FUNDAMENTALS OF POWER FLOW AND POWER LIMITS
1-17
.
Fig. 1.11 Power angle characteristics at constant field excitation, illustrating determination of
steady state stability limit.
The steady state stability limit corresponds to the point at which, if the receiving system requires
a small additional load ∆P, the generator becomes just unable to deliver it without a change in
the field excitation. Therefore, at the limit dP/d
δ
= 0. This is the condition at P = 0.85 and
δ
=
90
o
, where dP/d
δ
is measured on curve c of Figure 1.11. If a higher load is taken, the initial angle
is greater than 90
o
, and dP/d
δ
becomes negative, when measured along the corresponding power
angle curve for constant field excitation.
Steady state stability criterion
For the simple case of a single generator connected to an infinite bus, the condition for steady
state stability is simply that dP/d
δ
be positive at the given operating point as shown above. The
steady state power limit corresponds to the maximum power that can be delivered up to the
critical point where dP/d
δ
changes from a positive to a negative value. dP/d
δ
is called the steady
state synchronizing power coefficient since it indicates the rate at which the steady or sustained
power changes with changes in electrical angular displacement.
It should be noted that the synchronizing power coefficient can increase considerably by the
action of automatic voltage regulators. In a simplified analysis, the effect of automatic voltage
regulators can be approximately accounted for by suitably adjusting the equivalent machine
reactance. However, as will be seen later, the usual form of instability in the steady state, under
automatic voltage control, is due to lack of damping rather than synchronizing power.
Nevertheless, the concept of steady state stability limit as discussed above is useful in developing
a proper understanding of the subject of power system stability.
Steady state stability of a two-machine system
Many steady state stability problems resolve themselves into a two-machine problem. For
example, a large remotely located generating plant delivering power to the main system can
often be treated as a two-machine problem with the system represented as an equivalent machine
-- in effect as a large equivalent synchronous motor. A value of reactance corresponding to the
total three-phase short circuit current contributed by the receiving system may be used as the