Increased government funding and incentives in recent years has led to an increase in the number of grid-tied renewable energy sources as their economic benefits become more renowned. Unfortunately, the outputs of these renewable resources are often highly variable, resulting in undesirable voltage disruptions that are harmful to sensitive loads. In addition to the energy variability of renewable energy sources, random voltage sags, swells and disruptions are already a major issue in power systems. Recent advances in power electronic devices have provided a platform for new solutions to the voltage support problem in power systems. One promising solution is the Dynamic Voltage Regulator (DVR), a series compensating device used to protect a sensitive load that is connected downstream from voltage sag or swell. For this thesis, the design, modeling, and analysis of a DVR system were performed using PSCAD software. Results from simulation demonstrate the DVR’s effectiveness in protecting a sensitive load from load and source side voltage disturbances as well as regulate the load bus voltage to its rated value.

Orientador: Fernando Pinhabel Marafão / Banca: Ricardo Quadros Machado / Banca: Paulo José Amaral Serni / Resumo: As discussões recentes na área de condicionamento de energia elétrica têm como objetivo integrar as tecnologias de compensação convencionais às tendências do setor elétrico, às quais apontam para a distribuição da geração e do condicionamento de energia ao longo da rede, contribuindo para a configuração da chamada rede inteligente. Visando contribuir com tais discussões este trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia de projeto e controle de sistemas de condicionamento de energia, nos quais diversas tecnologias de compensadores sejam capazes de operar cooperativamente. As definições matemáticas desta metodologia são embasadas na teoria de potência conservativa, uma modelagem matemática recente que associa características de circuitos elétricos à parcelas de corrente e potência. As tecnologias de compensadores utilizadas são os compensadores estáticos de reativos, filtros passivos e filtros ativos. Os compensadores projetados e controlados de acordo com a metodologia proposa foram testadas em simulação para atuar em redes com alta e baixa impedância de linha, na presença de cargas lineares e não lineares e em configurações fixas e variáveis ao longo do tempo de simulação. Em todos os casos, a compensação atenuou significativamente distúrbios de corrente relacionados com reativos, desequilíbrio e não linearidades entre tensões e correntes da carga. Uma rede com cargas distribuídas também foi simulada para avaliar a cooperação entre os compensadores, quando estavam conectados em diferentes pontos desta rede, bem como para discutir os possíveis critérios de projeto e controle da compensação distribuída / Abstract: Recent discussions in power conditioning aim to integrate traditional compensation technologies to new trends in electrical system, which has been pointing to the characterization of the smart grid concept. In order to contribute to those discussions, this dissertation presents a methodology to design and control different technologies of power conditioners for cooperative compensation. The mathematical definitions used in the methodology came from conservative power theory, a recent mathematical modeling that offers power and current decompositions associated to some characteristics of electrical circuits. Thus, static var compensators, passive filters and active filters were designed according to the proposed methodology and tested in simulation with three-phase linear and loads connected to two typical grids, with and low line impedances. Results show effective compensation of reactive current, load unbalance and non linearities between voltage and current. Moreover, preliminary studies in distributed compensation are presented too, with simulations of a 13-node distribution grid based on IEEE 13-node test feeder, and the results of these simulations offer relevant considerations to extend the methodology to distributed compensators / Mestre

Series compensation of transmission lines is an effectiveand cheap method of improving the power transmission systemperformance. Series capacitors virtually reduces the length ofthe line making it easier to keep all parts of the power systemrunning in synchronism and to maintain a constant voltage levelthroughout the system. In Sweden this technology has been inuse since almost 50 years. The possibility to improve the performance of the ACtransmission system utilizing power electronic equipment hasbeen discussed a lot since about ten years. Some newsemiconductor based concepts have been developed beside thesince long established HVDC and SVC technologies. The ThyristorControlled Series Capacitor (TCSC) is one such concept. Byvarying the inserted reactance an immediate and well-definedimpact on the active power flow in the transmission line isobtained. Several potential applications, specifically poweroscillation damping, benefit from this capability. The conceptimplied the requirement to design a semiconductor valve, whichcan be inserted directly in the high-voltage power circuit.This certainly presented a technical challenge but thestraightforward approach appeared to be a cost-effectivealternative with small losses. It was also realized that the TCSC exhibits quite differentbehaviour with respect to subsynchronous frequency componentsin the line current as compared to the fixed series capacitorbank. This was a very interesting aspect as the risk ofsubsynchronous resonance (SSR), which just involves such linecurrent components, has hampered the use of series compensationin power systems using thermal generating plants. The thesis deals with the modelling and control aspects ofTCSC. A simplifying concept, the equivalent, instantaneousvoltage reversal, is introduced to represent the action of thethyristor controlled inductive branch, which is connected inparallel with the series capacitor bank in the TCSC. The idealvoltage reversal is used in the thesis in order to describe andexplain the TCSC dynamics, to investigate its apparentimpedance at various frequencies, as a platform forsynthesizing the boost control system and as the base elementin deriving a linear, small-signal dynamical model of thethree-phase TCSC. Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT) then hasbeen applied to the TCSC model in order to tune its boostregulator taking into account the typical variation ofparameters that exists in a power system. The impact of theboost control system with respect to damping of SSR is finallybeing briefly looked at. <b>Keywords:</b>Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor, TCSC,FACTS, reactive power compensation, boost control, phasorestimation, Quantitative Feedback Theory, subsynchronousresonance, SSR.

Driven by economic, technical and environmental factors, the energy sector is currently undergoing a profound paradigm shift towards a smarter grid setup. Increased intake of Distributed and Renewable Generation (DG) units is one of the Smart Grid (SG) pillars that will lead to numerous advantages among which lower electricity losses, increased reliability and reduced greenhouse gas emissions are the most salient. The increase of DG units’ penetration will cause changes to the characteristics of distribution networks from being passive with unidirectional power flow towards Active Distribution Networks (ADNs) with multi-direction power flow. However, such changes in the current distribution systems structure and design will halt the seamless DG integration due to various technical issues that may arise. Voltage and reactive power control is one of the most significant issues that limit increasing DG penetration into distribution systems. On the other hand, the term microgrid has been created to be the building block of ADNs. A microgrid should be able to operate in two modes of operation, grid-connected or islanded. The successful implementation of the microgrid concept demands a proper definition of the regulations governing its integration in distribution systems. In order to define such regulations, an accurate evaluation of the benefits that microgrids will bring to customers and utilities is needed. Therefore, there is a need for careful consideration of microgrids in the assessment, operation, planning and design aspects of ADNs. Moreover, SG offers new digital technologies to be combined with the existing utility grids to substantially improve the overall efficiency and reliability of the network. Advanced network monitoring, two ways communication acts and intelligent control methods represent the main features of SG. Thus it is required to properly apply these features to facilitate a seamless integration of DG units in ADNs considering microgrids. Motivated by voltage and reactive power control issues in ADNs, the concept of microgrids, and SG technologies, three consequent stages are presented in this thesis. In the first stage, the issues of voltage and reactive power control in traditional distribution systems are addressed and assessed in order to shed the light on the potential conflicts that are expected with high DG penetration. A simple, yet efficient and generic three phase power flow algorithm is developed to facilitate the assessment. The results show that utility voltage and reactive power control devices can no longer use conventional control techniques and there is a necessity for the evolution of voltage and reactive power control from traditional to smart control schemes. Furthermore, a probabilistic approach for assessing the impacts of voltage and reactive power constraints on the probability of successful operation of islanded microgrids and its impacts on the anticipated improvement in the system and customer reliability indices is developed. The assessment approach takes into account: 1) the stochastic nature of DG units and loads variability, 2) the special philosophy of operation for islanded microgrids, 3) the different configurations of microgrids in ADNs, and 4) the microgrids dynamic stability. The results show that voltage and reactive power aspects cannot be excluded from the assessment of islanded microgrids successful operation. The assessment studies described in the first stage should be followed by new voltage and reactive power planning approaches that take into account the characteristics of ADNs and the successful operation of islanded microgrids. Feeders shunt capacitors are the main reactive power sources in distribution networks that are typically planned to be located or reallocated in order to provide voltage support and reduce the energy losses. Thus, in the second stage, the problem of capacitor planning in distribution network has been reformulated to consider microgrids in islanded mode. The genetic algorithm technique (GA) is utilized to solve the new formulation. The simulation results show that the new formulation for the problem of capacitor planning will facilitate a successful implementation of ADNs considering islanded microgrids. In the third stage, the SG technologies are applied to construct a two ways communication-based distributed control that has the capability to provide proper voltage and reactive power control in ADNs. The proposed control scheme is defined according to the concept of multiagent technology, where each voltage and reactive power control device or DG unit is considered as a control agent. An intelligent Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) model is proposed for the interior structure of each control agent. The Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA) performatives are used as communication acts between the control agents. First, the distributed control scheme is applied for voltage regulation in distribution feeders at which load tap changer (LTC) or step voltage regulators are installed at the begging of the feeder. In this case, the proposed control aims to modify the local estimation of the line drop compensation circuit via communication. Second, the control scheme is modified to take into consideration the case of multiple feeders having a substation LTC and unbalanced load diversity. To verify the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control structure, a multiagent simulation model is proposed. The simulation results show that distributed control structure has the capability to mitigate the interference between DG units and utility voltage and reactive power control devices.

This research work is devoted to the analysis, design and development of the first medium power Current-Source Converter (CSC) based distribution-type Static Synchronous Compensator (D-STATCOM) with simplest converter topology and coupling transformer connection. The developed CSC-D-STATCOM includes a +/-750kVAr full-bridge CSC employing Selective Harmonic Elimination Method (SHEM), a 250kVAr low-pass input filter at 1kV voltage level, and a &amp / #916 / /Y connected coupling transformer for connection to medium-voltage load bus. The power stage of CSC is composed of series connection of natural air-cooled high-voltage IGCT switched at 500 Hz for the elimination of four lowest current harmonic components (5th, 7th, 11th, 13th), and optimized fast recovery high voltage diode in each leg. Reactive power control is achieved by applying the phase shift angle control at fixed modulation index, which is implemented digitally on a DSP microcontroller. The developed system has been implemented for compensation of rapidly varying reactive power demand of coal mining excavators in Turkish Coal Enterprises. The field test results have shown that the proposed CSC D-STATCOM serves as a technologically new full substitute of conventional Voltage-Source Converter based D-STATCOM having complex transformer connections in view of relatively fast response in reactive power compensation, very low total demand distortion factors, complying with the IEEE Std. 519-1992 even for the weakest power systems, and acceptable efficacy figures.

In this research work, the control system of 16 MVAr, 13.8 kV TCR will be designed and digitally implemented. A Real-Time Control System (NI CompactRIOTM Reconfigurable I/O) and a Digital Platform (NI LabVIEWTM Gcode) are used in the digital implementation of TCR control system. The digital control system is composed of reactive power calculation, firing angle determination and triggering pulse generation blocks. The performance of control system will be tested in the field. The simulation results will also be compared with test data.

This research work deals with the analysis, design and implementation of thyristor switched plain capacitor banks and thyristor switched shunt filter banks. Performances of various thyristor switched capacitor (TSC) topologies are also investigated by simulations. The theoretical findings have been verified by carrying out experimental work on two prototypes implemented within the scope of this research work, one is a wye-connected laboratory prototype and the other is a delta-connected application prototype integrated to some of the SVCs existing in Turkish Coal Enterprise s Plants. The advantages of back-to-back connected thyristor switches over conventional electromechanical contactors are also made clear by conducting an intensive experimental work in the laboratory. A good correlation have been obtained between theoretical and experimental results.

This research work is devoted to the analysis, design and development of the Current-Source Converter (CSC) based distribution-type Static Synchronous Compensator (D-STATCOM) for low-voltage applications in reactive-power control in order to achieve i) faster transient response in reactive-power control, ii) lower current harmonic distortion, iii) lower power losses and iv) minimum storage elements in comparison with conventional solutions. The developed CSC-D-STATCOM includes a low-pass input filter and a three phase forced-commutated CSC which is composed of six insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) with built-in series diodes. The analysis and the control of the CSC-D-STATCOM are carried out in dq-synchronous reference frame in order to obtain the reference current waveform which is to be generated by switching the IGBTs at 3kHz with the use of space vector modulation.

The Masters Thesis research focuses on reactive power and voltage control during and following major power system disturbances such as faults and subsequent loss of transmission line(s) or generator(s), voltage recovery phenomena following successful fault clearing, dynamic swings of power systems and local voltage suppression, etc. During these events, load and other system dynamics may cause reactive power deficiencies and system voltage issues such as delayed voltage recovery. These phenomena may lead to secondary events such as tripping of loads and/or circuits. Dynamic VAr sources such as generators, static VAr compensators (SVCs), STATCOMs etc and to a lesser degree static VAr sources such as capacitor or reactor banks, can help the system recover from these contingencies by providing fast modulation of the reactive power. Because of the higher cost of dynamic VAr resources, it is important to optimize the deployment of these devices by minimizing the total installed capacity of dynamic VAR resources while meeting the technical requirement and achieving the necessary performance of the system. We refer to this problem as the optimal allocation of dynamic VAR sources (OAODVARS). OAODVARS has been addressed with traditional analytic methods as well as with Artificial Intelligence methods such as genetic algorithms and Tabu search using mostly power flow type models. Both type of methods, as reported in the literature, have not provided satisfactory solutions because they ignore system dynamics and especially load dynamics, in other words they are based on power flow type models. In addition the AI methods have been proved to be extremely inefficient. We propose a new approach that has the following two advantages: (a) it is based on a realistic model that captures system dynamics and (b) it is based on the efficient successive approximation dynamic programming. The solution is provided as a sequence of planning decisions over the planning horizon. The proposed method will be demonstrated on the IEEE 24-bus reliability test system.

<p>Series compensation of transmission lines is an effectiveand cheap method of improving the power transmission systemperformance. Series capacitors virtually reduces the length ofthe line making it easier to keep all parts of the power systemrunning in synchronism and to maintain a constant voltage levelthroughout the system. In Sweden this technology has been inuse since almost 50 years.</p><p>The possibility to improve the performance of the ACtransmission system utilizing power electronic equipment hasbeen discussed a lot since about ten years. Some newsemiconductor based concepts have been developed beside thesince long established HVDC and SVC technologies. The ThyristorControlled Series Capacitor (TCSC) is one such concept. Byvarying the inserted reactance an immediate and well-definedimpact on the active power flow in the transmission line isobtained. Several potential applications, specifically poweroscillation damping, benefit from this capability. The conceptimplied the requirement to design a semiconductor valve, whichcan be inserted directly in the high-voltage power circuit.This certainly presented a technical challenge but thestraightforward approach appeared to be a cost-effectivealternative with small losses.</p><p>It was also realized that the TCSC exhibits quite differentbehaviour with respect to subsynchronous frequency componentsin the line current as compared to the fixed series capacitorbank. This was a very interesting aspect as the risk ofsubsynchronous resonance (SSR), which just involves such linecurrent components, has hampered the use of series compensationin power systems using thermal generating plants.</p><p>The thesis deals with the modelling and control aspects ofTCSC. A simplifying concept, the equivalent, instantaneousvoltage reversal, is introduced to represent the action of thethyristor controlled inductive branch, which is connected inparallel with the series capacitor bank in the TCSC. The idealvoltage reversal is used in the thesis in order to describe andexplain the TCSC dynamics, to investigate its apparentimpedance at various frequencies, as a platform forsynthesizing the boost control system and as the base elementin deriving a linear, small-signal dynamical model of thethree-phase TCSC. Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT) then hasbeen applied to the TCSC model in order to tune its boostregulator taking into account the typical variation ofparameters that exists in a power system. The impact of theboost control system with respect to damping of SSR is finallybeing briefly looked at.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor, TCSC,FACTS, reactive power compensation, boost control, phasorestimation, Quantitative Feedback Theory, subsynchronousresonance, SSR.</p>