilization of the resources. Voltage instability is driven by the load dynamics, and investigations have shown that load restoration due to the on-load tap changer (OLTC) action is the main cause of the voltage instability. However, the aggregate loads seen from bulk power delivery transformers are still the most uncertain power system components, due to the uncertainty of the participation of individual loads and shortcomings of the present approaches in the load modeling. In order to develop and implement a true on-line voltage stability analysis method, the on-line accurate modeling of the higher voltage (supply system) and the lower voltage level (aggregate load) based on the local measurements is required. In this research, using the changes in the load bus measured voltage and current, novel methods are developed to estimate the supply system equivalent and to identify load parameters. Random changes in the load voltage and current are processed to estimate the supply system Thevenin impedance and the composite load components are identified in a peeling process using the load bus data changes during a large disturbance in the system. The results are then used to anticipate a possible long-term voltage instability caused by the on-load tap changer operation following the disturbance. Work on the standard test system is provided to validate the proposed methods. The findings in this research are expected to provide a better understanding of the load dynamics role in the voltage stability, and improve the reliability and economy of the system operation by making it possible to decrease uncertainty in security margins and determine accurately the transfer limits.