A didactic procedure for designing power oscillation dampers of FACTS devices

An important issue related to power system stability is to properly damp low frequency oscillations. Traditionally, these oscillations have been damped by means of power system stabilizers. In recent years, FACTS devices equipped with a power oscillation damper have been also efficiently used for damping oscillations. This paper is a tutorial for designing such power oscillation damper. The paper presents design projects suitable for students in the power system control area at the M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels. For educational purposes, the procedure is based on Matlab and on two specific toolboxes, namely the Power System Analysis Toolbox and the Control System Toolbox. A single-machine infinite bus and a two-area test systems, with a thyristor controlled series compensator and an unified power flow controller, respectively, are used as examples for the POD design. Classroom experience has shown that the procedure helps in consolidating a better understanding of power system stability and control.