Thesis Defense of Tanmay Mishra

Title: Development of A Reconfigurable Synchronous Machine Emulation Platform

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Gurunath Gurrala.

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ABSTRACT:

Studying the dynamic behavior of non-linear complex power systems in a laboratory is very challenging. Early experimental platforms used micro-alternators to emulate the behavior of fixed steam turbine models. The micro-alternator is a three-phase synchronous generator with similar electrical constants (in per unit on machine rating) as those typically found in alternators in large power stations. It is an electrical scaled-down model of machines up to 1000 MW rating and is rated between 1 to 10 kVA. Researchers used these micro-machines up to the 90s to study large electric generators’ transient and steady-state performance. The Department of electrical engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was also very active in experimental research in power engineering. The department still retained two-three kVA and one ten kVA micro-machine sets, but the control panels of these machines became obsolete as the manufacturer of these machines Mawdsley, London, doesn’t exist anymore. Advancements in simulation software packages and real-time simulators have primarily replaced the experimental models of electric power systems worldwide. The push for green energy technologies worldwide due to climate concerns has increased the presence of power electronic converters in the power grids. Reduction of overall inertia, frequent occurrence of electromechanical oscillations, electromagnetic transients, and control interaction modes has become a concern for the power grid operators. The need for understanding the physical insights of the oscillatory modes introduced by fast-acting power electronic converters, the need for developing practically feasible control algorithms for mitigating the interaction modes, and the need for developing dispatchability and grid support features like conventional generation sources have triggered the development of laboratory-scale experimental power grids across the world in the past decade.

 In this thesis, initially, an attempt is made to revive the existing three kVA alternator controls. An IGBT-based buck converter static excitation system has been developed for the micro-alternator. This exciter also incorporates several limiters which were non-existent in the old analog control panels. An under-excitation limiter, over-excitation limiter, and V/Hz limiter as per IEEE standard 421.5 have been designed to protect the micro-alternator during abnormal conditions such as overloading, overheating, and over-fluxing of the machine. The detailed tuning procedure of limiters and TCR is discussed to comply with IEEE STD 421.2 and IEEE STD 421.5. A digital time constant regulator (TCR) is incorporated to modify the micro-alternator’s field’s time constant to mimic large synchronous machines’ dynamics as micro-machine time constants are very small. A custom 5 kVA micro-alternator was manufactured through a local vendor having parameters like the Mawdsley machines to facilitate the creation of multiple short circuits in the testbed.

A single micro-alternator can represent only one large alternator dynamics, thereby limiting the platform’s scalability. Emulating machines of different ratings using a single micro-machine would undoubtedly boost the capabilities of experimental platforms for investigating conventional and nonconventional source interactions in laboratories. To the best of our knowledge, only one such attempt was made in the literature, where a model reference control algorithm is proposed to mimic any rating alternator dynamics using a doubly excited laboratory micro-alternator. However, doubly excited micro-alternators are non-existent today. A generalized experimental platform using a non-linear output matching controller based on output feedback linearization is developed in this thesis for emulation of large turbo-alternators of different ratings, IEEE STD 421.5 excitation systems, and standard turbine governor models in the laboratory using the 5 kVA micro-alternator. IEEE Model 1.1 synchronous machine model in per unit on machine MVA rating with associated excitation system and governor-turbine models has been used as a reference model to be emulated. A single machine infinite bus (SMIB) setup with the 5 kVA micro-alternator and a 50 km 220 kV scaled lumped parameter frequency-dependent transmission line model is used for experimental validation. Synchronous generators of ratings, 128 MVA, 247.5 MVA, and 1000 MVA have been physically emulated using the setup. The dynamic responses of the large machines with thermal turbines (reheat, non-reheat), hydro turbine, and excitation systems; DC1A, AC4A, and ST1C have been reproduced under small and large disturbances.

A systematic scaling approach has been proposed to emulate a multi-machine system in the laboratory. Unlike in the SMIB system, the power levels of generators in a multi-machine system should be scaled to the laboratory level for emulation. Hence, every power system component (generator, transmission lines, transformer, loads) is scaled to a uniform level so that the laboratory machines don’t get overloaded. The developed non-linear control strategy for emulation has been extended to multi-machine systems. The Western System Coordinating Council 3-generator 9-bus test system has been used to validate the proposed concept. The feasibility of replicating WSCC system dynamics in a laboratory as a scaled-down model has been verified through simulations under small and large disturbances. Emulating large machine dynamics with different types of turbines, governors, and excitation controls using a singly excited micro-alternator enabling a generalized synchronous machine emulation platform is a first-of-its-kind effort in the literature to the best of our knowledge.

 Note: Know how generated from the Source Emulation has been licensed to MCore Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bangalore for commercialization.

Acknowledgments: This work is supported by Fund for Improvement of Science and Technology (FIST) program, DST, India, No.SR/FST/ETII-063/2015 (C) and (G) under the project “Smart Energy Systems Infrastructure – Hybrid Test Bed”.