Fault Ride Research Articles

Advanced Control Strategy based on second order sliding mode of DFIG for Power System Fault Ride T

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Improved Low Voltage Ride-Through Capability of DFIG with ESO Controller under Unbalanced Network Conditions

Under unbalanced grid condition, in a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG), voltage, current, and flux of the stator become asymmetric. Therefore, active-reactive power and torque will be oscillating. In DFIG controlling Rotor Side Converter (RSC) aims to eliminate power and torque oscillations. However, simultaneous elimination of the power and torque oscillations is not possible. Also, Grid Side Converter (GSC) aims to regulate DC-Link voltage. In this paper, in order to regulate DC-Link voltage, an Extended State Observer (ESO) based on a Generalized Proportional-Integral (GPI) controller, is employed. In this controlling method, DC-Link voltage is controlled without measuring the GSC current, and due to using the GPI controller, the improved dynamic response is resistant against voltage changes, and the settling time is reduced. To improve the transient stability and Low Voltage Fault Ride Through (LVRT) capability of DFIG, Statistic Fault Current Limiter (S-FCL) and Magnetic Energy Storage Fault Current Limiter (MES-FCL) are proposed in this paper. The proposed FCL does not only limit the fault current but also fasten voltage recovery. The simulations are implemented by MATLAB software in the synchronous positive and negative sequence reference (d-q).

Comprehensive investigation on doubly fed induction generator-Wind farms at fault ride through capabilities: technical difficulties and improvisations

ABSTRACT Renewable wind energy is the fastest-growing energy in the forthcoming green energy era and its generation capabilities has been increasing day by day. Large-penetration of Doubly Fed Induction Generator-Wind Turbine (DFIG-WT) creates severe transient stability issues in the power system. Fault Ride Through (FRT) capabilities are the major concerns in wind generation system in faulty conditions. The purpose of maintaining the FRT capability is that the DFIG-WT system should remain connected to the grid during fault conditions. Therefore, external retrofit solutions, internal control modification schemes, and a few advanced controller approaches are reported to enhance the FRT capabilities. However, improvement of the system transient stability along with LVRT enhancement is a challenging task, in the presence of low inertia contributed by power electronic devices tied wind energy conversion system. So, FRT enchantment with desired inertia is a new field of research interest. Therefore, this survey discusses the most admired external hardware approach and internal modification or advanced controller approaches, which are used to enhance the FRT capabilities in DFIG-WT and also emphasizes the transient stability enhancement aspects.

Enhanced LVRT capability of Wind Turbine based on DFIG using Dynamic Voltage Restorer controlled by ADRC-based Feedback control

For grid-connected DFIG-based wind turbine, Fault Ride Through (FRT) or Low Voltage Ride Through (LVRT) capability is vital problem that need to be improved. This paper proposes an Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) strategy applied to Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) based Wind turbine (WT), which integrates a Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR). The DVR connect in series the DFIG output terminal and the utility grid. The ADRC scheme of the new topology DFIG-based WT with integrated DVR is designed to compensate grid voltage disturbances, which in turn meet LVRT requirement and increase the level of wind power penetration. The performance of this WT-DFIG-DVR structure is investigated in different operating scenarios in order to show the skills of the designed controllers.

A Dynamic Multi-Cell FCL to Improve the Fault Ride through Capability of DFIG-Based Wind Farms

Endowing wind farms (WFs) with fault ride through (FRT) capability is crucial to their continuous availability under various operating conditions. This paper proposes a dynamic adaptive multi-cell fault current limiter (MCFCL) topology to enhance the FRT capability of grid connected WFs. The proposed MCFCL consists of one transient cell (TC) and multi resistive cells (RCs) directly connected to the grid’s high voltage without using any series injection transformers nor any series connection of semiconductor switches. The transient cell of the MCFCL includes two transient limiting reactors (TLRs) to mitigate the transient fault current and limit the rate of change of the currents of the semiconductor switches during fault occurrence. The number of RCs in the MCFCL is determined based on voltage sag level. These latter are inserted in the fault path to provide an adaptive voltage sag compensation mechanism according to the voltage sag level. Assessment of the MCFCL under various sag conditions, showed that the MCFCL is able to effectively compensate for a wide range of voltage sags without any over voltage at the WF’s terminal. Comparison analysis with the conventional single-cell bridge-type FCL (SBFCL) showed the superior performance of the proposed MCFCL.

Performance of Flywheel Energy Storage System for Fault Ride through Support of Grid Connected Vsc-Hvdc Based Offshore Wind Farms

For the sake of uninterrupted power supply to the loads we are using renewable energy sources. Among them wind energy and the solar energy is the most familiar renewable energy sources we are using now-a-days. Voltage source converter based high voltage DC transmission is considered as future of offshore power transmission. This paper proposes the high voltage DC power transmission system and maintains system balance during each faults. This results in the voltage and current losses on the switching devices. This strategy implements the flywheel energy storage system based on a squirrel cage induction machine connected in parallel to the grid side converter. It is connected in shunt which present on the grid side circuit of VSC-HVDC based squirrel cage induction motor. Due to this the FESS stores the trapped energy in the DC link during AC side faults for long transmission system using a voltage source converter. When there is insufficient of fault meet the grid at load demand. The series of simulation results we carried out the main part of theFESS system under fault conditions achieved using the software Matlab/Simulink. This project possesses the dynamic performance during ‘steady state’ during normal and fault operating conditions.

Development and performance analysis of intelligent fault ride through control scheme in the dynamic behaviour of grid connected DFIG based wind systems

As the penetration of wind power increases, the fault ride through requirements imposed by grid code is important in grid connected wind systems. The wind systems should remain connected to the grid during grid faults satisfying the grid code which ensures grid stability during fault and post fault conditions. This paper proposes an intelligent fault ride through strategy for Doubly Fed Induction Generators (DFIG) based Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) to achieve real and reactive power control during grid faults. The transient behaviour of the system is investigated under normal conditions and during grid faults. A fuzzy based wind speed estimation method in Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) mode under normal conditions and coordinated Genetic Algorithm based Real-Reactive (GA-PQ) controller with DC chopper in Fault Ride Through (FRT) mode during grid faults is developed in this work. The proposed control scheme provides smooth operation of DFIG during grid faults by controlling the rotor and grid side converters, providing reactive power support to the grid and relieving stress on power converters thereby achieving system stability. The proposed strategy maintains the system parameters during the grid faults by suppressing the rotor and stator over current, dc link voltage overshoot, power oscillations and support the grid voltage under both balanced and unbalanced grid fault conditions with different voltage dips at PCC. Computer simulations in time-domain are performed by verifying the MPPT and FRT capability of the proposed strategy for 6.5MW grid connected DFIG based WECS in MATLAB/SIMULINK 2018b. The proposed coordinated intelligent PQ and DC chopper FRT strategy is compared against existing FRT schemes like crowbar, SDBR, DC Chopper, PQ controller and its hybrid combinations which yields satisfactory results. The proposed scheme is also validated in Opal-RT hardware for LLG fault at 75% dip in voltage. The simulation and real time results observed in the work station demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in enhancing the FRT capability of the system.

Development of a Hybrid Cascaded Converter Based STATCOM With Reduced Switching Losses and Improved Fault Ride Through Capability

This article develops a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) based on the hybrid cascaded converter which has the advantage of reduced number of power transistors and floating capacitors compared to the cascaded H-bridge converter. A hybrid modulation scheme is employed in the hybrid cascaded converter to reduce the switching losses while maintaining the output performance, and the corresponding dc capacitor voltage balancing control scheme is proposed. The laboratory test results are provided to verify the feasibility of the developed STATCOM and the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. Furthermore, the proposed scheme is compared with the conventional scheme to reveal the improvement in output quality, power losses, and even fault ride through capability.

Fault Ride through Capability Analysis (FRT) in Wind Power Plants with Doubly Fed Induction Generators for Smart Grid Technologies

Faults in electrical networks are among the key factors and sources of network disturbances. Control and automation strategies are among the key fault clearing techniques responsible for the safe operation of the system. Several researchers have revealed various constraints of control and automation strategies such as a slow dynamic response, the inability to switch the network on and off remotely, a high fault clearing time and loss minimization. For a system with wind energy technologies, if the power flow of a wind turbine is perturbed by a fault, the intermediate circuit voltage between the machine side converter and line side converter will rise to unacceptably high values due to the accumulation of energy in the DC link capacitor. To overcome the aforementioned issues, this paper used MATLAB simulations and experiments to analyze and validate the results. The results revealed that fault ride through capability with Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) viewer software, Active Servo software and wind sim packages are more adaptable to the variations of voltage sag, voltage swell and wind speed and avoid loss of synchronism and improve power quality. Furthermore, for protection purposes, a DC chopper and a crowbar should be incorporated into the management of excess energy during faults and a ferrite device included for the reduction of the electromagnetic field.

Wide area controllers for excitation boosters for transient stability improvement

Excitation boosters (EBs) are one of the most cost-effective solutions to improve Fault Ride Through (FRT) capability of synchronous generators. However, they may lead to undesired behavior in multi-machine systems when governed by controllers that use local measurements. EB controllers based on a Wide Area Control System (WACS) have proved to be an effective solution to improve the overall transient stability of a multi-machine system. This paper compares two WACS-based EBs; one proposed in a previous work and a variant controller proposed here. In the comparison of WACS-based EBs, performance, design, implementation aspects and impact of communication latency are analyzed and discussed in detail.

Impacts of Fault Ride Through Behavior of Wind Farms on a Low Inertia System

In view of the increasing levels of renewable generation across the world, the operational dynamics of power systems are changing. One of the dimensions of this transformational change is the nature of fault ride through behavior of renewable technologies such as wind and the associated differences compared to conventional generation. This paper investigates the impacts of fault ride through behavior of wind farms on the system stability in detail, using full dynamic model of a low inertia island power system. Recorded PMU measurements are used to establish the variations in wind farm behavior during and after a fault. A detailed sensitivity analysis on the active and reactive power injection behavior of wind farms is carried out to establish the component of fault ride through behavior that is most critical to system stability, using the full model of the Ireland and Northern Ireland Power system (All island power system). Detailed investigation of the mechanics of a fault in a low inertia, wind generation dominated system is carried out to reveal potential technical scarcities. Finally, mitigations for identified scarcities arising from non-ideal fault ride through behavior of wind farms are presented in terms of Transmission System Operator led novel system services.

Improved Continuous Fault Ride Through Control Strategy of DFIG-Based Wind Turbine During Commutation Failure in the LCC-HVDC Transmission System

The commutation failure fault usually occurs in the line-commutated-converter-based high-voltage direct current transmission system. When commutation failure fault occurs, the voltage of sending alternate current (ac) system changes rapidly, and the connected doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind turbine may be tripped. Thus, the fault ride through (FRT) control strategy of DFIG should be investigated for enhancing the stability of the sending ac system. However, the voltage of the sending ac system during commutation failure is not changed in rectangular in shape, besides, the voltage presents the “first reduce then rise” characteristic, which is not considered in the existing FRT control strategies. In order to realize the continuous FRT of DFIG during commutation failure, the stator flux and electromotive force when the stator voltage changes continuously have been analyzed for the first time in this article. Furthermore, based on the analysis results, an improved continuous FRT control strategy is proposed. The simulation and experiment results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed control strategy is not only suitable for the commutation failure condition, but also for the scenario with continuous voltage variation during grid fault, which indicates that the proposed method is general.

Grid Fault Ride Through Capability of Voltage Controlled Inverters for Photovoltaic Applications

Grid Fault Ride Through Capability of Voltage Controlled Inverters for Photovoltaic Applications

A Novel DC Fault Ride Through Control Methodology for Hybrid Modular Multilevel Converters in HVDC Systems

Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) is an established technology for HVDC or Multi-Terminal DC (MTDC) systems, due to its advantages over classical Voltage Source Converters (VSCs) such as two or three level VSCs. To achieve a full control of all state variables, it is essential to implement energy-based method in which a cascade control loop is employed to regulate all state variables including ac and differential currents, and stored energy within MMC arms. In addition to normal operation control, dc Fault Ride Through (DC-FRT) capability of the MMC is a crucial and challenging control issue especially for overhead line HVDC system where non-permanent dc fault occurrence is statistically more probable. Furthermore, the main problematic technical obstacle to develop HVDC/MTDC grids is the lack of mature dc fault protection. Since conventional control in normal operation cannot be employed in case of dc fault, an efficient control strategy is indispensable. The principal objectives of the novel control methodology are to (i) obtain DC-FRT capability, (ii) decay short circuit current to zero, (iii) secure the MMC through leg and arm energy balancing, (iv) support ac grid as a Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) and (v) resume normal operation after dc fault clearance. The simulation results verify the validity of proposed control strategy to fulfill the abovementioned objectives in dc fault operation of the hybrid MMC.

An Improved Dynamic Voltage Restorer Model for Ensuring Fault Ride-Through Capability of DFIG-based Wind Turbine Systems

Renewable energy sources (RES) are being integrated to electrical grid to complement the conventional sources in meeting up with global electrical energy demand. Among the RES, Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) have gained global electricity market competitiveness especially the Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG)-based Wind Turbines (WTs) because of flexible regulation of active and reactive power, higher power quality, variable speed operation, four quadrant converter operation and better dynamic performance. Grid connected DFIG-based WTs are prone to disturbances due to faults in the network which made the utilization of the power generated a major concern. The grid code requirement for integrating the DFIGs to grid specified that they must remain connected and support the grid stability during grid disturbances of up to 1500milliseconds. The ability of the DFIG WT system to uphold to the grid codes requirement is termed the Fault Ride – Through (FRT). This paper presented a 1.5MW grid connected DFIG-based WT model with a Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) for FRT capability enhancement. The design and simulation were performed in MATLAB/Simulink software. The test system was subjected to disturbances leading to Low Voltage Ride – Through (LVRT), Zero Voltage Ride – Through (ZVRT) and High Voltage Ride – Through (HVRT) considering three – phase balanced fault and single line to ground fault. The performance of improved model of DVR shows enhancement over conventional DVR in terms of voltage compensation and fault current mitigation.

Fault Ride Through Capability Improvement of DFIG Based Wind Farm Using Nonlinear Controller Based Bridge-Type Flux Coupling Non-Superconducting Fault Current Limiter

High penetration of Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) into existing power grid can attribute complex issues as they are very sensitive to the grid faults. In addition, Fault Ride Through (FRT) is one of the main requirements of the grid code for integrating Wind Farms (WFs) into the power grid. In this work, to enhance the FRT capability of the DFIG based WFs, a Bridge-Type Flux Coupling Non-Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (BFC-NSFCL) is proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed BFC-NSFCL is evaluated through performance comparison with that of the Bridge-Type Fault Current Limiter (BFCL) and Series Dynamic Braking Resistor (SDBR). Moreover, a dynamic nonlinear controller is also proposed for controlling the operation of the BFC-NSFCL. Extensive simulations are carried out in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment for both symmetrical and unsymmetrical temporary as well as permanent faults. Based on the simulation results and different numerical analysis, it is found that the proposed nonlinear controller based BFC-NSFCL is very effective in enhancing the FRT capability of the WF. Also, the BFC-NSFCL outperforms the conventional BFCL and SDBR by maintaining a near-seamless performance during various grid fault situations.

PHIL Experimentation on Fault Ride Through Behavior of Doubly Fed Induction Generator-Based Wind System in the Presence of Fault Current Limiter

In the literature, the fault ride through (FRT) studies of the doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind system consider fault to occur after the fault current limiter (FCL) with respect to the DFIG system. In this article, the fault is considered before FCL and the power hardware in the loop (PHIL) experimentation is performed. Results demonstrate that the occurrence of the fault before FCL can worsen the FRT of the DFIG system. To address this, a novel arrangement of FCL with four power electronic switches in a particular fashion has been suggested. This arrangement allows the perception of fault occurring before FCL as after FCL due to the alternate path of power flow thereby improving the FRT of the DFIG. Furthermore, a quick fault detection and switching technique has been developed which is able to detect the fault by comparing the instantaneous value of the phase current with the threshold. Thereby, it is possible to achieve on/off of the switches upon the fault occurrence with negligible time delay. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed technique, the PHIL experimentation is performed at sub/supersynchronous mode of operations (±0.1 slip), different fault resistances (6, 20 Ω), delay time (40 ms), and various fault perception instants (negative, zero, positive). The results justify the effectiveness of the proposed arrangement in improving FRT of the DFIG when a fault occurs before the FCL with respect to the DFIG in comparison to the existing literature and in the absence of FCL in the system.

Neuro Fuzzy Logic Controlled Parallel Resonance Type Fault Current Limiter to Improve the Fault Ride Through Capability of DFIG Based Wind Farm

Doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) are vulnerable to grid related electrical faults. Standards require DFIGs to be disconnected from the grid unless augmented with a fault ride through (FRT) capability. A fault current limiter (FCL) can enhance the overall stability of wind farms and allow them to maintain grid-code requirements. In this paper, a neuro fuzzy logic controlled parallel resonance type fault current limiter (NFLC-PRFCL) is proposed to enhance the FRT capability of the DFIG based wind farm. Theoretical and graphical analysis of the proposed method are carried out by MATLAB/Simulink software. The performance of the NFLC-PRFCL is compared with other documented FCL devices, e.g., the bridge type fault current limiter (BFCL) and the series dynamic braking resistor (SDBR). The performance of the NFLC-PRFCL is also compared with that of the existing fuzzy logic controlled parallel resonance fault current limiter (FLC-PRFCL). From the simulation results, it is found that the NFLC-PRFCL outperforms its competitors and enables the DFIG to maintain a near-seamless performance during various fault events.

Fuzzy Based Combined Feed-Forward and Feed-Back Controlled Dynamic Voltage Restorer for Enhanced Fault Ride through Capability in DFIG based Wind Turbines

In this paper, Fault ride through (FRT) capability is enhanced using dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) in a wind turbine-driven doubly fed induction generator (DFIG). For effective control of the DVR, Fuzzy based combined feed-forward and feed-back (CFFFB) voltage control is used. The performance of DVR using CFFFB with FLC control is observed during balanced and unbalanced conditions in terms of voltage sag mitigation, reduced THD, fault current control and dc-link voltage balancing. The advantage of control strategy is validated utilizing simulation of 1.5MW DFIG-WT and results shows better reactive power support during faults condition.

Enhancement on the Fault Ride through Capability of Power Distribution Systems Linked by Distributed Generation due to the Impedance of Superconducting Fault Current Limiters

Recently, studies on connecting distributed generation (DG) to power distribution systems through DC links have been actively conducted. When a fault in feeder of this power distribution system occurs, a voltage dip can happen in the grid. In order to prevent voltage dips, there are several solutions such as the application of a superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL). If a SFCL with a larger impedance is applied, the voltage dip of the grid is effectively prevented. However, this action can bring about the malfunction or the delayed operation of the over-current relay (OCR) due to the decreased fault current, which causes another problem of protection coordination between the protective relays. On the other hand, if the impedance of the SFCL is too low, excessive reactive power is supplied by the fault ride-through (FRT) regulation and the active power is reduced. This causes an active power imbalance on the DC link and increases the DC link’s voltage. As previous solutions to prevent the rise of DC links’ voltage, the deloading method and the application of a chopper resistor have been suggested. In this paper, a technique called active power tracking control (APTC), was proposed to suppress the rise of DC links’ voltage. Case studies considering the impedance of SFCL in the constructed power distribution system were carried out, and the rise of DC links’ voltage could be effectively suppressed without any significant delay in the operation of the OCR. This study is expected to solve both the voltage dip of the grid and the rise of DC links’ voltage when distributed generation is connected to a grid.