Modelling and Controlling of UPFC for Power System Transient Studies
Modelling and Controlling of UPFC for Power
System Transient Studies
Ali Ajami1 , S.H. Hosseini2 , and G.B. Gharehpetian3 , Non-members
ABSTRACT
The unified power flow controller (UPFC) is a typ-
ical FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems) de-
vice that is capable of instantaneous control of trans-
mission line parameters. This paper presents the
transient model and control system of UPFC. The
presented control system enables the UPFC to fol-
lowing the exchanges of line active and reactive power
reference values, regulating the DC link and bus volt-
age. The presented control scheme has the fast dy-
namic response and hence is adequate for improving
transient behaviour of power system after transient
conditions. The presented simulation results demon-
strate that the presented control system acts prop-
erly in the steady and transient states. It is shown
that by adding a supplementary control system to the
shunt inverter control system, it is possible to balance
line current too. The presented control and power
system of UPFC was simulated and tested with the
PSCAD/EMTDC simulation program.
Keywords: FACTS, UPFC, Transient Modeling,
Power Flow, Line Current Balancing
1. INTRODUCTION
The high rating power electronic equipments have
made it possible to consider new technologies such as
the FACTS [1] for power flow control, secure loading
and damping of power system oscillations. FACTS
equipments are an attractive alternative for increas-
ing the transmission capability of existing transmis-
sion lines.
The UPFC is one of the typical FACTS devices
that can provide simultaneous control of all or selec-
tively basic parameters of power system [2, 3] (trans-
mission voltage, line impedance and phase angle) and
dynamic compensation of AC power system. The
UPFC can fulfill the functions of STATCOM [4, 5],
SSSC [6, 7] and phase shifter meeting multiple control
objectives.
Manuscript received on January 10, 2007 ; revised on May
15, 2007.
1 The author is with Electrical Engineering Department of
Azarbaijan University of Tarbiat Moallem, Tabriz, Iran, Email:
ajami@azaruniv.edu
2 The author is with Electrical & computer Engineer-
ing Faculty of Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran, Email: hos-
seini@tabrizu.ac.ir
3 The author is with Electrical Engineering Department,
Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, Email: grp-
tian@aut.ac.ir
29
The general structure of the UPFC contains two
”back to back” voltage source converters using in-
sulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) or Integrated
Gate Comutated Thyristor (IGCT) with a common
DC link (Fig.1). First converter is connected as par-
allel and another converter as series with transmis-
sion line. The shunt converter is used to provide ac-
tive power demanded by the series converter through
a common DC link. The series converter provides
the main function of the UPFC by injecting an AC
voltage with controllable magnitude and phase an-
gle. The transmission line current flows through se-
ries converter and therefore, it exchanges the active
and reactive power with the AC system. Since the
converters are connected to a common Dc link, they
exchange only active power and there is no reactive
power flow between them. It means that reactive
power could be controlled independently at both con-
verters. Generally, this structure (Fig.1) enables volt-
age control by the shunt inverter and independent
active and reactive power flow control by the series
inverter.
Fig.1: General configuration of UPFC
In the parallel branch of UPFC the active power
is controlled by the phase angle of the converter out-
put voltage. In the series branch of UPFC the ac-
tive and reactive power flows in the transmission line
are influenced by the amplitude as well as the phase
angle of the series injected voltage. Therefore, the
active power controller can significantly affects the
reactive power flow and vice versa. In order to im-
prove the interaction between the active and reactive
power control, a so called decoupled Watt-Var control
algorithm based on d-q axis theory was used [8, 9].
UPFC models have been presented by several au-
thors [10]. In [11] the UPFC model consists of a con-
trollable voltage source connected in series with the
transmission line and two current sources added in
shunt. The presented model in [12] consists of two
ideal synchronous voltage sources connected in series
and shunt with transmission line. The UPFC model
given in [13] the DC link of UPFC is considered but
30 ECTI TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL ENG., ELECTRONICS, AND COMMUNICATIONS VOL.5, NO.2 August 2007

the losses of converters and coupling transformers are
not considered.
This paper presents a detailed UPFC model under
realistic conditions. In this paper the transient model
and control strategy of UPFC is presented. The pre-
sented control system is capable of controlling the
line active and reactive power flows, regulation of the
bus voltage and transient behaviour enhancement of
power system after a transient condition. Also in this
paper a supplementary control system is presented for
line current balancing. The simulation results show
the performance and effectiveness of the presented
control strategy.
2. THE DETAILED MODEL OF UPFC
Fig. 2 shows the detailed model of UPFC. Where,
Lsh , Lsr and Rsh , Rsr represent leakage inductances
of transformers and losses of inverters and transform-
ers. The terms of Nsh and Nsr are the turn ratio
of shunt and series coupling transformers. The series
inverters act as SSSC. It injects voltage, Vser, in se-
ries with the transmission line. The KVL equations
of series and shunt inverters are:
d The control system of UPFC has two parts and is
Vsr − Vsr1 = Rsr Isr1 + Lsr Isr1 (1)
dt
d
Vsh1 − Vsh = Rsh Ish1 + Lsh Ish1 (2)
dt
For the DC link of UPFC we have:
d
Idc = C Vdc = Ishdc − Isrdc − Gc Vdc (3)
dt
With applying this transformation to equations (1)
and (2), the equations (6) and (7) can be obtained,
respectively.
· ¸ · ¸
d
Vsrd (Vod − Vid )/Nsr + Rsr Isrld + Lsr dt Isrld − ωLsr Isrld
= d
Vsrq (Voq − Viq )/Nsr + Rsr Isrld + Lsr dt Isrlq − ωLsr Isrlq
(6)
· ¸ · d
¸
Vshd Vid /Nsh − Rsh Ishld − Lsh dt Ishld + ωLsh Ishld
= d
Vshq Viq /Nsh − Rsh Ishlq − Lsh dt Ishlq + ωLsh Ishlq
(7)
In balanced conditions, the converters output volt-
ages are basically a fundamental frequency sinusoid,
given the presence of harmonic filters. Hence, the
converters can be accurately represented as voltage
sources operating at fundamental frequency for tran-
sient and steady state stability studies, where tran-
sient oscillations are in the order of 2-3 Hz under bal-
anced operating conditions. Consequently, the UPFC
can be modelled in the transient state as Fig.2.
3. CONTROL STRATEGY OF UPFC
described in the bellow subsections.
3. 1 Control System of Series Inverter
By controlling the magnitude and phase of line cur-
rent, line active and reactive power can be controlled.
The line current is controlled by series inverter in-
jected voltage (Vsr ). The Active and reactive powers
are calculated from equation (8).
· ¸ · ¸· ¸
Po 2 Vod Voq Isrd
= (8)
Qo 3 −Voq Vod Isrq
The relationship between line side and inverter side
currents is given by equation (9).

Isr1 = Nsr Isr (9)

The reference currents of series inverter are ob-
tained from equation (10).

Fig.2: Single phase equivalent circuit · ∗

¸ · ¸ ¸·
Isrld 2 1 1 Vod Po∗
−Voq
∗ =
Consider the d-q transformations [14] which are Isrlq 2 2)
3 Nsr (Vod + Voq Voq Q∗o
Vod
presented with the equations (4) and (5). (10)
Considering equations (10) and (6) the control sys-
    tem of series inverter can be formed as shown in Fig.3.
Vd Va
 Vq  = T (θ)  Vb  or Vdq0 = T (θ)V (4)
V0 Vc 3. 2 Control System of Shunt Inverter

  The magnitude of bus voltage depends on reactive

Cosθ Cos(θ − 2π ) Cos(θ + 2π ) power flowing from shunt inverter. Thus, by control-
2 3 3
T (θ) =  −Sinθ −Sin(θ − 2π 2π 
3 ) −Sin(θ + 3 ) , θ = ω0ling
t the reactive power in shunt inverter, the magni-
3 1 √
/ 2 1 √
/ 2 1 √
/ 2 tude of bus voltage can be controlled. The injected
(5) reactive power by shunt inverter is given as:
Modelling and Controlling of UPFC for Power System Transient Studies 31

Fig.3: Control system of series inverter

To obtain this signal, the active, P, and reactive, Q,

2 powers of the load side are calculated.
Qsh = (Vid Ishq − Viq Ishd ) (11)
3
The series inverter of UPFC controls the line ac- 3
P = P̃ + P̄ = (Vid Ild + Viq Ilq ) (19)
tive and reactive power flows by injecting the series 2
controlled voltage. The exchanged active power be-
3
tween series inverter and transmission line is caused Q = Q̃ + Q̄ =
(Vid Ilq + Viq Ilq ) (20)
to change the DC link voltage. Thus, for regulating 2
the DC link voltage, the shunt inverter must supply The unbalance current of load can be obtained as
demanded active power by series inverter and losses follows:
of two inverters. We have:
1
Iunbal = (Ila + Ilb + Ilc ) (21)
3 3
Psr = (Vserd Isrd + Vserq Isrq ) (12)
2 The desired value of Q̃, Q̄, P̃ and Iunbal is equal to
zero. Therefore, the shunt branch must compensate
2 these parameters. To extract undesired component of
Psh = Psr + Pdc + Ploss = (Vid Ishd + Viq Ishq) (13)
3 active power, i.e. P̃ , the instantaneous active power
signal must pass through a high pass filter with a cut
The Ploss and Pdc can be obtained from equations off frequency of 10 Hz.
(14) and (15). The d-q forms of the supplementary reference sig-
2 2 2 nal of shunt branch current are calculated using equa-
Ploss = Vdc Gc + 3Rsh Ish1 + Rsr Isr1 (14) tions (22) and (23).
µ ¶
dVdc P̃ Vid − QViq
Pdc = Vdc Idc = Vdc c (15) Id∗ = (22)
dt Vid2 + Viq2
From equations (11), (13) the reference currents of
P̃ Viq − QVid
shunt inverter can be calculated as: Iq∗ = (23)
Vid2 + Viq2
· ¸ · ¸· ¸ Now, they must be added to equation (18).
Ishd 2 1 Vid −Viq Psh
=
Ishq 3 (Vid2 + Viq2 ) Viq Vid Qsh
· ¸ ( · ¸· ¸ · ¸)
(16)
Ishld 2 Nsh2 1 Vid −Viq Psh Id∗
With considering the relationship of shunt trans- = +
Ishlq 3 Nsh1 2
Vid + Viq2 Viq Vid Qsh Iq∗
former and equation (16) we have:
(24)
Ish1 = Nsh1 Ish (17) The reference currents of shunt inverter can be ob-
tained by:

· ¸ · ¸  ∗  ¸·    
Ishld 2 1 1 Psh Vid −Viq
Isha IShld Iunbal
=
Ishlq 3 Nsh (Vid2 + Viq2 ) Qsh Viq Vid
 Ishb
∗  = T (θ)−1  IShlq  +  Iunbal  (25)
(18) ∗
Ishc 0 Iunbal
Also, in this paper the shunt converter can be used
to balance and harmonic compensation of line cur- Fig.4 shows the control system of this inverter. To
rent. Therefore a supplementary control signal must consider the losses of inverters the DC link voltage
be added to the control system of shunt converter. error must be added to this control system.
32 ECTI TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL ENG., ELECTRONICS, AND COMMUNICATIONS VOL.5, NO.2 August 2007

Fig.4: Control system of shunt inverter

Fig.5: Generator circuit of gate pulses

Fig.6: Configuration of simulation system

tion is illustrated in Fig. 7 and the parameters of

∗ this system are listed in tables 1 and 2. As mentioned
Vdcerr = Vdc − Vdc (26)
Fig. 5 shows the gate pulse generator circuit of the
series and shunt inverters based on SPWM technique.
In the presented SPWM technique, the error signal is
applied to a PI controller and the output signal of PI
controller is the reference signal of SPWM technique.
4. SIMULATION RESULTS
The two machine test system, whish is simulated
by PSCAD/EMTDC [15], is shown in Fig.6. The
inverters consist of IGCT based three phase voltage
source converters. The transmission line configura-
earlier, the UPFC can control line active and reactive
power flows in steady state and transient conditions.
Fig. 8 shows the reference and line active and reac-
tive power flows. Fig.8-a reveals that the presented
control system of UPFC not only responses to the
step changing in the active power, but also is able
to exchanging the direction of line active power flow.
Fig.8-b shows the receiving end side reactive power
and its reference value. Fig.8-c indicates the reac-
tive power flows with zero reference value when the
active power is changed as Fig. 8-a. These figures
show the active and reactive powers are controlled as
Modelling and Controlling of UPFC for Power System Transient Studies 33

independently by UPFC. As it can be seen, during

transient conditions UPFC can limit the line active
power and receiving end reactive power flows to the
reference values. Fig.9 describes the DC link capaci-
tor voltage.
Fig.10 shows the line midpoint and the sending
end voltages. These figures indicate that the shunt
inverter control system is regulating the DC link and
bus voltages as properly.
Now we set the line active and reactive power flow Fig.8-a: Reference and receiving end side active
reference points to 100 MW and 0 MVAR, respec- power
tively. This time the load angle of generator No.2 has
been changed as shown in Fig. 11. The simulation
results are presented in Fig. 12 a and b. It is obvious
that UPFC can easily regulate and compensate line
active and reactive power flows.
An attractive application of UPFC is load current
balancing. The control system shown in Fig.4 has
added this capability to the conventional UPFC. The
unbalance load has been modelled as shown in Fig.6. Fig.8-b: Reference and receiving end side reactive
The simulation results are illustrated in Fig. 13. As power
it can been seen the sending end generator currents
are balanced.
Table 3 lists the harmonics and THD of line cur-
rent when the active and reactive powers are changed
as step.

Table 1: Power system parameters

V(KV) MVA f R+jLw(pu) Phase(deg.)

Gen. 1 230 400 50 .066+j0.4 0
Fig.8-c: Receiving end side reactive power when
Gen. 2 230 400 50 .066+j0.4 -10 Qref is zero

Table 2: Parameters of UPFC

Ccp Lep Rcp Ccs Lcs Rcs C
10µF 2 mh 5Ω 10µF 1 mh 5Ω 470µF

Fig.9: DC link capacitor voltage (KV)

Fig.7: Transmission lines configuration

Table 3: Harmonics of line current

Harmonics 3th 5th 11th 13th 13th THD
order Fig.10: Voltage of the UPFC connection point and
Values % 2 1.6 1 .5 .05 2.79 the sending endside voltage
34 ECTI TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL ENG., ELECTRONICS, AND COMMUNICATIONS VOL.5, NO.2 August 2007
Fig.11: Step changes of load angle of Gen.2
Fig.12-a: Reference (100MW) and receiving end
side active power
Fig.12-b: Receiving end side reactive power when
Qref is zero
Fig.13: Sending end and load side currents
5. CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents the transient model and con-
trol system of a UPFC. The presented UPFC control
system can regulate line active and reactive power
flow and voltage at line midpoint. The presented
control system of UPFC not only responses to the
step changing in the active and reactive power, but
also is able to exchange the direction of line active
power flows. In this paper an additional control is
added to shunt inverter control system to compen-
sate unbalance load current. The simulation results
indicate the fast dynamic response, validity and ef-
fectiveness of the presented control scheme. In this
paper the power circuit and control system of UPFC
are simulated by using the PSCAD/EMTDC simula-
tion program.
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He is IEEE member and has over 250 papers in journals
and conferences.
G.B.Gharehpetian was born in Tehran,
in1962. He received his BS and MS de-
grees in electrical engineering in 1987
and 1989 from Tabriz University, Tabriz,
Iran and Amirkabir University of Tech-
nology (AUT), Tehran, Iran, respec-
tively, graduating with First Class Hon-
ors. In 1989 he joined the Electrical En-
gineering Department of AUT as a lec-
turer. He received the Ph.D. degree in
electrical engineering from Tehran Uni-
versity, Tehran, Iran, in 1996. As a Ph.D. student he has re-
ceived scholarship from DAAD (German Academic Exchange
Service) from 1993 to 1996 and he was with High Voltage Insti-
tute of RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany. He held the position
of Assistant Professor in AUT from 1997 to 2003, and has been
Associate Professor since 2004. Dr. Gharehpetian is a Senior
Member of Iranian Association of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IAEEE), member of IEEE and member of central
board of IAEEE. Since 2004 he is the Editor in Chief of the
Journal of IAEEE. The power engineering group of AUT has
been selected as a Center of Excellence on Power Systems in
Iran since 2001. He is a member of this center and since 2004
the Research Deputy of this center. Since November 2005 he is
the director of the industrial relation office of AUT. He is the
author of more than 250 journal and conference papers. His
teaching and research interest include power system and trans-
formers transients, FACTS devices and HVDC transmission.

Ali Ajami was born in Tabriz, Iran

in 1973. He received B. Sc. and M.
Sc. degrees from electrical and com-
puter engineering faculty of Tabriz uni-
versity, Iran in the electronic engineering
and power engineering at 1996 and 1999
respectively. He received the P.H.D.
degree at 2005 in the electrical and
computer engineering faculty of Tabriz
university, Iran in the power engineer-
ing.
In 2005 he joined the electrical engineering department of
Azarbijan University of Tarbiat Moallem, Iran.
His main research interests include the dynamic and steady
state modeling and analysis of FACTS devices such as SSSC
and STATCOM, UPFC, harmonics and power quality compen-
sation systems such as Active Filters, UPQC. He has over 40
papers in journals and conferences.

S.H. Hosseini was born in Marand,

Iran in 1953. He received the M.S.
degree from the faculty of Engineering
University of Tabriz, Iran in 1976, the
DEA degree from INPL, France, in 1981
and Ph.D. degree from INPL, France,
in 1981 all in electrical engineering. In
1990 he joined the University of Tabriz,
Iran, as an assistant professor in the
Dept. of Elec. Eng., from 1990 to 1995
he was associate professor in the Univer-
sity of Tabriz and since 1995 he has been professor in the Dept.
of Elec. Eng. University of Tabriz.
From Sept. 1990 to Sept. 1991 he was visiting professor
in the University of Queensland Australia; from Sept. 1996 to
Sept. 1997 he was visiting professor in the University of West-
ern Ontario Canada.
His research interests include Power Electronic Converters,
Reactive Power Control, Harmonics and Power Quality Com-
pensation Systems such as SVC, UPQC, FACTS devices and