Chapter 1

Introduction to Power System Stability

At present the demand for electricity is rising phenomenally especially in developing

country like India. This persistent demand is leading to operation of the power system at its limit.
The need for reliable, stable and quality power is on the rise due to electric power sensitive
industries like information technology, communication, electronics etc. In this scenario, meeting
the electric power demand is not the only criteria but also it is the responsibility of the power
system engineers to provide a stable and quality power to the consumers. These issues highlight
the necessity of understanding the power system stability. In this course we will try to
understand how to asses the stability of a power system, how to improve the stability and finally
how to prevent system becoming unstable.

1.1 Basic Concepts and Definitions of Power System Stability

“Power system stability is the ability of an electric power system, for a given initial operating
condition, to regain a state of operating equilibrium after being subjected to a physical
disturbance, with most of the system variables bounded so that practically the entire system
remains intact” [1], [2]. The disturbances mentioned in the definition could be faults, load
changes, generator outages, line outages, voltage collapse or some combination of these. Power
system stability can be broadly classified into rotor angle, voltage and frequency stability. Each
of these three stabilities can be further classified into large disturbance or small disturbance,
short term or long term. The classification is depicted in Fig. 1.1 [2].

1.1.1 Rotor angle stability

“It is the ability of the system to remain in synchronism when subjected to a disturbance”.
The rotor angle of a generator depends on the balance between the electromagnetic torque due to
the generator electrical power output and mechanical torque due to the input mechanical power
through a prime mover. Remaining in synchronism means that all the generators electromagnetic

1.1
torque is exactly equal to the mechanical torque in the opposite direction. If in a generator the
balance between electromagnetic and mechanical torque is disturbed, due to disturbances in the
system, then this will lead to oscillations in the rotor angle. Rotor angle stability is further
classified into small disturbance angle stability and large disturbance angle stability.

Fig. 1.1: Classification of power system stability

1.1.2 Small-disturbance or small-signal angle stability

“It is the ability of the system to remain in synchronism when subjected to small
disturbances”. If a disturbance is small enough so that the nonlinear power system can be
approximated by a linear system, then the study of rotor angle stability of that particular system
is called as small-disturbance angle stability analysis. Small disturbances can be small load
changes like switching on or off of small loads, line tripping, small generators tripping etc. Due
to small disturbances there can be two types of instability: non-oscillatory instability and
oscillatory instability. In non-oscillatory instability the rotor angle of a generator keeps on
increasing due to a small disturbance and in case of oscillatory instability the rotor angle
oscillates with increasing magnitude.

1.2
1.1.3 Large-disturbance or transient angle stability

“It is the ability of the system to remain in synchronism when subjected to large
disturbances”. Large disturbances can be faults, switching on or off of large loads, large
generators tripping etc. When a power system is subjected to large disturbance, it will lead to
large excursions of generator rotor angles. Since there are large rotor angle changes the power
system cannot be approximated by a linear representation like in the case of small-disturbance
stability. The time domain of interest in case of large-disturbance as well as small-disturbance
angle stability is any where between 0.1- 10 s. Due to this reason small and large-disturbance
angle stability are considered to be short term phenomenon. It has to be noted here that though
in some literature “dynamic stability” is used in place of transient stability, according to IEEE
task force committee report [2], only transient stability has to be used.

1.1.4 Voltage stability

“It is the ability of the system to maintain steady state voltages at all the system buses
when subjected to a disturbance. If the disturbance is large then it is called as large-disturbance
voltage stability and if the disturbance is small it is called as small-disturbance voltage
stability”. Unlike angle stability, voltage stability can also be a long term phenomenon. In case
voltage fluctuations occur due to fast acting devices like induction motors, power electronic
drive, HVDC etc then the time frame for understanding the stability is in the range of 10-20 s
and hence can be treated as short term phenomenon. On the other hand if voltage variations are
due to slow change in load, over loading of lines, generators hitting reactive power limits, tap
changing transformers etc then time frame for voltage stability can stretch from 1 minute to
several minutes.
The main difference between voltage stability and angle stability is that voltage stability
depends on the balance of reactive power demand and generation in the system where as the
angle stability mainly depends on the balance between real power generation and demand.

1.3
1.1.5 Frequency stability

“It refers to the ability of a power system to maintain steady frequency following a severe
disturbance between generation and load”. It depends on the ability to restore equilibrium
between system generation and load, with minimum loss of load. Frequency instability may lead
to sustained frequency swings leading to tripping of generating units or loads. During frequency
excursions, the characteristic times of the processes and devices that are activated will range
from fraction of seconds like under frequency control to several minutes, corresponding to the
response of devices such as prime mover and hence frequency stability may be a short-term
phenomenon or a long-term phenomenon.
Though, stability is classified into rotor angle, voltage and frequency stability they need
not be independent isolated events. A voltage collapse at a bus can lead to large excursions in
rotor angle and frequency. Similarly, large frequency deviations can lead to large changes in
voltage magnitude.
Each component of the power system i.e. prime mover, generator rotor, generator stator,
transformers, transmission lines, load, controlling devices and protection systems should be
mathematically represented to assess the rotor angle, voltage and frequency stability through
appropriate analysis tools. In fact entire power system can be represented by a set of Differential
Algebraic Equations (DAE) through which system stability can be analyzed. In the next few
Chapters we will be concentrating on power system components modeling for stability analysis.

Reference:

1. IEEE TF report, “Proposed terms and definitions for power system stability,” IEEE
Trans. on Power Appart. and Syst.,, Vol. PAS-101, pp.1894-1897, July 1982.
2. IEEE/CIGRE Joint Task Force on Stability Terms and Definitions, “Definition and
Classification of Power System Stability”, IEEE Trans. on Power Syst., Vol. 19, No. 2,
pp. 1387-1400, May 2004.

1.4
Module 6

Power system stability

6.1 Introduction
In general terms, power system stability refers to that property of the power system which enables
the system to maintain an equilibrium operating point under normal conditions and to attain a
state of equilibrium after being subjected to a disturbance. As primarily synchronous generators
are used for generating power in grid, power system stability is generally implied by the ability
of the synchronous generators to remain in ’synchronism’ or ’in step’. On the other hand, if the
synchronous generators loose synchronism after a disturbance, then the system is called unstable.
The basic concept of ’synchronism’ can be explained as follows.
In the normal equilibrium condition, all the synchronous generators run at a constant speed and
the difference between the rotor angles of any two generators is constant. Under any disturbance, the
speed of the machines will deviate from the steady state values due to mismatch between mechanical
and electrical powers (torque) and therefore, the difference of the rotor angles would also change.
If these rotor angle differences (between any pair of generators) attain steady state values (not
necessarily the same as in the pre-disturbance condition) after some finite time, then the synchronous
generators are said to be in ’synchronism’. On the other hand, if the rotor angle differences keep on
increasing indefinitely, then the machines are considered to have lost ’synchronism’. Under this ’out
of step’ condition, the output power, voltage etc. of the generator continuously drift away from the
corresponding pre-disturbance values until the protection system trips the machine.
The above phenomenon of instability is essentially related with the instability of the rotor angles
and hence, this form of instability is termed as ’rotor angle instability’. Now, as discussed above,
this instability is triggered by the occurrence of a disturbance. Depending on the severity of the
disturbance, the rotor angle instability can be classified into two categories:

• Small signal instability: In this case, the disturbance occurring in the system is small. Such
kind of small disturbances always take place in the system due to random variations of the loads
and the generation. It will be shown later in this chapter that under small perturbation (or
disturbance), the change in the electrical torque of a synchronous generator can be resolved into
two components, namely, a) synchronizing torque (Ts ) - which is proportional to the change in
the rotor angle and b) damping torque (Td ), which is proportional to the change in the speed

250
of the machine. As a result, depending on the amounts of synchronizing and damping torques,
small signal instability can manifest itself in two forms. When there is insufficient amount of
synchronizing torque, the rotor angle increases steadily. On the other hand, for inadequate
amount of damping torque, the rotor angle undergoes oscillations with increasing amplitude.
These two phenomena are illustrated in Fig. 6.1. In Fig. 6.1(a), both the synchronizing
and damping torques are positive and sufficient and hence, the rotor angle comes back to a
steady state value after undergoing oscillations with decreasing magnitude. In Fig. 6.1(b), the
synchronizing torque is negative while the damping toque is positive and thus, the rotor angle
envelope is increasing monotonically. Fig. 6.1(c) depicts the classic oscillatory instability in
which Ts is positive while Td is negative.

Figure 6.1: Influence of synchronous and damping torque

In an integrated power system, there can be different types of manifestation of the small signal
instability. These are:

251
 a. Local mode: In this type, the units within a generating station oscillate with respect to
the rest of the system. The term ’local’ is used because the oscillations are localized in a
particular generating station.
b. Inter-area mode: In this case, the generators in one part of the system oscillate with
respect to the machines in another part of the system.
c. Control mode: This type of instability is excited due to poorly damped control systems
such as exciter, speed governor, static var compensators, HVDC converters etc.
d. Torsional mode: This type is associated with the rotating turbine-governor shaft. This
type is more prominent in a series compensated transmission system in which the me-
chanical system resonates with the electrical system.

• Transient instability: In this case, the disturbance on the system is quite severe and sudden
and the machine is unable to maintain synchronism under the impact of this disturbance. In
this case, there is a large excursion of the rotor angle (even if the generator is transiently stable).
Fig. 6.2 shows various cases of stable and unstable behavior of the generator. In case 1, under
the influence of the fault, the generator rotor angle increases to a maximum, subsequently
decreases and settles to a steady state value following oscillations with decreasing magnitude.
In case 2, the rotor angle decreases after attaining a maximum value. However, subsequently,
it undergoes oscillations with increasing amplitude. This type of instability is not caused by
the lack of synchronizing torque; rather it occurs due to lack of sufficient damping torque in the
post fault system condition. In case 3, the rotor angle monotonically keeps on increasing due
to insufficient synchronizing torque till the protective relay trips it. This type of instability, in
which the rotor angle never decreases, is termed as ’first swing instability’.

Figure 6.2: Illustration of various stability phenomenon

Apart from rotor angle instability, instability can also occur even when the synchronous generators
are maintaining synchronism. For example, when a synchronous generator is supplying power to an
induction motor load over a transmission line, the voltage at the load terminal can progressively

252
reduce under some conditions of real and reactive power drawn by the load. In this case, loss of
synchronism is not an issue but the challenge is to maintain a stable voltage. This type of instability
is termed as voltage instability or voltage collapse. We will discuss about the voltage instability issue
later in this course.
Now, for analysing rotor angle stability, we have to first understand the basic equation of motion
of a synchronous machine, which is our next topic.

6.2 Equation of motion of a synchronous machine

The equation of motion of a synchronous generator is based on the fact that the accelerating torque
is the product of inertia and its angular acceleration. In the MKS system, this equation can be
written as,
d2 θm
J = Ta = Tm − Te (6.1)
dt2
In equation (6.1),
J → The total moment of inertia of the rotor masses in Kg − m2
θm → The angular displacement of the rotor with respect to a stationary axis, in mechanical
radians
t → Time in seconds
Ta → The net accelerating torque, in N-m
Tm → The mechanical or shaft torque supplied by the prime mover less retarding torque due
to rotational losses, in N-m
Te → The net electrical or electromagnetic torque in N-m

Under steady state operation of the generator, Tm and Te are equal and therefore, Ta is zero.
In this case, there is no acceleration or deceleration of the rotor masses and the generator runs
at constant synchronous speed. The electrical torque Te corresponds to the air gap power of the
generator and is equal to the output power plus the real power loss of the armature winding.
Now, the angle θm is measured with respect to a stationary reference axis on the stator and
hence, it is an absolute measure of the rotor angle. Thus, it continuously increases with time
even with constant synchronous speed. However, in stability studies, the rotor speed relative to
the synchronous speed is of interest and hence, it is more convenient to measure the rotor angular
position with respect to a reference axis which also rotates at synchronous speed. Hence, let us
define,
θm = ωsm t + δm (6.2)

In equation (6.2), ωsm is the synchronous speed of the machine in mechanical radian/sec. and
δm (in mechanical radian) is the angular displacement of the rotor from the synchronously rotating
reference axis. From equation (6.2),

dθm dδm dδm dθm

= ωsm + or, = − ωsm (6.3)
dt dt dt dt
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 d2 θm d2 δm
= (6.4)
dt2 dt2
dδm
Equation (6.3) shows that the quantity represents the deviation of the actual rotor speed
dt
from the synchronous speed in mechanical radian per second. Substituting equation (6.4) into
equation (6.1) one gets,
d2 δm
J = Ta = Tm − Te (6.5)
dt2
dθm
Now. let us define the angular velocity of the rotor to be ωm = . From equation (6.5) we get,
dt
d2 δm
Jωm = ωm Ta = ωm Tm − ωm Te
dt2
Or,
d2 δm
Jωm = Pa = Pm − Pe (6.6)
dt2
In equation (6.6), Pa , Pe and Pm denote the accelerating power, electrical output power and the
input mechanical power (less than the rotational power loss) respectively.
The quantity Jωm is the angular momentum of the rotor and at synchronous speed, it is known
as the inertia constant and is denoted by M . Strictly, the quantity Jωm is not constant at all
operating conditions since ωm keeps on varying. However, when the machine is stable, ωm does not
differ significantly from ωsm and hence, Jωm can be taken approximately equal to M . Hence, from
equation (6.6) we obtain,
d2 δm
M = Pa = Pm − Pe (6.7)
dt2
Now, in machine data, another constant related to inertia, namely H-constant is often encoun-
tered. This is defined as;

stored kinetic energy in megajoules at synchronous speed

H=
machine rating in MVA

Or,
1 Jωsm 2 1 M ωsm 1 M ωsm
H= = MJ/MVA = sec. (6.8)
2 Smc 2 Smc 2 Smc
In equation (6.8), the quantity Smc is the three phase MVA rating of the synchronous machine.
Now, from equation (6.8),
2HSmc
M= MJ/mech. rad (6.9)
ωsm
Substituting for M in equation (6.7), we get,

2H d2 δm Pa Pm − Pe
= = (6.10)
ωsm dt2 Smc Smc

In equation (6.10), both δm and ωsm are in mechanical units. Now, the corresponding quantities

254
in electrical units are given as,
P P
ωs = ωsm ; δ= δm ; (6.11)
2 2
In equation (6.11), P is the number of pole in the generator, ωs is the synchronous speed of the
machine in electrical radian/sec. and δ (in electrical radian) is the angular displacement of the rotor
from the synchronously rotating reference axis. Substituting equation (6.11) in equation (6.10) we
get,
2H d2 δ
= Pa = Pm − Pe per unit (6.12)
ωs dt2
Equation (6.12) is known as the swing equation of the synchronous machine. As this is a
second order differential equation, it can be written as a set of two first order differential equations
as below.
2H dω
= Pm − Pe per unit (6.13)
ωs dt

dδ
= ω − ωs (6.14)
dt
In equations (6.13) - (6.14), the quantity ω is the speed of the synchronous machine and is
expressed in electrical radian per second. Now, in the above two equations, no damping of the
machine is considered. If damping is considered (which opposes the motion of the machine), a term
proportional to the deviation of the speed (from the synchronous speed) is introduced in equation
(6.13). Therefore, the modified equation becomes;

2H dω
= Pm − Pe − d(ω − ωs ) per unit (6.15)
ωs dt

In equation (6.15), d is called the damping co-efficient. However, in the presence of damping, equation
(6.14) does not change. Therefore, in the presence of damping, this pair of equations ((6.14) and
(6.15)) describe the motion of the synchronous machine.
With this introduction of motion of synchronous machine, we are now ready to address the various
stability issues. From the next lecture we will start with transient stability analysis.

255
6.3.4 Modified Euler’s method of integration
Before discussing the application of Euler’s method for solving the swing equations, let us first review
the basic Euler’s method of numerical integration. Let the general from of a differential equation is
given by;
dy
= f (x, y); y(xo ) = yo ; (6.28)
dx
In equation (6.28), x and y are independent and dependent quantities respectively and xo and yo
are initial values of x and y respectively. For the purpose of numerical integration, the independent
axis (x-axis) is divided into intervals of length ‘h’ such that discrete points on the independent axis
are xo , xo + h, xo + 2h, ⋯⋯ etc. As indicated in equation (6.28), the value of y at x = xo is yo .
The task is to calculate the values y1 , y2 , ⋯⋯ corresponding to the x co-ordinates xo + h, xo + 2h,
⋯⋯ respectively. Once these values are obtained, the smooth curve representing the solution of the
differential equation given in equation (6.28) can be plotted.
In the modified Euler’s method, the values y1 , y2 , ⋯⋯ are calculated in two steps:

Predictor
(1)
In this step, the approximate value of y1 (denoted as y1 ) as;

dy
y1(1) = yo + h ∣ = yo + hf (xo , yo ) (6.29)
dx x=xo

Corrector
(1) dy
a) With the calculated value of y1 , calculate the approximate value of at x = xo + h as;
dx
dy
∣ = f (xo + h, y1(1) ) (6.30)
dx x=xo +h

dy
b) With this updated value of at x = x1 = xo + h, the final value of y1 is calculated as;
dx
h dy dy
y1 = yo + [ ∣ + ∣ ]
2 dx x=xo dx x=xo +h
h
or, y1 = yo + [f (xo , yo ) + f (xo + h, y1(1) )] (6.31)
2

With this final value of y1 obtained at x = xo + h = x1 , the above two steps are repeated to
calculate y2 at x = xo + 2h = x2 and subsequently, this process is repeated to obtain the complete
solution of the differential equation.
Now, for our application, let us note that the independent axis (x-axis) denotes time. Therefore,
as already discussed, for solving the differential equations, the time axis is divided into intervals of du-
ration ∆t sec. (i.e. h = ∆t). Further, let us also assume that the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m)
have already been obtained at t = to and these values are denoted as δio and ωio respectively. More-
(o)
over, the initial values of Pei (denoted as Pei ) are also assumed to be calculated utilising the values

261
of δio . With thse known values, the values of δi and ωi at t = to + ∆t are calculated as follows.

Predictor step
(1) (1)
In this step, the approximate values of δi and ωi are calculated as (denoted as δi and ωi
respectively);
dδi
δi(1) = δio + ∆t ∣ = δio + ∆t(ωio − ωs ) (6.32)
dt t=to

dωi ωs
ωi(1) = ωio + ∆t ∣ = ωio + ∆t (Pmi − Pei(o) ) (6.33)
dt t=to 2Hi

Corrector step
(1)
With the new values of δi (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m) obtained in the predictor step, the values of Pei
(i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m) are updated using equations (6.23)-(6.25) (after appropriately incorporating the
(1)
network conditions in the equation set (6.23)). Let these updates values of Pei be denoted as Pei .
Thereafter, the derivatives at the end of the present time step are calculated as follows:

dδi
∣ = ωi(1) − ωs (6.34)
dt t=to +∆t

dωi ωs
∣ = (Pmi − Pei(1) ) (6.35)
dt t=to +∆t 2Hi

With the above new derivative values obtained, the final values of δi and ωi at t = to +∆t (denoted
as δi1 and ωi1 respectively) are calculated as;

∆t dδi dδi
δi1 = δio + [ ∣ + ∣ ] (6.36)
2 dt t=to dt t=to +∆t

∆t dωi dωi
ωi1 = ωio + [ ∣ + ∣ ] (6.37)
2 dt t=to dt t=to +∆t

Proceeding further, for calculating δi and ωi at t = to +2∆t, the quantities δio and ωio are replaced
by δi1 and ωi1 respectively and equations (6.32)-(6.37) are followed again.

6.3.5 Runga Kutta 4th order method of integration

Let us again consider the same general form of a differential equation as in equation (6.28):

dy
= f (x, y); y(xo ) = yo ; (6.38)
dx

Again, the meanings of different notations used in equation (6.38) are same as those in equation

262
(6.28). In RK 4th order method, the value y1 (corresponding to x = xo + h) is calculated as;

h
y1 = yo + (k1 + 2k2 + 2k3 + k4 ) (6.39)
6

In equation (6.39),
k1 = hf (xo , yo ) (6.40)
h k1
k2 = hf (xo + , yo + ) (6.41)
2 2
h k2
k3 = hf (xo + , yo + ) (6.42)
2 2
k4 = hf (xo + h, yo + k3 ) (6.43)

Now, for solving the transient stability problem with RK 4th order method, let us again assume
that the value of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m) are known at t = to (denoted as δio and ωio respec-
tively). Moreover, the values of Pei are also assumed to be known (calculated utilising the values
of δio ). From these initial values, the procedure of calculation of δi1 and ωi1 (values of δi and ωi at
t = to + ∆t) is as follows.

Calculation of first estimate of the derivatives

In this step, the first estimates of the derivatives for the ith machine (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m) are
calculated as:
dδi (1)
∣ = ωio − ωs (6.44)
dt

dωi (1) ωs
∣ = [Pmi − Pei(o) ] (6.45)
dt 2Hi

With these first estimates of the derivatives, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m) are updated
as:
(1) 1 dδi (1)
δ i = δio + ∆t ∣ (6.46)
2 dt

(1) 1 dωi (1)

ω i = ωio + ∆t ∣ (6.47)
2 dt

(1)
With these values of δi (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m), the values of Pei (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m) are updated
(1)
from equations (6.23) - (6.25). Let these newly calculated values of Pei be denoted as Pei (i =
1, 2, ⋯⋯ m). We now proceed to the next step.

Calculation of second estimate of the derivatives

263
 The second estimates of the derivatives are calculated as:

dδi (2)
∣ = ωi(1) − ωs (6.48)
dt

dωi (2) ωs
∣ = [Pmi − Pei(1) ] (6.49)
dt 2Hi

With these second estimates of the derivatives, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m) are
updated as:
1 dδi (2)
δi(2) = δio + ∆t ∣ (6.50)
2 dt

(2) 1 dωi (2)

ω i = ωio + ∆t ∣ (6.51)
2 dt

(2)
With these values of δi , the values of Pei are again updated from equations (6.23) - (6.25). Let
(2)
these newly calculated values of Pei be denoted as Pei (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m). We now proceed to the
next step.

Calculation of third estimate of the derivatives

The third estimates of the derivatives are calculated as;

dδi (3)
∣ = ωi(2) − ωs (6.52)
dt

dωi (3) ωs
∣ = [Pmi − Pei(2) ] (6.53)
dt 2Hi

With these third estimates of the derivatives, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m) are updated
as;
(3) dδi (3)
δ i = δio + ∆t ∣ (6.54)
dt

(3) dωi (3)

ω i = ωio + ∆t ∣ (6.55)
dt

(3)
With these values of δi , the values of Pei are again updated from equations (6.23) - (6.25). Let
(3)
these newly calculated values of Pei be denoted as Pei (i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m). We now proceed to the
next step.

Calculation of fourth estimate of the derivatives

264
 The fourth estimates of the derivatives are calculated as:

dδi (4)
∣ = ωi(3) − ωs (6.56)
dt

dωi (4) ωs
∣ = [Pmi − Pei(3) ] (6.57)
dt 2Hi
After the fourth estimates are obtained, we are now in a position to calculate δi1 and ωi1
(i = 1, 2, ⋯⋯ m).

Calculation of final values

The final, updated values are calculated as:

∆t dδi (1) dδi (2) dδi (3) dδi (4)

δi1 = δio + [ ∣ +2 ∣ +2 ∣ + ∣ ] (6.58)
6 dt dt dt dt

∆t dωi (1) dωi (2) dωi (3) dωi (4)

ωi1 = ωio + [ ∣ +2 ∣ +2 ∣ + ∣ ] (6.59)
6 dt dt dt dt
Proceeding further, for calculating δi and ωi at t = to +2∆t, the quantities δio and ωio are replaced
by δi1 and ωi1 respectively and equations (6.44)-(6.59) are followed again.
In the next lecture, we will illustrate the applicaion of Modified Euler’s method for transient
stability calculation.

265
6.3.7 Example with Runga Kutta 4th order method
Again, as an example, 3 machine, 9 bus system shown in Fig. 6.4 is again considered. Initially, the
damping of the generators are neglected (i.e. di = 0 for i = 1, 2, 3). The load flow results and the
initial values of the magnitudes and angles (∣E∣ and δ ) of the internal voltages of all the generators
are same as those already given in Table 6.2. As before, it is again assumed that at t = 0.5 sec.,
a three phase to ground short circuit fault takes place at bus 7. The faulted generator terminal
voltages and generator output powers are same as those shown in Table 6.3. With these values of
(o) dδi (1) dωi (1)
P ei and ωio , the estimates ∣ and ∣ (i = 1, 2, 3) are calculated from equations (6.44)
dt dt
and (6.45) respectively and are shown in columns 2 and 3 of Table 6.10 respectively. With these first
(1) (1)
estimates of the derivatives, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) are calculated from equations
(6.46) - (6.47) and are shown in columns 4 and 5 of Table 6.10 respectively.

Table 6.10: Calculations with RK method for first estimate at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

dδi (1) dωi (1) δ (1) ω (1)

Gen. no. ∣ ∣
dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0 0.2968990107 2.2716458404 376.99126688
2 0 47.9965914231 19.7315857693 377.01511672
3 0 29.2982026019 13.1664110346 377.00576753

(1)
With the values of δi (i = 1, 2, 3) obtained above, the generator terminal voltages and output
powers are updated from equations (6.23) - (6.25) and are shown in Table 6.11. Please note that
(1)
following the notations used earlier, the output powers calculated at this stage are denoted as Pei
(i = 1, 2, 3).

Table 6.11: Caculations with RK method for second estimate at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe(1)
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515307492 - 0.0053320553i 0.6791748939
2 0.3391142785 + 0.1215867116i 0.0003691143
3 0.6169489129 + 0.0743553183i 0.3821503052

(1) (1) dδi (2) dωi (2)

With the values of ωi and Pei (i = 1, 2, 3) calculated above, the quantities ∣ and ∣
dt dt
(i = 1, 2, 3) are calculated from equations (6.48) - (6.49) and are shown in columns 2 and 3 of Table
(2) (2)
6.12 respectively. Subsequently, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) are calculated from equations
(6.50) - (6.51) and are shown in columns 4 and 5 of Table 6.12 respectively.
(2)
Again, with the values of δi (i = 1, 2, 3) obtained above, the generator terminal voltages and
output powers are updated from equations (6.23) - (6.25) and are shown in Table 6.13. Please note

272
 Table 6.12: Calculations with RK method for second estimate at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

dδi (2) dωi (2) δ (2) ω (2)

Gen. no. ∣ ∣
dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0001484495 0.2968990107 2.2716500931 376.9912668802
2 0.0239982957 47.9965914231 19.7322732698 377.0151167264
3 0.0146491013 29.2982026019 13.1668307004 377.0057675320

that following the notations used earlier, the output powers calculated at this stage are denoted as
Pei(2) (i = 1, 2, 3).

Table 6.13: Caculations with RK method for third estimate at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe(2)
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515307158 - 0.0053317093i 0.6791699590
2 0.3391128195 + 0.1215907798i 0.0003691216
3 0.6169483055 + 0.0743589582i 0.3821550258

(2) (2)
Proceeding further, with the values of ωi and Pei (i = 1, 2, 3) calculated above, the quantities
dδi (3) dωi (3)
∣ and ∣ (i = 1, 2, 3) are calculated from equations (6.52) - (6.53) and are shown in
dt dt
(3) (3)
columns 2 and 3 of Table 6.14 respectively. Subsequently, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) are
calculated from equations (6.54) - (6.55) and are shown in columns 4 and 5 of Table 6.14 respectively.

Table 6.14: Calculations with RK method for third estimate at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

dδi (3) dωi (3) δ (3) ω (3)

Gen. no. ∣ ∣
dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0001484495 0.2969383597 2.2716543459 376.9914153691
2 0.0239982957 47.9965912089 19.7329607703 377.0391150219
3 0.0146491013 29.2979069891 13.1672503663 377.0204163377

(3)
Again, with the values of δi (i = 1, 2, 3) obtained above, the generator terminal voltages and
output powers are updated from equations (6.23) - (6.25) and are shown in Table 6.15. Please note
that following the notations used earlier, the output powers calculated at this stage are denoted as
Pei(3) (i = 1, 2, 3).
(3) (3) dδi (4)
Lastly, with the values of ω i and P ei (i = 1, 2, 3) calculated above, the quantities ∣
dt
dωi (4)
and ∣ (i = 1, 2, 3) are calculated from equations (6.56) - (6.57) and are shown in columns 2
dt
273
 Table 6.15: Calculations with RK method for final estimate at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe(3)
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515306823 - 0.0053313633i 0.6791650241
2 0.3391113605 + 0.1215948479i 0.0003691288
3 0.6169476981 + 0.0743625981i 0.3821597463

and 3 of Table 6.16 respectively. Finally, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) at the end of t = 0.5
sec. are calculated from equations (6.58) - (6.59) and are shown in columns 4 and 5 of Table 6.16
respectively.

Table 6.16: Calculations with RK method for final estimate at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

dδi (4) dωi (4) δi ωi

Gen. no. ∣ ∣
dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0002969383 0.2969777087 2.2716543463 376.9914153560
2 0.0479965912 47.9965909948 19.7329607703 377.0391150220
3 0.0292979069 29.2976113769 13.1672503634 377.0204164363

After the final values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) corresponding to t = 0.5 sec. are obtained, we
increment the time by ∆t (= 0.001 sec.) and repeat the calculations for t = 0.501 sec. Towards
this goal, the quantities δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) shown in Table 6.16 are substituted for δio and ωio
(i = 1, 2, 3) in equations (6.44) - (6.59). With these values of δio (i = 1, 2, 3), equations (6.23) -
(6.25) are solved to calculate the initial values of Pei (i = 1, 2, 3) at t = 0.501 sec. The results are
shown in Table 6.17.

Table 6.17: Calculations with RK method for initial estimate at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe(o)
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515306823 - 0.0053313633i 0.6791650241
2 0.3391113605 + 0.1215948479i 0.0003691288
3 0.6169476981 + 0.0743625981i 0.3821597462

(o)
With the values of Pei (i = 1, 2, 3) thus obtained, calculations pertaining to the first estimate
are carried out by using equations (6.44) - (6.47) and the results are shown in Table 6.18. Sub-
(1)
sequently, the values of Pei (i = 1, 2, 3) are calculated and the results are shown in Table 6.19.

(1) (1) (1)

With the values of Pei , δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) obtained as above, the calculations pertaining
(2) (2) (2)
to second estimate are performed to obtain Pei , δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3). The results are shown

274
 Table 6.18: Calculations with RK method for first estimate at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

dδi (1) dωi (1) δ (1) ω (1)

Gen. no. ∣ ∣
dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0002969252 0.2969777084 2.2716628526 376.9915638448
2 0.0479965912 47.9965909948 19.7343357714 377.0631133175
3 0.0292980055 29.2976113792 13.1680896895 377.0350652419

Table 6.19: Calculations with RK method for first estimate at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe(1)
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515306154 - 0.0053306712i 0.6791551544
2 0.3391084422 + 0.1216029842i 0.0003691434
3 0.6169464833 + 0.0743698779i 0.3821691871

in Tables 6.20 and 6.21.

Table 6.20: Calculations with RK method for second estimate at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

dδi (2) dωi (2) δ (2) ω (2)

Gen. no. ∣ ∣
dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0004454140 0.2970564057 2.2716671065 376.9915638842
2 0.0719948867 47.9965905664 19.7350232719 377.0631133173
3 0.0439468112 29.2970201614 13.1685093468 377.0350649463

Table 6.21: Calculations with RK method for second estimate at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe(2)
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515305819 - 0.0053303251i 0.6791502196
2 0.3391069830 + 0.1216070523i 0.0003691506
3 0.6169458758 + 0.0743735177i 0.3821739075

(2) (2) (2)

Proceeding further, using the values of Pei , δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3), the calculations pertaining
(3) (3) (3)
to third estimate are performed to obtain Pei , δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3). The results are shown in
Tables 6.22 and 6.23.
(3) (3) (3)
Using the values of Pei , δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3), the fourth estimates of the derivatives are
computed and subsequently, the final values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) corresponding to t = 0.501
sec. are obtained. The calculations are shown in Table 6.24.

275
 Table 6.22: Calculations with RK method for third estimate at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

dδi (3) dωi (3) δ (3) ω (3)

Gen. no. ∣ ∣
dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0004454534 0.2970957537 2.2716798689 376.9917124517
2 0.0719948865 47.9965903523 19.7370857735 377.0871116124
3 0.0439465156 29.2967245580 13.1697683133 377.0497131608

Table 6.23: Calculations with RK method for third estimate at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe(3)
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515304815 - 0.0053292869i 0.6791354153
2 0.3391026052 + 0.1216192565i 0.0003691725
3 0.6169440533 + 0.0743844372i 0.3821880684

Table 6.24: Calculations with RK method for final estimate at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

dδi (4) dωi (4) δi ωi

Gen. no. ∣ ∣
dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0005940209 0.2972137971 2.2716798685 376.9917124386
2 0.0959931816 47.9965897098 19.7370857735 377.0871116124
3 0.0585947300 29.2958377565 13.1697683161 377.0497132593

For subsequent time instants, the calculations proceed exactly in the same way as described
above. As in the case with Euler’s method, in this case also, the fault is assumed to be cleared at t =
0.6 sec. and finally, the simulation study is stopped at t = 5.0 sec. The variations of δi (i = 1, 2, 3)
with respect to the center of inertia (COI) are shown in Fig. 6.7 below. Please note that in this
figure, no damping of the generators has been considered.
The simulation studies have also been carried out by considering the damping of the generators.
The variations of δi (i = 1, 2, 3) with respect to the center of inertia (COI) for this case are shown
in Fig. 6.8 below. Comaprison of Figs. 6.7 - 6.8 with Figs. 6.5 - 6.6 reveals that the responses
obtained with these two methods are almost identical to each other.
With this example, we are now at the end of discussion of transient stability analysis. From the
next lecture, we will start the discussion of small signal stability analysis.

276
Figure 6.7: Variation of δ1COI (with no damping) obtained with Runga-Kutta method

Figure 6.8: Variation of δ1COI (with damping) obtained with Runga-Kutta method

277
6.3.6 Example with Modified Euler’s method
As an illustration of the Modified Euler’s method, let us consider a three machine, 9 bus system.
The schematic diagram of this system is shown in Fig. 6.4. The bus data of this system is given
in Table A.7 while the line data are given in Table A.8. Further, the values of x∕di , di (damping
constant) and Hi (inertia constant) for all the three generators are given in Table 6.1.
With the data given in Tables A.7 and Table A.8, the load flow solution of this system has been
carried out and the load flow results are given in Table 6.2. With the help of load flow results and
values of x∕di , the magnitudes and angles (∣Ē∣ and δ ) of the internal voltages of all the generators
have been calculated by utilising equations (6.16)-(6.18) and are also shown in Table 6.2. It is to
be noted that, throughout the transient stability simulation, the values of ∣Ēi ∣ (i = 1, 2, 3) are to
be kept constant at the values given in Table 6.2. Also, at steady state, the speed of all generators
are assumed to be equal to ωs (i.e. ωio = ωs ; i = 1, 2, 3). Now, following the arguments given in
step 7 of sub-section 6.3.3, under steady state, the values of δi (i = 1, 2, 3) will remain constant
at those values given in Table 6.2. Similarly, under steady state, the values of ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) will
all be equal to ωs (= 376.9911184307752 rad./sec for a 60 Hz. system). Moreover, for transient
stability simulation, a time step of 0.001 sec. (∆t = 0.001) has been taken. Further, to start with,
the damping of the generators have been neglected.

Figure 6.4: 3 machine, 9 bus system

Now, let us assume that a three phase to ground fault takes place at bus 7 at t = 0.5 sec. To
simulate this fault, the element Ȳ77 is increased 1000 times to represent very high admittance to
ground. With this modification in Ȳ77 , the equation set (6.23) are solved to calculate the faulted

266
 Table 6.1: Machine data for 9 bus system

Gen. x∕di
di Hi
no. (p.u)
1 0.0608 0.0254 23.64
2 0.1198 0.0066 6.40
3 0.1813 0.0026 3.01

Table 6.2: Load flow result for 9 bus system

Gen. PG QG ∣V ∣ θ ∣E∣ δ
no. (MW) (MVAR) (p.u) (deg.) (p.u) (deg.)
1 71.64102147 27.0459235334 1.04 0.0 1.0566418430 2.2716458404
2 163.0 6.6536603184 1.025 9.2800054816 1.0502010147 19.7315857693
3 85.0 -10.8597090709 1.025 4.6647513331 1.0169664112 13.1664110346

values of V̄i (i = 1, 2, 3). These values are shown in second column of Table 6.3. With these
(o)
calculated values of the generator terminal voltages, the values of Pei (i = 1, 2, 3) have been
calculated using equations (6.24)-(6.25) and are shown in third column of Table 6.3. Now, from Fig.
6.4, bus 7 is the terminal bus of generator 2 (just after the transformer) and therefore, for any short
circuit fault at bus 7, the real power output of generator 2 is expected to fall drastically. Indeed,
(o)
from Table 6.3, after the fault, Pe2 is indeed very low (0.0003691143 p.u.). Also, note that the
values of δio and ωio (i = 1, 2, 3), which are to be used for calculation at this time instant, are all
equal to the corresponding steady state values as there was no fault prior to this time instant.

Table 6.3: Calculations with Euler’s method for predictor stage at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe(o)
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515307492 - 0.0053320553i 0.6791748939
2 0.3391142785 + 0.1215867116i 0.0003691143
3 0.6169489129 + 0.0743553183i 0.3821503052

(o) dδi dωi

With these values of Pei and ωio , the initial estimates of and (i = 1, 2, 3) are
dt dt
calculated from equations (6.27) and (6.26) respectively and are shown in columns 2 and 3 of Table
(1) (1)
6.4 respectively. Finally, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) are calculated by using equations
(6.32) - (6.33) and are shown in columns 4 and 5 of Table 6.4 respectively. From Tables 6.1 - 6.4 it
is observed that the steady state values of δi (for i = 1, 2, 3; shown in the last column of Table 6.1)
(1)
are equal to the corresponding values of δi (for i = 1, 2, 3; shown in the fourth column of Table
dδi
6.4). This is due to the fact that at this predictor stage, (i = 1, 2, 3) are all equal to zero.
dt
(1)
However, due to fall in Pei (i = 1, 2, 3), from equation (6.33), the values of ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) are all

267
greater than ωs .

Table 6.4: Calculations with Euler’s method for predictor stage at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. dδ dω δ (1) ω (1)

no. dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0 0.2968990107 2.2716458404 376.9914153297
2 0 47.9965914231 19.7315857693 377.0391150221
3 0 29.2982026019 13.1664110346 377.0204166333

Once the calculations pertaining to the predictor stage at t = 0.5 sec. are over, we move on
to the calculations pertaining to the corrector stage. Towards this goal, initially the values of Pei
(1)
(i = 1, 2, 3) are updated using the values of δi (i = 1, 2, 3) in equations (6.23) - (6.25). As
(1) (1)
discussed earlier, the updated value of Pei is denoted as Pei . Now, as the values of δi (i = 1, 2, 3)
(1)
are equal to the corresponding steady state values, the values of Pei (i = 1, 2, 3) are also equal
(1) (1)
to the values given in Table 6.3. Subsequently, with the values of Pei and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3), the
dδi dωi
values of and (i = 1, 2, 3) at the end of the present time step are calculated from equations
dt dt
(6.34) - (6.35) and are shown in columns 2 and 3 of Table 6.5 respectively. Lastly, the final values
of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) at t = 0.5 sec. are calculated by using equations (6.36) - (6.37), which are
shown in columns 4 and 5 of Table 6.5 respectively.

Table 6.5: Calculations with Euler’s method for corrector stage at t = 0.5 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. dδ dω δ ω
no. dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0002968990 0.2968990107 2.2716543459 376.9914153297
2 0.0479965914 47.9965914231 19.7329607703 377.0391150221
3 0.0292982026 29.2982026019 13.1672503663 377.0204166333

With these final values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) corresponding to t = 0.5 sec. at hand, we now
increment the time by ∆t (= 0.001 sec.) and repeat the calculations for predictor and corrector
stages for t = 0.501 sec. The detailed calculations are shown in Tables 6.6 - 6.9. Initially, with the
values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) just obtained, the generator terminal voltages and the generator
output electrical powers are calculated and are shown in Table 6.6. With these newly calculated
dδi dωi (1) (1)
values of Pei (i = 1, 2, 3), the values of , , δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) corresponding to the
dt dt
(1) (1)
predictor stage are calculated and are shown in Table 6.7. With these updated values of δi and ωi
(i = 1, 2, 3), the values of the generator terminal voltages and Pei (i = 1, 2, 3) are re-calculated
corresponding to the corrector stage and are shown in Table 6.8. Lastly, using these updated values
dδi dωi
of Pei (i = 1, 2, 3), the values of and corresponding to the corrector stage are calculated and
dt dt
are shown in Table 6.9. Finally, the values of δi and ωi (i = 1, 2, 3) at t = 0.501 sec. are calculated
by using equations (6.36)-(6.37), which are shown in columns 4 and 5 of Table 6.9 respectively.

268
 Table 6.6: Caculations with Euler’s method for predictor stage at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515306823 - 0.0053313633i 0.6791650241
2 0.3391113605 + 0.1215948479i 0.0003691288
3 0.6169476981 + 0.0743625981i 0.3821597463

Table 6.7: Calculations with Euler’s method for predictor stage at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. dδ dω δ (1) ω (1)

no. dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0002968990 0.2969777087 2.2716713570 376.9917123074
2 0.0479965914 47.9965909948 19.7357107724 377.0871116131
3 0.0292982026 29.2976113769 13.1689290296 377.0497142447

Table 6.8: Caculations with Euler’s method for corrector stage at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. Pe
V̄ (p.u)
no. (p.u)
1 0.8515305484 - 0.0053299791i 0.6791452844
2 0.3391055238 + 0.1216111204i 0.0003691579
3 0.6169452683 + 0.0743771578i 0.3821786281

Table 6.9: Calculations with Euler’s method for corrector stage at t = 0.501 sec. (damping = 0)

Gen. dδ dω δ ω
no. dt dt (deg.) (rad/sec.)
1 0.0005938767 0.2971351045 2.2716798648 376.9917123861
2 0.0959931824 47.9965901381 19.7370857735 377.0871116127
3 0.0585958139 29.2964289348 13.1697683443 377.0497136535

For subsequent time instants, the calculations proceed exactly in the same way as described
above. The fault is assumed to be cleared at t = 0.6 sec. To simulate this event (clearing of fault),
the value of Ȳ77 is restored to its pre-fault value and subsequently, the values of Pei (i = 1, 2, 3)
are calculated from equations (6.23)-(6.25). Please note that, while doing so, the latest values of δi
(i = 1, 2, 3) obatained at t = 0.599 sec. are used in equation set (6.23). For subsequent instances
(beyond t = 0.6 sec.), the calculations proceed in the identical manner and finally, the simulation
study is stopped at t = 5.0 sec. The variations of δi (i = 1, 2, 3) with respect to the center of inertia
(COI) are shown in Fig. 6.5. For calculating the value of δi with respect to the COI (denoted as

269
δiCOI ) at each time step, the following expression has been used:

δiCOI = δi − δCOI ; for i = 1, 2, 3; (6.60)

where,
m
∑ Hi δi
δCOI = i=1
m (6.61)
∑ Hj
j=1

In equation (6.61), ‘m’ denotes the number of generators in the system (in our present case, m
= 3). At each time step, with the final calculated values of δi (i = 1, 2, 3) calculated at the end
of corrector step, the value of δCOI is computed and thereafter, each value of δiCOI (i = 1, 2, 3)
is computed with the help of equation (6.60). With the values of δiCOI thus obtained for all time
steps, the plots shown in Fig. 6.5 are obtained. These plots show that the generators experience
sustained oscillations. This is due to the fact that in this study, the damping of the generators have
been neglected.

Figure 6.5: Variation of δ1COI (with no damping) obtained with Euler’s method

Let us now consider the damping of the generators. As discussed earlier (in the context of
equations (6.14) and (6.15)), when damping is considered, an extra term (representing damping)
is introduced in the differential equation corresponding to rate of change of speed. However, there
would be no change in the differential equation representing the rate of change of generator angle.
Therefore, the set of differential equations for ith generator is given by;

dδi
= ωi − ωs (6.62)
dt

2Hi dωi
= Pmi − Pei − di (ωi − ωs ) (6.63)
ωs dt
In equation (6.63), the extra term di (ωi − ωs ) represnts the damping of the generator. There
would be, of course, no change in the algebraic equations and the set of algebraic equations would

270
still be represented by equation set (6.23). With these sets of differential and algebraic equations,
the calculations proceed in identically the same way as described above and the variations of δiCOI
(i = 1, 2, 3) for the same fault considered above are shown in Fig. 6.6. Comparison of these
three plots with those shown in Fig. 6.5 shows that when damping of the generators are taken into
consideration, the oscillations in all the three generators reduce gradually with time, which, indeed
should be the case. As the generator oscillations are decreasing with time, the generators will remain
in synchronism and therefore, the system is stable.

Figure 6.6: Variation of δ1COI (with damping) obtained with Euler’s method

We will now discuss the application of Runga Kutta (RK) 4th order method of integration for
solving the transient stability problem in the next lecture.

271
Representation of excitation system and power system stabilizer
Excitation system provides the current required for the field winding of a synchronous generator to
produce the rated terminal voltage at the generator terminals. The basic blocks that are involved in the
excitation system are shown in Fig. 4.1

Exciter
Exciter can be of three types DC exciter, AC exciter and Static exciter.
DC exciter: In this type of exciter a separately or self-excited DC generator driven by
a motor or connected to the same shaft as that of the main generator rotor is used. In case of
separately excited DC generator the field winding of the DC generator is energised through a
permanent magnet AC generator, the three-phase output of which is converted to DC through
rectifiers. This type of excitation was widely used up to 1960 but now-a-days
AC excitation or static excitation is being used. For older generating stations were DC
excitation is still used the voltage regulator alone is replaced with electronic regulators.
AC exciter: In this type of exciter the AC generator whose armature is mounted on the
same shaft as that of the main generator, with its field stationary, is used for supplying field
current to the main generator field winding. The output of AC exciter generator is converted
to DC through rotating rectifiers, as the armature is now rotating at the main generator rotor
speed, and the output is directly connected to the main field winding. The filed of the AC
exciter generator itself is energised through a pilot permanent magnet AC generator whose
three-phase output is converted to DC through rectification.
Static exciter: In this exciter the output of the main synchronous generator is
converted from AC to DC through static rectification and then the output is supplied to the
main generator field winding through slip rings.
Voltage transducers: Voltage transducers measure the three-phase terminal voltage through
potential transformers and convert them and filter them to DC which is compared with the
reference voltage and the error signal is used to control the main exciter field winding current
through the exciter.
Voltage Regulator: The voltage regulator can be of magnetic amplification type or digital
amplification type. At present digital amplification is widely used. The voltage regulator
amplifies the error signal generated by voltage transducers and the output of the voltage
regulator is used to control the pilot excitation there by controlling the main generator field
winding through the DC/AC excitation system.
Limiting and protection circuit: Limiting and protection circuits are used to limit main
generator field winding current, over excitation, under excitation, terminal voltage, Volts-per-
Hertz etc.
Rate feedback: Rate feedback is used to stabilize the excitation system and will be explained
shortly
Power system stabilizer: It is used to damp the power system oscillations through the
excitation system. Power system stability is the ability of an electric power system, for a
given initial operating condition, to regain a state of operating equilibrium after being
subjected to a physical disturbance, with most system variables bounded so that practically
the entire system remains intact.
This is achieved by modulating the generator excitation so as to develop components of
electrical torque in phase with rotor speed deviations. The PSS thus contributes to the
enhancement of small-signal stability of power systems