Improving small signal stability of power systems in the presence of harmonics

Abstract

This thesis investigates the impact of harmonics as a power quality issue on the dynamic behaviour of the power systems. The effectiveness of the power system stabilizers in distorted conditions is also investigated. This thesis consists of three parts as follows:The first part focuses on the operation of the power system under distorted conditions. The conventional model of a synchronous generator in the dq-frame of reference is modified to include the impact of time and space harmonics. To do this, the synchronous generator is first modelled in the harmonic domain. This model helps in calculating the additional parts of the generator fundamental components due to the harmonics. Then the Park transformation is used for calculating the modified fundamental components of the synchronous generator in dq axes. The modified generator rotor angle due to the presence of harmonics is calculated and the impact of damper windings under the influence of harmonics is investigated. This model is used to study the small-signal stability of a distorted Single Machine Infinite Bus (SMIB) system. The eigenvalue analysis method is employed and the system state space equations are calculated by linearizing the differential equations around the operating point using an analytical method. The simulation results are presented for a distorted SMIB system under the influence of different harmonic levels. The impact of damper windings and also harmonics phase angles are also investigated.In the second part of the thesis, the effectiveness of the power system damping controllers under distorted conditions is studied. This investigation is done based on a distorted SMIB system installed with a Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC). In the first step, the system state space equations are derived. A Power Oscillation Damping (POD) controller with a conventional structure is installed on the SSSC to improve the system dynamic behaviour. A genetic-fuzzy algorithm is proposed for tuning the POD parameters. This method along with the observability matrix is employed to design a POD controller under sinusoidal and distorted conditions. The impact of harmonics on the effectiveness of the POD controller under distorted conditions is investigated.In the last part, the steady state and dynamic operation of an actual distributed generation system under sinusoidal and distorted conditions are studied. A decoupled harmonic power flow program is employed for steady state analysis. The nonlinear loads are modelled as decoupled harmonic current sources and the nonlinear model of synchronous generator in harmonic domain is used to calculate the injected current harmonics. For the system dynamic stability study, the power system toolbox with the modified model of the synchronous generator is used. The system eigenvalues are calculated and the effectiveness of the installed Power System Stabilisers (PSS) is investigated under sinusoidal and distorted conditions. Simulation results show that in order to guarantee the effectiveness of a PSS in distorted conditions, it is necessary to consider the harmonics in tuning its parameters.