An Adaptive Inertia and Damping Control Strategy for Virtual Synchronous Generators to Enhance Transient Performance

Virtual synchronous generator (VSG) technology introduces synthetic rotational inertia and damping into inverter-based systems, thereby enhancing regulation performance under grid-connected operation. However, the output characteristics of VSGs are strongly influenced by virtual inertia and damping. This paper develops a self-tuning inertia–damping coordination mechanism for VSGs. The coupling between virtual inertia and damping with respect to grid power quality is systematically investigated, and a power-angle dynamic response model for synchronous generators (SGs) under extreme operating conditions is established. Building on these results, an improved adaptive control strategy for the VSG’s virtual inertia and damping is proposed. The proposed strategy detects changes in frequency and load power, enabling adaptive tuning of virtual inertia and damping in response to system variations, thereby reducing frequency overshoot while accelerating the dynamic response. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is validated by hardware-in-the-loop real-time simulations.