Augmentation of transient stability margin based on rapid assessment of rate of change of kinetic energy

A fast-load injection through a resistive dynamic brake with appropriate power dissipation capacity can absorb the excess transient energy caused by a large and sudden disturbance and thus improve the transient stability margin of a power system. However, fast assessment of the transient stability and the effective insertion/removal instants of the brake are longstanding challenges. This paper proposes a new criterion based on the rate of change of kinetic energy to rapidly evaluate system transient stability and identify conditions of effective insertion/removal instants of a dynamic brake. Unlike reported studies where the superiority of this criterion was only demonstrated through off-line simulation, both the theoretical modeling and practical implementation of this criterion is presented here using the one machine infinite bus system. A microprocessor controller based on a single-variable measurement, i.e. generator deviation speed, is proposed and implemented to control the dynamic brake during the disturbance periods. The observed behavior of the power system under sudden disturbances and the effect of timely insertion/removal of the dynamic brake on the transient stability of the power system under study are presented and evaluated. The proposed method has been successfully validated, demonstrating its suitability for practical and rapid assessment of transient stability. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.