Wide-area electrical transmission

Analysis of PMU data - Wide area mode detection - System damping estimation - Real-time diagnosis - Fault localization

With Prof Bikash C. Pal, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

An a.c. electrical transmission system transmits electricity from generators to the loads where it will be used. Many generators and many loads are connected in the network, and complex dynamics can arise including wide-area power oscillations caused by interactions between generators.

Wide-area oscillations (modes) that are poorly damped can lead to loss of synchronism of generators and even to loss of system stability and blackouts. Monitoring the presence, frequency and damping of wide area modes is essential for electrical transmission system operators.

New measurement technology is helping in the form of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs). We are finding out what our methods for dynamic signal analysis that were developed for process measurements in oil, gas and chemicals plants can offer for the analysis of PMU measurements from a.c. transmission grids.

The focus is on localization and real-time diagnosis of the root causes of threats such as poor damping to transmission system operation.