EE Colloquia: Frequency support among asynchronous AC grids through multiterminal DC grid

Abstract: It is envisaged that Multiterminal DC (MTDC) grid will be a key cornerstone of the sustainable future of our planet. MTDC grids are planned in and around Europe to integrate significant amount of offshore wind energy and onshore solar energy to the Pan-European AC grid. In this talk, the speaker will lay out some of the key challenges facing DC grid systems and focus on the frequency support issue among ‘asynchronous’ AC grids interconnected by the DC network. This will be followed by a deep dive into the control challenges of such grids in providing exchange of frequency support in a controlled manner. The speaker will demonstrate the viability of a new ratio-based inertial and primary frequency support framework that has the promise for a new market mechanism in future. Next, analytical stability constraints will be established in the inertial and primary frequency droop coefficient spaces. Finally, a corrective controller will be proposed for improved ratio tracking.

Bio: Nilanjan Ray Chaudhuri received his Ph.D. degree from Imperial College London, London, UK in 2011 in Power Systems. From 2005-2007, he worked in General Electric (GE) John F. Welch Technology Center. He came back to GE and worked in GE Global Research Center, NY, USA as a Lead Engineer during 2011-2014. Presently, he is an Associate Professor with the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Penn State, University Park, PA. He was an Assistant Professor with North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA during 2014-2016. He is a senior member of the IEEE and a member of IEEE PES. Dr. Ray Chaudhuri is the lead author of the book Multi-terminal Direct Current Grids: Modeling, Analysis, and Control (Wiley/IEEE Press, 2014), and served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery (2013 – 2019). Dr. Ray Chaudhuri was the recipient of the National Science Foundation Early Faculty CAREER Award in 2016 and Joel and Ruth Spira Excellence in Teaching Award in 2019.