Power System Computer Aided Design Research Articles

Research on DC Protection Strategy in Multi-Terminal Hybrid HVDC System

Multi-terminal hybrid high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems have been developed quickly in recent years in power transmission area. However, for voltage-source converter (VSC) stations in hybrid HVDC systems, no direct current (DC) filters are required. In addition, the DC reactor is also not installed at the line end because the DC fault can be limited by the converter itself. This means that the boundary element at the line end is absent, and the single-ended protections used in line commutated converter (LCC) based HVDC (LCC-HVDC) systems or VSC-HVDC systems cannot distinguish the fault line in multi-terminal hybrid HVDC systems. This paper proposes a novel single-ended DC protection strategy suitable for the multi-terminal hybrid HVDC system, which mainly applies the transient information and active injection concept to detect and distinguish the fault line. Compared with the single-ended protections used in LCC-HVDC and VSC-HVDC systems, the proposed protection strategy is not dependent on the line boundary element and is thus suitable for the multi-terminal hybrid HVDC system. The corresponding simulation cases based on power systems computer aided design (PSCAD)/electromagnetic transients including DC (EMTDC) are carried out to verify the superiority of the proposed protection.

Comparative Study of the Effects of Machine Parameters on DFIG and PMSG Variable Speed Wind Turbines During Grid Fault

This study investigates the transient performance of two variable speed wind turbines (VSWTs), namely doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) and the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), that are widely employed in wind energy conversion, considering their machine parameters. The machine parameters of both wind turbines were changed considering different scenarios, while keeping other parameters constant, to study the behavior of the wind generators. This study was carried out using the same operating conditions of rated wind speed, based on the characteristics of both wind turbine technologies. The wind turbines were subjected to a severe three phase to ground bolted fault to test the robustness of their controllers during grid fault conditions. Efforts were made to carry out an extensive comparative study to investigate the machine parameters that have more influence on the stability of the different wind turbines considered in this study. Simulations were carried out using power system computer-aided design and electromagnetic transient including DC (PSCAD/EMTDC). Effective machine parameter selection could help solve fault ride-through (FRT) problems cost-effectively for both VSWTs, without considering the external circuitry of and changing the original architecture of the wind turbines.

Analysis and Design of a Multi-Port DC-DC Converter for Interfacing PV Systems

A high-frequency multi-port (HFMP) direct current (DC) to DC converter is presented. The proposed HFMP is utilized to interface a photovoltaic (PV) system. The presented HFMP is compact and can perform maximum power point tracking. It consists of a high-frequency transformer with many identical input windings and one output winding. Each input winding is connected to a PV module through an H-bridge inverter, and the maximum PV power is tracked using the perturb and observe (P&O) technique. The output winding is connected to a DC bus through a rectifier. The detailed analysis and operation of the proposed HFMP DC-DC converter are presented. Extensive numerical simulations are conducted, using power system computer aided design (PSCAD)/electromagnetic transients including DC (EMTDC) software, to evaluate the operation and dynamic behavior of the proposed PV interfacing scheme. In addition, an experimental setup is built to verify the performance of the HFMP DC-DC converter.

Multiterminal HVDC System with Power Quality Enhancement

High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems are a feasible solution that allows the transmission of energy between several power networks. As a consequence of the use of HVDC systems, renewable energy sources can be integrated more easily into distribution grids and smart grids. Furthermore, HVDC systems can contribute to improving the power quality (PQ) of the grids to which they are connected. This paper presents a multiterminal HVDC system that not only controls the flows of active power between four different networks, but also compensates imbalances and harmonics in the grid currents to maintain balanced and sinusoidal voltages at the point of common coupling of the various grids. The compensation is carried out by the voltage-source converters (VSCs) connected to their respective AC grids. A control scheme based on the use of resonant regulators and proportional–integral (PI) controllers is responsible for of achieving the necessary power flow control with the amelioration of the PQ. A case study of a multiterminal HVDC system that comprises four terminals sharing a DC bus of 80 kV is simulated by means of PSCADTM/EMTDCTM (Power System Computer-Aided Design; Electromagnetic Transients including Direct Current), where the AC grids associated with the terminals suffer from voltage imbalances and voltage harmonics owing to the connection of unbalanced loads and nonlinear loads. The obtained simulation results show the performance of the complete system in terms of active power flow, voltage regulation, and harmonic distortions of the grid current and the grid voltage.

A Novel Fault Location Method for Power Cables Based on an Unsupervised Learning Algorithm

In order to locate the short-circuit fault in power cable systems accurately and in a timely manner, a novel fault location method based on traveling waves is proposed, which has been improved by unsupervised learning algorithms. There are three main steps of the method: (1) build a matrix of the traveling waves associated with the sheath currents of the cables; (2) cluster the data in the matrix according to its density level and the stability, using Hierarchical Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (HDBSCAN); (3) search for the characteristic cluster point(s) of the two branch clusters with the smallest density level to identify the arrival time of the traveling wave. The main improvement is that high-dimensional data can be directly used for the clustering, making the method more effective and accurate. A Power System Computer Aided Design (PSCAD) simulation has been carried out for typical power cable circuits. The results indicate that the hierarchical structure of the condensed cluster tree corresponds exactly to the location relationship between the fault point and the monitoring point. The proposed method can be used for the identification of the arrival time of the traveling wave.

A Cosine Similarity-Based Centralized Protection Scheme for dc Microgrids

Unlike the phasor measurement-based protection in ac systems, the protection of dc systems deals with complex fault transients which mandate the isolation of the faulted segment within few milliseconds as continued fault current leads to overheating issue in power electronic converters. To this end, several works have been suggested-based on the unit and nonunit protections for dc microgrids. Threshold selection and protection coordination are the challenges associated with nonunit protection. Similarly, communication delay and link failure limit the application of unit protection. To address these issues, this article presents a robust centralized protection scheme for dc microgrids, which is resilient to communication delay and link failure. It uses the current of each line segment to compute the similarity of current change at both ends of the line segment to derive the protection decision. To overcome the communication failure from one end of the line segment or even from multiple segments, the proposed method uses data from adjacent segments to derive the protection decision correctly. Using power systems computer aided design (PSCAD)/electromagnetic transients and direct current (EMTDC) environment, the performance of the proposed method is evaluated for various cases and compared with available techniques. Finally, the accuracy of the protection algorithm is validated under experimental conditions.

Fault Location Using the Natural Frequency of Oscillation of Current Discharge in MTdc Networks

This paper discusses a novel fault location approach using single ended measurement. The natural dissipation of the circuit parameters are considered for fault location. A relationship between the damped natural frequency of oscillation of the transmission line current and fault location is established in this paper. The hybrid dc circuit breaker (dcCB) interrupts the fault current and the line current attenuates under the absence of any driving voltage source. The line capacitance discharges into the fault at a specific frequency of oscillation and rate of attenuation. Utilizing this information, the fault location in a multi-terminal direct current (MTdc) network can be predicted. A three terminal radial model of a MTdc is used for performance evaluation of the proposed method using Power System Computer Aided Design (PSCAD)/Electromagnetic Transients including dc (EMTdc).

Online Monitoring of Power Cables Tangent Delta Based on Low-Frequency Signal Injection Method

To improve the reliability of power systems, online cable condition monitoring must be implemented to replace traditional regular power outage maintenance. Existing online monitoring methods have certain limitations. In this article, a novel method based on low-frequency signal injection is proposed to monitor power cable insulation conditions online. For this method, a low-frequency signal is injected into the power system via the potential transformer (PT) open delta configuration. The cable conductor voltage and leakage current are detected. The interpolating windowed fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm is applied to calculate the dielectric loss angle. Then, the cable tangent delta ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\tan \delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) can be deduced, and the cable condition can be assessed. A distribution network system is built based on the power system computer-aided design (PSCAD) software. The frequency and amplitude of the injected signal are simulated and discussed. An online monitoring platform is established in the laboratory. Thermal-aged cable samples and water tree-aged cable samples are prepared and measured. The experimental results confirm that the proposed method can effectively assess power cable insulation.

Modelling and control coordination scheme of a wind‐to‐hydrogen set for future renewable‐based power systems

New challenges regarding system stability and efficiency arise when power systems operate with a high penetration level of inverter-based renewable sources (IBRSs) and few synchronous generators. Since IBRSs have been on the rise, to secure the stable operation of future power systems, IBRSs will be required to support systems without having to rely on remaining synchronous generators. Also, to efficiently manage the uncertainty of renewable production, power-to-gas technology can provide the required flexibility. This study proposes modelling and a control coordination scheme (CCS) of a wind-to-hydrogen (W2H) set to optimise electricity production from a variable-speed wind turbine generator (WTG) while helping balance between supply and demand in a system. To achieve this, a grid-forming (GFM) inverter-based WTG is modelled and a set of electrolyser and fuel cell is integrated at the DC circuit of a GFM-WTG to be coordinated. Furthermore, the CCS offers an opportunity to reduce the investment cost for deploying a W2H set by utilising the control capabilities of a WTG and reducing the need for an additional device. The performance of the proposed W2H set with the CCS was verified considering the variations in system load and wind speed by using Power System Computer Aided Design (PSCAD)/ElectroMagnetic Transients including Direct Current (EMTDC).

Simulation and Characteristics Analysis of Multiple Wind Generators in Large-Scale Wind Farms Based on Simplified Model

In the view of the high complexity and a large amount of data of the electromagnetic transient model for the single wind generator, it is difficult to realize the multi-unit simulation modeling of large-scale wind farms by power system simulation software. In this paper, the simplified models of single direct drive and doubly-fed wind generator system are proposed, respectively. In order to study the output characteristics of the wind generator system, the components with small inertia constant in the electromagnetic transient model are neglected, and the shafting model, the converter model, and the control loops are simplified and reduced, respectively. Based on the study of the single electromagnetic transient model of wind generators, the simplified simulation models are built by the PSCAD (Power Systems Computer Aided Design) simulation platform, which are carried out under the conditions of constant wind speed, step wind speed, and fault. The output characteristics of the simplified models under different working conditions are compared in detail models. The simulation results show that, within the allowable calculation accuracy range, the dynamic response curves of the single simplified model and the electromagnetic transient model are consistent. The simulation speed can be significantly improved, the time consumption can be reduced, and the simulation speed can be increased more obviously when the number of simulation models increases. Therefore, it can be applied to the simulation research of multi-wind generators in large-scale wind farms.

Design of Microgrid Protection Schemes Using PSCAD/EMTDC and ETAP Programs

Steady-state, harmonics, and transient analysis of a power system by using a detailed simulation model is essential to microgrid operation before the installation of new power facilities, because the microgrid, which is a small-scale independent power grid consisting of distributed resources and an energy storage system, has no choice but to include many inverters consisting of switching devices. Accordingly, in the case of an accident in a microgrid system, various power system simulation tools must be used to calculate the fault current for grid protection components. Specifically, Modelling using Power System Computer Aided Design (PSCAD)/Electro-Magnetic Transient Design and Control (EMTDC) can perform detailed modeling of switching devices into each inverter, and Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP) can design protection relays. From this perspective, this study designed whole protection components in a microgrid system, including the capacity of switching devices for fault ride through a protective relay and the capacity of the circuit breaker. The parameters of an actual microgrid on the San Cristobal Island, Galapagos, were used to make a detailed simulation model in both PSCAD/EMTDC and ETAP. The capacities of the switching devices were estimated by using PSCAD/EMTDC. Additionally, the rated breaking capacities and the setting values of the protective relay were also calculated from the result of an ETAP simulation.

Voltage Quality Enhancement of Grid-Integrated PV System Using Battery-Based Dynamic Voltage Restorer

The advancement of power electronic-based sensitive loads drives the power utilities’ devotion to power quality issues. The voltage disturbance could be happening due to fault conditions, switching of loads, energizing of transformers, or integration of highly intermittent energy sources such as PV systems. This research work attempts to enhance the voltage fluctuation of a sensitive load connected to a grid-integrated PV system using a battery-based dynamic voltage restorer (DVR). The proposed battery energy storage-based DVR has two separate controlling stages that are implemented at the DC–DC buck/boost converter of the battery and voltage source converter (VSC) system. Charging and discharging of the battery is operated based on the state-of-charge (SOC) value of the battery and the measured root mean square (RMS) voltage at the point of common coupling (PCC). The VSC of the DVR detection and reference generation control is done appropriately. In the detection control of the VSC, a combination of RMS and dq0 measurement techniques is used, whereas in the reference generation control, pre-fault strategy is implemented to restore both phase jump and magnitude distortions. Symmetrical and asymmetrical voltage sags scenarios are considered and the compensation demonstration is carried out using power system computer-aided design (PSCAD/EMTDC) software.

Simulation of a single-phase arc grounding fault on a 220-kV cable transmission system

Cable tunnel fires are mainly caused by single-phase arc grounding faults. The massive energy generated by arc can threaten the safety of the densely laid cable tunnels. In this study, a digital arc fault model with a 220-kV cable transmission system was established on Power Systems Computer Aided Design(PSCAD). The arc model was improved because the parameters were acquired from the experimental results. The arc fault can be divided into two stages: a primary arc at the initiation of the fault and a secondary arc after the tripping of the circuit breakers. The primary arc contains few nonlinear components because of the large arc currents. The secondary arc voltages exhibit nonlinear characteristics because of arc elongation. The secondary arc power continues to increase, however, its amplitude is considerably smaller than the primary arc. The lifetime of the primary arc is dependent on the action of the relaying protection system. Further, some limits based on the energy balance theory were introduced to obtain the extinction time of the secondary arc. In addition, the total energy generated by the arc fault in the 220-kV cable transmission system will eventually become 4891 kJ. This digital arc fault model will significantly contribute to future research with respect to the mechanism of cable tunnel fires.

Unbalanced currents of EHV multi-circuit lines and coordination of zero-sequence overcurrent relayings

With features of large transmission capability and high utilization efficiency of transmission corridor, multi-circuit transmission lines sharing tower or corridor are widely applied in extremely high voltage (EHV) systems. However, mal-operation of zero-sequence overcurrent relaying for multi-circuit transmission lines could occur, and this paper is focused to solve this problem. Overview of typical multi-circuits transmission lines, including phase arrangement and erection form, are introduced first. Then, simulation model of a typical 500 kV triple-circuit transmission line in real project is established in Power Systems Computer Aided Design (PSCAD), and it is verified by real record data provided by power utility in China. By using this simulation model, factors on current unbalances are discussed in detail, and the simulation results have shown that mal-operation of zero-sequence overcurrent relaying is caused by large unbalanced current in normal operation and under faults. Consequently, a lateral coordination scheme for zero-sequence overcurrent relayings among multi-circuit lines is proposed to avoid the mal-operation caused by unbalanced current to the greatest extent without receiving samples from remote end or adjacent circuits, and the reliability of protective relaying is improved significantly.

An Adaptive Protection for Radial AC Microgrid Using IEC 61850 Communication Standard: Algorithm Proposal Using Offline Simulations

The IEC 61850 communication standard is getting popular for application in electric power substation automation. This paper focuses on the potential application of the IEC 61850 generic object-oriented substation event (GOOSE) protocol in the AC microgrid for adaptive protection. The focus of the paper is to utilize the existing low-voltage ride through characteristic of distributed generators (DGs) with a reactive power supply during faults and communication between intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) at different locations for adaptive overcurrent protection. The adaptive overcurrent IEDs detect the faults with two different preplanned settings groups: lower settings for the islanded mode and higher settings for the grid-connected mode considering limited fault contributions from the converter-based DGs. Setting groups are changed to lower values quickly using the circuit breaker status signal (XCBR) after loss-of-mains, loss-of-DG or islanding is detected. The methods of fault detection and isolation for two different kinds of communication-based IEDs (adaptive/nonadaptive) are explained for three-phase faults at two different locations. The communication-based IEDs take decisions in a decentralized manner, using information about the circuit breaker status, fault detection and current magnitude comparison signals obtained from other IEDs. However, the developed algorithm can also be implemented with the centralized system. An adaptive overcurrent protection algorithm was evaluated with PSCAD (Power Systems Computer Aided Design) simulations, and results were found to be effective for the considered fault cases.

A Reduced RLC Impedance Model for Dynamic Stability Analysis of PI-Controller-Based DC Voltage Control of Generic Source-Load Two-Terminal DC Systems

For the dynamic stability analysis of PI-controller-based dc voltage control of generic source-load two-terminal dc systems, a simpler <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">RLC</i> parallel impedance model has been proposed. First, by ignoring fast inner current control, the output impedance model of the dc voltage control system can be represented as a parallel <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">RLC</i> circuit, which gives an intuitive insight into the physical sense of parameters in the dc voltage PI controller. Then, a dynamic impedance ratio is introduced to represent the impact of dc voltage droop control and line impedance on the dc voltage control system. With this ratio, a generalized <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">RLC</i> parallel impedance model appropriate for dynamic stability analysis of the considered dc system has been obtained. By simplifying the higher order dynamic impedance ratio model to a first-order high-pass filter in the dc voltage control timescale, a typical second-order model of the total impedance expression can be obtained, by which the dynamic stability of dc voltage control can be investigated in an analytical way. Furthermore, even including low dynamics of the inner current control of the dc voltage control unit and the constant power load (CPL)-side converter, the generic <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">RLC</i> model can still be retained. It should be noted that the proposed <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">RLC</i> model can be extended to more complex dc systems. Finally, power system computer aided design (PSCAD)/electromagnetic transients including dc (EMTDC)-based simulation verifications and a small-scale hardware-platform-based experimental validations have been provided.

Real-Time Electromagnetic Transient Simulation of Multi-Terminal HVDC–AC Grids Based on GPU

High-fidelity electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation plays a critical role in understanding the dynamic behavior and fast transients involved in operation, control, and protection of multiterminal dc (MTdc) grids. This article proposes a cost-effective high-performance real-time EMT simulation platform for large-scale cross-continental MTdc grids based on graphics processing unit (GPU). Fast dynamic transients from both ac and dc networks are captured in real time with 5μs time step, using advanced hybrid-discretized modular multilevel converter model, frequency-dependent transmission line model, and EMT-type model of synchronous generators. The proposed simulation platform i) assembles detailed EMT models of all components within an MTdc-ac grid into a single platform. This setup provides a complete simulation solution to capture fast transient signals required for high-bandwidth controller design and protection studies without any compromise; ii) implements the first GPU-based simulation architecture and corresponding algorithms for MTdc-ac grids with real-time performance at scales of 1s; iii) is highly efficient and balances the high utilization of GPU resources and low latency required for the simulation; and iv) outperforms the existing central processing unit- or digital signal processor (DSP)/field-programmable gate array-based simulators in terms of its higher scalability on large-scale MTdc-ac grids and superior price-performance ratio on the hardware. Accuracy and performance of the proposed platform are evaluated with respect to the reference results from power system computer aided design (PSCAD)/EMTdc environment.

Ground Fault Detection Using Hybrid Method in IT System LVDC Microgrid

Low voltage direct current (LVDC) microgrid systems have many advantages over low voltage alternating current (LVAC) systems. Furthermore, LVDC microgrids are growing in use because they are easy to link to distributed energy resources (DER) and energy storage systems (ESS), etc. Currently, IT system LVDC microgrids are widely used in direct current (DC) railways, hospitals, photovoltaic (PV) systems, and so on. When a ground fault occurs in an IT system LVDC microgrid, the ground fault may not be detected because the fault current is very small and there is no current path. In this paper, ground fault detection is proposed using a hybrid method that comprises pulsation signal generator injection and detailed coefficients of discrete wavelet transform (DWT). The LVDC microgrid was modeled and simulated using power systems computer-aided design (PSCAD). In addition, the proposed hybrid method was implemented using MATLAB’s wave menu, a script m-file, and the PSCAD library. The proper threshold was selected and tested by fault resistance change and load variation. In order to verify the superiority of the proposed hybrid method, a comparative study with the conventional method was performed. The results of various simulations show that the proposed hybrid detection method has normal operation and accurately and rapidly detects ground faults.

Optimization and Control of a Z-Source, Ultrafast Mechanically Switched, High-Efficiency DC Circuit Breaker

A novel design of the Z-source circuit breaker topology is presented to minimize on -state losses of the protection device. An ultrafast mechanical switch is proposed to commutate the fault current and improve the controllability of the circuit breaker. Replacing the power thyristor in the Z-source circuit breaker and integrating an advanced control scheme reduces energy losses with a low-resistance mechanical contactor. The proposed design facilitates bidirectional current flow, enhances control capability for distributed energy resources, and improves ride-through capabilities during load transients. Z-source circuit breakers utilize an impedance network to create a forced current zero crossing in the event of a fault, allowing the inline thyristor to isolate the fault from the source through reverse bias. However, full load current flows through the thyristor, resulting in high loss and heat generation. The concept is validated, and a proper control scheme is developed for this circuit breaker through an analytical estimation model of the system dynamics during a fault. Simulation and modeling are performed in power systems computer aided design (PSCAD) and piecewise linear electrical circuit simulation (PLECS). Finally, an experimental laboratory prototype is tested to validate the analytical and simulation models and certify the control logic.

Research on Simplified Model of AC/DC Hybrid Microgrid for Fault Analysis

The AC/DC hybrid microgrid, which takes into account the access requirements of AC and DC sources and loads, optimizes the structure of traditional distribution networks. The application of power electronic transformers as the core of its energy management, with electrical isolation and accurate control of the voltage, current and power flow by the control system, enables the microgrid to achieve a more flexible and stable transmission mode. Because the power electronic transformer combines the power electronic device and the high-frequency transformer, its frequent switching causes the electromagnetic transient simulation to take too long. Therefore, by simplifying control loops and converters, this paper proposes a simplified model for the microgrid system power flow and the dynamic response under exposure to a fault. The mathematical model equivalent simplification method is used in this paper. This method is concise and efficient and does not rely on the performance of a computer or change the program algorithm of the software. The simplified model was built based on PSCAD (Power System Computer Aided Design) simulation software and was carried out under short circuit fault conditions to verify its validity. The comparison of the simulation’s time consumption and accuracy shows that model simplification can significantly improve the simulation speed, with an acceptable error rate, and its dynamic response maintains good consistency with that of the detailed electromagnetic transient model. Therefore, it can be applied to the transient electromagnetic simulation fault analysis of the AC/DC hybrid microgrid.