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Saturation nonlinearities caused by control limiters will be activated during large disturbances, complicating the stability of grid-tied voltage source converters (VSCs). This letter investigates the large-disturbance synchronization stability of the grid-tied VSC considering two typical control limiters, i.e., the hard limiter of the reference current and the circular limiter used to avoid overmodulation. A unified differential equation (UDE) model is proposed to quantify the transient responses and stability boundaries of the system under different saturation conditions. It is revealed that the VSC behaves as a current source when the hard limiter is activated; while the interaction between the two limiters drives the VSC to work as a voltage source, making it immune to synchronization instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interactions between permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs) and weak grids may cause negatively damped or growing subsynchronous oscillation (SSO). The growing-SSO would evolve into a sustained-SSO when it is predominantly governed by the nonlinearities in the PMSG's converter control, such as current limiter. Most of the existing frequency-domain modeling and stability analysis methods are in the small-signal sense and thus unable to consider the impact of such nonlinearities. Besides, these methods can hardly give vital information to characterize the sustained-SSO, for instance, the magnitude. This paper presents a detailed characteristic analysis of the sustained-SSO while accounting for the effect of current limiter nonlinearity. First, a single-input-single-output (SISO) frequency-domain model of the PMSG is developed. This SISO model comprises the transfer functions of outer-/inner-loop controls and phase-locked loop (PLL). The nonlinear part, i.e., current limiter, is incorporated into the model using the describing function (DF) method. Then, the equivalent transformation on the system's closed-loop characteristic equation is used to separate the SISO model into independent linear and nonlinear parts. This separation enables the use of the DF-based Nyquist criterion for evaluating the system stability and determining oscillation attributes, such as the magnitude and frequency. Both the analytic results and time-domain simulations reveal that the current limiter has a significant impact on the characteristics of the sustained-SSO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub/Super-synchronous oscillations have occurred in wind farms consisting of doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) or permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs). This paper investigates the impact of synchronous condenser (SC) on sub/super-synchronous oscillations in wind farms with different types of generator and compares it with STATCOM. Impedance model is adopted in this paper to explain the mechanism of oscillations in wind farms and its mitigation using SC. Compared to STATCOM, SC is more effective in oscillation mitigations of the two types of wind farms. Eigenvalue analysis and time domain simulations in PSCAD/EMTDC are used to check the influence on sub/super-synchronous oscillations from different parameters of SC, such as its capacity, leakage reactance and inertia constant. The results indicate that SC would improve the system stability while a larger capacity will induce a greater improvement. A smaller leakage reactance of SC also benefits the mitigation of oscillations while its inertia constant can hardly influence system stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel hybrid-arm modular multilevel converters (HA-MMCs) topology with DC low voltage operation and fault ride-through capability is proposed for unidirectional HVDC bulk power transmission. The HA-MMCs topology is a combination of two types of converter arms: the half-bridge sub-module based arm (HBSM-arm) and the diagonal bridge sub-module based arm (DBSM-arm). Replacing the traditional HBSM-MMC, the HA-MMCs are operated in current and reactive power control modes during normal conditions and can work as the rectifier or the inverter. Since the DBSM can provide bipolar voltages with unipolar currents, the HA-MMCs need not change its control strategy under DC low voltage conditions caused by the high-impedance faults. Under DC pole-to-pole or pole-to-ground faults, the HA-MMCs can both clear the DC fault current and work as the static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) to provide reactive power to support the AC grid. Compared with other MMC topologies with DC fault ride-through capability, the HA-MMCs topology is more economical for significantly decreasing the number of power devices. The operation states, control strategy and DC low voltage operation capability of the HA-MMCs are presented and simulation results of the LCC-HA-MMC hybrid system using PSCAD/EMTDC validate the characteristics and advantages of the HA-MMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mainstream researches focus on the linearised impedance/admittance model and its related coupling effects or stability problems. However, since various non‐linear components exist in control loops, their non‐linear dynamics shall be described to improve the modelling accuracy. To fill in this gap, this study develops a large‐signal impedance/admittance model (LSIM/LSAM) to describe the dominant non‐linearity of modulation saturation in a grid‐connected voltage‐source converter (VSC). The LSAM represents the non‐linearity with the equivalent saturation gains based on the describing function theory and then incorporates the derived gains into conventional small‐signal AM (SSAM) to obtain a partially non‐linear admittance. The proposed LSAM distinguishes itself from SSAM by reflecting the improvement in the magnitude‐ and phase‐response of admittance during non‐linear oscillations. Case studies on a grid‐connected VSC containing saturation non‐linearity are conducted to validate the model's effectiveness in stability analysis. It is found that the frequency deviation and sustained oscillation caused by non‐linearity, which can hardly be assessed using SSAM, can be well captured by LSAM. The results of parameter analysis verify that the modulation saturation dominates the system non‐linearity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing integration of power electronic converters into the power system, the interactions between converters and their adjacent transmissions bring emerging oscillation issues. A new type of sub- and super-synchronous interactions (S $^2$ SI) between STATCOMs and the weak AC/DC grid were detected in China Southern Grid. As an oscillation incident never reported before, as far as the authors know, its characteristics were quite different from the previous ones. Field measurements as well as simulation studies have revealed that the various factors contributing to the S $^2$ SI include the number of online STATCOMs, the strength of the AC system (in terms of effective short-circuit ratio), the status of series compensation, and the loading level of the HVDC. The mechanism of such oscillation has been clarified and it is caused by the S $^2$ SI between STATCOMs and weak AC grids, where sub- and super-synchronous components are involved in a coupled way. To fully represent such a coupling effect, the concept of sub- and super-synchronous coupled impedance model (IM), or S $^2$ SC-IM, is proposed and developed in order to establish a stability criterion for the S $^2$ SI. Based on the IM-based method as well as the time-domain simulations, the impacts on S $^2$ SI from the various factors are quantitatively analyzed. The results show good consistence among theoretical analysis, electromagnetic simulations, and field measurements. Therefore, the effectiveness of the developed models and the stability criterion has been well verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term voltage stability (STVS) issues pose a significant threat to modern power systems. Based on extensive observations of STVS events, their primary predictors can be summarized as summer peak load levels with a high percentage of air conditioners, and occurrence of faults caused by thunderstorms or other emergencies. The predictors can be used as the triggering signals for preventive voltage control (PVC). Previous design of PVC dominantly focuses on the improvement of long-term voltage stability, and demand response (DR) resources are not fully utilized. In this paper, a DR-based PVC method is proposed to improve STVS if the day-ahead forecast indicates that the system will experience high STVS risk. We formulate PVC as an optimal power flow problem and solve it in a distributed manner, where the central controller (CC) and the local controllers jointly compute an optimal schedule. Thus, the computational burden of the CC is reduced compared with the existing centralized algorithms, and customer privacy is well protected. The simulation results not only verify the advantage of the improved index, but also demonstrate the fast convergence and effectiveness of the distributed PVC, which, therefore, offers an alternative approach to improve STVS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel multirate co-simulation method to improve simulation efficiency of large-scale AC plus multiterminal DC (MTDC) grids. In this method, the whole system is partitioned into different AC and MTDC subsystems. They each are simulated with different time steps according to their requirements of accuracy. Unlike the existing methods where simplified models are adopted, the proposed approach fully reserves both the detailed behavior of converters and the nonlinear dynamics of large-scale AC systems. To realize the coordination between different subsystems, updating and discretization of the interface models are significant to guarantee the overall numerical accuracy and stability of the co-simulation method. Accordingly, the interface models of the partitioned AC and DC networks are represented by time-varying Thevenin and Norton equivalents. To eliminate the aliasing or time-delay errors, their parameters are derived using moving-window prediction, stepwise correction, and averaging techniques. A numerical oscillation suppression algorithm is developed for the discretization of the interface model. Thus, numerical stability is well guaranteed. The variables inside each subsystem as well as the interfaces, which are derived by augmented network equations (ANEs), are calculated simultaneously. The rate ratio of large AC and MTDC systems is determined based on our proposed criterion of electromagnetic transient simulation accuracy. The effectiveness of the cosimulation method is validated on a practical system integrating large AC and modular-multilevel-converter-based MTDC grids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of load, especially induction motors, are the driving force for short-term voltage stability (STVS) problems. In this paper, the equivalent rotation speed of motors is identified online and its recovery time is estimated next to realize an emergency-demand-response (EDR) based under speed load shedding (USLS) scheme to improve STVS. The proposed scheme consists of an EDR program and two regular stages (RSs). In the EDR program, contracted load is used as a fast-response resource rather than the last defense. The estimated recovery time (ERT) is used as the triggering signal for the EDR program. In the RSs, the amount of load to be shed at each bus is determined according to the assigned weights based on ERTs. Case studies on a practical power system in China Southern Power Grid have validated the performance of the proposed USLS scheme under various contingency scenarios. The utilization of EDR resources and the adaptive distribution of shedding amount in RSs guarantee faster voltage recovery. Therefore, USLS offers a new and more effective approach compared with existing under voltage load shedding to improve STVS. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a novel bipolar modular multilevel converter (MMC) topology with dc fault ride-through capability. The proposed bipolar MMC topology is a hybrid of two types of arms: the half-bridge submodule (HBSM)-based arms (HBSM-arms) which are connected to the ground pole, and the unipolar-voltage full-bridge submodule (UFBSM)-based arms (UFBSM-arms) which are connected to the positive or negative pole. During a pole-to-ground or pole-to-pole dc fault, the hybrid-arm design offers the proposed UFBSM-based hybrid-arm bipolar MMC (UHA-BMMC) the capability to provide additional reactive power to support the ac grid while blocking the dc fault current. The topology, operation principle, dc fault mechanisms, and dc fault ride-through scheme of the UHAB-MMC are presented in this paper. Compared with other possible bipolar MMC topologies, the UHA-BMMC provides good dc fault ride-through capability with a small cost of power-electronic devices. The validity and features of the proposed UHA-BMMC are verified by simulation results conducted in PSCAD/EMTDC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To make better use of local generators' dynamic var reserve to improve short-term voltage stability (STVS), this paper proposes an integrated high side var-voltage control (IHSV^2C) for power plants in receiving-end power systems. The IHSV^2C consists of a plant-level multi-machine var coordinator (MMVC) and several unit-level high side voltage controllers (HSVCs). MMVC coordinates the reactive power output among generators and provides control parameters for HSVCs, while HSVCs can maintain the voltage of a pre-defined voltage control point (VCP) by regulating the voltage reference of the excitation control of each generator. Therefore, when the system suffers a serious fault, IHSV^2C can drive the generators to provide stronger var support. Consequently, the voltage stability can be improved. A conceptual model of the receiving-end power system in China Southern Power Grid (CSG) is established, and the IHSV^2C has been validated through a simulation analysis on the system. Both time-domain simulation results and the voltage sag severity index (VSSI) have fully demonstrated its performance. Therefore IHSV^2C offers a new and effective approach to improve STVS of receiving-end power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practical subsynchronous instability events have been observed in doubly fed induction generator‐based wind farms, which are radially connected to fixed series compensated transmission lines. As a special type of subsynchronous resonance, this phenomenon is described here as subsynchronous control interaction (SSCI). This study proposes a centralised SSCI mitigation scheme named as subsynchronous damper (SSD). In this scheme, an additional high‐power electronic voltage‐sourced converter is added to the collection bus of wind farms. It is designed to dissipate the electrical resonance power of SSCI. Thus, SSD provides positive damping for SSCI. Its basic principle is explained with equivalent electric circuit and the sufficient conditions for stabilisation are obtained mathematically. Controller design guidelines are given and have been verified first by eigenvalue analysis. Then a method to choose the capacity of power electronic converter is proposed. The effectiveness of SSD is finally demonstrated by extensive time‐domain simulations on a target system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsynchronous resonance (SSR) was observed in wind farms located in North China. These wind farms prevailingly consist of doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) and are connected to series-compensated transmission lines. The observed resonant frequency is about 6 \sim 8 Hz, which is much lower than that of the reported SSR occurred in Texas. The frequency varies during the occurrence and this phenomenon is observed for the first time. The output power is usually within a certain range, when SSR occurs. Based on the practical system, an equivalent simulation system has been established, in which wind farms are modeled as many identical low rating DFIGs. Then, the SSR event is reproduced by simulations. Analysis results indicate that SSR happens even when the equivalent transmission system compensation level seen from wind farms is only 6.67%. Eigenvalue analysis shows that this phenomenon is an electrical resonance, and could be affected considerably by wind speed, number and control of DFIGs. The number of in-service DFIGs has a nonlinear impact on the damping of SSR. An equivalent electric circuit is deduced to intuitively explain why SSR happens and how the above factors affect it. Considering its features, this phenomenon is recognized as DFIG control participated induction generator effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microgrids are highly compatible with photovoltaic (PV) sources because of their ability to internally aggregate and balance multiple renewable sources. Traditional grid-connected PV inverter control configurations are basically current sourced and cannot easily control ac voltage or frequency. The PV inverter using the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS) concepts can control ac voltage and frequency but have a major problem with load transients. During a load transient, the PV microsource becomes overloaded with the possibility of collapsing the dc bus voltage resulting in an ac voltage drop. This paper presents a PV inverter control strategy which enables PV to behave as a voltage source and is capable of maintaining dc bus voltage stability during load transient. With this PV inverter control configuration, it is shown that the PV microsource can operate as a voltage source in the CERTS microgrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]