Evolution of DC Distributed Power System Stability

Stability of a system is one of its most crucial yet largely hidden characteristic. Power systems, both ac and dc, face instability; with dc systems facing voltage instability only while ac systems have to confront frequency and rotor angle instability in addition to the voltage instability. Apparently, this makes dc systems easier to design since there is only one form of instability i.e. voltage instability which needs to be tackled. Yet this has proved a huge challenge and even now, a decade and a half after the beginning of active research for stabilizing a dc distributed power system, research efforts are still in progress. This paper attempts to present and compare some of the latest research techniques for dc distributed power system stability as well as briefly reviews the history of research efforts in this area. A short description of the dc distributed system paradigm along with its applications is also included in this paper. Copyright (c) 2010 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved.