Electrical Power and Energy Systems 155 (2024) 109553

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijepes

Review

Guest Editorial: Control interactions in power electronic converter

dominated power systems
Xiaorong Xie a, *, Jan Shair a, Jef Beerten b, c, Lingling Fan d, Oriol Gomis-Bellmunt e,
Petr Vorobev f, Robin Preece g, Shahil Shah h, Xiongfei Wang i, Yang Wang j, Vladimir Terzija f
a
State Key Laboratory of Power System, Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
b
Department of Electrical Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
c
Energyville, Genk, Belgium
d
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
e
CITCEA, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
f
Center for Energy Science and Technology, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Bolshoy Boulevard 30, Bld. 1, Moscow 121205, Russia
g
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
h
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA
i
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm 11428, Sweden
j
Sichuan University, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Guest Editorial.

Control interactions
Power electronic converter
Power systems
Subsynchronous resonance

1. Introduction side faces distinct stability challenges that differ from classical stability
problems.
The modern power systems have undergone significant trans­ In terms of transmission, the proportion of FACTS and HVDC con­
formations at the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization verters has increased and is expected to continue growing. FACTS and
levels due to the remarkable advancements in power electronic con­ HVDC converters have enhanced power transmission by providing
verter technology. Power electronic converters are now prevalent in greater flexibility in controlling power network parameters and trans­
various applications, including wind turbine converters, photovoltaic mitting power over longer distances. However, the expanded utilization
inverters, flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) and high-voltage of FACTS and HVDC has also introduced new control and stability
DC (HVDC) converters, distributed generators, microgrids, and electric challenges.
vehicles. The widespread adoption of power electronic converters has At the distribution level, small-scale converter-interfaced generators,
revolutionized the power system by providing fast and flexible electric vehicles, and inverter-based battery energy storage systems have
controllability. However, their unique characteristics, such as fast significantly complicated distribution and utilization systems. These
response, multi-time scale dynamics, reconfigurable control, and vary­ developments have profoundly impacted the dynamics of modern power
ing sizes and capacities, have introduced new stability challenges, systems.
fundamentally altering the dynamics of modern power systems [1]. These converter-based devices and their controls in modern power
On the generation side, the introduction of converter-interfaced systems tend to interact with each other and other power system com­
generators has transformed the traditional approach to power genera­ ponents. The converter control-participated interactions give rise to
tion using synchronous generators. These converter-interfaced genera­ oscillations encompassing a wide frequency range from a fraction of
tors exhibit features such as input resource intermittency and smaller hertz to several kilohertz, commonly known as wideband oscillation [2].
unit sizes with low or synthetic inertia. Consequently, the generation Over the past decade, numerous instances of wideband oscillation

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (X. Xie).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2023.109553
Received 30 August 2023; Accepted 28 September 2023
Available online 7 October 2023
0142-0615/© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
X. Xie et al. International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems 155 (2024) 109553

have been reported worldwide. Examples include incidents in ERCOT’s connection prevents ULFO even with all hydraulic generators. Addi­
wind bases in Texas, USA; First Solar’s solar farms in California, USA; tionally, in weak grid conditions, the hydropower proportion worsens
Southeast and West-Murray zones in Australia; Hornsea offshore wind the ULFO problem, as evidenced by decreased oscillation frequency and
farm in the UK; and Guyuan/Hami wind bases and Nan’ao/Luxi HVDC damping ratio.
systems in China, among others. The active involvement of converter In another work [4], the authors examined control interactions be­
controls significantly influences these interactions. Moreover, the tween synchronous machines and inverter-based resources (IBRs) in
interaction mechanisms become more intricate due to system-wide power systems dominated by IBRs. The study identified potential
factors such as the intermittent nature of input resources, power gen­ oscillation risks through modal impedance analysis and electromagnetic
eration from converter-interfaced generators, converter control param­ transient simulation and investigated various factors’ impacts. The re­
eters, network topology, and grid strength. Consequently, studying the sults showed that high penetration of grid-following IBRs could lead to
complex phenomena of control interaction and devising appropriate oscillation instability, which can be mitigated by adjusting control pa­
countermeasures pose substantial challenges. rameters. Furthermore, replacing some grid-following converters with
The presence of wideband oscillation represents a significant grid-forming converters can eliminate oscillation modes. Overall, the
obstacle in achieving stable operation in modern power systems char­ study highlights the importance of understanding control interactions in
acterized by a higher share of renewables and power electronics. This IBR-dominated systems for ensuring stability.
Special Issue “Control Interactions in Power Electronic Converter Dominated The authors in [5] explored the mechanism of the dynamic interac­
Power Systems” seeks to investigate mechanisms, detection, modeling, tion between power electronics-based substations of flexible traction
analysis, control, and mitigation of the emerging wideband control in­ power supply systems (FTPSS). The authors used the frequency domain
teractions involving power electronic converter-based devices. model of the FTPSS with power-sharing control. The eigenvalue analysis
In this remarkable Special Issue, submissions were received from is further used to study the effect of control parameters and communi­
authors worldwide, and the Guest Editorial Board meticulously con­ cation time delay on the stability of the interconnected system.
ducted an extensive review process, resulting in the approval of 18
exceptional papers for publication. These papers encompassed innova­ 2.2. Stable region estimation to avoid control interactions
tive ideas concerning modeling and analysis and control methods suit­
able for power systems integrating power electronics, analysis of The authors of [6] focused on the detection and continuation of the
emerging stability issues, and advanced converter control technologies Hopf bifurcation associated with subsynchronous oscillations (SSO) in
wideband oscillations. The Guest Editorial Board extends heartfelt DFIG-based wind farms. To address the limitations of standard numer­
gratitude to all the authors who contributed their latest research to this ical continuation packages for studying SSO in large-scale power sys­
Special Issue. Their valuable work has positively contributed to the tems, the authors propose a simplified test function that considers only
power system academics and engineers. the subsynchronous and supersynchronous modes. These modes are
Furthermore, the Guest Editorial Board sincerely appreciates the computed using an adapted version of the selective modal analysis
anonymous reviewers for their invaluable suggestions and constructive (SMA) iterative method, which avoids the computation of all system
comments, which played an instrumental role in ensuring the quality eigenvalues. The iterative procedure for Hopf bifurcation detection and
and rigor of the published papers. the standard prediction-correction routines for its continuation are
The Guest Editorial Board would also like to acknowledge the journal customized to accommodate the proposed test function and SMA-based
Editorial Board for providing the opportunity to organize this Special eigenvalue computation. The methodology is demonstrated on a rela­
Issue. Their support and encouragement have been invaluable in making tively large-scale system comprising 11 wind farms with 22 aggregated
this endeavor a success. Additionally, the journal production team de­ models and 690 state variables.
serves thanks for their efficient technical support throughout the pro­ In another research [7], the authors proposed an impedance
cess, from the call for papers to the operation of EVISE and the network-based oscillatory stability analyzer (INOSA), which is a
production of the accepted papers. The collaboration with the journal MATLAB-based application package. INOSA only uses known system
and production team has been immensely gratifying. It has been a data and at least ten impedance measurements as input to the software
delightful experience working with all the individuals involved in in excel format. With correct input data, it maps out the operating points
organizing and producing this Special Issue, and their contributions such that the boundary of operating points leading to stable and un­
have been truly appreciated. stable system is identified. The INOSA is validated on a simplified model
of an actual system facing the SSO.
2. Review of topics addressed The authors of [8] developed a simplified large-signal model of a DC
microgrid system with virtual DC machine control using the Takagi-
This section summarizes the topics and the papers included in this Sugeno (TS) fuzzy modeling method. This model addresses the chal­
Special Issue. lenge of accurately determining the system’s stability region, consid­
ering the nonlinearity introduced by power electronics-based loads with
2.1. Oscillation mechanisms and risk assessment constant power characteristics. The authors proposed an approach to
estimate the asymptotic stability region, which provides insights into the
The authors of [3] investigate the cause of ultra-low frequency maximum allowable changes in the DC bus voltage and load power. The
oscillation (ULFO) in a system consisting of hydraulic generators and a accuracy of the proposed model and the effectiveness of the methods are
weak ac grid. A small-signal model of a two-machine system is devel­ verified through simulations and experiments.
oped to analyze the oscillation characteristics by examining different
thermal-hydro power proportions. The findings reveal that while a 2.3. Analysis and investigation approaches of converter dominated power
higher proportion of hydropower results in a lower oscillation fre­ systems
quency, it is not the primary cause of ULFO. The analysis shows that
weak grid conditions, rather than the hydropower proportion, are the The Special Issue covered the analysis and investigation of the
essential cause of ULFO. The connection strength of the system de­ wideband oscillations resulting from control interactions in converter-
termines its susceptibility to ULFO, with the governor playing a crucial dominated power systems. Below, we present a summary of the papers
role in weak grid conditions. Simulation results confirmed the theoret­ presenting different approaches.
ical analysis, demonstrating that a system with all thermal power can The authors of [9] presented an alternative impedance-based anal­
still experience ULFO in weak connections. In contrast, a strong ysis method to identify mode frequencies and assess the participation of

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X. Xie et al. International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems 155 (2024) 109553

impedance components in low-frequency interactions in power systems. experimental studies, demonstrating its effectiveness in weak grid
This method is compared to the conventional approach of approxi­ integration of inverters.
mating mode frequencies using the gain and phase crossover of the In [14], the authors addressed the control interaction between type-3
impedance ratio. The study focuses on the low-frequency range, spe­ wind farms and series compensated transmission lines. The authors
cifically below 100 Hz, where voltage source converter outer loops and proposed an event-triggered sliding mode control (ETSMC)-based
synchronous generator circuits and controls play a significant role. The approach to effectively dampen the SSO. The ETSMC is applied to the
authors explore the simplification of synchronous generators as Théve­ rotor side converter of the type-3 wind turbine generator, and a phase
nin equivalents based on impedance frequency response. An essential compensator unit is added to enhance its effectiveness in mitigating
power system model comprising a voltage source converter, a syn­ specific unstable modes. The proposed control approach is validated on
chronous generator, and a load is presented to demonstrate the advan­ a modified IEEE first benchmark model, demonstrating fast system
tages of the alternative impedance-based analysis. recovery.
The authors of [10] proposed a modified method for calculating The authors of [15] addressed the damping and coupling charac­
modal frequency sensitivity (MFS) in modal sensitivity analysis (MSA) in teristics of grid-forming converters in a multi-vendor interoperability-
power electronic systems. The conventional MSA suffers from inaccur­ based network. It proposed an analytic method based on participation
acies due to frequency resolution limitations. The proposed method factor analysis to analyze the oscillatory modes and coupling charac­
solves the critical variable expression using a non-homogeneous for­ teristics in the grid-forming converter-based network, considering
mula, eliminating the influence of frequency resolution and significantly different control techniques. The authors further proposed a hybrid
improving accuracy. Additionally, the authors introduce the concept of damping method using an oscillation damper and a decoupling
modal resonance sensitivity (MRS) to quantify the sensitivity of reso­ controller. The authors also provide design guidelines to identify the
nance peak impedance to parameters. MRS is adaptable to changing optimum parameters of the hybrid damping approach. Finally,
resonance frequencies and complements the analysis of modal imped­ controller-hardware-in-the-loop (CHiL) simulation results validate the
ance sensitivity (MIS). Both methods provide precise guidance for theoretical analysis and demonstrate efficient damping against large
designing resonance mitigation and suppression schemes in power disturbances.
electronic systems. The proposed approach is validated through time- The authors in [16] proposed a broadband active damping method
domain simulations involving multiple converters. for addressing high-frequency resonance (HFR) caused by negative
damping in modular multilevel converter (MMC) impedance. The
2.4. Methods to mitigate the control interactions method utilizes phase compensation to eliminate negative damping over
a wide frequency range (500–2000 Hz). It performs better in suppressing
The control interaction issues in grid-connected inverters (GCI) can HFR under varying grid conditions compared to existing solutions using
be mitigated at the unit level by modifying the converter control design, digital filters. The effectiveness of the method is validated through time-
for instance, by improving the inner current control structure or domain simulations.
upgrading the phase-locked loop (PLL). The PLL bandwidth and design
are crucial in the control interaction between GCI and weak ac grid. 3. Relevance to the IJEPES
The authors of [11] addressed the sub-synchronous resonance (SSR)
issues observed between grid-connected wind farms and weak grids. The Modern power systems suffer a wide range of stability challenges
coupling mechanism between the GCI and weak grid is analyzed based mainly driven by high penetration of power electronic converter-based
on the power angle relationship, revealing a small signal coupling be­ devices and renewable power generators. This section summarizes the
tween d-axis current and power angle caused by the grid impedance. papers that appeared in this Special Issue relevant to IJEPES.
This coupling destabilizes the system through PLL feedforward paths, The authors of [17] investigated the impact of dual-sequence phase
explaining the limitations of weak grid and PLL bandwidth. To dampen locked loops (PLLs) on the dynamic stability of converter-based
SSR, the authors proposed a d-axis current error compensation method, renewable energy generation systems during asymmetrical low
which introduces an additional parallel branch to compensate for the voltage ride through (LVRT) in weak grids. In this study, the authors
PLL feedforward effect and increase the dq-axis impedance amplitude of revealed that dual-sequence PLLs introduce more modals with weak
GCI. This reduces the coupling between GCI and weak grid. Experi­ damping and change the unstable modal compared to single-sequence
mental results validated the theoretical analysis and demonstrated the PLLs, due to complex dynamic interactions. Consequently, stability
effectiveness of the proposed compensation method. conclusions and control strategies for single-sequence PLL systems are
The authors of [12] analyzed the mechanism and characteristics of not applicable to dual-sequence PLL systems. Furthermore, the paper
SSR in the GCI system under a weak grid using an impedance model, identified the cause of small-signal instability in VSC during asymmet­
revealing that the asynchrony of system frames and control frames is the rical LVRT with dual-sequence PLLs. It analyzed the influence of control
main factor affecting system stability. The authors proposed an alter­ parameters in current control loops on dynamic performance. Further­
native phase compensation method for the PLL to suppress SSR. The more, the authors also proposed an improved control scheme to enhance
method introduces a compensation frame to reduce the angle difference the dynamic stability of dual-sequence PLL systems during asymmetrical
with the system frame, enhancing grid strength and providing damping LVRT. Finally, the authors validated the proposed method through
to the system. The authors also introduced virtual resistance and reac­ simulations and experiments.
tance through reactive power to further improve damping but at the cost The authors of [18] addressed the trade-off between DC link voltage
of limiting power transfer capability. Finally, the authors demonstrated dynamics and AC-side current quality in grid-interfacing power con­
the effectiveness of the proposed method through experimental results verters. The trade-off limits the achievable DC link voltage loop band­
and theoretical analysis. width while maintaining a desired grid-side current total harmonic
The authors of [13] investigated the sub/super-synchronous oscil­ distortion (THD). Previous studies introduced a notch filter to mitigate
lations caused by control interaction between grid-connected inverters this trade-off but required a complete controller redesign. In this paper,
and weak grid conditions through eigenvalue analysis. Based on the the authors proposed a plug-in disturbance observer to replace the notch
participation factor analysis, the authors identified the PLL as the filter. This approach allows for an increased DC link voltage loop
dominant factor contributing to SSO. A new method was proposed to bandwidth without modifying the existing DC link voltage controller. A
determine the optimal range of the PLL phase margin to suppress sub/ special frequency-selective filter is used to achieve this improvement.
super-synchronous oscillations under weak grid conditions. The pro­ Simulation and experimental results validated the effectiveness of the
posed suppression strategy was validated through simulations and proposed methodology.

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X. Xie et al. International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems 155 (2024) 109553

4. Closing remarks [4] Zhang Y, Wiese N, Liu Z, Braun M. On the control interaction of synchronous
machine and inverter-based resources during system-split situations. Int J Electr
Power Energy Syst 2023;152(June):109227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
This Special Issue focused on the mechanism of new types of in­ ijepes.2023.109227.
teractions, modeling, analysis, and control approaches to minimize the [5] Li J, Wei Y, Li X, Lu C, Guo Xu, Lin Y, et al. International Journal of Electrical
risk of wideband oscillation caused by control interactions in converter- Power and Energy Systems Modeling and stability prediction for the static-power-
converters interfaced flexible AC traction power supply system with power sharing
dominated power systems. The published research showcased ad­ scheme. Int J Electr Power Energy Syst 2023;154:109401.
vancements in enhancing the performance of power electronic [6] Costa NE, Revel G, Alonso DM, Fernández RD. Detection of the stability boundary
converter-based devices such as type-3 wind turbines, type-4 wind tur­ associated to subsynchronous oscillations in DFIG based wind farms. Int J Electr
Power Energy Syst 2023;146:108783.
bines, and HVDC inverters. Several papers also investigated the control [7] Shair J, Zhan Y, Wang L, Xie X. International Journal of Electrical Power and
interactions caused by different converter control structures, such as Energy Systems Impedance network-based oscillatory stability analyzer (INOSA) –
grid following and grid forming controls, and how these new types of A frequency domain tool for investigating IBR-grid interactions. Int J Electr Power
Energy Syst 2024;155(PA):109480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
converters can mitigate the control interactions. ijepes.2023.109480.
The Guest Editorial Board hopes that the readers of this Special Issue [8] Meng Z, Xu H, Ge P, Hu J. Large-signal modeling and stable region estimation of
find it a valuable source of information for future research and DC microgrid with virtual DC machine control. Int J Electr Power Energy Syst
2023;151(February):109122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2023.109122.
advancement of the field. [9] Mateu-Barriendos E, Cheah-Mane M, Prieto-Araujo E, Mehrjerdi H, Gomis-
Bellmunt O. Oscillatory frequency characterization based on impedance analysis.
Declaration of Competing Interest Int J Electr Power Energy Syst 2023;152(May):109208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
ijepes.2023.109208.
[10] Wang Y, Xu Y, Tao S, Peyghami S, Blaabjerg F. A modified modal sensitivity
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial method for resonance analysis in power electronic systems. Int J Electr Power
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence Energy Syst 2023;147:108866.
the work reported in this paper. [11] Wu M, Zeng J, Ying G, Liu J. A d-axis current error compensation method based on
coupling mechanism for Grid-Connected inverters under weak grid. Int J Electr
Power Energy Syst 2023;151:109189.
Data availability [12] Tao R, Wu M, Ying G, Tang J, An R, Wang Q, et al. A phase compensation method
combined with power correction for suppressing sub-synchronous resonance of
wind generation under weak grid. Int J Electr Power Energy Syst 2023;151:
No data was used for the research described in the article. 109115.
[13] Li G, Pan H, Liu X, Yin L, Hwang Goh H. PLL phase margin design and analysis for
Acknowledgment mitigating sub/super-synchronous oscillation of grid-connected inverter under
weak grid. Int J Electr Power Energy Syst 2023;151(March):109124. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2023.109124.
This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of [14] Nafiz Musarrat M, Fekih A. Event-Triggered robust control scheme for sub-
China (U22B20100, 51925701) and Tsinghua-Toyota Joint Research synchronous resonance mitigation in DFIG-based WECS. Int J Electr Power Energy
Syst 2023;148(February):109006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2023.109006.
Fund (20223930081). [15] Ahmed M, Alsokhiry F, Ahmed KH, Samy Abdel-Khalik A, Al-Turki Y. Robust
damping and decoupling controller for interconnected power network based on
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