Methods of Interfacing Rotating Machine Models in Transient Simulation Programs

The electromagnetic transient programs (EMTP-like tools) are based on the nodal (or modified nodal) equations that enable an efficient numerical solution and, subsequently, fast time-domain simulations. The state-variable-based simulation programs, such as Simulink, are also used for studying the dynamics of electrical systems. Both the offline and real-time versions of these two types of simulation tools are widely used by the researchers and engineers in industry and academia to study the transient phenomena and dynamics in power systems with rotating electrical machines. This paper provides a summary of the interfacing techniques that are utilized to integrate the general-purpose models of electrical machines with the rest of the power system network for these studies. The interfacing methods are broadly classified as indirect and direct approaches. The paper also describes the numerical properties as well as limitations imposed by the interfacing of the commonly used machine models that should be considered when selecting the simulation parameters and assessing the final results.