2016 International Conference on Next Generation Intelligent Systems (ICNGIS)
Analysis of Active Power Control of HVDC in
Damping Power Oscillations
Swathi S B
PG Scholar
Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
Government Engineering College
Thrissur, India
swa8691@gmail.com
Abstract— The ability of High-Voltage-DC(HVDC) system to
improve the system dynamics and stability by modulation of
active power flow through the HVDC terminals is presented. This
method is used to damp oscillations in large systems. A two-
machine system is used for analysis. For simulation purpose an
HVDC transmission system is designed based on Rihand-Dadri
500kV HVDC project, India. Stability analysis is carried out by
monitoring the rotor speed deviation of the machine. Variation of
system dynamics is studied by varying the modulation and
system parameters. Simulation result under each case has been
obtained in MATLAB.
Keywords—HVDC transmission system, stability, active power
modulation
I. INTRODUCTION
With the growth of system by large capacity equipments
and inter-area connections the system stability is of great
concern. Any disturbance on part of the system tends to
disturb the rest of the system. A possible way to mitigate the
inter-area oscillation issues is by the use of HVDC systems
which has the ability to change the direction of power flow
directly or indirectly [1]. With the control of HVDC,
disturbances on one part of the system due to disturbance on
another part can be reduced. The controllability of HVDC
system in improving the system dynamics is discussed in [2]
and [3].
In order to keep the system stable and reduce inter-area
oscillations active power modulation can be employed. In this
method the active power flow through the HVDC system is
modulated in accordance with the disturbance so that the
system doesn’t reach the verge of instability. Modeling and
analysis of active power modulation using eigen vectors is
discussed in [3]. In [5]-[7], study of active power modulation
in various grids around the world have been done. Derivation
of damping coefficient and hence analysis of system stability
by modulation is done in [4]. Also [4] discusses about the
change in the damping coefficient under different pairing
conditions and its application in Multi-Terminal DC (MTDC).
In all papers [2]-[7] active power modulation proves to be
an efficient method to damp power oscillations of the system.
This paper presents a study of active power modulation under
978-1-5090-0870-4/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE
Nisha G Poothullil
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
Government Engineering College
Thrissur, India
nishag@gectcr.ac.in
varying parameters. For simulation purpose, design data of
500kV HVDC transmission system connected between
Rihand-Dadri is employed.
The outline of this paper is as follows: In Section II a
brief discussion of HVDC system, basic structure, advantages
and disadvantages of Line-Commutated-Converter(LCC) and
Voltage-Source-Converter(VSC) based converters is done.
Section III discusses about active power modulation and gives
a summary of damping coefficient derived under various
conditions. A two machine HVDC system is developed using
Rihand-Dadri project data and active power modulation is
carried out. Finally Simulation results with and without
modulation are discussed in Section IV. Response of the
system by changing modulation and system parameters are
also discussed. Concluding remarks and the future scope of
this method is mentioned in Section V and VI respectively.
II. HVDC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
HVDC has advantages over AC in many situations and
with the advent of thyristors it became more attractive. In
situations like underwater cables longer than about 30km,
asynchronous link between two ac systems with a difference
in nominal frequencies and long distance transmission of over
600km AC transmission is uneconomical. Besides HVDC
system has the ability to control the power flow through the
system which greatly alters the stability of the system. HVDC
links can be of 3 types : Monopolar, Bipolar and Homopolar.
Throughout this paper a bipolar system is being used.
A. Basic Configuration
Based on the type of converter used they can be classified
as LCC based HVDC and VSC based HVDC. Of these VSC is
widely approved over LCC due to its black starting capability,
independent active and reactive power control, ability to
supply weak AC grids etc. Besides, LCC is not feasible for
MTDC configuration whereas VSC is. Also LCC requires
reactive power support which VSC doesn’t need. In this paper
VSC based HVDC system is employed. The dynamic model
of VSC-HVDC system is given in Fig. 1. In VSC-HVDC,
valves are built by IGBTs and PWM is used to create the
desired waveform. By altering the PWM patterns desired
power flow conditions can be obtained.
 2016 International Conference on Next Generation Intelligent Systems (ICNGIS)
Fig. 1. VSC-HVDC system
III. ACTIVE POWER MODULATION
In a VSC-HVDC, the rectifier and inverter can be
configured to control the DC link voltage, AC voltage at the
point of common coupling, active power flow over the DC
link and reactive power flow exchanged between converters.
Vector control method is the basis of this control operation
[8]. The inverter is configured to control the active power flow
(P) and reactive power (Q) exchanged by the converter
 and the
rectifier is set to control the DC link voltage, and reactive
power flow (Q) through the rectifier. Active power control is
carried out by adding an error signal to the power measured as
shown in Fig. 2 [9]
Fig. 2. Active power control loop
Fig. 3. Two machine System
The error signal added to the active power control loop is a
function of rotor speed deviation of the connected system. A
two machine system as in [4] with machine 1 and machine 2 is
considered as in Fig. 3. Let machine 1 and 2 have inertia
constants of …. and … and the points of common coupling be
at a and b. A third terminal c is defined as a load terminal.
Also, …… and … are the electrical distances between
the three terminals a, b and c . The bus-bar voltages angles are
represented by . Assuming that all measurements
are available at each terminal, error signals are developed as,
(1)
(2)
here,
are error signals supplied to machine a and b
are rotor speeds in rpm
are rotor speed deviations
are modulation gains
A. Damping Coefficient
By the application of active power control, the inter-area
mode of oscillation is damped. In order to derive the damping
coefficient of a system, the swing equation [10] of the
machine connected across the DC terminals is considered. For
a two-machine system we will have,
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
So if we consider as state space
variables, then the state equation of the system can be formed
as,
(7)
where,
(8)
where determine the frequency of oscillation and ....
determine the damping [3]. Thus the damping matrix D can be
defined as ,
(9)
Substituting for the above parameters using equations (3)-(6)
and corresponding power flow equations, the damping
coefficient can be derived in terms of system parameters.
Detailed derivation is provided in [3] and [4]. The damping
coefficient so derived will be of the form,
(10)
where,
(11)
From (11) it can be seen that the damping coefficient is
inversely proportional to inertia constant of the machines i.e. a
smaller machine is of more significance than a larger machine
in defining the damping coefficient. Practically speaking, a
lower inertia machine tends to give larger swings on fault than
a larger inertia machine. So in the absence of instant
measurement system, data from a lower inertia machine can
be relied upon. This reduces the number of parameters
required.
 2016 International Conference on Next Generation Intelligent Systems (ICNGIS)

Other than the inertia constant, the damping coefficient is a
function of electrical distance and modulation gain. So in
coming sections variation of damping with change in electrical
distance and modulation gain is studied with the help of
simulation results.
rotor speed deviation of the machines ∆ω gives an indication
of the system dynamics and stability of the system. Fig. 4 and
Fig. 5 shows the DC voltage of 500kV and rotor speed
deviation of one of the machine whose inertia constant is 10s
and rated speed is 1500rpm.
5 Vdc PN (V)
x 10
6

IV. SIMULATION STUDIES 4

+500kV
A. 500kV Rihand-Dadri HVDC Project, India 2

In order to study the dynamics of a HVDC transmission

Vdc PN(V)
system with active power control, a VSC-HVDC system is 0

designed in MATLAB using the data collected regarding -2

Rihand-Dadri project, India available in internet. It is a 500kV
National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) project -4
-500kV
installed by ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB) in August 1992.
Parameters are as follows: -6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time
Fig. 4. DC Voltage in kV
<Rotor speed deviation dw (pu)>
0.05
TABLE I. RIHAND-DADRI HVDC SYSTEM D ATA
0.04

Parameter Data
0.03
1500MW (Dadri)
Power Rating 0.02

Rotor Speed Deviation dw (pu)

1568MW(Rihand)
0.01

Length of line 814km 0

12 pulse with quadruple suspend -0.01

Converter
valves -0.02

-0.03
Converter 400kV/213kV,315MVA(Rihand)
-0.04

Transformer 400kV/206kV, 305MVA (Dadri) -0.05

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time
3/36 40.1MVAR Fig. 5. Rotor Speed Deviation ∆ω (pu); at rated speed of 1500rpm, Inertia
11/13 39MVAR constant H(s)=10s (s-domain)
AC Filters
5/27 70.5MVAR
C. Active Power Control
HP/24 38.8MVAR
In order to control the active power rotor speed deviations
1300kV Lightning
Insulation Level ∆ω is obtained from both machines. In the absence of
1080kV Switching complete measurement data, lower inertia machine is to be
Input/Output AC 400kV 50Hz 12-pulse monitored. As shown in Fig. 6, the rotor speed deviations are
multiplied with corresponding gains K. These are added and
500kV (nominal) then passed through a washout filter W(s). The purpose of a
Input/Output DC
400kV (reduced)
washout filter is to reject steady state inputs and pass transient
inputs. It is generally a high pass filter. The output of the
DC Capacitor Cp = Cn = 70 μF (2 numbers) washout filter acts as the error signal which is then added to
C_DCF = 12 μF (2 numbers) the measured value of active power, which is then compared
with the reference active power to generate the reference d-
DC Filter L_DCF = 46.908mH
axis current for the controller.
R_DCF = 0.14737Ω
0.36H (close to valve)
DC Reactors
0.18H W(s)
W(s) C

B. Two Machine System

Two machines of 13.8kV, 50Hz, 315MVA and 13.8kV,
50Hz, 305MVA was modeled on either side of the HVDC
system. Both machines were provided with a Hydraulic
Turbine and Governor along with an Excitation system. The
output of the machines were then stepped up to 213kV and
206kV respectively with the use of a ∆-Y transformers. The
Fig. 6. Active Power Control Loop
So it can be seen that there are basically 2 variables in the
power control loop, which are the modulation gain K and
washout filter W(s). It was already seen in (10) that the
damping coefficient is a function of modulation gain, inertia
 2016 International Conference on Next Generation Intelligent Systems (ICNGIS)

constant and electrical distance. So the change in the rotor Perpendicular damping, i.e. in the case of outage of a
speed deviation for change in these parameters is carried out. terminal, pairing of the connected terminal with another
terminal gives rise to a reduced damping coefficient. Under
D. Varying Modulation Gain such condition selection of modulation gain such that,
For the above two-machine 500kV system, in order to
study the change in rotor speed deviations, one of the machine
(lower inertia machine, H(s) = 10s) is considered. The gives,
machine has a rated speed of 1500rpm. Fig. 7 shows the rotor
speed variation for values of -200, -10, +1, +10 and +200.
These values of K are taken at random to show the variation. (13)
The value of K is specific for a given system. which is not a good selection, especially when there is
As it can been, for negative values of K, the rotor speed symmetry in the topology of the system. In systems with
deviation is positive and for positive values of K, the rotor equivalent electrical distance, resulting damping will be zero.
speed deviation is negative. This is because, in our power The proof of both parallel and perpendicular damping has
control loop, the rotor speed deviation (∆ω) is multiplied by been discussed in [4].
K, which is then added to the measured value. So when the
value of K is negative, then measured value of active power is
E. Varying Washout Filter
decreased by an amount and as a result of this, the system tries
to inject more power. Hence the rotor speed deviation is The next parameter to be varied is the washout filter. The
positive and vice-versa. main purpose of the washout filter/ circuit is to block steady
state signals and allow transient signals to pass. For the above
As derived in (10), the damping coefficient is in direct said system with inertia constant 10s, rated speed of 1500rpm,
proportion with K. With increase in K, there is an increase in variation of rotor speed is studied for different function of
damping coefficient. But it can be seen in Fig. 7 that with W(s). With the discussion about modulation gain, it has been
increase in | K | , ∆ω deviation increases. Therefore, the seen that very low values of modulation gain makes the
selection of modulation gain has to be a compromise between feedback insignificant. Throughout the modulation gain is
damping coefficient and ∆ω deviation. With very low values kept constant at K = -200. In Fig. 8 we see that for  the given
of K, the significance of feedback is negligible. system a washout filter of transfer function gives
In [4] certain cases of selection of modulation has been better stability. 
discussed. For a two terminal system, parallel damping gives
maximum damping coefficient i.e. in case of a disturbance,
two machines which are electrically closest to the oscillating 0.01
<Rotor speed deviation dw (pu)>

machine is to be paired. This gives,

0.008

0.006
Rotor Speed Deviation dw (pu)

0.004

resulting in, 0.002

-0.002
(12) -0.004

-0.006

<Rotor speed deviation dw (pu)>

-0.008
0.01

0.008 -0.01
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0.006 K=1 K = -10 K = -200 Time

Rotor Speed Deviation dw (pu)

0.004 Fig. 8. Rotor Speed Deviation ∆ω (pu) for varying functions of Washout
0.002 filter W(s); at constant K= -200; N=1500rpm
0

-0.002
F. Varying Distance
-0.004

-0.006 So far we have been varying the power control loop

-0.008 K = +10 K = +200 parameters. It has been seen in (11) that damping coefficient is
-0.01
also a function of electrical distance X. For the above system
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time with machine inertia constant of 10s (s-domain) and rated
rotor speed of 1500rpm, variation in the system stability is
Fig. 7. Rotor Speed Deviation ∆ω (pu) for different values of K; analyzed for different lengths of line between machine 1 and
N=1500rpm terminal a. For this purpose the modulation gain is fixed at K
= -200 and washout filter designed as
This gives the maximum possible damping
 2016 International Conference on Next Generation Intelligent Systems (ICNGIS)

<Rotor speed deviation dw (pu)>

V. CONCLUSION
0.02
Analytical study of Active power control of HVDC
0.015
transmission were presented. Varying cases of power
oscillation damping were discussed by varying the modulation
Rotor Speed Deviation dw (pu)

0.01

0.005 X=10km gain, electrical distance and washout filter. Simulation study
0
of all cases were carried out, for which system parameters of
Rihand-Dadri HVDC link has been utilized. It has been seen
-0.005 X=5km that active power control proves to be an efficient method of
-0.01 mitigating inter-area power oscillation problems.
-0.015 X=3km
-0.02
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
VI. FUTURE WORK
Time
In the above discussed system, only active power control
Fig. 9. Rotor Speed Deviation ∆ω (pu) for different values of X;
N=1500rpm of HVDC transmission has been discussed. The analysis can
be further extended to reactive power control. The basis of
Figure 9 infers that the designed power control loop is reactive power control has been discussed in [3]. Besides, the
suitable for a system which has its machine located at 10km two machine system considered for this study, consists of a
from the terminal point of common coupling. For each system constant output synchronous machine. In practical system the
the required power control loop can be so designed. output is changing widely and hence the analysis can be
further extended to dynamic load condition and distributed
G. Under Fault Condition generation system. FACTs devices can also be included in the
system for better stability and performance can be evaluated.
So far normal working condition of the system has been
discussed. The major application of active power control is
when the system is subjected to disturbances. Under such
conditions, there exists an oscillation between the areas. In
such cases the active power flow is modulated in order to
References
damp the mode of oscillation.
[1] R. Adapa, "High-Wire Act: HVDC Technology: The State of the Art,"
in IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 18-29, Nov.-
<Rotor speed deviation dw (pu)> Dec.2012.
0.05
[2] C. W. Taylor and S. Lefebvre, "HVDC controls for system dynamic
0.04
performance," in IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 6, no. 2, pp.
0.03 743-752,May,1991.
Rotor Speed Deviation dw (pu)

0.02 [3] T. Smed and G. Andersson, "Utilizing HVDC to damp power

0.01
0
-0.01
-0.02
-0.03
-0.04
-0.05
0 1
Fig. 10. Rotor Speed Deviation ∆ω (pu) under fault condition
A three phase ground fault from 1-2s is applied to the
system which has its active power loop designed with
modulation gain of K= -200, washout filter of W(s) =
and the machine has an inertia constant H(s) = 10s and is
placed at a distance of 10km from terminal a. Figure 10 shows
that without modulation the system reaches a stable state in 4s
after the fault clearance i.e. at t = 6s. Even at t = 6s, the system
retains a steady state error. Whereas in the same system with
modulation, the system attains a stable state within 2.5
seconds after the fault clearance i.e. t = 4.5s, at which the
system is brought within stable limits of variation.
With Modulation oscillations," in IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 8, no. 2, pp.
620-627, Apr, 1993.
[4] L. Harnefors, N. Johansson, L. Zhang and B. Berggren, "Interarea
Oscillation Damping Using Active-Power Modulation of Multiterminal
Without Modulation HVDC Transmissions," in IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol.
29, no. 5, pp. 2529-2538, Sept. 2014.
[5] Mao Xiao-ming, Zhang Yao, Guan Lin and Wu Xiao-chen,
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
"Coordinated control of interarea oscillation in the China Southern
Time power grid," in IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 21, no. 2, pp.
845-852, May 2006.
[6] J. Liang, T. Jing, O. Gomis-Bellmunt, J. Ekanayake and N. Jenkins,
"Operation and Control of Multiterminal HVDC Transmission for
Offshore Wind Farms," in IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol.
26, no. 4, pp. 2596-2604, Oct. 2011.
[7] R. L. Cresap and W. A. Mittelstadt, "Small-signal modulation of the
Pacific HVDC intertie," in IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and
Systems, vol. 95, no. 2, pp. 536-541, Mar 1976.
[8] W. Wang, A. Beddard, M. Barnes and O. Marjanovic, "Analysis of
Active Power Control for VSC–HVDC," in IEEE Transactions on
Power Delivery, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 1978-1988, Aug. 2014.
[9] M. Hadjikypris and V. Terzija, "Active power modulation assisting
controller scheme implemented on a VSC-HVDC link establishing
effective damping of low frequency power oscillations," Energy
Conference (ENERGYCON), 2014 IEEE International, Cavtat, 2014, pp.
295-302.
[10] Kundur, Prabha. Power system stability and control. Eds. Neal J. Balu,
and Mark G. Lauby. Vol. 7. New York: McGraw-hill, 1994.