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Power flow (PF) flexibility in the multi-terminal HVDC (MT-HVDC) grids is a thought-provoking issue. It leads to employing the active DC power flow controller (DC-PFC)s. Hence, this paper examines the static average model (AM) and power injection model (PIM) of an interline DC-PFC (IDC-PFC). It is to provide a suitable base for DC PF studies and easy embedding of the DC-PFCs into MT-HVDC grids’ PF equations. In this regard, this paper proposes a new DC PF solver (DC-PFS) for the IDC-PFC compensated MT-HVDC grids within the well-accepted Newton-Raphson (NR) framework. It requires a few modifications in the main structure of the system's Jacobin (J) matrix compared to the uncompensated MT-HVDC grid. Also, the system's admittance matrix and its symmetry are preserved. In the proposed concept, the IDC-PFC cooperates with other MT-HVDC grid's state variables to satisfy the predetermined control objective(s). Furthermore, this paper proposes a new solution procedure (SP) to handle various system's limitations during the processes of solving the DC PF problem. Meanwhile, there is no need to modify the related J matrix. The effective and accurate performance of the IDC-PFC's models, as well as presented NR-based DC-PFS and SP, are verified by performing several simulations on the 8-bus CIGRE MT-HVDC grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large scale renewable energy systems interfaced with voltage source converters (VSCs) experience several challenging issues when integrated to weak grids. One of the specific issue i.e. control loop interaction of vector-controlled VSC under high grid impedance leads to several instability mechanism ultimately resulting in unwanted tripping of the VSC unit. As a countermeasure, a unique nonlinear adaptive stabilizing control (NASC) technique has been proposed in this paper to enhance the dynamic stability of the VSC during such scenarios. A small-signal model is developed first to examine the instability mechanism of VSC connected to weak grids under abnormal operating conditions and varying set points of the power controller. The dominant modes are identified from the analysis and a stabilizing controller is developed based on adaptive dynamic surface control philosophy for enhancing its stability. The proposed controller has been proved to be uniformly ultimately bounded using Lyapunov analysis. Besides, the stabilizing mechanism of VSC is analyzed with the proposed controller by performing small-signal stability analysis of the entire system. The efficacy of the proposed control scheme is demonstrated by performing numerical simulations in MATLAB 2017a and conducting experimental validations in controller-hardware-in-the Loop (CHIL) platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic investigation into the performance of a shielding wire on 10 kV overhead lines (OHLs) against indirect lightning, from the design point of view. The design parameters addressed include the grounding interval, grounding resistance, and position of the shielding wire. As a system outage is usually caused by insulator flashover at OHL poles under indirect lightning, the induced voltages there are investigated with the code developed from the Agrawal model. In the evaluation, the location of a lightning return stroke relative to a grounded or ungrounded pole is considered. It is found that the lightning channel positioned in the front of an ungrounded pole could completely wipe out the effect of the shielding wire. This occurs if the wave from the grounding point arrives later than the time to the peak of the voltage directly arising from the lightning return stroke. It is suggested providing the wire grounding at every pole even if the grounding resistance at some poles is much higher than the design value. Grounding spacing does not affect the induced voltages at the pole generally if the pole has been grounded. One critical parameter is identified, i.e., the distance between the shielding and outer phase wires. Minimizing the distance can effectively reduce the lightning-induced voltages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The space charges around a HVDC transmission line may not only lead to electromagnetic environmental problems but also affect the occurrence of impulse corona and then the transient overvoltage propagation. This paper derives the equations governing the transient overvoltage propagation along a HVDC transmission line when there is either space charges surrounding the line or impulse corona. In contrast to conventional transmission line equations, the proposed equations adopted the dynamic capacitance C′ and conductance G to characterize the corona discharge in all cases, which can be obtained by a time-domain finite element method. A finite-difference time-domain method is introduced to solve the nonlinear transmission line equations. The validity of the proposed approach is verified by comparison with the lightning overvoltage waveforms measured in a literature. The transient overvoltage propagation along a long UHVDC transmission line surrounded by space charges is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three-phase dual active bridge (3p-DAB) converter is widely addressed in emerging power systems applications such as solid-state transformer and dc microgrids. Its successful integration requires accurate modeling of its small-signal characteristics. Due to its dc–ac–dc structure, the DAB converter brings many challenges to small-signal modeling. The state-space averaging (SSA) has been the first proposed methodology to approximate the control-to-output and line-to-output transfer functions of the 3p-DAB. However, as shown in this paper, SSA is not precise for the stability analysis of 3p-DAB converters. A generalized state-space averaging (GSSA) model based on the dynamic phasor concept is developed in this paper for the Y-Δ 3p-DAB. A hybrid SSA and GSSA model representation is then proposed for the evaluation of all the converter transfer functions. The developed models are validated with detailed time-domain switch-level simulations in an electromagnetic transient-type (EMT-type) program. They are also used for the accelerated stability prediction in an EMT-type program. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents an augmented design method for the dc/dc modular multilevel converter considering the control (e.g., the phase difference between arms ac voltages) and hardware aspects (e.g., type and number of submodules (SMs)) of the converter simultaneously. The proposed augmented design determines the number of SMs and their types (e.g., half- or full-bridge) in each arm and phase difference between arms ac voltages that minimize the total converter losses. Computationally-efficient analytical and semi-analytical methods are proposed to estimate the conduction and switching losses. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, the losses obtained from the proposed analytical and semi-analytical methods are compared with the results of the detailed converter switching model implemented in the Simulink environment. The performance of the converter designed by the augmented approach is compared with the conventional topology in terms of total losses and the number of SMs. The comparative study showed that the proposed design method yields a converter with lower total losses and number of SMs. Moreover, the proposed design method extends the operation regime of the converter, especially when the dc links voltage levels are close; this extension is not possible in the conventional modular dc/dc converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology to perform small-signal analysis of an offshore ac network, which is formed by interconnecting several offshore wind power plants. The offshore ac network is connected with different onshore ac grids using point-to-point voltage-source-converter high-voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC) transmission links. In such a network, each offshore VSC-HVDC converter operates in grid-forming mode. In this paper, the offshore VSC grid-forming control is enhanced by using a frequency and voltage droop scheme in order to establish a coordinated grid control among the offshore converters. A small-signal model of the offshore ac network is developed that includes the high-voltage alternating current cables' model, the converters' current, and voltage-control model, the frequency droop scheme, and the voltage droop scheme. Based on this model, an eigenvalue analysis is performed in order to study the influence of the frequency and voltage droop gains on overall offshore ac network stability. Finally, theoretical analysis is validated by performing nonlinear dynamic simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a secondary Model Predictive Control (MPC) based architecture to provide DC voltage and DC power control to MT VSC-HVDC networks interfacing wind power generation. The proposed architecture places the controller at a supervisory level, thus providing coordination amongst existing converters’ local droop controllers. Droop control is a type of decentralized DC voltage/power control. Hence, in case of secondary controller failure, droop control acts as a contingency control scheme. A simplified linear dynamic model of the MT VSC-HVDC network is utilised for the MPC's design, thus minimizing computational effort needed to compute secondary control action. Updates of droop gains and offshore and onshore “AC” variables, in the dq domain, are explicitly considered as measured input disturbances within the formulation of the MPC controller, thus, ensuring appropriate control response in order to minimise adverse impact of their variation on the overall system's performance, particularly under wind power variations. Simulation results show that MPC, whose design is based on the system's simplified linear model, is capable of delivering satisfactory performance when applied to the high fidelity non-linear full order model of a six-terminal VSC-HVDC network simulated in PSCAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved version of power flow-controller (PFC) which is based on multi-winding transformer (MWT) is presented in this paper. The objective of this article is to control the power flow in a power-line to alleviate overload in a heavily loaded system and increase power flow of an under loaded line. The novelty of multi-winding transformer based power-flow controller is the use of unequal voltage ratio in the tap-changer windings of MWT with bi-directional switches to provide a compensating voltage required to achieve the desired power flow. This new model drastically increases the number of compensating points to make it more compact with higher flexibility. It aims to utilize the full potential of a line (bound by its thermal limits) to contribute in power flow by providing several times higher resolution with limited number of switches and reduced amount of copper and iron volume compared to existing state-of-the-art technology. The proposed MWT model has been included in Newton Raphson Load Flow (NRLF) method for power flow analysis. The feasibility of the model has been realized using a standard 5 bus test system and a modified IEEE 57 bus system. Operation of the PFC has been demonstrated using a hardware laboratory prototype for generating nearest compensating points (voltage vectors) corresponding to the obtained compensating voltages after load flow solution. The results obtained are verified by simulating the controller in MATLAB/Simulink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DC–DC converters are expected to interconnect High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) grids with different configurations or voltage levels, which will increase reliability and operational flexibility. The dc Modular Multilevel Converter (DC-MMC) is suggested as a potential non-isolated topology for HVDC applications. This paper presents an energy-based closed-loop control for the DC-MMC. Such control structure provides a full control of the current components, while ensuring energy balancing in normal and fault operation. First, the converter configuration is described and the fundamental equations are presented. Then, the normal operation of the converter is explained from the steady state conditions and the energy and current components. A closed-loop control is designed to ensure a proper dynamic response, balance the internal energies of the converter, and minimize the ac circulating current. Also, the control structure is modified to ensure dc fault ride through capability. Simulation results in MATLAB/Simulink are used to validate the converter control under normal operation and DC faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voltage sags mitigation has become a significant concern for utilities due to the pressure from both customers and regulators recently. This paper proposes a novel multi-objective optimization formulation for STATCOM allocation problem to mitigate voltage sags. The allocation of STATCOM is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem (MOP) with two conflicting objectives including the voltage sag performance and annual investment costs of STATCOM. To analytically evaluate the voltage sag performance in the optimization process, a mathematical voltage sag profile calculation model of power system with multiple STATCOMs is proposed and solved by nonlinear programming method. System Average RMS Variation Frequency index-X index is chosen to quantify the voltage sag performance for optimization. Sensitivity-based candidate bus selection is also performed as an essential step to reduce problem size. An improved multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) called SPEA2+SDE (Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm with shifting density estimation) is utilized to solve the proposed MOP model, so a set of Pareto optimal STATCOM allocations for voltage sag mitigation can be derived demonstrating the trade-off between two objectives and better supporting the decision-making. IEEE 30-bus system and IEEE 118-bus system are tested to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Replacing the phase shifting transformers of interphase power controller with a reduced rating dual unified power flow controller (UPFC) results in a unified interphase power controller (UIPC) with potential for enhanced performance. However, in most cases, the UPFC is controlled as a static phase shifter (SPS), producing marginal improvements. A control approach that allows the minimization of the power ratings of the series voltage source converters (VSCs) of the UIPC was recently proposed. For that, one has to define four control parameters, as opposed to only two in the SPS-based UIPC. This can be done off-line, by means of an optimization procedure that splits the desired transmission line current among the capacitive and inductive branches of the UIPC. In this paper, a control scheme is presented for the implementation of the novel technique. The current sharing factors obtained from the optimization are stored in a lookup table. The gating signals for the VSCs are generated using Park's transformation so as to synthesize the optimal UIPC inductive and capacitive branch currents with proportional resonant controllers and sinusoidal pulse width modulation. The transmission line angle, as well as the magnitude and phase of the desired transmission line current with respect to the voltage at the receiving end voltage, is assumed to be provided by a transmission system operator. Experimental results that include steady state and transient conditions are provided to prove its feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulating current can be decomposed into double line-frequency positive-, negative- and zero-sequence components under unbalanced voltage conditions. First, in order to decrease peak/rms value of arm current, double line-frequency circulating current should be eliminated. Second, ac-side current that consists of positive- and negative-sequence components under unbalanced voltage conditions should be regulated to track the reference signal. Furthermore, fundamental frequency circulating current caused by asymmetry of the upper and lower arm should be also removed. To effectively control ac-side current and eliminate all circulating currents, an arm current control strategy based on a decoupler and proportional-integral controller plus the vector proportional integral (VPI) controller is proposed in this paper. The proposed control strategy works well under balanced and unbalanced voltage conditions as well as asymmetry of the upper and lower arm. In addition, this paper proposes a design procedure for the VPI controller to reduce the uncertainty of this process. A three-phase modular multilevel converter simulation model is set up on PSCAD/EMTDC to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an accurate steady-state initialization method for electromagnetic transient (EMT) models of modular multilevel converters (MMCs). The proposed method uses steady-state arm voltages and currents to initialize internal electrical variables and control systems of the converter, including capacitor voltage and gating signals of each sub-module. In addition to typical voltage source converter upper level control, MMC specific controls are also considered, including circulating current control, dc ripple control, and capacitor voltage balancing algorithm. EMT simulations on 101-level and 401-level MMC-HVDC systems confirm the accuracy of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In meshed High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) grids, Current Flow Controllers (CFC) may be required to avoid bottlenecks or line overloads. The present paper proposes the concept of installing Distributed Current Flow Controllers (DCFCs) in different nodes of a meshed HVDC grid that are operated selectively. This concept allows to use simplified DCFC devices to prevent the overloads, with a reduction of the required CFC voltage compared with a single CFC in the grid. First, a methodology to investigate the effect of installing DCFCs in a generic meshed HVDC grid is presented. Several case studies with a 3-terminal and a 7-terminal meshed HVDC grids are conducted and the most suitable topology for the DCFCs is derived based on the previous analysis. Then, this work analyses the increase in the operational area brought by installing DCFCs in a 3-terminal HVDC grid and it is compared with the increase achieved by a Dual H-bridge CFC in one node. The CFC losses and voltage requirement depending on the location of the DCFCs are investigated. Finally, the operation and control of the DCFCs are designed and tested in a 3-terminal meshed HVDC grid using dynamic simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the control of the parallel operation of two voltage source converter (VSC)-HVdc links interconnecting an offshore wind farm. The aim of the study is to propose and validate a control system that allows the parallel operation of two VSC-HVdc links by controlling the currents injected by the VSC converters. The currents set points are established by a voltage controller in order to maintain constant voltage and frequency in the capacitor of the output filter and therefore within the offshore wind farm (OWF). It is demonstrated that the decoupled control of the d-q component of the voltage at the capacitor allows achieving the direct control of voltage and frequency, respectively. The voltage and frequency control is implemented by orienting the capacitor voltage toward a synchronous axis that is generated within the controller and therefore is not subjected to any grid disturbance. Both converters collaborate therefore in maintaining constant voltage and frequency, achieving in this way the parallel operation of the converters. The validation of this approach is demonstrated by simulation where the OWF and the VSC-HVdc rectifier have been modeled. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed control system allows the parallelization of the converters while maintaining constant voltage and frequency within the OWF, even during transient faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel approach to damp interarea oscillations by designing a robust multi-input multioutput supplementary controller for multiterminal dc (MTDC) systems embedded in ac grids. The key idea to achieve robustness lies in explicitly modeling the MTDC current injection as disturbances using an \mathcal H\infty mixed-sensitivity formulation in the linear matrix inequality framework. Control directions are established by selecting wide-area feedback signals and the relative gain array computation. Robustness is assessed through dynamic simulations for scenarios including: first, disturbances on the ac side, second, disturbances on the dc-side such as loss of a converter pole including actuator, third, partial loss of feedback signal, and fourth, communication latencies. The performance of the proposed controller is compared against the conventional \mathcal H\infty based design, using a four-terminal dc grid embedded within the New England–New York test system. The results suggest that the proposed approach demonstrates superior performance following dc-side disturbances, actuator outages, and latency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper extends the previous virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control for voltage-source converters to modular multilevel converters (MMCs). Compared with the ac synchronous generator (SG), the VSG-based MMC is embedded with a power-angle characteristic. Starting from this feature and with reference to the existing ac system coherency-based equivalence methods, this paper proposes a novel coherency equivalence method for MMC used in large-scale renewable energy systems connected to the ac grid. This novel method mainly focuses on the coherency criterion and parameter aggregation methods which have significant differences compared with the ac system methods. The proposed equivalence method is validated on PSCAD/EMTDC and the study results indicate that: 1) the VSG-based MMC model does show the power-angle characteristic similar to the SG model; 2) the proposed coherency criterion can accurately and efficiently classify the paralleled MMC into coherent groups; and 3) the dynamic behaviors of the external systems are preserved after the aggregations of all previous coherency MMC groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a robust frequency-domain method to tune the d–q decoupled control system used in Modular Multilevel Converter-type Voltage Source Converter (MMC-VSC) systems. A linearized state-space model of the MMC-VSC system is developed and used to calculate the stability-related frequency-domain attributes. The controller design problem is formulated as an optimization problem. In this paper, the simulated annealing optimization technique is applied to find the proportional-integral (PI) controller parameters that give desired damping for the oscillatory modes and desired values for decaying exponential modes. The efficacy of this method is tested on the electromagnetic transient model of a two-terminal MMC-VSC system on the real-time digital simulators, and the results are provided in this paper. Finally, tuned controller parameters for different ac system strengths are discussed and it is shown that this mathematical model is suitable to tune the PI-controller parameters for MMC-VSC systems connected to strong as well as weak ac networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simple modulation index-dependent Thévenin equivalent circuit model of the voltage-source converters (VSCs) and the associated anti-parallel diode rectifier. The model derivation uses orthogonal transformation and a transformer analogy to transfer impedances to the dc side of the converter. The paper proposes a switched equivalent representation of a three-phase diode rectifier formed due to the antiparallel diodes when VSC switching is inhibited. The proposed model is implemented in Alternate Transients Program–Electromagnetic Transients Program and simulation results are compared with the switched model. The proposed model is shown to under predict the fault currents for pole-ground (PG) faults and to provide a nearly exact match for pole-pole faults. The rectifier equivalent provides increased accuracy in the transient region with the inclusion of the source inductance. A multiterminal dc (MTDC) system model is used to study effects of aggregation which gives increased accuracy of the equivalent circuit. It is shown that the MTDC system simulation with the proposed Thévenin equivalent is about 3 times faster than full-switched circuit simulation for a time step of 5 \mus. The MTDC system simulation with the Thévenin equivalent circuit is still accurate and 126 times faster when the time step is increased to 750 \mus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AC overvoltage emerges on dc buses of a magnetically controlled shunt reactor when a turn-to-turn fault occurs within the control winding (CtrW). Overvoltage protections are thus employed. However, this paper addresses a problem in the application of overvoltage protection against CtrW turn-to-turn faults where such a protective scheme may operate in an unacceptable time delay or even malfunction in some fault cases. It is shown that the ac overvoltage on dc buses during a turn-to-turn fault tends to be intermittent voltage spikes rather than standard sinusoidal waveform, and the fault feature may even not exist in some cases. The cause of the problem is investigated in this paper by dividing the operating state for the excitation system into three stages. It is proved that the appearance of overvoltage on dc buses is dependent on zero-crossing of the total control current. Simulation results and physical model tests have demonstrated the theoretical analysis in this paper. Moreover, a new protective scheme that is capable of detecting a 2% CtrW turn-to-turn fault by using the fundamental component in the total control current is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modular multilevel converter control system, based on converter energy storage, is proposed in this paper for two different control modes: active power and dc voltage. The proposed control system decouples the submodule (SM) capacitor voltages from the dc bus voltage. One of the practical applications is the management of active redundant SMs. A practical HVDC system with 401-level MMCs, including 10% redundancy in MMC SMs, is used for validating and demonstrating the advantages of the proposed control system. This paper also presents a novel capacitor voltage balancing control based on \max–\min functions. It is used to drastically reduce the number of switchings for each SM and enhances computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the applicability of averaged-value models (AVMs) for modular multilevel converters (MMCs) operating in a voltage-sourced converter-based-high-voltage dc (VSC-HVDC) grid. The AVM models are benchmarked by comparison with a detailed electromagnetic transient model of the grid, including a fully detailed MMC model. Analysis results show that the AVM is only effective as long as the capacitors are large enough to maintain nearly constant voltage across each MMC submodule. This paper also shows that previously developed MMC averaged models are not able to accurately simulate the transients under dc fault conditions. This paper introduces topology changes to a previously proposed averaged model that results in much improved simulation for such conditions. This paper also shows that the model can be used effectively to study HVDC grids with significant time savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When investigating voltage and current stresses in critical main circuit components during faults of the converter, a detailed equivalent model capable of representing the balancing control strategies of the capacitor voltages on the submodule level, along with blocking and delocking, is always necessary. Among previously proposed equivalent models of the modular multilevel converter (MMC), only submodule averaged models (SAMs) can capture interested inner dynamics inside each arm. However, the simulation accuracy of SAMs is not always satisfactory, especially when the time step is larger than 10 $\mu$s. In order to further improve the simulation accuracy with guaranteed simulation efficiency, the shifted frequency modeling of the half- and full-bridge hybrid MMC is proposed in this paper. Therein, each submodule is represented by Thévenin equivalents derived by submodule dynamic phasors. The arm of the MMC is represented by Norton equivalents to guarantee the efficiency, considering both normal and dc-blocking conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed model in terms of accuracy and efficiency is validated by simulating an MMC-based HVdc transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation voltage reduction (CVR) plays an important role in energy savings and shaving peak demand. This paper quantifies energy savings for refrigeration loads (RLs) with experimentally validated air conditioner and refrigerator models. It is demonstrated that peak demand reduction and energy savings exist simultaneously during the implementation of CVR. A 1666-bus real meshed network with residential, small, and large commercial customers is simulated for the calculation of energy savings. Different working patterns: weekday and weekend; weather conditions: hottest and average summer days during peak load of the year; and load types: mixed load (ZIP and RLs) and ZIP load are studied. In addition, the IEEE 8500-node radial system with 100% residential customers is also used to show the energy savings of CVR. It is concluded that the economic benefits of CVR are larger for meshed networks than for radial systems. It is also shown experimentally and by simulation that CVR produces significant savings for both utilities and customers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Due to the complexity of the system, the control of the modular multilevel converter (MMC) constitutes an intense research activity. The stored energy inside the MMC presents a new degree of freedom, which can be exploited to provide ancillary services (oscillation damping for example). In order to do so, the response time of the energy loop has to be as fast as possible. However, when a cascaded approach is used to control the structure, this purpose cannot be achieved without fast inner loops. This paper presents a novel inner loops controller in order to obtain a high response dynamic. These controllers have been developed based on exact discrete-time models obtained from an analytic calculation of exponential of matrices. A pole placement method using feedback control has been chosen to derive their control laws. For stability matters, a pole location analysis is used to set appropriately the controller parameters, which are the sampling period and the controller gains. After validation with offline simulations and in order to show the advantages of the proposed controllers compared to the existing solutions, experimental tests have been performed using a real small-scale MMC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Owing to the development of highly efficient electric power converters, the number of studies on the construction of low-voltage dc (LVDC) systems is gradually increasing. To use LVDC distribution systems, voltage regulation methods to compensate for the voltage drop and to limit the voltage unbalance are essential. In a bipolar LVDC distribution system, a voltage drop and voltage unbalance could occur because of the load current and the variation in the amount of power supplied to the poles. However, not enough research has been conducted on voltage regulation methods for LVDC distribution systems. To reduce the voltage drop and the voltage unbalance, this paper proposes a voltage regulation method based on the neutral to line drop compensation (NLDC) method, which employs a modified LDC to calculate the sending-end reference voltage. In the NLDC method, the neutral current and neutral line impedance are taken into consideration to compensate for the neutral line potential fluctuation and voltage drop on the pole. The next sending-end voltage is determined by checking the voltage unbalance factor, and it is adjusted to maintain it within the allowable voltage unbalance factor. A voltage regulation algorithm and a bipolar LVDC system model are implemented using the Electromagnetic Transients Program. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Voltage–current (V–I) droop control has been proposed for real and reactive power sharing. Compared with the conventional droop control using real power/frequency and reactive power/voltage, it enhances stability since adding a V–I droop is equivalent to providing a resistor. However, for a system with parallel converters with V–I droops, oscillations are observed when small droop coefficients are adopted. In this paper, a multi-input multioutput (MIMO) model of the system is derived in the frequency domain. This model is based on the $dq$ -reference frame and consists of converter control and the power network model, which is represented by an admittance matrix. Linear system analysis is carried out to identify the root causes of oscillations in both grid-connected mode and autonomous mode. Analysis results are validated by simulation results of detailed model-based systems built in Matlab/Simpowersystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing applications of voltage source converter-based HVDC (VSC-HVDC), the potential risk of subsynchronous torsional interaction (SSTI) between turbogenerator and VSC-HVDC has been extensively studied in previous work. However, contradictory results were reported by different researchers. Unlike previous studies, wherein the oversimplified models of VSC and generator were used, this paper uses the full-scale model of a practical modular multilevel converter (MMC)-based VSC-HVDC and the multi-mass shaft model of a turbogenerator to analyze the characteristics of SSTI. Moreover, a different approach, namely, the modal signal injection test, is proposed to identify the damping of torsional modes and the impact from decisive factors such as the loading levels, control strategies of converters, and the coupling strength between VSC-HVDC and ac networks. Comparative analyses between the full-scale and the equivalent models have revealed how system modeling affects SSTI characteristics and helped to explain the inconsistencies among the results of previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a modular multilevel converter (MMC) has become one of the most popular converters in medium/high-power applications. In this paper, a new technique is presented to decrease the computational time of the MMC by using switching state grouping for the predictive controller. The proposed technique has the ability to control the output current, minimize the circulating currents, and balance all capacitor voltages, simultaneously. For a predefined number of MMC submodules, the number available switching states is known. The proposed technique uses two stages of predictive modules. In the first stage, the switching states of the MMC are divided equally into a number of groups, controlled simultaneously by the same number of predictive modules. The optimal number of the switching state groups in the first stage is obtained. In the second stage, only one predictive module is used to obtain the optimal switching state of the MMC without any other complexities or additional sorting controllers. The effectiveness of the proposed control technique has been verified by using MATLAB/SIMULINK software considering steady state and dynamic analysis. The results of the proposed technique are compared with the conventional one in terms of computation time, verifying better performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although virtually every overhead HVdc line is based on line commutated converter (LCC) technology, hardly any work has been reported on modeling and analysis of the impact of inertia and effective short circuit ratio on control of frequency in weak grids interfacing LCC-HVdc and onshore doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind farms. This paper develops a comprehensive modeling and stability analysis framework of a weak grid that interfaces an LCC-HVdc station and a DFIG-based wind farm. To that end, a nonlinear averaged phasor model of the system is derived, which is then benchmarked against a detailed switched model. The averaged model is linearized to design a frequency controller for the LCC-HVdc rectifier station. Participation factor and eigenvalue sensitivity measures indicate that the ac system electromechanical mode and the “HVdc PLL” mode are highly sensitive to changes in effective dc inertia constant and effective short circuit ratio, respectively. Root-locus analysis in a progressively weak grid validates these results. A systematic design process of the frequency controller parameters reveals a negative interaction between the “generator speed-HVdc PLL-frequency controller” mode and the “DFIG-GSC controller” mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A control technique is proposed in this paper for control of modular multilevel converters (MMC) in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems. Six independent dynamical state variables are considered in the proposed control technique, including two ac currents, three circulating currents, and the dc-link voltage, for effectively attaining the switching state functions of MMCs, as well as for an accurate control of the circulating currents. Several analytical expressions are derived based on the reference values of the state variables for obtaining the MMC switching functions under steady state operating conditions. In addition, dynamic parts of the switching functions are accomplished by the direct Lyapunov method to guarantee stable operation of the proposed technique for control of MMCs in HVDC systems. Moreover, the capability curve of MMC is developed to validate maximum power injection from MMCs into the power grid and/or loads. The impacts of the variations of MMC output and dc-link currents on the stability of dc-link voltage are also evaluated in detail by small-signal analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a startup sequence for a modular multilevel converter (MMC) HVDC-connected offshore wind farm (OWF) and demonstrates how it can be simulated using an electromagnetic transient-type tool. The objective is to analyze inrush currents of transformers and cables (HVAC and HVDC). Modeling accuracies and computational performances are examined using three existing modeling methods for the MMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Future multiterminal HVDC systems are expected to utilize dc voltage droop controllers, and several control structures have been proposed in the literature. This paper proposes a methodology to analyze the impact of various types of droop control structures using small-signal stability analysis considering all possible combinations of droop gains. The different control structures are evaluated by the active power transfer capability as a function of the droop gains, considering various possible stability margins. This reveals the flexibility and robustness against active power flow variations, due to disturbances for all of the implementations. A case study analyzing a three-terminal HVDC VSC-based grid with eight different kinds of droop control schemes points out that three control structures outperform the remaining ones. In addition, a multivendor case is considered where the most beneficial combinations of control structures have been combined in order to find the best performing combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-known and widely applied Thévenin theorem is applied to the operational analysis of ac transmission circuits. The approach is to model the transmission circuit \mathcalN as an $n$-port. The calculation of the Thévenin equivalent impedance is found by applying an $n$-vector of currents to \mathcalN and observing the behavior of the terminal voltages of \mathcalN. The Thévenin equivalent voltage is an $n$-vector and this is simply the open-circuit voltage of \mathcalN . The equivalent circuit is applied to conveniently study the transmission circuit performance for a range of different operating conditions. The treatment of controlled sources in the model is described. The application of Thévenin's theorem to a class of multiport circuits has been described before, and the application to three-phase circuits has been suggested; however, the contribution in this paper is the treatment of transformers and modeling mutual coupling between phases in transmission components, and the application to general polyphase circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) has become one of the most promising topologies for high-voltage applications. Although the MMC has a modular and redundant structure, which can significantly enhance its reliability and fault tolerance, its fault handling capability can be further improved by adopting a postfault strategy. In this paper, a postfault strategy based on the neutral-shift method is proposed, which, subsequent to bypassing the faulty submodule(s), aims at improving the maximum attainable line-to-line voltages of the MMC. Based on a newly developed internal variable analysis method, the impact of the neutral-shift strategy on the operation of the MMC is analyzed. In conjunction with the proposed postfault strategy, a modified circulating current suppression (CCS) method is used to mitigate the double-frequency component of the circulating currents. Performance and effectiveness of the proposed neutral-shift strategy with and without the CCS method is evaluated based on time-domain simulation studies in the PSCAD/EMTDC software environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The increased penetration of renewable distributed energy sources increases the challenges for distribution systems operators to keep the voltage variations within the prescribed limits. One of the voltage problems is caused by single-phase systems leading to voltage unbalance. Another problem is overvoltages caused by local injection of distributed energy sources. An effective solution for this problem is by active power curtailment. In this paper, a control strategy is proposed that mitigates voltage unbalance by using active power and it is equipped with a linear active power curtailment solution. The effect of the proposed control strategy and three state-of-the-art control strategies on the voltage profile and the curtailed power are studied. It can be concluded that the proposed control strategy has a beneficial effect on the voltage profile along a feeder and leads to less power curtailment compared to the state-of-the-art solutions. The proposed control strategy thus allows an increased penetration of distributed energy sources in the low-voltage grid. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In order to strengthen the onshore transmission network in many parts of the world, voltage-source current–high-voltage direct current (VSC–HVDC) will increasingly be utilized. The effect of the operating point of a VSC-HVDC link and the control strategies employed can substantially affect the electromechanical oscillatory behavior of the ac network as well as the dc-side dynamics. In order for the full, flexible capability of VSC-HVDC to be exploited, further study of the effects of these controllers and their interactions with ac system responses is necessary. This paper addresses this gap. Both modal analysis and transient stability analysis are used to highlight tradeoffs between candidate VSC-HVDC power controllers and to study the electromechanical performance of the integrated ac/dc model. Tests are carried out on both a generic two-area model and a large-scale realistic network with detailed ac generator and HVDC models. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a two-terminal VSC-HVDC system embedded in a weak grid ac environment is considered, emphasizing modeling, controller design, and small-signal stability analysis. Traditionally, the dc cable is modeled by \Pi-sections, implying that care has to be taken when using the model for higher frequencies or in cases of higher cable impedance density, such as submarine cables. Here, a distributed parameter cable model is used to overcome this problem. The VSC-HVDC system can be described as two cascaded blocks. The first block is a transfer function that will differ depending on what input and output variables are considered, but which is in all realistic cases stable. The second block is a feedback loop, where the forward path is a rational function and the return path is a dissipative infinite dimensional function, remaining the same in all cases. The stability is then analyzed, using the Nyquist criterion, in a straightforward manner. Numerical examples are given by the use of MATLAB. The result is that if the VSC-HVDC system using a single \Pi-section cable model is stable, so is the VSC-HVDC system using a distributed parameter cable model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the droop-based dc voltage control design for multiterminal VSC-HVDC grid systems, considering the ac and the dc system dynamics. The droop control design relies on detailed linearized models of the complete multiterminal grid, including the different system dynamics, such as the dc grid, the ac grid, the ac connection filters, and the converter inner controllers. Based on the derived linear models, classical and modern control techniques are applied to design the different controllers, including a multivariable frequency analysis to design the grid voltage droop control. In combination with the droop control, a dc oscillation damping scheme is proposed in order to improve system performance. The control design is validated through simulations of a three-terminal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation voltage reduction (CVR) and distributed-generation (DG) integration are popular strategies implemented by utilities to improve energy efficiency. This paper investigates the interactions between CVR and DG placement to minimize load consumption in distribution networks, while keeping the lowest voltage level within the predefined range. The optimal placement of DG units is formulated as a stochastic optimization problem considering the uncertainty of DG outputs and load consumptions. A sample average approximation algorithm-based technique is developed to solve the formulated problem effectively. A multiple replications procedure is developed to test the stability of the solution and calculate the confidence interval of the gap between the candidate solution and optimal solution. The proposed method has been applied to the IEEE 37-bus distribution test system with different scenarios. The numerical results indicate that the implementations of CVR and DG, if combined, can achieve significant energy savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resonances can have a negative impact on a voltage-source converter–high voltage dc (VSC–HVDC) system. This paper develops dc impedance models for the rectifier and inverter stations for a VSC-HVDC system when they are viewed from a dc terminal. The impedance models take converter controllers into account. The derived impedance models are validated by comparing frequency responses of the analytical model and the impedance measured at the dc terminal from a detailed VSC–HVDC model simulated in a real-time digital simulator. Resonances are examined in the frequency domain (e.g., Bode plots and Nyquist plots) using the derived analytical impedance models. The analysis is verified by time-domain simulations. Real-time digital simulation in RT-Lab demonstrates that the dc capacitor has a significant impact on resonances while the power transfer level has an insignificant impact on resonances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the utilization of a harmony search algorithm (HSA) to optimally design the proportional-integral (PI) controllers of a grid-side voltage source cascaded converter with two additional loops for smooth transition of islanding and resynchronization operations in a distributed-generation (DG) system. The first loop is the frequency-control loop which is superimposed on the real power setpoint of the cascaded controller of the voltage-source converter to minimize the frequency variation during the transition from the grid mode to islanding mode. The second loop is the resynchronization loop which reduces the phase shift of the ac voltages of the DG with the utility grid ac voltages during islanding operation leading to a successful grid reconnection event. The response surface methodology (RSM) is used to build the mathematical model of the system dynamic responses in terms of PI controllers' parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed PI control scheme optimized by the HSA is then compared with that optimized by both genetic algorithm and conventional generalized reduced gradient techniques. The HSA code is built using the MATLAB software program. The validity of the proposed system is verified by the simulation results which are performed using PSCAD/EMTDC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents an efficient hybrid approach for volt/var control in distribution systems, with switching limits on taps and shunts. Since the problem is nondeterministic polynomial hard and combinatorial with huge solution space, metaheuristic techniques, despite being computationally expensive, have been used. The proposed approach combines the strengths of a gradient technique and a metaheuristic technique. In the first phase, the primal-dual interior point method (PDIPM) treats the discrete variables as continuous. These are then discretized using PDIPM-based sensitivities. These two solutions provide heuristic bounds on controls which are used in the second phase by a metaheuristic algorithm. The bounds aid in limiting the number of controls' combinations. Results for two systems have been obtained which ascertain the potential of the proposed approach over the conventional metaheuristic technique. These also indicate approximately 30-35 times increase in speed with the proposed algorithm compared to the conventional one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]