Networked microgrids (NMG, e.g., interconnections of house or district level microgrids powered by a solar panel or wind turbine) are increasingly utilized for sharing resources among microgrids, which can offer significant economic benefits. However, there is a poorly understood trade-off between robustness and fragility in this network setting. On one hand, the interconnection of multiple individual microgrids can improve the robustness of the microgrid network since the increased aggregate inertia will allow for better rejection of relatively small disturbances like load and renewable generation changes or minor load/generator outages. On the other hand, the interconnection will also extend the electrical and operational couplings between individual microgrids and lead to more routes of cascading failures (for example, a local failure of any microgrid can propagate throughout the network and threaten the whole network fragility). The project will make contributions in: (i) development of high-fidelity models of networked microgrids, bringing a new application domain to dynamics analysis and controls; (ii) development of computationally tractable optimization algorithms to solve the stability constrained optimal power flow problems involved in the analysis of the control actions; (iii) introduction of innovative network reconfiguration and intentional islanding algorithms to enhance networked microgrids resilience, which can inform innovations in risk mitigation of other complex networks. In the broader contexts, this project can help protecting critical infrastructures, e.g., airports, hospitals, buildings, during prolonged power outages due to natural disasters or cyberphysical attacks.
Aiming to fill the knowledge gap, this project will investigate intricate aspects of the robustness-fragility trade-off in networked microgrids. This knowledge then allows for the synthesis and validation of integrated preventive-corrective operational strategies that achieve the optimal compromise between overall robustness and fragility. Technically, we will analyze independently two complementary preventive-corrective strategies for ensuring the security of the NMG system with respect to the most common faults. Analyzing the cost-risk tradeoff of these two control actions will then lead to an optimal integration of preventive and corrective strategies into NMG operations.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
