Power systems will undergo a significant change in their behavioral characteristics over the next few years as renewable generation begins to make a meaningful contribution to electricity production. The variability inherent in large-scale renewable generation will challenge traditional power system operating practices. The responsiveness required to incorporate large amounts of renewable generation can, however, be achieved through non-disruptive control of highly distributed loads. To achieving the desired response from loads that are highly distributed calls for extensive communications, computation and coordination. The overriding objective of the project is therefore to develop practical modeling and analysis techniques that are well suited to the cyber-enabled nature of responsive power systems, and that are rigorously justified. Such a modeling paradigm will become essential as power system responsiveness is enhanced to cater for the variability inherent in large-scale adoption of renewable generation.
Intellectual Merit:
The project will develop a modeling framework that rigorously describes cyber-enabled power systems and provides a platform for investigating the dynamic behavior of real systems. This will involve the development of a functional (delay) differential-algebraic model formulation that incorporates switching and impulsive events. An object-oriented modeling structure will be used, ensuring that arbitrarily large systems can be assembled, verified and analyzed. The extension of trajectory sensitivity concepts to incorporate the modeling of the cyber infrastructure will be of particular importance. These sensitivities will facilitate the extension of uncertainty analysis to functional differential-algebraic models, allowing the development of methods for assessing time-varying uncertainty.
Broader Impacts:
The tools and techniques developed in the project will enable assessment of the resilience and robustness of power systems that are reliant upon variable generation and highly distributed control strategies. This will support the large-scale deployment of renewable generation by providing rigorously justified techniques that meet industry requirements for evaluating cyber-physical interactions. The mathematical nature of the project will also provide an opportunity for introducing power systems concepts to students from diverse backgrounds.
