Dr R Preece
Applications accepted all year round
About the Project
Electrical power systems are becoming increasingly interconnected as nations and networks try to reduce the cost of electricity and spread the risk of network failures. In the UK context, the coming years will see many new interconnections with France, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway coming online, alongside the existing links to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, France and The Netherlands. These connections all use High Voltage DC (HVDC) to interconnect with the AC transmission system, resulting in an extremely high number of HVDC connections.
This project will analyse how these different HVDC connection (with different technology types and different controllers) will affect the stability of the AC power system. Particular attention will be paid to the voltage stability – ensuring that standard operating voltages are maintained and the power system can keep operating securely in all conditions.
Year 1: Taught courses and preparatory study
Year 2: The second year will focus on developing typical network models for regional transmission systems with multi-infeed HVDC systems. These HVDC systems should vary in size and technology type and will therefore be a complex modelling challenge.
Year 3: Year 3 will focus on investigating the models developed in Year 2 in order to thoroughly analyse the voltage stability of the network and assess how this varies depending on system conditions. The reactive power support capabilities of VSC-HVDC technologies will be explored to identify the bounds of stable operation and controller design schemes which optimise system performance.
Year 4: In the final year, the research will focus on potential controller interactions between different HVDC converters and will develop new tools to assess how such interactions propagate through the AC network. Mitigation techniques will be analysed and recommendations to ensure secure and stable operation of multi-infeed mixed AC/DC systems will be made.
Keywords: Multi-infeed HVDC, Voltage Stability, Controller Interaction, Interaction Propagation
Funding Notes
This project is funded by EPSRC, the University of Manchester and our Industry partners. Funding is available to UK candidates. EU candidates are also eligible if they have been studying or working continuously in the UK for three or more years (prior to the start date of the programme). The successful candidates will have their fees paid in full and will receive an enhanced maintenance stipend.
See here for information on how to apply and entry requirements: http://www.power-networks-cdt.manchester.ac.uk/study/projects-apply/
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