{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/104813"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/104813","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Compensating for the effects of reduced synchronous inertia on frequency stability using virtual synchronous generators","abstract":"The power grid has traditionally been dominated by large synchronous generators which have provided frequency stability through their inertia and governor responses. As more renewable energy sources (RES), particularly wind and solar, are added to the grid, they displace synchronous generators. Many of these RES generators do not inherently contribute inertia to the system, so their inclusion in the generation portfolio decreases the aggregate inertia of the grid. Low inertia makes a grid more vulnerable to fast frequency dynamics in the wake of a disturbance. A virtual synchronous generator (VSG) can compensate for the displacement of synchronous generators by emulating the inertia response and governor response of a synchronous generator. This thesis reviews prior investigations into VSGs and then uses a series of simulations to examine how synchronous inertia, VSG sizing, control parameters and battery speed affect the frequency dynamics after a disturbance. The main findings of this thesis are as follows: VSGs have some inherent delay, so a certain amount of synchronous inertia will still be needed even if a VSG is installed. Batteries are an attractive technology to use with VSGs because their fast response times can create VSGs with low delays. A VSG with a faster response offers more benefit to the grid. The best way to control a VSG is to combine strong primary frequency control with inertia control. A VSG that is powerful enough to match the power imbalance caused by a disturbance can stabilize the frequency on its own before governors can typically act, but even a less powerful VSG can benefit the grid by slowing the frequency dynamics following a disturbance.","abstract_html":"The power grid has traditionally been dominated by large synchronous generators which have provided frequency stability through their inertia and governor responses. As more renewable energy sources (RES), particularly wind and solar, are added to the grid, they displace synchronous generators. Many of these RES generators do not inherently contribute inertia to the system, so their inclusion in the generation portfolio decreases the aggregate inertia of the grid. Low inertia makes a grid more vulnerable to fast frequency dynamics in the wake of a disturbance. A virtual synchronous generator (VSG) can compensate for the displacement of synchronous generators by emulating the inertia response and governor response of a synchronous generator. This thesis reviews prior investigations into VSGs and then uses a series of simulations to examine how synchronous inertia, VSG sizing, control parameters and battery speed affect the frequency dynamics after a disturbance. The main findings of this thesis are as follows: VSGs have some inherent delay, so a certain amount of synchronous inertia will still be needed even if a VSG is installed. Batteries are an attractive technology to use with VSGs because their fast response times can create VSGs with low delays. A VSG with a faster response offers more benefit to the grid. The best way to control a VSG is to combine strong primary frequency control with inertia control. A VSG that is powerful enough to match the power imbalance caused by a disturbance can stabilize the frequency on its own before governors can typically act, but even a less powerful VSG can benefit the grid by slowing the frequency dynamics following a disturbance.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Zhu, Jeffrey"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Electrical & Computer Engr","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sauer, Peter"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-08-23T19:51:49Z","date_published":"2019-08-23T19:51:49Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:42Z","subjects":["virtual synchronous generator, frequency stability, inertia response,"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2019 Jeffrey Zhu"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/104813","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sauer, Peter"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Zhu, Jeffrey"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2019-08-23T19:51:49Z","2019-04-12","2019-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Electrical & Computer Engr"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["virtual synchronous generator, frequency stability, inertia response,"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2019 Jeffrey Zhu"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/104813"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The power grid has traditionally been dominated by large synchronous generators which have provided frequency stability through their inertia and governor responses. As more renewable energy sources (RES), particularly wind and solar, are added to the grid, they displace synchronous generators. Many of these RES generators do not inherently contribute inertia to the system, so their inclusion in the generation portfolio decreases the aggregate inertia of the grid. Low inertia makes a grid more vulnerable to fast frequency dynamics in the wake of a disturbance. A virtual synchronous generator (VSG) can compensate for the displacement of synchronous generators by emulating the inertia response and governor response of a synchronous generator. This thesis reviews prior investigations into VSGs and then uses a series of simulations to examine how synchronous inertia, VSG sizing, control parameters and battery speed affect the frequency dynamics after a disturbance. The main findings of this thesis are as follows: VSGs have some inherent delay, so a certain amount of synchronous inertia will still be needed even if a VSG is installed. Batteries are an attractive technology to use with VSGs because their fast response times can create VSGs with low delays. A VSG with a faster response offers more benefit to the grid. The best way to control a VSG is to combine strong primary frequency control with inertia control. A VSG that is powerful enough to match the power imbalance caused by a disturbance can stabilize the frequency on its own before governors can typically act, but even a less powerful VSG can benefit the grid by slowing the frequency dynamics following a disturbance.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2019-08-22 without embargo terms","The student, Jeffrey Zhu, accepted the attached license on 2019-04-12 at 08:29.","The student, Jeffrey Zhu, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2019-04-12 at 08:36.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2019-04-12 at 09:48.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #13577 on 2019-08-22 at 14:43:05","Made available in DSpace on 2019-08-23T19:51:49Z (GMT). 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Many of these RES generators do not inherently contribute inertia to the system, so their inclusion in the generation portfolio decreases the aggregate inertia of the grid. Low inertia makes a grid more vulnerable to fast frequency dynamics in the wake of a disturbance. A virtual synchronous generator (VSG) can compensate for the displacement of synchronous generators by emulating the inertia response and governor response of a synchronous generator. This thesis reviews prior investigations into VSGs and then uses a series of simulations to examine how synchronous inertia, VSG sizing, control parameters and battery speed affect the frequency dynamics after a disturbance. The main findings of this thesis are as follows: VSGs have some inherent delay, so a certain amount of synchronous inertia will still be needed even if a VSG is installed. Batteries are an attractive technology to use with VSGs because their fast response times can create VSGs with low delays. A VSG with a faster response offers more benefit to the grid. The best way to control a VSG is to combine strong primary frequency control with inertia control. A VSG that is powerful enough to match the power imbalance caused by a disturbance can stabilize the frequency on its own before governors can typically act, but even a less powerful VSG can benefit the grid by slowing the frequency dynamics following a disturbance.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2019-08-22 without embargo terms","The student, Jeffrey Zhu, accepted the attached license on 2019-04-12 at 08:29.","The student, Jeffrey Zhu, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2019-04-12 at 08:36.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2019-04-12 at 09:48.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #13577 on 2019-08-22 at 14:43:05","Made available in DSpace on 2019-08-23T19:51:49Z (GMT). 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