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.

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.

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.

The current model for electricity generation is based on power plants connected to the transmission network. This provides electricity to the distribution network and after that to the consumers. To ensure the security of the electrical network and prevent a blackout, the performance of every electricity generation unit connected to the network is quantified in grid codes. In the case of the French transmission system, the requirements regarding the performance are written in a document produced by the French Transmission System Operator (TSO). Various events with various configurations of connection to the network have to be simulated and the corresponding performance has to be evaluated. The aim of these simulations is to determine the stability of the generators and key elements, including the response time on the active power after events such as a short circuit.Taking into account the amount of generators connected to the transmission network, the need for optimization appears and is the purpose of this Master Thesis. To perform those simulations in an efficient way on all the generators owned by the main French electricity producer, EDF, this Master Thesis contributes with a tool called AuDySim coded with the softwares MATLAB and EUROSTAG. The implemented tool allows the user to configure an electricity generation unit before realizing all the simulations specified by the TSO and produces a report containing the results by means of curves and data. The simulations and the production of the report are achieved automatically to create a gain of time and resources.In order to validate the performance of the tool, two case studies are performed on different types of power plants. The two case studies analyzed present a hydraulic and a nuclear power plant. In the results the performance of each type of power plant is assessed focusing on the rotor angle stability of the machine and key elements, such as the voltage and the active power. These results lead to the conclusion that AuDySim fulfills its mission, by achieving automatically an analysis of the performance of an electrical generation unit and producing it in a report. / Den nuvarande elproduktionsmodellen baseras på kraftverk som är direktkopplade till stamnätet. Stamnätet i sin tur matar distributionsnätet som därefter levererar el till slutkonsumenterna. För att säkerställa stamnätets integritet samt säkerhet och undvika strömavbrott kvantifieras prestandan hos varje generator som är ansluten till det med hjälp av nätkoder. När det gäller det franska stamnätet skrivs prestandakraven i ett dokument som utfärdas av den franska transmissionssystemoperatören (TSO). Olika händelser med olika anslutningskonfigurationer måste simuleras där dess prestanda ska utvärderats. Syftet med dessa simuleringar är att identifiera stabiliteten vid varje elproduktionsenhet med bl. a. dess reaktionstid för den aktiva effekten efter kortslutningar.Med tanke på antalet generatorer som är anslutna till stamnätet framträder ett behov för överföringsoptimering vilket är syftet med detta examensarbete. För att utföra dessa simuleringar på ett effektivt sätt på alla generatorer som ägs av den ledande franska elproducenten, EDF, bidrar denna avhandling med ett verktyg som heter AuDySim kodat i mjukvarorna MATLAB och EUROSTAG. Verktyget gör det möjligt för användaren att konfigurera en elproduktionsenhet innan man utför alla simuleringar som specificeras av TSO:n och samtidigt producerar en rapport som innehåller grafisk- och data resultat. Både simuleringar och rapporten produceras automatiskt för att optimera en bearbetningstid och resursanvändning.För att validera verktygets prestanda utförs två fallstudier på olika typer av kraftverk. De två fallstudierna fokuserar på ett hydraulisk- respektive ett kärnkraftverk. I resultaten utvärderas prestanda för varje typ av kraftverk, med fokus på maskinens rotorvinkelstabilitet och andra viktiga faktorer, såsom spänning och aktiv effekt. Resultat leder till slutsatsen att AuDySim uppfyller sitt uppdrag genom att automatiskt analysera prestanda hos en elektrisk generationsenhet och presentera analysen i en rapport.

The increasing amount of renewable energy sources is applying more and more pressure on today’s power system. Additionally, plannable sources of energy, which are mostly non-renewable, are being decommissioned at a high rate to combat climate change. The decommissioning of non-renewable producers and the increasing number of intermittent sources of energy are causing an increasingly volatile power system. In addition to the lack of plannable production, the inertia from synchronously rotating machines is decreasing due to the lack of contribution from renewable sources. The inertia of a power system assists in slowing down large frequency changes. When a notably large difference between production and consumption occurs in a power system with low inertia, components which can quickly counteract these effects by supplying the system with active power, are needed. The low inertia can also cause problems to the synchronicity of the synchronously rotating machines in the system, namely the rotor angle stability. A lack of rotorangle stability can cause the synchronicity of the synchronously rotating machines to be questioned. Fast frequency response units supply the power system with active power for a short period of time to reduce the rate of change of frequency and frequency deviation, which in turn allows the self-regulating units more time to adjust their production. Furthermore, these units can improve rotor angle stability. Such units can consist of batteries which are both serially and parallel connected with their associated control unit. This thesis aims to, with the help of the power system analysis program PowerFactory, and its associated dynamic simulation tools, formulate a methodology which can be used in power system models to locate the best placement for fast frequency response units. The results show that the formulated methodology can be used to find the best position of fast frequency response units for frequency deviation-, rate of change of frequency- and rotor angle stability support.