Mohammad Almomani

Mohammad Almomani, Ahmed Alkhonain, Venkataramana Ajjarapu

The increasing integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in distribution networks presents new challenges for voltage regulation and reactive power support. This paper extends a sensitivity-aware reactive power dispatch algorithm tailored to manage smart inverters operating under different control modes, including PQ, PV, and Volt-Var (VV). The proposed approach dynamically optimizes reactive power dispatch and voltage setpoints, enabling effective coordination among distribution systems as a virtual power plant (VPP) to support the transmission network. The algorithm is applied to the IEEE 13-bus and IEEE-123 bus test systems, and its performance is validated by comparing results with OpenDSS simulations across various operating scenarios. Results show that the maximum error in the voltages is less than 0.015 pu.

Mohammad Almomani, Muhammad Sarwar, Venkataramana Ajjarapu

This paper presents a novel Short-Term Voltage Stability Index (STVSI), which leverages Lyapunov Exponent-based detection to assess and quantify short-term stability triggered by Over Excitation Limiters (OELs) or undamped oscillations in voltage. The proposed method is measurement-based and decomposes the voltage trajectory into two key components using Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD): a residual part, which indicates delayed voltage recovery, and an oscillatory part, which captures oscillations. The residual component is critical, as it can detect activation of OELs in synchronous generators or Low Voltage Ride-Through (LVRT) relays in inverter-based resources, potentially leading to instability within the quasisteady-state time frame. Meanwhile, the oscillatory component may indicate either a stable or unstable state in the short term. To accurately assess stability, STVSI employs an entropy-based metric to measure the proximity of the system to instability, with specific indices for short-term voltage stability based on oscillations and recovery. Simulations on the Nordic power system demonstrate that STVSI effectively identifies and categorizes voltage stability issues. Moreover, STVSI not only detects voltage stability conditions but also qualitatively assesses the extent of stability, providing a nuanced measure of stability.

Mohammad Almomani, Muhammad Sarwar, Venkataramana Ajjarapu

Ensuring accurate violation detection in power systems is paramount for operational reliability. This paper introduces an enhanced voltage recovery violation index (EVRVI), a comprehensive index designed to quantify fault-induced delayed voltage recovery (FIDVR). EVRVI enhances traditional entropy-based methods by leveraging Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) to extract key features from the voltage signal, which are then used to quantify over-voltage (OV) and under-voltage (UV) events. Our simulations on the Nordic system, involving over 245k scenarios, demonstrate EVRVI's superior ability to identify and categorize voltage recovery issues compared to the traditional entropy-based measure. EVRVI not only significantly reduces false negatives in violation detection but also provides a reliable framework for over-voltage detection, making it an invaluable tool for modern power system studies.

Mohammad Almomani, Ahmed Alkhonain, Venkataramana Ajjarapu

This paper presents TSO-DSO coordinated reactive power dispatch, with a focus on real-time implementation. A sensitivity-aware, mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation is developed to model the IEEE 1547-compliant droop-based control modes Volt VAR (VV), Volt Watt (VW), and Watt VAR (WV) of smart inverters. The algorithm employs a hierarchical optimization strategy using Special Ordered Sets (SOS1) to enhance computational efficiency and supports limited measurement scenarios through Recursive Least Squares (RLS) estimation. The proposed method is tested on the IEEE 13-bus and 123-bus distribution networks, which are connected to a 9-bus transmission system. Results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the real-time dispatch framework in improving voltage regulation and minimizing power curtailment.

Mohammad Almomani, Muhammad Sarwar, Venkataramana Ajjarapu

Existing short term voltage stability (STVS) methods typically address either voltage oscillations or delayed voltage recovery; however, the coexistence of both phenomena has not been adequately covered in the literature. Moreover, existing real-time STVS assessment methods often provide only binary stability classifications. This paper proposes novel indices that enable early detection and quantify the degree of stability. The proposed method decomposes post-fault voltage trajectories using Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) into residual and oscillatory components. It then employs Lyapunov Exponents (LEs) to characterize the dynamic behavior of each component and evaluates the stability degree using Kullback Leibler (KL) divergence by comparing the LEs of each component with those of a predefined critical signal. The proposed indices assess oscillatory stability significantly faster than the traditional LE method applied directly to the original signal. Specifically, they detect stability within 0.6 seconds after a fault, compared to approximately 10 seconds for the conventional LE approach. In addition, the delayed-recovery index can identify generator trips caused by over-excitation limits within 3 seconds, well before the actual trip occurs at approximately 20 seconds, thereby providing operators and controllers sufficient time to take preventive actions. Furthermore, thresholds are derived to distinguish between stable and unstable cases, offering a graded measure of the stability margin. Simulation studies on the Nordic test system under varying load conditions demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed indices.