Power System State Estimation Using Power Converter Front-Ends (GR-10-03)

Power System State Estimation Using Power Converter Front-Ends (GR-10-03)
Principal Investigators: Dr. Roy McCann, Dr. Enrico Santi

This project was a collaborative UA/USC effort on power system state-estimation and power flow control. Development at USC used a power converter to make wideband three-phase impedance measurements at its interface to the power grid. This provided information about harmonic and high-frequency impedances in order to predict harmonic propagation and voltage distortion at various locations on the power network, allowing researchers to identify harmonic polluters and to predict resonances. UA researchers investigated localized power control acting at the distribution level through coordination of power electronic systems with the objective of influencing power flows across the transmission grid. Using impedance information developed at USC, optimization to thermal and stability limits of the existing transmission line and generation infrastructure is achieved through coordination of distribution-level power electronic equipment.