VOLTAGE STABILITY ANALYSIS 1

By Prof. C. Radhakrishna

CONTENTS
VOLTAGE STABILITY ANALYSIS 1 What Is Voltage Stability? Small-Disturbance Voltage Stability Voltage Stability Voltage Collapse Factors Affecting Voltage Instability and Collapse Transient Voltage Instability Long Term Voltage Instability Comparison of Angle and Voltage Stability Characteristics of reactive compensation devices Shunt capacitors Regulated shunt compensation Series capacitors Voltage collapse Typical scenario of voltage collapse General characterization based on actual incidents Classification of voltage stability
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VOLTAGE STABILITY ANALYSIS 1

In the recent years, the analysis of voltage stability has assumed importance, mainly due to several documented incidents of voltage collapse in France, Japan, Belgium and Florida. Several factors contribute to voltage collapse such as increased loading on transmission lines, reactive power constraints, on-load tap changer (OLTC) dynamics and load characteristics. Voltage instability implies an uncontrolled decrease in voltage triggered by a disturbance, leading to voltage collapse and is primarily caused by dynamics connected with the load.

What is Voltage Stability? Problem of low voltages in steady state conditions, should not be confused with voltage instability. It is possible that the voltage collapse may be precipitated even if the initial operating voltages may be at acceptable levels.
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Voltage collapse may be fast (due to induction motor loads or HVDC converter station) or slow (due to on-load tap changers and generator excitation limiters). The voltage instability generally results in monotonically (or aperiodically) decreasing voltages. Sometimes the voltage instability may manifest as undamped (or negatively damped) voltage oscillations prior to voltage collapse.

Small-Disturbance Voltage Stability A power system at a given operating state is small-disturbance voltage stable if, following any small disturbance, voltages near loads are identical or close to the pre-disturbance values.

Voltage Stability

A power system at a given operating state and subjected to a given disturbance is voltage stable if voltages near loads approach post-disturbance equilibrium values.
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Voltage Collapse Following voltage instability, a power system undergoes voltage collapse if the post disturbance equilibrium voltages near load are below acceptable limits. Voltage collapse may be total (blackout) or partial. The voltage instability and collapse may occur in a time frame of fraction of a second. In this case the term transient voltage stability is used. Sometimes, it may take up to tens of minutes in which case the term long-term voltage stability is used.

Factors Affecting Voltage Instability and Collapse The voltage collapse occurs invariably following a large disturbance or large load increase in a heavily stressed power system. This results in an increased reactive power consumption and voltage drop. The voltage drop causes initial load reduction triggering control mechanisms for load restoration. It is the dynamics of these controls that often lead to voltage instability and collapse. 10/17/2010 10:30 AM 5

Transient Voltage Instability Induction motors supplying loads with constant torques draw constant power independent of applied voltage. Transient voltage stability is also associated with HVDC links, particularly inverter terminals connected to AC systems with low short circuit capacity.

Long Term Voltage Instability Onload tap-changing (OLTC) transformers and distribution voltage regulators act within a time frame of tens of seconds to tens of minutes to regulate the load voltages. An important factor in long term voltage stability is the current limiting at generator.

Comparison of Angle and Voltage Stability Analysis of power system stability in the past pertained to the power angle dynamics expressed in terms of swing equation of synchronous generators. On the other hand, in the analysis of voltage stability, the major concern is the voltage collapse, although the generators may remain in synchronism. 10/17/2010 10:30 AM 6

 The simplest system for the analysis of angle stability is the single machine infinite bus (SMIB) system. Only the generator dynamics affect (angle) stability. The simplest system that can be considered for the study of voltage stability is the single machine load bus (SMLB) system. A system enters a state of voltage instability when a disturbance, increase in load demand, or change in system condition causes a progressive and uncontrollable decline in voltage. The main factor causing instability is the inability of the power system to meet the demand for reactive power.
Characteristics of reactive compensation devices Shunt capacitors

They can be effectively used up to a certain point to extend the voltage stability limits by correcting the receiving end power factor. Shunt capacitors, however, have a number of inherent limitations from the viewpoint of voltage stability and control: In heavily shunt capacitor compensated system, the voltage regulation tends to be poor.
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 Beyond a certain level of compensation, stable operation is unattainable with shunt capacitor. The reactive power generated by a shunt capacitor is proportional to the square of the voltage; during system conditions of low voltage the var support drops, thus compounding the problem. Regulated shunt compensation A static var system (SVS) of finite size will regulate up to its maximum capacitive output. There are no voltage control or instability problems within the regulating range. When pushed to the limit, an SVS becomes a simple capacitor. Series capacitors Series capacitors are self- regulating. The reactive power supplied by series capacitors is proportional to square of the line current and is independent of the bus voltages. This has a favorable effect on voltage stability.
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Typical scenario of voltage collapse When a power system is subjected to a sudden increase of reactive power demand following a system contingency, the additional demand is met by the reactive power reserves carried by the generators and compensators.

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General characterization based on actual incidents:

Voltage collapse may be characterized as follows: The initiating event may be due to a variety of causes: The voltage collapse generally manifests itself as a slow decay of voltage. It is the result of an accumulative process involving the action and interactions of many devices, controls, and protective systems. The duration of voltage collapse dynamics in some situations may be much shorter, being on the order of a few seconds. The time frame of this class of voltage instability is the same as that of rotor angle instability.
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Voltage collapse is strongly influenced by system conditions and characteristics. The following are the significant factors contributing to voltage instability/collapse: Large distance between generation and load ULTC action during low voltage conditions Unfavorable load characteristics Poor coordination between various control and protective system The voltage collapse problem may be aggravated by excessive use of shunt capacitor compensation. Reactive compensation can be made most effective by the judicious choice of a mixture of shunt capacitors, static var systems, and possibly synchronous condensers.

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Classification of voltage stability Classify voltage stability into two categories: large-disturbance voltage stability and small-disturbance voltage stability. Largedisturbance voltage stability is concerned with a systems ability to control voltages following large disturbances such as system faults, loss of load, or loss of generation. Large-disturbance voltage stability may be further subdivided into transient and long-term time frames. Small-disturbance (or small- signal) voltage stability is concerned with a systems ability to control voltages following small perturbations, such as gradual change in load. This form of stability can be effectively studied with steady-state approaches that use linearization of the system dynamic equations at a given operating point.
REFERENCES : [ 1 ] K.R. Padiyar : Power System Dynamics : Stability and Control, 2nd edition, BS Publications, 2002. [ 2 ] Prabha Kundur : Power System Stability and control, The EPRI Power System Engineering Series, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.
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CONCLUSIONS

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THANK YOU
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