Multi-Objective Approach for Wide-Area Damping Control Design

Poorly damped low-frequency oscillation modes can destabilize power systems in the event of contingencies. Advances in the widespread use of phasor measurement units (PMUs) in power systems have led to the development of wide-area damping controllers (WADCs) capable of ensuring good damping ratios for these oscillation modes. However, cyberattacks or communication failures affect PMU data and can cause WADC malfunctions. Poor WADC operation can even destabilize the power system. Therefore, this paper proposes the design of a WADC robust to communication failures through a multi-objective optimization model requiring high damping ratios for the closed-loop system and the existence of a symmetric and positive defined matrix to guarantee the stability of the system. Bio-inspired algorithms can solve this proposed multi-objective optimization model, and the stellar oscillation optimizer proved to be a bio-inspired algorithm with an excellent ability to reach an optimal solution. Case studies show that defining the limiting values of the WADC time constants and the existence of this symmetric, positive-definite matrix are beneficial for good system dynamic performance.