The internal voltage angle of a generator is an important parameter that indicates the stability, both transient and steady-state, of the generator. This paper proposes a method of measuring and synchronizing the internal angle using a microprocessor and an optical encoder installed on the shaft of a generator. With a synchronized angle measurement, accurate stability studies and wide-area controls can be implemented. The experimental setup for measuring the rotor angle of a generator is explained in this work. A wide-area power system stabilizer implementing the synchronized angle measurement is then investigated using a four machine, two-area system. A synchronized remote feedback rotor angle signal is included in a traditional stabilizer design. It is shown that this remote signal helps increase the stability of the system while also having the benefit of being able to be predicted accurately. This capability makes bad data detection and communication delay compensation possible. / Master of Science

This thesis proposes two novel algorithms to analyze whether the power system loses synchronism subsequent to credible contingencies. The two algorithms are based on the concept of Lyapunov exponents (LEs) and the Prony analysis respectively. The concept of LEs is a theoretically sound technique to study the system stability of nonlinear dynamic systems. The LEs measure the exponential rates of divergence or convergence of trajectories in the state space. Considering the higher computational burden associated with the convergence of the true LEs, a modified algorithm is proposed to study the transient stability of the post-fault power system. It is shown that the finite-time LEs calculated by the modified algorithm accurately predicts the said stability. If the power system is transient stable, the rotor angle trajectories of the post-fault system exponentially decay with time. The damping ratios of the dominant oscillatory modes present in these power swings provide the indication on the oscillatory stability. The improved Prony algorithm presented in the thesis can be used to identify the oscillatory stability of the power system subsequent to a contingency. It is shown that that these new algorithms can be used in two applications in power systems, online dynamic security assessment and online oscillations monitoring. The proposed algorithm for rotor angle security assessment first uses the LEs-based algorithm to identify the transient stability. The stable cases are then processed by the improved Prony algorithm. The proposed online oscillations monitoring algorithm uses an event-detection logic and a parallel filter bank before applying the improved Prony algorithm on the measured response to extract the dominant oscillatory modes and to determine their frequencies and damping ratios. The suitability of the two algorithms for the aforementioned applications is investigated using different case studies. It is shown that the computational burdens of the two algorithms are acceptable for the online applications. Furthermore, the oscillations monitoring algorithm, extracts only the dominant modes present in the input signal, extracts both low-frequency inter-area modes and sub-synchronous modes, and performs well under noisy conditions. These features make it more appropriate for wide-area monitoring of power system oscillations using synchronized measurements. / February 2016

The Estimation of Thevenin Equivalent Parameters is useful for System Monitoring and Protection. We studied a method for estimating the Thevenin equivalent circuits. We then studied two applications including voltage stability and fault location. A study of the concepts of Voltage Stability is done in the initial part of this thesis. A Six Bus Power System Model was simulated using MATLAB SIMULINK®. Subsequently, the Thevenin Parameters were calculated. The results were then used for two purposes, to calculate the Maximum Power that can be delivered and for Fault Location.

When a power system is subjected to a disturbance, the power flow changes, leading to deviations in the synchronous generator rotor angles. The rotor angle deviations propagate as electromechanical waves (EMWs) throughout the power system. These waves became observable since the development of synchrophasor measurement instruments. The speed of EMW propagation is hundreds of miles per second, much less than the electromagnetic wave propagation speed, which is the speed of light. Recently, with the development of renewable energy resources and a growth in using HVDC and FACTS devices, these waves are propagating slower, and their impacts are more considerable and complicated. The protection system needs a control system that can take suitable action based on local measurements to overcome the results of power system faults. Therefore, the dynamic behavior of power systems should be properly observed. The EMW propagation in the literature was studied using assumptions such as constant voltage throughout the entire power system and zero resistances and equal series reactances for the transmission lines. Although these assumptions help simplify the power system study model, the model cannot capture the entire power system's dynamic behaviors, since these assumptions are unrealistic. This research will develop an accurate model for EMW propagation when the system is facing a disturbance using a continuum model. The model includes a novel inertia distribution. It also investigates the impacts of voltage changes in the power system on EMW behaviors and when these impacts are negligible. Furthermore, the impacts of the internal reactances of synchronous generators and the resistances of transmission lines on EMW propagation are explored. / Doctor of Philosophy / Power systems, essential for electricity supply, undergo disturbances causing changes in power flow and synchronous generator behavior. These disturbances create electromechanical waves (EMWs) that influence system dynamics. Recent advancements, including renewable energy integration and new technologies, alter EMW behavior, posing challenges for control and protection systems. Existing studies simplify models, limiting their accuracy. This research aims to develop a realistic EMW propagation model considering factors like novel inertia distribution, voltage changes, and internal generator properties. This work addresses the evolving power landscape, enhancing our understanding of power system dynamics for improved control and reliability.

Due to the ever-increasing penetration of distributed generation units connected to the power distribution system, electric power systems, worldwide, are undergoing a paradigm shift with regards to system monitoring, operation and control. We envision that with the emergence of `active' distribution systems consisting of `prosumers' and localized energy markets, decentralized control methods in power systems are gaining a growing attention among power researchers. Traditionally, two main types of control schemes have been implemented in power systems: (a) wide-area monitoring based centralized control, and (b) local measurement based primary (machine) level control. By contrast, decentralized control schemes based on local monitoring and control of strategically-determined subsystems (or `areas') of a large-scale power system are not used. The latter control schemes offer several advantages over the former, which include more flexibility, simplicity, economy and scalability for large-scale systems. In this dissertation, we summarize our research work on hierarchical and decentralized control techniques for the enhancement in a unified manner of voltage and rotor angle stability in large-scale power systems subject to large (e.g., short circuits) and small (e.g., small load changes) disturbances. We study system robustness by calculating local stability margins. We derive decentralized control laws that guaranty global asymptotic stability by applying Lyapunov's second method for interconnected systems. Furthermore, we argue that the current centralized control structure must only play a supervisory control role at a higher (tertiary) hierarchical level by processing the decisions taken by the regional control entities regarding the stability/instability of the system. This ensures system-wide situational awareness while minimizing the communication bandwidth requirements. We also develop a multi-agent based framework for this hierarchical control scheme. Finally, we compare different communication protocols using simulation models and propose an efficient communication network design for decentralized control schemes. This work, in principle, motivates the development of fast stability analysis which, in the future, may also account for the non-linear coupling that exist between machine rotor angles and bus voltages in power system models. As a future work, we propose the use of statistical techniques like random-effects regression and saddlepoint approximation method to reliably estimate the type-I and type-II probability errors in the proposed hierarchical, decentralized control decision process. / Ph. D. / In the present research work, we have proposed a decentralized, hierarchical control scheme for large-scale, interconnected power systems. Using Lyapunov’s second method for interconnected systems, we have derived <i>decentralized</i> control laws for control devices which ensure global asymptotic stability of weakly interconnected power systems. The decentralized control schemes have several advantages over centralized ones. For instance, the former approaches lead to a reduction of dimensionality in terms of both modeling and controlling the state variables of a system. One of the major contributions of this research work is the reduction of the dimensionality of the energy function and of the regression models used to determine the control laws, which results from the non requirement of exchanging information between control areas or of sending all the measurements to a central controller. Hence, the proposed scheme also yields smaller communication requirements than those of completely centralized wide-area controllers, while offering a better situational awareness. Similar decentralized control schemes are commonly used in robotic, transportation and surveillance systems.

The number of large-scale wind farms integrated to the power system in Sweden is increasing. Two generator concepts that are widely used are Doubly-Fed Induction Generators (DFIG) and Full Power Converters (FPC). The study is of a quantitative character and the aim of the Master thesis is to compare DFIG-models with FPC-models integrated in an area with high concentration of hydropower. Then it is possible to examine how the dynamics in the power system change depending on the selection of technology (DFIG or FPC) when connecting a wind farm. The power system is simulated during a summer night, i.e., a low load is connected. The Master thesis covers stability analysis of the power system by using rotor angle stability that are split into small-signal stability and transient stability (time-domain simulations) and finally voltage stability to see how the hydropower generators react when varying the power production in the wind farm. The Master thesis concludes that independently of wind turbine technique, integration of a wind farm has slight impact on the stability in the power system compared to a power system without a wind farm, even though the load is low. Further, an integration of a wind farms affects the reactive power production in neighbouring hydropower plants. Finally, when increasing the size of the wind farm the neighbouring hydropower station consume less reactive power which can induce problem with the voltage stability.

This thesis deals with the infulence of compensation cabel network on the stability of nearby power source. This issue is topical with the increase in the ratio of cable networks 110 kV in large cities. The work examines the theoretical concept of stability and factors that affect it. Mainly discusses the stability angle rotor of a synchronous machina. The practical part is performed in MODES software, that performs dynamic simulation of the behavior of the model. In this case, it will be behavior of synchronous machine during short-circuit in network at different values of compensation of this network.

A variety of factors such as increasing electrical energy demand, slow expansion of transmission infrastructures, and electric energy market deregulation, are forcing utilities and system operators to operate power systems closer to their design limits. Operating under stressed regimes can have a detrimental effect on the rotor-angle stability of the system. This stability reduction is often reflected by the emergence or worsening of poorly damped low-frequency electromechanical oscillations. Without appropriate measures these can lead to costly blackouts. To guarantee system security, operators are sometimes forced to limit power transfers that are economically beneficial but that can result in poorly damped oscillations. Controllers that damp these oscillations can improve system reliability by preventing blackouts and provide long term economic gains by enabling more extensive utilization of the transmission infrastructure. Previous research in the use of artificial neural network-based intelligent controllers for power system damping control has shown promise when tested in small power system models. However, these controllers do not scale-up well enough to be deployed in realistically-sized power systems. The work in this dissertation focuses on improving the scalability of intelligent power system stabilizing controls so that they can significantly improve the rotor-angle stability of large-scale power systems. A framework for designing effective and robust intelligent controllers capable of scaling-up to large scale power systems is proposed. Extensive simulation results on a large-scale power system simulation model demonstrate the rotor-angle stability improvements attained by controllers designed using this framework.

With the growth of power system interconnections, the economic drivers encourage the electric companies to load the transmission lines near their limits, therefore it is critical to know those limits well. One important limiting issue is the damping of inter-area oscillation (IAO) between groups of synchronous machines. In this Ph.D. thesis, the contribution of power system components such as load and static var compensators (SVC) that affect the IAO of the power system, are analysed. The original contributions of this thesis are as follows: 1-Identification of eigenvalues and mode shapes of the IAO: In the first contribution of this thesis, the eigenvalues of the IAO are identified using a correlation based method. Then, the mode shape at each identified resonant frequency is determined to show how the synchronous generators swing against each other at the specific resonant frequencies. 2-Load modelling and load contribution to damping: The first part of this contribution lies in identification of the load model using cross-correlation and autocorrelation functions . The second aspect is the quantification of the load contribution to damping and sensitivity of system eigenvalues with respect to the load. 3- SVC contribution to damping: In this contribution the criteria for SVC controller redesign based on complete testing is developed. Then the effect of the SVC reactive power on the measured power is investigated. All of the contributions of this thesis are validated by simulation on test systems. In addition, there are some specific application of the developed methods to real data to find a.) the mode shape of the Australian electricity network, b.) the contribution of the Brisbane feeder load to damping and c.) the effect of the SVC reactive power of the Blackwall substations on the active power supplying Brisbane.

The plans to reduce the energy-related greenhouse gas emissions stimulate the deployment of electronically interfaced renewable resources. The increased penetration of such intermittent sources together with phasing conventional power plants out and the installation of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) links for long-distance more efficient transmission, reduces the stored inertia in any electrical grid. This leads to a more vulnerable power system and increases the significance of studying the corresponding stability aspects. Decreasing the inertial response of a power system deteriorates the quality of both frequency and rotor-angle stability which are the dynamics of interest in this study. The thesis explores the role of the location of low inertia on varying the power system’s dynamics. This is to be conducted in isolation of all other factors that could affect the study outcomes, such as dealing with the same system’s inertia value upon lowering the inertia in different locations. To accomplish this objective, it is essential to analyze the inertia distribution of the examined power system following the alterations of inertia reduction location. Accordingly, an inherently previous work methodology, that estimates the relative distance of the system’s components to Center Of Inertia (COI), is utilized throughout this study. Both frequency response and small-signal stability are analyzed in light of the inertia distribution results. The thesis examines two different power systems, a small two-area model and a bigger more realistic power system. The former model, known as Kundur model, helps in building a conceptual process to apply the methodology and to benchmark the dynamics of interest. While the latter is a reduced model of the Swedish transmission grid, known as Nordic 32 model. Different scenarios of low inertia are considered to capture the current trend of integrating more Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and phasing out more conventional plants. DIgSILENT Powerfactory is the weapon of choice in this study. It is utilized to assess both the frequency stability by performing electromechanical transients’ simulations, and small-signal stability following modal analysis simulations.  Results show that the alterations of low inertia location are associated with variations in Instantaneous Frequency Deviation (IFD), Rate Of Change Of Frequency (ROCOF) and the damping ratio of the most critical inter-area oscillation mode. These variations have different levels of significance. Variations of the latter two metrics have the most considerable effects from the stability’s perspective. They can be utilized to prioritize the phasing out process of the conventional power plants, and to choose one of the scenarios of a specific low inertia location over the others. This helps in fulfilling proper long-term planning and short-term operation from the system operator’s perspective.