Transient Stability Analysis of Converter-Based Islanded Microgrids Based on Iterative Equal Area Criterion Considering Reactive Power Loop Dynamics and Varying Damping

With the rapid increase in the installed capacity of renewable energy in modern power systems, the stable operation of power systems with considerable power electronic equipment requires further investigation. In converter-based islanded microgrid (CIM) systems equipped with grid-following (GFL) and grid-forming (GFM) voltage-source converters (VSCs), it is challenging to maintain stability due to the mutual coupling effects between different VSCs and the loss of voltage and frequency support from the power system. In previous studies, quantitative transient stability analysis was primarily used to assess the active power loop of GFM-VSCs. However, frequency and voltage dynamics are found to be strongly coupled, which strongly affects the estimation result of stability boundary. In addition, the varying damping terms have not been fully captured. To bridge these gaps, this paper investigates the transient stability of CIM considering reactive power loop dynamics and varying damping. First, an accuracy-enhanced nonlinear model of the CIM is derived based on the effects of reactive power loop and post-disturbance frequency jump phenomena. Considering these effects will eliminates the risk of misjudgment. The reactive power loop dynamics make the model coefficients be no longer constant and thus vary with the power angle. To evaluate quantitatively the effects of reactive power loop and varying damping on the transient stability of CIM, an iterative criterion based on the equal area criterion theory is proposed. In addition, the effects of parameters on the stable boundary of power system are analyzed, and the dynamic interaction mechanisms are revealed. Simulation and experiment results verify the merits of the proposed method.