HVDC Training Course

- Dynamic and Transient

Performance -

DIgSILENT GmbH

HVDC Control

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 2

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 HVDC Control

• Thyristor bridges can be controlled by the firing angle α

• DC-equation of an HVDC system:
Vd 0 r cos α r − Z cr I d − Rl I d = Vd 0 i cos γ i − Z ci I d
Vd 0 r cos α r − ( Z cr − Z ci + Rl ) I d = Vd 0 i cos γ i

• DC control should:
– Regulate current (or power)
– keep the extinction angle sufficiently large for avoiding commutation
failures
• Standard Control Strategy:
– current-control at the rectifier station
– γ - control at the inverter station

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 3

HVDC Control

Vd

OP
γ -control

Current-control

Id

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 4

2
 Rectifier Current Controller

DIgSILENT
12-pulse Rectifier Current Controller:

I alpha
Imea Ictrl 0
StaImea* ElmIctrl* tap 1 Rec2
2
ElmRec*

0
tap 1 Rec1
F0Hz1 ElmRec*
Phi1 2
ElmPhi__PLL

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 5

Rectifier Current Control

DIgSILENT

Ictrl_Rectifier:

Isetp
0

alpha_max

I
- dI o12 yi1 alpha
1 K Limiter
Kp

alpha_min
o13

alpha_max

[1/sT]
Ti

alpha_min

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 6

3
 Inverter Gamma-Controller

DIgSILENT
12-pulse Inverter Gamma Control:

gamma

alpha
gctrl 0
ElmGctrl* tap 1 Inv2
2
ElmRec*

0
tap 1 Inv1 gamma_min
F0Hz ElmRec*
Phi1 2
ElmPhi__PLL

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 7

Inverter Gamma Control

DIgSILENT

gctrl_Inverter:

gamma_ref
0

alpha_max

gamma
- yi o12 yi1 gamma(1)
1 K Limiter
Kp

alpha_min
o13

alpha_max

[1/sT]
Ti

alpha_min

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 8

4
 HVDC Control

Vd
α min γ -control
OP

Current-control

Id

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 9

Two-Directional Controller
DIgSILENT

Ctrl_gamma_current:

Isetp
0

alpha_max

1
I - dI
K
o12 cosalpha
cos^-1(alpha)
Kp..

alpha_min
alpha_1
o13

Im
2 alpha_max

[1/sT]_cosalpha
TiI 0
alpha
MIN
alpha_min 1

gamma_ref
alpha2

alpha_max

alpha_no_limit
-
gamma dgamm.. Kdgam..
4 K(.. Limiter_deg
Kp..

alpha_min
Kdgam..

i_dga..

alpha_max

[1/sT]_deg
TiG

alpha_min

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 10

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 Two-Directional Controller

DIgSILENT
12-pulse Converter Controller:

gamma

0
alpha
Controller 0
I ElmCtrl*
Imea 1 1 Rec2
StaImea* 2
ElmRec*

tap
0

Tap Changer
vdc ElmTap*
Vmea 1
StaVmea*

0
1 Rec1 gamma_min
Fmeas ElmRec*
Phi1 2
ElmPhi__pll

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 11

Tap-Changer
DIgSILENT

tap_TapChanger:
alpha<pi/2

alpha_min
0
tap_order
0

dalpha Kdalpha
-
irec

alpha yi
1 Dband(K)_deg K
da Kalpha
tap_max

delta tap
[1/sT] bias 1
Ttap
Kdv

tap_min

2
vdc - dvdc
K
Kv

v_ref
3

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 12

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 Two-Directional Controller

α min OP1
γ -control

Im

current-control

OP2 γ -control
α min

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 13

Malfunctioning

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 14

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 Commutation Failure

DIgSILENT
3.000

2.000

1.000

0.00

-1.000

-2.000

-3.000
-0.008 -0.004 0.00 0.00 0.01 .. 0.01
Inv 1: Phase Current A/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Phase Current B/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Phase Current C/Terminal AC in kA

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 15

Commutation Failure
DIgSILENT

3.000 1.676

2.000
1.535

1.00
1.393

0.00

1.251
-1.000

1.109
-2.000

-3.000 0.97
-0.008 -0.004 0.00 0.00 0.01 .. 0.01 -0.008 -0.004 0.00 0.00 0.01 .. 0.01
Inv 1: Current, Magnitude/Terminal AC in kA Inv 1: Current, Magnitude/Terminal DC- in kA
Inv 1: Current, Magnitude/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Current, Magnitude/Terminal AC in kA

16.00 30.00

12.00 25.00

8.000 20.00

4.000 15.00

0.00 10.00

-4.000 5.000
-0.008 -0.004 0.00 0.00 0.01 .. 0.01 -0.008 -0.004 0.00 0.00 0.01 .. 0.01
Inv 1: Extinction Angle Inv 1: overlap Angle in deg

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 16

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 Commutation Failure

• Low voltage at inverter side (e.g. short circuit)

• Extinction angle too high
cos α + cos(α + µ )
Vd = Vd 0
2

• Steady state representation during commutation failure:

– AC-current equal to zero (only DC-currents)
– DC-voltage equal to zero (Average value)

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 17

Commutation Failure
DIgSILENT

3.000

2.000

1.00

0.00

-1.000

-2.000

-3.000
-0.100 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 .. 0.40
Inv 1: Phase Current A/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Phase Current B/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Phase Current C/Terminal AC in kA

375.0

250.0

125.0

0.00

-125.0

-250.0
-0.100 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 .. 0.40
Inverter Bus Bar: Phase Voltage in kV

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 18

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 Commutation Failure

DIgSILENT
3.000

2.000

1.00

0.00

-1.000

-2.000

-3.000
-0.100 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 .. 0.40
Inv 1: Current, Magnitude/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Current, Magnitude/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Current, Magnitude/Terminal AC in kA

375.0

250.0

125.0

0.00

-125.0

-250.0
-0.100 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 .. 0.40
Inverter Bus Bar: Line-Neutral Voltage, Magnitude in kV

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 19

Discontinuous Operation
DIgSILENT

0.04

0.02

0.00

-0.020

-0.040
0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.02 .. 0.02
Inv 1: Phase Current A/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Phase Current B/Terminal AC in kA
Inv 1: Phase Current C/Terminal AC in kA

0.03

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.01

-0.001
0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.02 .. 0.02
Inv 1: DC-Current in kA

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 20

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 HVDC Supervision

• Max current limit (short term limit at 1.2...1.3 above continuous current
rating)
• Min. current limit for avoiding discontinuous operation
• Voltage dependent current order: At low voltages, current order has to be
reduced for avoiding commutation failures and voltage stability problems in
the DC-system
• Faults /sustained commutation failures: Fault clearing by blocking and
bypassing the converters (no DC-circuit breakers)

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 21

Interaction with Weak AC Systems

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 22

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 Weak AC Systems

• Reactive power/voltage problems: Low AC-short circuit circuit level

SCR=AC-short circuit level [MVA]/MW rating of DC-link

ESCR=AC-short circuit level with compensation/MW rating of DC-link

• Active power/frequency: Low total inertia

Hdc=total inertia in MWs/MW rating of DC-link

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 23

Weak AC Systems

• Classifying ESCR:
– High: >5
– Moderate: 3...5
– Low: <3

• With refined HVDC control:

– High: >3
– Low: 2...3
– Very Low: <2

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 24

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 Weak AC Systems

• Problems associated to low ESCR:

– Dynamic overvoltages
– Voltage instability
– Harmonic resonance
– Flicker

• Problems associated to low Hdc:

– Dynamic stability
– Power Swings

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 25

Weak AC Systems

• Solutions in case of low ESCR:

– Regulated reactive power compensation (SVC, STATCOM,

Synchronous Condensers)
– Voltage control instead of Gamma-control

• Solutions in case of low Hdc:

– Synchronous condensers

Fundamentals on Power System Stability 26

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