A modelling methodology for robust stability analysis of non-linear electrical power systems under parameter uncertainties

This paper develops a modeling method for robust stability analysis of nonlinear electrical power systems over a range of operating points and under parameter uncertainties. Standard methods can guarantee stability under nominal conditions, but do not take into account any uncertainties of the model. In this study, stability is assessed by using structured singular value (SSV) analysis, also known as µ analysis. This method provides a measure of stability robustness of linear systems against all considered sources of structured uncertainties. The aim of this study is to apply the SSV method for robust small-signal analysis of nonlinear systems over a range of operating points and parameter variations. To that end, a modeling methodology is developed to represent any such system with an equivalent linear model that contains all system variability, in addition to being suitable for µ analysis. The method employs symbolic linearization around an arbitrary operating point. Furthermore, in order to reduce conservativeness in the stability assessment of the nonlinear system, the approach takes into account dependences of operating points on parameter variations. The methodology is verified through µ analysis of the equivalent linear model of a 4-kW permanent magnet machine drive, which successfully predicts the destabilizing torque over a range of different operating points and under parameter variations. Further, the predictions from µ analysis are validated against experimental results.