Synchrophasor Sensor Networks for Grid Communication and Protection

Abstract

This paper focuses primarily on leveraging synchronized current/voltage amplitudes and phase angle measurements to foster new categories of applications, such as improving the effectiveness of grid protection and minimizing outage duration for distributed grid systems. The motivation for such an application arises from the fact that with the support of communication, synchronized measurements from multiple sites in a grid network can greatly enhance the accuracy and timeliness of identifying the source of instabilities. The paper first provides an overview of synchrophasor networks and then presents techniques for power quality assessment, including fault detection and protection. To achieve this we present a new synchrophasor data partitioning scheme that is based on the formation of a joint space and time observation vector. Since communication is an integral part of synchrophasor networks, the newly adopted wireless standard for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, known as IEEE 802.11ah, has been investigated. The paper also presents a novel implementation of a hardware in the loop testbed for real-time performance evaluation. The purpose is to illustrate the use of both hardware and software tools to verify the performance of synchrophasor networks under more realistic environments. The testbed is a combination of grid network modeling, and an Emulab-based communication network. The combined grid and communication network is then used to assess power quality for fault detection and location using the IEEE 39-bus and 390-bus systems.

MMSE-Based Analytical Estimator for Uncertain Power System With Limited Number of Measurements

“…The design of the proposed estimator is based on availability of the system statistics under various test environments. To gather such statistics we use an EMTP-RV 1 software tool for real-time assessment of the proposed method [56]. EMTP-RV is an Electro Magnetic Transients Program (EMTP) software tool where PMU devices can be placed at any desirable location in the grid network.…”

Enhanced Power Capability of Generator Units for Increased Operational Security Using NMPC

“…Additional outputs are temperatures measured from the stator copper T s , the stator core T F e , and the air-to-water heat exchanger (e.g, warm air, T 1i ). For increased robustness, phasor measurement units (PMUs) which are normally placed at sensitive locations throughout the transmission grid [29], can be utilized for estimating the external voltage level V e . Both the field current I f d , and the field voltage E f d are used to estimate the rotor winding resistance R r , and the rotor temperature T r .…”

A Fast Recursive Algorithm for Spectrum Tracking in Power Grid Systems

“…For grid monitoring for instance, the presence of harmonic distortions can degrade the performance of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) for tracking voltage, current, and frequency variations. Therefore, awareness and identification of all the harmonic spectral components, such as inter-harmonic and sub-harmonic, can greatly enhance the power system’s reliability, hence reducing harm to the system [1, 2]. As a result, harmonic analysis for power grid has received considerable attention in recent years [3, 4].…”