Dire Dawa University Institute of

Technology

School of Electrical & Computer

Engineering

Chapter Four
Power System Stability

By: Minale B.

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 Objectives
• To know the definition of stability in power system
• To identify Stability types
• To understand fundamental assumptions in stability study
• To analyze rotor dynamics by using the techniques;
o Swing equation
o Power angle equation
o Equal area criteria

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 Stability and Stability Limit

 Power System Stability:

• is the property of the system which enables the synchronous machines of
the system to respond to a disturbance from a normal operating condition
so as to return to a condition, where their operation is again normal.

 The Stability Limit:

• Is the maximum power that can be transferred in a network between
source and load without loss of synchronism.
• The steady state stability limit is the maximum power that can be
transferred without the system becoming unstable, when the load is
increased gradually, under steady state condition.

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 Types of Stability
I. Transient stability
II. Dynamic stability and
III. Steady state stability
I. Transient stability:
•It is mainly focus on the major disturbance such as loss of generation,
line switching operations, faults and sudden local changes.
II. Dynamic stability:
•A power system dispatch center can interact to stabilize or destabilize a
power system several times after a disturbance has occurred.
III. Steady state stability:
•Involves slow or gradual changes in operating points.

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 Con
• Power system stability involves the study of the dynamics of the power
system under disturbances. Power system stability implies that its ability to
return to normal or stable operation after having been subjected to some
form of disturbances.

• To facilitate computation three fundamental assumptions are made in all

stability studies;
1. Only synchronous frequency currents and voltages are considered in the
stator windings and the power system. Consequently, dc-offset currents and
harmonic components are neglected.
2. Symmetrical components used in the representation of unbalanced faults.
3. Generated voltage is considered unaffected by machine speed variations.

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 Rotor Dynamics and The Swing Equation
• Based on the elementary principle in dynamics which states that accelerating
torque is:

Fig. Machine rotor comparing direction of rotation of mechanical and electrical

torques for a generator and a motor

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Where:

Pm = shaft power input to the machine

Pe = electrical power crossing its air gap
Pa = accelerating power which accounts for any unbalance between
those two quantities

 In machine data supplied for stability studies another constant

related to inertia is often encountered.
 This is the so-called H constant , which is defined by:

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 Con

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• We note that it is a second-order differential equation, which can be

written as the two first-order differential equations

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 Con
• We note that it is a second-order differential equation, which can be
written as the two first-order differential equations

• Further considerations of the Swing Equation:

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 Con
 Machine manufacturers also use the symbol WR2 to specify for the
rotating parts of a generating unit. Hence, WR2/32.2 is the moment of
inertia of the machine in slug-feet squared. .

•Machines which swing together are called coherent machines.

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 The Power-Angle Equation
• In the swing equation for the generator the input mechanical power
from the prime mover, Pm' will be considered constant.
• When Pe equals Pm, the machine operates at steady state synchronous
speed; when Pe, changes from this value, the rotor deviates from
synchronous speed.
• Each synchronous machine is represented for transient stability studies
by its transient internal voltage Ei, in series with the transient reactance
Xd’, as shown below in which Vt is the terminal voltage.

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 Con

• Letting k and N equal 1 & 2, respectively & substituting E' for V, we obtain;

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 Con

• We obtain;

• Similar equation apply at bus 2 by interchanging the subscripts in the

two equations above.
If we let
and define a new angle y such that

Then;

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 Con
• May be written more simply as;

Where:

• The power-angle equation which then applies for the pure reactance
network is simply the familiar equation;

Where:

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 Equal-Area Criterion of Stability:
• To examine the stability of a two-machine system without solving the swing
equation, a direct app roach is possible as now discussed .

Assumption:
• Circuit breaker B is open and circuit breaker A is closed
• If fault occurred at point P is cleared by circuit breaker A after short period of time.
• The short circuit caused by the fault is effectively at the bus and so the electrical
power output from the generator is zero until the fault is cleared.
• The physical conditions before, during and after the fault can be understood by
analyzing the power angle curves.

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 Con
• Originally (before fault): generator is operating at synchronous speed with a
rotor angle of o :
• input Pm = Pe at point a
• When fault occurs at t=0, Pe = 0 (suddenly) and Pm is un altered (in fig.b)
• The difference in power must be accounted for by a rate of change of stored
KE in the rotor mass.
• This can be accomplished by an increase in speed which results from
constant accelerating power Pm.
• If we denote the time to clear the fault by tc, then the acceleration is constant
for time ‘t’ less than tc and is given by:

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 Con

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• Define the angular velocity of the rotor relative to synchronous speed by:

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 Example
• Given the system of fig. below where a 3-phase fault is applied at the point P as shown
below.

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 Con

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 Group Assignment #10%
Chapter Five
Power System Reliability Analysis
 Definition of power system reliability
and quality
 Reliability assessment techniques
 Reliability indices
 Interconnected Systems

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