Two-stage network processor for an independent HVDC grid supervisory control

Abstract

This paper proposes a two-stage network processor for the supervisory control of multi-terminal HVDC grid that connects different AC areas. The proposed network processor processes the DC substation topology locally in the first stage and analyzes the HVDC grid connectivity at the supervisory controller. The processor uses the k-means clustering method to detect the islands in HVDC grid and prepares required information to carry out the converter control mode assignation. The performance of the method has been tested for an islading scenario in a 7-terminal HVDC grid using a real-time co-simulation platform. The output of network processor helps the control application at the supervisory level to make decisions based on the control modes of the available converters in the islands. This two-stage architecture has been compared with the centralized architecture in terms of computational complexity.