Combinatorics

Physics

Nonlinear system

Synchronizing

Topology (electrical circuits)

Mathematics

Agronomy

Biology

Voltage regulator

Paleontology

Artificial intelligence

Power (physics)

Controller (irrigation)

Control (management)

Grid

Geometry

Synchronization (alternating current)

Context (archaeology)

Computer science

Quantum mechanics

Stability theory

Voltage droop

Control theory (sociology)

IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control

In this paper, we explore a new approach to synchronization of coupled oscillators. In contrast to the celebrated Kuramoto model, we do not work in polar coordinates and do not consider oscillations of fixed magnitude. We propose a synchronizing feedback based on relative state information and local measurements that induces consensus-like dynamics. We show that, under a mild stability condition, the combination of the synchronizing feedback with a decentralized magnitude control law renders the oscillators' almost globally asymptotically stable with respect to set points for the phase shift, frequency, and magnitude. We apply these result to rigorously solve an open problem in control of inverter-based ac power systems. In this context, the proposed control strategy can be implemented using purely local information, induces a grid-forming behavior, and ensures that a network of ac power inverters is almost globally asymptotically stable with respect to a prespecified solution of the ac power-flow equations. Moreover, we show that the controller exhibits a droop-like behavior around the standard operating point, thus, making it backward compatible with the existing power system operation.

Global Phase and Magnitude Synchronization of Coupled Oscillators With Application to the Control of Grid-Forming Power Inverters