Lecture 5

Point by point solution of swing equation

 The swing equation is a nonlinear equation and a formal solution is not
feasible

 Point by point method - calculate change in  during a small-time interval

t
 Also known as step-by-step solution
d 2 Pa 1
2
=
M
=
M
( Pm − Pmax sin  )
dt
 Plot of  vs. time shows that for system stability,  reaches max value
then starts decreasing

 Assume Pa calculated at the beginning of an interval is constant from

middle of preceding interval to middle of interval considered

2
 Consider nth interval beginning at t = (n-1)t

❖ Rotor angular position = n-1

❖ Accelerating power Pa(n-1) and acceleration n-1 at t calculated

assumed to be constant from (n-3/2)t to (n-1/2) t

 During the interval t the change in rotor speed (w.r.t Ns) is given by
t
 n−1 2 = t n−1 = Pa ( n−1)
M
 Speed at the end of the nth interval is

n−1 2 = n− 3 2 + n−1 2

 Speed is constant throughout the nth interval
3
 The change in angular position during the nth interval is

 n = t .n−1 2
 Angular position at the end of the nth interval is

 n =  n −1 +   n
 Substitution and re-arrangement gives
( t )
2

  n =   n −1 + Pa ( n−1)
M
 this expression gives the increment in angle during any interval (say
nth) in terms of the increment during (n-1)th interval
4
Point by point method for solution of swing equation 5
▪ Special attention needed for discontinuities in accelerating power
e.g. fault occurrence, fault clearing, switching.

▪ If discontinuity occurs at the beginning of an interval, average of

values of Pa before and after discontinuity are used e.g. if a fault
occurs at t = 0

( t ) + ( t ) Pa 0+
2 2
P P
 1 =   0 + . a 0− a 0+
= .
M 2 M 2

▪ Since the system is in steady state operation before the fault and the
previous increment in rotor angle is 0.

6
 If the fault is cleared in the mth interval, use accelerating power
immediately before and after fault clearing.

( t ) Pa( m −1) + Pa( m −1)

2
− +

  m =   m −1 + .
M 2

 If discontinuity occurs at the middle of an interval, no special

procedure is needed.

 Selection of t depends on the degree of accuracy desired; small

value more accurate but makes calculation lengthy.

 t = 0.05 seconds gives good results.

7
Practice Question
In the system shown in Fig below, the generator has a rating of 50 MVA and
H = 2.7 MJ/MVA at rated speed. E = 1.05, V = 1, X'd = 0.2, X1= X2= 0.4 pu.
The generator is supplying 50 MW to the infinite bus when a 3- fault
occurs midway along one of the transmission lines.

a) Plot the swing curve for a sustained fault upto 0.5 secs.

b) Plot the swing curve if the fault is cleared in 0.10 secs by simultaneous
opening of the breakers at both ends of the faulted line.
X1
X X Infinite bus

X2
X X
E V0

3- fault in the middle of the line 8

 Solution
GH
M= = 3  10−4 unit power s 2 / elect deg
180 f
 Pre-fault power
EV sin  1.0  1.05
Pe1 = = sin  = 2.624sin 
X e1 0.4
At  = 0, Pe1 = Pm = 1.0 pu
 Pe 1 = 2.625 sin  0 = 1.0
 0 = 22.4 = 0.391 rad
During the fault
Xe2 = 1.0
1.05  1.0sin 
Pe 2 = = 1.05sin 
1
9
After the fault

Xe3 = 0.6

1.05  1.0sin 
Pe 3 = = 1.75sin 
0.6

Let t = 0.05 seconds

Pa ( n −1) = Pm − Pmax sin  n −1

 n =  n−1 + 8.333 Pa ( n−1)

 n =  n −1 +   n
10
a) Sustained fault
At t = 0-, Pmax1 = 2.625 and Pa = 0
At t = 0+, Pmax2 = 1.05
Pa = Pm − Pmax 2 sin  0 = 1 − 1.05sin 22.4 = 0.6
0 + 0.6
Pa ( average ) = = 0.3
2
 1 =  0 + 8.333 Pa (0) = 2.5
 1 =  0 +  1 = 22.4 + 2.5 = 24.90
At t = 0.05 s,  = 24.9
Pe = 1.05 sin 24.9=0.442
Pa = 1 - 0.442 = 0.558
11
( t ) P = 8.333 P = 4.65
2

M a (1) a (1)

 2 =  1 + 8.333 Pa (1) = 2.5 + 4.65 = 7.15

 2 =  1 +  2 = 24.9 + 7.15 = 32.050

12
b) Fault cleared in 0.1 s
The swing curve is the same as sustained fault until 0.05 s.
At t = 0.1-, Pmax2 = 1.05 and Pa = 0.443
At t = 0.1+, Pmax3 = 1.75 and Pa = 0.071
0.443 + 0.071
Pa ( average ) = = 0.257
2
 3 =  2 + 8.333 Pa ( 2) = 9.29
 3 =  2 +  3 = 32.05 + 9.29 = 41.340
At t = 0.15 s,  = 41.34
Pa = 1.75 sin 41.34= -0.156
 4 =  3 + 8.333 Pa ( 3) = 9.29 − 1.3 = 7.99

 4 =  3 +  4 = 41.34 + 7.99 = 49.330 13

 Rotor angle (degrees)

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200

0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25

Sustained
0.3
Time (seconds) 0.35
Cleared 0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
14
 Practice Question
 A generator with internal impedance X´d = j0.25 is connected to an infinite
bus through a transformer of impedance XT = j0.1 and two parallel
transmission lines each with an impedance of XTL = j0.5. The generator is
delivering 1.0 pu power to the infinite bus and both the generator terminal
voltage and the voltage of the infinite bus are 1.0 pu. The generator has an
inertia constant of 4 MJ/MVA. If a 3-ϕ fault occurs midway along one of
the transmission lines:

i. Write the swing equation upon occurrence of the fault

ii. If the acceleration remains constant for t = 0.05s, find the rotor
angle at the end of this time interval and the new acceleration
Solution
Factors influencing transient stability

 Fault clearing time; the longer the fault duration, the longer the
rotor will be accelerated and the more kinetic energy will be
gained. The more energy that is gained during acceleration, the
more difficult it is to dissipate it during deceleration

 Generator inertia H; the higher the H the smaller d/dt and the
lesser the kinetic energy gained during the fault.

 Generator loading before disturbance; the higher the loading, the

closer the unit will be to Pmax, which means that during
acceleration, it is more likely to become unstable
 Magnitude of generator internal emf (depends on field excitation)
and infinite bus voltage magnitude; The lower these voltages, the
lower the Pmax will be

 The generator reactance – low reactance → higher Pmax and

lower initial rotor angle

 Generator output during the fault – depends on fault location and

type of fault
 The methods used for improving transient stability try to achieve
one or more of the following effects:

◼ Reduce influence of the disturbance by minimizing the fault

severity and duration

◼ Increase restoring synchronizing forces

◼ Reduce accelerating torque through control of prime-mover

mechanical power

◼ Reduction of the accelerating torque by applying artificial load

Methods of improving transient stability

1. Improved steady-state stability

 Higher system voltage levels using regulated shunt compensation

 Additional transmission lines

 Smaller transmission line series reactance

 Use transformers with low leakage reactance - ranges between 0.1

and 0.15 pu
 Transmission line series capacitor compensation

➢ Reduces the transfer reactance

➢ Increases maximum power that can be transmitted

➢ Reduces the effective reactive power loss (I2X).

➢ To limit the voltage over the capacitor, bypass it during faults and reinsertion
after fault clearing. Speed of reinsertion may be an important factor in
maintaining transient stability.

➢ The reactive power produced by a series capacitor increases with increasing

power transfer (self regulating)

➢ The degree of compensation is usually in the range 0.3 ≤ k ≤ 0.7 (k = XC / XL )

2. High speed fault clearing

✓ The kinetic energy gained by the generators during a fault is

directly proportional to the fault duration

✓ Fast fault clearance causes less disturbance

✓ Two-cycle breakers, together with high-speed relays and

communication, are widely used in locations where rapid fault
clearing is important

✓ Under special circumstances one-cycle circuit breaker combined

with a rapid response overcurrent type sensor can be used - not
widely used
3. Dynamic braking

 Application of an artificial electrical load during a transient

disturbance to increase the electrical power output of generators
and thereby reducing rotor acceleration

 For example switching in shunt resistors for about 0.5 second

following a fault
4. Single-Pole Switching
o Uses separate operating mechanisms on each phase
o For SLG faults, the relaying is designed to trip only the faulted phase
followed by fast reclosure within 0.5 to 1.5 seconds
o For multiphase faults, all three phases are tripped
o During the period when one phase is open, power is transferred over the
remaining two phases.
o For unbalanced faults, opening and reclosing of only the faulted phase
results in an improvement in transient stability over 3-phase tripping and
reclosing
o Single-pole switching is particularly attractive for situations where a
single major line connects two systems or where a single major line
connects a generating station to the rest of the system.
o It may also be used on systems with multiple lines to improve system
security against multiple contingency disturbances
5. High-speed excitation systems

 Increase the internal voltage of the generator to rapidly boost field

voltage in response to disturbances

 However, high-speed excitation systems are not very effective in

increasing CCT for faults right at the generating station where a bolted
three-phase fault will reduce voltage to zero at the point of
fault―resulting in no real power flow to the system during the
duration of the fault.

 For faults further out from the generating station, the effect of high-
speed AVRs are more pronounced.
6. Special control of HVDC links

 The DC power on HVDC links can be rapidly ramped up or down to assist in

maintaining generation-load imbalances caused by disturbances. The effect is
similar to generation or load tripping.

7. Controlled system separation and load shedding

 Considered a last resort

 It is feasible to design system controls that can respond to separate, or island, a

power system into areas with balanced generation and load

 Some load shedding or generation tripping may also be required in selected

islands

 In the event of a disturbance, instability can be prevented from propagating and

affecting large areas by partitioning the system in this manner

 If instability primarily results in generation loss, load shedding alone may be

sufficient to control the system
❑ 8. Avoiding weak grids that are operated at low frequency and/or
voltage.

❑ 9. An already weak and unstable network can improve its stability

performance by implementing additional control equipment, such
as a PSS. This device is the most common and the cheapest way to
improve an already unstable network
Transient Stability Considerations in System Operation
 Power systems may be prone to being unstable despite the fact that they are
designed to be transiently stable, and many methods may be used to
improve stability

 This is largely due to uncertainties related to assumptions made during the

design process. These uncertainties result from:

i. Load and generation forecast: The design process must use forecast
information about the amount, distribution, and characteristics of the
connected loads as well as the location and amount of connected
generation. All these have a great deal of uncertainty. If the actual
system load is higher than forecast, the generation output will be
higher, the system will be more stressed, and the transient stability
limit may be significantly lower.
 ii. System topology: Design studies generally assume all elements in service,
or perhaps up to two elements out of-service. In actual systems, there are
usually many elements out-of-service at any one time due to forced outages
(failures) or system maintenance. These outages can seriously weaken the
system and make it less transiently stable.

 iii. Dynamic data: The results of time-domain simulations depend heavily on

the data used to represent the models for generators and the associated
controls. In many cases, this data is not known (typical data is assumed) or is
in error (either because it has not been derived from field measurements or
due to changes that have been made in the actual system controls that have
not been reflected in the data).
 iv. Dynamic modeling: All models used for power system simulation,
even the most advanced, contain approximations out of practical
necessity.

 v. Device operation: In the design process it is assumed that controls

and protection will operate as designed. In the actual system, relays,
breakers, and other controls may fail or operate improperly.
 To deal with the uncertainties in actual system operation, safety
margins are used

 Operational (short-term) time-domain simulations are conducted using

a system model, which is more accurate (accounting for components
out on maintenance, improved short-term load forecast, etc.) than the
design model

 Transient stability limits are computed using these models

 Either of the following stability limits is assessed:

◼ the critical clearing time (CCT) for a given level of power

◼ the power limit for a given clearing time

 • CCT often helps to filter and rank contingencies.