CONTROL BLOCK DIAGRAM REPRESENTATION OF AN

HVDC SYSTEM FOR SUB-SYNCHRONOUS FREQUENCY

INTERACTION STUDIES
C. Karawita*, U.D. Annakkage
* Transgrid Solutions Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada., Email: karawitacn@ieee.org
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba,Canada.,Email: annakkag@ee.umanitoba.ca

Keywords: HVDC, Subsynchronous interactions

Abstract
A linearized model of an HVDC system is presented in a
control block diagram form. The converter models (rectifier
and inverter), DC transmission system, phase lock oscillators
(PLOs) and the HVDC controllers are included. The control
block diagram model of HVDC system simplifies, in
understanding and modelling, the complex operation of the
HVDC system. The model can be used in small signal
stability assessment to analyze subsynchronous frequency
HVDC interactions such as generator-turbine torsional
interactions. Furthermore, the model can be easily
implemented in a software environment such as Simulink for
response analysis, control tuning and other educational
purposes.

1 Introduction
The HVDC systems may interact with the other dynamic
devices in the power systems. The generator-turbine torsional
interactions with HVDC systems and interactions among
multi-HVDC systems are some of the interaction phenomena.
These interactions are usually in sub-synchronous frequency
range (0 to fundamental frequency) and they should be
analyzed using proper HVDC models.
Small signal stability assessment can be used to analyze these
interactions. The authors have demonstrated the abilities of
small signal stability assessment in analyzing HVDC
interactions, in their previous publications [1-4]. In this paper,
the linearized HVDC model is presented in a control block
diagram form. The converter models (rectifier and inverter),
DC transmission system, phase lock oscillators (PLOs) and
the HVDC controllers are included in the model. The rectifier
constant DC current controller and the inverter constant
extinction angle or constant DC voltage controller are the
main controllers in the model.
The control block diagram shown in this paper describes the
entire HVDC system operation in functional control blocks,
making it easy to understand the complex operation of the
system. The model can be used in small signal stability
assessment to analyze the HVDC interactions in power

systems. Furthermore, the model can be easily implemented

in a software environment such as Simulink for response
analysis and other educational purposes.
The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, the linearized
HVDC model is presented in a control block diagram form.
The conclusions are made in section 4. Following
nomenclature is used in the paper.
Nomenclature
Fundamental angular frequency of power system
Z0

Vl

Line to line rms voltage

AC voltage angle w. r. t. common reference

Real and imaginary components of AC bus voltage

VR , VI
IR , II
Xc
T
B
D , P,J

Real and imaginary components of AC current

Converter T/F reactance referred to DC side
Converter transformer turns ratio (AC/DC)

Number of 6-pulse bridges in a converter

Converter firing, commutation and extinction angle
Rdc , Ldc , C DC line inductance, resistance and capacitance

Leff

Effective inductance of an HVDC terminal

K Pr , K I r P-I gains of rectifier current controller

I dc ,ord Current reference of rectifier current controller
X D r Integrator state variable of rectifier current controller
K P i , K I i P-I gains of inverter controller

J ord

Input of inverter extinction angle controller

Vdc ,ord Input of inverter DC voltage controller

X D i Integrator state variable of inverter controller

K PP , K IP P-I gains of phase lock oscillators
Vdc , I dc DC voltage and current
- Subscript suffixes r and i are used with these symbols to
represent rectifier and inverter components respectively.

Figure 1: Functional control block diagram of HVDC system for small perturbation analysis purposes.

2 Control block diagram of HVDC system

The HVDC system is presented as a current injection model
to the rest of the systems. The functional control block
diagram of the model is shown in Figure 1. The converters
(Rectifier and Inverter), rectifier DC current controller,
Inverter extinction angle controller or DC voltage controller,
DC transmission system and phase lock oscillators (PLOs) are
the major functional blocks in the model. The operation of
each block is described in following sections.
2.1 Converters
The converter linearized relationships can be defined using
four inputs (real component and imaginary component of AC
side voltage, DC side current and firing angle) and three
outputs (real component and imaginary component of AC
side current and DC side voltage) [2,4]. The changes in the
outputs for small changes in the inputs are given by Equation
(1).

'I R
'I
I
'Vdc

Ka
Ke

Ki

Kb

Kc

Kf
Kj

Kg
Kk

'V
Kd R
'V
Kh I
'I
Kl dc
'D

(1)

Ki

3 2 BVR cos(D )
S TVl

(1i)

3 2 BVI cos(D )
S TVl
3X B
Kk  c

(1k)

Kl

(1l)

Kj

(1j)

S
3 (2) BVl sin(D )

ST

The equations have been derived referred to the rectifier side.

For the inverter, the signs of Ki, Kj, Kk and Kl should be
inverted to take into account the polarity change.
2.2 Phase Locked Oscillators
Firing control of valves is one of the major parts in HVDC
converters. The firing instant of a value is determined based
on the phase of the AC voltage. Phase Locked Oscillators
(PLO) based on the phase vector techniques are used to
determine the AC voltage phase in HVDC converters [5]. A
simplified version of PLO is shown in Figure 2. The
simplification is carried out based on the assumption that the
three phases are balanced.

The rectifier and inverter functions can be represented by

equation (1) as shown in blocks 1 and 2 in Figure 1. The
coefficients, K a to K l , can be computed using following
equations.

3BX c I dc2
6 BI dcVI sin(G  D  P )
(1a)

2
S Vl
S TVl 2

Ka

Kb

6 BI dcVR sin(G  D  P )
3BM 1

2
2S X cT
S TVl 2

6 B cos(G  D  P )
Kc 
ST
6 BI dc sin(D ) sin(G  D  P / 2)
Kd 
S T sin(D  P / 2)
6 BI dcVI cos(G  D  P )
3BM 1

2
2S X cT
S TVl 2

(1b)

(1c)
(1d)

Ke

Kf

3BX c I dc2
6 BI dcVR cos(G  D  P )
(1f)


2
S Vl
S TVl 2

Kg
Kh

6 B sin(G  D  P )
ST
6 BI dc sin(D ) cos(G  D  P / 2)
S T sin(D  P / 2)

Figure 2: Phase Locked Oscillator

The phase locked oscillator gives measured voltage angle G m .
The linearized state space model of PLO is given in equation
(2).

'X PLO

'G m

0
K
IP

1 'X PLO

 K PP 'G m

(1e)

(1g)

K
 PL1
 K PL 3

(2)

Where, XPLO and G m are the state variables of the model. The
coefficients KPL1 to KPL4 are given by,

K PL1
(1h)

K PL 2 'VR
K PL 4 'VI

VI
,
Vl 2

K PL 2

VR
,
Vl 2

K PL 3

K PPVI
,
Vl 2

The DC transmission system model is shown in functional

block 5 in Figure 1. The rectifier and inverter end DC
voltages are the inputs to the DC transmission system and it
will output the rectifier and inverter end DC currents required
for the converter models.

K PPVR
.
Vl 2

K PL 4

In Figure (1), the rectifier and inverter end phase locked

oscillators are shown in functional blocks 3 and 4
respectively. The measured voltage angles given by the phase 2.4 Rectifier Constant Current Controller
ORFNHGRVFLOODWRUVDUHDGGHGWRWKHGHVLUHGILULQJDQJOH WR
REWDLQWKHILULQJLQVWDQW
The rectifier current controller is shown in functional block 6
in Figure 1. A P-I controller is used at the rectifier to control
2.3 DC Transmission System
the DC current. The error between the measured DC current
and the required DC current is given to the controller to
determine the desired firing angle. The linearized state space
model is given in Equation (5) and the desired firing angle
U is obtained from Equation (6).

'X D r
'D r

'I dcr  'I dc ,order

(5)

K Ir 'X D r  K Pr 'I dcr  K Pr 'I dc ,order

(6)

Figure 3: DC transmission system

A T-model is used to represent the DC transmission system as
shown in Figure 3. The DC side inductance and resistance are
distributed into two series inductor-resistor units and the line
to ground capacitance is placed at the middle. As shown in
Equation (3), the average effect of converter transformer
leakage inductance is added into half of the DC line
inductance to find the effective inductance at each end [6].

Leff

Ldc
3P
 B(2  ) Lc
2
2S

(3)

The dynamics of the DC line are modeled using three state

variables, namely, the rectifier side DC current (Idcr), the
inverter side DC current (Idci) and the mid-point capacitor
voltage (Vcap). The linearized model of the DC line is given in
Equation (4).

'Idcr

'I dci
'Vcap

 K DC1
0

K DC 5

0
 K DC 3
 K DC 6

K DC 7
 0
0

7KHGHVLUHGILULQJDQJOHU is added to the voltage angle

mr) measured by PLO to obtain the firing instant U,
required for the converter model.
2.5 Inverter Controllers
The inverter controller is shown in functional block 7 in
Figure 1. The constant extinction angle control or constant
DC voltage control is used at the inverter. The error between
WKHPHDVXUHGH[WLQFWLRQDQJOHDQGWKHUHTXLUHGH[WLQFWLRQ
DQJOH ord) or the error between the measured DC voltage
(Vdc) and required DC voltage (Vdc,ord) is input to a P-I
controller to determine the required firing angle. The
linearized state space model is given in Equation (7) and the
GHVLUHGILULQJDQJOHi*) is obtained from Equation (8).

X D i

 K DC 2 'I dcr

K DC 4 'I dci 
0 'Vcap

K IE1'X D i  K IE 2 'I dci  K IE 3 'VRi 

 K IE 4 'VIi  K IE 5 'J order (or 'Vdc ,order ) (7)

'D i

0
'V
 K DC 8 dcr (4)
'V
0 dci

K IE 6 'X D i  K IE 7 'I dci  K IE 8 'VRi

 K IE 9 'VIi  K IE10 'J order (or 'Vdc ,order ) (8)

The coefficients for the constant extinction angle controller

are given by,

K IE1

K Ii
sin(D i )  sin(D i  Pi )

K IE 2

2TX c
Vli ( K Pi sin(D i )  sin(D i  Pi ))

K IE 3

2TX c I dciVRi
V ( K Pi sin(D i )  sin(D i  Pi ))

The coefficients KDC1 to KDC8 are given by,

K DC1

Rdc
, K DC 3
2 Leff ,r

K DC 2

K DC 7

1
Leff ,r

Rdc
, K DC 5
2 Leff ,i

K DC 4

K DC 8

K DC 6

1
Leff ,i

1
C

3
li

K IE 4

2TX c I dciVIi
V ( K Pi sin(D i )  sin(D i  Pi ))

K IE 5

sin(D i  Pi )

K Pi sin(D i )  sin(D i  Pi )

K IE 6

K IE 9

3
li

K Pi K IE1 K IE 7 K Pi K IE 2 K IE 8 K Pi K IE 3
sin(D  P )
K IE 4 K IE10 K Pi K IE 5
sin(D )

The coefficients for the constant DC voltage controller are

given by,

K IE1
K IE 3
K IE 5
K IE 8

Kki
K Ii Kli

K IE 2 
1  K Pi Kli
1  K Pi Kli
Kii
Kji

K IE 4 
1  K Pi Kli
1  K Pi Kli
K
1
K IE 6  IE1 K IE 7 K Pi K IE 2
1  K Pi Kli
Kli
K Pi K IE 3 K IE 9  K Pi K IE 4 K IE10 K Pi K IE 5

Kii , Kji , Kki and Kli can be obtained from equations

(1i), (1j), (1k) and (1l) respectively. The relevant inverter side
variables should be used.
7KHGHVLUHGILULQJDQJOHi*) is added to the voltage angle
mi) measured by PLO to obtain the firing instant i),
required for the converter model.
2.5 State space model of HVDC system
The functional blocks of the HVDC system are combined
together as shown in Figure 1. The overall system consists of
nine state variables and two control inputs. The real and
imaginary components of the rectifier and inverter AC
voltages are the other inputs to the system. The model outputs
the real and imaginary components of the rectifier and the
inverter AC currents. The HVDC system as a current
injection dynamic device connected to the power system is
shown in Figure 4.

VRr, VIr
IRr, IIr
AC
System

VRi, VIi
IRi, IIi

HVDC System
9 states

Idc,ord

ord or Vdc,ord

Control Inputs
Figure 4: The HVDC system as a current injection model

3 Applications of Linearized HVDC model

The model can be used to analyze HVDC interactions in
subsynchronous frequency range. The authors have validated
and utilized the presented HVDC model to analyze the
HVDC interactions using small signal stability assessment. In
order to obtain the meaningful results in the subsynchronous
frequency range, it is required to model the AC network
dynamics as well [1-4]. The followings are some of the
interaction phenomena, which can be analyzed.
x HVDC-generator-turbine torsional interactions and
subsynchronous damping controller (SSDC) design [3].
x Interactions among the multi-in-feed HVDC systems [2].
x HVDC controller interactions and controller tuning [4].
Furthermore, the control block diagram of the HVDC system
can be implemented in a software such as Simulink and the
model can be used for various educational purposes.

4 Conclusions
A linearized model of an HVDC system has been presented in
a control block diagram form. The rectifier and inverter
converter functions, phase locked oscillators, DC
transmission system and the HVDC controllers have been
included in the model. The model can be used in small signal
stability assessment to analyze subsynchronous frequency
HVDC interactions such as generator-turbine torsional
interactions. Furthermore, the model can be easily
implemented in a software such as Simulink for response
analysis, control tuning and other educational purposes.

References
[1] C. Karawita, U. D. Annakkage, A Hybrid Network
Model for Small Signal Stability Analysis of Power
Systems, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems,
volume 25, pp. 443-451, (2010)
[2] C. Karawita, U. D. Annakkage, Multi-In-Feed HVDC
Interaction Studies Using Small Signal Stability
Assessment, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery,
volume 24, pp. 910-918, (2009)
[3] C. Karawita, U. D. Annakkage, HVDC-Generator
Torsional Interaction Studies Using A Linearized Model
With Dynamic Network Representation, International
Conference on Power Systems Transients (IPST), (2009)
[4] C. Karawita, HVDC Interaction Studies Using Small
Signal Stability Assessment, Ph.D. Thesis, University
of Manitoba, Canada, (2009).
[5] V.K.Sood, V. Khatri, and H.Jin, Performance
Assessment using EMTP of Two Gate Firing Units for
HVDC Converters Operating With Weak AC Systems,
IPST95-International conference on power system
transients, Lisbon, September 1995, pp. 517522.
[6] W. Hammer, Dynamic Modeling of Line and Capacitor
Commutated
Converters
for
HVDC
Power
Transmission, PhD thesis, Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology, Zurich, 2003.