Stability Evaluation of AC/DC Hybrid Microgrids Considering Bidirectional Power Flow through the Interlinking Converters

Abstract

The bidirectional power flow through the interlinking converter (IC), in ac/dc hybrid microgrids (HMGs) consisting of distributed generators (DGs) with droop controllers, plays an important role on the stability of such systems during islanding. This paper investigates the impact of the power flow direction on the small-signal stability of islanded droop-based HMGs. Firstly, a linearized state-space model of an HMG is developed. Secondly, eigenvalue analysis is carried out to realize the dominant modes, which are the rightmost eigenvalues. Thirdly, participation factor analysis is performed to identify the system and control parameters that effect stability the most. Lastly, sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the critical droop gains and stability margin. It is observed from the eigenvalue and sensitivity analysis that the dominant modes of HMGs become more stable as more power flows from dc to ac subgrid. On the contrary, an increase in the power flow from ac to dc subgrid degrades the HMG stability. Additionally, the sensitivity of the dominant modes to changes in ac and dc droop gains is studied under bidirectional power flow through the IC to ascertain their impact on the stability margins. Finally, time-domain simulations, in MATLAB/Simulink, suggest that more generation on the dc subgrid would enhance the overall HMG stability margin during islanding.