This thesis investigates the effects of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) lines andmulti-terminal grids on power system small-disturbance stability in the presence ofoperational uncertainties. The main outcome of this research is the comprehensiveprobabilistic assessment of the stability improvements that can be achieved through theuse of supplementary damping control applied to HVDC systems.Power systems are increasingly operated closer to stability boundaries in order toimprove their efficiency and economic value whilst a growing number of conventionalcontrolled power plants are being replaced by stochastic renewable generation sources.The resulting uncertainty in conditions can increase the risk of operational stabilityconcerns and should be thoroughly evaluated. There is also a growing necessity toexplore the potential improvements and challenges created by the introduction of newequipment, such as HVDC systems. In recent years, HVDC systems have become moreeconomically competitive and increasingly flexible, resulting in a proliferation ofprojects. Although primarily installed for power transmission purposes, their flexibilityand controllability can provide further benefits, such as the damping of persistentoscillations in the interconnected networks.This work contributes to a number of areas of power systems research, specificallysurrounding the effects of HVDC systems on the small-disturbance stability oftransmission networks. The application and comprehensive assessment of a Wide AreaMeasurement System (WAMS) based damping controller with various HVDC systemsis completed. The studies performed on a variety of HVDC technology types andconfigurations – as well as differing AC test networks – demonstrate the potential forHVDC-based Power Oscillation Damping (POD). These studies include examinationsof previously unexplored topics such as the effects of available modulation capacity andthe use of voltage source converter multi-terminal HVDC grids for POD. Followingthese investigations, a methodology to probabilistically test the robustness of HVDC based damping controllers is developed. This methodology makes use of classificationtechniques to identify possible mitigation options for power system operators whenperformance is sub-optimal. To reduce the high computational burden associated withthis methodology, the Probabilistic Collocation Method (PCM) is developed in order toefficiently identify the statistical distributions of critical system modes in the presenceof uncertainties. Methods of uncertain parameter reduction based on eigenvaluesensitivity are developed and demonstrated to ensure accurate results when the PCM isused with large test systems. Finally, the concepts and techniques introduced within thethesis are combined to probabilistically design a WAMS-based POD controller morerobust to operational uncertainties. The use of the PCM during the probabilistic designresults in rapid and robust synthesis of HVDC-based POD controllers.

With rapid depletion of fossil fuels and increasing environmental concerns, the trend to capture renewable energy, especially through wind energy resources, is increasing. The doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is the most widely used generator for wind energy conversion because of its various advantages over other types of generators. In a DFIG, the rotor is fed through back to back converters via slip rings. The converters enable the generation control. This control property can be used to support reliable operation of a grid network system. Interarea oscillation has been a major factor in limiting power transfers in interconnected power systems. Poorly damped modes can trigger oscillatory instability, potentially leading to cascading blackouts in such systems. We consider a two-area system where DFIG based wind generation is integrated with conventional synchronous generators. A simple controller is proposed for the DFIG to improve damping of interarca oscillations. To support the proposition, case studies are conducted in Matlab/Simulink. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is then analyzed by eigenvalue analysis and verified with time domain simulation results. The results show that a properly tuned controller can increase the damping of dominant oscillatory mode by nearly 5% while improving the area transfer by about 200 MW of wind power. The results further show that with the proposed control strategy, damping of dominant oscillatory mode increased by more than 10%. / North Dakota State University. Graduate School / North Dakota State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

The future global energy transition favour renewables such as wind power, which is predicted to be one of the predominant sources harvesting abundant amounts of energy onwards. Consequently, causing several conventional synchronous generators to be decommissioned in a near future to achieve an overall reduction in greenhouse gases related to electricity generation. However, this evolution comes with new challenges regarding power system stability that could jeopardize the reliability of the grid as we today know it. Therefore, this thesis will examine how high penetrations of wind power are impacting each fundamental criterion regarding power system stability. For this purpose, are two different scenarios being carried out in Siemens PSS/E, representing a futuristic case as well as a present one. The simulation results themselves are being compared with analogies drawn from previous studies conducted within the field to determine if it can be improved.

Electric power is becoming more and more important in the modern world. Since most electric power utilizations should be supplied by the power transmission and distribution system, the security of power system is paid more and more heed to nowadays. All over the world, there are some trends to introduce the deregulated power system into the power system operation, and to increase the stability of electric power supply. As a result, making accurate predictions for the power system operating conditions is an important task for the current power system research. The research mainly interests in checking if the operating conditions are acceptable after contingencies. Dynamic Security Assessment (DSA) is proposed and studied under such context. One tool to implement the DSA is to create the Stability Indices (SI) system. The SI system is used to indicate the operating conditions for the power system. This master thesis project aims to develop the appropriate Remedial Actions Scheme (RAS) by using the SI system. The RAS is used against different instabilities. Firstly, all indices of the SI system are summarized. The summarization is based on theoretical study on to-date DSA researches. The indices of the SI system are able to predict power system operating conditions. They are also able to release the stress of DSA computing, and to reduce misclassification and failed-alarm. The SI system is computed by quantities of state variables from the components of the power system. Secondly, the functionalities of different remedial actions are clarified. Then, those remedial actions are used to develop the RAS. The RAS is developed according to the evaluation by the SI system. Using the SI system, different remedial actions are tested and evaluated. The results of evaluation are used to develop and categorize different RASs against different instabilities. After that, the RASs are analyzed, and qualities of RASs are ranked by the SI. In this way, more suitable RAS against each type of instability is developed. The results show the process of analysis is both fast and accurate. All analysis and evaluations are implemented by simulation software of PSS TMNETOMAC. The thesis has been implemented between cooperation of Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden and Energy Sector of Siemens AG in Germany.

Thesis (M.Sc.(Engineering))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering, 2000.

No description available.

No description available.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The inner structural characteristics of non-minimum phase DC-DC converters pose a severe limitation in direct regulation of voltage when addressed from a control perspective. This constraint is reflected by the presence of right half plane zeros or the unstable zero dynamics of the output voltage of these converters. The existing controllers make use of one-to-one correspondence between the voltage and current equilibriums of the non-minimum phase converters and exploit the property that when the average output of these converters is the inductor current, the system dynamics are stable and hence they indirectly regulate the voltage. As a result, the system performance is susceptible to circuit parameter and load variation and require additional controllers, which in turn increase the system complexity. In this thesis, a novel approach to this problem is proposed for second order non-minimum phase converters such as Boost and Buck-Boost Converter. Different solutions have been suggested to the problem based on whether the converter is modeled as a linear system or as a nonlinear system. For the converter modeled as a linear system, the non-minimum phase part of the system is decoupled and its transfer function is converted to minimum phase using a parallel compensator. Then the control action is achieved by using a simple proportional gain controller. This method accelerates the transient response of the converter, reduces the initial undershoot in the response, and considerably reduces the oscillations in the transient response. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. When the converter is modeled as a bilinear system, it preserves the stabilizing nonlinearities of the system. Hence, a more effective control approach is adopted by using Passivity properties. In this approach, the non-minimum phase converter system is viewed from an energy-based perspective and the property of passivity is used to achieve stable zero dynamics of the output voltage. A system is passive if its rate of energy storage is less than the supply rate i.e. the system dissipates more energy than stores. As a result, the energy storage function of the system is less than the supply rate function. Non-minimum phase systems are not passive, and passivation of non-minimum phase power converters is an attractive solution to the posed problem. Stability of non-minimum phase systems can also be investigated by defining the passivity indices. This research approaches the problem by characterizing the degree of passivity i.e. the amount of damping in the system, from passivity indices. Thus, the problem is viewed from a system level rather than from a circuit level description. This method uses feed-forward passivation to compensate for the shortage of passivity in the non-minimum phase converter and makes use of a parallel interconnection to the open-loop system to attain exponentially stable zero dynamics of the output voltage. Detailed analytical analysis regarding the control structure and passivation process is performed on a buck-boost converter. Simulation and experimental results carried out on the test bed validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

This thesis primarily focuses on studying the impact of Distributed Generation (DG) on the electromechanical transients in the electric grid (distribution, transmission or combined transmission and distribution (TandD) systems) using a Three Phase Dynamics Analyzer (hereafter referred to as TPDA). TPDA includes dynamic models for electric machines, their controllers, and a three-phase model of the electric grid, and performs three-phase dynamic simulations without assuming a positive sequence network model. As a result, TPDA can be used for more accurate investigation of electromechanical transients in the electric grid in the presence of imbalances. At present, the Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP) software can be used to perform three-phase dynamic simulations. This software models the differential equations of the entire electric network along with those of the machines. This calls for solving differential equations with time constants in the order of milliseconds (representing the fast electric network) in tandem with differential equations with time constants in the order of seconds (representing the slower electromechanical machines). This results in a stiff set of differential equations, making such an analysis extremely time consuming. For the purpose of electromechanical transient analysis, TPDA exploits the difference in the order of time constants and adopts phasor analysis of the electric network, solving differential equations only for the equipment whose dynamics are much slower than those of the electric network. Power Flow equations are solved using a graph trace analysis based approach which, along with the explicit partitioned method adopted in TPDA, can eventually lead to the use of distributed computing that will further enhance the speed of TPDA and perhaps enable it to perform dynamic simulation in real time . In the work presented here, first an overview of the methodology behind TPDA is provided. A description of the object oriented implementation of TPDA in C++/C# is included. Subsequently, TPDA is shown to accurately simulate power system dynamics of balanced networks by comparing its results against those obtained using GE-PSLF®. This is followed by an analysis that demonstrates the advantages of using TPDA by highlighting the differences in results when the same problem is analyzed using a three-phase network model with unbalances and the positive sequence network model as used in GE-PSLF®. Finally, the impact of rapidly varying DG generation is analyzed, and it is shown that as the penetration level of DG increases, the current and voltage oscillations throughout the transmission network increase as well. Further, rotor speed deviations are shown to grow proportionally with increasing DG penetration. / Master of Science

The reduced stability margin, at which power systems are being operated these days, has encouraged the power industry to come up with new ideas to guarantee a continuous and reliable operation of the bulk interconnected system. The development of the synchronized Phasor Measurement technology, and its deployment in several locations in the network, has introduced a promising means to protect power systems from undesired conditions. This research effort describes a methodology to handle transient stability in power systems using Wide Area Measurements. A correct identification of transiently stable and unstable power oscillations can be achieved with the use of the Out-of-Step protection technique presented in this document. The development of this idea is explained through the analysis of small power system models, and tested in three different operating conditions of the state of California. The main contribution of this research work, to the Out-of-Step relaying theory, is the identification of multiple unstable swings after a given disturbance. In other words, an Out-of-Step protection scheme that handles a network that behaves as a multi-machine system is presented. / Ph. D.