INTRODUCTION

1.1 LOAD FREQUENCY CONTROL

The load on the power system is dynamic. Both active power and reactive power
demands are never study and continuously change with the rising and falling
trend.
1.1.1 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE LOAD ON THE SYSTEM

INCREASES?

In a single area uncontrolled system whenever a load increase takes place, the
system has following the three ways.
1. Borrowed kinetic energy from the rotating machines of the system that is
initially the increase in load is supplied from the stored energy of the
synchronous generators. As a result of the speed in the machine go down on
system frequency decreases.
2. Released customer load that is the reduction in the effective old load since the
frequency of the system decreases the speed of the various motors decreases and
hence the effective old load decreases.

Thus allowing the already available

generation is partly to meet the load demand.

3. Increased generation:

The reduction in the system frequency actuates the

speed governing system of generating units which increases the input to the
prime movers causing increased generation which subsequently arrests the
further drop in frequency. The units behave coherently, maintaining there by
equal frequency deviations among them.

However it is to be noted that the

contribution due to the first two factors is very small and the major contribution
is due to the increased generation due to governing action.
1.1.2 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN LOAD ON THE SYSTEM DECREASES?
Let the system load demand decrease by some amount. The prime mover does
not respond to the load change instantly as it is ignorant of the load change.
Current supplied by the generators, which results in decrease in electro
mechanical torques in all generators. Every generator would experience a small
surplus accelerating torque, which results in increasing in speed of generators

and thus increase the frequency. All the motors, which are fed by the network
would experienced increasing speed and thus their torque would be increased.
As the torque developed by the motor increase the power drawn by motors from
the network increases. If the prime mover remains ineffective during this period,
the frequency would level off at a higher value.
1.2 NEED FOR CONSISTANCY OF FREQUENCY
There are many applications in real world which use electrical energy. All the
applications are designed to a particular frequency. All most all the equipment is
designed to a particular tolerance in frequency in those issues. Since they work
in limits of a particular tolerance band we have to keep the frequency in those
limits only. The following are the reasons for keeping strict limits on the system
frequency variations.
1. AC Motors: The speed of the A.C motors are directly related to the frequency.
Even though most of the A.C drives are not much affected for a frequency
variation of even 50to1.5kHz but there are certain applications where
consistency speed must be of higher order.
2. Electric Clocks: The electric clocks are driven by synchronous motors and
the accuracy of these clocks is not only a function of frequency error but is
actually of the integral of this error.
3. Turbines: If the normal frequency is 50Hz and the turbines are run at speeds
corresponding to frequency less than 47 Hz or more than 52.5Hz. The blades of
the turbine are likely to get damaged; hence a strict limit on frequency must be
adhered to as stalling of the generator will further causes the problem if the
system is operating at the lower limit of frequency.
4.

Power Transformers: The under frequency operation of the power

transformer is not desirable. For constant system voltages if the frequency is

below the normal value the flux in core increases.

Since we design these

transformers corresponding to the knee point on the B-H curve a small increase
in B drives the transformer into saturation region. As a result magnetizing
current even exceeds the normal full current the sustained under frequency
operation of the power transformer results not only in low frequency but it may

even damage the transformer winding due to overheating.

The problem is

further caused by the fact that to transmit one MW of power from the generating
station to the consumer end 4 MW equivalent capacity transformers are
installed.

Hence a strict limit on frequency operation of power system is

desirable.
5. Thermal Power Plants: The most serious effect of normal frequency is on
the operation of thermal power plants with reduced frequency the blast by ID
and the FD fans decreases and thus it becomes a cumulating and may result in
complete shutdown of plant is corrective measures like load shedding is not
resorted to load scheduling is done with the help of under frequency relay is so
adjusted that the least important load is disconnected at relay higher frequency
and vice-versa.
The overall operation of the power system can be better controlled if a
strike limit on frequency deviation is maintained.

The frequency is closely

related to the real power balance is the overall network. Under normal operating
conditions the generators run synchronously and the generated power equals
the load demand plus the losses at any instant of time when a generated is
connected to a grid, its speed gets locked to grid system.

Now it we want to

control the real power output from its generator, we must control the torque from
its prime mover.
By opening the stream value and thus increasing the stream pressure on
the turbine blade greater torque can be applied to the generator there by
tendency to accelerate the generator. However, its speed is tied to the grid and
hence the motor advances its torque angle by few degrees depending upon the
load increases requirements. These results increased delivered current and
power. The increased current thus develops a decelerating torque within the
machine, which exactly balances the increase in the accelerating torque.
Unfortunately the counter balancing electromagnetic torque is not developed
instantly.
The duration for which the unbalance exists depends upon the change in
load and the total inertia of the system. If the change in load is small as
compared to the total inertia of the system. The frequency remains almost
constant throughout the operation of the system. However, the load fluctuations

are entirely random and hence it is impossible to obtain, a perfect instant - by instant match between generation and load. There will always be a surplus or
deficiency in the generation and hence this even - present mismatch will cause
frequency fluctuation. For small changes active power is dependent on internal
machine angle () and is independent of the bus voltages. While bus voltage is
dependent on the machine excitation and therefore on reactive generation (Q)
and is independent of the machine angle (). Change in the internal angle () is
caused by momentary Speed change in the generator speed. Further, excitation
voltage is fast acting in which the major time constant encountered is that of the
generator field, while the power frequency control is slow acting with major time
constant attributed by the turbine and the generator moment of inertia this time
constant is much larger than that of the generator field. Thus, the transients in
excitation voltage control vanish much faster and do not affect the dynamics of
power frequency control.
Changes in load demand can be identified as:
1. Slow varying changes in the mean demand and
2. Fast random variations around the mean.
The regulators must be designed to be insensitive to fast random changes.
Otherwise the system will be prone to hunting resulting in excessive wear and
tear of rotating machines and control equipment.