No Arabic abstract
Small-signal instability of grid-connected power converters may arise when the converters use a phase-locked loop (PLL) to synchronize with a weak grid. Commonly, this stability problem (referred as PLL-synchronization stability in this paper) was studied by employing a single-converter system connected to an infinite bus, which however, omits the impacts of power grid structure and the interactions among multiple converters. Motivated by this, we investigate how the grid structure affects PLL-synchronization stability of multi-converter systems. By using Kron reduction to eliminate the interior nodes, an equivalent reduced network is obtained which contains only the converter nodes. We explicitly show how the Kron-reduced multi-converter system can be decoupled into its modes. This modal representation allows us to demonstrate that the smallest eigenvalue of the grounded Laplacian matrix of the Kron-reduced network dominates the stability margin. We also carry out a sensitivity analysis of this smallest eigenvalue to explore how a perturbation in the original network affects the stability margin. On this basis, we provide guidelines on how to improve the PLL-synchronization stability of multi-converter systems by PLL-retuning, proper placement of converters or enhancing some weak connection in the network. Finally, we validate our findings with simulation results based on a 39-bus test system.
The modern power grid features the high penetration of power converters, which widely employ a phase-locked loop (PLL) for grid synchronization. However, it has been pointed out that PLL can give rise to small-signal instabilities under weak grid conditions. This problem can be potentially resolved by operating the converters in grid-forming mode, namely, without using a PLL. Nonetheless, it has not been theoretically revealed how the placement of grid-forming converters enhances the small-signal stability of power systems integrated with large-scale PLL-based converters. This paper aims at filling this gap. Based on matrix perturbation theory, we explicitly demonstrate that the placement of grid-forming converters is equivalent to increasing the power grid strength and thus improving the small-signal stability of PLL-based converters. Furthermore, we investigate the optimal locations to place grid-forming converters by increasing the smallest eigenvalue of the weighted and Kron-reduced Laplacian matrix of the power network. The analysis in this paper is validated through high-fidelity simulation studies on a modified two-area test system and a modified 39-bus test system. This paper potentially lays the foundation for understanding the interaction between PLL-based (i.e., grid-following) converters and grid-forming converters, and coordinating their placements in future converter-dominated power systems.
The transient stability of power systems and synchronization of non-uniform Kuramoto oscillators are closely related problems. In this paper, we develop a novel regional stability analysis framework based on the proposed region-parametrized Lyapunov function to solve the problems. Also, a new synchronization definition is introduced and characterized by frequency boundedness and angle cohesiveness, the latter of which requires angles of any two connected nodes rather than any two arbitrary nodes to stay cohesive. It allows to take power fluctuations into explicit account as disturbances and can lead to less conservative stability condition. Applying the analysis framework, we derive two algebraic stability conditions for power systems that relate the underlying network topology and system parameters to the stability. Finally, to authors best knowledge, we first explicitly give the estimation of region of attraction for power systems. The analysis is verified via numerical simulation showing that two stability conditions can complement each other for predicting the stability.
Stability of power grids with synchronous generators (SGs) and renewable generation interfaced with grid-forming converters (GFCs) under dc-side current limitation is studied. To that end, we first consider a simple 2-bus test system and reduced-order models to highlight the fundamental difference between two classes of GFC controls -- (A) droop, dispatchable virtual oscillator control (dVOC) and virtual synchronous machine (VSM), and (B) matching control. Next, we study Lyapunov stability and input-output stability of the dc voltage dynamics of class-A GFCs for the simple system and extend it to a generic system. Next, we provide a sufficiency condition for input-to-state stability of the 2-bus system with a class-B GFC and extend it for a generic system. Finally, time-domain simulations from a reduced-order averaged model of the simple test system and a detailed switched model of the GFC validate the proposed conditions.
In this paper, we present a novel approach to identify the generators and states responsible for the small-signal stability of power networks. To this end, the newly developed notion of information transfer between the states of a dynamical system is used. In particular, using the concept of information transfer, which characterizes influence between the various states and a linear combination of states of a dynamical system, we identify the generators and states which are responsible for causing instability of the power network. While characterizing influence from state to state, information transfer can also describe influence from state to modes thereby generalizing the well-known notion of participation factor while at the same time overcoming some of the limitations of the participation factor. The developed framework is applied to study the three bus system identifying various cause of instabilities in the system. The simulation study is extended to IEEE 39 bus system.
One of the fundamental concerns in the operation of modern power systems is the assessment of their frequency stability in case of inertia-reduction induced by the large share of power electronic interfaced resources. Within this context, the paper proposes a framework that, by making use of linear models of the frequency response of different types of power plants, including also grid--forming and grid-following converters, is capable to infer a numerically tractable dynamical model to be used in frequency stability assessment. Furthermore, the proposed framework makes use of models defined in a way such that their parameters can be inferred from real-time measurements feeding a classical least squares estimator. The paper validates the proposed framework using a full-replica of the dynamical model of the IEEE 39 bus system simulated in a real-time platform.