Frequency dynamics is one of the most important signals of a power system, and it is an indicator of imbalance between generation and load in the system. The Internet-based real-time GPS-synchronized wide-area Frequency Monitoring Network (FNET) was proposed to provide imperative frequency dynamics information for a variety of system-wide monitoring, analysis and control applications. The implementation of FNET has for the first time made the synchronized observation of the entire U.S. power network possible with very little cost. The FNET is comprised of many Frequency Disturbance Recorders (FDR) geographically dispersed throughout the U.S. and an Information Management System (IMS), currently located at Virginia Tech. The FDR works as a sensor, which performs local measurements and transmits calculations of frequency, voltage magnitude and voltage angle to the remote servers via the Internet. Compared with its commercial counterpart Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU), FDR provides less expensive version for networked high-resolution real-time synchronized. The improved single phase algorithm in the FDRs made it possible to measure at 110V level which is much more challenging than PMUs due to the noise involved at this level. This research work presents the challenges and issues of both software and hardware design for the novel measurement device FDR, which is one of the devices with the highest dynamic precision for power system frequency measurement. The DFT-based Phasor Angle Analysis algorithm has been improved to make sure the high-resolution measuring FDRs are installed at residential voltage outlets, instead of substation high-voltage inputs. An embedded 12-channel timing GPS receiver has been integrated to provide an accurate timing synchronization signal, UTC time stamp, and unit location. This research work also addresses the harmonics, voltage swing and other noise components' impacts on the measurement results, and the optimized design of filters and a coherent sampling scheme to reduce or eliminate those impacts. The verification test results show that the frequency measurement accuracy of the FDR is within +/-0.0005Hz, and the time synchronization error is within +/-500ns with suitable GPS antenna installation. The preliminary research results show the measurement accuracy and real-time performance of the FDR are satisfactory for a variety of FNET applications, such as disturbance identification and event location triangulation. / Ph. D.

Frequency monitoring network (FNET) is an Internet based GPS synchronized wide-area frequency monitoring network deployed at distribution level. At first part of this thesis, FNET structure and characteristics are introduced. After analysis and smoothing FDR signals, the algorithm of event trigger is present with Visual C++ DLL programming. Estimation of disturbance location method is discussed based on the time delay of arriving (TDOA) in the second part of this work. In this section, author shows the multiply method to calculate event time, which is important when deal with pre-disturbance frequency in TDOA part. Two event kinds are classified by the change of frequency and the linear relationship between change of frequency and imbalance of generation and load power is presented. Prove that Time Delay of Arrival (TDOA) is a good algorithm for estimation event location proved by real cases. At last, the interface of DLL module and the key word to import and export DLL variables and function is described. At last, PSS compensation optimization with a set of nonlinear differential algebraic equations (DAE) is introduced in detail. With combining the bifurcation theory of nonlinear system and the optimization theory, the optimal control of small-signal stability of power electric systems are solved. From the perspective of stability margin, global coordination of controller parameters is studied to ensure the stable operation of power grids. The main contents of this thesis include: ï¼ 1ï¼ Models of power systems and test power electric systems. Tht5e dynamic and static models of the elements of power systems, such as generatorbbs, AVRs, PSSs, loads and FACTS controllers are presented. Method of power system linearization modeling is introduced. Three test power systems, WSCC 9-bus system, 2-area system, New England 39-bus system, are used in thesis. ï¼ 2ï¼ Multi-objective optimizations based on bifurcation theory. The optimization models, damping control-Hopf bifurcation control, voltage control-damping control, are presented. Pareto combined with evolutionary strategy (ES) are used to solve multi-objective optimizations. Based on traditional PSS parameters optimizations, it can be formulated as a multi-objective problem, in which, two objectives should be taken into account. The minimum damping torque should be identified. / Master of Science

This study selects several new advanced topics in power systems, and verifies their usefulness using the simulation. In the study on ratio of the equivalent reactance and resistance of the bulk power systems, the simulation results give us the more correct value of X/R of the bulk power system, which can explain why the active power compensation is also important in voltage flicker mitigation. In the application study of the Energy Storage System(ESS) to the wind power, the new model implementation of the ESS connected to the wind power is proposed, and the control effect of ESS to the intermittency of the wind power is verified. Also this study conducts the intensive simulations for clarifying the behavior of the wide-area power system frequency as well as the possibility of the on-line instability detection. In our POWER IT Laboratory, since 2003, the U.S. national frequency monitoring network (FNET) has been being continuously operated to monitor the wide-area power system frequency in the U.S. Using the measured frequency data, the event of the power system is triggered, and its location and scale are estimated. This study also looks for the possibility of using the simulation technologies to contribute the applications of FNET, finds similarity of the event detection orders between the frequency measurements and the simulations in the U.S. Eastern power grid, and develops the new methodology for estimating the event location based on the simulated N-1 contingencies using the frequency measurement. It has been pointed out that the simulation results can not represent the actual response of the power systems due to the inevitable limit of modeling power systems and different operating conditions of the systems at every second. However, in the circumstances that we need to test such an important infrastructure supplying the electric energy without taking any risk of it, the software based simulation will be the best solution to verify the new technologies in power system engineering and, for doing this, new models and better application of the simulation should be proposed. Conducting extensive simulation studies, this dissertation verified that the actual X/R ratio of the bulk power systems is much lower than what has been known as its typical value, showed the effectiveness of the ESS control to mitigate the intermittence of the wind power from the perspective of the power grid using the newly proposed simulation model of ESS connected to the wind power, and found many characteristics of the wide-area frequency wave propagation. Also the possibility of using the simulated responses of the power system for replacing the measured data could be confirmed and this is very promising to the future application of the simulation to the on-line analysis of the power systems based on the FNET measurements. / Ph. D.

Wide Area Measurements (WAMs) have been widely used in the energy management system (EMS) of power system for monitoring, operation and control. In recent years, the advent of synchronized Phasor Measurements Unit (PMU) has added another dimension to the field of wide-area measurement. However, the high cost of the PMU, which includes the manufacture and deployment fee, is a hurdle to the wide use of the PMU in power systems. Unlike traditional PMUs, the frequency monitoring network (FNET) developed by the Virginia Tech Power IT lab is an Internet—based, GPS—synchronized, wide-area frequency monitoring network deployed at the distribution level, providing a low-cost and easily deployable WAMs solution. In this dissertation, the research work can be categorized into two parts: FNET Design and Situation Awareness Algorithm Development. / Ph. D.

Classically, wide-area synchronized power system monitoring has been an expensive task requiring significant investment in utility communications infrastructures for the service of relatively few costly sensors. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the viability of power system monitoring from very low voltage levels (120 V). Challenging the accepted norms in power system monitoring, the document will present the use of inexpensive GPS time synchronized sensors in mass numbers at the distribution level. In the past, such low level monitoring has been overlooked due to a perceived imbalance between the required investment and the usefulness of the resulting deluge of information. However, distribution level monitoring offers several advantages over bulk transmission system monitoring. First, practically everyone with access to electricity also has a measurement port into the electric power system. Second, internet access and GPS availability have become pedestrian commodities providing a communications and synchronization infrastructure for the transmission of low-voltage measurements. Third, these ubiquitous measurement points exist in an interconnected fashion irrespective of utility boundaries. This work offers insight into which parameters are meaningful to monitor at the distribution level and provides applications that add unprecedented value to the data extracted from this level. System models comprising the entire Eastern Interconnection are exploited in conjunction with a bounty of distribution level measurement data for the development of wide-area disturbance detection, classification, analysis, and location routines. The main contributions of this work are fivefold: the introduction of a novel power system disturbance detection algorithm; the development of a power system oscillation damping analysis methodology; the development of several parametric and non-parametric power system disturbance location methods, new methods of power system phenomena visualization, and the proposal and mapping of an online power system event reporting scheme. / Ph. D.