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A new integration strategy of grid‐forming‐controlled wind farms connected to the bulk power systems through high‐voltage direct current transmission based on the modular multi‐level converter (MMC) is proposed to solve the problem of traditional uncontrollable DC overvoltage during the short circuit faults at the receiving end. However, a new DC overvoltage phenomenon appears after the fault is cleared, and the interaction between the wind farm and sending‐ and receiving‐end MMCs makes the DC overvoltage mechanism more complex; further exploration shows that DC overvoltage during the sending‐end fault recovery stage occurs under the new integration strategy. Therefore, the evolution process and mechanism of the new DC overvoltage are analysed. It is found that affected by the interaction between wind farms and MMCs, the alternate saturation of the integrators in the PI controller of MMCs is the main cause. Based on this understanding, additional controls are proposed to suppress this DC overvoltage during the fault recovery stage. Simulations are carried out on a test with MATLAB/Simulink, and the results verify the efficacy of the proposed methods in suppressing DC overvoltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A new integration strategy of grid‐forming‐controlled wind farms connected to the bulk power systems through high‐voltage direct current transmission based on the modular multi‐level converter (MMC) is proposed to solve the problem of traditional uncontrollable DC overvoltage during the short circuit faults at the receiving end. However, a new DC overvoltage phenomenon appears after the fault is cleared, and the interaction between the wind farm and sending‐ and receiving‐end MMCs makes the DC overvoltage mechanism more complex; further exploration shows that DC overvoltage during the sending‐end fault recovery stage occurs under the new integration strategy. Therefore, the evolution process and mechanism of the new DC overvoltage are analysed. It is found that affected by the interaction between wind farms and MMCs, the alternate saturation of the integrators in the PI controller of MMCs is the main cause. Based on this understanding, additional controls are proposed to suppress this DC overvoltage during the fault recovery stage. Simulations are carried out on a test with MATLAB/Simulink, and the results verify the efficacy of the proposed methods in suppressing DC overvoltage.

A reliable and cost-effective mechanical direct current circuit breaker (DCCB) is a promising solution for DC interruption. However, the typical mechanical DCCB has difficulty in interrupting a rated current, because the high oscillating current superimposed on the rated current generates a steep current slope at current zero-crossing (CZC) points, which makes it difficult for the vacuum interrupter to extinguish the arc. The objective of this paper is to present a novel DCCB topology with a gradually increasing counter-current. It utilizes a full-controlled converter, a semi-controlled full bridge, and an LC oscillation branch to generate a gradually increasing counter-current, which is superimposed on any fault current and generates a smooth current slope at CZC points. The proposed DCCB topology is modeled with PSCAD, and the current slope and the initial transient interruption voltage (ITIV) at CZC are analyzed and compared with the typical mechanical DCCB. The results indicate that the current slope at CZC decreases by 57–84% in full-range current interruptions, and the ITIV can be reduced by the same extent. Additionally, the performance of the proposed DCCB is evaluated in a four-terminal HVDC system. A cost and performance comparison is conducted among the main topologies. The obtained results show that the proposed DCCB is a reliable solution for the multi-terminal HVDC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Modular Multilevel Converters (MMCs) are promising candidates for high‐voltage high‐power applications. The main challenge of the MMCs is the zero‐frequency operation. To achieve a successful DC–DC conversion process with balanced capacitors’ voltages with limited voltage ripple, this paper suggests the employment of the conventional two‐leg half‐bridge submodule‐based MMC structure in conjunction with a single bidirectional high‐voltage (HV) valve across the low‐voltage side. In the suggested structure, the HV valve is controlled on and off to ensure energy equalization for the MMC arms. In addition, soft‐switching for the HV valve is proposed to reduce the switching losses. Detailed illustration and design of the proposed concept are presented. Simulation and experimentation results are elucidated to show the effectiveness of the proposed DC–DC hybrid MMC. The results showed efficient performance of the suggested converter.

Abstract Multi‐terminal high‐voltage direct current technology based on voltage‐source converter stations (VSC‐MTDC) is expected to be one of the most important contributors to the future of electric power systems. In fact, among other features, it has already been shown how this technology can contribute to improve transient stability in power systems by the use of supplementary controllers. Along this line, this paper will investigate in detail how these supplementary controllers affect electromechanical oscillations, by means of small‐signal stability analysis. The paper analyses two control strategies based on the modulation of active‐power injections (P‐WAF) and reactive‐power injections (Q‐WAF) in the VSC stations which were presented in previous work. Both control strategies use global signals of the frequencies of the VSC‐MTDC system and they presented significant improvements on transient stability. The paper will provide guidelines for the design of these type of controllers to improve both large‐ and small‐disturbance angle stability. Small‐signal stability analysis (in Matlab) has been compared with non‐linear time domain simulation (in PSS/E) to confirm the results using CIGRE Nordic32A benchmark test system with a VSC‐MTDC system. The paper analyses the impact of the controller gains and communication latency on electromechanical‐oscillation damping. The main conclusion of the paper is that transient‐stability‐tailored supplementary controllers in VSC‐MTDC systems can be tuned to damp inter‐area oscillations too, maintaining their effectiveness.

Abstract With large‐scale wind farms connected to AC/DC network, the transient stability assessment (TSA) of the power system becomes more and more difficult. Among them, estimating the region of attraction (ROA) of the equilibrium point is a traditional but still challenging problem. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, this paper proposes a new approach to obtain the enlarged estimation of the ROA. The optimization and updating strategy of shape function in the sum of squares (SOS) optimization problem are studied to reduce the conservatism of estimation result. In the proposed method, the gravitational search algorithm (GSA) is employed to optimize the coefficients of initial shape function to improve estimation performance. Based on the time‐domain simulation (TDS) of expected faults, the fitness value for shape function optimization is calculated using the values of state variables at the fault clearing time and the system stability information. Furthermore, the optimal Lyapunov function is computed by introducing the update condition of shape function and adjusting the iteration strategy of the ROA estimation algorithm. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a two‐machine‐infinite‐bus system and a more complex nine‐bus AC/DC system with wind power. And the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by comparing with the existing ROA estimation methods.

Modular Multilevel Converters (MMCs) are promising candidates for high‐voltage high‐power applications. The main challenge of the MMCs is the zero‐frequency operation. To achieve a successful DC–DC conversion process with balanced capacitors' voltages with limited voltage ripple, this paper suggests the employment of the conventional two‐leg half‐bridge submodule‐based MMC structure in conjunction with a single bidirectional high‐voltage (HV) valve across the low‐voltage side. In the suggested structure, the HV valve is controlled on and off to ensure energy equalization for the MMC arms. In addition, soft‐switching for the HV valve is proposed to reduce the switching losses. Detailed illustration and design of the proposed concept are presented. Simulation and experimentation results are elucidated to show the effectiveness of the proposed DC–DC hybrid MMC. The results showed efficient performance of the suggested converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐terminal high‐voltage direct current technology based on voltage‐source converter stations (VSC‐MTDC) is expected to be one of the most important contributors to the future of electric power systems. In fact, among other features, it has already been shown how this technology can contribute to improve transient stability in power systems by the use of supplementary controllers. Along this line, this paper will investigate in detail how these supplementary controllers affect electromechanical oscillations, by means of small‐signal stability analysis. The paper analyses two control strategies based on the modulation of active‐power injections (P‐WAF) and reactive‐power injections (Q‐WAF) in the VSC stations which were presented in previous work. Both control strategies use global signals of the frequencies of the VSC‐MTDC system and they presented significant improvements on transient stability. The paper will provide guidelines for the design of these type of controllers to improve both large‐ and small‐disturbance angle stability. Small‐signal stability analysis (in Matlab) has been compared with non‐linear time domain simulation (in PSS/E) to confirm the results using CIGRE Nordic32A benchmark test system with a VSC‐MTDC system. The paper analyses the impact of the controller gains and communication latency on electromechanical‐oscillation damping. The main conclusion of the paper is that transient‐stability‐tailored supplementary controllers in VSC‐MTDC systems can be tuned to damp inter‐area oscillations too, maintaining their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With large‐scale wind farms connected to AC/DC network, the transient stability assessment (TSA) of the power system becomes more and more difficult. Among them, estimating the region of attraction (ROA) of the equilibrium point is a traditional but still challenging problem. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, this paper proposes a new approach to obtain the enlarged estimation of the ROA. The optimization and updating strategy of shape function in the sum of squares (SOS) optimization problem are studied to reduce the conservatism of estimation result. In the proposed method, the gravitational search algorithm (GSA) is employed to optimize the coefficients of initial shape function to improve estimation performance. Based on the time‐domain simulation (TDS) of expected faults, the fitness value for shape function optimization is calculated using the values of state variables at the fault clearing time and the system stability information. Furthermore, the optimal Lyapunov function is computed by introducing the update condition of shape function and adjusting the iteration strategy of the ROA estimation algorithm. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a two‐machine‐infinite‐bus system and a more complex nine‐bus AC/DC system with wind power. And the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by comparing with the existing ROA estimation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]