Design of reactive power regulator of synchronous generators by considering grid impedance angle for characteristic index objectives

Effects of low reactance to resistance ratio in distribution networks are widely studied but little work dealing with the tuning of voltage and reactive power regulators of small synchronous generators has been reported. This study endeavours the design of a proportional integral controller for the reactive power regulator to fulfil the characteristic index (CI) objectives, which are based on the step-response characteristics. Two small-signal models of the reactive power regulator have been developed from the well-known k-parameter model and they are validated. Apart from offline tuning of the regulator, these models can be used to assess system robustness and stability. In addition to the analytical approach, the same regulator is tuned optimally by means of multiple simulations. Proposed objective functions rely on the CIs tracked during the sequence of runs, whereas the traditional cost functions are formulated on the basis of the integral of an error. This difference makes them suitable for the cases where the entire step-response data series are unavailable. The performances of differently tuned regulators are compared considering a test system including a 100 kW Diesel Generator Set equipped with a brushless exciter.