POWER SYSTEM STABILITY

Power system dynamic disturbances

• Because of the interconnection of

various elements a large variety of
dynamic interactions are possible

• The prime concern: System response to

change in power demand and to various
types of disturbances.
 Power system dynamic disturbances
 These dynamic interaction vary in their speed of occurrence
in the power network and cause disturbance in the operation
of the network.
Eg.
 The fastest: Associated with the very fast wave phenomena
(surges) in HV transmission lines
 caused by lightning strikes or switching operation
 Speed ranges from (μs - ms)

 Slower: Due to electromagnetic changes in electrical

machines windings
 caused by operation of the protection system or the interaction
between electrical machines and the network (ms - s)
 Power system dynamic disturbances
 Slow: Due to electromechanical rotor
oscillations
Caused by oscillation of the rotating masses of
generators and motors following a disturbance,
operation of the protection system or voltage and
prime mover control
Speed ranges from (s – several seconds)
 The occurrence of these disturbances greatly
affect the stability of the entire network
 Power system Stability

• A power network is characterised by many generators each

injecting power in the network

• Its important to understand the network stability as

generators interact with other system components
 Power system stability; Definition
 Stability: Stability is a condition of equilibrium
between opposing forces!

 Power System Stability:

Power system stability is the property of a power
system that enables it to remain in a state of operating
equilibrium under normal operating conditions and to
regain an acceptable state of equilibrium after being
subjected to a disturbance
 Types of Power System Stability

 Rotor angle stability:

The ability of interconnected synchronous machines of a power system
to remain in synchronism.
(Study of electromechanical oscillations inherent to power system is
required.)

 Voltage stability:
The ability of a power system to maintain steady acceptable voltages
at all buses in the system under normal operating conditions and after
being subjected to a disturbance.
(The main factor is inability of power system to meet the demand for
reactive power.)
Rotor Angle Stability
 Types of Rotor Angle Stability

 Small-disturbance stability
The ability of a power system to maintain
synchronism under small disturbance

 Transient stability
The ability of a power system to maintain
synchronism when subjected to a severe
transient disturbance
 Causes of Rotor Angle Instability
 Lack of synchronising torque component
results in instability through an aperiodic drift
in rotor angle (leads to aperiodic instability-
machine going out of step)

 Lack of damping torque component results in

oscillatory instability ( i.e, growing Oscillations)
 Rotor Angle Stability
• The electrical power produced is a function of the
synchronising and damping power/ torque.
• The relating equation are as follows;

• Where;
• Te = Electrical torque
• TSΔδ = Synchronising torque (power) component
(in phase with the rotor angle perturbation)
• TS = Synchronising torque (power) coefficient

• TD∆w =Damping torque (power) component

(in phase with the rotor speed deviation)

• TD = Damping torque (power) coefficient

Rotor Instability
 Cases of transient instability
Case 1: Stable system
Case 2: Unstable system due to insufficient
synchronising torque. This is also known as first
swing instability.
Case 3: Unstable system (insufficient damping
torque)
 Voltage Stability
 At a given operating condition for every bus in the
system, the bus voltage magnitude increases as the
reactive power injection at the same bus is increased.

 Voltage instability is generally a local phenomenon.

 Voltage collapse is the result of a sequence of events

accompanying voltage instability leading to a low-
voltage profile in a significant part of the system
Instability subdivisions
Mathematical approach to
power system stability
 The Swing Equation
• It describes the rotor dynamics for synchronous
machines where 𝛿 is the angle of the internal
voltage of the generator terminals.
• This is given as;

𝜕2 𝛿 𝜔0
= (𝑃𝑚 − 𝑃𝑒 )
𝜕𝑡 2 2𝐻
• Where;
𝛿 =rotor angle, in rads
𝐻 = inertia constant in secs
𝑃𝑚 = mechancal power, pu
𝑃𝑒 = electrical power
 The Swing Equation
• From the above equation, its possible to
obtain the critical clearing angle and critical
clearing time so that the system attains its
stability level.

• The concept of equal area criterion works

hand in hand and is key in determining the
critical clearing angle
 Critical clearing Time
• When a fault aoccurs, there is a time when the
fault must be cleared before the system becomes
unstable. This time is known as the critical
clearing time tcr.
• The clearing time can be derived from the swing
equation by integrating with respect to time such
that;

• “Derive the expression for critical clearing time?”

 Critical clearing Angle
 when the fault occurs in the system the load
angle curve begin to increase, and the system
becomes unstable. The angle at which the fault
becomes cleared and the system becomes
stable is called critical clearing angle (𝛿𝑐𝑟 ).

Power curve
 Consider the fig below. The electrical power
delivered to the load can be determined
 Power equation

 Where
V is the voltage at infinite bus.
E is internal voltage of generator.
X is the total reactance
Taking V as ref. Voltage = V
 Power Equation

Phasor diagram

Such that
 Power curve
 When the initial load is given, then there is a critical
clearing angle, and if the actual clearing angle exceeds
a critical clearing angle, the system becomes unstable
otherwise it is stable.
 Curve A represents the power angle curve for a
healthy condition;
 Curve B represents the power angle curve for faulty
condition and curve

 Curve C represents the power angle curve after

isolation of fault as shown below.
 Critical clearing angle
Power curves
 Equal Area Criterion
 The critical clearing angle can be determined
using the equal area criterion
 Example
 Consider the network below with a 3-phase on the line as
shown. Determine the clearing angle and time.

 In order to solve such a question, we need to first determine

the electrical power before, during and after the fault
Before fault (Pre-Fault condition)
Before fault (Pre-Fault condition)
After fault (Post-Fault condition)
 During the fault (At -Fault condition)

Using Thevenin’s theorem to solve the circuit

Power transfer before, during and
after the fault
Equal Area Criterion
Critical Clearing Angle