Proceedings of the 38th Chinese Control Conference

July 27-30, 2019, Guangzhou, China

Impact of Multiple Identical Grid-connected DFIGs on the Small-signal

Angular Stability of Power System
Jingtian Bi1, Huadong Sun1, Shiyun Xu1, Jun Yi1, Ruihua Song1, Jianbo Guo1
1. Power System Department, China Electric Power Research Institute, Beijing, China, 100192
E-mail: bijingtian@epri.sgcc.com.cn

Abstract: It has been reported that a wind farm consisting of multiple identical or similar DFIGs may cause the small-signal
angular instability of power system. In this paper, the phenomenon is studied from the perspective of Bode diagram. Firstly, the
stability analysis method of Bode diagram derived from the Nyquist stability criterion and the self-oscillation theory are
introduced respectively, which have similar conclusions. Subsequently, closed-loop interconnected model of multi-machine
power system connected with multiple DFIGs is established. Impact of multiple identical grid-connected DFIGs on the
small-signal angular stability of power system is studied via Bode diagram. The analysis shows that with the number of DFIGs
increases, the phase curve of Bode diagram of the open-loop transfer function does not change, and the amplitude curve gradually
shifts upward. According to the stability margin defined in the Bode diagram method, the stability of the closed-loop system
decreases. Finally, the theoretical analysis is verified by two example power systems. The simulation results show that the
instability of power system connected with multiple identical DFIGs can lead to small-signal angular instability in the power
system.
Key Words: DFIG, small-signal angular stability, Bode diagram, Nyquist stability criterion, self-oscillation theory

DFIGs is established. Impact of multiple identical

1 Introduction
Grid connection of the DFIGs for wind power generation
may introduce unexpected threat to the secure operation of
power systems. One particular concern is the impact of the
DFIGs on the power system small-signal angular stability.
This important issue can be studied by examining the power
system electromechanical oscillation modes as affected by
the grid connection of the DFIGs, which has been a subject
of investigation in many recent publications [1]-[7].
Relatively earlier work in [1]-[3] used small-scale
example power systems integrated with the DFIGs for wind
power generation to investigate the variations of system
oscillation modes as affected by the DFIGs. It was found
that the impact of the DFIGs on system small-signal angular
stability is different when the scenarios of integration are
changed. [4] proposed a systematic method to predict the
impact of a DFIG displacing a synchronous generator by
calculating the sensitivity of the electromechanical
oscillation modes to the inertia of the displaced SG. In
[5]-[7], the important issue of the impact of the reactive
power/voltage control of grid-connected wind power
generation was investigated. It was concluded that the
impact introduced by the converter-control based wind
generators or/and the DFIGs changes when different
schemes of reactive power/voltage control are used.
Bode diagram method is adopted in the paper to study the
impact of multiple identical grid-connected DFIGs on the
small-signal angular stability of power system. Firstly, the
stability analysis method of Bode diagram derived from the
Nyquist stability criterion and the self-oscillation theory are
introduced respectively, which have similar conclusions.
Subsequently, closed-loop interconnected model of
multi-machine power system connected with multiple
*
This work is supported by Fundamental and Forecast Projects of State
Grid Corporation of China “Research on Stability Analysis and
Quantitative Evaluation of Power System Wide-Frequency Oscillation with
Multiple Power Electronic Equipment”.
grid-connected DFIGs on the small-signal angular stability
of power system is studied via Bode diagram. Finally, the
theoretical analysis is verified by two example power
systems.
2 Stability Analysis with Bode Diagram
The stability analysis of the system using the Bode
diagram are all used in the automatic control theory and
analog electronic circuit field, and they have similar
conclusions. The following is given separately.
2.1 Derived from the Nyquist Stability Criterion
The Nyquist stability criterion is a graphical method for
determining the stability of the closed-loop system by using
the amplitude-phase frequency characteristics of the
open-loop system. It not only judges the absolute stability of
the closed-loop system, but also indicates the stability
margin of the system.
 X d (s)
X i (s) G(s) X 0 (s)

X f (s)
H (s)
Fig. 1. Negative feedback control system
For the negative feedback control system shown in Fig. 1,
the open-loop transfer function is G ( s ) H ( s ) , the
G (s)
closed-loop transfer function is ) ( s ) , and
1+G ( s ) H ( s )
the characteristic function of the system is the denominator
of the closed-loop transfer function F ( s ) 1+G ( s ) H ( s ) .
The pole of the closed-loop transfer function ) ( s ) is the
zero point of F ( s ) . And because the difference of F ( s )

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and G ( s ) H ( s ) is 1, the motion of the curve around the There is a correspondence between the Nyquist diagram
origin point (0, j 0) in the F ( s ) plane is equivalent to the and the Bode diagram, and the above relative stability index
can also be embodied in the Bode diagram, as shown in Fig.
motion around (1, j 0) in the G ( s ) H ( s ) plane. 3.
Let N represents the number of open-loop transfer
dB dB
function G ( jZ ) H ( jZ ) counterclockwise enclosing the
point (1, j 0) , and P represents the poles of open-loop 0
Zc
Z 0
K g  0dB Zc
Z
K g ! 0dB
transfer function G ( jZ ) H ( jZ ) which are located in the
right half of s plane. According to the Nyquist stability M M
criterion, the closed-loop system is stable when N equals to
P , otherwise the system is unstable. J !0 Z 180q Z
180q
Zg Zg J 0
In engineering control systems, the system must be
required to be stable, and be required with a certain stability
margin. System stability margin indicates the relative Fig. 3. Stability margins in Bode diagram
stability of the system.
Generally, the closer the curve of G ( s ) H ( s ) is to the The amplitude boundary frequency Zc is the frequency
point (1, j 0) , the more the oscillation is. Therefore, the at the intersection point of the amplitude curve of the Bode
stability margin of the system can be measured by the degree diagram and the real axis, and the phase angle margin
of closeness of the curve G ( s ) H ( s ) and the point (1, j 0) , J 180q  M (Zc ) is the difference between the phase of the
which is often expressed by the phase angle margin J and intersection point and the axis 180q .
the amplitude margin K g , as shown in Fig. 2. The phase boundary frequency Z g is the frequency at the
intersection point of the phase curve of the Bode diagram
Im and the axis 180q , and the amplitude margin K g is the
amplitude value of the intersection point.
2.2 Derived from the Self-oscillation Theory
1
Kg In the negative feedback control system shown in Fig. 1,
Zg Re the input variable is X i ( s ) , the output variable is X o ( s ) ,
1 J 0 and the feedback variable is X f ( s ) . The net input signal
Zc
X d ( s ) is generated on the comparison of X i ( s ) and
X f ( s ) , and applied to the input terminal. The relationship
between them is:
X d (s) X i (s)  X f (s)
Fig. 2. Stability margins in the Nynquist diagram  X o (s) G ( s) X d ( s)  
In Fig. 2, the curve G ( s ) H ( s ) intersects the unit circle X f (s) H (s) X o (s) G (s) H (s) X d (s)
centered on the origin at the point where the frequency is Zc , When the negative feedback control system generates
which is defined as the amplitude boundary frequency. self-oscillation, X i ( s ) 0 , there is still an output signal:
M (Zc ) is the phase angle at Zc of the open-loop transfer
 X d (s) 0  X f (s) G ( s ) H ( s ) X d ( s )  
function. The phase angle margin J 180q  M (Zc ) is
defined as the additional phase angle required to make the Therefore, the condition that the negative feedback
system reach critical stability. Normally, the system is stable control system generates self-oscillation is:
if J ! 0 , and the system is unstable if J  0 .  G ( s) H ( s) 1  
The curve G ( s ) H ( s ) intersects the negative real axis at
Decompose it into amplitude and phase conditions:
the point where the frequency is Z g , which is defined as the
1 G ( s) H ( s) 1
phase boundary frequency. Kg is   
G ( jZ g ) H ( jZ g ) ‘G ( s )  ‘H ( s ) (2n  1) u 180q
defined as the amplitude margin, which can be expressed in The amplitude condition can be written as
decibels (dB) as 20 lg G ( s ) H ( s ) 20 lg G ( s )  20 lg H ( s ) 0 .
K g (dB) 20 lg K g 20 log G ( jZ g ) H ( jZ g ) . Normally, It can be found that the conditions of system instability
the system is stable if K g ! 0dB , the system is unstable if can also be derived by the self-oscillation theory. The
conclusion is the same as in Section 2.1. The stability
K g  0dB . margins in the previous section also apply.

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3 Impact of Multiple Identical Grid-connected 3.1 The Case of One DFIG
DFIGs on the Small-signal Angular Stability of When only one DFIG is connected to the multi-machine
Power System power system, assuming the open-loop transfer function of
Vw the DFIG is H ( s ) , the interconnection model shown in Fig.
P1  jQ1 5 can be simplified to Fig. 6.
DFIG1
Pw  jQw
ª 'Pw º
Ă

Pk  jQk « 'Q » 'Vw

Multi-machine  ¬ w¼
DFIG k
Power System 'u 0 G (s)
Ă

T 
PN  jQN
DFIG N
H(s)

Fig. 4. Multi-machine power system connected with a wind farm Fig. 6. The interconnection system consists of a single DFIG

Fig. 4 shows the multi-machine power system connected
with a wind farm. Assuming there are N DFIGs in the wind
farm, the output power of each DFIG is Pk  jQk , the total
output power of the wind farm is Pw  jQw , and the voltage
of the bus connected with the wind farm is Vw . For the
multi-machine power system, the open-loop transfer
function is:
The system shown in Fig. 6 is a positive feedback control
system. Since the negative feedback control system is
studied in Section 2, the conclusions need to be corrected to
be applied to the system shown in Fig. 6.
The closed-loop transfer function of the system shown in
Fig. 6 is:
G ( s)
 )( s)  
1  G ( s)H( s)
'Vw g P ( s )'Pw  gQ ( s )'Qw
 ª 'P º ª 'P º  
The characteristic function of the system is:
¬ª g P ( s ) gQ ( s ) ¼º « w » G (s) « w »
¬ 'Qw ¼ ¬ 'Qw ¼ F (s) G ( s)H( s)  1
  
g P ( s )hP ( s )  gQ ( s )hQ ( s )  1
where G ( s ) ª¬ g P ( s ) gQ ( s ) º¼ .
Analogy to the derivation in Section 2.1, it can be
The open loop transfer function of each DFIG is: concluded that the closer the curve G ( s )H ( s ) is to the point
'Pk hP ( s )'Vw (1, j 0) , the greater the oscillation is. Therefore, in this
  
'Qk hQ ( s )'Vw situation, the phase boundary frequency Z g should be
For the entire wind farm, it can have: corrected to the frequency of the intersection point of the
phase curve of the Bode diagram and the axis 0q , and the
ª 'Pw º ª 'Pk º amplitude margin K g is the amplitude of the intersection
 « 'Q » ¦ « 'Q » ¦H k ( s )'Vw  
¬ w¼ ¬ k¼ point.
It can also be analogized to the derivation in Section 2.2,
ª hP ( s ) º and the condition for the system to generate self-oscillation
where H k ( s ) « h (s) » .
¬ Q ¼ is:

The interconnection system composed of the above  G ( s)H ( s) 1  

subsystems (multi-machine power system and DFIGs) can
Decompose it into amplitude and phase conditions:
be as shown in Fig. 5.
ª 'Pw º G ( s)H ( s) 1
« 'Q » 'Vw   
 ¬ w¼ ‘G ( s )H ( s ) 2n u 180q
'u 0 G (s)
 From the above two methods, it can be concluded that for
the positive feedback control system shown in Fig. 6, when
H1 ( s ) using the Bode diagram for stability analysis, it should be
studied by observing the relationship between the phase
curve of the open-loop transfer function and the axis
H k (s) 2n u 180q . The stability margin of the system is shown in
Fig. 7.

H N (s)

Fig. 5. The interconnection system consists of multiple DFIGs

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dB dB
dB
Zc K g  0dB Zc
0 Z 0 Z
K g ! 0dB
0 Z
N=3
M M N=2
20lg3 N=1
J !0 M 20lg2
0q Z 0q Z
Zg Zg J 0

0q Z
Zg
Fig. 7. Stability margins in Bode diagram

Fig. 8. Changes in the Bode diagram when multical identical

3.2 The Case of Multiple Identical DFIGs DFIGs are connected successively
When the parameters and output power of all the DFIGs
in the wind farm are exactly the same, the open-loop transfer 4 Examples
functions of each DFIG are the same (assuming to be H ( s ) ),
The conclusions in Section 3 are verified by two
then it can have: examples. In the following two examples, the synchronous
ª 'Pw º ª 'Pk º generator adopts the fourth-order model, and the DFIG
 « 'Q » ¦ « 'Q » ¦ H k ( s )'Vw  
adopts the seventh-order model.
¬ w¼ ¬ k¼
N ˜ H ( s )'Vw 4.1 Multiple DFIGs Connected to the Infinite Bus

In this situation, the open loop transfer function of the Fig. 9 shows the configuration of multiple DFIGs
positive feedback control system as shown in Fig. 5 can be connected to an infinite bus. The infinite bus is equivalent to
written as: a synchronous machine with an extremely large inertia
constant. The output power of each DFIG is 0.5p.u.
¦ G ( s)H k (s) N ˜ G ( s)H ( s) DFIG 1
 k 
Ă

N ª¬ g P ( s )hP ( s )  gQ ( s )hQ ( s ) º¼
DFIG k
It can be seen from Eq. (13) that when the DFIGs with the
Ă

same parameters and output power are connected to the

power system, the open-loop transfer function only changes DFIG N
by a multiple. Assuming the impact of the increase of the
output of the wind farm on the open-loop transfer function Fig. 9. Configuration of multiple DFIGs connected to an infinite
of the multi-machine power system is small, that is, the bus
change of g P ( s ) and gQ ( s ) is small. The correctness of the
hypothesis will be verified in the example study. The When the number of DFIGs connected to power system is
corresponding change on the Bode diagram is: 1, 2, and 4, the two sub-synchronous oscillation modes of
The amplitude: the system are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Oscillation Modes and Amplitude Margins of Bode


20 lg ¦ G ( s)H
k
k (s)
 
diagrams with Different Number of DFIGs Connected in Fig. 9

20 lg N  20 lg g P ( s )hP ( s )  gQ ( s )hQ ( s ) Number of Amplitude

Oscillation Modes
DFIGs Margin
The phase: -36.3374 + 63.5091i
1 21
-39.2144 + 64.4586i
 ‘¦ G ( s ) H k ( s )
k -39.2665 + 64.5645i
That is to say, when multiple identical DFIGs are
connected to the system, the phase curve of Bode diagram of
the open-loop transfer function does not change, and the
amplitude curve gradually shifts upward. According to the
stability margin shown in Fig. 7, the upward shift of the
amplitude curve will gradually reduce the amplitude margin
K g , and the stability of the closed-loop system will
decrease. The system will be unstable if K g  0dB .
Fig. 8 shows a demonstration of the changes in the Bode
diagram when the DFIGs with the same parameters and
output power are connected to the system successively.
‘G ( s )H ( s )  
 -32.5079 + 62.2069i
2 16.5
-27.5294 + 60.8005i
3 10.3
-39.3215 + 64.6750i
It can be seen from the second column of Table 1 that
when identical DFIGs are connected successively, one
eigenvalue is almost unchanged, and the real part of the
other eigenvalue reduces gradually, indicating that as the
increase of the number of grid-connected DFIGs, the
small-signal stability of the power system reduced. The
Bode diagrams of three cases are shown in Fig. 10. It can be
seen from Fig. 10 that when the number of DFIGs increases,
the amplitude margin of the system gradually decreases, as
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shown in the third column of Table 1. The results of the 4.2 Multiple DFIGs Connected to the Two-area
study are consistent with the conclusions given in Section 3. Four-machine Power System
It should be pointed out that the phase curves are not
Fig. 11 shows the configuration of the two-area
exactly the same in the three cases, the amplitude curve is
four-machine power system connected with multiple
not the offset upwards and downwards exactly, and the
identical DFIGs. The wind farm is connected to the system
difference between the amplitude curves is not 20 lg N
at bus 6. The output power of each DFIG is 1p.u.
accurately. That is because the increase of the wind farm N identical DFIGs

output power has a certain impact on the original system

Ă
G ( s ) , but the impact does not affect the trend of gradually
decreasing of the system stability. 1 5 6 7 8 9 3
0
G1 G3
Magnitude (dB)

-2 0

-4 0 G2 G4

-6 0
2 L6 L8 4

-8 0

-1 00
3 60
Fig. 11. Configuration of the two-area four-machine power system
connected with multiple DFIGs
2 70
Phase (deg)

1 80

90
When the number of DFIGs connected to power system is
0
1, 2, and 4, the three synchronous oscillation modes of the
-9 0
system are shown in Table 2.
-1 80
1 0-1 1 00 1 01 1 02 1 03 Table 2: Oscillation Modes and Amplitude Margin of Bode
Frequency (rad/s) Diagram with Different Number of DFIGs Connected in Fig. 11
(a) N=1 Number of Amplitude
0 Oscillation Modes
DFIGs Margin
-0.1712 + 5.5057i
Magnitude (dB)

-2 0

-4 0
1 -0.1467 + 5.7327i 18
-0.0383 + 3.0129i
-6 0
-0.1763 + 5.4016i
-8 0 2 -0.1467 + 5.7369i 13
-1 00
-0.0317 + 2.9995i
3 60 -0.1558 + 5.0583i
2 70 3 -0.1497 + 5.7436i -12
Phase (deg)

1 80 0.0140 + 2.8904i
90

0
It can be seen from the second column of Table 2 that
-9 0
when the identical DFIGs are connected successively, the
-1 80
1 0-1 1 00 1 01 1 02 1 03 damping of the inter-area oscillation mode gradually
Frequency (rad/s) reduced. When the number of DFIGs is increased to 4, the
(b) N=2 real part of the inter-area oscillation mode becomes positive,
and the system instability occurs. The Bode diagrams of
0
three cases are shown in Fig. 12. It can be seen from Fig. 12
Magnitude (dB)

-2 0
that when the number of DFIGs increases, the amplitude
-4 0 margin of the system gradually decreases, as listed in the
-6 0 third column of Table 2. The results of this example are also
-8 0
consistent with the conclusions given in Section 3.
20

-1 00 10
Magnitude (dB)

3 60
0
2 70
Phase (deg)

-1 0
1 80
-2 0
90
-3 0
0
-4 0
-9 0
4 50
-1 80
1 0-1 1 00 1 01 1 02 1 03
Phase (deg)

4 05

Frequency (rad/s)
3 60

(c) N=4 3 15

Fig. 10. Bode diagram of multiple DFIGs connected to the infinite 2 70

2 2 .5 3 3 .5
bus Frequency (rad/s)
(a) N=1

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 20
5 Conclusions
10
Magnitude (dB)

0 The paper adopts the Bode diagram method to study the

-1 0 impact of multiple identical grid-connected DFIGs on the
-2 0 small-signal angular stability of power system. The analysis
-3 0
shows that with the number of DFIGs increases, the phase
-4 0
curve of Bode diagram of the open-loop transfer function
-5 0
4 50 does not change, and the amplitude curve gradually shifts
upward approximately. According to the stability margin
Phase (deg)

4 05
defined in Bode diagram method, the stability of the
3 60
closed-loop system will decrease. Finally, the theoretical
3 15
analysis is verified by two example power systems. The
simulation results show that the instability of power system
2 70
2 2 .5 3 3 .5 connected with multiple identical DFIGs may lead to
Frequency (rad/s) dynamic instability in the power system.
(b) N=2 References
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10 wind power generation on power system oscillations, Elect.
Magnitude (dB)

0 Power Syst. Res., vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 9-20, Oct. 2003.
-1 0 [2] J. J. Sanchez-Gasca, N. W. Miller, and W. W. Price, A modal
-2 0 analysis of a two-area system with significant wind power
-3 0
penetration, in Proc. Power Systems Conf. Expo., 2004.
-4 0 [3] A. Mendonca and J. A. P. Lopes, Impact of large scale wind
-5 0
power integration on small signal stability, Future Power
4 50 Syst., pp. 1–5, 2005.
[4] D. Gautam, V. Vittal, and T. Harbour, Impact of Increased
Phase (deg)

4 05
Penetration of DFIG-Based Wind Turbine Generators on
3 60
Transient and Small Signal Stability of Power Systems, IEEE
Trans. Power Syst., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 1426-1434, Aug. 2009.
3 15 [5] G. Tsourakis, B. M. Nomikos, and C. D. Vournas, Effect of
wind parks with doubly fed asynchronous generators on
2 70
2 2 .5 3 3 .5
small-signal stability, Electr. Power Syst. Res., vol. 79, no. 1,
pp. 190–200, Jan. 2009.
Frequency (rad/s)
[6] L. Fan, Z. Miao, and D. Osborn, Impact of doubly fed wind
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Fig. 12. Bode diagram of the two-area four-machine power system [7] G. Tsourakis, B. M. Nomikos, and C. D. Vournas,
connected with multiple DFIGs Contribution of Doubly Fed Wind Generators to Oscillation
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