Observability of network-delayed multi-converter power systems

Power electronic converter systems have become a key feature of smart grid technologies due to the efforts to achieve increased levels of autonomy in power system operation. However, when devising control strategies for multi-converter power systems, nonlinearities-associated issues with these types of systems arise (e.g. bifurcations) and must be taken into account as even a slight variation of a system parameter could change the structure of the system. With the increasing need for remote control, investigation of converter system dynamics alone is insufficient. Remote control is achieved via a communication system that is used for information passing between sensors and controllers, which hence plays an important role on the overall performance of the power system. Therefore, a need arises for the study of the power system (plant) and the communication system (network) as a single entity as the performance of one is highly dependent on the other. The focus of this work is the development of a metric that will serve as an indicator of overall system status to the power system operator.