2024 IEEE 4th International Conference on Information Technology, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (ICIBA 2024)

Study on VSC-HVDC Active and Reactive

2024 IEEE 4th International Conference on Information Technology, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (ICIBA) | 979-8-3503-6360-9/24/$31.00 ©2024 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICIBA62489.2024.10868856

Decoupling Control Based on MATLAB/Simulink

Zhaohui Li, Mengyao Gao, Yanwei Fan, Jingyun Zhao*
North China Electric Power University, Baoding, China
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Corresponding Author: Jingyun Zhao Email: [email protected]

Abstract—Compared with AC transmission, DC has continued to increase, making them capable of

transmission has many unique advantages. Active and meeting the demands for robust system interconnection
reactive power in VSC-HVDC system can be independently [4,5].
controlled by d-axis current component and q-axis current
component in dq0 coordinate system. In this paper, the In 2001, R. Marquart and A. Lesnicar jointly proposed
general dynamic mathematical model of the VSC-HVDC the modular multilevel converter (MMC) topology at the
system based on voltage source converter is established Federal Armed Forces University in Munich, Germany [6].
under the synchronous rotating coordinate system, and then The introduction of MMC technology has significantly
the VSC-HVDC decoupling control principle is derived. enhanced the operational efficiency of flexible direct
According to the existing control scheme, the voltage current transmission projects, greatly advancing the
current double loop control method is designed. The VSC- development of flexible DC transmission technology and
HVDC system is established by using MATLAB/Simulink marking an important milestone in the evolution of
software. The simulation experiment of this control method engineering technology for flexible DC transmission [7].
proves that it really realizes decoupling control, and the Currently, the MMC has become the most widely used
control effect is good. It has fast response speed and good multilevel topology in the fields of flexible DC
stability for various disturbances and has high stability transmission and high-voltage applications.
accuracy at different working points.
Building on this, this article analyzes the relationship
Keywords—VSC-HVDC; dq0 coordinate system; between active and reactive power, independently
decoupling control; double loop control controlled by the d-axis and q-axis current components. A
PI regulator is designed to achieve AC current
I. INTRODUCTION feedforward decoupling control. Additionally, a constant
DC voltage controller, as well as constant active and
Since the first high-voltage direct current (HVDC)
reactive power controllers, are designed to power the
transmission line began commercial operation in 1954,
active network. A VSC-HVDC simulation model is then
HVDC technology has matured and is now widely used
developed and simulated using MATLAB/Simulink
for long-distance, high-power transmission, as well as the
software to verify these designs.
interconnection of AC systems with different rated
frequencies or asynchronous systems with the same
frequency [1-3]. Compared to AC transmission, DC II. BASIC WORKING PRINCIPLE OF VSC-HVDC
transmission is not affected by the instability and The topology of the two end converter stations in a
oscillation of AC synchronous networks. It offers several VSC-HVDC system that supplies power to an active
advantages, including lower transmission corridor costs, a network is identical. Taking one end as an example, a
smaller footprint, and a simpler tower structure. Moreover, typical 3-phase, 2-level VSC structure is illustrated in
HVDC can be deployed in scenarios where AC Figure 1.
transmission corridors are impractical, such as under deep
seas. VSC-HVDC system uses fully controlled power In the figure 1, L represents the equivalent inductance
devices like insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and of the converter reactor, and R represents the equivalent
employs pulse width modulation (PWM) technology to resistance accounting for VSC power losses. The angle
overcome the limitations of traditional HVDC systems between the VSC DC side voltage phase and the
(LCC-HVDC). VSC-HVDC operates in four quadrants, fundamental voltage phase of the AC side system is
allowing rapid and independent control of both active and denoted as  . The active and reactive power outputs on
reactive power without the need for external reactive the AC side are represented by PS and QS , respectively,
power compensation equipment. It also dynamically while Pc and Qc represent the active and reactive power
compensates reactive power in AC systems, stabilizes AC absorbed by the VSC [8].
bus voltage, and extends the benefits of HVDC
technology to distribution networks. With advancements
in power electronics, the capacity of VSC-HVDC systems

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 power coordinate transformation, the power on the grid
side can be expressed as:

 Ps = usd isd + usq isq


 (4)
Qs = usq isd − usd isq

In the formula, Ps and Qs represent the active and
reactive power outputs of the AC system, respectively.
Observing Equation 4, there is a coupling relationship
between the dq components icd and icq of the input
Fig. 1. VSC Structure Diagram current on the AC side of the converter, with the coupling
terms being  Lc icq and  Lc icd . However, due to the small
Based on Figure 1, the three-phase dynamic disturbance and weak coupling effect of these terms, they
differential equation for the AC side can be derived as can be neglected to achieve decoupling of the dq current
follows: components.
ia  ia  usa  uca  The d-axis of the synchronous rotating coordinate
  d       system is aligned with the direction of the grid voltage
Rc  ib  + Lc ib  = usb  - ucb  (1)
dt space vector U S , allowing Equation 5 to be simplified as
 ic   ic   u sc   ucc 
follows:
Here, usa , usb , and usc represent the instantaneous
 Ps = usd isd + usq isq = U s isd
values of the three-phase voltage on the AC side, while  (5)
uca , ucb , and ucc denote the instantaneous values of the Qs = usq isd − usd isq = −U s isq
three-phase voltage on the converter's AC side. In vector
As a result, the active power Ps and reactive power
form, this can be expressed as:
Qs on the grid side are directly proportional to the dq-axis
dI c components of the converter's AC side current. By
Rc I c + Lc = Us − Uc (2)
dt regulating the magnitude of these components, the active
and reactive power of the VSC-HVDC system can be
Based on Equation 2, the mathematical model of the
effectively controlled.
Voltage Source Converter (VSC) in dq0 coordinates can
be derived, as illustrated in Figure 2 [9,10]. Based on the operational experience from existing
VSC-HVDC projects, VSC-HVDC converter stations
generally employ four fundamental control modes [11]:
(1) Fixed DC Voltage Control: This method regulates
the DC bus voltage and manages the reactive power
transmitted to the AC side.
(2) Fixed DC Current Control or Fixed Active Power
Control: This approach is used to control the DC bus
Fig. 2. Mathematical Model of VSC in dq0 Coordinate
current or the transmitted active power, along with the
reactive power on the AC side.
Additionally, to facilitate model control within the (3) Fixed AC Voltage Control: This method focuses
two-phase synchronous rotating coordinate system (dq0), solely on regulating the AC bus voltage and is suitable for
a Park transform is applied to Equation 3, resulting in: supplying power to passive networks.
 dicd (4) Frequency Control: This method is utilized to
 Lc dt −  Lc icq + Rc id = usd − ucd control the AC side frequency and is particularly effective
 (3) when connecting with wind power plants or in black start
 L dicq −  L i + R i = u − u scenarios.
 c dt c cd c q sq cq

In the formula, usd and usq represent the dq III. PRINCIPLE AND DESIGN OF VSC-HVDC DUAL
LOOP CONTROL
components of the grid voltage; ucd and ucq denote the dq
From the analysis above, it can be concluded that by
components of the AC side voltage of the converter; and aligning the d-axis of the synchronous rotating coordinate
icd and icq are the dq components of the input current on system with the direction of the grid voltage space vector
the AC side of the converter. By applying a constant U s , active and reactive power control can be achieved

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 through the separate regulation of isd and isq . For dual- reactive power. When the VSC operates in inverter mode
ended VSC-HVDC control, the active power is typically to supply power to a passive network, the control device
managed via DC current or DC voltage control, while the does not include a phase-locked loop. Instead, the
AC side may require the regulation of both reactive power parameter  s can be determined independently by the
and AC voltage. To facilitate this, dual closed-loop vector controller [12].
control technology can be employed, with PI controllers icd + −

ucd
PI DC Line

designed to independently control isd and isq , thus icd

− + U c_ dq dq
Valve Control
ucd abc
icq + 
ucq
achieving decoupling between active and reactive power −
PI
−
+
control. icq
ucq
s
A phase-locked loop (PLL) consists of three main I c _ dq I c _ abc
components: a phase detector, a low-pass filter, and a Decoupling Term
dq
abc
voltage-controlled oscillator. The PLL enables automatic U s _ dq U s _ abc

tracking of the output signal frequency to match the input

signal frequency, ensuring that the output frequency and Fig. 4. Flow Chart of Current Inner Loop Control Program
phase are synchronized with the input reference signal.
For this reason, PLLs are commonly used in closed loop Based on Figure 4, Equation 6 can be derived, where
tracking circuits. In power systems, PLLs synchronize the k p and ki represent the proportional and integral gain
output signal with the grid's frequency and phase, aligning coefficients of the PI regulator, respectively. Additionally,
the d-axis with the grid voltage. during decoupling control, the voltage decoupling term
The overall control strategy diagram of the VSC- U  is expressed in Equation 7.
HVDC dual-loop system is shown in Figure 3. The red
dashed line represents the outer loop, and the blue dashed U c = U  − k p ( I c − I c )-ki  ( I c − I c )dt (6)
line represents the inner loop. The outer loop adjusts
power or voltage based on system requirements, while the U  = U s − Rc I c − js Lc I c (7)
inner loop enhances system dynamic performance by
limiting the maximum value and rate of change of the During the implementation of decoupling control,
current. altering either active or reactive power flowing through
the VSC affects only one of icd or icq . Consequently, the
output of the PI regulator will be non-zero without
L R
+ impacting ucp .
Udc
ic
is
us
- B. VSC-HVDC Voltage Outer Loop Control
Valve Level Drive Control
The voltage outer loop consists of two parallel paths:
us active and reactive loops, which can be decoupled for
− −
us +

Inner Loop Current Control + U dc independent control. Its primary function is to provide a
current reference value ic_ dq to the inner loop, based on
ic_ dq
AC Voltage Control DC Voltage Control
the power or voltage reference values issued by the
system controller. To suppress fluctuations in DC voltage
during faults or changes in system operation modes, and
isq isd
Voltage Source
to enhance the resilience of VSC-HVDC under
Reactive Power or
Power Factor Control
Control Active or
Frequency Control
disturbances, a rate-of-change limitation device can be
Q P integrated into the outer loop control. Additionally, when
operating in constant AC voltage mode within the voltage
outer loop, the quality of the grid connection point voltage
Fig. 3. Mathematical Model of VSC in dq0 Coordinate
can be improved [13].
The active power flowing through the DC line is
A. VSC-HVDC Current Inner Loop Control
denoted as PL . By combining Figure 2 and Equation 8,
The current inner loop calculates the AC voltage
we can conclude that there is a relationship between the
reference value U c_ abc that the VSC should output based
DC voltage U dc and the active power Ps of the system.
on the current reference value ic_ dq provided by the outer
dU dc
loop control. This serves as the reference voltage signal C = I dc − I L = ( Ps − PL ) / U dc (8)
for PWM of the converter. Figure 4 illustrates the dt
flowchart of the current inner loop control program. In
Thus, by utilizing outer loop voltage control, the
this context, the voltage decoupling term is represented as
active current component can be adjusted to manage the
U  , which facilitates the decoupling control of active and

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 active or DC voltage, while the reactive current axis component exhibiting similar oscillations and
component regulates the reactive or AC grid voltage. As a remaining almost unchanged. Additionally, both load
result, VSC converter stations are capable of operating in changes result in a rise in the DC voltage U dc ; however, it
multiple modes. returns to steady state after approximately 0.05s and
0.015s, respectively.
IV. NUMERICAL EXAMPLE ANALYSIS
To verify the correctness and feasibility of the
mathematical model and control method for the exported
VSC-HVDC system, MATLAB/Simulink software was
utilized to simulate the active and reactive decoupling
control of the VSC. The VSC-HVDC system implements
fixed power control at one end and fixed DC voltage
control at the other. The simulation parameters are as
follows: system voltage U s =220 kV, system frequency
f =50Hz, DC voltage U dc =300kV, filter inductance
0.1pu, equivalent resistance 0.001pu, DC capacitance
200μF, and carrier frequency 2600Hz. The incoming
transformer employs a Ynd11 connection method, with
the total primary and secondary leakage reactance being Fig. 6. Comparison Diagram Before and After Filtering
0.1pu. Additionally, a high-pass filter with a capacity of
3Mvar and a quality factor of 1 is connected in parallel on Figure 6 illustrates the current before filtering on the
the AC side [14,15]. secondary side of the rectifier-side incoming transformer,
as well as the current after filtering on the primary side,
The PI parameters for the voltage outer loop are K vP = between t=0.2s and t=0.3s. The results indicate that the
20 and KvI =1500, while the PI parameters for the current high-pass filter installed on the AC side of the VSC has a
inner loop are KiP =0.5 and KiI =200. Figures 5 to 8 significant filtering effect.
display the simulated waveforms when the current is set to
id _ ref =0.5 and iq _ ref =0. At t=0.6s, during steady-state
operation, id _ ref abruptly changes to 1, and at t=1.3s,
iq _ ref suddenly shifts to 0.2. In Figures 5, 7, and 8, the
blue color represents the d-axis component, while the red
color indicates the q-axis component [16,17].

Fig. 7. Waveform of PI Regulator During Decoupling

Figure 7 displays the input, proportional amplification

output, integral amplification output, and total output of
the rectifier-side current inner loop PI regulator. It is
evident that the output of the PI regulator fluctuates only
Fig. 5. System Waveform when there is a change in load, subsequently approaching
zero. This behavior demonstrates the effective
Figure 5 presents the waveforms of the rectification achievement of active and reactive power decoupling
side system voltage, system current, and DC voltage. At control.
t=0.6s, a change in active power results in an increase in
the d-axis component of the system current, while the q- V. NUMERICAL EXAMPLE ANALYSIS
axis component oscillates yet remains nearly constant. At
t=1.3s, a change in reactive power leads to an increase in This article derives the steady-state model of the VSC-
the q-axis component of the system current, with the d- HVDC system and analyzes how the active and reactive

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