A Mode-switching Strategy of Droop Control for VSC-MTDC Systems Considering Maximum DC Voltage Regulation Capability

To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality,renewable energy integration through a voltage source converter based multi-terminal direct current(VSC-MTDC)system has been identified as a promising solution.To tackle the significant DC voltage over-limit problem in a VSC-MTDC system during disturbances,this paper proposes a mode-switching strategy of droop control considering maximum DC voltage regulation capability.The close relationship between node injection powers and node DC voltages in the MTDC system is elaborated,and the most effective regulation approach of local injection power for limiting DC voltage deviation is presented.The operating point trajectories of different droop control explains that the DC voltage deviation can be minimized by fully utilizing the capacity of converters.Therefore,the mode-switching strategy with the maximum DC voltage regulation capability is realized by the switching between the voltage droop control and the constant maximum power control.In addition,a mode recovery process and a smooth switching method are developed to make converters regain the capability of maintaining DC voltage and reduce power fluctuation during mode switching,respectively.Furthermore,three cases are investigated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed mode-switching strategy.Compared with simulation results of the conventional droop control and the DC voltage deviation-dependent droop control,better performance of transient and steady-state DC voltage deviation is achieved through the proposed strategy.

Dynamic Frequency Support and DC Voltage Regulation Approach for VSC-MTDC Systems

When an additional frequency control is implemented in the voltage source converter-based multi-terminal high voltage direct current(VSC-MTDC)system,the DC grid is capable of responding to a frequency disturbance in the AC system.However,the original additional frequency control may cause the DC voltage to exceed the limit when providing power for a severe frequency disturbance,threatening the security of the DC system.A novel dynamic additional frequency control strategy for the VSC-MTDC system is developed based on the relationship between the DC voltage and the frequency droop coefficient.A dynamic frequency droop coefficient is designed to adaptively adjust the support power of the DC grid,balancing the frequency regulation of the disturbed AC system and the voltage stability of the DC grid.A DC voltage recovery method based on multi-converter cooperation is proposed to cope with the DC voltage deviation caused by the additional frequency control.Simulations validate the advantages and satisfactory performance of the proposed method during power disturbances with different severities and for the process of DC voltage recovery.

Partial Discharge Measurement and Analysis in High Voltage IGBT Modules Under DC Voltage

Insulation performance of high voltage IGBT modules is one of the key attributes in power system applications.However,the existing standards of IGBT devices and research on the evaluation of insulation performance of high voltage IGBT modules are insufficient;for example,partial discharge resistance under DC voltage blocking condition is not considered.In this paper,a new test was proposed to allow the measurement of partial discharges in all the components of IGBT modules under DC voltage.The topology of the measuring circuit is arranged in the polarity discrimination way to exclude the interference,and the voltage and discharge current waveforms during the partial discharge process are measured by the wideband time domain measurement technique.According to the proposed test,the discharge phenomenon of the IGBT modules below the rating voltage were detected.A comprehensive waveform analysis on the voltage and discharge current was performed,and the influence of the applied voltage on the waveform parameters was obtained.The waveform parameters are influenced by the applied voltage and insulation structure,which enables the discrimination of the causes of the observed partial discharge in the IGBT module under DC voltage by the waveform analysis technique.Based on the waveform analysis technique,the types and causes of the observed partial discharges were discussed and inferred,and the correctness of the inference was further verified by observation.The proposed test and waveform analysis technique provide the possibility to evaluate and distinguish partial discharges in the high voltage IGBT module under DC voltage,which may be helpful to insulation performance evaluation and insulation defect diagnosis in high voltage IGBT module.

Reduced-order Modeling and Dynamic Stability Analysis of MTDC Systems in DC Voltage Control Timescale

An equivalent source-load MTDC system including DC voltage control units,power control units and interconnected DC lines is considered in this paper,which can be regarded as a generic structure of low-voltage DC microgrids,mediumvoltage DC distribution systems or HVDC transmission systems with a common DC bus.A reduced-order model is proposed with a circuit structure of a resistor,inductor and capacitor in parallel for dynamic stability analysis of the system in DC voltage control timescale.The relationship between control parameters and physical parameters of the equivalent circuit can be found,which provides an intuitive insight into the physical meaning of control parameters.Employing this model,a second-order characteristic equation is further derived to investigate system dynamic stability mechanisms in an analytical approach.As a result,the system oscillation frequency and damping are characterized in a straight forward manner,and the role of electrical and control parameters and different system-level control strategies in system dynamic stability in DC voltage control timescale is defined.The effectiveness of the proposed reduced-order model and the correctness of the theoretical analysis are verified by simulation based on PSCAD/EMTDC and an experiment based on a hardware low-voltage MTDC system platform.

Net Damping Criterion for Stability Analysis of Grid-tied VSCs in DC Voltage Control Timescale

Stability of grid-connected VSCs in DC voltage control(DVC)timescales(i.e.,the frequency range of dynamics covering converter outer controls)has recently caught increased attention,while the existing approaches,such as eigenvalue analysis and dq-domain impedance analysis,have respective limitations on addressing these types of stability issues.This paper proposes an alternative net damping criterion dedicated for analyzing the DVC timescale stability in a multi-VSC system.This criterion is strictly mapped from the Nyquist stability criterion utilizing the gain margin concept,which preserves the advantages of the classical positive net damping criterion suggested by Canay[20]–allowing for decomposition analysis of a subsystem’s contribution to the closed-loop stability in a single-input single-output(SISO)framework,but overcomes its deficiency of possibly erroneous prediction of system dynamic behaviors.Case studies show that the proposed criterion can correctly predict some unstable conditions(e.g.,monotonic divergence)which cannot be identified by the classical net damping criterion.Additionally,the condition for when the classical criterion is available is also pointed out,the proposed criterion can also act as a complement of the classical criterion for stability examination.

Experiments and Analysis of Corona Inception Voltage Under Combined AC-DC Voltages at Various Air Pressure and Humidity in Rod to Plane Electrodes

As the effect of climate plays a significant role in corona discharge under combined voltages,the variation of corona inception voltage with different air pressure and humidities is studied.An experimental platform,based on a rod-to-plane electrode,is constructed with adjustable air pressure from 0.06 MPa to 0.10 MPa and with a relative humidity(RH)from 20%to 90%.The variation of ultraviolet(UV)photon count and corona inception voltage is obtained at various climate conditions under different applied voltages:the single AC,single DC,and combined AC-DC.It turns out that all the corona inception voltages decline with the drop of air pressure and the rise of humidity under different applied voltages.The influence between different voltages primarily relies on space charge,as more AC components make it easier to accumulate positive ions.The existence of AC makes ions move forward and backward while the existence of DC dominates the polarity of corona and general drift directions.At last the fitting formula of hybrid corona inception voltage combining air pressure and relative humidity is given.

Control of the DC Output Voltage of the AC/DC Converter Using Sliding Mode Control： Application to PMSG

This paper presents sliding mode technique associated to the direct torque control （DTC） for an isolated-loaded permanent magnet synchronous generator （PMSG）. The machine delivers an active power to a DC-load via a converter connected to a single capacitor on the DC side. Since the converter/capacitor model is nonlinear, the sliding mode technique constitutes a powerful tool to ensure the DC-bus voltage regulation. The computer simulations are provided to verify the validity of the proposed control algorithm.

Optimization of DC Resistance Divider Up to 1200 kV Using Thermal and Electric Field Analysis

Self-heating and electric field distribution are the primary factors affecting the accuracy of the Ultra High Voltage Direct Current(UHVDC)resistive divider.Reducing the internal temperature rise of the voltage divider caused by self-heating,reducing the maximum electric field strength of the voltage divider,and uniform electric field distribution can effectively improve the UHVDC resistive divider’s accuracy.In this paper,thermal analysis and electric field distribution optimization design of 1200 kV UHVDC resistive divider are carried out:(1)Using the proposed iterative algorithm,the heat dissipation and temperature distribution of the high voltage DC resistive divider are studied,and the influence of the ambient temperature and the power of the divider on the temperature of the insulating medium of the divider is analyzed;(2)Established the finite element models of 1200 kV and 2×600 kV DC resistive dividers,analyzed the influence of the size of the grading ring and the installation position on the maximum electric field strength of the voltage divider,and calculated the impact of the shielding resistor layer on the vicinity of the measuring resistor layer.The research indicates that:(1)The temperature of the insulating medium is linearly related to the horsepower of the voltage divider and the ambient temperature;(2)After the optimized design of the electric field,the maximum electric field strength of the 1200 kV DC resistive divider is reduced to 1471 V/mm,which is about 24% lower than that of the unoptimized design;(3)Installing the shielding resistor layer can significantly improve the electric field near the measuring resistor layer.This paper has an important reference function for improving the accuracy of the UHVDC resistive divider.

Key technologies for medium and low voltage DC distribution system

Development of the medium and low voltage DC distribution system is of great significance to a regional transmission of electric energy,increasing a penetration rate of new energy,and enhancing a safety of the operation of the AC/DC interconnected grid.This paper first summarizes the medium and low voltage DC distribution system schemes and plans put forward by many countries,and then elaborate status of under-construction medium and low voltage DC distribution system project cases in China.Based on these project cases,this paper analyzes key issues involved in the medium and low voltage DC distribution system topologies,equipment,operation control technologies and DC fault protections,in order to provide theoretical and technical reference for future medium and low voltage DC distribution system-related projects.Finally,this paper combines a current China research status to summarize and give a prediction about the future research direction of medium and low voltage DC distribution system,which can provide reference for the research of medium and low voltage DC distribution system.

Effect of applied dc bias voltage on composition, chemical bonding and mechanical properties of carbon nitride films prepared by PECVD

Carbon nitride films were deposited on Si (100) substrates using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique from CH4 and N2 at different applied dc bias voltage. The microstructure, composition and chemical bonding of the resulting films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanical properties such as hardness and elastic modulus of the films were evaluated using nano-indentation. As the results, the Raman spectra, showing the G and D bands, indicate the amorphous structure of the films. XPS and FTIR measurements demonstrate the existence of various carbon-nitride bonds in the films and the hydrogenation of carbon nitride phase. The composition ratio of N to C, the nano-hardness and the elastic modulus of the carbon nitride films increase with increasing dc bias voltage and reach the maximums at a dc bias voltage of 300 V, then they decrease with further increase of the dc bias voltage. Moreover, the XRD analyses indicate that the carbon nitride film contains some polycrystalline C3N4 phase embedded in the amorphous matrix at optimized deposition condition of dc bias voltage of 300 V.

Sealed model and computation of hazardous waste landfill high voltage DC leakage detection

According to the structural characteristics of hazardous waste landfill and the leakage current model of high voltage DC Landfill leakage detection, a sealed model is established detail. The detection layer of the hazardous waste landfill is considered as a sealed assumed that the source current flows through the leak entirely. The leak is regard and analyzed in space and it is ed as a positive current resource ＋ I located at the current entrance or a negative resource - I located at the current exit, which depends on the placement of the current supply. The electrical potential of an arbitrary in detection layer satisfies Poisson equation. The boundary condition is regarded as a natural bound- ary condition for the high resistivity of high density polyethylene （HDPE） membrane. Based on which a numerical calculation method is developed. Satisfactory agreement between experimental da- ta and simulated data validates the analysis. Parametric studies show that a larger horizontal distance between the power supply electrode and leak and a smaller distance between the detector electrodes and the detected liner are helpful to leak location. More parametric curves show that parameters leaks can be detected effectively with optimum selection of field survey.

Novel Double-Damped Tuned AC Filters in HVDC Systems

This paper presents a performance analysis of novel doubledampedtuned alternating current (AC) filters in high voltage direct current(HVDC) systems. The proposed double-damped tuned AC filters offer theadvantages of improved performance of HVDC systems in terms of betterpower quality, high power factor, and lower total harmonic distortion (THD).The system under analysis consists of an 878 km long HVDC transmissionline connecting converter stations at Matiari and Lahore, two major cities inPakistan. The main focus of this research is to design a novel AC filter usingthe equivalent impedance method of two single-tuned and double-dampedtuned AC filters. Additionally, the impact of the damping resistor on the ACchannel is examined. TheTHDof theHVDCsystem with and without currentAC filters was also compared in this research and a double-damped tuned ACfilter was proposed. The results of the simulation represent that the proposeddouble-damped tuned AC filter is far smaller in size, offers better powerquality, and has a much lower THD compared to the AC filters currently inplace in the converter station. The simulation analysis was carried out utilizingpower systems computer-aided design (PSCAD) software.

An Adaptive Control Strategy for Energy Storage Interface Converter Based on Analogous Virtual Synchronous Generator

In the DC microgrid,the lack of inertia and damping in power electronic converters results in poor stability of DC bus voltage and low inertia of the DC microgrid during fluctuations in load and photovoltaic power.To address this issue,the application of a virtual synchronous generator(VSG)in grid-connected inverters control is referenced and proposes a control strategy called the analogous virtual synchronous generator(AVSG)control strategy for the interface DC/DC converter of the battery in the microgrid.Besides,a flexible parameter adaptive control method is introduced to further enhance the inertial behavior of the AVSG control.Firstly,a theoretical analysis is conducted on the various components of the DC microgrid,the structure of analogous virtual synchronous generator,and the control structure’s main parameters related to the DC microgrid’s inertial behavior.Secondly,the voltage change rate tracking coefficient is introduced to adjust the change of the virtual capacitance and damping coefficient flexibility,which further strengthens the inertia trend of the DC microgrid.Additionally,a small-signal modeling approach is used to analyze the approximate range of the AVSG’s main parameters ensuring system stability.Finally,conduct a simulation analysis by building the model of the DC microgrid system with photovoltaic(PV)and battery energy storage(BES)in MATLAB/Simulink.Simulation results from different scenarios have verified that the AVSG control introduces fixed inertia and damping into the droop control of the battery,resulting in a certain level of inertia enhancement.Furthermore,the additional adaptive control strategy built upon the AVSG control provides better and flexible inertial support for the DC microgrid,further enhances the stability of the DC bus voltage,and has a more positive impact on the battery performance.

Self-organized pattern on the surface of a metal anode in low-pressure DC discharge

Self-organization phenomena on the surface of a metal electrode in low-pressure DC discharge is studied. In this paper, we carry out laboratory investigations of self-organization in a lowpressure test platform for 100–200 mm rod-plane gaps with a needle tip, conical tip and hemispherical tip within 1–10 k Pa. The factors influencing the pattern profile are the pressure value, gap length and shape of the electrode, and a variety of pattern structures are observed by changing these factors. With increasing pressure, first the pattern diameter increases and then decreases. With the needle tip, layer structure, single-ring structure and double-ring structure are displayed successively with increasing pressure. With the conical tip, the ring-like structure gradually forms separate spots with increasing pressure. With the hemispherical tip, there are anode spots inside the ring structure. With the increase of gap length, the diameter of the selforganized pattern increases and the profile of the pattern changes. The development process of the pattern contains three key stages： pattern enlargement, pattern stabilization and pattern shrink.

MMC-MTDC Transmission System with Partially Hybrid Branches

This paper proposes a hybrid submodule modular multilevel converter(MMC)topology which is suitable for multi terminal direct current(MTDC)transmission systems.Each arm of the proposed MMC topology consists of a half-bridge submodule(HBSM)branch and two parallel full-bridge submodule(FBSM)branches.Comparing with the conventional MTDC transmission system,the proposed topology can selectively block the DC fault current and isolate the corresponding fault line without expensive DC circuit breakers(DCCBs).Thus,the influence range of the DC fault can be reduced and the reliability of the power supply can be improved as well.The corresponding modulation and voltage balancing strategies are developed for the proposed hybrid MMC topology.The feasibility of the proposed topology and control strategy is verified in the MATLAB/Simulink simulation.

Adaptive Reference Power Based Voltage Droop Control for VSC-MTDC Systems

Featuring low communication requirements and high reliability,the voltage droop control method is widely adopted in the voltage source converter based multi-terminal direct current(VSC-MTDC)system for autonomous DC voltage regulation and power-sharing.However,the traditional voltage droop control method with fixed droop gain is criticized for over-limit DC voltage deviation in case of large power disturbances,which can threaten stable operation of the entire VSCMTDC system.To tackle this problem,this paper proposes an adaptive reference power based voltage droop control method,which changes the reference power to compensate the power deviation for droop-controlled voltage source converters(VSCs).Besides retaining the merits of the traditional voltage droop control method,both DC voltage deviation reduction and power distribution improvement can be achieved by utilizing local information and a specific control factor in the proposed method.Basic principles and key features of the proposed method are described.Detailed analyses on the effects of the control factor on DC voltage deviation and imbalanced power-sharing are discussed,and the selection principle of the control factor is proposed.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by the simulations on a five-terminal VSC based high-voltage direct current(VSC-HVDC)system.

Simplified Cluster Voltage Balancing Control Based on Zero-sequence Voltage Injection for Star-connected Cascaded H-bridge STATCOM

The cluster DC voltage balancing control adopting zero-sequence voltage injection is appropriate for the starconnected cascaded H-bridge STATCOM because no zerosequence currents are generated in the three-phase three-wire system.However,as the zero-sequence voltage is expressed in trigonometric form,traditional control methods involve many complicated operations,such as the square-root,trigonometric operations,and inverse tangent operations.To simplify cluster voltage balancing control,this paper converts the zero-sequence voltage to the dq frame in a DC representation by introducing a virtually orthogonal variable,and the DC components of the zero-sequence voltage in the dq frame are regulated linearly by proportional integral regulators,rather than being calculated from uneven active powers in traditional controls.This removes all complicated operations.Finally,this paper presents simulation and experimental results for a 400 V±7.5 kvar star-connected STATCOM,in balanced and unbalanced scenarios,thereby verifying the effectiveness of the proposed control.

Transient Characteristics and Accommodative Current Limiting Strategy for Bidirectional Interlinking Converters in Hybrid AC/DC Microgrids

Bidirectional interlinking converter(BIC)is the core equipment in a hybrid AC/DC microgrid connected between AC and DC sub-grids.However,the variety of control modes and flexible bidirectional power flow complicate the influence of AC faults on BIC itself and on DC sub-grid,which potentially threaten both converter safety and system reliability.This study first investigates AC fault influence on the BIC and DC bus voltage under different BIC control modes and different pre-fault operation states,by developing a mathematical model and equivalent sequence network.Second,based on the analysis results,a general accommodative current limiting strategy is proposed for BIC without limitations to specific mode or operation condition.Current amplitude is predicted and constrained according to the critical requirements to protect the BIC and relieving the AC fault influence on the DC bus voltage.Compared with conventional methods,potential current limit failure and distortions under asymmetric faults can also be avoided.Finally,experiments verify feasibility of the proposed method.

Direct Current Generation in Carbon Nanotubes by Terahertz Field

We report on a theoretical investigation of a direct current generation in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that are stimulated axially by terahertz (THz) field. We consider the kinetic approach based on the semiclassical Boltzmann’s transport equation with constant relaxation time approximation, together with the energy spectrum of an electron in the tight-binding approximation. Our results indicate that for strong THz-fields, there is simultaneous generation of DC current in the axial and circumferential directions of the CNTs, even at room temperature. We found that a THz-field can induce a negative conductivity in the CNTs that leads to the THz field induced DC current. For varying amplitude of the THz-field, the current density decreases rapidly and modulates around zero with interval of negative conductivity. The interval decreases with increasing the amplitude of the THz-field. We show that the THz-field can cause fast switching from a zero DC current to a finite DC current due to the quasi-ballistic transport, and that electron scattering is a necessary condition for switching.

Energy-saving Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage(SMES)Based Interline DC Dynamic Voltage Restorer

The fast-response feature from a superconducting magnetic energy storage(SMES)device is favored for suppressing instantaneous voltage and power fluctuations,but the SMES coil is much more expensive than a conventional battery energy storage device.In order to improve the energy utilization rate and reduce the energy storage cost under multiple-line power distribution conditions,this paper investigates a new interline DC dynamic voltage restorer(IDC-DVR)scheme with one SMES coil shared among multiple compensating circuits.In this new concept,an improved current-voltage(I/V)chopper assembly,which has a series of input/output power ports,is introduced to connect the single SMES coil with multiple power lines,and thereby satisfy the independent energy exchange requirements of any line to be compensated.Specifically,if two or more power lines have simultaneous compensating demands,the SMES coil can be selectively controlled to compensate the preferable line according to the priority order of the line.The feasibility of the proposed scheme is technically verified to maintain the transient voltage stability in multiple-line voltage swell and sag cases caused by either output voltage fluctuations from external power sources or power demand fluctuations from local sensitive loads.The simulation results provide a technical basis to develop a cost-effective SMES-based IDC-DVR for use in various DC distribution networks.