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Some simulations are performed based on the information in the grid setup. They will display some system
aspects of the proposed strategies. Note that the quantitative results will vary with the prerequisites. A specific
grid will give a result that differ somewhat but the ideas presented here can be applied rather generally.
Three Phase Short Circuit at worst Iocation
The following figures will display the response after a three-phase fault on the grid used in this example. The
fault is located on the high voltage side on the step up transformer. The electrical active power output from the
generator will then be zero and all mechanical power input on the shaft will accelerate the rotor and hence
increase the angle between the strong grid and the generator. The fault is cleared after, in this case, 100 ms
and electrical power can again flow out on the strong grid.
The angle is plotted in Figure 1 for the three different control methods studied. We can see that the Mixed
Control (see grid setup) damps the oscillation faster than the other methods. Note however that P Control
(see grid setup)also shows good damping capability. t is well known that fast valving and breaking resistors aid
in keeping first swing stability and that modulation of HVDC-links and load demand also can achieve damping.
t is however interesting to see that the mixed control of active and reactive power improves damping further.
Figure 1 The angle between the generator rotor and the strong grid
The voltages in the fault location are shown in Figure 2. t is possible to see on the red, solid curve the
operation of reactive power injection. When the angle is increasing is the voltage raised to strength the system
and when the angle is decreasing the voltage is lowered to achieve damping. With Q Control (see grid
setup)are the voltage changes in the range of 3-4% i.e. it is difficult to imagine much larger rating capacity with
this control due to the flicker it causes.
Figure 2 The voltages in the fault point
The control mechanism is based on the speed deviation only and we can see some implications of this in
Figure 3. The blue, dash-dotted line is broken strongly after 2.8 seconds when the capacity of the system
changes so that the transmission capacity almost exactly matches the mechanical input. The speed deviation is
then virtually zeroed but the angle is slightly above the pre-disturbance level as seen in Figure 1. The control
mechanism is here designed in such a way that it switches over to a proportional control if the speed d0/dt is
less than a certain threshold. We have achieved a circulating power between the AC line and the DC line
something that can be avoided with a better control algorithm. A rather slow decay of the angle to its pre-
disturbance set point occurs.
Figure 3 The speed variation after the fault
t is clearly seen that the transient changes of transmission capacity have impact on the electrical output of the
generator shown in Figure 4. Studying the equal area curves for the three control modes can also increase
understanding of the control issues.
Figure 4 The electrical power output from the generator
One interesting comparison to perform is how much MVA rating that is necessary to achieve the same
damping. Figure 5 shows the rotor angle response for Q Control and Mixed Control. We can conclude that for
this particular case can we compare the damping and estimate that the Mixed Control is around 3 times as
effective as Q Control. f we install 2*100 MVA SVC: s to damp oscillations this can be treated as equal to
install one 33.5 MVA HVDC Light link. The voltages are shown in Figure 6.
Figure 5 Comparison between different methods
Figure 6 Comparison between different methods
The Matlab file used for producing these plots is presented here. t should be executable for those with Matlab
+ Optimization toolbox and basic Matlab and power system skills.
Play around with HVDC Light possibilities: Web-animation of damping strategies for HVDC Light
All sudden changes in a power system are associated with a number of phenomena with different timeframes
involved. n the first phase, the electrical properties are very quickly adjusting to the new situation. This
changes the share of power production between different generators and it also causes changes in load
demand. The power flows in the grid changes accordingly.
n the second phase the unbalance between mechanical input and electrical output of each generator are
causing a change of generator mechanical speed. The individual rate of change in speed is decided by the
power deviation and the rotor inertia. When generators are changing speed with different rates will the rotor
angles of each generator start to deviate from the predisturbance value. This causes a change in power flows
in the grid causing further imbalance for each generator.
n the third phase protection and control are coming into play. Any faults are disconnected - usually after a
short time delay (associated with the problems of breaking high currents). The fault disconnection causes a
new transient. Controls are trying to restore the grid to steady state conditions again. They operate with
different speeds depending on what they control. The voltage regulators tries to restore voltage and turbine
governors adjust mechanical input to generators so we return to balance between consumption and production
again.
These transitions are oscillatory in its nature and very lightly damped. The phenomenon is usually called Rotor
Angle Stability or Electromechanical Power Oscillations. Of particular interest is the so-called first swing
stability, which indicates that the generators do not swing too far from each other on the first oscillation.
Rotor angle oscillations can also arise in the grid without any obvious reason. High power flows over weak
transmission lines, fast and powerful voltage regulators and other types of controls may cause standing
oscillations in the grid. Close located generators tend to attach to each other and the system can end up with
machine groups oscillating towards each other with very low frequency (down to 0.1-0.2 Hz). The tie lines can
then become heavily loaded if many generators oscillate towards another group.
t is important to damp these oscillations as quickly as possible. They causes mechanical wear in power plants
may cause power quality problems (flicker, etc.). The system is also more vulnerable if further disturbances
occur. Two main ways can be identified. The first one is to influence the transmission capacity and as a second
option try to inject or extract active power into or out from the electrical grid that oscillates.