Pole–zero placement based feed-forward damping control for virtual synchronous generators in power systems with inverter-based resources

This paper develops the transient stability enhancement of the inverter-based resources (IBRs) with the virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control employed. Firstly, based on the large-signal model, the instability phenomenon of the VSG control during voltage dips is fully analyzed. It is found that the frequency deviation Δω in the active power control loop (APCL) of VSG is always positive when the VSG is transiently unstable. Then, for guaranteeing stronger transient stability, an additional integral controller with the frequency deviation is added to the APCL in the VSG control. Moreover, a large-signal model of the proposed strategy is established. Then, the phase portraits with an integral controller in the APCL disabled/enabled are presented. It is seen that the improved control strategy has better transient stability under voltage dips. Finally, the simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

This article presents an improved virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control strategy of doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) during symmetrical voltage fault. Based on VSG control, DFIG can behave like a conventional synchronous generator (SG), which can support frequency and voltage in grid-connected mode. Moreover, when microgrid disconnects from grid, DFIG can provide voltage and power for local loads. However, during symmetrical voltage fault, the transient components in DFIG cannot be controlled properly by VSG. To solve this problem, the air-gap flux feedback is designed in VSG control to accelerate the decay of transient components, and rotor current limiting method is also introduced in the article. In the proposed method, there is no need to switch the control structure or control targets. DFIG always works in the VSG control. Therefore, DFIG can operate in the standalone mode when the connection to grid is cut off. The decay time constant, the voltage control, current limiting control and parameter variation of the improved VSG control are analyzed in detail. Finally, the simulation and experimental results in both normal and fault grid condition are given to validate the effectiveness of proposed VSG control strategy.

The increasing penetration of renewable energy, such as photovoltaic generation, makes it essential to enhance power system dynamic performance through improved grid-forming control strategies. In the grid-forming control system, the virtual synchronous generator control (VSG) is currently widely used. However, the inertia (J) and damping (D) in the traditional VSG are fixed values, which can result in large overshoots and long adjustment times when dealing with disturbances such as load switching. To address these issues, this paper proposes an adaptive virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control strategy for grid-side inverters, which is accomplished by adaptively adjusting the VSG’s inertia and damping. Firstly, we established a photovoltaic-storage VSG grid-forming system; here, the photovoltaic power is boosted through a DC-DC converter, and the energy storage is connected to the common DC bus through a bidirectional DC-DC converter. We analyzed how J and D shape the system’s output characteristics. Based on the power-angle characteristic curve, the tanh function was introduced to design the control function, and a JD collaborative adaptive control (ACL) strategy was proposed. Finally, simulation experiments were conducted under common working conditions, such as load switching and grid-side voltage disturbance, to verify the results. From the results shown, the proposed strategy can effectively improve the response speed of the system, suppress system overshoot and oscillation, and, to a certain extent, improve the dynamic performance of the system.

With the continuous development of wind power capacity, a large number of wind turbines connected by power electronic devices make the system inertia lower, which leads to the problem of system frequency stability degradation. The virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control can make wind turbines possess inertia and damping. However, the stochastic dynamic behavior of wind generation results in the stochastic changing of operating condition; this paper presents an adaptive subsynchronous oscillation (SSO) damping control method for the wind generation with VSG control. Firstly, the small signal model of the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) with VSG is built, and the model of state space is derived and built. The active power of PMSG is selected as the variable parameter vector to establish a polytopic linear variable parameter system model. Then, based on the hybrid H2/H∞ control method, each vertex state feedback matrix is solved by linear matrix inequality, and a subsynchronous oscillation adaptive damping controller with polytope is obtained. Finally, the 4-machine 2-area system connected to two PMSGs with VSG control is used as the test system for time domain simulation. The simulation results demonstrate that the LPV based adaptive damping controller could provide enough damping under the circumstances of wider changes of wind power outputs.

For a VSC-HVDC transmission system based on a hybrid topology converter of full-bridge and half-bridge, a kind of virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control strategy which can be applied to modular multilevel converter (MMC) grid-connected structure was researched and proposed. First, based on the conventional VSG control strategy, the energy stored in the equivalent capacitor of MMC power module was used to imitate the rotor inertia of synchronous generator. The characteristics of generator can be simulated during transient frequency fluctuations and it can help relieve the power fluctuations. Secondly, with respect to the structural characteristics of the direct grid connection through the reactor on the AC side of the MMC, which is unlike the microgrid inverter, there are no additional filter capacitors. So, the existing commonly used VSG control strategy of the microgrid inverter and double-closed-loop structure composed of filter capacitor voltage and AC current cannot be directly applied. For this, a method where the given values of inner current loop are calculated by grid impedance matrix was used. So, a double-closed-loop control structure composed of a power outer loop based on VSG control and a current inner loop is obtained. It can effectively improve the current control capability during the transient process. Finally, a hybrid MMC simulation model was built based on PSCAD to verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed methods.

An enhanced second-order-consensus-based distributed secondary frequency controller of virtual synchronous generators for isolated AC microgrids

The hybrid AC/DC microgrid gains a great attention in recent years as it can improve the energy efficiency and ensure the reliability of the system. This paper makes an investigation on the operation mode switching performance of an AC/DC combined hybrid microgrid based on a real system at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. An improved virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control strategy is developed to optimize the switching performance from the grid-tied mode to the islanding mode. The basic VSG principle is described and the improved VSG model is introduced. Based on the improved model, a pre-synchronization method is proposed. Comparison of the microgrid performance between conventional droop control and the improved VSG control is carried out by simulation on Matlab/SIMULINK environment. Simulation results show the advantage of VSG control strategy and the validity of the pre-synchronization method.

In recent researches on inverter-based distributed generators, disadvantages of traditional grid-connected current control, such as no grid-forming ability and lack of inertia, have been pointed out. As a result, novel control methods like droop control and virtual synchronous generator (VSG) have been proposed. In both methods, droop characteristics are used to control active and reactive power, and the only difference between them is that VSG has virtual inertia with the emulation of swing equation, whereas droop control has no inertia. In this paper, dynamic characteristics of both control methods are studied, in both stand-alone mode and synchronous-generator-connected mode, to understand the differences caused by swing equation. Small-signal models are built to compare transient responses of frequency during a small loading transition, and state-space models are built to analyze oscillation of output active power. Effects of delays in both controls are also studied, and an inertial droop control method is proposed based on the comparison. The results are verified by simulations and experiments. It is suggested that VSG control and proposed inertial droop control inherits the advantages of droop control, and in addition, provides inertia support for the system.

Synchronous generators (SGs) inherently support grid stability through their physical inertia and capability to tolerate overcurrent conditions during faults. In contrast, inverter-based resources (IBRs), due to the limitations of semiconductor switching devices, lack such overcurrent handling capacity, making them vulnerable during grid disturbances. This paper investigates the low voltage ride-through (LVRT) capability of IBRs employing virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control to enhance their transient response during fault-induced voltage sags. A comprehensive VSG model is developed, incorporating virtual inertia and damping emulation to replicate the dynamic behavior of SGs. The proposed control strategy is validated through time-domain simulations in MATLAB/Simulink under both symmetrical and asymmetrical fault conditions. Simulation results demonstrate that the VSG control effectively enables voltage recovery, sustains stable power output, reduces the rate of change of frequency (RoCoF), and ensures grid code-compliant current injection with acceptable total harmonic distortion (THD). The findings confirm the potential of VSG-based control in fulfilling LVRT requirements and enhancing grid resilience in high-renewable penetration scenarios.

As one of the most promising control strategies, virtual synchronous generators (VSG) control is studied worldwide and impedance models have been built for VSG by some papers, but most of them overlook the inner loops which can make significant difference to impedance of VSG. This paper establishes the sequence impedance models of VSG with and without inner loops and demonstrates the negative influence of inner loops on dynamic performances in the range of low frequency by the comparison of impedance models of VSG with and without inner loops. Then the paper gives suggestion that virtual resistance should be adopted to the VSG with inner loops to improve stability. Finally, all the theoretical analysis is verified by simulation results.

The construction of multiple microgrid clusters (MMGCs) contributes to incorporating increasing distributed energy generations flexibly, supplying local power loads conveniently, and decreasing operating losses appreciatively. To promote the progress of the MMGCs further, research on the transient stability of the MMGCs based on the virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control strategy is done in this paper. Firstly, through introducing the P-ω and Q-V control of the synchronous generator (SG), the theoretical modeling of the VSG control strategy is conducted, which is implemented on the MMGCs. Then, using the Lyapunov direct method, the shrinking admittance matrix model and the rotor motion equation of the MMGCs are established. Therewith, the transient energy function of the MMGCs in the center of the inertia frame is derived. In light of the MATLAB environment, a detailed electromagnetic transient model of the MMGCs with three MGs based on the VSG control is created, and the simulations are carried out to check the suitability of the presented energy function model and the stability analysis method. In the simulations, the effects of the fault clearance time, size of inertia, and voltage droop coefficient on the power angle stability of the MMGCs are quantitatively assessed. The theoretical analysis is well following the simulation findings to determine the efficacy of the proposed approach.

New energy sources, storage facilities, power electronics devices, advanced and complex control concepts, economic operating doctrines, and cost-optimized construction and production of machines and equipment in power systems adversely affect small-signal stability associated with local oscillations. The objective of the article is to analyze local oscillations and the causes that affect them in order to reduce their negative impact. There are no recognized analyses of the oscillations of modern operating synchronous generators exposed to new conditions in power systems. The basic idea is to perform a numerical analysis of local oscillations of a large number of synchronous generators in the power system. The paper represents the local mode data obtained from a systematic analysis of synchronous generators in the Slovenian power system. Analyzed were 74 synchronous generators of the Slovenian power system, plus many additional synchronous generators for which data were accessible in references. The mathematical models convenient for the study of local oscillations are described first in the paper. Next, the influences of transmission lines, size of the synchronous generators, operating conditions, and control systems were investigated. The paper’s merit is the applicable rules that have been defined to help power plant operators avoid stability-problematic situations. Consequently, boundaries were estimated of the eigenvalues of local modes. Finally, experiments were performed with a laboratory-size synchronous generator to assess the regularity of the numerically obtained conclusions. The obtained results enable the prediction of local oscillations’ frequencies and dampings and will be useful in PSS planning.

In recent years, countries around the world have been vigorously developing new energy and electrifying new energy sources. As a result an increasing number of power electronic devices appear in the grid which makes the power grid develop toward low inertia and low damping. The Virtual Synchronous Generator (VSG) control strategy can simulate the working state of the synchronous generator and provide the grid with inertia and damping, which has become a research hotspot for scholars. Due to the unbalanced load distribution and the random change of power load, the grid voltage may become unbalanced during the actual operation process. The three-phase output current of the VSG would be unbalanced and a fluctuation of output power appears. To solve this problem, a new current and power quality control strategy based on VSG is proposed in this paper, in which the current balancing or constant power is achieved without changing the basic characteristics of the inverters using VSG control strategy.

Aiming at the problem that the power supply quality of the microgrid needs to be improved and the large impact of grid connection, a new type of virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control strategy is proposed to control the microgrid inverter. The VSG model based on stator voltage model and rotor motion model is established by deformation and vector decomposition of the hidden-pole synchronous generator second-order equation. The virtual frequency regulation module and the virtual voltage regulation module are also obtained by improving the principle of generator frequency and voltage regulation, and the grid-connected control module with voltage phase angle double feedback is also designed. By constructing relevant models, compare the performance of voltage, frequency and power before and after grid connection. The simulation results show that the VSG control strategy can better adjust load changes under the premise of less impact on the grid, and verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

A virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control for converters has been proposed as a method to provide virtual inertia from power electronics connected generation and storage. Most works to date have analyzed VSG control under the assumption that the VSG dynamics are much slower than that the converter. This work shows that when converter and line dynamics are taken into account, the virtual inertia and damping settings are constrained by stability considerations. These conditions for stability are analyzed based on a simple transfer function approach. It is shown that for the VSG to be stable and validly approximated by a second-order system, the ratio of damping to virtual inertia is a key parameter. This letter quantifies how these VSG parameters are constrained by stability. The transfer function analysis is validated using full switching model simulations of stable and unstable cases.