published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

The demand for electrical energy in industrialised countries continues to increase steadily. As a result of this growing demand for electrical energy, there is a need for optimisation of the power system in terms of transmission and control. One option could possibly be an increase in transmission facilities to handle the increase in growth; however factors such as environmental issues as well as the possible cost incurred could hamper this particular approach. An alternative resides in loading the existing transmission network beyond its present operating region but below its thermal limit, which would ensure no degradation of the system. For this approach to be realised, improved control of the flow of power in an interconnected network would be advantageous so as to prevent unwanted loop flows and inadvertent overloading of certain lines. This approach can be made possible by the use of Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) technology. The concept of FACTS incorporates power-electronic compensation devices that can be typically used in an ac power system to enhance the system's power transfer and controllability. There exists a number of FACTS devices, where each device can be utilised differently to achieve the broad objective. One such device is the Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC). The TCSC is a class of FACTS device that makes it possible to alter the net impedance of a particular transmission line in an effort to force the flow of power along a "contract path". This thesis identifies, in the published literature, a set of strategies for the scheduling of power flow by use of variable compensation; such strategies are then considered in more detail in the analysis of the thesis. Firstly, a detailed dynamic model of a TCSC is developed together with its various controls and associated circuitry within the power systems simulation package PSCAD. In addition to this, a power flow controller scheme is then implemented, which exhibits the functionality of the power flow controller strategies reviewed in the literature. In order to test the validity and operation of the TCSC model as well as the analysis of the power flow controller scheme, a single-machine infinite bus (SMIB) study system model is developed and used as part of the investigation. This thesis, firstly, presents a theoretical analysis of two particular modes of power flow control in an interconnected ac transmission system. Secondly it confirms the results of an analytical study in previously published work with the implementation of the two control modes, and further extends the scope of the previous study by examining the impact of the power flow controller's design on the small-signal and transient stability characteristics of the study system. The key findings of this extended investigation are that the power flow controller's mode of operation has an important influence on both small-signal and transient stability characteristics of a power system: in partiCUlar, it is shown that one mode can be detrimental while the other beneficial to both system damping and first swing stability. Finally, the thesis applies the understanding of the power flow controller's operation obtained from the SMIB study system to the problem of inter-area mode oscillations on a well-known, two-area, multi-:generator study system. Real-time simulator results are presented to exhibit the effect of the power flow controller modes and controller design on the oscillatory characteristics of the two-area study system. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005

The advent of electricity market deregulation has placed great emphasis on the availability of information, the analysis of this information, and the subsequent decision-making to optimize system operation in a competitive environment. This creates a need for better ways of correlating the market activity with the physical grid operating states in real time and sharing such information among market participants. Choices of command and control actions may result in different financial consequences for market participants and severely impact their profits. This work provides a solution, the Intelligent Economic Alarm Processor to be implemented in a control center to assist the grid operator in rapidly identifying the faulted sections and market operation management. The task of fault section estimation is difficult when multiple faults, failures of protection devices, and false data are involved. A Fuzzy Reasoning Petri-nets approach has been proposed to tackle the complexities. In this approach, the fuzzy reasoning starting from protection system status data and ending with estimation of faulted power system section is formulated by Petri-nets. The reasoning process is implemented by matrix operations. Next, in order to better feed the FRPN model with more accurate inputs, the failure rates of the protections devices are analyzed. A new approach to assess the circuit breaker’s life cycle or deterioration stages using its control circuit data is introduced. Unlike the traditional “mean time” criteria, the deterioration stages have been mathematically defined by setting up the limits of various performance indices. The model can be automatically updated as the new real-time condition-based data become available to assess the CB’s operation performance using probability distributions. The economic alarm processor module is discussed in the end. This processor firstly analyzes the fault severity based on the information retrieved from the fault section estimation module, and gives the changes in the LMPs, total generation cost, congestion revenue etc. with electricity market schedules and trends. Then some suggested restorative actions are given to optimize the overall system benefit. When market participants receive such information in advance, they make estimation about the system operator's restorative action and their competitors' reaction to it.

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ABSTRACT Voltage instability has become a major concern in power systems. Many blackouts have been reported where the main cause is voltage instability. This thesis deals with two specific areas of voltage stability in on-line power system security assessments: small-disturbance (long-term) and large-disturbance (short-term) voltage stability assessment. For each category of voltage stability, both voltage stability analysis and controls are studied. The overall objective is to use the learning capabilities of computational intelligence technology to build up the comprehensive on-line power system security assessment and control strategy as well as to enhance the speed and efficiency of the process with minimal human intervention. The voltage stability problems are quantified by voltage stability indices which measure the system for the closeness of current operating point to voltage instability. The indices are different for small-disturbance and large-disturbance voltage stability assessment. Conventional approaches, such as continuation power flow or time-domain simulation, can be used to obtain voltage stability indices. However, these conventional approaches are limited by computation time that is significant for on-line computation. The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approach is proposed to compute voltage stability indices as an alternative to the conventional approaches. The proposed ANN algorithm is used to estimate voltage stability indices under both normal and contingency operating conditions. The input variables of ANN are obtained in real-time by an on-line measurement system, i.e. Phasor Measurement Units (PMU). This thesis will propose a suboptimal approach for seeking the best locations for PMUs from a voltage stability viewpoint. The ANN-based method is not limited to compute voltage stability indices but can also be extended to determine suitable control actions. Load shedding is one of the most effective approaches against short-term voltage instability under large disturbances. The basic requirement of load shedding for recovering voltage stability is to seek an optimal solution for when, where, and how much load should be shed. Two simulation based approaches, particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and sensitivity based algorithm, are proposed for load shedding to prevent voltage instability or collapse. Both approaches are based on time-domain simulation.

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This thesis describes a novel harmonic domain approach for assessing the steady state performance of Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices. Existing harmonic analysis techniques are reviewed and used as the basis for a novel iterative harmonic domain model for PWM FACTS devices. The unified Newton formulation adopted uses a combination of positive frequency real valued harmonic and three-phase fundamental frequency power-flow mismatches to characterise a PWM converter system. A dc side mismatch formulation is employed in order to reduce the solution size, something only possible because of the hard switched nature of PWM converters. This computationally efficient formulation permits the study of generalised systems containing multiple FACTS devices. This modular PWM converter block is applied to series, shunt and multi-converter FACTS topologies, with a variety of basic control schemes. Using a three-phase power-flow initialisation and a fixed harmonic Jacobian provides robust convergence to a solution consistent with time domain simulation. By including the power-flow variables in the full harmonic solution the model avoids unnecessary assumptions regarding a fixed (or linearised) operating point, fully modelling system imbalance and the associated non-characteristic harmonics. The capability of the proposed technique is illustrated by considering a range of harmonic interaction mechanisms, both within and between FACTS devices. In particular, the impact of transmission network modelling and operating point variation is investigated with reference to ac and dc side harmonic interaction. The minor role harmonic distortion and over-modulation play in the PWM switching process is finally considered with reference to the associated reduction in system linearity.