Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, 2015, 3, 41-48
Published Online April 2015 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/jpee
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jpee.2015.34007
How to cite this paper: Zhou, S.J., Qiao, G.Y., He, C., Wang, W.H. and Liu, T.Q. (2015) Research on the Voltage Interaction of
Multi-Infeed HVDC System and Interaction Factor. Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, 3, 41-48.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jpee.2015.34007
Research on the Voltage Interaction of
Multi-Infeed HVDC System and
Interaction Factor
Shengjun Zhou1, Guangyao Qiao1, Chuan He2*, Wenhui Wang2, Tianqi Liu2
1State Grid Corporation, State Grid Smart Gird Research Institute, Beijing 102200, China
2School of Electrical Engineering and Information, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Email: *jokerscu@gmail.com
Received Dec emb er 2014
Abstract
In multi-infeed HVDC system, the interactions and influences between DC systems AC systems are
complex as the electrical distances am o ng DC converter stations which are relatively short. Mul-
ti-infeed interaction factor (MIIF) can effectively reflect the interaction amo ng DC systems. The
paper theoretically analyzes the impact factors of MIIF like the electrical distances between two
DC converter stations and the equivalent impedance of the receiving end AC system. By applying
the Kirchhoffs current law on the inverter AC bus, the paper deduces the analytical expressions
for MIIF. From the expression, it is clear how the equivalent impedance of AC system and coupling
impedance can affect MIIF. PSCAD simulations validate the effectiveness and the cor rectnes s of th e
proposed expression and some useful conclusions are drawn.
Keywords
Multi-Infeed HVDC, Inverter Bus Voltage, Voltage Interaction, Interaction Factor, Equivalent
Impedance, Coupling Impedance
1. Introduction
With the increase of HVDC transmission lines, AC-DC parallel systems and the structure of multi-infeed DC
systems will inevitably occur. A multi-infeed HVDC system is formed while inverter stations of a multi-ter-
minal HVDC are connected to the same AC system [1]-[3]. For these types of systems, interactions among AC
systems and DC systems can influence the characteristics of each other. The voltage interaction among inverter
buses is a subject worthy of further study in a multi -infeed HVDC system. The characteristics of interactions in
the multi-infeed HVDC system have great influence on the safe and stable operation of the whole power system
[4] [5]. In-depth analysis of the relationship between the voltages of inverter station buses helps us to understand
related problems.
Multi-infeed interaction factor (MIIF) proposed by CIGRE working group WG B4-41 based on the definition
*Corresponding author.
S. J. Zhou et al.
42
of voltage interaction among converter stations is a very important indicator in multi-infeed HVDC systems [6]
[7]. However, present methods of calculating the interaction factors are through simulations [8] [9]. The physi-
cal meaning is unclear, and could not explain the internal reasons of interaction among subsystems. This makes
the interaction factors lack of foresight [10], and unable to reflect the changes in the system structure and other
influencing factors. Therefore, further studies on interactions among converter bus voltages and the analytical
expressions of MIIF along with its influence to mult i -infeed HVDC system have important meanings.
Reference [11] conducts a deep and detailed study on multi-terminal HVDC based on the multi-infeed short-
circuit ratio defined by MIIF. Reference [12] gives the formula to calculate MIIF based on reduced Jacobian
matrix of power flow, and also studies the effects of different DC system control methods on MIIF. In [13], the
analytical expression of MIIF is derived by impedance matrix of system buses, and considers its influence on
commutation failure. In [14], the relationship between MIIF and commutation failure is given through theoreti-
cal analysis and proved by simulations. Furthermore, methods and criteria to quickly determine commutation
failure are presented. However, for a large system, inverting the admittance matrix may require large number of
computations.
To overcome the drawbacks mentioned above, the paper analyzes the influences on MIIF like electrical dis-
tances between two DC converter stations and the equivalent impedance of the receiving end AC system. And
the analytical expression based on system admittance to calculate MIIF is deduced using Kirchhof fs current law
on the inverter AC bus. Theoretical analysis and PSCAD simulations of the analytical expression are given in an
extended CIGRE standard HVDC system.
2. Multi-Infeed Interaction Factor
Multi-infeed interaction factor (MIIF) was proposed by CIGRE WG B4 Working Group in 2008 as the working
guide to measure the interactions among multi-infeed HVDC converter stations [6]. In the indicator, the voltage
of inverter bus is chosen as a parameter because it mostly reflects the interaction. The definition of MIIF is: in-
duce an approximate 1% step voltage
i
U
at bus
i
through the artificial switched connection of a shunt reac-
tive element. Then observe the voltage change at bus
j
j
U
which is shown in Figure 1. Equation (1) de-
fines that the ratio of these two voltages is MIIF.
(1)
2.1. Range of MIIF
As it can be seen from the definition of MIIF, if two buses are infinitely far apart, then MIIF is 0. If two buses
are connected to the same AC bus, MIIF equals 1. The range of MIIF is shown in Figure 2.
2.2. The Unsymmetrical Feature of MIIF
Generally speaking,
MIIF MIIF
ji ij
, and this will be proven in the next chapter. Large numbers of simulations
indicate that the MIIF of a strong AC system to a weak AC system is high and the MIIF of weak AC system to a
strong AC system is low. This is so because a 1% voltage drop in converter bus connected to a strong AC sys-
tem can cause the voltage of nearby converter buses connected to weak AC systems to drop dramatically, hence
t1 timet1 time
Figure 1. Determining the MIIF between two buses.
S. J. Zhou et al.
43
MIIF
01
Busses
Infinitely
Far Apart
The Same
Inverter
Bus
Figure 2. Range of MIIF.
weak system,strong system
MIIF
is high. On the contrary, a 1% voltage drop in converter bus connected to a weak AC
system will not influence the voltage of nearby converter buses connected to strong AC systems, hence
strong system,weak system
MIIF
is low.
3. Analytical Expressions of MIIF
In order to analyze MIIF of a multi-infeed HVDC system, the paper uses the simplified standard model, as
shown in Figure 3.
In Figure 3,
n
E
denotes the effective value of AC power line voltage;
Nn
X
denotes the equivalent reac-
tance of AC systems;
n
U
denotes the voltage of converter bus;
n
n
denotes the ratio of converter transformer;
cn
X
denotes commutation reactance;
Ln
I
denotes the line current flow to node
N
in converter unit;
fn
X
denotes the capacitive reactance of reactive power compensation device at inverter buses.
Define node
N
as the reference node, and apply Kirch hoff s current law on the inverter bus N, we obtain:
( )
12 1
nnLn fnNn
nn
IIIII I
+++ ++=
(2)
whe r e
()( )
1
11
6
π
nn
Nn Nn
nn
nn nn
Ln n
n
fn fn
UE
IX
UU
IX
II
U
IX
=
=
=
= −
(3)
Take Equation (3) into Equation (2), we get:
( )
12 1
12 1
6
π
nnnnn nn
n
nnfn Nn
nn
UUUUUUUUE
I
X XXXX
−− −−
++++− =
(4)
Solve Equation (4 ),
( )( )
1
1
12
12 12
11
61111 1
π
nn
nn
Nn nnNn nnfn
nn nn
EU
UU
UI
X XXXX XXXX
−−
 
 
=+ +++++ ++++
 
 

(5)
Defi n e
( )
12 1
11111
nn Nn nnfn
nn
YX XXXX
=+ ++++
as the self-admittance of bus N, then Equation (5) can be
simplified as:
( )
( )
1
1
12
12 1
6
π
nn
nn nn
Nn nnnn
EU
UU
U IY
X XXX


=+ ++++×


(6)
From Equation (6), it can be inferred that the voltage of bus j is:
S. J. Zhou et al.
44
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Figure 3. A multi-infeed HVDC system.
( )( )
( )
1
11
12
12 11
6
π
j jj
in
jj jj
Nj jjijnj
jj jj
E UU
UU
UU
U IY
XXXXX XX
−+
−+


=++++++++++×


 
(7)
Here we assume a voltage drop at bus i, and within a short time, the voltage of other buses do not change.
Therefore, we obtain the voltage change at bus j:
( )
1
1
1
6
π
jii n
jjj jj
Nj jijnj
EUU U
U
UU IY
XX XX

+∆
+∆=+++++×




(8)
Subtract Equation (7 ) from Equation (8 ), we have,
( )
1
i
j jj
ij
U
UY
X

∆= ×



(9)
Rearrange Equation ( 9), we get,
j ij
i jj
UY
UY
=
(10 )
where
ij
Y
is the admittance between bus i and bus j,
jj
Y
denotes the self-admittance of bus j.
So the analytical expression of MIIF is as follows:
MIIF
ij
j
ji ijj
Y
U
UY
= =
(11)
4. Theoretical Analysis
Take a dual-infeed HVDC system as example. In real systems, it is known that
11fN
XX
and
22fN
XX
.
So the MIIF of bus 1 and bus 2 are simplified as Equations (12) and (13).
S. J. Zhou et al.
45
12 2
21 222 12
MIIF
N
N
YX
YXX
= =+
(12)
12 1
12 111 12
MIIF
N
N
YX
YXX
= = +
(13)
From Equation s (12) and (13), it can be seen that MIIF21 is basically not affected by XN1. However MIIF12 is
greatly affected by XN1 where MIIF12 increases as XN1 increases. MIIF12 is not influenced by XN2 while MIIF21 is
affected by XN2 where MIIF2 1 increases as X2 increases. Both MIIF21 and MIIF12 are influenced by X12 where
they both decrease as X12 increases.
We then extend the conclusion to multi-infeed HVDC system. MIIFji increases as the equivalent impedance of
AC system corresponding to the jth converter station XNj increases. And that means if the equivalent impedance
of its corresponding AC system is great, then the inverter bus voltage of this particular converter station can be
greatly influenced by other converter stations. Moreover, the influence to this particular converter station by
other converter stations increases as their electrical distance decreases.
5. Simulations
Based on the CIGRE standard system, we in built a dual-infeed HVDC system. DC inverters are connected to
each other through coupling impedance on the inverter buses while rectifiers are independent from each other as
shown in Figure 1 The rectifiers use constant current control and inverters use constant extinction angle control.
We adopt the initializing parameters of the system from [15] where the equivalent impedance of AC system is
12
5.498420.466
zz j==+Ω
and the coupling impedance is
12
0.56.2832 zj
=+Ω
. At 2.5 seconds, a three-
phase shunt reactor is artificially switched in to cause the voltage of bus 1 to drop about 1%. In order to reduce
the influence of ripple wave, we add a FFT module before bus voltages and use the DC output as the effective
value of bus voltages. This is case 1 and simulation results are shown in Figure 4.
From Figure 4, it can be seen that the voltage of bus 1 drops from 0.9852 p.u. to 0.9755 p.u. while the voltage
of bus 2 drops from 0.9851 p.u. to 0.9767 p.u..The MIIF21 is calculated from Equation (1) to be 0.8660.
Here we change the equivalent impedance of AC system connected to bus 2 to be
2518
zj=+Ω
, and calcu-
late MIIF21. This is case 2. Then we introduce a three-phase shunt reactor at bus 2 to analyze the asymmetrical
feature of MIIF. This is case 3. Simulation results of case 2 and case 3 are shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 re-
spectively.
Figure 4. Voltage drops in bus 1 and bus 2 of case 1.
S. J. Zhou et al.
46
Figure 5. Voltage drops in bus 1 and bus 2 of case 2.
Figure 6. Voltage drops in bus 1 and bus 2 of case 3.
Then based on the original state, we change the coupling impedance to be
12 0.759.4248 zj=+Ω
to analyze
the variation of MIIF21. This is case 4 and result is shown in Figure 7.
The simulation results and analytical results of MIIF21 with different AC system equivalent impedance z1, z2
and coupling impedance z12 are shown in Table 1. The simulation results and analytical results of MIIF12 are
shown in Table 2.
As it is shown in Table 1, Table 2 and Figures 4-7, the results of simulation and theoretical calculation are
basically the same. MIIF21 increases as the coupling impedance decreases and decreases as the equivalent im-
pedance of connected AC system decreases. Similarly, MIIF12 shows the same characteristic. The proposed me-
thod to calculate MIIF has approximately 10% error compared to simulation result which can be concluded that
it is a fast way to get a relatively accurate value of MIIF and has some worthiness to the study of multi-infeed
S. J. Zhou et al.
47
Figure 7. Voltage drops in bus 1 and bus 2 of case 4.
Table 1. Value of MIIF21 with different z1, z2 and z12.
z1(Ω) z2(Ω) Z12(Ω) Simulation results analytical results
5.4984 + j20.466 5.4984 + j20.466 0.5 + j6.2832 0.8660 0.7730
5.4984 + j20.466 5 + j18 0.5 + j6.2832 0 .8468 0.7 503
5.4984 + j20.466 5.4984 + j20.466 0.75 + j9.4248 0.7780 0.6940
Table 2. Value of MIIF12 with different z1, z2 and z12.
z1(Ω) z2(Ω) Z12(Ω) Simulation results analytical results
5.4984 + j20.466 5.4984 + j20.466 0.5 + j6.2832 0.8650 0.7730
5.4984 + j20.466 5 + j18 0.5 + j6.2832 0 .8642 0.7 730
5.4984 + j20.466 5.4984 + j20.466 0.75 + j9.4248 0.7405 0.6940
HVDC system. It should be noted that simulation results prove the symmetrical feature of MIIF which is
21 12
MIIF MIIF
when
12
zz
.
6. Conclusions
The paper analyzes the voltage interactions among inverter buses in a multi-infeed HVDC system. By applying
the Kirchhoffs current law on the inverter AC bus, the paper deduces the analytical expression of the Multi-in-
feed interaction factor. And some useful conclusions are drawn. MIIFji and MIIFij decrease as the coupling im-
pedance
ij
z
increases, i.e. if converter station i and converter station j are electrically closeed, the interaction is
strong. MIIFji decreases as the equivalent impedance of the connected AC system corresponding to converter
station j decreases, i. e. if one converter station has great equivalent impedance of the connected AC system, it is
likely to be greatly affected by other converter stations.
Simulation results validate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed analytical expression of MIIF along
with its theoretical analysis. It gives guidance and principle to improve the structure of power network and how
to choose a good location of the receiving end of a new HVDC line.
S. J. Zhou et al.
48
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by Science and Technology Projects of State Grid Corporation (SGRIDL7114006).
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