Unified Power Flow Controller

(Phasor Type)
Implement phasor model of three-phase unified power flow controller

Library
FACTS/Power-Electronics Based FACTS

Description

The Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) is the most versatile member of the Flexible AC
Transmission Systems (FACTS) family using power electronics to control power flow on power
grids [1]. The UPFC uses a combination of a shunt controller (STATCOM) and a series
controller (SSSC) interconnected through a common DC bus as shown on the figure below.
Single-line Diagram of a UPFC and Phasor Diagram of Voltages and Currents

P=

V2V3sinX

,Q=

V2(V2V3cos)X

This FACTS topology provides much more flexibility than the SSSC for controlling the line active
and reactive power because active power can now be transferred from the shunt converter to
the series converter, through the DC bus. Contrary to the SSSC where the injected voltage Vs is
constrained to stay in quadrature with line current I, the injected voltage Vs can now have any
angle with respect to line current. If the magnitude of injected voltage Vs is kept constant and if
its phase angle with respect to V1 is varied from 0 to 360 degrees, the locus described by the
end of vector V2 (V2=V1+Vs) is a circle as shown on the phasor diagram. As is varying, the
phase shift between voltages V2 and V3 at the two line ends also varies. It follows that both
the active power P and the reactive power Q transmitted at one line end can be controlled. The
UPFC controllable region in the P-Q plane is the area enclosed an by an ellipse as shown on
the figure below.
Controllable Region for a 100 MVA UPFC connected on 500 kV, 200 km line

This figure was obtained with a 100 MVA UPFC controlling active and reactive power at one end
of a 500 kV, 200 km transmission line. The following parameters have been used:

Line: length = 200km; reactance = 0.35 /km

System voltage: 500 kV infinite sources V1 and V3; V1=1.0 pu, 0 degree; V3= 1.0 pu,
7.22 degrees
Series and shunt converter rating: 100 MVA
Series converter: nominal injected voltage = 10% of nominal line-to-ground voltage (28.9
kV); impedance (transformer leakage reactance and filters) = 0.15 pu

With V3 lagging V1 by 7.22 degrees, the natural power flow without compensation is 450 MW or
50% of the line surge impedance loading (SIL=900 MW). With an injected voltage Vs = 0.1 pu
any operating point inside the larger ellipse can be obtained and active power can be varied by
approximately +/- 300 MW.
In addition to allow control of the line active and reactive power, the UPFC provides an
additional degree of freedom. Its shunt converter operating as a STATCOM controls voltage V1
by absorbing or generating reactive power.
Both the series and shunt converters use a Voltage-Sourced Converter (VSC) connected on the
secondary side of a coupling transformer. The VSCs use forced-commutated power electronic
devices (GTOs, IGBTs or IGCTs) to synthesize a voltage from a DC voltage source. The
common capacitor connected on the DC side of the VSCs acts as a DC voltage source. Two
VSC technologies can be used for the VSCs:

VSC using GTO-based square-wave inverters and special interconnection transformers.

Typically four three-level inverters are used to build a 48-step voltage waveform. Special
interconnection transformers are used to neutralize harmonics contained in the square waves
generated by individual inverters. In this type of VSC, the fundamental component of voltage is
proportional to the voltage Vdc. Therefore Vdc has to varied for controlling the injected voltage.

VSC using IGBT-based PWM inverters. This type of inverter uses Pulse-Width
Modulation (PWM) technique to synthesize a sinusoidal waveform from a DC voltage with a
typical chopping frequency of a few kilohertz. Harmonics are cancelled by connecting filters at
the AC side of the VSC. This type of VSC uses a fixed DC voltage Vdc. Voltage is varied by
changing the modulation index of the PWM modulator.
The UPFC (Phasor Type) block models an IGBT-based UPFC. However, as details of the
inverter and harmonics are not represented, it can be also used to model a GTO-based UPFC
in transient stability studies.

Control System
The shunt converter operates as a STATCOM. For a description of its control system, refer to
the Static Synchronous Compensator (Phasor Type). In summary, the shunt converter controls
the AC voltage at its terminals and the voltage of the DC bus. It uses a dual voltage regulation
loop: an inner current control loop and an outer loop regulating AC and DC voltages.
Control of the series branch is different from the SSSC. In a SSSC the two degrees of freedom
of the series converter are used to control the DC voltage and the reactive power. In case of a
UPFC the two degrees of freedom are used to control the active power and the reactive power.
A simplified block diagram of the series converter is shown below.
Simplified Block Diagram of the Series Converter Control System

The series converter can operate either in power flow control (automatic mode) or in manual
voltage injection mode. In power control mode, the measured active power and reactive power
are compared with reference values to produce P and Q errors. The P error and the Q error are
used by two PI regulators to compute respectively the Vq and Vd components of voltage to be
synthesized by the VSC. (Vq in quadrature with V1controls active power and Vd in phase with
V1 controls reactive power). In manual voltage injection mode, regulators are not used. The
reference values of injected voltage Vdref and Vqref are used to synthesize the converter
voltage.
The UPFC block is a phasor model which does not include detailed representation of the power
electronics. You must use it with the phasor simulation method, activated with the Powergui
block. It can be used in three-phase power systems together with synchronous generators,
motors, dynamic loads and other FACTS and Renewable Energy systems to perform transient
stability studies and observe impact of the UPFC on electromechanical oscillations and
transmission capacity at fundamental frequency.

Dialog Box and Parameters

The UPFC parameters are grouped in three categories: Power data, Control parameters (shunt
converter), and Control parameters (series converter). Use the Display listbox to select which
group of parameters you want to visualize.

Power Tab

Nominal voltage and frequency

The nominal line-to-line voltage in Vrms and the nominal system frequency in hertz.
Shunt Converter rating
The nominal rating of the shunt converter in VA.
Shunt Converter impedance
The positive-sequence resistance R and inductance L of the shunt converter, in pu
based on the nominal converter rating and nominal voltage. R and L represent the

resistance and leakage inductance of the shunt transformer plus the resistance and
inductance of the series filtering inductors connected at the VSC output.
Shunt Converter initial current
The initial value of the positive-sequence current phasor (Magnitude in pu and Phase in
degrees). If you know the initial value of the shunt current corresponding to the UPFC
operating point you may specify it in order to start simulation in steady state. If you don't
know this value, you can leave [0 0]. The system will reach steady-state after a short
transient.
Series Converter rating
The ratings of the series converter in VA and the maximum value of the injected voltage
V_conv on the VSC side of the transformer (see single line diagram), in pu of nominal
phase-to-ground voltage.
Series Converter impedance
The positive-sequence resistance and inductance of the converter, in pu, based on the
converter rated power and voltage. R and L represent the resistance and leakage
inductance of the series transformer plus the resistance and inductance of the series
filtering inductors connected at the VSC output.
Series Converter initial current
The initial value of the positive-sequence current phasor (Magnitude in pu and Phase in
degrees). If you know the initial value of the series current corresponding to the UPFC
operating point you may specify it in order to start simulation in steady state. If you don't
know this value, you can leave [0 0]. The system will reach steady-state after a short
transient.
DC link nominal voltage
The nominal voltage of the DC link in volts.
DC link total equivalent capacitance
The total capacitance of the DC link in farads. This capacitance value is related to the
UPFC converter ratings and to the DC link nominal voltage. The energy stored in the
capacitance (in joules) divided by the converter rated power (in VA) is a time duration
which is usually a fraction of a cycle at nominal frequency. For example, for the default
parameters, (C=750 F, Vdc=40 000 V, Snom=100 MVA) this ratio 1/2CV /S
is
2dc nom

6.0 ms, which represents 0.36 cycle for a 60 Hz frequency. If you change the default
values of the nominal power rating and DC voltage, you should change the capacitance
value accordingly.

Shunt Converter Tab

Mode
Specifies the shunt converter mode of operation. Select either Voltage regulation or Var
Control.
Reference voltage Vref
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Var Control.

Reference voltage, in pu, used by the voltage regulator. When External is selected, a
Simulink input named Vref appears on the block, allowing you to control the reference
voltage from an external signal (in pu). The Reference voltage Vref parameter is
therefore unavailable.

Maximum rate of change of reference voltage

This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Var Control.
Maximum rate of change of the reference voltage, in pu/s, when an external reference
voltage is used.
Droop
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Var Control.
Droop reactance, in pu/shunt converter rating Snom, defining the slope of the V-I
characteristic.
Vac Regulator Gains: [Kp Ki]
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Var Control.
Gains of the AC voltage PI regulator. Specify proportional gain Kp in (pu of I)/(pu of V),
and integral gain Ki, in (pu of I)/(pu of V)/s, where V is the AC voltage error and I is the
output of the voltage regulator.
Reactive power setpoint Qref
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Voltage Control.
Reference reactive power, in pu, when the shunt converter is in Var Control.
Maximum rate of change of reactive power
setpoint Qref
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Voltage Control.
Maximum rate of change of the reference reactive power, in pu/s.
Vdc Regulator gains: [Kp Ki]
Gains of the DC voltage PI regulator which controls the voltage across the DC bus
capacitor. Specify proportional gain Kp in (pu of I)/Vdc, and integral gain Ki, in (pu of
I)/Vdc/s, where Vdc is the DC voltage error and I is the output of the voltage regulator.
Current Regulators gains: [Kp Ki]
Gains of the inner current regulation loop.
Specify proportional gain Kp in (pu of V)/(pu of I), integral gain Ki, in (pu of V)/(pu of I)/s,
where V is the output of the d or q current regulator and I is the Id or Iq current error.
The current regulator is assisted by a feed forward regulator. The feed forward gain in
(pu of V)/(pu of I) is the shunt converter reactance (in pu) given by parameter L in
the Shunt converter impedance [R L] parameters.

Series Converter Tab

Bypass Breaker

Specifies the status of the bypass breaker connected inside the block across terminals
A1, B1, C1 and A2, B2, C2. Select eitherExternal Control, Open or Closed. If the bypass
breaker is in external control, a Simulink input named Bypass appears on the block,
allowing to control the status of the bypass breaker from an external signal (0 or 1).
Mode
Specifies the series converter mode of operation. Select either Power flow
control or Manual voltage injection.
Reference powers
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Manual voltage
injection.
Specify references values, in pu. When External is selected, a Simulink input named
PQref appears on the block, allowing you to control the active and reactive powers from
an external signal (in pu). The Reference powers parameter is therefore unavailable.
Maximum rate of change of
reference powers
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Manual voltage
injection.
Specify maximum rate of change of Pref and Qref, in pu/s.
Power Regulator gains: [Kp
Ki]
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Manual voltage
injection.
Gains of the PI regulators which control the line active power and reactive power.
Specify proportional gain Kp in (pu of Vdq)/(pu of PQ), and integral gain Ki, in (pu of
Vdq)/(pu of PQ)/s, where Vdq is the Vd or Vq injected voltage and PQ is the P or Q
voltage error.
Reference voltages
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Power flow control.
Specify the direct-axis and quadrature-axis components of the voltage injected on the
VSC side of the series transformer, in pu. When External is selected, a Simulink input
named Vdqref appears on the block, allowing you to control the injected voltage from an
external signal (in pu). The Reference voltages parameter is therefore unavailable.
Maximum rate of change
for references voltages
This parameter is not visible when the Mode parameter is set to Power flow control.
Specify maximum rate of change of the Vdref and Vqref voltages, in pu/s.

Inputs and
Outputs

A1 B1 C1

The three input terminals of the UPFC.

A2 B2 C2

The three output terminals of the UPFC.

Trip

Apply a simulink logical signal (0 or 1) to this input. When this input is high the shunt
converter is disconnected and the series converter is bypassed. In addition, when the
trip signal is high the shunt and series control systems are disabled. Use this input to
implement a simplified version of the protection system.
Bypass

This input is visible only when the Bypass Breaker parameter is set to External Control.
Apply a simulink logical signal (0 or 1) to this input. When this input is high the bypass
breaker is closed.
Vdqref

This input is visible only when the External control of injected voltage Vdref
_Vqref parameter is checked.
Apply a simulink vectorized signal specifying the reference voltages Vdref and Vqref, in
pu.
PQref

This input is visible only when the External control of power references Pref
_Qref parameter is checked.
Apply a simulink vectorized signal specifying the reference powers Pref and Qref, in pu.
m