HVDC Grid Segmentation Analysis for Blackouts Reduction

Segmentation of large AC systems through DC links introduces a new concept that utilizes the advantages of direct current transmission to improve network reliability and increase power transfer capacity. Technical literature argues that the segmentation of the AC network and the introduction of DC links at these systems connection points bring benefits to system operation, once contingencies generated on one side of the DC connection point would not be reflected on the other side of DC connection, thereby reducing the likelihood of cascading shutdowns and blackouts due to load restraint on transmission lines and transformers. Amidst this scenario, this paper presents a study of the main topics regarding the use of this new network segmentation philosophy, bringing a practical point of view for the use of this concept at the electrical power system planning. The effect of DC segmentation before a contingency that would initiate major outages in an adapted electrical system model IEEE-14 bus is studied and simulations have been performed with test HVAC systems and segmented by HVDC link. The results have been compared, principally in relation to the voltage bus, reactive power generation, system losses and power flow at the lines, and demonstrated that this new concept improved the grid reliability.

Characteristics of the electromagnetic wave propagation in magnetized plasma sheath and practical method for blackout mitigation

“Magnetic window”is considered as an effective method to solve the communication blackout issue.COMSOL software package based on the finite element method is utilized to simulate the propagation of right-handed circularly polarized wave in the magnetized plasma sheath.We assume a double Gaussian model of electron density and an exponential attenuation model of magnetic field.The propagation characteristics of right-handed circularly polarized wave are analyzed by the observation of the reflected,transmitted and loss coefficient.The numerical results show that the propagation of right-handed circularly polarized wave in the magnetized plasma sheath varies for different incident angles,collision frequencies,non-uniform magnetic fields and non-uniform plasma densities.We notice that reducing the wave frequency can meet the propagation conditions of whistle mode in the weak magnetized plasma sheath.And the transmittance of whistle mode is less affected by the variation of the electron density and the collision frequency.It can be used as a communication window.

Numerical and experimental studies on the effectiveness of time-varying electromagnetic fields in reducing electron density

When an aircraft or a hypersonic vehicle re-enters the atmosphere,the plasma sheath generated can severely attenuate electromagnetic wave signals,causing the problem of communication blackout.A new method based on time-varying E×B fields is proposed to improve on the existing static E×B fields and mitigate the radio blackout problem.The use of the existing method is limited by the invalid electron density reduction resulting from current density j=0 A m^(-2)in plasma beyond the Debye radius.The most remarkable feature is the introduction of a time-varying electric field to increase the current density in the plasma to overcome the Debye shielding effect on static electric field.Meanwhile,a magnetic field with the same frequency and phase as the electric field is applied to ensure that the electromagnetic force is always acting on the plasma in one direction.In order to investigate the effect of time-varying E×B fields on the plasma electron density distribution,two directions of voltage application are considered in numerical simulation.The simulation results indicate that different voltage application methods generate electromagnetic forces in different directions in the plasma,resulting in repulsion and vortex effects in the plasma.A comparison of the vortex effect and repulsion effect reveals that the vortex effect is better at reducing the electron density.The local plasma electron density can be reduced by more than 80%through the vortex effect,and the dimensions of the area of reduced electron density reach approximately 6 cm×4 cm,meeting the requirements of electromagnetic wave propagation.Besides,the vortex effect of reducing the electron density in RAM-C(radio attenuation measurements for the study of communication blackout)reentry at an altitude of 40 km is analyzed.On the basis of the simulation results,an experiment based on a rectangular-window discharge device is proposed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the vortex effect.Experimental results show that time-varying E×B fields can reduce the electron density in plasma of 3 cm thickness by 80%at B=0.07 T and U_(0)=1000 V.The investigations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of reducing the required strength of the magnetic field and overcoming the Debye shielding effect.Additionally,the method is expected to provide a new way to apply a magnetic window in engineering applications.

Zone 3 Relay Blocking Scheme to Prevent Cascaded Events

Defense systems are needed to prevent catastrophic failures of a power grid due to cascaded events. Cascaded events can be attributed to improper operations of protective relays. The most challenging problem for the design and implementation of a defense system is the performance in accuracy and speed in a real time environment. Protective devices are normally designed to operate fast in order to isolate the fault（s）. This paper proposes a new methodology to distinguish line overloads from actual faults for distance relays. In order to distinguish between line flow transfers from a line outage and an actual fault, the line outage distribution factor （LQDF） and generation shift factor （GSF） based power flow estimation method, and a secure peer to peer （P2P） communication structure are adopted. Computer simulations of cascaded events for a 6-bus system and the Korean power grid have been performed to establish the feasibility of the proposed scheme.

Power source–power grid coordinated typhoon defense strategy based on multiagent dynamic game theory

A power source–power grid coordinated typhoon defense strategy is proposed in this study to minimize the cost of power grid anti-typhoon reinforcement measures and improve defense efficiency.It is based on multiagent dynamic game theory.This strategy regards a typhoon as a rational gamer that always causes the greatest damage.Together with the grid planner and black start unit(BSU)planner,it forms a multiagent defense–attack–defense dynamic game model naturally.The model is adopted to determine the optimal reinforcements for the transmission lines,black start power capacity,and location.Typhoon Hato,which struck a partial coastal area in Guangdong province in China in 2017,was adopted to formulate a step-by-step model of a typhoon attacking coastal area power systems.The results were substituted into the multiagent defense–attack–defense dynamic game model to obtain the optimal transmission line reinforcement positions,as well as optimal BSU capacity and geographic positions.An effective typhoon defense strategy and minimum load shedding were achieved,demonstrating the feasibility and correctness of the proposed strategy.The related theories and methods of this study have positive significance for the prevention of uncertain large-scale natural disasters.

Evaluating the reliability of distributed photovoltaic energy system and storage against household blackout

Distributed energy resources have been proven to be an effective and promising solution to enhance power system resilience and improve household-level reliability.In this paper,we propose a method to evaluate the reliability value of a photovoltaic(PV)energy system with a battery storage system(BSS)by considering the probability of grid outages causing household blackouts.Considering this reliability value,which is the economic profit and capital cost of PV+BSS,a simple formula is derived to calculate the optimal planning strategy.This strategy can provide household-level customers with a simple and straightforward expression for invested PV+BSS capacity.Case studies on 600 households located in eight zones of the US for the period of 2006 to 2015 demonstrate that adding the reliability value to economic profit allows households to invest in a larger PV+BSS and avoid loss of load caused by blackouts.Owing to the differences in blackout hours,households from the 8 zones express distinct willingness to install PV+BSS.The greater the probability of blackout,the greater revenue that household can get from the PV+BSS.The simulation example shows that the planning strategy obtained by proposed model has good economy in the actual operation and able to reduce the economic risk of power failure of the household users.This model can provide household with an easy and straightforward investment strategy of PV+BSS capacity.

Failure analysis on China power grid based on power law

This paper is concerned with the mechanism of blackouts in China power system from the viewpoint of self-organized criticality. By using two estimation algorithms of scaled window variance （SWV） and rescaled rangestatistics （R/S）, this paper studies the blackout data in China power system during 1988-1997. The result of analysis shows that the blackout data of 1994-1997 coincides well with the autocorrelation. Furthermore, it is found that the function of blackout probability vs. blackout size exhibits power law distribution.

FDTD Simulation on Terahertz Waves Propagation Through a Dusty Plasma

The frequency dependent permittivity for dusty plasmas is provided by introducing the charging response factor and charge relaxation rate of airborne particles. The field equations that describe the characteristics of Terahertz（THz） waves propagation in a dusty plasma sheath are derived and discretized on the basis of the auxiliary differential equation（ADE） in the finite difference time domain（FDTD） method. Compared with numerical solutions in reference, the accuracy for the ADE FDTD method is validated. The reflection property of the metal Aluminum interlayer of the sheath at THz frequencies is discussed. The effects of the thickness, effective collision frequency, airborne particle density, and charge relaxation rate of airborne particles on the electromagnetic properties of Terahertz waves through a dusty plasma slab are investigated.Finally, some potential applications for Terahertz waves in information and communication are analyzed.

Mitigation of blackout problem for reentry vehicle in traveling magnetic field with induced current

In this paper, a novel solution mitigating the radio blackout problem is proposed, which improves existing traveling magnetic field(TMF)-based methods. The most significant advance lies in replacing the external injection with self-induced current, which does not require electrodes. The improved analytical model is derived to evaluate the electron density reduction taking into consideration the self-induced current for various TMF velocities. The plasma reduction performance is analyzed for several conditions including the total absence of injected current. The results show that the velocity may be used to trade off the injected current and, when sufficiently large, eliminates the need for an injected current while mitigating radio blackout. The effectiveness of this solution to the blackout problem is demonstrated in commonly used aerospace communication bands. With a field strength of less than 0.15 T, increasing the velocity from40 m s^-1 to 3100 m s^-1 is all that is required to obviate the need for an injected current. Moreover,typical reduction ratios for electronic density tolerance(2, 1.9, 1.75 and 3 times for the L-, S-, Cand X-bands, respectively, at an altitude of 40 km) remain unchanged. Increasing the velocity of the TMF is much easier than injecting current via a metal electrode into a high-temperature flow field. The TMF method appears practical in regard to possible future applications.

Effects of pulsed magnetic field on density reduction of high flow velocity plasma sheath

A three-dimensional model is proposed in this paper to study the effect of the pulsed magnetic field on the density distribution of high flow velocity plasma sheath.Taking the typical parameters of plasma sheath at the height of 71 km as an example,the distribution characteristics and time evolution characteristics of plasma density in the flow field under the action of pulsed magnetic field,as well as the effect of self-electric field on the distribution of plasma density,are studied.The simulation results show that pulsed magnetic field can effectively reduce the density of plasma sheath.Meanwhile,the simulation results of three-dimensional plasma density distribution show that the size of the density reduction area is large enough to meet the communication requirements of the Global Position System(GPS)signal.Besides,the location of density reduction area provides a reference for the appropriate location of antenna.The time evolution of plasma density shows that the effective density reduction time can reach 62%of the pulse duration,and the maximum reduction of plasma density can reach 55%.Based on the simulation results,the mechanism of the interaction between pulsed magnetic field and plasma flow field is physically analyzed.Furthermore,the simulation results indicate that the density distributions of electrons and ions are consistent under the action of plasma self-electric field.However,the quasi neutral assumption of plasma in the flow field is not appropriate,because the self-electric field of plasma will weaken the effect of the pulsed magnetic field on the reduction of electron density,which cannot be ignored.The calculation results could provide useful information for the mitigation of communication blackout in hypersonic vehicles.

Transmission Properties of Radar Wave through Reentry Plasma Sheath

In this paper, by taking into account the coupling of the ionization of ablation gas and atmosphere, an electrons density distribution model is built. Using this model, the transmission properties of different polarization radar wave through sheath are evaluated on the basis of the transmission matrix theory. Then, we discuss the effects of the electrons density, the added magnetic field, and the radar wave frequency on the transmission properties. As a result of this investigation, greater transmission power could be gained in order to efficiently shorten communication blackout, by reducing the electrons density or choosing proper added magnetic field and the frequency of the radar wave according to the different polarization form of the radar wave.

Solving Electricity Deficit in Kinshasa With Solar Kits

This paper highlights the importance of adopting use of solar kits to overcome the shortage of electricity supply in the city of Kinshasa instead of polluting generators.Given a need for electricity delivery estimated at 5 kWh for a poor household of three occupants,a 1 kW solar kit sold for US$990 would perfectly replace SNEL network,the unique electric utility company that uses rolling blackout to handle its low power supply capability within the town,with all the environmental benefits in lieu of a 4 kW power generator sold at US$900 with all the consequences related to the use of fossil fuels in terms of CO2 emissions harmful to health and the environment.Similarly for a middle class household of five occupants,a solar kit of 3 kW to 2,700 dollars or 5 kW to 4,600 dollars is far preferable to an 8 kW generator of US$4,155 which pollutes and entails expenses related to the fuel consumption.

An Overview of Power System Emergency Management in China

The emergency management of power systems in China is reviewed in this paper.The current situation of emergency management is given firstly,then the organization system,warning and plan,emergency headquarter,and emergency power supply are separately discussed in theory and in practice.The advantages and disadvantages in the emergency management are also analyzed.

Stability Enhancement and Blackout Prevention by VSC Based HVDC

This paper deals with the operation and performance of VSC （voltage source converter） based HVDC （high voltage direct current） interconnecting two extremely weak AC networks, the experience of Caprivilink project. It is shown in the paper that the HVDC converter automatically provides the supreme voltage and frequency stabilizing function when a critical situation is detected, no matter the disturbances appeared in sending end or receiving end AC networks. This supreme voltage and frequency stabilizing function makes it possible to avoid the blackout even if all the generators are tripped under an extra-ordinary worst contingency. By plots of recorded transients, the paper will show how the eventual blackouts are avoided.

Plant Dynamics Evaluation of a MONJU Ex-vessel Fuel Storage System during a Station Blackout

The prototype fast breeder reactor ＂MONJU＂ has an EVSS （ex-vessel fuel storage system） which consists mainly of an EVST （ex-vessel fuel storage tank） and an EVST sodium cooling system. EVST sodium cooling system consists of three independent loops. During the normal operation, the primary sodium in the EVST is circulated by natural convection and the secondary circulation in the EVST sodium cooling system is powered by electromagnetic pumps. When an SBO （station blackout） occurs, all the pumps and blowers are tripped. Therefore, it was necessary to evaluate the cooling ability by the natural circulation of sodium in the EVST sodium cooling system and air through the air cooler during the SBO. In this study, an analysis and evaluation of the plant dynamics for the spent fuel and the EVSS structural integrity during an SBO were performed. When the number of cooling loops was not changed and natural circulation occurred in only two loops, the sodium temperature in the EVST increased to approximately 450 ~C. However, the structural integrity of the EVSS was maintained. The analytical results, therefore, help clarify the number of necessary cooling loops for efficient decay heat removal and sodium temperature behavior in an SBO.

Extended Battery to Cope with ELAP for APR1400

Since the Fukushima nuclear accident, the interest in securing a reliable emergency power has increased, and as follow-up measures, each country is conducting various studies for enhancement of safety such as re-examination of EDG （emergency diesel generator） capacity, securement of additional emergency power, etc. This study was performed to find the way to implement a reliable DC system in coping with 72 hours extended station blackout for APR1400 within the battery room size. By using the largest capacity battery in the market which satisfies the requirements for Class 1E to perform a duty cycle for 24 hours, after the decay of the qualified class-lE lead acid battery a Non-Class 1E Lithium ion based battery system can be used as a backup system for 48 hours.

Improving the performance of power system protection using wide area monitoring systems

Wide area monitoring(WAM) offers many opportunities to improve the performance of power system protection. This paper presents some of these opportunities and the motivation for their development. This methods include monitoring the suitability of relay characteristics,supervisory control of backup protection, more adaptive and intelligent system protection and the creation of novel system integrity protection scheme. The speed of response required for primary protection means that the role WAM in enhancing protection is limited to backup and system protection. The opportunities offered by WAM for enhancing protection are attractive because of the emerging challenges faced by the modern power system protection. The increasingly variable operating conditions of power systems are making it ever more difficult to select relay characteristics that will be a suitable compromise for all loading conditions and contingencies. The maloperation of relays has contributed to the inception and evolution of 70 % of blackouts,thus the supervision of the backup protection may prove a valuable tool for preventing or limiting the scale of blackouts. The increasing interconnection and complexity of modern power systems has made them more vulnerable to wide area disturbances and this has contributed to several recent blackouts. The proper management of these wide area disturbances is beyond the scope of most of the existing protection and new, adaptive system integrity protection schemes are needed to protect power system security.

Power system voltage instability risk mitigation via emergency demand response-based whale optimization algorithm

In recent years, due to the economic and environmental issues, modern power systems often operate proximately to the technical restraints enlarging the probable level of instability risks. Hence, efficient methods for voltage instability prevention are of great importance to power system companies to avoid the risk of large blackouts. In this paper, an event-driven emergency demand response (EEDR) strategy based on whale optimization algorithm (WOA) is proposed to effectively improve system voltage stability. The main objective of the proposed EEDR approach is to maintain voltage stability margin (VSM) in an acceptable range during emergency situations by driving the operating condition of the power system away from the insecure points. The optimal locations and amounts of load reductions have been determined using WOA algorithm. To test the feasibility and the efficiency of the proposed method, simulation studies are carried out on the IEEE 14-bus and real Algerian 114-bus power systems.

On power system blackout modeling and analysis based on self-organized criticality

This paper makes a comprehensive survey on power system blackout modeling and analysis based on SOC (self-organized criticality). Firstly,a generalized SOC theory from the viewpoint of cybernetics is introduced. Then the evolution model of power system and its relative mathematical description,which serves as a concrete example of the proposed generalized SOC,are given. Secondly,five blackout models capturing various critical properties of power systems in different time-scales are listed. Finally,this paper analyzes SOC in power systems,such as,the revelation of criticalities of proposed models in both micro-scale and macro-scale which can be used to assess the security of power system,and cas-cading failures process.

Reflections on stability technology for reducing risk of system collapse due to cascading outages

This paper aims at putting forward viewpoints regarding the use of stability technology to prevent and control cascading outages by examining recent blackout events.Based on the inquiry reports of the 2011 SouthwestAmerica blackout and the 2012 India power blackouts,event evolution features are first summarized from a stability perspective.Then a comparative analysis is conducted so as to propose suggestions of effective measures,either preventive or emergency,which could have avoided the blackouts.It is shown that applications of several mature technologies can create opportunities of preventing or interrupting the cascading development.These include offline dynamic simulation,online stability analysis and preventive control,real-time situational awareness and automatic emergency control.Further R&D directions are given to address the challenges of modern power systems as well.They cover system fault identification criterion of protection and control devices,verification of adaptability of control effect to system operating conditions,real-time operational management of emergency control measures and improvement of simulation accuracy.